Land specialists key to home sales

As new home sales continue to boom through Southwest Florida, the availability of homesites continues to tighten. As a service for those looking for the perfect place to build their home, some local building companies and real estate professionals have expanded their operations to include a department of land specialists whose sole job is to find, secure and permit potential homebuilding sites.

One such company is Kaye Homes, which was founded in 1986 by Stuart Kaye. During the past 20 years, the company has built more than 3,000 residences. Kaye Homes currently offers 40 floor plans, the majority of which are priced from the $200s to the $500s. Other homes are also available with prices ranging from the $500s to more than $1 million.

Kaye Homes’ land specialist Richard Maunz was a homebuilder in his home state of New York prior to joining Kaye Homes in July 2004.

“We have a department of three people and many outside Realtors looking for homesites for us and Kaye Realty Group,” said Maunz. “Not only do we have to find homesites, we also have to research them to determine how much of the site can be built on, and then we file and then follow the entire approval process.”

Even in the past year Maunz has seen a big change in homesite availability as well as pricing.

“The market in Golden Gate Estates, for instance, is much more aggressive than it was even six to 12 months ago,” he said. “It’s getting harder to find homesites, especially closer in, and prices continue to climb.”

According to Maunz, a 75-by-660-foot homesite fairly far out in Golden Gate Estates is typically priced between $95,000 and $115,000. The same size lot off Golden Gate Boulevard is priced between $130,000 and $160,000. Just west of Collier Boulevard homesites are priced at more than $250,000.

Maunz estimates that 75 to 80 percent of potential homeowners visiting the Kaye Homes sales centers are looking for inventory lots on which to build and want the company to secure a lot for them.

“Since the majority of the homesites in Golden Gate Estates, which is the bulk of our business, measure approximately an acre and a quarter, the size of the homesites seldom come into question,” said Maunz. “Some buyers do want more space and may purchase an additional adjacent lot. It really comes down to balancing price and location. And even though most buyers would like to be closer in to Naples, the affordability factor has them selecting a site usually in the Northeast section of Golden Gate Estates.”

Maunz enjoys his work, although he quickly adds it’s not always easy finding families their piece of paradise.

“I think the hardest part of my job is finding land that is not encumbered by Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issues,” said Maunz.

According to Maunz, the DEP is concerned about the vegetation on the site and soil condition and determines what part of the site, if any, is a wetland area. If an endangered species is found on the property the DEP refers the case to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for further analysis.

“A wetland area doesn’t mean the site is under water, but is determined by the type of grasses and vegetation that grows there,” explained Maunz. “The portion of a homesite that is deemed to be a wetland area is usually never under water, while some portion of the homesite deemed an uplands area might have some standing water on occasion. It’s sometimes perplexing.”

If a homesite passes its DEP inspection and is approved, Kaye Homes can have it ready for purchase in about a month. The new sites not yet approved or inspected by the DEP can take up to four to five months to get on the market.

“Due to the number of homesites being sought, the Department of Environmental Protection is extremely busy,” said Maunz. “Potential buyers need to understand that you can’t rush the DEP approval process and you can’t get a building permit from the county without it.

The Alava family is currently going through the process. Louis Alava, owner of E&F Septic Tank, and his wife, Alicia, purchased a homesite through Kaye Homes. The couple, along with their sons Frankie and Ermin, are now watching their dream home being built.

“One of our biggest concerns was finding the perfect homesite. With two boys, we needed plenty of yard,” said Louis Alava.

Jim York of Downing-Frye Realty Inc., the founder of The York Team, recently announced plans to offer a new concept in single-family living pre-engineered homes. Prior to the announcement, York was busy securing homesites throughout Lehigh Acres, where he plans to launch sales and then move into other communities in Southwest Florida.

“Although we plan to sell approximately 75 homes a year, we currently have only 25 lots,” said York. “So securing additional homesites is a continuous, time-consuming effort. It takes a team of land specialists to find the perfect sites.”

York said he and other members of this team have stringent guidelines when it comes to buying homesites for the pre-engineered homes, which range in size from approximately 1,500 to 3,000-plus square feet under air and are priced from $270,000 to $350,000, including homesite.

“Setbacks are always an issue we take into consideration as is the issue of wetlands and what is buildable land,” said York. “However, one of our biggest concerns is fill.

“We always try to purchase sites that need no or little fill, because it can be very expensive. It costs between $200 and $250 per load, and some lots we’ve seen needed 40 to 50 loads of fill. That’s an additional cost of $8,000 to $12,500 which would have been passed on to the potential buyer.”

York believes the lots he’ll be purchasing don’t always have to be perfectly rectangular or large.

“Our homes can be customized to fit on odd shaped or sized lots,” he said. “We work closely with the new owner to assure them that the size of their home is a good fit for the size of their site. This is especially important when it comes to the septic tank. The size of the tank is not based on the size of the lot, but rather the square footage of the home and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms it has.”