Hello and thank you for reading my blog.
I met a great local artist this week, Nadja Marks-Shafton, who is a devoted and prolific artist. She was born on the coast of Massachusetts in a quaint fishing village by Plymouth. Her South African mother’s work allowed her family to travel three months at a time while she was home-schooled by her father. She has interesting stores and her childhood expeditions are visible in her vibrant paintings. After you read my blog, please see www.Nadjamarks-shafton.com Nadja’s husband is one of my team mates at Michael Saunders & Company.
Thinking about buying a home but had a prior foreclosure? Don’t wait too long because interest rates are rising and so are home prices. To be approved for an FHA loan, your foreclosure must be at least five years prior and they are very strict about the date, which is when the bank took ownership. With an FHA loan, the down payment is 3.5% and the home must be a primary residence. With a conventional loan, you must wait at least seven years for financing and the down payment is higher.
If you are a senior and think you are too old to buy, just think about the tax savings you are giving up without mortgage interest and property taxes. You’ll build equity, have a larger place to live, and have a nest egg to pass to your beneficiaries.
Linda’s List
5302 Cape Leyte in Siesta Isles; walk to Siesta Beach, 2BR with den, garage, some terrazzo flooring, large screened lanai situated on large lot with 22 mature palms in back. Reduced to $619,000.
7349 Starfish Drive in Coral Cove, west of the Trail, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, granite, terrazzo flooring, boating community with Bayfront park and boat launch. $409,000.
1223 N. Casey Key on the Island of Casey Key, 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 100 feet on the gulf and 100 feet on the bay for boating. Florida charm, both private and tranquil $4,100,000.
Recent Palmer Ranch Home Sales: In your homebuying analysis, use the home’s square footage and “PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT.” Note that many of the newer homes are smaller (i.e., Isles of Sarasota and Cobblestone), but many Buyers are choosing Arbor Lakes, where they find larger homes for less price per square foot. Don’t overlook resales because we have very charming, well-built homes, some of which are on golf courses such as Stoneybrook, Country Club of Sarasota, and Prestancia. For example, in Prestancia, the average price/sq ft of homes sold was $214 and the square footage was 3,823…HUGE! Look at the deals in Country Club of Sarasota, where there are large homes at awesome prices.
Mira Lago looks like a good deal with an average sold price of $169 per sq ft; however, homes are advertised as maintenance-free but owners are responsible for the roofs, and that may cost around $30,000.
Other things to look at for resales: has the home been re-plumbed? Defective plumbing materials are common in older homes and condos. Was Chinese drywall used? How old are the roof and the HVAC? Is it in a flood zone and if so, how much will flood insurance cost? You’ll need a good home inspector and I can refer you to the top 3 in Sarasota, Florida.
Here’s how Palmer Ranch did this past winter in terms of homes sold:
Numbers below reflect the size (average square footage), the average sold price, and the price per square foot.
New Homes: Arbor Lakes, size: 3,064 sq ft, $495,000 average price, $160 per sq ft.
Cobblestone (new), 2,164; $512,000, $236.
Sandhill Preserve (new), 2,282, $524,000, $231.
Resales:
Country Club of Sarasota: 3023 sq ft, $520,000 sold price, $175 per sq ft.
Deer Creek, 2,801, $554,000, $198.
Gulf Gate East, 1,450, $309,583, $193.
Huntington Pointe, 2,183, $373,792, $173.
Isles of Sarasota (newer), 1,922, $387,100, $201.
Marbella, 1803, $333,000, $184.
Mira Lago, 1,931, $325,225, $169.
Prestancia, 3,823, $821,211, $214.
Sandhill Preserves 2,282, $524,633, $231.
Savannah at Turtle Rock 2,026, $374,800, $185.
Silver Oak, 3,405, $788,625, $232.
Stoneybrook, 2,545, $570,000, $224.
Sunrise Golf Course, 1,633, $273,071, $168.
The Hamptons, 2,910, $491,000, $171.
Turtle Rock, 2,407, $437,703, $183.
Villagewalk (newer), 2,091, $448,100, $215.
Wellington Chase, 1,662, $296,375, $178.
If you are looking for a smaller, newer second home, I would take you to The Isles and Villagewalk. If you prefer a charming, established neighborhood with higher end homes, I would take you to Prestancia and Country Club of Sarasota. Silver Oaks is high end, gated community but flanked by an apartment complex on the west side, and new construction to the south. Deer Creek is a gated (with a gate guard sitting at the gate 24/7), that is beautifully maintained, and there are also villas that sell for significantly less. Stoneybrook is gated with a call box, and Mira Lago has a gate code with easy access…not my favorite in terms of security.
Title Insurance and Surveys: Listing your home? Be sure to give your listing agent the property survey and owners’ policy for title insurance. When you are under contract, the closing agent will conduct a title search to see if there are problems with the title. You could have inherited problems when you purchased the home and did not know it. An owners’ title policy will pay for damages caused by lost property value due to the defective title. If you purchased a foreclosure, the closing agent was hired by the bank and did not represent the Buyer, so if you do not have a current survey, it’s best to get one now and see if there are any defects; otherwise, you may have problems when you are trying to sell the property. Examples of title defects: a pool was added and it crosses setback lines. (A setback line marks a boundary where structures cannot be built.) Another common defect: your fence or driveway may be on your neighbor’s property. It gets complicated with deed restrictions in neighborhoods. When using a law firm to close, Buyers get legal representation at no additional cost to clear title defects; this takes time and can hold up the closing!!
You can look at your survey and spot defects if there were improvements (fences, pools, HVAC condensers) added to the property where they should not be. New survey methods are much more accurate than those in the past. In a deed-restricted community with a homeowners association, if you have encroachments (i.e., your driveway or fence is on your neighbor’s land), homeowners can protest. Every association has one or two members who love to argue, and they may just protest your encroachments and refuse to grant you the variance needed to meet the county codes.
Never ever throw away your title insurance policy – issues can arise long after you have sold the home.
Lender’s Policy: According to the new closing disclosures (TRID), the owner’s title policy is optional but don’t believe you don’t need your own title insurance. If you bought your home and did not get title insurance because you saw on the closing documents that the lender has a policy, know that their policy protects the bank and not you. Your title policy provides coverage over and above the lender’s policy and you may regret the decision to opt out of buying your own title policy; the cost is minimal—you pay only the amount above the lender’s policy.
How will Owner’s Title Insurance protect you?
Improper execution of documents; mistakes in recording or indexing legal documents (clerks make mistakes); forgeries and fraud, unpaid taxes and assessments, unpaid judgments and liens, unreleased mortgages, incorrect interpretation of wills; mental incompetence of grantors on the deed; impersonation of the true owners of the land by fraudulent persons (i.e., “mistress signs for the wife of a Seller”), refusal of lender to provide financing based upon condition of title; refusal of potential purchaser to accept title based on condition of title.
If you have been reading my blog posts for a while, you know about the nightmare involving two new ski condos that I purchased in the Rocky Mountains. The builder ran out of money, and the contractors funded the projected out of pocket. Several months later, the owners all had mechanics liens on our titles because of the contractors’ unpaid bills. Owners were in court for many years recovering damages for our defective properties that burned, flooded, and had mold damage. I was lucky to get out alive, because they caught on fire when I was asleep on night! Many foreclosures were common in that development and a terrible stigma in the area. The homeowners association sued the contractors and developer, and vice-versa, but half a million dollar settlement won was not enough to bring the property up to standard, and the contractor who was hired to cure all of the defects wound up suing the homeowners association! I personally had two lawsuits in federal court against the contractors (I represented myself and won a settlement) and then I sued the realtors with the help of an attorney. You’ll have to read my book on this nightmare Motion to Intervene that should be finished this fall; it will make you scared to buy a new home with the 85 construction defects and code violations that we the owners had to deal with.
Thank you for reading my blog and do let me know if I can assist you with any Sarasota or Siesta Key real estate.
Don’t’ forget to check out our young, local artist, Nadja, at www.Nadjamarks-shafton.com
Most sincerely yours,
Linda Holley, Realtor, GRI, 941-914-4914 Michael Saunders & Company, Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL
Happy Easter! Good morning and thank you for reading my blog, which provides helpful information about Easter Sunrise Services tomorrow, April 16, 2017, events coming up on Siesta Key, what you need to know about flood insurance, Linda’s List of favorite homes on the market today in Sarasota, and what you need to know about luxury homes across the globe. If you have not subscribed to my blog, just email me at LindaHrealtor@gmail.com.
Easter Sunrise Services!
April 16, 2017: Easter Sunrise Services – 6:30 – 7:30 a.m., Siesta Key Beach near the pavilion. Bring a beach chair or blanket. Hosted by Pine Shores Presbyterian Church, Sarasota, FL.
6:30 Bayfront Park/Marina south of Marina Jack’s downtown beside O’Leary’s Grill, 5 Bayfront Drive, Sarasota, FL. Bring beach chair or blanket.
Siesta Beach Upcoming Events: www.escape-to-sarasota.com/siesta-key-activities.
April 22-23, 2017: Siesta Key Volley America Spalding King of the Beach Big Shot Volleyball Tournament featuring 25 nets, open men, women, juniors, and collegiate levels. Saturday 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Sunday starts at 9 a.m. Siesta Key Beach volley ball area. Beach Road, Siesta Key.
April 29-30, 2017 – 39th Annual Siesta Fiesta. Outdoor, open air street party and arts and crafts fair is held in Siesta Village on Siesta Key just off Sarasota, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. both days. Siesta Key Beach.
Linda’s List:
5302 Cape Leyte Drive, Siesta Key Beach, Sarasota, FL 34242 walk to the beach, bike to Siesta Village from this beautifully well-maintained 2 bedrooms 2 bath, den/office single family home. Room for pool, circle driveway; open floor plan over 1,649 sq ft under air, many updates, turnkey furnished, garage, fantastic back yard with 22 mature palm trees, perfect for entertaining and enjoying sunsets on the gulf. 1/3 of an acre. $619,000.
901 Beach Road Unit, La Siesta condominiums, Sarasota, FL 34242 across from Siesta Key Beach, full gulf view 2 bedrooms 2 bath, 940 sq ft under air, furnished, annual rental income $25-30K, priced at $450,000.
1525 Eastbrook Drive, Kentwood Estates, Sarasota, FL 34231 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, .45 acre, 4,218 total square feet, travertine and bamboo flooring, deck with pool overlooking lake, chef’s kitchen, impact windows and new roof. Convenient to Siesta Beach, downtown Sarasota, and Venice. $1,175,000.
7833 Holiday Drive, Sarasota, FL 34231, 3 BR 3BA “West of the Trail” pool home with 3,601 total square feet. Over half an acre and one block from the Bay.
FLOOD INSURANCE FACTS: 56% of people think they have flood insurance…maybe not!
Real Estate Trends in Sarasota County:
The end of March, there were 5,135 homes on the market in Sarasota County, 1,684 new listings, 1,223 sold, and 1,472 pending (under contract). The average sold price was $340,000; March 2015: $334,000; March 2014: $283,000, so the Sarasota real estate market shows strong gains the past two years.
Michael Saunders has just returned from London where she attended the Luxury Global Affiliation Conference. Christies International is the global authority in marketing luxury homes, with more than 1,200 offices, 32,000 agents in 45 countries and sales volume of approximately $118 billion. Christies outperforms their competition according to recent statistics. Want to see some luxury home inventory across the globe? Go to ChristiesRealEstate.com. Michael says that “the gap” exists globally in luxury homes – the gap being the difference between Sellers’ expectations vs. what the Buyers are willing to pay. Closing the gap will happen when Sellers agree to price their properties more realistically; currently, the global market is flat for luxury homes. $2.2 million is the average starting price for luxury homes globally, and Sarasota’s luxury market is above this!
The Landings: Michael Saunders agents toured homes in central Sarasota last Tuesday and there were many homes in The Landings that we saw. This is a beautiful community located south of downtown Sarasota in the desirable “west of the trail” location. For those of you who don’t know this phrase, this location is west of Tamiami Trail, close to the gulf, and many homes are on the Intercoastal Waterway. This is a deed-restricted/gated community with large estate homes, townhomes, luxury condos, and villas. This community is designed to showcase premium lake, Intercoastal views and the beauty of nature. The Landings is a very active community with families, professionals, retirees, and seasonal residents. Activities include Trivia, yoga, bridge, cardio tennis, jazzercize, Zumba, water color painting, water aerobics, Mah Jong, and Tai Chi. Two of my favorite homes on tour were: 5408 Eagles Point Circle, 2BR 2BA condo for $399,000; 4967 Kestral Park Way N., beautifully remodeled for $449,500. 1610 Starling Drive is a 2BR 2BA villa with a large master suite for $295,000. www.TheLandingsofSarasota.com.
Backup Offers: Are you a Buyer with a contract to purchase a home and in the process of negotiating repairs with the Seller? Caution! The Seller may have a higher backup offer and could be looking for a way to get out of your contract. Last week, I closed on a luxury condo in Grand Bay, Longboat Key, with a backup contract and this week, I have another Buyer who has put in a backup contract on a Siesta property. Most realtors don’t bother to put in backups, but it is working for me!
HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE and please don’t text and drive!
Linda Holley, Realtor, GRISarasota, Florida 941-914-4914www.LindaHrealtor.comEmail: LindaHrealtor@gmail.com
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