REAL Exclusive Magazine

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REAL Magazine Featuring: Pamela Hughes, Elizabeth Taylor, Vince Fraser, Stuart Roth/Center for Faith and Freedom and more.

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Elizabeth Taylor’s Miami Lovers Home Hits Market

By Ed Bertha

Rental $45,000/Month, Purchase $13.9 Million

From Elizabeth Taylor’s love letters to William Pawley…

“I’ve never known this kind of love before – it’s so perfect and complete – and mature.” Read More

Vince Fraser, Sarasota Film Festival Digital Artist

Immerse Yourself

By Ed Bertha

Click on image (left & below) to download pdf.

Sarasota Film Festival 2011 “It’s one of the best illustrations I’ve produced so far.” Read More

Giving Hunger The Blues Raises Over $100,000!

In 1996, fueled by a desire to make a difference “Giving Hunger The Blues” was born. It’s mission… to provide those less fortunate with the most basic of needs… food. From this modest beginning fifteen years ago “Giving Hunger The Blues” has grown each year and has become All Faiths Food Bank’s biggest one day fundraiser, having contributed to date, over $950,000. Click HERE to see if you were tagged at this year’s event. Read More

REAL Magazine Event On The Manatee River, $3.8M It’s Yours!

The event was hosted by Peter Van DerNoord of VanderNoord Realty at this Manatee River waterfront compound suitable for a 90′ yacht or sailboat.  Oh what an exceptional 9,500+ sq ft estate home. Click on collage to download pdf. Read More

Real Beauty, Hair Extensions

By Sheila Venancia

What is Real Beauty? I’ve spent the past twelve years searching for top products and learning special techniques with some of the top trainers in the world to find out. As a young salon owner and educator I had a great desire to learn all that I could in the beauty industry. This led me to an interest in international styling and a subsequent two year trip around the world. Now I am here in Sarasota and want to share my knowledge and expertise with you.

Hair extensions are one of the most popular services in many countries. I had experience with most of the processes out there, but they were cumbersome, caused damage, took many hours to apply and were very low quality.

Here’s one extension product that I have found to be very high quality, easily applied and gives great results.  I believe in it so much that I became certified for this product in Brazil five years ago.

HAVE YOUR DREAM HAIR, LASER HAIR EXTENSION

Hairdreams has been a worldwide leading provider of real hair extension for many years.

The Hairdreams philosophy includes a strict quality control and is subsequently gently refined.

The result: Excellent Hair Quality, which has become the Hairdreams trademark.

NON GLUE / BOND BASED ATTACHMENTS

Innovative Laser Beamer System can bond up to eight “strands” (a strand contains 25 human hairs) at one time, and offers a wide array of hair colors, textures and accessories.

The guarantee: Proof of this outstanding quality is the Hairdreams guarantee during the entire wearing period. With simple maintenance and regular aftercare, Hairdreams extensions last two or three times longer than other brands.

Hairdreams works with leading stylist’s around the whole world, in many metropolises such as Milan, Paris, New York, and is very popular in Beverly Hills.

Top clients include actresses, singers, models, and celebrities such as Julia Robert’s, Jessica Simpson, Penelope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez and many more that don’t tell anyone they are wearing extensions. This is one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets and now it is available in Sarasota!

“THE ART OF HAIR EXTENSION IS NOT ONLY CREATING GORGEOUS LOOKS, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THEY ARE UNDETECTABLE.”

In just 30 minutes you can have a celebrity look, the look of your dreams.

Extend hair, extend color, create a dimension in your base color with highlights, lowlights, ballayage.

Anything is possible without chemical or process damage to your hair. You can add jewels, feathers, bold colors, length or volume in as little as thirty minutes!

Laser hair extension is innovative technology that offers creative effects and safe changes for your hair.

Until next month.

“If you can’t say ‘I love my hair,’ you need a new hairstylist!”

Sheila Venancia
International Hair Stylist

(941) 822-2152

Copyright © 2011 REAL Magazine

Links to this article are encouraged

Multi-Family Housing Making A Roaring Comeback

By William Henry PhD

According to a recent forum held by the University of Florida’s graduate real estate department for its Board of Trustees, the resurgence is due to the following factors:

1) Changing demographics leads to increased demand
2) The deep recession
3) A preference for a more urban lifestyle
4) Disillusionment with the American dream
5) Mounting cash reserves by certain financial institutions

Changing Demographics
Only one in five households will be married couples with children in 2025. Those who do choose the traditional family lifestyle will postpone this decision for up to (8) eight to (10) ten years after a formal education. 78 million ‘echo boomers’ are getting ready to enter their prime renting years. 10 million immigrants rent for an average of 10 years.

The Deep Recession
Florida has been particularly hard hit by the current recession. Unemployment remains at historically high levels while median family income remains below many comparable states. Some attribute this to a ‘brain drain’ to areas like Austin, Texas. Qualified home buyers often revert to renting in times like this.

Urban Lifestyle
A growing number of residents prefer the urban lifestyle and spend less time in the dwelling and more time in assembly areas such as restaurants, cocktail lounges, and at sporting events. Therefore, they really do not prioritize the amount of space in their living quarters. A large single family home in the suburbs does not have the allure it once had, unless the residents are the one in five referred to above.

Disillusionment with the American Dream
Potential buyers do not view housing as a promising financial investment. They view it as basic shelter and prefer other investments.

Mounting Cash Reserves in Financial Institutions
Due to the recent change in under writing guidelines, many potential development projects have been shelved. Historically low interest rates coupled with plummeting vacancy rates has ‘incentivized’ some large institutional investors to place debt and/or equity in potential Class ‘A’ rental apartment
developments.

The above demand factors and investment appetite are spurring development of 21st century rental apartment prototypes. These prototypes can be divided into the following groupings. They do share some common features though. The two types of emerging rental apartment developments are:

The ‘Millennium’s’ Urban Lifestyle Apartment
These complexes can be described as mostly compact dwelling units (DU’s) located in populous urban cores in larger metropolitan areas across the U.S. In Florida, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando come to mind. These ‘Millennium’ DU’s are typically contained in mid to high rise buildings with structured parking. The average unit size is often below 900 square feet. Dwellers often learn to make due with smaller quarters by compact furniture schemes such as those offered by the well know retailer ‘Ikea’.

Single Family Home Substitutes
This new 21st century prototype may be positioned on the outskirts of metropolitan areas co-located with golf communities, water resorts, parks, and other lifestyle amenities. Units may mimic single family home environments with spacious living quarters, multiple baths, oversized storage and convenient covered parking. These units appeal to those who have opted out of the potential home buyer market for reasons cited above, but wish to retain unit features common to home living such as sound attenuation and reduced transmission, security and multiple layout options.

Common to both prototypes are ever expanding lifestyle features built into common areas such as fitness centers, auxiliary retail outlets, multi-media theatres, internet cafes, and daycare centers.

The challenge that architects, developers, contractors, and investors have in bringing these new products to the market is the opposite pressures of cost escalation and rent pricing thresholds. If the cost of delivery is $120,000 per dwelling unit, can the rental pricing structure stay at or below $1.20/square foot of area in the unit per month? Put simply, can the investors reap a return if a unit that equals 1,000 square feet charges $1,200 per month?

While the features and amenities may vary, there are well established principles that, if followed, will lead to success. Some examples are shown herein. Expect to see cranes reappear on skylines in the next year in cities such as Tampa, Orlando, Miami, and Jacksonville that signal construction of this new phase of redevelopment.

Unlikely supporters will be those who traditionally opposed developments such as the Sierra Club and ‘Green Initiative; groups. These groups have come to realize that there is a pent up demand for 60 million new dwelling units by the year 2030. They would prefer these new units to be within redeveloped areas where infrastructure such as roads, sewer, and water are already available and are serviceable. These environmental groups prefer the infill development in lieu of suburban sprawl. Commutes are reduced due to the live/work connection when residences abut work places. Further, green initiatives reduce the ‘carbon footprint.’ Many of these new developments will attain LEED certification attesting to the efficacy of the project features that support conservation.

Reliable Group, LLC Architects AA# 0003523 is a well-known architectural and construction management firm based in Tampa, Florida. RGA is headed by Dr. William Henry, both an architect and certified expert witness who issues opinions and testimony concerning design and construction related matters. Having designed over 250 landmark buildings in the state of Florida, he has represented and testified for both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving code violations such as associated with design and construction defects as well as American Disabilities Act – ‘ADA’ violations. William Henry, PhD (Bill) may be reached at (813) 226.2220 or bhenry@rga-design.com.

Copyright © 2011 REAL Magazine

Links to this article are encouraged

Trends In International Real Estate

By Patricia Tan

I write this soon after returning from a springtime marketing trip to Western Europe. I make a similar trip at least twice each year and combine having a presence at overseas property shows, with delivering educational seminars to European buyers looking to invest in Florida and meetings with our valued partners in various European countries. These trips afford me the opportunity to experience first-hand, how our European cousins are spending their Euros, Sterling, Krona or other currency, when they look to buy real estate outside their home countries.

The top two destinations for European buyers buying second homes for vacation or retirement are Spain and France. Promises of a mild Mediterranean climate, sunshine, warmer temperatures and easy accessibility are hard to beat.
 
The Spanish property market has been hard hit in recent years. First, over building in many of their top resort areas left these locations less desirable. This was followed by allegations of corruption, and homes constructed without proper permitting or clean title to the land upon which they were built. Some Europeans are still nervous about buying a second home in Spain.

France has also been a popular destination. In addition to the traditional retiree and vacationer, many Europeans have purchased homes in France as rental investments. French developers have been quick to take advantage of the fact that almost 50% of the population there rent homes. They have structured developments to offer guaranteed rental income and capital growth to savvy investors.

So how does Florida stack up?
 
The U.S.A generally has one of the most transparent real estate markets in the world. How a property is zoned, what has been permitted there and who owns it, is usually a matter of public record. Foreign purchasers of real estate here can feel somewhat protected by this, and have the comfort of title insurance which accompanies most U.S real estate transactions – this is not the case in many other countries.
 
Florida is generally acknowledged as a retirement destination, and the many empty homes we see during our summer months certainly bear witness to the fact we can boast many owners of second homes. However, recent years have seen a shift in the profile of the European buyer who makes an investment here – “investment” being the operative word. 

Many European buyers will buy a home to meet their personal needs, but they will also want to rent it for part of the time – if not to make a cash return, to at least cover their annual cost of ownership. For this reason, many of them will purchase homes that allow short term rentals – weekly or monthly. Here on the Gulf Coast, once you leave the beach areas it is hard to find homes in subdivisions that allow such rentals. The majority of British and German buyers for instance, prefer to buy single family homes rather than condos, and suitable houses can be difficult to find in the beach areas. The limited choice of homes that allow short term rentals on the mainland drives many European buyers to purchase homes in Orlando and Central Florida where short term rentals are allowed and encouraged.

Recently we have seen a growing number of Europeans come to our area to purchase true investment properties – homes they will never use themselves, and where they plan to install a tenant on an annual lease who will pay many of the running costs of the home in addition to a monthly rental.
 
What makes Florida attractive for such an investment at this time?
 
First, real estate prices have rolled back many years to the low prices we see today. In addition, for some international investors, the weakness of the U.S. Dollar against their home currency makes our prices look even lower. We also have a healthy demand for rental properties both from those losing their homes to foreclosure, and from a growing population – retirees unable to sell their homes “up north”, those building new custom homes in our area (yes, this class of buyer has returned!) who need a place to live while construction takes place, and owners and employees of businesses relocating to Florida.
 
Many Europeans see real estate as a key component of their investment portfolio, and may already own rental properties in more than one European country. The time is right for further diversification, to add Florida to the list of places they collect rent.

We recently worked with some European investors who were purchasing tenanted condos in Fort Myers for between $50,000 and $75,000 and seeing net returns of up to 9%. We just sold a Sarasota condo with tenants in place to a British buyer who will achieve a more modest net return of around 5% – but still much more than he would see from a savings account or CD today!

For the higher priced homes, many investors will sacrifice cash income in the short term for a better future upside on capital appreciation, as might be the case when purchasing a waterfront property for instance. Like the Scottish couple we recently showed beachfront condos on Lido and Longboat Key. They wanted a luxury property they could call home for a few months each year, and rent to other visitors when they were not using it themselves.

Patricia Tan was born in England, and moved to Sarasota in 1997. Her career afforded her the opportunity to live and work in many countries around the world, including Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. She spent five years as a Director of an American real estate franchise in England. Patricia has served as Chairperson of Sarasota Association of REALTORS®’ International Council, and currently serves as the national Association of REALTORS®’ President’s Liaison to the United Kingdom. She is a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) and works as International Sales Director for Prudential Palms Realty. Patricia may be reached at 941-504-9232 or Pat@PatriciaTan.com.

Copyright © 2011 REAL Magazine

Links to this article are encouraged

Successful Putting In Windy Conditions

By Chad Jones

This time of year, the weather can change drastically from day to day. The most difficult days to putt are the really windy days. The next time you find yourself playing a round of golf in windy conditions, I recommend trying these simple tips. First, do not place your putter on the ground behind the ball. This will save you strokes if the ball would happen to move. By doing this, a player would not have addressed the ball and would not be given a penalty stroke. Secondly, I would suggest speeding up your routine over the ball. It might feel uncomfortable at first when you try this, but it will potentially give the wind less time to osculate your ball. Lastly, slightly widen your stance and place the pressure on the inside of your legs. This will help create a steadier base and a better foundation for your stroke. Practicing these simple tips before you tee off will surely give you a putting edge over your playing partners in windy conditions.

Chad Jones is the Director Of Elite Junior Golf for the Jonathan Yarwood Golf Academy located at The Concession Golf Club. He is a PGA of America certified instructor and has certifications in junior golf and golf fitness from the Titleist Performance Institute and was a 2010 US Kids Top 50 Coach. ChadJones@pga.com

Copyright © 2011 REAL Magazine

Links to this article are encouraged

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REAL Magazine April 2011 Featuring: Renee Snyder & Habitat For Humanity Sarasota, All Faiths Food Bank, Jo Rutstein and more.

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A Dream Becomes Reality Through Habitat For Humanity Sarasota

Karla Arroglia’s Story

By Lalaena Gonzalez-Figueroa

Photography by Giovanni Lunardi

For Karla Arroglia, purchasing a home through Habitat for Humanity has been an investment whose yield extends far beyond the value of real estate. The hard-working mother of two, who invested over a year in the process of acquiring a property, notes that her home has given her family roots within the community, and allowed her children to flourish. Read More

Nothing Is Stronger Than The Heart Of A Volunteer.

Habitat For Humanity Sarasota

Photography by Giovanni Lunardi

Last year over 42,400 volunteer hours helped change lives through Habitat for Humanity Sarasota. Come meet some of these incredible individuals.

Gus Friedrichs Volunteer of the Year 2010. 10 year volunteer, Crew Leader, retired design engineer, finish carpentry and plumbing. Gus is also a ReStore volunteer and does tutoring for Sarasota County schools. Read More

Ringling College Of Art + Design Students Support Habitat For Humanity Sarasota.

By Dr. Larry Thompson and Renee Snyder

Photography by Giovanni Lunardi

The Future Of Habitat For Humanity Sarasota Involves Youth Read More

Habitat For Humanity Sarasota ReStore Grand Opening Gala Event.

REAL Magazine’s gala grand opening event for Habitat for Humanity Sarasota’s second ReStore was a huge success netting over $10,000 for Habitat Sarasota. Read More

REAL Magazine On The Manatee River Event, $3.8M It’s Yours!

Take The Virtual Tour Of The Event

By Chad Spencer CMS Photography

Hosted by Peter Van DerNoord of VanderNoord Realty the Manatee River waterfront compound can dock a 90′ yacht or sailboat. Enjoy the event at the exceptional 9,500+ sq ft estate home.

Click Here For Full Screen Display Of The Event Virtual Tour Read More