Lisa Barton

The Ponte Vedra Beach area has many communities with excellent country clubs as well as several non-neighborhood clubs. One of the nicest clubs in Ponte Vedra is the Marsh Landing Country Club, located in the beautiful neighborhood of Marsh Landing. The Marsh Landing Country club offers a premier 18-hole golf course designed by Ed Seay. The Club also offers a wonderful tennis program that includes competitive teams at all levels of play. Additionallly, the Marsh Landing Country Club has an extensive children’s program, large neighborhood swimming pool and recently renovated Club facilities. The dining room which has incredible views of the marsh and golf course serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food is wonderful. 

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2009 represents a year of change for women’s tennis in Northeast Florida.  For many of us who have made the annual trek to Amelia Island for top quality women’s tennis, this will be the first year of enjoying the tournament right here at home at the Sawgrass Country Club.  A number of top 10 womens players have already indicated they will be playing, including Petrova, the ‘06 Champion and Cibulkova, the 08 runner-up. The tournament runs from April 6-12, 2009, and is a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event. Call 800 486 8366 for tickets and come out and enjoy!

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Okay---we’ve all heard that it’s a great time to buy a home---plenty of inventory, (still) dropping prices, and low, low mortgage rates. Well, believe the hype. And for the silver lining, first time homebuyers are being rewarded with an $8,000 tax credit from the IRS for 2009 in an attempt to boost prices and stabilize the market. It’s important to recognize that this is a true credit towards your income taxes, not just a deduction from your taxable income---big difference.

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Many of you may be struggling to keep up with homeowner plans and benefits being proposed or enacted since President Obama’s election. Recently it looked as though the economic stimulus plan would include a $15,000 tax credit to anyone purchasing a home in the next year. At the last minute, this provision was struck from the final bill signed into law. Assistance to distressed home owners and their banks, however, continues to be a primary concern for the new administration as is reflected in the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan(HASP) that goes into effect on March 4th. 

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Throughout the year I am constantly visiting homes on real estate caravan tours and keeping up on what is coming on the market. Sometimes I participate in home tours sponsored by civic organizations to raise funds. An interesting twist is the forthcoming modern architecture at the Beaches symposium to be held on Saturday, March 7th. Sponsored by the Jacksonville chapter of the American Institute of architects and DOCOMOMO/US, this event will be held at St Paul’s By-the-Sea Episcopal church, 465 11th Ave., Jacksonville Beach. The symposium should be a terrific opportunity to learn more about our modern architectural heritage, about local architects, and about efforts underway to protect and preserve many structures that are considered endangered

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While I was out collecting photos for my website, I realized again that Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park is a true gem for the residents of Jacksonville and the Beaches. Located just on the Atlantic Ocean in Atlantic Beach, Hanna Park can be found on State Road A1A, just south of the Mayport Naval Station. At Hanna Park, you can pick a spot for the numerous outdoor activities along the 1.5 miles of white, sandy beaches. Relax with a good book, play in the surf, or bring your fishing gear, kayak, or canoe to paddle around the 60-acre freshwater lake. 

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A couple weeks ago Drew Meyers from GeekEstate, a department of Zillow.com that offers technology, news and tips for real estate agents posted a blog interview with me Website Design and Redesign. Drew and I discussed the issues I encountered and how I dealt with those issues in the design of my website. Believe it or not, another blogger, Robert Hahn, Vice President of Marketing for Onboard Informatics, saw Drew’sarticle and posted his own comments. This is what Robert had to say about my site: Unity of Content: Unsolicited but Free Advice

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A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of talking to Drew Meyers who works for Zillow.com. Drew was gathering information about real estate agents who were designing or re-designing their websites. Our interview is the featured article in his website blog “GeekEstate”. Check-it out! More Learnings from a Real Estate Website Redesign Project

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A new trend appears to be underway--the incredible shrinking home.  For the first time in decades, builders are substantially reducing the size of new houses. The National Association of Home Builders reports that the average home size in the third quarter of 2008 was 2,423 square feet, down from 2,629 in the previous quarter. 

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Congratulations to Joseph Joyner, St. Johns County School District’s Superintendent, who was chosen as Florida’s Superintendent of the Year for 2009!

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