Buying A Home

My sister and brother-in-law are trying to buy a home here in St. Petersburg, Florida or surrounding cities like Largo or Seminole, but like many other buyers in 2021, are getting frustrated. They’ve put in several offers on homes they like under $400,000, but keep getting outbid by cash buyers and institutional buyers paying way over asking price in most cases. It’s a tough situation to be in when you need to get a mortgage.

Finally, we made an offer on one that got accepted – yay! We did a short inspection period and did our inspection on day 1 of the contract. Turns out, the inspector found mold. And lots of it, along with many other items of concern. You see the home was a flip. It looks fantastic on the inside! But one thing the inspector immediately noticed was that there were 2 AC units and the house was only 1,300 square feet. Odd, right? Turns out it was because the cathedral roof line meant there was no attic – so the prior owner apparently did an AC unit on each side of the home because there was nowhere to bring ductwork across the top of the house.

Now normally I wouldn’t think of too much AC being a bad thing…but apparently it can be! If you have oversized AC tonnage for the size of your home, it continually is pushing cool air and there’s nowhere for humidity to escape to, which results in – you guessed it – MOLD. Both AC units were from 2006 too and on their last legs, and full of mold, as well as we could see streaks of mold all over the garage walls.

So what’s my point?

I am seeing crazy things in contracts right now in this competitive Tampa Bay real estate market. Buyer’s waiving appraisal contingencies, waiving inspections, throwing in their first born child…you...

Thinking optimistically and knowing a little about US homebuilders and American ingenuity, builders might create an average of 2M homes annually and achieve a supply-demand balance in about 6 years.

Beginning in 1959, the US Census Bureau started to record housing starts. During the 48 years between 1959 and 2006, builders completed 52,941,000 homes for an average of 1,102,938 homes per year.

For the 14 years between 2007 to 2020, builders started 9,914,600 homes or 708,186 homes per year, which is 394,752 fewer starts per year than the historical average. This annual shortfall totals 5,526,525 homes during those years. In 2020, builders started 990,500 homes, still below the historical average of 1.1 million annual starts.

Homebuyers are now paying the price for the need for homes continued, intensified by a combination of new developments that increased housing demand. Included are the COVID-19 lockdowns that forced many to work, teach and learn remotely, a population that continued to live longer, preventing their homes from being recycled.

Millennials began reaching the homebuying age. Institutional investors entered the market in force. Local, state and federal restrictions and mandates increased, and interest...

Some would say living the Florida dream would be having a residence near the beach that you can stay at whenever you want. Others would argue the ultimate Florida dream is to own a place near the beach you can use AND rent to make some passive income. We work with a number of clients that have an expressed interest in finding property that has the potential to generate rental income. Whether it's used by seasonal tenants or for vacation guests, here are a few condo communities worth checking out if you want to invest on the Gulf to produce some serious spending money. 

Siesta Key

El Presidente: A gated condominium community situated near the south bridge entrance to the key, guests will love vacationing within El Presidente and owners will love the income potential. An ideal location to reach the mainland for everyday conveniences and far enough south to enjoy the direct beach frontage away from the public access points. El Presidente is a smaller, single building with lots of perks including a community pool and spa, club house and tennis courts. There is an on-site rental management company should you prefer the assistance of a property managers, plus owners are allotted 1 week rentals that can be rented 52 times a year.

Sarasota Surf and Racquet: ...