SERVICES - AN INTRODUCTION  

Southwest Florida  is not a  huge area  but does have  plenty of home services. Florida is a state that licenses almost every consummer service.  And the requirements  for licensure  are very difficult  compared to other states. Deane has taken  the Pharmacist exam  in many states and Florida was  by far the most difficult. Chris has  taken the Real Estate exam  in many states  and Florida was  by far the most difficult. Despite this you must be cautious when selecting a service provider. Chris will provide you some opinion and information to help you.

SERVICES - BEFORE YOU MOVE IN  

These are the  services you will  need to hire,  as part of the actual purchase of your home. You will also need a lender and various insurances which are discussed elsewhere.

Appraisal Services. The lender wants to make sure the value of the home is similar to the purchase price. An appraisal is an unbiased calculation of the  expected price for a home.  This is done by a licensed real estate appraiser. It usually involves an inspection of the home to determine the condition, the features, and location.  They will use the  sales comparison approach to value, using homes  which are comparable  to your home. The sales prices of these properties are used as a basis to place a value on your home. A written report is made of the findings.

Closing Services. This will be done by a title company or an attorney. It is a very complex and detailed process, requiring much preperation  that ensures every  aspect of  the closing transaction is completed and that the home title passes from the seller to you as buyer.

Moving Services.  You will  move to your  newly purchased home in one of three ways.

•  Least expensive is do your own packing / unpacking and then rent a truck and make your own move.
  
• A popular way is do your own packing / unpacking   and then hire a moving company to make your move.
  
• The most expensive is hire a moving company to do the packing and unpacking and to make the move.
  
• Deane and Chris have used all three types. Chris got injured most in type one; and we had the most breakage in type three.

Surveying Services. The lender and title insurance company want to make sure the home is properly situated on the lot and to mark off the boundaries of the lot. A surveyor will visit your home and work around the yard to make all measurements that are needed to  produce the written  report and  drawing for the survey. It will show the location of the home, fence, swimming pool, driveways, etc.

INDOOR SERVICES - AFTER YOU MOVE IN  

These are some in home services you may need to hire, after you move into your home.

Appliance  Repair  Services.   This service nation wide has gotten very expensive and Southwest Florida too. Purchase  of service contracts  on new appliances or home warranties  will help here.

Carpet & Drapery Cleaning Services. Florida has many aibourne particles and this service is highly recommended. Chris shampoos his own carpets quarterly, but many of these exist around here.

Decorating Services. Deane does all of our decorating. She is very talented. While there are not a whole lot of these firms around here, there  are enough. And most  high end furniture stores provide this service.

Electrician Services. Chris is the world champion at getting shocked, so he hires this out. Our electrician does excellent work at a reasonable price.

Home Watch Services. Many of these exist around here and the snow birds use them a lot.

Housekeeping Services. This business is really competitive around here, so prices are kept down.

HVAC Maintenance Services. In Southwest Florida, no home system is used so much as the air conditioning. We are eighty miles north of  Key West and  only Key West  is warmer than here. Despite this the HVAC business is not really competitive as you would think.  You must be so careful or you may end up paying a lot of money for a poor job.

Pest Control Services. This is an inside and outside service. You must have  pest control in Florida  or bugs and weeds will take over your home and start charging you rent. Lots of these pest services are around.  Chris does his  own service  but  if you hire someone, Chris prefers small independent companies.

Plumbing Services. Chris is the world champion at making a leak get worse,  so he hires this out.  Our plumber does great work but our  doctor is thinking  about going into  plumbing to make more income.

Security Systems Maintenance Services. Lots of these around here. The independents are a favorite of Chris.

Windows  Cleaning  Services.  Chris, a real DIY-er, even cleaned the outside windows on our fifteenth floor home. But this a competitive business and prices are good.

OUTDOOR SERVICES - AFTER YOU MOVE IN

These are some out side the home services you may need to hire, after you move into your home.

Auto Repair Services. Southwest Florida does not have a lot of independent car  repair services. Some  but just  not many. We have had some  minor work done such as altenator at an independent but the  dealer gave us  just as good a price and faster turn around. You may want to use the dealer for this. We have had very excellent results with our dealers here. There is a shortage of truck repair and for our motor home  we deal in Ft Myers since Naples has only a few RV repair companies.

Exterior Pressure Cleaning Services.  Chris does his own work on this. But there are many small independent firms that do great work for a reasonable price.

Lawn Maintenance Services. In Southwest Florida your lawn is not covered  by grass. It is covered by  St Augustine (a vine that Chris calls  DEVIL  grass). It grows every  week to cutting height, but Chris likes  to do yard work  so he pushes a mower to do his  own grass.  But there  are  many  small  firms that do great work for a reasonable price.  One problem for the DIY-er like Chris is getting  people to do the lawn when you are gone. The companies want a regular contract.

Lock Smith Services. There are not many, but enough small independent firms that do great work for a reasonable price; unless you need someone at 3:15 AM on Saturday nite.

Painting Services.  There are plenty  of Home Painting firms that do excellent work for reasonable prices. This would be for Interior and Exterior painting. Also there are many firms that do specialized Decorative Painting (such as faux painting).

Pool  Maintenance  Services.  Chris does his  own pool too. And he does  not save much by doing  it, since a whole bunch of firms offer  this for very reasonable price. Chris cleans and treats our pool about every month. Our neighbors all hire their pool maintenance but they are not DIY-aholics like Chris.

Roof Cleaning Services. The roofs on many many homes in this area are steep tile and Chris can not clean his own. But a whole bunch of  firms offer this for very reasonable price. This can be done on a contract for quarterly or yearly. The roofs in Florida do indeed  collect much mold and grime and you ought to have them cleaned now and then.

Shrub & Tree Maintenance Services. Your garden will grow quite prolifically in Florida. We are basicly in zones 10 -11 so the plants need attention every month or so. Since Chris does enjoy yard work, he does his own. But there  are  many  small  firms that do great work for a reasonable price.

Sprinkler  System  Maintenance  Services.  In Southwest Florida many persons are not responsible for there sprinklers, but if you are you will need to do annual  (or more often for a needed repair) maintenance. Chris does his own and hates it, but it is expensive  to hire one of the  few companies  that do  this work.  

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OUR INSPECTOR ASSOCIATIONS

         American Association of Home Inspectors

         American Society of Home Inspectors

         Florida Association of Building Inspectors

         Foundation of Real Estate Appraisers

         Independent Home Inspectors of North America

         National Academy of Building Inspection Engineers

         National Association of Home Inspectors 

         National Institute of Building Inspectors 

         Organization of Real Estate Professionals

         Society of Professional Real Estate Inspectors    

OUR LOCAL INSPECTORS

         Cape Coral

         Ft Myers

         Naples

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