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

1. Florida leads the pack
International buyers purchase homes across the U.S., but Florida leads with 26 percent of all sales!

2. More pay in cash
Twenty-eight percent of international buyers bought their homes with cash, compared to 8 percent of U.S. buyers. In today´s market nothing is of greater value than a cash buyer!

3. Internationals purchase pricier homes
The median sales price of homes purchased by international buyers was $299,500, which is significantly higher than the U.S. median of $221,900 during the same period.

Trust the best! Weiss International Realty is the leading International Real Estate Broker in Florida.

Weiss International Realty
3605 Riverview Blvd.
Bradenton, FL 34205

(941) 866 1666

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.

Here are some highlights of this article:

In the Sarasota-Bradenton market, 239 condos changed hands, a 130 percent increase from the 104 sales that took place during the same month a year earlier.

Realtors and analysts attribute the uptick to both the first-time buyer tax incentive, which was recently extended, and to the return of investors to the market.

All over the region and across the state, investors are snapping up condos that either came out of the ground or were converted from apartments during the boom.

In Sarasota-Bradenton, the median condo price was down 20 percent to $141,100 in November from the same month a year ago.

If your are interested in buying or selling a condo in the Bradenton/Sarasota are, please call the experts @ 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.

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!

For purposes of calculating capital gains, any debts discharged excluded from income under the new law must be subtracted from the basis of the taxpayer’s principal residence (but not below zero). However, taxpayers may generally exclude from capital gains income up to $250,000 (or $500,000 for married couples filing jointly) for properties owned and used as their principal residence for at least two of the last five years.

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.

If your loan amount is higher than the actual property value, and you start getting late on your mortgage payments, you need professional help.

Losing your home can be very emotional and most people don´t want to face up the reality until foreclosure sets in.

But don´t run into a foreclosure – there are other options available.

Welcome to the world of Short Sales!

A short sale occurs when the net proceeds from the sale of a home are not enough to cover the sellers´ mortgage obligations and closing costs.

As an expert we will guide you through the entire process. We will help to expedite your transaction and protect your interests. Banks are working with us to save you as a homeowner from foreclosure. It is in all parties best interest to find a workable solution for everybody involved. As knowledgable professionals we can help you sell your home in what looks like an impossible situation!

Even if a short sale may be complex and time consuming – in most cases it is worth the hassle.

Look at the differences between a short sale, foreclosure and bankruptcy:

The time frame to repair your credit (which is be damaged by late payments on your mortgage) after a short sale only is about 12 months, while your credit after a foreclosure will suffer for many years.

Pick up the phone and give us a call @ 941.866.1666 – we will help you to find a solution!