Southwest Florida Real Estate - Collected Ramblings

The following are tidbits of information we've come across that may be of interest for buyers or sellers of Southwest Florida real estate.

• A year after the Cape Coral utility expansion project came under fire and the federal government launched an investigation, the costs for water, sewer and irrigation lines have dropped from about $22,000 to $13,690.
• A weakened dollar combined with the slow real estate market continues to attract foreign buyers to Florida. The state ranked #1 in a recent survey as the most popular place for foreigners to buy property.
• U.S. House Bill HR 920 - The Multiple Peril Insurance Act of 2007 – moved out of the Financial Services Committee and has the potential to dramatically change the Florida property insurance market by offering windstorm coverage in tandem with flood coverage through the national flood insurance program. A vote before the full House could come in September.
• Remember when the Sunday paper weighed about 5 pounds and was 60% real estate advertising? Well, not anymore. Our Sunday Naples Daily news has steadily shrunk in size week after week this year and now typically has only two sections containing real estate advertisements.
• Cape Coral's city council voted to keep its 2008 tax rate the same as 2007 - an overall millage rate of $4.94 per $1,000 of taxable property value. The rate could decline depending on the cities budget process but by law cannot exceed the rate set by the council.
• A recently approved Florida law allows voters to rescind their signature from a proposed citizens constitutional amendments should they have second thoughts. The new law gives signers of a petition 150 days to sign a second petition notifying the supervisor of elections that they want their signature revoked.
• The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a small business advocacy group says it will join the Florida Association of Realtors in campaigning for passage of the tax reform amendment in January.
• A new state law went into effect August 1, 2007 requiring all those individuals convicted as sexual predators or offenders to have numbers identifying them as such added to their driver's licenses or state identification cards. Individuals have until February 1, 2008 to comply with the law.
• State officials have postponed a public hearing over State Farm Insurance's plans to drop about 50,000 homeowner's policies to give the insurer more time to reply to subpoenas to produce requested documents.
• Some County property appraisers are crying foul over the rampant use of incentives by builders to drum up home sales. Many argue that sales prices recorded by the counties are being inflated by the value of these incentives, pushing up property taxes.
• Check your condominium documents! Many boards have adopted tougher standards for buyers to meet in order to be able to purchase in their communities.
• Have you ever seen your actual MLS listing? You'd be amazed how many don't even include a picture of the property.

Gulf Coast Associates, Realtors® is full service realty firm serving the needs of clients from St. Petersburg to Naples.

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