I routinely get calls from clients that begin with, “I need a three bedroom home in the Sea Gate school district.”  Schools are extremely important and the quality of that school can have a very large effect on the price you pay for a home or the price you are able to attain for your existing home.

If you have any questions about school districts or housing values, please feel free to give me a call or contact me through this site.

One of the greatest strengths of Downing-Frye is the way the agents work together in order to sell Naples Real Estate.  With such a large office, we send emails about our listings to all other agents to get a lot of exposure for our sellers.  We also meet twice a month which provides the opportunity to further discuss our seller’s homes.

If you’re looking to sell a home in Southwest Florida, please contact me so I can further share the strength of my company and use it to help attain your goals.  With this type of national exposure, Downing-Frye is sure to move up the list next year!

Until August 1st, 2007, I am offering anybody that comes to Naples (and mentions this promotion) a $500 credit at closing to help cover your travel expenses. It is my way of saying “thank you” to anybody that makes me their Realtor when coming to my town.

The summer is a fantastic time to consider purchasing real estate. With so many fewer people in town, it has been my experience that many sellers begin to get a little anxious and are more apt to listen to lower offers. Also, since we are out of season, hotel rates are considerably lower making for a pretty inexpensive trip!

I hope to see you soon here in Naples, Florida! Please call first for details on the fly-and-buy offer at (239) 248-8171.

As a Realtor, I can make this process so much easier! If you send me the criteria you’re looking for, I have the tools to send you just those listings for you to look at. Then, every day, as new listings come on the market or there are price reductions to bring other listings into your chosen price range, I will send those out as well. That way, you’re guaranteed to see only those homes that fit your needs. It becomes really fun to see the daily email hit your Inbox with a few listings for you to look at each day. Then, when you decide you want to tour one of those properties, simply email me back and we can arrange a time that is convenient for you–often that same day if you would like.

In order to help you in your search, please answer as many of the following questions as possible:

1. What price range do you want to stay in?
2. Are you looking for single family homes, condos, coach homes, etc?
3. Is newer construction important? (If so, please list oldest year you would consider)
4. What area is important?
5. Is golf or tennis important?
6. Do you need to be on the water or a short drive to the beach?
7. Does the home need to be on the first floor or without stairs?
8. Do you need a garage?

Answering these questions can get us very good search results and far more refined than other websites. If you are indifferent to any of these questions, simply leave it out.

To start getting daily updates of new properties, please email me here.

Downing-Frye provides my clients that are selling Naples Real Estate with a number of colleagues seeing their property.  Also, our internal email system provides a means for me to put clients’ properties in front of these other agents!  Our presence in the Naples Daily News is unmatched as well–just pick up the Sunday classifieds and see all of the Downing-Frye logos!

If you are interested in selling your home, please call me for a free Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).  There is no obligation of course, and I will be happy to show you what your property is worth in this market and identify for you the factors that contribute to the price.

Luckily, Collier County has a fantastic program called the Safe Housing Initiative Program (S.H.I.P.) that I have experience using with two of my clients. It is a wonderful program to help first-time buyers get housing here in Naples. If accepted into the program (which I can help with), buyers receive 15% of the purchase price! So what’s the catch?

There isn’t a catch! Buyers just need to meet some easy requirements. First, one person households cannot make more than $39,100 annually. Two people cannot make more than $44,700. Second, you cannot have owned property within the past three years. Finally, you must live in the home you are buying. Easy enough, right?

Once you meet those basic requirements (there are a few others but they are simple), Collier County takes an application and likely approves you for the program! With that, you will receive 15% of the purchase price of your home to use as a down payment or to cover closing costs! The SHIP program through Collier County is outstanding!

It must be noted that this money is not a gift. However, you do not pay this money back like you would with a traditional mortgage. This money only gets paid back when you refinance your mortgage or sell the property. The best part is, this 15% of the purchase price does not accrue interest! Let’s say the county gives you $20,000–if you live in the property 15 years, you only pay back the original $20,000!

The SHIP program does have some hoops you need to jump through but I have the experience and knowledge to help you with the process! Please call me at (239) 248-8171 so we can find your first home in the Naples Real Estate market!

You can read more about the Collier County SHIP Program on their website.

Don’t forget that all Briar Landings at The Enclave units come with brand new carpet, paint, and appliances including your washer and dryer! The floor plans are open and spacious with plenty of storage. All Briar units feature a screened-in lanai as well so you can enjoy the Naples weather.

For those that are unaware, I specialize in general Naples Real Estate but also work a few days a week at the Briar Landings sales office. I volunteered for this team because I truly feel we have a fantastic product and outstanding incentives. I tell all of my clients that I would be happy to show them any property in Naples but at the end of the day, we’ll end up right back at Briar Landings. That has proven itself to be true on a few occasions now!

If you would like to schedule a showing for Briar Landings or any other piece of Naples Real Estate, please feel free to give me a call at (239) 248-8171 at your convenience.

The Collier County District School Board is a fantastic resource for any parent looking for Naples Real Estate. The site offers a wealth of information for prospective students, current students and parents. Within the site are a number of pages I find especially useful for anybody looking to purchase real estate.

• School locations & zone maps. This handy PDF document (Adobe Acrobat required) will show which school is zoned to each neighborhood in Collier County. If you decide you really want your child to attend a certain school, look at the map to narrow your real estate search down or give me a call!
• School Grades (Rankings). Want to find out how your school measures up against the others in Naples? This document (specifically page 3) will show you the grades for all of the Collier County schools.
• Collier County Enrollment Information. This page provides the steps you need to take to enroll your child into a Collier County school.
• List of Collier County Schools. Want to visit one of the schools here in Collier County? Here is a convenient list of all of the schools, complete with address and phone numbers.

I hope this post provides some useful information to my Naples Real Estate readers. If you have any questions or you are looking to find any other information, please give me a call at (239) 248-8171 or email me at any time.