When it comes to purchasing a home, it can be challenging to understand how mortgage companies will view our financial situations in order to make lending decisions. Having a better understanding of this going into the home buying process is very helpful. So, let's take a look at how lenders view debt versus income.

Water quality has been a topic of interest in Florida lately. Naples Area Board of Realtors has been highly involved in keeping our area informed on this topic. To keep my readers and customers in the know, I am posting the NABOR Water Quality Newsletter and the link to the recent Water Quality Roundtable that took place recently.

Thanks to Hurricane Irma, we had some roof repair needs that we had to deal with. Our first round with the insurance company resulted in a denial to pay for our roof repairs because it didn't meet the 25% rule... however, we learned later that our roof tiles were no longer being produced and that the roof repairs needed were more than originally assumed... so we decided to try again with getting the insurance company to accept the claim and cover it. During this process, we came into contact with a number of roofing companies that were willing to take the lead on helping us. It was our first experience with having to consider the Assignment of Benefits, which led to some self-initiated research that I wanted to share with others.

Because most of the properties I have been the listing agent on sell quicker than competition and often for more, I have gotten the question quite a bit on why I think that is. Since the question has come up so frequently, I thought It was worth doing a post on this very topic that seems to have others scratching their heads.

Lennar has been on a building frenzy since acquiring WCI and CalAtlantic with Lennar signs popping up all over Naples. Perhaps you have noticed the construction that started on Livingston Road just North of Vanderbilt Beach Road. Lennar obtained approval in late 2017 and started construction on their newest community called Sereno Grove. 

Real estate transactions can be complex with lots of moving parts and considerations. There are a lot of factors, due dates, and financials involved. Here is a simple guide to explain the different types of fees and costs that are often involved in purchasing or selling property.

Most of the time it is pretty straight forward who needs to sign listing agreements and sales contracts for real estate transactions. But, what do you do when a property is owned as an LLC? This is a topic that requires legal guidance. Since I am not qualified to give legal advise, we will defer to the experts in this area. Sam Saad, a local real estate attorney, has shared some great guidance in this article he published today. His contact information is at the bottom of the article should you have any further questions on this topic.

How many different insurances are there with home purchases... home insurance, title insurance, mortgage insurance? In my last article, I shared information about Mortgage Insurance, which is in place to protect the lender. In this article, we will talk about Title Insurance, which is in place to protect the buyer.

Mortgage Insurance is a topic most people have heard of but many don't understand. What is mortgage insurance? Who pays for mortgage insurance? Is mortgage insurance required? Who does mortgage insurance protect? These and other questions are answered in this article.

It wasn't uncommon that there was a "natural" progression to everyone's home buying activity. You would start with something smaller that might work for you as an individual or a couple... a starter home it was called. Then you would work your way up as your family composition and financial situation changed. But, do you need to follow that same path or could you make your dream home your starter home?