NEW FLORIDA RESIDENT BLOG

Welcome to Paradise. It seems that there have always been opportunities to purchase nice pieces of property in Florida.  A few years back things got out of hand when anyone that was seemingly able to fog a mirror, was granted a home mortgage without thoughts of repayment.  But let's face it, even if they purchased a property at the height of hysteria, and held onto it, today it is worth more.  So I guess the short answer is similar to when you should plant a tree.  The best time to buy real estate in Florida was 20 years ago, the second best time is today.   I was reminded of having a long term view when my son insisted on staying at practice long after everyone else had gone home, the 'feels like' temperature was above 100 degrees and he had sweated through all of his pads.  He was exhausted and struggling physically so, I tried to get him to go and get a Frosty with me but, he was adamant that he had more work to do if he wanted to make it to the Olympics...

Welcome to paradise. I clearly remember the propane stove in my grandmother's kitchen.  It sat right next to the ringer washer so, I just figured it was from the 'olden' days when everyone used a match to ignite the gas in order to make an omelette.  It seemed dangerous to me but, I was never the type of kid to play with matches, probably because I knew the tanks were right outside the kitchen window.  Maybe the world was more dangerous then, maybe not.  I do know that there was only one place to buy a stove in my grandmothers town, so selection was NOT a big thing. It certainly is different now. A quick trip to Lowes can turn into an appliance review with the upper limits of any credit card tested.  Not exactly sure that is progress.  I mean the last I heard a propane stove with a manual light is probably one of the longest lasting appliances in America.  Then again, selling new construction homes becomes an exercise in kitchen design, more often than...

Welcome to Paradise. Today I was talking to a friend of mine up north who is extremely happy that schools did not open where he lives (Massachusetts).  He told me that although no child in the entire state (which has nearly the highest per capita Covid death toll in America) has died of this virus, he just didn't want his child to "suffer".  It sounded kind of reasonable to me, until I was schooled by my five year old. Seriously. Today was one of those days when Rocky had a bad fall which not only hurt but, left his face scrapped, bloodied and bruised - in fact, it is the first time this summer that he has cried at a skatepark because of his injuries.  Once he stopped crying, he (slowly) got back on his board and kept working on a new trick because he has met an Olympian and has new goals (more on that later). So after another hour of practice we are walking to the car and Rocky asked me if I was proud of him for getting back up and skating.  He told me that he doesn...

 Welcome to Paradise. Sometime after September 11, 2001, I was showing property in a Gulf Front tower on Siesta Key.  My buyers loved the view but harbored a real fear that they would be vulnerable to aircraft attack because they, like many in the country, saw the devastation that September 11th brought.  Long story short, my buyers did not buy the $300,000 condo we looked at, they opted for a single family home.  I thought of them today because that same condo came on the market for a bit under $1million this morning.   In general, it has been my experience that bad headlines can have a short term impact on real estate values but, the impact doesn't last too long.  I think that's probably the consensus for most people in and out of real estate.  It makes sense, it's logical, especially after you turn 30 years old - I probably would not have believed this hypothesis in my 20s.  I do now, essentially making a decision based on another persons' fear...