NEW FLORIDA RESIDENT BLOG

Welcome to Florida. I like bingo!  There I said it, it's fun, often accompanied by a delicious dinner and there is a potential to win cash.  Many places in Florida have organized tournaments which somehow skirt gambling laws and I for one, love a good loophole!! Seriously, in neighborhoods when you may have a family with a newborn and a 90 year old couple living next door to one another, there aren't a ton of activities that everyone can participate in together.  Except Bingo.  It's thought of as an old person's game but my 13 and 16 year old nieces love to play at Stoneybrook Country Club with us. Also, for newcomers to the state it's a great low pressure way to meet your neighbors and get the scoop on what is happening in the area.  (But not if you sit by me because I'm listening to the caller.  I mean, we go for fun but, if there is a chance to win a few dollars - we are all business.)      "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!" ©John Gau

Welcome to Florida. As most folks know by now, Florida was the first state into the recession and (thankfully, for me) the first state out.  With the inflow of retirement dollars, new residents and foreign investors the Florida Real Estate market is back, and growing at a healthy rate.  Bank financing is still tough, so many, many people are paying cash.  And on a weekly basis someone will ask me: "Can I get a multimillion dollar property for $200,000 or, $100,000 or, $50 and all of my Harry Potter Books?" It might surprise you that my answer is "Yes", except for the Harry Potter Book trade, you actually can live like a multimillionaire in Sarasota and only pay a fraction of the cost.  Case in point, I recently worked with a couple that were dying to live at the Ritz Carlton Beach Club on Lido Key, but did not have the $1.5 Million budget required to do so.   We ended up finding them a super cute 1970's condo near the Ritz and they joined the Ritz Carlton

Welcome to the Suncoast! When I first moved to Sarasota, I planned to open my bank account downtown and as I walked in realized they were getting robbed.  Being from a big city and having a banking background, I followed standard robbery protocol and slowly backed out of the bank, walked up to the security desk in the lobby and informed the guard the bank was getting robbed and to he should immediately dial 911. As I later explained to two detectives, the local paper and a news crew that drove down from Tampa - In my entire adult life, I had never been in a bank with men wearing polo shirts behind the teller line.  (Unless it was part of a planned heist by organized gangsters.)  Seriously, when I was a juniour executive with CitiBank, the Airconditioning in our building failed in July and one of my managers was sent home becuase he wore a short sleeve shirt to his office.  So you can imagine what I thought when I witnessed casually dressed men in 'employee only areas' at my

Welcome to Florida. Too often to count, I answer the question posed above.  Many times people will have lived their entire adult lives in single family homes and then move to an area where condominium living seems very attractive.  Especially if folks no longer want to cut their own lawns or, if they want live directly on the beach.  In Sarasota County right now for example, there are several options to live on the beach in condominiums starting in the $300,000 range.  Seriously, imagine waking up every morning and walking the beach before breakfast or, watching the sun drop into the ocean just before dinner.  Sounds like a great life but, to live it in a single family home could start in the low $1,000,000's depending on the beach. So the same backyard for $700,000 less?  Yes, that appeals to a lot of people. Of course, in the condo, you are sharing a building and yard with many different folks and have to ensure you have the correct personality to do so.  People can be fini