Palm Coast Real Estate & Home Builder Blog

World’s Costliest Ski Chalets
Whether you rent or own, these properties rank as the finest worldwide.

World’s Costliest Ski Chalets
Whether you rent or own, these properties rank as the finest worldwide.

Best Blue-Chip Real Estate Investments
While pricey, homes in these 15 spots hold their value over the long term.

World’s Costliest Ski Chalets
Whether you rent or own, these properties rank as the finest worldwide.

Top Things To Do Before You Sell Your Palm Coast Home

1. Have a termite inspection, and get a termite bond.  This will prove that the property is not infested with termites, and give them peace of mind that they have the renewable bond.

2. Have a pre-sale home inspection done.  This will allow you some time to make any needed repairs.

3. Throughly fill out the property disclosure form provided by your real estate agent along with your listing agreement.  Be sure to include everything you know about your home, major and minor because if left out, you could be liable even after closing!

4. Obtain estimates to repair any item that may need repair or replacement now or shortly hereafter the sale.   This will help the you as well as the buyers better understand what total cost they are looking at for the house and repairs. 

5. Have all warranty information and owner’s manuals together for all of the appliances that are included in the sale such as hot water heater, heat pump, and appliances.

What Can A Real Estate Agent Do For You?

There are a lot of real estate agents in this country! So how do you know what to look for to find a great one? There are a few things the I think are important that I want to share with you.

He or she should educate you about the real estate market, particularly in their neighborhood.

He or she should be able to show you ways to get more from your property. It’s what we do from the moment we look at a property…stand back and say, “what could be done to improve the quality and make it more attractive?”.

Help you figure out what the home you are thinking of buying or selling is actually worth. In a few minutes, a good Realtor can and will run comps on a property to see what similar homes in the area have been selling for.

Help you figure out what you realistically can afford. Most real estate agents are not mortgage brokers, but if you haven’t been pre-approved yet (which is the first thing you should do) he or she can give you a rough estimate of the price range you should be looking in.

Narrow your options. Your Realtor should do the leg work, researching which properties best fit your want and needs. In this market, there is a lot of very similar homes to choose from, so be specific with what you want and tell your Realtor. This way you can tour only the best of the best!

Communication! A really good real estate agent will ask plenty of questions so he or she understands exactly what you want, don’t want, and at what price. Your Realtor should listen to you.

Florida Golf Course Home For Sale-New Smyrna Beach, FL

Have you ever wanted to live on a Golf Course in sunny Florida? Here is your chance to live the dream.  This is a beautiful custom built, builders own personal home, located in the only waterfront, gated, golf course community in New Smyrna Beach, FL.  This is a steal Priced at $499,900! 2225 square feet of living area, 3175 under roof!  3 bedroom 2 bath beauty

Some of the extraordinary location features include:

• Located on the 14th tee of the Turnbull Bay Golf Course more info: http://www.turnbullbay.com/
• Gated Community bay front community
• HOA fees under $400 per year
• Minutes to the beach
• Minutes to tennis
• Close to dining and transportation

Virtual Tour of 2830 Osprey Cove Drive, New Smyrna Beach, FL

Structural Features Included:

•  Built to withstand 140 winds!
• Solid Poured Concrete exterior walls (3x the steel reinforcement of CBS)
• 5/8″ CDX Roof Decking
• 30lb roof felt
• 30 year architectural shingles
• slab foundation and driveway are reinforced with wire-mesh and fiber-mesh

Exterior Features

• Circular Stamped Concrete driveway
• 2 car extended garage with side entry golf course garage door
• Stone facade
• Decorative stucco bands in front
• Covered Entry
• Covered rear screened lanai
• Summer Kitchen
• Professional mature landscaping
• Automatic garage door openers

Interior Features

•  Raised foyer entry
• Porcelain tile and laminate wood flooring throughout
• gas fireplace
• Granite counters in kitchen and baths
• Raised panel cabinets in kitchens and baths
• 42″ upper kitchen cabinets with crown molding and under mount lighting
• Floating bathroom cabinets with under mount lighting
• Loaded with lighting Fixtures and ceiling fans
• smooth top range
• wall mount oven
• built in microwave
• 12+’ ceilings-coffered in the dining room, family room, and the master bedroom
• Stone work on interior columns
• built in entertainment system
• 2 tone custom paint
• 8′ doors
• pull down attic stairs

…and so much more!

Flagler County Housing Assistance

The State Of Florida offers a down payment assistance program in many counties, Flagler being one of them, that many people do not know about.  It was put in place to help low to moderate income families become homeowners.  The areas that this assistance applies within Flagler County are; Bunnell, Palm Coast, Beverly Beach, Flagler Beach, Marineland, and the unincorporated area of the County.

There are requirements that need to be met in order to qualify for the SHIP (State Housing Initiatives Program) however.  Some of these requirements are as follows:

 Family Size   Very Low         Low             Moderate
1                     $19,450           $31,100         $46,680
2                     $22,200          $35,500         $53,280
3                     $25,000          $39,950         $60,000
4                    $27,750            $44,400         $66,600
5                    $29,950           $47,950          $71,880
6                    $32,200           $51,500          $77,280
7                    $34,400           $55,050          $82,560
8                    $36,650           $58,600          $87,960

1. Income needs to fit into the very low, low, or moderate brackets as set by the state.  The amount of assistance you qualify for depends on your annual income and the size of your family.  The current Guidelines are:
2. The home must be a new (less than 1 year old and never occupied) or existing (over 1 year old) home, townhouse, or condominium priced at or below $189,682.  If it is to be a new home, you are free to choose your builder of choice, but the house and lot total must not exceed this maximum price. 

3. You need to be able to qualify for a mortgage, you must prequalify for income and creditworthiness through the program and you must successfully complete the homeowner education course and consumer credit counseling.

The maximums that can be awarded are: up to $50,000 for a very low income household, up to $40,000 for a low income household, and up to $3000 for a moderate income household. 

This is a program that was put in place in hopes that those who use the benefit purchase a home and stay in it.  If someone uses these funds to buy a house then sells in under 30 years, they must repay the loan.  For more information, complete details, and to apply for this assistance, contact  Mid-Florida Housing Partnership, Inc. at 800-644-6125.

Finding The Right Buyer For Your Palm Coast Home

It is really important to know where to gear your attention to when working with buyers for your home.  When working with a Florida Licensed Realtor, he or she will pre-qualify or even better pre-approve prospective buyers before even showing your home.   If you are selling your property “by owner” then you will need to be on top of the pre-qualifications. 

A pre-qualification is the very first step that a lender takes in examining the potential homebuyer’s ability to borrow.  The bank looks at credit score, income, and debt to obtain a rough estimate of what the buyer could qualify for.  It is not a really in depth look at this point…it is JUST AN ESTIMATE to give the buyer an idea of what price range he or she should be looking in. 

 A pre-approval is more in depth and more accurate.  For the pre-approval the bank or lender actually confirms employment, & assets. 

As the seller in the situation, you don’t want to waste a lot of time with a nice person who really likes your house, but is not pre-qualified or pre-approved.  Many home buyers start looking around without knowing how much they can afford.  If you are doing this on your own without a real estate agent, you will want to pre-qualify these folks on your own. 

There are many online mortgage calculators that can help you find out if your buyer can afford your home.  For example, bankrate.com offers many different calculators to find the best loan type for the buyer.  You will have to ask some personal questions though to be able determine what they can afford. 

New Re-Roof Guidelines for Florida Homes

If you are thinking of purchasing a Palm Coast home built prior to March 1st, 2003 you need to read this first! 

Did you know? 

In October 2007, the Florida Legislature adopted a new set of guidelines for Roofing Retrofits.  Now, any re-roof needs to bring the entire integrity of the roof, ie. decking, and fasteners up to current building code.  This specifically applies to homes built prior to 3/1/02.

 This means that the cost to replace a roof is now much more expensive than ever before! Read on to find out the details:

http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fbc/Hurricane_Mitigation/Reference%20Document%20version-%20combined-%20draft%20v2.doc

 HURRICANE DAMAGE MITIGATION PROVISIONS OF HB 7057 adopted by the Florida Legislature

1. BACKGROUNDThe Building Officials Association of Florida has undertaken to establish these guidelines for fair and reasonable implementation of the Hurricane Damage Mitigation provisions of HB 7057 adopted by the Florida Legislature for inclusion in Section 553.844, F.S., and effective October 1,  2007. Deliberations included input from Building Officials of various jurisdictions within the State, representatives of the roofing contractors, manufacturers, homebuilders, and other affected industries. Consideration was given to several facts; 

(1) No clear responsibility was assigned to building departments in the bill, (2) The bill is not part of any commonly acknowledged construction code, (3) Practical construction and installation applications of certain provisions in the bill were not addressed and, (4) Reasonable thought and common practice should apply as to its implementation date. 2.  PURPOSEThese guidelines were developed for distribution and consideration for use by building departments in

 3. GOALIt is the intent of the Building Officials Association of Florida, Through development and distribution of these guidelines, to encourage and facilitate reasonable, consistent implementation statewide of  certain provisions of the bill. These guidelines represent a “best effort” to  interpret the vague and ambiguous statutory language of the bill and provide  support for its stated intent of integrating cost-effective techniques of proven  methods of the Florida Building Code into certain buildings constructed prior to  the Code’s implementation March 1, 2002. 4. CONCLUSIONSThe Building  Officials Association of Florida concludes that implementation and application  of the following guidelines will reasonably meet the implied intent of Section  553.844, F.S. and Rule 9B-3.0475, FAC and the Hurricane Mitigation Manual  referenced therein. (The Hurricane Mitigation Manual is available at;  

http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fbc/Hurricane_Mitigation/Reference%20Document%20version-%20combined-%20draft%20v2.doc  http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fbc/Hurricane_Mitigation/Reference%20Document%20version-%20combined-%20draft%20v2.doc  

BOAF Guidelines for Hurricane Mitigation Retrofits for Existing Site Built Single Family Residential Structures Effective Date October 1, 2007  (applicable to permits applied for on or after this date) Applies to site  built single family residential structures build before the implementation of the Florida Building Code 3/1/02 Based on HB 7057, s. 553.844, Florida  Statutes and Rule 9B-3.0475,Florida Administrative Code and the “Hurricane  Mitigation Manual” referenced therein For the purposes of this guideline the  code sections specified will be from the Hurricane Mitigation Retrofit  Manual. I. Supplemental Fasteners and Secondary Water Barrier 

A. Trigger:  When a roof on an existing site-built, single familyResidential structure is replaced. [According to the 2004 Florida Building Code (Section 1502 Definitions): ROOF REPLACEMENT: The process of removing the existing roof covering, repairing any damaged substrate and installing a new roof covering.] B. Requirements:1. Roof deck attachment and fasteners shall be strengthened and corrected as required by section 201.1.  

2. A secondary water barrier shall be provided as required by section 201.2. Self-adhering polymer modified bitumen tape or sheets (peel and stick products) must comply with ASTM D1970 C. GuidelinesQ. Is there a required inspection (or affidavit certification) for the supplemental fasteners?A. Yes 

Q. Who can perform this inspection (or affidavit certification)?A. Florida Professional Engineer, Registered Architect, Licensed General Contractor, Building Contractor, Residential Contractor, RoofingContractor or persons certified in the structural discipline under FS 468. Q. Can existing sheathing fasteners be used to satisfy the supplemental requirement in Table 201.1 where wind speed  is greater than 110 mph? A. Only if the existing fasteners are 8d clipped head, round head, or Ring shank and spaced at 6″ or less on center. 

Q. What type of fasteners must be installed to satisfy the supplemental requirement in Table 201.1?A. Supplemental fasteners shall be 8d ring shank nails with round heads and the minimum dimensions as specified in 201.1. Q. Are the enhanced fastener requirements and secondary water barrier required on new construction?A. No. 

Q. Is there a required inspection (or affidavit certification) for the secondary water barrier?A. Yes Q. Who can perform this inspection (or affidavit certification)?A. Florida Professional Engineer, Registered Architect, Licensed General Contractor, Building Contractor, Residential Contractor, RoofingContractor or persons certified in the structural discipline under FS 468. 

Q. Can self-adhering polymer modified bitumen (peel & stick) be applied directly to the roof sheathing in the HVHZ as well?A. Yes for the purposes of complying with these secondary waterproofing requirements only. (Subject to local approval) Q. What is the minimum thickness of self-adhering polymer modified Bitumen that can be installed?A. A minimum of 40 mil is required, Per ASTM D 1970. II. Roof to Wall Connections (Wind Bourne Debris Region only)A. Trigger: When a roof on an existing site-built, single familyResidential structure within the wind borne debris region and having an insured value or just valuation for purposes of advalorem taxation for the structure of $300,000 or more is replaced.B.  Requirements 

1. Sufficient eave sheathing shall be removed to expose a minimum of 6 Feet of framing members (Clarification: 6 feet from the corner on aHorizontal plane along the edge of the roof to expose 3 roof trusses, rafters etc. The width from the edge or eve of the roof only has to be the minimum required to view the connectors which could be 12 inches, 16 inches, 24 inches etc. depending on the width of the overhang.) 2. Wherever a strap is missing  or an existing strap has fewer than 4 fasteners on each end the intersection of  roof framing with the wall below shall be strengthened by adding  

a. Metal connectors, clips, straps and fasteners such that the performance level equals or exceeds the uplift capacity as specified in Table 201.3 OR b. Approved strap ties or right angle gusset brackets with a minimum uplift capacity of 500 lbs shall be installed to the top plate or masonry wall below.  

c. Refer to sections 201.3.1 to 201.3.4 for prescriptive requirements C. Guidelines 

Q.  Can a Roofing Contractor pull the permit for the re-roofing and the Roof to wall retrofit?A. Yes, as long as the investigation, reporting, and retrofitting of the roof to wall connections is sub-contracted to a Licensed General Contractor, Building Contractor, or Residential Contractor. Q. What additional paperwork must be submitted by the Roofing Contractor prior to the  issuance of a re-roof permit?A. Proof of insured value or a copy of the ad-valorem tax value. A valid permit application for the re-roof, and the required mitigation retrofit work, the contract value of which equals or exceeds  15% of the cost of re-roofing, subcontracted to a Licensed; General Contractor, Building Contractor, or Residential Contractor.. 

Q. Does the 15% of the cost of the re-roof include the cost of the investigation, subsequent report and the proposed roof to wall connections?A. Yes Q. Who can prepare a report to  be submitted with the re-roof permit application addressing existing and  proposed metal connectors, clips, straps, fasteners and additional structural  elements when using the prescriptive methods specified in sections 201.3.1 to  201.3.4?A. Florida Professional Engineer, Registered Architect, Licensed General Contractor, Building Contractor, or Residential Contractor. 

Q. Is a separate permit required to install metal connectors, clips, straps, fasteners and additional structural elements?A. No, this work can be subcontracted to a Licensed General Contractor, Building Contractor, or Residential Contractor. Q. Is there a required inspection (or affidavit certification) for the installation of metal connectors, clips, straps, fasteners and additional structural elements?A. Yes. 

Q. Who can perform this inspection (or affidavit certification)?A. Florida Professional Engineer, Registered  Architect, Licensed General  Contractor, Building Contractor, Residential  Contractor or persons certified in the structural discipline under FS 468. Q.  Can a Roofing Contractor install metal connectors, clips, straps, fasteners and additional structural elements?A. No. 

Q. Which side of the wall can the retrofit connectors be installed on?A. Either side, the manual states “Wherever access makes it possible (Without damage of the wall or soffit finishes)”.Q. If there is an existing strap with less than 4 fasteners, can Fasteners be added?A. Yes, that option appears for hip roofs on wood frame or masonry construction and for gable roofs on wood frame and may be determined acceptable by the local governing authority under alternate materials and methods provisions of the Florida Building Code. Q. Does an existing 1/8″ strap with 3 – 16d nails satisfy the 500 lbuplift requirement?A. No, per the manual.III. Opening Protection (Wind Bourne Debris Region only) 

A.  Trigger: When any activity requiring a building permit that is Applied for on or after July 1, 2008 for which an estimated cost is $50,000 or more for a single  family residential building that is located in the wind borne debris region and  having an insured value or just valuation for purposes of ad-valorem taxation for the structure of $750,000 or more. B. Requirements1. Opening protection as required within the Florida Building Code, Building or Florida

 C.  GuidelinesQ. Does an accumulated value of permits within a 12 month period which exceeds $50,000 trigger this requirement?A. No. Q. Is a permit required to install the opening protection?A. Yes. 

Q. Who can perform this inspection?A. The local Building Department. IV. Gable End BracingA. Trigger: There is no trigger to require supplemental gable end bracing. These requirements are voluntary. 

B. Requirements1. If an owner voluntarily chooses to retrofit gable end walls, the prescriptive methods of  section A104 may be used. C. Guidelines 

Q. Is a building permit required to retrofit gable end walls?A. Yes Q. Is there an inspection required to retrofit gable end walls?A. Yes. 

R. Who can perform this inspection?A. The local Building Department. 5. COMMENTARYThe  Building Officials Association of Florida, after having received

and reviewed  knowledgeable input from building officials, roofing contractors, roofing  manufacturers, and other interested parties believes these guidelines to be reasonable, practical and consistent with the intent of the HB 7057. These guidelines are not an official interpretation of the law. For complete text of the applicable requirements, refer to s. 553.844, Florida Statutes and Rule 9B-3.0475, Florida Administrative Code and the Hurricane Mitigation Manual referenced therein.

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