Alexander Varela, P.A.

Don’t take shortcuts! Know what is important to you and what is just nice to have. Know what kind of neighborhood you want to live in and what you want to avoid. Want 3 baths, but will settle for 2? Okay, just be clear in your mind (or on paper) that 2 is the lower limit, but 3 would be nice. Are school districts important? Find a good Realtor. Your Realtor should be able to make sure you get emails when new properties that meet your specs are listed. These won’t come in every day, but whenever a new listing in the areas you specify that meets your requirements is listed. Make sure you get this. Then, when that email shows up, go over the properties that it lists. Get pre-approved for a loan. A good Realtor will want to go through that with you and make sure you’re pre-approved. Most people don’t know this, but you have several sources of information from the city or county where you want to buy a house. Check to see if they have a GIS on the web. (Most places, other than small and extremely rural counties have this.) It’s a web page that shows you all the lots in that city or county. What’s important is that it will also (usually) show future plans. Also check the county or city tax records online (almost always online now). Are taxes up to date or is there an issue? Once you get used to the GIS and real estate tax websites, checking the data on a house or lot takes about 5 minutes or less. Also call the Sheriff’s office about the neighborhood. When you look at houses, check out the “feel” of the house and neighborhood. While it’s not your job to do the inspection, when you look at houses, take a flashlight along. Watch for things like rot in some areas. Check to see how water, lights, and HVAC work if you can. Once you make the offer, make sure there are escape clauses in the contract! Normally if the inspection shows bad things, not only can you ask that the If you’re in a seller’s market, don’t play games if you really want the house. If houses are selling quickly, it’s the higher offers that will get the good houses. Be sure to get a good inspection and verify, through an appraisal, that the house is in good shape and that it’s worth about what it should be, considering what you’re paying for it. Also make sure you have a good title search. Make sure all your financing is lined up so you don’t get a nasty surprise once you’ve made an offer. Get used to waiting and know that not everything will go perfectly. The inspection will uncover issues. That happens with every house. The appraisal, though, should come out close and your Realtor should have run comps ahead of time and had an idea of what the house is worth. Once you sign and they accept your offer, you have to wait for the inspection. Wait for the bank to do their inspection. Wait for closing… Yeah, a lot of waiting. You can prepare by packing things before moving, but do not consider it final until they hand you the keys.

Over the last 30 years I have led groups of 5 to 50+ direct reports as a supervisor & manager. I have managed operations, planning, maintenance and environmental health and safety departments. As a builder in Monroe, Dade, Collier, Lee & Hendry Counties my company built 30+ homes. I intimately know every process of building and or renovating every type of structure to include working with financial institutions, attorneys, title company , local permitting and planning departments.