Fort Lauderdale Real Estate | Buying a house or a condo in Fort Lauderdale | Selling your house or condo in Fort Lauderdale FL
| Follow My Blog |
Direct: (954) 529-5505
Office: (954) 396-5900
RE/MAX Preferred
2810 E Oakland Park Blvd Ste 200
Fort Lauderdale, FL
(954) 396-5900
Cash-tra-tion (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
The internet is litterally oversaturated with thousands of sites offering the same thing but the first one who comes up with a new idea or product seems to imprint their brand which will forever remain the most popular on people’s minds much stronger than any others who copy original ideas.
And that applies to Realtor.com. In 1995, the National Association of Realtors® cornered the idea of gathering every single listing from every single local Realtor® association across the nation in a real estate site named Realtor.com (1) which also allows the general public to searxch listings. Naturally, soon, everyone copied Realtor.com but even to this date, people search properties on Realtor.com before they visit any other real estate sites because Realtor.com is the most accurate and reliable real estate web presence in the United States and, perhaps, world wide.
(1) ©1995-2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and Move, Inc. All rights reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity REALTOR.com® is the official site of the National Association of REALTORS® and is operated by Move, Inc.
REALTOR® — A Registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Inquiries regarding the Code of Ethics should be directed to the board in which a REALTOR® holds membership.
If selling “for sale by owner” (commonly known as FSBO) is so easy, then, why did the Tampa Bay based FSBO dynosaur filed for bankruptcy on July 29, 2010? Sure, everyone likes to save money - paying a real estate professional broker’s fee (commission) is reprellant to sellers as it is to pay any other professional fees for services rendered (doctors, attorneys, designers, architects, etc.) but paying a professional fees has it’s advantages.
FSBO seller and buyers must realize this: “Caveat Venditor” (Seller Beware) and “Caveat Emptor” (Buyer Beware). Ther are thousands upon thousands of horror stories ever come out of do-it-yourself buying/selling properties. That’s why the FSBO approach is only taking about 10% of the real estate market share. Moreover, FSBOs are not FREE!!! Similar to Buy Owner, there are many other FSBO vendors who, for a substantial up-front fee, they will sell you a package that will guarantee a presence on local MLS and that is all. Sellers are totally on their own without any support or advise from their FSBO representants, none whatsoever. And, if a co-broker brings a bonafide buyer to the closing table, sellers have to pay at least 2.5% to 3% commission in addition to the already paid up-front contract fee. Sellers may save a few bucks but is it worth the plethora of aggravations all the way to closing?
Realtors®, on the other hand, prepare, research, work with directly with their customers, do all the legwork of showings or taking their buyers to properties but mainly, they represent their customers’ best interest throughout the entire listing to closing process. Realtors® are continuously educated, totally aware of everything related to and/or conditions affecting their neighborhood markets plus they know the laws affecting real estate (they are not attorneys). They work under reputable brokers offices and they are supervised by their immediate brokers and by their local, state and national Realtor® Associations. They inform and educate thier customers of the latest trends in the industry and they help protect their clients best interest.
Hiring a Realtor® is money well spent.
Do you remember when you were a child playing on the beach by the lake or on the ocean shore with your plastic pale and shovel trying to build a sand castle?
That was kid’s stuff. Now that you are an adult, confident, successful and financially secured, come down to Fort Lauderdale, FL and build the real thing. If you don’t have time to take on that project, I’ll help you find the land and the right contractor to materialize it for you; or, you can buy an already built dream castle or a luxurious condo to make an impressive statement from the fine and exclusive selection of superb residences on the beach or near it .
Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
John Bourassa, Realtor®
For the purpose of this essay, let’s leave out investors because srewd investors buy stricly price or numbers that make profitable sense void of all personal emotions. And, let’s not include distressed sale properties (foreclosures and short-sales) for they are really not fair game against regular market value sales.
Ironically, when that same wise business investor who buys a home for his/her own personal residence, his viewpoint of negotiating changes considerably - he becomes a typical homebuyer now encumbered with emotions that will cloud his rational thoughts.
A good residential purchase is based on the present comparable sales in one neighborhood. However, this is when diligent investigation come into play to sort out differences like why a 2,050 sq. ft. pool house, 2-car garage with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms sold $50K more that the same house 4 houses down the street? Perhaps the higher priced home was considerably upgraded inside (new kitchen, bathrooms, tile or wood flooring, etc.); or maybe it only had less obvious improvements like a new roof and windows; or maybe the lot is larger; or maybe the pool is larger with hot-tub, screen enclosed and lush landscaping with new lawn sprinkler system; or it is near some water views or further away from the busy street.
But the best deal is that one property that you’ll find where your heart will soothe your emotions and you will instantly know that the whole family will be happy and comfortable living in it. At that point, the extra few thousand dollars won’t really matter.
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Partners selling luxury homes and condos in Fort Lauderdale Beach areas.
Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505.
From the beginning of July till now, most of my real estate compadres have been complaining that business is slow. Perhaps buyers are too busy trying to keep their kids occupied for the summer, or planning a family vacation (even in this economy) or just plain relaxing on lazy suummer days by the beach. But, this week my cell phone has been ringing my battery down prematurely, each day, and I received an offer yersterday on a luxury condo on the Intracoastal I have for sale – Business is good!
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Partners selling luxury homes and condos in the Fort Lauderdale beaches and around the Intracoastal Waterways.
Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
The first half of 2010 marked the end of the devastating real estate armageddon plaguing homeowners and the world’s economy of the previous five years. Alas, “Judgement Day” came and put an end to homeowners’ suffering. Now, we are on the road to recovery and positive things are happening. The real estate market prices have plunged but seem to has leveled off in hte past few months and we are since experiencing tremendous sales activity in the Greater Fort Lauderdale and in Southeast Florida.
Buyers and sellers are at piece and reach happy, agreable settlements in the buying and selling real estate process.
Life is good, things are looking up and better days lie ahead.
John Bourassa, Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Partenrs selling luxury homes and condos in the Fort Lauderdale Beach, the Intracoastal Waterway and Downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
I received in my email today an advertisement promoting to sell homes in a 55+ UN-RETIREMENT community. I took a double read to that but, the heading was correct - it really makes sense.
There was a time when 55+ years old people were “old” but today the lower seniors are health coscious and live much longer healthy and hyper-active lives, way past the national average living expectancy (78 years old for men and 80.5 for women).
The reason for that is attributed to the fact that here in Fort Lauderdale and Southeast Florida, seniors are fueled by the constant sunshine, No more walkers or scooters. They don’t sit around on their laurels all day long waiting for the bus to take them to their doctors’ office.
They begin their days crowding the beach sidewalks for a sunrise health jog; then, they meet friends out for breakfast or at coffee shops; then, they go for swims, golfing, bicycling, work on their house gardens, go out to lunch with another set of friends, go shopping in the afternoons, or go fishing, go out to cocktail hours, dinners, dancing and finally to bed… (I am exhausted already) to start all over the next day.
So, what are you waiting for? Come to Fort Lauderdale to UN-RETIRE. If seniors get bored in Fort Lauderdale, it’s their fault.
John Bourassa, Realtor with RE/MAX Partners selling luxury homes and condos in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
Real estate in Fort Lauderdale, FL is good this summer. I don’t know how the rest of Florida or the United States are doing, except for what I read in the papers, but sale activities are still good down here mainly because prices of luxury homes and ccondos are so affordable and the interest rates on loans are excellent.
Call my “Sell” Phone (954) 529-5505
John Bourassa, Realtor with RE/MAX Partenrs selling Luxury homes and condominiums in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
The late John Denver described it best in his song “Back Home Again”.
“It’s the sweetest things I know of, just spending time with you. It’s the little tings that make a house a home like a fire softly burning, supper on the stove and it’s the light in your eyes that keeps me warm.”
Listen to the entire song: 
In Fort Lauderdale, we have houses that give you that same longing “home” feelings.
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Partners serviceing Fort Lauderdale Beach. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
- Copyright © 2010 Inside Real Estate, LLC
