Can I act for you in The Villages, Sumter County?

What to expect from me

You will find agents who list every city in Florida and let you assume they are in all of them. I would rather set out the actual position. The Villages is inside my licence and outside my weekly routine. Depending on what you are doing — a straightforward sale, a relocation, an investment purchase — that either matters a great deal or barely at all, and it is worth two minutes on the phone to work out which.

What actually decides a Florida closing

Where there is an association, the association sets part of the calendar and nobody can hurry it. Approval processes, estoppel letters and the fee that comes with them are all statutory or contractual, all predictable, and all capable of adding weeks when nobody orders them at the start. I order them at the start. It is not clever, it is just the difference between a closing that moves and one that waits.

What tends to decide a Florida closing

• Windstorm and flood are underwritten separately from the main policy across much of Florida. Price them on the specific address before you are under contract, not after.
• For condominium buildings of three storeys or more at the relevant age, Florida requires milestone structural inspections and a structural integrity reserve study. Both change assessments and financeability. Read them before waiving anything.
• The homestead exemption reduces taxable value on a Florida primary residence, and the Save Our Homes cap limits how fast the assessed value rises afterwards. Portability may carry a benefit from a prior Florida homestead. Your county property appraiser is the authority, not your agent.
• Title in Florida is customarily handled through a title company rather than an attorney as a matter of course, which changes who you call when a question arises mid-contract.

Other cities in Florida

• Hallandale Beach
• North Lauderdale
• Aventura
• St. Cloud
• Lakewood Ranch
• Estero
• Naples
• Marco Island
• All of Florida