Aventura & Sunny Isles Beach Luxury Real Estate

Sellers, take a deep breath, take a step back and look honestly at your home… would you pay what you’re asking for your own home? Probably not, so why do you think a buyer is going to pay that price? It is time to wake up, especially since the Buyer has been actively looking in the marketplace at actual comparable homes.

Perhaps some sellers need to see their competition. It’s normal to feel that your home is the nicest and the best value and a steal at 5 times what you paid for it… You need to evaluate the reasons you want to move and then together with your real estate professional prepare the plan to accomplish the goal.
For your own sake, try and forget former market conditions. You’ll start to reminisce about the 2 slices of pizza and a coke for under $1. It’s time to move on. I have proven my point to six of my recent sellers in the last few months: Five of these sellers listened, two are sold and closed and three are under contract… the sixth one is still available. The one home owner that didn’t follow the program has the following situation: When we began the listing process, the beginning of this year, there were 23 condos for sale in this luxury oceanfront hi-rise in Sunny Isles Beach, we priced this oceanfront 2 bedroom 2 1 ? 2 bath condo with over 1600 sq ft, fabulous kitchen, immaculate condition, with marble and wood flooring at $799,900.00 between $50K and $150K less than actual comparables in the SAME building. In February, we had an opening offer of $730,000.00 we had recommended to our seller to counter at not more than $750,000 or perhaps $760,000 if they would consider leaving the beautiful wood furniture. Their stock answer was that they were losing $100,000 against what they could have sold the unit for back in 2005 and that $775,000 would be the lowest they could consider. The buyers went to $740,000 unfurnished and would have paid $750,000 furnished… there are now 47 units available for sale, we have since reduced the price to $775,000, which is still the lowest in the building, however… if I bring in a similar offer now I think the apartment would be sold. The other five happy sellers received within 1% to 3% of their asking prices. Call me – I will sell your home.

In an age where so many people change careers several times in their lives, I find myself in awe that I still love what I do. Koslovsky Realty was established in 1981 after I spent a year as a newly licensed agent as is required by law. From hotels, to condos, to homes, and commercial properties as well, it was exciting to bring Buyers and Sellers together and broker the deals. The negotiating was what I believe I loved the most. Making every aspect of the transaction come together for each side was exhilarating. The give and the take on each end, watching the excitement build, and the satisfaction of completing the deal was thrilling. It didn’t matter how late it was or how many times I had to go back and forth between the two parties….it was so satisfying. I know I take a great sense of pride in what I do as my office bears my name and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In a time of great big real estate firms that have more agents than you can count, there is a comfort and feeling of constancy in my office. Although agents have come and gone over the past 26 years, there has always been a stable core of agents that have graced Koslovsky Realty. I am here along with my most trusted and professional group of agents to serve all your real estate needs. We offer what other agencies do…and more…a Broker and owner who still loves what he does. Call me. I’ll be here.

Although it is definitely a Buyers’ market, Sellers need to be properly guided and protected even when their professional Realtors are recommending that they accept an offer that is well below what they had expected. Through education, and experience your Realtor should show you the true actual value in today’s market. As Realtors, we must protect our Sellers now more than ever. Too many agents are so excited about getting an offer that when it comes to fulfilling their obligation to the Seller they drop the ball and have them sign the contract without attempting to “clean it up.” Without going into too much detail “clean it up” from the Sellers perspective means:

A proper initial deposit - Is a $1,000 deposit enough if the inspector breaks anything in your home, even if they’re “licensed and insured ?”

A proper balance of deposit - Is $3,000 or $5,000 enough of a balance of deposit to remove your property from the market until closing? Does your Realtor feel comfortable having you go and buy a different property with only that small of a deposit at risk? Do you? What happened to the customary 10% down? I guess that went out when 100% financing came in.

Time frames - In today’s real mortgage world, financing should be obtainable in reasonable time periods of not more than 10 – 15 business days. Allow 30 and they’ll take it and ask for more… Why not have the mortgage brokers earn their fee as well?

Inspections - These also need to be completed in a timely manner. Extensions can be used if the inspection is unclear or there is a need to have a second opinion. But where does it say that you must have 10 or 15 business days to do an inspection, especially if it’s a condo? Granted there are circumstances, special situations or homes that require more in depth inspections. However, it’s very much like financing… if you give them the time… they will take it…. Why not make demands, you should expect business people to conduct themselves accordingly. Interestingly, if you don’t demand professionalism from your real estate agent… I guess you can’t demand professionalism throughout your transaction and you settle on mediocrity.