What you need to know about rebuilding Key West Historic Homes

KEY WEST, Fla. - Feb. 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Per Fred Mullins, Top Producing Member of Team Mullins at Coldwell Banker Schmitt, "Key West Old Town is a great place to own a home. It offers a wonderful climate, a great business and career environment, and all kinds of outdoor recreational opportunities. On top of these, it’s also a location that has some of the most aggressive appreciation rates because of the scarcity of land and new building codes which are quite strict when it comes to safety and energy efficiency.

If you begin to search for homes for sale in Old Town in Key West, you’ll probably conclude in short order that there are many more older homes on the market. Often, these quaint and historic residences aren’t necessary in move-in condition and require a bit of TLC to get into shape.

Choosing the Right Contractor to Rebuild an Older Home

When you find the right property, you should avail yourself of partnering-up with a local and experienced real estate professional. Once you’ve found some properties and are ready to offer a purchase amount, you should consult with an experienced contractor about the needs of the home. Here’s how to find a quality contractor to rebuild an older home:

Get recommendations. Your real estate buyer’s agent or broker will be your first source, and you can also ask around the neighborhood. Get several names and then begin to check into each one to pare-down your list to just a few names.

Check credentials. You should not only look-up their local Better Business Bureau rating, but also check with the state licensing board and search the local clerk of court’s office to find out if one or more are defendants in lawsuits. You can also check with local code enforcement to see if one or more is working a job that’s in violation of code.

Speak with each contractor over the phone. Once you have a few names to contact, do so, but over the phone. This isn’t to get an estimate but to ask general questions to get an idea and vibe about each one to decide which to meet with face-to-face.

Meet with each one, one-by-one. Have them meet you at the home in Old Town and provide you with a written, detailed estimate that doesn’t have a shelf life. Ask pointed questions and for a list of past and current rehabilitations and then check those out personally. Make a list as you go to be able to compare notes later on.

Fred Mullins has more than 16 years of cross functional experience in real estate, international asset management and construction management. He has been a part of the management team for several Fortune 100 companies, including AT&T, Visa, FPL and C. B. Richard Ellis.

His responsibilities have included real estate / property management portfolios of more than 9 million square ft. and international responsibilities in more than 10 countries.

Fred holds an MBA, B.S., real estate license, mortgage broker’s license, USCG Master Captains license and commercial pilot’s license and is the owner of www.lowerkeys-homes.com serving the lower Florida Keys.