Ms-I

How negotiable is the price? We buy condos at right price, which is unrelated to what you paid 2 months ago and what your cousin got for his condo six months ago.

All cash as soon as title is found clean. - Thu Jul 24 2008, 21:14

It all depends on how much money you want to invest and how quickly you want to lose your investment.. As a rule of thumb in miami - you will lose about 10% on condos as soon as you sign the docs. If you hold it for about 2 years you may lose as much as 50%. If you do not have the cash to pay for the taxes and maintenance - you can speed up the process and lose all 100% in few months.

It depends on how fast you want to lose the money. If you are in a hurry - I would recommend South beach namely - South of Fifth. If you want to enjoy the ride for longer period - my choice would be Homestead where a good resale next to dozen foreclosures would provide good entertainment.

For homes - 50 year old termite infested 2 bedroom home in Miami beach for $1.5 mil would be the catch of the day. If you go further north to Stillwater Drive area about 80th street., you can find a waterfront mansion without a roof for about $2.5 mil. They are sure to lose the value as soon as you buy it. Our recommendation would be Uppereast side, where the loss would be gradual and painful right down to 100%. Better than any Casino.

But the sales are strongest we have ever seen and all the properties have multiple bids. We have people from Europe, China and Cuba lining up with exact same intentions as you have so do not expect any special treatment. - Thu Jul 24 2008, 20:54

I am sitting right in heart of Normandy Isles. Luxury condoes on the waterfront with your own dock. Developers for 360 condo, Space, Lexi and many many other, may even send you their corporate jets to bring you down to check the place up - if they find out that you are in the market.

You may even get two for one deal. Buy one at 50% discount and get one free of equal or less value. They may even throw the boat dock in the welcome basket. Word of caution - bring your own security as you may cause riots amongst the realtors in the area, who will line up two days before your arrival. Well the times have changed, year ago they used to call riot police to control the crowds in Miami who lined up for two days to buy condos.

You will have ample parking in any of the condos as occupancy rates are about 10-15%. You may have the entire floor to yourself. Not to mention the big pool for yourself and your friends.

If you want to buy in a poor area such as Brickell (once mentioned as financial capital of the world or was it underworld) you may be able to get a brand new, never lived in 1B/1B for about $140K or less. You will be able to prove it to your friends and family that you purchased a condo which was actually sold for $850K or in otherwords in about a year or two - you will be able to sell it for a million and retire.

About the maintenance and taxes. You will pay 2% of purchase price per year in taxes. Maintenance (or Homeowners association fees) could be $1,000 to $10,000 per month depending on how many absentminded home owners live in the building. But that is small change when you stand to profit a million dollars in about year or two.

So welcome to Miami. We love your money. But hurry! Condos are hard to find and there are always multiple bids even on the foreclosures. - Thu Jul 24 2008, 18:59

There is no great deal in real estate except for realtors. If there was a great deal - do you think that the realtors would let you have the property? They can use their 6% commission as a down payment towards purchase of the property.......... Price of a home is what someone has paid unless government can prove that there was a fraud involved. Taxes will be adjusted to purchase price if not less. Even if the property had a homestead exemption, it would have no relationship to your taxes. Call the appraisers office and confirm this for yourself. - Sat May 17 2008, 19:39

Showing you comps is a wet dream. If someone paid $100 k for a house does not mean you have to pay $110 k a month later. I hope they dont higher realtors to sell gas.

Till about 2000 market was in a normal mode. So to get to fair price apply 3- 3.5% appreciation since then . You can find the sales in the region at that time. After these excesses, you may be correct to pay the 1999 -2000 prices without appreciation. That's how the asset pricing works. I have seen alleged reduction in prices up to 40-50% but when you do the homework - you find that the seller purchased the house for the asking price back in 2005- 2006. So he is saying to you that please take my problem and make it yours! Also - given the credit market conditions - even you do not need mortgage, put as many contingencies including purchase contingent upon obtaining mortgage at max X.X%. If a bank goes bellyup after you sign the contract , we could have severe financial problems in this country, which may require you to change your mind about the purchase. This is a business no one cared about being fair to the buyer in last 6 years so do not fall for croc tears. Be firm - Sat May 17 2008, 19:30