Should You be Worried About Buying Property Near Petroleum Contamination Sites in Orlando

Unfortunately, petroleum contamination is extremely common in Florida and many other states.  In fact, if you turn on the Petroleum Contamination points on our MoveMap, you’ll see a pretty depressing sight.  The petroleum sites in buy a home near a petroleum contamination site in orlandoOrlando alone number in the hundreds.  This is a concern in Florida because in most of the state, groundwater is very close to the surface and it provides drinking water to around 90% of residents.  Fortunately, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) tracks petroleum releases and in some cases helps remediate (clean up) the sites.  In this post, we’ll talk a bit about how petroleum releases happen in Orlando, why they’re so common, and finally, what the implications are to you as a resident.

The reason so many sites can be seen on the MoveMap for petroleum contamination shouldn’t come as a surprise; it is simply because petroleum use is extremely common and accidental releases occur frequently.  A recurring cause of soil and groundwater contamination is leaking underground storage tanks.  Storage tanks are commonly found at gas stations but also exist near backup generators and other equipment. Since Florida is prone to hurricanes, backup generators are especially numerous here, and their fuel tanks do occasionally leak. Unfortunately, gas station and generator tanks can give out without anyone noticing for quite some time.  In such cases, gasoline or diesel fuel can drain out of the rupture point and contaminate soil and groundwater.  Factories, junkyards, mill sites, shipyards and transit stations can also be causes of petroleum contamination.  Accidental spills of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and used oil contribute to the situation as well, though spills of under 25 gallons are not required to be reported to FDEP as long as the spill and affected soil are cleaned up immediately.  While the geographic area affected by oil contamination tends to be fairly constrained in the case of gas stations and other tank failures, the area contaminated by petroleum can be quite large in junkyards, factories and the like.

Depending on the nature of the soil and groundwater flow, the petroleum contamination may stay fairly contained within the site or expand out beyond the actual property boundaries.  Since gasoline and diesel fuels are lighter than water, they tend to “float” in the upper part of the water table.  Over time, the fuel will tend to move with the groundwater currents causing an elongated plume. While the results sound bad, the fact that petroleum floats is generally good news for Florida residents since most people on well water tap the Floridan Aquifer, which is very deep underground.  However, petroleum can and does occasionally poison drinking water wells, and chronic exposure to oil products can affect the nervous system, blood and kidneys.  Furthermore, petroleum contains benzene, which is a known human carcinogen.  So if there is a contamination point located near your home or a piece of real estate that you are considering buying and a well is used, it might be a good idea to get the water tested from time to time.

The state of Florida does operate a petroleum cleanup program, but it is complex and the details are outside the scope of this blog post.  Generally speaking though, once the government has identified an area which requires cleanup, it will either excavate the soil and process it to remove contaminants or place that soil in a landfill.  Contaminated groundwater may also be removed and processed before being re-released into the environment.  Depending on the nature of the site, groundwater monitoring equipment might also be installed.

Petroleum contamination is an unfortunate consequence of our modern standard of living and it does have implications for home buyers and renters in the Orlando area.  However, most petroleum contamination happens in commercial and industrial areas where people do not live.  In many cases therefore, it tends to be more of an environmental concern than a direct threat to human health.  Nevertheless, if you’re considering buying property close to a contamination site in Orlando Florida, it’s a good idea to get your well water tested.  To check out petroleum contamination in Orlando and other areas of Florida, have a look at our MoveMap over at www.moversatlas.com.

4 Things To Consider When Investing in A Rental Property

So you are looking to invest in a piece of rental property and the thought of that supplemental income sounds like it could really help out.  You buy a house, rent it out and someone else pays your mortgage and make a little extra.  Then after 15buying a rental property in florida or 20 years you have a paid for rental property that your renters paid off for you over the years.  The house has appreciated nicely so now your investment is worth 20-30% more then what you originally paid!  That’s what most people think of when they consider buying a rental property, however, it is not always that simple. Here are three things you should consider when looking to invest in a rental property:

1. Location – This must be considered as you are deciding the caliber of houses and tenants you are considering to rent to.  Keep in mind anyone can be late or delinquent on rent but it will be important not to purchase a highly expensive home in a very middle class neighborhood, nine times out of ten you won’t be able to get the amount of rent you are looking for to cover the expenses.  Also consider how far is it from your residence?  If you are planning on managing the property yourself it may not be the best idea to be the landlord if you live in another city state because if you can’t drive by on any given afternoon you to check up on everything or get there quickly to fix minor problems you are going to have to pay someone to do these things which could eat away at your profits.

2. Investment potential – Of course you want to charge as much money as you can for rent each month to to cover the mortgage and make a decent profit.  This equation seems easy enough but you need to investigate on a few things before you go off buying something cheap and trying to rent it for a ton of money.  Is there any rental history?  What are the properties expenses for insurance and taxes?  What are the home’s previous values?  Has anything major been replaced or repaired?  Is there an HOA? If so what are the HOA fees and how involved do they get in the yard upkeep and house conditions?  These questions will help you get a better idea of what you are in for and if there will be enough money at the end of the month to make it worth your while.

3. Upkeep – Okay you understand that if you buy a house with an old roof you will have to replace it at some point but what if you look at it a little deeper.  Try to consider the ongoing maintenance the property will need.  Think about how the landscaping is set up, are there hundreds of feet of fancy shrubs, landscape lighting, gardens? Is there a pool? All of these things cost money on an ongoing basis to keep functioning properly and looking nice. And these expenses aren’t just limited to the exterior of the house, the inside of the house is a whole other story. Wood floors can be damaged easily, walls can be scuffed up, carpets can get stained. Of course you have deposits that will cover some of these things but have to be prepared for the extra work and the headaches these issues cause.

4. Unexpected expenses – Lastly, it is extremely important that you factor in the costs of unexpected expenses. You never know when the A/C will break or when a pipe will burst and when something like this does happen it can be very expensive. Many people just hope for the best and pray nothing like this will happen to their rental property but this is a poor strategy. You need to plan ahead and make sure you have money budgeted and stored away for any unexpected expenses. This means planning a little more carefully and maybe taking a little bit of the rent you collect each month and putting it into and emergency fund. Also, you can reduce the risk of something like this happening by doing routine maintenance on all important and expensive items. Doing this may cost a little money upfront but could end up saving you in the long run.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when considering making an investment in a rental property. However, don’t let these things scare you away from buying a rental property because real estate is one of the greatest investments you can make but you just need to do it wisely.  Hopefully, you can take this information we provided you and use it to better prepare yourself for a successful rental investment.

If you are looking to by property in Florida make sure to take a look at the MoveMap on www.MoversAtlas.com to get detailed information on the neighborhoods, communities, and cities you are looking to buy real estate in!

4 Important Things To Know Before Buying A Condo

If you have been renting an apartment for the majority of your life the thought of a house may seem overwhelming.  Not everyone likes to wake up on Saturday morning and deal with yard maintenance, painting, roof leaks, air conditioning purchasing a condo in flissues, pressure washing or weeding flower beds.  If that doesn’t sound like something you would like to do then maybe a condo would be a happy medium between the apartment living and the full blown maintenance burdening house.

Condo living is like being in an apartment but better, you get the benefits of doing whatever upgrades you want to the inside like paint or flooring and on top of that instead of the rent going into someone else’s pocket you end up paying yourself with the investment of the real estate you purchased.  It sounds like a no brainer right?!  Well here are a few things to consider before you take the plunge on investing into your future.

1. Do your homework – as with any purchase you will need to find out as much as you can about the place you have set your sights on, with a condo though you need to be looking for the right issues.  Since the downturn in real estate it is important to understand many condominium properties are plagued with foreclosures and delinquencies and besides the fact of sounding like a great way to find a good price on a condo it actually tends to be a sign of both bad management and potential cost impacts that would get passed to the owner (you) through extra fees and higher HOAs.  Depending on how long the community has been hurting will also reflect what kind of upkeep has been done to things like the building’s infrastructure, pool and other facilities.  In the long run this typically hurts the value of your purchase and your steal-of-a-deal ends up being a bad deal.

2. Remember what you are buying – as it may seem a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo appears like 1100 square feet of freedom but you need to use the perspective that you are buying into a community with many other people.  All of your surrounding neighbors have signed the same clauses you have.  With any venture in business not understanding the surrounding financials, management and community would just be bad business on your part.

3. Ask for the budget – It may seem a little forward but finding out if the management has enough funding to keep things afloat and plans for large renovations or additions is very important.  You wouldn’t buy a car from someone that is in the middle of being repossessed would you?

4. Delinquencies – Even if you did find the deal of a life time you need to look at how many of your neighbors are up-to-date with their fees and mortgage notes.  This may not seem like a big deal but if you are looking to finance your purchase, many times there are regulations on how many units are delinquent and yes that is another sign that there may be a downward spiral.  If you have cash this may not sound like a problem BUT on the other side of that if you are trying to sell at a time with high delinquencies the person trying to buy your place may not be able to get financing.

It is important to go through these points and understand where the condominium sits with these issues.  Like they say if you find a deal that seems too good to be true, there may be something else hiding.  If you want to find out more check out www.MoversAtlas.com they have all the tools you need.