Things to Know When Buying a Waterfront Home on Pasco's Gulf Coast

Owning a waterfront home is the goal of many Floridians who live near the coast.  Here on the Gulf coast of Pasco county we have 3 Gulfside cities that our customers look to when buying  waterfront home.  There are some specific things to think about whether you are interested in living in New Port Richey, Port Richey or Hudson on the water.

You need to know how buying a home on the water will affect

your financing.  Property taxes and homeowners insurance are higher on waterfront homes.  You will be required to have flood insurance as part of your home owners insurance and if the roof and windows are not up to wind resistance standards, you can see even higher insurance rates.  Your taxes and insurance are calculated into your Debt to Income Ratio or DTI.  In essence, your DTI is the difference between how much money you net each month and how much your expenses are each month.  You will need to speak with your lender to verify that your DTI can support the higher taxes and insurance.  Please don't think that means you can't live here and own a boat even if you don't buy a waterfront home. We have a number of free boat launches along Pasco county's Gulf coast. 

You will also want to evaluate what you must have in your waterfront home.  Your finances may dictate how much you can spend on extras for the home. Extras like a floating dock, a davit, repair of the seawall upgrading windows and exterior doors and other extras you may wan like a fish cleaning station.  You may already own a boat and you will need to verify that the canals are deep enough and wide enough for you to make turns in order to get out to the open gulf.  You should evaluate your situation and with your Realtor, discuss what you must have in the home before you head out looking.

We are here to assist you in Buying or Selling a waterfront home in western Pasco county Florida in New Port Richey, Port Richey and Hudson.  Contact us to discuss your real estate needs. 

5 Things Your Real Estate Agent May Do That Might Stop Your Home from Selling

Hiring the right real estate agent to sell your home

is important and you may not always know if you made the right choice in real estate professional.  There are a few things that almost all real estate agents do to advertise your home to attract buyers and their agents to your home.  These include an MLS (Multiple Listing Service) advertisement, web advertising, open houses and email blasts.  However not all agents do these things well and to the best of their ability.

1- Your homes MLS advertisement is syndicated to all of those real estate websites and the photos of your home that are in the MLS are the same photos that are published on all of those real estate websites so you will want to review the photos of your home before the agent shares them all over the internet.  Bad or Small photos will stop buyers from viewing your home.

2- You filled out and signed certain disclosures about your home, your home owners association and others.  Your "Sellers Property Disclosure" is important and your potential buyer must review and sign the disclosure before they write their offer.  Your agent has the ability to add disclosures as attachments to your MLS advertisement so the agents can give them your potential buyers.  Not having these disclosures available on the MLS means that the buyers agent must request them from your agent and if your agent is not available or quick to respond, the buyer may not view your home or make an offer on your home.  I recommend you ask that your agent attach these documents to your homes MLS advertisement.

3- You should be receiving feedback from the buyers who are viewing your home.  Your agent may need to follow up with the buyers real estate agent to get the feedback and if your agent is not organized and professional, they may not request this information which can be important to you in selling your home.  Not getting buyers feedback may hurt your homes sale. 

4- Your homes MLS advertisement has a section where your agent writes a description of your home and can point out positive things about your home which buyers and their agents read.  This written description is also syndicated out to websites along with the photos of your home.  You should request a copy of your homes MLS advertisement so you can be sure that your agent is doing your home justice in their advertising. 

5- Scheduling buyers appointments is of course super important.  If your living in the home you are selling and your agent needs to contact you to schedule the buyers showings and the buyers agent has trouble getting your agent on the phone to schedule the appointment you may have less showings.  I suggest you ask your agent if they use a showing appointment service that will always answer and always schedule the showings with you.  One of the most common complaints we have as agents is listing agents who do not answer their phone or cal back in a timely manner in order for us to show the home. 

You deserve excellent service from your Pasco county Florida real estate professional and you should always ask to see the advertising your agent is doing on your behalf.  Poor advertising and mis handling of appointments can result in fewer showings of your home and may cause your home to be on the sales market longer than necessary.  Keep in mind that the longer a home is on the market the less money it will eventually sell for since buyers know how long you have been listed and relate longer days on market to mean your home is less desirable then others. 

    

written by Michael J. Gallo

Now Is the Time to Buy a Home in Florida

Whether you are interested in buying a retirement home in Florida or you and your family are interested in relocating to a better climate or you want to make a move to enjoy less expensive living, now is the time to buy a home in Florida. We all know that mortgage interest rates are still low but they are rising and will not remain as low as they are now. 


 Florida offers a reasonable property tax rate and with the

Florida Homestead Exemption, homeowners enjoy a reduction in their homes taxable value and the security of knowing their home is safe from debtors. The Save Our Homes (Homestead Exemption) is just one more way Florida offers better tax rates to you and your family.  The county of Pasco in Florida offers lower taxes to residents when compared to it's surrounding counties. Pasco County Florida has many parks and recreation facilities for you and your family to enjoy as well as offering local beaches and free boat launch areas.

Now is the time to buy a home in New Port Richey Florida.  Although home values in New Port Richey Florida are on the rise as we return to a healthy market, homes are still highly affordable.  New Port Richey offers you riverfront homes, home on the gulf of mexico, gated retirement communities, golfing communities as well as condominiums and townhomes.  New Port Richey Florida has something for everyone and with it's old Florida charm and wonderful sense of community combined with a convenient commute to Tampa makes it a wonderful place to call home.

You may have many questions when thinking about moving

to Florida and I am here to get those questions answered.  Contact Me anytime to have all of your questions and concerns answered.  Remember, Now is the time to buy a home in Florida and New Port Richey or Trinity in Pasco county are 2 places you should take a good look at.
Written by Michael J. Gallo

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Recycling in Pasco County Florida

Recycling your family's used plastic containers, aluminum

cans, newspapers and so on is very important to our environment. Reducing your carbon footprint is important for our childrens future and our childrens, childrens future.  A large part of being "Green" and recycling is to reuse and re purpose the items we buy instead of throwing them out where they end up in a landfill. 

Pasco County Florida has 6 Recycling Centers available
New Port Richey Area Recycling                                                                     

(Accross from the Public Works Complex)
6420 Pine Hill Rd, New Port Richey

Port Richey Area Recycling 
(rear of the Tampa Bay Times Building)
11321 US 19, Bayonet Point

West Pasco Recycling Center
14230 Hays Rd., Spring Hill

East Pasco Recycling Center                                                                             

9626 Handcart Rd., Dade City

Holiday Area Recycling
Anclote Gulf Park
2305 Bailles Bluff Rd., Holiday

Land O' Lakes Area Recycling
Senior Services Center
6801 Wisteria Loop, Land O' Lakes
You can call any of these 6 Pasco County recycling locations for their hours of operation and guidelines for dropping off your recyclable materials. One Awesome way to recycle products is to get your kids involved and together you can create crafts with your kids from recycled materials. 

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written by Michael J. Gallo