Diane Loveridge

Here's what is happening in Hollywood Hills as of March 31st:

-- 6 homes sold this past month, 13 are under contract, and 86 are available for purchase

Now if you are interested in selling your home, these numbers are certainly not encouraging at face value. But remember that those 86 available homes include several multi-million dollar properties, which just don't sell very quickly, and plenty of overpriced listings, which will also sit on the market for a long time. The correctly-priced, well-presented and heavily promoted home WILL sell. If I can help show you how to do these things, please let me know.

So on to the details about what happened in Hollywood Lakes real estate this month...

WHAT SOLD?

1044 Harrison Street sold for $460,000 after 303 days on the market

This 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with 2,455 square feet was originally listed at $585,000 back in April of '09. It started getting offers when the price was later dropped to $495,000. This 2-story Spanish-style home with original tile and hardwood floors was designated a historic home by the city.

1230 Hollywood Boulevard sold for $220,000 after a mere 8 days on the market

I mentioned this house in a previous post, noting that it was a great deal. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with roughly 1,900 square feet sold for more than it's asking price of $209,900. Chances are it got multiple offers.

WHAT WENT UNDER CONTRACT?

Thirteen homes are currently listed as "pending sales," meaning they are under contract with a buyer, and therefore off the market. These include a 2,729 square foot waterfront home with deepwater dockage and no fixed bridges to the ocean, that had been listed at $1.3 million, as well as a modest 3 bedroom home on Polk Street that had been listed at $249,900. Note that there is no way to know the contracted purchase price until the sale is completed.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE?

On the high end, 900 N. Southlake Drive, pictured in my December '09 blog, has been reduced to $6.8 million. Next in price below that is 1101 S. Southlake Drive, a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath waterfront home with 5,700 square feet. It features a marble fireplace in the master bedroom and a designer kitchen, and is listed at $4.5 million.

1101 S. Southlake Drive

On the lower end of the price range is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a remodeled kitchen with granite countertops, and a huge backyard. It has 1,389 square feet, is a short sale, and is currently listed at $225,000.

1239 Buchanan, listed at $225,000

If you'd like to see any of these available properties, or if you'd like to discuss selling the home you currently own, please contact me for a free, no-obligation consultation. I am always happy to help.

December typically brings a slowdown in the real estate market, and South Florida is no different.

Here's what happened in Hollywood Lakes in December 2009:

-- 9 homes sold, 12 went under contract, 75 were available for purchase

WHAT SOLD?

Of those homes that sold, the highest priced was a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 half-bath house at 1128 N. Northlake Drive. It is on the water and offers 3,933 square feet. It was partly renovated, but still needed some repairs. After 185 days on the market, it sold for $1.4 million.

1128 N. Northlake Drive, sold for $1.4 million 1216 Johnson Street, sold for $205,000

The lowest priced home sold for $205,000, after bring listed for a whopping 477 days. It was a short sale approved at $200,000. It was a 3 bedroom, 3 bath home with 1742 square feet. It needed some updating, and was located at 1216 Johnson Street.

In between the highest and lowest priced homes were 7 others from a 3 bedroom, 3 bath remodeled home that sold for $300,000, to another waterfront home with a deep water dock that went for $749,000.

The home that sold the quickest was a foreclosure located at 931 Washington Street, which was on the market for 28 days before being sold at $351,000. It had been listed at $389,000.

WHAT WENT UNDER CONTRACT?

Twelve properties went under contract. I had looked at 1230 Hollywood for a client, and felt it was an excellent deal, at $209,900 and a moderate amount of repairs needed. I presented this to a client and urged them to get back to me ASAP. It took them a little while to respond, and so they lost the opportunity. This one was on the market for a mere 8 days...

WHAT'S AVAILABLE?

75 homes. On the upper end we have a 9 bedroom, 9 bath waterfront mansion with over 13,000 square feet including a wine cellar, and space enough for a yacht up to 180 feet, priced at $7 million. It's a short sale, and it's been on the market for 531 days.

900 N.Southlake Drive, asking $7 million ->

On the low end is 1242 Johnson Street, a short sale listed at $160,000. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and needs minor repairs as well as appliances in the kitchen. This one is a HOT deal, so if you want to check it out, let me know asap.

If I can help you with anything at all related to Real Estate in Hollywood, Florida, please feel free to contact me with no obligation. I'm always happy to help!

Diane Loveridge - Majestic Properties - (786) 210-3449 - dloveridge@majesticproperties.com

I sometimes hear of people who when they are buying a home, feel they need to contact the listing agents directly. They believe that they will be able to save money or get better information if they do not use a buyer's agent. This is simply not true.

A buyer's agent's goal is to find the best home available to meet their client's needs. A listing agent's main goal is to sell their listing.

When a buyer's agent meets with a new client for the first time, they will ask the buyer questions to learn as much as they can about what the client really needs and wants, and why. They will discuss the current market, and come up with a realistic game plan and time frame for finding the buyer's new home.

The specific steps for getting a buyer that home include:

- Helping the buyer get pre-qualified for a mortgage by introducing them to a great mortgage broker

- Researching all available homes that meet the buyer's unique criteria

- Calling the listing agents for those properties to get more information and to set appointments

- Meeting the buyer and showing each of the properties

- Calling for additional information on homes that interest the buyer

- Researching homes that are comparable to the home the buyer chooses, to help determine an offer price

- Working with the buyer to determine the price and terms for an offer - Presenting the offer to the listing agent

- Negotiating to reach a price and terms that work for the buyer and are acceptable to the seller

- Arranging for an inspection and meeting with the inspector

- Explaining the inspector's findings to the buyer and arranging to get repair estimates and additional inspections if needed (by engineers, pest control professionals, general contractors, roofers, etc.)

- Negotiating for repair or other credits when warranted and appropriate

- Meeting with an appraiser and a surveyor when needed

- Coordinating necessary paperwork between the buyer and seller, buyer and mortgage company, buyer and title company, and so on, to help the transaction close.

Using a buyer's agent generally does not cost the buyer anything. (Occasionally an agent's broker may charge a small administrative fee, but this should be disclosed to you up front). The commission to both the buyer's agent and the listing agent is paid by the seller, and determined by the listing agreement the seller signs at the outset. And the buyer stands to gain from the buyer's agent's goal of finding the best property at the best price and terms for their client. So why wouldn't you want to have this person working just for you?

It's happening a lot these days. Regular homebuyers hear about how much inventory is available, and believe they can make a lowball offer on a foreclosure and get a steal. Well there are great deals out there, but if you are looking for a moderately-priced property in move-in condition, in many markets you will have some competition, and if you focus too much on the list price, you may lose out on a great home.

Last week I had been out for an afternoon with new clients, looking at homes zoned for a nationally-recognized A+ school in Cooper City, FL (30-40 minutes north of Miami). Everything we had seen so far was priced from $239,000 to $299,000, and ranged from 1500 to 1900 square feet. So when we pulled up to a 2,000 square foot home listed at $209,900, I prepared my buyers for the worst: "this price is the lowest by far in the area for the size, so it may be a total dump."

What a pleasant surprise it was when I opened the door and didn't find the roof caving in. The place was in decent shape! Oh and you could see the lake, from the large windows in the living room. Wow. I knew immediately that this was a great value. Sure, it could use a kitchen update, and most people would want to paint over the blue and green pastel walls, but otherwise it looked good.

While we were there, another couple showed up - parents of a young man who had looked at the house earlier in the day. Uh oh - sending the parents/spouse/handyman drinking buddy is a sure sign of interest. When we left I told the buyers that if they were interested in the place, they should make their offer today, above list price. They told me, "No, we would never offer more than asking price..." We had a few others places to see, so I let it go.

Fast forward to a few days later, and the buyers now have a first choice, and tell me the house on the lake is their second choice. They ask me to see if it has gotten any offers. Okay... Well I spoke with the listing agent, who told me they received 41 offers in just four days on the market!! Whew - I expected it would have a few, but 41 is crazy. It was also under contract. The listing agent could not tell me for how much, but I am certain it was more than the asking price.

So we stuck with the buyers' first choice, and now have another great home under contract. If they had a few days earlier really wanted the house on the lake though, I would have asked them to disregard the asking price for a minute and think about what it was worth to them. Great school, great view, room for a pool, relatively minor work to be done... Would they still have considered it a good value at $212,000, or $215,000? Yes, I'm sure they would have. But if they had made an offer at below asking price, just because "that's what you do with foreclosures," they would never had stood a chance.