Geoffrey Berry

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Geoffrey Berry,  in Florida
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About Me
Initially qualifying for a Real Estate licence in New York in 1969, I have been involved in the overseas property industry for 32 years and have enjoyed living and working in 5 countries on 3 continents. I have seen the opening of many new markets and destinations, for both buyers and sellers in the last few years, and we, as a company, believe it is essential to stay at the forefront of these trends. Recently we have participated in exhibitions in Russia. and Scandinavia and also established our own office in Moscow. If you require any help or advice in the international marketplace, please contact us. Hablamos Espaňol.
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Geoffrey Ber…'s Answers (14)

As a foreigner , can I buy a house in Florida?

Geoffrey Berry answered:
Hola Pedro

No problem. We are an international company who have helped many overseas buyers from Europe and South America find suitable properties in Florida for our clients.

As a matter of interest, we also sell properties in Argentina and elsewhere. You can find our details on our website. You can also check us out onhttp:// www.life-intl.com

Good luck

Geoff Berry - Sat May 17 2008, 14:13
Geoffrey Berry answered:
Hi Sukhvinder

Your question is dependant on one simple factor. Will you personally be looking to use the property for holidays or other use before you retire? If (as it appears) you do wish to use it, then you will find that you have only one realistic option and that is to purchase in the Kissimmee area near the attractions. This is because no other area offers the year round short-term rental potential. However, if you are not going to use the property then there are many other possibilities because you can rent your property on an annual basis.

The total carrying costs will vary, even from community to community within the same areas. Real estate taxes, insurance, Home Owners Association and management expenses are the main costs you will encounter. But, for a well located and equipped villa that has the correct rental exposure and has little or no mortgage, there is no reason why you should not break-even or better.

There are a number of foreclosure or bank-owned properties that would fill your requirements that are on the market at the moment. Many of these come fully furnished and equipped, even to the point of having their own websites and some rental bookings which would be passed across to you. Of course, the job is finding them!

We are an international company with offices in the US, UK and Russia. You will find a detailed spreadsheet illustrating the various income and expenditure items on the following page of our website: www.orlandorealestate-li.com/ Just click on 'ORLANDO VILLA RUNNING COSTS'

This will give you the breakdown you are looking for. The figures apply to a specific property, but we can supply you with an analysis for any property you select.

We have access to a great range of properties in the Orlando area. You will find our contact details on our main website. www.life-intl.com . Our UK number is 0845 226 0390.

Anything we can do to help, please contact us.

Best of luck.

Geoff Berry - Sat May 17 2008, 14:10

Orlando property market - how much further will it drop?

Geoffrey Berry answered:
Hi there

Here is a little 'snippet' of information we sent our clients recently:
'
Recent data we are receiving from the Orlando Board of Realtors indicates that since March of 2008 the number of existing home SALES has been increasing, which we are interpreting as price stabilization and will lead to inevitable price increases at some point in the unforeseen future.

This news, coupled with the beginning of the high SUMMER rental period for (May, June, July, August) which are PEAK “move-in” dates for LONG TERM renters, plus the prime Summer months period for SHORT TERM rentals, leads us to believe that we have a fairly short window of opportunity to facilitate purchases at advantageous prices for buyers.

Many units are being purchased by investors for both the short term and long term rental markets.'

There are signs, locally, of market stabilisation. Of course, it still comes down to location and the quality of the property being offered.

As interntaional agents with our own Florida staff we have access to 99% of properties currently being offered.

If we can be of any help, please contact us either in Florida, or Europe (UK).

We reently opened an office in Moscow and will be promoting both rentals and sales there shortly.

Our main website is below, our Orlando website is: www.orlandorealestate-li.com/

You will find our contact details there.

Hope this helps.

Geoff Berry - Thu May 15 2008, 03:52
Geoffrey Berry answered:
Hi Danny

We are an International company with offices in the UK, US and Russia. I am currently looking for 3 short-term rental properties. (Single family, furnished with pools), not too far away from the Orlando attractions. We have 1 English, 1 northern Irish and 1 Norwegian client, all looking for this kind of property.

The fact that you are based over here etc. could make some things easier.

We recently did a similar deal to yours. If you are interested, let me know. It does depend in which sub-division your home is in, but it could be worth having a chat.

UK number: 01252 322757.

Geoff Berry - Sat May 10 2008, 14:05
Geoffrey Berry answered:
Hi. I can echo all the previous comments. However, what I would like to know about are some issues with your planned rental.

What do you consider to be your vacation time? The reason I ask this is that unlike areas such as Orlando, there is not a year round, short-term rental market on the Gulf coast. The 'snowbirds' ( people from the northern US States and Canada), take short rentals on the Gulf Coast during the Winter months when it is cold in their home state. This is a prime time to get your rental income, but is unlikely to be more than 8 - 10 weeks. If this is the time of year you want to use the property you may find you are impacting your rental potential.

The other question revolves around how important rental income is to you. You will have mortgage payments, real estate taxes, maintenance costs and possibly home owner's association fees. If you need to cover all these costs from rental income you will need to maximise your rental potential.

It is a fact that it is not so easy to get consistent, short-term rental income on the Gulf Coast out of the Winter season. The reason being that the VAST majority of visitors to Florida head for ............. you guessed it 'Orlando. Why? Well it is just about the most visited city in the world. A major family destination because of all the attractions. So there is a much reduced demand for short term out of season. You would be advised to look at your income and expenditure carefully.

Your other option would be to buy for long-term rental, that way, you can take advantage of the market conditions (as discussed previously), and maybe get some usage during voids.

If you would like to see an example of the costs associated with owning a property in Florida visit here: www.orlandorealestate-li.com/ and click on 'Orlando Villa Running Costs' Not all the costs would be the same, but it would give you a good idea.

We are an international company with many years experience in Florida and elsewhere. Our licensed Florida staff can show you a big range of properties around Naples.

If we can be of any help please contact us.

Best of luck

Geoff Berry - Wed May 7 2008, 08:58
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