Buy a house in bitcoin?

Virtual currency for a physical house?

 The seller of a Southampton, N.Y., home is asking $799,000 for his ranch-style four-bedroom home — or its equivalent value in bitcoin. It's one of the first homes on the market testing the digital currency, which was introduced in 2009 and is not backed by a central bank or government. The virtual currency is created by a computing process known as "mining" and can be traded online through unregulated Internet exchanges. "There's room for more than one currency," says Philipp Preuss, the home's seller, who says he would also accept a combination of bitcoin and cash. The bitcoin price, he says, will likely be determined by the currency's average exchange rate on the day of closing.

Bitcoins Will Still Be Your Future Currency

It's been a tough couple of weeks for Bitcoin. Hackers have had their way with three Bitcoin sites that hold customer funds, and one, for all intents and purposes, has gone out of business. Poloniex had $50,000 of Bitcoin stolen; Flexcoin reported $600,000 in theft; and Mt. Gox -- the first and at one time, the largest exchange -- reportedly had $400 million stolen, which caused it to cease business and declare bankruptcy. This turmoil has sent the former golden child of hipster investors plummeting from the nosebleed heights of $1,242 per coin to a low of $419.

A range of businesses accept the currency.

A casino owner-turned-commercial developer is asking $7.85 million to sell a Las Vegas home, and he's willing to accept the online currency bitcoin for the deal. "There are a bunch of people who have bitcoins, and they're dying for a place to spend it," Tosh told the Las Vegas Review-Journa.

A California Lamborghini dealership sold a $103,000 Tesla to a Florida man for 91.4 bitcoin, the Review-Journal reported, and a Canadian man listed his Alberta home for the bitcoin equivalent of $405,000.

The currency hit a watermark when Bank of America Merrill Lynch said this month that one bitcoin could have a maximum value of $1,300, or more than the price of an ounce of gold.

Technology moves so fast these days that those of us who don't live, breath and drink it on a daily basis often can't see the virtual forest for the trees. So before you dismiss Bitcoin as a fad or a case of technology run amok, take a minute to see who is championing it and what their track record is in successfully envisioning the future.

How can you make money with bitcoin? ( Watch the Video )

Luis Suarez
RE/MAX Premier Associates - Sunny Isles Beach
17600 Collins Avenue
Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
Direct: 954-673-9576

Office: 954-384-6803Fax: 305-384-6661

Web Page: http://beachluxuryrealestate.com/

             

Freddie Mac declares South Florida counties unaffordable

Homes in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties are just “not affordable,” according to a report released by mortgage giant Freddie Mac yesterday that ranked South Florida low on its affordability index.

Any place that scores lower than 100 on Freddie Mac’s index is considered unaffordable. South Florida earned a 72. But what does that score really mean?

Let’s put it into real estate terms.

Housing should cost families only 28 percent of their monthly income, according to traditional standards. The reality is, South Florida families are paying more than that, the Palm Beach Post reported.

A family that put 10 percent down on their home, landed a mortgage rate of 4.29 percent and paid tax and insurance equal to 2.8 percent of the home’s value would pay nearly $1,600 a month in principal, the Post reported. That’s several hundred dollars more than 28 percent of the median price for South Florida homes at $255,000, or $1,150 per month.

“If (interest) rates continue their upward trend, it will be difficult for many families to purchase a home without seeing some income growth,” Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft, told the Post. “Rising home prices and interest rates along with little to no income growth has resulted in a substantial erosion of homebuyer affordability over the past year.”

Frank Nothaft of Freddie Mac

Listing Photos: What to Look for When Shopping

Listing Photos: What to Look for When Shopping 

BY LUIS SUAREZ

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Premier Associates

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February 24, 2014 07:28 AM

 

These days, very little is left to the imagination when it comes to browsing homes for sale online. With virtual tours, professional photos and mapped locations, it's easy to see what you might be getting – before you ever set foot in a potential purchase. Technology certainly has its advantages, doesn't it?

These listing features help you, the home buyer, narrow down your home search and direct your real estate agent to specific properties. And although you shouldn't risk ruling out an otherwise perfect property based solely on its online reputation – hey, even houses have bad days – photos and videos can help save time and energy when it comes to building your short list of homes to tour.

So what should you really be looking for based on these photos, videos and mapping tools? Start with:

• Layout. Does it meet your space needs? Is it OK that your must-have second bathroom is in the basement?
• Potential Repairs. Have the original hardwood floors seen better days? Are you up for the challenge of rehabbing?
• Yard maintenance. Does the home feature a half-acre yard – on a hill – with 30 bushes that need regular pruning? Will you have time to maintain it all – and is the yard worth the effort?
• Lot location. Are you concerned about being on a corner lot at one of the neighborhood's main intersections?

Remember, photos and videos can't always capture everything, so consider your top three priorities in a home. When you think you've found them in a property online, it might be worth taking a look in person – even if that shade of green in the kitchen isn't your first choice.

The best thing you can do is see what's really there. Contact a RE/MAX real estate agent​ who can help you find your picture-perfect place.

http://www.beachluxuryrealestate.com/