All Forum Posts by: Karen A.

If it's not already in your lease, put it in (I have it in mine.)  I also added "sheds" for the same reason.  I don't want people living in my garages OR backyards.  Until then, a "cure or quit" (as mentioned previously) should do it.  You don't need any further "legal reasons" other than a lease violation unless it contradicts state laws.

I use Quick Check credit reports.  You pay for the reports as you need them.  The LL enters the info and pulls the info themselves.  

@Maureen Sepulveda

There is a similar house in my neighborhood.  The owners put "hip" style trusses on the top in hopes of giving it more height and a better curb appeal.  They finished the top in metal panels and then re-roofed the existing mansard in metal panels also, so it looks uniform.  Now the house looks like it has a little hat on top.  I'm not so sure it was worth the expense to do that, but that was their decision.

On your house it looks like there is some room around the front door if you want to build a nicer "entry" around it.  Add a reverse gable to the front with some columns to make the entry/front door the focal point.  That way the eye is drawn to that portion, plus it would break up the front of the house which right now looks very "horizontal."

(BTW- my "day" job is doing architectural planning/ interior design for a retail chain of stores, and I design store facades all the time.  This is just the residential version of it.)  :-)

@Eric Wiinanen I haven't lived in other places in Florida so I don't know what the proportion of wood frame to CBS (concrete block/ stucco) construction is in each area.  I know that in my area, you will pay more to insure a wood frame house as opposed to a CBS one.

I think the 4-point inspection that was noted above only applies to houses over 30 years old.  I remember I didn't have to do it for one of my properties that was exactly 30 years old when I bought it  (built in '83, bought in 2013).  All the other ones I have were older and required the 4-point.  The wind mit is optional but will save you lots of $$$ in insurance if the house can tick all the boxes.

Since that area is affected by hurricanes (like the rest of Florida), you should preferably buy block houses, and get a wind mitigation report that will tell you if the "3rd nail" has been installed.  You can get a significant insurance discount with that.  If it doesn't, spend the $800 (or so) to get it done.

My area (Bradenton) does not have sinkhole issues like other areas north of Tampa, therefore we do not have coverage for it.  I guess I'm relying on the history of my area and "rolling the dice" so to speak.

@Michael Bacile The well that came with the property wasn't very deep, and the pump was on the surface.  With the pump on the surface it was pulling water up from the hole, like a straw.  When the water level dropped and the water no longer reached the bottom of the "straw," we had no water.  We had a new well installed that is 75' deep, and it has a submersible pump.  Now it sits at the bottom and PUSHES the water up to the surface instead of pulling it up like before.  It cost us $1500 back in 2012.  We haven't had a problem since. 

I have a property with a well.  Everything was working fine during the wet season but once we went into dry season the water table dropped and we had no water.  We installed a new, deeper well and everything has been fine since then.

I use an insurance broker, that way they can look at several different companies to see if one will fit your needs.

My properties are in Bradenton FL (just south of Tampa), and I'm having the exact same experience as Mr. Jaworski (previous post).  Rental demand is very high (vacancies filled in a month or less)  but I am not buying any more in this area right now; the numbers just don't work for me (for buy and hold.)