| Getting the "Best" Deal by Linda All of us have written of the good buys here now. I have a plan to get the best buy on a condo in today's market. Often buyers will want info on what I think is a good deal. It's difficult to know the best deal by the listed price because we don't know what a seller is willing to take when presented with an offer in writing. Examples of recent closings from MLS....Jan 1 - Apr 7, 2008 Condo Listed Price Sold Price Difference % Island Winds $244,900 $194,900 $50 20 Surfside Shores $295,000 $265,000 $30 10 Boardwalk $295,000 $250,000 $45 15 Phoenix V $319,900 $285,000 $34 11 Beach Club $399,900 $342,000 $57 14 Castaways $345,000 $290,000 $55 16 Seacrest $395,000 $335,000 $60 15 Crystal Shores $399,000 $355,000 $44 11 Windward Pointe $399,000 $355,000 $49 12 Seawind $459,000 $400,000 $59 13 Summer House $469,000 $430,000 $39 8 Shoalwater $499,000 $452,000 $47 9 Four Seasons $548,000 $452,000 $73 13 Enclave $599,000 $510,000 $89 15 This is only a sampling of the deals. Of course many units closed at prices much closer to the listing price, but you don't know what the seller will take until you ask. The lowest priced unit in a building may not be the best deal. That seller may already have reduced the unit to the bottom price. We take the 3 lowest priced units in a building and start making offers. We may also need to change to a similar building, but we will find someone willing to "deal". I also want to stress that most of these sellers are not taking a fire-sale deal. I am currently aware of several sellers who have taken low offers. All are "moving up" to larger nicer units. All bought several years ago, and are still making a nice profit. So come on down and let's start making offers for the deal of the year! Dana's corner The expert real estate investors say to "Buy when there is blood in the streets" and sell when there is not. Well...there is blood in the streets and we are selling to avid investors and people who have wanted to own a slice of coastal real estate in the past but were sitting on the fence. They have been jumping off. Pricing has come down to an adjusted 2003 level, rentals are on the up swing and interest rates are low. Rentals are up because people have been conserving cash but still want to play on the sand. They are foregoing trips to higher end and further away locales like Ft. Lauderdale and Destin and coming to Gulf Shores. We have beaches just as beautiful, less expensive and they spend less on gasoline to get here. The price reductions (foreclosures are selling quickly and often in multiples) + low interest rates = high rentals + A WINNING FORMULA. And there is more yet to come, check out this article from Forbes.com. Add to that the fact that we are very close to securing the $40 Billion dollar EADS supertanker contract to build airplanes for the U.S. Air Force. Mobile is set to be the third largest AERONAUTICAL hub in the world. Our market along the Eastern Shore was slow but has really gained momentum going into spring. Our beach market has been humming along since January. The entire area was moving along quite well before the EADS Northrop Grumman project was announced as a win for Mobile and that will only add fuel to our fire. We are noting upward trends in buildings also. Crystal Shores had 3 interior units sell in the last three months. The low mark on the sales side was $350K with others coming in at $360K and $375K. So we are trending upward in the sale's prices. We are at a point where rents are covering the notes and then some, is it the time to buy? I would say YES. I know when I see corporate jets landing at Jack Edwards Airport with REIT personnel stepping off the planes, that investors are looking to scoop up some bargains while our beaches remain among the most affordable. Email me and I will give you my top 5 list of the best buys on our beautiful white sandy beaches. Should I Consider Buying a Foreclosure? Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard that foreclosures are on the rise. Many buyers that are considering wading back into the market are calling to say they are only interested in foreclosures. While I would never steer anyone away from a foreclosure, they are certainly not for the faint of heart. Let's look at a few facts. As of today, April 8th, there are only 59 Single Family Homes listed as foreclosures in all of Baldwin County and only 21 of those are on the island (Gulf Shores/Orange Beach/Fort Morgan). There are 61 condominiums that are listed as foreclosures out of a total of 2,697 listings (just over 2%) in the Baldwin County MLS. The point here is, as we have told you in this same forum, that yes there are foreclosures out there but they are not rampant as some in the media would have you believe. I have had the occasion to show, write contracts on and even close on a number of foreclosures in the last several weeks and I have learned a few things that may be helpful. They are not always the least expensive property in the neighborhood or complex. While they can sometimes be purchased at good prices, my experience has been that they cannot be purchased for pennies on the dollar relative to market price. In most cases you must submit a pre-approval letter along with the offer and the Earnest Money must be a percentage of the offering price. The property is always sold "as is, where is". In other words what you see (or can't see) is what you get. The homes are usually vacant and utilities are turned off, so if you want to do an inspection on the property, it is up to you to have the utilities turned on in your name. The seller will always make you sign an addendum that takes between 10 and 20 pages to say that you know the property being sold "as is, where is", the Earnest Money is non-refundable, the seller won't do any repairs and you will hold him harmless for everything. Oh and they will take your first born child if you try to back out of the deal - OK not really;-) Then there is that pesky 12 month Right of Redemption Law in Alabama. That means that the former owner has one year from the date that he was foreclosed upon to satisfy his debt and reclaim the property. That is not likely, especially in this market, but a possibility nonetheless. That is the condensed version of what foreclosures are all about. If you are interested in talking more about foreclosures or any other opportunities in Baldwin County, just give me a call or shoot me an e-mail. John Ricks 251-978-7118 John@JohnRicks.com Click on a team member's name to email. Steve Warren Linda Tedder Dana Hammele Missy Rowland John Ricks |
| The Gulf Web Express is a web based Real Estate newsletter from the Alabama Gulf Coast! Published by Steve Warren, Linda Tedder, Dana Hammele Missy Rowland and John Ricks 1-800-686-4005 645 Gulf Shores Parkway Gulf Shores, AL 36542 |
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| Greetings from The Gulf Web Express What's happening at the beach from your Gulf e-TEAM |
| Missy, Dana, Linda, Steve and John |
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| Spring 2008 |
| The numbers by Steve I'm going to take a minute and "beat our own drums". The Gulf e-TEAM set the pace for the RE/MAX office by coming in first in sales production for both February and March. This is a combination of listings sold and helping buyers find the right property. The current market conditions are all going the right direction. These include: "opportunity" inventory, interest rates, educated buyers and sellers and your team being on the case 24/7 (thanks to our advanced websites). April is already looking like another great month. Our sales volume is up 20% over this time last year. One of the forces pushing the economy in Baldwin County is what's happening in Mobile County. We are the bedroom community, second home and beach playground for those who are and will continue to see the explosive economic growth in Mobile County. The new steel plant, major ship building and port expansion plus the expectation of a $35 billion Air Force tanker project has everyone excited. Alabama has also become a major player in the automotive manufacturing industry (Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota for starters), the aerospace industry and the tourist industry. It all trickles down to our beach and we love it. It contunues to build the property values here. The energy that fuels our Gulf e-TEAM's business is the internet. I have spent the last 12 years working to improve the benefits of our websites. We get more traffic to our sites than the rest of the local RE/MAX office combined. This effort has put us out in front in production and satisfied buyers and sellers. Here is a "hit" list to check out (if you have not been there already). www.baldwincountymls.com This site is of particular interest to those who want to keep up to date on what's for sale. It is updated 24/7 directly from the MLS data base. You can also click through to any beach front complex, bookmark it and be just one click away from tracking what's for sale in that building. www.gulfcondoforeclosures.com This is a hot topic right now and this is the site to see what's happening. www.gulfcondos.com This site lists in alphabetical order or in geographical order (your choice) all of the beach front condos. www.gulfcams.com Live webcams of the beach and Perdido Pass. www.bestbeachrentals.com Beach area rentals from condos and homes to RV lots and Charter Boats. If you have a local rental, you can post it on this site for FREE. Boating is one of my favorite past times, so I'm off to float my boat for a few hours. e-mail Steve |
| RE/MAX of Gulf Shores |
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