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
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.
Someone once told me recently that ”a bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don’t need it”.
Well, ain’t that the truth — getting a residential loan now-a-day is extremely difficult — only people with near perfect FICO scores with lots of cash down seem to qualify for loans. I don’t know why banks are worrying about making loans because they borrow from the Federal Reserve at 0.0 % and they are only paying depositors insulting interests — their loans are pure profit.
Banking has become only a one sided interest, theirs!
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Preferred servicing luxury homeowners in the Fort Lauderdale beach areas. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
In a “tug of war” game you need two opposite teams pulling at each end of a rope until the strongest side pulls down the entire opposite team.
Right now, Fort Lauderdale (or Southeast Florida) is witnessing a magnificent tug of war match between buyers and sellers. Both parties are pulling their end with equal force and nobody is falling down, anymore.
This is a great indication that we have reached the bottom of the real estate tumble. Prices of homes and condos have dropped significantly in the past four years down to those prices of 2002 and 2003 (depending on areas) and those sale prices have leveled off for quite a while, already. Sellers realize that they can’t let go any lower than the ground prices; that is what gives them the extra energy to pull harder of that rope.
Buyers, you know the roller coaster effetc: ater it reaches the bottom of the hill, it goes back up the next hill, again, and so on. The real estate roller coaster car is presently rifing the bottom of it’s highest hill. THAT’S WHY THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY YOUR PIECE OF SUNSHINE IN FORT LAUDERDALE BECAUSE, SOON, THE CAR WILL START CLIMBING.
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
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.
They say “There is a someone for everyone“. But, if one can’t find that special someone on his/her own, there are plenty of sophisticated and very popular Internet Dating Services like eHarmony or Zooks, or Plentyoffish.com (I’m not gonna touch that last one) and a surfeit of other lonely heart sites everywhere. Their popularity is overwhelming; that new industry is extremely lucrative.
Therefore, I am announcing the launching of my own LUXURY HOME FINDING DATING SERVICE CALLED ” THE FORT LAUDERDALE LUXURY RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION DATING SERVICE.” I specialize in matching Sellers and Buyers together to a successful relationship that will lead to a happy closing.
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Partners specializing in matching Buyers and Sellers together in the Fort Lauderdale Beaches and vicinity. Call my “Sell” phone ((54) 529-5505.
Did you know that? Lately I have been asked from frightened selling homeowner customers who approached me with this question: “Do I have to pay an additional 3.8% tax when I sell my home?” The answer is “It depends but it may only affect you in 2013, onwards.”
Naturally, leave it to our Legislators to create a cluster f…ed up puzzle that they can’t even understand themselves less explain it properly to the media so it can be reported ”incorrectly”.
It has been misinterpreted by both National Media and bloggers who called it a “real estate transaction sales tax of 3.8%” followed by examples such as this one: “If a homeowner sells his/her house for $400,000, he will have to pay $15,200 to IRS at closing.
RELAX! As explained by Chad Bordeaux, a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner residing just outside or Charlotte, NC in Lake Wylie, SC., Chad clarifies that “this provision of the healthcare bill actually does is that it creates an additional “unearned income” tax for Medicare that begins in 2013. As Washington increases its attack on the upper middle class and others it considers “rich,” it has decided to collect a little bit more of their investment income from real estate and other transactions. As such, the new provision only applies to individuals earning over $200,000 or married couples earning over $500,000.”
So, if you paid for your non-primary residence $250,000 and sold it for $350,000, you will pay $3,800 tax but if you sell your primary residence, the regular capital gain exemption will apply ($250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a married couple). However, if you sell at a capital gain exceeding those exemption amounts, the 3.8% tax will apply ONLY on the overage profit.
Take a deep breath, compose yourselves and start bombarding your Legislators, Senators, Congressmen and whomever you can write to to protest this unfair tax.
If “pro“ is for positive and “con” for negative, then, it is fair to assume that the opposite of progress is Congress.
Well, well, well. Who is cool now? Fort Lauderdale, Florida is.
The Northeast of the United States has been suffering a record breaking heatwave averaging nearly 100°F each day for the past five days with relative humidity in the low 90 %.
I am glad to report that today in Fort Lauderdale we are presently enjoying a 87°F with a 67%, according to the National Weather Bureau.
Northeners think because we average 82°F in Fort Lauderdale, FL during winter months that the temperature shoots up to 125°F during the summer months – WRONG!
Another reason why Northeners should move down here permanently.
John Bourassa, Realtor® with RE/MAX Partners servicing Fort Lauderdale Beaches and luxury residential homes. I am your HOMEFINDER, Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505.
Being a Realtor® goes way beyong taking customers out showing properties, or listing properties, or knowing the laws affecting real estate or having a good understanding of financing.
Realtors® are also neighborhood experts, the ”know-it-all“ with a wealth of resourceful information. When working with either a buyer or a seller, Realtors® are always asked where to find this and that or “Can you recommend a handyman, a painter, a plumber and electrician, a mortgage broker, a mover, a title company, a babysitter, as petsitter, a motel or hotel, a restaurant” or every imaginable recommendations or advice.
When I am asked for recommendations, it one of the highest compliments I could ever receive. It means that I have established a strong rapport of trust and confidence with my customers and friends. In return, I recommend those specialists whom I know will deliver the best services to those people because if they perform well for my customers, my customers will tell all their friends that I am not only an excellent real estate agent but that I am also exceedingly resourceful and reliable.
Referrals is what kept me alive as a real estate agent through the real estate meltdown of the past four years. I work towards “win-win” relationships with my customers.
Thank you.
John Bourassa, Real Estate Agent servicing Fort Lauderdale Beach with RE/MAX Partners. Call my “Sell” phone (954) 529-5505
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