Lisa Barton

Looking for something to do on Saturday, March 3, 2012? The Ponte Vedra Cultural Center's "Legacy Trust Ponte Vedra Beach Home & Art Show" is a great way to spend the afternoon. This fundraiser is a drive-yourself home tour that features five exquisite luxury homes located in upscale neighborhoods such as The Plantation Golf & Country Club, Sawgrass Players Club, Marsh Landing Country Club and Old Ponte Vedra. This event really is a lot of fun and a wonderful opportunity to see how homeowners incorporate art and color into the designs and furnishings of their homes. My husband and I attended the home tour last year -- some of the homes were absolutely magnificent!

Tickets are available for purchase at the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center's website and proceeds will be used to support programs at the Center. The Ponte Vedra Cultural Center is a wonderful community resource. The Center hosts exhibitions of local, regional and national artists in a variety of media; exciting events for the community; quality arts classes, lectures and workshops.

Just read an exciting article about improvements in the the Jacksonville real estate market. According to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), the number of housing markets showing measurable improvement nearly doubled in January with the addition of 40 new metro areas. The IMI now shows 76 improving markets, up from 41 in December, with 31 states and the District of Columbia represented by at least one entry.

In Florida, three cities made it onto IMI’s improved list: Jacksonville, Cape Coral and Punta Gorda.

“The fact that the list of improving housing markets nearly doubled this month shows that a significant, positive trend is developing, and is even more relevant when you consider the expanding geographic distribution of the list – which now includes 31 states and the District of Columbia,” says NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen. “This trend could be even stronger if not for the numerous impediments that continue to slow a housing and economic recovery, including overly restrictive lending policies and the growing inventory of distressed properties in certain markets.”

To read the entire article click here.

Overall, today's homebuyers tend to be fairly knowledgeable about the real estate market, but there are still a few points of confusion in the process, especially for buyers just entering the market. Here are the five main areas of confusion found in a survey by Zillow:

• Appreciation: About 42 percent of homebuyers believe home values will appreciate by seven percent a year. Reality: Historically, home values in a normal market appreciate by two to five percent in a year.
• Appraisals: 56 percent of the buyers said the purpose of the appraisal was to determine if a home was in good condition. Reality: That's the purpose of a home inspection; an appraisal estimates fair market value.
• Homeowner's insurance: 37 percent of homebuyers think that buying homeowner's insurance is optional. Reality: Lenders require homebuyers to purchase homeowner's insurance if they carry a mortgage.
• Ownership: 47 percent of homebuyers said a prospective buyer owns a home after the purchase contract is signed by the seller - when the two parties reach agreement. Reality: The purchase and sales agreement is the beginning of the closing phase but ownership doesn't occur until the transaction closes (when settlement occurs).
• Mortgage insurance: 41 percent of buyers think that they must purchase private mortgage insurance, regardless of the amount of their downpayment. Reality: Buyers only need to purchase PMI if their downpayment is less than 20 percent of the home's purchase price.

Source: Zillow Inc. Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

I just read an article posted on FloridaRealtors.org. This is important information if you're waiting to sell your home and the transaction may be a short sale (or worse), a foreclosure. You may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale or foreclosure after 2012. So, now is the time to make the hard decision: Are you going to walk away from your underwater home?

Uncle Sam is still giving homeowners until Dec. 31, 2012, to go through a short sale or foreclosure without tax consequences – as long as the lender officially releases the debt. But on Jan. 1, 2013, the rules change: The amount a lender forgives, either in a short sale or foreclosure, on a primary residence will be taxable on federal income taxes. If a house sold $50,000 short of what is owed on the mortgage, then the selling homeowners will owe federal income taxes on that $50,000. Homeowners would owe $12,500 if they're in the 25 percent bracket; $7,500 if in the 15 percent tax section.

To read the entire article click this link.

Here's a quick summary of the Fisherman’s Cove neighborhood in Sawgrass Country Club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood: Fisherman’s Cove
• Nearest Major Intersection:  A1A and TPC Parkway
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: The Sawgrass Country Club has tennis, a pool, golf, and dining. You must be a member or a member guest to access these facilities.  However, club membership is not required to reside in the neighborhood. A variety of membership options are available, so you can choose an option that best fits your lifestyle.
• How Many Homes: Fisherman’s Cove has 85 residences in groupings of 3 to 6 units per building.
• Size Range: These condominiums range in size from approximately 1,500 to 1,800 square feet.
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes, very.
• Recreation: Several communities in Sawgrass Country Club have their own pools and playgrounds. Neighborhoods are very golf cart friendly.
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix, Winn Dixie, and Fresh Market are all close.
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  For many of the homes in this neighborhood, the water views are incredible!
• Fun Fact: The decks cantilever out over the water so that you can fish from your back deck.

The new town of Nocatee, in Ponte Vedra, Florida is growing quickly and right now there are almost 1000 families living in the community.  So where do all of these people play golf? This is Florida after all, and we play golf here 12 months a year. Right now, there is no golf course in Nocatee; however, the developers are planning on building a course in Nocatee sometime in the future. In the meantime, residents of Nocatee have several options for golf including reduced membership fees at two local golf and country clubs: Marsh Landing Golf & Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach or Marsh Creek Country Club in St. Augustine.

Here's a quick summary of the Rough Creek Villas neighborhood in Sawgrass Country Club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood: Rough Creek Villas
• Nearest Major Intersection:  A1A and TPC Parkway
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: The Sawgrass Country Club has tennis, a pool, golf, and dining. You must be a member or a member guest to access these facilities.  However, club membership is not required to reside in the neighborhood. A variety of membership options are available, so you can choose an option that best fits your lifestyle.
• How Many Homes: Rough Creek Villas has 60 residences in 5 areas.
• Size Range: These condominiums range in size from approximately 1,800 to 2,000 square feet.
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes, very.
• Recreation: Several communities in Sawgrass Country Club have their own pools and playgrounds. Neighborhoods are very golf cart friendly.
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix, Winn Dixie, and Fresh Market are all close.
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  The Rough Creek Condominiums have high vaulted ceilings with skylights which allow for very nice, natural lighting inside the homes.
• Fun Fact: I’ve seen otters playing in the creek!

Who is your real estate agent working for? One area of confusion for Buyers and Sellers is the role real estate licensees have in real estate negotiations. There are three basic options in a real estate transaction that a brokerage firm can assume: no brokerage agreement, transaction broker and single agent.

In a no brokerage agreement the agent is simply handling the paperwork of the transaction and cannot represent or negotiate on behalf of the buyer or seller. As a transaction broker the agent provides limited representation and does not have a fiduciary capacity. In this form of representation the buyer / seller is a customer of the agent and has given up their right to undivided loyalty of the licensee. In other words, a transaction broker may not work to the detriment of either party in a real estate transaction, but conversely cannot work to benefit either party either. Many brokers have opted for this limited representation for financial gain and to avoid legal responsibility for both the broker and the customer.

The highest degree of accountability comes with single agency. As a single agent, the broker has a fiduciary relationship and owes complete allegiance to the buyer or seller, who is then referred to as a Principal or Client. This means that the single agent is not only allowed to work to the benefit of their Principal, by law the agent must work to achieve the best terms for their Principal.  As a fiduciary representative, a single agent must provide Loyalty, Confidentiality and Obedience to the Principal whereas other forms of representation may not. More and more buyers and sellers are looking for the full representation from their broker that single agency provides.

As our industry evolves and customers continue to demand a higher degree of accountability from their real estate broker, agents are faced with the question of whether they want to represent people or paper and in the end, it is the buyer or seller that will decide if they want to be a Principal or a customer.

Here's a quick summary of the Deer Run neighborhood in Sawgrass Country Club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

• Neighborhood: Deer Run
• Nearest Major Intersection:  A1A and TPC Parkway
• Gated: Yes
• Clubhouse: The Sawgrass Country Club has tennis, a pool, golf, and dining. You must be a member or a member guest to access these facilities.  However, club membership is not required to reside in the neighborhood. A variety of membership options are available, so you can choose an option that best fits your lifestyle.
• How Many Homes: Deer Run has 81 residences in 19 buildings.
• Size Range: These condominiums range in size from approximately 1,800 to 2,750 square feet.
• Pedestrian-Friendly: Yes, very.
• Recreation: Several communities in Sawgrass Country Club have their own pools and playgrounds. Neighborhoods are very golf cart friendly.
• Nearest Grocery Store: Publix, Winn Dixie, and Fresh Market are all close.
• LB’s Favorite Neighborhood Feature:  This neighborhood is located very close to the tennis courts.
• Fun Fact: Deer Run residents can liven up their own individual courtyard as each home has its own entryway.

The quarterly sales meeting for Prudential Network Realty was held this past November in the community clubhouse in Nocatee. Wow, what a beautiful building! Prudential's agents had a chance to hear from the developer of Nocatee about the growth and changes in this new community. Our speaker was Rick Ray, who's a managing partner for the Parc Group. Rick emphasized his company's "back to the basics" approach to real estate development as being important in the success of Nocatee's sustained growth.