Found 57 blog entries tagged as budgeting.

Should you establish Florida residency before December 31, 2026?

If the property tax amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot passes, people who are permanent Florida residents as of December 31, 2026 would be eligible for the larger homestead exemption starting in 2027. Someone who establishes Florida residency on or after January 1, 2027 would begin at a $50,000 exemption and reach the larger amount only after maintaining a Florida homestead for four years. Nothing changes unless at least 60 percent of voters approve it. If a move here was already on your list, though, the calendar is worth understanding now rather than in January.

By Billy Joe Smiley | October 7, 2026

A good share of the people I sell to here start out as part-timers.…

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Do Florida's condo milestone inspection and reserve rules apply to the condo I want to buy on the Forgotten Coast?

Only if the building is three habitable stories or taller. Florida's milestone inspection law and the Structural Integrity Reserve Study requirement both key off that three-story threshold, and plenty of the low-rise condo and townhome buildings on this coast sit below it. For buildings that do qualify, the milestone inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, and the reserve study gives you a written, dollar-by-dollar picture of what the building needs. Both are genuinely good news for a buyer, because they turn what used to be guesswork into documents you can read before you ever write an offer.

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What does a home inspection actually cover on a Forgotten Coast beach home?

More than most buyers expect, and it is usually three separate reports rather than one. The general home inspection covers the whole property from roof to pilings and is written for you. A 4-point inspection covers roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC and is written for your insurance carrier. A wind mitigation inspection documents the hurricane-resistant features already in the home so you can earn premium credits, and it often pays for itself in year one. On an elevated coastal home, the pilings, the connectors, and the corrosion on the metal deserve as much attention as anything inside the walls.

By Billy Joe Smiley | September 3, 2026

Buyers who have owned…

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What will I owe in capital gains when I sell my Forgotten Coast vacation home?

Federal long-term capital gains tax on the profit, at 0, 15, or 20 percent depending on your taxable income, with no Florida state capital gains tax on top of it. The $250,000 and $500,000 primary-residence exclusion does not apply to a home you have used only as a vacation property. The number that matters is your gain, not your sale price, and gain is the sale price minus your adjusted basis minus your selling costs. Every improvement you have made and every dollar of cost to sell reduces it, which is why the owners who plan ahead here consistently keep more of their money.

By Billy Joe Smiley | September 1, 2026

I want to say up front that I am a broker,…

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How Does a 1031 Exchange Work When You Sell Investment Property on the Forgotten Coast?

A 1031 exchange lets you sell a qualifying investment or rental property and roll the proceeds into your next one without paying federal capital gains tax right now. You defer the gain instead of losing a chunk of it, as long as you use a qualified intermediary, identify a replacement property within 45 days, and close within 180. Florida has no state capital gains tax to worry about, but documentary stamp tax still applies on both sides of the exchange. Get the timeline and the paperwork right, and this is one of the most valuable tools an investor on this coast has for building real wealth over time.

By Billy Joe Smiley | August 13, 2026

If you own…

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Your inspection found issues. Can you get the seller to fix them or pay you for it?

Yes, and in today's Forgotten Coast market you have more room to work with than buyers have had in years. Florida's standard AS IS contract does not require a seller to make repairs, but it gives you a defined inspection period, typically 10 to 15 days, to use your findings as leverage for a closing credit, a price reduction, or repairs before closing. With inventory rising across Cape San Blas and the surrounding coast, sellers are saying yes to reasonable requests more often than they were even a year ago.

By Billy Joe Smiley | August 6, 2026

The inspection report just landed in your inbox and it's longer than you expected. Maybe the roof is pushing 17…

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How do you finance a second home on Florida's Forgotten Coast?

A second home on this coast is more within reach than most buyers expect. For a place you'll use yourself, you can start with as little as 10 percent down, and 30-year fixed rates have eased back into the high 6 percent range as of mid-June 2026, just a touch above a primary residence. Larger homes above the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 in Gulf County open the jumbo path, and if you'd like to rent the place when you're not there, the investment-property route is a flexible option too. Rates move daily, so the best first step is a quick, live quote on your own scenario. Let's get you started.

By Billy Joe Smiley

Most of the buyers I work with on this coast aren't buying a…

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What will a buyer actually pay in closing costs on Florida's Forgotten Coast?

When you finance a home here, you can plan on buyer closing costs of roughly 2 to 5 percent of the purchase price, and every piece of that is easy to budget for once you know it. It covers Florida's documentary stamp tax on your mortgage note at $0.35 per $100 financed, the intangible tax at $2.00 per $1,000 financed, your lender's fees and lender's title policy, recording and inspection costs, and prepaids. The biggest line item on this coast is usually your insurance, since wind, flood, and homeowners are often paid a full year up front at closing, which is a normal part of owning a coastal home. A cash buyer skips the note stamps, intangible tax, and lender fees,…

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How Much Is Wind Insurance on a Forgotten Coast Beach Home?

Wind insurance on a Forgotten Coast beach home usually runs somewhere between $1,000 and $5,000 a year, and on a higher-end Gulf-front property it can climb well past that. It is a separate policy from flood insurance and from your standard homeowners coverage, and it carries a percentage hurricane deductible rather than a flat dollar amount. Your real number depends on the roof, the elevation, the distance to open water, and the wind-resistant features the home was built with.

By Billy Joe Smiley | June 9, 2026

Most buyers I work with come in ready for the mortgage payment and braced for the flood policy. Then the wind insurance quote shows up, and the math on the whole purchase…

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What Do Cape San Blas Buyers Need to Know About CBRA Flood Zones and Insurance?

The majority of Cape San Blas sits within a Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) zone, which means properties there cannot be insured through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program. Private flood insurance is the only option, and costs vary significantly by flood zone: Zone VE (Gulf-front, wave action) typically runs $5,000 to $20,000 or more per year on a high-value coastal property, Zone AE (bayfront, lower-lying parcels) runs $2,000 to $10,000, and Zone X (low risk, elevated) runs $400 to $1,200 with no mandatory requirement. Knowing the flood zone, the CBRA status, and whether a LOMA might apply before you make an offer means the insurance picture is expected…

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