These days the majority of first time home buyers are using FHA Financing to purchase their Seminole County homes.  In the past, using FHA financing has meant that some homes that a buyer might have wanted to purchase did not qualify do to the condition of the property. Conditions such as: The age of the roof Missing or broken HVAC systems Missing Flooring Missing Appliances Plumbing and Electrical Problems These conditions have eliminated many short sales and foreclosures from consideration because often these homes are in less than ideal condition.  Now, with a Wells Fargo "Remodel Express" home loan a buyer can purchase a Seminole County short sale or foreclosure property and include the remodel costs in the loan...  This is how it works: $35,000 Maximum Repair Limit (Non-Structural)... 10/22/2008

I've worked in or near the Lake Mary, Florida area for more than 35 years. Over the course of my time here, I've witnessed "firsts" on several occasions. One of those "firsts" was when Lake Mary Blvd was expanded to four roads, the cow fields were converted to grocery stores & restaurants and the wooded areas that I used to play in were turned into housing developments. Most recently, I've been witnessing another "first" that I am excited to share with you. Just recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Terry Shaw, the owner of Shaw Construction. Terry and his team are re-developing Downtown Lake Maryand giving it a much needed face lift...which is especially fascinating to me considering I grew up within a few short miles from the Downtown area. Downtown Lake Mary is def... 10/22/2008

This is the weekly update of homes sales (townhomes & condominiums too) for Lake Mary Florida.  The "Just Sold" Lake Mary & Heathrow Florida Update includes the 32746 zip code. I only have one word to sum up the sales last week in Lake Mary Florida!  WEAK!  Last week's sales of one house and one townhome don't even merit my usual graphic...  The only thing that's keeping me from going over the edge is the fact that there are 75 homes that are listed as being under contract... The September Lake Mary Market Update only had 60.  Please check back next week for the latest information and to see what's Just Sold in Lake Mary Florida... Sorry... No Graphic this week... 2 sales = No GRAPHIC! Single Family Homes Sold in Lake Mary Florida  591 Starstone Drive (The Crossings)  4 Bedroom / 3 Bath... 10/21/2008

In today's marketplace, most people don't have a ton of money to put down on an Orlando home purchase. Orlando FHA loans allow [right now] as little as 3% down and conventional loans as little as 5-10% down.  This is good news for those of us without all the dough... but then we get to deal with PMI... Anytime we end up with a first mortgage amount over the 80% loan-to-value 'mark' we enter the fun world of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). PMI is a mortgage lender's insurance policy against highly-leveraged houses. With PMI defaults up to almost... Read the whole tantalizing blog post here: How much does Private Mortgage Insurance [ PMI ] cost for my mortgage?   Chris the Implementer Orlando Mortgages | Orlando FHA Loans Orlando Real Estate | Florida Reverse Mortgages   Florida Short R... 10/20/2008

If you are around the Longwood, Lake Mary area tonight looking for something fun to do tonight. Make your way over to Lyman High School, doors open at 6:30 tonight. For a great evening of enterntainment and yours truly will be performing as well. Tickets are almost sold out. Orlando Bellydance Proudly Presents: An Evening Unveiled 11  Saturday, October 18, 2008 Featuring Showstopping Performances by: Suspira, Orlando Dance Theatre, Laila, Serpentina Dance Company,Gypsy Sa'har, Shainna, Belda, The Ahlaam Dancers, Troupe Petite Amani, The Saida Dancers, and the beautiful students of Orlando Bellydance! Advance Tickets: $15   At the Door: $20 (if available) This show will be at Lyman Highschool in Longwood. Come see the art of sensuality in motion! A portion of all my commissions are dona... 10/18/2008

Often times when we go on vacation we feel bad for leaving our four legged children behind. I know I always felt bad taking my cat to the vet to be boarded for the week. I wondered how miserable it must be to be stuck in a cage for a week when you are used to the freedom of the outdoors or ruling the roost.  My pets always seemed to be happy to see me but at the same time pissed off at the fact they were placed in a non happy place. If you love your pets as much as I do, then I have the perfect place for you. Pet Paradise, they have 2 Central Florida locations. One in Sanford, FL right off 46 and the other in Oviedo, FL. The other day a few friends and I took our girls day out trip to New Symrna Beach. My 2 friends have dogs and instead of leaving them crated all day they took them ove... 10/17/2008

As we make our way into Fall, the High School Football season is in full swing - Seminole County is home to some of the best public schools in all of Central Florida and they need our support.  Our Seminole County public schools have some really outstanding student athletes who are showcasing their talents on Friday nights under the lights. Now is the time to enjoy a fabulous Florida fall evening outdoors and there is no better way than to attend a high school game and maybe see the next Tim Tebow. If you are interested in attending the next Lake Mary High School Football game - Click here - for the Lake Mary High School Football Schedule.  Admission is $6.00. Don't forget about the 9th grade and Junior Varsity either... We attened a double header at Lake Howell High School this week..... 10/17/2008

I don't know about you, but I love communities that have a vacation "feel" to them...not a cheesy, tourist-like vacation "feel"...(and trust me, we do have those here in Florida too!)...but one that comes over you when you pull in and you automatically relax... You know, that peace that washes over you the minute to step on a cruise ship or your toes touch the sand at the beach?  Ahhh... Living and working in the Lake Mary/Seminole County area for more than 35 years, I have been impressed with a new home community in Lake Mary that has really captured that vacation "feeling" like no other community in the area has. If you are interested in purchasing a new home and haven't had a chance to visit Banyan Pointe in Lake Mary Florida, I'd love the opportunity to tell you more!  You see, ever... 10/17/2008

Looking for current sales information for Lake Mary, Florida?  You have come to the right place...  This is the Lake Mary, Florida "Just Sold!" Weekly Real Estate Update for October 5 - 11, 2008.  This report contains all of the single family homes, townhomes and condominium sales for Lake Mary and Heathrow, Florida with the zip code of 32746. Sales in Lake Mary were less this week thank last weekwith 5 single family home sales.  Last week we saw 6 sale (4 homes, 1 townhome and 1 condominium).  We were hoping to continue the positive trend that we saw in The Lake Mary Update for September, I believe that the recent upheaval in the financial markets will have a direct affect on our local real estate market. Check back next week for more Lake Mary Florida Sales News. Single Family Homes S... 10/13/2008

What's Hot and What's Not Week of 10/06/2008 Each we will feature the hottest sales and listings in Orange County and Seminole County, FL. As to not offend anyone we will not be listing the Not's ok maybe a few picture, just not details. Hottest Home of the Week JUST SOLD: This weeks hot home sale was located at 1727 Brackenhust Place in Lake Mary, FL located in the upscale neighborhood of Carisbrook.  Home was listed for $1,149,900 Sold for $1,000,000 WOW! Square Footage 4,256 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 3/2 Garage 3 Pool Y Acreage 1.75 Hottest Home of the Week JUST LISTED: This weeks HOT home listing is located at 11536 Lake Butler Blvd in Windermere, FL located on the Butler Chain of Lakes. Reminiscant of gone with the wind, this classical revival is situated on 2 acres of pristine land an... 10/13/2008

Today marks the 4-month milestone in little-Brianna's adventurous life. She has me completely around her finger already, but those of you that have daughters know that we wouldn't want it any other way. That said... we can learn things from just about anyone. Things we want to emulate... things we don't. As a new father, I never imagined that I could learn so much from someone that drools so much!! Whodathunkit? Without mixing it up too much here are the top 7 things I have learned from my doodle-bug, Brianna. 7. German Shepherds make good brothers and sisters... but their tongues are slippery. 6. Spit bubbles can make anyone smile. [This does not continue with age.] 5. When someone loves you unconditionally, they will put up with a lot of your c#@p! 4. Short naps can make a world of di... 10/12/2008

This week was an exciting one for RE/MAX agents and their clients! On Wednesday, it was announced that RE/MAX Central Realty (the brokerage firm I work for) and RE/MAX Realty Resources (the "other" RE/MAX firm in Lake Mary) have merged and are now operating as one new firm under the RE/MAX Central Realty name. As a result of the merger, there will be more than 100 Top Producing RE/MAX agents all under a new roof! This is especially exciting for someone like me who likes to network with other agents, as I find that we all have benefits that we bring to the table. Some are known for their technology skills, while others are known for their marketing or negotiating skills...regardless of what we are "known" for, I see this as a time to forge new relationships and to learn from one another.... 10/10/2008

The new numbers are in for September 2008 and like my last post for August 2008 we have a whole lotta nothing. Numbers are staying realivitly the same which is a good thing. Shows some stabilization. Interest was down from August 2008 and from same time September 2007 days on market about the same 2 days longer then 2007 however we ahve about 1800 units less of inventory then we did last year and about 800 more new contracts written this year over last. I think that last bit of information is great news. We have a little bit longer to go but there's this slight turn going on. Rates are down and dont always bet on those being low. I hope that you continue to come back to my blog or click to subscribe to my RSS feed For information on buying, selling, or auctions in Central Florida, Oran... 10/09/2008

If you are looking for the most current information about homes, townhomes and condominiums that have sold in Lake Mary Florida... you have come to the right place.  Sales in Lake Mary were less than expected this week with 4 single family homes, 1 townhome and 1 condominium.  The Lake Mary Update for September  showed an increase in sales in September over August and we are all hoping that this trend continues.  Check back next week for more Lake Mary Florida Sales News. The Lake Mary Florida Weekly Market Summary contains homes sales information for Lake Mary and Heathrow, Florida that includes the zip code 32746.  Single Family Homes Sold in Lake Mary Florida Sold Neighborhood Street Address Living Area Beds & Baths Pool $450,000 Meadow Brooke 343 Leslie Lane 2,765 4 / 3 Y $205,000 H... 10/08/2008

The following are the market sales statistics for Lake Mary, Seminole County, Florida for September 2008.  Lake Mary is made up of the zip code 32746.  For purposes of this analysis we will be splitting the data according to single-family homes vs, condominiums, townhomes and villas. A couple of definitions are in order. The median sales price means that 50% of the homes sold for more and 50% of the homes sold for less during a certain period of time – in other words, it’s the midpoint of sale prices. So basically what this means, is that the median sales price is showing market activity in that it’s specifically indicating which price range is more active. The average sales price, as opposed to the median sales price, is the total volume of sold properties divided by the number of pro... 10/08/2008

Welcome back to the Lake Mary Real Estate Market Update for September 2008.  The home sales information for Lake Mary is for the zip code 32746 and includes Heathrow, Florida.  Lake Mary Florida was voted the #1 Place to Live in the South by Money/CNN.com in 2007. Lake Mary Florida is a my favorite place for Orlando area residents to call home, just a short 20 minute drive to downtown Orlando and 45 minutes to the theme parks & the beaches. Lake Mary is a great place to choose your Seminole County home.  September Home Sales for Lake Mary Florida    For Sale Under Contract Sold September 2008 558 60 31 August 2008 578 59 26 July 2008 547 51 44 June 2008 554 66 47 May 2008 566 64 42 April 2008 555 74 32 March 2008 575 62 33 February 2008 549 60 32 January 2008 526 43 26   September sales... 10/07/2008

My morning started off as an interesting one down at Seminole County Down Payment Assistance office. Today was the first day for people to turn in their Seminole County SHIP applications. It has been a long process for some and the anticipation today was high. From talking with others in line some people started camping outside the county's door last night to be first in line and have the first opportunity to turn in their applications. These highly awaited funds are on a first come first serve basis. Some people will receive as much as $80,000 in free government money. By 6:00 am the line wrapped around the building and for those people it was a 3 hour wait to turn in your application. Many people were turned away because of incomplete files. Information missing like pay stubs, affida... 10/06/2008

First Time Home Buyers Do's and Dont's of Home Purchasing  So the bug hit you today, you started thinking about, "why, can't I own a home and stop paying rent?" Great question and one that isnt taken lightly. You should do research but also consult a local agent that specializes in working with First Time Home Buyers. This agent will know the ins and outs of purchasing and how to help educate you on the process, so you are a responsible home buyer and not another statistic. This person will also have a firm handle on the many government grants and programs out there to aid first time home buyers. If the agent claims to work with first time home buyers ask for reference of past clients that were first time home buyers, also if they tell you there are no programs out there, run far and f... 10/06/2008

Are you searching for something fun for the entire family to enjoy this Halloween?  Look no further than these two exciting events: Candlelight Tales: 7 p.m. Oct 10th and October 17th at Lake Mary Historical Museum, 158 N. Country Club Road, Lake Mary.  Storyteller Joe Rosier will tell tales by candlelight. This program is recommended for children over five years of age.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m.  $5.00 for Adults and $1.00 for Children.  Call 407 324-3011 for more details. Ghost Walk:  6:30 p.m. Oct 11th and October 18th; Lake Mary Historical Museum, 158 N. Country Club Road, Lake Mary.  Guides will lead visitors on a walk from the museum to the cemetery and back.  You may be spooked by some local ghosts along the way!  Walks will leave from the museum every ten minutes. $5.00 For Adult... 10/04/2008

I am truly by no means a junkie. Through my Real Estate career I was dubbed the Reality TV star whore. Why you may ask, I have been on ABC's "The Bachelor" Season 7, HGTV's "My House is Worth, What?" and "House Hunters" (any time they have a show in Orlando they call me up now), I have been on Fox News and Channel 9 news for my real estate insight, featured in the Orlando Sentinel & Inman news. Ok ok ok that's great, but whats that got to do with me? Here's your opportunity to be on TV not sure if it's everyone's dream to be on this show or not, but if it is here is your chance and probably a blessing. Super Nanny is coming to Orlando this weekend only looking for families. Here's the information to try out for Super Nanny My tips: Be confident and outgoing, more importantly energetic,... 10/03/2008