Found 13 blog entries tagged as financing.

Do You Need a License to Rent Your Forgotten Coast Home Short-Term?

Yes. If you rent a whole home for stays under 30 days more than three times a year, Florida requires a state DBPR vacation rental license, and your county adds its own layer on top. On the Forgotten Coast that means a Gulf County STR business license, a City of St. George Island business license, or a Bay County Short-Term Vacation Rental Certificate, depending on where the property sits, plus sales tax and tourist development tax registration.

By Billy Joe Smiley | August 27, 2026

I get this question from almost every investment buyer I work with, and it usually comes up late, right after they have fallen in love with a house and started running the rental numbers in…

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What Should You Check Before Buying Vacant Land on the Forgotten Coast?

Once you are under contract on vacant land on the Forgotten Coast, your due diligence period should confirm three things: a wetland check and current survey establishing your buildable area and legal access, a realistic estimate for utility hookup and well drilling costs, and a land loan that fits the down payment and terms lenders actually offer for raw property. Florida's Vacant Land Contract gives you a generous due diligence window built specifically to run these checks before you are locked in, and working through them in order turns a promising lot into a confident purchase.

By Billy Joe Smiley | August 20, 2026

More buyers are calling me about vacant lots than…

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What Happens If the Appraisal Comes in Low on a Forgotten Coast Waterfront Home?

If your Forgotten Coast waterfront appraisal comes in under contract price, you have four real options: renegotiate the price, cover the gap in cash, request a lender-facilitated Reconsideration of Value with stronger comps, or use Florida's appraisal contingency to walk away with your earnest money. Waterfront and one-of-a-kind homes appraise low more often simply because there are fewer recent comparable sales for the appraiser to work from, not because anything is wrong with the property. In today's buyer's market on this coast, you have more leverage to resolve it than buyers have had in years.

By Billy Joe Smiley | August 18, 2026

You found the right…

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In coastal Sunset Village, opportunities like this do not come along often.

This two-lot package includes 205 S Brooks Ave and 207 S Brooks Ave in Port St. Joe, Florida, totaling approximately 0.67 acres in an X Flood Zone near the Hwy 98 coastal corridor, St. Joseph Bay, and WindMark Beach. For buyers, builders, and developers looking for land near the Gulf of America and St. Joseph Bay, this is the kind of site that deserves a closer look.

The package includes 205 S Brooks Ave at approximately 0.31 acres and 207 S Brooks Ave at approximately 0.36 acres. Together, these contiguous homesites create added room for future planning, thoughtful site design, outdoor living, garage space, or a custom coastal residence. Buy both for a larger…

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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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Is now a good time to buy on Florida's Forgotten Coast?

Yes, mid-2026 favors buyers on the Forgotten Coast. Inventory on Cape San Blas and the Highway 30A corridor has grown several weeks running, homes are sitting longer, and sellers are negotiating on price, concessions, and rate buydowns more than at any point since before the pandemic. With 30-year rates near 6.4 percent, your real advantage right now is leverage on terms. The smart move is a well-structured offer with full contingencies, not the highest number you can stretch to.

By Billy Joe Smiley | June 11, 2026

I get this question almost every week right now, usually from someone who has been watching listings for a few months and senses the market has shifted. They're right. After…

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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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Gulf-Front, Top-Floor Condo Living at The Club at Cape San Blas

If you’ve been searching for a Gulf-front condo on Florida’s Forgotten Coast that combines panoramic water views, privacy, and direct beach access, this top-floor residence at The Club at Cape San Blas stands out as a rare opportunity.

Positioned directly on the Gulf with unobstructed views of the Gulf of America, this furnished 2-bedroom, 2-bath condominium offers a front-row seat to Cape San Blas’ wide, uncrowded beaches—along with the convenience of an elevator building and on-site amenities.

Top-Floor Gulf-Front Living with Panoramic Views

This top-floor condo is designed to maximize water views and privacy. The open-concept kitchen, dining, and living area faces the…

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Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act: A Win for Buyers and Real Estate Professionals

Protecting What Matters Most—Your Privacy

When you apply for a mortgage, it should feel like the exciting first step toward homeownership—not an open invitation for unwanted calls, texts, and emails. Thanks to the newly signed Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act of 2025, that experience is about to change for the better.

What Has Been the Problem?

For years, many homebuyers experienced an overwhelming flood of solicitations immediately after applying for a mortgage. This happened because of “trigger leads”—a process where credit reporting agencies sold borrower information to other lenders the moment a credit inquiry was made.

While the intent was to…

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