The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just launched a super cool new website for homeowners. HouseLogic is designed to be a source of information on all aspects of homeownership including: maintenance, improvement, and how-to’s. This site will also be a good reference tool for general questions about important topics such as home finances, insurance, green improvements, etc. HouseLogic is designed to be user-friendly and you can set up your own account to help you plan and keep track of home projects. Makes me proud to be a member of the National Association of Realtors. Check it out!
Lisa's Blog
Insight to Real Estate News in Jacksonville & Ponte Vedra, Florida
Practical Home Selling Advice to Draw in Potential Buyers
Curb appeal refers to the first impression formed of your house from the street by potential buyers. Having the right amount of appeal can literally make the difference between a potential buyer stopping to view the residence or continue driving.
Hi All! It’s Heather again. The Florida Times Union ran an interesting article last week about one man’s quest to visit each of the Jacksonville public parks. He’s documenting his adventures in a blog, www.jaxparx.com. I visited the site today and it’s a nice resource. The site has individual listings for each park and a side function that allows you to search via zip code or area of town. Once you select a park, there’s a paragraph about the history, Mr. Smith’s comments and observations regarding the park, and additional photos. There are nearly 400 public parks in Jacksonville, so this project will keep Mr. Smith busy for quite some time. Revisit the site regularly if the park you’re interested is not listed. You can also suggest which park you’d like him to visit next!
We’ve all been watching our local real estate market with interest. The Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beaches and Ponte Vedra Beach markets suffered through 2009—which certainly was a difficult year. This summary is a year-end review of the Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach and Ponte Vedra Beach real estate markets.
Continue Reading “2009 Real Estate Market Report – the Good, the Bad & the Ugly”
The Florida Times Union ran an interesting article on local hikes this morning. One is right down the road for those living in Ponte Vedra Beach.
We have to pay for what!? This re-occurring theme seems to take place everyday, multiple times, & for 100 different reasons when you are buying a home. At least, that’s what if felt like for me, so I know that every penny counts when it comes to purchasing your new home. The one thing you can’t do without is a home inspection. But, if you hire the wrong inspector, it could cause you serious financial problems. So, who has time to research this stuff? Many of us are too busy and worried about other things. So, if you can remember just one simple rule, it’s this: the fee does not reflect the service.
If you bought a home in Florida during 2009 don’t foget to file for homestead exemption and portability by March 1. New property owners who live in their home on Jan. 1, 2010 may file for homestead exemption, portability and other exemptions through March 1, 2010. Filers must be permanent Florida residents. Homestead exemption can provide up to $50,000 off the assessed value of a home, lowering property taxes. Property owners with a previous Florida homestead exemption who recently moved into a new home may also be eligible for portability (the transfer of the savings from the Save Our Homes cap on a previous home to a new home). Filers who miss the deadline may apply late for a homestead exemption until early September, but must provide documentation stating the reason for late filing. For more information, contact your local property appraiser’s office.
Continue Reading “Homestead Exemption Deadline is March 1, 2009-Don’t Forget to File”
As we head in to the new year, especially with record setting low temperatures all over Florida, it is hard to image that hurricane season will be on us again before we know it. But we live in a state where catastrophic losses can and do occur so insurance will continue to be a major issue for Florida Homeowners. Here are some of the issues facing us as we move into 2010:
1. Citizens Property Insurance: This year, the first rate increase at state-subsidized Citizens takes effect since a freeze three years ago. The state is trying to end artificially low rates and bring actuarial soundness to Florida’s largest home insurer. Citizens still has 1 million customers, approximately 413,000 of whom have homes in the high risk areas on the coasts. After nearly four years without a significant storm, Citizens’ surplus is only $3.9 billion. It will take a long time for rates to get where they need to be but at least the process has been started.
2. State Farm: Florida’s largest private insurer will be staying although they will be cancelling 125,000 policyholders and increasing premiums for many of their remaining customers. This is good news for Florida.
3. New Insurers: New, smaller insurers have captured an increasing share of the Florida market but many customers are worried about the quality of the companies. Their worries are justified. First Commercial, Coral, American Keystone, Edison, and most recently Magnolia have all failed in the past two years, years in which there were no major storms.
4. Asssessment: Policy owners in Florida will continue to pay a 1% catastrophe fund tax on their premiums for the next 5 years, a hangover from the 2005 season. Citizens is charging all Florida homeowners, not just its customers, a 1.4% assessment for seven more years.
5. CAT fund: Had a hurricane hit Florida last fall when the credit markets were in turmoil, the catastrophe fund, which provides insurance to insurers, had no hope of selling enough bonds to cover its commitments to insurers. The projected shortfall was $18.5 billion if there was a major storm. The Legislature ordered the fund to charge more to build up cash fast. The charge will add $750 million to the fund over the next five years.
Continue Reading “Home Insurance for Hurricane Season - Things to Consider”
One of the great things about Amelia View is the neighborhood boat ramp! This community amenity provides access to Samples Creek. From Samples, you can reach Sister’s Creek, the Intracoastal Waterway, the Atlantic Ocean, and the St. Johns River. Tides are generally not a problem. However, there are some shallow areas, particularly during low tide, so it’s best to navigate with caution.
Big changes in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements for lending were announced yesterday by Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David Stevens. Stevens outlined the new set of policy changes created to strengthen FHA’s capital reserves.
The FHA proposed the following steps: increase the mortgage insurance premium (MIP); update the combination of FICO scores and downpayments for new borrowers; reduce seller concessions to three percent from six percent; and implement a series of measures to increase lender enforcement. U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan previewed the changes in December of last year, noting that the FHA would announce additional details before the end of January.
Continue Reading “FHA Loan Requirement Changes You Need to Know About”
