Real Estate Blog

Carlos German Earns Prestigious ’30 Under 30’ Honor From Realtor Magazine

CELEBRATION, FL. – Juan Carlos German, real estate broker and founder of Carlos German & Team, Inc. in Celebration, Fla., has been recognized as one of the nation’s accomplished young professionals from throughout the United States and, for the first time, Canada, by Realtor Magazine.

“Being recognized as a ’30 Under 30’ honoree by Realtor Magazine is a dream come true,” German said (Top right on magazine cover). “Ever since I learned about the program, I have envisioned this day becoming a reality.”

“When I started out in my real estate career, nothing was given to me; I didn’t have a path paved out, and I had no knowledge of the industry. In fact, when I arrived in the U.S. in my teens, I didn’t even know the language! My struggles were plenty,…

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It's Hurricane Season in Florida. Do You Have Flood Insurance?

It is  hurricane season again and it is time to talk about flood insurance.   At this time of the year many clients want to discuss what their hazard policies cover in the event of hurricane damage.  It’s important to stress to clients that flood coverage is not included in a standard hazard policy and must be purchased separately.
 
Hazard policies do cover for water that enters a property through an opening created by wind, but not for rising ground water from heavy rain, or water that overflows from a lake or river.   Flood insurance applies to that area-wide flooding, covering multiple properties.
 
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) regulates flood insurance policies.   Insurance agents sell flood insurance policies, but regardless of the…

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Home Upgrades That Produce Highest Return On Investment

Looking for ways to increase the value of your home? Here are some key renovations to consider!

Bath

Adding a full bath to your home will give you an excellent return on investment. Depending on how much new plumbing is needed, it can cost between $5,000 and $10,000. If that's too steep, updated fixtures, paint, vanity and hardware will also go a long way.

Kitchen

A modest kitchen remodel can cost upward of 15,000. It's worth it. The kitchen is the heart of any home, and if it's fresh, modern, bright and welcoming, it can also be a key selling point. New countertops, cabinetry, hardware, lighting, appliances and flooring are all important targets for replacement!

Landscaping

Curb appeal is another investment that has a high return.…

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Insurance: Make Sure It Fits

Many people assume that homeowners’ insurance policies are one-size-fits all, but the same care should be taken to protect a buyer’s investment as the care that went into buying just the right house.  An insurance policy should be custom tailored to fit the needs and preferences of the home owner. 

For example, a property used only by the owner as a second home could have a policy much like that of an owner who lives in his home full-time.   However, if the owner decides to rent his second home to others when he’s not using it, then a different type of policy is required.

Just a few of the basic factors that determine how the insurance fits the owner and his property include the home’s cost to rebuild, its location, the shape of the roof, its…

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From Carlos German & Team

On behalf of Carlos German & Team we would like to thank you all for a wonderful year, this year we were fortunate enough to grow our team and help more clients acheive their real estate dreams. We would like to thank you for your trust and loyalty through 2013 and wish you a wonderful new year. Thank you for always thinking of Carlos German & Team for your real estate needs. Happy holidays and cheers to a wonderful 2014.

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Tips for Buyers and Sellers in a Hot Real Estate Market

After a long time spent down in the dumps, the real estate market is finally heating up again. Houses that have been sitting for ages are beginning to move, and some houses are snapped up as soon as they enter the market. Whether you are buying or selling, there are a number of things that you need to keep in mind as you move forward.

First, both buyers and sellers need to be aware that now is the time to act aggressively. When a market starts to heat up, it does not always stay that way for very long. You never know when things are going to fall out from under you, so be willing to jump in. Take good offers, do not hold out for something miraculous, and be willing to act immediately.

If you are a buyer, make sure that you do your research. Make sure…

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Totalorlando.com A New Resource For Vacationers in the Disney Area!

Totalorlando.com looks set to be the best orlando vacation travel guide that we've seen so far, not only does it cover all of the theme parks in great detail, but includes a very powerful and simple to use search engine. For example, just enter the kids height, and the type of rides they love, and all of the theme parks show their results for you. Brilliant!

But it's the Ticket Wizard that wins our vote. Complex ticketing options for the theme parks can unnecessarily add hundreds of dollars to the vacation bill just by picking the wrong ticket options. Totalorlando.com has fixed this forever and their simple yet powerful database will shrink your bill by picking the perfect tickets for your perfect vacation.

If you don't believe us, put it to the test…

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What’s new at CarlosAndTeam.com!

As you’ve probably seen, we have made some upgrades to our website. The new features had actually been in the works for about five months as nothing we do here at Carlos German And Team is taken lightly. Our online presence has really been a hit with customers and we didn’t want to take away the things you already love but we certainly wanted to make sure we stayed on the leading edge. However, in order to do that, some upgrades had to be added to our website to make your experience much easier than it has ever been.

Not only that, but there were many upgrades that needed to be done behind the scenes for performance, management of listings, management of inquiries, leads, follow up emails, property emails, etc. In the end, what we have today is a…

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Florida Cities Top List Of Largest Year-Over-Year Increases In Average List Price

Prices are rising in Florida: Florida cities have had the largest year-over-year increases in average list prices, according to the latest real estate data from Realtor.com. Florida cities make up 9 of the top 10 places for highest year-over-year list price spikes, based off of August data of 2.2 million listings in 146 markets.

Nationwide, the average list price is $320,325, up 2.36 percent year-over-year.

Here are the top 15 cities boasting the highest percentage of year-over-year increases in average list prices.

1. Miami
Average list price: $640,332
Year-over-year increase: 27.4%

2. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla.
Average list price: $443,570
Year-over-year increase: 26.27%

3. Central-Fla.-RSA
Average list price: $405,809
Year-over-year increase: 19.41%

4.…

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Tourist Flow In Orlando On The Rise

Orlando’s economy vastly hinges on tourism. One would imagine with the recent recession that numbers are down, but here are some of the facts. Tourism accounts for nearly 380,000 jobs in the tri-county area (31% of total employment in the Orlando three-county area). 2009 had $27.6 billion in visitor spending.

2009 brought more than 46.5 million visitors to Orlando, roughly a 6% drop from 2008. That accounts for domestic and international visitors for both leisure and business. 2010 on the other hand brought 51.45 million visitors, a 10.5% increase from the previous year, as you can see on the table below.

You can see significant increases all around except for in business and in visitors from UK.

Overnight visitors account for nearly two-thirds (64%)…

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