NAPLES GOLF GUY BLOG

Why Hire a Real Estate Agent?

October 28, 2015 Posted by Matt

Many people wonder whether they should hire a real estate agent to assist them in buying a home or if they should first try to go it on their own. In today’s market: you need an experienced professional!

You Need an Expert Guide if you are Traveling a Dangerous Path

The field of real estate is loaded with land mines. You need a true expert to guide you through the dangerous pitfalls that currently exist. Finding a home that is priced appropriately and ready for you to move in to can be tricky. An agent listens to your wants and needs, and can sift out the homes that do not fit within the parameters of your “dream home”. A great agent will also have relationships with mortgage professionals and other experts that you will need in securing your dream home.

You Need a Skilled Negotiator

In today’s market, hiring a talented negotiator could save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. Each step of the way – from the original offer, to the possible renegotiation of that offer after a home inspection, to the possible cancellation of the deal based on a troubled appraisal – you need someone who can keep the deal together until it closes. Realize that when an agent is negotiating their commission with you, they are negotiating their own salary; the salary that keeps a roof over their family’s head; the salary that puts food on their family’s table. If they are quick to take less when negotiating for themselves and their families, what makes you think they will not act the same way when negotiating for you and your family? If they were Clark Kent when negotiating with you, they will not turn into Superman when negotiating with the buyer or seller in your deal.

Bottom Line

Famous sayings become famous because they are true. You get what you pay for. Just like a good accountant or a good attorney, a good agent will save you money…not cost you money.

If you are looking to purchase a home in a golf course community it can be even more challenging, Naples alone has 70 of them. To ensure you find the ideal home for the best value, hire a real estate agent who specializes in golf communities.

Matt Klinowski – Golf Community Real Estate Expert – 239-370-0892

Mediterra Properties for Sale

There are currently 60 Mediterra properties for sale. Mediterra is a luxury golf community located in southwest FL. Interestingly enough, this community bridges both Collier and Lee counties with some homes located in Naples and the remainder in Bonita Springs. Not sure if you should live in Naples or Bonita Springs? There are advantages to both. For example, the property tax rate in Collier county is lower than in Lee county.

Mediterra is one of a few golf communities with more than one golf course. Both courses were designed by Tom Fazio. Membership is capped at 450 members.

In addition to having multiple golf courses, it is also one of the few golf course communities that offer both new construction homes as well as resales of existing homes. Single-family homes start at just over $1 million and condos start at just under $500,000.

Interested in taking a look at Mediterra properties for sale? Call me for a private tour of Mediterra homes.

View Mediterra Properties for Sales

Matt Klinowski – Golf Community Real Estate Expert – 239-370-0892

About Naples Golf Guy

Contact Matt: Matt@NaplesGolfGuy.com

or at 239-370-0892

October 27, 2015 Posted by NaplesGolfGuy

Golf Tip – Fairway Bunker

October 27, 2015 Posted by Matt

Is it okay to hit a hybrid from a fairway bunker? Absolutely! If you need to a hit a long shot from a fairway bunker, you may use a hybrid to get the job done. However, you need to make sure there is no lip to the bunker before you try the hybrid. Play the ball back about one inch from where you would normally play the club from the fairway. Keep you legs and feet still and use your upper body to power the swing. Strike the ball first and skim a small amount of sand in front of the ball. This should get the ball up and out so that it carries a good distance.

International Buyers

October 26, 2015 Posted by Matt

Florida remains the most popular state for international buyers of U.S. residential real estate. According to a new study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), over the past year, foreigners purchased 44,000 existing residential properties in Florida for the 12-month period ending in June which is down by 8,300 or 16 percent from the previous year. Rising home prices and less favorable exchange rates are two key factors in the reduction of the number of sales to international buyers over the past year.

The latest sales accounted for 12 percent of Florida’s total residential market, down from 15 percent last year.

The dollar volume of international sales totaled $23.7 billion, 24 percent of the state’s total residential sales and higher than the prior year’s 19 percent.

“Increases in home prices across the U.S. and in Florida, changes in foreign exchange rates and adverse economic conditions in some countries appear to have been the major factors that dampened the demand for existing homes by foreign buyers,” said report author Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR.

Home prices rose 6 percent in Florida during the study period.

“The weakening of most currencies against the U.S. dollar — the Canadian dollar, the Brazilian real and the euro — further made Florida prices more expensive in terms of the local currency,” Yun said. “In this year’s survey, respondents reported that the primary reason cited for not making a sale was ‘cost of property’ (18 percent in 2015, 11 percent in 2014). Previously, ‘could not find property’ was the major reason.

“Also, a higher share of respondents cited that the exchange rate movement had an impact on foreign purchases.”

Miami led the state with the most international buyers purchasing homes at 36 percent, with Fort Lauderdale second, at 14 percent.

“Foreign buyers typically purchased properties that were more expensive than those purchased by the typical Florida domestic buyer,” Yun said. “The average price of a property purchased by the foreign buyer was $538,600, compared to the average price of $258,200 in Florida’s residential market.”

Buyers from Western Europe, except the U.K., and from China bought the more expensive properties, while buyers from the U.K. and Canada purchased less expensive properties. That tracked with the survey’s findings that the majority of these buyers purchased properties in Miami-Miami Beach area, where home prices are higher.

Nearly three-fourths of foreign buyers paid cash, with Canadians the most likely to buy without financing.

Two-thirds of Florida’s foreign buyers said they bought homes to use as vacation or rental properties, or both. Another 20 percent purchased as a primary or retirement residence.

Nearly half of the foreign sales were condos, apartments or townhomes, which are more typical purchases for part-time residents.

“The international market for the sale of existing residential homes to non-resident foreigners remains an important part of the total Florida real estate market,” Yun concluded. “Although the role of foreign buyers has declined compared to the years in the wake of the Great Recession, foreign buyers continue to be a significant source of business in Florida, especially when compared against the national performance.”

View full report on international buyers

Golf Tip – Posture

October 26, 2015 Posted by Matt

Good posture is important. If you have poor posture at setup, you are stacking the deck against yourself for hitting good golf shots. Stand up straight with your feet about shoulder width apart. Bend over about 30 degrees from your hips (not your waist). Keep you back straight and your neck and head in a line from your spine. Make a slight knee flex, so you get the feeling of being in an athletic position. You should feel like a baseball infielder at the ready. Your weight should be balanced on the ball of your feet, and your arms should hang down from your shoulders. You are now in perfect posture. Use a picture of a touring professional at setup, and then look at yourself in a full-length mirror to see how you compare.

Golf Tip – Toe Down

October 25, 2015 Posted by Matt

If your ball comes to rest in a bad lie near the green, do not reach for your putter. If the ball is in a depression or on hardpan, you should use an eight or nine iron for the shot. Stand close to the ball, and set the club so with the toe down. The heel of the club will be slightly off the ground. Use a putting stroke and strike the ball with the toe of the iron. The ball will pop out and roll nicely along the green. If you try to use your putter, you will tend to blade or top the ball and not make good contact. This shot also works with longer irons such as a 7 iron or 6 iron. The more green you have between the ball and the hole, the longer the club you should use. Practice this shot before trying it on the course, and you will have learned a great option for tricky lies.

Q3 Foreclosure Activity

RealtyTrac’s Q3 Foreclosure Activity Report for September 2015 shows foreclosure activity in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro totaled 438 units in September, up 10 percent from 298 in August but down 23.29 percent from 571 in September 2014. For the entire third quarter of this year, the Fort Myers-Cape Coral foreclosure activity came in at 1,407 units, compared with 2,012 units in the same period last year which represents a 30 percent decrease when compared to Q3 of 2014.

Similarly, the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island metro foreclosure activity was also up for the month of September when compared to August. Foreclosures totaled 170 units in for the month, up 11.84 percent from 152 in August but down 19.05 percent from 210 in September 2014. When comparing the third quarter of this year versus last year, the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island foreclosure activity totaled 497 units in 2015 compared with 472 in 2014 which is a slight increase over last year.

In all, Florida posted the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate according to the report.

Are you considering buying a home in Naples? Or would you rather purchase a home in Bonita Springs? Let me be your guide.

Matt Klinowski – Golf Community Real Estate Expert – 239-370-0892

About Matthew Klinowski, PA

Contact Matt: Matt@NaplesGolfGuy.com

or at 239-370-0892

October 24, 2015 Posted by Matt

Golf Tip – Cut your Irons

October 24, 2015 Posted by Matt

If you are a right handed golfer, cut your irons when you need to come into a hole from the left to right. Hitting a cut is one of the best shots to get to the pin and eliminate such trouble as bunkers or water in front of the green, or to get to a pin on the right side of the green. To hit this shot, open your stance and feel as if you are taking the club a bit outside of your normal line in your takeaway. Aim left and hold your follow-through about shoulder high without rolling our forearms over. The ball will fly high and fade nicely toward your target. Take one more club than you would normally need, as a fade will not go as far as a normal shot. Have your pro help you learn this shot and you will become a better player.

Golf Tip – Downhill Lie in a Bunker

October 23, 2015 Posted by Matt

One of the more difficult shots in golf occurs when you find your ball in a downhill lie in a bunker. You need to get the ball into the air, and the lie naturally makes this difficult. To hit this shot, play the ball a little back of center in your stance. Tilt your shoulders so their angle matches the slope of the ground in the sand trap. Take the club back low to the ground, and then try to skim the ball out by taking just a sliver of sand under the ball. The ball will come out of the sand and will usually run a good deal on the green. Play the shot accordingly, and settle for getting the ball onto the green.

New Fiddler’s Creek Village Created

Lennar Homes has announced a New Fiddler’s Creek Village. Lagomar II will include 35 single-family homes. Lennar, a national homebuilder with several communities in Naples, is offering six different floor plans. Three and four-bedroom homes will be available ranging in size from 2,244 to 3,025 square feet. New homes start at $585,000.

Fiddler’s Creek is located in southeast Naples off of Collier Boulevard. The community includes and an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Arthur Hills and is ranked among Golfweek Magazine’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses in the country.

Fiddler’s Creek is one of the few golf communities in Naples offering new construction homes. There are several villages in Fiddler’s Creek to choose from.

Additional Naples Golf communities now offering new construction include:

Are you considering purchasing a home in Naples? Not sure if you want a new construction home or an existing home? Let me be your guide.

There is no cost for you to work with a local Realtor. In fact, oftentimes I can save you money. I would be happy to share how I’ve assisted other clients and how I may be of assistance to you if you are looking for new construction in Naples FL.