Grand Hampton Real Estate Update  (week of 8/15/07 - 8/21/07) Properties Listed =6Properties Sold = 1 Properties Expired from the market (EXPIRED) = 0 Properties under contract (TOTAL PENDING) =5Looking for more information on Grand Hampton???Contact me at Lori@yourcastleyourhome.com or 813.453.7883.  Is customer service important to you?  Please review my client testimonials to see what kind of service I provide.  Why hire a Realtor?  Let me help you find Your Castle, Your Home!http://www.yourcastleyourhome.com/ 08/22/2007

Hunter's Green Real Estate Update (week of 8/15/07 - 8/21/07) Properties Listed = 2Properties Sold = 2Properties Expired from the market (EXPIRED) = 1 Properties under contract (TOTAL PENDING) = 7Looking for more information on Hunter's Green???Contact me at Lori@yourcastleyourhome.com or 813.453.7883.  Is customer service important to you?  Please review my client testimonials to see what kind of service I provide.  Why hire a Realtor? Let me help you find Your Castle, Your Home!http://www.yourcastleyourhome.com/ 08/22/2007

That was the question I got yesterday when meeting with a seller about a listing in an area outside of Seminole Heights.  I was discussing with the future customer suggestions for getting the property ready for market.  In the course of talking I explained that the bulk of my business was in the Seminole Heights area.  He is actually doing work for another customer of mine on a house about a block from my home. So he is in the neighborhood with some frequency.   That is why his question was a bit of a surprise. "Is that area getting better?"What do you say without getting all caught-up in the changes and rattling them off in list form?  In an area undergoing a renaissance or gentrification old perceptions seem to last long after they are no longer accurate.  It has been nearly 25 years ... 08/22/2007

ABC News talks about Quantification in the market, what's going on, and getting "Clear on what's really going on right now"?  Anyone really know?  Again, most are looking for that "Bottom" and timing is everything!  I think that we are in for a bit of a cash crunch for most.  Personally, I plan to liquidate stocks and move cash into real estate.  The tough part is getting a decent lender approval, rate, and terms these days!  Lenders are tightening up BIG TIME and making anything "out-of-the box" more difficult! With many lenders now & will continue to go out of business, Soon many of these loan programs may NOT be available, which bring me back to point one:You can wait for the bottom, but the great loan programs we have right NOW, may NOT be there when it's determined to be "the botto... 08/21/2007

Press release dated 8-11-2007     Tampa – Rob Duncan, a local leader in the residential property management field, recently was accepted as a member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM), joining more than 1800 residential property managers from throughout the United States.     Duncan is also the principal broker of Rent New Tampa, Inc., a new residential real estate company in New Tampa, established in 2006. Rent New Tampa, Inc. was formed to offer a range of property management services in the thriving New Tampa community that has experienced rapid growth in residential investment property. With the utilization of web based technology, Rent New Tampa, Inc. provides property owners the best resource to find a tenant, along with 24 hour services includin... 08/16/2007

Yesterday, you may have read the Article in the Tampa Tribune regarding foreclosures sweeping the nation in massive numbers!  F.A.R. recently reported that a recent realty trac statistic showed that the Tampa Bay Area ranks 24th in the nation for foreclosure filings.  It's said that one in every 79 households earlier this year have filed for foreclosure.What does this mean to you?   Well, if you are seeking a real bargain in the Tampa Bay area, you're VERY LIKELY to get it!   However, Be Prepared because the lenders have also taken strict measures to ensure their continued presence in the lending business!Saddle up because if you are self-employed (cannot verify income), don't have a down-payment, have less than prime credit, or lack plenty of reserves, you could be turned down for a mo... 08/16/2007

Tampa veteran home seekers looking for a mortgage often call and ask general questions.  The most recent question came to me over a game of cards.  Let me explain...  We have very good friends here in South Tampa.  They recently came over for dinner and a friendly game of Euchre.  Over cards, we were discussing our friends upcoming wedding.  They are planning on getting married in October of 2008.  Our friends told us they were also planning to purchase a new home in the upcoming year before the wedding and were asking questions about VA Mortgages, as Jim is a veteran.  They want to purchase a home together using Jim's VA Eligibility.  The issue we have, they both need to be on the loan to qualify for the house price they are looking for in South Tampa.  The bigger issue with their VA m... 08/15/2007

A long sought goal in Seminole Heights and Tampa Heights has been the converting Florida Ave. and Tampa St/Highland Ave back into two way streets from downtown Tampa to Violet St. in Seminole Heights.  The three impacted neighborhoods have believed that such a change could dramatically improve business prospects and therefore the appearance of the commercial corridors.  Alas it seems that dream is still on hold.  It was reported by Rich Shopes of the Tampa Tribune in late July that State Transportation officials nixed the idea as too costly. It addition to the perceived constriction in the ability to move traffic.  The Tribune story can be seen at:  http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB678EKN4F.html#content The heights neighborhoods were not the only ones to receive a thumbs down on convert... 08/15/2007

Grand Hampton Real Estate Update  (week of 8/8/07 - 8/14/07) Properties Listed = 2Properties Sold = 0 Properties Expired from the market (EXPIRED) = 0 Properties under contract (TOTAL PENDING) = 6Looking for more information on Grand Hampton???Contact me at Lori@yourcastleyourhome.com or 813.453.7883.  Is customer service important to you?  Please review my client testimonials to see what kind of service I provide.  Why hire a Realtor?  Let me help you find Your Castle, Your Home!http://www.yourcastleyourhome.com/ 08/15/2007

Tampa Palms Real Estate Update  (week of 8/8/07 - 8/14/07) Properties Listed = 2Properties Sold = 3Properties Expired from the market (EXPIRED) = 1 Properties under contract (TOTAL PENDING) = 9Looking for more information on Tampa Palms???Contact me at Lori@yourcastleyourhome.com or 813.453.7883.  Is customer service important to you?  Please review my client testimonials to see what kind of service I provide.  Why hire a Realtor? Let me help you find Your Castle, Your Home!http://www.yourcastleyourhome.com/ 08/15/2007

Hunter's Green Real Estate Update (week of 8/8/07 - 8/14/07) Properties Listed = 1 Properties Sold = 0Properties Expired from the market (EXPIRED) = 1 Properties under contract (TOTAL PENDING) = 7Looking for more information on Hunter's Green???Contact me at Lori@yourcastleyourhome.com or 813.453.7883.  Is customer service important to you?  Please review my client testimonials to see what kind of service I provide.  Why hire a Realtor? Let me help you find Your Castle, Your Home!http://www.yourcastleyourhome.com/ 08/15/2007

HOW TO REPAIR YOUR CREDIT  Quite possibly, the most important step in buying a home is obtaining the financing to do so.  Knowing where your credit stands can be very important in securing financing.  Read on to learn more about how to check your credit scores, and how to repair any negative information on your credit report so that you can buy your Tampa dream home!Dealing with Credit BureausIt is essential to understand that Credit Bureaus are nothing more than record keepers.Simply put, they keep a record of who has given you credit, when they gave you credit, how much credit you are given and whether or not you paid it back on time. When you want to obtain credit cards, loans, financing for a car or home, leases, apartments and sometimes even employment, the lender or bank will chec... 08/15/2007

American Home Mortgage and its wholesale counterpart, American Brokers Conduit, became the latest casualties of the credit crisis.  Last year, this company closed over $58 billion in home loans.  Despite being, by all accounts, a well run business, market conditions forced them to file for bankruptcy, leaving nearly $800 million in loans unable to close.  Tens of thousands of borrowers have now been left without financing as a result of companies like this going under.  Clearly, with over 100 national lenders having now closed shop in the last eight months, this is no longer a simply subprime lending issue.  The credit market is experiencing unprecedented turmoil that, according to Mike Perry, CEO of Indymac Bancorp, is "broader and more serious than past disruptions."What does this mea... 08/13/2007

In Tampa, Florida home owners and future home buyers have been hearing quite a bit of talk from newspapers, television and the Internet on the "Mortgage Accelerator" programs. Have you heard of them? They can go by the name "mortgage accelerator" or "all-in-one" mortgage. The product is simply a liability manger and offers users a financial tool for homeowners to pay off their mortgage and leverage their own income. I wanted to take a moment to give you more information on this product. There are an increasing number of mortgage companies offering this product and it is important to me that you have a good knowledge of how it works from your Tampa mortgage source! You may be thinking...pay off my mortgage? For years the standard answer has been "NO"! We have been obsessed with the menta... 08/13/2007

Well it is that time of year folks. Mayor Pam has proposed her budget...$761 million. We have all heard about all the cuts and the dire predictions. Well the budget in spite of cuts is about a 4.5% increase over last year. Much better than last year. But Henny Penny...the sky isn't falling and don't let the Mayor tell you it is.See the budget at: http://www.tampagov.net/dept_Budget/information_resources/budget_documents/FY2008_budget/ 08/12/2007

Many homebuyers and real estate professionals selling in Seminole heights are aware that there is at least one historic district, some are aware that there are two, some think all of Seminole Heights is a Historic District; then there is this strange thing called an Overlay District that almost no one knows about. The only historic distict that involves Architectural Review Commission approval is the Seminole Heights Historic District because it is both a national and local district.  The local district has the rules and is somewhat larger than the national district boundaries. The other district is Hampton Terrace.  This district is only national and does not yet have local district standards yet though the residents are working with the city to create the Hampton Terrace local distric... 08/10/2007

My South Tampa home needs regular pest control.  We live in the heart of Tampa Bay and thus have lots of bugs to contend with. While researching different pest management options, I found a Eco-friendly solution from a local pest provider, Florida Bug Runners, Inc.  Dave Patrias who owns the Florida based termite and pest control company informed me of a new EcoSMART(r) pest control product. Many South Tampa homeowners are looking for ways to become more GREEN and implementing eco-friendly pest control is a great way to protect our environment, families and pets.Dave provided me with some great information about the EcoSmart products, which are a blend of botanical oils that effectively target pests, not people or pets.  I found that the plant oil active ingredients target and block a k... 08/10/2007

Tampa Florida Picked as #1 place in the Country to Buy a Home  I am sure all of you have been reading the news and keeping up with the market...but if you haven't, here is the latest...Tampa Florida was picked as the #1 place in the country to buy a home and the Tampa Bay area was gearing up for a complete "V" shaped recovery by Jan 2008. What that means to you is that if you plan on moving to the Tampa Bay area and you want to pay less for your home...now is the time to buy. Developers that I have spoke with in the past week know about this and they are reserving prime lots for release at the end of the year to capitalize on this recovery.Here are some links to the articles and or videos that discuss the topic.And when you ready to Buy, please use the tools at our site to find exactly ... 08/10/2007

 Starting two days ahead of the August 1st launch date, Seminole Heights has a 24/7 place to go to eat. A long established neighborhood diner. 3 Coins has long been a neighborhood gathering place on the east side of 275. The diner now has a new owner. The resturant came under new ownership about 2 months ago. Cleaned-up with some new seating and granite countertops. They now even take credit cards! Breakfast is available anytime with new omlettes choices and other choices. It is a whole new menu with new lunch and dinner items. Hooray! The new feel, new attitude, and expanded menu will bring new life and business to this Seminole Heights institution. From the looks of the menu items, it looks like they are aiming to compete with Perkins, Denny's, and Village Inn.The new owner clearly fe... 08/09/2007

Where is the bottom of the Tampa Market?  Does anyone really know?  Nope.  I do believe we are getting there! My take on this market is this:  It's like of like when you buy and sell stocks.  Buy low, Sell High is the objective right?   No-one knows what that 'bottom number' is... so just like a stock:Pick one you can afford to buy Make a Smart Decision at the right time (using your own best judgement) The people that Make the most money aren't flippers, day traders, paper swappers, they normally 'sit' on their investment and watch it mature.Despite the mortgage woes of today, if you have good credit, on-time housing history, and a little bita $cash$ . . . Now is one of the best times to buy a home.The GOOD stocks, just never return to the 'penny stocks' they once were, so buy (as much ... 08/08/2007