Category Archives: Southwest Florida Real Estate

Market updates and news and information about the SW Florida real estate market

Housing Numbers Becoming More Reliable

Posted on by

Last week the News Press ran a story about the rebounding housing market and they used inventory stats that said the single family inventory is down to 13,897 in Lee County, down from 14,113 the month prior. The only problem is, they were looking at the chart wrong as those were cumulative inventory numbers, not current.

Housing Numbers Becoming More Reliable
SW Florida Housing Inventory

It was an easy enough mistake if you don’t study those numbers on a regular basis. The chart should have quoted 3,579 single family homes on the market, but even that number isn’t the best number, and we’ll explain why.

I sit on the MLS stats committee and for the last year or so we’ve been working hard on cleaning up the data and defining how listings should be classified to best reflect what’s actually happening in the market. Look for inventory levels to increase because of this change.

In the past inventory numbers only reflected Active listings that were not Active Contingent Short Sale. In other words, agents were still taking offers to present to the bank or as backups until the banks accepted a short sale offer but it wasn’t being counted. At the point a bank accepts a short sale offer the property was to be placed pending, like a normal sale would be.

A high degree of pending sales actually close, but the same cannot always be said for Active Contingent sales, especially short sales. Another reasons aside from being a short sale a property could be listed as Active Contingent would be if something else has to happen first, like a buyer selling another property before they can close.

In this case a listing agent may mark the property Active Contingent and insert a Right of First Refusal clause and continue to market the property. To me, this property is still an active listing and should be counted in inventory. From now on it will.

It’s easy to count and search for sold properties in MLS, but it’s much harder to go back and search for active listings from the past on a certain date unless you have frozen copies of the database. Because of this, the Board of Realtors cannot post what the active listings would have been under the new guidelines since they weren’t searched that way at the time.

Some on the committee pondered whether it would be easier to just keep the status quo since we didn’t have that data. Most of us preferred to rectify and make the most accurate possible, even if it meant postponing the revisions to past inventory levels until we have a new baseline to present. Everyone on the committee concurred once the tough decision was made to make it right, even if it would cause some heartache and confusion for a few months.

Personally I’d rather take the tough steps now to get the most accurate statistics to agents and the general public, and the committee and the Board agreed.

Housing Numbers Becoming More Reliable

I feel much more confident going forward with the data that will be provided. All the definitions will be posted and any agent should be able to duplicate the data, something that wasn’t possible in the past. This will provide for full transparency and credible data, and should eliminate various sources from having differing standards and definitions.

While mistakes in the newspaper or anywhere else will always be possible, hopefully we’ve made some changes that will eliminate systemic errors. We still have the issue of various boards reporting separate data which can cause duplication in areas served by two nearby MLS’s, we can account for this within a consistent statistical deviation.

It really depends on whether the press is quoting one board or multiple boards as the source for their data, as some listing may appear in one board and not the other, and some appear in both.

I feel very confident in the new definitions presented by the Florida Gulf Coast MLS which will begin to take affect soon. In the meantime, we’ll continue to report the stats and inform you where we believe the numbers will change. Inventory numbers are low but will increase under the new guidelines.

We’ll talk about some of the new formulas in future articles that better reflect the SW Florida real estate market.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

National Real Estate Market Improving

Posted on by

Each week we spend a lot of time analyzing the local market which is important to study even though we all know we don’t operate in a bubble.  We’ve always maintained that our market is influenced by the state and national economy, tourism, interest rates, taxation, and markets up North among other things.

RE/MAX national Housing Report

So let’s take a look at the national market.  Fortunately RE/MAX publishes a national housing report.  RE/MAX collects data on 53 metro housing market including markets such as Chicago IL, Providence RI, Miami FL, Boise ID, Phoenix AZ, Detroit MI, Pittsburgh PA, Los Angeles CA, San Francisco CA, Denver CO, Orlando FL and several others which should give a pretty good cross section of the country.

National Real Estate Market Improving

The monthly study compares data from the previous month and from the previous year.  This month’s report shows transactions nationwide are up 5% over last year and median prices are up 3.7% from $163,995 last June to $170,067 this June.

Prices Rise, Sales Increase
Healthy Gains

Days on the market for homes sold dropped significantly to 84 days in the 53 metro markets. This is down 8 days from May 2012 and down 6 days from June 2011.  Inventory nationwide has dropped significantly which is forcing buyers to compete with other buyers.

Days on Market Nationwide
Days on market Fall

All this news could be good news again for SW Florida.  Last season many buyers came down and looked at properties, and several bought.  We had an excellent season.  Others needed to go back home, sell a property and get their finances in order before they could make the move to SW Florida.  Still others want to take out an equity loan against their Northern home to purchase a second home down here.  In any event, lower inventory and rising prices help our Northern friends who are interested in purchasing down here.

And it helps next year’s crop who will visit our area.  They’ll have more confidence in the market up North which can spur many of them to also consider a move to SW Florida.

Baby boomers aren’t getting any younger and sometimes the only thing standing in their way is having a house to sell or borrow against before purchasing.  This bright housing report helps in that regard.

Having election results out of the way in November may help as well.  There is much uncertainty in Congress and the White House.  Will we have national health care?  Will big cuts go into effect in certain markets Jan 1?  Will taxes go up on small business owners?  Will companies ship US jobs overseas because it’s too expensive here in the US?  Hopefully many of these answers will come in November and next season will be good as well.

What happens in the US economy influences the national real estate market.  Taxes influence the market.  Capital gains rates are set to go up in January which could hurt the market.  We have so many things at stake in November that will influence every one of us in various ways.

Florida truly is a trickle down state.  What happens up North affects us down here.  We’ll keep studying the local market, and occasionally we’ll report on the national scene as well simply because it matters.  If it matters to you, it matters to us.

In the meantime things are looking up.  Let’s keep the momentum going.  We like the direction.  Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

 

We thought since we know so many of the very top and most experienced agents nationwide it would be great if we could post market updates from around the country.  Here is a list of market updates you might find useful.  We post these without regards to company affiliation.  These agents are known for doing a great job in their market.

National Agent Reports

National Real Estate Market Improving

Minneapolis/ St Paul MN    Video Market Update by Steve Westmark

Louisville KY Market Update by Bob Sokoler

Naples FL Market Improves by Greg Gorman of Team Paradise

Dallas/Fort Worth, Southlake TX by Kellee Heldoorn

Eugene and Springfield OR By Galand Haas

Overland Park and Kansas City KS by Cindy DiCianni

Mandeville LA by Wayne Turner

Orlando FL market Reports  Celebration FL,  Windemere FL,  Kissimmee FL by Teri Isner

Central PA by Don Roth

Charlotte NC by Diane Honeycutt

San Mateo County CA by Samia Morgan

Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina by Tim Burrell

Fort Myers – Cape Coral FL by Brett Ellis

Summer Vacation

Posted on by

Historically summer is the best selling season for single family homes in SW Florida.  This is defined by the number of sales that occur in the summer months.  Lately we’ve seen a decline in the overall sales numbers, and this is directly attributable to the recovering real estate market and the lack of foreclosed properties on the market.

SW Florida Single Family Home sales by Qtr
Lee County Single Family Home Sales

Of particular note from the official sales numbers that were just released shows a decline in median sales prices down to $127,000 from $132,000 the month prior.  The $127,000 price was still 8.45% higher than last year’s number.  If you look at the last 4 years of sales prices you’ll notice a gradual trend for decreasing prices starting about May or June.  It will be interesting to watch what happens with next month’s report.  In each case however numbers either flattened out or rebounded nicely by the end of the year.

Median Home Sale Prices in SW Florida
Greater Fort Myers/Cape Coral Area Sales Prices

2012 is also an election year, and typically in election years people hold off a bit until there is more certainty in the business climate.  This year’s presidential election is far from certain.  We doubt the election will hold many people back this year simply for the fact that this year is different in that we have a limited supply of homes on the market.

We also think that the median price is being dictated by the supply, not the demand.  The demand has been pretty steady.  You can’t buy a $50,000 foreclosure if it doesn’t exist, just as you can’t buy a beachfront home for $500,000 if it doesn’t exist.  The supply has changed so much over the past few years buyers have been stuck buying what little they can.

Supply has affected the quantity of sales and also the price.  We are expecting to see some more foreclosures come to the market as they work their way through the legal system, and the market has proven time and again its appetite is more than healthy.

Interest rates are at historical lows so purchasing power for the buyer has never been greater.  Buyers are chomping at the bit to buy anything nice in their price range.  As we go to the higher price ranges there is more selection, so sellers cannot overprice.

Banks are just about ready to lift the declining market tag on our market which will help with lending.  We almost met the standard last month but a rise in foreclosures coupled with a decline in price spoiled the fun, but if we would happen to get a nice rise next month it might be enough to lift that tag.

If you’ve got a house to sell now may be a good time to look at the market in certain price ranges.  If you’re looking to buy a home, you really can’t afford to miss these interest rates.  We don’t know how long they’ll last.  All we can do is enjoy them while they do.  If rates were to double they’d still be ok, but not great.  It would knock many buyers out of the market though and drop the price of the home they could afford.

I guess what we’re saying is if rates go up significantly, a buyer will be able to afford a much less desirable home than today.  This will affect a buyer significantly.  It will also affect sellers, because as rates rise, the buyer pool shrinks like a Shrinky Dink.

In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye on the market with particular attention to upcoming distressed sales, inventory levels, and of course how the Presidential candidates might affect taxation and the overall economy.

Good luck and happy house hunting!  If you need real estate assistance please don’t hesitate to call the Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group 239-489-4042

 

Are Association Management Companies Causing More Foreclosures?

Posted on by

Lately agents have been complaining about Condo or Homeowners Associations being difficult to work with to obtain numbers to payoff associations to put a short sale closing together.  To give readers a little perspective, here is the process of a short sale.

Association Management Companies Causing More Foreclosures

Partial List of Association Company Fees
SW Florida Association Fee Chart

Once a buyer is found and contract is negotiated it is sent to the seller’s bank for consideration to take less than the full proceeds to payoff the loan.  The bank asks us to put together a sample HUD closing statement.  To do this, we along with the title company estimate a closing date, pro-rate for taxes and any other costs that would go on the statement.  A lender will not allow the seller to receive any money from the closing, so this statement must match almost exactly.  We plug in the payoff on the loans last and the bank decides whether they’ll take the payoff.

Are Association Management Companies Causing More Foreclosures

We must put in the HOA fees, and there in lies the problem, HOA and Condo Associations won’t tell you how much is owed without paying them a fee.  Keep in mind it’s in everyone’s best interest to get the deal closed so another happy homeowner can begin paying fees.  If the property goes to foreclosure, the Association has some rights to recover some past fees, but only to a certain point.  Many times the association loses money in unpaid fees. There are Florida Statutes that cover this and we won’t cover that in this article.

HOA’s and condo associations typically contract with CAM”S (Common Asset Property Manager’s) to manage their association.  There is still a board of directors and officers, but the day to day management falls to a management company unless an association is self managed.  Typically the Board interviews and hires a company based upon tasks, and fees among other things.  The management company will quote a fee, let’s say $50,000 in this hypothetical example to manage the association, hire the landscapers, collect HOA fees, and all the things an association must do. The list goes on and on.

What the Board doesn’t always consider are the hidden fees a management company charges, like estoppel letter fees.  An Estoppel letter is the formal instrument that tells the title company how much is owed by the owner so the property can be closed.  Typically the short seller is having money problems and this is why they can’t pay their mortgage or HOA fees.  They are trying to sell, but the HOA fees and legal fees keep mounting.

So when an owner cannot pay the estoppel fee so the file can be closed, it sometimes forces the property to foreclosure.  Here is a list of fees some of these companies charge to tell you how much you owe.  As you can see, they charge a certain fee nd make you wait, but if you upgrade and pay more they’ll tell you sooner.

Most even charge more after 30 days to update the fee.  It typically takes the bank longer than 30 days to approve the short sale, so more fees are almost guaranteed.

Now, the HOA or condo association doesn’t keep that money.  You guessed it, that money stays with the management company, so it’s a profit center for them.  They get paid either way a management fee to run the association.  The HOA or condo may lose money by prolonging things, but the management company doesn’t.

Keep in mind many people belong to multiple associations, so these fees may be doubled or tripled.  Also, if a homeowner is in default, they may owe an estoppel fee to the law firm in addition to the management companies.

If more Boards asked better questions when interviewing management companies they’d save their property values from declining further and the association’s financial situation would be much better off.  Keep in mind, everyone else pays when someone in trouble isn’t.  HOA fees for everyone would be less if they didn’t have to make up for those that aren’t paying.  And less foreclosures leads to higher prices in a community, so everyone but the management company has a vested interest in providing this information quickly and painlessly.

Extra fees are the dirty little secret in association management people aren’t aware of until it hits them.  Nobody is saying a company who does good work like CAM’s do shouldn’t be paid nicely for their work.  I’d rather see them be upfront about it and quote it in their bid instead of complicating things on the back end when time is of the essence.

These companies will tell you it costs them to look up and report these fees.  Does it really cost them a lot more to look them up quicker?  How long does it take an employee to check the computer?

We’ve included a chart that shows recent transactions encountered and the fees that were charged. This chart is by no means complete.  Next time you go to your HOA or condo meeting, you might ask your board to look into this.  If you’re wondering if it’s really an issue, call your agent or title company and ask them their opinion.

 

Listing Presentations Going Mobile

Posted on by

In the old days agents would ask sellers to come into their office in hopes that the seller would be so impressed they’d select the Realtor they were going to list with on the spot.  This was a good strategy, and if a Realtor stands out from the crowd by a wide margin, why wouldn’t a seller be impressed?  Some Realtors even refused to visit the seller’s property until the seller selected them as their agent.  While this may seem a little over the top, some Realtors actually used this strategy with some success.

Listing Presentations Going Mobile
90% of Homebuyers Now Shop on the Internet to Buy a Home

Listing Presentations Going Mobile

Today there is no reason an agent cannot do both!  With the advent of Tablets like the iPad or an Android Tablet an agent can now bring the office to the seller.  It’s quite easy to show your office, how you work, and how you market in a mobile world.  If the agent works and negotiates contracts in a mobile world, why can’t they list in a mobile world?

The truth is they can, and they should.  The two most important ingredients in a successful home sale is the relationship between the seller and the listing agent, and the property itself.  The agent’s office really doesn’t matter.

33% Repeat Buyers Find Their Agent on Internet
How do Buyers Find Their Agent

Oh, we’re proud of our physical office and all the things we can show a buyer or seller from the office.  However, many times offers have come in while I’m out of town or away on appointment and I’ve been able to look at the offer, make changes, negotiate, and close the sale, all in the amount of time it would have taken to drive back across town from the appointment and begin that process.  The office never entered into the equation.

Sure, we have a team of assistants back at the office assisting us, but that had nothing to do with negotiating the offer.  Just the same, we no longer feel the need to show a seller the office and meet the team before listing their home.  We can bring the team to the seller.  We even have powerful video conferencing we can utilize with our sellers and our team.

A seller can surely list a home without going to an agent’s office, but it’s pretty tough for an agent to list a home without seeing the sellers home. Pricing the home depends on condition, functionality, upgrades, etc.  There is no substitute for viewing the home.

You have to ask yourself, am I listing my home or listing the agent’s office?  We all know the answer is the home, so why not focus there?

You’re also hiring an agent, so it’s important to ask questions, such as how will you market my home?  Why should I hire you?  What do you bring to the table that another Realtor doesn’t?  Show me examples.

Some things are just hard to show on paper.  So much marketing today is online or the print is not the standard 8 1/2 x 11.  I remember the days when we used to handout 80 page packets explaining the sales process and our team.  Those days are now gone.

An agent today can show a seller how buyers are using Apps to search for their home.  We can show how the home looks online, how many people have seen it, and where the agent ranks in search engines.  Sellers can see virtual tours, photos, satellite views, etc all in the comfort of their home.

Not all agents are the same.  Results can vary greatly from agent to agent, and from company to company.  Ask your Realtor to show you everything.  Buyers today are demanding tech savvy agents when searching for a home.  If your Realtor can’t show you their business in a mobile world, how in the world are they going to market your home to today’s buyer?

Later on it may be necessary to meet at the office, but selecting which Realtor to list with is no longer one of those necessities.  If you’re considering selling your home, let us show you how buyers really view your home, and why selecting an agent with today’s tools matters.

Good luck, and Happy Home Selling.

 

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses July 14-15

Posted on by

The Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group is holding two open houses this weekend.

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses July 14-15

2322 SE 8th Street, Cape Coral $165,000
Open Saturday 1PM-4PM

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses July 14-15
2322 SE 8th Street, Cape Coral $165,000

Move-in ready, 3 bedroom, 2 bath canal front home in quiet, well maintained neighborhood. Home features spacious bedrooms, vaulted ceilings, large screened lanai which overlooks dock and canal. All assessments are in and paid.

 

Rear Water View
2322 SE 8th Street, Cape Coral Water View

14091 Oak Hammock Lane $300,000

 

Sunday Open House
14091 Oak Hammock Lane Fort Myers, FL 33905 Front View
Rear View 14091 Oak Hammock Lane Fort Myers, FL 33905
14091 Oak Hammock Lane Fort Myers, FL 33905 Rear View

 

 

Paradise for those who love the outdoors and peace and quiet. Spacious family home on 1+acres with 5 bedrooms, 2 baths is surrounded by towering Live Oaks and many tropical plants. Home site borders creek that forms one boundary. Exquisite Brazilian Mesquite floors in the living areas, wood burning fireplace in the family room. Sitting room/den off master bedroom could be used as as office, tv room, nursery, your choice. Large master bath has over sized walk-in shower as well as a jacuzzi tub and dual sinks. Large flagstone patio has a built in fire pit and just a short walk away is a personal putting green. Call today to see this beautiful property. Some furniture available separately.

 

Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group

7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr

Fort Myers, FL 33907

239-489-4042

Prices Rise Again in SW Florida Real Estate Market

Posted on by

Our predictions are beginning to sound like a broken record, but they’re not really predictions at all as anybody who can view a chart can easily see what’s going on, and until something changes the trend may continue.

Fort Myers Cape Coral Florida Sale Prices Rise
SW Florida Real Estate Prices on the Rise

It’s been said if you put 10 economists in a room you’ll get 10 different opinions. I think it’s easy to see we have a supply and demand situation whereby the market is eating up more homes than are coming to the market. For instance, in April 868 homes came on the market while 1,097 sold. Additionally, some homes expire or get foreclosed upon and don’t re-enter the market in a timely fashion, so this impacts the numbers even more.

As you can see by the attached charts, inventory has been going down since January of this year, and is down significantly since January 2011. In fact single family home listing inventory is a mere 55% of what it was back in January of 2011.

Median single family home prices were $88,500 in January of 2011 and today they stand at $132,000, up 49.15% in just less than a year and a half. Prices are up 6.97% since January 2012.

Listing Inventory Falling in Fort Myers, Cape Coral Florida Market

Buyers are increasingly panicking when buying property as they’re often in multiple offer situations. It forces them to carefully consider how important the home is to them. Quite often it depends on how long they’ve been in the home buying process as reality tends to set in after several failed attempts to purchase their home.

Buyers typically look at several homes then rank them in terms of desirability. Quite often a buyer will make an offer on their #1 choice. If they miss out, they may move on to their #2 choice. Some buyers wait for another like kind home to enter the market, but their hope turns to disappointment when that homes doesn’t appear, or if it does it’s priced significantly higher than the one they lost out on.

This whole scenario sets up an unrealistic expectation that future homes will meet their #1 choice criteria in terms of desirability and price but the reality is the next home may be less desirable and more costly in a rising market with limited inventory.

After the buyer loses out on 4-5 homes that reality tends to hit and they reset their expectations. It’s an uncomfortable process and one that each buyer addresses in their own way and in their own time frame. They can fight the market and live in denial and prolong the process and possibly never buy a home, or they can accept the market, educate themselves, and win their 1st choice, or hopefully their 2nd choice.

Sellers go through the same scenario in a buyers market. A seller may require a certain price or terms only to be left at the altar by buyers who liked their home but found a better offer from another home. It really doesn’t matter if the buyer or seller likes the market we’re in. The market just is what it is, and if they want to accomplish their goal it pays to learn the market sooner rather than later. In each case lack of knowledge can cost the buyer or seller significantly in price, desirability, and peace of mind. It pays to work with a professional that can educate you on your options.

Good luck, and Happy House Hunting! We at the Ellis Team at RE/MAX are here to help if you need us.

Are Interactive Maps in our Future?

Posted on by

We’ve recently been testing a concept to gauge consumer interest at a subdivision level. For years agents have been sending out Just Listed or Just Sold postcards, or even market updates to communities. Typically this only reached sellers. This was OK because the target was always the sellers who might list their homes. It’s a practice in the industry known as “Farming.”

Map with Homes for Sale and Solds in Reflection Lakes
Reflection Lakes Interactive Map

We thought buyers might also be interested in similar information, but reaching them in addition to targeted sellers in that area can be dicey. You can’t just mail to a certain area as the buyer could come from anywhere.

We thought “What if we could target both worlds, the buyer and the seller?” One way to target buyers is to reach them on the Internet for specific search items. For instance, let’s say a buyer is looking to buy in Reflection Lakes. If we could somehow provide this list of data when buyers are searching, would buyers find that helpful?

We don’t know, but our hunch says they might. We’ve researched a way to provide a map of an area which shows all the homes available for sale, all closed sales within a certain time frame, and all pending sales and pinpointed them on the map. Additionally, if you click on the pin, you get additional information on the home, like list price, sold price, size, age, pool, waterfront description, bedrooms, bathrooms, and much more. You can customize it to display about anything you want.

We even went so far as to provide links to additional information if available, virtual tours and more. In this way, a buyer or seller can quickly see a homes location on a map and compare it with other like kind homes for sale. It is color coded and sorted by status, so you can look at the solds to get an idea of what homes are selling for or just actives. Perhaps you’re riding down the street and just want to know what it’s on the market for.

The map is set for a particular point in time, however it can be updated at any time. The agent selects the fields to display. The consumer can zoom in or out, as well as click on street view to look up and down the street and view the homes photos, or even take a satellite view to get an idea of the terrain and the surroundings of the community.

We exported all this information into a Google map., so the possibilities are endless on how you can view these homes. It’s really kind of fun. We liked it, so we thought consumers might too,

We selected fields we thought the consumer would be interested in. These fields are flexible and we can add or subtract when building the next map. It took me about an hour to setup this map in Reflection lakes. If you’d like to view it, simply go to www.Reflectionlakes.com

We can setup a map like this for any area and import data from the MLS. If you live in a community you think would benefit from something like this, give us a call at 239-489-4042 or send me an email Brett@topagent.com and I’ll look into it. If you think it’s missing something, or have feedback, we’d like to hear it.

If you think we’re nuts and nobody will use it, you can let us know too. Feel free to email us or comment on our Blog http://blog.topagent.com

We honestly don’t know if the public will use it or like it. We do know it’s cool and useful to us, and we enjoy trying new things if they have the potential to help in the buying or selling process.

Stay tuned for future updates for other areas around Lee County on our website at Topagent.com

Good luck, and Happy House Hunting!

Do I Need a 4 Point Inspection When Buying a Home?

Posted on by

The home inspection industry has sure changed in recent years. Not long ago buyers would hire a home inspector to determine if there were issues with a home. If there were, the standard contract called for seller required repairs up to 3% of purchase price for covered items and up to 2% for wood destroying organisms.

Uniform Wind Mitigation Verification Inspection
4 Point Home Inspection

Contracts have changed and now seller required repairs are 1.5% for covered repairs if at all, as more and more contracts are now As-Is with right to inspect. The types of inspections have also changed, so we’ll attempt to inform you about the various types of inspections. In any event, we do recommend a buyer have a home inspection regardless of whether the seller agrees to make any repairs just for the education and knowledge about what you’re buying.

First there is the pre-purchase home inspection. Buyers use this to discover items that may not be working properly and educate themselves about the systems of the home. A home inspector is a great resource as to how various systems operate and the proper maintenance of these items. You may or may not be able to use this report to have seller correct deficiencies depending on the contract you used and the items discovered.

There is also a separate 4 point inspection report your insurance company may require, typically on homes older than 20 years. The insurance companies specifically want information on 4 areas, including the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), electrical wiring and panels, plumbing connections and fixtures, and the roof.

Insurance companies have become increasingly reluctant to issue Homeowner Insurance Policies on older homes (usually 25 years old or more). Their common concern is that there may be conditions in an older home that could become a liability to them. For instance; a home with a roof nearing the end of its reliable service life may fail while under the policy and the homeowner may seek reimbursement from their insurance company for damages to the home or its contents.

Similar concerns extend to the condition of the HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems in an older home. If these elements are in poor condition, in need of being updated or replaced or were improperly installed, they may fail and cause fire or water damage to a home.

Newer homes are assumed (by the insurance companies) to not have these problems as frequently as older homes. There is a standard form for this type of inspection that must be filled out by a qualified inspector or contractor.

There is also a Uniform Wind Mitigation Verification Inspection which provides significant discounts to a homeowner if the home qualifies. The state has recently changed the reporting rules this year making it harder to qualify for such discounts. More proof is needed in the report including photos.

There is also a Roof Certification Inspection insurance companies require when the roof is approximately 15 years old. The 4 point inspection report may suffice if your insurance company asks for this inspection. Check with your company.

Lastly, don’t forget the Defective Chinese Drywall, Mold, or Radon reports. Defective drywall was typically found in homes built around 2005-2007 but that’s not absolute. Keep in mind re-modeled homes could be affected as well. The name comes from China as they exported the vast majority, but truth be known there was defective American drywall in the past as well.

Discuss with your inspector which type of reports would benefit you most given the property you are buying. Inspectors tend to cover themselves, so they will notate anything and everything they see as a concern or potential concern. This is good as it educates a buyer who has never lived in the home about what to look for now or in the future.

Buying a home seems like a scary proposition, however it can be fun and enlightening process if you take the time to learn what’s involved with home ownership. It’s not time to freak out just because items show up in the report. Many of these items are to inform you of what to look for in the future. Isn’t it better to purchase knowing what to look out for than being blind-sided later on by unexpected surprises? We think so.

Good luck and happy house hunting. If you need help buying or selling, don’t hesitate to call us. We’re here to help. 239-489-4042

 

Reflection Lakes Fort Myers Update

Posted on by

The Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group in Fort Myers has created an interactive map for searching data in Reflection Lakes in South Fort Myers. By clicking on a listing the map will give you detailed information on the property including links to further detailed information. If a virtual tour is available it will link to that as well.

Reflection Lakes Fort Myers Update

 

 

View Reflection Lakes Fort Myers Florida in a full screen map

Check it out and let us know what you think. Feel free to check out floor plans at our Reflection Lakes website

Watch the SW Florida Real Estate Update June 2012