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Can anyone list all the approx costs involved in the buying process as I have read sometimes most of the fees can be paid by the seller, is this true?
It would be great to have a list of average amounts I will have to pay, also yearly running costs like tax, water, electric, insurance etc.. as Im from the UK it would be good to have an idea of how expensive it is to run a house in Florida.
mr&mrssunshine, I should be ok with regards to rugs as I still have most of my own hair.... although maybe for not much longer..
What is that about rugs?!
All I know is Mrs Sunshine should be an interior decorator! She did a fabulous job on decorating her house! All the furniture, curtains and rugs matched perfectly! Alas, for that is only through heresay that I Know, since I did not tour the whole house! Maybe next time!
Mr. Sunshine should stick with stocking the frig with beer, wine, and steaks for the grill!
Mr. Sunshine helped a lot with everything! Oh, including closely inspecting things like the bathroom floor! Mr. Sunshine spent the whole evening after we left (his house warming party), making sure the grout in the floor matched the tile! And, from what I here, he did a very thorough job - it took him all night! It's a real shame when the host falls ill to that horrible disease - over indulgence! All I can say is - I'm glad he pulled through!
Articpaz, I think the Sunshines would be a great resourse for you discussing the cost of things, since you both think in pounds. Pete thinks in litres too. Pounds of Beer, and Litres of wine. He claims I'm the hearty drinker, but alas, I only think in ounces of beer, glasses of wine, and U.S. dollars. You know - the small stuff. LOL
Come on Mr. Sunshine - I await your Majestic / Royal reply! I bow to your wit and humor, as I drink some Earl Grey, that I just fished out of my canal. LOL Sorry all, I had a little time to kill. I didn't mean to go so crazy! ((I'd say overboard, but that would be too funny! Since I just made a nice Boston Tea Party reference already. So I won't go there - OK.)) I don't like being too direct.
Your welcome! She's the best !!- Today she was stood on top of her car in a garage, trying to get in the loft to look around for me.. I don't know many Women that would go anywhere near a loft let alone stand on top of a nice car to get to it
Your welcome! She's the best !!- Today she was stood on top of her car in a garage, trying to get in the loft to look around for me.. I don't know many Women that would go anywhere near a loft let alone stand on top of a nice car to get to it
OMG! That was crazy. I was trying to look for Chinese drywall and of course there were no stairs up to the attic so I pull my car up and stand on the roof.
So then I realize that it's still quite a bit taller than me so I grab the two by fours on the edge and pull up and swing my legs up into the hole. My cell phone drops out of my pocket onto my glass sunroof as I'm doing this.
So then I'm sitting on the edge of the wood 2x4's and it's hotter than Hades. Then I start flipping up all the insulation trying to see if there is anything that says made in China and it has blown in insulation as well as the regular sheets of the stuff and it's flying all over the place. So now I'm covered in insulation. All this work and still could not find any stamping, label name or anything. What a disappointment.
Then I'm looking down from the attic wondering how the heck I'm gonna mange to get down from there. So I tried to lower myself down and being the wimp that I am, I couldn't really hold myself, so now I have a huge scrape all down my arm from the wood.
Now I'm totally itchy all over from the insulation stuff and of course I was wearing shorts so my legs are completely itchy as well.
Can anyone list all the approx costs involved in the buying process as I have read sometimes most of the fees can be paid by the seller, is this true?
It would be great to have a list of average amounts I will have to pay, also yearly running costs like tax, water, electric, insurance etc.. as Im from the UK it would be good to have an idea of how expensive it is to run a house in Florida.
mr&mrssunshine, I should be ok with regards to rugs as I still have most of my own hair.... although maybe for not much longer..
All contracts are negotiable any they can be written so one side or the other pays certain things. They won't necessarily accept it but it can be written that way.
Many of the fees that would arise would be from your lender. If you are paying cash you would have proration of taxes. You figure this out by taking the entire amount of the taxes for the year and divide by 365. Get the daily rate for taxes and then multiply it by however many days you will own the property that year. That's your portion.
Your settlement fee at a title company would be $200-$400, estimated. Title insurance which is a negotiable item would be $575 and a $250 search and exam fee on a $100K home. Then you might have some miscellaneous smaller fees like a courier fee or a credit check, etc
You might want or need a survey around $300. An appraisal would be around $300. Both things are optional if you don't have a mortgage. Then you would have your home owners insurance, which is not required on a cash deal, but it is recommended. There are very few fees if you are paying cash.
The milage rate for taxes in Sarasota county is 14.8. Water bill would depend on if you have city or well water. I'm on well and I have about $35 per month in salt but I also pay someone to come out and fill and check the salt. I think it's much less if you do it yourself. I get my well scrubbed out once every six months and the filters changed. This runs me $100 every six months.
The insurance would depend a lot on the year the home was built, if it has hurricane shutters or impact resistant glass, what style the roof is-hip or gable. Hip is the best. How close the home is to a natural body of water of fire hydrant. How the roof is tied down. If the home is concrete block or wood frame. If the home is in a flood zone and what zone that is. There are lots of variables with insurance. Many of the homes west of US 41 are in a flood zone.
I'll give you an example though. My home is in North port, Built in 2003, is 2127 under air, has a hip roof, no pool, has hurricane shutters and is not in a flood zone. I had my home inspected by www.MySafeFloridaHome.com which in most cases will save you a bundle. Before I had my wind inspection my insurance was $1987 per year and after the inspection it was $727. Big difference.
Electric-well, this will depend quite a bit on the construction of the home, how large the home is, what you keep your thermostat set at and other things you use in the home. I do about 4+ loads or so of laundry per day, run the dishwasher, showers and baths non stop with three girls, TV and computers going nearly always, etc My last electric bill was $120.
ok here we go =this could be a long list buty i hope it will help
Closing costs we paid less than $1000 this included a survey ($350) for the title company and some fees to our bank for the mortgage plus a few other associated costs. Seller paid the rest.
There is no equivalent of stamp duty (thank god)
Mortgage we had to put min 30% and got a rate about 1.5% above the locals rate (us being aliens n all !!)
'running' costs
Mortgage -depends what you borrow
Taxes paid annualy and are due in Nov but you get up to 6 months to pay
Insurance = our cost $1600 pa because the house in not occuopied full time
flood ins = approx $350 pa
electric -billed monthly its running at around $20 a month when empty and $60-70 when we occupy although i guess in summer it would be more (air con)
water billed monthly around $20
phone/internet = we use Embarqs vacation package which can be turned on and off as you please, $60 a month when live $10 a month when not in use (service charge
TV it cost us $300 to put up a dish network dish which is then pay as you go ($30 a month) we also paid another $200 to get a dish to pick up the free public stations
there mustbe more but i cant think of any more right now
our home is a brand new 2000 sq ft with no pool
we also pay a friend who has a home management comp to cut the grass and do a fortnighlty walk through ($100-150 a month depending on number of cuts)
i have put everything in dollars as we sent a load of cash over and use a local bank so we get the best rate.
Artic if you want any more info you can always call me - we are in Kent - DM me for a phone no.
What is that about rugs?!
All I know is Mrs Sunshine should be an interior decorator! She did a fabulous job on decorating her house! All the furniture, curtains and rugs matched perfectly! Alas, for that is only through heresay that I Know, since I did not tour the whole house! Maybe next time!
Mr. Sunshine should stick with stocking the frig with beer, wine, and steaks for the grill!
Mr. Sunshine helped a lot with everything! Oh, including closely inspecting things like the bathroom floor! Mr. Sunshine spent the whole evening after we left (his house warming party), making sure the grout in the floor matched the tile! And, from what I here, he did a very thorough job - it took him all night! It's a real shame when the host falls ill to that horrible disease - over indulgence! All I can say is - I'm glad he pulled through!
Articpaz, I think the Sunshines would be a great resourse for you discussing the cost of things, since you both think in pounds. Pete thinks in litres too. Pounds of Beer, and Litres of wine. He claims I'm the hearty drinker, but alas, I only think in ounces of beer, glasses of wine, and U.S. dollars. You know - the small stuff. LOL
Come on Mr. Sunshine - I await your Majestic / Royal reply! I bow to your wit and humor, as I drink some Earl Grey, that I just fished out of my canal. LOL Sorry all, I had a little time to kill. I didn't mean to go so crazy! ((I'd say overboard, but that would be too funny! Since I just made a nice Boston Tea Party reference already. So I won't go there - OK.)) I don't like being too direct.
I will now address Senor Grande maisons abusive comments !
Rugs -private joke -to be explained over a beer.
Mel did indeed do a superb job furnishing the house, as the bank balance will show JB didnt relaise you hadnt had a grand tour,
as for catering yes yours truly is now a grill wizard
lastly the libellous suggestion that i over indulged -totally untrue -in merely being a good host and trying to match Big H with a glass of wine for every beer he sipped I may have had one or two, however at some late stage someone laced my iced water with quadruple Baileys (a number of times) and having finished the best part of a double bottle I remembered the old law of physics 'what goes down must come up' !
and as for tea JB that is a poncy drink sipped by liteweights who claim to have drunk too much the night before and cant handle a real drinking competition.........................
OMG! That was crazy. I was trying to look for Chinese drywall and of course there were no stairs up to the attic so I pull my car up and stand on the roof.
So then I realize that it's still quite a bit taller than me so I grab the two by fours on the edge and pull up and swing my legs up into the hole. My cell phone drops out of my pocket onto my glass sunroof as I'm doing this.
So then I'm sitting on the edge of the wood 2x4's and it's hotter than Hades. Then I start flipping up all the insulation trying to see if there is anything that says made in China and it has blown in insulation as well as the regular sheets of the stuff and it's flying all over the place. So now I'm covered in insulation. All this work and still could not find any stamping, label name or anything. What a disappointment.
Then I'm looking down from the attic wondering how the heck I'm gonna mange to get down from there. So I tried to lower myself down and being the wimp that I am, I couldn't really hold myself, so now I have a huge scrape all down my arm from the wood.
Now I'm totally itchy all over from the insulation stuff and of course I was wearing shorts so my legs are completely itchy as well.
The adventures of being a Realtor
I hope you had your .............................no cant go there
oh and send money via a currency broker -you will get the best rate (currently around $1.65)
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Alas, for that is only through heresay that I Know, since I did not tour the whole house! 
Maybe next time! 
It's a real shame when the host falls ill to that horrible disease - over indulgence! All I can say is - I'm glad he pulled through! 
JB didnt relaise you hadnt had a grand tour,
