Weston: Limited options for family homes under $500,000

Weston: Limited options for family homes under $500,000

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/17/2851944/weston-limited-options-for-family.html#storylink=cpy

It may be about as far you can get from the beach in Broward, but Weston — city of master-planned communities, top-rated schools and low crime rates — has long been a pricey bauble in the region’s real estate portfolio. So when we wanted to find a large house with lots of amenities — five bedrooms, three baths, pool, waterfront view (well we can fantasize), roomy garage and gleaming kitchen for $500,000 — we headed to Weston and its seemingly endless developments of lushly landscaped homes. The endless part turned out to be an exaggeration. Like many places in South Florida, Weston’s inventory is way down. The city only had 245 single-family homes for sale as of last week and 11 of those were five-bedroom homes under $500,000. We opened our pocket a little more and found 37 under $600,000. If your budget is under $300,000 there were 28 choices. A Bloomberg Businessweek survey identifying the markets with the biggest gains and losses in home value, ranked Weston the best-performing city since President Obama took office. The median home value in the city has risen 15.1 percent to $280,000 from February 2009 to August 2011 — in comparison, the U.S. median home value fell by 9.9 percent over the same period, according to the survey. “Weston has the infrastructure people want,” says Dean Sklar, a real estate agent and former golf pro who left New Jersey for Weston because he “fell in love” with the city. He and his wife Rose specialize in Weston sales for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. “The slogan here is ‘It’s all here in your hometown,’ and it’s true.” We asked the Sklars to help us find a sampling of three homes for $500,000. We wound up looking at four — two for under $500,000 and two for over $500,000; only one had five bedrooms. While it was the priciest we saw, the $589,000 on Windward Way featured all the bells and whistles for living the Weston dream. Five good-size bedrooms, three bathrooms on a lovely corner lot, making it our favorite. It also has a heated pool (though not screened in, which might deter some buyers), a lake view, three-car garage, new appliances and lots of crown molding. “Windward, in the height of the market, would have gone in the $800,000 range,” says agent Rose Sklar. A $549,000 Country Isles Manor home we saw was a close second. While it had four bedrooms, it featured a screened-in pool and lake view. The options we saw for less than $400,000 were just on smaller lots in close proximity to their neighbors and didn’t have pools. “Weston has always been desirable — now it’s become more affordable,” said Chip Rowand, assistant manager at Keyes’ Weston office. Houses are getting back to 2003-2004 pricing in Weston, “but we’re not up to pre-recession prices,” says Henrick Hesselman, a real estate agent focusing on Weston for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. Given the low interest rates, “demand is there,” but there aren’t enough houses,” says JM Padron, who owns the RE/MAX franchise in Weston. “Traditionally, homeowners stay in their house five to seven years, so if they bought at the height of the market and they wanted to sell now, they’d probably take a loss,’’ Hesselman says. “So they’re choosing either to stay in their home or to rent it out.” If you’re looking “to lowball a foreclosure,” Rowand says, “you’re out of luck.” As of last week, only six of Weston’s sales were foreclosures. International buyers have helped elevate sales in Weston, which has long been dubbed “Westonzuela.” “Everyone in the world is looking to buy in Weston,” says Ana Rodriguez, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in Weston. “It’s not only Latin Americans.” Fuente Miami Herald -Rochelle Koff Cortesia Juan Ore Realtor Weston FL Tel (954) 349 8300 Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/17/2851944/weston-limited-options-for-family.html#storylink=cpy

Florida real estate tips, traps for foreign buyers - Business Monday - MiamiHerald.com

Florida real estate tips, traps for foreign buyers - Business Monday - MiamiHerald.com
The real estate market Florida is offering foreign buyers presents a doubly good opportunity rarely seen in the region: Prices are flat or declining and foreign currencies are rising relative to the U.S. dollar.
Current conditions are especially attractive to investors who have seen prices rise sharply in their native countries to levels that now well exceed comparable properties in Florida.
Buying a bargain is not that simple. Real estate agents must guide foreign buyers through a complex maze of visas, real estate regulations and currency rules.
Prospective buyers need to be educated to avoid mistakes that will cause them to be turned away at U.S. Customs or the bank. And foreign buyers need to know that the U.S. government takes a different view of a real estate transaction when a foreign individual or corporation is involved.
• Structuring the deal
Even before viewing residential or commercial properties, a real estate agent should help the buyer structure the purchase. Tax experts advise that because of estate tax and other issues, a foreign buyer should hold the property in the name of a corporate entity.
Depending on the value of the property, the title holder could be an offshore company. It could also be a Florida LLC that’s owned by an offshore company. In any case, the companies should be set up well before settling on a home or a building so as not to impede the closing due to corporate paperwork.
The biggest possible mistake: Buying in an individual’s name. That could result in U.S. estate tax problems. Buying in a personal name could also create tax or political issues in the client’s native country. Last, the purchaser should use a corporation when buying an investment property to avoid personal liability.
• Financing the deal
After the mortgage crisis, lending institutions are no longer accommodating to foreign buyers. At best, they will get 50 to 60 percent financing from U.S. lenders.
More challenging is moving the money into the United States. Federal agencies will want to know where the money came from. When corporations transfer funds to a bank, whether a branch of a foreign institution or a U.S. bank, money-laundering regulations can come into play, especially if the sum is substantial or there are frequent transactions.
Most foreign clients keep funds offshore and transfer them bank to bank. It’s not that simple. They must comply with currency rules in their home country and may encounter withholding requirements. The more complicated the transfer process, the more time buyers should allot to get funds ready.
For commercial transactions, real estate agents must time the cash and the transaction. Buyers should understand that deadlines for escrow funds and closing cannot be moved.
For home purchases, timing is even more crucial. About 80 percent of deals are all-cash transactions. If the property is a second or third home, the client may seek financing, but the rate will be higher than an American client would pay. Tip: Foreign buyers or investors should establish an investment relationship with a private bank. The firm will be happy to lend based on the balance in that account.
• Visiting or managing the property
In working with a foreign client, real estate agents also need to be a bit of an immigration expert. After 9/11, the United States clamped down hard on visas.
Depending on how long the person wants to stay in the United States, a B-1 tourist visa of one to two weeks may suffice. The person can come and go through the state’s many international airports. But if the individual stays in the United States too many days, he or she could be taxed as an American. To avoid that trap the visitor can become a full-time student and get an F-1 visa.
Investors and property managers can also arrange long-term stays. The best visas require a direct investment in an American company in the United States or establishment of a local subsidiary of a foreign company.
The investment could cost buyers more than a downtown condo, but it will enable them to stay in the United States legally for a period of years — instead of a period of weeks. Business visa options include the E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor visas, L-1(A) Visa, TN Visa, H-1B1 Visa and the most popular, EB-5. The U.S. State Department provides basic visa definitions at http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/visa_1750.html that may help buyers understand their basic options.
Paperwork and complex rules shouldn’t scare away a potential buyer. When the right property is found at the right price, buyers can bring in legal and tax consultants so that the transaction goes smoothly, the property is managed properly and a visa is obtained with a minimum of trouble

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/09/2580783_florida-real-estate-tips-traps.html#storylink=addthis#storylink=cpy

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