NEW FLORIDA RESIDENT BLOG

Welcome to Florida. As a child I heard the story of the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock, making friends with the Native Americans and having a swell dinner to give thanks for their bountiful life.  I visited the park at Plymouth Rock and even saw the re-enactors and the animals that had been genetically engineered in reverse (so the cows had long hair like in the 1600's).  I thought it was the coolest thing ever and was excited it all happened so near where I was growing up! But then I started 6th grade. As you are probably aware, unless you attended a subpar elementary school, the Pilgrims didn't originally land at Plymouth Rock.  The actual story about landing on Cape Cod and the desperate search for fresh water is more interesting and carries more life lessons - but it is much more complicated so is glossed over until 6th grade. But the bigger lessons are still solid.  If you go to a new place, you need the help of the locals to start your life.  Yo...

Welcome to Florida. I have a customer that travels all over the United States on business and leaves his wife and daughter home alone for extended periods.  For Christmas last year, he gave them both 9MM handguns and lessons.  That's how guys' brains work.  But if you have you have young kids in the house, loaded handguns might not seem like the best idea in the world.  (It makes me feel uncomfortable and my son is too young to walk or hold stuff.) Plus, I sleep walk. In fact, I have actually fired a fully automatic machine gun when I was completely asleep.  SIDE NOTE: There is no worse way I know to wake up, than to be firing a machine gun and unsure of who or what you are shooting at.  On this backdrop, my wife suggested that I only have weapons in the home that  may be slightly less lethal while sleep walking. Since the stun laser guns on Star Trek haven't been invented yet, I decided to go with Native America weapons.  In a pinch they ...

Welcome to Florida. As a kid I remember one "Rage Against The Machine" type of sticker, that lots of kids liked, which was the "Skateboarding In Not A Crime" design.  It made a statement about how authority figures can make bad inferences about someone based on their activities or hobbies.  There was a news story this week about someone being questioned by police because he played Frisbee golf (seriously, you should Google it).  The message is essentially, judge someone by their actions not their interests.  It makes sense. At any rate, I thought about this recently because in parts of Sarasota, Skateboarding is a crime.  The police will get involved but, it's primarily downtown and more of a safety issue.  Of course, some people do think it's just a way to keep some neighborhoods, kid unfriendly.  I don't believe that, I'm more of an optimist.  I mean if I thought this sort of thing actually happened, I would have spent time trying to make my...

Welcome to Florida. A criticism that I've heard on more than one occasional about Florida Real Estate is that there is nothing incredibly unique.  Sarasota was truly founded just over 100 years ago, so unlike Boston, for example there are no homes dating from the 1700s.  SIDE BAR: If you've ever tried to renovate or insure a home built in 1750, you actually appreciate this fact. However, if you get more off the beaten path, particularly in certain waterfront neighborhoods you will be surprised at the various lifestyles you uncover.   I mean I have spent some time in Boston Harbor but  have never seen any particularly interesting floating commercial buildings. Or churches.   Floating Chapel, Sarasota, FL © John Gaudiano Florida Real Estate

Welcome to Florida. Sometimes people are surprised that (truly) our area has 30% or more of it's population above the age of 65.  I suppose now that most folks live past 80 years of age, that could make a neighborhood with a bunch of 60 year olds seem like a college campus. Okay, not really.  But you get my drift. The thing is, when people move here and ask if one particular neighborhood is "kid friendly" they usually want to know if there are other kids around for their kids to play with.  That's great, but having 6 surrogate grandparents on your street and no cold weather outside seems like it makes ANY NEIGHBORHOOD in Florida pretty kid friendly.  At least that's what Rocky and I think...... Rocky (kid neighborhood expert) Our Website

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!!" ...

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 ...