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Louise Bolger

Louise Bolger

August 17, 2017
Louise Bolger is The Sun’s Real Estate columnist.
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July 12, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

A group home by any other name

A group home is defined as a small number of unrelated people, in need of support, living together. This may be the long-established definition, but in today’s unprecedented real estate environment i…
July 3, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

East county developments will add to Island traffic

After more than 20 years of living in Florida, I no longer look for vacation destinations that involve beaches and water views. People who have lived north for most of their lives become obsessed wit…
June 27, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Once-in-a-generation housing shortage

If you thought the national housing market was complicated, you might want to sit down, because there’s more to this story. On June 16, The National Association of Realtors (NAR) published a distu…
June 20, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Where are the downsizers?

Long ago and far away, homeowners getting ready to retire would sell their family home to younger families looking to move up and purchase a smaller less expensive property. There was also this crazy…
June 12, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

The explosion of the millions

As we all know, the real estate market has gone from fundamentally shut down to an unparalleled explosion of demand for housing all over the country, and particularly in Florida. Buyers and real esta…
June 6, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Privacy and low inventory

When you purchase a home, it’s inevitable that you lose some privacy. Property purchases become public record and most counties in the United States make databases of these purchases available on the…
May 29, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

It’s worth the stretch

A very wise real estate broker I was fortunate to meet more than 40 years ago not only got me interested in selling real estate, but also gave me great advice about buying as much house as you can po…
May 23, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Crazy rich homeowners

We’re in the “careful what you wish for” zone, not just Floridians, but every homeowner across the country. Prices are up, inventory is low and a lot of potential buyers are really unhappy; where wil…
May 16, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

The never-ending saga of Florida insurance

Like a bad soap opera, the Florida insurance storyline keeps repeating itself. This time it’s not even flood insurance, which I touched on two weeks ago; it’s your regular homeowner’s insurance that…
May 9, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Governments change; so do taxes

There always seems to be something to talk about as it relates to taxes. Tax liability for real estate investors and individual homeowners is continually changing, especially when there is a change i…
May 2, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Good grief, it’s almost hurricane season

Let me be the first to welcome you to the 2021 North Atlantic hurricane season. Technically, it doesn’t start until June 1, however, based on what we lived through last hurricane season in the middle…
April 26, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Home prices, new construction soaring

It seems like new home construction and home renovations are taking over Manatee County. If you dare to take a ride east of the beach, you’ll run into new construction starting on Cortez Road, then o…
April 19, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Foreclosure in the time of COVID-19

Foreclosure has taken on a whole new meaning this past year. Yes, your home may be in foreclosure or approaching foreclosure because of job loss impacting your financial situation, but you could also…
April 11, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Are we in a boom or a bust?

Happy tax day! Well, maybe not, since tax day has been extended another month. With so much going on in the world and in the country, it’s easy to forget about some things that are traditional and in…
April 3, 2021
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

No inventory, no sales?

Remember last March – the week the country shut down – and you raced to the supermarket to stock up on food and toilet paper? My biggest shock was going to Publix on March 17 and seeing about a quart…