All Forum Posts by: Kristin Kiddy

I second @Jared Townsend.  Accurately disclosing how you use a property and how the property is described is so important because if your policy doesn't reflect usage, the insurance company can easily deny any claim you might have in the future.  

And I honestly wouldn't rely on just any insurance agent off the street either.  Many of them (like many real estate agents) are not as trained as you would expect them to be.  For example, we have a rental with a flat roof.  The first insurance agent we tried, attempted to sell us a policy that didn't cover flat roofs.  Her description of the roof was complete garbage (I don't think she had a clue what a rolled roof was!).  We tried several times to explain it to her, but eventually we just gave up and went with a different agent who was 100 times more knowledgeable and found us a good policy and company.  

Unfortunately the policy is more expensive.  But the reality is that a cheaper policy that didn't have the right coverage would be like throwing money away if we ever had to use it because the insurance claim would be denied.  Don't just shop for cost, but also for correct coverage.

You can do a partial 1031 with equity only but you'll be taxed on the boot.  May not be worth it. Talk to your tax advisor.  Normal 1031 is based on sale price.  Doesn't matter if you had a mortgage or not. 

First off, don't get upset at what I'm about to say.  I had a similar experience selling a home in Denver, CO a few years back that had a ton of showings and not a peep of an offer for a long time (in comparison to other homes and the hot market at the time).  The problem was that the house had too much wear and tear that didn't show up in the listing photos but was evident when buyers toured in person.  (It had been a rental for several years and we were attempting to sell it long distance so we relied on our real estate agent to get the home ready for sale.  She did her best to get it cleaned up for us, but what it really needed was an interior paint job).  

From studying your listing photos, it may be a similar situation.  Your appliances seem very "hazy" in the kitchen photo.  Also, you could improve the overall impression of your property with some decluttering and removing some furniture.  If you look at the comparable's photos and note how much furniture and decor is used in each room, it has significantly fewer pieces.  Specifically, I would remove the red chair in the living room entirely.  I would also attempt to reposition the bed in the bedroom out of the corner of the room.  When you push beds into corners, what you are telling buyers is there isn't enough space in the room to fit that size bed.  The bed coverings on the beds are a little rumpled as well and could use a freshening.  I like the overall theming of your decor, but I would remove all the smaller pieces and keep walls decorated with just the large pieces of art that you have.  I also noticed that your back deck/porch only has a table on it.  That should be staged with chairs so buyers are encouraged to sit down and look at that beautiful lake.  And your terrific 2 car garage is really not going to be seen as clearly with the clutter that is there.  For my most recent home I sold, I rented a storage unit and moved 90% of the "stuff" in my garage out to make it look incredibly spacious.  

Again.  Living in a home is very different that selling a home.  I am not critiquing your way of life.  When you stage a home for sale you make it almost "unlivable" for yourself in the hopes that buyers will be sold on how "livable" it looks.  You are selling a dream.  Hope this helps.  Good Luck.

@Nathan Gesner  True here in FL as well, unless you select "present only written offers" on the listing agreement, which is standard operating procedure for my broker.  But that still means EVERY written offer needs to be presented.  Also, in order to dot all the i's and cross all the t's your written offers should include proof of funds (in some form).  And you should have all accompanying documents completed as well (pg. 11).  Don't give the listing agent any excuse to ignore your offer.  

Contact Russel Holmes (he's here on Bigger Pockets).  He's very knowledgeable on the Orlando area, especially rental investment properties.

I'm not sure who told you hurricanes are less dangerous on the gulf coast.  Since 1990 the west coast has seen more direct hits from hurricanes than the east coast.  https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2013-05-29-fl-hurricane-season-start-20130523-story.html  The water is warmer in the gulf so there is a good chance the storms will be stronger.  And if you look at FL topographically, after Titusville it leans in and often hurricanes skirt the coast or head more north.  I would consider Volusia, Flagler, St Johns, Duval counties.  Of course I'm also partial to the area.

Check zoning laws.  Often ADUs on single family zoned properties require the owner to occupy one of the units.  

I'm just coming off a huge remodel of my personal residence.  I turned a laundry room into a powder room, turned the formal dining into a laundry room, remodeled the kitchen and completely reconfigured the the master bathroom and closet.  I used Turbo Floor Plan to create the plans to submit to my city for a home owners permit.  The software also gave me a 3D virtual tour option so I could get a feel for the final product.  The only time I couldn't use it was for the master bath.  I had to get an engineer to stamp that because I moved a load bearing wall.  So I found an architect who would basically copy my plan into his software, make the appropriate structural notes, and get it stamped by his engineer.  He charged me a lot less.  I didn't have a contractor.  I project managed all the subs (licensed plumbers and electrician) myself.  I did have a good carpenter and he already knew what was required for properly moving the wall.  In fact, he had to school the architect on some of the structural details!  But the city gets what the city wants.  We passed almost all inspections first time through.  

Here is the deal,though.  I stressed on those plans big time.  I put a lot of hours into them getting them just right.  It was essentially a full time job.  But that's me.  And I have remodeling experience (this was not my first rodeo).  I would also say I have some talent for it too.  If you don't feel confident in your abilities or you don't have the time to dedicate to the design details, you should use someone who has talent and who can develop your vision/needs/wants/etc.  That might be an architect or it could be a very talented designer or a "Renaissance Man" contractor.  The more important thing I would look for is their portfolio.  What past projects have they done?  What design role did they play in them?  How did those turn out?

Here is FL.  And there is an addendum for us too.  https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/news-articles/2020/03/latest-information-coronavirus-realtors-florida

Florida Realtors just published Covid19 Addendum as well.