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b"With Terry Story, 28-year veteran Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton, FL
Vero Beach Offers Quiet Retreat From Busy South Florida
On the docket today Steve and Terry chat about the quiet beach town of Vero Beach, Florida, issues that frequently come up with flipped properties, renter fees versus deposits, and landlord's insurance.\\xa0 Vero Beach is an hour north of South Florida, and in many ways offers a contrast to the hectic pace and crowds found in the urban/suburban sprawl that stretches from Palm Beach to Miami.\\xa0 Terry describes Vero Beach as a very nice community, quieter and more seasonal than South Florida, and one where nobody lives more than 15 minutes from the beach.\\xa0 Many people from Fort Lauderdale and surrounding towns drive up to Vero Beach for a leisurely retreat from the hustle and bustle.
One difference South Floridians will notice right away is how much easier it is to get access to the beach in Vero Beach.\\xa0 The area also contains abundant natural beauty, from the coast to the Indian River \\u201clagoon\\u201d which the Intracoastal Waterway flows through.\\xa0 Other perks include numerous restaurants and golf courses.\\xa0 The luxury community of John Island offers a more exclusive experience for those who can afford it.
Vero Beach Real Estate And Median Home Prices
Terry notes that the median home price in Vero Beach is about $188,000 or $132 per square foot, quite a bit cheaper than what you'll find further south.\\xa0 There are many single-family homes listing in the 250-350 thousand range.\\xa0 New residential construction has picked up after a long period of inactivity.\\xa0 Like South Florida and other areas in and out of state, the Vero Beach area is no longer seeing foreclosures and short sales.\\xa0 Steve asks whether there's been growth in median home prices, and Terry confirms that prices are up in Vero Beach as in most of the state to the tune of around 10% annually for the last several years.\\xa0 The relatively low, affordable median home prices offer a clue as to how far they fell during the mortgage crisis.\\xa0 The long and slow recovery from a deep bottom may suggest there is more opportunity for price gains in Vero Beach than in other cities in South Florida.
Buyer Beware When It Comes To Purchasing A Flipped Home
The conversation turns to the hot real estate market and the resurgence of home flipping.\\xa0 Steve asks Terry to talk about some of the potential legal complications of buying a flipped property.\\xa0 She replies that it\\u2019s crucial to understand who the actual seller is\\u2014is it a bank or an investor, and do they have the legal title yet? \\xa0This scenario usually follows from a foreclosure.\\xa0 Another murky situation can come up when a homeowner has passed away and left their home to an heir.\\xa0 Sometimes the heir doesn't have the title before they sell it to an investor or an investor buys such a property but then has to wait a certain period of time before they can legally re-sell it.\\xa0 This may mean that as a purchaser you have to have two appraisals done before you can buy it.\\xa0 The bottom line is that you need to know who the seller is and be on the lookout for issues that can arise with a flipped property.
Steve recalls that during the height of the housing bubble, he saw home flippers buying homes but not closing on them before re-selling them.\\xa0 Terry says she saw some of that back in the mid-2000s but hasn't seen it lately.\\xa0 What she has seen a lot of recently are investors buying a home, fixing it up, and then having to wait 120 days or so to sell it.
Flipping Houses Not As Easy As It Looks And Many Do It Badly
Flipping houses might seem exciting and easy and better than working a regular job, Steve comments, but the reality is that nothing easy is going to offer a path to success. It's imperative to treat property flipping like you would any business or investment,"