Miami City Diggs - Latest Comments

Re: Whale lost in Miami Biscayne Bay

Alex — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:02:32 -0000

Poor Whale... I wonder what happened to him...

Re: Buying a House for sale in Miami Beach: The Inspector, The House & The Buyer

tonycartman — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:40:35 -0000

I just remembered a Clint Eastwood movie with this title! Nice job!

Regards,
Tony
http://www.houserepos.net/

Re: Condos on Miami Beach-Maintenance is more than just a number

Jamey Prezzi — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:29:45 -0000

Hi Grant-

Honestly it's building to building and from my experience, it really depends on the building and how it was managed in previous years. Of course those that were mismanaged and not collecting enough reserves to keep up maintenance or were not keeping on top of delinquent owners...... may be suffering now or in the near future. Some who have super tight organized property management companies/condo boards are really in good shape...

Re: Condos on Miami Beach-Maintenance is more than just a number

Grant Hammond — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:25:17 -0000

Hey Jamey,

Have you seen HOA fees on the rise or fall so far this year? I wondered if the HOA fees have stabilized now that most banks have figured out what they are doing in Miami.

Re: Jamey Prezzi on the Redesign of Miami City Diggs

Jamey Prezzi — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:26:06 -0000

Hi rk. Thanks for the great feedback! I am working on everything now....... much appreciated!

Re: Jamey Prezzi on the Redesign of Miami City Diggs

rk — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:19:03 -0000

Nice work. I like the new layout, Much more consistent than the old one, and fewer formatting errors. A few things you may want to consider:
(1) It would be nice to have some way to navigate to the previous and next posts, in chronological order, sort of a back and forward arrow.
(2) The "Maimi Pictures" are very nice, but a short description of what they show would be useful.
(3) The new black banner is very clean, but sort of miss the nice photo from the old page.
(4) it'd be useful to have a few more search options via checkboxes perhaps, like "recent listings" or "foreclosures" e.g.

This is not a criticism in any way, just ideas you may consider for the future. Overall it's a big step forward. (Viewing with IE8 and Vista, can't see any errors in the layout).

Edit: Even as I clicked on the "Post as.." button, I noticed a formatting error. The two flash videos at right come on top of the box where you enter your name/email and obscure part of that box.

Re: Want to Buy a Condo for Sale in Miami Beach? Don’t kill the messenger!

Jamey Prezzi — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:46:02 -0000

Me too! Had the same thing happen a little earlier this year. My buyer had a substantial deposit invested, bank gave the final approval and two days before closing decided to take back the approval. Luckily my buyer also had the cash to close...

Re: Want to Buy a Condo for Sale in Miami Beach? Don’t kill the messenger!

AshtonC — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:38:44 -0000

Good advice here Jamey..

Many buyers do have difficulties the week before closing and risk losing their deposits if/when their trusted lender drops the ball! I had a $730k short sale last year (very time sensitive) in which the bank approving the sale was losing $1M.. the mortgage broker dropped the ball the week prior (Argh!!). Luckily, the buyer had the cash to purchase and all was not lost; other than any future referrals to the mortgage broker.

Keep up the great posts and hope to see you two soon.

Re: Miami Beach Condo Foreclosures- Calling the bottom, financing & misconceptions

Jamey Prezzi — Sat, 15 May 2010 07:12:14 -0000

rk- I would say that disadvantages you listed are right on.

Re: Miami Beach Condo Foreclosures- Calling the bottom, financing & misconceptions

rk — Sat, 15 May 2010 02:36:41 -0000

Interesting. I guess we all know the potential advantage of bidding on a foreclosure, the perceived lower price, but I wonder if there are disadvantages. I can think of a few:
(a) Need for more careful inspection
(b) Unexpected delays due to legal challenges
(c) Missing or incomplete paperwork
(d) Dealing with a bank and not a person
Am I missing any other obvious or significant disadvantage?
Thanks again for the informative blog.

Re: Thanks but no thanks, I don’t HAVE to work with you….

Jamey Prezzi — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 08:34:40 -0000

Poorandumeployed: Again, these are the misunderstandings that people don't really understand about our business and how agents can actually work in the buyer's best interest.

1. Buyer's don't have to give ME financial information; rather they need to give it to their mortgage broker or lender who will then give me a pre-approval letter. This is standard business practice anywhere, not just Miami. Agents who are not doing this are doing their buyers a disservice. The market has changed and what buyers can qualify for has changed and many buildings are currently not lendable. Doesn't it make sense to find this out PRIOR to looking at properties?

2. If buying cash, yes, we do request proof of cash. Why? I don't really care what your financial records look like but I do know that if you find a good deal, 5 other buyers are going to find it too and the best-prepared offer will be accepted. I want to make sure I have an offer ready to go that looks the best for my buyer, if purchasing by cash part of that presentation is a letter from the bank stating that the buyer does have the money to pay. I don't need a 12-month statement, just a letter. If two agents turn in a package for two different buyers and everything is the same except for proof of funds, whose offer do you think they are going to accept?

Lastly I am not really sure how this information would be used against a buyer? Sellers have signed a contract with their agent that the agent will work in their best interests... shouldn't buyers have the same right?

Re: Thanks but no thanks, I don’t HAVE to work with you….

poorandunemployed — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:23:54 -0000

desperation? You want buyer to give you all the information so you can use it against them in financial negotiations!

Great way to do business....... only in Miami

Re: Thanks but no thanks, I don’t HAVE to work with you….

Jamey Prezzi — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:17:45 -0000

Thanks so much Rbira- sometimes I think the best way for people to get to know you is to tell it like it is.....

Re: Thanks but no thanks, I don’t HAVE to work with you….

rbira — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:13:12 -0000

Jamey, I totally agree with you and applaud you taking a stance and speaking your mind. I have been in the mortgage business for 13 years and I deal with the same thing. I am a wealth of information that gets taken advantage of more and more these days. Best of luck to you!

Re: Miami Beach Condo Prices… Attention Unrealistic Buyers

@JMarieDirect — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:32:38 -0000

If only there were more articles and posts telling it like it is!

It seems like a never-ending challenge to inform new buyers what the market prices are REALLY like. Yes, there are good deals out there, but buyers better be ready, cash on hand, and move fast if they want a dirt cheap deal. And be ready to compete with everyone else who is on the hunt for a bargain.

Re: Miami Beach Condo Prices… Attention Unrealistic Buyers

Jamey Prezzi — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:17:25 -0000

Nope, no typo. It fell to $370,000.

Re: Miami Beach Condo Prices… Attention Unrealistic Buyers

rk — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:49:30 -0000

Is that a typo in the first or second paragraph? Did the price fall to 370k, or 700k?

Re: South Beach in Miami Beach

rk — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:39:36 -0000

Thank you for fixing the opacity so quickly, and explaining the rest. You really must care about your work. Everything worked as you stated. The database search is not in your hands, I know, but here are some things I find useful when searching:
(1) Search sales and rentals separately.
(2) Search any price range (not just multiples of 20k or 10k)
(3) Search for "New" listings only.
(4) Search for Foreclosures and/or Short Sales separately.
(5) Search by zip code.
(6) Search for fractional number of baths, e.g. 1.5, not just 1 or 2.
(7) Search by Property type, such as Condo/Townhome, SFH, Commercial etc.
(8) Search by length of time property has been listed (though this can be tricky since they are often re-listed).
The above list is intended for any search database designers who might be reading. Your listings do seem up to date as far as I could tell, with a fair amount of useful data for each listing. The financial information section is very useful, though it would be good to know the listing date. Please keep up the good work, and all the best.

Re: South Beach in Miami Beach

Jamey Prezzi — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:23:56 -0000

and sorry for my super quick reply ....... it's a little rambling but I wanted to respond before I head out for the day, working with 3 clients today.

Re: South Beach in Miami Beach

Jamey Prezzi — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:21:42 -0000

Thanks so much RK. I didn't even notice the opacity setting in my CSS was off.....oops! Thank goodness you told me. I use firefox and it didn't show up. The search within the post is from a service called Realbird and they pull the listings from googlebase, pretty interesting concept and it's something different I am trying. The other search is from Wolfnet, provided by my broker. Unfortunately it's not really a good solution for rentals. You can search for rentals under property type there is a rental only search just put your mouse over the 5th one down and if you hold it, it says residential rentals. From there, that's the tricky part because although it will show all of the rentals in the MLS, the pricing is at $10,000 is the minimum/maximum point... not really a good point for rentals. This search was really built more for sales. Try it again and put in your criteria and then hit the update button. Curious to see if this works or not .

Love feedback, let me know.

Re: South Beach in Miami Beach

rk — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:46:40 -0000

I've been trying the "Property Search" embedded in this article, and it works great! It seems to have just the right number of search options without being overwhelming. However, when I go your main Search page via the link at the top above the banner, that page has more options, but some important ones seem missing, e.g. search for rentals only. Also, that page shows in a light-grey hard to read color in IE8, but looks normal in Firefox. When I try to enter a price range (on the main search page) I noticed two problems (a) The down arrows next to minimum and maximum don't do anything, and (b) when I enter a range by typing it in, and click "Update Results", it seems to have ignored the range I did enter. These are NOT complaints, just trying to help you spot bugs. I love your posts and site in general.

Re: South Beach in Miami Beach

Jamey Prezzi — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:21:43 -0000

Thanks rk. Glad you liked it.

Great feedback thanks: You know I had made that "light blue" circle to do most of Miami Beach and then the "South Beach" description to mean "the area to the left is South Beach" but I see how that may be a little confusing. Thanks for pointing it out! I will definitely keep that in mind next time I make an image like that. I am going to change it right now. thanks!

Re: Joe’s stone crab takeaway

rk — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:05:27 -0000

At the risk of making the place even more popular than it already is, I must add they have a great (informal) breakfast in the mornings in the Takeaway section. The Takeaway is closed during the summers from approx late May to mid Oct.

Re: South Beach in Miami Beach

rk — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 07:56:55 -0000

Great artcle, thanks! I specially liked your section about "Key issues to consider when buying..", and the "Property Search" is great. To add to the "Key issues.." I would suggest (a) What are the HOA fees, and what exactly is included? (b) What percent of units are delinquent? (c) Does the building qualify for financing? (d) Are there any residency restrictions (for condo hotels)? (e) What percent of units are owner-occupied vs. rentals? etc. I know you've covered these in your other posts, but just for completeness for new visitors. For some reason evertyhing from the Search section on down seems to be in a light-grey color in my IE8 browser. Also, the map of "south beach" seems to include most of mid-beach within the blue circle.

Re: Miami City Diggs Named one of the Best Real Estate Blogs in Miami

Wenceslao — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:25:21 -0000

TRULY WELL DESERVED....CONGRATULATIONS!!!