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All posts by Scott Patterson

South Florida Real Estate is Truly International!

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[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xNv9riGf2A]

South Florida truly is an international melting pot, and these new Scott Patterson client’s in the video are from six different nationalities including France, Nicaragua, Canada, Greece, Italy and of course, the USA. This video was shot with our client’s friends and family while they were visiting their new waterfront property in the Hollywood Lakes area in Hollywood, FL. The other clients purchased a waterfront  Hallandale property in the Hallandale gated waterfront community of Golden Isles that they plan to totally remodel. Combined, these international buyers purchased 3 South Florida properties valued at almost $5 million.

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Aventura Real Estate Agent to Connect in San Francisco at Inman Conference!

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It’s All the Buzz of the Real Estate Experts in South Florida

All the buzz here in the South Florida real estate community is about whether I should attend the Inman Real Estate Connect that takes place in a few weeks in San Francisco. The other day my EWM buddy and South Beach Realtor, Kevin Tomlinson told me I should go. Even my real estate marketing partners at Dakno told me it’s the place to be to learn all the last on Internet marketing strategies and blogging tips. Based on the advice of Brad Carroll with Dakno Marketing, Crystal Coast Real Estate Blogger and Dakno associate Bobby Carroll, Kevin T. and EWM COO Beth Butler – San Francisco here I come!

Lookout Aventura, Hollywood, Hallandale, and Golden Beach Real Estate Markets – I’m Going to Connect!

I look forward to meeting with my peers and learning about the latest and greatest technology and issues in our industry as well as visiting beautiful San Francisco! I already have locked in my place to hear our own Beth Butler of EWM when she speaks at the conference. Plus, this is a great opportunity to connect with many of the top Blogging Realtors throughout the country and bring back many fresh ideas to my real estate markets in Aventura, Golden Beach, Hallandale and Hollywood.

See you in San Francisco!

Scott


Connect SF 2008

Mystery Luxury Buyer Purchases Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Mansion

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Fort Lauderdale Waerfront Property Fetches $15.5 Million

A mere 5 miles north of Hollywood, Hollywood Lakes and 6 miles from Hallandale (Golden Isles) & Golden Beach, lies the highest priced recently sold property in Fort Lauderdale (Broward County). Fetching $15.5 million, this 16,000 square foot waterfront mansion on Harbor Beach was supposedly purchased by a European buyer one publication called a “Bill Gates type” individual.

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Aventura’s Finest

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Right before picking up a Buyer to show real estate here in South Florida, I always stop by The Aventura’s Finest Car Wash to have my car presentable for my clients. I also find it’s the best car wash around and it’s a great place to meet potential Buyers and/or Sellers that are looking to buy and/or sell real estate in the surround areas of: Aventura, Golden Beach, Sunny Isles, Hallandale (Golden Isles) and Hollywood Florida.
Aventura Finest Car Wash has two locations: Harbour Center and at The Aventura Mall. The second location is very convenient due to the fact it is located in the Aventura Mall so you can shop while your car is being washed. The demographics of The City of Aventura are high especially due to all the wealthy international buyers and all the affluent people that already live here. By the way, The Aventura Mall just got named as the highest producing mall in the state of Florida due to the fact it draws many international shoppers. You must experience a car wash at The Aventura Finest Car Wash!

Flying Around Golden Isles Florida

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Here is an aerial photo I took during a helicopter tour of Golden Isles in Hallandale Florida. In a previous post I generated a site map of Golden Isles and think this provides a different perspective for a South Florida buyer who would like to better understand this deep water community.

Golden Isles Location

Golden Isles is just 20 minutes to ocean access via the Intracoastal Waterway and Haulover Inlet. As a boater myself I have found there are few waterfront communities that provide a vessel with ocean access, protection from high winds and storms, deep water and wide canals like this community. Also you are just minutes from Aventura and the Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

Aventura Lakes Begins Construction of New Guard House

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Aventura Real Estate News

Aventura Lakes North Guard House Aventura Lakes began construction of their new guard house on the north side of the community on N.E. 213th Street across from Gulfstream park. The new guard house was constructed only for the use of the Aventura Lakes homeowners as guests will still need to enter on the south side. The new manned guard house was designed to improve and relieve some of the traffic flow from the guard house in the south side of the community on 207th Street. The City of Aventura welcomed the improvement.

Short Sale a Home In South Florida – Free Advice

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Short Sales in South Florida require a lot of patience, time and energy but when all parties collaborate it can be beneficial to all involved. Below is an outline of some basic but imperative steps to follow that have demonstrated to be beneficial for me in overcoming some of the many obstacles short sales present.

South Florida Short Sales – The Sellers side:

  1. Be patient, diligent, organized and persistent
  2. Whatever you do, do NOT avoid your lender. Be frank with them about your situation
  3. Keep open lines of communication with your listing agent and real estate attorney as they will play key roles in moving the process along
  4. Gather the following:
    • Last 2 years Tax returns
    • Copies of most recent Bank Statements for all your accounts (3 months to be safe), proof of income and assets
    • Write a Hardship Letter, a letter explaining the reason behind your current financial situation with supporting documents such as medical bills, death certificate, divorce decree, etc.
    • Give your lender authorization to speak with your Realtor and Aventura real estate attorney
  5. Execute a sales contract on your South Florida property (Most important part of a short sale)
  6. Have your attorney prepare an Estimate of Closing Costs in the form of a HUD 1
  7. You are now ready to send a complete package to your lender with all of the above mentioned. (There is no such thing as a pre-approved “short sale”, if there is no sales contract there is nothing to discuss)

Short Sales in South Florida – The Buyers side:

  1. Be patient, diligent, organized, persistent and ready to close.
  2. Keep open lines of communication with your Realtor and attorney as they will play key roles in moving the process along.
  3. Present a clean typed out offer with no financing contingency and with all the required addendum’s. Make the best and strongest offer you can make. Remember there are multi-levels of approvals and conditions are usually required.
  4. Have your attorney review the contract and estimated HUD prepared by the Sellers attorney.
  5. Have a licensed Home inspector inspect the subject property.
  6. Have your Realtor provide a letter outlining your strengths as a Buyer and furnish data concerning current market conditions.

Short Selling A Home In South Florida – Make Sure It’s Complete

It is very important to send a complete package because missing information will delay the processing of your request. Keep in mind that lenders are overwhelmed and they look at thousand of files and will only grasp the packages that look well put together and are likely to close. You have to make a strong case by having your Realtor submit a comparative market analysis including market conditions. Remember Lenders are not in the business to own real estate.

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Are You Aware Of The Waterfront Community Of Golden Isles

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Golden Isles in Hallandale Florida is a gated deep waterfront single family home community with ocean access and no fixed bridges. There are approximately 304 properties within the gates of this Broward County community with 99% of the properties on the water and only 5 homes on dry lots. A few great notable points of Golden Isles are: it’s a protected waterfront community (protection for your vessel during storms and high winds), all of the canals are wide and deep enough for about any vessel that can be moored on any of its lots, ocean access is just 15 minutes away to the south at The Haulover Inlet and 45 minutes to Port Everglades Inlet to the north.

Golden Isles is right on the Broward/Miami-Dade County line and right across from Golden Beach Florida.  As home prices in Golden Beach soar, Golden Isles has become more attractive although it might not be as exclusive or have the name recognition of Golden Beach.

As a boat owner, one of the advantages of Golden Isles is that like I said it’s on deep water allowing for larger boats unlike Golden Beach which has numerous of its waterfront properties sitting on very shallow water and does not allow for boats that draw as little as 4 feet.

In my opinion, Golden Isles is one of  South Florida’s premier deep waterfront communities whether you just want to live on the water, are a boat owner or both. Golden Isles is minutes from Aventura, Bal Harbour and the Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport, right in the center of both Market’s of Miami-Dade & Fort Lauderdale.

Miami Beach Bath Club Villa Sells for $6.7 Million

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Miami Beach Bath Club VillaI Recently just sold Villa 4 at the famous historic Miami Beach Bath Club for 6.7 million on April 28th, 2008 to a couple from Pennsylvania. There are only six villas at the Bath Club and they are the only oceanfront residences on Miami Beach.

The Bath Club of Miami Beach first opened its doors in 1926, it was the place to be and be seen. The Bath Club was redeveloped by Don Peebles and offers direct oceanfront living. The Bath Club is blending the old with the new, with six single family oceanfront villas, 107 exclusive condo units and offers all the amenities of a five-star hotel located minutes from the heart of Miami Beach.

Golden Beach Florida

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Here is one of the aerials I took of Golden Beach while photographing different market areas and listings via helicopter.

Golden Beach Florida sits on 1.8 miles along the northern most portion of Ocean Blvd (State Road A1A) at the Miami-Dade/ Broward County line in South Florida. This exclusive town is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the East, the Intracoastal Waterway to the West, and the coastal cities/communities of Hallandale Beach (Golden Isles) to the North and Sunny Isles Beach to the South. Also, Golden Beach is situated between both Miami (Miami Beach) and Ft. Lauderdale and minutes to The Shoppes of Bal Harbour.

The History of Golden Beach

Golden Beach Florida was incorporated in 1929 and has become one of the most desirable places to live in South Florida. One of the most recent purchases was Ricky Martin, who purchased 641 Ocean Blvd for $17,500,000… This small quiet community has maintained its family lifestyle in a mile-long sanctuary of 370 single-family homes that are mostly located on the Intracoastal and its waterways or directly on the Atlantic Ocean. The Town Charter protects Golden Beach from commercial activity of any kind and forbids the construction of high rise condominiums that saturate so many beach front communities in South Florida. A beautiful mile and one-eighth of private beach with a historic beach Pavilion, 3 parks, and a committed sense of community have attracted talented, discerning residents from all over the world to this idyllic town located only 18 miles from Miami International Airport and 15 miles from Ft. Lauderdale International and Port Everglades.

Golden Beach provides security through its own Police Department. The Building and Zoning Department, Finance and Administrative Department, and the Public Works Department provide other services.

Golden Beach Florida is a beautiful and unique place to live!