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FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE SUN ON FLORIDA’ S GULF COAST... AN OBTAINABLE DREAM WITH RE / MAX’ S MICHELE LEONE
If you think purchasing a home in Florida is something you can’ t do from Western Pennsylvania, you’ re wrong.
A Realtor with the RE / MAX Home Center in the South Hills, Michele Leone is an expert in both the local Pittsburgh market as well as the market of Southwest Florida, where she travels frequently.
Leone has both a Florida and Pennsylvania license. Along with selling Pittsburgh real estate full time, she is the only locally based agent actively selling Florida properties as well. She specializes in new and pre-construction residential properties in southwestern Florida’ s coastal areas, but she has experience selling existing homes as well.
In Florida, she is affiliated with The Realty Group of Southwest Florida and has an extensive network of builders, mortgage brokers and other related professionals to help her clients navigate the process of purchasing real estate. And she is engaged the entire time – from monitoring a home’ s construction to keeping her clients up-to-date on the progress and impending closing date. For clients who are looking to rent out their properties, Leone is able to recommend a trusted management team, a list of reliable cleaning people, etc.
Leone said the recent surge of over-65 visitors, paired with a low inventory of existing properties has made it virtually impossible to find a suitable home to rent for less than $ 4,000 a month. That price doesn’ t include the mandatory 11 percent leisure tax, plus additional application and cleaning fees. So instead of throwing money away on rent, many clients are taking advantage of low interest rates and buying new construction homes.
Unlike the tight rental market, Southwest Florida is teeming with available new construction homes, Leone said.
Many people believe that they can save money by going directly to the builder without having their own buyer’ s agent, but that is not the case. Builders rely heavily on independent agents to sell their communities and because of this relationship with realtors, they cannot and will not give buyers a discount if they are not represented by their own agent. Currently, Leone is offering a 1 percent rebate on any new construction home that is purchased with her as the registered Realtor.
When she started selling Florida properties 13 years ago, Leone said that she“ found a need that wasn’ t being met.”
She adds,“ After the severe decline in the housing market in 2007, many developers stopped building in Florida. But they came back in 2014 and are now busy trying to make up for years of pent-up demand. A lot of my Pittsburgh clients tell me that they don’ t know who to trust in Florida when it comes to real estate and would rather deal with someone from their hometown. I do whatever I can to help. I even have past clients who still call me for directions and restaurant recommendations!” For more information on Leone’ s Florida properties, go to flsouthwestproperties. com, where you can peruse properties from 122 communities in Southwest Florida, from Venice to Naples, with 238 property listings. There are communities and properties to fit every lifestyle and budget. You can also call Michele Leone directly at 412.294.8144.
Michele Leone Realtor | Multi-Million Dollar Producer 412.294.8144 info @ flsouthwestproperties. com
Visit flsouthwestproperties. com today.
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Resort & Golf Community in Naples Priced from $ 427,690
“ My Pittsburgh clients tell me that they don’ t know who to trust in Florida when it comes to real estate and would rather deal with someone from their hometown!”
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FLORIDA PROPERTIES
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