Miamism

Miami Real Estate professionals focused on service excellence and integrity

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  • Historic Cuban Barrel Tile

    A lot of you will be reading this thinking it's a bit boring (at least Rick thinks so), but I wanted to address this because a lot of our customers are constantly asking us about certain elements  of historic homes......so here it is......proceed with CAUTION.

    Historic Cuban Barrel Tile is one of the key elements found in Mediterranean Revival Architecture.  Key because it is one of the most visible elements and because without it, acuban_tile_ex.jpg historic house can seem stripped from its roots.  It is the one single element that has a history of its own.  It is a handmade or hand processed barrel natural clay tile, either made in Cuba prior to the imposition of the U.S. Embargo, or manufactured in 18th Century Spain, salvaged from buildings in Cuba and imported to the United States during the 1920's and 30's. (hence the name "Historic Cuban Tile").

    When buying historic real estate it is important ot identify the original elements of a structure in order to know how well preserved the property has been through the years.  Most buyers of historic properties will look for properties that have maintained it's historic integrity or properties that have the potential to be restored.  Historic Cuban tile is one of those elements that are cherished by the "historic community", but don't be surprised if finding a home with Cuban tile may mean that the roof is not water tight and a new roof may be necessary.  There are several steps that must be taken to replace a roof with Historic Cuban Tile.

    1. Identify that a property does in fact have Hictoric Cuban Tile.  A lot of these tiles have an embossed identification mark usually located on the convex side at the wide taper end of the tile.
    2. Once tile is identified as historic and property needs to be re-roofed, all means should be taken to salvage the tile.
    3. Historic Cuban tile can then be mixed with modern hand made tile, where the historic tile is used in caps, rather than pans to take full advantage of the visible portion of the new roof.

    cuban_tile.jpgPlease note that if Historic Cuban Tile was not found on the property, there are many ways of building a historically appropriate roof.  Historic Cuban Tile can be purchased, or when that is not finantially possible, there are manufacturers of hand-made barrel tile that can be used to achieve the original look of the roof.   There are also  roofers that specialize in historic roofs, not only in salvaging original historic barrel tile, but doing installations that are historically appropriate like reapplying the tile correctly, and using double caps and/or pans on the edge of the roof line.

    The overall look of a roof with Historic Cuban Tile is that of an "aged" or "informal" nature.  These tiles, because of their porous clay material will accumulate mold and pressure cleaning is not recommended.  There was a problem recently in Miami Shores with Code Enforcement requiring historic homes to pressure clean their roofs and every time I think of it I shake my head in disbelief.  In order to be able to appreciate our historic homes and architecture, it is important to educate ourselves on the materials, the process of construction as well as the history behind these.

     

     

     

     




  • Vacations for Miamians....and others

    Where do people from Miami go on vacations?  This could be a loaded question, since we do go everywhere around the world, but when talking to my friend from Colorado, Mariana Wagner, the subject came up.  Miami is known to be a great vacation spot so outsiders sometimes wonder where locals go.

    This past weekend, we decided to go on a quick 3-day cruise just to get away.  It was long enough to recharge our batteries and come back like new.  (Although sometimes it does feel like we need a vacation from our vacations). 

    100_1142.jpg Read more »


  • Educated low ball offers

    blind_aim.jpgWe just received an offer that was $200,000 under listing price for one of our waterfront listings.  We are required to present all offers by law but went ahead and asked the cooperating real estate agent if she had done research on the house and pulled comps, or if this was an investor who just submitted blind low ball offers hoping someone would bite.

    The real estate agent's response was that she had pulled comparables and it was a great offer.  We asked that she please send us the addresses of those comps to see what she was looking at, since it was obvious that she did not work the area and may not know what she was looking at.  Here is where it gets funny.  The comps were all dry lots.  Not only were those properties not waterfront, but their lots were half the size of our listing's.

    So what is the purpose of writing this?  It's very simple.

    For serious real estate buyers out there, it is important that you work with a real estate professional that knows what they are doing.  Finding a property you like is only part of the process, doing research about the area, studying the comparable sales, submitting a clear and well written offer, communicating with the necessary parties, doing inspections, managing the actual contract......all these are key elements for a successful real estate transaction. 

    Unfortunately, this offer will go nowhere due to an uninformed buyer working with a clueless agent who happens to be wasting the time of everyone involved.




  • Florida Property Tax Reform - What's going on?

    I am sure you are wondering what is going on with The Florida Property Tax Reform.  Will there be changes?  When will changes take place?  How will this benefit me?  Will the Real Estate Market Change with the proposed reforms?

    You are not the only one asking these questions, there are plenty of people out there with their hands crossed in front of them waiting for these reforms to take place.

    The good news is that something WILL happen, I am completely confident.  The question that remains is WHEN?

    To get up to the moment news, you can sign up at www.NoMorePropertyTax.com  and get updates by Marco Rubio, Speaker at the Florida House of Representatives.

    This is the latest letter sent by Marco Rubio: Read more »


  • Market Conditions for Miami Shores, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside and El Portal
    Real Estate Market Conditions don't appear to have changed a great deal since last month, but  we are seeing more movement with regards to showings and more offers coming in.  In addition, great news starting to appear from economists throughout declaring that HOUSING SLUMP IS OVER!

    Here are market conditions for Miami Shores, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside and El Portal, all located in Miami and close to each other geographically.  These 4 markets are very different with regards to price ranges, but similarly priced properties are moving at similar rates.  All the information in this market report was obtained from the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service and reflect conditions for 2007.

  • Football Sandwich Shop in Miami

    Have you ever driven by a really ugly looking place and you see that it is packed with cars and wonder if it is any good?

    I mean absolutely no offense to the owners of The Football Sandwich Shop in Miami but they know that their pink building is everything but pretty - one thing is for sure though, everything I have ever eaten there is delicious!  The outside has no reflection on the taste of the food.

    Image3.jpg Read more »


  • Miami Shores Characters

    Think of this statement, "Realtors are the gatekeepers of memories" by Brian Brady in his article entitled Realtors Should Stop Selling Houses… .

    Talk about powerful!! and as Realtors we really need to look into what we do, why we do it and whether or not this impacts the world around us.  This of course leads to how we do it and that's where I'm getting at with this post.

    I've lived in Miami Shores for over 25 years and have had the most wonderful experiences of my life as well as met really great characters.  I've talked before how Miami Shores is theP1090833.JPG surreal suburban town in the middle of MIAMI, where your neighbors have your keys, cops know you by first name, the deli person at the local grocery store has your meat ready as soon as she sees you.  But I have not talked about the characters, how did I not think of this?  Thanks Brian, maybe I'll start a series of Miami Shores characters or this will even inspire people into sharing their stories to be included into our Miamism blog. Read more »


  • Shops at Mid-town Miami

    Midtownmiami__098.jpgDo we really need another shopping center in Miami? My answer will always be ABSOLUTELY!!  There are never enough places to shop. 

    The Shops at Mid-town were created as the retail component of the Mid-town Miami project which is known for its "city-within-a-city" concept. 

    So I have to admit that at first I thought the location was pretty scary, but when I heard that West Elm was going to open a store there I was thrilled.  I have been buying West Elm furniture through a catalogue for years and could not wait to walk into a store. Read more »


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