Anna Maria Island Real Estate Information

Anna Maria Island Real Estate Services

Purchasing or selling your home is one of the biggest transactions of your life. For that reason it’s very important to  get it right. Statistics show using a National Realtor will minimize physical, mental and fiscal pain. That moves you into at least a 50-50 shot that your real estate professional will maximize your equity purchase or sale. See the 8 questions below to help find the top 5% real estate sales professionals on Anna Maria Island. By the way – you guessed it, all my answers are yes except for #8.  It may sound corny but Real Estate is my life…See below, I hope the questions help!  Email Larry.

#8) Is Real Estate your full time job?

#7) Is your office open 7 days per week?

#6) Is your office on Anna Maria Island?

#5) Do you live on Anna Maria Island?

#4) Do you own on Anna Maria Island?

#3) Do you have your own website?

#2) Can I find your website by typing Anna Maria Island Real Estate?

#1) Do you hold any leadership roles in the Anna Maria Island Community?

Manatee County Utilities  (MCUCS) is offering several programs to help home owners in the Bradenton, Longboat Key

Water Barrel

and Anna Maria Island areas save money and go green.  As of late MCUCS is offering potential rebates for replacing old high volume 3.5 gallon toilets.  There is a limit to two per household but if you have purchased an Anna Maria Island investment property that needs some updating you might be able to put some extra cash in your pockets if replacing two old toilets.

In addition, MCUCS is offering rain barrels and a low low rate.  It is actually a rain barrel kit that includes a 55 gallon drum to collect rain water.  The price is unbelievable at $39 per kit.  Just go to the utilities department at 4410 66th Street West, Bradenton, Fl or call (941) 792-8811 Extension 5327

Wind Insurance

If you live on Anna Maria Island and you have a home built prior to 2002 there is a good chance that you are paying way more than you need to on wind insurance. Due to Anna Maria Island being in a wind zone most builders used methods to lower the risk of wind damage when constructing homes. Just yesterday I visited a home built prior to 1965 and the home was eligible for at least a 25% reduction on their wind insurance.

Lets first discuss the details of what an Anna Maria Island, Sarasota, Longboat Key or Bradenton home owner should look for. First thing is to review the openings in your home. Have the windows and doors been updated since the home was constructed? If so, there is a good chance the wind rating on your openings are much improved compared to the rating the wind insurance company has used when calculating your wind insurance premium. There are a few more details that can help your wind insurance premium, is your under-layment for your roof plywood and secured with 8d nails? Do you have a newer roof with secondary underlayment and a hip or gable roof? If yes you are probably eligible for a insurance discount.

Lastly, the most important search of all. Go up to your home’s attic where you

Clips = Discount

can see the rafters. Review how your roof rafters are tied into the walls of your home. If you can see metal clips that are nailed into the rafter better tying the rafter to the exterior wall then you have a very high chance you are eligible for a wind insurance discount!  See diagram to the right.

Unfortunately you cannot just fill out a form and send it to your insurance agent and expect your discount. However, it is still pretty easy. Call a wind mitigation expert and they will come out and in a half an hour the wind construction expert will have everything they need to send in a report for your property. I have a great contact that will guarantee a discount on your wind insurance after their inspection or the $100 inspection fee will be waived. Just contact me for additional information.

So, climb up in your roof and check for tie straps. If you have tie straps contact me for a wind mitigation expert and lets get your wind insurance reduced. One other aid is the State of Florida wind survey that helps give you a guide of how much you could save on wind insurance.

As if the real estate industry is not hurting enough, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just made it a little 

Lead Guidelines

tougher for property investors all across the United States.   The EPA has enacted a guideline in section 402 (c) (3) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that requires qualified contractors to work on property constructed prior to 1978. 

The TSCA focus much of their attention on lead-based paint hazards that are created by renovation, repair, painting activities, etc.  The new guideline is set to go effective April of 2010.  The targeted housing is mostly related to children facilities as well as Commercial buildings constructed prior to 1978.  Unfortunately there is one other area that is affected that plays a very large part of Anna Maria Island Real Estate.  Buildings which are planned to be leased require a certified trained general contractor.  This of course correlates to larger costs for Anna Maria Island property investors. 

If you plan to paint very small areas of your Anna Maria Island investment property then you are probably fine.  Check the guideline to be sure at last check it was 6 square feet per room.  So the bottom line, if you are planning to purchase an investment property that will require significant renovation, plan to rent it and was built prior to 1978, then be sure PRIOR to purchasing you receive a few quotes to be sure your renovation doesn’t cost significantly more than you planned.  The extra cost is yet to be determined but keep it in mind. 

For more information on the exact language used by the EPA visit the informational page on this new guideline.  Of course if this all seems overwhelming then please feel free to contact me for more information.  I would love to help find your “peace” of paradise on Anna Maria Island, Bradenton, Sarasota or Longboat Key or just answer a few questions.  For that matter contact me for any Florida area as my work with the best of the best Real Estate professionals in the Florida Leadership Academy will allow me to refer you to someone that will be sure to help! 

Check renovation costs

Anna Maria Island real estate is cookin with gas. Pendings have stayed above 50 for several months. More

Larry Chatt: I can Help!

  importantly the amount of real estate sales happening on Anna Maria Island are exceeding the number of properties that are being added to the inventory. A large concern most Anna Maria Island full time Realtors have had is the pent up properties that have been taken off the market due to not selling on the first or second attempt.

Having a ton of listings added to the inventory could clog up the great movement we have had but if that were to happen it would have happened in February. Single Family properties that can rent weekly have been moving well for the last year.  However, monthly rental minimum properties have not been moving as well.  Lately just about everything is moving.  Condos and single family properties since high season have been moving well. Of course price has been critical and prior to 2010 most of the properties being sold were $500,000 or lower. Since 2010 that mark is closer to $650,000. With only two months of data it is a little early for me to cite statistics.

Lastly income properties are still slow to move. If you are sitting on a duplex, triplex, or quad-plex on Anna Maria Island and you need to sell, the best thing to do is slowly reduce the price until the market shows interest with showings. If you need real estate guidance just email or call me (941) 345-1288

As we always hear, a picture is worth a thousand words. Below you will find our proprietary chart which shows the total real estate listing inventory as compared to the sold real estate. Of course this chart is the most useful as it relates to time and high’s and lows in the Anna Maria Island real estate market.  If you review 2010, you can see the sold properties as it relates to the current inventory is at it’s lowest level since the crazy days of 2005.

February 2010 Inventory Absorption

There is no question that for Anna Maria Island real estate the bottom was seen in 2009 at some point for single family homes.  The million dollar question is when Anna Maria Island property owners will see appreciation.  That remains to be seen but the above chart which shows how fast real property inventory is being absorbed, will be the first indicator.  Stay tuned and if you have any questions call or email me.

Anna Maria Island real estate saw an average year of transactions.  Inventory dropped to 500 properties which depending on which statistics you review is about 10% higher than normal.  Bank related real estate for sale continues to be around 5 -8% of our total inventory which continues to be much lower than the nation wide average.   Since 2006 an average Anna Maria Island property has lost an estimated 25-30% of their value.  The great news for Anna Maria Island is over time the value of our properties appreciate at 10%.  Supply and Demand is what drives prices so this entry focuses more on inventory changes as compared to 2008.  More charts of Anna Maria Island real estate statistics will follow to show 2009 results.  Stay tuned and review the inventory statistics below.

Below is Anna Maria Island real estate inventory as it stood the end of the calendar year 2009.

Anna Maria Island Inventory

Compare the breakdown of 2009 inventory to 2008 inventory and you see there is not much of a change.

Anna Maria Island Inventory - 2008

So lets talk details… Anna Maria Island Condominiums for sale in 2008 was 213 and at the end of 2009 the total condos for sale was 181.  Anna Maria Island single family homes for sale at the end of 2008 was 263 and 2009, 242.  Anna Maria Island Multi-families for sale for 2008 was 48 and the end of 2009 was 37.  Vacant lots for Anna Maria Island went up by one to 38 for 2009.

As you can see, the Anna Maria Island real estate market saw a healthy reduction in inventory for sale.   In total about a 10% reduction in real estate inventory for sale.  A nice reduction when the rest of the nation has gained real estate for sale.  The information above was taken from MLS.  If you have further questions don’t hesitate to call.

I continue to be amazed at all the Anna Maria Island Real Estate companies stating they have the best services on Anna Maria Island.  How can everyone say they have the best services?  Everyone has the best sales people, everyone uses the highest degree of ethics, everyone supplies the best real estate services.  In my opinion, talk is really cheap.

So how does the public differentiate between cheap talk and a results oriented Anna Maria Island Real Estate company?  The first step is to recognize quantitative versus qualitative results.  Qualitative results are warm and fuzzy.  A great qualitative example, ” Our office uses the highest degree of ethics when selling your Anna Maria Island

Anna Maria Island Real Estate

property.”  So what does this really mean?  Does this statement confuse action with results?   You bet it does.

So now that you know what to look for lets talk quantitative results and lets talk action that creates results…

Island Real Estate is the only Real Estate office on Anna Maria Island that is open both Saturday and Sundays.  Do you think our office being open 28% more than the rest creates results?

Island Real Estate averages 30,000+ visitors per month on our website.  Depending on the month more than 25% of those visitors are from Europe.  Do you think Island Real Estate has a better chance of selling your home compared to most real estate companies that have 5000 visitors in a good month?

Island Real Estate displays between a half page and full page of our listings every week in a local newspaper.  Island Real Estate consistently takes out the largest ads in our local newspapers.  Do you think displaying your real estate listing consistently in local newspapers creates more opportunity to sell your home?

Do you think an office that sells twice as much as its closest competition has a better chance of selling your property?

Quantitative results NOT qualitative!

Island Real Estate’s closest competition on a bad month has half the transactions we see.

Hopefully I have helped create some quantitative statements that help you work through the “bull” of everyone claiming they have the best real estate service on Anna Maria Island.  If you have any doubts who supplies the best service focus on quantitative results and when all else fails, Call Me and we can discuss specifics.  Better yet, just try to call your top pick offices at about 4 PM on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.   When no one answers give Island Real Estate a call (941) 778-6066.

I look forward to helping you sell or purchase your “peace” of paradise on Anna Maria Island.

Larry Chatt (941) 345-1288 or Email me.

Great Deal on Holmes Beach Duplex

I decided that a listing we have had needs a little more visibility  because potential investors are not aware of the potential. I had the good fortune of showing this property to a potential buyer and upon the showing he asked…”How long has this been on the market? Am I missing something? “There is no question that the curb appeal could be much better. It is a duplex ONE HOME to the beach with a GULF VIEW that should never be lost. Sure the Gulf Front home in front of this property could raise the roof to a second floor and 1/3 of the Gulf view would be lost but 2/3 of the view down 34th will remain! The duplex is a two bedroom one bath on each side and with some interior work, tropical landscaping, roof top terrace and a pool, this duplex would generate some serious income. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I have attached a picture below that shows the proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. The value in this duplex is the proximity to the beach AND two units in the building.  The property is a SHORT sale and currently listed at $679,000. Please call me for more details and I would love the opportunity to help. The property is listed with Alan Galletto at Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island, Inc. 6101 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, FL. Email me for additional information.

Sorry – Currently this duplex is PENDING.  Email or call for more information.  (941) 345-1288

If you have been reading my blog you have seen a few posts explaining some statistics that shows the start of a real

Potential Condo Development

estate comeback. It is well documented that resort areas are the first to return to healthy property appreciation. We are starting to see the mainland real estate pick up in transactions and a recent large transaction produces good news. As reported by the Herald Tribune in Bradenton, Florida :”Perico Project picked up by Canadian Firm.” St. Joes began a 352 acre project on Perico Island. Perico island is just across the draw bridge from Anna Maria Island.  It’s a couple orange throws from Anna Maria Island. The Perico Island project will have a positive impact on Anna Maria Island. Originally the project was stopped mid-2007 by St. Joe’s due to the adverse Real Estate conditions nationwide and in the Bradenton, Florida area. Minto, a family owned company with operations in Ottowa and Toronto has built more than 65,000 homes in its 54 year history and looks like they will build a few more on Perico Island. For more information on the purchase visit the Herald Tribune web article.

For more information on Anna Maria Island Real Estate visit my website.

La Casa Costiera is a phenomenal Anna Maria Island luxury condominium Gulf Front complex. La Casa Costiera has

Gulf Front Resort

essentially three buildings and two ground level condominiums which are Direct Gulf Front. The two Holmes Beach ground level properties have a spiral stairway to the roof which offers a perfect view of the Gulf of Mexico as well as early evening Anna Maria Sunsets.

The second building offers Direct Gulf Front views from the living areas as well as the covered patios. The covered patios have seating as well as high top tables and chairs perfect for relaxing at the Gulf.

The last two buildings are located towards the back of the property and all condominiums have views of the Gulf with phenomenal covered patios. These two buildings overlook the heated pool area, the spa and a vineyard terrace that houses dining tables as well as a community propane barbecue grill and charcoal barbecue grilling fireplace.

All La Casa Costiera properties have two bedrooms with a den or three bedrooms. Wet bars are included in the living areas. High end kitchen appliances, ceramic cook tops, plenty of televisions, DVD’s, Surround sound stereo, outdoor patio speakers, and many more amenities.

If you are interested in a Luxury Gulf Front three bedroom vacation rental on Anna Maria Island then look no further. The La Casa Costiera complex located in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island is the perfect resort for an unforgettable tropical vacation. See links below for more information on the properties Island Real Estate Vacation Rentals offers.

La Casa Costieria #1 – For Sale information – Vacation Rental Information

La Casa Costiera #3 – Holmes Beach Vacation Rental information

La Casa Costiera #6 – Anna Maria Island Vacation Rental Information

La Casa Costiera #7 – Real Estate for Sale Information – Luxury Beach Vacation Rental

La Casa Costiera #8 – Holmes Beach for Sale information

La Casa Costiera #9 – Anna Maria Vacation Rental Information