I get this question a lot. Unlike the real estate crash that occurred from 2007-2009, where the thriving market was built on speculation and buyers getting sub-prime mortgages, this market is much more sound from the perspective that it hasn’t been investor driven, and most buyers have either paid cash or taken out a smaller percentage of financing. As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, people found they could work remotely, and having sold homes up north at significantly higher prices, decided there was no reason to wait until their retirement years to move to Florida. However, with prices having risen due to high demand and low inventory levels it would appear more likely that the meteoric rise may become more gradual and that buyers will become more patient, waiting for there to become more of a balance in the market than the buying frenzy that has occurred the past two years. Where I do see signs that inventory levels could remain low stem from sellers who would like to take advantage of the market, but don’t want to jump into the pond of other buyers desperately looking for a home. The feeling the profits attained could be offset by the increased price they would be paying for their next home, may not be worth putting their home on the market for sale. Could that limit new listings coming on the market, resulting in fewer homes available for sale? Possibly, but natural disasters, epidemics and the loss of loved ones can put what is important in life in a different perspective. The desire to downsize, travel more, or moving back closer to family will continue to bring new inventory on the market and the willingness we are seeing from buyers looking for a better quality of life I feel bodes well for the market to remain strong this new year.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Do you remember the line in National Lampoon’s movie Christmas Vacation, where Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, was expecting his year-end bonus to build a swimming pool? Gathered around him in anticipation of his big bonus check arriving any moment was his entire family and of course his Cousin-in-Law, Eddie, who according to Clark said, “his heart was bigger than his brain.” When Clark opens up what he thinks is his Christmas bonus only to find out he is enrolled as a member in the “Jelly of the Month Club,” Eddie blurts out, “The gift that keeps on giving.” While this movie has become a Christmas tradition our family watches each year, Eddie’s line is one of the most quoted of all those we have collectively memorized and perhaps the one that has the most significant meaning to me.
Not that I have aspirations of joining the Jelly of the Month Club, but many times this year I have been asked, “How has business been…it must be a great time to be a Realtor?” While it has been a good year, this business is far from shooting fish in a barrel, as anyone who understands the real estate market can attest, it is characterized by peaks and valleys. However, after almost 18 years in the business, I can honestly say there is something much more rewarding than just listing or selling a property; it is the friendships we’ve made along the way. To me, that is the true “Gift that keeps on giving.”
Through these friendships, we’ve been all over the world from Singapore and Vietnam to Europe and South America. We traveled through the back roads of our great country and journeyed the Intracoastal from Florida to New England. We’ve met politicians and have been to some of the most dangerous locations in the middle-east. “How did you get to do all of this in such a short life span you may ask?” While I’ve experienced some very special places when traveling through our country, unfortunately the closest I’ve gotten to Europe was a road trip to Massachusetts. Sarah Palin may have claimed to see Russia from her home in Alaska, but through the intimate stories told by clients who became close friends we feel as if we experienced these real-life stories and adventures, many of which we hope to take ourselves someday.
Everyone has a story or knows of someone who has a storied background, but when you have the opportunity to spend as much time with clients as we do, their histories come to life in a way that makes you feel as if you went through a time with them. I remember one client who had been in the largest naval battle to this day. He was on a 500 ft. aircraft carrier in the Philippines and to listen to his story of the incoming fire they took, you couldn’t help but feel you were right alongside him. Other clients spoke of Communist regimes they escaped and how their families lost everything they had to come to our country. Others have been in the entertainment industry, some have been writers and still, others have created products that are widely used today. There have been CEOs and those that rose from poverty to creating highly successful businesses, going on to mentor others so they could have an opportunity to better themselves. We’ve also heard countless stories from physicians, who without fanfare traveled abroad to many third world countries administering to those in need, and did I mention a Grammy award-winning Pastor whose lives he continues to touch each day? For those of you whose stories have appeared in our newsletters you know who you are, and how your stories have had such an impact on my life, as have so many others.
Some people measure success by the sales teams they put together and the volume of business they claim they do, but we’ve learned there is something much more important to life that isn’t found in the profit and loss column.
We live in a time where the media is focused more than ever on negative news and the things that divide us, not the common ground that can bring us together. When I see thousands of people turn out in mass to simply watch the lighting of a Christmas Tree or eight Clydesdale horses pulling a wagon through the streets of our downtown with two men and a Dalmatian sitting alongside them, I think to myself, “aren’t these the timeless pleasures we seem to embrace, and innately desire to enjoy?”
Through our business the people we meet that become such good friends, are the “gift that keeps on giving,” and why we consider ourselves so blessed to be involved in such a wonderful business that gives us that opportunity every day. Thank you, for making every year so special to us, and for always reminding us, what is important in life; our relationship with each other.
We wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas, a very happy holiday season, and much good health and happiness this coming New Year.
-Gary & Gail Cardillo
NEW Flood Insurance Info
The new FEMA flood changes are on everyone’s mind these day, as the increases went into effect on October 1, 2021. Instead of relying on “flood zones” as a determination of your flood exposure, the new system is referred to as “Rating 2.0,” which is a single risk modeling system that takes into consideration area and proximity to harbor, replacement coverage, frame vs. block construction along with slab vs. pilings. Also considered is prior flood loss. Banks may use flood zones, but insurance companies are going by the new rating system. So what does all of this mean you ask? Well, if you have an existing flood policy your flood insurance will increase approximately 18% per year until you reach the figure FEMA has established as the target figure for your property. If you don’t have flood insurance then you will be subject to the new valuations FEMA has established. When buying a home it is important to find out in the beginning of your negotiations if the current seller is carrying flood insurance, as this will impact your investment in the home significantly. To give you a better understanding of the difference in buying a home where the seller is carrying flood insurance verses one where they aren’t, recently we had a buyer purchasing a home on a gulf access canal. They were quoted $6,700.00 to obtain flood insurance for the home. Thankfully, the seller’s insurance carrier said their policy could be assumed, which saved our buyer a significant amount of money as the seller was paying $1,080.00 for flood insurance. It is important to find out up front when negotiating the purchase of a home if the current homeowner is carrying flood insurance and if the policy can be assumed.Unfortunately, FEMA appears to be taking it out on Florida as Floridians have paid in 4 times the amount of claims that have been made. Where most of the country will see decreases in flood insurance rates, Florida will continue to see increases. Hopefully our state legislators will come up with a solution that will provide a more fair and balanced metric for calculating flood insurance rates.
The second major consideration for buyer and seller is the age of the roof. Many insurance brokers will share with you that in the years after Hurricane Irma struck Florida, there have been a bevy of insurance adjusters advertising and knocking on doors claiming they can get you a new roof. One such insurance broker shared with us that a home qualified for a new roof due to excessive hail damage. Not sure where in our area we had that kind of hail, but this is just one of the many questionable reasons how new roofs have been obtained. In order to protect themselves insurance companies are now putting limits on how long they will cover the roof before requiring a new one to be installed. Shingle roofs will have to be 15 years or newer as there are only 3 companies that will insure up to 20 years. Tile roofs, which most inspectors will tell you can last for 30 years or more, are now going to be required to be replaced after 20 years or perhaps slightly longer. Metal roofs will only be covered for 25-30 years and for older homes with more gradual pitch roofs that require a membrane type covering will now only be covered 10 years or less.
Whether you are the seller or buyer, flood insurance coverage and the age of roof are two major factors that you’ll have to consider when selling or buying a home.
Also, here is a link to find what Flood zone you lay in for Charlotte County: Find My Flood Zone
We Are One
Thanksgiving to me has always been the start of the holiday season. It’s a time where people seem to be a bit more appreciative of the things they’ve received and a desire to share those blessings with others. While we typically think of family and friends sitting around a large dining table decorated in a harvest motif, adorned with a variety of homemade dishes and a succulent roast turkey, I find in recent years my sentiments have turned more to ways we can share our abundance with others less fortunate. However, my thoughts this Thanksgiving season were inspired by a story I recently heard at church from a very special lady whose mission trip years ago to Nicaragua exemplified the true meaning of gratitude that will impact me for the rest of my life.Gwen Coté, is this special lady who grew up on a family farm in the small upstate town of Plattsburgh, New York. As a teenager, Gwen began to recognize “the place and importance of God in her life”. She said, “I felt a calling to serve the poor and to help people know God was loving.” Where some of us growing up were inspired to be policemen or firemen, Gwen always felt called to be a priest, but that wasn’t an option in the Catholic Church. With fleeting thoughts of moving to a church that would afford her that opportunity, the Catholic Church was where her soul was firmly rooted, and at age 18 Gwen entered the Religious Sisters of Mercy and served as a Sister of Mercy for the next 30 years. In 2006 God called Gwen to serve in a new direction where she continued her role as a Catholic school Principal until 2017 when she retired from education.
Gwen initially moved to Punta Gorda to care for her elderly mother who was suffering from age-related dementia, but needing to work, she added, “no one gets rich being a nun for 30 years,” she applied to Sacred Heart Church. Pastor, Jerome “Jerry” Kaywell recognized Gwen’s talents immediately and hired her to be his Pastoral Associate. Technically her role is defined as meeting the pastoral needs of the people of the parish however, to those who know her contributions her handprint can be found in almost every corner of the church. Gwen reflects, “Giving was a family thing. My Mom was very attentive to the needs around her and she seated the responsibility to help others deep in our hearts from my earliest memories. She would often adopt a project and we were always a part of the service.” She recalls one of the most “powerful” examples was when her mom “adopted” a man who lived a few miles from them. The man wasn’t related to them and didn’t have family to take care of him. Gwen’s mother decided that once a month they would bring him food she had frozen from what she made the family the month before. Then on a Saturday every month for years, they would clean his house, tidy his yard, plant flowers, and bring in wood, as he heated his home with only a wood stove. This care for others leads us to the inspiring story Gwen shared with the congregation that touched the lives of everyone present.
Looking back during the time she served as Principal of Seton Catholic High School in Plattsburgh, Gwen said for several years she had been involved with a group called “Mission of Hope.” Created as a result of a mission trip to Nicaragua that was inspired by one family from Nicaragua who attended the school to help their family back in their homeland recover from the mudslides from a devastating hurricane, this non-profit took on a “life of its own.” Today, Gwen adds, “it serves the people of Nicaragua in a multitude of ways from hospitals to eldercare, food to clinics and education to hope.” However, it was that trip to Nicaragua that left a lasting impression.
Gwen recalls, “Several times I was tasked with bringing a bag of rice and a bag of beans to the homeless families living in the woods. It was perhaps enough to feed a family of 5 for a week if they had light appetites.” She continued, “We would travel along the dirt road, and wherever there was a worn footpath into the woods, we would walk in and bring our simple treasures to these families. It never ceased to amaze me that before we were even back to the road, we would hear the people calling for other families who were deeper in the woods to come. They were not calling them to come to us to get rice and beans for themselves, but instead, they were calling them to come and share in the bounty they had received.” If this isn’t touching enough, Gwen reflected on a day when she was leaving one of the homes having delivered the bags of rice and beans, when she heard a little girl of about 3 years of age calling out to her. “She was stark naked and dirty from head to toe, running down the path after me. With enormous brown eyes and a smile that overshadowed the filth, she handed me a wildflower, hugged my leg, and whispered, “Gracias, Santa dama.” Thank you, holy lady.” Gwen said, “I didn’t feel much like a holy lady. I had given her family perhaps a couple of days of food. She gave me all she had.”
Gwen’s story reminded me of the bible story of the “Widow’s offering,” found in the twelfth chapter of the book of Mark, verses 41-44. It tells how Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were placed and watched the crowd putting money into the temple treasury. “Many rich people threw in large amounts, but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a few cents.” Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything; all she had to live on.”During our trying times, whether through the devastating effects of a hurricane or more recently the pandemic, there have been those who selfishly took more than they needed while others shared what little they had. As an educator, and now in the capacity as a Pastoral Associate, I asked Gwen if she had seen a marked difference in how people respond to adversity over the years. She responded by saying, “I think people are people and they are the same in every age. Our country often seems negative and divided right now and if that is what you focus on, that is what you see. But people are also amazingly generous and giving. We have seen that throughout the pandemic and over and again after any natural disaster. Where you look determines what you see. If you focus on the good that is what you see. We all choose what we focus on and how we respond. If we as a country can turn the prism we see through just a little we could easily see all the goodness and kindness taking care of one another.”
As our time came to a close, I shared with Gwen my thoughts on Thanksgiving and its significance to me. I asked if there is a life lesson or message she felt could be learned. She replied, “I think the message is simple. We are one. We are one people, on one planet with one set of resources. Whatever barriers we build between people and nations are temporary and somewhat of an illusion. We will be saved together or damned together. We are responsible for one another. We need to make the tough decisions and get to work making our world better for everybody. We are ONE.”
As I reflected on Gwen’s closing thoughts, I couldn’t help but reflect on that little 3-year-old girl with the flower whose gesture of gratitude left a lasting impression on me. I had to ask myself if I was doing enough to make a difference in the lives of others, not just once a year, but throughout the year. I realized more than ever, how blessed I was and the best way to show my gratitude was to help others in their time of need. After all, isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about?We wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving
What questions should I be asking when I am looking to hire a real estate agent?
If you’re looking to sell your home, you’ll want to hire an amazing listing real estate agent to help—and there are certain questions to ask so that you can pinpoint the right professional for you.
It’s smart to be picky! A great real estate agent can help find buyers to sell your home fast, and for more money. Make the wrong choice, and your listing might languish. Then, the lowballing bargain hunters come circling—it’s not pretty. Here are some questions I recommend you ask:
1. What are your credentials?
2. Do you specialize in this neighborhood?
3. How do you arrive at the listing price?
4. How much will selling my home cost?
5. How will we communicate?
6. How long will the process take?
As always I am here for you and will answer any question you may have to help make the transaction as smooth as possible.
Gary Cardillo
RE/MAX Harbor Realty
941.979.0939
www.flwaterfrontliving.cm
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While most people would like to talk about themselves, Gary and Gail have always put their clients first, and their diverse backgrounds have provided their clients an unparalleled level of service and knowledge throughout the past years.