Financial Hack Allows Florida Home Buyers To Get Lower Interest Rates

Florida home buyers have been hit with a double whammy of higher home prices, and higher interest rates. But there is relief if you know how to find it, Here's two tips that can help you save thousands a year on those mortgage payments.

According to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors, 15 US cities are seeing a decline in home values. 3 are here in Florida. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers market saw a year over year price decline of 4.4%. Panama City, Florida is down 3.8% yoy. Lastly, Crestview, Florida saw a one year decline of .2%. Not exactly the crash some potential Florida home buyers were looking for, but at least things are slowing.

Focusing on that 4.4% decline in home prices, let's examine another way that Southwest Florida home buyers can save money on their new home. It's a little known financial hack that your realtor may not even bring up. The assumable mortgage. So what is it?

An assumable mortgage allows the prospective buyer to purchase the home by taking over the seller's mortgage loan. This can be a big savings if the seller has a mortgage at a much lower rate than the one you can get now. There are many homes for sale in Southwest Florida that were bought back when mortgage rates were around 3%. If you can get that 3-4% interest rate (or even less!), rather than the 7%+ rates being offered now, that's a huge difference in your monthly mortgage payment.

Before you get too excited, not all mortgages are assumable. VA and FHA loans are often assumable. Most bank financed mortgages aren't. My mortgage is through a big bank and I know it's not assumable. But for perspective Southwest Florida home buyers, there's an easy way to search for the ones that are. The information is in the MLS listing that your realtor has access to. And there's also a website where you can see it as well.

If you're looking in Southwest Florida, this is the link that'll take you to your search. If you're in other parts, you'll need to adjust the search. I found 16 properties available in Fort Myers. The assumable rate varies between 2.5% up to around 6%. A search in Cape Coral found 47 homes with similar results. There is another thing to factor in on these homes, however. If the sale price is more than the mortgage, the buyer will need to pay the seller the difference in the form of a down payment, or second mortgage. This could easily be $100,000+ if the seller has held the mortgage for several years.

The company Roam, reportedly takes a 1% commission at time of close. From what I'm hearing, real estate agents still get their full cut, too. But even with the extra commission, the cost savings are still much better than a new loan. If you're one of the Florida home buyers looking right now, this might be something to look into to see if you qualify. More options the better is what I always say. And if you've had an experience with Roam before, please message me so I can add it to this story.

Obviously, an assumable mortgage is not for everyone. The buyer and seller both need to cooperate on terms to complete the transaction quickly. Also, you may need to come up with a lot of money up front to bridge the gap between the amount of the mortgage and the sale price. This could involve taking out a second mortgage at a rate of roughly 8% or so just to buy the home. But having some of the loan at 2.5% and some at 8% is still better than all of it at the higher rate. This is just another option available to Florida home buyers. Good luck!

It’s hard to believe that the current school year is almost coming to an end. The kids get out of school in the next few weeks and it will finally be time for some relaxing family summer vacations, maybe at one of the Florida resorts with waterparks.

Over the last few years, the prices of nearly everything have gone up, including gas prices and the cost of airline tickets. When we were planning our spring break trip, we could not believe just how high the prices have gotten.

Living here in Southwest Florida, we do have the option of so many beautiful places within just a short drive. Though gas is high, these places are not too far and you can plan a wonderful vacation on a reasonable budget. What kid doesn’t love to spend a summer day at the pool?

My kids are older now, ages 16 and 12, they can bring their own towel they can put on their own sunscreen, and of course, they can swim. I don’t have to keep my eyes on them like I did when they were little, but those days are not forgotten.

For those with little kids, pool days are not necessarily relaxing. There's the constant worry that someone has eyes on them. They get burnt if we don't reapply the sunscreen and let it dry. Pool days are even less relaxing when there’s not much for the kids to do other than just really swim.

That’s why I thought this was a great time to take a look and see what options are out there across the state of Florida for those families looking Florida resorts with waterparks, to keep the kiddos busy, while the parents can have some fun too.

I was actually surprised to see how many wonderful resorts across our state have waterparks and splash pads and water playgrounds. Most are located in Central Florida, which makes sense since they're so close to Disney and Universal. Maybe add a park day or two onto to your summer vacation trip this year.

To complete this list of Florida resorts with waterparks, I enlisted the help of the folks at Travel + Leisure and TripAdvisor.

Coco Key is located in Orlando, close to the fun all of the Florida theme parks have to offer.  At Coco Key you'll find indoor and outdoor water activities.  The waterpark features 14 waterslides and arcade for the bigger kids and a special lagoon with smaller slides and fountains for the little ones looking for some fun.

According to their website, some of the waterpark slides and pools are undergoing enhancements that will finish up on May 9th.  So, if you head up to Coco Key this summer you can expect some fresh renovations.

Of course, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point is right here in southwest Florida, in Estero.  Super close to home and they are also offering day passes if you are simply looking for an idea to fill a day close to home this summer.  Enjoy a zero entry pool where your little ones can stand, a small slide for the kiddos and three larger slides for the older ones, along with a family friendly lazy river.  In addition there are also poolside activities and games, such as ping pong and cornhole.  The Hyatt is definitely one of the better resorts here in SWFL, especially for families.

Another Orlando resort, located close to the parks is The Grove Resort & Waterpark.  The Surfari Waterpark at The Grove is heated and offers  a Flowrider double surf simulator, dual waterslides, a lazy river and kids poolside activities along with a zero entry pool.

Gaylord Palms is another resort located in Central Florida, Kissimmee to be exact.  Of course close to the Disney parks but has so much to offer on property you might not want to leave.  The Cypress Springs Waterpark has something for everyone.  It's a 3-acre waterpark with a Florida Free Fall AquaDrop slide, Tamiami racing slides a zero entry pool for the littles, Crystal River Rapids action river and the FlowRider surfing experience.   And we can't forget the Tree House water playground with four slides, tipping buckets and spray areas for the younger kiddos.

Another one located in the Orlando area, Cabana Bay is actually a Universal Orlando property.  Cabana Bay is connected to Volcano Bay, so you can walk to and from the park.  Theme park tickets are required at Volcano Bay, even for the hotel guests, but they're not as pricey as some of the other parks can be.  Guests of Cabana Bay or other Universal hotel properties can enjoy early park entrance too.

Located in Kissimmee, in close proximity to the Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld parks.  FantasyWorld has heated pools, a heated lazy river and splash pad, heated waterslides and hot tubs, along with poolside activities to keep kids and adults entertained.  And right now, according to an Instagram post they are offering Florida resident discounts, so that's an added bonus for sure.