Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Art Deco

Miami Beach is much more than a tropical paradise and a popular tourist destination, it is rich with history, culture, and some of the most amazing and unique architecture in the world. Art Deco is the most prevalent and recognizable style of architecture in Miami Beach. Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The Miami Beach Art Deco District contains the largest concentration of Deco resort architecture in the world, with some thirty blocks of vibrantly colored hotels and apartment houses dating from the 1920s to the 1940s. These buildings represent an era when Miami was heavily promoted and developed as a "tropical playground."

Art Deco is considered one of the first twentieth century architectural styles in America to break with traditional revival forms to embrace influences from many different styles including Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism and Futurism. Building forms in the style were typically angular and clean, with stepped back facades, symmetrical or asymmetrical massing and strong vertical accenting. The preferred decorative language included geometric patterns, abstracted natural forms, modern industrial symbols and ancient cultural motifs employing Mayan, Egyptian and Indigenous American themes.

In Ocean Beach (now known as South Beach) architects used a unique form of local imagery to create what we now call "Tropical Deco". The style employed nautical themes as well as tropical floral and fauna motifs. Ocean liners, palm trees, and flamingos graced the exteriors and interiors of the new local architecture. The favored materials for executing this distinctive "art" decor included bas-relief stucco, keystone, etched glass, a variety of metals, cast concrete, patterned terrazzo, and others.

Much of the Art Deco designs can be attributed to architect Morris Lapidus. His first large commission was the Miami Beach Sans Souci Hotel, followed closely by the Nautilus, the Di Lido, the Biltmore Terrace, and the Algiers, all along Collins Avenue, and amounting to the single-handed redesign of an entire district. The hotels were an immediate popular success. Then in 1952 he landed the job of the largest luxury hotel in Miami Beach, the Fontainebleau Hotel, one of the most historically and architecturally significant hotels on Miami Beach and thought to be the most significant building of Lapidus's career. Before the Fontainebleau's 27 colors of paint had dried, Lapidus had his second big commission, the Eden Rock, a luxury hotel to be located right next door. Around 1960, Lapidus was commissioned to redesign Lincoln Road. Lapidus's design for Lincoln Road, complete with gardens, fountains, shelters and an amphitheater, reflected the Miami Modern Architecture, or "MiMo", style that Lapidus pioneered in the 1950s. The Road was closed to traffic and became one of the nation's first pedestrian malls.

Art Deco continues to be a popular style among buyers coming to the South Beach market. I have sold more art deco properties than I can count and I enjoy discovering the unique attributes to each Art Deco property...no two being the same. I recently closed a sale at Harriet Court on 1508 Pennsylvania Avenue for $385,000. Harriet Court, like many Art Deco properties, has been completely renovated and elegantly blends the past with the present, encompassing all of today's modern design features and amenities.

Why Estate Agents Have Bad Reputations

As professions go, being an estate agent is considered by many - the majority, in fact - to be one of the lowest, right down there alongside bankers. Years of bad service and unscrupulous, underhand practices have helped form this opinion of estate agents in the minds of the UK public.

In some, probably too many, cases the reputation is deserved. The tactics employed by some agents to simply make as much money as possible to the detriment of their clients, the house sellers and buyers, are deplorable. It is unfortunate that the actions of an admittedly significant minority of agents have tarnished the reputation of those estate agents that provide excellent service and always act in the best interests of their clients.

So what actions, exactly, have led to the low reputation of estate agents?

The most obvious and highly publicised is gazumping. This is when an agent continues to show potential buyers around a property even after the seller has accepted an offer. They do this in the hope they will receive a higher offer. If this happens the first buyer with an accepted offer is told another one has come in and they are no longer going to be buying the property, leaving them in a difficult situation, especially if they have sold their own property in expectation of completing the purchase.

Some agents also value homes at far lower than they should be - and then go on to sell them to friends or colleagues at that lower price!

Using scare tactics to force sellers into accepting a lower price than they wanted is another common practice. This can include 'inventing' a series of lower offers, tricking the seller into believing they'll never get the asking price they wanted.

The opposite to this is never passing on offers to the seller that the agent thinks are too low in the hope of achieving a higher one in the future and thus getting a larger fee. The seller is completely unaware of these offers and is therefore not in a position to decide whether they want to accept it or not.

If the agent advises reducing the price - and therefore fails in their obligation to achieve the original asking price - it is reasonable to expect them to reduce their fee at the same time. Many agents refuse to do this, costing the seller more money once the house has sold.

A really common practice is for estate agents to value houses higher than they should be in an attempt to attract sellers. Believing their house to be worth more than they thought, the seller is easily tempted to sign with such an agent.

These COULD be described as underhand but not particularly 'evil'. These next three examples, however, could be considered outright fraud.

Some agents have been known to give buyers fake documents in order to help them secure mortgages. They have also been known to provide completely fake evidence that properties in the same area have sold for more than they actually have. And lastly, some agents have even gone so far as to erect for sale / sold signs outside properties that they had absolutely nothing to do with.

It is no wonder that the reputation of estate agents is what it is when these sorts of practices are going on - and are still going on, even now. Finding an agent you can trust is not easy, though there are many out there. Talk to friends and relatives about agents they have used and the service they received. Ask the estate agents probing questions and don't be fobbed off by their answers. Seek assurances about the way they will go about selling your house (or finding you one to buy) and, if possible, get those assurances in writing.

Looking to Double Your Real Estate Income? Top Agents Work Smarter Not Harder!

Real Estate sales is very much a people business. Top producing agents are very good at communicating with their clients and prospects, and are constantly looking for ways to deepen their relationships and book of business. Lets face it, as agents we work very hard to market for new clients, convince them to work with us, spend countless hours finding the perfect home for them, or endlessly marketing their home for sale. In the end of the day, real estate is a people business. The top agents succeed as they have learned how to build long lasting relationships with their clients. Top producing agents are true pro's at the relationship aspect of the business, their product is simply homes, condos and investment properties.

Sure you like most agents are good at building report and relationships with folks that are looking to buy or sell in your area. What do you do now when you have a client or you are you hear of someone that is looking to buy a property outside of your immediate market area? Do you have an action plan in place on how to capture this business, and capitalize on the referral opportunity? Do you have an established referral network in place?

Most top real estate agents have learned how to use leverage, and real estate referral networks as a great way to deepen relationships with their clients.

There are two ways agents can refer clients to other agents. When you have a referral, you can research other agents online, contact them directly, see if they are interested in the referral, negotiate referral rates, and hope then hope they will take care of your client and actually pay you when the transaction closes.

What most top producing agents choose to do is to join a real estate referral network. most top referral networks are FREE, the offer many benefits of both being able to register to send and receive referrals, they have pre-negotiated referral rates, and have some level of protection built in place to guarantee you will get paid at closing.

Real Estate referral networks are available for all experienced agents. As an industry professional, you should consider joining a referral network. Look for a network that is free to join and use. The top networks do not charge any membership fees, and allow you to connect with top agents in all brokerage companies across the country.

Referral networks allow agents to work smarter not harder in their daily practice. What a great way to network with other agents, build relationships with other industry professionals, and earn big real estate commissions from client looking to buy in your area.

My Thoughts on Creating Successful Business in Real Estate

I have put together this post as a basic run through for creating a business plan and a growth plan for a real estate business. I got the ideas for this by talking to some of the smartest people I know in and out of real estate from huge computer companies, college president, software developer, to commercial property owner and more. In business the basic rules and steps apply and being a real estate agent or broker needs to be run the same way in order to be successful and save a lot of headache and wasted time.

First step whether you are new or a real estate veteran looking to build a better business creating a timeline is mandatory. Create a goal and make it lofty to build a model with a larger capacity. With that goal make a timeline to reach it. Example, I want to close X volume with Y input of new leads and clients weekly by Z date. A lot of agency focus on closed deals, real estate being about the only industry teaching this when the focus should be incoming pipeline load because it focuses on the future of the business and forces you to create dependable lead generation techniques that will keep you in business.

The second step is to create what I will call an open source model. One that is easy to install additional sources of income and build on. In real estate this would be buyers' agents for example. You have a pipe of leads, you are getting big and you obviously don't want to put 500 miles on the car everyday while working 20 hours a day. Have agents do this for you and pay you for it. You have to create personal brand that is likable and attractive to get good agents on board though. Good sources, education, leads and guidance. Intel builds a chip you can put in almost any computer and people still demand to have it, so computer manufacturers use it. It's about building an attractive versatile platform. Donald trump puts his name on everything. Same way agents will know being part of your brand will make them successful also.

Part three is something you will always need in business, which is a business partner, a mentor, or any group of people smarter than you to bounce ideas off of. This will give you a new perspective and allow people to challenge your way of thinking while pushing you to always be better. You should always feel like you didn't know something 6 months ago because you are constantly evolving and learning, pushing yourself to perform at a top level. Having a partner also lets you maybe take a few days off now and then so you don't get burnt out.

Part four is to create your systems and infrastructure for handling your business with steps for handling a new lead and who does it, to clearing the file at close and storing it for the legally required time. Systems are important because it increases efficiency and cuts down on human error. Imagine if Amazon, the military, or a doctor had no protocol or systems. You would probably never get your antique looking picture frame, Normandy would have been a disaster, and you may walk out the hospital missing a spleen after going in for a broken arm. I think real estate business should handle this aspect with a lot of care when dealing with other people's money and sensitive information. Make sure these systems are easily scalable and can be easily outsourced to avoid growing pains. The last thing you want is to stop growth due to yourself. Anyone use Friendster?

Part five is your target market and what solution you will provide to get going. This could be buyers, sellers, investors, or a geographical location, but the smaller your focus the more success you are likely to have as you will be more specialized and be known for something but make sure it is a large need and solve a real problem. Don't pick one lake front area, but all lakefront communities in your area so you have a real market to focus on. Once you have this, you can decide what kind of market saturation you need. How many units are bought and sold each month? How many units are available? What's your demand? Decide what percentage of that market you will need to reach your goals. If you need 100 percent to make it your market is too small. Can you succeed with 10%? Then you have a market and you will succeed. You will then know exactly how much you need to market and as you begin to get returns you will be able to gauge how many angles are needed to reach your 10%, and it will be sustainable.

Part five is to keep adding. What you will have is version 1.00 of "you real estate" platform. Make some upgrades, add some referral partners, or great new marketing angle and you have version 1.01. Add some buyer agents that bring some respective returns in your market you have version 1.1. Add an entire second market with staff to support you will be in version 2.0. You may have noticed these on software updates you install as the programs are upgraded and made better. This is a useful tracking system to see your progress and decide what business version you want to be at. It will also show what you need to get there. When you see a hole that is holding you back, or an opportunity to grow, it's time to upgrade.

That's it! It works for businesses all over the world and made the people I spoke with very successful. I believe these same systems transfer into real estate because it needs to be treated like a business not some fly by night operation because that's how you end up just another face in a sea of agents running around.

Work Smarter, Not Harder in Real Estate

n this market we are in there is a necessity to work faster, run leaner, and get more bang for our buck to stay profitable all while trying to have somewhat of a life besides real estate. Efficiency is something I am always trying to improve because sometimes you hit a ceiling in real estate at that point will require you to find ways of working leaner in order to boost your profit margins. This has happened to me in the past and I would have been fine being happy with a certain income number but with my compulsive personality the only thing I wanted was more torrential business and income growth. But the only way to achieve that was by increasing my capabilities and being able to magnify myself to handle a much larger work load.

The obvious answer to this problem is technology. I notice a lot of agents are a little reluctant to adopt new technologies and would rather outsource to more humans and do business the same way it's been done for the last 15 years. I have always liked technology in business, maybe because I started when I was 20 years old 4 years ago so I'm kind of in the tech generation. What I want to get across is the power of using technology to automate your real estate business for leads and for increasing productivity which will magnify a user's capability to be everywhere at once.

I created the system I used and refined over the last few years which allowed my partner and I to close around 100 deals annually and generate around a half million in revenue annually with an extremely low overhead without any assistants. At the same time giving us all the free time we needed to do whatever we wanted. The key points required to effectively implement tech into your business (to be like EVERY other successful industry in the world). Certain points need to be addressed:

1. Accessibility: By being accessible and being able to easily and quickly access your business from anywhere at any time it will make you much faster while giving you the ability to do everything from anywhere. By putting a system in place that will help manage the daily operations and schedule of your clients the active aspect of your business will become more passive. The activities will become automatic and you can streamline your business so every transaction will run smoothly.

2. Transparency: By being able to provide transparency to clients and being able to keep customers in the loop does a huge thing for building trust. Being able to do this automatically is even better and clients appreciate being able to know what's going on when they have a question without playing phone tag with you and you having to call back once your able to look through the file and find the answer.

3. Compliance: Like every business real estate has certain procedures, rules and required documents to complete a transaction. This is by far the biggest pain in any agent's butt when you have checks at the front desk but it won't be released because you missing a paper. It's a waste of time and nothing makes me angrier then having to wait for my paycheck. Being able to automate and accurately clear files quickly and easily is crucial to burn through transactions quickly without any snags and move on to the next one.

That's about it. With the above items taken care of you will drastically improve your business and be THE Amazon.com real estate sales. It took me four years to perfect the systems, but now work has never been easier. Below is the link to my system sign up and let me know what you think.

Why Buyers and Tenants Should Use a Buyer or Tenant Representative

Exactly why would somebody want to have a Tenant Representative involved in the process of buying or leasing commercial property? Quite simply, because your tenant representative has a fiduciary duty to look out for your best interest before that of any other party in the transaction. The Landlord's representative has this same relationship with their client, meaning that anything you tell them that helps them negotiate better terms, they are obligated to tell the Landlord. You wouldn't just "trust" the other parties lawyer in reviewing legal documents, would you? The Landlord's representative has to look out for the Landlord because it is their duty to them legally.

Secondly, having a trusted real estate advisor on your team will save you countless hours of searching. With access to the latest technology, knowledge of the local market and many times having seen the buildings you are considering, your representative can often times find many more properties that will fit your needs than you will ever be able to on your own as well as provide insight into possible pitfalls of a location that you may have otherwise not considered.

Since a tenant representative has no affiliation to a particular seller or Landlord, you may find that you are presented with many more options from many more sellers in the area than if you deal with a property owner, or his Agent, directly. A Tenant Representative is looking to find you the best space at the best price, regardless of who the seller is.

Real estate transactions can often be very complicated. Having the proper representation during this process will not only make the process easier, but will save you time as well as possible trouble down the road. Your tenant representative will make sure that you know exactly what you're agreeing to when it comes time to sign a lease or purchase agreement.

But what about the cost you ask? That's a great question. While ultimately it is up to you and your Tenant Representative to negotiate the terms of your contract, most often your representative is paid by the seller at closing or lease signing. This means in many cases you can enjoy a premium service without spending anything more than you would have otherwise. When you factor in the possible savings that your representative could negotiate on your behalf, you actually could save money while making the process easier and saving you time.

Some Key Prospecting Targets for Real Estate Agents

Prospecting for new business is part of the process when it comes to commercial real estate. Failure to prospect means lower levels of business and eventually high levels of stress.

The best people in the commercial real estate industry constantly prospect regardless of any economic circumstances or marketplace. Given this fact, it pays to have some rules regards the prospecting process. In this way you will make it more successful and consistent for yourself.

Here are some rules and targets for prospecting for new business:

1. Always have a selection of business cards on you for handing to other people. The best salespeople use a simple business card frequently in most of the contacts that they make. Ensure that your business card has contact information on one side, and a summary of your services on the other side.
2. Set aside 2 hours a day for prospecting with new people and contacts in your area. When you prospect for this period of time each day during the working week, you will win more business and market share over a period of time. Consistency is the key.
3. When you talk to people, initially ask for help and a direction to speak to the right person. You never really know when you are speaking to the correct person. Decision makers sometimes hide behind two or three layers of personnel.
4. Adopt the mindset of being a sponge for new information. Anybody who has an involvement with property should get into your database in one form or another. Your database complexity and versatility should support the capture of property types, property needs, location, rental, prices, contact details, and timing.
5. When you make a connection with the right person, ask direct questions, give information about yourself, and create a conversation. Given the business nature of the industry, the sleazy nature of traditional old fashioned sales pitches and pressured closes do not work. It is better to work from a base of need, information, and conversation. Be yourself at all times, just make yourself better at it.
6. Keep on top of the local property market activity. New listings, prices, and rentals will always be of interest to business owners and property investors. Further to that, monitor the activity of comparable properties in the same precinct. Time on market will be a variable factor impacting any future listing opportunity