The following is not my written material; however, I wanted to pass it in to co-brokers and clients as well.  This is fantastic news that NAR is reporting. 

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM AN EMAILED NAR UPDATE:

"Pending home sales rose again, marking eight consecutive monthly gains - the longest streak since measurement began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.1 percent to 110.1 from a reading of 103.8 in August, and is 21.2 percent higher than September 2008 when it stood at 90.9. The gain from a year ago is the largest annual increase on record, and the index is at the highest level since December 2006 when it was 112.8. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the momentum is understandable. "What we're witnessing is a rush of first-time buyers trying to beat the expiration of the tax credit at the end of this month," he said. "Home values will stabilize sooner rather than over-correcting. That, in turn, will mean wealth stabilization for the vast number of middle-class families and lay the foundation for a durable economic recovery.""

Credit: National Association of Realtors

For more NAR news fo to http://www.realtor.org/

 

Just a quick update on the Tax Credit which I recently read on the NAR Website.

Washington, November 05, 2009

The National Association of Realtors® today commended the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for passing a bill that includes an extension and expansion of the current home buyer tax credit as an important step in ensuring a real estate and economic recovery.

"Realtors® appreciate the swift action by Congress to extend the home buyer tax credit and expand it to some current homeowners," said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Dallas-Fort Worth. "As the leading advocate of housing and real estate issues, we urge President Obama to sign this legislation into law quickly to keep the momentum going in the fragile recovery of the nation's housing market."

McMillan praised the efforts of several senators to put the recovery above politics. They are Sen. Johnny Isakson, (R-Ga.); Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.); Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.); Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

NAR economists estimate that the current tax credit has contributed approximately $22 billion to the general economy, and approximately 2 million people will take advantage of the tax credit this year.

"The substantial rise in home sales we've seen over the past few months proves that the tax credit is working and is being used by buyers who were waiting for the right opportunity to get into the market," McMillan said. "This important incentive is helping to stabilize the housing market, stimulate the economy and create new jobs in communities all across our great nation. Extending and expanding the home buyer tax credit will enable even more families to take advantage of current low interest rates and affordable prices to invest in their future through homeownership."

The bill would extend the present $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers through April 30, 2010. Current homeowners are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit through April 30, provided they have lived in the home they are selling, or have sold, as principal residence for five consecutive years in the past eight years. If potential home buyers have a binding contract on or before that date, they will have until July 1 to close the transaction.

Income limits for eligible home buyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples. The purchase price of the home cannot exceed $800,000. To help guard against fraud, buyers are required to attach documentation of purchase to their tax return.

The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

oovoo.com sounds like a funny name but it's a great service. 

I good friend of our Matt Rains from retechblog recommended this service to us and we cant thank him enough.  By the way we met Matt at our local board RAMB (Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches) where Matt teaches a technology class which is well, well, well worth your time.  Anyway, we were discussing our current use of Skype and how well it works for our oversees clients for communications.  Well we soon learned that oovoo is like skype only on steroids.  WOW, you can do so much more.  last night we actaully had a video conference and the quality of communication was excellent, not only were we able to actually complete our entire conference without a glitch but we were also able to record it right on line for reference later. 

We have decided to use this feature of the application for future training sessions in our office.  Those that can not attend can watch it on line and everyone can refer to it later on down the road.  I am not sure yet how many users can log on to the same conference as I have just begun to use the service; however, I figured I would put it out their to our professional community as a great tool.

The only downside I can see right now is that few people oversees know about it so I am having to ask my clients to download the program so that we may use it, but once they try it I am sure they will stick to it.

 

wwww.miamirentseekers.com

My wife and I were discussing were to eat this last Saturday, since the whether was amazing (you know those late fall early winter days that we get to enjoy in South Florida) we wanted to dine out doors. 

We decided to head for the Hollywood Board Walk in Hollywood Beach.  This particular strip is lined with some very quaint little place; bars, restaurants and shops right in front of the beach.  Naturally, when we got there we werent disappoint to see that we were in for a real treat; the climate was wonderful, the sun was still out (about 4:30PM) and the Christmas decoration were begining to go up.  We walked up and down the boradwalk looking for our place of choice and we ran into a medium sized reatuatant named Sugar Reef Tropical Grill, I gentleman was outside and invited us to look at the menu.  Well the menu looked great, the waiter that called us over seemed very friendly and my wife loves Orchids (which happened to be on every table). The decision had been made.  We sat down and the service was fantastic, so good we allowed our waiter (Bret) to pick out our desert for us at the end of the meal (more on that later).  The chef had about 7 or 8 specials which made making a decision very difficult, but well worth the contemplation.  For appetizer we shared a cabbage and beat salad. Isela (my wife) ordered the Talapia which was prepared almost Thai style in a coconut milk sauce accompanied by scalloped sweet potatos.  I had pork tenderloin medallions in a spicy Jamaican syle sauce (but not jerk) also accompanied by the same scalloped sweet potatos.  Then Bret came and asked if he could pick out our desert for us. Shortly after he confirmed that we did like chocolate (does anyone really not like chocolate) he shows up with a warm chocolate / expresso flourless cake accopanied by a scoop of vanilla icecream and topped off with just a bit of Raseberry sauce.  WOW, need I say more.  If you are ever in the area be sure to visit this fantastic restaurant.  It is not new as we learned it has been around for almost 15 years but what a great NEW find for us.

By the way they have a live webcam situated out side there restaurant so you can check on the whether before heading over. You can view their site at: www.sugarreefgrill.com

There are some fantastic places to live in Hollywood: CLICK HERE to view some of these wonderful properties.

www.miamirentseekers.com

 

 

South Florida Brokers & Associates is a current member of the Beacon Council (Miami Dade's economic developement committee).  We often receive updates and news letter from them regarding Miami's economis status.  I felt that this last update which we receive on a monthly basis was one worth sharing.  The update address Miami's unemployment versus employement growth.  Some of the highlights of the report are as follows:

Miami-Dade October 2008 unemployment rate is listed at 5.8%, although this may seem higher that a year ago (1.8% higher that October 2007), as a county we are still significantly below the national average of 6.5% and also lower than Florida's state average of 7.0%.  Our neighbor counties are also carrying higher rates: Palm Beach County 7.4% and Broward County 6.3%.

We have had some employment growth in certain economic sectors, see chart below:

Sector	October 2007 - 2008 Percentage Growth
Hospitals	7.8%
Federal Government	2.6%
Management of Companies and Enterprises	2.5%
Professional and Technical Services	2.3%
Accommodation and Food Services	0.8%
Local Government	0.4%

"Job losses in the construction industry continue to have a significant influence on the rise in unemployment." states the Beacon Council.

Other influences on the local economy have been attributed to the debt markets, historic bailouts in credit markets, decreased manufacturing and higher energy costs, the Beacon Council goes on to mention.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Beacon Council I would recommend visitng them online:

THE BEACON COUNCIL

The council is has recently launched a campaign to market Miami Dade County as a diverse business environment both NAtionally and Internationally.  You can learn more on this campaign at:

www.MiamiWhereWorldsMeet.com

This is just one of the many examples why we found it so useful and beneficial to be members of the council.

South Florida Brokers & Associates, Inc. and Miami Rent Seekers are proud members of The Beacon Council

Goodmorning, South Florida Brokers rainers. After that class last night you would have thought David and I would have dropped like flies when we got home. Instead it seemed as if we drank a gallon of coffee..... we were wound up and on an exhausted adrenaline high! When we got home we started to talk about the name that we kept avoiding for the Miami Rent Seeker blog...we have been bouncing around ideas for few weeks now and i guess the combination of adrenaline, exhausion and some will, we became creative and willing to work some more! CRAZY but guess what! David had a huge brain fart and it was that easy, 123 Miami Rent Seekers Blog that you saw last night is now, Miami renTV! This is the blog that is going to have all those fun videos of all of us! So, thank you for attending and being interested in your future, it pushed us to come to the plate and get something done that we were procrastinating for a while! Let us know what you think about the MiamirenTV for Miami Rent Seekers!

Also on that note, I can hep you all create your own banner, its easy... let me know and Ill send you where you can be creative yourself!

 

Communities in Aventura in Miami like people come in all shapes and sizes and communities are just as vast in options as a renter's likes and dislikes may be.  However, often I hear of folks finding the perfect home for themselves but unfortunately it may not be the perfect home for their pet.  As we know most people who have pets consider the pet as a member of the family and although the pet may not have an actaul voice to express their likes and dislikes, they still have needs.  As an animal lover I completely understand this.  Naturally some pets have more needs that others.  In my experience I have found that dog people are more needy when picking a home than cat people.  Cats usually fit within a weight limit in a condo much easier than do dogs (obviously small dogs excluded).  However, you still need to make sure that the community even accepts pets and they are a PET FRIENDLY COMMUNITY. 

Here are some common pet restrictions in communities through out the market:

Pet weight restrictions (undre 20 lbs, under 30 lbs, etc)

None aggessive breeds only

You must carry your pet in common areas or leash your pet in common areas

Owners may have pets but tenants may not.

How many pets may one resdent actaully keep.

Pet deposits may be requires

The list goes on and on.  Pet restrictions are usually part of the condo board rules and regulations.  Most condo boards require that you residents register their pets with a picture. 

However, I have never run into a board that doesnt make an exception for a special needs dog or a working dog (ex. police or fire station dog). 

So keep in mind to ask the condo board what their pet rules are when picking our your next home.  Some communities in my market whcih accept pets and have great ameniteis for pets are: Village byt he Bay, Parc Central, Willimas Island, The Venture, Aventi and there are several others.

For more pet frinedly properties log on to:

Miamirentseekers.com

or text   786-295-6797  

 

 

As a broker I have seen many property go up in recent years all over Miami Dade county, but recently I visited a property located off Brickell Avenue in Miami which simply put; floored me comletely.  The Ivy was one of the most amazing projext I have seen.  This property had it all.  The first thing I noticed was that the community was gated....that's right a gated community in the downtown area.  As if this was not enough I was greated with a spectacular water wall and ivy covered columns in the valet area and upon entering hte building immediately felt a crisp clean atmosphere with an ganished in the incredible decor.  The concierge was pleasant and very informative on not only the building but the surrounding area as well.  Once I began to tour the property it did not take very long to realize that the quality continued throughout the amenities and units as well.

The amenities included:

Spa facilities (his and hers, joining through a very inviting unisex louge area)

Full gym / fitness center

Concierge service

Valet Service

An arcade room (complete with pool tables, air hockey, ping pong table)

Social / club room

Massage rooms

Outdoor Vollyball Court

Lush landscaping (The Ivy them throughout)

Infinity Edge pools

Meditation Garden

Business Center

I could really go on and on about the amenities....

The units themselves let nothing out.  Obviously they have the all the goodies... granite counter, euro style cabinatry, stailess stell appliances, frameless glass shower doors, and all top of the line fixtures.  But what really amazed me besides all of this was the well thought out floor plans.  The units spaces are extremely useful and ideal for one, tow or even three bedroom units.  The views leave nothing our at all, they are simply spectacular no matter which side of the buildiung you are on. 

If you have any clients looking for a great condo in this area and they are looking to be spoilled with luxury at a reasonable rate you want to check this property out.

Clicj here for to view some picutures:

http://miamirentseekers.com/9626/showcase.php/32399

 

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A CAREER IN REAL ESTATE TO LAST? COME SPEAK WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ENDURED THIS MARKET SLOW DOWN AND ARE STILL HERE! WE WANT PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE DRIVE AND ENERGY TO MAKE IT TO THE TOP! CALL US TO JOIN OUR TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE NOT QUITTING ON REA ESTATE! CALL ISMAEL GONZALEZ OR MIGUEL PAZ AT 305.364.8838 TODAY!