Friday, February 12, 2010
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Taste of Pinecrest
Sunday, March 7 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
at
Entry and Parking is FREE
Monday, January 25, 2010
Homebuyers Tax Credit
Congress has extended and expanded the homebuyer tax credit. This tax credit is for first-time homebuyers and existing homeowners!
There is also a tax credit repeat Buyers; someone who is not a first-time home Buyer. The tax credit for the repeat Buyer is $6,500. A current homeowner who has lived 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 in their current home is eligible.
There is no requirement that the repeat Buyer sell their current home or that the new home has to be of a higher value than the current home.
To qualify for the tax credit, Buyers must have a written, signed binding contract in effect by April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Pinecrest Bike Day 2010
Free Family Fun Day!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Miami Palmetto Senior High
7460 SW 118th Street, Pinecrest
8:00 - 9:00 am - Information and Safety Fair
9:00 - 11:00 am - 2 Mile Bike Ride (Loop)
Friday, January 08, 2010
Pinecrest FL Real Estate Market Report - December 2009
13 Homes were sold/closed in December.
The lowest closed sale price was $300,000 and the highest was $1,559,000.
Click Here for December Sales Details
As of December 31st there were 195 homes for sale in Pinecrest with 29 homes under contract.
178 homes were sold in Pinecrest FL in 2009 vs
136 sold in 2008
150 sold in 2007
184 sold in 2006
170 sold in 2005
These numbers show that our market is recovering!
If you would like for me to do a market analysis for you, just give me a call - Your Pinecrest Specialist
Friday, December 04, 2009
Pinecrest Fl Real Estate Market Report - November 2009
In the month of November 16 homes were sold/closed.
The lowest closed sale price was $475,000 and the highest was $2,565,312
If you have any questions, just give me a call.
At the end of the month there were 203 homes on the market for sale in Pinecrest Fl with 30 homes under contract. In the past 6 month the number of homes for sale in Pinecrest Fl has been declining; this is another sign that the market is stabilizing.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Pinecrest FL Farmers Market
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Pinecrest FL Market Report - October 2009
39 homes were under contract
14 homes sold/closed in October
The highest closed sale price in October was $2,604,887 and the lowest sale was for $419,000.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Pinecrest FL Real Estate Report - September 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009

Fairchild Gardens will open it's doors to "man's best friend" on Sunday, September 27th, 2009. If your dog is friendly and likes to socialize, take this opportunity to stroll through the gardens with her.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Pinecrest Florida Real Estate Report - August 31, 2009
Currently there are 211 homes for sale in Pinecrest
42 homes are under contract schedule to close.
In August 18 contracts were closed/sold.
August’s highest sale was for $2,325,000 lowest was for $270,000
If you have any questions, just give me a call!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
You Have to "Sell" Your Listing Price Three Times
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
"Curb Appeal"
Monday, August 24, 2009
Your Home Needs To Sparkle
The day your home goes onto the MLS, it needs to SPARKLE! Your ready, willing and able Buyers will be visiting will be visiting within the first three weeks.
The importance of de-cluttering, cleanliness and smell can't be overemphasized. The Buyers need to see themselves living in your home; they should come in and feel comfortable, regardless of age, religion, or any other personal identifier. I will spend time with you making suggestions as to furniture placement, lighting ideas, etc. In the meantime, this is a great list to look over.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
To My Surprise!
Today I was surprised to have been informed that I am one of the top 1,000 Sales Associates for NRT. NRT operates under the banners of Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby’s International Realty and The Corcoran Group.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Pinecrest Florida Real Estate
Pinecrest Florida Real Estate Market Report - July 31, 2009
Currently there are 223 homes for sale in Pinecrest Florida.
39 homes are under contract scheduled to close.
In July 12 contracts were closed/sold.
July's highest sale was for $2,250,000 lowest sale was for $412,000
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Luxury Homes in Pinecrest Florida
In writing this update I first had to define what a luxury home in Pinecrest Florida is. I first thought it would be a home built after 1995. After doing some research I found some very luxurious estates built well before that; so I couldn't use age to define the luxury market in Pinecrest Florida. So I figured, let's use price. With that parameter I found small, old homes on acre lots selling for well over one million dollars; that criteria was out. So I decided to define a luxury home in Pinecrest Florida as a home with over five thousand square feet of living space; that seems to be a good parameter.
Using a minimum five thousand square feet of living space as a criteria for defining a luxury home in Pinecrest Florida, these are how many have sold in the past five years: 2005 - 7 sold, 2006 - 41 sold, 2007 - 51 sold, 2008 - 30 sold, and in the first half of 2009 - 17 have sold and 7 are under contract to close. At this rate 2009 will surpass 2008.
The luxury home Buyer, as most all other home Buyers, wants to see "value" in their purchase. As an example let's look at, La Maison de Provence in Pinecrest Florida. It went on the market in June of 2007 for $4,700,000. It was reduced to $4,500,000 then to $4,200,000 then to $3,998,000 and sold in June of 2009 for $3,650,000.
On of my favorite luxury home in Pinecrest Florida currently for sale is a Mediterranean estate on Ludlam Road. It features six bedrooms, seven and a half baths, beautiful formal areas, a library/office, a huge game room with wet bar and a gorgeous back yard; 9,175 square feet of living space on a 45,302 square foot lot. It is currently on the market for $3,390,000; originally listed for $4,250,000.
If a luxury home in Pinecrest Florida might be in your future, please give me a call at 305-776-0010, visit my website at MarieStory.com or you can do some preliminary searching at Live MLS Search.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
On a Lighter Blog...Tenants!
Tenant: Bev, is John home? The security systems keeps going off and I can’t figure out how to turn it off.
Bev: I’m sorry John’s not home. But I don’t think you have a security system in your house; can it be the smoke detector?
Tenant: No, it’s not the smoke detector.
Bev: Well maybe the tenants before you had a security system put in, check around the walls and see if you see a security panel somewhere.
Tenant: O wait, I think it’s the doorbell.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
French Village in Pinecrest Fl
Friday, July 24, 2009
Swan Lake in Pinecrest Fl
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Vacant Land For Sale in Pinecrest Florida
As we all know home prices have come down but I find that vacant land has come down even more. Here is an example; in 2005 a 38,000 square foot lot in the Pinecrest Elementary school district of Pinecrest Florida was sold for $1,170,000. Today a comparable lot in the same school district can be had for about $800,000 - that's about a 30% decrease in the price!
So if you are looking for vacant land for sale in Pinecrest Florida give me a call at 305-776-0010 or email me at Marie@MarieStory.com and I will gladly send you a list of all the vacant land for sale in Pinecrest Florida. Also feel free to visit my website at http://www.mariestory.com/ "The Real STORY in Real Estate"
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Short Sale and Foreclosed Properties in Pinecrest Fl - July
There are 17 short sale properties: A Buyers Guide
And 1 foreclosed property: A Buyers Guide
If you have any questions, just give me a call, (305) 776-0010 or if you want to search for properties yourself click here: Pinecrest Listings
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Foreclosure Frenzy
I have been working with a couple for about four weeks now; they’re well qualified and ready to buy. We have submitted three offers on three different foreclosed properties and our offers have not been accepted because other buyers have offered more! Just yesterday our fourth offer was accepted on a foreclosed property; of course it was for more than list price and the property had been on the market for just one day when I had already submitted our offer.
So yes, there are some good buys out there. You just need to act quickly and submit your best offer right from the start.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Dog Park in Pinecrest FL

Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Pinecrest Fl Homes Sold in June
Currently there are 233 homes for sale in Pinecrest Fl.
35 homes are under contract scheduled to close.
In June 22 contracts were closed/sold.
June’s highest sale was for $1,550,250 lowest sale was for $350,000.
As always, if you have any questions, just give me a call.
Friday, June 26, 2009
What to Ask Your Listing Agent
1. How long have you been practicing real estate? Are you a full-time agent? This well let you know if real estate is their profession or it’s a part-time endeavor. How educated in her field is she, what titles and designations does she hold? How available will she be to me? What degree of personal service can I expect from you? Ex. Do you show your listings or do you send an assistant or other agent?
2. Does he specialize in the area where my property is located? If an agent says “I practice all over Miami (or any other large city)”, I’d be careful. Miami is a big city, how well can he know all the schools, all the traffic patterns, what values are doing in that particular area, which agents practice in the area, etc?
3. How will she market my property? How tech savvy is she? Show me. The majority of Buyers go to the internet first, how well will I be exposed there? Does she have a top notch web site – do all the links work? How easy can a Buyer get in touch with her?
You are inviting this agent into your home and into an important phase of your life, so in my opinion, the following “gut” questions are extremely important:
4. Do I feel comfortable; am I at ease with him? You will be working closely with your agent; can you speak freely with him or her? Is this a person of integrity, will I be treated honestly? When I ask questions does he give me a straight answer?
I hope these questions help you in your decision. When you choose a competent professional, she will work very hard to make sure that your transaction proceeds as smoothly as possible.
If you have any questions, please feel free to post them here!
Chinese Drywall - Not Always Disclosed
If a homeowner knows that his property has Chinese Drywall he, and his real estate agent, must disclose it to any potential Buyer. The reason I write this today is because it has come to my knowledge that not all homeowners and agents are disclosing this and unsuspecting Buyers are buying these homes.
Let’s say that a house is put on the market and goes under contract. The Buyer has an inspection done and the inspection reveals Chinese Drywall. This condition is not acceptable to the Buyer and the Buyer withdraws his offer. Now at this point, both the Seller and real estate agent know the house has Chinese Drywall. The house gets put back on the market with no disclosure of this condition; hoping that the next Buyer doesn’t have an inspection made; after all the house looks so nice, just painted, new air conditioning system, etc, and at a terrific price!
Now when this unsuspecting Buyer buys this house and some time down the road the condition becomes evident, it will be hard for him to prove that the Seller and the real estate agent had knowledge of the Chinese Drywall.
So how do I know all this; a home inspector told me! He said to me that he’ll inspect a house, find Chinese Drywall, the contract falls through and some time later he’ll drive by the house and children are playing outside. He said that that makes him feel so bad because he is almost sure that those Buyers didn’t get the house inspected and that the Seller didn’t disclose his knowledge of the Chinese Drywall.
What should we all take away from this; if you are buying a home built between 2004 and 2007 please get it inspected. You might not smell or see anything suspicious but you still need an inspector to get up in the attic and inspect that drywall, look at the electrical system, get into the air conditioning system. Folks, the $400.000 or so that the inspection will cost you can save you a ton of misery.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Mango Festival
This has been an exceptional year for mangoes here in Miami-Dade county. As I drive through Pinecrest I so enjoy looking at all the trees just loaded with mangoes.For all you mango lovers - on July 11th and 12th, Fairchild Gardens will be having it's annual Mango Festival. The festival features mango trees, lectures, auction, food and a children's program.
I have attended several times and it's just such a nice family outing.
For more information click here: http://www.fairchildgarden.org/livingcollections/tropicalfruitprogram/Fairchilds17thAnnualInternationalMangoFestival/
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Fourth of July Fireworks
From Pinecrest, head south on Old Cutler Road, then make a left on SW 87th Avenue, the marina is at the end of the street. I have been going to this display for several years now and it is just beautiful. Please note - get there early!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Short Sale and Foreclosed Properties in Pinecrest Florida
17 short sale properties: A Buyers Guide
3 foreclosed properties: A Buyers Guide
If you have any questions, just give me a call.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Pinecrest Florida Real Estate
Currently there are 245 homes for sale in Pinecrest.
There are 44 under contract scheduled to close.
May's highest sale was for $2,300,000 lowest sale was for $350,000.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009
Taste of Pinecrest
Monday, February 23, 2009
2007 VS 2008
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wind Insurance
This means that if you buy a single family home where the structure is worth more the $750,000.00 be sure that it has approved window protection or you might have a difficult time finding wind insurance.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Tree City USA
"On Friday, January 30th your Council and I marked the official designation of the Village of Pinecrest as an official Tree City USA - installing a sign so designating us on Ludlam road near Old Cutler Road. The event celebrated the Village of Pinecrest's acceptance into the Tree City USA program, sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation This was not an award as much as a commitment the Village is making to continue to value its trees as an important component of residents' quality of life. Since the Village's founding, we have planted more than 12,000 trees in public spaces including swales, parks and the U.S. 1 median. Most of them were planted during an intensive six-year effort in which we invested $250,000 annually in new plantings."
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Pinecrest Mayor E-News
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Pinecrest Florida Library
Friday, August 29, 2008
Home Buyers Safety Net
First, make sure you are working with an agent who knows the area you are interested in very well. Your agent will have a good idea of what a property is worth and also be able to provide you with a comparable market analysis of the property you are considering.
Secondly, your mortgage company will send out an appraiser to appraise the property you have put a contract on. With all the foreclosures, short sales and mortgage fraud situations we are dealing with now; it is not very likely that an appraiser will appraise a property for more than what it’s worth in today’s market! Should a property not appraise at or above the contract price, you do not have to go forward with the purchase or you and the Seller can renegotiate the purchase price.
So Buyer’s yes, it is a very good time to be buying.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What is a 1031 Exchange
It’s a rollover of the equity in your investment properties allowing you to continue building wealth while deferring the tax.
If you think you would like to take advantage of a 1031 Exchange or if you have any questions, feel free to give me a call.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Fairchild Tropical Gardens
Fairchild Tropical Gardens, one of the most beautiful gardens in South Florida, invites you to visit for FREE every Sunday in August. So pack a picnic lunch and spend a wonderful day with your family and friends. Amendment 1 and You
With interest rates still low and the selection of homes plentiful, this just might be the right time for you to make that move. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call - 305-776-0010.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Foreclosure VS Short Sales
Here are two contracts I am currently working on:
1. On May 8th I presented the listing agent a contract to purchase a Short Sale property. On May 12th the contract was accepted by the Sellers. The listing agent sent the contract to the mortgage company for their review and possible acceptance, rejection or counteroffer. To this date, June 24th, we have absolutely no idea if this contract will go through or not; Mortgage Company hasn’t made any decision. In the meantime, the Buyer has his earnest money tied up. This contract is totally in the hands of the mortgage company and they call ALL the shots.
2. On June 4th I presented the listing agent a contract to purchase a Foreclosed property. On June 18th I was advised that the mortgage company accepted the offer and we will close within the next two weeks.
Both contracts would be good “deals” for the Buyers. But obviously Buyer #2 is a happy camper and Buyer #1 is out in limbo.
There is more to the mechanics of these two purchases, so if you would like to talk to me about Foreclosed and Shot Sale properties – just give me a call.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Pinecrest Community Center
10% Discount for 10 Days Sale
I love your Blog and page, thanks for the info. Any thoughts on the recent 10% discount for 10 days from Coldwell Banker on certain houses? What does this mean for the market in s. florida and in pinecrest?
I am so glad you are enjoying the BLOG! Coldwell Banker has held these “10% discount for 10 days” sales in other parts of Florida and they have been very successful.
I think the three L’s of real estate should be replaced with the three P’s – Price, Price, Price. Properly priced properties (three P’s again!) sell. For folks looking to buy, you can’t ask for a better time. The selection is great and interest rates are still very attractive. Also, I have noticed that since the tax portability amendment passed, I am speaking with more homeowners ready to make an inter Miami-Dade county move.
I wish I knew for sure what all this means to the Pinecrest market, but all I can do is share with you my opinion. I feel that if we haven’t bottomed out already here in Pinecrest, we are very close to doing so. I’m seeing prices in the 2003-2004 range. I believe we will have a period of at least 12 months of a flat market before we see any upward movement. I am advising homeowners, if they do not have to sell – don’t; especially those that bought after 2004. If they do need to sell, I remind them that wherever they’re going to purchase next, most likely the prices have come down there also. So yes, you didn’t make as much as you wanted to on your sale, but you’re not going to pay as much on your purchase.
Real estate is local and cyclical…and this too shall pass.
Friday, April 04, 2008
The Disappearing Real Estate Agents
If you’re going to be working with a REALTOR, as a Buyer or a Seller, the minimum you should ask an agent is; how many consecutive years have you been a full time real estate agent and how many National Association of REALTOR (NAR) recognized designations (not company designations or certificates) do you hold?
Real estate school mainly teaches you how to pass the state exam. I think that getting a real estate license is a very easy thing to do. But, to be a good real estate agent - that takes time and experience! In my opinion, one needs at least three years of being a full time real estate agent to really understand the business.
REALTORS who have NAR designations are educated professionals who have studied and invested their time and money to earn their designations. They are truly dedicated professionals who value education and the higher standard of service they provide their clients.
So once you have found an agent that meets these two criteria’s – listen!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
2007 Pinecrest New Home Sales
Important factors in the new home sales market are location, quality and amenities. Features that were once optional such as top of the line kitchen appliances, elevators, large master suites with beverage centers and a minimum of a three car garage are now expected in these upper priced estates.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at 305-776-0010


