Are your expectations in line with the current Florida real estate market?

As a buyer or a seller of a home or property in Florida, are your expectations in line with what the market is saying?

Buyers

• Are you aware that short sale transactions can take longer to close than traditional deals?
• Did you know that bank owned/foreclosed property will often receive multiple offers which will push the final sales price higher than the initial listing price?
• Time is running out in order to take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit and there are no guarantees the credit will be extended.

Sellers

• Over pricing your home is not a good strategy in this market. Testing the market usually results in a failing grade.
• Trying to short sale your home simply because it is no longer worth what you paid for it is not considered a valid reason by your lender.

Buyers and sellers need to manage their expectations. My job is to make sure that you know going in what to expect, and to explain how we can work together to make sure you receive favorable results.

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Each party of the listing contract have obligations

When is a building permit required in Casselberry

Casselberry is located northeast of Orlando and is one of the fastest growing areas. According to the city website, a licensed contractor will need to pull a building permit when:

• Building a new residential or commercial building.
• Maintenance and repairs exceeding $500 in labor and materials.
• Electrical work.
• Replacing air conditioner unit.
• Installing water heater.

For specific work please call the City of Casselberry or visit their website.

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Common code violations in Casselberry

You can receive alerts when offenders move into your neighborhood

Are you worried about an offender moving into your neighborhood without your knowledge? You can receive alerts when offenders move into your neighborhood from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Listen to the Florida Offender Alert System public service announcement.

Halloween Radio PSA [2009] @ Yahoo! Video

10,000 square foot house

I came across this article from The Wall Street Journal about a house in New Jersey that is over 12,000 square foot. Man that is a big house. I started wondering how many big homes are there for sale in my Florida market which includes, Seminole, Orange, Osceola and West Volusia.

According to results from today, there are 27 homes listed for sale right now that have at least 10,000 square feet. Prices range from $900,000 to over $12,000,000. The largest home listed is in Isleworth coming in at over 16,000 square foot.

The home mentioned in The Wall Street Journal has a dance floor. I am sure we can find a spot in anyone of the 2 dozen plus big homes for sale in Central Florida for a little boot scootin boogie.

High End Property Deals

I have posted many times about bargain and cheap homes that are available on the market throughout Orlando, Kissimmee and Central Florida. There are other deals to be found right now that include the high end property.

High end property are those houses and condos listed for $1 million or more listed in the Orlando-Kissimmee, Central Florida market.

High end short sales

In the 4 county area, Osceola, Orange, Seminole and West Volusia right now there are nearly 3 dozen homes listed above 1 million that are subject to a short sale. These include homes that are:

• Custom homes
• Homes on ski lakes
• Acre + lots
• In gated communities
• Situated on a golf course fairway

Starting list prices run up to $3.5 million.

High end REO

Our market also includes a handful of REO/bank owned high end property. These homes offer heated square feet ranging from 4000-8000 and have construction dates from 200-2009.

There are deals available in all price ranges. For additional details, give me a call.

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City of Longwood Halloween Event

Longwood will be hosting the 2009 Halloween event on October 31st from 4 p.m - 7 p.m. This fun event for children will be held at the Longwood Police Department. Activities include:

• Costumes contest
• Candy
• Bounce houses
• Games
• Food

Please visit The City of Longwood for more information.

Lake Mary Halloween Trick or Treating

Lake Mary will be presenting their 2009 Halloween Spooktacular on Saturday, October 31st from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm.

The Spooktacular will include:

• Costume Contest
• Music
• Candy
• Games
• Fun, fun, fun!

The event will be held in Central Park in Lake Mary.

3 common code violations in Casselberry

In any community neighbors should respect their fellow neighbors and maintain their property in a manner that does not distract from the beauty of the community or reduces the enjoyment and or value of the community as a whole.

In Casselberry, the city will use code enforcement to make sure everyone works towards the same goal of maintaining property values, safety and overall appearance and condition. 3 common code violations in Casselberry are:

1. Failure to take care of your yard. The grass needs to be cut, fallen limbs and brush needs to be picked up and disposed of.
2. Not getting rid of the broken down clunker. Disabled and/or unlicensed vehicles have a home in the junk yard and not your front yard.
3. Allowing trash to collect. Trash belongs in a can and not all over your lawn or neighborhood.

You can visit Casselberry's information page to find 7 other common code enforcement violations.

Halloween at Cranes Roost Altamonte Springs

Altamonte Springs is offering an alternative for children on Halloween. Instead of going door to door, kids can attend an event at Cranes Roost where they will be able to visit local business and sponsor booths to receive candy. Other events will include:

• costume contests
• inflatable games
• live entertainment

The event will be held on October 31, 2009 from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. Visit the Altamonte Springs city website for detailed information.

Florida to receive grant to assist with unemployment systems

With so many in the State of Florida collecting unemployment the Department of Labor has awarded Florida $1,573,298 in grant money to use for improving services including:

• modernizing systems
• speed up payments
• improve overall program integrity

The goal will be to strengthen the infrastructure so that those out of work can rely on collecting their unemployment money while actively searching for new employment.

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