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Foreign Property Offers can Attract SW Florida Investors, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral Sanibel Island

Foreign Property Offers can Attract SW Florida Investors, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral Sanibel Island. In today’s globalized economy, purchasing a foreign property has become an option for SW Florida buyers who in earlier times would never have even considered it. As an investment, a vacation or retirement property, or as an accommodation Foreign Property Offers can Attract SW Florida Investors, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral Sanibel Islandfor children studying abroad, there are many reasons why you might decide to look into purchasing a property outside of the SW Florida market. Here are some general tips for how to go about making a real estate purchase overseas:
1. Research the Foreign Market
Research the local real estate market carefully. Its cycles and trends are likely to be markedly different from ours here in SW Florida. Don’t assume that because real estate prices are on the rise here, the same is true in any given foreign market. You should also step back to make a realistic appraisal of the overall stability of the country’s economy—it will affect your investment.
2. Check the Laws Regarding Foreign Ownership
Many countries place ownership restrictions on foreigners. It’s a favorite ploy of fraudsters to “sell” foreign property in markets were non-citizens are not legally allowed to own…and it’s only one good reason why you will be wise to— Foreign Property Offers can Attract SW Florida Investors, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral Sanibel Island
3. Retain an Independent Local Lawyer
You will want to consult a lawyer when purchasing any foreign property. That lawyer should be representing you and you alone. Make sure you can communicate clearly and easily with your lawyer, and that your queries are answered in a timely manner. If you find yourself having major difficulty in selecting the lawyer, that may indicate more serious issues to come.
4. Visit the Property
You or a trusted representative should visit the property before buying. This may sound like a no-brainer, but persuasive pitches and affordable prices can be Foreign Property Offers can Attract SW Florida Investors, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral Sanibel Islandpowerful inducements. Photos, videos, and other marketing materials are designed to present the property (or even a nearby property!) in the best possible light. At a minimum, have a friend or family member look over and photograph the actual site. You need to be firm in your insistence that the property lives up to your expectations.
5. Plan for Changes in the Exchange Rate
Unless you are purchasing the foreign property outright, you may be contracting to make payments over decades—years during which exchange rates might shift significantly—impacting the actual total purchase price. Too, if you are paying for the property outright in cash, there can be a delay between when you agree to Foreign Property Offers can Attract SW Florida Investors, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral Sanibel Islandthe purchase price and when the funds are transferred.
6. Translate all Documentation
Once you have signed the foreign property transfer documents, you will be legally obligated to abide by all its terms, so before signing any documents, make sure that they have been accurately translated. Even relatively small differences in wording can create problems.
Foreign Property Offers can Attract SW Florida Investors, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral Sanibel Island. Purchasing a foreign property can be a legitimate way to diversify your real estate holdings. Approach the foreign market carefully, do your research, and have the right local representation. But before you make a final decision, think about giving me a call to see how today’s comparable SW Florida properties compare!

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Giving Your SW Florida House the Full Gourmet Treatment, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral

 Giving Your SW Florida House the Full Gourmet Treatment, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral. “A kitchen can sell a house” is a proposition that often proves true—well-designed kitchens can drive value. Given the Giving Your SW Florida House the Full Gourmet Treatment, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coralpopularity of cooking shows, artisanal cuisine, and the growing number of new gizmos and gadgets concocted for the advancement of culinary hobbyists, selling a house in SW Florida can turn on its gastronomical appeal—at least to a select segment of today’s home buyers. You may not want to fight it—especially if your house has a shopping cartload of gourmet potential. If you have a spacious kitchen, it could be a possibility! Consider some of the marketing maneuvers that have been shown to attract foodies looking for a place to lay their platters:
Finding Foodie Features
An SW Florida house doesn’t necessarily need a fully outfitted gourmet kitchen to Giving Your SW Florida House the Full Gourmet Treatment, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coralcatch a foodie’s eye (although that doesn’t hurt, either). Any reasonably food-obsessed family will be attracted by features which focus on the preparation, storage, and/or enjoyment of delicious food. Re-branding a closet as pantry, a deck as outside dining area, or even a basement bar as canning station can invite home cooks to visualize the unique culinary features your SW Florida house has to offer.
Milking the Kitchen
If you are going to invest in any one remodel for your house, target the kitchen. But know the risks. In order to sell to a true gourmand, the kitchen will need to be up to snuff (and foodies are known for being picky). Simpler can be better when it comes to a soon-to-be gourmet kitchen—and it’s probably true that most any would-be chef will be bringing his or her own specialty gear to the party (it’s half the fun!). Focus on utility instead of bling, counter Giving Your SW Florida House the Full Gourmet Treatment, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coralspace over weird gadgets, and big sinks instead of big windows.
Tempting Their Senses
Don’t forget the power of suggestive staging when it comes time to tempt a true foodie. Many prospective buyers will be entering your house with hopes that they’ll be able to create their future fabulous tables here. For a foodie, that means the ability to prepare and enjoy delicious meals. It’s unimportant if the fantasy is a notch higher than their actual skill level—that’s what aspiration is all about. Indulge imagination by focusing on the senses. Offer pristine spaces, pleasing light, and generic (yet tempting) flourishes, such as a well-set table and evocatively, Giving Your SW Florida House the Full Gourmet Treatment, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coralnot-quite-bare counters. And don’t forget to remove any and all incriminating food vestiges before allowing foodies in for an open house! Your old cereal boxes, two-liter bottles of soda, and meals-in-a-box may be a busy weekday’s go-to fare, but they’re anathema to a true foodie. Banish them until the last open house visitor has departed.

Giving Your SW Florida House the Full Gourmet Treatment, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral. Remember, selling your SW Florida house can wind up being all about how you market, stage, and re-imagine the space. To garner foodies as buyers, pick up a couple of copies of Cooks Illustrated and Saveur, tune into The Food Network, and start to think like a foodie. And give me a call, too: between us, we should be able to produce a truly delicious sale!

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Your SW Florida Agent: Doubly Effective When it’s Game On! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco island, Lehigh Acres

Your SW Florida Agent: Doubly Effective When it’s Game On! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco island, Lehigh Acres. One of the most effective ways to maximize your chances of achieving the best residential real estate deal possible lies in your ability to partner effectively with your choice of SW Florida real estate agent. Your agent is your local guide Your SW Florida Agent: Doubly Effective When it’s Game On! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco island, Lehigh Acresthrough the complexities of SW Florida’s market—your assistant, tutor, and trusted right arm in the enterprise of buying and selling a residence. It’s your SW Florida agent’s job to make the team an effective one—but for all parts to truly work as a unit, some basic elements should be in place…and clearly understood by everyone:
For prospective buyers, when your real estate agent fully understands your search criteria, the end product is a more focused search that yields the intended results most efficiently. It will conserve an under-appreciated asset (your patience)—and free your schedule by eliminating properties that aren’t right for you. Shopping for a home can lead to a bewildering jumble of options. Simply searching online for properties, or driving around likely neighborhood choices looking for “For Sale” Your SW Florida Agent: Doubly Effective When it’s Game On! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco island, Lehigh Acressigns is an inefficient and time-consuming stratagem. What’s more, tapping into an SW Florida agent’s comprehensive understanding of the market—past and present—makes you much more likely to unearth the best value/price offerings as they become available.
For those who are selling a SW Florida home, an experienced agent wades through less-than-serious inquisitors, keeping you from getting bogged down with fruitless showings or unreasonable offers.
A move into an unfamiliar area comes with a certain level of risk. A trusted agent equips you with the insights you would otherwise be missing. It can mean the difference between landing your dream property and buying into a subpar situation—one you might regret Your SW Florida Agent: Doubly Effective When it’s Game On! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco island, Lehigh Acresfor years. You only need imagine buying a home in the warmer months only to be blind-sided when access becomes iffy during the rainy season. An agent will have a more complete understanding of the benefits and disadvantages of all of SW Florida’s neighborhoods—as well as the ability to help you make an informed choice, irrespective of when you are available or ready to buy.
Your SW Florida Agent: Doubly Effective When it’s Game On! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco island, Lehigh Acres. Establishing a candid relationship with your SW Florida real estate agent will not only afford you a buying or selling experience that’s as untroubled as possible, it will also provide you with a resident’s comprehensive knowledge of all the local factors long-time residents take for granted. Buying or selling, I hope you will consider giving me a call for a no-obligation chat about the current market!

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Selling Your SW Florida House by Raising its ‘Emotional IQ’. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Cape Coral, Estero, Golden Gate Estates

Selling Your SW Florida House by Raising its ‘Emotional IQ’. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Cape Coral, Estero, Golden Gate Estates. When it comes to selling your SW Florida house, the first attributes that will bring in Selling Your SW Florida House by Raising its ‘Emotional IQ’. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Cape Coral, Estero, Golden Gate Estatesprospective buyers will be found in your listing description: size, location, and all the details that either match prospects’ wish lists (or don’t). Price is in there, too. Next comes curb appeal, which can turn on or turn off prospective buyers. Although it is often the second “at bat” you get when you are selling your SW Florida house, it’s not usually decisive. The third attribute can be just that—a bunch of factors that can hook your ultimate buyers.
Call it your home’s “emotional IQ.” Everything else is important, but emotion plays a powerful role in selling your SW Florida house. That’s because home is, well, home—where people hang their hats, raise their kids, and spend their precious downtime. When potential buyers come to your house, they may think they are checking out four walls and a roof, but they are much more likely to be seeking a place that tugs at their emotions. Selling Your SW Florida House by Raising its ‘Emotional IQ’. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Cape Coral, Estero, Golden Gate Estates
All very well and good, but how do you up your home’s emotional IQ (and snag the sale in the process)? Look objectively at your home, then think about the emotional plays that will get them where it count—through their senses. Give your home a quick sensory scan, looking for things that cue all five:
Sight. Is your home clean? Is it decorated and staged (but not so much that potential buyers can’t imagine themselves in it)? Make sure your home is as spotless as possible, and warm but not personal. When room entrances are arranged to feel open, they look welcoming: a strong way to please the eye.
Sound. Does your home sound like a home? There’s nothing less emotionally pleasing than doing a walk-through of a Selling Your SW Florida House by Raising its ‘Emotional IQ’. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Cape Coral, Estero, Golden Gate Estatesperfectly empty shell of a house. Attractive floor coverings (rugs and throws) can eliminate the unbroken echo of footsteps—and make your home feel more inviting; less clinical. And don’t forget a drop or two of 3-in-1 oil or WD40 for squeaking doors!
Smell. The nose is a powerful emotive factor. Aromas can evoke nostalgia, bringing on the feeling of well-being that comes with familiarity—but it can also sound alarm bells. Make sure the air doesn’t carry strong chemical or perfume smells. Better to throw a few cookies into the oven before walk-through arrive. It makes it easy for potential buyers to imagine themselves living, working, eating, and enjoying time in your home.
Touch. Look for surfaces potential buyers may touch, and make them clean and inviting. Importantly, door latches and light switches should feel sound and serviceable.
Taste. No—nobody can really taste a home, but selling your house may come down to leaving Selling Your SW Florida House by Raising its ‘Emotional IQ’. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Cape Coral, Estero, Golden Gate Estatesyour personal taste at the door. It’s risky to forget to focus on the most tasteful place of all—the kitchen. The old real estate agent trope that gorgeous kitchens sell houses is more true than not, so if yours is hopeless, you may judicious to spend your upgrade dollars in a modern, open kitchen space.
Selling Your SW Florida House by Raising its ‘Emotional IQ’. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Cape Coral, Estero, Golden Gate Estates. How does your home’s emotional IQ add up? If you’re lacking in just one area, congratulations. You know what to fix, and a few subtle tweaks will help a lot. If you’re lacking in many areas, give me a call! I may be able to recommend some quick fixes, or point to a home staging professional. Don’t forget: Whether buying or selling your house, things can get emotional. Take a deep breath, remember the real purpose of a home, and be ready to move!

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Nightline says Reality TV House Flipping isn’t Realistic, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate, Sanibel Island

Nightline says Reality TV House Flipping isn’t Realistic, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate, Sanibel Island. ABC’s Nightline recently aired an interesting segment about house flipping, which included a magic number that’s Nightline says Reality TV House Flipping isn’t Realistic, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate, Sanibel Islandprobably never been seen before. SW Florida house flippers would have been glued to their TVs if they’d stayed up late enough to catch Nightline, because if authentically magical, it’s a good number to know.
The segment was part of a series called “Realty Check.” This one was about new strategies in the “ever-competitive world of flipping.” The show started with some background about how expensive house flipping can be if it’s done in a hurry and on the cheap. Just slapping a coat of paint on the walls can result in an investment that languishes on the market, often until the asking price is reduced to an unprofitable level. The narrator stated that in the past, house flipping was often approached with Nightline says Reality TV House Flipping isn’t Realistic, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate, Sanibel Islandthe idea that the sooner a renovation could be completed, the better: “Get in, get out, move on.” We were shown how TV series like Flip It to Win It, Flipping Vegas, Rehab Addict, and Flip or Flop turned rehab projects into races against the clock: exciting drama for TV, maybe, but not necessarily a profitable real estate investment strategy in today’s market.
Nightline interviewed one new house flipping Phenom with 28 successful house flips to her credit. She says that “I call reality TV unrealistic.” She considers that the goal should be to produce a quality result—a house that’s “the best in the neighborhood.” That may take months rather than weeks, particularly if you want to avoid blowing your budget. Time, plus meticulous attention to detail, good taste—and a magic number.
Nightline says Reality TV House Flipping isn’t Realistic, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate, Sanibel IslandIt’s the magic number that has to interest anyone contemplating some SW Florida house flipping of their own. It comes from an expert: RealtyTrac’s VP Daren Blomquist, who posited that the data reveal that “the more you put into a property, the more return you get.” Even if it takes half a year. But the amount you should budget only “Up until this magic number which is 23%.”
The magic number? It’s 23%. The goal is to make the final product the best in the neighborhood, so that a buyer coming into the neighborhood sees it as “their first choice.”
That’s a pretty tall order around here. SW Florida has some fairly steep competition Nightline says Reality TV House Flipping isn’t Realistic, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate, Sanibel Islandfor best in the neighborhood. And six months between buying a property and being able to put it back on the market could seem like an awfully leisurely use of investment capital.
Without judging whether it’s truly magic or not, there is that 23% number. What was never explained was whether the magic number was meant to be 23% of the asking price, 23% of the purchased price, 23% of purchase plus rehab costs…or 23% of something else. Still—it’s nice to know there is a magic number.
Nightline says Reality TV House Flipping isn’t Realistic, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate, Sanibel Island. If you have been thinking of undertaking some house flipping in SW Florida, or even readying your own property for the market as-is (23% of $0 is $0); the New Year should be a great time to get going. Give me a call!

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Grounds for Optimism re. SW Florida Real Estate Investments, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral

Grounds for Optimism re. SW Florida Real Estate Investments, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral. Good investors tend to be cautious souls. For those who prior to 2007 had never ventured into the realm of SW Grounds for Optimism re. SW Florida Real Estate Investments, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Bonita Springs, Cape CoralFlorida real estate investments, the ensuing downturn might have been enough to discourage any curiosity about that direction (even if their other investments had also suffered during the global financial crisis).
Nonetheless, at this juncture those same cautious investors might well assume that the value of real estate investments in SW Florida have rebounded so substantially that it’s now too late to bother looking into them. But as National Public Radio has just pointed out, there’s an excellent argument to be made that conditions are now highly conducive for real estate—with real estate investments in SW Florida being no exception. I could tick off three solid reasons that immediately leap to mind, but stand corrected: NPR points to four:
1. Employment. Employers are hiring anew, and “when companies are hiring, would-be homebuyers feel more confident Grounds for Optimism re. SW Florida Real Estate Investments, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Bonita Springs, Cape Coralabout taking on mortgage debt.” Unemployment rates have (finally!) come down to 5.6%, and with employers having added 252,000 jobs in December, consumer confidence is up nearly 20% over a year ago.
2. Prices seem more rational. NPR points out that from January to October, prices rose 4.5% nationally; a “subdued” gain compared with the 11% burst of the year before. They project that the slower price appreciation may have set the stage for a “buying surge in 2015.” From a SW Florida real estate investments standpoint, too, gains from last year’s run-up in equities markets combined with mortgage rates still holding below 4% would seem to create the key elements many investors would consider favorably.
Grounds for Optimism re. SW Florida Real Estate Investments, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral3. Demand for rentals is high. There is a healthy demand for rental accommodation across the country due to a tight supply of quality accommodations. USA Today tells us that between 2009 and 2013, the national vacancy rate for apartments dropped from 8% to 4.1%. Over the same period, the effective rent increased by 12% to $1,083. As one potential consequence vis-à-vis SW Florida real estate investments, new landlords might expect to be more selective about the tenants that they choose. That would mean fewer headaches for landlords with troublesome and slow paying tenants. It is might also portend that investment properties will stand vacant for briefer periods.
4. Millennials are sick of Mom’s basement. NPR points to a Census Bureau report that says only 36% of Americans under Grounds for Optimism re. SW Florida Real Estate Investments, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Bonita Springs, Cape Coralage 35 own a home, down from 42% just seven years ago. The recovering employment picture might not enable young people to save up for a down payment for a while yet, but renting quality digs should soon be more doable than was previously the case. That could set the table for a continuing robust rental environment, with SW Florida real estate investments benefitting proportionately.
Grounds for Optimism re. SW Florida Real Estate Investments, Naples, Ft. Myers, Isles Of Capri, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral. NPR’s four reasons for optimism in 2015 are actually only the tip of the iceberg. If you have ever had the thought that it could be worthwhile to take a look at SW Florida real estate investments, this is a great time of year to give me a call!

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Help for SW Florida First Time Home Buyers: They’re Out There! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral

Help for SW Florida First Time Home Buyers: They’re Out There! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral. As the end of 2014 approached, the National Association of REALTORS® was able to come up with some general Help for SW Florida First Time Home Buyers: They’re Out There! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coralobservations on the makeup of the current market—facts that anyone expecting to deal with SW Florida home buyers in the coming year should find useful. With consumer attitudes showing improvement across the board, you might have expected that all segments of the home buying public would have shown increased activity. Not so.
According to the NAR’s annual survey—the big one that they’ve been conducting since 1981—the percentage of first time home buyers sank to a nearly 30-year low. It dropped 5% in just one year. Throughout the 40+ years of the survey, first time home buyers have usually made up about four of every ten home sales…but in 2014, that rate fell to 33%. 1987 was the only other year with a comparably weak rate.Help for SW Florida First Time Home Buyers: They’re Out There! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral
We don’t tally separate statistics on SW Florida’s first time home buyers, but there’s no reason to suspect our buyer profiles wouldn’t reflect the same trend. But there’s some good news, too. Help may on the way.
The reasons first-timers have been having a hard time was addressed by Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. He points to obstacles SW Florida first-time homebuyers are likely to face—many of them connected with the rising difficulty young people have in saving for a down payment. Rising rents plus student debt and auto loan payments combine with stagnant wage levels to cramp savings growth. Added to that, the cost of mortgage insurance for Federal Housing Authority-insured loans have been rising. In 2010, 56% of first time home buyers used affordable FHA loans to purchase their Help for SW Florida First Time Home Buyers: They’re Out There! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coralhome; by 2014, that number had dwindled to 35%.
Dr. Yun’s analysis is borne out by a separate RealtyTrac analysis of housing affordability and down payments. This, too, was a wide-ranging survey, examining affordability in 500 counties across all states. It found that for buyers with no additional debt, housing is affordable in 90% of markets —regardless of whether a 3% or a 20% down payment was contemplated. But for buyers with additional debt (like Dr. Yun’s student loans and car payments), housing is affordable in only 48% of real estate markets. Many who find themselves in that category are first-time home buyers. No wonder their activity is down.
That sounds like daunting news for many aspiring SW Florida first time home buyers, Help for SW Florida First Time Home Buyers: They’re Out There! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coralbut some good news is waiting in the wings. RealtyTrac footnoted a big one. According to data collected by Down Payment Resource, there more 2,300 separate programs are out there to assist buyers with down payments and closing costs. Finding which ones a SW Florida first time home buyer might be eligible for is easy: DPR offers online help.
Help for SW Florida First Time Home Buyers: They’re Out There! Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral. Add in recent good news on the economy (job growth in particular) and government efforts to loosen mortgage loan requirements by lowering down payments, and it looks likely that 2015 will find more first timers crossing the threshold to their first home. I hope it is the wave of the future—and I’m standing by to help make it happen!

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SW Florida Listed Homes Get Organized via New Mobile Apps, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate Isles Of Capri

SW Florida Listed Homes Get Organized via New Mobile Apps, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate Isles Of Capri. A 2013 National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Google survey found that 68% of people looking to buy a home found themselves using one or another of today’s popular mobile apps at some time during their odyssey. 2013 was SW Florida Listed Homes Get Organized via New Mobile Apps, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate Isles Of Capriancient history in terms of the ascendance of mobile devices, so you’d have to guess that today’s percentage must be well north of that. It’s not surprising, since Google Maps (or one of the navigation programs built into many new autos) is becoming so indispensable for locating unfamiliar addresses.
Most of the time, I accompany clients on tours of the listed homes in SW Florida they’re interested in checking out; but there are other occasions when they do some investigating on their own. With the sheer number of apps designed to aid in such endeavors, it’s good to know which apps actually help (those that won’t just take up SW Florida Listed Homes Get Organized via New Mobile Apps, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate Isles Of Caprispace on your smart phone).
Need to know more specifics about the SW Florida neighborhoods you’re considering? Although it’s primarily thought of as a traveler’s aid, the AroundMe app can be a handy house hunter’s timesaver. You can canvass the immediate area to see how close you are to banks, gas stations, restaurants, hospitals, movie theaters, bistros, and much more. This is a great app to use when you’re trying to narrow down your choices between multiple locations. AroundMe is free and available for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Windows devices.
You want to comprehensively check out the SW Florida listed homes that fall within your search parameters—but as the number of possibilities expands, that can SW Florida Listed Homes Get Organized via New Mobile Apps, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate Isles Of Capribecome a mind-numbing exercise. Unless you have encyclopedic recall, after visiting many listed homes it becomes more and more likely that you will forget what it was that you liked or disliked about each one, or even to mix up the details of one with another’s. Enter House Hunter, an app that lets you keep score of each home as you view it. The app comes with a standard list of features that you can customize. As you view each home, check off and rate each feature—you’ll wind up with an overall score for comparison. House Hunter costs $3.99 for iOS devices.
Even before any serious house hunting begins, it’s a good idea to get pre-approved SW Florida Listed Homes Get Organized via New Mobile Apps, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate Isles Of Caprifor a mortgage. Once you know the loan amount you will qualify for, the Mortgage Calculator app from Quicken Loans helps you approximate—on the spot—the monthly payments for listed homes. Simply enter the insurance payment and property tax information along with the interest rate to give you a good approximation of the monthly amount different homes will cost. The Mortgage Calculator is free for both iOS and Android devices.
SW Florida Listed Homes Get Organized via New Mobile Apps, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate Isles Of Capri. Between your real estate agent and your smart phone, today’s house hunters can capture and digest more information about the listed homes in SW Florida than was common just a few short years ago. More apps seem to be appearing almost every week, so if you decide to give me a call to begin investigating today’s market, I’ll let you know if any of the newest ones are getting rave reviews!

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Common Sense for a SW Florida Home Rental vs. Purchase Choice, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acres

Common Sense for a SW Florida Home Rental vs. Purchase Choice, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acres. When your primary residence is one of our SW Florida rentals, from time to time you may find yourself Common Sense for a SW Florida Home Rental vs. Purchase Choice, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acrespausing, pen hovering over checkbook, thinking, “What if this check were going to buy this place, instead…?”
It’s a nearly unavoidable thought because common wisdom has it that buying an SW Florida home usually makes more financial sense than renting it. That sounds sensible simply because at the end of the day (or, more accurately, at the end of a 15- or 30-year mortgage term), ownership means you no longer have to write those checks: you own that SW Florida rental. It could be true—but there’s a lot more involved in the purchase-or-rental decision. If you make it a point from time to time to recalculate your situation, should it turn out that you aren’t any better off exiting the rental ranks, writing those checks to the landlord will become a less stressful Common Sense for a SW Florida Home Rental vs. Purchase Choice, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acresactivity.
The first consideration is location, location, location—but not in the usual sense. The question is how permanently you are likely to stay where you are. What are the odds that your job or family issues will take you away? If it’s likely that you will be moving out of SW Florida within five years or less, a rental could well be a better choice. Buying and selling expenses—plus the time and effort involved—are factors that often make it wiser to delay buying until you are situated more permanently.
Then there is the real monthly outlay comparison between the two. Realistic calculations for owning take into account all of the monthly expenses involved. They Common Sense for a SW Florida Home Rental vs. Purchase Choice, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acresinclude property taxes, homeowner or condo fees, insurance, gardening expenses, utility costs, and maintenance costs (they tend to be more than you first estimate). If your SW Florida rental check is significantly smaller than the monthly home owning total, your financial ship might float higher if you put the difference into a savings account. You should consider whether your money might be put to better use elsewhere.
That last item points to the overriding issue: whether your current savings are able to support a purchase without incurring too much financial strain. That monthly home ownership calculation did not include the initial cost—the down payment. This part may have become less of a hurdle recently: the Federal Housing Administration has reduced its requirements. In fact, it may be possible to buy a house with a FHA mortgage with as little as a 3.5% down payment…although a higher down payment means a lower mortgage Common Sense for a SW Florida Home Rental vs. Purchase Choice, Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acrespayment and no private mortgage insurance.
The last part of your calculation is one that can be a very positive financial benefit of ownership vs. rental: the mortgage interest tax deduction. Especially for those in higher income tax brackets with hefty mortgages, it can tilt the scales toward ownership.
I’m here to offer help and advice about any SW Florida rental and ownership questions—in fact, about any of your real estate questions. I hope you won’t hesitate to give me a call Today!

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On Not Taking SW Florida Mortgage Interest Rates for Granted, Naples, Ft. Myers, Marco Island, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acres

On Not Taking SW Florida Mortgage Interest Rates for Granted, Naples, Ft. Myers, Marco Island, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acres. SW Florida’s mortgage interest rates have been so low for so long that there is the definite possibility that the real On Not Taking SW Florida Mortgage Interest Rates for Granted, Naples, Ft. Myers, Marco Island, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acresvalue they represent—for both SW Florida home buyers and sellers—may now be being taken for granted.
It’s only natural. If you believe that past history is the best predictor of future performance, last January’s common wisdom that mortgage interest rates in 2014 would head up to at least 5% or more wouldn’t have fazed you a bit. One quick glance at the squiggly lines on a chart showing either 30-year or 15-year fixed mortgage interest rates reveals a pronounced downward slope. Ever since mid-year 2007, it looks like a playground slide. It does level off at the end, starting around three years ago; but if you take in the longer view, back to 1982, you see an even steeper tumble—all the way down from (gulp!) 18%! Only the bravest child would dare climbOn Not Taking SW Florida Mortgage Interest Rates for Granted, Naples, Ft. Myers, Marco Island, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acres the ladder to that playground slide…
For a couple of years now, most of us assumed the bottoming-out of SW Florida mortgage interest rates would reverse soon enough. But, as The L.A. Times pointed out on New Year’s Day, “…instead of the year ending with 30-year mortgage rates at 5% as many had projected, it wound up at an average of 3.8%…” Now, although some industry leaders (like the Mortgage Bankers Association) again expect mortgage interest rates to end 2015 at around 5%, most forecasts “now come with more sheepish comments about clouded crystal balls.” And The Times also acknowledges On Not Taking SW Florida Mortgage Interest Rates for Granted, Naples, Ft. Myers, Marco Island, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acresthat some observers think rates could stay low, or even decline.
“I’ve been wrong about fixed mortgage rates all year,” the chief economist for Moody’s Analytics is quoted as having grumbled. Now “he wouldn’t be surprised if fixed mortgage rates are near 4.5% at the end of 2015.”
With this newly voiced uncertainty about future rises, coupled with last year’s rates refusing to budge from the familiar comfort of basement levels, it would hardly be surprising if most folks have simply adjusted to today’s SW Florida mortgage interest rates—and allowed their own real estate planning to proceed accordingly.On Not Taking SW Florida Mortgage Interest Rates for Granted, Naples, Ft. Myers, Marco Island, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acres
If so, that’s likely to become a real forehead-slapper when they look back on it…possibly in the near future. Low mortgage interest rates in SW Florida are in actuality a rare gift: a true windfall for those able to capitalize on them.

On Not Taking SW Florida Mortgage Interest Rates for Granted, Naples, Ft. Myers, Marco Island, Golden Gate, Lehigh Acres. If you are contemplating buying or selling an SW Florida home anytime in the future, I do hope you’ll give me a call to discuss today’s market—and the opportunities that are here (and right now). As we know from our own playground experiences, once you find yourself at the bottom of the slide, sooner or later you’ll be climbing up that ladder once more!

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Mortgages

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