Miami Dade Real Estate Scoop

Last night, the Redland was the perfect place to host a Halloween party!  Except it wasn't Halloween.

Still, the full moon and wispy fog that spread all over the place would have made any red-blooded teenager eager to start pulling pranks on their unsuspecting younger siblings.

The last property showing I had was in South Miami-Dade.  As I finished my kid called and asked me to stop by Corrina's to pick up some pizza.  The sun had set and it was dark already.  I was in the safety of my vehicle so cutting across desolate roads to avoid having to drive over to the main streets made sense.

As soon as the street lights disappeared I started to second-guess myself.  I also started to glance over at the door locks just to make sure I really had looked them.  Why is it that logic is the first thing to bail when we find ourselves in a heightened state of anything?  I had locked the doors and checking that fact repeatedly wasn't making sense, but I found myself doing it anyway.

I guess the colder-than-usual weather Miami's been experiencing, plus the agricultural area that gets watered frequently were contributing to the fog.  I won't take credit for knowing how the fog actually happened.  But I will take credit for knowing how it was making me feel.  It was scaring the bejeebers out of me. 

I drove through residential areas in a zig zag turning here and there and realizing this street didn't cut all the way over to Krome Avenue.  I built stair steps with all the turns I made.  My stairs finally led me to Krome Avenue, but not before having to traverse through a non-inhabited area of tomato and bean fields.  Boy, was I happy to finally see the lights over on Krome beckoning me to their safety.

I picked up the pizza and headed over to Redland Road for the final stretch home.  I don't usually take Redland Road because of the stop signs and prefer to battle the traffic lights on Krome.  This time I headed a mile west to Redland Road and started the 4 plus miles left of my journey. 

I had to drive slower than usual because of the fog.  It was very heavy at places.  I swear I expected David Naughton to start sprouting hair and jump in front of my car as he howled at the full moon.  I glanced nervously all around but no werewolves.  Just the occasional light from inside a warm house and fields of growing things.  Lots and lots of fields.

I made the final turn onto the dirt road that leads me home.  The lights were on, welcoming me back. The kid opened the door  and met me at the car in anticipation of her pizza.  I mentioned to her and her visiting friend how scary the Redland had appeared on the drive home.  She laughed and reminded me of the day a month ago when her "city slicker" friends had come over to visit.  They chose to sit on the porch that night.  One of them noted that she lived in an awesome place.  "It's the perfect place to film a horror movie."

Not exactly the reason I love living in the Redland, but I'll take the dubious distinction.  LOL

I wrote about an unsuccessful real estate auction in the Redland a few weeks back. I commented about the fact that it was not an absolute auction being the primary reason for it’s turning out to be a flop.

Then I had the opportunity to attend another auction in the Redland. This one was different in that it was an absolute auction. When the public thinks ‘auction’ they think whatever’s being sold will be sold to the highest bidder. I, personally, think it’s a gimmick to give them anything but. But that is just my opinion. When an auction is not absolute, I think it’s just a ploy to spark more interest in the property and hopefully get it sold. There’s nothing wrong with the marketing premise, in itself. I still have issues with calling it an auction. Maybe we just need to educate the public that an auction isn’t always what they think it is.

I attended the absolute auction hoping to see some action and see a property get sold to the highest bidder. The property is a larger-than-most, but older and well-kept home in the Redland area. It’s right smack in the middle of the Redland and sits on 2.5 acres of tropical paradise, well manicured yet plenty of flora. Adjacent to the property is a natural hammocks, designated as such. Beneficial to the property is that most of it has a property tax benefit because of the hammocks and the property pays about a third of what a similar property without the tax benefit would pay. With the issue of property taxes being so high in Florida, this by itself is a huge benefit to the property.

On top of the tax benefits, an acre of land in the Redland sells for about $180,000, although many would like to have you thinking it’s a lot more than that. Right now, that’s about the going price (albeit not the asking price). And even though on a single property lot an additional acre isn’t technically worth the same as the 1st acre (simply because you can only build one home on it, whether it’s one acre or five) let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and do what the county property appraiser does and calculate each square foot as being worth the same. That means the land on this parcel is worth $450,000 by my calculations.

The auction was to open at $489,000. And it was going to sell to the highest bidder. Period. Seeing how the land alone was worth just $39,000 less I figured it would be like getting the structure almost free if you could buy it at the opening bid. By the way, the county property appraiser has the structure valued at $213,000, so it’s not as if there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room there.

The winning bidder would be responsible for a 10% buyer’s premium so if he won the bid at $500,000, he’d have to pay $550,000. No matter, this home was priced right, so a good deal could still be had.

Upon arriving at the property I recognized a couple from the last auction. I guess I wasn’t the only curious one. I struck up a conversation with them as we waited for the proceedings to begin. Twenty minutes after the bidding was supposed to begin we realized they weren’t going to have an auction. Of the several parties that were there (perhaps 4) none of us were registered to bid. I was dumbstruck by this fact.

Here was a prime property in the Redland available for sale at way less than market price and no one was bidding.

Is the market in South Florida that bad? Or had the auction not been advertised fully? My opinion tells me it’s the former. I had personally found the auction online but because I specifically looked for auctions. I wasn’t searching as a home buyer. The couple I met said they had seen it advertised in the local papers. So it had been advertised. Exactly how much, I wasn’t sure.

That day I went home shaking my head and thinking that the local real estate market may be in for a really looooooong adjustment. Hmmmmmm………

Unsuccessful Auction Part I

The numbers in Miami Dade County are pretty dismal as far as being a home seller goes. But it's a great time to be a buyer!

Here's the Miami area of the Redland (zip code 33031 only) and it's current real estate numbers:

More telling than the above numbers is the ratio between the two bars.  It tells us how many months of inventory we have on hand at any given time.  Those numbers are shown below. 

When you're dealing with hyper local statistics it is sometimes misleading to look at one month's worth of data.  Because the homes for sale in zip code 33031 are only 158 (in comparison to county-wide where they run into the thousands).  To counter this effect we can take the last 3 months' numbers and average them.  The 48.7 + 72.5 _ 39.5 average out to 53.56 which is actually right in line with the county numbers. 

The Redland is selling at about the same pace of Miami-Dade County as a whole. 

And while having 54 months' worth of inventory is not good news if you're a seller, it helps to know the facts so you can be better equipped to make decisions.  Right off the bat, you know you can't speculate on the pricing.  Price it right from the start.  And make sure it's in tip top shape to compete with the rest of the inventory out there. 

© December 2007 Maggie Dokic, Broker-Associate

I see them all the time. Riding their bikes they look like any other boys across America two-wheeling around town. Except they’re not riding for fun. Some are barely past the boy stage. Others left it a long time ago.

I’m referring to the farm workers I see all around the Redland riding their bikes to and from work. The other night as I drove west on 200th street I passed two of them, one after the other. It was pitch black and they seemed to come out of nowhere. Of course, they had been there but I just didn’t see them until they came into the realm of my headlights.

I was struck by the notion that anyone who might have had too much to drink could have killed one of them. Or both. The thought still pops into my head when I see another on this mode of transportation.

As dangerous as it may be to ride a bike at night on the dark, agricultural streets of the Redland, they’re thankful to have a way to get to work. Some aren’t so lucky and have to walk. I saw two ladies and a child walking in the rain one evening and backtracked to pick them up. Part of me wanted to help them and another part was troubled that they had taken a ride from a stranger. We hear so many bad things.

I had my mother and daughter in the car with me and even so, they thought twice before getting in the car with us. I rejoiced at that secretly. They had been waiting for their ride when it started raining. The ride was late and they headed to Krome on foot. It was at least a mile and a half away.

Just the other day Dad brought a migrant worker to the house to pick out a bicycle for himself. He had given him a ride in the past and knows that this man walks about 3 miles each way, each day. We have some unwanted bikes and knew it would make a difference to him to be able to cycle to work and not have to walk. I fixed him a sandwich while they looked at the bikes.

It turns out he had a bike in the past but it had been taken from him. Stolen would be my guess, although he didn’t call it that. As I looked at the grown man pedal away on a bike that had belonged to my then-twelve-year-old nephew I hurt for him and those like him.

They work for pay that I’m sure is less than most Americans will work for. And back-breaking work at that. Some like to whoop it up on the weekends and head down to Homestead for a little beer and a little dancing. After working hard all week, I can’t say I really blame them. Some have no way to get there and have their beers closer to home. Others don’t drink and just keep to themselves.

I’d love to get bicycles for all of them. And give them jackets with reflective decals to keep them safe. And while I’m wishing, I’d like dedicated bike lanes too. I can dream, can’t I?

Knaus Berry Farm opened up for the season in the Redland on November 13th. I stopped there that weekend (which, of course, means Saturday since they are closed on Sundays) and it was like they never closed.

The place was packed with cars. The line to get a milkshake was enough to make the Dairy Queen down the road green with envy.

I have to admit that I didn't bother buying anything. The line was too long and their baked goods are good but I can stop in during the week when it's less busy.

Knaus Berry Farm is often, and erroneously, referred to as "the Amish Farm." They're not Amish, they'll point out if you ask. They're German Brethren. They've been here for years and are quite the attraction. They sell homebaked goods as well as produce and their milkshakes are thick enough to stand a spoon up in (and you may want to use a spoon to get them going and save your facial muscles the workout).

They are open for business mid November to right before Easter and then leave us until the next year (notice a trend? They like to miss hurricane season. lol) They are closed on Sundays.

• Knaus Berry Farm
• SW 160th Ave & 248th Street
• 305-247-0668

I was somewhat surprised, and more than a little disappointed to see Pat Wade's home with a For Sale sign outside.  And my disappointment did not stem from the fact that she did not list with me.  lol

No, my disappointment wasn't self-serving.  I've seen how hard Pat has worked in the effort to incorporate the Redland. 

I support Redland incorporation. 

I hope Pat won't be going too far and will be available for guidance, if needed. 

My best wishes to Pat and her family in their new endeavours.

Are you trying to sell your Redland home in this market? Have you looked at alternative methods of selling your home? Have you looked at real estate auctions?

Real estate auctions can be very successful. And they can be total flops too. Last week I attended the latter at a gorgeous home in the Redland.

The home had been appraised at $900,000 back in June. My trained eye tells me the market value is more like $750K today. Was it an inflated appraisal back in June? Maybe just a little. No matter. The appraisal wasn’t an issue. The bids were.

I had seen the signs proclaiming this coming auction a few weeks back. I had read the small print. I knew what was going to happen because of it. Here’s the small print in a nut shell:

• -Bidders had to register and provide a $1,000 check at registration (no problem. If you didn’t win the bidding, you would get it back)
• -Winning bid had to add 7% as a Buyer’s Premium and that would be the sales price. So if the winning bid is $100K the sales price would be $107K (OK, this sounds good for the seller, but only good for the buyer if he gets the home at an appropriate price. Bidder, set your limit and stick with it)
• -House is sold As-is (no problem here either, you still have an inspection period and can back out if severe problems arise)
• -Seller to provide clear title at closing (good, because anything but is unacceptable)
• -Closing to take place with pre-chosen closing agent (this can be OK, but ordinarily the buyer chooses the closing company as the buyer is paying the title insurance. I’d need to ask more questions about this before I give the go ahead on this.)
• -and the one that I knew would result in a flop of an auction: Seller can accept, reject or counter-offer the winning bid. ah hah!

That last one is the reason the auction failed to reach it’s mark. There were approximately 25 people in attendance. From their nametags, I would guess that 10 of them were from the listing agent’s office. Perhaps another 10 were observers such as myself. The owners of the home were apparently there. They provided some info to the auctioneer and I took them to be the owners anyway. There were 4 registered bidders but only 3 did any bidding.

The low # of bidders was not the reason for this auction turning out the way it did. It was the last item on the list. Why is that last item the one that can make or break an auction? Because it told everyone who may have had an interest in bidding that it was not an absolute auction.

An absolute auction means that the winning bidder wins. Period. His bid does not have to be approved by the seller. The seller has agreed beforehand that he will accept whatever the highest bid is.

Can this be risky to the seller? You bet your sweet potatoes it can! But can it result in a heck of a lot of excited bidders at an auction? Bet those same sweet potatoes on it. Heck yeah.

Anyone who knows that a desirable home can be had for any amount less than the market value is going to try to be there and win the bidding. And once bidding starts, chances are he will get caught up in the furor and the bidding will start going the way a seller wants…up..up..and up!

That’s not what happened in the Redland. It took the auctioneer about 6 minutes to start the bidding at $150,000 and take it to $350,000. At $350K it stalled. He had a very hard time getting anyone to offer more than that. After some cajoling and dropping down from $400K, $375K to $360K he was able to solicit a bid at $360K. After a little more effort he was able to get it to $365K. But the buck stopped there. Not one of the 3 bidders was willing to bid more than that for this $900,000 home (that I think is worth $750,000).

Was the winning bid accepted by the seller? My expert opinion is…heck no! Was it a total waste of time? No. I got an article out of it.

An inspection during the home buying process almost always generates reasons to renegotiate the contract.  But it can also offer the buyer a clean way to make his getaway if he’s having second thoughts.

How is this possible?  Let me explain.  When a buyer makes an offer on a house, the contract has a place where a repair limit is specified.  A repair limit means the buyer is willing to take on X amount of dollars in repairs and still buy the house.  A larger repair limit lets the seller know the buyer is pretty earnest about buying the home.

But how does anyone know what the repairs will be on the home?  An inspector is hired.  I always have my buyers request inspections.  Most banks require them, but even if they don’t, it makes sense for a buyer to spend a few hundred dollars now and save thousands down the road in unnecessary surprises.

An inspector can’t tell exactly what the repairs will cost to fix on problems he finds.  He can only estimate his best guess.  More often than not, he will guesstimate on the side of caution and go higher than the repairs may actually be.

It is not unusual to see minor repairs on inspections add up to hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars.  But it isn’t necessarily accurate to think that it would cost that much to fix those things on your own.  That’s an estimate to get a professional to do the work.  A home seller can probably do a substantial amount of the work himself and do it cheaper.

For instance, on a report a broken dial on a stove might be $40 to repair but the knob only costs $12 at Sears.  A broken window pane might state $200 but if you have The Home Depot cut the glass for you and you know a little something about glazing you can save $150 on the project.  A broken doorknob on the closet door might bump up the report by $30 while the knob only costs $7 at The Home Depot and relatively no experience to replace.  A leaky faucet might say $50 and all it needs is a $1 washer.  Do you see where I’m heading with this?

An inspection report could have estimates of $1,500 when in actuality it would only cost you $500 to repair these minor items yourself.  While it makes sense to fix these things before hand so you don’t have to renegotiate your contract and lose out on $1000 unnecessarily, there’s more than $1,000 at stake.  The entire deal is at stake.

How does an entire deal run the risk of being lost over minor repairs?  Again, it goes back to that repair limit.  Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the buyer stated in the offer he made that his repair limit is $2000.  He’s willing to buy your house for $xyz amount and even if the repairs on the inspection come to $2,000 he is still willing to buy the house.  But if the repairs are estimated at $2,001 or more, he has the right to cancel the contract.  He may decide not to cancel the contract, but he has every legal right to do so if he wants to.

So if the inspection comes up with a repair estimate of more than $2,000 your buyer now can say “Sorry, I changed my mind.  I don’t want the house.”  But if the minor repairs had been made before putting the house on the market (at a cost of $500 to the homeowner) and the only thing that shows up on the report is some faulty wiring in the attic at an estimate of $700, the buyer is still bound to buy the house.  And it’s going to cost him only $700 to fix the problem, so he’s OK with that. 

So don’t let your repair limit get filled up with things you can fix yourself.  Leave it for the true items that are best left to the professionals.  Fix the little things yourself and fix them before you put the house on the market (or start fixing them the moment the real estate agent walks out the door).

In today’s market, a qualified buyer is hard to find.  Don’t let yours get away after you have him.  Head to the hardware store and get to work

Sunday was a glorious day in the Redland. The air was crisp with the coming fall (at least for an hour or two it was LOL). The sun was shining. A gentle breeze was blowing. I sat on my porch late afternoon and took a snooze.  Well, as much of a snooze as my two cats will let me take.  The dogs were busy inside barking as well.  It didn’t take a lot of effort on my part to ignore them =)
Days like that one make me glad I moved to the Redland. Selling real estate in Miami isn’t terribly easy right now. But resting in the Redland is.

I listened to the birds calling. I watched the palm trees swaying in the breeze. I saw the neighbors take their horses for a stroll. They rode them down the dirt road. At the main road they could at least see some cars pass by. I preferred the tranquility of my porch.

Apart from the horses and the neighbors I saw no one else. Our street, like most in the Redland, doesn’t get a lot of traffic. Ours gets even less since it’s not paved. Not many want to encounter the wrath of the mud puddles of a dirt road after a rain.

I closed my eyes half-way and enjoyed the time I spent doing nothing. The next day I’d be actively back at work. That afternoon I had been working. But that very moment I did nothing but sit on my porch and enjoy the Redland. I highly recommend it.

Living in the Redland I have plenty of fruit trees in my yard.  Try as I might, I can’t have all the fruit that’s out there though.  We sometimes go elsewhere to get our fruit fix!

I drove over to Robert Is Here yesterday afternoon.  The kid’s been wanting to try a dragonfruit and we figured they’d have it.  We were right.

Robert Is Here has been there for about 47 years now.  The story goes that when Robert was a boy and trying to sell cucumbers on the corner no one stopped at his stand.  Robert’s father decided he needed to be more visible and made two big signs to put on either side of Robert’s table each proclaiming in big red letters “Robert Is Here.”

The signs were marketing genius and by noon the next day Robert had sold out all his cucumbers.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Today Robert’s stand is much bigger and widely known.  It sits on the corner of 344^th Street and 192^nd Avenue and there are always plenty of people stopping for fruit, herbs, honey, snacks, touristy items or one of their incredible milkshakes.  Some people consider this the Redland but the address is technically Homestead.  It doesn’t matter.  Just head South and West and you’ll be glad you did.

There was live music yesterday and people sitting at the tables enjoying it.  My kid did find the dragonfruit and I convinced her to buy the half of one for $3.00 instead of buying a whole fruit.  Thanks for giving us choices Robert!  The truth is that we didn’t like the way it tasted.  It was something like unflavored Jell-O.  Not too appetizing, but it sure was pretty!

Robert’s has lots of different fruits that you won’t find easily at your local grocer.  There are lots of different honeys and a honey tasting station too.  we shared some laughs with other patrons while sampling the different flavors.

If you’re driving to the Keys, leave a little early and take a detour over to Robert Is Here.  You might even get lucky and have Robert himself wait on you!

• Robert Is Here
• 19200 SW 344 Street
• Homestead, FL 33034
• 305–246–1592
• Open 7 Days a Week
• Closed September – October