The perception of taxes being considered high or low depends on where the person is from.  Remember you are buying a home that has a backyard that includes Charlotte Harbor, Gulf of Mexico and the oceans of the world not to mention the thousands of miles of beautiful waters to explore locally.  This does come at a cost.  For someone coming from New Jersey, our taxes are low yet someone coming from Idaho with 20 acres of land may observe our taxes as high.  In the scheme of waterfront homes on saltwater around the U.S., with sailboat access or power boat access (bridges to go under) our prices are fair.

First, you cannot always assume that the county appraiser’s office listed tax basis will be the taxes you will get after purchase.  Like everywhere in the country, after the purchase, a home or land value is reassessed to current market value.  A primary factor when looking at homes that are basically equivalent but have a sizeable disparity in their taxes is normally related to being homesteaded (an easy process to accomplish after the sale).  Homesteading a home, requires you to live there at least 6 months and a day along with a few other factors.  So, if your home goes up in value 10% in one year, the most the county would increase your property is 3% if it is homesteaded.  This can save you lots of money over time!

So, how do you predict what your taxes will likely be after the purchase.  First, I find the county office is not always the best place to get this information.  Depending on who you talk to you might get the wrong information, perhaps leading you to a decision on home purchase not based on reality.  Often, the county will overstate the taxes and often won’t answer the question because they don’t know what the millage rate will be or some other reason.

The best way I find is to have your realtor identify a similar house that sold the prior year and was reassessed.  Their tax number will likely give you a strong foundation for predicting what your taxes will be after closing.

The post What Is The Cost Of Ownership Of A Waterfront Home in Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles?  Part 2 TAXES appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

Let’s start with an example of insurance costs.  By example, here were the insurance costs from a home I sold in July 2020 on 5011 Captiva Court in Punta Gorda Isles.  This home was a fixer upper built in 1982, 2169sf under air, 3/2/2 with pool.  Reading directly from the Declaration Page with St. Johns Insurance for coverage between April 2020 and April 2021:

Total basic premium for homeowners $3,247 (without wind mitigation credits)

There was a wind mitigation credit (more on that later) of $1,503 plus an additional $44 for having an Alarm or Fire Protection Credit.

With a few additional incidental charges and the credit, the homeowners policy premium was $2010.  That is a very good number!  Included in this number was protection for hurricane damage with a small deductible.  As such, you do not need a third policy for hurricane coverage like some areas.  The two insurances you need here are homeowners and flood insurance.

Important to know that the Wind Mitigation Credit was huge because the home had met most of the requirements which includes hurricane shutters, nail patterns on roof decking and many other factors.  The Wind Mit is something that you will need to have done as soon as you put a home under contract.  This is the only way you can know what your real insurance costs will be.

Flood Insurance

It is imperative that you know this cost during your inspection phase of the purchase.  Just in case the cost of flood is astronomical.  However, that is very unlikely!

For the subject house, Flood insurance was a modest $1,787.  This is based on the measured flood elevation of the home when compared to what is prescribed by FEMA.  The prescribed amount of elevation for a home can be found in the Charlotte County Tax Records, www.ccappraiser.com  Just put in the property address and you will find what the required elevation height of the home was at the time of the original building of the home.

IMPORTANT:  I always establish what flood insurance costs are during the due diligence period (where your escrow money is refundable) just in case the home was built below the prescribed elevation.  I have only seen this once in my 20 year career as a realtor in Punta Gorda.  Also, its important to know that many of the oldest waterfront homes were built at a very low elevation and the flood costs might be a factor in your decision making.  Homes in the 1960’s and some in the early 70’s may have higher flood insurance costs.  You will always know what your are getting working with me.  I am an expert in waterfront home purchases and know the ropes.

Very Important:  Most often the flood insurance policies and sometimes homeowners policies can be transferred from seller to buyer.  This is a big deal!  The seller has to sign a simple document agreeing to it and normally will save you lots of money.

The post What Is The Cost Of Ownership Of A Waterfront Home in Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles?  Part 1 INSURANCE COSTS appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

With that said, I never had a strong opinion as to how the creation of Buckley’s Pass, making a shorter boat ride into the harbor would affect property values.  With that said, it is implied I was not convinced it would, so I decided to look at current market trends as presented below.

Home Comparison

The metric I chose for comparison to the Bird Section’s currently long boat ride to open water was in contrast to the old (or original) sailboat section.  The old sailboat section in PGI has the closest access to the harbor, with deep water.  Most travel times to the harbor are 10 minutes or less for the old sailboat section.  Most travel times from the bird section to the harbor are 40 minutes or less with some much longer at over an hour at the north end of the bird section.

Looking at the 2018 home sales statistics from the MLS database, I chose to consider sales that involved only 3+ bedroom homes with a pool, which constitute the largest number of homes in either location.  Here are the stats:

Bird Section:  48 sales (as of December 1, 2018) at a median sales price of $520,000

Old Sailboat Section:  40 sales (as of December 1, 2018) at a median sales price of $465,500

So, the median sales price was significantly higher in the bird section and the total number of sales was higher.  The people that live in the bird section bought their home knowing that they might have a long boat ride out.  Obviously, they would not have bought if they didn’t like the house and location and most of these homes were not new construction.

You can read into this what you want but does this make you think property values will go up once Buckley’s Pass has been created?  There is a lot more vacant land in the bird section than the old sailboat section.  If shortening the boat ride times in the bird section occurs will this affect the lot values in the old sailboat section since they won’t be the only location in town with really short boat ride times?

The post Sales Comparison Bird Section to Old Sailboat Section in PGI: Will Buckley’s Pass Increase Property Values? appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

The estimated cost is 2.5 million which will be paid for through a special assessment to be appropriated through 2,622 home owners that apparently will benefit from this new channel.  The purpose of this channel is to connect the Bird Section of Punta Gorda Isles to Alligator Creek and shorten the boat ride time to open water significantly.  See the map below for where the channel will be cut.

Previously, in my research there was mention of environmental factions that had the project under review and required approval but I have not heard any mention of issues with this.  The city has printed time lines for every step so it appears there are no expected hurdles.  The engineering firm Hans Wilson started on this back in 2015 and was recently contracted for the final engineering phase.

With all of this said, it looks to be almost a certainty that this project will go through!  Boaters will definitely be happier with shorter boat ride times out to the harbor!

If you are a property owner in Punta Gorda Isles and particularly in the Bird Section, I have done a statistical analysis of sales there compared to the fastest section out to open waters.  You can email me and I will share with you my findings on current sales information.  You will likely be surprised.  The City of Punta Gorda I expect in time will see fit to increase taxes in the Bird Section because the property should be worth more once the project is complete.  Time will tell how much more, if any property values will increase.  At the moment watefront lot sales in the Bird Section are experiencing no signifiant increase in sales price and sales have remained flat for over 2 years.

The post BUCKLEY’S PASS aka Bird Section Cut-Thru DECEMBER 2018 UPDATE and MAP appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

This Blog is a reprint from a few months back but was a bit hard to find in my Blog section.  As such I have reprinted here and this and all future Blogs regarding this topic will be found under Buckley’s Pass.

The project that has been underway for 3 years to add a waterway exit from the Punta Gorda Isles (PGI) “Bird Section” to Alligator Creek has taken on many names over the start of the project.  Call it “PGI Bird Cut-Through”, “Alligator Creek Bypass”, “Additional Harbor Access Project” or “Bird Key Cut” has now had a name change!

It is now called: “The Buckley’s Pass Project” or “Buckley’s Pass” and it looks like this navigational short cut will actually happen!  First, the new name is to honor the late Capt. John Buckley who was instrumental in making this come to fruition.

Based on my research, the City of Punta Gorda cut a deal with land owner Robert “Buckey” McQueen and the land purchase was approved on August 22, 2018.  This parcel is a land mass that separates a navigable portion of the bird section canal system to the waters of Alligator Creek.  This 4.24 acre parcel is being purchased for $440,000 and the city will create a channel through it that is 1,446 feet long and 60 feet wide.  This connection to Alligator Creek will shorten the boat ride from all homes in the locally named “Bird Section” of Punta Gorda Isles and my guess is it will cut the boat ride time in nearly ½ from the ride it takes to go out (for many homes) to the existing Ponce de Leon channel to the north and west.  This location also places the mariner several miles to the south on the harbor and of course, closer to the Gulf of Mexico.  With that said there are a lot of advantages to use this short cut.  One of key factors that has been missing in the mention of this bird cut through is WATER DEPTH!  They talk width and length but not depth!  Of course, to a serious boater like myself this would be one of the first points to be highlighted but I anticipate a minimum of 6 feet mean low water (MLW).  Anything less would prohibit many large sailing craft and deeper draft power boats from using it.  Add to that I believe it was no coincidence that Charlotte County decided to DREDGE Alligator Creek earlier this year to a new DEEPER water depth that was prescribed to be dredged to 6 feet MLW.  With these depths, they match the city’s prescribed maintenance depth of 6 feet MLW at Ponce de Leon channel.

For those not familiar with the “Bird Section” of PGI, this area got its name because all of the streets are named after birds.  Whether it is a shore bird or upland game bird you will find an interesting mix of names.  This section of Punta Gorda Isles is the newest section within this Punta Gorda neighborhood with most homes being built in the late 80’s to current and with that it has a newer appearance with the absence of homes built in the 60’s and 70’s that can be found in other parts of PGI.

Other important issues that have been met with this project are:

Army Corp of Engineers approved the cut through on August 7, 2018 (Permit NO. SAJ-2016-02715 (SP-KRD).  This was a big hurdle to overcome.

One approval that was previously reported was necessary was the NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES.  I have not heard mention of this and wonder if this is still an outlying issue.

One other point on this project that I have contemplated is that the channel they are cutting is only 60 feet wide.  Granted this should be fine for most vessels that pass in the channel, but more would be better.

The big deal is that it looks like the Bird Section cut through is actually going to happen!  Exactly when no one has reported as the City of Punta Gorda is now figuring out how to assess the property owners in a fair manor to cover the cost of the project estimated at approximately $2 million to complete.  Also, the date of the actual land purchase has not been determined either.  Of course, once completed I would expect the city hopes to assess bird section taxes at a higher millage rate since they will have a shorter boat ride time out.

For sailors and power craft this area of Punta Gorda Isles will become more attractive if a shorter boat ride is important to you.  It remains to be seen if Buckley’s Pass increases property values.

The post PGI Bird Section Cut Through, Harbor Access Project, Buckley’s Pass UPDATE! appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

The short answer is to use a local lender in the area you are making a purchase.  If you are buying in Charlotte County you are better off with a lender in that county.  Lenders work with local appraisers and with that comes knowledge and experience on both the lender and very importantly the appraiser.

Appraisers on waterfront homes mess up many deals!  Once you have committed to buying a waterfront home you will become emotionally involved at some level.  I don’t care who you are its going to happen.  Living the dream you have always thought about will permeate your soul once you have signed your purchase agreement to buy your home.  I say all of this because some folks don’t always follow the realtors advice on choosing a lender and it always ends up with more heartache and stress than is necessary for everyone involved.

Many home buyers wish to use their favorite lender from back home or perhaps they have worked with in running their business and they want to be loyal.  Some folks love their big bank such as Bank Of America or Wells Fargo.  My simple words are DO NOT USE A BIG BANK!

Here are the issues with using an out of area lender or a big bank lender.  First, if they are not doing their job, I cannot walk up to their doorstep and ask for accountability.  There are some variables in a waterfront purchase that affect value that an out of area lender will not understand.  An out of area lender also will utilize an “appraiser pool” for southwest Florida.  This means you quite possibly might have an appraiser come from Tampa, Naples or who knows where to place a value on your home.  This causes problems.

Out of area appraisers (including appraisers from the adjacent counties of Lee to the south and Sarasota county to the north), do not always understand important factors such as:

Sailboat water versus powerboat

Boat ride times, short versus long and the effect of the home’s location

Small seawall versus large seawall

Deep water versus shallow water

Distance to heart of town, the value of this

There are other factors that sometimes are overlooked and cause appraisal issues but these are the big ones that can cause problems.

The other biggest problem with lenders that are not local is simply accountability.  Lenders cause more stress than any other component of a waterfront home purchase!  Big banks will involve many departments and it is normal for someone to drop the ball and no one there really cares.  The big banks often run a week to 3 weeks late on a closing.  Many realtors/home sellers will not accept an offer that involves a big bank.  That is quite a statement!

I write this blog with only good intentions that you will have a smooth transaction working with me or someone else.  I have no special interest or work in conjunction with any lender so there’s only good will in this commentary for you.

The post Choosing A Mortgage Lender For A Waterfront Home Purchase appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

Most people coming to southwest Florida to live the waterfront dream know that when they find the right home they will be doing a home inspection.  More than likely they have been through the drill on northern home purchases and may/may not had good experiences in the past.  Most come with many concerns and get information on the internet regarding things to worry about on a waterfront home purchase.

Many of the things they have learned through the internet and television up north are hyped up and often there is no need for concern.  Some of the things they should worry about won’t even appear on the radar screen.  I take the home inspection seriously and advise my customers on all aspects of homes on the water and what to watch for.

A sailboat access waterfront home and a “power boat” waterfront home have distinctions worth pointing out regarding docking, waterways, depths, etc. but for now the focus will be on the house home inspection.

First, with over 16 years of nearly 100% waterfront sales, I have never found it to be an advantage to my customer for them to find a home inspector on their own.  Some folks coming from bigger city areas simply don’t trust as much and worry about the home inspector not being neutral and as a result pick their home inspector (ignoring my recommendations) based on home inspector blogs, websites, etc.  Not once has this worked in their favor.  Typically, they end up not feeling the inspector was very thorough and often the cost is higher than truly competent inspectors.  I have only a few out of perhaps a hundred inspectors serving the area that I feel are good at their job and fairly priced.

In addition to the home inspection, the inspector can do a Wind Mitigation Survey and 4-Point Inspection at an additional charge each.  These 2 items are often needed for insurance purposes.

My next blog will cover the most important aspects for consideration in a home inspection.  I will also cover defects or issues that are quite likely to be discovered in nearly every home inspection and which are to worry about and which issues are not a worry.

The post Home Inspections on Waterfront Homes:  What Is Important!  PART 1 appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

This is a very common thought when wanting to live the Florida dream if you are a boater.  Waterfront homes come at a higher cost because of access to Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf.  It’s all about the location and after wanting to live on the water my entire life in Maryland I finally satisfied the dream over 16 years ago.  It’s just as amazing today as it was then and I still can’t believe I am so lucky to live on the water!  My backyard is really the harbor, gulf, beaches, intracoastal waterway and the rivers.

Many people come here from around the U.S. that own a large home that is very upscale.  Perhaps their home is worth $450k in Texas and they have dreamed of having a sailboat behind their house in Punta Gorda.  This amount of money will buy a nice house here but it will not be the “Mcmansion” that they were accustomed to.  Some people place more importance on living on the water over having the perfect house and others have to have a spectacular house as to what they always have been accustomed.  To have both the water and spectacular house requires an adjustment in thinking on what you will have to spend.  If the desire for a house of perfection persists, some will consider an inland home with thoughts of mooring their vessel at a local marina.  This is certainly a nice option.  The marina’s will be close to your residence so getting there will not take much time but you will sacrifice the ability to tinker with your boat and wander back and forth from your garage with tools in hand.  This is pretty special I must say and I get great pleasure in seeing my boat(s) at the dock, I never tire of the water view which includes my boats, never.

Let’s look at the cost of docking your boat at marina’s in Punta Gorda.  There are 3 options as shown below.  In general you can expect to pay $12.00-$13.50 per foot on an annual basis.  So a 40 foot vessel at $13.00 per foot will cost you $520.00 per month to keep your boat in a slip plus electric and taxes.

For my way of thinking, this might be considered a 1/3 of a small house payment that never goes away with no return on investment.  If you factor this cost into the inland home you purchase you just might find spending more money up front on the house and have your boat at your own dock might be a better option for you.

Call me and let’s talk it through.  Living the dream in Punta Gorda or Port Charlotte is going to be good as long as you are close to the water.  These are waterfront towns and we all love it here.

Laishley Marina

Fishermans’ Village Marina

Daily: $2.25

Monthly: $15.50

Annual: $13.50

Burnt Store Marina

• Daily$2.00 per foot/day + $5.00/day for electric
  • Discount for groups of 10 or more transient boats
• Weekly$ 8.00 per foot/week + $5.00/day for electric
• Monthly$16.50 per foot/month + electric per month
• Seasonal(6 months) $14.50 per foot/month + electric per month
• Annual$13.50 per foot/month + electric per month
• Live-Aboard$150/month
• All rates plus 6% tax.  Rates are subject to change without notice.

The post Buying A Waterfront Home Versus Keeping Your Boat In A Marina appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

When purchasing a waterfront home you want to be certain about the condition of your waterside appointments.  The dockside bulkhead can be either a concrete seawall, rip-rap rock, natural mangroves or a fiberglass bulkhead material.

Seawalls:  If you buy a home in the incorporated city of Punta Gorda than the city is responsible for the maintenance of the seawall.  A nice perk and the canal depths are also the responsibility of the city as well.  Seawalls in other parts of Charlotte County are owned by the home owner.

Punta Gorda Isles/ Burnt Store Isles Seawalls:  Since these are city owned you don’t have too much to worry about.  The city has a grading system on which seawalls need replaced in advance of their predicted date of expiration so to speak.  One important thing for you to know as a purchaser of a waterfront home:  In nearly all cases your existing dock and boat lift will not be affected by the replacement of the seawall or repair of the cap.  The seawall can be replaced without removal of these structures.  With few exceptions the docks are free-standing and of course, the boat lifts are as well.  If are interested in viewing a video that shows the seawall replacement process, copy/paste this link from the canal maintenance department in Punta Gorda:  http://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/services/canal-maintenance/canal-maintenance-video-series

General Charlotte County Seawalls:  When buying a waterfront home in Port Charlotte and other unincorporated areas of the county you better be working with a smart realtor that knows what to look for.  Many of the seawalls in this county are well past their prime and some are just in bad shape and are a huge financial liability after the purchase.  Many of the home owners don’t realize how bad their seawalls are so they don’t disclose it.  I know what to look for and getting an opinion from a marine contractor is often the right thing to do.  Unfortunately, unless the seawall has lateral cracks, bulging, leaning, etc. they will often tell you it may last 2 years or 10 but its near the end of its life.  There are many factors affecting a seawall including water depth, water flow, installation method/quality, concrete integrity, etc.  The key is to be aware of the seawall condition during the purchase inspection period.

Rip-Rap Seawall:  A common alternative to a concrete seawall and less expensive.  The marine contractor excavates the waterfront edge removing all vegetation.  Than places a synthetic barrier land side, places rocks from into the water to the land elevation and sometimes pours concrete to hold everything in place.  These work very well and seem to hold up to the test of time in my observations. Albeit, not as attractive but functional and easy to install a dock and boat lift as well.

Fiberglass Seawalls:  These were used a long time ago and now I am seeing them being installed in more recent times.  I am sure they are a less expensive alternative to concrete.  Basically, it is a corrugated material for strength that is banged down into the canal bottom.  Deadman anchors back into the land side hold it into place.  Stone and concrete are often backfilled behind the material to stabilize it.

The post Seawalls: Buying A Waterfront Home Guidlines appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.

Garage door rot:  The side door exit from the garage will often have rot at the door jamb on the bottom with rot also on the frame in the same area.  It happened on my garage door after it was replace within 7 years.  Largely, a cosmetic item.  There is something about the air flow that when the interior door opens a plume of air flows through the outside door and apparently traps moisture which causes the rot.  Fifty percent of the homes seem to have this when inspected if not more.

Circuit Breaker:  The most common siting on a circuit breaker box is double wiring a single breaker.  This is against code and should be resolved by an electrician, normally a minor issue unless there is no other room for another breaker switch.  On older homes (60’s-70’s) the worst case scenario with the breaker panel is if there is a Federal Pacific panel in place.  They have been identified as possible fire hazards and insurance companies will not insure a house with this panel so the entire panel would need to be replaced.

Roof tile issues:  Barrel tile roofs in particular often exhibit a few slipped or broken tiles.  Its an easy fix to glue them back in place or to seal the crack.  Cracks or slipped tiles may have occurred during a roof power washing.  This issue normally does not cause a roof leak because the rubberized membrane beneath it is the actual water barrier.

Cracked interior floor tiles/foundation:  Not uncommon for a few tiles to exhibit cracks which I have never seen to be related to a foundation issue.  In fact, I have never seen a foundation issue which is a common worry up north.

Corrosion on water heater valves, under sink piping:  About half the time the home inspector will site corrosion on copper fittings especially associated with the water heater and under sink plumbing fittings.  Rarely, ever a major issue.

Cracks in exterior block walls/stucco:  A very common observation that rarely is cause for concern.  Most often the cracks follow the concrete mud line between the blocks.  Primarily cosmetic and often the next time you paint the house you can fill in the cracks and paint over and they disappear.  However, if cracks penetrate the actual block and travel through multiple rows than further investigation might be required.

Cracks on concrete and pool decks:  You can expect this in most all houses and there is not much you can do about it and generally is not a worry.  If located on the pool deck, if cracks involve the coping stones around the edge and cracks are observed in the pool than an expert should be called in.

Minor plumbing leaks:  A common observation and often only requires a fitting to be snugged up.  Of course, sometimes a faucet may need replaced as well.  When an inspector traverses the house with a flashlight and inspects places we often don’t think about a minor leak here and there might be observed.

The post Home Inspections Waterfront Homes, Part 3 What Not To Worry About/Common Sitings appeared first on Sailboat Home Listings.