Jeff Launiere's (sweethometampa) Blog

Are you tired of looking for a home for sale in Tampa? Have you found any that had everything you wanted, but cost too much? Are you dissatisfied with the selection? A while back, I had a buyer tell me he didn’t want to spend more than $100,000 on a home for sale in Tampa. He gave me a long list...

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that Florida had the third most First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit claims behind California and Texas. A total of 64,879 Floridians have claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, costing taxpayers $455,565,365 just for Florida and $23.5 bil...

The subdivision of Bridgewater in Wesley Chapel, FL just north of Tampa is well known by many for the difficulties they have had with short sales and foreclosures, along with gang and other nefarious activity. The developer of the community Lennar built all the homes during the high times of the...

Did we catch your interest with that headline? Well to be honest FHA is not raising the interest rates on their loans, however they might as well be. On October 4, 2010 any new FHA case numbers will see a decrease in the upfront mortgage insurance premium, along with an increase in the Monthly M...

As many are aware the Obama administration has rolled out many programs to reduce foreclosures or to keep people in their homes, at least for a bit longer. There have been first-time homebuyer programs, which seem to keep getting extended, programs with acronyms such as Home Affordable Modificati...

In today’s real estate market, it’s helpful when homeowners add incentives to sell their Tampa homes. Incentives may include paying a portion of the buyer’s closing costs, reducing the sale price or offering a home warranty. Many sellers and buyers are unaware of the advantages of home warrantie...

Although the economy has been a catalyst for many issues, some of the trickle-down effects have had positive effects on Tampa homes. One of the most notable is that families are drawing closer together. Over the past thirty to forty years, the “steps” to take for growing up were always one, grow...

Before Tampa real estate – or real estate anywhere, for that matter – was bought and sold, it was just… owned. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.” If you wanted some land, you found it, fought for it and kept it. Legal rights weren’t even a thought. A long, long time ago… William, Duke of No...

It’s true.  There are a lot of parallels between buying a piece of Tampa real estate and running a marathon. The Starting Line At first, there is excitement. The idea of buying a new home pulses in your veins and you can’t wait to get started.  You’re like a runner in the blocks just itching to ...

  When I first read this article, I thought you have got to be kidding me. Some builders are adding to their contracts wording that says after you purchase a home from them, for 99 years, each time the home is sold there will be a 1% transfer fee that will be paid directly to the builder or devel...