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Mike Schuch: Yeah. Good morning and welcome to Trusted Transitions. I'm Mike Schuch a local realtor with Homestead Realty, and your host for this hour. In addition to being a full-time licensed realtor, I'm a seniors real estate specialist. It's a fancy credential that is awarded by the National Association of Realtors to agents who complete specialized training focused on the unique financial and emotional needs of home buyers and sellers aged. fifty and older. If you're listening to this program and you're not yet working with a realtor, I encourage you to give me a call. My number is two six two three six six forty six hundred. And you can learn more about me on my website, homefinderwisconsin dot com. If you're a senior planning to make a move this year, or maybe you're an adult child of a senior planning to make a move, this radio program is for you. Trusted Transitions connects older adults with information and resources to help them successfully navigate their home transition journey. And we have a great show for you today. In the studio, we have Jane Goessl local marketing director at Tudor Oaks Senior Community in Muskego. We have Melinda Stuart local owner of Smart Moves, Wisconsin's premier move management company. We have Michelle Fitzgerald, local owner of Horizons Law Group. And for your future for you future snowbirds, we're going to wrap up today. with Kay Fullalove, a local realtor in Southwest Florida. So let's welcome our first guest, Jane Goessl with Tudor Oaks. Good morning, Jane. Good morning. So good morning again and thank you for joining us today. Again, my name is Jane Goessl, Marketing Director here at Tudor Oaks Senior Living, located on McShane Drive in Moskego. We are a nonprofit, faith-based senior living community which offers a full continuum of care. And what that includes is independent living, assisted living, memory and enhanced care, and skilled nursing and short-term rehab, all under one roof. And what that means is you can truly receive the care that you need as you age without having to move to another community. To reach us, please call 414-529-0100 or please visit us online at www.tudoroaks.net. Today I want to start as a reminder to please join us for our 50th anniversary open house celebration. That is on Friday, june twenty sixth from one to four PM. So next week Friday, it'll be on our beautiful campus here in Muskego. We're so excited to have the surrounding community celebrate with us as our dedication to fifty years of serving seniors at Tudor Oaks Senior Living. And we look forward to the next fifty years. I may not be here in fifty years, but I'm hoping that Tudor Oaks and our wonderful caring ⁓ mission will be. There will be something for everyone, refreshments, music, game, more. And so I hope to see you there. Jane, today we're talking about one of the biggest decisions many older adults and their families face. When is the right time to move to a senior living community? What usually prompts
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someone to begin considering a move to Tutoroaks? Often it's not just one thing. Sometimes maintaining a home becomes overwhelming. Other times people are looking for more social opportunities, fewer household responsibilities, or peace of mind knowing that support. is available if they need it. Other times it's a fall or a change in health status of their loved one. We recommend making the decision to move to a senior living community before there's you know and while they're still able to enjoy so many of our amenities. Tudor Oaks has many to offer and we offer seniors an active lifestyle. Many residents tell us they wish they had made this move sooner. Yeah, that's interesting because many people think senior living is only for when they need s significant care. Exactly my point. So one of the biggest misconceptions is that moving to a senior community gives up their independence. In reality, many residents become more independent because they no longer are spending the time on the maintaining their home, their yard work, snow removal, or worrying about repairs. What are some of the questions families should ask themselves during the decision process? Well, I encourage people to think about their lifestyle today and what they want their future to also look like. Are they spending more time maintaining their home than enjoying their life? Are they feeling isolated and don't have someone around that they can, you know, you know, converse with every day or talk with and you know, are they concerned about safety, transportation, or future health needs? Those are questions that often help clarify whether it's time to explore options. I imagine emotions play a big role in the decision as well. They absolutely do. Leaving a home where you've raised a family, created memories can be very emotional, and that's completely normal. We often tell people that they're not leaving their memories behind, they're bringing them with them. The goal is to move towards a lifestyle that offers more opportunities, connections, and support. What advice would you give someone who is just beginning to explore senior living? I would say start early. Don't wait until a crisis forces a decision. Visit communities, attend events, talk with their residents, and ask a lot of questions. When people have time to explore their options, they can make decisions based on What they want rather than the need in an emergency situation. What do current Tudor Oaks residents say about their experience after moving in? One of the comments that I hear most often is I wish I had done this years ago. So residents enjoy meeting new friends, participating in the many activities that we have. They dine with their neighbors and having access to the amenities and services that we offer here at Tudor Oaks. Many tell us that they feel renewed sense of freedom because they don't have all those obligations that they had when they were at home. And for adult children listening, what role can families
play in the process? Families can be wonderful partners, first of all by listening and having open conversations with their parents or loved ones. Rather than focusing on what someone is giving up, focus on what they might gain, more time, more social connections, more security and less stress. It's important that decision remains centered on the older adults' goals and preferences. Jane, before we wrap up, what's one final thought you'd like listeners to remember? Think of senior living as a lifestyle choice, not a care decision. The best time to explore your options is before you actually need them. By planning ahead, you can choose the future that fits your vision for retirement and aging well. Great advice. Thanks for joining us today. Well, thank you. It's been a pleasure. Again, this is Jane Goessl, Marketing Director at Tudor Oaks Senior Living in Muskegel. I really, really hope to see all of you at the 50th anniversary community open house on June 26 from 1 to 4 PM on our beautiful campus on McShane Drive in Muskegel. For more information on our open house, or just for information in general about Tudor Oaks, please reach out to us at 414-529-0100-02. Or at www.tutoroaks.net. Thank you. And thanks everyone for tuning in. If you're considering senior living for yourselves or a loved one, we encourage you to learn more, ask questions, and discover what life can look like at Tutoroaks. Until next time, take care. And welcome back to Trusted Transitions. This is Mike Schuch, your trusted host. And back in the studio with us is Melinda Stuart with Smart Moves. Good morning, Melinda. Good morning. How are you today? I'm pretty good. Almost wonderful. Actually, it's my birthday today, so it's I'm doing very good today. I'm not gonna share the number with you because it's pretty big, so we don't want to scare anyone today. Hey, I see you brought a guest in with you today. Who do you have with us today? I sure did. One of my favorite people, Eric Grossmeyer from Heritage Estate Settlement. Uh-huh. I could have guessed that because it says Heritage Estate Settlement on his shirt. So I I Eric, welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm ⁓ happy to be here. So, Eric, tell us all about what Heritage Estates settlement is. What do you guys do? Sure. We ⁓ what best describes us is that we are an estate sale company. ⁓ But more or less we help people get rid of the things that they might leave behind in a move or what family had left them behind. ⁓ and we organize those things and try to get the house empty and get the most value out of the things and so that the people can move on and ⁓ you know get out of the house and get the household. I would imagine you have stories to share, right? All different kinds of Different different types of move outs that you guys do, right? Different size homes, different size items, right? I mean, do you guys will you guys remove everything all the way from smaller items all the way up to the grand piano? Or what's
what what are the what are some of the items that you that you guys ⁓ clear out or yeah we do it all. ⁓ we we sometimes help people just move a cabinet full of dishes or ⁓ or it's a complete house full. Floor to ceiling boxes, basement filled with grandpa's wood and tools and old couches and mattresses. We get rid of all that stuff. We find a place for everything. All right. Well tell us how the process of the estate settlement part of it goes. I mean, are you so you're you're reselling these and actually earning some money for the home seller then? Is that how this works? Sure. For the most part, that's the simplest way to think about it. ⁓ But what happens is that there's a value assigned to what's left. ⁓ and some things are gonna sell like, you know, vintage toys or jewelry or everyday kind of furniture or antiques. ⁓ but then there's gonna be a lot of things that are left behind, like old mattresses. No one wants an old mattress or or tube TVs. Sometimes those are difficult to sell. ⁓ so we sell the things that we can that we can in ⁓ in our shop. ⁓ we can also sell them at in the home but we don't do that very often. We remove them and bring them to our shop and then we dispose of the rest. And ⁓ you know, there may be a cost associated with that. Each estate is different. Sure. And that's what the first appointment would would indicate where they kinda sit. So what are some of the typical challenges you see folks cha ⁓ go through ⁓ typically they face with ⁓ settling an estate. Sure. The the big one is that they just don't know what they have of value. ⁓ a lot of times when kids come into mom and dad's old house and the dad and mom have been collecting for years, it's you know, they'll look at it as it might be garbage or you know, or they'll look at the wrong things as being valuable, like ⁓ grandma's antique dresser must be worth something. But the ugly nineteen sixties lamp in the corner is where all where all the value is. Or those Pokemon cards, right? That's exactly right. That's a perfect example. That's the kids, right? They come in looking for the for the Pokemon card collections. I hey, I got grandkids, I know, and some of these cards are worth a lot of money. That's exactly right. And that's that's a good example of where value has transitioned from eighteen hundreds antiques to, you know, nineteen eighties toys. And so a lot of times families get rid of those nineteen eighties things in lieu of the antiques and they just got rid of all the value. Right, right. So you're finding the The hidden treasures, the hidden values, and making sure that ⁓ the home sellers ⁓ can benefit from from that. That's wonderful. So what makes heritage estate settlement different from other clear out services? What are your some of your points of differentiation? I think the big thing is the transparency and the the helping the family through the process. I'm ⁓ a mediator there in the beginning to kind of just tell them this is what I think and this
is what you should do, this is the value I see. You know, don't do this, don't do that. And I'm and that whole process is part of the beginning stages and I can direct them at that point. And so I'm I'm more of like a liaison in the beginning. But we also have the component of, yeah, we'll empty the house at the end, but we're just trying to get them squared away and figure out what to do. Right. And a lot of places won't do that. They're just interested in getting in there, getting the stuff, the value sold, and then leaving them with the rest. And it's we're kind of a complete package that helps them get rid of everything. So this next question I'll open up to kind of both of you. How how do you guys work so well together? Because you kind of overlap a little bit in what you do. So how how does that how do you complement each other? Yeah, it's a beautiful thing because we're really helping the client figure out what they want to keep and take with them. And then simplifying the process of okay, now everything that's left Heritage Estate is gonna find the best home, whether it's selling it, getting it donated, recycled, or if if necessary, disposed of. So it's kind of like a easy one stop shop between the two of us to get the move done, make sure they have all their most important things, and then having this trusted partner that's gonna let them know the value and what things. And ⁓ as Eric said, it it is so important because sometimes families have started to pre-sort themselves and the things in the donate pile. Are those things a value and the things they thought were ⁓ gonna bring ⁓ in big big dollars are really more of the donate items. So it's so important to have an expert in your corner. I know time is really of the essence when we're trying to get homes on the market, getting them prepared, ⁓ to sell, right? Everyone's anxious to get the so I can see how you guys working together. This must go pretty quick with all of your resources pulled together, ⁓ and and working together so closely, right? ⁓ yeah. ⁓ I I mean th the big thing is you know, with what we offer with the the buyouts and the clear outs, that process can take two weeks, you know, compared to where of like maybe an estate seller, the family trying to fumble through the estate might take months and months and months, or we're giving them a solution within weeks. Exactly. We one time I had a realtor call and the home needed a lot of work done and he thought, Okay, my timeline is I think this is probably gonna take three to four months. And between our team and Eric's team, it was ready to go in. two weeks. So ⁓ it was really helpful for the person selling the home, for the realtor to move that process along really efficiently. That that's awesome. So do you guys encourage listeners to call one or the other, either one of you? How what is the process? How does the process usually go? Do they usually start with Melinda with the overall? And then Melinda reaches out to you or do they start with you, Eric? Yeah, I think for most situations where where we're working with smart moves, it's mostly you initiate my smart moves initiates the okay handling of the estate and then I'm called in. Okay. It's usually the process is usually the families going through things and trying to figure out what to move. And that always starts with smart moves because we're there just at the end to figure things out. So we usually come in after that point. Wow. Well that's that's awesome. It's awesome to know you guys work together and that you're there to help ⁓ folks. I I would I would imagine this is mostly older folks ⁓ who who are calling for the services who can't do this on their own and they and they need a helping hand. So it's wonderful you guys work so closely together. Melinda, what phone number should listeners call to ⁓ schedule you guys to come out and provide a free evaluation? You can reach Smart Moves at four one four five two six five two four two. And you can also find us at our website, smartmoves WI.com. Okay. Eric, do you want to give us your number? Yeah. My number, ⁓ Heritage Estate Settlement is four one four three zero five five five zero eight. And again, we're on on the web with heritageestate settlement dot com. You can also text me there. A lot of people just send photos and say, Hey, ⁓ as a starting point, what's this? Look what I got going on here. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thanks so much, Eric, for being with us. And Melinda, thanks again. ⁓ we're gonna take a short break, and we will be back with more trusted transitions in just a minute. Welcome back to Trusted Transitions. In the studio with me now is Michelle Fitzgerald. She's the local owner of Horizons Law Group in Brookfield. Good morning, Michelle. Good morning. So, Michelle, today house flipping is a popular trend in this country. We tend to hear about the success stories and the profits of local investors who, you know, do the renovating and the selling of the homes, but we often often don't hear about the legal challenges. So We were kind of hoping today you could walk us through some of those challenges ⁓ when investors decide ⁓ to take on a flip project. I thought before we jump into that, I could just briefly, if that's okay, do the do the review on on the couple of different types of flips that we see in the market. What what I see primarily are are three types, right? I see the cosmetic flip, and this is more of a low to ⁓ you know, moderate risk strategy, and this is where the investor is really just doing the paint. Updating paint, flooring, lighting fixtures, sore. So it's kind of, you know, just visual, not not structural integrity kind of stuff, right? Then we see more of the major. The second one is more of the major value add flip. ⁓ and that's where they're replacing ⁓ you know, floors, foundations, actually tearing down walls, right? A lot more work involved. And then the third is the wholesaling strategy where we see it it's really
not a flip strategy because the the investor who is acquiring that property is is really just assigning that contract to ⁓ another investor who will then do the flip or I mean the repairs and then and then market it. So I I suppose all these different strategies and and ⁓ th there there must this must open up the door to just a lot of legal challenges. So we thought we we would Yeah, view our expert, our local expert, and to to maybe open our eyes to what some of these challenges might be. Right. I mean, you know, I think of it in terms of the buyer, you know, a lot of times more so when we're looking at those kinds of investments and then turnaround, because when the buyer thinks something was not disclosed or not told to them or or whatever, then there can be a problem, you know, for the for the investor and this wh who's the seller. You know, so it is buyers they're gonna wanna check whether was their permits taken or were permits required for the work done, probably for the cosmetic flip, there ⁓ isn't necessarily permits permits are not necessary. But for the value added flip, a lot of times there is. If you're taking walls down or if you're if you're re ⁓ you know, renovating a kitchen or a bathroom or updating electrical or changing the plumbing, stuff like that, those all require permits. So that's gonna wanna be be taken. And of course as a as the investor you can always say you're you're you know selling as is and and and whatnot, but that, you know, it it can still come with, you know, sometimes when ⁓ people do a cosmetic flip really to hide structural issues, maybe like seepage of basement walls, you know, they they paint over it to kind of hide some of that effervescence and ⁓ you know, prior d staining of ⁓ of, you know, water d damage and And so that can be a problem because then it appears that the s the investor who maybe thought they could just do a quick cosmetic update and then, you know, turn it over for a nice profit could be sued for, you know, intentional misrepresentation where they, you know, say, Well, I d didn't live here, so I don't really know the issues. But if they're if they painted over stuff, you know, and and to try try to hide stuff, that can actually be like a civil ⁓ lawsuit issue for, you know, intentional misrepresenting it to look like it's a clean, you know, fresh basement when it in fact has known issues just by the presence of things they covered up. So those are some of the, you know, some of the I would say legal challenges that I would, you know, say there. Mm-hmm. You know what about on the what about on the, you know, with financing rules? I mean, I recently ⁓ was made aware that there's this FHA ninety day flip rule. Right, where with that type of financing, you know, you y you've gotta be aware, I guess, that you can't flip that property in in in ninety days. You gotta hold on to it longer. ⁓ are are there is that the primary one on on ⁓ that that folks need to be aware of? Are there other I guess rules on the financing side or lending restrictions? Sure. I'm not a an expert on on the different mortgage products, but I that's a very good tip that that you have to be careful of which kind of mortgage you have. Mm-hmm. You know. A lot of the first time home mortgages are gonna be something like that, where then you might get a slightly reduced rate, but then you're kind of, you know, you're you're viewed as like they're giving you this because they view you to be gonna be in this home and and be now a be a h a a homeowner and living there, not not just flipping it. But the other aspect with that though is timing in terms of taxes, because if you are gonna flip it and you do it in in a without without owning it twelve months, you're now looking at a short term gain. Short term capital gains are tax are taxed at a much higher rate. So if you keep it at least twelve months, then you can be in the long term capital gains tax rate, which is lower. Right. And on top of that, if you actually do live in it for two out of five years, you could then claim it as that you're selling your own homestead and avoid the capital gains altogether. But and so some people think ⁓ they could, you know, buy a home and live in it and rehab it and sell it every two years. Well, you technically can't. You have to it's still it's two out of the last five years. So it it's really sort of like a five year thing. You know, you could you could do it every six years because you could start that two years in the fifth year and then you're s you know, you're selling in the in the sixth year. So that, you know People have to just kind of be a little careful about that in terms of the, you know, the taxable requirements on you know, on the on the flip, whether it's the cosmetic or the value added or whatnot. Do you have a recommendation in terms of business structure, like how to organize, how to set up if it's a new investor that's just getting into this? ⁓ should they should they have an LLC? Should they is there a particular business structure they should look to set up? Yeah, I mean an LLC can really help, you know, limit the liability from their personal aspect, from their you know, their personal side. I mean, if they have workers and whatnot that are there and someone gets hurt or someone's walking by and trips on a board that was, you know, left out when they're doing the rehab, you do want to have liability. I always say the first line of defense is liability insurance. So whether that's general liability insurance for your for your, you know, quote, business, which is the flipping, you definitely have to have that. ⁓ because there can be any kind of claim of the nature that I just you know mentioned, that's really your first line of defense. And then ⁓ then secondly would be like saying it's, you know, owned by an LLC, which then if there was a lawsuit that maybe exceeded the insurance limitations, there would be protection from going after your personal assets
because they could really only go after the assets owned, you know, by the LLC. Some other pitfalls with that though is that if you you know, if if you're investing with a you know, with a friend or a you know, a a business partner, you definitely want to have like a clear written agreement that states maybe who's putting in what, you know, in terms of dollars or or work effort or what have you and and that when a when a place sells what what each party is receiving. Sure. And and title when you buy it. So sometimes I've heard people have said, Yeah, I invested with so and so and we did have a clear written agreement, but at the closing when it was purchased before we you know cleaned it up and flipped it, ⁓ I wasn't there or whatever. And so it ended up just being in the other person's name or the other person's business and unbeknownst to me or or I or I I knew that, but I just didn't worry about it. But then when we finished all the work and clean up and then went to sell, the person was like, Well, it's in my business name and I don't and I'm I'm gonna give you ten thousand dollars and I'm gonna keep the other hundred thousand or whatever the profit is and And sometimes it's like you have to weigh then. Yeah, you could sue because maybe you had a written agreement, but it depends how long, you know, they say, ⁓ you know, take it or leave it. If you don't like it, I'll give you nothing and and ⁓ And the cost of that litigation can be substantial in the time, right? And and the time. I mean someone might might might have said, No, I I need that fifty grand that I invested with you 'cause I need to pay for my son's college or I need to you know, this and that. So they they can't wait two years or whatever for the litigation to conclude to Yeah, I can see how getting some advice from you prior to going into some of this stuff would be a really good idea. What about you know, a lot of investors look in instead of just flipping the property, they look to hold it and rent it out. I mean, Airbnb, we hear about Airbnb a lot. ⁓ can you just buy a an investment property and and Airbnb it? Is it that simple or are there hurdles investors need to look out for? Right. I mean you could do a landlord you you could just, you know, get out get a straight lease and and and lease it out, but then you have to get very well versed in the landlord tenant laws in Wisconsin, which are pretty strong and very specific procedures. Or Airbnb. And and Airbnb isn't as simple as cleaning it up and listing it. You actually are, you know, should be permitted. I mean, if there if something happened or there's a fire or whatever, ⁓ and it and it was considered an an illegal, you know, short term rental is what it's called for what Airbnb, you y you know, going through the government, you know, it can s seem like a pain, but Usually the local authorities will give you the the permit, no no problem. They but they first want you to have fill out the state permit and and the state
sometimes they'll send out an inspector, sometimes they don't. And just to make sure everything's up to code, electrical, stuff like that, entrances, you know, being wide enough, things like that. And ⁓ and then you get your permit from the state and then then you can complete your application with the local municipality. I I definitely recommend that. But Airbnb is actually pretty good. They they have insurance once you're, you know, signed up with them and they have an insurance as part of their ⁓ fees that they take for, you know, each rental. And so that's that's a you know, a a nice benefit. They also do this rating system where ⁓ you know, people say, Well, what if a t a tenant, ⁓ Airbnb tenant holds over, then do have to go through the eviction process? Yes, in theory, but that person probably would never be able to use Airbnb again, right? So and if they wanna ever do that, they're gonna follow what rules and restrictions and time that they say they're renting it. So it can be a good thing, ⁓ as long as you follow the law. Yeah. That's all great information. It's always great having you on, Michelle. If listeners wanted to get a hold of you, what phone number would they call? Two six two four three two three six zero zero or horizonslaw dot com. Fantastic. Thanks again for being on. We're gonna take a short break and we'll be back with more Trusted Transitions in just a minute. Welcome back to Trusted Transitions. I'm Mike Schuch, your trusted host. And our next guest coming to us from Southwest Florida. Her name is Kay Fulalove. She's the owner of Cell State Maximum Performance Realty. Good morning, Kay. How are you? Hey, Mike. Good to see you. Thanks for having me on your program. You are welcome. So Kay is one of the top performers in the entire state of Florida, and specializes in the greater Fort. Myers area. Kate actually helped Tracy and I find a great home in Babcock Ranch. I so we thought we would have Kay on to talk a little bit about ⁓ the snowbird phenomenon. So tell us a little bit about about Kay. How long have you been at ⁓ Cell State? So I've owned the brokerage about six years now. I've lived in Southwest Florida. Gosh, let me see. I moved here in two thousand and two or two two thousand and three. To finish college at Florida Gulf Coast University. So I've been here twenty-three years now. Tracy and I were super impressed with Kay and she was a big help to us finding ⁓ the home that we have in Babcock Ranch. And so we thought we would have Kay on and just ⁓ cover some of the advantages of living in Southwest Florida for those that are thinking about possibly retiring in that area. Okay, talk to me a little bit ⁓ or listeners a little bit about climate and how that differentiates from other parts of Florida. So the climate is phenomenal in Southwest Florida. We've got the beautiful Gulf beaches. ⁓ where I'm at in Fort Myers, a sterile area, we're about twenty minutes to the beaches, and where we are located in the state.
So like if you're looking at Fort Myers versus Orlando, Fort Myers Temperatures are about ten degrees warmer than they are in Orlando. So if you're looking to snowbird somewhere where you can wear flip flops all year long, you definitely want to be about this far south in Florida. Right, right. And that's why we we we selected this that area, the area that you're in there. It's exactly right. And this is ⁓ not as busy as like the Miami side. There's a traffic. It's just crazy over there. And then we don't have all the hustle bustle and all the tourism like you'd find up in Orlando where all the theme parks are at. Exactly. Yeah, it really is the perfect location in Florida close to the beaches and you have just so many wonderful amenities in some of the communities like Babcock Ranch where we live. So t tell me a little bit about tell listeners a little bit about ⁓ comparing when we look at condos versus single family homes down in southwest Florida. Are there you know, what are some of the hidden trade offs, you know, like in HOA fees or, you know, maintenance responsibilities in these communities versus living in just a single family home? So one of the big things to consider if you're trying to decide if you want to live in a condo, an HOA or a standalone single family home is what type of lifestyle are you looking for? Are you looking Are you looking to just bring your suitcase and come down and not have to worry about anything? You're not wanting to worry about painting or doing yard work or you know, you just want to come and you want to enjoy and you don't want to worry about anything, then that's really your condo lifestyle. The condo association's gonna take care of everything for you. Your your landscaping, your pool, your ⁓ your cleaning, outside. A lot of times it includes even some of your utilities like internet and cable, water bills, it it insurance on the outside of the building, painting on the outside of the community. There's a lot that's included in it in a condo. It's worry free. It's a worry-free lifestyle. Right. With that comes some of the extra rules and regulations. And I do know some retirees like having order and rules and They want things done a certain way and they want to make sure everything looks exactly the same. So some people are gonna really like having that that that kind of stuff. If you're in a standalone single family home with no HOA, no nothing, ⁓ you have a lot more independence where you can do whatever you want with your house. You don't have rental restrictions or pet weight requirements or limiting the amount of pets you can have or what you what color you can paint the outside of your house. You know, there's a lot more freedom associated with single family homes. Right. So there's a lot to think about. There's a lot to, you know, plan for, navigate ⁓ for when when making when making that decision. You mentioned you mentioned the word insurance and, you know, nationally, ⁓ you know, property insurance has, you know, kind of been in the news since the since the hurricanes. What ⁓ what is the current state of the flood insurance right now in in Fort Myers and the surrounding area? And do seniors need to be budgeting more for for these costs when they're when they're planning to come down? So a few years ago, after the last hurricane we had, there was a little bit of Florida insurance on the news and the headlines. But look there's been a lot more carriers that have come back into the state. We're not having a hard time finding affordable insurance anymore. There's lots of choices, lots of options. In fact, I just got my renewal on one of the homes that I own and they actually dropped my rate by $40. And I thought, when does this ever happen? Your insurance is actually going down. But yes, so premiums are more competitive. I would say on average, you're probably looking at anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 for your ⁓ Homeowners insurance. And you also also have to keep in mind that's going to be based on a bunch of different factors. How old is your home? How old is the roof? How close are you to the coastal areas? What elevation is your home? What type of wind mitigation or hurricane protection do you have on your property? Which is all really going to factor into what your premiums run. And then you also in Florida, your homeowner's insurance policy does not include flood. So if you experience any type of flooding, you are also gonna have to have a flood policy. So if you're carrying a mortgage and you're living in a flood zone, your mor your lender's gonna require you to have flood insurance. ⁓ and if you're not in a flood, it's probably not a bad idea to get flood insurance 'cause overall though, over overall though, the cost of living, right, in in Florida is dramatically less because of there there's no state income tax and Now in the news we we see and we hear about ⁓ Governor DeSantis, he's proposing no ⁓ property tax or elimination of property tax as well, right? Is that ⁓ Yes, yes. So they're putting it on the ballot this year and they sixty percent vote in favor of. ⁓ but I believe what they're trying to do is they're trying to limit well, right now it's a fifty thousand dollar deduction on your assessed value for your property tax exemption. ⁓ but they are trying to up that, I believe, to a hundred and fifty thousand dollar exemption. And then you also gotta keep in mind in Florida, there's so many benefits to living here year round. We also have no state tax. Talk to us a little bit about the neighborhoods in the greater Fort Myers area and you know, where where are you typically directing you know, Wisconsinites or or Midwesterners to what communities are you encouraging them check out when they when they call you with with interest in seeing homes and condos in Southwest Florida? So it really depends on the Midwesterner. We have so many people here that have moved down and I just try to figure out what what are you into? Are you are you into boating? Are you into golfing? Do you like to go to the beach? Are you looking for something walkable? Are you looking, you know what you're looking for is what I'm going to send you towards. I know a lot of retirees really like the idea of a fifty-five plus community and we have a lot of those here. Right. Living in an HOA is a great way to plug in and make friends with people that have similar interests. Probably my top three picks right now. that I'm encouraging people to look at. One of them would be Pelican Preserve. It's a 55 plus community off of the treeline corridor in Fort Myers. It's a very close to the hospital right over there and healthcare. It's a golf course community. It's got a 27 golf ⁓ championship course. They're that got tons of amenities. You know, they've got like the wood shop and they've got indoor and outdoor pools and they've they bring farmers markets. They've got live music. They do all kinds of stuff in there. And it's very active, pickleball, tennis, everything. That's that's a big, a big top choice. There's lots of new developments too. You've got Verdana Village in Estero, which is the halfway point between Fort Myers and Naples. And you've got new construction in there. No golf, but it's one of those resort style communities where you've got your restaurants and multiple swimming pools and they've got, you know, your your pickleball leagues and ⁓ your craft bar and, you know, lots of social activities, live music, different things to do there. ⁓ and then another option, which I know you know I like to recommend would be Babcock Ranch. You know, you want to stay away from the coast close enough to drive and visit the beaches, but you're not gonna have to worry about flooding or anything crazy. But they've got Babcock Ranches, which is ⁓ America's biggest solar city that they're building. And they've got it's gonna be its own town. I mean, it's incredible. There's gonna be over two hundred thousand homes out there with a huge town center and lots of nature trails and walking and it really does have like your small town feel. Right, right. Well, we we love it when we go down and spend time there in the winter. ⁓ months, the live music they have on the weekends, the food trucks, all the amenities, the pickleball, the parks. ⁓ i it's just a a wonderful community. Okay, unfortunately we're already these ten minute segments go really fast, but if if you're up for it, we'd love to have you back next week 'cause I have had a few more questions I wanted to ask you. And ⁓ so Let's do that. Let's have you back. And ⁓ so listeners, ⁓ this is Kay full of love. And ⁓ she is with Cell State Maximum Performance Realty in Southwest Florida. Kay, if listeners wanted to get a hold of you, what number would they reach you at? ⁓ give me a call at 239-246-9851. That'll wrap it up for this week's episode of Trusted Transitions. Have a great day.