Flapping signs aren’t fun and waste everyone’s time.

On the upside, August brought a 26.4% increase in single family unit sales over August 2008, although prices dropped in the same period by 19.3%.  As Ann Guiberson, President and CEO of the Pinellas Realtor organization said so brilliantly in the recent issue of Pro-View magazine for Realtors, ”this seems to be a sign of what’s good vs. what’s better than a sign of a reversal in the market”.  We’re no where near out of the woods, in fact most experts agree that we are just at the beginning of the second foreclosure hill in this roller coaster ride.  More on that soon.  

Don’t dismay if you want to be in the market, homes are selling!  Particularly with a stealth plan in place that includes pricing your home to win the war, sprucing it up to win the beauty pageant, and promoting it with a proven stealth marketing system to win the attention of buyers galore.  

It’s a lot more than having a sign in the yard - although ours is kind of nice even at night, wouldn’t you agree?  Call us at 727-366-0324 with questions.

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Although swimming is no longer allowed, Wall Springs Park was used as a spa and spring for swimmers from the 20th century in to the mid-1960’s.  Wall Springs Park has been a work in progress since Pinellas County started off with the initial purchase of approximately 63 acres in 1988. The park now weighs in at about 195 acres.   Winding (more…)

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Most challenging is that while there are over 6,358 single family homes listed in the MLS with about 2,500 or so under $250,000.  The reality is that of these, about 80% are on the market and only 20% are actually in the market.  The 80% are either in disrepair, overpriced, or both. 

That leaves us with about 500 affordable homes in all of Pinellas, Pasco and portions of Hillsborough Counties.  Using rough numbers, after we wipe out about 40% of those which are short sales or bank owned, we’ve got all of the first time home buyers clamoring for only about 300 homes!  There was even a story last week on Fox News 13 about how many lenders are going to cut off applications starting tomorrow!

Unless Congress extends the credit, the party’s just about over.   

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Keller Williams Clearwater Realtors have the reputation of working every weekend, yet sometimes sometimes we do plan days off!  The Clearwater Jazz ‘N Art Walk is the start of a new tradition we began last year.  Believe me, there is more to life than Clearwater homes for sale, and this event is destined to become a community favorite.  It is a local art show that runs along Cleveland St. from Ft. Harrison to East Avenue and displays fine art from watercolors to oils. The pieces are available for sale or for just pure enjoyment.

In its second year, this year’s festivities will be held in downtown Clearwater on October 17th and 18th from 10AM – 5PM. The weather in Florida will be perfect by mid-October so we look forward to this artsy stroll.

We’ll have more on this event as the date approaches, but I wanted to get this out so you can mark it on your calendar. Apparently a $5000 total purse is being offered for the top 3 artists selected by the judges. For more information, e-mail  Michelle@clearwaterjazz.com or call Michelle at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday office, 727-461-5200.

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On 9/11/01, I was on a 6:00 AM United Airlines flight from Oakland, California to Denver, Colorado, for a shareholder’s meeting for the Real Estate Investment Trust that I worked for at the time, when the pilot announced that there were 3 simultaneous hijackings taking place, and that one of the World Trade Centers had been “blown up”, but had no further details. 

It was a surreal and scary moment - I tried to tune into the pilot’s station with those cheap head phones they give you.  Instead, I got Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”.  I hadn’t even had my coffee.   

My boss, Anne, and I, ended up hitch hiking back from Las Vegas, where we did an emergency landing with two very unusual characters.  A business man and a hippie.  We traveled through Yosemite, where my husband, Matt, and I, had been camping, hiking and fishing just the month before.  A day I’ll never forget.  It’s a small, inconsequential story for most, yet I have to share that I’m grateful for it, and those that gave their lives that day, to save others. 

We got home 9 hours later, and saw the pictures, and heard the news (they weren’t announcing on the radio about the plane crashes).  Horrific.   As it was for all of us.  

What do I miss from that time?  The unity that the country experienced after the attacks on the world trace center.

The Upside of 9-11 for us?  It was that day, a pivotal moment in our lives, that we decided to live differently.  We gave up (more…)

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By the way, if you need a knowledgable, dependable, reasonably priced pool guy, call Marty at Bayside Pools in Dunedin at (727)360-7494. 

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Calculations for Determining Your Pinellas Property Taxes

1. Just Value - Save Our Homes Cap = Assessed Value
2. Assessed Value - Exemptions =Taxable Value
3. Taxable Value / 1,000 x Millage Rate = Gross Taxes year

So, let’s pretend Frank is buying a Clearwater home with a $200,000 Just Value.  In Frank’s case, because it’s going to be his first home purchase and his primary residence,  he does not have any Save Our Homes Cap portability (subject for a future post) but he qualifies for the standard $50,000 Homestead Exemption - so we’ve skipped right to #2, which looks like this:  $200,000 - $50,000 = $150,000 Taxable Value.

Next, take Frank’s Taxable Value, $150,000 divided by 1,000 x 20.3578 Millage Rate = $3,053.67 per year.  Voila!

HELP! You’re asking .. where do I find all of this stuff out?  What does some of this mean? 

Pinellas Property Taxes:  Helpful Hints

• You can find the Just Value of a Home on the Pinellas Property Appraiser’s website.
• Each year’s property tax value stands alone, so it’s difficult to estimate taxes before annual property values and millage rates are established.
• You can review the latest millage rates from the Tax Collector’s Website or use 24.0 as a starting rate for estimating. 
• If you qualify for the homestead exeption, you can expect to save $500 to $800 on your taxes the first year.
• If you qualify for Cap Portability (future post!), you’ll save even more. 
• There are other small exemptions for Seniors, Blind Persons, the Disabled, Widow/Widowers, Veterans, Spouses of Disabled Veterans and more.

If this is all just too much for you, contact the Pinellas Property Appraiser’s office at (727)364-3207.  Or better yet, contact us.  These Pinellas Realtors are here to help!

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Here’s a pic of the Dunedin Waterfront from the sky, overlooking beautiful Honeymoon and Caladessi Islands.   Friends, it doesn’t get much better than this!

If you’re been searching for single family Pinellas Waterfront homes, there are currently 149 for sale between $179K and $6.5M in North Pinellas County and 234 between 299K and $11M in South Pinellas County.  19 have sold in the past month and another and another 55 homes are pending. 

If you’d like to tour available properties by boat, contact us or give us a call at (727)366-0324.  We’re here to help.

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Pinellas MLS Statistics:

What’s really encouraging for the Pinellas real estate market is that we are approaching the number of sales we experienced in the latter half of 2006.  And there are even very preliminary indications that Pinellas County home values are beginning to stabilize, but it’s much too soon to tell for sure.  

Keep in mind that even when prices do stabilize, experts agree that it’s going to be a long FLAT road for years to come.  

Contact us with questions! 

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We’ll get more in depth on this topic in upcoming posts, but first, you may be wondering just how does one go about finding all of the Pinellas bank owned homes?

• The truth is that “Secret” lists of Pinellas County foreclosures don’t exist.
• 99.99% of the time banks will list their Pinellas County foreclosures with Realtors.
• Many of the banks have websites that list their REO inventories.  We’ve yet to find one of those listings that isn’t already listed with an agent and is also on the MLS!
• Online or other companies that sell ”foreclosure” lists are in it to make money.  Keep yours in your wallet!
•  Keep in mind that Florida is a judicial foreclosure action state.  Translated, deliquent borrowers are allowed their day in court and can redeem or pay their mortgages in full any time prior to the final public auction date.

(more…)

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