1) What mistake do you think homeowners make when renovating their outdoor living room?
MOST HOME-OWNERS DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT A BIG PLUS (AND HUGE SELLING POINT) “OUTDOOR LIVING AREAS” CAN BE… ESPECIALLY FOR BUYERS RELOCATING TO MIAMI. SELLERS DON’T THINK OF THEIR YARDS, GARDENS, PATIOS, PORCHES, AS ASSETS BECAUSE THEY DON”T SEE THE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR RETURN ON INVESTMENT. JUST BY EXTENDING THEIR INDOOR SPACES AND SPILLING OVER INTO THE BACKYARD SELLERS CAN TAP INTO A WORTHWHILE RETURN ON INVESTMENT. IN MIAMI THE ROI ON OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES CAN BRING UP TO DOUBLE WHAT A SELLER’S COST OR OUTLAY MIGHT BE…. A LOT MORE THAN WHAT IT MIGHT IN MANY OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
HOME-OWNERS IN MIAMI CAN CAPITALIZE ON THEIR INVESTMENT (GENERALIZED CLEAN-UP AND PRESSURE CLEANING PATIO AREAS, PLANTING, WEEDING, AND ADDING FOCAL POINTS) AND BY DESIGNING AND DEFINING THEIR OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES, PROVIDING SHADE AND INTRIGUE AND ADDED VALUE…. UNFORTUNATELY, THE OUTDOORS IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
2)In the Miami area, what are people looking for in an outdoor living room?
PRIVACY AND ‘UMPF!!!”… CREATING SHADY OUTDOOR NOOKS IS SOMETHING SELLERS CAN (AND OUGHT TO) EXPERIMENT A BIT WITH… PRIVACY IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED… FOR BUYERS A BACKYARD CAN BE INTOXICATING . MIAMI OFFERS 365 DAYS A YEAR TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS. SELLERS LOOKING TO CAPITALIZE ON THEIR AVAILABLE (AND I MIGHT ADD ‘LIMITED’) BUYER POOL CAN (WITHOUT A LOT OF TIME OR MONEY) CREATE LIVABLE OUTDOOR SPACE THAT CAN BE UTILIZED RAIN OR SHINE… CURB APPEAL MAY WELL BRING A BUYER INSIDE… BUT THE OUTDOOR AREAS WILL MAKE THEM FALL IN LOVE.
WE’VE ALL HEARD THAT KITCHENS AND BATHS SELL HOMES, AND THAT IS TRUE … BUT IN MIAMI, THE MORE SOUGHT-AFTER HOMES ARE THOSE THAT ALLOW A BUYER TO IMAGINE LIVING AND ENTERTAINING THERE…INSIDE.. AND OUT.
BUYERS ARE SMITTEN BY WHAT I’LL TERM “WELL-DEFINED OUTDOOR AREAS” WHERE THEY CAN RELAX AND UNWIND. BUYERS ARE DRAWN TO HOMES THAT HAVE A GOOD MIX OF SUN AND SHADE, WELL-APPOINTED, WELL-DEFINED COVERED OUTDOOR LIVING AREAS… PATIOS, PORCHES, BAR AREAS, CHICKEE HUTS, FIREPITS, OUTDOOR SUMMER KITCHENS, BIG UMBRELLAS THAT CREATE ADDITIONAL SITTING AND DINING SPACE, LOUNGE CHAIRS, SURROUND SOUND, PALM TREES, FRUIT TREES, STONEWORK,WATER FEATURES, TROPICAL FOLIAGE… A BALANCE OF STONE, BRICK, SEPARATE SITTING AREAS… A BALANCE (RETRACTIBLE OR PERMANENT AWNINGS/COVERED PATIOS) … AND THEY WANT THEIR OUTDOOR SPACES IMMACULATE… THEY WANT THE ‘WOW!’ …
FEW SELLERS DO MORE THAN HAPHAZARDLY PURCHASE PATIO FURNITURE AND HIRE A LAWN SERVICE. SMART SELLERS CAPITALIZE ON WHAT BUYERS DROOL OVER (AND IT’S NOT JUST KITCHENS AND BATHS!).
IT’S TOUGH FOR MOST OF US TO VISUALIZE WHAT “COULD POTENTIALLY BE”. WE SEE WHAT IS THERE ALREADY. BUYERS TEND TO DO BEST WHEN THERE’S A PICTURE ALREADY PAINTED FOR THEM THEY NEED TO FEEL WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE TO LIVE THERE… THEY NEED TO SEE THEMSELVES ENTERTAINING, LOUNGING, RELAXING AND UNWINDING THERE.
COVERED PATIOS AND WELL-DEFINED OUTDOOR AREAS (FOR SITTING, DINING, AND ENTERTAINMENT) ALLOW BUYERS TO REMEMBER THE HOUSE… DREAM ABOUT IT… AND BUY IT. OUTDOOR SPACES ARE OFTEN WHY ONE HOME STICKS OUT OVER ANOTHER. OUTDOOR SPACES IN MIAMI ARE KEY.
IF SELLERS CAN CREATE AN EMOTIONAL COMPONENT, BUYERS WILL WANT IT… AND BUY. SELLERS SHOULDN’T UNDERESTIMATE THE EMOTIONAL COMPONENT OF COVERED OUTDOOR LIVING AREAS (THE OPEN FIRE PIT, AWNINGS, CANOPIES, PLUSH COLORFUL OUTDOOR LIVING AREAS , & THE SUMMER KITCHEN OR BUILT-IN GRILL) .
CURB APPEAL MAY WELL BRING A BUYER INSIDE … KITCHEN AND BATHS SUPPOSEDLY SELL HOMES (WE’VE ALL HEARD THAT … AND THERE’S A GREAT DEAL OF TRUTH TO THAT ) … BUT IN SOUTH FLORIDA IT’S THE OUTDOOR SPACES THAT WILL GET YOU THE BIGGEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT, AND WHAT ULTIMATELY WILL TUG ON A BUYER’S HEARSTRINGS ENOUGH TO SELL THEM ON THE HOUSE.
SELLERS OVERLOOK OUTDOOR SPACES AS SELLING POINTS, AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THEY PUT TOO LITTLE THOUGHT AND EFFORT INTO MAKING THE OUTDOOR AREAS “INVITING AND WELCOMING AND UTILIZABLE”. IT DOENSN’T TAKE A LOT OF MONEY… BUT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT CAN BE PHENOMENAL … AT LEAST IN MIAMI.
3)In your experience as a real estate “expert” is the potential for return on investment (ROI) on outdoor living spaces really all that different in Miami?
FEW PLACES (ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD) ARE ON A PAR WITH, OR COMPARE WITH, SOUTH FLORIDA… NATIONAL STATS FOR RETURN ON INVESTMENT ARE FAIRLY GENERALIZED. THER ARE NOT AREA SPECIFIC. OWNING A PIECE OF THE TROPICS AND BEING ABLE TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS 365 DAYS A YEARS ( TRADING IN THE SNOW SHOVELS FOR GOLF CLUBS AND SUN SCREEN), ARE WHAT DRAW BUYERS TO SOUTH FLORIDA. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT POTENTIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT HERE, BUT OUTDOOR LIVING ROOMS IN FLORIDA NOT ONLY BRING A HIGHER SELLING PRICE … BUT OFFER A UNIQUE TROPICAL LIFESTYLE .
4) What are the most frequent questions that buyers and sellers ask?
THE QUESTIONS MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED BY SELLERS ARE: “WHAT IS MY HOUSE WORTH IN TODAY’S MARKET?’… “HOW MUCH VALUE DOES /WOULD A POOL ADD?”… “WHAT IS THE EXPECTED RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR THE RENOVATIONS/UPGRADES I’M CONTEMPLATING?”.
THE QUESTIONS MOST COMMONLY ASKED BY BUYERS ARE: “WHAT ARE THE COMPS?… “HOW MUCH SHOULD I OFFER?”.
5) Which areas/neighborhoods/cities do you specialize in? MIAMI, MIAMI BEACH, SOUTH MIAMI, CORAL GABLES, PINECREST, PALMETTO BAY, HIGH PINES, COCONUT GROVE, KEY BISCAYNE, BRICKELL, KENDALL AND THE FALLS AREA, AND AREAS OF UNICORPORTATED DADE-COUNTY. WE KNOW THE SOUTH FLORIDA REAL ESTATE MARKET: WE KNOW WHAT SELLS AND WHY… WE KNOW THE NUMBERS AND THE STATS … AND WE KNOW WHAT BUYERS ARE LOOKING FOR. WITH A STRONG INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE & INTERNET EXPOSURE, FOREIGN CLIENTELE & REAL ESTATE BLOG “MiamiRealEstateCafe.com“, OUR GOAL IS TO GIVE OUR BUYERS AND SELLERS AN ADVANTAGE.
MIAMI IS UNIQUE WITH IT’S ‘OUTDOOR LIVING AREAS’…. UNLIKE OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. THERE IS NO PLACE OTHER THAN MIAMI THAT I KNOW OF WHERE YOU CAN GET MORE RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT THAN BY EXTENDING YOUR INDOOR LIVING INTO OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE...
