To Stage Tuesdays – Top 10 Home Resolutions

Did you create a list of New Year’s Resolutions this year? Have you even started them?! Here’s a great list of resolutions for your home this year…work a little each weekend to accomplish your list!

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  HouseLogic’s Top-10 List of New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home

  When the new year arrives, promises and resolutions abound. Here’s the top-10 list of what the resolute home owner should accomplish this year. Read more

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

© Copyright 2012 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

 

Monday Market Report – Real Estate News in 3 Minutes

We have a monthly e-newsletter where we strive to give you a brief look at the real estate market in our area.  Brief meaning 3 minutes of your time…we get it…everyone is busy and you just want quick easy to understand news!

Of course we also include some upcoming events around Downtown and Winter Park for your enjoyment too!  Sign Up today – it’s 3 minutes of your day to learn a little something and plan your next 30 days of fun events!

The most recent e-news we took a look at our top 5 reasons we love Orlando.  Why do you love Orlando?

 

SIGN UP TODAY!

 

Who Says There’s Nothing to do in Orlando? – Saturday Dinner and a Show

Looking for something to do tomorrow night?  Try one of these two options or both!

Citrus Restaurant is hosting a Widmer Beer Dinner tomorrow night.  The reception starts at 6:30 pm.  Tickets are $45 and includes a four-course dinner paired with beers from Widmer Brothers, an award winning Portland brewery.  More Info

Looking for something to enjoy after dinner?  Try the opening of “Replicated”, a tribute art show to the movie Blade Runner.  The show begins at 8 pm.  If you can’t make it tomorrow, the show will be up through March 2nd.

Mother Falcon Blade Runner Tribute Art Show Promo Video from Emanuel Rivera on Vimeo.

More about the tribute:  Blade Runner is a haunting, eerily prophetic mixture of science fiction and film noir, director Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner boasts one of the most astonishingly designed futures ever put on film – a dark, decaying Los Angeles circa 2019.

Artists include:
Phil Noto
Eric Althin
Jamie Margary
Dres13
Pat Fatica
HYDRO74
Dennis Hansbury
Jim Inziello
Stephanie Marie Smith
Sean Hartman
Karla Radvak
Spectra82

Sounds by Q-Burns Abstract Message.

All artwork will be available for T-Shirt printing at www.MotherFalconClothing.com.

Parking:
Thornton Park Parking Garage with entrances on North Eola Drive and East Washington Street. Street parking is available if you can find it.

Questions email: TheFalconBar@gmail.com

 

Monday Market Report – How Will You Remember 2011?

People in the future will one day speak of the year 2011…what do you think they will say?  I think history will remember last year as a time of great opportunity.  It was a time when interest rates were at historic lows and housing affordability was at historic highs.  First time home buyers could buy a home and pay less on a mortgage payment than they would pay in monthly rent.  And there is nothing like the feeling of walking into your first home or new home and knowing it belongs to you!  Buyers with cash and investors could purchase a home or condo for less than the price of a nice car…crazy!

 

• In Orlando, 2011 was the year when the average interest rate went below 4%!  (3.99% in December)

• In Orlando, 2011 was the year when the median price hit $94,900! (January 2011)

• In Orlando, 2011 was the year when housing affordability hit 278.55% (January 2011) and ended the year at still over 250%!

Last year offered amazing opportunities for buyers of all kinds; but it also had some glimmers of hope for sellers.  In Orlando last year, home sales remained steady between 2000 and 2600 per month…never going below 2000.  We ended 2011 with the median sales price up 12.38% from 2010 and the average sales price was up 18.85% from 2010.

Who knows what the year 2012 has to offer – I wish I could see the future.  What I do know is that 2011 was a good year to buy real estate and 2012 still has many opportunities to offer.  What do you think will happen in the real estate industry in 2012?  Will interest rates go up?  Will hope prices appreciate?

 

P.S.  (A housing affordability index above 100 signifies that family earning the median income has more than enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment)

 

Who Says there’s Nothing to do in Orlando? – Scottish Highland Games

Have you ever tossed a caber? If you don’t know what a caber is then check out the Scottish Highland Games this weekend.  The Scottish-American Society of Central Florida  was founded in 1976 to celebrate and carry on Scottish traditions.  And The Games are a great way to enjoy this rich heritage.  There are athletic competitions: braemar stone put, hammer throw, caber toss and more.  If music is more your style, there will be bands like Albannach,  Rathkeltair, Searson and more.  Other interests include highland dance, archery, kid games and whisky tasting.  More information can be found at http://www.flascot.com/2012_games/ but make plans to enjoy the beautiful weather this Saturday and Sunday.

 

Tech Tip for a Thursday – What’s That Mean?

    

With so many real estate sites and search engines on the Internet today, you might get lost in the sea of information.  Here’s what you need to know about the listings you find online

A listing is available for sale when it is marked “Active” or ACT.  That means you can preview and make an offer on the property today!  When a listing is not available you will see a number of different things.  Also, what is available online (depending on the website) may or may not be up to date information and you may not be seeing all that is available for sale. 

Many real estate sites only list the Active listings; but depending on where you are searching you may also see “Active With Contract” or AWC, “Pending” or PNC, and “Sold” or SLD.  The obvious one is “Sold”!  This means the property is no longer available for sale.  It may still be visible online if an agent is marketing  how many recent sales they have – for example.  A “Pending” listing means that the property is under contract with a buyer and, unless something happens, will likely close in the immediate future.

The most confusing of the bunch is “Active with Contract”.  This means that another buyer is under contract with the sellers to purchase the property; but the sellers has asked that it still be made available to show and market online.  One reason they would do this is if the property is being sold as a short sale (if you do not know what a short sale is…read next paragraph).  Often short sale listings do not sell with the first buyer that comes along because many buyers are not prepared to wait for a short sale or get frustrated with the process.

Speaking of short sales, if you see the word “Short Sale” at the beginning of a listing this also has a meaning.  Short sales are when the seller has to ask permission to sell their home because they owe more on the mortgage than what the house is worth in today’s market.  They are essentially asking for a “short” payoff and that is why it is called a short sale.  It is, however, not short in terms of time.  A short sale is a bit more complex and can take 3-6 months on average or longer.

You may also see “REO” or “Bank Owned” in today’s market.  This means that the property has been foreclosed on and a bank now owns the property (also known as Real Estate Owned property).  Bank owned properties do not typically have the long wait times that short sales have; but can sell very quickly due to ultra competitive pricing.  Banks often list homes for less than market value in order to get multiple offers.

Lastly, you may see the words “Traditional Sale” or “Equity Seller”.  That is just the good ‘ole fashioned kind of sale!  We had to come up with words to differentiate the regular sales from the short sales and bank owned properties.  It has come to be an advantage in many instances because a “traditional seller” may be easier to work with in terms of closing quickly and any repair issues.

What other terms have you seen in a listing lately that needs explaining?!   Don’t forget we’re here to answer your real estate questions – just email me at Kathryn@ThinkLiveBe.com and ask away!

 

Go Local Wednesdays – Orlando Is the Coolest

I have always enjoyed Orlando, especially Downtown Orlando, for its diverse culture.  The growth that has happened over the last 10 years has only added to the overall culture and vibe in Downtown Orlando and the trendy neighborhoods that surround it.

You may have recently heard that Orlando was named one of the top travel destinations for 2012 by CNN.  It was of course not selected for the tourist destinations that Orlando is usually known for; but instead for the local food, museums, parks, and culture that I love telling people about!

Vimi, known as Mills 50 to some Orlando residents, was one of the main reasons for the nod.  If you haven’t checked out some of the shops and restaurants in this area – you are missing out.

Mills 50 was also well represented in TheDailyCity.com 2012 Best of Orlando awards.

A few winners -

-     Dandelion Communitea Cafe was named BEST Teahouse

-      Will’s Pub was named BEST Concert Venue (smoking)

-      Bananas Diner – Best Food Challenge

See the full list of “Best Ofs” and check out local Orlando!

Image:  Personal photo of Leu Gardens - 50 acre Botanical Garden in our Backyard!

 

To Stage Tuesdays – Give the Buyers What they Want

Home-buyers seem to have a lot on their wish list these days and storage always seems to make it to the top.  Unfortunately, older homes in the Downtown Orlando market usually lack storage because…well they just didn’t build walk in closets in the 1920s!  But storage is all about organization.  You can have a tiny closet but if it appears organized then the buyer perceives it as functional.  On the other hand, if your closet is overflowing (regardless of its size), it appears that there is not enough storage.  A buyer will think – “If the seller’s closet is overflowing, then mine will be too”.

De-cluttering and minimizing your belongings is imperative in home staging.   Creating more storage space doesn’t mean moving walls to make a bigger closet.  It involves maximizing the space you have with a custom closet organizer, extra shelves or baskets in the laundry area, racks and adjustable shelves in kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, shelving and bins in the garage, etc.  Here are a few sites that provide some options for organizing and a plan of action.  Even if you don’t plan on selling anytime soon – an organized space can just make for better living for you today!

Organizing Tip of the Day

Month by Month Storage Plan

15 Hideaway Storage Ideas for Small Spaces (this one is particularly good for these smaller homes in Downtown Orlando)

Unclutterer Blog  - get started uncluttering today

 

Image credit:  Closet from Flickr via Creative Commons License

 

Tech Tip for a Thursday – Are you really searching all the listings?

For most buyers, they begin their search for a home on the Internet.  It’s an obvious place to start – you can search in your pajamas on your free time, get to know neighborhoods better, and start to see price trends in certain areas.  But are you really seeing all the listings available for sale?

When real estate agents list a property for sale, there is a box we must have the seller check within the listing agreement that allows us to list the property on the Internet and another box to determine if the seller wants the listing on Realtor.com (the #1 searched site for real estate listings).   Then we as agents can pursue adding the listing to other websites as well.  It seems like every seller would say yes to these options, but not always the case.  Also, depending on where you are searching for listings, you may or may not have everything available at your finger tips.  Perhaps one agent doesn’t use Zillow to market his or her listings; but this is where you search for homes for sale.

This is just one reason why it is so important to hire a buyer’s agent to help you with your search as soon as you are serious about buying.  A buyer’s agent will not only represent you in the transaction and walk you through the process to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible; but he or she may have insight about new listings that have not actually been “listed” on the Internet.

Lastly, this market has many challenges.  You may think you’ve found the home of your dreams on the Internet; but perhaps the home will not qualify for the specific type of financing you are using to purchase a home.  These are the types of things you want to understand before you fall in love with a home.  Save yourself the heartache and get a buyer’s agent!

 

Go Local Wednesdays – Fish Out of Water

If you haven’t noticed over the last year, food trucks in Orlando have become quite a popular attraction.  There are some food trucks that pop up in the same place every day it seems and others that appear at special events or around town at certain times.  The best way to know where to find them is to follow the truck on twitter or Facebook – they usually post their schedules on these sites.

A newer addition to the food truck frenzy is Fish Out of Water.  I was able to try it for the first time a couple of weeks ago at the Mills 50 Jingle ‘n Mingle event.  It was delicious!  Definitely worth seeking out when you’re searching for dinner.  I just saw their upcoming schedule and it reminded me to spread the word!  Be sure to check them out as soon as you see this truck.  Try the crab nachos …amazing! (I think that is what they are called)

Thursday: at The Falcon 6 to 11pm

Friday: at The Imperial at Washburn Imports 7 to 11pm

New Years Eve: at The Imperial! Serving 7 to 11pm

Facebook Fish Out of Water