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?

Stroll the seven miles of soft sand beaches or just enjoy the sound of the waves.  One of the things you have to do is take a ride on the FREE Trolley to see all of Anna Maria’s hidden treasures.  For more information on things to do on Anna Maria Island be sure to visit Island Real Estate’s attractions page.

See the video below for pictures and images of 744 North Shore.

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.

Festival

If you are on or close to Anna Maria Island for the weekend of April 16th, 17th or 18th then the Real Florida Festival is a must visit.  It is the first ALL Anna Maria Island event of it’s kind.   That is Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria City are all participating in the extravaganza event.  The festival idea was that of Business entrepreneur David Teitelbaum of Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island and Anna Maria Island Resorts.   The Anna Maria Island chamber of commerce is facilitating the three day all island event.

The highlights of the Real Florida Festival include but are not limited to…

Friday April 16th - Holmes Beach Founders day with arts, crafts, music, drink and plenty of food choices – Visit the Friday events page for more information.

Saturday April 17th - Continuation of the Holmes Beach Founder day with a skate park competition.  In the evening a parrot head dance at the Anna Maria Island Community Center – Visit the Saturday events page for more information.

Sunday April 18th – Bradenton Beach Bridge Street Beach to Bay Eco Day – live music, bands, food, drink, kayak

Anna Maria Chamber of Commerce

festival, shopping and much much more – Visit the Sunday events page for more information.

Just a reminder, this event is being held to further ensure our Anna Maria Island Trolley stays FREE.  The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce looks forward to seeing you all three days on Anna Maria Island.  Please visit the Real Florida Festival website for more information or visit the save the trolley website for additional information on how to help SAVE the TROLLEY.

Anna Maria Island Holiday Dining

RESTAURANT INFORMATION

Beach Bistro – Dinner only – Holmes Beach
Specialize in Gulf Front elegant dining

Beach House – Lunch & Dinner – Bradenton Beach
Gulf Front dining – casual Anna Maria dining

Da Giorgio – Dinner only – Holmes Beach
Italian elegant dining with live music

Euphemia Haye – Dinner only – Longboat Key
Elegant dining with more dessert than you can imagine

Moveable Feast – Lunch & Dinner – Holmes Beach
Casual dining

Paradise Cafe – Lunch only – Holmes Beach
Order and dine in or take it out

Rod & Reel Pier – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner – Anna Maria
Very casual Bay front dining

Holiday Treats

Sandbar – Lunch and Dinner – Anna Maria City
Casual Gulf Front dining

Sign of the Mermaid – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner – Anna Maria
Elegant dining with award winning desserts

Sunhouse – Late Lunch, Dinner – Bradenton Beach
Specialize in Floribean cuisine with Gulf Views

Waterfront – Lunch and Dinner – Anna Maria City
Bay View elegant dining and reservations suggested

OTHER STORES OPEN

Albertson’s Supermarket – Bradenton, Fl

Sweetbay Supermarket – Bradenton, Fl

Walgreens – Bradenton, Fl – Open 24 hours

The beach cottage was just renovated and a new pool was added.  Please review the pictures below and be sure to email or call Island Real Estate for more information.  More information as well as accurate availability can be found on the Island Real Estate listing for this Anna Maria City vacation rental.  If you have property investment questions please dont hesitate to contact me.  Happy vacationing.

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

8 Bedrooms with 6 and a half baths.  4 Kings, 2 queens, 4 twins and a sleeper sofa gets you to a comfortable 18!  The house is perfect for 4th of July, Memorial day, you name it since it has a huge pool, waterfall, tiki bar, everything you would ever need when staying on Anna Maria Island.  This private heated pool home is offered exclusively by Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island and will be sure to make waves in the vacation rental market of Anna Marie Island.  Take a look at the pictures below and be sure to email Island Real Estate or call toll free 877 778 6066 or click on the Island Real Estate link for more information.   The summer weeks wont last so call and reserve NOW!

Oops, I forgot about the special entertainment in this house.  The house is wired for sound with a full size arcade game with 60 games along with Playstation and Wii.  Plus, a ping pong table.  Your family will have to schedule time to go to the beach cause you will never want to leave the house!

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.