Finding The Right Builder can be tough, and a Google search for custom home builders can be overwhelming! While there are many eager home builders, unfortunately not all of them are qualified.
Building your custom waterfront home along the Gulf Beaches is no easy task! You want to work with a team that will build a home that reflects your style while meeting the needs of the unique waterfront conditions.
Here are some warning signs that the builder might not be your best choice:
No Listening
A successful custom waterfront home is not achieved without input from the homeowner. For the home to be exactly what you need, your builder must listen to and value your input.
No Digital Footprint
Do they have a website? Are they active on social media? These are helpful tools you can use to gauge the builder’s competency. If there are no photos of previous work, how can you tell what they are capable of?
No Permits
When building a custom waterfront home, pulling permits with the local municipality is a must! This ensures that building codes are adhered to, and the home can eventually be approved by the inspector. A contractor that ignores permits could be cutting more corners than you know!
No Experience
While this may be your first time building a custom waterfront home, it should not be your contractor’s first rodeo. There are many requirements to build a waterfront home, and a team with experience can deliver the best results.
No Client Feedback
A good builder doesn’t have to tell you, their clients will! If your contractor doesn’t have anyone to vouch for them, can you really trust they have what it takes to build your custom waterfront home? Be sure your builder has reputable referrals and good reviews from comparable projects.
No Problem-Solving
Things happen while building a custom home, and your builder should work proactively to find a solution if problems arise. A builder’s poor planning can become your headache, so work with a team that has what it takes to get the job done.
At Lubke, we value your opinion. You can find testimonials from our clients on our Media page, and if you follow us on social media, you can see what we’re up to! We’ve built many custom waterfront homes in the Tampa Bay area, and our team of experienced professionals is ready to get started on your custom waterfront home today!
While many of our clients are building the forever home of their dreams, there have been Lubke Homes that were sold for astonishing figures.
In 2020, this five bedroom, four bathroom Lubke Home in St. Pete Beach sold at full asking price in just 12 days for 2.85 million dollars!
Luxurious and contemporary, the executive estate was built in 2017 across two lots and .35 acres. It enjoys 233 feet of beautiful water frontage with a fantastic view. Plus, it’s within walking distance of restaurants, shopping, and the sugar white sands of St. Pete Beach!
Click here to see more Lubke Homes!
Ready to build the home of your dreams? Let’s talk about your vision!
Have you ever seen a home with a light blue porch ceiling? Well, it might not just be for design aesthetic or curb appeal…
It’s believed that certain insects and birds will avoid nesting near a light blue ceiling. Why? They think the ceiling is the sky! Really, though, the paint was historically mixed with lye, a natural insecticide. A lye-based paint would have made for an uninviting space for pests!
Along with the benefit of insect/pest repellant, light blue gives the impression of extended daylight.
“Haint Blue” is a popular shade in southern states like Georgia or South Carolina, originally believed to ward off ghosts or evil spirits. Many use it to this day to uphold the tradition.
While there may be benefits to using a blue paint on a porch ceiling, the choice may be more aesthetic than anything.
When designing your custom home, consider a blue ceiling to give your home a southern charm!
Many clients ask if they must provide the land for their build. While there is no right or wrong answer, here are a few ways you might approach the process:
Selecting Your Builder before Purchasing a Lot:
We are always keeping an eye on the market for lots in our area, and sometimes even have access to land acquisition before it becomes available for public purchase. Our knowledge of the unique coastal environment and experience with local municipalities helps us determine which lots present the best conditions for your build.
Purchasing a Lot before Selecting Your Builder:
There may come a time when you find the perfect lot before you have chosen a builder. That is ok, too! If you purchase your lot first, you have the benefit of exploring the lot throughout the design process. Getting our team on-site to see what the lot has to offer is a great way to discuss ideas for your custom home.
Designing Your Home First:
Some might like to have their home designed before finding their lot. In this case, the home would be designed based on your vision and less on the lot placement. If this is the route you take, be ready to make design adjustments based on the environmental requirements of the lot you select.
Regardless of the path you choose, Lubke Construction’s team of experts is here to help you make your dream home a reality. We use online software to keep our clients updated on schedules, budgets, and selections throughout the home building process. We specialize in custom homes on piling foundation systems in Pinellas County.
Whether you are looking for a lot, or already have one, let’s talk about your vision!
Contact Us today to schedule a consultation.
While building a new home is exciting, it can also take time! Add in the supply chain issues the industry has been facing, and it can lead to quite the delay.
With the current “Seller’s Market”, many are accepting offers (at or above the asking price) almost immediately. While this is great for the seller, it does not solve the issue many will face when building a custom home.
If your current home sells before your new one is ready, you may need to find a place to keep your things! The good news is, compared to the past, there are many options available to make your transition easier.
You might want to consider a portable storage container. Most portable storage containers can be delivered directly to your home! Once you have them loaded with your belongings, they can be transported to a storage facility before being delivered to your new home upon completion.
So, if your current home sells much faster than you anticipated…or if supply chain issues are delaying your build, you need not worry! Simply look up portable storage containers in your area to find a solution near you.
Then, you can find a fun Air BNB to stay in while you wait. Think of it as a staycation!
With initiatives to “Go Green” stronger than ever, there has never been a better time to consider your home’s energy efficiency! Being mindful of your energy consumption has many benefits. Not only can you feel good about improving your environmental impact, but you can also save money too!
We gathered a few Energy Saving Tips to keep in mind when dreaming up your custom home:
–Solar Panels: Here in the Sunshine State, we have plenty of sun to go around! Placing solar panels on your home can have a great impact on your cost of heating and cooling your home.
–Insulation: Using the proper insulation can make or break the energy efficiency of a home. A home that is under-insulated will require the cooling system to work a lot harder to keep the temperature consistent. Utilize a material with a high R-rating for the most efficient insulation to reduce energy loss and save on your home cooling costs!
–Choose ENERGY STAR Appliances: The Environmental Protection Agency created the ENERGY STAR rating system in 1992. Each product must be certified regarding quality, savings, and performance before it earns the ENERGY STAR label. Choosing ENERGY STAR Appliances assures your larger appliances will not drain your home’s system and inflate your energy bills.
–Energy-Efficient Windows: Not only does the ENERGY STAR rating system apply to appliances, it is also used to rate the energy-efficiency windows! Using ENERGY STAR-rated windows will help keep your bills low with additional insulation, limiting heat transfer into your home.
–On-Demand Water Heater: A traditional water heater can cost up to $350 a year to operate, while an on-demand water heater will cost closer to $220 a year. Over time, that difference will add up! An On-Demand Water Heater only heats the water when you need it, eliminating the need to pre-heat and store water at a higher temperature.
–Metal Roofing: Roofs in Florida tend to take quite a beating from the sun. Metal Roofs reflect heat away from the home, making them a great option to increase your home’s energy efficiency. It has been reported that metal roofs can reflect as much as 83% of the sun’s energy!
–Natural Light: Whenever possible, rely on Natural Light! If your space does not have very many windows, you can utilize mirrors to help reflect the light throughout the area.
Curious to learn more about the Energy-Efficient options we offer with our custom homes? Let’s talk about your vision!
Thinking of Building Your Custom Waterfront Dream Home? Here Are 5 Things To Know When Getting Started
Deciding between purchasing a pre-built home or building from scratch can be challenging. While buying a pre-existing home has its advantages, having a home designed and built to your exact specifications is the most desirable choice when searching for your dream home. The custom options available allow you to create a property that fits your exact preferences, style, and budget. And although this may sound like a complicated process, working with the right construction and design team can make it feel effortless.
If you’re considering the idea of building a custom waterfront dream home, Lubke Construction outlines five things to know when getting started.
Know where you want to live
Before drafting blueprints and exploring design plans, the most important thing to do is find where you want to live. Location is such a critical factor in a number of decisions you’ll ultimately need to make during the home-building process. Search for spaces of land that can accommodate all your must-haves, including desired square footage, an in-ground pool, a spacious patio area, and more.
Additionally, you will want to find land in a neighborhood that is close to your favorite businesses and that fits your needs. Location will affect the cost of your project, so you will want to know how much you will be spending on your land before diving into designing your home.
Work with your builder from day one
It is best to work with your builder from day one. Rather than hiring an architect first and a construction company second, hiring a team that can coordinate all elements ensures a seamless and stress-free project.
As an all-encompassing construction company, Lubke Construction provides you with all the experts you need to design and build a stunning home. This includes everyone from your interior designer, to your design professional, to your construction manager. Having all experts working with one another from the start is a smart way to eliminate the risk of preventable miscommunications and delays.
Set your budget and consider your loan options
After selecting your land/neighborhood and choosing a construction company, get a concrete idea of your budget. Even though you likely have a general budget in mind, this is the time to establish your set budget range. Having this figure allows you to make informed decisions about your home’s layout, design elements, and features.
Another critical part of building a new home is finding the best loan option. Instead of taking out a standard mortgage, consider applying for a construction-to-permanent loan. This type of loan pays your builder as they complete work. Once your home is finished, the costs are rolled into a standard mortgage loan. It is important to note that this kind of mortgage is more challenging to get approved for. Requirements for your credit score, income, and the like are meticulously evaluated, so be sure to speak with multiple lenders to see if you qualify.
Browse available home styles and floor plans
Now, the fun part: choosing a floor plan for your home. This is the stage during which you can customize everything from your flooring, to your bathroom fixtures, to your countertops. During this time, you can also request design guidance for expert advice.
Consider all timelines involved
Timelines for building a home can vary significantly. The time it takes to complete your home will depend on numerous variables, which can change the estimated date of completion. When planning to sell your current home, stay in close contact with your project managers to know when it is best to put up your listing
For those who desire the ultimate waterfront dream home, building a new property is easily the best choice. Being able to live in a home that you’ve designed from the ground up is a rewarding and outstanding experience.
Lubke Construction specializes in building fully custom luxury homes along the Gulf Beaches waterfront. Ready to begin designing your dream home? Contact our team today.
Guest blog provided by: Megan Cooper (www.reallifehome.net)
We all dislike clutter, but keeping tidy can be quite the chore if things get out of control. Here are some Tidy Tips to help stay organized in your new custom home:
–A Place for Everything: When planning the design of your home, it’s the perfect time to consider your storage needs. Love Holiday Decorations? Have an impressive collection you’d like to show off? Our Team will help come up with a storage solution that suits your needs.
–Start By Making the Bed: As the old saying goes, “If you want to change the world, start by making your bed.” Once you are in your new home, this simple practice is a great way to establish tidy habits.
–Bring It Out, Put It Back: Like we discussed before, you should plan to have a dedicated location for every item you own in your new custom home. If you do, it will be easier to return things to their rightful place. A good rule is to put everything you bring out back where it belongs. Clutter doesn’t happen overnight, so keeping this in mind every day helps to avoid a mess.
–Go Paperless: These days, we live in a digital world. So many documents we used to keep track of physically are now delivered and stored in the virtual realm. With that in mind, it’s a good time to downsize your paper collection. We realize you must keep some important documents, so be sure to utilize a safe or cabinet to help you stay organized. Make sure it’s fireproof, too!
–When In Doubt, Donate It: If you no longer love it or need it, but there’s still life left in the item in question…toss it in the donation bin! Keeping space for donations helps you gather things like outdated clothes, holiday decorations you no longer use, or old electronics. Once the bin is full, you know it’s time to take it to your favorite local charity for donation.
–Call for Backup: Don’t be afraid to call in the reinforcements when you need a hand. Most cleaning companies are flexible with how frequently they visit, so think about a program that works for your needs. Think of all the things you can do while they tackle the job for you!
The task of staying tidy is a never-ending game, and there are many more ways to stay organized than what we listed here. Hopefully we helped you think of a few new ways to stay tidy in your new custom home!
This blog is a transcript from a conversation between Chad Lubke and realtor Nick Fraser:
Chad Lubke (CL): I have Nick Fraser from RE/MAX All Star with me today. They’re located just a few blocks away up Gulf Boulevard. I appreciate you coming in this morning, and I look forward to gleaning some insight from you. So, tell us what RE/MAX All Star does.
Nick Fraser (NF): We’re a residential and commercial real estate company, and we’ve been around since 2004. We opened on Gulf Boulevard in Madeira Beach, and we’ve got around 25 agents – all top-producing agents. So, we’re trying to be more quality than quantity.
CL: What made you choose Madeira Beach?
NF: Actually, it was the only space available.
CL: Alright. I kind of have the same story. It’s hard to find spots on the beach.
NF: Yeah. I mean, I’ve been vacationing here since I was 3 or 4 years old, so this has always been a second home for me. Then I moved over here in 2002. It may come as a shock that I’m not born and raised here (whenever I talk to Siri, I have to put on an American accent – she can’t understand me). So, I got into real estate and then we bought a RE/MAX franchise. When I say we, I mean my dad, Keith, and I. So, we bought the franchise 2004, and back then there just weren’t really any options on the beach. We wanted to be on Gulf Boulevard, we love the beach life, we love the beach real estate area, and it really kind of gels with our culture and our style. We didn’t want a big office building in a high rise or something like that, you know? We wanted to be accessible to the general public as they drive by and as they walk by. Basically, the only location that was available was in Madeira Beach. It’s worked out perfectly because it’s equidistant between Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach, and it’s just 20 minutes across to downtown St. Pete. It’s a great location. Love it.
CL: Where do you live?
NF: I live just off Gulf Boulevard in Seminole. I’m literally a half-mile walk to the beach. It’s ideal for me, because I enjoy boating, and its one mile door to door for the boat ramp. So, it’s perfect. It’s nice and quiet, and good for the kids as well.
CL: So, you said 2004. It was kind of crazy then, but that was just prior to the total craziness. Then the market crashed, and now it’s back up to kind of crazy.
NF: Yeah. It’s funny. I remember that it was around November or December of 2005. We bought the franchise in 2004, were doing the build-out, and then we opened the doors in January of 2005. It was crazy. We had so many realtors wanting to join us. We were doing so much business, then I actually remember, in October of 2005, pumping gas at the gas station that used to be next door to here, and thinking, “What just happened?” It was almost like someone had flipped a switch, and that was it. It got so quiet. It went through 2006, 2007. And then mid-2008 was when it started to really pick back up again. But we really had to change our whole business model, and focus more on short sales, investors, and helping people in foreclosure, things like that. We really changed our business model. So, in about mid-2008, things started to tick back up again. We were trending ahead of the curve and now we’re seeing more of a normalized market. People think it’s crazy because of the number of bids people are getting on a listing and how low the inventory is, but in terms of pricing, it’s still kind of where it should be.
CL: Yeah. I kind of feel the same way. Some of the challenge that we have right now is just the cost of building. I mean, land has appreciated, but it’s not crazy. It’s still a better buy than it was then. I think it’s somewhat fairly priced, but people now, they forget that the cost of building something keeps going up. We have to pay people more money as inflation goes up, materials cost more, etc. So, that’s kind of the challenge, two years ago it might have been 20% less. Which is good for resale, because you can’t build them for what you can buy them for. It’s interesting right now, for sure.
NF: One of the things that we get is: obviously, you know, real estate is always in mainstream media. We’ll go on a listing appointment, and the seller says, “Well, I’ve heard real estate’s appreciating, so I want to be in line with that appreciation value”. They’ll want to list it at 35% more than it’s actually worth. Sometimes we are in a position where we are getting out and walking away from those deals, because those are unrealistic expectations. When you look around, this area is, bang for the buck, still really good. As for the products that you build, I mean, I’m a big fan of what you do. Even 30 miles south in Sarasota, it’d be another $500,000 on the price point or something like that, whereas here, I think it’s just such a good value for the money. There’s great, amazing things to do around here, the beach life, the boating life, fishing, whatever you want to do, I just think elsewhere in the state and in the country, real estate is so much more expensive than it is here, and we live in paradise.
CL: The thing is, no matter what, people are always moving to Florida. It used to be the mantra: “its old people coming,” but now it’s people that can work from home, and they want the beach lifestyle. I mean, it gets a little hot in the summer, but for 75% of the time it’s really nice, you only have to own half the amount of clothes to function, and you don’t need ice scrapers and all the other crazy stuff, you know what I mean?
NF: Until you go on vacation skiing and then you have to buy everything!
CL: Exactly.
NF: Go somewhere cold and then you need jackets for some reason, were you born and raised here?
CL: No, I’m from Michigan.
NF: So you should never complain about the heat.
CL: I do vacation in cold weather. We’ll go skiing, and I love the snow sports, but, I’ve built in the cold, it’s unbearable, having to heat your car up before you go. When you’re there on vacation, it’s exciting because you want it to be cold. The day to day, though, is just miserable.
NF: Coming from where I come from, which is Newcastle in the north of England, we don’t have the weather extremes like in Michigan and what not, you guys have nice seasons, you have a nice summer and then you have a cold winter. We just had 3 months of winter, and 9 months of bad weather. It’s just kind of dreary all year round. So yeah, I get hot and sweaty during the summer, but I don’t want to complain about it.
CL: Yeah. I don’t know how I lived in that dreary weather, Michigan does have the seasons, but it’s still cloudy a lot. Now, occasionally we’ll have a day here where it’s cloudy for a good majority of the day, and my energy levels go down, I get a little depressed, and I just can’t get motivated. But then the sun comes out, and it’s just great. Even if it doesn’t, at the end of the day you’ll have a beautiful sunset. It’s something nice.
NF: Absolutely. I’d rather have a bad day here than elsewhere. It was very similar for me, we’d go to work in the dark, and we’d come home in the dark. Then, we would have shorter and shorter days in the winter, and longer in the summer. It doesn’t get dark until about 10:30 or 11:00. I remember walking into work, and there was someone with a special light on their desk, just to feel like they get some sun. I’ve traveled around a little bit, not a whole lot, but this area is, you know, I’m always coming back to here.
CL: Do you still have family back in Newcastle?
NF: Yeah, my sister’s back there. Her and my brother-in-law, they’ve got a business over there. They’re pretty busy with that, but, they come over here once or twice a year, so I get to see them. I’ve only been back to the UK once since moving here, it’s just, “been there, done that.” Nothing’s really changed. I miss a few things, I miss some friends, but the majority of them vacation in Orlando at Disney or something, so I get to see them, I get to meet up with them here and show them the Florida lifestyle.
CL: Tell me a little bit about that Florida lifestyle. What do you and your family enjoy?
NF: Just mainly sitting at home, watching TV… I’m joking. Well, we’ve got 2 dogs. We try to get a walk in them plenty of times, and my son, he’s coming up to 10 years old, so we try to make sure that we are doing plenty of outdoors things with him, he’s big into sports. I’m big into sports as well, and just recently stopped playing. So, we’re often outdoors on a Saturday and Sunday. I like to go out boating. I’ve got a smaller fishing boat, but I don’t get to fish much. When I do get to go fishing, I relearn how to do it, but by the time I go back out again, I’ve forgotten everything.
During the summer, there’s different places you can go, if you want to get away from the heat a little bit, just go up to Rainbow River and go tubing on the fresh water river, and it’s beautiful up there. So, we like to do coastal things. We like to hang out at the beach, and even just around the pool. Just a day of relaxing around the pool, having a couple of cocktails, and enjoying family time. You don’t have to be cooped up indoors. People always say, “Oh, you Brits, you’re always in the pubs.” There was nothing really else to do. Other than building up a good tolerance for it, it doesn’t serve much. Also, the nightlife here and things to do on a weekend and evening is just incredible. The cool thing is all different outdoor events that are mainly free. I mean, even just here in Madeira Beach, they’ve done those music concerts. There was one on the beach the other night that I wasn’t able to make. Then you go downtown and there’s always something at Vinoy Park, like the Blue’s Festival. Now downtown – that’s changed immensely. We go down there regularly for dinner.
CL: What’s your favorite restaurant down there?
NF: I like The Lure. I just like a relaxed environment.
CL: No nightclubs?
NF: No, no. Those days are long gone. There’s a bar called Ruby’s Elixir, where they’ll have a live band playing either jazz or blues, and you can sit and have a cocktail. It’s really nice. I like it down there, and it’s only 20 minutes away.
CL: When people think about coming to the beach, and my wife was even the same way, they think that it’s only old people, and that it’s so far from everything, but with the new Seminole City Center, they have Earth Fare and all those other things in that complex, a Publix on every corner, pharmacies out here, it’s really not far.
NF: No. I think it’s only in the past 5 or 6 years that it’s really kind of taken a swing towards a younger demographic. You’d have young, professional couples that would have a nice waterfront house or something, but then they’d say, “There’s nothing going on around here.” Now it’s all changed. Even the beach life up and down the beaches, it was always restaurants that were real beachy. Now it’s really kind of changing. For example, you’ve got that rooftop bar down at St. Pete Beach now, the Hotel Zamora.
CL: Also, there’s a brewery right by Treasure Island, Sea Dog, which is on the water.
NF: Hopefully they’re going to put docks in there. That would be really cool, but yeah, there’s Sea Dog, there’s Mastry’s, there’s stuff going on down at the Corey Ave part of St Pete Beach, and more development in Indian Rocks as well. There’s plenty to do, I remember back in 2005, the majority of these waterfront restaurants were selling out to developers, who could come in and build some condos or whatever they wanted there, so, for a time, there wasn’t really any way you could go and enjoy a drink or a bite to eat while sitting on the water, whereas now, you’ve got Slyce that they have just put in here at Madeira Beach, so you’ve got dock access. You go up to Indian Rocks and they’ve got the municipal docks there, where you can dock up and walk up into the town and enjoy a bite to eat.
CL: Also, The Pub, in Indian Shores, which is called Caddy’s Pub now, so I’m assuming Caddy’s bought it.
NF: Caddy’s, continuing their quest for world domination. Yeah, they’ve got a place downtown as well, they’re a part of MacDinton’s and that group. So yeah, they’re doing well.
CL: So, the restaurants, they have some nice ones in downtown St Pete as well, my background is high-rise condos. The first one I did for the developer, Opus, was Parkshore Plaza, they have Parkshore Grill on Beach Drive. Then we did 400 Beach Drive, which was the next tower, and they have 400 Beach Seafood & Tap House on Beach Drive as well. The owner of that, Westfall, he actually used to own The Pub. I think he owned some other stuff as well. It’s funny how small the market is. It’s a very densely populated geographic area, but, you kind of see the same guys doing a lot of the deals, which is cool, because they do a good job. In downtown Clearwater, I did a development down there, and nothing would stick. Something would open, and then it would close, with these guys, it seems like what they do stays and has traction so they can build a following.
NF: Clearwater Beach is now really, really cool for just entertainment and restaurants and things like that.
CL: It’s hard to get there with traffic during the busy season, that’s the only downside.
NF: I remember, the first place I stayed here was the Sheraton Sand Key, and that was the only building on the beach for miles and miles.
CL: We just stayed there recently, and it’s such an old building now, whereas it used to be the go to resort, but, it’s still a cool place.
NF: The beaches there were amazing, beautiful white, sandy beaches and pine trees. Now it’s all condos and high-rises, which, you know, you can’t stop progression, and it’s all good, but I like how the beach is still accessible to people here. You don’t have to be living on the sand to enjoy it.
CL: Yeah. We have good accessibility. And compared to a place like Miami or California, it’s affordable.
NF: I don’t know if you saw in the news lately that there was some legislation that the general public wasn’t allowed on the beaches where they’re kind of private – where they’re owned to the water line. So, I started researching into that because a lot of my friends were asking, “Nick, what’s going on?” To be honest with you, there’s zero information out there about it, and they’re not actually re-covering the story and helping people understand better. As far as I’m concerned, all of these homes that are on the beach side, they still have a property boundary. The survey will show that you’ve got the water’s edge, the sand, and then their property boundary. So, as far as I’m concerned, you can’t just arbitrarily extend your own property boundary to the water’s edge
CL: I think it varies per municipality. I’ve seen surveys in Treasure Island – for instance, Caddy’s.
NF: They do own to the water. If you look at the property on the Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s office, it does extend out to the water. So they actually have a case, but a lot of these don’t. Can you imagine any other home on Treasure Island to extend to the water’s edge? It’s about a mile to the water.
CL: Yeah, I’m with you. We have a house going right now that’s almost done on Indian Rocks Beach., and it’s funny, people don’t think about this, and I never really used to either, but there’s actually a seawall there, which is kind of the back edge of the property. So, the seawall on a lot of these beach properties are before the dunes, and that’s where your property ends. Then you have your little walkway to the sand. I mean, that makes sense to me. Owning all the way to the water does not make sense to me. And then all the fights that are going to happen with people! What, are you going to do, fence it? How are you going to police it? I mean, you can’t extend fencing, that’s crazy.
NF: Beaches are owned by government entities, so we’re paying for it. So, what happens then? Do all of the homeowners have to pitch in and pay for the people to clean the beaches?
CL: Also, there’s the beach reclamation, and the renourishment? They’re doing the renourishment right now on Treasure Island. They have a big barge at John’s Pass, and they’re pumping that sand. I don’t know all the specifics, but I do know that Redington Shores isn’t getting the renourishment because some people didn’t sign an easement or something like that. So, they’re missing out on the renourishment, which, without that, is basically making the beach smaller, no matter who you are, that’s not a good deal.
NF: That, sometimes, is the issue around here. I think that stems from the fact that there’s so many small municipalities that are governing what happens in that municipality. So, you drive up Gulf Boulevard, between St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach, and I think there’s 10 municipalities.
CL: It’s crazy.
NF: So there’s 10 different governing bodies, and you just lose that uniformity for the area. It’s got to be a nightmare for you.
CL: It’s good for me, because we understand it, and most people don’t. So, it’s a competitive advantage, it’s good because anytime things are harder, less people want to do them. These friends of mine have a business model where they do a couple homes a year. They fully build them out, stage them, and then they list them. It’s a “here you go – take it or leave it” type of thing. They’re patient, it takes them 6 to 8 months to sell. So, they had two homes side by side, one was in Indian Shores, and the other one was in Indian Rocks Beach, and there’s a beach access between the two. If you look at the one on the Indian Rocks side, it’s 4 or 5 feet shorter than the Indian Shores side, because Indian Shores lets you build taller without sacrificing side setbacks. Indian Rocks has a rule that with every 2 feet that you go above 35 feet, you have to come in 1 foot on either side, plus 12% of the overall width, you have to have a Master’s in calculus to do it. . I always tell people there’s a major difference, side by side, comparable difference, when you’re talking about a 45 foot wide piece of property, I mean, that’s huge. A foot is basically a mile, you know what I mean? It’s crazy, they are also measuring how high you have to build it. In Indian Shores, the first floors are 14 feet off the ground, and in Indian Rocks, it’s more like 12. So, it’s all these different calculations. It just keeps you guessing.
NF: Going back to the beach access side of things with the legislation, I don’t know, I have a feeling that it’s mainly kind of based around the Naples area.
CL: Those houses are a little bit bigger.
NF: There’s very little access for the general public, but, I would like more information, because I can’t find any.
CL: I tried to get a mayor to come talk to me, but they thought that it would be too much of an endorsement or promotion, but, I’m going to try again. Now I’m going to send them this video and say, “Hey, look, Nick Fraser wants you on record. We want to know what’s going on.”
NF: We should have a ring around us here like WWE.
CL: Ha-ha, we’ll lock the doors and pin these people down.
NF: No, I mean, I know that the news was saying, “People can’t have access to the beaches anymore” and people were going crazy. Then you look at the social media on it, and it looks insane. This has caused a huge, huge concern, so, it seems that the general public is only being given part of the information.
CL: Even the government probably doesn’t know what’s going on. It’s like, we have this law, but we don’t understand it. I read an article in the Beach Beacon, and they had the same type of problem. People came to a commission meeting and were upset because the commissioners hadn’t let them know. So they asked the commissioners, “When did you guys find out?” They said, “We found out when you found out, on the news!” With these municipalities, it’s not like they have some secret door to the workings of Tallahassee. They don’t know much more than us.
NF: They can only deal with what they’re given. But yeah, it’d be good to have a bit more information on that, I mean, over here you’ve got Archibald Park, and you’ve got all the different beach accesses up and down Gulf Boulevard, so there’s plenty of places where people can go and enjoy the beach.
CL: That’s the thing. We get so many people from Tampa and even Orlando that come over, and you don’t want to make it like a secret club.
NF: I’ll tell you what I think is cool, they’ve started doing the water taxi, Hubbard’s Marina is doing that. I remember 15 years ago, my wife and I went down to Fort Lauderdale, and the little B&B where we were staying at had a water taxi that would come up and pick you up and take you. Fort Lauderdale is a little different than here, a lot more expensive, but I think it’s pretty cool. If we can get on board with that, pardon the pun, and really promote that, I think it would be very, very good for this area. Then people can go around to different restaurants and places on it.
CL: 00:00 Our gas provider is Clearwater Gas, and their sales rep invited us to this sand festival on Clearwater Beach. They sponsor the event, so, we took an Uber to Clearwater Beach for that, because we knew that it’d be crazy for parking. Our sales rep and another person that he invited, parked in downtown Clearwater and took the water taxi over, the dock is literally right across the street from Pier 60. It is really cool.
NF: There’s more and more of these things becoming available, you know, and we’re not the sleepy little beach town that we used to be. I know a lot of people want it to stay the way it was, but that’s not going to happen.
CL: Right. It’s a desirable area. We have a good hockey team right now, so that’s exciting to watch.
NF: We will not talk about baseball or football.
CL: No, no. I told you, “We’re only going to talk about things that are exciting. We won’t broach into things that are boring and irrelevant.” Ha-ha. So, your office is right in the new Madeira Beach Town Center, which is under redevelopment. Give me the lowdown on that whole deal.
NF: There’s quite a bit of property there that’s been purchased by Bill Karnes, or William Karnes Enterprises, and they’re partnering up with some hotels. So, there’s going to be 2 new hotels. There’s going to be 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. There’s also going to be 2 condo buildings, with around 48 condos each, and a marina. So, it’s all going to begin at basically 150th, or the Tom Stuart Causeway. As you had west across to the beach, on your right hand side there’s going be the 2 condo buildings there. Then, on Madeira Way, there’s going to be a hotel with restaurants. Then across the street is where my office is. It’s called The Triangle, because it triangulates between Gulf Boulevard, the Tom Stuart, and Madeira Way. So, that’s going to be a hotel with the retail and restaurant area as well. We are within all of that redevelopment district, and we’re looking forward to being a part of it moving forward, and hopefully have a nice, shiny, bright, new office space there, but, I believe that one’s going to be a few years away. So, phase one, which they’re selling right now, is going to be where The Bronze Lady is. They’re going to be doing the hotel there. That’s going to be a Cambria hotel. Then, just next door to the east of it on 150th, there’s going to be phase one of the condos. So, I think they’re talking about completion for the condos in 2020, around this time of year. You’re going to have 2 years of build on that, and then there’s going to be a settling-in period for the hotel as well. I’ve got a website up and running called MadeiraBeachTownCenter.com, which gives a bit more information. There’s also some floor plans for the condos that are going in, and I’m more than happy to help anyone who is looking to invest in the area. I think they’re doing two week minimum rentals. Also, for the first year you go, you get full concierge access to the Cambria Club as well.
CL: The Cambria Club, sounds fancy, I want to join.
NF: Actually, I think Bill’s talking about putting in a rooftop bar there as well. So, everything that he’s been putting in place is to provide an infrastructure and services for the redevelopment that’s coming in, which I think is good, because a lot of developers just go boom. There’s a condo building, have at it. Then across the street from there, at the southwest corner of the bridge, I believe there’s going to be another hotel complex going in.
So, all that peninsula is going to be marina, I believe, and a low-rise hotel and restaurant.
CL: Our office is here on Madeira Beach, but we don’t do a ton of deals here. It’s always been like the redheaded step child of the beaches, I think that this will hopefully increase the name and all of that, dramatically.
NF: Oh, I mean, a lot of the property around here really does need to be torn down. My office is, I don’t know how old, maybe 60 years old, the structure… it’s time. You can’t just keep fixing and fixing and fixing. So, there’s a lot of it that does need it, and I think you’re right. In Madeira Beach people have always said, “Eh. It’s just Madeira Beach, it’s a fishing town.” but that’s what it was built around!
CL: It’s kind of cool, too, it has that legacy. When I came down here in 2005, I didn’t know anything about the area. I was working for this developer doing 30 story condos, and they told me, “you’re going to do these two projects in downtown St Pete,” I had no idea. I just had to figure it out myself, like where to rent a place, etc. My wife was still in Michigan, and I was in this extended stay hotel place. I also had a wakeboard boat at the time, when I first moved to Florida, I thought I’d live on a lake. Come to find out, they’re filled with alligators and snakes. So, that was not the right mindset. I ended up settling right behind here in Madeira Beach, at the butt-end of a canal, in a 600 square foot duplex-type home. Eventually my wife, Julie, came down, it was 2005, so it was the year of Katrina and all those other storms.
NF: That year, we literally had a hurricane every weekend.
CL: I remember, some friends of ours invited us to go to a property in Taylor County, which is way north, its alligator country – really rural. So we heard a storm was coming, and we had these little baskets that we put our crappy couches on top of. We thought that the extra 6 inches might actually do something. It was funny, though, because we actually had the water really close to coming in the sliding door. I mean, the property was old, anyways, it’s just kind of funny to come back to where we started, to have an office right across the street from where I first lived down here, it brings back the memories. I was working like crazy then, but I just remember sitting on the beach after work, reading a book, and talking on the phone with Julie saying, “Hurry up and sell our house up there! I’m on the beach reading a book, what are you doing?”
NF: Yeah, it’s changed a lot. Even just the Snack Shack across the street. For years, that was just empty, and some of the retail around here was really poor. We have some good restaurants, it’s all good, the progress and the change, because it definitely needs it here.
CL: I mean, the beaches are beautiful. There’s some nice homes, there needs to be more, and then there’s some nice condos. For 10 years though, there was nothing being built, so, that’s the thing. What do you run into with clients? When they say they want something new, there’s not a lot of inventory for new stuff, right?
NF: I call you.
CL: You call me and say, “Build us something new.”
NF: You know, elsewhere in the Tampa Bay area, someone could call and say, “Hey, I want a gated community. I want new construction. I want this, that, and the other”, and it’s there. It’s nearby. There’s even some developments up in Palm Harbor, I was just out there the other week, and there are smaller developments. They’re not the huge tracks of land like the ones down at Lakewood Ranch, because there’s just not the land to build on. So, if someone is looking for new, and they want to be on the beach, or they want to be close to the beach, then that’s more of a conversation to help educate them on what we have to offer. If it works for them, great. If not, then at least I’ve done my job and provided them the information so they can make an informed decision. There are a few little communities here and there, but there’s not a lot to choose from.
CL: Where are you seeing people come from? Specifically, for people that are buying, or interested in buying, beach or coastal stuff, where are they coming from?
NF: I don’t think there’s any one place, because this is a vacation destination, you have people from all over the world coming here. Obviously there’s a lot of Canadians, a lot of people from Ohio and the Midwest, a lot of Europeans, etc. We just got a client under contract who has just moved back from the UK. She spent 10 years over there and now wants to be back here closer to family. So we’ve got people from everywhere, from all walks of life.
CL: It’s weird, because we’ll get Canadians from Toronto, a big portion from Toronto, and like you said, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, upstate New York, and some parts of the Northeast – excluding the big cities. Then when it comes to the Europeans, it’s the UK and some Germans, but no French, for example. You know what I mean? Then if you go down south to the Naples area, you’re getting more people from the bigger cities. Then obviously Miami’s having even more.
NF: I think a lot of that has to do with what the advertising is in those areas. Some municipalities, like Clearwater or St. Pete, may advertise predominantly in the areas that we just talked about. Whereas Miami could be adverting in Chicago or Manhattan.
CL: Yeah. I think they’re hitting the big cities. Downtown St. Pete’s cool, and it’s a city, but it’s not a Miami or Fort Lauderdale, which I like, I prefer that. I wouldn’t want to live in New York City or Chicago. I love visiting those places, but with kids, it’s just too much. I want to be more relaxed and laid back.
NF: I think some areas have more pockets of certain demographics and people from certain areas of the world. You know, you’re not going to have the Miami Tourist Board advertising in Iowa or something like that, it’s just not a fit.
CL: So, the other business you’re a part of is Synergy Title.
NF: Yeah, Synergy Title Partners. It’s been a long time coming. I should have gotten into the title business a lot of years ago, but, as the name says, it is a partnership. As you know, my focus is real estate and real estate brokerage, and, I kind of feel that sometimes if you chase two rabbits, you catch neither. So, I’ve partnered with Mandy Hunter and Kevin Overstreet, who have Insured Title Agency in Tampa, and we’re their sister company. We’ve got some great closers in the office there with Leslie and Tiffany. We’re growing organically through word of mouth. We’re not pushing people or ramming the title company down people’s throats. So, people are using us and then they’re starting to realize, “Well this was a good, positive experience” and then sharing that with others. There’s also some good google reviews out there. It’s a good company to be a part of.
CL: So, how do people get in touch with Nick Fraser or your team?
NF: The company website is RemaxAllStars.com. So, that’s the main company website. My cell phone, if anyone ever wants to reach out and ask any questions, is (727) 403-8007 or NickFraser.com or BeachRealtyExpert.com. I tried to cover all bases.
CL: Awesome. Well, I appreciate your time.
NF: My pleasure. This has been fun.
CL: Good conversation. No questions you couldn’t answer. Thanks a lot.
NF: Thanks a lot, Chad.
This blog is a transcript of a conversation between Chad Lubke and local realtor Kathryn Zimring.
Chad Lubke (CL): I have Kathryn Zimring with me today, and we’re going to talk about St. Pete real estate. Kathryn is a realtor in the St. Pete area, so Kathryn why don’t you tell us a little bit about what got you into real estate and how long you’ve been doing it?
Kathryn Zimring (KZ): Well I’ve had my license for 11 years. I have it hung with Re/Max Metro in downtown St. Pete, and I got into real estate because my husband was kind of like you, he was a builder and did a lot of remodeling at the time. So, I just kind of got interested in helping him do design and floor plans, and I just kind of liked that feel. So, I just one day thought I’ll just go get my license, and that’s the story.
CL: Are you born and raised in St. Pete?
KZ: I am born and raised in St. Pete and my dad is 87 years old and he is born and raised in St. Pete.
CL: Are you a “cracker” officially?
KZ: Ha-ha I’m a “cracker.” I am, I am, yes. We’ve seen the city of St. Pete Change, obviously. I remember our downtown, there’s a lot of high rises now, I remember when they were boutique stores and little restaurants, and it was really dead. You didn’t go downtown unless you were going to that particular store. So now, as you know, Chad, it is just vibrant.
CL: What do you think kind of drew people to start doing- I mean, that was my background. I worked for a high-rise developer, Opus, and I did two buildings down there. I had never, I mean, I hadn’t come to Florida before I came for this company. And when I came down here, I came in 2005 and it was the attack of the cranes. So what do you think started that?
KZ: You know, early nineties, I think the Bayfront Tower was built. I was a lot younger, but I remember my parents saying, “Oh my gosh, they’re building this high rise. Oh, they’re never going to fill it.” And you’re right. Now, today, there’s just cranes and there’s still cranes going on, trying to find land to develop. I really think it’s just the waterfront, the green space, and the parks that St. Pete has. That’s what kind of makes our downtown really unusual compared to any other downtowns like Tampa or Clearwater. It’s our green space, our parks, and our waterfront. Because those parks in front of all those high rises cannot be built. I think that makes it unique. And the arts! We have art festivals. We just had the St. Anthony’s triathlon last weekend. It seems to be every weekend there’s something going on. In the month of May, there’s movies in the park at Straub Park. So every Thursday night, they’re having movies, and it just gets people to come downtown, put out a blanket, and bring something to drink and they get to watch a movie. So it’s kind of fun.
CL: People, when you tell them where you’re from, like we travel a lot and people ask where I’m from and I’ll explain: “I live in Redington Shores but it’s really known as St. Pete, but really people know this area as Tampa or Tampa Bay. When I go to Tampa, I was over there Saturday at the hockey game for example, I just dread driving over the Howard Frankland. So this time I did it differently. What I did was, we decided to take our boat and keep it at Jackson’s, the little marina there, and we slept at the Westin. So that was fun. But yeah, it’s terrible to go to Tampa. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, but it’s crazy.
KZ: ANd Tampa’s not a “walking” downtown, It’s more of a nine to five, and then once everyone leaves work it dissipates
CL: It’s like the zombies are attacking and everyone went inside the Amalie Arena
KZ: In real estate, we’re seeing a lot of Tampa realtors bringing over residents from Tampa wanting to move to St. Pete just for the downtown vibe.
CL: Cool. So, I don’t know the answer to this. Maybe you do, so I’ll ask you. Since they have been talking about the pier in St. Pete, I drove by on the boat and I saw some cranes out there. What’s going on with the pier? Are they going to do something new? Do you have any insight on that?
KZ: I’m just going to give you my background of St. Pete. I remember as a little girl it was a Mediterranean building, the original pier, and you used to be able to drive around it. It wasn’t the inverted pyramid. It was Mediterranean and I love that Mediterranean feel, because I think that’s a lot of Perry Snell’s influence in St. Pete. My dad tells funny stories that he used to break into the high school dances they had there. So when that was getting torn down and this upside-down triangle pyramid went up – oh my gosh, St. Pete said “oh my God, I can’t believe we’re doing this.” So the trend that when one gets torn down and now we’re building this new one is so funny. I see it all again. It’s an airport, but it looks like it’s moving forward. I just saw in the Tampa Bay Times that they were picking the artist for whoever’s going to have some artwork and doing the approach. I’ve been to the pier by boat too recently, and there’s a lot of pilings so it’s moving forward, which is good. I’m sad that they tore down the old one and I think they did it a little sooner than they should have. But, I’m not the mayor.
CL: Right, right. So I’ll ask you one other one. Since I moved here in ’05, people have been talking about the Rays, and that the Rays are thinking about moving. And then somebody else will come and tell me that the Rays are moving. So, just your personal thoughts, do you think that the Rays will be better? Will there be more people at the games in Tampa or do you think it’s going to be kind of the same?
KZ: No. I think it’ll be the same deal. You’ve got to win games to get people in. Look at the Lightning. I’ve been to many lightning games before they were really hot, you know, winning and getting the Stanley Cup and it was easy to get tickets. You win, then people come.
CL: We went to the last regular-season game. I brought my daughters, it was their first hockey game, and I think they were celebrating 20 or 25 years.
KZ: Oh right. Yeah. I saw that in the paper.
CL: Maybe the Rays have 20 and the Lightning have 25, I don’t know what it was. Something like that. This was their fifth year of selling out practically every game, which is pretty cool. So you see the energy.
KZ: They’ve had a winning season. They’ve done well.
CL: It’s kind of funny to think about hockey in Florida, but where else do you get to go to games in the winter in flip-flops. Right?
KZ: It is pretty cool. And the Rays, they used to have concert series. Did you ever go? I think they stopped doing that. I don’t know why, which is too bad. I think it was just another incentive to get people there.
CL: It’s tough. I brought my girls to a Rays game, and they told me, “Dad, this is more boring than watching golf.” I mean, they go to a hockey game one week and then a Rays’ game the next, and it’s all about the food at baseball games. Yeah, we had peanuts and all that stuff. But it’d be so much cooler if the games were outside, but it’s probably too hot to do it outside.
KZ: Well, it’d be neat if they had a stadium with the retractable roof. That would be kind of cool. Takes money for sure.
CL: For sure. So tell us about what you’re seeing in the market as far as real estate.
KZ: Well right now, we’re seeing a lot of low inventory. We have a lot of buyers out there with low inventory. So, if you’re putting your house on the market and it’s a priced-right, move-in ready home, you’re more than likely going to get multiple offers. The minute you put one of those homes on the market, it’s a blast of showings. So low inventory, still aggressive. You know, I laugh when everyone asks, “What do you think the market’s going to be next year or in five years?” And I tell everyone, “If I had a crystal ball, I would be the wealthiest realtor in town.” Who knows, I think it just depends on rates. Our rates are creeping up a little bit, but I think they just kept it steady. I think it just came out in the news that they aren’t increasing them. So, you know, it’s just the low inventory.
CL: What are you seeing? What do buyers want?
KZ: They want that 4 bedroom, 2-1/2 bath, pool, 3-car garage for $100,000.
CL: Right. And it has to be fixed up and look good. I mean, obviously, we’re in the development/construction world, and that’s how you and I got together. There is a lot of stuff out there where the land is worth more than the house.
KZ: In some cases, that is true in St. Pete. Mainly on the waterfront, absolutely. Are you seeing more people wanting to tear down? We see that. I see that in areas of Old Northeast, Snell Isle, and Patrician Point. Are you seeing that too?
CL: Yeah. People say, “I want something new, but there’s no land.” And that’s the problem with St. Pete. But what I say is, “look, 95% of the stuff on the coast is not compliant with what FEMA wants. To have that affordable flood insurance, it doesn’t work. And that’s key – the flood insurance. And that’s always an unknown thing. Again, since I moved down here, it’s been up, it’s been down. What they’re going to do with flood insurance is almost like trying to guess where the market’s going to go. I mean, I don’t think it’s going to go away. It’s probably going to get worse.
KZ: After our little scare last September with Hurricane Irma, we have buyers now that say, “No flood. I don’t even want to deal with it.” But I’m a St. Pete girl, I say, “Ehh, what’s the big deal?” But I understand, you don’t know what’s going to go on with floods.
CL: Yeah, we just do new construction now. But years ago, when there was no new construction going on, we did a home in Pass-a-Grille. It was a 1924 build, and it had those hard pine floors. So this thing was maybe 2-1/2 feet higher than the sand. And those floors were fine from 1926! So I’m kind of the same way. A flood could have happened, could happen, but who knows.
KZ: You know, we have the myth of the Native American.
CL: Yeah. We’re protected, right? Did you evacuate during the last storm?
KZ: No, I live in a high-rise. I was high and dry! And we have impact windows and doors, so I felt secure.
CL: Right. So we live out on Redington Shores, and they had a mandatory evacuation. So we left and we went to Georgia, along with half the state. It took forever. Luckily we brought our campers, so we didn’t have to find a hotel room. So we went to Georgia, then we were told that the storm’s looking like it’s going to track here after. So then we went to South Carolina. And I remember being in a restaurant and the news is on, hyping it up, basically saying that St. Pete and Tampa Bay as you know it is gone. Tampa is going to be the new beach of something. So we’re at this restaurant, and the waitress could tell we were travelers. And she asks, “where are you guys from?” And I said, “Ah, well Redington Shores, which is Tampa Bay.” And she put her hand on me, really softly.
My heart kind of sank. And then what happened? All the water went out of the bay. And I saw a story of a manatee that was beached in the bay. Luckily they carried it out and saved its life. It’s a lot of height, but it could happen. I mean, you look and see what happened in the Virgin Islands with all those devastating things. Obviously, they don’t let us build that way anymore, and now have to elevate everything. But still…
For elevations now, the way it works is that it almost looks like a contour map. FEMA does all this mapping, and it’s kind of an ever-changing thing. So it looks like a contour map where Tampa Bay and St. Pete is going to be a base flood elevation of maybe 8 or 9 feet. And then as you get out here to the beaches, some are 10, some are 11, some are 12. Parts of the sand are 14. So what that means is that’s the minimum you have to build at. Now they’ve just changed the Florida building code to say that you have to be 1 foot above that. They call that “freeboard”. So, certain things that were built maybe in the early 2000’s, that were built to that exact height, are no longer compliant. Now it doesn’t mean you have to rip your house down, but it does mean that your flood insurance might go from (just throwing a number out there) $500 a year to $2,000 a year. Who knows? But it could get raised.
So we recommend doing 2 feet above the FEMA line, and then we’re covered for the foreseeable future. I mean, for the life-cycle of that home, for that homeowner, I think we’re going to be okay. We accomplish this in 2 different ways. In St. Pete, we can do more with fill-dirt, because we’re starting with a lower number. You know, everybody thinks Florida’s flat, but believe it or not, there’s some places in St. Pete with 40 feet of elevation. There are some hills, typically not by the coast, but some areas of St. Pete are a little bit higher than what we see here on the beach. So on lots there, we’re able to bring in fill and keep it as that softer approach. Typically out here, we’re limited. We have to do pilings, and do the first level as storage and garage. We can do some things with it, but we have strict rules.
KZ: That’s the trend going on right now in St. Pete, because people want to live there and be close to downtown. So we’re seeing builders, like yourself, coming from Tampa even, tearing down homes in Old Northeast, Snell Isle, and Patrician Point. And, you know, as a “born and raised girl,” I sit there and think, “oh, some of these historic homes that are being torn down in Old Northeast.” It’s a little hard. You know, there’s some homes that are definitely not cared for and need to be torn down, but some of them that you just think, “Oh, you could have restored that.”
CL: That kind of surprises me. Because, in some areas, you’re limited on certain design styles, but then you see Old Northeast where you’ll see a modern house next to a 1918 house.
KZ: I think the neighbors and the neighborhood are getting a little bit more savvy about that and are being a little bit more outspoken to the city. Because there are some Frank Lloyd Wright looking or a little bit more modern to South Beach stye, that I hate to say don’t belong there, but it’s just not what Old Northeast was about.
CL: Yeah you see these big trees, these canopies, and brick streets, but then these sleek houses. And I like modern! But there’s certain places where it works and certain places where it doesn’t. Out on the beach you can do anything. It’s like the Wild West. You can do Key West, Mediterranean, British West Indies, and contemporary, whatever you want. And then you’ll have a 600 square foot ranch from 1954 next to a $3,000,000 new-build. But I mean in St. Pete, I love Old Northeast too. It’s cool with all that stuff. The only thing I don’t like is the allergies that I would have from all the pollen. It’s beautiful, but I feel like I would have to take tons of Zyrtec to take all that on.z
KZ: Exactly. And another trend that’s going on in St. Pete, you mentioned you were with Opus, which did 400 Beach in Park Shore, is the building of all the condos and apartments. A lot of apartment complexes are going up because so many young people and young professionals want to be in downtown St. Pete, or near downtown, and it’s very expensive to live there. So they’re renting just so they can be there. But even rentals are really crazy.
CL: Yeah. Well, I was just listening to a podcast and they were talking about millennials. Everybody says that millennials aren’t buying, their renting. My interior designer is a millennial, technically I’m one too, but we don’t do as much for millennials because of the price point. But it seems like my interior designer, she’s almost 30, she’s been renting and now they’re looking to buy a home. So what this podcast guy was saying is that millennials are waiting longer to have kids, you know, they are waiting until after 30 to have kids. Then they’re still wanting to buy.
KZ: You have to have that down payment. Unfortunately, in 2007 and 2008 the market kind of tanked, but now, 10 years later, our markets have really low inventories. So prices are escalated. And, not knowing what she can afford, but say she can afford $300,000, you’re not going to get close to downtown unfortunately for that price point if you need a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home. So it’s hard.
CL: Well one of my friends is a developer in Denver, and what they’ve come up with for millennials, these 20 to early 30-somethings, is they built these courtyard-type complexes where there’s a lot of outside. So even in Denver, they’re doing a heated pool to keep the ice off. The pool isn’t functional in the winter, but they have all the outdoor fire features. It’s kind of the same way because people are wanting to live outdoors. So, guys are doing really small apartments too. They’re doing these “micros” that are about 600 square feet, but then they have a gym.
It’s not just the apartment gym you used to think of, it’s a proper gym with a spin room and a virtual spin instructor, for example. So you can go take a spin class and socialize and they have all this other social stuff. And these guys want millennials! And millennials don’t want to go to the store or anything. At old apartments, they were getting all these packages, and they didn’t know what to do with them because, if you think about it, you can’t plug up the hallways with packages. So they have these Amazon pod areas that they have to pay for, but I want to do that here. I mean, you’ve got to find the land and you need some room, but what a cool concept.
KZ: A cool concept. Absolutely. Yeah, you need to go down and find some land or something.
CL: Yeah. If it’s somewhere near here. Yeah.
KZ: You know, the apartment complexes that are going up here are very nice. They have, like you say, the long hallways, they have a concierge service in the aspect that, you know, you leave your trash out your door and then they’ll come pick it up and save you from having to lug it down. And they have nice workout rooms, but I like that.
CL: I think it’s kind of cool. They don’t need a lot of space. Basically, these kids that live in downtown St. Pete, they’re not eating at home. They’re eating out with their friends. They’re walking around, like what you were just describing. And they’re working, and they’re working later. So really they just want to exercise and want to be outside, and they’re not really hanging out in their house. They’re not having people over. They’re not doing that in downtown St. Pete. They’re all want to meet somewhere and do something. Like you were saying, there’s a lot of things that are free that you could bring your own food to, have a picnic, do a movie at the park. There’s so much to do.
KZ: So when am I moving down there?
CL: My thing is, on the beach people often ask me, I had some people in here on Monday for example, and they were trying to decide where they are wanting to live. And they were looking at like Venetian Isles. Here, I’ll paint you a picture of what our clients look like. They’re usually people in their late 50’s/early 60’s. They’re young, not millennials, but they’re young. They’re active. They don’t want to live in an old beach condo where there’s nothing to do. They don’t want to do that. And they don’t want to go live in a downtown condo. They don’t want that because a lot of them are from the suburbs. So they still want the single family home, they don’t want to have the neighbor above you and below you.
And then, a lot of them play golf. And in downtown, you have the Vinoy, and then there’s little stuff here and there. The next big one is probably the Bellaire Country Club. So, they like to have some of those things, and obviously, the water on the Gulf is different than the water on the bay. And then you have the beach, so it’s kind of a give and take.
KZ: What’s the square footage that they’re looking for? Usually, those people are coming from big houses and they want to scale down. So that’s why it’d be interesting to see.
CL: I would say 3,000 minimum. Most of them are under 4,400. 3,500 is a key number. Because they’re leaving 5,000-plus, and a basement, and all that stuff. You know, in the market, we see people from Chicago, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, upstate New York, Pennsylvania. We’re not getting people from the west coast.
KZ: Are these people typically looking for second homes?
CL: For us, it’s a combination. Some of them are going to be full-time, some of them have done ones where they say, “It’s going to be a place for my family to come visit.” And then with some of them I say, “Look, I know you want your family to come, but you don’t want them to live with you forever.” So you have to build with that in mind, and other things like that.
KZ: So what do they decide, do you know?
CL: So, it really depends. If they’re from a Chicago-type area, they really want that nightlife. The beaches, after the sun goes down, are quiet. It shuts down. So, it’s a combination. Then you have Tierra Verde in St. Pete Beach, where you can jump on the highway, get downtown quickly, and it’s real easy. From here, it’s probably 25 minutes or so. My style is just, I mean obviously, I live out here, I like the boating, and the beach stuff, but we can just jump in an Uber and go, then we don’t have to worry about parking and all that stuff. I love going into downtown St. Pete, but parking can be a little bit of an issue. So it’s a combination. We see both. What about you? What are you seeing? What are your clients?
KZ: Well, you know, I’ve seen a lot of Tampa people. As a matter of fact, I just sold a lot, a water lot, on Monday and the couple is coming from Tampa. They originally were coming from another state, but they are from the Tampa Bay area and they’ve lived in Tampa for a couple years and now they’re coming to St. Pete, just for the lifestyle. The lifestyle of being able to walk along the waterfront and then boom, you hit downtown.
CL: Are they still going to work in Tampa or are they going to commute?
KZ: They’re going to commute. They think it’s worth it, which it is. And then we do see a lot of northerners like you mentioned Chicago, a lot of Connecticut and they’re looking mainly for a second home, but their second homes are big. Or, they’re looking for a condo. So it’s something that they can shut the door 6 months of the year and they know it’s being taken care of and then can go back up north. So yeah, we’re having a mixture. And of course a lot of young families wanting to be close to downtown and the price point might be a little bit different than what they can get. So, we just kind of have to push them out a little bit more. But, you know, what’s a little bit more? Maybe instead of a 5 minute drive, it’s a 7 or 8 minute drive, so it’s not that bad.
CL: Do you ever have people that are kind of doing the, we see this a lot… They’re never searching to the north of here because there’s really not a whole lot. It’s the nature coast. But we see people that are never coming from Miami, but they’ve checked out Naples, Fort Meyers, and Sarasota. So, when you talk to somebody that was looking in Sarasota, what are the differences? What would you say to somebody?
KZ: Again, our downtown is so unique. At 5:00pm it comes alive. But downtown Sarasota, downtown Tampa, downtown Clearwater, they just kind of shut down. There are a few restaurants there, but downtown St. Pete just comes alive just because of the parks and the waterfront. There are so many activities going on. But you’re right. People from up north are checking out the St. Pete area and then they’re going to Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Bonita Springs I think is developing a lot. I’ve heard a lot of people say, “well we’re going to check out Bonita Springs.” I just think, “oh my goodness.”
CL: And I think some of it, is because some of the people are seasonal there. For example, my cousin just bought a place and he was renting a place down more towards Sarasota, and he stayed in Marco before. And his thing was, “well, it’s a little bit warmer in the winter months.” And it is, it’s a couple degrees warmer, but it’s also 40 years older and you don’t have the sports teams, you don’t have a good airport. He ended up getting a condo in Tierra Verde. He wanted a place where he could keep his boat, and there’s a lot of those condos there that have slips for their boats. He actually looked at a piece of property in North Redington Beach, and it just flew off the market. So, low inventories.
KZ: Tierra Verde is a great area because, like you say, you just hop on the interstate and you’re downtown in 10 minutes.
CL: So, I’ll ask you, what do you do for fun in this area?
KZ: I love boating. I like to exercise. I do a lot of walking. I live downtown, so I walk everywhere. I do a lot of exercise. They just opened the Raymond James Museum. Have you been down there yet? They just had their grand opening. Raymond James; they’ve put all his artwork there.
CL: He’s sponsoring it?
KZ: He totally built it, renovated the building. It’s on 1st and Central. And a new Pilate’s company went underneath there. So again, I walk everywhere. I walk to Pilates, and boating. What do you like to do? Fish?
CL: No, I don’t fish. I used to spearfish before kids, but the kids love boating. They can’t get certified to dive yet, but boating – they love it. Kneeboarding, tubing, and all the crazy stuff on the boat. Occasionally I still scuba dive, and now I want to get them back into it. And they’ll go scalloping with us. If you go up north a little bit you can do all that fun stuff. I want to get them into lobstering. It seems that everybody who grew up down here used to go to the Keys and go lobstering, and I’ve never done that. I really have this vision of them doing the snorkeling and grabbing some lobsters and all that crazy stuff. Yeah, that kind of stuff for sure. Paddleboarding. Anything water. Yeah. And then I said we like to snow ski.
KZ: We also like to snow ski. It’s crazy, Floridians going snow skiing. We’ve been to several places, but we love Vail. It is big, but you can do one side of the mountain, and then it takes half a day to ski to the other side and do the back bowls. Yeah, we love Vail.
CL: I just went to Whistler in British Columbia. The same people own Vail, Whistler, and Park City. You can get this epic pass now where you can do all these things. And what you can do now, is if you go more than once a year, you can get unlimited skiing at all their resorts, for $800 or so. Whistler was really cool. Yeah, this was weird: we flew into Vancouver. Beautiful. And you have this awesome drive to Whistler, and it was great. But we had asked for an SUV, and we got this Jeep instead. And we had all this gear, but it was a four-door Jeep so it all fit.
So it was cool, and Jeeps are fun. We then drove and met my brother and his fiancé, they’re from DC, and we had a little condo. But the funny thing about Whistler, which I couldn’t wrap my head around, was the accents. I couldn’t figure out what this weird accent was. Everybody was from Australia! So, I guess it’s something where because it’s part of the Royal Kingdom, it’s the UK and these guys from Australia. It was like everybody had an Australian accent, which just felt weird. All right. So, when a client comes to you, give an idea of what helps you help them.
KZ: You know, I list properties, but I also work with buyers. So, if I was working with a buyer, the first thing I want to know is if they are qualified or if they have talked to a lender. And if they haven’t, then I give them a few suggestions. I’m not going to take anyone to see this $500,000 property, when their only qualified for $300,000. So we get them pre-qualified to a lender, and then really just trying to get what their dream home is, what criteria they are looking for. And I try to look it up in the MLS, but usually what they want doesn’t match up with the price point. So you have to learn to give and take. And I’m a pretty honest agent, I’m not pushy. So if someone walks in and I can walk out of that house and I’ll go, “what do you think?”
And if they start saying, “well, you know” then I’ll tell them, “no way.” They’re looking at the fluff, but I’m looking at the ceilings for leaks. I’m looking at cracks for structural integrity. Opening the closet to see the age of the A/C – that type of thing. Whereas they’re looking at more of the fluff, like, “oh, it was a pretty kitchen.” “Yes, but, did you see this?” So I really try to help them get a lender, then get their criteria, then get them showing properties. I just got a condo under contract yesterday, and then you go through the inspection period, and appraisal, and then knock on wood it gets to the closing table easily.
CL: What about when you’re listing? What do you have to coach people on to get their house ready to sell?
KZ: Declutter, declutter, declutter! Listen, you know, I’ve sold my home. Have you sold your home? I’m sure at one point with all sorts of rights. So you have all your family pictures, and I am also guilty. The first thing I do, if there are pictures all over the wall is, “oh my God, I went to high school with that person.” I’m looking at the pictures when you really just want to look at the home. So, depersonalizing, decluttering. I will pay for a stager to come in to help them, to give suggestions, and if she needs to do any extra staging we discuss that. Then we get marketing going, we do a lot of marketing, and get it ready. So, when the buyer walks in, you try to get that wow factor.
CL: What’s the best way for people to get a hold of you?
KZ: Probably by my contact number, which is (727) 430-5010. I’m at Re/Max Metro in downtown St. Pete, located in the Morgan Stanley building on the corner of 2nd St. and 2nd Ave.
CL: You are known as “The Z.” And they can reach you at thezrealtor@gmail.com. Awesome. Thanks for talking to me!
This blog post is a transcript of a conversation between Chad Lubke and Interior Designer Sarah Puglia.
Chad Lubke (CL): Sarah is an interior designer here at Lubke Construction. Sarah, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you’re from and we’ll go from there?
Sarah Puglia (SP): Absolutely. Well thanks for having me on Chad. Again, my name is Sarah and I’m a designer here at Lubke Construction. So, part of my background is I’m actually originally from Vermont, but I’ve been down here for over 20 years now. Love it. I went to Florida State, I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree in interior design and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. What started me on interior design, was I just love construction and new building. My mom actually started a home renovation, and seeing that whole process go through to fruition, that’s kind of what got me started on my love and passion for design.
CL: I know you’re a traveler too, you’ve been to all these places in the world; did that play a role in some of the things that you think about when you’re doing this?
SP: Oh absolutely. All the time. You know, you live life experiencing things and that’s what kind of dictates your morals, your thoughts, and points you in your career path on how you want things to develop, for you personally. So yeah, travel is huge for me. I’m always gone weekends. But really, spending time with family, that’s where my heart lies along with my passion for what I do here at Lubke.
CL: Awesome, so tell us a little bit about where you see the current state of design here in the Tampa Bay area.
SP: First, here’s just a little bit of a background: around 10 years ago, we were heavy in the Mediterranean. Everybody was really wanting that more opulent, very color popping, Baroque kind of style. But now, everything is trending towards more simplistic, clean lines. Whether that’s contemporary, which is the very far side of the spectrum, or kind of in between which is British West Indies style, which still has some elements of the traditional Mediterranean, but it’s really calmed down and soothing. Those architectural features, such as arches or corbels, are what’s pronounced on that. So kind of a blend of the two. But really, people are understanding what they want in their own specific designs.
CL: It seems like out here on the beach and the coast, people will go on vacation and then they’ll come to you and say, “Oh, when I was in a certain hotel or resort, I saw this cool shower.” I feel like from some of the stuff we’re building ends up being more resort-like than like a traditional home.
SP: Absolutely, a resort-type memory at home. Essentially, what they’ve experienced from those atmospheres, are what they want to bring in. Again, it’s more of that open, clean line, glass shower doors so you see everything, and just subtle pops of either texture or color, nothing that’s overly done, but again, simplistic and elegant.
CL: Ok great lets go to the outside now, what do you see in pool areas? What are people wanting? What do you like? What are you seeing out there?
SP: Outdoor living, which is a huge upcoming trend across the nation. Being able to have plenty of space to entertain and having an outdoor kitchen. Also, having a pool with a streamlined look. Where it’s not necessarily just your hot tub, and then three steps down is the next part of the pool, they want flow. But really, outdoor living spaces with entertainment areas, that’s what’s huge right now.
CL: Cool, I’m going to float an idea by you. I haven’t told you about this one yet. I’m building our next house, and I like really linear pools, which goes with the contemporary lines and everything. But my wife, she thinks of things from a more practical standpoint. So, in this house we’re building, you come in the front, it flows to the outside, and then you go out to the boat. I want this huge pool, but she doesn’t want to have to walk around this pool to get to the boat. We’re trying to figure out this design. So, I was thinking about doing a bridge. But not an arch bridge. I’m thinking about just doing some steps and a bridge, which would kind of be dual purpose. The kids could jump off the bridge and it would look cool. What are your thoughts? Is that crazy? What do you think?
SP: I actually kind of like it. It just depends on where the bridge is.
CL: I’m going to do it down the middle, so it would be a feature piece of the pool. Do you know what I mean?
SP: Yeah. Okay.
CL: That’s just a wild thing I came up with. I ran it by Julie, she seems to be cool with it. It’ll be our first pool with a bridge.
SP: I like the concept, for sure.
CL: Let’s go to the inside now. As you were mentioning, we do contemporary, some ultra-modern (not a ton of it, but some of it), we’re actually marketing some more of that now, even though we still get a lot of demand for Mediterranean and Key West. So, looking at design magazines and looking at what’s going on, can you fit these sleek lines into all of those styles on the inside regardless of the outside?
SP: Oh, absolutely. It’s actually more the other way around. For example, you can’t necessarily fit gargoyles in contemporary homes. The cleaner the lines, the easier it is to place in different styles of homes.
CL: It also seems like a thing that a lot of people are wanting is taller ceilings. It used to be a 10 foot ceiling was good, but now we’re doing homes with 10 and 12 foot sliders. It’s just astonishing, all these sizes and things. What are your thoughts on all that?
SP: Honestly, that goes back to the whole hotel scenario. People are going into these commercial buildings, constantly, for work or pleasure, and they see it and they want it. So there’s that, and also, when you walk into a space that has 12 foot ceilings, it is just so eye catching, glamorous, and elegant. It’s an architectural feature that just adds so much design.
CL: Tell us about some of the different details, such as linear lines in the ceilings, trays, inlays. Tell us about some of that stuff, some of your favorites. Different things that you’re seeing out there.
SP: A couple of examples are coffered ceilings and beams. Beams are huge. Whether it’s naturally exposed, or building with drywall and putting a cap of wood around. A faux-beam type of thing. It’s just those little things. Having 10 or 12 foot ceilings allows for you to drop those architectural pieces in, without feeling claustrophobic. With 8 foot ceilings, it’s nearly impossible.
CL: I’ve also noticed that we’ve been doing a lot more lighting in ceilings where you don’t see bulbs, it’s more indirect. What do you think? Why do people like that?
SP: All of the tape lighting and stuff that you see now, it’s just indirect lighting. That’s exactly why. There’s not hot spots on the walls. You just have the lighting go up and into your coffers, then it goes up, hits the wall, and then comes down. So no one’s getting these blind spots, and you’re not seeing spots, that’s a huge benefit.
CL: Let’s talk about rooms. 95% of our stuff is either on the water, on the beach, or a golf course. So typically, the rear of our homes are where the views are going to be. So how are people laying out the rear of their homes? Obviously every room can’t have a view, unless you have that perfect point lot somewhere by itself. What are you seeing, layout wise, on the rear of the homes?
SP: Definitely entertainment areas, so your kitchen, living room, will be towards the rear of the house, or wherever the view might be. The second option would then also be the master suite. Now whether you want it to be the bedroom off of the balcony or the bathroom, that’s kind of up to interpretation per client. But those are really the two primary focuses. After that, it really depends on the layout or the actual structure of the house and what we can accommodate with.
CL: Is it fair to say that, even in really big houses, say over 6000-7,000 square feet, people aren’t doing formal living and formal dining? Is that going away?
SP: That’s correct. Again, everybody’s leaning towards this more casual style. It’s not as formal. Everybody has a large living room, and then the kitchen kind of overtakes both, what used to the formal dining room and the kitchen is just one huge open space. So, people are tending to go more towards large or multiple islands, instead of that secondary room.
CL: I’m going to put you on the spot. So, where are you supposed to eat Thanksgiving dinner without a formal dining room?
SP: Excellent question, it depends on how many people, but again, most of the spaces that are being created are so open. You can throw in a table at any point in time.
CL: So, your designs are leaving room for a big table too, that might not be used as much, but it’s more of a feature piece than a dust collector.
SP: Exactly, instead of compartmentalizing the space, this design opens it up, and then allows for interpretation.
CL: Let’s switch gears and go to kitchens. I know high bars used to be popular, but I’m not seeing high bars much anymore. When I talk to clients and get to know them before they meet with you, everybody says they hang out in the kitchen. So, how are kitchens being laid out now? Where are people hanging out? How’s that working out?
SP: Again, we’re seeing larger islands, bigger kitchens for sure. People are wanting to, not necessarily entertain, but cook together and be together in one spot.
CL: Let me cut you off for a second. You say larger islands, what does that mean? 14 feet? 16 feet? 20 feet?
SP: As large as possible. Right now, for example, Cambria and most other quartz slabs that come in jumbo slabs, are coming up to 10 and 12 feet long.
CL: So, it’s not like the old islands that were 6 feet by 3 feet. Those were more like an ironing board, whereas this is an actual huge slab of material.
SP: Exactly. Then that allows 12 or so people to congregate around. People also used to think about the “working triangle”: where it’s the range, the fridge, and the sink. That doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s now just about making sure that there’s enough space for people to walk side by side, so 48 inches from countertop to countertop. That’s really more of the rubric now instead of the “working triangle”.
For a while, we went away from the family dinners a little bit, and now it’s starting to come back. So, people are wanting to prep together, cook together, that kind of thing. One really exciting feature in kitchens now that you can get are these huge trough sinks, which are about 6 feet long, and they have cutting boards and strainers attached to them, with 2 faucets. That’s just another cool item to have in a kitchen, where you’re really wanting to have that family atmosphere. To bring everybody together.
CL: In January, we were at KBIS, the national kitchen and bath show. We saw that sink, and it just made so much sense to me. It’s also something that you just don’t see very often, which I think is something that a lot of people want, something that nobody else has. Something that’s going to make people remember their house. And you’re not going to always want to bring people through your master bedroom, but they’re going to see your kitchen. So that makes sense.
SP: Exactly. Of course, there’s also the farmhouse sinks, the 36 inch single basin sink, which is also trending now. We tend to get into these design features that people see over and over again, so people are wanting something new and fresh. I just think that trough sink is just so cool and functional.
CL: In the design magazines that I’ve looked at, it seems that white cabinets are still pretty popular?
SP: It is. It’s coming and going. Grey cabinets are kind of coming around too, but generally instead of it being based on just a color, it’s truly the design of what your house is being architecturally modified to. Whether it’s that contemporary style or British West Indies, that’s what’s really tailoring all of the colors. Which is the way that it should be. Everybody was going towards those white, bright, light color tones. But now, we’re starting to see turquoise islands, for example. That more custom look. No matter what, you’re always going to have your neutrals as your go-to’s.
CL: Here’s another one that seems like it’s picked up steam, we’ve done two now, and we’re about to do a third: built-in wine cellars. When I think of a wine cellar, I think of a basement with cobwebs, stone arches, dark, and hidden away. Share with us about the couple that we’ve done, what they look like and where they are located in the houses. Tell us a little bit about that.
SP: They’re feature pieces. Our homeowners are proud of them. They’re statements. One is right when you walk in the front door. It’s to the left, it’s well lit. It’s next to this gorgeous 3 story staircase. It’s a wine room, a walk-in, proper room. There’s a specific cooling unit in there that they have. I don’t remember the quantity that it holds, but it’s a feature piece. We have another one that we’ve done that only holds about 120 bottles of wine, but it’s encased by 3 walls of glass and there’s a glass tile on the solid wall. But, it’s there just for show and entertainment.
CL: They’re not hidden. They’re something that people are going to see.
SP: They’re in plain sight. The second one is coming up a staircase, so you can’t miss it.
CL: Wow, 120 bottles, I mean, that’s a good start. That will stock a pretty good sized party, I would think. So, let’s go to master bedrooms. Personally, we have family come all the time, and sometimes they get annoying, so, I think of the bedroom as the place to be a hermit and hide from people, and I know you like to call it a sitting area. Master bedrooms used to be a little bit bigger than the other bedrooms, how much bigger are they now? What are you seeing in master bedrooms?
SP: They’re now suites. It’s a place where obviously your king or California king-sized bed goes, and a couple of dressers. They also have his and her walk-in closets, which are not just enough to turn around – it’s a room.
CL: You could practically cook a meal inside the closets. They have islands, chandeliers, etc.
SP: They have all custom cabinets, from floor to ceiling. Then the master bathrooms are just the crown jewel in those spaces. Depending on the client, the actual physical rooms, and then some of them are just there for the simple purpose of showering and bathing. But really, the suite aspect is just having essentially everything in one space. Some of our clients even have put refrigerators and little cooking areas in there. So it’s really a whole separate suite, almost like a hotel room.
CL: Almost always, without fail, when I go out and show new clients some of the homes that we’ve built, and they’re describing their dream master bathroom, they always say, “We need to leave space for the tub.” I always then ask them if they use their master tub. 98% of the time they say, no, but we need it for resale.” I know in our homes, a lot of them are being designed without a master tub. So, how many people put a tub in just for resale, and how many people have thought it through? How many say, “Well, I need this Jacuzzi tub with massaging jets and heated water?” So, do you have the same feeling as I do that less and less are wanting this big waste-of-space tub?
SP: Right now, the point of the tub is a design feature, along with the resale value. Unless you want one of those therapeutic jetted tubs, they’re never going to be used. It’s more of a design feature, where people see pictures, and then they want the slipper foot tub, the claw foot tub, and then that’s what they have their heart set on, whether they’re going to use it or not.
CL: Right, we did a home in North Redington Beach, and it has 3 master suites, a couple of guest bedrooms, and no tubs. These are people that have built homes in the past, and their thoughts were, “At this amount of money, the whole thing’s probably $3,000,000 with land, if somebody’s going to buy this house, and they can afford this house, then if they want to add a tub, they can add a tub.” So, what she did was, she made the bathrooms big enough where you could put a tub in it. Just personally, I’m not a tub guy, and I don’t see it as a thing that people need. For us, having kids, we always throw one into a guest bath. But, that trough kitchen sink that you were talking about, it’s 6 feet wide. I mean, a tub’s only 5, so you could just put your kid in that thing.
SP: That’s right, and most of our clientele don’t have young kids. It’s like I told my husband the other day, he wanted me to buy a minivan because we’re expanding our family, and I just asked him, “Why? We would only need a minivan until they’re old enough to get in and out of the car easily on their own. I’ll take my SUV. Thank you.” Same thing with a tub, it’s a short-lived thing, unless you, as a person, love taking baths.
CL: If you had $1,500,000 to spend on building a house for you and your family, what style would it be? Tell us about the outside. Give us a little dissertation on what that would look like.
SP: It’s always harder for yourself. Honestly, I do love the British West Indies. I think that is perfect. So, the outside would have a high contrast in colors. I would have dark window trimming, with a white house. I might have a little bit of a grayer tone, but more or less white. I would have a dark front door. The exterior corbels would be simpler, but really tall. Then the roof, again, would be dark, to go along with the other trimming. Definitely a metal roof. After doing a bunch of research, that’s the best way to go, spend the money. As far as decorative, other than the corbels, just very simple. It would have exterior stucco, and the garage doors would be dark, but then would also have a little bit of texture, whether that’s a wood grain or painted. Other than that, there would be landscaping and a linear pool. It can be a lap pool or just a normal pool. You don’t need a bunch of curves in a pool. For the deck, though, I would actually do a porcelain paver. They have come out with really large format porcelain pavers that require no maintenance compared to a natural stone, and they stay cool. The decking material would be where I would spend my money.
CL: So, let’s say it’s one out here on the beach. It’s on a lot where the bottom level needs to have some parking and storage space. Now on the next level, would you do everything you can? Or would you need 2 levels? What do you visualize? What’s your feeling?
SP: Having an 18-month-old, I really want one level. Any type of new build I would do would be one level, if the lot can allow. My primary focus on the main level, would be making sure that I have enough room to entertain family, and that I can cook and be with everybody all at once. So, the rooms might be a little bit smaller as far as bedrooms are concerned, only because no one’s in there, when it’s just me and my family.
CL: When they come to visit, you don’t want them to get super comfortable. I always say, that I don’t want it to be so big that they’re going to unpack. I don’t want people unpacking. No drawers. Don’t unpack. Live out of your suitcase. Make it a little bit tough. Don’t make it too nice.
SP: So, really having that all open, but then practically compartmentalized. Laundry room out of the way, plenty of storage as far as closets are concerned. That’s one thing down here in Florida, all the old houses have no closet space. Also, a lot people are moving from somewhere up north, where they have 3,000 square foot basements. Then they come here, and they don’t know what to do. They say, “What is this?” They end up selling it.
CL: So, tell us what helps you? What makes the process easier, smoother, and better for a client? What are things that they should be doing and thinking about and planning for, that would make the whole process easier?
SP: Well, having an idea of your style, and most of the clients I work with are already there. They already know what they like and don’t like. You know, there’s a lot of stuff that goes into a home, not just your appliances, cabinetry, that kind of thing. Really, Pinterest is a great tool. But people do need to know that everything on Pinterest is not exactly economical. So, going in, knowing that, and taking it with a grain of salt. Knowing, “Okay, well I like this layout but I don’t like this color.” Things like that.
CL: For example, they say “I like this crazy herringbone wood floor that has 2 foot pieces, and it’s only $6 a square foot.” Then you show it to our estimator, who prices it and says, “That’s going to take six weeks to install because there are 50,000 cuts, Is that the kind of stuff you’re talking about?
SP: Exactly, and they can have that floor, we can do it.
CL: Or, maybe you’ll suggest, “We can achieve the same look if we run a board down the center, and met it at 45 degrees, or do it at an angle, or something else instead.” We can do some value engineering to achieve the look they want, without breaking the bank. So, having a Pinterest that’s organized, where they can organize their thoughts, their ideas, and their inspirations, that’s what’s going to make it better for you?
SP: Also, most people already know what kind of appliances they want. They know if they want gas or electric. Or if they want a 48 inch range or a standard 30 or 36. That kind of stuff is nice and easy. But, at least for me, the communication between translating your style to me can be tricky. Because they can say British West Indies, but really mean Dutch West Indies, just because there’s no context. Probably a closer one would be Key West and British West Indies. So, having those images, having those conversations, are key to making it a smooth design process.
CL: Awesome. Well, thanks for your time today. I learned some stuff. I learned that I get to do my cool bridge. Again, thanks for your time.
