THIS SEASONED REALTOR’S DESCRIPTION OF LIFE IN SW FLORIDA
After grown up in Cedar Rapids, IA and graduating from the University of Iowa, I spent 35 years in medical sales, 16 of which were invested in my own small medical supply company. I learned the IMPORTANCE of concentrated personalized service. I strongly believe that the customer may not always be right but I do my best to make sure that the customer makes the right decision from their vantage point.
My Dad died too early, way too early, to enjoy the comforts of a Florida lifestyle. He died in the early 60s. My Mom remarried about 7 years later. Almost immediately Mom and Henry started spending the majority of their time in Naples. Wow, that was in the early 70s … 40 years ago from when I am writing this Blog. Compared to today’s environment, Naples practically didn’t exist back then. I would come down for a 5 day visit which was all the time I could spend away from a small one-man company.
I have seen Naples grow from a quiet out-of- the- way fabulous location on the Florida Gulf to the (relatively speaking) quiet FABULOUS cosmopolitan center that it is today. The city fathers have endeavored to protect and maintain the green spaces / small town environment that exited then and still exists today compared to the East Coast of Florida. In my opinion, it is just a different world over there.
The metropolitan Naples area in today’s mindset really consists of Naples / Bonita Springs and Estero. North of Estero, you start to get in to Ft. Myers. The ‘Naples market’ and the Ft. Myers market while they are kissing cousins in geographical proximity, are very different in their composition. The same can be said when one compares the Naples market with the Sarasota area. While the fine residents who live in Sarasota won’t tell you, it is a known fact that during the winter months, there is a moving weather line as one moves north of Ft. Myers toward Sarasota that above that line, there can be noticeable differences in winter temperatures. There is a quiet joke that people who purchased in Sarasota, purchased before they took the time to venture further South. We thank those (not-so) wise Sarasotians!!
I personally made one major mistake when I moved full time to Naples in 1993. It is the same mistake which many have made before me as well as the same mistake that many more will make in the future. I sure wish I had moved here sooner!! One might surmise that I admit to this mistake due to significant increase in property values over the years and I would admit to this being true. However, the real reason is that the quality of life in general in SW Florida is so superior to other areas where I have lived. A couple of years ago, I took my step father to see his neurologist. We got in to this type of conversation and he said that when he sees patients who have lived here for some time compared to patients who live in … that climate up north (!!), the typical resident who lives in SW Florida is just in far better condition and has a younger outlook. They are more active … so saith the MD !
To what does he contribute this feeling? One would be the weather. I could tell you how great the weather is but you probably wouldn’t believe me. I can’t tell you how often I hear the objection from someone who lives in those other places up North (!!), … ‘how can you live in SW Florida during the Summer; it must be terribly hot and humid. Bull roar!! It almost never gets above 94 in the summer and when it gets in to the August – September months, which is our rainy season, it will typically rain like hell in the afternoon for about 20 minutes, after which the Sun comes out and the rain water soaks through the sandy soil and it is back to business as usual. I can tell you that Summer temperatures in Cedar Rapids, St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus … Pgh, Philly, NY, Boston, Baltimore, DC, etc. all have average temperatures higher than the Naples’ average and that includes humidity. I should also include the Plainfield / Westfield area of NJ where I lived for some 35 years. Don’t believe me? Come on down!!
The weather is so fabulous that almost all activity is OUTDOORS unless one plays bridge or MahJongg, neither of which I play!! Over the years, most, but not all, of my Buyer’s are looking for a community where they can play golf and / or tennis. All are friendly games at all levels of activity. My wife is a really competitive bridge player and she wished I would play. Before we met, she played tennis and no golf. Now, she plays a lot of golf and little tennis. She really gets excited when she breaks 100. It wasn’t but a couple weeks ago she had a ‘career round’ scoring a 90. She was excited for 3 days. The next time she went out and it was business as usual!! What I really enjoy is watching someone who is a beginner at either golf or tennis … who will start to take lessons and really work to improve. They may not ever get to be ‘good’ but they can feel the improvement they make and they want to play every day.
So in general, PEOPLE, LIVING IN SW FLORIDA ARE REALLY ACTIVE and this keeps people young and certainly not sedentary !!
And what are other area activity options? Let my input here that I have had so many conversations with ‘Type A’ executives considering a move to the Naples area in which they state … I have always been so busy that I am worried how I will handle ‘retirement’. My retort is … ‘see you in a year’. A year later, I encounter the same person … ask the obvious question to which they always reply … I am so busy I don’t know where the time goes!! Hooray !! And it is so true!!
What are other activities??
The Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts offers world class culture (entertainment) (www.thephil.org) almost year around. You can attend the Symphony , The Pops, Miami Ballet, … you can go to concerts of unlimited genre from country & western to Johnny Mathis or Broadway Theater.
There is a significant artist colony which has grown very quickly. There are at least 5 nationally ranked juried art shows particularly in season (Christmas through Easter). The number of art galleries is significant. Both Collier County and Bonita Springs have art associations with all sorts of classes for every artistic level. I can personally attest to this fact.
There is more retail square footage per capita in Collier County than any other areas in the country. At least that is what the Chamber of Commerce says !! I use to be a little worried when my wife would tell me she is going shopping. However, I have learned that my wife, while being a very serious ‘shopper’, is always looking for a very good bargain! It is a real challenge for the local retail businesses because they have to make their living within a 4 month span and the sales volume really slows down the remaining 8 months.
There is a thriving sport fishing market. I went fishing in late April (2012) with 15 other hard-nosed fisherman. I hadn’t been fishing in years due to a bad inner ear! Real fishermen would not take me fishing unless they were having trouble finding ‘bait’!! But it was fun! There were 6 of us on our boat with the final score for the day being Fish 6 – Fisherman 0 !! We caught nada ! Nothing !! But it was fun anyway. It was just one of those days when the fish took a vacation.
FGCU’s official name is Florida Gulf Coast University. It didn’t exist 14 years ago. Now, there are some 14,000 students!! Judy and I spend a lot of time on campus. No we don’t go to class. But in 14 short years, FGCU is a major NCAA Division I participant in men’s and women’s basketball with the 2011-2012 women’s team actually making it in to the Big Dance. The same applies to both respective soccer teams. The women’s softball team is ranked nationally as well. Both tennis teams have shown remarkable improvement with new coaches. We attend several concerts each year at the FGCU Bower School of Music.
The beach … aaaah !! THE BEACH !! How could I forget the beach? It is one of the primary reasons people move to the Naples area. The beach is made up of soft, fine, white sand contrary to what you would find on the East Coast. The Gulf of Mexico is far quieter than the Atlantic. What more can I say other than … THE NAPLES AREA BEACH IS ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS PEOPLE LOVE TO COME TO NAPLES!!
Frequently, questions come up as to the frequency of hurricanes. This is an easy question to discuss. Certainly there is the possibility of a hurricane blowing through town. Does it happen? Yes. Does it happen with regularity? NO not to the Naples area!! Most of the big storms come off the coast of Africa. As they reach the Caribbean Islands, the storm pathways will either veer north and swing up the eastern seaboard targeting the GA, SC, NC and DE coastlines. Or, the storms will head out in to the Gulf of Mexico and zero in on Central America or swing north and hit land somewhere between Galveston and the FL panhandle. Rarely do they come across the FL peninsula to the Naples area. When they do, the real damage is to vegetation such has the enormous banyan trees which have a small root base compared to beautiful but enormously heavy top foliage. What about damage to residential structures? You have to keep in mind that 50 years ago, for all general purposes, Naples almost did not exist. As a result, the major structures are far more stable than structures built ‘years ago’. Almost without exception, structures built in SW Florida in the last 40 years were built with cement block and tile roofs which meet ‘code’. The only damage, most times, to any structure will be to manufactured homes.
Let’s not forget one of the major past times … eating. NAPLES (which includes Bonita Springs and Estero) IS A HUGE EAT-OUT ENVIRONMENT. Yes, you can attend dozens of cooking classes at any number of retail establishments and cook at home. But ‘what’s for dinner, honey’ will likely have you eating out. You can spend a fortune or you can be as economical as you want to be. Particularly after the end of Season, the food emporiums suddenly start offering really good 2 for 1 bargains and include a bottle of wine. You almost can’t afford to stay home.
I have a couple of final parting inputs based on my experiences of living in this fabulous environment for almost 20 years.
Yes, this is a destination Rest & Retirement location. You would think this is a salt & pepper (color of one’s hair!) That it is an older more staid personality make-up. WRONG !! Contrary to thinking that SW Florida would be made up of older folks, the average age in Collier County is roughly 42 for men and 44 for women. When you go to the beach or golf course … or tennis courts during the day, you don’t find 42 or 44; you are more likely to find 60 – 70 or 80+ and then think … hey! that Halpin Realtor was off his mark. But if you think about this for a moment, you would quickly realize that the younger set during the day IS WORKING!! Oh, that’s right … there has to be a work force to provide the many services required to support the ‘environment’!
And think about this for a moment: Anyone older than you are … IS STILL REALLY YOUNG!!
The population in the Naples area is typically Midwestern / Indiana / Ohio / Upper NY state / New England. And let’s not forget the many Canadians , Europeans and friends from South America. Because, as the saying goes, no one is from ‘here’, you find yourself wearing a name tag when you go to Happy Hour because you may not remember the name of the couple you met last year and name tags make it far more comfortable to intermingle and not have to worry about having to remember the other names! This is an extraordinary friendly … look you in the eye … environment. Believe me when I say that it is really easy to make new friends in my town!!
And that makes up my couple of thoughts on the subject !!! It comes from the heart.
Tips for a Painless Closing in Naples
As much as we’d like it to be a closing isn’t just signing the dotted line and the house is yours. Here are a few tips to help prevent your closing from being a disaster.
Communicate with all parties involved. Ask questions to understand the process and make sure everything know what needs to happen to help your closing in Florida go smoothly. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions, your real estate agent is there to help you through this.
Know that human errors happen and prepare for them. You may just have to roll with them. There are many people involved in the closing process. The more people involved the more likely there is for Human error, but the more you prepare for it the better off you’ll be. Review the load documents in advance to help catch problems before the end of the process. If you review the loan documents you will also know how much money you need to bring to closing.
Take closing day off. If all goes well you could be done in 30 minutes, but plan for worst case scenario and hope for the best.
Expect the unexpected. Watch for typos in all documents. Check the numbers, a simple typo could hurt you if you don’t catch it before you sign the documents. If you schedule your appointment early in the day, if something needs to be changed on your loan there will be enough time to complete the change that day.
Following these tips and talking to your real estate agent Larry Halpin will help you have a smooth closing in Naples, Bonita Springs, or Estero.
What Happens After Signing?
WHAT HAPPENS TO AN OFFER TO BUY REAL ESTATE AFTER THE BUYER SIGNS ON THE DOTTED LINE?
In the Naples / Bonita / Estero real estate market place, there are somewhere in the range of 6000 Realtors. In Downing-Frye Realty’s two offices, we have somewhere just south of 600 agents. In a booming market place such as 2005, this number grows substantially as individuals get their license and suddenly become experts. And then as the market changes direction, these same individuals fall by the wayside as they can’t afford to stay in the business. Currently (2nd quarter 2012), the market is turning upward from a ‘bottom’ and becoming extraordinarily active. This will most likely mean that in the coming months / year, more people will be taking the test to qualify as licensed Realtors.
Make sure that when you enter the real estate market place, you choose a Realtor who has been in the business for several years and has the experience necessary to know how to be of valuable assistance to you. It is not simply a matter of being able to work the MLS software. If you are reading this blog, you already know how to use the MLS system because you have been experimenting most likely with the system on-line through this website or one of my friendly competitors. It takes a lot of experience before a new Realtor is comfortable knowing the various pros and cons of the many communities in our market place as well as being knowledgeable when it comes to the mounds of forms which are necessary to complete a transaction. In this age of data processing, the real estate gods never learned the meaning of a paperless society!
When buyer’s come to the table, they need to be sure they know what’s happening to their offers once they have signed on the dotted line. It is a fair question to ask of whomever is helping you write the offer, whether it is your attorney or your estate agent. I can count on one hand the number of Buyers who ask the question as to what happens to the paperwork. How is it being delivered; does your Realtor know anything about the seller; have there been other offers?
I can tell you that the majority of buyers rarely ask for details. To whom is the offer being presented? How is it being delivered? Does your agent know anything about the seller; has the seller’s agent recently received offers? It happens more often that one might admit but there are some Realtors out there who will simply fax or email an offer without any other form of communication with the other Realtor. It has happened that an inexperienced agent might drop off a contract at an office without directing the offer to the listing agent. Little did the enthusiastic buyers realize that while they’ve mustered the courage and signed on the dotted line only to have their offer get rolled up and essentially tied to a balloon and released into the great blue yonder!!
If you’re a buyer who is making an offer to purchase real estate, here are a few more questions you need to ask:
Ask if your agent has spoken with the listing agent prior to preparing an offer to find out important information such as which closing dates could benefit the seller or to ask for property disclosures. Property Disclosures? When I purchased my first house in the mid 60s, there were no disclosures and the contract formats typically protected only the seller. These days in SW Florida, the contract formats are written to protect both the buyer and seller equally and there are a ton of disclosures particularly if that property is within a gated community. You did review the disclosures first, right? Good, that means you signed them and send them back with the offer.
Get a copy of your contract and a list of important time frames, response times for both parties involved in the contract, escrow deposit dates and home inspection deadlines.
Ask for some sort of acknowledgement from your real estate agent that the offer was actually presented and is now in the hands of the seller, the seller’s real estate agent or their legal counsel for due consideration. Whether it’s simply an acknowledgement of a conversation about the contract or an email response receipt to make sure the seller’s side knows you’ve placed an offer.
What happens to an offer after signing it? It’s a fair question to ask of whomever is helping you write the offer, whether it’s your attorney or your real estate agent. If your attorney is involved they’re generally concerned with making sure you’re legally protected. They’ll also track specific time frames after the contract is executed and advise you of action items required on your part that involve inspections, applying for mortgages, etc.
If nobody knew the offer was coming, whether it’s via email, fax or pony express, valuable time is tick, tick, ticking away. This is where sellers really learn to really appreciate that 24-hour response time they’ve been given. They especially enjoy it when they live in a different time zone or on a different continent or if there are multiple parties involved who need to be consulted before an agreement or counter offer can be made.
Instruct your agent to ask to be notified immediately if your offer becomes involved a multiple offer situation.
The key here is for you to make sure you are working with an experienced Realtor and not a newbie!! A good Realtor is not an order-taker.
8 Ways to Upset Real Estate Agents in Naples
Although your Naples real estate agent stands to make a commission off of you that doesn’t mean you can take them for granted. Don’t act like you know it all because you searched the internet. The agent has been in the business for a long time and knows more about real estate than you do. Trust them.
Don’t waste the agent’s time. If you don’t have a set list of agreed upon wants and needs, you need to resolve that issues before the agent can help. Your agent isn’t trying to sabotage you either. The agent is there to help you through the difficult task of buying a home, but don’t make them your parents.
See the inside of houses, even if the curbside isn’t the most appealing. There is a reason the agent picked this house for you. The reason lies inside. Don’t think you can get a better deal. The agent is working for you and wants to get you the best deal.
The Hidden Costs of Refinancing in Naples
When refinancing your house in Naples there are some hidden fees that many people don’t know about. 1. The application fee, which you will pay regardless of whether or not you’re denied. 2. Loan origination fee, the fee for processing and preparing the loan. 3. Inspection fee, some appraisers require you to get your house inspected first. 4. Attorney review and closing fee, you may be required to pay the attorney fee.
There are several other costs, before refinancing make sure you know what you will have to pay upfront. Read the contracts and ask questions. You don’t want to have any surprise charges.
Costly Contract Errors in Naples
The last thing you need when buying a house is more cost in Naples. Don’t make these costly home buying contract errors. Make sure the contract says exactly what you want it to say. Sometimes the language can mean something completely different from what you think it says. Make sure contingences are written in full sentences. That will lessen the confusion.
Give yourself time to get a loan, and then you won’t be rushed and are less likely to miss a vital part of the contract. Be specific about which items are staying in the house. Know the effective dates, the day you sign isn’t always the effective date. Make sure you know when that starts. Get everyone to sign, both spouses for your side and theirs.
Saving at Closing Time in Naples
Saving at closing time in Naples can be essential to many buyers. Make sure you shop around before settling with a mortgage lender. Know which fees are the broker’s fees and which are third party. You want to understand everything you can about the mortgage and the closing costs you’ll face. Third party fees are harder to negotiate so you’ll want to know which and how much those fees are before hand. Also don’t forget to shop for hazard insurance, compare offers for homeowners insurance the same way to you for your mortgage. Realtors can also answer any questions you have.
Don’t Turn Off Homebuyers in Naples
There are a few things that that turn off homebuyers in Naples very quickly. If you avoid these 10 things your house will more than likely sell quicker. Any agent will tell you to avoid having these huge turn offs. Dirt is the number 1 turn off. Make sure you clean and dust before a buyer comes into the house. Odors are number 2. Move the pets and kids and old smells. Old fixtures, wallpaper and the popcorn ceilings are also on the list. Small updates help buyers love your home.
Personal items and a nosey seller also turn off buyers. You want potential buyers to picture themselves in your house, not picture you in the house. The last 2 turn offs are poor curb appeal and clutter. Make the outside of the house look as nice as the inside and clear away anything that isn’t necessary.
Steps for Buying a Foreclosure in Naples
The number one reason to buy a foreclosure in Naples is the potential of a good deal. But make sure you inspect the home carefully. Most foreclosures and short sales are sold as is, so you have to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.
Set up your financing in advance. Get preapproved for a loan before you start looking for houses. That will speed up your buying time significantly. Research the area’s foreclosures, know what other houses are selling for.
Stabilizing home prices in Naples?
Home prices in Naples are falling again, because the foreclosures that aren’t selling are holding steady. Unlike owner banks are quicker to cut the prices. Homes owned by sellers are stabilizing. Meaning that it is the banks continue to drop prices. The quick the banks get rid of their stock of foreclosures the quicker the housing prices start to stabilize.
