My neighbor told me to avoid a Realtor......

""My neighbor got wind that I’m selling my house, and now they have expressed interest. They told me that we can avoid paying real estate fees if we work a deal privately. What should I do? The answer: If I had a nickel for every time I personally encountered this situation when listing a home – well, I’d have pretty heavy pockets. People are always eager for an opportunity to save money, but you’ve got to ask yourself what benefit the potential buyer gets, and what’s in it for you. In my experience, it’s usually one of two situations. In the first, and most likely, the neighbour is likely trying to get a deal by paying less than market value. Note that it couldn’t be that they expect to save paying real estate fees themselves as the buyer doesn’t typically pay the fees, the seller does (though of course most sellers do factor in fees when determining their bottom line). In the second situation; they simply aren’t serious. They’re testing the waters, and that’s a lot easier to do without a motivated real estate agent working to complicate things for them. if you put your plans to list on the market on hold and they then change their minds, you’re left holding the bag. If you have a potential buyer like this, tell them to make an offer when your property is listed on the market. It’ll make life easier for both of you. I’m a Realtor and I obviously have a bias against selling privately. I know the value that a real estate agent brings to a client. Realtors have chosen the career, they’re trained and certified, they have specialized tools, a community of support and a code of conduct. They’re professionals, and they work in a hypercompetitive marketplace that I’m convinced rewards the proficient and weeds out the poor performers. And practically speaking, a Realtor gets better rewards. It usually happens when we list a property, a neighbor approaches our clients to try and work out a deal. Neighbours or friends asking for a private sale also tend not to be the most disciplined in terms of paperwork. One thing I’ve learned in the real estate business is that you simply cannot rely on verbal discussions or agreements. If something isn’t in writing, I don’t give it much weight in my decision-making process. Here are two quick questions to determine if you are equipped to deal with a private real estate transaction: · Do you think you will be able to read and understand all of the details, implications and requirements of an offer? · How will you handle the deposit, how much should it be, and who is going to hold on to it? In real estate, paperwork equals protection. And how the money works? Always fundamental. It comes down to this: Work equals value, and skilled work equals higher value. A real estate agent is working for you, bringing their skill, experience and reputation to the transaction. You can assume that work for yourself, and keep the resulting savings if all goes well. But be warned that the risk and complications are all yours too. On top of the work, there’s a lot of emotion involved in selling a property, and that can impact a seller’s judgment when things get down to business. Especially if family, friends or neighbours take a liking to the idea of buying your place. And that’s exactly why I wouldn’t sell my own house. I’d hire a colleague to do it.!!!! "" Contact us, we are here to serve you with confidentiality and professionalism. We are SellingMiamiEstates team with One Premier Int. All the Best Espie Franky Luxury Realtor Dir 305.283.5868 Espiefranky@gmail.com *** article from "I’ve got a buyer for my home. Should I cut out the agent?" RICKY CHADHA Special to The Globe and Mail Published Friday, Apr. 26 2013

Updates of residential Inventory in SoFLa

Residential inventory in South Florida decreased to 32,685 from 32,697 active listings for the week ending April 22, 2013. During the same period, pending sales increased slightly, to 24,377 from 24,199. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing. ** Info from The figures were compiled by Condo Vultures Realty using the South Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service.

Economic Indicators...

In each Economic Update, the Research staff analyzes recently released economic indicators and addresses what these indicators mean for REALTORS® and their clients. Today’s second update discusses housing starts. ■In a strong showing, total housing starts crested the 1,000,000 mark in April, the first time since June of 2008. However, the bulk of the improvement was on the multi-family side, with a modest decline on the single-family side. ■ Housing starts have a strong impact on job creation and sales and thus jobs in related industries. Furthermore, they directly impact housing supply. ■Single family construction eased 4.8% from February to March, but is still up 28.7% relative to last year. ■ Likewise, permits for construction of single family units eased 0.5% over the same time frame to 595,000, but are up 27.7% compared to last year. ■While housing starts are strong relative to recent history, they remain well below the historic average. Inventories for both new homes and existing homes are tight in tandem with falling delinquencies and foreclosure starts. These trends are combining to help fuel strong price appreciation and to curb consumers’ options. An expansion of construction would help to ease price spikes in some local markets. ■While multifamily construction is on the rise, research by the Federal Reserve has shown that most post-foreclosure renters who were in single-family homes prefer to remain in them. Consequently, the increase in multi-family construction is not anticipated to destabilize supplies in markets that have experienced strong investor demand for single family homes in recent years. ** info from NAR e-magazine Contact us for a confidential market analysis !! We are Selling Miami !! SellingMiamiEstates team dir 305-283-5868

Mortgage Rates Back Near Lows Of The Week

Mortgage rates finally extended yesterday's move lower, falling at an even quicker pace today. Weaker Retail Sales data contributed to a morning rally that was already underway in European trading overnight. Mortgage Lenders adjusted rate sheets lower to a greater extent than we typically see after such market movements, easily putting 3.5% back in force as the best execution (what is this?) for 30yr Fixed loans. For many lenders, this means the best rate sheet offerings of the week, though some are not quite back to Monday's levels. Friday's lows remain elusive, but then again, so do the trading levels that spawned them. Yesterday, we commented on bond market strength (where "stronger" = "lower rates") being surprisingly reassuring. That had to do with Treasuries and MBS ("mortgage backed securities" which most directly affect rates) going against the grain as far as economic data was concerned. The data suggested weaker bond markets, yet they held their ground. We noted that COULD speak to some innate level of resolve, but that today's Retail Sales data could throw a wrench in the works. As it happens, weak Retail Sales results were in line with today's bond market strength, so we can't really know how firm the resolve would have been in the face of further contrary data. More focus will shift back to Europe next week, introducing more potential volatility surrounding headlines. For those inclined to float, negative headlines out of Europe could help us extend the recent gains. For those thinking about taking the risk off the table, we'd note that we're very close to the best levels of the past 3 months--levels that would look like a great lock opportunity against almost any other day in 2013. ** information from Mortgage News Daily Call us for a confidential RE market analysis.....the Best time to Sell & Buy RE is N O W !!! Espie Franky Luxury Realtor at your service 305.283.5868

Residential inventory in South Florida slipped to 32,872 from 32,995 active listings for the week ending April 8, 2013. During the same period, pending sales decreased slightly, to 24,028 from 24,413. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing. ***Info from The Real Deal _ South Florida Real Estate Call us for a confidential Market analysis....the best time to Sell....NOW ! All the Best, Esperanza Franky "espie" Realtor Member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing "Selling Miami Estates" team with One Premier International Realty Cell: 305.283.5868 E-Mail: espiefranky@gmail.com Follow us via Twitter: @espiefranky Marketing Florida Real Estate at the Highest Level !

So Florida RE Inventory update!

http://therealdeal.com/miami/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/SF_Inventory_4_1_13.jpg Residential inventory in South Florida slipped to 32,995 from 33,350 active listings for the week ending April 1, 2013. During the same period, pending sales increased slightly, to 24,413 from 24,406. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing. The figures were compiled by Condo Vultures Realty using the South Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service. –Zachary Kussin ** from the Real Deal South Florida Real Estate magazine ?Ready to Sell ? Give us a call for a confidential market analysis, including staging & curb appeal reviews. Espie Franky Luxury Realtor 305.283.5868

SOUTH MIAMI Active Luxury Listings

SOUTH MIAMI Active Luxury Listings as of March 1, 2013 $500,000 - $549,999 1 $550,000 - $599,999 0 $600,000 - $699,999 2 $700,000 - $799,999 1 $800,000 - $899,999 1 $900,000 - $999,999 0 $1,000,000 or over 3 Total 8 Great Opportunity to LIST, SELL & CLOSE in South Miami Call me for a confidential market analysis, including price per square foot. ESPIE FRANKY BBA, Luxury Realtor dir: 305-283-5868

updates on active Luxury CORAL GABLES

Market Analysis Report for Luxury CORAL GABLES, showing ACTIVE new Listings as of March 1, 2013. Property Type: Single Family Status: Active-Available Number of Properties: 61 $500,000 - $549,999 7 $550,000 - $599,999 4 $600,000 - $699,999 6 $700,000 - $799,999 4 $800,000 - $899,999 5 $900,000 - $999,999 2 $1,000,000 or over 33 Thinking on Selling & need specifics of Price per square foot based on the condition and age of the property, feel free to give me a call 305-283-5868 Kind regards, ESPIE FRANKY BBA, Luxury Realtor