Carlos Garcia

Since the economic and Miami real estate market remains gloomy, homeowners trying to keep their homes and not become the next foreclosure statistic have likely been following the daily developments from Washington as various economic homeowner rescue plans and bailouts are rolled out. Like the old saying goes, “actions speak louder than words” and these homeowners are wondering when some of these plans will actually go into effect.

While it won’t be the instantaneous cure to fixing the troubled Miami real estate market, the government’s $700 billion rescue plan will give homeowners some assistance beginning December 15th and is being spearheaded by the mortgage giants of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Like all of the economic assistance initiatives as of late, homeowners will need to meet certain conditions in order to receive financial assistance. For one, homeowners must owe at least three months worth of mortgage payments, with the amount owed being at least 90% of what the property itself is worth. The homeowner cannot have declared bankruptcy and the home must also be their primary residence. Perhaps most importantly, the homeowner must be able to show that they aren’t trying to find a method of freeing themselves of the loan.

Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the country’s major mortgage lenders and thus control the majority of home mortgages, this initiative has a chance to yield much better results. The government is also encouraging banks to renegotiate loans with borrowers by giving them a financial incentive and it has also mandated that banks can only offer loans in which the monthly payments are less than forty percent of the borrower’s income.

What are your thoughts on this latest mortgage assistance initiative? Is it another step in the right direction towards fixing the Miami real estate market or is the government just slowing down another inevitable home foreclosure?

Maybe it's the blood sucking credit industry that has you shaking, or perhaps it's the economy's half-deadness kept alive only by government funds, or maybe it's the large amounts of abandoned foreclosure homes cobwebbed by inactivity that's keeping you from buying into the current real estate market.

October marks the harvesting seasons as well as the popular holiday of ghouls, ghosts and goblins. But Halloween might not be the scariest thing on people's minds nowadays, especially with the economy on a downward turn and the housing market in crisis. Though prices have dropped thirty percent in the Miami real estate market, there's still a shortage of buyers. So the question is: are they afraid to buy homes in the current real estate market?

The credit debacle did more than stick people in homes they couldn't afford and raise prices on homes around the country; it has also distorted the values of homes. Now everyone is scratching their head waiting to see what homes actually should cost in their markets. So would be buyers check home prices month-after-month and see constant decline. This makes them fearful that if they buy a house in this market their property will decrease in value immediately. While that's certainly something to be scared of, in the immortal words of FDR sometimes what we must fear "is fear itself".

Home prices will continue to go down, but the decline has slowed significantly. Miami real estate is now thirty percent cheaper in many places than it was just three or four years ago. That means if you want a Downtown Miami condo that was $300,000 dollars three years ago, it is now $210,000 dollars.

Now is a good time to buy, but it requires more than just overcoming a malfunctioning credit industry, rampant foreclosures and media cynicism…we must also overcome our own fears of the real estate market.

For more information on this topic visit: http://www.soldhome.com

Generally speaking, most realtors who sell Miami homes and Miami real estate are doing it largely because it’s something they genuinely enjoy doing, the handsome commissions they receive being a job perk. In these trying times however, some realtors have had to take additional measures in order to try and grab the attention of buyers, usually by sprucing up their marketing efforts with carefully chosen terminology designed to grab the attention of buyers looking for a good deal on property like Miami condos for example. Have you heard of some of these?

“Walking distance from shopping, dining, and top schools.” In other words, the property is surrounded mostly by shops and commercial venues and is not in a traditional neighborhood, perhaps even sacrificing peace and quiet.

“Fixer upper”. This term already evokes an image of a property requiring some kind of upkeep but chances are the upkeep involves major costly repairs in a property that’s probably never been lived in for quite a lot of years.

“Comfy” or “cozy”. A home with such synonyms sounds delightful and welcoming but many realtors use these words to describe rooms that are too tiny to be used for anything except storage perhaps. “As is”. Take this term with a grain of salt. Miami homes that come

“as is” means what you see is what you get regardless of whether there’s a potential leaky faucet, cracked tiles or another major necessary repair. Strongly consider requesting a home inspection in such a case in order to factor those things into your potential home offer.

Keep in mind that these terms can in many cases means exactly what they imply but if you’re a first time homebuyer interested in buying something like Brickell condos, it’s always important to watch out for unsavory real estate

Most homeowners will likely agree the process of selling South Florida homes in this market requires a tremendous amount of effort beyond establishing the proper pricing the first time around. Buyers are incredibly finicky when it comes to where their money goes so it’s imperative that the home looks impeccable inside and out.

Open houses are quite common and they usually begin when a buyer catches a glimpse of a property on a Miami real estate website, at least in today’s day and age where property search has transitioned to cyberspace. Thus it is just as imperative that the property look good in its photo as it would when a potential buyer sees it in person.

Speaking of in person, keep in mind that during open house prospective buyers will be scrutinizing every single centimeter of the home which means there is no standard when it comes to how much time and effort is placed on ensuring the entire home looks absolutely impeccable.

Using the open house to your advantage and increasing the likelihood of finding a buyer uses additional tried and true tactics so it’s really not all that hard, assuming you’ve given yourself the aesthetic “boost”. Use the marketing approach by narrowing down your target market so that you employ the necessary advantages to ensure you’re using as many resources to appease this market.

Common tips like switching to energy efficient bulbs, putting on some background music or making use of natural light have been mentioned before and they all go a long way in making visitors feel more at ease. Your neighbors can also be a tremendous resource in spreading the word about your Miami home and possibly generating even more leads.

Several websites have sprung up where homeowners can choose to buy and sell any extra items used during the home staging process which should ease any concerns about the amount of money coming out of your pocket.