5/03/2017

Buying a Home? Do You Know the Lingo?

Buying a home can be intimidating if you are not familiar with the terms used during the process. To start you on your path with confidence, we have compiled a list of some of the most common terms used when buying a home.

Freddie Mac has compiled a more exhaustive glossary of terms in their “My Home” section of their website.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) – This is a broader measure of your cost for borrowing money. The APR includes the interest rate, points, broker fees and certain other credit charges a borrower is required to pay. Because these costs are rolled in, the APR is usually higher than your interest rate.

Appraisal – A professional analysis used to estimate the value of the property. This includes examples of sales of similar properties. This is a necessary step in getting your financing secured as it validates the home’s worth to you and your lender.

Closing Costs – The costs to complete the real estate transaction. These costs are in addition to the price of the home and are paid at closing. They include points, taxes, title insurance, financing costs, items that must be prepaid or escrowed and other costs. Ask your lender for a complete list of closing cost items.

Credit Score – A number ranging from 350-800, that is based on an analysis of your credit history. Your credit score plays a significant role when securing a mortgage as it helps lenders determine the likelihood that you’ll repay future debts. The higher your score, the better, but many buyers believe they need at least a 780 score to qualify when, in actuality, over 55% of approved loans had a score below 750.

Discount Points – A point equals 1% of your loan (1 point on a $200,000 loan = $2,000). You can pay points to buy down your mortgage interest rate. It’s essentially an upfront interest payment to lock in a lower rate for your mortgage.

Down Payment – This is a portion of the cost of your home that you pay upfront to secure the purchase of the property. Down payments are typically 3 to 20% of the purchase price of the home. There are zero-down programs available through VA loans for Veterans, as well as USDA loans for rural areas of the country. Eighty percent of first-time buyers put less than 20% down last month.

Escrow – The holding of money or documents by a neutral third party before closing. It can also be an account held by the lender (or servicer) into which a homeowner pays money for taxes and insurance.

Fixed-Rate Mortgages – A mortgage with an interest rate that does not change for the entire term of the loan. Fixed-rate mortgages are typically 15 or 30 years.

Home Inspection – A professional inspection of a home to determine the condition of the property. The inspection should include an evaluation of the plumbing, heating and cooling systems, roof, wiring, foundation and pest infestation.

Mortgage Rate – The interest rate you pay to borrow money to buy your house. The lower the rate, the better. Interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage have hovered between 4 and 4.25% for most of 2017.

Pre-Approval Letter – A letter from a mortgage lender indicating that you qualify for a mortgage of a specific amount. It also shows a home seller that you're a serious buyer. Having a pre-approval letter in hand while shopping for homes can help you move faster, and with greater confidence, in competitive markets.

Primary Mortgage Insurance (PMI) – If you make a down payment lower than 20% on your conventional loan, your lender will require PMI, typically at a rate of .51%. PMI serves as an added insurance policy that protects the lender if you are unable to pay your mortgage and can be cancelled from your payment once you reach 20% equity in your home. For more information on how PMI can impact your monthly housing cost, click here.

Real Estate Professional – An individual who provides services in buying and selling homes. Real estate professionals are there to help you through the confusing paperwork, to help you find your dream home, to negotiate any of the details that come up, and to help make sure that you know exactly what’s going on in the housing market. Real estate professionals can refer you to local lenders or mortgage brokers along with other specialists that you will need throughout the home-buying process.

The best way to ensure that your home-buying process is a confident one is to find a real estate professional who will guide you through every aspect of the transaction with ‘the heart of a teacher,’ and who puts your family’s needs first.

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Contact Us:

Ivan Parada

Real Estate Advisor

Cell: 786.991.5551
Skype: iparada1
E-mail: ivanparada7@gmail.com
2813 Executive Park Dr #102,
Weston, FL. 33331. U.S.A.

"Our Passion Is To Serve You With Integrity And Excellence, Our Vision Is To Help You Invest In A Wise And Profitable Way, And Our Mission Is To Exceed Your Expectations!"

4/24/2017

IN SEARCH OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SOUTH FLORIDA WORKERS HEAD WEST

To deal with the higher prices, some buyers are choosing to live in a new community in western Collier County called Ave Maria.

NEW HOMES FOR SALE FROM $201,990 IN AVE MARIA, FL, 34142.

2, 3, 4 & 5 Bedrooms, 1348 sqft - 4358 sqft, 19 Different Models

READ MORE & SEE THE VIDEOS>>>

Paul Owers
Contact Reporter
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/real-estate/fl-bz-housing-affordability-20170412-story.html

Brea Coffey was living at home with her mother in Boca Raton, determined to buy her own place. But she quickly found a disconnect between what she wanted and what she could afford.

So Coffey looked beyond southeast Florida, ultimately paying a fraction of what she would have spent on a home closer to the coast by moving to Ave Maria, a growing community with an old-fashioned feel off Alligator Alley in Collier County.

Her new, two-story $225,700 home is a 70-minute commute one way to her law enforcement job in Broward County, but Coffey, 26, said the trade-off is more than worth it.

South Florida home prices have increased sharply since 2012, heightening concerns about affordability and forcing first-time buyers and middle class workers to get creative in the search for a white picket fence of their own.

The median price for existing, single-family homes tops $320,000 in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, according to the latest figures from local Realtor boards.

Over the past five years, Palm Beach County’s median has jumped 67 percent, while Broward has seen a 72 percent price hike. Miami-Dade’s median has more than doubled.

Many couples scraping by on modest incomes say they can’t touch a new home because the vast majority of construction is geared toward well-to-do buyers.

With home prices far outpacing wage growth, historically low interest rates have been a blessing for buyers, but their purchasing power is declining as the Federal Reserve gradually raises rates in response to an improved economy.

Kevin Maher, a private credit consultant and past president of the Palm Beach County Affordable Housing Collaborative, said he’s worried about a repeat of what happened during the last decade’s housing boom, when school teachers and police officers moved to other parts of the country because living in South Florida no longer made financial sense.

“They wanted to realize the American Dream, and they just weren’t able to do that here,” Maher said.

In decades past, it wasn’t uncommon for middle income workers priced out of Palm Beach County to buy homes near Interstate 95 in St. Lucie County and commute south. Broward was a popular landing spot for people who worked in Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties.

Now, the development of Ave Maria gives cross-county commuters an east-west option as sticker shock home prices become the norm in the tri-county region.

The community is nearly 40 miles from downtown Naples. Similar to the Abacoa development in Jupiter, it has a university campus, shops, restaurants and other businesses that make up the town center.

There’s a Publix, a chiropractor and a towering Catholic church with palm trees lining the entrance. Residents mostly walk or tool around on golf carts.

In buying a home on a single income, Coffey said she didn’t want to have to work overtime just to pay the mortgage each month.

Her three-bedroom, Spanish Mediterranean home has a barrel-tile roof and sits on a big corner lot. She said there’s plenty of room in the development for her to ride her bike and play with her pit bull puppy, Cole, without having to constantly dodge traffic.

“Now that I’ve bought this home that’s so affordable, I’m able to do things – to travel whenever I want, pick up and leave whenever I want and not have to worry about finances,” Coffey said.

“Living in Ave, it’s surreal,” she added. “Looking at it, you just don’t believe it’s something real, especially in 2017. It’s really nice to get away.”

Claudia and Walter Garmon bought a four-bedroom home at Ave in December 2015 for $325,800. Walter Garmon commutes 90 minutes one way to his electrical business in Miami-Dade County, but they say it’s worth it so their 2- and 6-year-old daughters can grow up in an area with virtually no crime or even a hint of congestion.

“We’ve fallen in love with this community, even with the driving,” Claudia Garmon said. “This is what I want for my girls.”

Ave Maria is a partnership of the Barron Collier Cos. and Tom Monaghan, founder of the Domino’s Pizza chain. The community opened in 2007, in the middle of the housing bust, but the development has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years.

It was southwest Florida’s top-selling community in 2016, with 345 homes started and 295 closings, according to the Metrostudy research firm. Close to 1,200 of Ave’s 11,000 homes have been built so far.

At year-end 2016, Ave’s average price per square foot was $124.50, compared to $216.93 for new construction in Broward, Metrostudy data show.

“That’s staggering,” said David Cobb, regional director for Metrostudy.

While the area around Ave Maria is desolate now, the development is perfectly positioned for the future, Cobb said.

Like South Florida, coastal Collier County is running out of available land, so the vast majority of new construction — some 50,000 homes — will go up around Ave in the next five or more decades, Cobb said.

“The future of Collier County is right there at Ave Maria,” he said.

Coral Gables-based CC Homes has built about 500 of its 2,700 homes at Ave Maria, according to principal Jim Carr. More than a third of the buyers so far work in South Florida, and Carr said he expects that number to grow.

“The idea of getting more for your money is a very, very compelling story,” he said.

The idea attracted Andrew Sisson and his wife, Michele Manning, Coconut Creek renters who are buying a home at Ave Maria this summer. He works in cabinet hardware sales for a Pompano Beach company, while Manning does accounting work in Fort Lauderdale.

When the home is finished in June, they’ll make the 90-minute trek together in a 2016 Toyota Prius, a fuel-efficient car they just bought with the commute in mind.

Sisson, 50, said the most they could have afforded in Broward was a used town home. At Ave Maria, they get a two-bedroom home with a lake view for just more than $200,000.

“This isn’t someone else’s home — it’s brand-spanking new,” he said. “You can’t beat the price.”

Home prices on the rise

Contact Us:

Ivan Parada

Real Estate Advisor

Cell: 786.991.5551
Skype: iparada1
E-mail: ivanparada7@gmail.com
2813 Executive Park Dr #102,
Weston, FL. 33331. U.S.A.

"Our Passion Is To Serve You With Integrity And Excellence, Our Vision Is To Help You Invest In A Wise And Profitable Way, And Our Mission Is To Exceed Your Expectations!"

PORSCHE DESIGN TOWER IN SUNNY ISLES NEW CONDOS FOR SALE

Porsche Design Tower

Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160

Building Description

The Porsche Design Tower is a partnership between Dezer Developments and The Porsche Design Group from Germany
The Porsche Design Tower is located at 18555 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
The tower is 95% sold.

Exclusivity has never felt this good as you soar above the Atlantic, in a glass elevator, on your way to your very own private garage in the sky. The Porsche Design Tower is the first of its kind anywhere; each unit comes equipped with an elevator. . . for your car. “You don’t have to leave your car until you are inside your apartment,” said Juergen Gessler, CEO of Porsche Design Group.

The glass elevators will give the residents unparalleled views of the ocean, city and intracoastal. All units come with minimum 2 parking spaces, larger residences will offer 4 parking spaces. The top 4 stories feature a 4-story penthouse with multiple terraces, 2 swimming pools summer kitchens and more.

Stats On Project

Address: Sunny Isles Beach.

Completion Date: 2017

Developer: Dezer Development

Floors: 57

Total Units: 132

Bedrooms: 3 - 5

Units Size: 4,235 Sqft/ 395 M2 - 19,400 Sqft / 1,800 M2

Price Range: $6'900,000 - $32'000,000

DEPOSIT SCHEDULE:

30% deposit at contract on most units. (50% deposits required on the Two Level PH Model P’0880 and Four Level PH Model P’1571)

The 70% balance (50% for PH’S) is due at closing.

Building Amenities

3-story high lobby with glass car elevator observatory in center of lobby

Lobby level restaurant overlooking the ocean with indoor and outdoor seating.

Private enclosed wine locker for each unit located within the restaurant.

Lobby level Bar & Lounge overlooking the ocean with monumental fireplace and big screen TV’s

1 oceanfront pool located on first floor landscaped deck with food & beverage service.

2 oversize plunge spas located at the 5th floor west side Sunset Deck overlooking the Intracoastal Waterways.

Game room & Ball Room with elevated ceilings, located on 5th floor (NE Section):

Virtual Golf Simulator.

4-car interconnected virtual race simulator.

Movie theater with stadium seating, popcorn bar and surround sound.

Card table and billiard area.

Oceanfront ballroom equipped with Bar & catering kitchen.

Oceanfront fitness room equipped with state-of-the art machines and oceanfront yoga room.

Oceanfront Hair saloon with manicure and pedicure stations.

Men & Woman’s spa equipped with snow room, sauna and steam rooms.

Locker room area with bathrooms and showers.

Unisex treatment rooms: Massage, facial & Vichy shower.

Sunset Terrace (located on 6th Floor – W section)

Two oversize plunge spas.

Outdoor seating/sunbathing deck for afternoon sun and watching sunsets.

Additional tanning deck one level below that connects with the Spa.

Unit Features

The building will feature a robotic parking system that will allow its residents to transport and park their cars in their own private garage at the door step of their residence.

Cylindrical building rising 60 stories and 649′ high, containing only 132 sky-homes.

200′ linear feet on the ocean – Lot size 2.21 acres.

A total of 284 robotic parking spaces

Hurricane resistant floor to ceiling windows and glass railings on all balconies.

Car elevator that travels at 600′ per minute

Chilled water air conditioning

Glass enclosed car observatory spanning 3 interior floors at the lobby and then transitioning to the exterior of the building and traveling 8 floors viewable from Collins Avenue.

Contact Us:

Ivan Parada

Real Estate Advisor

Cell: 786.991.5551
Skype: iparada1
E-mail: ivanparada7@gmail.com
2813 Executive Park Dr #102,
Weston, FL. 33331. U.S.A.

"Our Passion Is To Serve You With Integrity And Excellence, Our Vision Is To Help You Invest In A Wise And Profitable Way, And Our Mission Is To Exceed Your Expectations!"