Enbrook
Mon Apr 26 2021, 2:09 pm
New Construction in Naples: Enbrook Enbrook, a gated community located in south Naples on Manatee road, features a variety of twin villa homes with coastal designs. All the homes surround two large lakes, offering placid, picturesque views. The homes are being built by D.R. Horton, Ame...
The National Home Shortage
Mon Apr 26 2021, 1:50 pm
The National Home Shortage According to a report by Freddie Mac, America’s national home supply will meet the current demand only if the U.S. adds 3.8 million new homes. How bad is the shortage? Compared to 2018, for example, the current housing deficit now is a full 52% greater....
Questions to Ask When Buying Homeowners Insurance
Mon Apr 26 2021, 1:47 pm
Questions to Ask When Buying Homeowners Insurance Homeowners Insurance is probably the least exciting part of the home buying process. After all, you’re not looking at your beautiful new home, its lovely garden, or the amenities. Rather, you are faced with a dizzying array of...
How Does the Mortgage Rate Affect Buyers?
Mon Mar 22 2021, 5:51 pm
How Does the Mortgage Rate Affect Buyers? Mortgage rates are one of the most important factors prospective homebuyers should consider when buying a new home. Even a small fractional move can have major consequences in deciding which homes you can afford. In addition to lowering the a...
Meadowood
Mon Mar 22 2021, 5:48 pm
New Community in North Naples: Meadowood Constructed by D. H. Horton Inc., the largest homebuilder in the country, these 2 story townhomes are ideally located in North Naples. With an A+ school district, brand new shopping, dining, and entertainment venues, Meadowood enjoys proximity to...
Cape Coral/Fort Myers are Among the Top Commercial Markets in the United States
Mon Mar 22 2021, 5:42 pm
Cape Coral/Fort Myers are Among the Top Commercial Markets in the United States After analyzing 52 major commercial markets across the country, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) ranked Cape Coral/Fort Myers an impressive second place nationally (just behind Austin Texas) on the...
The Enclave of Distinction
Thu Feb 25 2021, 7:42 pm
New Community: The Enclave of Distinction Distinctive Residential Construction is a luxury homebuilder centered in Naples Florida with 25 years of experience. The company focuses on the homes, itself, as opposed to the community amenities. Therefore, smaller tracts of land are necessary...
Can You Deduct Covid-19 Expenses on Your Tax Return?
Thu Feb 25 2021, 5:02 pm
Can You Deduct Covid-19 Expenses on Your Tax Return? The tax deductions permitted during the Covid-19 pandemic are complicated. While the IRS is offering some benefits, many deductions which might seem fair to the taxpayer are not permitted. Non-independent contractors who are employ...
Florida is Awarded the Best State to Retire
Thu Feb 25 2021, 5:00 pm
Florida is Awarded the Best State to Retire The prominent finance website, Wallethub, conducted a study using 45 metrics to determine the best state for retirement. Some of those metrics included affordability (including tax rates), quality of life (including share of population over 65...
Are 1031 Exchanges Going Away in 2021?
Sat Jan 30 2021, 7:18 pm
Are 1031 Exchanges Going Away in 2021? A 1031 exchange is a swap of one investment property for another which allows capital gains taxes to be deferred. For investors to qualify, the exchange must occur between like-kind properties (a house for a house, a multifamily unit for another on...
Is it Smarter to Flip Homes or Become an Investor?
Sat Jan 30 2021, 7:16 pm
Is it Smarter to Flip Homes or Become an Investor? There are two strategies for those who want to build wealth in the real estate field: Flipping and investing. For our purposes flipping a property involves purchasing it at fair market value or below, usually adding some renovation, and...
When Will 3D Printed Homes be Available?
Sat Jan 30 2021, 7:12 pm
When Will 3D Printed Homes be Available? As of now 3D printed homes are not broadly available in the American real estate market. While some homes have been built here and in Europe, the homes are of the micro variety. The technology is not yet ready for the big leagues. These printed h...
The Pandemic Has Dramatically Increased the Trend Toward Smart Homes
Thu Dec 31 2020, 1:03 pm
The Pandemic Has Dramatically Increased the Trend Toward Smart Homes A new Realtor.com survey has determined that the pandemic is serving to motivate people to demand smart features in their homes. With many folks confined to their homes for health reasons or because their jobs can be e...
Mortgage Requirements are Easing
Thu Dec 31 2020, 1:00 pm
Mortgage Requirements are Easing From the earliest days of home mortgage loans, the borrower’s finances are primarily what determines if a mortgage would be granted; and if it can, what the interest rate would be. The key issue banks analyze is whether your income can sustain the...
Are Open Houses a Thing of the Past?
Thu Dec 31 2020, 12:56 pm
Are Open Houses a Thing of the Past? The pandemic has impacted every part of our lives. While it has wreaked havoc on many businesses, the residential real estate industry is no exception. One of the ways it has served as a disruptor is the classic way many homebuyers decide which prope...
Willoughby Preserve
Tue Dec 1 2020, 2:46 pm
Willoughby Preserve If privacy and an intimate community are valued to a prospective buyer, then Willoughby Preserve should be seriously considered. At this time, 4 homes are completed, 4 are under construction, and 7 are expected to break ground soon. All but two are already sold. Beca...
Manatee Cove
Tue Dec 1 2020, 2:39 pm
Manatee Cove Manatee Cove is a new gated community located in Naples, just a 15 minute drive from the downtown area and beaches. This intimate, perfectly located community of 75 acres will contain 164 one and two story private homes with a choice of eight home designs. Gas heat and a ga...
Why December in the Best Time to List a Property!
Tue Dec 1 2020, 5:24 pm
Why December in the Best Time to List a Property! January is the most popular time to list properties in SW Florida. But the shrewd seller thinks out of the box. These sellers are keenly aware of the major advantages of a December listing. Below are some of the often-overlooked reasons:...
Arboretum of Naples
Tue Oct 27 2020, 11:22 am
Arboretum of Naples This new gated condo development by the prolific builder Mattamy Homes sits just four miles from the renowned dining and shopping in downtown Naples and its beaches. Set on 17 acres and consisting of both coach and family villas with open floor plans, Arboretum co...
Coconut Landing
Tue Oct 27 2020, 11:14 am
Coconut Landing This brand-new gated, community in Estero sits on 10.5 acres and will include just 25 homes, offering an intimate, placid lifestyle. Coconut Landing will be ready for occupancy in late 2021. This development sits across the road from the impressive Coconut Point Shopp...
Emerging Trends in Real Estate
Tue Oct 27 2020, 11:15 am
Emerging Trends in Real Estate Since the Covid-19 outbreak, some real estate trends have accelerated, others have slowed or reversed. Migration to the suburbs, which was already underway before the pandemic has accelerated sharply. Some folks feel that there is greater safety in less...
Will our Canadian neighbors join us this Winter?
Mon Sep 28 2020, 2:51 pm
Will our Canadian neighbors join us this Winter? The answer, at least in part, depends on whether travel restrictions into the US from Canada (due to Covid-19) will be lifted. Although all of America’s sunbelt states’ economies have been negatively affected due to those rest...
Last Chance to Own a New Construction Coach-Home with a Dock in Regatta Landing at Windstar
Mon Sep 28 2020, 2:46 pm
Last Chance to Own a New Construction Coach-Home with a Dock in Regatta Landing at Windstar Windstar, for those not from the area, is an elite, members owned 320-acre private country club located adjacent to Naples Bay. The club is the home of Naples only gated golf course. Windstar als...
Home ownership Rising in the U.S.
Mon Sep 28 2020, 2:39 pm
Home ownership Rising in the U.S. Spurred by low interest rates, Housingwire reports that the U.S. home ownership rate has soared to a 12-year high in the second quarter of 2020. The home ownership rate rose sharply to 67.9% (the highest since 2008s 3rd quarter). In the prior quarter of...
New Homes Will Include Personalized Office Space; KB Homes Leads the Way
Sun Aug 30 2020, 4:07 pm
New Homes Will Include Personalized Office Space; KB Homes Leads the Way Since the beginning of the Covid lockdown, the work from home trend has increased dramatically. Folks began converting garages and nooks in bedrooms and dens into workplaces. Homebuilders have been responding to th...
Is Commuting to Work a Thing of the Past?
Sun Aug 30 2020, 4:04 pm
Is Commuting to Work a Thing of the Past? A seismic shift may be occurring in both the residential and commercial real estate Industries nationally. Twitter and Facebook have announced that the new work from home trend may be permanent. While those two companies made it official, oth...
Esplanade by the Islands
Sun Aug 30 2020, 3:59 pm
Esplanade by the Islands Esplanade by the Islands is a new, gated, luxurious community in Naples, built by the highly respected Taylor Morrison (the fifth largest builder in America), with a home style t fit every taste. This new development, set on 525...
Valencia Trails
Fri Jul 31 2020, 10:32 am
Valencia Trails Valencia Trails, located in Naples, is designed for the 55+ age group. This gated and guarded community of single-family homes (ready for move-in by June/July 2021) offers the ultimate in luxury and amenities. Spacious living areas are combined with gourmet kitchens and...
Vanderbilt Reserve
Fri Jul 31 2020, 10:25 am
Vanderbilt Reserve This new, gated community of luxurious townhouses, built in the classic West Indian style, is being developed by Sobel Company, a highly respected home-builder since 1958. Located in Naples, just a short hop to the white sand beaches, world class shopping, restaurants...
What Do Pandemic Era Buyers Want?
Fri Jul 31 2020, 10:21 am
What Do Pandemic Era Buyers Want? HomeLight, a respected real estate referral company, has just published its quarterly report which focuses heavily on the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the residential real estate market. The firm conducted a poll of over 2,000 real estate agents t...
Weak US Dollar Creates Opportunity for Canadians
Mon Jun 29 2020, 2:41 pm
Weak US Dollar Creates Opportunity for Canadians Currencies fluctuate. When the U.S. dollar strengthens, international buyers of American real estate need to spend more of their own currency to purchase a U.S. property. Conversely, when the dollar weakens against other national currencies, foreig...
Staying Healthy During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Mon Jun 29 2020, 2:38 pm
Staying Healthy During the Covid-19 Pandemic The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has issued important guidelines during the Covid-19 outbreak. While some of the recommendations many of us have heard before, others are not quite as obvious. One of the less well-known warnings concerns stress &nda...
Mortgage Rates at Record Low
Mon Jun 29 2020, 2:34 pm
Mortgage Rates at Record Lows The good news for prospective homebuyers is that mortgage rates have fallen to historic lows. As of last week, the average 30-year fixed rate fell to 3.21%. A year ago, the average rate stood at 3.84%. And Freddie Mac’s rate fell to 3.13%. Some of the requireme...
Will Liability Fears Keep Pools Closed?
Sun May 31 2020, 3:28 pm
Will Liability Fears Keep Pools Closed? Can a community or condo development reopen their pool without fear of liability if someone contracts the Covid-19 virus and claims they caught it while taking a dip. Florida Realtors reached out to two attorneys, and unfortunately, received two s...
Vacation Rentals to Re-Open Soon!
Sun May 31 2020, 3:26 pm
Vacation Rentals to Re-Open Soon! Short term rentals were discontinued in Florida statewide on March 27th. Recently, Governor DeSantis, has asked each state county to submit a safety plan which would take into consideration safety measures to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 as the diffe...
How Long Should You keep Real Estate Documents?
Sun May 31 2020, 3:19 pm
How Long Should You keep Real Estate Documents? Most of us are deluged with paperwork. Even worse, most of us are not quite sure how long we should hold on to real estate, tax, insurance, repair, and warrantee documents, etc. We fear that the one document we decide to discard, is precisely the...
Hamilton Place A New Community in Naples
Tue Apr 28 2020, 2:04 pm
Hamilton Place A New Community in Naples This new community, currently under construction, is being built by the Toll Brothers, one of the top ten builders in the country, and among the largest 500 largest companies in the United States according to Fortune Magazine. This gated, coas...
Exercising at Home During the Quarantine
Tue Apr 28 2020, 1:45 pm
Exercising at Home During the Quarantine During the COVID-19 pandemic many of us across the country are spending much more of our time at home either by choice or government fiat. In either case this usually means we are not getting the amount of exercise we normally do. Whether our exe...
Abaco Pointe A New Toll Brothers Community
Wed Apr 29 2020, 1:55 pm
Abaco Pointe A New Toll Brothers Community As in the Hamilton Place community, the builders have once again chosen to focus on low-maintenance homes in prestigious Naples – proving that a buyer can have the best of both worlds – living in an elite area, but at an affordable...
Mortgage Rates Remain Very Low
Wed Feb 26 2020, 6:08 pm
Mortgage Rates Remain Very Low The most common mortgage rate, the 30-year fixed, is virtually at an all-time low of 3.47% this week. The only exceptions were for brief periods in 2016, 2013, and 2012 where the rates hit 3.41%, 3.34%, and 3.31 respectively (hardly a difference when it co...
Picking Colors for Your Home
Wed Feb 26 2020, 5:58 pm
Picking Colors for Your Home Choosing colors for your home has always been a difficult choice. To begin with trendy colors are only going to stay trendy for an unknown period of time, after which they will become dated and out of fashion. And the savvy owner often considers the implicat...
Requirements for Vacation Rentals
Wed Feb 26 2020, 5:51 pm
The Requirements for Vacation Rentals in Florida are Changing Florida State Senate Bill (SB 1128) seeks to disallow local municipalities from issuing regulations concerning vacation rentals and instead allow the state to enact most regulations. In essence, local laws would be rendered m...
How Much Does Your Credit Score Effect Your Mortgage rate?
Mon Jan 27 2020, 12:09 pm
How Much Does Your Credit Score Effect Your Mortgage rate? The mortgage rate you are offered from your lender is heavily dependent on your credit score. The difference between a fair credit score (580 – 669) can cost you $41,400 over the life of your 30-year mortgage compared to g...
Is Renting More or Less Stressful Than Owning?
Mon Jan 27 2020, 12:06 pm
Is Renting More or Less Stressful Than Owning? Many folks think that renting a home is a financially smarter option than owning. They figure with the closing costs, which includes appraisals, attorneys fees, points charged by the lending institution, and mortgage insurance, renting just...
Having Trouble Finding Foreclosures?
Mon Jan 27 2020, 12:02 pm
Having Trouble Finding Foreclosures? Many professionals advise that one way to get a good deal on a property is buy one undergoing foreclosure. A foreclosure usually occurs when an owner misses a specified number of payments to his lender. The lender (usually a bank) is not in the real...
Real Estate Market in the South Expected to Be Strong in 2020
Mon Dec 30 2019, 11:11 am
Real Estate Market Expected to Be Strong in 2020 According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the South and Midwest regions have accounted for an ever-increasing fraction of home sales since 2012. The share of home sales in the North and West have declined....
New Construction Having a Tough Time Keeping Up with Demand
Mon Dec 30 2019, 11:06 am
New Construction Having a Tough Time Keeping Up At a recent summit of economists sponsored by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the economists expressed optimism at the prospects for the housing market in 2020. But there were 4 areas of concern. The esteemed chief economist fo...
How to Make Your Home Eco-Friendly
Mon Dec 30 2019, 11:00 am
How to Make Your Home Eco-Friendly According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 61% said their clients are interested in sustainability and would like these features in their new homes. And why not? It saves the homeowner money in utility bills, water charges, etc., while...
Selling Your Home During the Holidays Can Be a Good Idea
Mon Dec 2 2019, 5:09 pm
Selling Your Home During the Holidays Can Be a Good Idea Conventional wisdom is not always right. Most people think that the best time to sell a home is during the spring months when the weather is mild, and most folks are not on vacation. After all, if more people are around – no...
Housing is Expected to Boost the Economy
Mon Dec 2 2019, 4:57 pm
Housing is Expected to Boost the Economy In a recently released report, Fannie Mae upgraded its forecast for 2020 U.S. economic growth to 1.9% from 1.7%, predicting that consumer spending and the housing market will boost gross domestic product if a “phase one” trade deal is...