Maronda Homes has a beautiful Chattanooga model available for immediate occupancy in our Winterlakes community @ Port St. Lucie, Florida. This home offers 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage and boasts 1,568 square feet under air. Offered at $156,500 this lovely home offers a unique front porch in addition to a structural screened rear patio.  Upgrade features include custom paint, granite kitchen counters, stainless appliances, crown molding, soaking tub and security alarm. This popular community is ideally located in the St. Lucie West region of St. Lucie county and is near schools including Indian River State College and Florida Atlantic University, medical, shopping, entertainment and the popular Mets training facility.  This home can be delivered within 30-45 days depending on fina... 09/03/2011

Port St Lucie, FL - Welcome back Investors! For our many investors on the fence, here are some staggering numbers to show you just how rewarding Real Estate investing can be. Here in Port St Lucie, FL, 5 years ago, we were the investor capital of the country with home prices on 3/2/2 going in the low 200's to high 200's. These same homes today can now be had for around $90,000. Just today, I spent all day previewing and selecting homes for an investor from North of the border where investors from Canada have realized just what a HUGE bargain we truly are and what a great return we can bring. We selected 7 homes for him and from the purchase price, repairs, taxes, insurance, mgmt fees, and the current rental rates, this investor will be making a low of 6% rate of return annually and a ma... 08/31/2011

Many of you have followed my blogs for a few weeks now regarding the many ways that BofA and their HAFA short sale team at AMS Servicing have managed to drag my short sale out for no less than 9 months nearly. Finally after the 3rd extension, we were to close Aug 19th only to discover on Aug 18th that the BofA closing coordinator that was processing the final HUD accidentally closed the file.  Yes, I said after 8 months, SHE CLOSED THE FILE! Now, the problem with HAFA is you just can't push a button and reopen it.  It is a complete start over. Well if you don't think I lost it, this would be an understatement. After phone calls all the way to the President's office in California, I finally was assigned the highest short sale escalation person at BofA. She took this file on Thursday and ... 08/25/2011

More often than not when I meet with a seller to list a house for a short sale they also have credit card debt.  Lots of credit card debt…. Ugg! The five strategies you must avoid: The first things anyone in debt must know is don’t make your situation worse by making common mistakes.   Here are some you must avoid: 1.         Paying the minimum payment on your credit card.  NO!  You have to pay more or you will never pay off the debt, even if it’s an extra $10 per month. 2.         Asking friends and family for help.  This can damage your relationship with the most important people to you.  Don’t make your problem there problem. 3.         Hiring a credit counselor!  Let me ask you how do you think they make so much money? Here I will counsel you right now.  Stay out of the store!  Spen... 08/24/2011

As your Realtor of Choice for the community of Tradition, St Lucie West, PGA Village, Torino, and all of Port St Lucie, FL, here is some helpful links for the new school year about to start. 2011-2012 CALENDAR FOR ST. LUCIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT Aug. 22: First day of school Sept. 5: Labor Day, no school Sept. 29: Holiday, no school Sept. 30: Students off, professional development day Oct. 26: End of first nine weeks Oct. 28: Students off, teacher work day Nov. 11: Veteran's Day, no school Nov. 21-25: Thanksgiving break* Dec. 21-31: Winter break Jan. 2: Students off, professional development for secondary, teacher work day for elementary Jan. 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no school Jan. 19: End of first semester Jan. 20: Students off, professional development for elementary and teache... 08/18/2011

Additional Statistics for Single Family Homes and Condos in 34987 $212,380 Median Listing Price 75 Median Days on Market 106 Active Listings 41.5% Distressed Listings(foreclosures and short sales)   Stats don't have to be a big long post, providing my customers with the information is what my blog is about.  Look how quick I'm able to share this information with everyone interested in information about Tradition.    Watch the google spider hit the blog and post the key words. 08/18/2011

As your Realtor of Choice for the community of Tradition, St Lucie West, PGA Village, Torino, and all of Port St Lucie, FL, here is some helpful links for the new school year about to start. Here are the links to obtain all the school bus schedules for this wonderful area of Port St Lucie and St Lucie County, FL. http://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/departments/transportation/safe-routes-to-school.aspx  These routes cover all of St Lucie County and the beautiful and conveniently located community of Tradition, St Lucie West, PGA Villiage, and Torino. Please call me today for all your Real Estate needs or visit my websites for all the relocation information, mortgage information, and all the area listings available. Thanks so much and God Bless. Kevin B Tolbert, PA, GRI, CDPE Keller Williams Rea... 08/17/2011

Nearly 1 year ago, I cold called a BUY OWNER client who told me they had their home with BUYER OWNER and according to the company and the salesperson that took their $3000 in upfront fees, they were being advertised as broadly as any Realtor could do on the BUYER OWNER website. Well, it has been a year and today I drove by their home and guess what... The sign is still in the yard and they still own their home. And here I am with this very serious video on my blog about the recent plight of the owner of FSBO who could not even sell his own home for 6 months, and finally hired an agent who not only sold his home for for a $150,000 profit. How much self controll did I exercise not marching up their door today and sharing the video link to YOU TUBE with them? When will they learn? Just lik... 08/13/2011

As everyone knows, over the last few weeks we have seen many negative and even some very stupid things done over these short sales with bank of America. But All I can say is, STAY THE COURSE!  APPROVED today after only 44 days and closing in 2 more. Today, I received not only my approval letter in only 44 days from contract to letter, but on an INVESTOR OWNED property, I negotiated a complete forgiveness with NO PROMISSARY NOTE. Go figure.  Maybe they just wanted to get rid of me, or maybe they just got tired of my 2 calls per day for the last 2 weeks, but no matter what it took, my only advice to all you folks in the Short Sale market in the Port St Lucie area, you need to call Kevin B Tolbert, PA as your short Sale listing agent. No one gets the approvals faster, and NO ONE before me ... 08/10/2011

Short Sale Specialist of Port St Lucie, FL What is a short sale? This is anytime a lender is willing to accept lower than the payoff amount of the loan. Now you may ask, "why would they do this?" There are several reasons, but mainly any time they can prevent a foreclosure and receive some money for the property, they are making a better business decision. Without getting to deep in detail, the process is extremely complicated and takes time, but it can be most rewarding to a seller who has kept good credit only to now face foreclosure and extremely beneficial to a buyer who has the opportunity to purchase a wonderful deal on a great property. As a real estate agent and CERTIFIED DISTRESSED PROPERTY EXPERT, Kevin Tolbert of Keller Williams Realty of the Treasure Coast, Port Saint Lucie,... 08/08/2011

3100 SE Pruitt #G-103 Port St Lucie Florida 34952 $182,500      Awesome safe haven for the boater and their boat. Great ground floor 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo with serene water views from the condo. Marina onsite where you can bring your boat home. Lovely grounds with lots of green space in tranquil setting. Tarpon Bay Yacht Club, situated on the north fork of the Indian River, is a safe haven for a boater and their boat. There is a deep water dockage with ocean access for boats up to 50 feet in the subdivision marina at super bargain prices, space available. Kitching Cove is a protected harbor with wide turning basin. Along with the marina, you will find a great community clubhouse, solar heated pool, sauna, tennis courts and wood working shop to enjoy.         Jim and Ruth JacobsYour... 08/01/2011

Maybe this is a stupid thought process, but I have a burning issue to discuss after President Obama announced this evening that a compromise has been reached. He outlined a 10 year recovery plan to reduce the debt 1 trillion dollars and a few other wild promises. But here is my dilemma... Why does a Congress and a President who have for the most part less than 2 years to go, come up with a LONG TERM PLAN?  I know, I know he's not the first, but is this REALLY a plan or just a reason to keep him around to see if he can really make a difference over the next six years? I can't think of any other reason why we can just make a baby step plan that has set steps to occur in short time frames like some percentage of change in the first year, and if it happens, then we continue with the plan. I... 07/31/2011

Today was closing day on 1 short sale I have been negotiating since May with Feb with Bank of America. The negotiator set today because the appraisal done by the bank expired today so she didn't want to order another. Well Tuesday, we update all the financials as typical and are waiting for clear to close.  Wednesday, they enter in equator, AWAITING VALUATION, so I call the negotiator, only to be told, she didn't know why but they called for a new appraisal, but it was a RUSH and we should still make Friday, today to close. Yesterday she calls and says the closing dept called to say they were ready to issue approval letter when they realized the file was in 2 names, husband and ex wife and even though they knew this from day one and they had the divorce decree legally giving the propert... 07/29/2011

Okay, so we finally have our Football back, but do we really?  We have already heard our favorite team, Miami Dolphins has some interesting personnel changes... Reggie Bush for example coming to Miami?  Quarterback trade?  And with the stadium only being 2 hours from Port St Lucie, along with the Florida Panthers, or Florida Marlins, we are close enough to travel to most major league sports and still live in a very reasonably price area.  I am not aware of all the changes that have occured, but it sure seems there are a ton of changes in not only rules and pay methods, but also in the personnel of the teams themselves. How about some of you very devoted sports fans that have nothing better to do than to live and breathe this stuff to chime in all your input that you have about the chang... 07/29/2011

Hey everyone. I won't keep you long but I thought more than a few could benefit from my experience recently. We have been in our home for just at 6 months when we just didn't seem to get cool enough.  So we called the A/C guys to balance the system as they told us this might be necessary after a few months. They came out and they checked every rooms output and said the system was performing perfectly. So as a last resort, they thought to check the ducts.  They went up to the attic and came down rather quickly. They said the builder seemed to have forgotten something namely insulation.  Yes, thats right I said after 5 months, we discover that we have been cooling a Florida home with NO INSULATION! So we called the builder and you should have seen the service!  They had an insulation comp... 07/18/2011

Air Conditioning Equipment: Repair or Replace? If you’re deciding whether to repair or replace central air conditioning equipment, assess the quality of your house’s ductwork and insulation first. Read Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this. Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 07/18/2011

Here is the coolest and newest way to get an edge on the competition when looking for those BARGAINS in Real Estate in Port St Lucie, FL.  It's called: http://www.traditionlistingalerts.com/ For all you BARGAIN Real Estate buyers, you can sign up here and you will get the latest listings to hit the market the second they appear:  http://www.traditionlistingalerts.com/ This is as much as 2 days ahead of your competition. The secret is simple... real estate professionals pay hundreds of dollars to subscribe to private service providers called multiple listing service. In the past, the public had to work with a real estate professional in order to have access to this information, but now, all you need to do is follow the link: http://www.traditionlistingalerts.com/ and subscribed today. My... 07/15/2011

Find TESORO Homes For Sale and TESORO Home Values. We also have information on mortgages, insurance, movers and other Port Saint Lucie Real Estate Services for anyone looking to sell or buy a home in beautiful SAINT LUCIE COUNTY Florida. Port Saint Lucie Real Estate Paul Kitchen and Starfish Real Estate provide clients, family and close friends with professional, honest and dependable service. A resident of Port Saint Lucie, Paul is extremely familiar with the local neighborhoods including TESORO, school districts and the Port Saint Lucie Real Estate market in this beautiful SAINT LUCIE COUNTY town. Paul Kitchen Broker-Owner Starfish Real Estate 416 SE Cortez Ave. Stuart, Florida 34994 (772) 539-8376 (800) 793-7304 toll free Port Saint Lucie Real Estate Port Saint Lucie Real Estate Blog 07/15/2011

Find BALLANTRAE Homes For Sale and BALLANTRAE Home Values. We also have information on mortgages, insurance, movers and other Port Saint Lucie Real Estate Services for anyone looking to sell or buy a home in beautiful SAINT LUCIE COUNTY Florida. Port Saint Lucie Real Estate Paul Kitchen and Starfish Real Estate provide clients, family and close friends with professional, honest and dependable service. A resident of Port Saint Lucie, Paul is extremely familiar with the local neighborhoods including BALLANTRAE, school districts and the Port Saint Lucie Real Estate market in this beautiful SAINT LUCIE COUNTY town. Paul Kitchen Broker-Owner Starfish Real Estate 416 SE Cortez Ave. Stuart, Florida 34994 (772) 539-8376 (800) 793-7304 toll free Port Saint Lucie Real Estate Port Saint Lucie Real... 07/15/2011

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