Get on every waiting list you can while you decide This is without a doubt step one to finding childcare in Naples. Nearly every daycare will have a waiting list and you don't want someone else to beat you to an opening. Sure, you'll have to make some phone calls and apologize for removing yourself from a number of lists later but you need to be on the lists early. Check with the local schools Once you know the part of town where you'll be moving, reach out to the local school to see what their childcare options are. I also recommend joining the school's Facebook group (if they have one) and ask other parents for recommendations. Ask around and you may uncover a great option. Ask around to find an in-home provider In-home providers are a mixed bag—some love them while others hate them. If you're looking for traditional daycare and are running out of luck, this could be a great option. You will have to ask a lot of questions! Are they CPR trained? Is the in-home daycare in its own space or shared family space? Are they insured? Do your due diligence and see if this could be an option for you. Hire (or share) a nanny It may be cost-prohibitive to hire a nanny but it is worth looking into. Some come from abroad and you may be able to sponsor them and save some money. Hiring a nanny will bring a new person into your home so you'll have to decide if you need a larger home now to accommodate that extra person.Another option is to share a nanny. More than one family will have access to the nanny so ensure the nanny isn't taking on more than he or she can handle. Look for out-of-the-box ways to get child care I recently heard a story about 5 Naples moms that watch each other's kids in their homes in a very structured, almost businesslike way. Each mom takes a day of the week and watches all of the kids from their group so the other 4 moms can work. That gives you 4 full days to work or do what you need to do while your child is in competent hands. Look at your family for opportunities You may have family members that could use some extra spending money (retired grandparents maybe?) and this could be a win-win. Ask your family members and you may uncover a good option!"

This debate has been going on for years but there is only one correct and logical answer. Real estate sellers often want to take $1 off of the price of their home to make it look better. So, you’ll see homes priced at $499,999 instead of $500,000. Well, which one is better? After all, $500,000 sounds like a lot of money! To illustrate why prices ending in 999 are incorrect, let’s look at a call I received today. One of my buyers called and asked me to modify her real estate search. She said to make the minimum $850,000 and the maximum $1,300,000. Right this second, there are 47 homes on the MLS selling between $849,000 and $849,999 and she’s going to miss seeing every single one of them! 47 sellers have made a mistake that will cost them buyers! Even sites like Realtor.com allow for a range of prices to be put in (see the screenshot). Who is going to put in $499,999 as their minimum. You can bet your bottom dollar that people will put in $500,000 even as the minimum. Who knew $1 could cost you so much! So there you have it! Don’t miss buyers over $1! When you list your home, keep that number round and you’ll get some extra traffic.

Are you one of the many people that has a refrigerator in your garage? Do you plan on having one in your next home? Here’s what you need to know for a smooth closing on your next real estate transaction.Garage refrigerators used to be a constant source of problems for real estate agents in Southwest Florida. The refrigerator in the garage should go with the seller since it isn’t the one in the kitchen. Or, should it stay? Who knows! What do the real estate contracts say? Southwest Florida has two main contracts that are used for the purchase of real estate—the Naples Area Board of Realtors Sales Contract or the FAR/BR (statewide) Residential Contract. Both of these contracts have changed to handle the garage refrigerator in a very concise way.The Naples Area contract reads: …and together with the following personal property existing on the Real Property on the Effective Date: refrigerator(s); Notice the “(s)” on the end? That was added to cover all refrigerators on the premises. Even wine coolers fall under that heading.The State of Florida FAR/BR contract has the same: Unless excluded in Paragraph 1(e) or by other terms of this Contract, the following items which are owned by Seller and existing on the property as of the date of the initial offer are included in the purchase: range(s)/oven(s), refrigerator(s)… Again, we have the “(s)” on refrigerator to show that they convey. Are there still problems with refrigerators? Sure. A lot of sellers fail to read their contracts and not all agents seem to know what the contract says! That leads to the disappearing garage refrigerator problem when the sellers vacate their property. What can be done? The easiest solution is for the seller to bring the refrigerator back but sometimes it is too late—the seller may have put it on the curb for trash collection.In this case, a credit at closing would need to be issued. The selling agent and buyer’s agent would need to work toward a dollar amount for the used refrigerator in the garage and credit that back to the buyer at the closing table. Have you experienced problems with the garage refrigerator? Let us know in the comments. I’d love to hear your story!