Best deals

Following are what I consider the best deals on the market (Based on asking price).

Condos/Townhomes under 500K : Click here

Condos/Townhomes over 500K: Click here

Canal Front Homes under 700K:: Click here

Canal Front Homes 700K to 1 Million: Click here

Open Water Front Homes: Click here

Dry Lot Homes: Click here

If you are interested in any of these or other properties please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

October Activity Summary

Upper Keys

New listings
Price reductions
Under contract
Sold

Lower and Middle Keys
Price reductions
Under contract
Sold

If you are interested in Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923
or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

REO investment opportunity for 212K Under contract

This is the perfect property if you have been looking for a vacation/rental property. Seagulls is located in Tavernier and offers: Tennis Courts, sandy beach, pool, clubhouse and gym. This is a 2 bedroom unit with fantastic views for 212K.
Please email Wiebkewestedt@aol.com or call me 305-393-0923 for any more info

Why private financing

Private real estate financing has been around since land has been bought and sold. When banks don’t lend on certain properties for many different reasons, private financing is an excellent alternative. It is a win win for all involved. The private investor (person or institution lending the money) gets a much higher return on their money than it sitting in a bank, the seller gets to sell his property and the buyer obtains financing he would otherwise not be able to.

Today the main reason private financing has been getting so popular is due to the tightening of underwriting guidelines such as credit and income requirements. Basically if you don’t have fairly good credit or can verify the right amount of income, you may not qualify for a loan irrelevant of the size of your down payment.

In comes the private investor. Yes, the rate is higher and so are the fees but it allows the buyer to acquire the property they want now and work on the issues to be able to refinance into a better loan later. The average private loan is paid off within three years. The requirements are usually 35-50% down payment and rates from 8-14% depending on the scenario and property.

The first place to look for a private loan is your friends and relatives. If they have the funds you are seeking sitting in a bank at 2% you can offer them a much higher return with the property securing the loan. The title agent or attorney can draw up all the paper work needed and help with all the details.

Many times the best route to go is trying to get the current seller to hold the note for the first 3-5 years. The seller should be motivated by not only by selling his property but also by making interest on the sale of his property. In today’s real estate lending environment this option has become more popular than ever before for the obvious reasons.

Never give up on trying to find the right financing for the home or property of your dreams. There are many different options to explore in the creative financing world.

By; Frank Lazcos
Mortgage Banker
Home Financing Center
frankl@homefinancingcenter.com

Fantastic deal! REO condo 315K

If you are in the market for a condo; this is the one to buy! Assigned Dockage (please contact me for details), a view and over 12000 SF living space. This unit is in Tamarind Bay, Key Largo, Mile Marker 103. Amenities are: 2 Pools, tennis courts, gazebo on the bay and great dockage. Tamarind Bay is immaculately kept!

This is the view from the unit.
If you are interested in this unit or other Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

The lowest priced everything

These are the lowest priced properties in each category.

Canal Front Homes: Click here

Dry lot homes: Click here

Condos/Townhomes: Click here

Open water front homes (Bay front or Ocean Front):: Click here

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

All water front homes for sale listed by neighborhood

Key Largo:
Buccaneer Point

Hammar Point

Key Largo Ocean Shores

Lake Surprise

Largo Sound

Lime Grove Estates

Ocean Isle Estates

Pirates Cove

Port Largo

Riviera Village

Sexton Cove

Silver Shores

Stillwright Point

Sunset Acres

Sunset Point

Sunset Waterways

Tavernier Ocean Shores

Twin Lakes

Winston Waterways

Islamorada:
Indian Waterways

Kahiki Harbor

Lake Harbor

Lyseloma

Pearl City

Plantation Lake

Plantation Key Colony

Plantation Shores

Plantation Lake Estates

Sunshine Estates

Tavernaero

Treasure Harbor

Tropical Atlantic Shores

Venetian Shores
If you are interested in buying or selling property in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me at Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Great REO deal in Key Largo $346,500

This is a 3 bedroom, 2 baths house on a canal in Key Largo with a great view over the bay. Don't wait; this won't last!

Please call me at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me to Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Summary of September activity

Upper Keys
New listings
Price reductions
Sold
Pending

Middle and Lower Keys
New listing
Price reductions
Closed
Pending

If you are interested in Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me to Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Canal front homes under 600K - Not many left

Canal front homes are selling the fastest in the current market. There are not many left under 600K. These are all canal front homes in the Upper Keys listed under
600K: Click here

These are currently under contract under 600K: Click here

If you are in the market for a water front home, you should buy very soon; activity and solds indicate that the 'botttom' came and went.

If you are interested in any of these properties or other Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me to: Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

All condos for sale in each complex

By the way: These links get updated automatically. If you are interested in one particular complex you can come back and visit the link to see if there are any new listings or price reductions etc.
Beacon Reef

Buttonwood Bay

Coral Harbor

Executive Bay Club

Future Yacht Club

Harbor92

Kawama Tower


Landigs of Largo

Mariners Club


Moon Bay


Ocean Harbor


Ocean Pointe


Port of call


Rock Harbor

Seagulls


Sunset Hammock

Tamarind Bay


The Palms
The Sanctuary

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Have you seen these?

The REOs are not always the best deals. These are two excellent deals:
This house is located on Lower Matecumbe on a large corner lot with direct ocean access. 3bd/2ba upstairs, large wrap-around porch, screened room downstairs, huge storage area, covered parking, concrete dock and davits and great fishing location.
Asking price 425K

This is a brand new waterfront home in Key Largo! New custom-built all concrete 2BR/3BA home with a roof-top terrace offering views of the bay. Gorgeous kitchen cabinets with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Beautiful tiled floors, impact windows and doors, brick pavers. Easy boating access from 45 feet of concrete dock with 15000lbs boat lift. Excellent homeowners parks with boat ramps, sandy beach area, chickee hut, volleyball area, and temporary boat dockage and trailer storage. Asking price: 595K

Please let me know if you'd like more info and pics on these properties or if you are interested in other Real Estate in the Keys. 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

New REO on the market Under contract

This Reo just came on the market. All offers must be in by this coming Wednesday.

It is priced at $371,250 was built in 2007. It is a canal front stilt home in the heart of Key Largo. 3 bedrooms/2 bath up with den area and one bath down. Garage, concrete dockage, tiled living area. Most windows impact resistant.


If you'd like more info please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Two great Townhouse deals

If you have a boat and want a water view these are two great deals!



This unit is located in Harbor 92 and is the lowest priced and nicest unit in the complex: Click here



and this unit is in Buttonwood Bay; it is also the lowest priced unit in the complex: Click here

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate please call me at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me to Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

August Activity Summary

Upper Keys

New listings
Price reductions
Pending / Under contract
Sold

Middle and Lower Keys

New listings
Price reductions
Pending / Under contract
Sold

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Best deals

These are what I consider to be the best deals (Based on the asking price)on the market today:

Condos/Townhomes: Click here

Non water front homes: Click here

Canal front homes: Click here

Open water front homes: Click here

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Can you finance a condo in the current market? By Frank

Condo Financing
In this article I will be explaining the difference in financing a condo versus a single family residence. The first and most obvious difference is that each unit shares a building with the other units. In order to maintain the structure that houses all these units there must be an association as established by Florida Law. The rules and guidelines set by the association is for the benefit of all unit owners. This includes the payment of a monthly condo fee to maintain and pay common area repairs and upkeep such as landscaping.

In a condo you have limited rights as opposed to fee simple ownership (Single Family Residence) which gives you 100% ownership of the land and all the improvements. Each form of ownership poses different issues for lenders and mortgage insurance companies. Fee simple is the least riskiest for lenders. In a condo the additional condo fee expense is calculated into the borrowers mortgage expenses to qualify for their loan. This fee must be paid every month by the unit owner or the association has the right to foreclose on the property posing another risk to the lender.

Should a percentage of owners stop paying the condo fees, the remaining owners would be responsible and may see an increase in the fee to make up the difference. Another item that adds to the risk of lenders are unforeseen repairs such as replacing a roof. The replacement of a roof on a condo structure may run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and should the association not have enough capital reserves the unit owners would be assesed a special assesment that is an unexpected expense for unit owners.

Due to these issues and many others lenders are very careful as to which condos qualify for financing. Fannie Mae the largest investor in the mortgage industry publicizes a list of which condos it will not lend on. This list is constantly being updated. Before a lender approves a loan on a condo they request a condo questionaire to the association or management copmpany that runs that association.

This form answers questions the lender needs to know in order to approve the condo for financing such as reserve requirements, percentage of investor properties and if involved in any litigation. Due to the flood of recent foreclosures many condos are no longer qualified for conventional financing and due to that the buyer may need to come up with a substancial down payment and incure higher cost and rates.

Should you want to check if a specefic condo is approved for conventional financing you can do so by visiting Click here . Should you have any further questions please feel free to contact me. frankl@homefinancingcenter.com

Automatically updated list of REO's in the upper Keys

Even though REOs are not always the best deals, many times they are. We do not have a lot of them in the Keys; here are the ones that are currently listed:
Click here
This link gets automatically updated when the properties go under contractt, new ones come on the market etc. So come back and check this list.
A few pointers regarding REOs: They are always 'as is', the bank will make no repairs.
When making an offer you need to be preapproved if getting financing; if it is a cash offer the bank requires 'proof of funds' (Bank statements, letter from the bank etc.).
If you are interested in Real Estate in rthe Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Check out the facts - what has gone under contract and sold in the last three weeks

This gives you a great idea about the Real Estate acitivity in the Upper Keys.
Click here to see all properties that have gone under contract in the past three weeks (and keep in mind that there are more; many Realtors wait to change the status to pending until all contingencies have been removed).
These have closed thus far.
If you are looking to buy or sell Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com
I'll find you a great deal that suits your needs and wants!

All Water Front Homes listed by neighborhood in Key Largo

Buccaneer Point

Hammar Point

Key Largo Ocean Shores

Lake Surprise

Largo Sound

Lime Grove Estates

Ocean Isle Estates

Pirates Cove

Port Largo

Riviera Village

Sexton Cove

Silver Shores

Stillwright Point

Sunset Acres

Sunset Point

Sunset Waterways

Tavernier Ocean Shores

Twin Lakes

Winston Waterways

If you are interested in selling or buying Real Estate in the Keys please call me at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me to: Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Waterfront homes in Islamorada/Plantation Key - sorted by neighborhoods

Indian Waterways

Kahiki Harbor

Lake Harbor

Lyseloma

Pearl City

Plantation Lake

Plantation Key Colony

Plantation Shores

Plantation Lake Estates

Sunshine Estates

Tavernaero

Treasure Harbor

Tropical Atlantic Shores

Venetian Shores

If you are interested in buying or selling property in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me at Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Inventory is decreasing

If you are seriously in the market of buying property in the Keys: Don't wait too long! The good deals are going and the inventory is decreasing. If you have missed a good deal and are waiting for the next one to come around and you are in "no hurry" you might miss the boat. Almost every 'good deal' property that I have shown to customers in the past few weeks is under contract and as properties are selling the supply is shrinking and the demand increasing. It is still a buyer's market, make sure to buy while that is the case. I'd love to help you locate the prefect property for you. You can reach me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Two Condo REO's

There are currently two REO's in condos and both of them are great deals:
One is in Moon Bay; it is a 2 bedrooms, 1,5 baths unit on the second floor with a DEEDED boat slip for $239,900 This unit is perfect for an investment/vacation property. Moon Bay permits weekly and rentals and produces good rental income especially when dockage is available. Take a look at this listing: You will easily break even on this condo:
Moon Bay

This is a 2 bedroom 2 baths condo in Tamarind Bay for $384,000 It has a great view of the bay and is a ground floor unit. This is perfect if you have little kids; they can walk to the pool etc. This is a great investment. You will not net as much in rentals but the future appreciation makes up for that. Dockage is assigned, Square footage is 1360 SF, every room has a view.
Please contact me for more pics. etc.
Tamarind Bay

Please contact me if you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys:
305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Another REO canal front in Key Largo for 310K Under contract

This is a unique home: a one bedroom home house with 1500SF living space. The top floor is one large master bedroom suite. It's a great deal, that's for sure.
If you'd like more info please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Summary of July activity

Sorry, I just realized that I forgot to post my monthly summary for July.

Here it is:

Upper Keys
New listings
Price reductions
Under contract
Sold

Middle and Lower Keys:
New listings
Price reductions
Pending
Sold

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Another REO (Bank Owned) CBS Canal Front on Lower Matecume for 499K under contract

Here is another great deal on Lower Matecumbe (MM76) on the Ocean side. The house is CBS; there are 2/2 upstairs and 1/1 downstairs. The downstairs is on the tax rolls which shoul indicate that it is legal. (in the process of being confirmed).

For more info please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

320K Canal Front House You will have to hurry on this one Under Contract

This house just came on the market. It is a 2 bedroom/2 baths frame stilt home with a cut in boat slip. It is an REO (that stands for Real Estate owned)which means that it is owned by the bank. You will either have to have proof of funds if you are making a cash offer or you'll need to be pre approved by the bank that owns the property (which you can do while making the offer). If you are interested please give me a call at 305-393-0923 or e-mail me at Wiebkewestedt@aol.com
I wish I could buy this!

Condo Townhouse Deals

There are some great condo deals out there and they can make for very good investments.
If you have dreamt of a house in the Keys but don't want to spend as much as a canal front house costs, a condo could be an alternative for you. Condos make great vacation homes: The grounds and buildings are kept up by the association and ammenities like tennis courts, pools,dockage, beaches, clubhouses etc. are at your disposal.
These are the best deals under 300K (in my opinion): Click here

Best deals beteen 300 and 500K: Click here

Best deals between 500 and 700K: Click here

Best deals between 700 and 900K: Click here

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

What I would buy in Single Family Homes

Following are what I consider the best buys.

Canal Front homes under 700K: Click here

Canal Front homes between 700K and 1 Million: : Click here

Open water front homes: : Click here

If you are seeking luxury and money really isn't the issue:: Voila

If you are looking to buy or sell Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at :305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Good deals you might overlook

A lot of good deals get overlooked because they weren't good deals when they came on the market. Since they weren't good deals they didn't sell. They sat and sat and as they sat the sellers of these properties chased the market, lowering their price continuously but never low enough. Many of these properties get forgotten; Some have been on the market for years and nobody pays attention to them anymore. (If it has not sold in two years what can possibly be good about it?).
Some sellers maybe did not have to sell two years ago but circumstances might have changed and now they do have to sell. Don't overlook those properties! As a matter of fact most of my sales thus far this year were that kind of property.
REO's fly off the shelf when they get listed because they are priced right when coming on the market. There are other properties that are price as competitively as REOs.
If you would like a list of those properties please e-mail me to Wiebkewestedt@aol.com or call me at 305-393-0923

How to find the best deal in todays market

Everybody wants a good deal especially in today's market. First you should determine what your priority is. Are you purchasing an investment, a vacation or primary home?
Here are the aspects you should consider:

If you are looking for an investment you will most likely rent the property out. Is it more important that you break even with the rental income or is the appreciation of the property more important? How much do you want to spend? Are you willing/able to spend more if the future appreciation is greater with a more expensive piece of property? How much does it cost you to own a piece of property in the Keys? If you purchase a condo you will have monthly association fees but that includes insurance and upkeep of the grounds. If you purchase a single family home and get financing you will have to carry wind and flood insurance (and content if the property is furnished). Are you planning to rent the property on an annual or on a seasonal basis? Many condo complexes do not permit weekly rentals and have a 28 day minimum for rentals. It is important that you know the rental policies if you are planning to rent the property seasonally. How long are you going to own the property? If you are looking to purchase a house, is it better to buy a watefront home or a dry lot home? What is the difference in rental income of the two and what will appreciate at a greater percentage?
Does it make sense to buy an investment in the Keys?

If you are looking for a vacation home you should ask yourself what you want in a vacation property. Do you have kids, are there things to do for the children? Do you prefer to be in a gated community, will you rent the property out while you are not using it? Do you prefer a house or a condo? Condos make sense if you are an absentee owner because there is not much upkeep with a condo. Can you keep your boat on the property when you are not there? How long will you keep the property? Many people are buying now to get their foot in the Real Estate market; That way they can upgrade later. How far is the propery to the nearest airport? If you hate abiding to rules and regulation you might not want to purchase a condo. Condo rules and regulation serve a good purpose but are not for everybody.
How will you take care of the property when you are not there? How much do property management companies charge etc.

If you are buying a primary home you should ask yourself how long you will live here? Forever? Is future appreciation more important than finding the house you love? Are you retiring or will you work in the Keys?
Do you prefer to live in a neighborhood that is mostly full time residents? Do you have children that will go to school here? If you buy a property with a downstairs enclosure can you rent the downstairs out? (Only if it zoned multi residential).
Are you a boater? Do you want to live on the Ocean or the Bay side? What is better for you? Are you willing to buy a fixer upper?

Once you know the answers to these questions it is time to call me and tell me what you are looking for. I will then help you to find the very best deal for you!
It is wiser to find properties that suit you and proceed by making offers. There is still a large inventory out there and many motivated sellers. The only way to find out how much a seller is willing to take is by making offers.
Don't shy away from the perfect property because the asking price is too high.
Lately many buyers have said to me "I would have bought it for that much" once they saw the actual sales price of a property. Many sellers are hesitant to drop their asking price but it's a different story when they see an actual offer (accompany that with a pre approval for a loan or make it a cash offer and you are in the driver's seat!).
Call me 305-393-0923 or e-mail me to Wiebkewestedt@aol.com if you are serious about buying property in the Keys. I look forward to finding your deal!

All condos for sale in each complex

By the way: These links get updated automatically. If you are interested in one particular complex you can come back and visit the link to see if there are any new listings or price reductions etc.
Beacon Reef

Buttonwood Bay

Coral Harbor

Executive Bay Club

Future Yacht Club

Harbor92

Kawama Tower


Landigs of Largo

Mariners Club


Moon Bay


Ocean Harbor


Ocean Pointe


Port of call


Rock Harbor

Seagulls


Sunset Hammock

Tamarind Bay


The Palms
The Sanctuary

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Thank you!

I want to thank all my customers for choosing me as their Realtor. The numbers for 2009 thus far came out on the Corporate site and I am the Nr. One producer for all of Century21 in the entire Florida Keys as well as the Nr. Eight in the entire Southwest Region of all C21 agents in the state of Florida. There are a lot of Realtors to choose from and I sincerely appreciate your trust in me. If you are not working with me yet; please give me call and the opportunity to assist you with your purchase or sale in the Florida Keys. In this market it is especially important that you work with a Realtor who is knowledgeable with TODAYS market. You can reach me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com

Bank approved short sale for 200K

The biggest problem with short sales is that they take forever to get approved by the bank. By the time the bank reaches a decision most buyer have grown impatient and walked away from the deal. That is exactly what happened with this property: The bank finally approved the sale but the buyer walked from the deal.
This is a great deal in Executive Bay Club. EBc is located in Islamorada adjacent to Founders park. There is first come first serve dockage (Plenty of it), a big pool, two tennis courts and even a beach (which is a rarety in the Keys). The units are 1360 SF large. This is a great investment or vacation home.

Please take a look and contact me at 305-393-0923 or Wiebkewestedt@aol.com if you interested in buying or selling property in the Keys.