Swimming Pools are the leading cause of death for young children in the state of Florida.  All new pool homes must have either a pool safety screen, or a pool alarm on every door to the pool area.  If you purchase a home with a pool that does not have these safety features - this should be the first thing you add to your home.

Similarly, watch children around ponds, lakes and other waterways.  These water views are great for the value of the home, and your enjoyment, but safety around them is important too.

Almost every buyer from outside of Florida asks the same questions, "Gators are not around here, right?".  Well, aligators move around freely on their own, moving from pond to pond.  We usually find a gator in the pond behind our house a few times a year, for a few weeks at a time.  That's him, in our pond, watching some ducks on our neighbor's lawn, thinking about dinner...

Your best chance to see a gator is between 10am-1pm, when they are often found sunning on the grass along the side of a pond, just like this one alongside the west side of our pond).  Remember - stay away - they BITE! And don't feed them - because they'll become aggressive against humans that way.

If you live near water, watch for them in your pond / lake.  Don't walk your dog near the water, and don't let your pets run free.  Gators are very patient.  I've watched them drift around a pond waiting to get a group of birds.

Florida - The Sunshine State.  It is also said that "If you don't like the weather in Florida, just wait a few minutes."

Lightning
Weather safety in Florida is important.  First, Tampa is the lightning capital of the world.  From June to September annually, Tampa gets frequent Thunderstorms.  It's important to know how to avoid being struck by lightning.  Don't: Hide under a tree, talk on a landline phone, play golf, swim, go fishing or do anything else outdoors. Do: Get inside, or in a car.  In an open field, crouch down.

Also, if you hear lightning, get out of the pool quickly and go inside.  If it looks like a lightning storm is approaching - even if you don't see lightning or hear thunder - get out.  The storm could start and strike up to 20 miles away.

My cousin was playing basketball in Orlando with a storm in the distance.  Suddenly, his hair stood up on his head and arms, he quickly dove to the ground away from the basketball net. Lightning stuck the metal pole and would have hit him too.

I recommend that you contact your electric utility and add "Lightning Surge Protection" (TECO calls it ZapCap) to your home. For about $6 per month, you add a layer of protection against lightning damaging your A/C, electronics and appliances.  (In 2007, I had three of my rental properties struck in a three day period!)

Tornados
Florida gets many tornados, but they are usually small "F1" sized.  The major "F3" and higher ones usually strike the midwest.  Still and F1 causes damage when it hits a house or populated area.  Many times, these are seen as waterspouts in the Gulf before reaching land.

Hurricanes / Tropical Storms
Storms criss-crossed the state in 2004 (Charlie, Frances, Jean) and 2005 (Dean, Ivan, Wilma) causing damage to many areas.  Tampa was spared - and has not had a direct hit since 1928 (which destroyed Bayshore Blvd).  These storms brings Storm Surge into the areas along the Gulf of Mexico, Tampa Bay and Hillsborough River, and can spawn tornados too.  See the Tampa Tribune Hurricane Guide for evacuation zones, shelters, and storm updates.

NOAA Weather Radio - Your source for alerts.  Get a weather radio, and have it tuned to the weather alert system for your area.  Keep it plugged in and charged, with battery backup.  When the weather is great... you don't hear the radio.  But when there is an alert - like a Tornado Warning - you'll know and can take appropriate measures.  Remember: "Watch" means could happen, "Warning" means is happening - take cover now.

Resources

Tampa Tribune (TBO.com) website has information on evacuation areas for each storm level, shelters, what to put in your storm preparedness kit, storm tracking and weather alerts.  Visit: http://www.tbo.com/weather/hurricane/

When you are moving to a new area, you probably want to know about crime in the area.  After all, you want it to be safe, right?  Well, that is one piece of information your Realtor can't tell you.  But, we can point to resources for the information you are seeking.

The Tampa Tribune's website has an easy to use interface for this information.  Enter a zip code and select the type of crime to search for: Murder, Arson, Robbery, etc - and the map will display with dots indicating the crime locations.

Go to http://crimetracker.tbo.com/

Another piece of important information you want to know when buying a house is whether their are known offenders or predators in the neighborhood.  Again, this is information your Realtor cannot provide.

The state of Florida has a centralized website allows you to enter an address and search for a distance around it.  The FDLE website is: http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/