Ashley Cusack

Considering the relatively tough conditions in the existing Miami real estate market, you obviously want to make sure that the home you’re purchasing or selling is being appraised for its true value. Below are a few things that are important to be aware of in order to ensure you’re receiving a fair appraisal.

Accuracy is still not a guarantee. After the housing bust where some appraisers were actually inflating prices, banks have decided to stick with independent appraisers. However, many companies just want to get the job in a short time which may affect your home value if the appraiser isn’t entirely familiar with your neighborhood.

Do your own research. It’s often said that proper pricing involves evaluating sales of neighboring homes but you should still go a step further and consult a realtor. These people will be able to find out more information regarding the circumstances behind these sales.

Appearance goes a long way. Many appraisers have little time to really sit down and evaluate the home as thoroughly as possible so first impressions do go a long way. To further improve the appraisal, consider highlighting the best features of the home such as its proximity to good schools.

Could the Miami real estate bottom finally be in sight? It’s a question many have been wondering and it appears that some of the signs are already cropping up. For the third month in a row, price declines did not post the record drops that have been plaguing the market for some time now. Is this a sign of stabilization?

Such news is certainly encouraging but it’s important to be aware of the other factors that could cause further problems, namely the continued problems of Miami real estate foreclosures. Buyers defaulting on their loans due to job losses remain a problem and loan modifications are taking longer than anticipated to work out.

Despite the semi good news, it’s also important to know that prices for Miami real estate are still dropping, albeit just not as dramatically. As first time buyers continue to dip their toes into these low priced opportunities and take advantage of tax credits, perhaps the bottom isn’t too far off.

Moving into new luxury Miami homes is always fun, it’s the process in between that most people could do without. Moving can be a relatively simple process or it can turn into a nightmare and if you’re using a moving company, there’s more of a chance of it going either way. Here are some important things to be aware of if you’re going to be moving soon.

Double check the guarantees. Most moving companies will give you an estimate with a “guaranteed” quote that ensures no additional money out of your pocket, certainly a smart thing to do. Before signing off on anything, look at this estimate yourself and make sure any and all items that will need to be moved are actually there.

Watch out for packaging. Look over your estimate to see whether the company has factored in additional costs for packing materials. Some companies will insist on only half filling boxes which may mean more money to pack additional items.

Estimate your moving size. Always try and request that your estimate detail the size of the move in terms of its weight and not the amount of cubic feet as the latter can allow an unscrupulous company to improperly fill a truck with your belongings and thus charge you more.

Besides using an effective marketing plan, in today’s Miami real estate market you want to do all you can to make your home as appealing as possible to prospective buyers. In other words you want to stay away from counterproductive upgrades that could actually discourage buyers and hinder your sales efforts, such as these examples.

Turning a bedroom into an office. An office is convenient but that means that the home must now be listed as having two bedrooms instead of three, something that could quickly turn off families for example.

Making the patio concrete. Most people will tell you that putting concrete patios into luxury Miami homes will eventually result in pavement cracks, a major blunder that’s not exactly easy to repair. Considering how strong the South Florida sunshine can become during the summer season, you also don’t want the patio emanating a huge blinding glare.

Choosing non neutral colors. Upgrading countertops into something like green marble or using loud colors for any major upgrade will severely limit the appeal of your home. Any smart realtor or home stager will suggest sticking with neural colors.

At the end of the day the tumbling values of the Miami real estate market were not something we all wanted. It did however lead to some important changes and lessons that were always there but had pushed by the wayside when the housing boom began and lenders were approving nearly anyone who may or may not have been qualified to own a home. Some of these lessons are very important to keep in mind today when exploring luxury Miami homes.

Carefully decide upon the best down payment. This is probably the biggest determining factor in what you’ll be paying every month and what terms you’ll receive. It’s encouraged that you try and make as large of a down payment as possible but don’t dip into your savings in order to do it.

Borrow what you can afford. Your spectacular credit score resulted in an approval for a hefty mortgage, congratulations! Will you be able to make those payments for the hefty mortgage every month on top of everything else? Just because you’ve been approved doesn’t automatically mean you should agree to it.

Purchase for the long term. Generally it’s not recommended that you purchase any kind of Miami real estate now and then sell it within a few months, conditions are still tough and indecisive. If you do buy real estate, keep it until things have stabilized.