Relocating to the Sunshine State, Florida

Disney World, Busch Gardens, and many of Florida’s theme parks have capitalized their marketing efforts toward people who live in snowy parts of the country and are excited to come to Florida for a winter vacation. In addition to these companies marketing Florida sunshine, nowadays we also have social media influencing us. Having grown up in a cold-weather state myself, I understand how hard it is to see social media post about sunshine and beaches when you are shoveling snow off your driveway in a blizzard!

After a lifetime of watching Disney’s TV commercials and seeing your friends on social media enjoying the beach, many people make the decision to relocate to Florida!

One of the first things people notice is that Florida has a full dose of heat, humidity, and sunshine especially during our summer months. The rains are refreshing and offer nice relief from the heat.

​Flood Insurance

Homebuyers in Florida need to look into flood insurance on any house they consider buying. Because much of Florida is in low-lying areas, we do have a tendency to flood easily even during a medium sized rainstorm. Do your research and know what insurance is required on any house before you make an offer. A great government website that provides lots of flood information data on properties is Fema’s Flood Map Search Site. You can rely on this site to understand the flood risk of a home before you even make the first offer.

Use a Knowledgeable Lender

Because of unique situations like Down Payment Assistance, potential sinkholes, and Florida’s unique situations with termites it is important to utilize a lender who is familiar with Florida, our unique situations, and also the unique real estate laws we have here.

Home Inspectors

Hiring the right home inspector is a very important decision in the home buying process and one that should not be taken lightly. A home inspector license can be obtained fairly easily through local schools. It’s important to understand this because you want to hire a home inspector with lots of experience and a license certificate, not just a home inspector with no experience and a certificate. Home inspectors with many years of construction experience in Florida will understand the unique scenarios we deal with every day such as foundations, termites/pests, water drainage issues, mold, and HVAC requirements. One of those unique scenarios is cracking on houses. Because Florida homes are built on sandy and clay soil, it is not uncommon for our homes to develop hairline cracks. While some inexperienced inspectors may be alarmed by hairline cracks, and experienced home inspector will understand if a hairline crack and simply caused by small shifting in the earth or if there is a more significant problem underneath the home.

Contact Realnet today and get to know one of our local, experienced Realtors who can help you get out of the snow and relocate to Florida!

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