Weekly Foreclosure List

The Golan Team provides a free service to its clientele...A free weekly report of all new Single Family Homes and Condos Foreclosure report. See where the real deals are...If you already know where you want to buy whether it is in Miami Beach, Bal Harbour, Surfside, Sunny Isles, Aventura, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale, Hollywood or anywhere in Miami Dade or Broward county you can get this free list emailed to you weekly. You can even customize the search to meet your own needs.

To sign up click here: http://www.southfloridaluxuryforeclosures.com/

This week there were 11 new foreclosure condos and 14 new foreclosure homes. Just click on the link below and use the arrows on the top left to scroll from property to property.

If you like something call us to 786-271-1235 or drop us a note to foreclosures@golanteam.com and we will send you more information and schedule and appointment if you wish to see the property.

New Foreclosure Condos Listings

New Foreclosure Home Listings

Stay on top of the latest Foreclosures by subscribing to the Golan Team luxury foreclosure website.

The Golan Team is headed by Eyal and Debra Golan a husband and wife team that have been selling luxury condos and single family homes in the South Florida for the past decade. Visit their website at www.golanteam.com or call them at 786-271-1235 to discuss your Real Estate needs.

2010 Semi Annual Home Sales Statistics - Strong Numbers for Homes from Miami Beach - Hollywood

If you have been reading the press, you know this year has been a very busy one with regards to Real Estate and a lot of properties have exchanged hands. The Golan Team primarily specializes in Real Estate in Miami Beach, Surfside, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami and North Miami Beach, Eastern Shores, Aventura, Golden Beach, Hallandale and Hollywood East. Looking at these areas only, there have been 362 closed Single Family Homes just this year.

Breakdown:

Miami Beach: Tops the list with 98 closings ranging from $102,500 to $16,000,000
North Miami Beach – Second with 86 closings ranging from $25,589 to $1,240,000
North Miami – Third with 59 closings ranging from $28,599 to $1,060,000
Hallandale – Fourth with 45 closings ranging from $36,000 to $1,425,000
Surfside – Fifth with 22 closings ranging from $271,000 to $550,000.
Aventura – Sixth with 18 closings ranging from $160,000 to $2,300,000
Hollywood East – Seventh with 14 closings ranging from $44,600 to $1,840,000
Sunny Isles Beach – Eighth with 9 closings ranging from $325,000 to $2,400,000
Bay Harbor Islands – Ninth with 3 closings ranging from $421,000 to $620,000
Bal Harbour – Tenth with 2 closings ranging from $2,800,000 to $3,000,000

Our next blog will features summaries of condo sales this year in the same areas.

The Golan Team specializes in waterfront property or homes and condos close to the Ocean from Miami Beach to Hollywood. If you are interested in purchasing a home please contact us with your wishlist at info@golanteam,com or call us at 786-271-1235.

First Time Homebuyer Credit - The Golan Team (786-271-1235) shows you how to take advantage of it

This week The Golan Team (786-271-1235) worked with two First Time Homebuyers. They had a lot of questions regarding the first time homebuyer credit that is due to expire on April 30, 2010.

We thought if Buyers we are working with have these questions so to must a lot of Buyers out there.

Here is a terrific website that we hope will answer all your questions.

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/

Industry insiders are suggesting that the Home Buyer Tax Incentives will not be extended again when they expire at the end of April.

Remember that this credit not only applies to First Time Buyers but also for current owners if you meet certain guidelines.

If we can help you on your property search in Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands. Surfside, Miami Beach, Hallandale or Hollywood area please do not hesitate to contact us at 786-271-1235, visit us on the web at http://www.golanteam.com/ or shoot us an email to info@golanteam.com

Aventura Mall gets new competition with the Opening of the Village at Gulfstream Park

On Thursday February 11, 2010 the long anticipated opening of the Village at Gulfstream Park will fill the day with festivities and specials. Located just north of Aventura at the beginning of Hallandale Beach and US-1 is the planned project of Gulfstream Park. What originally began as a racetrack has evolved into a casino, shops and will eventually house 70+ restaurants. It will be a true mecca destination and the Developers have spent in excess of $245 million to build this palm filled outdoor mall that will feature nightclubs, restaurants, shops and of course a casino and their world famous Horse Racing course.

A ribbon cutting ceremony starts the day off at 10 am and all day there will be grand opening celebrations including a Latin infused carnival with music and parade at 6:30 p.m.

For a full list of stores and facilities click here: Gulfstream Directory

The Developers of this project are Forest City Enterprises and Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC). They entered into a joint venture partnership agreement concerning the planned development of The Village at Gulfstream Park. Under the agreement with MEC, Forest City will manage the development of The Village at Gulfstream Park, secure financing for the project and act as the property manager. Each of Forest City and MEC will hold a 50% interest in the joint venture, which will lease the land underlying the retail project on a long-term basis from MEC. The total project size is 1,000,000 square feet and will feature a total of 750,000 square feet of retail space that will be built in phases. This phase consists of 410,000 sf of retail. There are also plans for 1500 residential units to be built and a 310,000 sf club house, 140,000 sf of office space and when completed the entire complex will have 7000 parking spaces.

If you have any questions or would like property information contact the Golan Team at 786-271-1235 or send us an email to info@golanteam.com

Do you need to appeal your property tax bill?

By now, everyone who owns property in either Miami-Dade county or Broward county should have received their Property Tax notice last week. Did your taxes go down? Did your taxes go up? With property values declining across the board, how is it possible that your property taxes have gone up?

There are two components to your Property Tax Notice. First is the ASSESSED VALUE and the second is MILLAGE RATE. The ASSESSED VALUE is where the counties base their tax bills on the “market value” which is the value of comparable properties in your neighborhood as of January 1, of this year. That means if there was a phenomenally low sale last month on a comparable property near yours that closed last month, it will not count until next year. Note that because foreclosure prices closed much lower than “traditional” home closings, the County Appraiser’s office has decided not to include them in their equation. If you want more information on this click http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/exempt_homestead.asp
or if you own property in Broward county go to http://www.bcpa.net/

The MILLAGE RATE – is how the county Property Appraiser determines the value of the property for tax purposes, the local taxing authorities (school board, commissioners, etc.) decide how much money is required to provide services and establish the millage rate . The Property Appraiser’s office does not determine the amount of taxes you pay. The taxes can increase or decrease depending on the millage rate set by the school board, commissioners, cities and other taxing authorities. The assessed value provides the base for this equation.

Therefore even if your property values have gone down (you should check on your notice the market/assessed value columns 2008 vs 2009) the millage rate could have gone up and that would cause an increase in your taxes due.

If you feel your taxes have been assessed wrong you must make a complaint by SEPTEMBER 18, 2009 latest.

In Dade county – click here to appeal
Or in person visit please visit one of their two Offices:
111 NW First St., 8th Floor, in downtown Miami

OR

10710 SW 211 St., 2nd Floor, in Cutler Bay

In Broward County - visit http://www.bcpa.net/ for information

If you own a House – call 954-357-6831
If you own a Condo – call 954-357-6832
If you own Commercial Property – call 954-357-6835

Remember the deadline is only 19 days away so do not delay if you want to appeal.

This blog has been provided as a free service from THE GOLAN TEAM. For all your Real Estate needs whether residential, commercial or investment. Contact us at 786-271-1235 or visit us at http://www.golanteam.com/. Interested in foreclosures – sign up for a free list of foreclosures at http://www.southfloridaluxuryforeclosures.com/ . Interested in subscribing to our blog – visit http://www.southfloridacondosblog,com/ and look for the subscribe box on the right hand side.

Buying a Property in South Florida - Weighing your options

There are so many Real Estate topics to write about that a blog can be a full time job!! With the information technology that exists whether you are a Realtor, a Buyer, a Seller or an Investor, there are literally thousands of articles, blogs, comments or sources one can turn too to educate or confuse (LOL) you more!!!

Real Estate is definitely changing and in my opinion, becoming more and more accountable. Buyers are not just buying “what they like” they are using more “scientific” methods to determine which property to purchase.

Case in point, we have been working with a Buyer over the last few weeks who came to Florida with his wife on a “property buying trip”. We spent two days appealing to their “senses” and showed them a variety of oceanfront condos from Bal Harbour across Sunny Isles Beach and up to Hallandale Beach. During this time all their decisions and comments were based on what they saw and what appealed to their physical senses. We needed this process to occur as it helps us determine where they want to live. At the end of this search, we finally settled on one particular building that answered their needs vis a vie to location & amenities. Now we reached the point of selecting a unit to make an offer on.

In the past at this point of beginning the process of making an offer, is when I am used to hearing all about the various aspects of one particular unit that wins over another unit. It could be the choice of flooring, a custom closet, particular lighting etc etc etc. Again, it is a continuation of the process of using their "senses" to purchase. However, in this situation and we are finding the same with a lot of the Buyers we are working with, this is not the case.

It has come down to Price per Square Foot or (PSF). The Price per Square Foot is calculated by taking the asking price and dividing it by the interior (under air) square footage of a property. For example if a property is asking $1,000,000 and is 2,000 sf under air (balconies or garages do not count in this equation), the PSF is $500/ft. I want to add two caveats here. The first is when one is getting ready to buy Real Estate you should look at not only the asking price/foot but also the closed sales prices/ft. Many times this number can be vastly different. The second point that I want to make is regarding quality and finishes. You will pay more PSF for a finished condo on the Ocean then a “Decorator Ready” unit (one that needs flooring, paint etc) and this should be factored in to your PSF. Always make sure you are comparing “like” properties in your analysis.

You should be aware of this especially if you are purchasing a property including financing. An appraiser only uses comparables of sold properties. So even if a property looks like “a great deal” and is priced much lower than competitive ones, check and ask what the sold comparables are and then judge if you have found that “great deal”. The properties that are moving and selling in this market are the ones that have priced themselves correctly against recent closed sales.

Foreclosure properties – those owned by the bank are mostly always priced below the last closed sale comparable. If you are interested in receiving a weekly list (for free) of all luxury foreclosures please subscribe here http://www.southfloridaluxuryforeclosures.com/