Real Estate Networks

If you buy your home before its built, you could save money and secure the best one in the block.

Imagine buying bunch of bananas before it ripens or buying fish before it arrives to stalls, people normally get a bargain and a big discount, normally well-below the market value. Buying off-plan or properties on the pre-selling stage follow the same principle: it’s buying a property before it has been built, and generally at a discount. Few years ago, only professional investors would do this, but now more and more people are looking for their own home are going down the off-plan route.

One of the main reasons why many Filipinos now find themselves considering this kind of purchase is because it is one way of getting a luxury condominium or a house for less, with buyers typically expecting to pay about 10 to 15 percent below the market value.

You will ask: “Why do developers do this?” Of course, they don’t run a charity. They do pre-selling of units at a reduced rate to keep bank loans down and to get more lending, therefore reducing the amount of cash they have tied up in the properties.

Personally, I am all in favor of it. Done it right, you can get a better price and choose the best unit for you early on. We have had growing amount of Filipino expats and OFWs buying units on a pre-selling stage. One advise: Be sure that you are dealing with accredited developers who are nationally recognzed and has a good track of record not just in selling units but also management, after-sales service. Also check their number of years in trading. You don’t want to be dealing with a bogus “My Real Company Ltd” with no credentials. You can check with the Housing And Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) which can be contacted at:

HLURB Bldg., Kalayaan Avenue cor. Mayaman St. Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines.

Tel Nos. (632) 927-2723, (632) 924 3378

Email: mailto:esg@hlurb.gov.ph” target=”_blank esg@hlurb.gov.ph

Head: Director Wilfredo I. Imperial

The demand is so high, in fact, the first phase of one recent development, the GA Towers, in Edsa near Boni Avenue and SM Megamall, had sold 600 units in just 3 months! Probably this is due to massive increase of Filipinos abroad, who enjoy a strong purchasing power from strong currencies against Philippine Peso; they are very keen to acquire luxury properties because that their hard-earned cash and investment will be giving them some form of security against inflation and that property gives them a sense of pride and ownership.

Don Magsino MBA
Ateneo De Manila University
Professional School of Business

Buying Properties Abroad can be a tortuous affair; learn how to avoid some of the pitfalls of buying Overseas Properties.

Brian and Jenny had been led to buy a Spanish property on Costa Blanca in Southern Spain from the corrupt agent, Madam Elisha who had sold it to them and had taken a 20K deposit in cash. They had also signed a document in Spanish which had not been translated and purported to be an instruction to a Spanish lawyer, she had recommended, to act on their behalf to secure the Spanish Property.

They had now returned to the UK in great delight to tell all their friends the great news and even recommend the charming and helpful Agent they had met whilst in Torrevieja.
After two weeks they heard from Elisha. Everything was proceeding well and she would get back in contact soon, and could they confirm the balance of the monies, some 202K Euros was available to send? They confirmed.

Poor Brian. If only he had been working with an accredited agent of the mypropertypal Overseas Property Agents Association.

One week later she called again to ask for the balance to be sent to complete the purchase. She also told Brian to transfer an extra 25,000 Euros to cover for Notary fees, taxes and expenses. This seemed reasonable and Brian’s only concern was whether he had to book a flight to attend the completion appointment. Elisha told them that this would not be necessary as Brian had not only signed an instruction to his solicitor to act but the same document allowed for a Power of Attorney! This was a pleasant surprise or so it seemed at the time. How convenient. Brian and Jenny thought this was good news!

Or was it? Buyers of Property Overseas should never sign documents without a proper translation being available and only in exceptional cases give a Power of Attorney. The latter means what it says, a transfer of your power to a third party. In this instance they thought to a reliable and recommended solicitor in Spain.

Clever Alisha

Brian and Jenny transferred the amount from their ISA account to their current account and then asked their High Street Bank to transfer the amount to the bank account they were given by Madam Elisha.

Poor Brian

Buyers of Overseas Property should always seek help to transfer large amounts of money to an overseas account. Moneycorp.com for example can save you large amounts on the rate achievable and the transfer time.

The phone rang again three days later….it was Elsiha complaining the transfer had not been made and they were in danger of losing the property. They confirmed they had made the transfer and were worried, not just because it had not reached the destination but by the attitude of the Agent.

However it was too late. The Bank had indeed made the transfer after two days of internal process associated with most High Street lenders. Banks purport to process the money having taken it from your account and place it on London’s overnight money tree for 2 days gaining interest for them!

Then off it goes through the international banking system and it invariably gets stuck in Madrid or any Banking Capital for a few days collecting more interest for the receiving Bank before reaching its chosen destination.

In this case the private banking account of Madame Elisha!

She called again a few days later to confirm receipt and that all had gone well at the Notary’s office and the Spanish Property was now theirs! Relief all round for Brian and Jenny.
The couple told her of their plans to go out in a few months to take control of their Dream Overseas Home. What they did not realize was that it was all about to go horribly wrong
They had completed their purchase in July and waited for cheaper flights and cooler weather before traveling out again in October. When they arrived they went straight to their new home and collected the key from the neighbor as had been arranged. There was no electricity in the house. Worse there was no water. Elisha had promised that services were connected and that she would pay the bills to maintain them from the money left over from expenses. She had not, and they had been cut off!

They phoned her several times her but got no reply.

They went to the office in Torrevieja to find it closed down and empty. Had she moved her office? Alarm bells started ring albeit gently. After all they had the key and only needed to connect the services again. They went to the local Bank where they had been told to transfer the money but received no information about any account set up by Elisha in their name. To be blunt the Bank had never heard of them.

Well, what to think? Had anyone heard of the Agent Elisha and why she had closed down? They had thought that there were several other branches but had no detail of where they might be!
There were none.

They went to the Iberdrola office to enquire about an electricity supply. They gave their address and it was confirmed that a 1.5 supply was in place. Brian knew that with microwave ovens and other white goods let alone an air conditioning unit, he would need a much heavier supply. So he asked for the application forms for a 4.5 supply. Iberdrola agreed it was a good idea but said they would have to inspect the premises first before even re-connecting the original supply.
At the water office it was an easier story. Re-connection was quite simple and could be achieved later that day. That impressed the sad couple until they were told that first the arrears would need to be paid and the disconnection and re-connection charges of 200 Euros, a total of 395 Euros! The girl spoke reasonable English and explained there were unpaid invoices for several months. Surely they didn’t have to pay for water they had not used?

In Spain services are provided to properties not people. Their solicitor should have checked it was clear or not and made the appropriate alteration with the seller for the cost. It had not been done.

With the water supply restored later that day they felt a little better until a few days later a visit was made by the man from Iberdrola, the local Electricity Company. He informed them in Spanish and in written English on a standard form, that the wiring in the house was illegal, out of date and not up to the required standard, therefore the supply could not be resumed until a substantial amount of internal work had been completed.

This often happens in Spain and when a bill is left unpaid they disconnect you. In order to ensure houses re-wire to the correct standard they will not reconnect. Often a 1.5 supply is inadequate for northern Europeans and their slightly lavish lifestyle and when an application is made to increase the power it is advisable to have internal work completed up to the required standard before the inspection is made. Otherwise further extensive delays will be inevitable.

They decided that without power it would be better to return to England earlier than planned. On enquiring with the neighbor whether he would be happy to keep the key for the Electrician to gain entry, another shock was in store. It turned out the neighbor’s Brother in law used to own their villa. This man still had the rights to the Olive crop for the next two years! Worse, he then asked what they had paid for the Villa.

Remember the purchase price paid was 222K Euros. The neighbor was a very pleasant Spaniard but became quite agitated at this news. Not that he was concerned about the price his Family had received, 135K Euros was a fair price and his Brother in law was happy to sell! The balance was commissions and it made him very angry to see his new neighbor so badly treated in his country.

There is nothing illegal about charging high commissions. It has been common practice during the boom of the late nineties and early naughties to place commissions of more than 30K on most properties.

They left with him a forwarding address and their UK phone number in case of any problems with the electrician and he promised to look after the place for them in their absence. They returned home feeling cheated, let down and generally despondent, yet even worse news was to come.
The electrician had been and upgraded the system and their neighbor Jose had contacted Bedroll for them, in hope that the wheels of the giant electric company might start to go round in their absence. However on a visit to the Post Office Jose collected some post for them. One letter was marked very urgent and was from a local Spanish bank, so he called Brian in England. Brian asked him to open the letter as he had no knowledge of any Bank account in Spain; perhaps this was his money turning up?

The letter was urgent; it was a formal demand from a Spanish Mortgage company referring to a Spanish Mortgage in Brian’s name! According to the Spanish Bank he had not been making payments since accepting the mortgage at the time of his completion. He was now three months in arrears and steps would be taken shortly to re-possess the house! Brian assured Jose that he had no mortgage on the property. Jose assured him that there was no mortgage on the property when his Brother in law had owned it and that the total outstanding now was 186K Euros!
Brian flew out to Alicante the next day and drove to meet Jose at the property. He collected the paperwork and made a visit to the Bank in question. Luckily they had an English speaker on hand which is unusual in most inland areas.

They were able to research the situation for him and opened the file. He was able to ascertain that his solicitor with his Power of Attorney had arranged a mortgage for him. There were bogus pay slips on the same file and the Bank had approved the loan quickly as the lawyer in question also acted as an agent for the Bank.

The loan however was not bogus. It existed and was secured on the property deeds by the notary’s office which were lodged at the bank by the lawyer. The only good news was that the Notary fees and legal expenses had been paid even though they were paid from Brian’s additional transfer of 25K!

Brian paid the arrears and extracted copies from his file of the relevant documents. Armed with a copy of the lawyer’s bill, he went to search the town of Torrevieja and later that day he made a surprise visit to a certain lawyer’s office.

The lawyer had a small practice and met Brian in person. He spoke some English and having been reminded of the situation confirmed he had acted for Brian. Obviously embarrassed he was not forthcoming on much more information as he was obviously upset by the disappearance of Madame Elisha. He gave Brian a copy of his Power of Attorney and confirmed Elisha had asked him to arrange a mortgage because funds had not arrived for the intended purchase. She had provided the pay slips and he had no reason to believe that there was anything untoward happening. He was shocked to learn that Brian had indeed made the transfer and did not need a Spanish mortgage. Further there was nothing he could do or would do except to cancel the Power of Attorney! He had no comment on the disappearance of Brian’s 248K except to say there was nothing owing!

Brian went to the local Police and then to the British consulate in Alicante
It transpired that Madame Elisha was being sought by many buyers of Spanish property from the UK and that a total of 5 million Euros had not been accounted for.!
Poor Brian, if only he had consulted all the information freely available for buyers on the website mypropertypal.com:

Brian and Jenny finally moved out to Spain in the following Spring. Due to the existing mortgage Brian had to take on some part time work to help pay for his lifestyle.
Madame Elisha and the lawyer were interviewed by the Police, and Fraud squad detectives are still looking for 5million Euros that are missing from her accounts. She of course has blamed corrupt staff and lawyers and is still free to conduct business having become a large Property Developer on the Costa Almeria. Last heard of she had just bribed a local official to allow her to put an extra floor on a 15 storey apartment block netting her an additional 3 million in sales!
I wonder where the development fund came from.

Hugo Raymond is the Founder of mypropertypal.com
And the Association of Overseas property Agents

Talk to a PropertyPal it’s free!

mypropertypal.com mypropertypal.com
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If you are a homeowner with less than desirable credit, you can still refinance your current mortgage with a competitive loan offer. Poor credit will not prevent you from refinancing your mortgage; it simply means you will have to work harder to do it. Here is what you need to get started refinancing your mortgage with poor credit.

Refinancing your mortgage with poor credit is easier than ever. There is an entire industry of mortgage lenders that has sprung up around poor credit mortgage loans. The problem you will find when applying for mortgages with poor credit is that it is very easy to overpay for your new mortgage. Because of this you will need to shop around and compare lender fees, interest rates, and closing costs, along with the terms and conditions from a variety of lenders.

Be Conservative in Your Borrowing

When refinancing your mortgage with poor credit you might be tempted to borrow more than you actually need. Borrowing against your home equity in addition to refinancing your mortgage can cost you a lot of money. Because you will be refinancing your mortgage again when your financial situation and credit improves, it is best to leave your home equity untouched until then.

Poor credit lenders charge higher mortgage lending fees and interest rates. Lenders do this because of the higher risk involved with bad credit mortgages. Because you have these higher fees working against you, it is important to shop for the best mortgage lender for your situation. When comparing mortgage loan offers you need to carefully review all mortgage terms, conditions, and fees.

Terms and Conditions

Because you will pay more for the bad credit mortgage you want to make sure that you can refinance this loan when your situation improves without a penalty. Make sure the bad credit mortgage you select does not include a prepayment penalty, or it includes one that expires after a short period of time.

To learn more about saving money when refinancing your mortgage while avoiding common mortgage mistakes, register for a free mortgage guidebook.

To get your free mortgage guidebook visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below.

Louie Latour specializes in showing homeowners how to avoid common mortgage mistakes and predatory lenders. For a free copy of “

Hiring a home staging professional to make sure that your home is looking its best is a great start to getting your house sold, but you still have to live in your home and when booking an open house or preparing for a viewing keep in mind that you still might have some work to do.

To say “make sure your home is clean” is an understatement and a given for most people. Don’t spoil your investment in home staging by not ensuring that your home shines “like the top of the Chrysler building!”

Even if you have been extremely careful about not creating any strong cooking odours, making sure that the dog smelling soapy clean and that kitty’s litter is fresh as a daisy, your home may still accumulate some odours. Weather permitting, open up the windows (even if it’s just for a few minutes) a little fresh air will go a long way. Strong room sprays , you won’t fool anyone!

Emptying and cleaning all garbage cans (don’t forget the bathrooms) and recycling containers will also help your home smell as fresh as possible.

Quick tidy-ups are the key to preparing for potential buyers, make this task easier by having three or four empty Rubbermaid containers on hand. They are great for stashing away everyday items such as toys, shoes, outwear and schoolbags. Scoop, pack and stash your way to a tidy home in minutes.

After your home stager has worked their magic, make sure that you take the time to take your own photos, being sure to capture exactly how every detail is arranged. This means that if for any reason something has to be moved temporarily or kept only for viewing (this is advisable if you have little ones!) you’ll know exactly how to reset everything.

Working with a home stager is the fastest and most cost-effective way to get your home ready for sale, however it doesn’t completely void you from any of the preparations. It is your home being sold and probably your largest single investment, be sure to treat is that way and the sold sign will be on your front lawn in no time.

When my husand an I sold our first home in Ottawa, Ontario, I had never heard of the term Home Staging. I did have over 5 years experience in the advertising business so I applied my knowledge of that industry, marketing for a successful sale, into the selling of my home.

My husband had relocated and was already living and working in Toronto when our home went on the market. With two young children, I knew I had to sell the house fast. I had five days before the first open house to prepare our home. I went through our home from top to bottom, de-cluttering, de-personalizing, touching up and cleaning. The final step involved creating strategic focal points in the home, to allow potential buyers to create an attachment with the house.

When our Realtor came by for the open house, he entered and he stopped, looked around and asked who had I hired to “stage” the house. I had no idea what he meant!

Needless to say, that was the beginning of HOLT modern!

Due to our commercial for sale by owner, co-marketing program, we witness many commercial property owners market and go through the “process” of selling their buildings, without the aid of a real estate broker. Although the experience can be painful, selling on your own is doable; especially if you know what you are doing.

Below are a few of the common mistakes we see owners make.

Over Pricing Property
Over pricing the property is a huge deterrent and major common mistake that sellers make. Most buyers that feel a property is over priced quickly move on. Serious buyers normally inspect many properties and learn market values. Sellers often think that if a buyer is interested, they will just submit a lower offer; that idea rarely works.

Many sellers are simply unrealistic and fail to do their homework on value. Getting “comparable recent sales” information is needed. Understanding the income approach to value is also critical. Hiring an appraiser is the most reliable and accepted way to determine market value. Information on other buildings sold in your city can be found at the assessing department as well.

This is a painful point for many sellers if they have put a lot of money into a property. Especially for owner occupants (Business that own and operate out of the building). The hard fact is that it is very possible to over improve a property.

We see owners try to sell on their own for many months, carry the costs of ownership, give up, then list with a broker - only then to lower the asking price.

Lack of Knowledge on Handling Paperwork.
Selling a property, especially one with issues (environmental concerns, title issues, zoning infringements, etc.) can be complicated. The paperwork can be intimidating and needs to be done correctly. Not knowing how to handle the paperwork will quickly kill any potential deals.

The buyer needs confidence that they can successfully close, without violating any laws or creating long term legal issues. Not teaming up with professionals to help with the details can be a mistake.

Putting the Property Under Contract without Pre-Screening (Pre-Approving) the Buyer First.
We have seen much wasted time and effort on buyers that could never qualify for a loan in the first place. It is a needless mistake.

Sellers are anxious that they have an offer and want to move forward. They put their property under contract with the buyer, taking the building off the market (perhaps missing a legitimate buyer) and incur the carrying costs while they wait (often for several months) for the buyer to perform its due diligence and obtain the needed financing. Only later to learn that the buyer could never have been qualified in the first place.

Besides the frustration of this scenario there are legal issues (risks) and costs of putting your property under contract as well. Although there will always be risk of losing buyers (for many reasons), you can avoid this one by requesting that your buyers books are reviewed and receiving “pre-approval” letters from finance companies.

Not Being Accessible
Pretty simple, buyers are demanding, forgetful and busy. If they try to schedule an appointment to inspect your property and you can not accommodate their schedule, or return their calls, they’ll give up and move on to the next facility.

Property not Presentable
Common sense stuff here as well but we see many owners fail to clean the facility adequately and or not having basic components of the building functioning (Roll up doors, broken windows, HVAC units, alarm systems, etc.).

Unrealistic about Marketing
Simply having a sign on the front of the building is not enough. Perhaps one of the neighboring businesses will be interested, but counting on that alone will probably be a mistake - resulting in increased marketing time and thus increasing your carrying costs. The idea is to maximize your buildings exposure to get it in front of as many buyers as possible.

Listed are some creative marketing ideas we have heard other owners successfully implement:

• Mailers/postcards to local tenants in your area, in your building type (office, Industrial, etc). Real estate brokers sometimes do this; list is typically 500 – 1000 names.

• Internet marketing. It’s been estimated that 75-85% of all buyers now start their search on the internet.

• Professionally designed exterior signs. This is a way to build credibility with potential buyers.

• Professionally designed feature sheet. Also a way to build credibility and highlight the key features and information they need to be able to qualify a building for their use.

• Classified ads in local paper. You can take it a step further and advertise in trade journals especially if you have a “special use” building - restaurants, medical facility, etc.

• Referrals – Informing the professionals you hire and work with can be effective way to get the word out. Accountants, lawyers, etc. typically know of other businesses that need space.

• Teaming up with industry professionals (title companies, finance companies etc.) that can help with the various details will assure you of the best possible chances of successfully closing the sale of your facility. It’s their business to know the market and know how to get it done.

Building not Salable, from the Beginning

Many owners fail to recognize issues with their buildings that may hinder or otherwise make it impossible to sell and or to finance the property.

Environmental issues can dramatically complicate a sale and may eliminate the possibility of conventional financing. Although there continues to be changes in legislation, governmental financial support, and clean up techniques, the costs and time frame of selling properties with environmental issues is significant.

Structural and or building condition is another issue. Roofs are a typical example. The costs of repairing or replacing roofs can jeopardize the financial ratios and cash needed to close. Often lenders will not release funds until repairs are completed as well. Determining who will pay for the costs is often a sticking point. Perhaps neither the seller or the buyer has the additional cash.

Structural issues can be a more serious problem and often completely eliminate the possibility of conventional financing.

Title issues are another problem and can make financing all but impossible.

Building owners can be prepared to deal with these issues by resolving them before putting the property on the market or by having adequate information (For example, repair estimates, phase one completed) on hand before attempting to sell the property and adjusting the sale price accordingly.

Commercial Finance Advisors offers a (free) co-marketing programs with building owners. For example, we promote properties online, produce flyers and send out mailers to local business’s, etc. More information can be found at www.cfa-commercial.com

Rauth is President of Commercial Finance Advisors, Inc out of Bloomfield Hills, MI. He specializes in Commercial Real Estate Loans between $100,000 - $5,000,000. Offers unique loan programs such as Commercial 30 Year Fixed and 90% non SBA, financing. He can be reached at 248 990-7602. mailto:jrauth@cfa-commercial.com jrauth@cfa-commercial.com

cfa-commercial.com cfa-commercial.com

The Real Estate Investments in West Europe, that president Bush called Old Europe in one of his speeches, registered a boom in the times of Marshall Plan, when Old Europe had to be rebuilt. But that plan wasn’t accepted by East European Countries because at that time, these countries were left in soviet zone. After the fall of the soviet empire and the entrance of east European countries in European Union, new plans to rebuild the New Europe are catching contour. As in the first case, when after the WWII the whole West Europe had to be rebuilt, and the capitals were first reconstructed, now, in East Europe, after the Cold War, the whole part of the continent needs to begin a new development, and the Capital Cities will have the first place and the most attention in development.

The other towns and the rest of regions in these countries will follow closely after. Speaking about the last country that was admitted in Europe Union, Romania, and it’s capital, Bucharest, is to say that already, the developing of its economy has began after the fall in the last 17 years. Bucharest already has 2 Million people and is continuing to grow, people coming here from the rest of the country, looking for jobs. Known as Little Paris between the two World Wars, Bucharest has remained too little for people who live in.

This is why new projects are in work at the General City Hall that is previewing the future extent of the city. All investors that understand to profit of the new development of Bucharest, will have the opportunity to participate at building the extent Bucharest, called Metropolitan Zone of Bucharest. This project is financed by The Institute for an Opened Society based in Budapest. More details about the development of Bucharest can be found in pages of City Hall’s site: pmb.ro/” target=”_blank pmb.ro/. The productivity of Real Estate Investments are exceptional in Bucharest, the price needed to construct a building for apartments or offices is under 400 Euro/square meter, the prices at the selling are over 1000 Euro/square meter.

Author Victor Marcu is the Owner of one of the First Real Estate Company’s in his Country, Romania, and has an Experience of 12 Years of Work in this Field. His Office is well placeced in the Very Center of the Capital City, Bucharest. Is Member of Romanian Union of Real Estate Agencyes: UNAI. He also has a Degree in Mechanics at Politechnic Institute of Bucharest and worked at the Planning and Building of some Industrial Plants in Bucharest and Other Towns of Romania. Is also a Specialist in Evaluation for Real Estate. To search more about properties in Romania and it’s capital Bucharest, open his sites: imobiliare-vittorio.ro imobiliare-vittorio.ro or romanianproperties.net romanianproperties.net.

So Many Options…

It’s true. If you’re in the market for a South Beach Condos, there are a variety of choices. A few years ago, condo purchases were generally limited to first-time buyers and single professionals. But now, as the baby boomer generation is nearing, or at, retirement age, they’re causing a shift in condominium perspective and development.

The baby boomers have driven housing markets for years. And this year is no exception. An unprecedented demand from the Baby Boom generation has sparked a condo craze in Miami’s South Beach area. As the demand for condos has increased, Developers discovered more and more creative ways to meet the demand. Branching out from the standard apartment-style condos, Developers are now offering hotel and/or resort-style living as well.

If you’re thinking about purchasing a South Beach Condo take a look at your options.

Option #1 – Standard South Beach Condo

Granted, they’re upscale condominiums with many of the same amenities of a resort or hotel. These are properties that were designed to be condos. Prices, of course, vary with location.

The Continuum

This gated community boasts 12 acres of beautiful property that includes fountains, pools, and gardens. The Continuum is 40 stories of condos with 10 ft ceilings and wrap-around balconies. Combine that with valet and concierge services, waiters and fitness trainers, exquisite views and a thousand feet of beach, and you’ve got resort-style living everyday!

There are 15 different floor plans to choose from, ranging in size from 1,200 sq. ft. to 4000 sq. ft. As a resident of the Continuum, you will enjoy door to ceiling sliding glass doors (that meet South Florida building code hurricane standards) that open up to your private balcony, imported marble, Kohler fixtures, whirlpools and more.

Surrounded by beautiful landscaping, the Continuum also has tennis courts, a private spa, pavilions, and four floors of fitness and treatment rooms.

Located at the Southern-most tip of South Beach, the Continuum puts you in the heart of the best that Miami and South Beach have to offer. Prices range from $1,000,000 to $15 million.

Icon

Located in the increasingly popular SoFi area, Icon’s 270 units offer the best of both worlds. World #1 is first class shopping and dining at places like Versace, Armani, Williams-Sonoma, China Grill, Nemo’s, and Smith & Wollensky. World #2 is the simple life. Sunsets on the Bay, moonlight walks on the beach, sunrises over the ocean, and calming tropical breezes.

Icon pampers it’s residents with amenities such as a Heath and Fitness Spa complete with sauna and steam room, a heated bay front lap pool, 24-hour complimentary valet parking, concierge services, housekeeping service, laundry and dry cleaning valet, and a resident café overlooking the bay. But the luxury doesn’t stop there! Each of Icon’s 1, 2, and 3 bedroom condos features a choice of either ocean or bay views, granite or marble kitchen countertops, imported European custom cabinets, 9’ high ceilings, walk-in closets, high speed internet service, and more.

The Setai

Over-sized balconies and unique floor plans make Setai condos worth seeing. The 40-story condominium tower features 175 residences, and unforgettable views of the ocean, South Beach, and the Miami skyline.
The Setai offers you the choice of one, two, and three bedroom units that range in size from 850 to 2,800 square feet. Six thousand square foot penthouses are also available and include private decks with lap pools. Condos are prices from approximately $2,000,000 to $25 million.

Located on the north end of South Beach, The Setai offers luxury, resort-style living, and stunning views. Just minutes away from the nightlife and fine dining of South Beach.

Option #2 South Beach Condo Conversions

With the rising popularity of condominium living, some Developers have opted for condo conversions rather than build a brand new property. Real Capital Analysts, Inc, a New York-based research firm, estimated that sales of condo conversions more than doubled last year, going from $11 billion in 2004 to approximately $28 billion in 2005.

Though these made not be as luxurious as “built from the ground up” condominiums, they are often given luxury upgrades such as stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and top of the line carpet, window treatments, and fixtures.

Condo Conversions are excellent for first-time buyers and single professionals.

The Flamingo South Beach is a prime example of why condo conversions are so successful and popular.

With 1,689 units in three towers, The Flamingo South Beach is set to become one of the largest condo conversions in Florida. Prices will range from the $200,000’s to the $700,000’s for these studio, one, two, and three bedroom units. Square footage ranges from 504 to over 2000 square feet.

Conveniently located just minutes from the McArthur and Venetian Causeways, The Flamingo South Beach views of the ocean and Biscayne Bay are spectacular.

Reservations for these units are expected to begin this month, with actual sales beginning in April.

Option #3 South Beach Condo Hotels

Last but not least, there is the most recent trend in condo living – the condo hotel.

Often managed by a well-known, well-respected hotel chain such as Hilton or Ritz-Carlton, condo hotels are popular among those who are looking for either a second home or a vacation home.
When you purchase a condo hotel, you have the option of participating in a rental program overseen by the in-house management company. If your unit is rented, the management company shares the income earned on your condo unit with you. In addition, the management company cleans and maintains your unit while you’re gone, alleviating the stress of finding someone reliable or having to return and do it yourself.

Unlike a time-share, where you’re buying a specific block of time, purchasing a unit in a condo hotel means that you can rent it out, stay in it, or sell at your own discretion.

W Condo Hotel – South Beach

A name that’s synonymous with chic, hip, and elegant.
Spacious rooms with modern design and décor put the W Condo Hotel in a class by itself.

When completed, the W South Beach will be 19 stories of 511 units designed and decorated by Yabu Pushelberg and Costas Kondylis of Kondylis & Partners. These units will look and feel like home. Studio, one, and two bedroom units, will range in size from 600 – 1200 sq. ft., and in price from $800,000 to $5 million.

Some amenities include: private beach access, two outdoor pools, wired and wireless business center, multi-lingual staff, foreign currency exchange, two gourmet restaurants, 24/7 room service, wellness spa.

The Tides

Purchased in 2004 by the Falor Companies, this elegant, art deco-style hotel is being converted to a condo hotel. It’s 10 stories and 45 units will undergo minor construction and updates, and are expected to be completed in the Spring. Suites will range in size from 539 to 667 sq. ft, and all of them will have ocean views. Prices will range from the $900,000’s to just over $1.1 million.

Billed as a “boutique hotel”, The Tides will offer the same luxury living as larger condo hotels, but in a more individualized and personal setting.

The Setai – South Beach

Part of the Setai Resort, the condo hotel offers eight stories of up to 1000 sq. ft. rooms, and access to all of the resort’s amenities.

The décor and attention to detail at the Setai are unparalleled. Three restaurants, 24/7 room service, state-of-the-art fitness center, pools, private yacht charters, a spa and more are available to all guests and residents. Combine the first-class amenities with spectacular views of the beach and the Miami skyline, modern art deco décor, and a first-class staff and you’ve got a home away from home.

Prices for these units will range from $800,000 to $3 million.

With over 14 years experience between the two, Paul and Carole have the knowledge and experience to help with all of your Miami real estate needs. Carole is a native of Miami Beach and Paul has made Miami home for the last 15 years. They have both seen and experienced the dramatic changes that have taken place in the Miami real estate market over the last several years. This knowledge of the real estate market makes them the perfect choice whether you are looking for a primary residence, second home, investment property or pre construction opportunities. With millions of dollars of closed transactions, they have the experience to avoid the pitfalls of buying and selling real estate. Visit hansenhomesaventura.com hansenhomesaventura.com for more information on South Beach real estate.

Q. When is a good time to refinance my mortgage?

A. The best time to refinance a mortgage is when it’s to your financial benefit by refinancing.

You may have have heard of the (2 percent rule) in mortgage refinancing. What this rule says is that you need an interest rate of at least 2 percent less than your current interest rate in order for refinancing to make sense. While this may be generally true there are times when it is not.

The way to determine whether or not a refinance makes sense for you is to look at the new monthly payment and the closing costs and fees of the new loan. Let’s say you have a mortgage of $225.000 at 7 percent but interest rates are now 6 percent. By refinancing at the lower rate you would save approximately $200 a month on your mortgage payment.

If you were to have closing costs and fees of $4000 we could easily figure out how long it would take to recover your costs. At a savings of $200 per month it would take 20 months to reach a break-even point. Once you reach the break-even point, you’ll be saving $200 per month for the life of the loan.

If you were to keep your home for another 10 years after the break-even point you would save a total of $24.000. That’s not a bad deal!

Before making the decision to refinance, you want to be sure that the money you save by refinancing is more than the money it costs to close. When you’re shopping for rate quotes be sure to get the percentage rate and the the costs for fees and closing. Most mortgage lenders will be flexible in this area. Either you pay a little more in closing costs for a lower interest rate, or you pay less in closing costs in exchange for a slightly higher interest rate. It pays to shop around.

If you liked this article and would like to read more usmortgagequest.com/mortgage-refinance-basics.htm refinance mortgage articles then stop in and take a look at what we have to offer. We have articles for refinance, mortgage, home equity, and credit scoring. And of course, you can always get a usmortgagequest.com free rate quote while you’re there. Thank you, Frank Ellis, usmortgagequest.com U.S. Mortgage Quest

This article explores the viability of a repositioning strategy of a 1031 residential commercial property in Pasadena.

Real estate investors looking to get out of an existing property may have a new option to help them get into a more viable property via a exchange into a 1031 residential commercial property in Pasadena.

In some regards, Pasadena investors have been hitting the same generic problems of repositioning out of their current over-appreciated investment property class into commercial properties. While this will remain a difficult strategy, the strategy of an exchange into a 1031 into residential commercial property in Pasadena may have one unique advantage.

A sort of commercial renaissance has been occurring in Pasadena for the past few years. The city has been injecting money into revitalization plans which, trends show, is paying off in a big way. Development of commercial and retail properties has increased steadily in areas like Old Pasadena though it has not overshadowed the quaint, small town feel of the city. Unfortunately, this means that many investors have already laid claim to much of the traditional commercial market here.

However, an increase in capital circulating in Old Pasadena has birthed new economic development and has attracted many young people with more money to spend. These young couples and families weren’t necessarily looking to rent homes in this area. However with rising gas prices, it appears they are now willing to pay higher rents to live in an environment that is close to work and has lots to offer in terms of entertainment while also hosting playgrounds and schools for children. Investors looking at this trend are seeing some increased viability in the greater cash-flow possibilities derived from this “live where you work” concept. While, many of the steals have been scooped up; if you are lucky and persistent, you still may be able to find a suitable replacement by exchanging into a gotexit.net” target=”_new 1031 residential commercial property in the Pasadena market.

As growth in the UK property market continues to confound expectations, the range of mortgages available to people has also expanded. First time buyers, for instance, look for different benefits from a mortgage than they did ten years ago. Similarly, there are more people requiring different types of mortgages, like bad credit mortgages and divorce mortgages.

One type of mortgage that is on the up is the buy-to-let mortgage, which allows property owners to purchase a second property with the intention of renting it out to tenants. In fact, buy-to-let mortgages can be an excellent way to make money, if you find the right deal to meet your specific needs. A recent article in the Guardian newspaper claimed that buy-to-let mortgages had increased by 48% in 2006, with banks, building societies and other lenders dealing out 330,000 buy-to-let mortgages worth a total of £38.4 billion.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the number represents not only a 48% rise in volume but a 57% increase in value since 2005. The total number of buy-to-let mortgages in the UK is now said to stand at a total of £94.8 billion, with buy-to-let mortgage lending representing 9% of the value of all mortgage balances in the country.

According to the CML, the number of landlords falling into arrears also continued to decrease in 2006, with the proportion of buy-to-let mortgages that were three or more months in arrears dropping from 0.64% in June 2006 to 0.59% by the end of the year. What’s more, this figure is lower than the 0.89% of loans in arrears in the UK mortgage market as a whole.

Even more encouraging is the low repossession rate of buy-to-let properties. In 2006, lenders repossessed 1142 buy-to-let properties; this represents 0.14% of all landlord mortgages, a figure lower than the 0.15% repossession rate in the entire mortgage market.

Michael Coogan, director of the CML, told the Guardian: “The buy-to-let market has performed even more strongly than the wider market over the course of 2006. With evidence from other sources of strong tenant demand, rising rents and falling void periods, buy-to-let looks set to continue to remain popular and successful.”

If you’re looking for a firstmortgage.co.uk/Buy-to-let-mortgage” target=”_blank buy-to-let mortgage, investigate carefully and you’ll find a range of banks, building societies and other financial institutions offering great deals on buy-to-let mortgages to meet your needs. And with the current buoyancy of the buy-to-let mortgage market, an investment of this kind is sure to reap untold benefits!

ezinearticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Regan Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist.