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Tallahassee, FL Real Estate News

By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
205 N Dellview Drive, Tallahassee, FL Click here to Get Directions$270000 3 Beds - 3 Baths - 0.29 sqft Lot Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Welcome to this charming 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home nestled on a quiet street in the heart of Midtown. The inviting main living area features original hardwood floors and ample windows providing tons of natural light. Step outside to the large covered back deck, where you can relax and enjoy views of the private backyard, complete with a sizable storage shed with power – ideal for a workshop or craft house. This home offers the perfect balance of character, comfort, and convenience. Roof 2023 & HVAC 2020. Follow This Home
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
8869 Glen Abby Drive, Tallahassee, FL Click here to Get Directions$869000 4 Beds - 4 Baths - 0.84 sqft Lot Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Exquisite property in the highly desirable Golden Eagle! Built by one of Tallahassee's best known luxury builders, Tom Ertl, this well appointed home with four spacious bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms lives open and bright. Featuring elevated ceilings, perfect hardwood flooring throughout most of the home, gourmet kitchen with a bar and all stainless steel appliances & quartz countertops that flows into the great room with custom moulding & built-ins, formal dining room, three generous bedrooms and a separate over-sized master suite with a luxurious bath suite (soaking tub & shower) and massive walk in closet. An abundance of windows throu...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
8869 Glen Abby Drive, Tallahassee, FL Click here to Get Directions$869000 4 Beds - 4 Baths - 0.84 sqft Lot Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Exquisite property in the highly desirable Golden Eagle! Built by one of Tallahassee's best known luxury builders, Tom Ertl, this well appointed home with four spacious bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms lives open and bright. Featuring elevated ceilings, perfect hardwood flooring throughout most of the home, gourmet kitchen with a bar and all stainless steel appliances & quartz countertops that flows into the great room with custom moulding & built-ins, formal dining room, three generous bedrooms and a separate over-sized master suite with a luxurious bath suite (soaking tub & shower) and massive walk in closet. An abundance of windows throu...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
8869 Glen Abby Drive, Tallahassee, FL Click here to Get Directions$869000 4 Beds - 4 Baths - 0.84 sqft Lot Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Exquisite property in the highly desirable Golden Eagle! Built by one of Tallahassee's best known luxury builders, Tom Ertl, this well appointed home with four spacious bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms lives open and bright. Featuring elevated ceilings, perfect hardwood flooring throughout most of the home, gourmet kitchen with a bar and all stainless steel appliances & quartz countertops that flows into the great room with custom moulding & built-ins, formal dining room, three generous bedrooms and a separate over-sized master suite with a luxurious bath suite (soaking tub & shower) and massive walk in closet. An abundance of windows throu...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Realized Gain vs. Recongized Gain Last week, I started a series of blogs on the Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 tax deferred exchange. The blog covered the concept of "like-kind" exchanges and defined the time constraints involved when conducting a 1031 exchange.Today, we'll explore the difference between "recognized gain" and "realized gain." While they sound a lot alike, knowing the difference can give the real estate investor an interest-free loan from the IRS! Additionally, we will define the concept of "boot." So, what do these three terms mean?Realized Gain - This is the amount of gain that the investor made during ownership of the property. The owner calculates this by determining the net sales price (sales price of the property less closing costs) and then subtracts the adjus...
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By Eva Armstrong, Environmental Visions
(Environmental Visions)
Today I am treating you to a story about my sweet, one-eyed, partially domesticated feral cat Squirt.  I inherited him when my best friend passed away VERY unexpectedly while I was a guest in his home.  My house was under construction, three months to go, and my friend kicked the bucket, so to speak, leaving me with Squirt, and two others, all feral.Today Squirt is teaching me patience, and that translates to my real estate clients too!  Patience with them, I mean... not teaching them patience.  So here I am with Squirt - and he really is a squirt.  A small, grey, skinny cat.  Excellent at mice catching!  He is up to 26 in the five years we've been in our home!  (No, not in the house!!!  Out in the high grass by the pond!!!)  Not bad considering the last four were with only one eye!  He...
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By Gene and Rebekah Rivers, The Rivers Team, Broker/Owner
(Keller Williams Town & Country Realty)
Hi all! I wanted to tell you about a great for sale by owner home I just previewed. It is a large 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on just over 5 acres. The wrap around front porch is perfect for enjoying nature in this wooded, tranquil setting. The floorplan is open and bright with a wood burning fireplace as the focal point in the living room. The master bedroom  is huge at 21'x15' and boasts a large walk-in closet and expansive bathroom. There are 2 storage buildings on the property - both with electrity.  All for $309,000. To arrange for a showing please email me at kim@ringtherivers.com or feel free to call me at 508-0261.Happy Selling!
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
With all the talk about real estate nation-wide, I've had plenty of investors asking about the condo market in Tallahassee. More accurately, the condo/townhome market is having it's third-best year ever. Sales are down from the peak of the boom, but they are certainly up from the pre-boom years.As you can tell, the 2006 was awesome for townhomes and condominiums in Tallahassee, but 2007 is almost as good as 2005, which blows away the previous market years. With all the new students coming in to Tallahassee (see previous blog on Florida Prepaid College Program), I think our condo/townhome market will continue to grow for quite some time.  About The Author   As Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty, a Tallahassee Real Estate Brokerage business, Joe Manausa utilizes his MBA and 17...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Since I seem to be going chart and graph crazy lately, I decided to take a look at resales in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. I was able to gather all the data (not just data from the MLS) to take an accurate look at the resale market in Tallahassee. The following graph was created from that data. Take a look at the graph and come to some conclusions before you go on to the rest of the narrative.Now that you have gone over the graph, did you make some conclusions? Perhaps you're ready to say the resale market is having its worst year since 1998.... and the graph certainly seems to be showing that. But what about the information that is not in the graph?Our "Single Family" residential market has been under attack since 2000 from an invader! This invader is not overtly in the graph ab...
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By Eva Armstrong, Environmental Visions
(Environmental Visions)
I have struck gold! I don't believe in accidents or coincidence. I believe we create our reality. And boy was I brilliant in creating the broker I selected to place my real estate sales associate license under.  Because that person has turned out to be far more than just a boss, or head of the company.He is a mentor.  Not the kind we usually think of - young student with adult coach type...although I am still young...  and he is an adult. But this is different.  When I appeared in his office, referred by his brother who is an attorney in the title insurance and real estate law business, I am sure this man wondered what in the world I was doing there?  I had a wealth of knowledge about the environment and a strong passion to work on enviornmental issues.  The past 8 years I had worked in...
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By Eva Armstrong, Environmental Visions
(Environmental Visions)
This is my 8th blog on AR.  (I'm actually 3 days behind in my 30 day challenge for those familiar with it.. but I'll catch up this weekend, I think!)  An amazing, and wonderful thing happened today - and it has confirmed for me that that AR REALLY works!I was contacted by email this morning by a gentleman looking for some help.. He had been reading a blog or blogs I had written about the increased interest in Green technology, energy and water conservation,etc., and wanted some help.  He's in the counter-top business and he has a fascinating product that he is wants helps with the marketing for... His "gotgreencountertops.com"...... isnt's getting the reaction he thought he would...(he gets more people thinking about the color green... than that they are made from recycled material - wh...
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By Gene and Rebekah Rivers, The Rivers Team, Broker/Owner
(Keller Williams Town & Country Realty)
Hi there! I am the lead listing specialist for the Rivers Team and thought it would be helpful to provide a forum for sellers and those thinking of selling to ask questions. Selling your home can be a daunting task but with some professional advice you will be well on your way to moving on and putting up that SOLD sign!  So ask away:) To start things off I thought I would answer one of the basic first questions when considering selling your home: How do I determine value?Answer:Value is driven by 3 basic factors: Condition, Location and Price. Each of these three factors contains sub-issues that I could talk about for pages (but won't unless asked). Condition includes issues such as typical "warranted" items - a/c, plumbing, heating, appliances, septic, well, pool/spa, security system, ...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Introduction to the 1031 Tax Deferred ExchangeEveryone who thinks about investing in real estate has been told about the great "tax benefits" that come with real estate as an investment. Often times, they are counseled about the annual write-offs of interest and expenses, as well as the great "phantom expense" of depreciation. These are certainly reason enough to create a real estate investment portfolio, but there is another powerful tax strategy that should be utilized as well, the 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange.I will write a series of blogs explaining how to maneuver through the maze of rules when performing an exchange. But to begin the series, I will first define what a §1031 exchange is, when it can be used, and why it should be considered part of the investors overall tax strategy.T...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Newer Homes Fair Best In Today's Market Yesterday's blog generated several comments and questions regarding home sales in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. Specifically, one reader wanted to know if I saw any trend in home sales corresponding to the age of the homes that were selling. I found this to be an interesting question and one that I had never considered in the past. So....Back to the Tallahassee Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS) I went. I pulled all the residential sales (Single Family Detached, Condos, and Townhouses) from the past month and all the way back to January of 2000 that occurred in Tallahassee. I then graphed the raw data to see if anything "jumped out." I determined the age of the home when it sold, and created five age groups: New (The home was 0...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
I was doing some research on property values in order to see how the market is handling the increased inventory. Two graphs of the data caught my attention. First, it appears that home prices are relatively stable in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market, as seen below: Average Home and Townhome Prices New Construction Home Prices have increased 10.6% over last year, while resale prices are down about 4.4%. The overall market of single family homes, townhomes, and condo's is priced down about 1.5%, with the average residential unit in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market selling for $203,500. I then wanted to see how Condo's were doing. Even though the residential market has slowed down 28% in units-sold, we can see that Condo's are still having a top-2 year on new construction sales, and a ...
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By Eva Armstrong, Environmental Visions
(Environmental Visions)
                                                                                           You don't go many places these days in the real estate world without running into questions or discussions about how to save money on utility bills.  As gas prices go up, so moves the electric and power bills.  In Florida it feels like we may be reaching a "tipping point."  Builders and contractors that once scoffed at the idea of environmentalists and conservation are seen attending builders' seminars on LEEDS certification and US Green Building Council criteria.  School Districts are finally coordinating the recycling programs that were mandated by the state legislature some years ago.  And commercial and residential buyers are inquiring about energy savings and green or sustainable building pra...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
from Creative Financing Offers Solutions for Buyers and Sellers Alike Now is a great time to be a home buyer in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market! You have choices, with inventory at an all-time high. You have motivated home sellers. You have historically low interest rates. So what is holding you back?Some of our Tallahassee Home Buyers come to us with problems related to financing the purchase of a home. I like to tell my Sales Associates that anyone who really wants to buy a home in Tallahassee can do it. The market conditions are perfect. The key is to understand all of the options that a home buyer has.One of the questions that seems to arise with a credit-challenged buyer, or a buyer with little cash, is "What is Creative Financing, and how do I use it to buy a home in Tallahasse...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
With all the concern over the real estate market, I decided to do some research in the Tallahassee Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS). I created a table for Leon County, by price range, and showed how we are doing this year versus every other year since 2000, for the months of January through August. I pulled data from all sales of residential properties (Single Family Detached, Condominiums, and Townhouses). The numbers in red indicate where we are doing worse this year, while the numbers in black indicate where we are doing better. From the table above, one can tell we've seen an overall drop of 28% this year versus 2006. We are down 29% versus 2005, but only down 19% and 10% from 2005 and 2004, respectively in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. More importantly, we're ...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
There has been a lot of talk lately in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market regarding where our pricing is going. We look at the condomium/Townhouse market and are amazed at what prices have done over the past 5-10 years. These have been the staple for students at FSU/FAMU/TCC and the other colleges in town. We can see from the pricing trend chart that they have really shot up. I have addressed the "why" in recent posts, but nothing shows the "why" like the corresponding chart of lot prices in Leon County, Florida.The cost of land plus the costs of developing has made the average lot price in Tallahassee zoom up to nearly $90,000. It is no wonder our condo's have gone up so high. I don't expect to see much downward movement in new condo prices until we see something happen to land prices....
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By Eva Armstrong, Environmental Visions
(Environmental Visions)
I'm big on living in the moment - taking life as it comes.  Usually that pays off in big dividends.  I don't have to worry about what comes next, or what happened yesterday, just live in the here and now.  That's how I came up with my second blog subject "Feeling a little Trashy...." as I was taking a morning walk and contemplating what I would write about that day.  I asked myelf what I wanted to write about, looked around and there it was:  Trash!It gets a little difficult when I'm not feeling well.  Like now.  Translation:  fighing a cold.  Runny nose, cough, tearing eyes.  In fact, I'm having trouble focusing on this screen.  But a commitment is a commitment, so I like to find ways to deal with life's little challenges.  Thus, the subject of today's blog..(how did this exercise in c...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Frank Telenta read my previous post about the Tallahassee Real Estate Market and requested to see the numbers by price range. I downloaded sales in the MLS for the Periods of January Through August for both 2006 and 2007. The following is a Tallahassee Real Estate Market Report for all price ranges:As you can see, we are down roughly 28% from last year. The "Discount" represents the sales price versus the original asking price. When I get some more time, I will do this report over a longer period of time.... until then, have a great day!Subscribe to this Blog: Joe Manausa, MBA, CRB, CRS | Broker / Owner | Century 21 First Realty 2365 Centerville Road | Tallahassee, Florida 32308 | 850-386-2001 | http://www.manausa.com/
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By Eva Armstrong, Environmental Visions
(Environmental Visions)
Twenty-four plus years in public service exposed to me a variety of people from all walks of live.  They were rich, poor and middle-class people.  Well-educated and extremely bright, and those struggling to overcome learning disabilities.  Some even recently released from prison and trying to get their civil rights restored.  Over the years they served to teach me some key lessons about being successful when dealing with people and since real estate is ALL about dealing with PEOPLE, I thought readers of activerain might find these helpful.Lesson #1:     Always  --- ALWAYS   return phone calls!     My personal rule is within 24-48 hours.  And if you are caught up in a major closing or negotiation, which has happened to me, I suggest delegating the return the call to an employee or associ...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
After dealing with some very opiniated comments from readers of my Newspaper Blog, I decided I would post the presentation that I use to help people decide whether to Rent a Home in Tallahassee, or whether to Buy a Home in Tallahassee. Here is what I posted on my other blog:Tallahassee Real Estate: Rent or Own? Do you ever wonder whether or not it is better to rent versus owning your own home? This question comes up from time to time, and with all the negative news about the real estate market, we have fielded this question quite a bit lately. As a matter of fact, a very opinionated commenter to this blog (going by the name "Anonymous") said it was definitely much better to rent than own.I personally take a more analytical approach to this. You can set-up a simple spreadsheet in Microso...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
I received a comment from a reader, Anne Tyler, suggesting that I expand yesterday's graphics to include some of the more affordable neighborhoods in Tallahassee. Because there are so many of them, I only included Leon County Subdivisions where the average selling price was below $160,000. This left me with over 200 Leon County Subdivisions to Graph! Hence, they are broken-up into three graphs, sorted by price range (Which is listed below each graph). Note, the red bars are subdivisions where the average current asking prices are lower than the previous year's average sales price.[Click Here For Tallahassee Affordable Housing Neighborhood Graphics]Subscribe to this Blog: Joe Manausa, MBA, CRB, CRS | Broker / Owner | Century 21 First Realty 2365 Centerville Road | Tallahassee, Florida 32...
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