Polk Community College’s Student Activities Department - Winter Haven Campus will host the Humane Society’s Adopt-A-Pet event on Nov. 21 from 9 am to1 pm. It will be held on the north side of the Student Center (WST) on the Winter Haven campus.Adopt-A-Pet is open to students, faculty, and the community. If you’d like to adopt an animal, you must be at least 18 years of age. If you’re renting a room or apartment, you must have permission from your landlord to adopt an animal.  For more information call 863-298-6819. On a personal note, Buddy - pictured here - is one of our two "rescued" dogs.  Our lives would not be the same without this little meatball!  11/19/2008

The Murphy Stations at the Haines City and Cypress Gardens Blvd. (Winter Haven) Wal-Mart stores were slammed today.  Why? Well, because gas is selling below $2.00 per gallon!  Whoo Hoo!  I feel as if I should rush out and purchase several certified gasoline storage jugs and fill 'em up just in case prices spike again!  I know I should be more astute than this.  But I just don't understand.  And I need help. It seems as if almost overnight, gas prices here in the Winter Haven, FL area have dropped below the $2.00 mark.  I'm sure some refinery recently resumed optimal output levels, or perhaps we're benefiting from some unforeseen glut in oil supplies here in the southeast.  Maybe those blasted oil speculators really messed up and we're somehow catching a windfall from their greedy come-u... 11/19/2008

When it comes to property and mortgages here in Winter Haven, Florida - or anywhere in the US for that matter, there are a lot of options open to you. One of these options comes in the form of a home loan refinance - great for home owners looking for a little more financial flexibility. There are many benefits of a Florida refinance loan, especially when you find great interest rates. When you refinance your home, you take out cash against the equity you have in your property. There are however a few aspects that you need to keep in mind when it comes to a Florida refinancing home loan. One: You need to be aware of your refinancing circumstances. It is a great option for people with specific financial goals, such as paying off high interest rate debts or converting from an adjustable r... 11/18/2008

Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers of the world - how do you react when you get rate shopped?  You see it coming, heck - some of you seem to have the ability to detect a rate shopper a mile away!  Do you deal with them?  Perhaps you employ a tried and true method of converting them over to you?  Or - do you label them as unwilling to commit and send them on to the next broker or loan officer?  Do you have some sort of agreement you ask potential clients to complete - stating that they'll stick with you? Maybe you have them put a little skin in the game by paying you an upfront origination or processing fee? (Which you'd most likely have to return if they moved on, correct?) I've heard of mortgage brokers askin clients sign a form as part of the original 1003 packet stating that they, th... 11/14/2008

Cat Carter over at LakelandLocal.com just blogged about the Lakeland Center's new website.  Based on her review, the site has been vastly improved. The new site is much easier to navigate with great use of colors. Images used to advertise events pop and really add to the visual appeal. The navigation is also much easier. It only take one or two clicks to find the most pertinent information. Beware the site is still under construction and some sections aren’t quite finished. Like Cat, I think the new site looks great!  I agree with her assessment of the font size and size in some areas, as I too  have 20/20 vision and had a hard time reading the text in places.  I also agree that the site's logo should link to the home page - now a common convention (is that redundant?) on most sites. C... 11/12/2008

Great news from the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce Blog!  This year's Christmas Chain of Lakes Boat Parade is a go!  The parade is slated for Saturday December 6th and will start from Lake May.  From there, boats will travel through lakes Shipp, May, Howard and Cannon. Boaters are advised that they may need to “trim” their outboard motors in one or more locations ,but the Canal Commission has offered to be on hand to assist boaters where possible. Note:  Boats requiring deep draft or having inboard/outboard motors are not advised for this particular outing.  It is also advisable for boat captains to cruise the route the weekend before the parade to test the ride. Image Courtesy: The Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce 11/10/2008

Thanks again to Chuck Welch over at LakelandLocal.com , I was recently directed to a Lakeland Ledger article that adds a bit more clarity to what's going on with our local Cypress Gardens Adventure Park.  According to journalist Rick Rousos, the park's owners are now planning to expand the Gardens' water park theme while removing most of the thrill rides and animal exhibits. Luckily, the water ski shows and botanical gardens will stay, as it would no longer be Cypress Gardens without these two signature features.  According to the Ledger artilce, Brian Philpot, one of the current owners, stated that Cypress Gardens will choose, likely sometime in December, between a variety of options to expand the water park area of the park. Cypress Gardens now has a big wave pool, a lazy river and a ... 11/09/2008

Chuck Welch over at LakelandLocal.com reports that Winter Haven's historic Cypress Gardens Adventure Park is rumored to once again be on the road to closure. The park, which dates back to January 2, 1936 began as a botanical garden planted by Dick and Julie Pope. Through the years, Cypress Gardens became renowned as one of Florida's largest and well attended attractions, known for its water ski shows, lush gardens, and famous Southern Belle models. Over the past several years, the park has seen hard times and has changed hands via arrangements with the State, Adventure Park developer Kent Buescher, and most recently, Land South Holdings of Mulberry, FL and the Baker Leisure Group of Orlando, FL. In his LakelandLocal.com blog report, Welch relays a report from the Disney Blog stating th... 11/09/2008

Those here in Winter Haven, FL and across the nation looking to buy a home in 2009 should be sure to get their financial house in order - as mortgage rates are poised to toughen even more heading into the new year. The Federal Reserve confirmed what most of us already knew -- getting qualified for a "prime mortgage" is increasingly more difficult. In a quarterly survey of 84 banks, 75 percent of respondent banks tightened mortgage guidelines over the last 3 months for the most qualified of home loan applicants. "Prime" is a vague term when it comes to mortgages, but, historically, a prime borrower is one that can document: A well-documented credit history Very high credit scores Very low debt-to-incomes Historically, banks bent over backwards to lend money to this class of borrower.  T... 11/05/2008

If there's one question my Winter Haven, Florida clients ask more than any other, it's why mortgage rates haven't falled as expected.  I offer the following in an attempt to shed some light on this issue and, perhaps - provide a few answers. When the government nationalized mortgage lending in September, housing analysts predicted lower mortgage rates. For a brief two-week stint, they were right -- post-takeover, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage fell below 6.000 percent nationally for the first time in 7 months. Since then, however, mortgage markets have reversed.  Rates are now at pre-takeover levels. Now, this isn't to say that the nationalization was a failure -- far from it.  The government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accomplished two very important goals: It restored ... 10/31/2008

  The good folks over at EcoFriendly Mag reported today that Winter Haven, FL-based QuickBeam Energy will be offering solar power energy systems solutions to local companies interested in alternative energy production.  The company has been in operation for about six months now, and draws technological inspiration from California’s successful solar power industry to put together its own alternative energy solutions. One very interesting and inspiring point the article makes is that Max Wilson and Lynnette Acosta, two of QuickBeam's employees, left the Peace Corps last year looking for a way to apply their experience to a business that could make a difference. According to Acosta, “QuickBeam will be comprehensively assisting its customers to remove the technical, regulatory, and financi... 10/25/2008

The news could definitely be better for Florida, now ranking number two in overall foreclosures - increasing 9 percent month-over-month to move past Arizona and California.  On average, one out of every 178 housing units posted a foreclosure filing in our state. From a year to year view - foreclosure filings were reported on 47,956 Florida properties during the month, an increase of 44 percent from September of 2007.  Jeff Ostrowski, over at Real Time Blogger has more information on the foreclosure picture in Florida, so be sure to check it out. Picture Looking Brighter in Other Parts of the Country According to foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate is falling nationwide. Versus August, foreclosures fell by 12 percent in September 2008 as more than half of the st... 10/23/2008

In the widest definition possible, amortization (pronounced: am-ohr-tih-ZAY-shun) is the scheduled process by which a loan's principal balance pays down to $0. The opposite of an amortizing loan is an interest only loan for which there is no scheduled principal repayment schedule. With respect to mortgages, amortization is what determines how much of a monthly payment goes to principal, and how much goes to interest.    Amortization schedules are the same for all fixed rate, non-interest only home loans including 15- and 30-year fixed rate mortgages, as well as all non-interest only ARMs. Monthly principal and interest payments on a mortgage are based on the mathematical formula above, where: P = principal A = payment r = monthly interest rate n = number of payments Now, if you've ever ... 10/22/2008

Value's good... great location... nice size lot... but Dear Sweet Jumpin Jehosephat... What Up and Died in this place? Yeah. You know you've been there.  You walk into a seller's home and your eyes begin to water. Sad, but true.  I was talking with one of my Realtor clients the other day about this house he's trying to sell.  The place smells to high heaven - a result from a couple of chinchillas, a dog, and general funkiness. It's so bad, that he's had potential buyers and visiting agents refuse to step into the place.  But how do you tell the seller to clean it up? My suggestion - tell the family look - clean it up, relocate or find another way to compensate for the animals, or forget trying to sell this place. There is no shortage of homes for sale throughout Florida.  Though recent ... 10/21/2008

In an effort to limit risky borrower behavior, Fannie Mae announced a new round of mortgage guideline changes last week.  Unlike previous its previous 20-plus updates that raised income requirements and minimum credit scores (among other changes), Fannie's latest guideline tweaks focus on the value of its underlying mortgage assets -- home equity. Effective December 13, 2008, Fannie Mae will require larger equity positions on some of its insured purchases and refinances.  A few of the updates include: Limiting primary residence, cash out refinances to 85% loan-to-value Requiring 10% downpayments on second/vacation homes Requiring a 25% equity position on all investment property refinances And, while the above changes represent 5 percent equity increases over the current mortgage guideli... 10/21/2008

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded both its largest one-day point gain and second-largest one-day point loss in history. Mortgage markets and rate availability here in Polk County and across the nation got whipsawed, too. From day to day, huge rate swings made mortgage rate shopping difficult.  It wasn't uncommon for lenders to change pricing 3 times per day. When the week closed, though, rates were lower than at Market Open Monday, marking the first week of improvement in mortgage rates since early-September. Last week's constant mortgage rate movement had several causes: Retail Sales data was weaker than expected The Federal Reserve report showing a slowdown in all 12 regions New evidence that commodity inflation pressures are easing The biggest driver was -- and con... 10/20/2008

  You’re a Realtor, and you have a website.  Great.  How’s your traffic? What’s your Google page rank?  To what extent are you converting the visitors you do attract into listings and sales? If the answers to any of these questions elude you, you’re not alone.  More often than not, we put our sites up, cross that particular item off our checklist, and we move on.  But the management of our websites requires careful planning and execution if we’re to realize the promise that web-connectivity and Web 2.0 technologies (blogs, twitter, etc.) have in store for us. Luckily, there are experts out there like Mr. Joe Hall - Founder & Chief Webhead of Jozsoft Web Development, who specialize in helping Realtors optimize their websites for maximum effectiveness. Joe’s position on Real Estate Websit... 10/19/2008

Cue the Wayne's World Time Warp Music.....Gasoline prices here in Polk County, FL have been spotted below the $3.00 mark!   A local Lakeland Ledger article ties the falling gas prices to the fact that Gulf Coast refineries are back up to optimal or near optimal production levels, and the average price per barrel of crude oil is now down to roughly $70.  Whatever the case, many Winter Havenites, along with the reast of us here in Polk County will be heading ot the pumps to top off our tanks.  Shoot - at these prices, we might even have enough left over after our fill up for a treat! I think a mid-month adult beverage treat is on the horizon!       10/17/2008

PMI rates in Winter Haven, FL and across the nation are higher today than they were six months ago and the rising number of defaults makes it likely that rates will rise again soon.  As PMI rates increase, so does the cost of homeownership for people whose lenders require it. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is a mortgage lender's insurance policy against highly-leveraged homeowners.  It's typically required when homeowner equity is less than 20 percent at the time of closing. With PMI defaults up 40 percent over last year, though, private mortgage insurers are taking big losses. They're also taking outsized steps to prevent additional claims going forward and that is bad news for low-equity homeowners and home buyers. The First PMI Change: New, Higher Insurance Rates. Like home insure... 10/17/2008

  As the good folks of Winter Haven, FL and the rest of Polk County try to make sense of what's going on in the mortgage and financial markets - one thing holds true about the overall outlook:  It's clear as mud! As the stock market dips then jumps then dips again, it's important to remember that markets are unpredictable and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop the analysts from trying. An obvious example comes from May of this year.   As the price of oil crossed $120 per barrel on its way to an all-time high of $147, a Goldman Sachs analyst was quoted as saying that $200 oil was "likely".  It seemed like a logical conclusion at the time. Today, though, just five months after the prediction, the analyst's "likely" scenario looks downright laughable. ... 10/16/2008