February Real Estate Update

“Taking Real Estate to the next level!”

January Home Sales!
Three resales (2 homes and 1 villa) sold this past month, and there are six (6) currently under contract. No surprises that sales and showings are slower at this time of year. There are currently 36 resales on the market.

Do you use your fireplace??? Sun City residents have been blessed with some gorgeous weather the last 30 days! It will be nice if our winter will continue reaching 60 degrees as it did the last week in January, but that’s not going to happen. When we reach those colder temperatures, will you use your fireplace? For most, the answer will be, “No!” For us, the answer is a resounding, “Yes”! We love our fireplace and we use it almost every evening! A glass of red wine just tastes better when you are watching the flames flicker. We also have our fireplace running almost every morning. It’s just more fun drinking coffee over a fireplace at 6:00 AM.
Your flames don’t flicker??? The fireplaces installed by Pulte are a very standard construction grade. When you turn them on, they don’t look real through the glass front and they don’t give off much heat. These fireplaces are vented through your roof and a very large portion of the heat produced goes through your chimney. Expensive and not very efficient!!

We converted to a ventless fireplace!!! A few years ago, we replaced our original fireplace with a ventless. Essentially, almost all heat produced goes back into our home. Most units are approximately 95% efficient! Our fireplace gives off plenty of heat and it looks pretty natural when it burns. However, when using a ventless unit, you have to take precautions. The mantle can get quite warm, and it is recommended that you don’t run your fireplace for extended periods of time.

Be cautious! When choosing a company to install your “ventless” unit, be cautious! Not all installers are the same. We had a client purchase a home last month and we were told that the fireplace unit was “ventless”. We told them how much we enjoyed our ventless unit and how much heat it gave off. When our client turned it on, it didn’t produce the heat she was hoping for. We gave her the name of our installer and he pointed out that not only did this unit not produce heat – it was unsafe. Apparently, there was an installer in Sun City that “retrofitted” an existing unit rather than replace it with the complete “ventless” package. This is the primary reason for writing this article.
Get a Professional Opinion! If you are considering the installation of a ventless unit, it should cost in the range of $1,300 -$1,400. Before making such a large purchase, talk to the experts to learn the pros and cons of purchasing this type of fireplace. If you had a “ventless” unit installed and you’re not sure if it was done properly, call the pros. There are several reputable installers out there. Compare prices and products. We used Barry Sims, owner of Fireplace Solutions, and we were very pleased with his knowledge and service. His phone number is 803-547-8900 and email is Fireplace4You@aol.com. We love our ventless unit!!

Hoping you stay cozy and warm this winter!

–Brian & Sharon Clair, Your Resident Realtors