Monday, February 21, 2011

How can you find a builder?

Stepping into relationships with new home builders is similar to entering into every other method of trading. If you are building your new home from scratch, you and your builder will be in this relationship for months, and you'll spend a lot of time working together.

Builders, like other people involved in buying, selling or developing homes, possess a strong presence on the web nowadays. Visit sites like www.homesandland.com to discover listings of builders in your town and links to their own personal Sites. There, you can observe the kind of homes where the builder specializes.

You can also ask around. Family and friends may have heard the a professional builder who helped them build their ideal home.

The National Association of Homebuilders, or your neighborhood home builders association, is also ready to refer you to definitely a builder who'll construct your new home.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Benefits of Owning a 2nd Vacation Home in Vero Beach

Looking for a tropical get-away that does not require a passport? Look at the Vero Beach area. Stretching from around fifteen miles south of Miami to less than one hundred miles from Cuba, the Vero Beach area offers a multicultural living and vacation experience to fit every budget.

Financing a Tropical Dream

Once reserved for the rich and the famous, a second vacation home can now be part of a smart investment portfolio. Mortgage rates are low, making financing a home in the Vero Beach area more affordable than ever. Also, unlike the rich and the famous, the average individual is likely to rent his vacation home out to tourists when he is not using it himself.

Waterfront property is especially popular as a vacation spot. It offers the amenities of the local community – restaurants, attractions, transportation, security – and the beauty of communing with nature. The income from these rentals often covers the entire mortgage, enabling the owner to enjoy a free vacation in the Keys whenever he pleases.
Waterfront property also tends to appreciate in value over the long term due to its lasting popularity. The savvy homeowner of a Vero Beach area waterfront vacation home is also building equity while he vacations there and rents it out – equity that can either be cashed in at retirement or lived in on a full-time basis.

Peace of Mind

Ask any therapist. The soothing sounds of the ocean provide the perfect background for relaxation. With a vacation home in the Vero Beach area, no tapes or compact discs are needed.
Simply open the windows to enjoy the ocean’s relaxing sounds.

Also, as stress is a significant risk factor in elevated blood pressure, a vacation home in the Vero Beach area benefits the homeowner physically as well as mentally.
Stress melts away with the ebb and flow of the tide, with the beauty of the sun rising or setting over the ocean, with the gentle ocean breeze.

One can almost feel his blood pressure lower with the laid back lifestyle. Or, if the need for some company arises, the Vero Beach area offer a variety of restaurants, museums, parks, and attractions to amuse and entertain.

Add to the scenic view, soothing sounds, and peace of mind that comes with knowing that. No matter how stressful life becomes, a little slice of paradise awaits. It is a reward at the end of the summer, or at the end of a career.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Vero Beach Real Estate: Karen Burke

What is a Short Sale?

A Short Sale results when the homeowner sells their property, the net proceeds are insufficient to payoff the mortgage balance, yet the mortgage company agrees to accept less than the mortgage payoff amount in order to close the sale. All Short Sales are subject to mortgage company approval and require an extensive amount of work to reach a successful outcome.
There are no guarantees a Short Sale will be approved or ever close, but when the process has been professionally handled by a Realtor familiar with short sale transactions, preferably a CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert), the odds of success are greatly enhanced.
A short sale is NOT the same as a foreclosure! There are major differences between the two. A foreclosure should be avoided at all costs, as it does serious, long-term damage to a person’s credit.
In addition to avoiding possible foreclosure, homeowners who have a successful short sale negotiated on their behalf are forgiven large sums of money; oftentimes without a deficiency judgment or requirement to repay!
Short Sale Complexity
Short sale transactions are highly complex. Real estate agents are expected to follow a myriad of specific guidelines incorporated by the mortgage company, as well as by the investor(s) of the mortgage notes. Each mortgage company is different and has their own rules, which of course adds complication and challenges ones understanding of the process. A particular mortgage note could be owned by several investors in different parts of the world, thus requiring multiple negotiations with respect to what each investor will accept as a loan payoff. When a seller has a second or third mortgage on their house, the level of complexity increases almost exponentially and the likelihood of a successful short sale diminishes.
These complex negotiations with the investor(s) and the mortgage companies do not commence until after the real estate agent has negotiated a sale with a buyer for the seller’s house. Finding the buyer is the easy part (relatively speaking). Following the lender and investor guidelines, then successfully negotiating the short sale with multiple parties and closing the deal is the tough part. The average real estate agent has not been trained in the complexities of a short sale and is the reason they close on such a low percentage of attempted short sales.
Sellers experiencing any type of hardship today (i.e. loss of job, death in family, reduction of income, divorce, separation, illness, transfer, too many bills) may qualify for a short sale of their home, even if they are current on their mortgage payments.
To learn more about short sales, loan modification, avoiding foreclosure and what options and possible solutions, Contact Karen Burke at http://www.yourverobeachagent.com

Vero Beach Real Estate

Vacation Real Estate in Vero Beach


We're all aware of the fact that real estate values are falling, yet buying a vacation home now maybe the best investment one can make. Just be sure that when you buy a vacation home, you buy it in Vero Beach. This is a year round vacation investment that pays you every week!

The conventional wisdom is that, now in today's unstable economic times, is the worst of all times to buy vacation real estate. And this may be true, for real estate investments in most areas… Yet, if one considers that a vacation home, in the right area, Vero Beach, is an investment that can almost always shows a positive cash flow. The major side benefits of owning a vacation condo, or even a home, in Vero Beach outweighs most potential downside risks. That side benefit is that when the owner wishes to use it, he can. It's not like owning a parking garage or warehouse.

Investing in Real Estate in Vero Beach, the Whys
Obviously for someone that hates the sun, the tropics or clear blue waters, Vero Beach is not a place to invest. But for those that love water sports, world class fishing and year round sun, there's almost no other place that compares in both physical beauty and a potential continuing source of income. Year round, Vero Beach is a vacation destination. Those from the northern states during the winter, flock to the southeast and especially the Vero Beach area, as a welcome escape from the cold.

Deep sea fishing, sailing, diving, spear fishing, underwater exploration, deep sea fishing, sailing are just a few of the many sports and past times people enjoy during the rest of the year. There's almost no limit to the water sports that are available. While it's possible to do many of these sports year round, the spring, summer and fall have the warmest and calmest coastal waters. Vacationers, a rental property owner's target market will pay high weekly rental rates to stay at a condo or home in the Vero Beach area to enjoy and experience these sports.

High Returns Result from Short Term Vacation Rentals, but there's a catch.
Some communities, townships, homeowner and condo associations in Vero Beach have placed restrictions on short term rentals. If an investor decides to purchase a home or condo, it is imperative that one checks to see if there are any rental limitations concerning weekly rentals. The 'key' to rentals is the owner's ability to rent the property year round on a short term, weekly basis. If that's not the case, look elsewhere where no such restrictions exist.

Depending upon the type, size and location of the unit, weekly rentals and purchase prices can vary tremendously. For instance, there are waterfront area, that offer rentals as low as $300-$400 per week. In contrast, there are homes that may be rented for well over $5000 per week or more. Obviously, the cost of purchasing a condo or luxury home will vary tremendously and one may be an order of magnitude higher in price, than the other.

During the summer, with diving and water sports the big attraction, weekly rentals are easy to line up using only the Internet and perhaps some of the vacation rental Internet sites.
Many of the locals in and around South Florida, as well as other parts of the country will come to Vero Beach, sometimes several times per summer. Even in the fall, while a bit slower, is a time that people might come down for a week or so for a quick vacation. Of course, the onrush of vacationers, typically staying a month or longer occurs during the winter months. Obviously, this season offers the Vero Beach property homeowner the highest rental rates. Although even this has been changing within the last 10-15 years.

Vacation Rental ROI & Rate of Return
The first year or two of actually owning a vacation getaway in the Vero Beach area, typically shows a near break even cash flow (based on the purchase price). If one aggressively pursues the marketing on the Internet travel sites, cash flows may become positive even during the first year of ownership. A positive cash flow in terms of mortgage versus rentals will usually show itself after the third or fourth year. There are many factors determining ROI, most notably are:

. The condition of the rental property
. Number of return renters
. Water view and facilities
. Location and ease of travel from the airport

Locate the Best Areas and Properties
If all of the above are positive, the owner can command the highest rents and the number of returning vacationers. These will be the easiest to rent and command the highest weekly rents.
An excellent place to start to look for properties in Vero Beach is by contacting Debbie Bell at http://www.yourverobeachagent.com

With economic conditions being what they are currently, a real estate investment in Vero Beach is compelling. If an investor is looking for an investment that can not only be enjoyed, but can ultimately provide an income in the very short run, the Vero Beach area is a great place to start.