The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper


Vol. 16 No. 30 - May 25, 2016

REAL ESTATE

Tear it down and build it up

 

So here's the riddle of the day, "Where do you find three separate cities surrounded by water where it's almost impossible to find a building lot?" Well that wasn't really a tough one to figure out, but what really is tough on Anna Maria Island is deciding on how much of a renovation to tackle or to just go for it and tear down.

Tearing down a property, also known as infill in the never ending real estate vernacular, could be the solution you may be looking for when you can't find the perfect house or a suitable building lot. The National Association of Home Builders says about 25 percent of the single-family homes built nationwide will ultimately be torn down, and one out of 10 sales will be teardowns. They go on to say that today's buyers don't want a house that looked like their grandmother lived in it, even if it's at the beach. In addition, many older homes are hard to renovate with low ceilings, old wiring and who knows what may be lurking behind the walls.

So the answer to the age old question of renovate vs. teardown really lies with the location of the property. A functionally obsolete house with the main value in the land it's built on may be the key for buyers who want new homes in specific desirable locations. A good rule of thumb according to teardown.com is if you can buy an older functionally obsolete but well located house for $300,000 and a newly constructed house on the same lot will support a price of $600,000 to $900,000, it may be a suitable candidate.

Now that you know where you want to be, before you start tearing down, you have to find the right property to aim the bulldozer towards. It has to be a property that may be smaller than the average in the neighborhood, have outdated kitchens, baths, mechanical systems, electric and everything else. Or worse, it may only have one bathroom or even two that in today's world could render it obsolete. In addition, frequently the perfect property has serious structural issues and may cost more to repair than tear down. The cost to demolish a house can range anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000, but I wouldn't put too much stock in these numbers, which vary greatly depending on location and size.

However, demolishing the house will probably be one of the easier issues if you decide to undertake a project like this. Wait till you start dealing with local bureaucrats and FEMA when you start filing for permits and just pray that you're not in an historic district or some other defined area where you have to adhere to yet another layer of regulations. And what about financing your little nightmare? Well you better have a lot of cash and/or qualify for a construction or bridge loan or have a benefactor because most conventional mortgage lenders will not give you the time of day.

If your turn-on is a new house and you can meet and survive the financial and bureaucratic demands, then get out the sledge hammer and start whacking. Besides what's more desirable than Anna Maria Island? Whether the property is waterfront on one of the canals streets or a side street, there isn't a bad location on the entire barrier island.

Real Estate Transactions
Real estate transfers of January-February 2016

Sponsored by Alan Galletto Island Real Estate

Sold Date | List Price | Sold Price | Address | Provision | Property Style

Anna Maria

2016-03-10 599,000 575,000 705 N Bay Blvd 911 50x100 2 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-03 630,000 600,000 506 N Bay Blvd 1621 4 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-15 699,000 610,000 318 Magnolia Ave 1440 3 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-31 699,000 620,000 238 Oak Ave 1420 75x149.56 2 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-23 774,900 765,000 307 Hardin Ave 1360 75x139 3 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-31 1,149,900 985,000 727 Jacaranda Rd 2055 3 Br/2.5 Ba SFR
2016-03-21 1,195,000 1,100,000 214 Lakeview Dr 3181 100x1473 Br/3 Ba SFR
2016-03-04 2,190,000 2,050,000 812 S Bay Blvd 2150 75x145 3 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-11 509,000 465,000 520 Kumquat Dr 75x141 SFR Use
2016-03-09 269,900 260,000 522 Pine Ave #4a 822 2 Br/1Ba Condo

Bradenton Beach

2016-03-21 749,000 685,000 2501 Avenue B 1728 50x100 3 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-01 485,000 485,000 2414 Avenue 1788 50x100 Condo
2016-03-23 275,000 250,000 1325 Gulf Dr N #231 675 2 Br/1Ba Condo
2016-03-15 249,500 217,000 2412 Gulf Dr N #120 432 1 Br/1Ba Condo
2016-03-31 649,900 635,000 1900 Gulf Dr N #4 1212 3 Br/2 Ba Condo

Cortez

2016-03-11 129,900 105,000 12305 Baypointe Ter Irregular SFR Use
2016-03-08 705,000 705,000 4110 Marina Ct#4110 2307 3 Br/2 Ba Condo
2016-03-30 799,995 790,000 4130 Marina Ct #511 2594 3 Br/2 Ba Condo
2016-03-07 399,000 400,250 2703 Gulf Dr 1100 2 Br/1.5 Ba SFR
2016-03-25 474,000 465,000 2903 Gulf Dr 1402 3 Br/2 Ba SFR, REO/Bank Owned
2016-03-18 669,900 600,000 501 68th St 2044 3 Br/2.5 Ba SFR
2016-03-29 699,000 681,500 310 61st St #B 2114 45x101 3 Br/2.5 Ba SFR
2016-03-14 719,000 700,000 520 56th St 2452 3 Br/3 Ba SFR
2016-03-21 749,000 710,000 610 Emerald Ln 1969 3 Br/2 Ba SFR
2016-03-08 1,100,000 965,000 108 72nd St 2330 3 Br/2.5 Ba SFR
2016-03-31 1,499,900 1,275,000 103 75th St 2737 4 Br/4 Ba SFR
2016-03-30 1,750,000 1,625,000 697 Key Royale Dr 4584 100x150 5 Br/4.5 Ba SFR
2016-03-04 3,000,000 3,000,000 202 35th St 3224 100x100 4 Br/4 Ba SFR
2016-03-21 479,000 481,000 308 65th St #A&B 1458 99x94 Duplex
2016-03-31 1,190,000 1,040,000 104 29th St #3 2474 55x100 Triplex
2016-03-07 469,000 445,000 5405 Gulf Dr #B 1080 2 Br/2 Ba Half Duplex
2016-03-16 224,700 220,000 3805 E Bay Dr #301 917 1 Br/1Ba Condo
2016-03-28 499,000 499,000 6250 Holmes Blvd#62 1536 3 Br/2.5 Ba Condo
2016-03-04 749,000 719,000 6935 Holmes Blvd 1490 3 Br/2 Ba Condo
2016-03-31 350,000 350,000 458 63rd St 1248 2 Br/2 Ba Villa

 

Source: Mid Florida Multiple Listing Service


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