Fort Lauderdale Real Estate | Buying a house or a condo in Fort Lauderdale | Selling your house or condo in Fort Lauderdale FL
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Direct: (954) 529-5505
Office: (954) 396-5900
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2810 E Oakland Park Blvd Ste 200
Fort Lauderdale, FL
(954) 396-5900
Take a 10 minutes break, relax and listen to the Obama-Lauer Kick-Ass Rhapsody.
What’s that got to do with real estate? A lot because it could drastically affect property values for South West Florida, Mississippi, Lousiana and maybe Texas coastline. Who cares what political party you side for – at his point, day 59 of this oil spill mess, radical measures need to be implemented to conceal this dire Gulf calamity - go kick-ass, Obama.
Trying to sell your house in this market, you’ve hired the best Realtor® in your neighborhood and six month later, your house still hasn’t sold.
Oh Shit! What next?
There are several alternatives that many people revert to in hopes that maybe spiritual intervention may help boost the sale of their homes.
When all fails you can always seek a fortune teller, have your tarot cards read, make voo-doo dolls of your neighbors and stick pins in them or just pray to the Allmighty for assistance.
There is, however, a very popular mystical method consisting of burying the ol’ St. Joe (Saint Josep) statue in the yard of the house you are trying to sell and it is supposed to bring you good luck and fast results.
Lately, I have investigated that myth and interviewed a few people who believe in that miracoulous practice but it is uncertain about how it really works: One common denominator in those stories is that every one agrees that the statue must be buried inthe ground but some say the statue needs to be buried head down facing the street; some say the same thing but facing the house or on a strategic corner of the property; some say the head must be sticking out looking at the house (I have only seen some idiot dads bury themselves like that in the sand at the beach, though). But many homeowner swear that it works – only if you are Catholic, of course – if you are a non-Catholic and you have tried that method of desparation and it works, it’s a good owmen and you’d better convert to Catholicism immediately.
The other very popular method is based on the Chinese Spiritual Order Feng Shui. It is believed that everything must have a charismatic spiritual order to bring perfect balance with our lives and with our surroundings. Homes, for instance, arranging furniture a certain way will create harmonyand happiness in that house. Placing flowers and burning incense in strategic areas in a house will bring good luck and ward off negative spirits. And so on…
But, the very best way to sell your home quickly is to price it right to begin with.
John Bourassa, Realtor®-Associate with RE/MAX Partners selling Fort Lauderdale, FL, Fort Lauderdale Beach, The Landings, Imperial Point, Coral Ridge, Poinsettia Heights, Wilton manors, Victoria Park, Las Olas area and Downtown Fort Lauderdale, the Seven Isles and Harbour Beach.
Often times home buyers are excited about purchasing a house, yet, they are also insecure. When they like an area, they explore to study that neighborhood hopefully to see someone out in the front lawn or walking and ask those persons questions.
Ironically, the neighbors you know also know you and when those neighbors are probed by strangers, somehow, neighbors are compelled to tell everything they know about their neighbors.
Two weeks ago, I worked with a middle-aged couple down from Atlanta for a few days scouting to buy a house in Fort Lauderdale. After two days exploring different locales, one house finally flirted with their eyes. Instantly I could see that my buyers felt so happy in that house. I thought for sure we were going right back to my office to write an offer but, instead, the couple said “We’ll think on it overnight”.
As it turned out, the couple went back on their own to invstigate the neighborhood where that beautiful house stood. Three houses down across from the house they saw a younger man washing his car in his driveway with his two pre-teen children playfully helping him. The young man seemed trusting. My buyers stopped, rolled down their car window and began asking questions about the neighborhood but leading toward specific questions on the house they liked.
The young man answered the questions as if he were testifying before a grand jury. That young father apparently was not happy with the neighborhood plus he gave a low-down report on a couple of annoying neighbors. Finally, he disclosed a shcoking truth about the house my buyers were inquiring about – the house has a severe leaking roof problem.
Later that evening, my buyers called me, saddened. They decided against not only buying that house but also not to buy in that neighborhood.
They drove back to Atlanta the next day with a promise they will get back with me soon…
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Partners servicing Fort Lauderdale Beach, Coral Ridge, The Landings, Harbour Beach, The Seven Isles, Victoria Park, Poinsettia Heights, Downtown Fort Lauderdale and Las Olas area, Wilton Manors and vicinity. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505.
Abbott and Costtello (I am giving my age away, here) mastered this immortal perplexed verbal confusion: Who is on First?
Since man discovered how to make something useful to share with others, that creation was immediately copied with improvements [or not necessarily with improvements] by others. Thus, begat competition, then marketing and later market placing . But how does one achieve to attatin first place, top spot, top billing or that coveted place?
Naturally, the product must excel with its competitors [but, also, not necessarily]. Advertising was developed and evolved to create an image of excellence, superiority, distinction, quality and all possible adjectives advertisers could find to make believe that the product being advertise is the best. So now, everyone who is advertising is the best at what they represent. But it is impossible for everyone in the same industry be the NO.1.
In real estate, anywhere, including Fort Lauderdale, FL. all brokers or agents advertise mission statements with superlatives. The large real estate franchises advertise nationally projecting that image of being the best and “only we ca do ….”
Well, one way to measure success is by the financial power of that entity – for salesmen, success is mostly measured by production income. In that case, I must admit that I don’t rank even in the top 10 producers among Fort Lauderdale Realtors® but I certainly place in the top 20% of the apex line. What I do nknow, though, is that I surely want to earn a very good income to allow me a very good and secured living (who doesn’t?) but I am more interested in taking a lesser volume work load so I can give a better service to my customers.
I amy not be the most productive Realtor® in town but I am damn good at what I do. I am a Realtor®-Associate with RE/MAX Partners. Call my “Sell’ Phone (954) 529-5505.
In Florida, property taxes are levied by each county and their calculation formulas vary from one county to another. But, what that really boils down to is no matter what formula each county uses, the end result is everybody pays about the same for an equal valued property: in one county a homeowner pays one dollar bill, in another county a property owner pays four quarters, the next county a proprietor pays ten dimes, and so forth (I am not going to explain exactly how the Broward County property taxes are levied today – That’s for another blog, soon).
However, in Broward County and in Fort Lauderdale, property values have dropped considerably in the past four years and along with it a downward correction of our property taxes. Homeowners who bought at the height of the real estate market were paying property taxes through thet noze back in 2006-2007 but have been enjoying a decrese each year since 2006, as I have.
How long will property taxes continue to decrease? I don’t know but it seems that we have reached a real estate price stabilization which equally stabilizes property taxes until something drastic happens to real estate either way. However, that is not to say that Florida Counties who are running into deficits will not impose tax increases by simply augmenting the milleaqge rate (milleage rate is an adjustable factor or index used to calculate property taxes).
For more information concerning Broward County Property Taxes, visit the Broward County Property Appraiser’s website www.bcpa.net or call me on my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505.
Florida is a Spanish term for “Flowery Easter”. It’s Southern Region lies in a marvelous subtropical climate - everything grows in abundance down here. Fort Lauderdale has a flora hosting a diversity of flowers and plants that were imported from all over the world since Ponce De Léon discovered Florida in April of 1513.
On my way back home from the gym this morning on a perfect bright and sunny Southeast Florida day with only a few white puffy clouds floating at a distant horizon, I took a different route through my Coral Ridge neighborhood. The outside temperature reading in my car was 78ºF and the realtive humidity was low for this time of the year. Most of the streets in Coral Ridge are covered over with tree tops that are nearly touching each other that makes always for a pleasant drive through those perky green canopies allowing rays of sunshine penetrating through here and there. This is the ideal Memorial Day holiday for families to go out pick-nicking in the parks or on the beach.
Then, I saw the that Red Soldier (see picture above).
I can’t quite explain why but as I passed that Royal Poinciana tree it connected with this day – this Memorial Day. I stopped in the middle of the street, put my car in reverse and slowly admired its magnificence while rolling back. Being a Realtor®, I always carry my digital camera in my car. I snapped a few shots. The flamboyant tree reminded me of an old soldier healed from many battle wounds still proudly standing on guard in front of that house specially donning his splendid fiery uniform in hommage of this remembrance day.
To all the valiants who have fought and are still fighting to preserve world piece and liberty and to all the braves who have died to preserve our freedom, my freedom, I SALUTE YOU!
PS: Yes, that house with the radiant sentinel tree is for sale. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505.
John Bourassa, Realtor®, RE/MAX Partners, Fort Lauderdale Florida facilitator of real estate transactions.
I could never understand why attorneys “practice” law. I always thought that singers, entertainers, ball players, etc. practice to perfect their skills before a performance. Do attorneys practice law so they will eventually get it right when in court?
However, performing real estate duties are becoming more and more law oriented – less selling and more worrying about keeping up with a plethora of new laws and regulations - maybe, soon, Realtors® will probably have to become para-legals first or maybe have a full law degree before they can sell or “practice real estate” (P/S: that is not true for now and, to my knowledge, it is not in legislation for study but I only guess that it would not surprise me if that were to happen in a near future).
The laws affecting real estate are constantly changing or morphing to more complicate and intricate stuctures. Almost every day something new is happening in real estate that somehow screws the public. Then, lawsuits fly all over the places and, before we know it, another paragraph is added to local or state real estate contracts.
I talk with my dad, who is 82, about two to three times a week about everything or nothing. My dad often reminds me when he and mom bought their first house back in 1947; a Sale and Purchase Contract was only 1.5 pages with no earnest money down, a man’s word, only one signature and a handshake. Also back then, when buying a car, the dealer would let people take a car home for the weekend and settle on the paperwork the next week. Or many local grocery and hardware stores operated on I.O.U. “Those days are long gone” dad sadly muttered. Now-a-day, contracts consist on an average of 25 pages or more with addendum, disclosures, release of harm, and etc. and each page must either be initialed, or signed, or witnessed or all of the above. And if any of the parties involved in a transaction makes a verbal promise to so something and don’t perform on his/her words, “who cares?” because it wasn’t in writing, signed, sealed and witnessed…
Since those days of honor, have people in our society evloved to become so untrustworthy, or have attorneys become smarter, or both?
Unfortunately, problemation is more often a deliberate endeavor created by only a small percentage of people who, by their deceitful agenda, make it bad and difficult for the majority of the good and honest consumers [who are the victims] when engaging not only in real estate but in all industries.
On the other hand, I am highly grateful that there are government agencies, associations and organizations (local, State and Federal) who protect consumers by imposing regulations, laws and continuous education for all persons who represent every industry servicing our Nation and other world countries. [Pertaining to real estate, it is regulated and overseen by state agencies like the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC), the Department of Business and Professional Regulations (DBPR), and by each state Association of Realtors® under the umbrella of the National Associationof Realtors® (NAR) all of whom uphold mandatory continuous education with "core law" and "ethics", all for the benifit of protecting the public.]
My name is John Bourassa and I am proud to be a Realtor®. I don’t have one of those cliché goodie-two-shoes mission statements but for all my clients, I give them a just, dedicated and honest representation. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
Remember the 1993 movie Fallen Down with Michael Douglas when he totally lost it and went on a rampage? He goes to a fast food restaurant, looks up the pictured menu above the ordering counter, orders a burger, gets the burger and snaps. He calls the restaurant manager and tells him that he wants a burger that looks like the one on the picture (about 10″ tall, plump and juicy with all the dressing on it) but what he gets, instead, is a burger about 3/4 of an inch flat and the sandwich looks dry.
Those of you who are searching the Internet for properties and read the listing property descriptions, those descriptions are designed to embelish properties from what they really are. Here are some clues:
Usually, the reason why some listings are without pictures is because properties are sometime embarrassing to display. However, lately, there are plenty of free image/picture enhancing software that can make a shack look like a gorgeous house and many agents are beginning to to use those programs. Moreover, properties that have been substantially upgraded, listing agents proudly put tons of pictures on the MLS with virtual tours and they write lenghty, itemized descriptions revealing intricate details of appointments of those properties like: Handsomely or newly upgraded kitchen with imported Italian Snaidero kitchen cabinets, Miele Stainless Steel appliances, 24″ Marble tile flooring throughout the main living areas and rich real cherry wood flooring in bedrooms. Bathrooms have been equally upgraded with Villeroy and Boch bathroom porcelain sinks. And more…
Only upon physically touring properties one can determine if a proeprty truly has the best location, the right stuff and one definitely know when views are awesome, awesomer and awesomest….
John Bourassa, Realtor® in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Pompano Beach, Broward County, Coral Ridge, The Landings, Galt Ocean Mile, Seven Isles, Harbour Beach, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Poinsettia Heights, Victoria Park, Wilton Manors, Palm Aire, - Luxury Homes and Luxury Condominiums, Townhouses, Duplexes
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Partners, Fort Lauderdale, Florida specializing in luxury beachfront condominiums and homes. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505.
On Florida coalstlines, we are selling paradise real estate; we are selling sunshine, ocean and warm sandy beaches, lots of them. But, there is a premium for that demand and more so in South East Florida. Everybody has heard before the “big 3″ of real estate: ”location, location and location.” But here in Fiorida, along its coastlines, it is more than locations, it is “views, views, and views“.
From Palm Beach all the way down to Key West, that part of heaven is called the Gold Coast .
When potential buyers come down to South Florida looking to buy properties, everyone asks to see ocean properties smack on the beach or as close to it as possible, even those buyers who know they can’t afford to buy on the beach but they ask, anyway, just in hope….. There are only less than 400 houses (lets call them what they really are, mansions) that are standing directly on the beach, in that long span of coastline, the rest are condomins. Those sand palaces are into millions of dollars. The average middle to upper middle class affluency of people understand that if they want a part of an affordable beach, they have to buy into condominiums. Thus, begins another price war fostered not only by locations but also for better to best views in buildings. In a condominium, a South East corner unit ( the unit closest to the ocean) will command anywhere from $150,000 up to $500,000 + more than its counterpart unit on the West side of that building. Likely, a unit on the 2nd floor West side facing the parking lot and A1A will also be worth much less than the same unit layout and square footage above it and so on.
As well, have many other bodies of water that are equally in top demand like properties adjoining the Intracoastal Waterways. Hundreds of houses and condos are bordering its banks. The pricing formula is the same as those on teh beach - the closer to its water, the more expensive the property and for condos, the best location and views in those buildings command better prices.
Fort Lauderdale is called “The Venice of America” designed for boaters with its extensive deepwater canal system connecting to the Intracoastal and to the open ocean. Properties on canals of no-fixed bridges are much pricier than properties that are on canals connecting to the Intracoastal with at least 1 to many fixed bridges limiting homeowners to own small boats, being much farther West to the ocean (takes long time to get to the ocean) and boaters must calculate tides to go out and back.
Moreover, South Est Florida is greatly appealing to golf lovers. For that, there are dozens of magnificent, echo friendly, luscious golf courses from the very exclusive to public courses. Again, those homes built on the perimeter of golf courses with backyards looking directly and unobstructed to fairways or greens are more desirable and, therefore, more expensive.
I am your homefinder for sunshine properties with the best locations and views. Call me, John Bourassa, Realtor® on my “Sell” phone (954)-529-5505
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