Florida Treasure Coast Real Estate Resource

Is a home owners warranty worth buying? It depends. My neighbors have them as do my in-laws and most have been pleased with the service. But when it comes to a seller offering a home owners warranty my opinion is: not so much.

A home owners warranty may seem like a nice incentive to offer a potential buyer but there are several gotchas. Typically the seller pays around $400 for the warranty, with coverage starting while the home is on the market and then conveying to the buyer, sometimes for an additional fee. Should the seller or subsequent buyer need service there is usually a deductible and nominal service call charge.

There is also the fine print on the back of the contract, which can virtually nullify coverage on an old appliance. If the service company deems the equipment to be obsolete, they may not fix it at all or charge a pro-rated fee to do the repair that could equal more than half the cost of replacement. In some cases the providor may offer a discount to replace the unit.

I recently sold a foreclosed property where FreddieMac actually provided a two-year home owners warranty as part of the deal. They even paid to fix the broken air conditioner before settlement. My buyers were thrilled to get the added value and increased their offer to ensure the deal was theirs. But less than a week after we closed the AC unit failed again so a call was placed to the warranty service provider. After paying the $100 service fee they were informed that the unit needed to be replaced but would not be covered for the following reasons:

1. They claimed it was a pre-existing condition (but passed inspection)
2. The owners had not been in the house long enough (that was not even mentioned in the contract)
3. It was an obsolete piece of equipment

Even after providing proof that the unit was in fact working when they closed, the service company simply walked away without any attempt to negotiate a solution or offer a discount on a replacement. My clients may have purchased a new system through them but they vowed never to deal with them again, in spite of the two year warranty. The $5,000 purchase went to a local HVAC company instead and the home owners are filing a complaint against the warranty company.

Buying a home owners warranty may be a good value for an established home owner but a call to the Better Business Bureau or a quick Google of the warranty company will reveal their track record. As for me, I passed on the warranty and have spent less than $1,000 on appliance repairs in my five years of home ownership so I am ahead of the curve (for now).

As a Realtor who handles dozens of rental transactions, the number one question I get from new as well as experienced landlords has to do with collecting the rent. Most are happy to have the tenant mail a check while others provide a supply of deposit tickets to their tenants, enabling them to deposit funds directly into the landlord's bank account. Some tenants have even elected to pay the rent using online banking or a wire transfer. Landlords are understandably excited when a tenant pays electronically, as they get paid on time and have immediate use of the funds.

Recently I was asked to draw up a lease where the landlord required the tenant to pay electronically. I submitted the request to our lease attorney who provided the following reason why we should not have such a clause in the lease:

"In the event of an eviction if the tenant has access to owners or property managers bank account and the tenant deposits money after the eviction has been filed it would stop the eviction and cost the owner or property manager more money. Also, that bank account would become part of the exhibits during an eviction action."

A real estate attorney can explain all the ramifications of accepting direct deposits into your account but the "long and short" of it is that if the tenant deposits money into your account after you initiate an eviction, it can cause you to have to start the process all over or worse.

Under the best of circumstances being a landlord (especially an accidental or out of town landlord) can be a challenge. Working with a qualified rental agent will help you minimize the pitfalls of being a landlord and procure the best tenant, in the shortest possible time and with the least amount of stress.

A myriad of mobile real estate apps have become available from online aggregators such as Zillow, Trulia and SmarterAgent that offer the ability to search and view all homes listed for sale on the Web. With their GPS capabilities these apps can even determine a user's physical location and serve up nearby listings. Mobile real estate search apps take home buyers to a whole new level when it comes to self-search capabilities.

That said, problems can arise when you fall out of the loop as mobile search clients veer off towards other agents' listings. While apps such as SmarterAgent provide branding, having your own mobile Web site with embedded links to these sites can help keep you "top of mind" with your clients.

Having your own mobile Web presence is potentially the best way to stay connected with home buyers, clients and prospects. Emerging mobile Web technologies are beginning to offer agents online templated mobile Web sites that enable you to quickly develop a mobile Web presence. That said, below are screen shots from my first effort, www.StuartFlorida.mobi (best viewed on a smartphone):

This is a work in progress and not quite ready for prime time but shows the potential to extend your Web presence to mobile computing devices.

As an agent who handles both sales and rentals in Stuart, Florida, I have have been experiencing an influx of clients moving to the Stuart / Treasure Coast region of South Florida for corporate job relocations. Many of these folks are potential home buyers but are reluctant to take that step until they become familiar with the area. The solution is often a short term furnished rental.

Finding a short term rental can be a challenge on the Treasure Coast as these rentals are typically reserved for winter "Snowbirds" who rent condos or single family homes for upwards of six months during the Winter season. But the shifting economy has presented a challenge to landlords facing rising costs and shorter rental periods. In many cases we have "repurposed" these vacation homes into longer term rentals. Where permitted we may even rent the same home several times during the year, which presents an excellent opportunity for relocating families to get acquainted with local neighborhoods and communities.

If you are relocating to the area , please click here site for more information about rentals in Stuart, Florida or click here if you are a landlord interested in listing your rental property.