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Buying Basics Finding the Right Property So, what’s the next step in actually finding the right property for you?
FOR This is a common way to find properties in the In a situation like this, the seller’s agent potentially stands to earn double their normal commission (We will explain why later) – a strong incentive to push through the sale even if they know it’s not right for you. AGENT’S PROPERTY MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER This is exactly the same as the item above – we do not advise you to contact sales agents directly yourself, if so it is very much a case of buyer beware. FOR Unless for some particular reason you already know the property in question very, very well, this is not a good way to go. Real estate professionals in Florida are heavily regulated, trained and licensed, and have clear responsibilities with regard to fair representation, disclosure etc – all of which you forego if you decide to do a deal direct with the owner. DIRECT FROM THE DEVELOPER The key thing to remember here is that everyone involved in selling properties on a development site has only one loyalty – to the developer. They receive strong financial incentives to sell not only properties, but also expensive extras – and may even get paid extra for selling the least attractive plots. This is not a buyer-friendly environment! Buying “off-plan” in a development that is designed specifically for short-term rentals is not in itself necessarily a bad idea – if you have received impartial advice and everything about the deal stacks up. Unfortunately many of the clients who use our trouble shooting service have bought overpriced property in an area where there are too many other developments and the builder/developer is vulnerable to bankruptcy! However, watch out for developments that have been designed and built specifically with this kind of “sell to the Brits” sales model in mind. These properties can be dressed up to look like an attractive proposition to a naïve foreign buyer, but they may (for example) be a very poor candidate for resale – to better-educated foreign buyers or to local families. You may be quite happy about the idea of spending a few weeks a year in a purpose built development with no local shops or schools, but you have to think about how that will affect the future resale value. Local families are unlikely to find such developments attractive – not only do they have few amenities, but … this of course is the reasoning behind the local zoning restrictions that are designed to separate permanent residences from rental properties. Yes, if you decide to sell, the property may be attractive to other British buyers like you, but bear in mind that the same development company may have built three new developments in the same area by the time you are trying to sell – and are throwing vast marketing budgets behind their efforts to attract buyers to their new developments.
Published on April 18, 2007, Article 10 of 27 found. Last year, Avalon Homes went bust, leaving 50 homes unfinished and dozens of families in financial ruin. Now, authorities say what Avalon Homes did was not just bad business. It was illegal. Authorities say Avalon took hundreds of thousands of dollars for work that was never completed. And, they say, subcontractors were never paid for work that was done on dozens of homes, causing them to levy liens that the homeowners are now stuck dealing with. Houses unfinished, and a future unclear Published on May 5, 2007, Article 7 of 27 found. For Craig Meadow, life is less than ideal right now. The 52-year-old father of two is in financial hot water after contracting with Punta Gorda-based Ideal Homes Inc. for a $305,000 dream home that the builder never completed. This week, Meadow filed a criminal complaint of contractor fraud with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office against Dean Rossey Sr. and Gary W. Oben, Ideal's most recent owners. Meadow alleges that he paid $252,749.66 to Ideal, which Rossey and Stung by builders' collapse, home buyers now face fines Published on May 25, 2007, Article 3 of 27 found. Home buyers left broke and homeless after their builders collapsed could soon face thousands of dollars of fines now that their lots have become overgrown, dangerous and dirty. Since several area contractors disappeared, city code enforcement officials say they have no choice but to start going after homeowners, many of whom have simply walked away from their projects after losing thousands of dollars. "We have nobody to deal with so the only way to deal with it now is to Remember that, for a limited time, commissions/referral fees will be 5% for domestic clients, 7% for international clients! At an average sales price of around $650,000—that’s a $32,500 (domestic) / $45,500 (international) commission/referral fee for just sending in a referral!! Show Homes Something else you need to be aware of when buying “off plan” at a development – is the way show homes are handled in We’re used to show homes in the You need to be extremely astute and well informed – a formal architectural or building qualification would be useful – to be sure that you understand the relationship between what you see on the plan and in the show home … and what you are buying. Indeed, many specialists go further and advise British clients against visiting any developments on spec. There are too many stories of Brits being friendly and open with the on-site agents only to find later that they have been verbally signed up for services, or even worse, property! NEWSPAPER/MAGAZINE ADVERTS IN THE Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a company’s marketing budget is in proportion to their construction, maintenance, contingency or any other budgets. Indeed, all too often it seems that large marketing budgets are allocated to disguise shortcomings in other areas. In short, don’t believe everything you read! FROM A GUIDE BOOK Guide books are a great way to find out about the permanent features of an area – tourist attractions, climate, and quality of beaches and so on – but they are not a good way to get your finger on the pulse of what is happening in a specific property market this year or even this month. Things change in the market too quickly for printed guide books of property listings to keep track, and they are rarely updated enough to keep up with the latest trends. Indeed they can be positively dangerous. AT AN EXHIBITION OR SEMINAR It may be convenient to look at Yes, it’s always a good idea to do as much research as you can, and picking up useful information at exhibitions and seminars will help to make you a better-informed buyer – as long as you do enough research to develop snake-oil radar that will prevent you being misled by the smoother operators. Selling property at a distance is always a high-risk business, and “ Companies with stands at exhibitions – and even more so those running their own seminars – are virtually always representing a very small number of developments, perhaps only one. Combined with all the additional expenses they have in travelling and marketing overseas, you can imagine the pressure their staff are under to get you signed up and earn them a commission. They certainly don’t have your best interests at heart, so why would you believe anything they tell you? … Especially when you consider they are conveniently operating outside the jurisdiction of the FORECLOSURE/REO PROPERTIES An entire industry has grown up around promoting foreclosed properties as a cheap way to get property in key areas like They are however quite a risky proposition, as they are typically offered with little or no information about their status – and they may well be offered complete with sitting defaulting tenants who have to be evicted by the new owner! The amount of research required to minimise the risk – and the number of auctions that have to be attended before you might successfully obtain a foreclosed property – make this unsuitable for most “REO” (Real Estate Owned) properties are a category that may be slightly more practical. These properties have been repossessed by the bank or mortgage company, who have taken care of any issues such as existing occupants – to make the property ready for a more conventional sale. These can be bargains, as the lender is clearly motivated to sell – but they will typically require additional time and money to get them back to good condition, so this must be factored into your thinking. Finally, the process of actually doing a deal for a REO property can be quite drawn out, as you are dealing typically with a bank department rather than direct with the owner and their agent. If you find a property that fits your purposes and it turns out that it is REO, it may be worth investigating further, but I wouldn’t recommend British buyers go out expressly looking for foreclosure or REO bargains. DO IT YOURSELF With the growth in DIY conveyancing in the However, the differences between the real estate systems of the two countries – especially the number of different professionals involved in WITH THE HELP OF A BUYER’S AGENT The concept of the “buyer’s agent” is perhaps the most significant difference in the The first thing to understand here is that in Virtually every property that is for sale in Agents work as “seller’s agents” or “buyer’s agents” and here is an important piece of advice : You should obtain advice to recruit the services of a buyer’s agent who has good experience working with British buyers. As there are over 100,000 agents in FOLLOW THE MONEY The real beauty of a buyer’s agent is that you don’t have to pay them! However if you select the wrong one indirectly you could pay dearly by buying in the wrong location or an overpriced development. The system works by having the seller pay their agent a commission for selling the property – and the seller’s agent shares that commission with the buyer’s agent. The possibility that they might get to keep all the commission is a strong motivation for a seller’s agent to try and get you signed up to a deal without involving your own agent – regardless of how bad a deal it might be for you. That’s why we kept saying earlier that it’s a bad idea to follow up for sale signs, development promotions, property ads and so on – because they will all lead direct to a seller’s agent. Without a comprehensive understanding of the market, the property system and the modus operandi of these seller’s agents, it is all too easy for an unsuspecting Brit to end up in a deal without even realising it. LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES The key difference between the actions of the two agents in a deal – the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent – is where their legal responsibilities lie. The seller’s agent has a legal responsibility towards their client, and although there are obviously over-arching laws that cover business practices in general, they have no fiduciary duty of care towards you with regard to protecting your interests or giving you any advice. Once you enter into an agreement with a buyer’s agent however, they have fiduciary duties to you that include things like reasonable care, loyalty, confidentiality and full disclosure. As you can see, your agent really should be your second most trusted advisor when looking for a property after your independent adviser. They can give you the benefit of all their experience, they know the local market, they know the legal and financial systems (including all the local variations), they’re legally bound to give you good advice and they don’t cost you anything! However you must realise that all buyers’ agents are not the same. THE RIGHT AGENT FOR YOU You should be aware that the vast majority of agents in Within these organisations, there is a fierce hierarchy of seniority – a pecking order of real estate agents – that can have serious implications for you as a buyer. For example, if you simply walk in off the street to a real estate office and sign up with an agent there, you will probably be dealing with a fairly junior agent who has to serve his time on the “shop floor” handling what are usually casual enquiries. This is not the best person to act as your guide through the The buyer’s agent we recommend are selected to be your professional adviser when buying a property in When you require further in-depth information & to be as fully briefed as possible prior to emigrating or buying/selling property in Florida we offer the following briefings:- Thinking about buying a property in Thinking about selling a property in Thinking about emigrating to
Just want to be sent details of suitable agents with excellent testimonials and a proven track record of working with British buyers – click here
Andrew was a Senior Government Official for 20 years before relocating to |
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