The Importance of Flood Insurance

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When you buy a home, you’ll be asked if you want to purchase flood insurance. Sometimes it’s obvious a homeowner needs such coverage, but other times the need is less clear. But the widespread flooding here in Florida caused last June by Tropical Storm Debby, not to mention the damage caused last October in the Northeast by Hurricane Sandy, should be a wake-up call about the importance of flood insurance to protect your home and possessions.  Many of the affected homeowners lived in areas of low flood risk, and many did not carry flood insurance.  With our official hurricane season just around the corner, now is the perfect time to review your coverage.

So how do you know if coverage is needed? Here are tips from Jim Martin at the Welch Group (www.thewelchgroup.net) that can help you decide.

1. Find out if you are in a flood zone. Any insurance agent should be able to tell you, and you sometimes can find the information on the property appraiser’s website.

2. Learn your zone. The category of flood zone determines your flood insurance rate.  Mortgage lenders will require you to carry flood insurance if you live in the A zone or V zone. The X zone is a preferred-risk flood zone. Lenders may not require flood insurance, but you still may choose to carry it.

3. Get a copy of an elevation certificate. If you are in an A or V zone, be sure to get a copy of an elevation certificate from the current homeowner or through your local zoning department. Also, a surveyor can accomplish this for you.

4. Low-risk zone insurance is affordable. If you live in the low-risk zones of B, C or X, the coverage can be as low as $129 a year to a maximum of $376 a year for the best-possible coverage. Tropical Storm Debby caused a lot of the damage in the low-risk areas, and many homeowners were out of luck because they had not purchased flood insurance. Because all flood insurance is underwritten by the federal government, coverage costs the same price, regardless of the carrier.

For more information on flood insurance, contact me or Jim Martin at (888) 855-2921.

Maria Hoffman  Tampa Home Group (813) 907-2555  mariahoffman@verizon.net

What Does Sinkhole Insurance Really Cover?

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Between 2006 and 2010 the insurance industry paid out $3.6 billion in sinkhole claims in Florida alone.    In fact, the amount of money paid out in sinkhole claims rivals hurricane claims.  With the recent stories about sinkholes making national news, we thought it might be a good time to get this information out to you.

What is a sinkhole?

A sinkhole is a collapse of the ground caused by a variety of reasons.  They can form gradually or suddenly.  In Florida the porous ground makes the state more prone to sinkholes, so because of this, home policies include mandatory catastrophic ground collapse insurance.  In order to be considered catastrophic, four criteria must be met to get the claim paid:

• The collapse of the ground must be sudden,
• Damage must be visible to the naked eye,
• There must be damage to the structure and foundation,
• The governing body must condemn the property.


Most claims don’t meet all four of the criteria, in particular, the condemnation. Another type of coverage—non-catastrophic—is an endorsement that covers you even if your property is not condemned. Only one carrier, Citizens Property and Casualty, offers the endorsement which requires an inspection process. Your insurance agent can advise you if you want to take advantage of this type of insurance. If you already have the endorsement in place and it is affordable, you are probably best off not changing carriers, as it may be difficult to obtain this type of coverage with another insurer. We can put you in touch with preferred agents who can help answer your questions.

Friends, the news is everywhere,  the real estate market is changing quickly, and that creates OPPORTUNITIES. If you are thinking of making a move, call us today, and let us help you achieve your goals. When we list your home, because of our extensive network of past clients and friends, we may already have a buyer for your home. Stay tuned to our next edition of Tampa Home Group TV for details on how we can help you navigate today’s market to sell your existing home and purchase the home you really want. 

Your team from Tampa Home Group is to assist you with your real estate needs and questions. Please contact us at (813) 907-2555 Info@TampaHomeGroup.com. We’re here to help.

Four Ways to Take Advantage of Tampa’s Sellers’ Market

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In 2013, the real estate seller’s market has arrived! After years of backlogs, real estate inventories in the Tampa area have dwindled, creating the best sellers’ market in years.

Now, it’s not uncommon to see homes go under contract with multiple offers – and often for more than a seller’s asking price.

If you’re looking to sell a home, here are four ways you can achieve multiple offers and get the best-possible price for your property.

1. Enter the market at the right price. Your home needs to enter the market at a proper, competitive price that creates value for potential buyers looking at your home.

2. The condition of your home. To sell a home for top dollar, your home must be in top-dollar condition. We’ll meet with you and tell you what you need to do to get your home in the best-possible shape.

3. Marketing your home is crucial. Our proven listing plan of action that we’ve used in the past two years has helped us sell more than 300 homes. Not only will we maximize the exposure of your home to the largest number of qualified buyers, we will showcase your home to our fellow real estate agents.

4. Have an experience real estate team get you to the closing table. Hire an experienced team like ours to make the transaction as painless as possible, helping you avoid mistakes and pitfalls. We will work through the potential inspection, appraisal and financing issues that can prevent a home sale from closing.

Are you ready to take advantage of Tampa’s new sellers’ market? Call or email us today so we can help you get the top dollar for your home.

Do Business with Us in 2013 and You Could Win a Fantastic Vacation

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2013 is off to an exciting start, and Tampa Home Group is here to help you reach your real estate related goals—and have some fun too!

This year we’ll be awarding one of you a fantastic vacation to one of four destinations – your choice!

How do you get entered into this Tampa Home Group contest? It’s quite easy.  You’ll be entered each time you:

• Buy or sell a property with Tampa Home Group in 2013
• Refer us someone who lists their home or enters into an agreement to buy a home with us.

It’s that simple!

What will you choose?  Will it be a week unwinding on the beach in Maui?  Or wine tasting in Napa Valley?  Or how about enjoying the spectacular scenery on an Alaskan cruise?  Have your own vacation ideas? Send in your suggestions, and maybe it will become one of the choices we offer. The winner will be chosen on December 7, 2013.

Our entire team is committed keeping you updated on the real estate market, and to creating World Class Experiences for you as we serve your real estate needs.  Thanks to the hundreds of you who over the past 15 years have sent us your family, friends, and business associates.

Stayed tuned for updates about the contest throughout the year. Good luck!

The Secrets of Buying a Home When Faced with Multiple Bidders

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The real estate market in the Tampa area has dramatically shifted in 2012. Our home inventory is at an all-time low, and competition to buy homes has increased.   We are regularly seeing multiple offer situations in all price ranges from investment property up through luxury homes.  (provided the homes are priced aggressively)

This means that when we help you find a home that is a great value, there will likely be other buyers who are just as eager as you to buy that home.  In fact, last weekend, our team wrote three offers on three different homes, and all three homes had attracted multiple bids.

It’s OUR job to make sure YOU WIN and secure the home you want.
In this competitive market, you must be prepared. Here are four tips to keep in mind to help you before you even start home shopping:

1. Time is of the essence. You must make your home search a priority. It might mean leaving work a bit early or visiting a home over your lunch break. You need to act quickly; you can’t always wait until the weekend to go see a home.

2. Make an offer quickly. Once we find that great value, the longer it takes us to get our offer over to the seller, the more potential buyers enter the picture.  We can use time to our advantage if we are more prepared than other buyers.    Here is our commitment to you:  BEFORE WE GO OUT LOOKING, we are going to take the time to make sure we understand your needs fully, you understand what is going on in the market, and you have all the information you need to make an informed wise decision with confidence.

3. Make your offer strong and make sure it is presented professionally. Together, we will write a clean and strong offer that the seller wants.  We are not just talking about the price you offer.  What most buyers don’t realize is that often small details and/or the way an agent presents an offer can make the difference in getting one offer accepted over another.  Sometimes important documents, proof of funds, or preapprovals are missing.  Many poorly written, incompletely filled out offers are sent to our office each month…and we wonder if these buyers realize that their agent has not done a thorough job.  Our team will make sure the paperwork is filled out properly, details are handled and nothing is missing.  Did you know that asking for closing costs weakens an offer?  Sometimes buyers need help with closing costs, and we find ourselves in a competing offer situation.  We have a solution, there is a simple way to get your closing costs covered without asking the seller.  We’ll show you.

4. Find a knowledgeable agent. Before you start to shop, you must find a good buyer’s agent who’s knowledgeable about the market you’re considering. You wouldn’t think about climbing Mount Everest without a guide, and you wouldn’t think of performing your own surgery. Today it’s common for buyers to start online, shop for a home, and end up in all types of complicated situations with no one to turn to for help because no one is representing their interests.  In the end, many of these people end up in our office with horror stories that have cost them time and money.  Let us help you avoid the hassles and find a great value.

Buying a home in today’s market should be a great experience.

Need a Real Estate Agent Referral? We can Help!

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When we moved here to Tampa from New York 18 years ago, our doctor personally recommended another great doctor here in Tampa. This new doctor became a trusted family resource, and we were very thankful to have a recommendation rather than have to search on our own.

Referrals like this happen in the real estate field, as well.  Over the past 15 years, we have faithfully invested in our own professional education by attending a wide range of events, and we communicate with top agents across the country.  We mastermind regularly with these agents, who are providing superior results to their clients. So if you have a family member, friend, or business associate with a real estate need anywhere in North America, contact us so that we can provide you with an agent with experience and a proven track record.

Just like the field of medicine, the real estate marketplace is constantly evolving, you need to work with professionals who are willing to continually educate themselves, who innovate, invest in their businesses, and commit to world class service.

Let us help you locate those professionals nationwide.

Busting a Real Estate Myth: 3 Reasons to Sell Before the Holidays

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It’s one of the biggest myths in real estate: You should wait to list your home for sale until after the year-end holidays.

Reality says otherwise:

1. Buyers are serious. The last quarter of the year is actually very busy for real estate here in the Tampa area. The number of buyers is statistically fewer than in the spring, but these year-end buyers are very serious. Anyone home shopping around Thanksgiving or Christmas really needs to buy a home.

2. There’s less competition. Because there are fewer homes on the market, there’s less competition. And that means you might be able to get a bit more for your home now than after the holidays when everybody puts up their homes for sale.

3. Flexible schedule. Around the holidays, there may be visits from family and lots of holiday parties and entertaining. We at Tampa Home Group will work around your social schedule. If you want to take days off or limit showings around the holidays, we are happy to accommodate you.

So if you are on the fence about your timing, let’s discuss what buyers will pay for your home today! We’re here to answer any of your questions.