While in the past the majority of international buyers were retirees, the current buyers from overseas are getting younger and younger. Many of them are trying to secure a piece in paradise with a clear investment strategy. Use the home for a couple of weeks each year for themselves and rent it out to vacationers in order to cover the expenses like insurance and taxes. Just a combination of 2^nd home and investment.

However they have to keep an eye on one thing: Long term rentals don’t work, as they want to use the home or condo several times per year for themselves. They could rent it to snowbirds, but many homes are just too high priced in order to rent for 3 months or more. And many retirees are locked with their pension portfolios right now and have to scale back on their winter plans.

So these foreigners are advertising their homes as extended vacation places for other people who prefer the amenities of living in a community against staying at hotels for stay between a few weeks to several months.  Many communities in the Bradenton/Sarasota area however show relatively tight rental restrictions regulating the number of times per year a property can be rented out and/or minimum leases terms. Some restrictions are manageable, but if you are limited to a minimum of 6 months or just once per year, or even no rentals at all, it’s a “No-Go” for every investor.

Recent calculations show a loss in usability of about 25% – 33% for an identical property with or without rental restrictions. That’s about $100,000 on a $300,000 property in usability loss. The stricter the restriction the higher the loss. Because not everybody is planning to rent at this point the loss in property value might be a little less dramatic. As – however – in future more and more people are living on tight budgets, condos and homes with higher restrictions will have a lower potential of possible gain in value.

 For the homeowner it’s a disaster, just imagine: If somebody from your neighborhood knocks on your door and asks for support of new rental restrictions, ask yourself why they want to take $100,000 from your money? And if your association already has strict rental restrictions in place, ask yourself what you would do with the $100,000 if they get rid of them.

And the community is suffering, too: You have foreclosures or unpaid dues in your community? Maybe the owners are just not able to rent / sell their place as fast as possible. By time, they get late in the HOA dues and the community is suffering.

A well-off investor from overseas with cash in a property will probably be the best add-on for your community. So watch out and make sure you stay attractive for this clientele!

For more information on how to market your property locally and internationally please contact:

Axel Weiss, Broker
Weiss International Realty
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 866 1666

BRADENTON / SARASOTA – Axel Weiss, managing broker with Weiss International Realty gives 5 tips for a quick home sale

1. Don’t try to chease the competition from behind, get ahead of it!

I found a wise article on Sunsentinel.com about why you should not wait to sell your home if you plan to.

Here are some highlights of the article:

So you want to sell a home in 2010?

Not only are prices expected to keep falling, cutting into sellers’ profits the longer they wait, but demand will be strong early in the year from first-time and move-up buyers looking to qualify for tax credits that expire April 30.

Potentially playing a large role will also be a so-called shadow inventory of homes – repossessed properties that haven’t been put on the market for resale and mortgages that are in default and soon will be in foreclosure.

Read the full article here.

So if you are planning on selling your home contact us today @ 941.866.1666.

Buyers often are taking money out of stocks and retirement plans and sinking it into real estate.

Many are in search of retirement properties and are grabbing the bargains. Others want to buy a home for vacation and investment and are buying without even having seen the home in person.

If you are interested in selling your home, contact a Real Estate Company which specializes in working with International and out-of-state buyers – contact Weiss & Weiss International Realty.

Slightly more than half of foreign buyers (52 percent) purchased a detached single-family home, compared to 78 percent among all buyers nationally. Approximately one third (34 percent) of foreign buyers purchased a condo, 7 percent purchased a townhouse or row house, and the remaining 7 percent purchased some other type of home.

According to the 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 93 percent of all home buyers used mortgage financing to purchase their home. Among recent foreign buyers in Florida, use of mortgage financing was less frequent. Overall, 32 percent of foreign buyers financed their home with a mortgage while 67 percent paid cash with no mortgage financing.

Many foreign buyers (16 percent) purchased a property to use exclusively as a vacation home. Fourteen percent purchased a home to be used as a rental property. Given the
limitations on the length of time that foreign buyers may be able to personally use their property, 24 percent of sales were for a dual use – as a vacation home for the buyer’s
family and friends and as a rental property at other times.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area was the most frequently reported location of a home purchased by a foreign buyer in Florida. More than one in four (27 percent) foreign buyers purchased a home in the area, followed by 11 percent who purchased a home in each the Sarasota and Orlando areas.

If you are interested in selling your home, contact a Real Estate Company which specializes in working with International Buyers – contact Weiss & Weiss International Realty.

Source: Florida Association of Realtors

The most interesting part of this survey for us is that the Bradenton/Sarasota area makes the third place for the most frequently reported location of a home purchase after the Miami-Fort Lauderdale and the Orlando-Kissimmee areas. If you take in consideration that our area is much smaller than the Miami or Orlando area, this news is even more significant.

The buyers who bought property in Bradenton and Sarasota were mostly from Western Europe (44 %) and Canada (44 %). This survey shows how important international buyers are for our local market. “For home sellers it is extremely important that their property gets enough exposure on the international market. International Marketing can be the difference between selling or not selling their homes”, according to Weiss.

According to the survey foreign-born Realtors are more likely to work with international clients than U.S.-born Realtors. Foreign buyers often feel more confident when working with Realtors from their home country.

The reason for the increasing interest of foreign buyers in Florida properties can be seen in the falling value of the U.S. dollar relative to major world currencies during the past several years. As a result the cost of Florda property, priced in dollars, is much lower when converted to the buyer´s home country currency. From the percpective of foreign buyers Florida real estate is effectively on sale.

With the Canadian dollar hovering around par with the U.S. dollar, buying Florida homes seems to be a nice investment for many Canadians (The Canadian dollar was worth only 80 cents three years ago). Also Canadians benefit from a continued strong housing market and increasing home equity.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, overall home prices grew 11 percent in 2007 to an average of $307,265, and they are expected to rise an additional 5.3 percent in 2008.

A Canadian bank has also made it easier to secure a mortgage. It set up a program that allows Canadians to buy U.S. property worth up to $2 million with a down payment of less than 25 percent!

The responsible local Real Estate company for this auction was Sky Sotheby’s Realty of Sarasota. The auction was overseen by Daniel DeCaro Real Estate Auctions Inc.

Some noticeable outcome:

1522 & 1538 N Casey Key Road
8 Bedroom(s) | 10 Full Bath(s) | 0 Half Bath(s) | 11748 sq. ft.
Offered for $20,035,000
Sold for $14,000,000

We compile a sale to listing price ratio: 69%

120 Osprey Point Drive
6 Bedroom(s) | 7 Full Bath(s) | 2 Half Bath(s) | 11759 sq. ft.
Offered for $8,900,000
Sold for $ 6,100,000

Sale to listing price ratio: 68%

204 Bird Key Drive
5 Bedroom(s) | 5 Full Bath(s) | 1 Half Bath(s) | 8071 sq. ft.
Offered for $7,900,000
Sold for less than $4,200,000

Sale to listing price ratio: 53%

Lake Vista Condos, Lakewood Ranch
3 Bedroom(s) | 2 Full Bath(s) | 1 Half Bath(s) | 2000 sq. ft.
Offered for $600,000.
Sold for $200,000

Sale to listing price ratio: 33%

Sarasota’s Westwater construction had 6 properties sold at an average of 60% of listing price.

The Sarasota Herald titles: “The auction achieved neither of its goals — pulling in $200 million and selling all 79 homes and lots — but Sky Sotheby’s and DeCaro Real Estate called the auction “record-breaking”"

Chad Roffers of Sky Sotheby’s says to the Bradenton Herald: “In some cases, the auction may bring prices back down to levels not seen since the 1990s.”

RE auctions are usually subject to regular Real Estate commissions in additon to the auctioneer’s commission which is up to 10%. So the final net proceeds for the sellers are usually significantly lower at an auction.

Our opinion:
We at Weiss & Weiss International, Axel & Bea Weiss provide an unique international marketing approach within the Bradenton / Sarasota area. In contrary to anonymous, large franchised companies, we deal directly with Real Estate Professionals from all over the world and market the properties directly to the prospective sellers. Of course for prospective buyers auctions like this give an opportunity for getting a good deal.

For sellers instead, this is not the way we would recommend. Real Estate auction companies have offered their services to us in the past. We have never seen an advantage for our clients in this. Although the auction companies always protect the broker’s commission (which is fast money for the broker), the additonal auction commission implies a serious disadvantage to the sellers.

We think transactions should be a WIN-WIN situation for all parties involved, so should prospective sellers when considering putting a property to an auction.

Owners of condominiums now fear, that it will be even harder to find a buyer. With to much inventory on the market it hurts if the board is cutting out a big part of potential buyers.

If you struggle to sell your condo, please pick up your phone and give us a call @ 941.866.1666. We will market your home to our qualified local and international buyers.

All real estate is local. That is the mantra for most real estate professionals. But not all buyers are local.

Did you know that

- 15 % of Florida Homes are purchased by Internationals?

- International Buyers spend 50 % more per home?

Nevertheless, according to the 2007 National Association of Realtors Member Profile, two third of Realtors had no business at all with international clients in 2006. Obviously this results in a lack of experience with international transactions.

International and out-of-state buyers are the buyers who drive our market today.

We know the differences and challanges in international transactions!

We actively attract international and out-of-state buyers instead of waiting for them to come to us.

With our strong connections throughout the US, to Europe, Asia and South America, we have established a broad network of phenomenal contacts and clients.

When you list your home with us, it is presented to prospective buyers from all over the world in addition to the local market.

Our goal is to sell your house the best and fastest way.

The combination of German precision, European quality and Floridian Lifestyle creates something unique – just for you.

This is the “International Advantage” we offer to our clients!