Miamism» Real Estate Stories

Effective and unlike most Miami Beach Realtors

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:41:39 +0000

Nothing like a client selling our services for us! We just love loyal customers that keep spreading the good word about the way we handle Miami Beach Real Estate. Looking back at difficult transactions and the obstacles we have to go through to get things accomplished is all worth while when you get an email like this:

I’ve copied real estate agent Rick Garcia who was a tremendous help with my condo. He’s effective and unlike most Realtors who will tell you anything just to get the listing, he is realistic and straightforward. I know the Miami market is still depressed, but if you are open to his ideas and pricing, then he will make every effort to get it sold or leased.

THAT’s what I’m talking about!! We tell you time and time again that we don’t sugar-coat information, we don’t paint pretty pictures of current real estate conditions and we tell it like it is. It’s the number one reason our clients recommend us and come back again and again.

We are dedicated to your success, whether buying or selling Miami Beach homes or condos and will go above and beyond so you keep coming back for more.

Thanks Chris for the awesome referral, totally made our day!

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Home Sellers Can’t Handle The Truth

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:45:44 +0000

If you are in the market to sell your Miami Beach home, how do you interview Miami Beach Realtors? What questions do you ask and ultimately, what’s the most important factor when choosing a Realtor?

When we asked random people what qualities are important when choosing a Miami Beach Realtor, the response was: Ethical, Loyal, Truthful, Professional, Aggressive, and Experienced.

But when we ask home sellers how they choose their Realtor, it comes down to one single factor: PRICE.

Here are different scenarios we wanted to present. In the 3 scenarios, sellers interview 3 well known Realtors in their area who appear in local advertising and seem to have a wide array of listings.

FIRST SCENARIO

Agent 1 tells them the truth about miami beach real estate market and how they will sell the home for a lot less than they had planned.
Agent 2 tells them they will list the property at whatever price they think is right and will recommend reductions as time progresses.
Agent 3 tells the buyers that they can get $200,000 more than what Agent 1 said.

What surprises us is that 9 times out of 10, the sellers will choose agent number 3 – even if that agent is not being realistic, even if that agent will NEVER achieve their goal. The house ends up sitting on the market for months, it may have a couple of contracts that fall apart because the house simply will not appraise, and the house will end up selling bellow Agent 1’s price.

We have seen this happen so many times that we just roll our eyes and cannot believe that people can be that naïve. We realize that being ethical and truthful is not important to a lot of sellers.

SECOND SCENARIO

Agent 1 tells them that they should offer a higher commission to cooperating agents to have more exposure and a better chance of selling.
Agent 2 says commission makes no difference and they should list at the standard.
Agent 3 explains how they have tons of buyers, they only show their own listings and if they sell the property themselves, they will give a major discount on the commission.

Again, 9 out of 10 times, sellers will choose Agent 3. What they don’t realize is that because agent 3 only pushes their listings, other agents are not interested in showing Agent 3’s listings. Because Agent 3 is committed to making both sides of the deal, he is representing neither the seller’s nor the buyer’s best interest, but is only interested in the mighty dollar and volume sales. Those sellers will reduce the chances of selling their house in a buyer’s market, because they are limiting their market.

Because PRICE is once again at the top of the “qualifications list”, sellers fail to see the negative aspect of listing with Agent 3.

THIRD SCENARIO

Agent 1 explains that over 85% of buyers start their search in the Internet and it is important to Google the Realtor’s name to see their search ranking.
Agent 2 sees no advantage in on-line advertising because real estate is “local”.
Agent 3 is in every local publication possible, his face appears in the local chamber of commerce, has a beautiful magazine ad, appears in the local paper and promises that the listing will appear in all those print-ads and local publications…….he has no Internet presence.

9 out of 10 times, sellers will again choose agent 3. Did you know that all those local print ads are good for getting listings? A study was done by the National Association of Realtors that local print ads and publications are recommended because they “expose” the Realtor…..not the listing…….it helps REALTORS!

Take off the blind fold!

So there you have it– a listing agent chosen because he suggests the highest price (not being truthful), he pushes his own listings to his buyers and reduces commission and on top of that produces beautiful print ads that don’t sell listings.

We are seeing buyers educating themselves on the real estate market, on advertising, on local trends. We see buyers going in depth when choosing an agent to represent their best interest, so why aren’t sellers doing the same thing?

If you are a seller, do your homework, check your options, and don’t fall in the PRICE trap. We ALL want to get the most money possible in the least amount of time (that’s a no brainer). Google the Realtor, see what their Internet Presence is like, ask particular questions on marketing your individual property. Ask about latest advertising tools like video and blogging, how many different tools do they use? Make sure your interests are well represented.

You want the truth?….you can’t handle the truth!

**This post was originally published on November 4th, 2007 and works just as well today**

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Did you default on your pre-construction purchase?

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:56:47 +0000

It’s amazing to me that we still get calls from people that bought Miami Beach condos in pre-construction, possibly in 2004 or 2005, and are still trying to work out deals with developers and encountering little to no cooperation. Our first recommendation is to hire an attorney, there are many that have been successful helping buyers get deposits back, or at least applying those deposits to purchase different condo units.

We are not attorneys and we are not accountants, but consulting with professionals will educate you regarding real estate contract rescissions and deposit recovery statutes. You may have the opportunity to rescind your contract prior to closing and in many cases recover all or most of your deposit. When you do communicate with the developer, make sure you get everything in writing! Also know that if you have lost a deposit, it may be tax deductible – hence the reason consulting with an accountant is a smart move.

Furthermore, you may be entitled to a part of that deposit according to Florida Law even if you defaulted on the closing!

Why am I writing about this now? We recently wrote about a Miami Beach condo called Mei – it’s funny how we can change our perspective on a great condo project when we see customers mistreated and we see a total lack of respect and flexibility from the developer. Of course Miami Real Estate gets a bad rap, you have hundreds of people who are getting little to no help regarding their options and many developers are turning their back on them and offering no help whatsoever. In the case of Mei, these foreign buyers put a nice chunk of change as a down payment and never closed, with the hopes that part of their deposit could be applied to a lower priced unit in the same building. After months of back and forth, they were told that their deposit money was used for construction and the only way to apply it to another unit of less value, was to apply pre-construction prices which are in excess of $100,000 from current prices. To top it off, here’s the unedited email we received from the broker yesterday,

the only relavent statement at this time is

the 25% of the original deposit is their right to have returned.

Nothing else is of any importance. Today is today. Their Statutory

rights to a portion of their original deposit are granted by law.

Our prices today are firm and non-negotiable!

So what is the client’s option??? Even if they were to hire an attorney and get anything accomplished, wouldn’t it leave a sour taste in their mouth about the whole experience? I say walk and hire that attorney to get you the most money possible from that deposit. You may be entitled to more than the 25% (but remember I’m not an attorney).

There are plenty of condo projects in Miami Beach that are flexible and are willing to work with willing and able buyers. I find it appalling that some developers are turning a blind eye at today’s real estate market conditions and are using deposit leverage as a trap.

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Help! My House has Termites!

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:12:43 +0000

Yesterday I posted this photograph on our photo-blog as well as Twitter and Facebook and received all kinds of horrific responses as if Termites were the end of the world. You would be amazed at the amount of people that run from a property if they hear it has termites and I’m here to try to clear some myths.

First let me say that if you are buying a house anywhere in Miami or Miami Beach, it is very common to find evidence of termites. Termites thrive in humid climates and Miami = humid capital of the world which means EXPECT TERMITES! The real question for you as a buyer or even a home owner should be if there are live termites and second, how bad is the damage they have caused (if any). Most of the time, even if you find evidence of live termites (like the photo of the fresh droppings above), it doesn’t mean there is major damage – that’s why a good, reputable building inspector is not just necessary, but crucial.

A lot of building inspectors are not equipped with in-depth knowledge about termites, so when all else fails, call a licensed termite company directly to verify information from building inspectors – if you want to read a funny story about a building inspector who gave scary and funny information about subterranean termites, please read Miami Shores Inspection Comedy. Just be smart about interpreting findings and don’t be afraid to double check “experts” opinions (I know it can be frustrating, but a lot of these industries are not regulated).

Here’s the 411 from Guarantee Floridian:

Whenever a wood-destroying organism inspection is to be put in writing, the State Form 1145 must be used and certain guidelines must be followed. According to Florida Statutes under Section 482 only pest control companies that are licensed in the category of termite are permitted to issue Form 1145/Wood Destroying Organism Reports. These reports are sometimes referred to as “Termite Inspection Reports” but this is misleading. According to the State, Wood destroying organism means arthropod or plant life which damages and can re-infest wood in a structure, namely termites, powder post beetles, and old house borers, and wood decaying fungi. Banks and lenders usually require a wood destroying organism report to be completed before they issue a mortgage.

One other thing to remember is that even if you buy a home that is termite free, it doesn’t mean it will remain that way forever. It’s good to keep a termite warranty that usually costs only a few hundred dollars per year and then will cover re-inspections and actual treatment if needed.

Hope the myths are covered and fears gone – don’t be afraid to hear that your Miami Beach home has termites, expect it and be ready to address the issues.

By the way….we have a new Miamism Facebook Page – tell us how we’re doing and stay on top of the conversation:

Miamism.com |

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So you inherited a property in Miami, now what?

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:38:41 +0000

Looking into our real estate sales in the past few years Rick and I realized that a lot of these have been estates. People like you that contact us because they inherited a property in Miami Beach, want to sell it and don’t know where to start.

Selling an estate is not easy, the properties are usually in disrepair and not in very good condition, they need to be emptied, decluttered and basic deferred maintenance issues resolved. The idea is for you to get top dollar for your property and need to make sure the house is in good showing condition and can stand strong against competing listings.

Needless to say, Team Miamism coordinates everything for you – we get you quotes from contractors, donate furniture or call antique dealers for you, supervise the jobs and make sure these are completed before you pay and pretty much act as a middle-man of sorts for you if you are not local.

Here’s what some of our absentee clients have to say about us:

I wanted to take a few minutes to express to you how very grateful I am to you for all you did to sell my Mother’s home in Miami Shores.

Your dedication, professionalism and diligence went way beyond the call of duty.   You did everything possible, in a very distressed real estate environment, to market our property and make sure it had a tremendous amount of exposure.

You spent endless hours reviewing and discussing contracts with me.   No question or concern was too small for you to go over with me.   You were both very available 24/7!!

Besides your real estate expertise and credentials you bring a wealth of knowledge in architecture, building, zoning etc., which was extremely valuable.

Please know how very grateful I am to both of you for selling my Mom’s home and making the experience such a positive one.   You are to be highly commended.

I would most highly recommend you both to anyone needing a Realtor.

Pete Ryan

Rick and Ines, you were simply great! You worked as hard as anyone I have ever dealt with. Every lead was pursued. You had my best interest in mind every step of the way. You guided me, counseled me and calmed me! You returned every call and called or emailed on your own to give me news and updates.

Every showing of my property was given your personal attention and highest priority. Conducting business from out of state you showed me many courtesies and often took care of details I could not address from afar. I am so glad I was referred to you. Even in the midst of a very difficult real estate market you performed admirable. Thank you,

M. Davis

If you recently inherited a property and want us to take a look, just call us. I personally have a great time with estate sales – my architectural expertise kicks in and our clients can’t be any happier. Win Win for everyone.

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Is your Realtor a Bully?

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:16:57 +0000

Do you know if the Miami Realtor you hired is a bully? Have you even thought that this could be possible? Maybe you are aware of it and think it could be advantageous “if they are bullies, it could mean that they will know how to negotiate a deal and work for my best interest!” – think again

Realtor Bullies only care about themselves, their bottom dollar, how much inventory they have and what their quotas are. They don’t care about you and your property, quite the contrary, they will guide traffic to other listings of theirs if they think it will benefit them more. They won’t care about business ethic and they will put up quite a front.

These bullies are all around us, doing business for years and no one reports them to the ethics commission because it can hurt you more in the long run. They cheat other agents from their commissions, they cheat clients from making more money and they are around to stay.

The stories I hear at the Miami Shores Tot Lot sometimes make me cringe. I always ask people why they didn’t take their time to report them to the board and it’s always the same answer – “we moved on and did not want to bother with it.” We’ve experienced their tactics first hand and it is always so disheartening but makes total sense why the real estate industry has such a bad reputation.

We were recently hired by a couple that told us they hated Realtors and would speed up at an intersection if they knew the person crossing the street was a Realtor….OUCH!! We told them not all in the industry were bad and we would prove it. Yesterday we received a note saying: “We are really grateful for everything you’ve done and you were right, not all Realtors are the same”.

So please don’t be tricked into hiring a REALTOR BULLY – do your homework, ask around and make sure you know how they handle business – you may be surprised how many of them are out there.

POSTCRIPT: almost forgot the most important part – why should you ultimately avoid Realtor Bullies? Because people avoid bullies like they do the plague. Other agents will not want to show their properties, or subject their clients to their badgering, will not want to do business with them and will avoid dealing with them – not good if you are trying to sell or buy a property….just food for thought.

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Appraisals kill deals

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:11:21 +0000

Miami Beach Real Estate circumstances change on a regular basis and it’s good to stay informed, but almost impossible to stay on top of trends unless you are knee deep in the business. That’s our job here at Miamism, to let you know what’s going on in order to prepare you for certain scenarios and help you become a better informed consumer.

You may have heard both Realtors and Mortgage brokers complain about appraisals and how these are killing so many Miami Beach real estate deals lately. It used to be that a home seller could pay for an appraisal to get a better idea of how to price their property but that is no longer the case – you can expect an appraisal prepared by a bank for financing purposes to be more conservative. (please read You think your home is worth how much?)

It’s gotten to a point where 2 different appraisers chosen by the same bank and looking at the same exact property, can arrive at totally different figures. How could that be possible if appraisers should all follow the same guidelines?

According to Florida Real Estate Principles “Appraising is considered to be an art, not a science, although the appraisal process involves mathematical calculations, appraisers also use their own judgement when appraising real property” – so of course it helps if the appraiser knows the area they are working in and the idiosyncrasies associated with each market, but this is very seldom the case.

We recently represented a buyer and executed a contract on a property – both buyer and seller agreed on a price and were waiting on bank’s appraisal to finalize financing. The deal fell apart because the appraisal came in way below the agreed upon price. We knew we were in trouble when the appraiser called us three times to guide him to the property because he was lost and when he finally arrived we noticed his license plate was from none other than Minnesota (no offence to my dear friend Teresa Boardman) – but we can agree that Miami Beach real estate is totally different than St. Paul’s.

This appraiser used properties that were far from being comparables, from areas that made no sense and property types that were beyond absurd. Although we requested an appraisal review, this process was out of our control and we could not salvage the deal. One week later the listing agent and owner accepted a deal that was 10% lower than our client’s offer, went through the same process, but in that case, the appraisal came in higher than our original offer. So how can 2 appraisers come up with a value of a property with over a 20% disparity? Talk about a loss loss situation for both our buyer and the seller – the only one that came out benefiting from the disparity was the final buyer who got a great deal because of a major flaw in the financing sector.

In our opinion, a few years back, appraisals were coming in artificially high. In today’s market, appraisals are coming in artificially low. We see sellers today pulling their properties off the market because of appraisal issues, we also see a lot of frustrated buyers and we see these issues only getting worse. Some people claim that these matters are natural ways for markets to correct themselves, we just shake our heads and are ready to address problems on a one by one basis and prepare you for worst case scenarios. It used to be that a property was ultimately worth what a buyer was willing to pay and a seller willing to accept…recently, we question the validity of that phrase.

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The Terrifying Truth about Mold

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:05:35 +0000

So the Miami Beach home you just bought has mold – is it the end of the world?

The mold issue here in South Florida has almost become a “trendy” topic – to such extremes that building inspectors have all kinds of special gadgets now to reinforce the fact that all homes have mold. We always warn our clients that Miami’s climate is extremely humid and not unusual to hear the weather man on TV announce that we are at 100% humidity!

Always expect a house to have some mold. Did you read that correctly? ALWAYS expect a house to have mold. It’s good to know what the standards are and to keep in mind that empty homes without air conditioning will have a higher percentage of mold just because of common sense. Getting rid of mold will include setting on the air conditioning to cold temperatures, sometimes even buying or renting dehumidifiers and if you are very concerned, hiring a mold remediation company.

I am concerned however when mold is identified as “toxic” – sometimes remediation companies cannot address tough toxic mold issues.

It’s always good to get an expert’s opinion, but make sure you check credentials, a lot of so called “mold experts” are just taking advantage of the trend and are not very proficient in the subject. A lot of inspection companies will even charge you an extra fee to do a more extensive mold study, but that doesn’t necessarily identify the problem, just gives you a lot of data to interpret – if you are really concerned, go on-line and do some research – that way you won’t have to take anyone’s word for it.

An educated consumer is our best client

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Buyers and Sellers – don’t be clueless

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:55:48 +0000

Our job as your Realtors is not only to make sure a transaction goes smoothly and to communicate the process to you, our real estate buyers and sellers. It is also to educate you about market conditions and set the right expectations with regards to your sale or purchase of Miami Beach Real Estate.

The first thing you need to know and we cannot assume you know is that there is a lot of paperwork involved in a Florida Real Estate Transaction. Some of our European and Canadian clients are often in awe of the amount of bureaucracy involved in a real estate deal. Unfortunately, the amount of paperwork is out of our control, but we make sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed – and coordinate with attorneys, title companies, inspectors, appraisers, mortgage brokers, cities and any other parties involved.

Here is some paperwork you can expect when receiving or submitting an offer for a property in Miami and Miami Beach – this is to prevent shock when you get 15 pages + of documents:

The actual body of an offer is usually written on a FAR-9 or a FAR “as-is” contract (generally 10 pages or so)

Brokerage Relationshiop Disclosure (type of representation of Realtor and their client)

Property Disclosure Statements (disclosing condition of property and any relevant work and/or problems)

Lead based paint disclosure (if property was built before 1978)

any additional addenda with different terms (i.e. seller’s contributions, contingencies, financing,etc.)

We know our stuff! So if you are curious about any of these documents, or the process, you know how to reach us.

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Absentee owners at ease

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:00:50 +0000

We have several listings from sellers that do not live in Miami. Some of them live outside the country, some of them outside of Florida. What these sellers have in common is that they hired us because they felt confident and sure that we would handle the sale of their Miami Beach real estate property to their complete satisfaction.

One of our customers who lives in a different state and whose property just went under contract, expressed that he was nervous about the whole transaction and did not know what to do. This particular seller thought he needed to be present during all the steps and was afraid he would not be able to sell the property because of lack of time. By communicating with him on a regular basis, he is now confident that the sale of his property is in good hands.

Once these properties are under contract there are steps that must be taken to make sure the transactions go smoothly to keep our absentee owners at ease.

1. Submitting and negotiating an offer: When we first receive an offer, we make sure that all addenda are included, signed and complete before we submit these to the seller. This ensures that all documentation is appropriately filled out and signed by all parties to avoid problems and unnecessary delays. It is surprising to see how many times we receive incomplete offers because other agents are not aware that certain addenda are required by law.

2. Making property available for appraisals, inspections, surveys and for any other contractual requirements. We are always available to open these properties to facilitate the process for all parties.

3. Managing the transaction to make sure all deadlines are met – including deposits, financing contingencies and commitment letters, inspection periods and closing dates.

4. We are in constant communication with all parties including Loan Officers, Condo or Homeowner Associations, Title Companies and/or attorneys to make sure there are no unexpected problems with the transaction. We communicate with our customers regularly to keep them in the loop.

We let our absentee customers know that it is not always necessary to be present at the closing, since traveling may be difficult and not convenient for them. A lot of them prefer “mail away closings” where they don’t have to leave their place of residence and all paperwork is sent directly to them.

In this age of technology, it is all about convenience and peace of mind. Our customers are always confident that they are being taken care of and they are in good hands. It feels great to have earned that trust.

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Miamism» Real Estate Stories

Effective and unlike most Miami Beach Realtors

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Home Sellers Can’t Handle The Truth

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