Archive | Real Estate
Slip or Trip and Fall Cases Can Yield Multi Million Dollar Settlements By William Henry, PhD It may come as a surprise to many that a slight defect in a sidewalk could result in a multi million dollar settlement by your local government to the injured party. Yet a recent accident on a public sidewalk outside of a New York City Hospital yielded the victim a settlement of 2.25 million dollars. The City preferred to settle this claim rather than risk exposure to a larger award by a jury who could empathize with the victim’s plight. Since we at RGA […]
Buying in Florida? Six Steps to Success By Patricia Tan Buying a home in Florida is a very big step, whether you are from the northern states or outside the country. Many of our overseas customers ask us “What are the most important things for us to consider when looking to buy a home in Florida?”. I usually share a number of key points with them – things they should do to ensure their Florida property investment is a success, and I am happy to share those here. Understand Your Motivation Why do you want to buy a home in […]
Something Old, Something New … By Patricia Tan . . . Something Borrowed, Something Blue . . . We are all familiar with this old English rhyme which gives advice to brides, but what does this have to do with real estate? In today’s real estate market, many areas have few homes being offered for sale. As the availability of resale properties tightens we are seeing a surge in interest in newly constructed homes, and I thought it might be useful to examine the pros and cons of older homes versus their new-build cousins. When purchasing a home, a buyer […]
Does Title Insurance Really Protect a Property Owner from Zoning Issues? By William Henry, PhD Title Insurance is a policy to protect and/or indemnify against loss or damage resulting from defects in the title and deed to the property. What does Title insurance cover? The basic title insurance policy that is not “overly endorsed” includes the following: 1) Representation as to the actual owners of the property, 2) Representation that the property is free of encumbrances, i.e. other mortgage liens, mechanics liens, and potential claims that have not been recorded, and 3) Representation that there is access to the property […]
More International Buyers Coming To U.S.A. By Patricia Tan Recent Reports Show Significant Growth I spend most of my time in Sarasota, where our real estate team lists and sells homes in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. A key factor that has contributed to our success over the years has been our focus on international buyers. Today, more than 70% of our business comes from transactions that involve someone from another country. I also spend some of my time traveling around Florida, teaching other Realtors how to build their global business, and this means I have to understand the impact that […]
International Real Estate – A Risky Business? By Patricia Tan I recently returned from a series of meetings in Washington D.C. While I was there, I was asked to present to a group of experienced international agents about ways in which they could manage risk in their business, and provide a better experience for their customers. Let’s consider those real estate transactions where an American buys or sells property in another country. Such transactions are most certainly prone to greater risks in a number of areas, and buyers, sellers and real estate agents should exercise caution.
The Conflict: New Urbanistic Vs. ‘Pseudo Urbanistic’ By William Henry, PhD The Conflict Between ‘The New Urbanistic Approach Embraced By Government Urban Planners Vs. The ‘Pseudo Urbanistic’–Market Rate Approach Implemented By The Private Sector Consumers and casual observers will note that the various urban plans currently being fostered by government officials and private commercial developer/builders vary greatly in both the substance and style of the plans. The differences are significant! As may be expected, government seems of late to be enamored with the creation of a ‘new urbanism’ with mixed zoning uses all clustered together creating ‘mixed use urban centers’. […]
411 North Casey Key Road Lavish Gulf-Front Seclusion By Ed Bertha Situated on Sarasota’s narrow plot of sand known as Casey Key, 411 North Casey Key Road sets a standard for luxury on the Gulf Coast, and is in tune with Atlantic Coast resorts like Palm Beach, Jupiter Island and Miami when it comes to luxe real estate. Spanning over 300 feet of pristine Gulf of Mexico shoreline, this very private estate includes two separate custom residences and occupies nearly one and half lushly landscaped gulf-front acres on Casey Key’s highly-coveted north end. The main residence in this remarkable, walled-in […]
Interview With Developer Tom Mannausa The Jewel Rising By Ed Bertha Tom, you opened The Jewel’s sales office in November, 2012. In December, 2013 you began converting deposits into binding purchase agreements. During the same timeframe you had to deal with permits and other legal hurdles. Construction began in April, 2014. The Jewel’s residents are slated to move in early August, 2015. What a ride, and the most satisfying part is only beginning. Let’s reflect.
Thinking Of Remodeling Your Condo? By Jay Anderson It is the time of year when our Florida weather spawns spring cleaning and remodeling projects. Large condominium projects typically occur when a resale purchase is made, while smaller projects, like a kitchen or bath, can occur any time. In a single-family home you are usually inconveniencing one person or a single family, but in a condo, you could be impacting hundreds. Sometimes, though, structural elements or utilities prevent a contractor from being able to redesign the interior as much as you would like. If you live in a condo here are […]
The Residential Real Estate Business Is … By Patricia Tan Some would say it is just that – a business, a commercial enterprise. Others might say it is a transaction business – after all, as Realtors® we get paid only upon successful closing of a transaction, and this is how we measure our personal and business productivity. But what is it really? The real estate business serves one of a human being’s most basic needs – the need for shelter. As such, it is important that we realize our business is essentially a people business. As Realtors®, our business success […]
What’s Your Dollar Worth? By Patricia Tan Currency Considerations for International Investors In addition to looking at the real estate investment itself, an overseas investor must also consider the relative strength of the U.S. dollar against their home currency. Consideration has to be given to this at the time of purchase, and also at the projected time of sale. This adds a whole layer of complexity to the purchase and sale of U.S.A. real estate. Currency exchange rates, the relative value of one currency versus another, are constantly changing. A major shift in an exchange rate during a real estate […]
Determining Cause…Who Is To Blame? By William Henry, PhD Overview As design forensic experts we are often tasked with investigating sites where injuries and/or fatalities arise from unsafe building conditions. Often times, no photographic or other visual record exists of the actual incident. In these cases, the expert must rely on third party accounts from eyewitnesses who provide testimony as to their recollection of what occurred. Documentation of onsite condition There are some instances where actual videos record the incident from security cameras, or a passerby may have photographs immediately following the incident derived from sources such as cell phone […]
Cash Can Make You The King, Queen Or Jester By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. The sales professionals in the movie “Pretty Woman” were not the only ones who made a big mistake when they ignored Julia Roberts, cash buyers make big mistakes too. For example, a cash buyer will insist a survey is not necessary to close on real property. For cash buyers, this concept rings true. However, buyers who close without a survey take a big risk. Some buyers learn the hard way. It is not fun to know your home intrudes onto your neighbor’s property and […]
What are DreamScapes? By William Henry, PhD Over the last 30 years or so I, like many Florida residents, enjoy taking my family to Disney World as well as other theme parks in Central Florida. I hope to take my grandchildren there someday. My favorite has always been the MGM theme park attraction at Disney World. I am also impressed with Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island. There seems to be an aura of “Magic” present as well as at the other Disney venues. Though my background entails practicing both as a designer and researcher, I had not bothered to tap […]
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015
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