by Craig Greenberg

Florida Rentals

Oceanfront Rentals

The homes and condos presented on LuxuryOceanFL.com for rent include the cities of Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Gulf Stream, Highland Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge and Palm Beach.

Please be aware that properties can be offered for rent in a variety of ways:

• furnished
• unfurnished
• seasonally (short term/winter months)
• off season (summer months)
• and/or annually.

I mention this because the majority of the time, the list price of a property will be the least expensive price available (usually meaning an Unfurnished Annual rental).  So if you are looking for a short term seasonal rental, make sure you reference the Furnished Seasonal Rent price


Short term rentals in the state of Florida have an 11% Bed & Bath tax.  Short term is defined as rentals less than six months and a day.   Please do not ask your realtor to fake a six month lease if you plan on leasing for less than the mandatory term.  You are asking for trouble if you get caught, and I'm sure there will be penalties on top of the tax you would have owed originally.  If you rented directly from an owner in the past that let you do that, good for you, but that was then and this is now.  No realtor should ever jeopardize their license to make a rental happen.

Short term rentals also involve prepaying all rent 30 days prior to the rental start date plus a 1 month's security deposit along with any applicable application fees.  This is done to protect the owner from a renter 'flaking out' at the last minute and just not showing up.  Most likely a renter will put a one month deposit down with an offer and then agree to pay the balance 30 days prior to moving in.

Rentals also include at least a one month security deposit.  On short term rentals, an owner will not switch the utilities into the name of a renter.  They will stay in the name of the owner and the owner will deduct utilities for the term of the lease from the security deposit.  An owner should provide you with all paid utility bills when you receive the balance of your security deposit back.  A security deposit will also be used to fix any damages done to a property.  It's always best to take photos when you move into a rental.  Most renters have a phone or camera readily available, so use it and protect yourself from an overzealous landlord trying to fix up their property on your dime.

Last minute plans - please understand that if you are trying to rent a condo or a property in an association with an approval process, management companies can take up to 30 days to approve an application.   The management company may have an additional fee to expedite the approval process, so if you are trying to rent something at the last minute, please make sure to ask about the approval process including but not limited to fees, amount of time to approve, letters of recommendation, copies of driver's licenses, association security deposit, etc...

Don't be surprised to see your Realtor charge a transaction fee ranging anywhere from $99 to $300 on top of the rental.  Realtor's in Florida are independent contractors, they run their own businesses, but under the guise of a Broker.  I'd say 99% of all Brokers in Florida now charge this fee.  If you can find a Broker that does not charge this additional fee, good for you.

Be wary of rental from first time owners looking to rent their property out because they are unable to use it this year.  They tend not to want to be landlords taking care of issues if and when they arise in a rental.  Realtors are here to put owner and tenant together and then their job is done.  We are not property managers, unless a Realtor markets his or herself that way, then do not count on your Realtor to be on top of issues as they arise.  There is a place in Florida leases for an owner to notify the tenant who to call if an issue arises.  It will either be the owner themselves, or a service contract provider, house sitter or a local handyman.  Make sure you know this before you give all your advance rent in 30 days prior to the rental start date.  A renter's bargaining power is money. Once your money is in escrow, the landlord will consider it theirs and be less likely to answer your questions as they arise.

When does a owner receive advance rent?  The way Florida leases are worded, advance rent given to a Broker can be delivered to the owner immediately (once cleared in the escrow account).  If there is an approval process and the renter is not approved for any reason, the renter is to receive all their money back with no penalty.  Most Brokers (should) wait for renter approval before releasing any funds to an owner.  If they owner spends your money and then you are not approved, say hello to  legal action against the owner.   There are a lot of scary scenarios of a renter giving all their money a month in advance and then the owner not living up to their end of the deal.  That is the risk all renters take, and thank God most owners live up to their word.

Let's not just pick on an owner.  Renters too are capable of being sneaky.  I have seen renters move in during the beginning of season, November/December, for an annual rental by paying first, last and one month's security deposit and walk away from a rental leaving the owner high and dry at the end of season (April/May).  Not only is the renter walking away from the lease (breaking a lease), but they locked in the annual rate for seasonal months.  Annual rates tend to be 50% that of seasonal asking prices.  Don't be surprised to see an owner ask for 1st month, last 3 or 4 months upfront and a security deposit if you are starting an annual lease in the Fall in Florida.  Owners are catching on to this scam.

If you interested in renting in Florida and want an agent on your side with many years of experience, working on 100's of successful rentals, then please feel free to contact us.

• View All Oceanfront Rentals
• View Intracoastal Rentals
• View Intracoastal Homes for Sale
  
• View Oceanfront Homes for Sale

Craig Greenberg 561-376-8540 | Craig@LuxuryOceanFL.com
Tripta Chawla 561-703-7733 | Tripta@Tripta.com

Gulf Stream, Florida Oceanfront Homes Market Update

by Craig Greenberg

You can view the market update in it's entirety here:  GULF STREAM UPDATE

Oceanfront Real Estate Market Update

Gulf Stream, Florida

Gulf Stream is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 716 at the 2000 census.and ranked as the 11th highest-income place in the United States. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 746. Wikipedia

As you see from the above Wikipedia snippet,Gulf Stream is not a large town, so the inventory of oceanfront homes for sale usually remains pretty low.  Right now there is one home for sale at 3777 N Ocean Blvd asking $12,995,000.   All Images/Charts are clickable – this way you can view the details in their original size

The broker’s comments on the property:

Magnificent oceanfront estate has been newly designed and renovated in 2012 with the finest details and craftsmanship. Behind a gated privacy wall and surrounded by lush tropical gardens, this stunning, contemporary Mediterranean Estate offers magnificent ocean vistas.


 You can view the market update in it's entirety here:  GULF STREAM UPDATE

Delray Beach Oceanfront Update

Get a glance into the Delray Beach, Florida oceanfront real market.  

Delray, known as "Village by the Sea" has won America's hear over

New York Times recently pointed out, "East Atlantic Avenue has brought in a new energy: creative, stylish and yet attitude free."

Delray Beach is also Winner of Rand McNally’s Annual Best of the Road contest for Most Fun Small Town in America!

To see the most current real estate market update of Oceanfront Single Family Homes, please click here and enjoy:    CLICK HERE TO VIEW DELRAY BEACH UPDATE



 brought to you by LuxuryOceanFL.com

Illusions and Satisfaction

Mick Jagger said it best, "I can't get no satisfaction"

What if there were a way you can?

If you are like me, you are intrigued by illusions.  I recently came across a TV show called Brain Games on the National Geographic Channel which is geared towards illusions and the show picks those illusions apart sort of what Penn and Teller would do.  The show isn't as gimmicky as P&T's act, but it does help us understand why our brain is interpreting what it is seeing. 


I only caught one episode so far regarding the power of persuasion.  I think this is a helpful episode for all Realtors that spend countless hours, days and nights working their hearts out for their buyers.  It will help you hone in your skills on how to set up showings, the order to set up showings in and how to best make your client feel satisfied.  It's this satisfaction that will hopefully result in a sale, but will also result in referrals.   

They gave a great example about going to an ice cream store.  So there are two ice cream stores, a Baskin Robbins with 31 flavors and small store with three flavors, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.  Which ice cream store would you chose?  I can tell you if you chose the larger store, your mind will always be second guessing itself after you leave whereas if you chose the smaller store, you mind will be satisfied with it's decision.  When you start to think about setting up showings for buyers, does this ring a bell?


How many homes do you show one particular buyer to be productive?  Are you the type of agent that shows everything that meets the buyer’s criteria?  If a buyer were to purchase something in this scenario, the buyer will not feel satisfied versus if you only showed a limited amount of homes. 

Now in the same episode, they talk about how we make purchases.  This time we are at a movie theater and we're feeling a bit hungry and we want popcorn.  There are two sizes, Small for $3 or Large for $7.  Which do you chose?  Probably the small, right?  Now what if there were three choices, Small for $3, Medium for $6.50 or Large for $7.  Which do you chose this time?  Large, because we are now perceiving value by paying .50 more for a Large than a Medium.  The small doesn't look like such a good buy now.

Take this to heart when setting up showings and honing in on only showing a selection of all the inventory.  If you have buyer that says "I will do a 2 bedroom plus den with at least 2 1/2 baths, but I much rather have a 4 bedroom room with at least 3 1/2 baths," think strategically using the popcorn example above how to sell your buyer and make them feel satisfied through the Power of Persuasion.

We as Realtors need to take these lessons in.  We are all guilty of showing Buyers too much which becomes counter productive.  Negotiate with your buyers when setting up showings the same way you would negotiate a deal on their behalf.  Fight for satisfaction and watch your business grow.

Mold Schmold

by Craig Greenberg

We sell a lot of real estate in Florida, specially Boca Raton and Delray Beach.   

Whenever we represent the buyer, we always suggest three inspections: 

• Home

• Pest/Termite

• Mold 

Mold inspections have become more prevalent lately as part of a buyer’s overall due diligence (DD) on a property.  Whether you’re using a standard contract where the seller is obligated to repair items up to 1.5% of the purchase price (PP) for warranted items and/or 1.5% of the PP for  wood destroying organisms (WDO) or an as-is contract where you have a kick out clause for the buyer if the Buyer does not approve of the property after inspecting it, a mold inspection should always be done. 

If you chose not to inspect within your inspection period, it will then become your buyer’s problem if and when he goes to resell and their buyer opts to do a  mold inspection.  We have run across two types of inspections – full inspections where the inspector takes air samples, interstitial samples and surface samples to detect for mold.  This is the desired inspection because if the air samples show elevated signs of mold, the interstitial samples and surface samples will help located the source. 

The other type of inspection, which I find instigates problems without a solution, is just taking air samples.  I have seen home inspectors whipping out the air sample machine taking multiple samples in different rooms/areas of the home.  The  problem with this method is IF elevated levels of mold are found, the inspector will only tell you in which room or area of the home the elevated levels are found, but won’t tell you the source.  In Florida, the buyer pays for inspections.  When a buyer uses this method of mold inspection, he now shifts the financial burden on the Seller to locate where the mold is coming from.  This can be a process of elimination for the Seller and in some instances I have seen the seller hire a full service mold inspector just to locate the source.  Full service inspectors in this part of Florida are in the $500 to $1000 range.   

I highly suggest having a mold inspection if you are representing the Buyer, and more importantly to save time, stress and possibly keeping the deal together, use a full service mold inspection company and not only take air samples.  This is all my opinion and it is up to you buyer in the end what option they choose, if they do so.

Oceanfront Homes | Highland Beach, Florida

by Craig Greenberg

Highland Beach Waterfront Real Estate Market Update

Currently there are 10 oceanfront homes for sale in Highland Beach ranging in price from $3.795 million up to just about $20,000,000.   The lesser priced home either have small water frontage, or they are old and need to be completely renovated or just knocked down and rebuilt. 

CLICK TO ENLARGE

So what good does the above information do you.  First you might want to actually see what the properties look like because as humans, we are mostly visual people.  Best place to see all photos and applicable virtual tours is here:  HOMES FOR SALE

Now that you had a chance to view the photos and virtual tours of the oceanfront estates, let's see how they compare to each other.  Please use the below CMA to your advantage:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

This is just a bit easier to read format with a little more detailed info.  We'll see if there have been any price changes and how long the property has been on the market.  We also get a nice snapshot of the 'low, average, medium and high comparisons' as well as an Overall Market Analysis.  If you have any questions how to use this information to your advantage, please email at Craig@LuxuryOceanFL.com

Boca Raton Luxury Waterfront Condo Update

by Craig Greenberg
LuxuryOceanMarket.com

Boca Raton Luxury Waterfront Condo Real Estate Market Update

It's been quite a busy year for the Luxury Waterfront buildings.  Buildings like Presidential Place on the grounds of the Boca Beach Club have no more residences for sale.  High end buyers are coming to Boca Raton in droves and buying up the chic luxury properties.

One Thousand Ocean, Luxuria, Mizner Grand & Presidential Place

In this update, we'll look at the properties that have sold over the last 12 months in the above mentioned buildings.  As for a tally of closed sales over the last year, One Thousand Ocean had 8, Luxuria had 6, Mizner Grand had 5 and Presidential Place had 4.

If you are interested in purchasing a luxury oceanfront condo in the Boca Raton area, please feel free to contact either Tripta Chawla at 561-703-773 or myself, Craig Greenberg, at 561-376-850.  You can always send an email too and we'll respond ASAP:  info@LuxuryOceanMarket.com

Just as an FYI, we are both agents of Lang Realty.  Lang Realty was the leading broker in the Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Highland Beach area with over $500,000,000 in sales in 2012.  Tripta Chawla once again was named Lang Realty's top producing agent in 2012.  She has had this honor for the past decade, each and every year.  Tripta and I have been working as a team since 2005.

Residences for Sale:

One Thousand Ocean
Luxuria
Mizner Grand
Presidential Place

One Thousand Ocean

Luxuria

Mizner Grand

Presidential Place