NEW FLORIDA RESIDENT BLOG

Welcome to Florida. Growing up in New England even our schools had basements we used.  February street hockey inside was a great way to distract kids when the temperatures were below freezing for weeks on end.  And  basements were also a great storage location in everyones' home. Today, when I have new clients from the Mid-West or New England buying on the Suncoast they always ask why we don't have basements in Florida.  (It's because of the sea level but, some houses, even on the ocean, have basements.) Some homes built on Stilts are the preferred architecture in flood zones and invariably have sub living areas that can be utilized as a basement, storage room or garage.  So we do have lots of places with basements here, you just need to know who to ask.... My Website

Welcome to Florida. If you have lived here for years, or came on vacation and decided to never go home (like me) you probably find yourself spending an inordinate amount of time outdoors at the beach, riding a bike, walking in your neighborhood or staring at a lake and trying to figure out if that 'bump' is part of a submerged 'gator.  It's always fun to be outdoors in Florida.  Today, which may be recorded as the hottest day of the year, we spent several hours in our pool and almost forgot to stop for lunch. But then we can inside and looked at our kitchen. We purchased our home a few years ago and were able to locate a renovated home in our favorite neighborhood.  The kitchen was great but I really didn't noticed because I was more focused on the 500 acres of recreational trails behind our house and not thinking about meals.  At any rate, when you have lunch or dinner today look at your kitchen and remember that's the first stop for someone interested in

Welcome to Florida (or try to remember when you were a newbie). If you are selling your Florida home you may forget what it was like before you were a full-time resident.  Now you have lived here for years and are upsizing, downsizing or moving to a new location you may find it's hard to remember what it was like, but I have some (Florida only) home selling advice. Pretty much everyone is aware that you should keep your house super clean, declutter everything and get stuff off the counters in the kitchen before you have potential buyers walk through.  But in this state you also MUST think about Palmetto Bugs.  They look like (german) cock roaches to non natives and many think that means your place is not clean. The extra step in Florida is usually a simple call to your bug guy, so you put your best foot forward.  Just put this on your to do list and impress every buyer who sees your home! My Website