All Forum Posts by: Shawn K Hicks

Up until the last 2 to 3 years, home owners insurance in Gainesville was dirt cheap. For example, an 1,800 square foot home that is 25 to 40 years old with the Roof, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, hot water heater etc in generally good condition, you could expect to pay 850 to 1,500 (1,200 being the sweet spot) annually depending on coverages selected and deductibles. Now, you can raise those figures by 15-20%. Also, many carriers will not cover roof related issues if for example a 3 tab shingle roof is over 15 years old. Some carriers the cut off mark is 10 to 12 years. Some carriers the same goes for hot water heaters & HVAC. They can be working perfectly, but if they're over 15 years old, many carriers will not insure unless they are updated. (Architectural shingles up to 22-23 years old can still pass with an acceptable 4 pt inspection.) 

Insurance on a new construction comparable square footage home though still more affordable, those costs have gone up as well.

@Karla Simmons You bet! Glad to help.

@Karla Simmons Specifically in Gainesville, my impression is the cost of policies are still more affordable in general than Real Estate closer to coastal areas. You can get a new construction home ranging anywhere from 1,500 to 2,500 heated and cooled square footage for 700 to 1k annually with pretty good coverages. For a home over 10 years old, & some additional variable factors, it is within the norm to be more in the 1,200 to 1,500 a year range.

From an investor perspective, in the last couple of years, many insurance carriers have gotten tougher on 3 tab shingle roofs. Though they can last 15 to 22 years, most carriers now will only allow 10 to 15 years old on 3 tab to underwrite a policy. Also, a hot water heater can be working perfectly fine, but if it's over 15 years old, that is also now an issue for many carriers.

I also frequently run into situations where even if in the electrical panels there is cloth wiring over copper, the underwriters are sometimes still paranoid and assume it's cloth over aluminum. One transaction in particular we had to have an electrician strip back the cloth to prove there was copper, then cover in the more traditional synthetic covering.

@Jeff T. Specific to State Farm Insurance in the Gainesville area: My brother in law runs one of the local franchises. If a residential home ranges from new construction to 10 years old, they in the last year had a reduction in their rates either 20 or 25% which makes them a competitive option from a policy cost perspective. Their customer service is top notch, but on older homes, they are not typically competitive on price. Even still, they seem to have a loyal following that will even pay their higher premium costs on older homes.

Hi Jordan, I work the Gainesville market. (Full time since 2003) I'm around 35% investor transactions with the rest being traditional sales. There are several other local Gainesville/Alachua County Realtors on bigger Pockets for you to network with as well. Here is another great investor minded Realtor from our market. @Jenn Barona 

Will be there. Last night was a good one. Thank you for setting it up!

@Owen Schwaegerle I do as well as @Jenn Barona & @Arthur 

@Arthur Harris II

1. On the surface the economy is pretty stable. Gainesville is known for medical and also the U of F. Residential housing and new construction continued to have a hard time keeping up with demand. This is mainly fueled by record low interest rates. *What I'm not sure of is the long term prognosis of the student market. This past year sales were down for student housing due to there only being online classes. Also like Jennifer said, there was unusual vacancies for student housing due to students not being in town. I've noticed so far, parents are buying for students again. It looks like demand is picking up for 1 and 2 bedroom units. Sales of 3 and 4 bedroom units have continued to remain a bit stagnant with student housing but may pick up as prices have dropped a bit.

2. As to crime, I'm pretty sure there are sites online you can visit to check the stats. The short answer, there is always trouble to be found if you look for it. There's not anything going on however that is significantly affecting the investment aspect of the housing market.

3. If you visit the Alachua County Property Appraiser site, you'll find that the assessed values they have are often less than what the true market values are. To add to Jennifers feedback about the University of FL and the city of Gainesville passing on the tax responsibilities with higher rates to home owners: of note, decades ago this was necessary due to there being significantly less of a tax base. It's interesting however that even after all of the decades of residential growth and a significantly larger tax base, the tax rates have not gone down.

@Jenn Barona @Arthur Harris II

I'm going to be in NC this week. If someone wants to put together a Zoom meeting I'm in. Otherwise, maybe we could plan something in person the following week when I get back. Maybe meet somewhere open like the stadium? I'm open to ideas/suggestions.