Florida residents and visitors should be aware its alligator mating season once again and you cannot be too careful with these fierce but wonderful creatures. Each year as spring turns into summer and the weather begins to truly warm, an alligators metabolism increases and they become quite frisky in seeking out mates.

Once on the edge of instinction, the alligator population has fully recovered and encounters with humans are inevitable. You can find them on your front lawn, in your swimming pool and even in your house, if you’re not careful. Awareness and understanding are the keys for learning how best to live near the areas they inhabit.

So, here are some important Gator tips to remember:

Tags: living, SW Florida

For all the doom and gloom you hear about home sales from the national media, the old adage that all real estate is local, could not be more evident than here in Southwest Florida. Homes sales in our local markets, including Bonita Springs, Estero and Naples have picked up quite nicely since the beginning of the year. In fact, for many areas and property types, the local market is moving ahead at a very nice pace.

Tags: real estate, sales

By any standard, population growth in Southwest Florida has slowed from the torrid pace of 2000-2006. However, it still ranks near the top when compared to the rest of the country.

The Cape Coral-Bonita Springs-Ft. Myers metropolitan area (Lee County) dropped one spot to the fourth fastest growing metro area while the Naples-Marco Island metropolitan area (Collier County) fell to the 16th fastest growing metro area for the time period 2000-2007.

The rankings are based on the percentage of growth, not the actual number of people. Lee County’s population grew by 33.9% (150,000) and Collier County’s by 25.6% (65,000) from April 2000 to July 2007.

Tags: growth, markets

When the 2008 Florida Legislature adjourned on Friday night, Realtors counted numerous law changes that will benefit property owners, renters and the Florida real estate market in general. All the bills will still need to be approved by Governor Crist, but here is a synopsis of the real estate related highlights:

Tags: legislature, new laws

Now is the time to be sure and recommend flood insurance to your new home buyers in Florida. It takes 30 days for a new policy to become effective, and signing up early is important in order to make sure their coverage is in effect for the start of Florida’s hurricane season on June 1st.

Another thing to remember is that certain exemptions also exist to the 30 day waiting period. A policy is immediately effective if a lender requires it in connection with a new loan or loan change; if additional insurance is required because of a map change; if a lender suddenly decides that a property does indeed require flood insurance; and if a higher level of coverage is added when a policy is renewed. For more information on flood insurance rules, go to: How to Purchase Flood Insurance at FloodSmart.gov.

Tags: homeowner insurance, hurricane preparedness