Keller Williams Realty Professionals, Fort Lauderdale
“As massive floods from Tropical Storm Harvey sweep Texas, you might be wondering how fast you can buy flood insurance. Home insurance doesn’t pay to repair damage caused by flooding. You’ll need to buy separate flood insurance to cover tropical storms, torrential rain and overflowing rivers.”
Lynne McChristian, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry organization, said that Florida homeowner insurance rates shouldn’t be affected for one simple reason: rates are set at the state level and are based on what happens within the state. “What happens in Florida stays in Florida, what happens in Texas stays in Texas and that is the way it works in every state,” she said.
Your Guru gets asked every now and again to help a buyer, who fancies himself/herself an investor, locate a condo that can make a little income (or perhaps a lot of income) on the side. You should know that there are virtually NO condos in the area that allow AirBnB, VRBO or short term rentals.
Here’s the reason: The over-supply of condos in 2005 heralded the “beginning of the end’ of the condo building boom in South Florida. We led the nation in the real estate “bust” and in turn, led the nation in the recovery.
Cash investors bought up the bargain-priced inventory and used those condos as rental properties – in any way they saw fit. There were traditional long-term rentals, but those investors also treated their investments like short-term rentals and even as alternative to hotel rooms.
Lending on condominiums ground to a halt because so many condos had more tenants than owners. Most lenders didn’t see condominiums as viable investment for their lending portfolios – they believed they’d lose money on every one of them.
Condominium boards also got an earful from angry residents as tranquil buildings turned into transient communities and party-pads. Associations responded by enacting rules requiring anything from a year of ownership before an owner could rent their unit, to restrictions on lease length, and outright bans on short-term leases. In most cases here in South Florida you’ll find a condominium association will have a minimum of a 6-month lease, or 12 month lease, or a restriction that a unit may only be leased once or twice per year.
Our marketplace and season has matured as well. We don’t get as many snow-birds as in the past who drove the short-term rental demand. The Fort Lauderdale and Miami metro areas are not as tranquil as they once were, contributing to the decline in demand for quiet short term housing.
I had a conversation with a colleague this week about using lock boxes. She hadn’t been able to convince her seller that using a lock box was advantageous and whether having a lockbox on her door was even necessary to sell her home. Those of you that don’t know, a lockbox is an apparatus that usually holds your front door key securely inside; your listing agent will attach it (the lockbox) in a convenient location somewhere on or near your home, making it very easy for the buyer’s agent who wants to show your home to gain access. To get the key out of the lockbox, a Realtor would use an electronic key or an app on their smart-phone to access the lockbox.
In the South Florida market, Real estate agents have become very accustomed to lockboxes and almost expect them for the convenience they afford. Often agents will schedule several homes to show with their buyer and will want to have the ability to quickly go from one property to another without having to worry about keys. If your home is one of the few properties without a lockbox, it puts a monkey wrench in the flow of things. Homes without lockboxes run the risk be tagged “Difficult to Show.”
Without a key on site (in a lockbox) there are usually only few other ways to gain access to your home; none of which agents care for:
Agents don’t have time to worry about keys nor do they like having to schedule around other people’s time such as the home owner or listing agent. Thinking you will always be home or that your listing agent will always be available to accommodate another Realtor’s showing schedule is not realistic. A showing can happen at anytime and arrival time to your home is usually within a broad time-frame which fluctuates within a half hour to an hour. It is usually inconvenient for the listing agent to sit around your home waiting for a showing, and it’s often challenging for a buyer agent to keep a precise schedule.
Agents are like water, they follow the course of least resistance. If your home is difficult to get inside an agent may drop it from their showing schedule.
What would be your objection to a lockbox anyways: Safety? Security? Someone coming in your home unannounced? The South Florida MLS uses a lockbox system call Supra. It is very secure and affords Realtors many options controlling the lockbox functions. Once you see the lockbox firsthand and understand how secure it is (holding your key inside) and all the control you and your listing agent have over others having access to the key inside. The box itself is virtually indestructible and it would be far easier for a nefarious intruder to break down your door instead of trying to gain access to a lockbox. Going that extra step to assure your home accessible at any given time will go along way in helping you sell your home.
Realtors in South Florida using the Supra system can:
You can ask your agent to automatically block off showings (and disable your lockbox) for any specific time or recurring time frames. Unless otherwise objected, I like to restrict home showing times to fit between: 9AM to 7PM daily; before or after that time-frame Realtors can not automatically schedule a showing online and the lock-box goes into complete lock down – The lockbox is completely disabled and no one has access. It’s also good to know for example, when when an owner has a vacation home and wants to “use” it for the weekend they can block out times days or weeks in advance. It’s simple to block out those days and time they plan on being at the property. Scheduling block-out times is very easy. Another option is the do not disturb feature. This gives a seller the ability to disable the lockbox ANYTIME desired.
You have total control when someone can use the lockbox. You can disable the lockbox on your property at any time – from the comfort of your home. Say for instance you are feeling a little under the weather, took the day off from work and are at home bedridden; you called your listing agent and asked them not to schedule any showings for the day but … you keep thinking about the key in the box outside. Not to worry, all you have to do is enter a simple code (provided by your agent) and that code will completely disable/lockout anyone that tries to get access until you turn off the DND function. You can keep it off for minutes, hours or days – you have total control over that lockbox.
Every Time your lockbox is accessed by a Realtor their unique electronic key instantly embeds their personal identification, date and time of access and the information is then transmitted wireless to Supra which can be accessed online. We always know who was at your property and when.
In addition to documenting who has accessed the lockbox, the Sellers’ Gateway also solicits agents’ feedback about your home, keeps a tally of all the showings you had, and will even show future showings. Our sellers love this feature and it’s only possible when using both the Supra lockbox and our ShowingTime scheduling system.
Going back to the question at hand – Should you use a lockbox when selling your home? Of course I feel strongly that it is in your best interest as a seller to use a lock box. A lockbox makes a home much more accessible to buyers and their agents and provides you with a complete and accurate record of showings. The key inside is safe and secure and you always have total control. When I visit for a listing presentation I will bring a sample lockbox with me. I will show you all the features of the lockbox firsthand and how we interact with it.
Having a lockbox at your home increases the number of showings and foot traffic through your property. The buyer’s agent still needs to make an appointment with the listing agent to show the house and no one can gain access to your home without your knowledge.
Low down payment buyers are often surprised to learn that a condominium might not be a good fit for their loan program. Single family homes are not always affordable in areas where buyers are looking, so looking for town-homes might work – if you can find the right one. Some townhomes are just like single family homes as far as ownership is concerned; and others behave more like condominiums. Learn about the differences in the video: