I know the title sounds like an infomercial but believe me it was true.\u00a0 We first met \u201cSteven\u201d (name has been changed to protect identity) about 8 months ago and showed him and his wife various oceanfront properties to purchase.\u00a0 We found them a perfect unit and begun the negotiations.\u00a0 Even though \u201cSteven\u201d was an all cash Buyer we were not able to secure the deal for him as the Sellers were just stubborn on their price.\u00a0 So Steven and his wife decided to put their purchasing on hold.\u00a0 They told us they would wait until the season begins and then look again. We never lost touch, and being the type of Realtors that we are, we gave our Buyers space, but still closely monitored activity in the building that our Buyer had decided on.<\/p>\n
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Then came the first week of September:\u00a0 Suddenly the same unit that our Buyers had fallen in love with came on the market on a couple of floors lower than then the one we had previously bid on.\u00a0 Excited we called \u201cSteven\u201d and told him the great news.\u00a0 We explained that they had a contract on the property but the deal fell through because of financing.\u00a0 Our Buyer, exclaimed \u201cI\u2019ll pay all cash and I will close in a week!!!\u201d<\/p>\n
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We approached the Selling Agent prepared a contract, negotiated well and got the offer accepted.\u00a0 Since our Buyer had committed to a fast closing and all cash deal, he decided instead of the $100,000 deposit the contract had stipulated, he would rather pull his money out of the stock market and pay for everything in one shot.<\/p>\n
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So that fateful day, when we went to pick up the deposit check instead of it being written out for $100,000 it was written out for the total purchase price of $1.4 million.\u00a0 We were shocked.\u00a0 Our Buyer explained that this was money he had very heavily leveraged in financial stocks and since they were all not doing well maybe better to invest in Real Estate.<\/p>\n
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We understood where he was coming from but little did any of us know the money he had pulled out of the stock market, had he left it there until the following week which was the closing week, would have all but disappeared when\u00a0one of his largest \u00a0positions\u00a0went under.<\/p>\n
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Thus in essence, purchasing this oceanfront condo saved him over a Million Dollars!!!<\/p>\n
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The \u201creality\u201d of Real Estate is that it has gone down over the past few years and there are a lot of people that have taken huge losses as they have seen the value of their properties plummet 10-30% over the past 12-18 months.\u00a0 However their investments have not disappeared overnight as they have in the stock market.\u00a0 Many people have literally lost millions in one day on the stock market.<\/p>\n
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Real Estate is at one of its all time lows here in South Florida.\u00a0 There are some really good deals and bargains to be found and places where people can really get value for their money.\u00a0 For me it is an obvious choice of investment given the current volatility of the stock market.<\/p>\n
By the way as a Caveat to this story, the unit that \u201cSteven\u201d ultimately purchased was purchased at a price way lower than the original offer we made on the unit a couple of floors above.\u00a0 Believe me, fate is definitely a key ingredient in Real Estate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I know the title sounds like an infomercial but believe me it was true.\u00a0 We first met \u201cSteven\u201d (name has been changed to protect identity) about 8 months ago and showed him and his wife various oceanfront properties to purchase.\u00a0 We found them a perfect unit and begun the negotiations.\u00a0 Even though \u201cSteven\u201d was an<\/p>\n