Jacksonville, FL - If you have a good Realtor (ahem) they may be able to tell you what "As is" means becuase it may not mean what you think it means.  I hope that reads better than it sounds.  See, many of these banks are selling their REO's and claiming "As Is" and that worries a lot of Jacksonville's homebuyers.  Why?  Because getting the loan is fight enough but imagine having to stroke some checks after you move in to get the home livable.  That is what is the reality for some....but.

If you have a good Realtor (cough) they may be able to show you how the banks will actually pay for many of the repairs needed for the home.  I have some customers right now who are buying a foreclosure and the bank to remain nameless but rhymes with Bells

When is it summer time in Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach? Can you tell by the temperature, by the swim suits, by the big smiles on everyone's face? Maybe, but there's another way. The official opening of the beaches starts Saturday April 28th with a sand castle building competition and Sunday with the  opening of the beaches parade at 2pm that include floats, marching bands, cheerleading team stunts and tons of fun. If you have never experienced the opening don't miss it this year. For more information check out http://www.jacksonvillebeach.org/visitors/special-events

Imagine stepping out of your front door and enjoying the sun, sand, water and year round events at the beaches. Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach or Ponte Vedra

Fighting for a Home

versus Fighting for a Loan

Jacksonville, FL Real Estate - You know over the last few years we have watched the turmoil hit the housing market from close up and while many of you out there have experienced it as well we get the pleasure of experiencing the pain over and over again.  Our customers have stories to tell and each one is unique but for both home buyers and home sellers they do have a few things in common and one of them is:  Horrors Surrounding Home Financing.

Today's buyers should be steeled for the fight of trying to get a loan.  They're going to peel you open and check everything.  Just recently, one of my customers had to justify a $400 deposit that their son gave them, paying them back for a loan that they

Jacksonville's Southside was at one point the hottest area or luxurious Jacksonville homes

Deerwood, Deercreek, James Island, Glen Kernan, and Jacksonville Golf are staging a comeback!

Jacksonville, FL - It has been a while since homebuyer's turned their eyes towards some of the luxurious homees on Jacksonville's Southside since most of them have seen 20 or so years since their heyday. Many of the homes are indire need of updating, renovating, and attention all of which costs money. However, with interest rates so low and the recession seemingly looking to be loosening its grip people are beginning to see the value in buying a home in a great area, near the bottom and taking the time to make the home their own througha wise investment inside.

There is good news about the outlook of the housing market, and not just for those who buy and sell homes, but for those who build them as well.

Two of the nation's top 50 best-selling neighborhoods are in the Jacksonville area.
One year ago at this time, we reported that new home sales were at a 10-year low in Northeast Florida, now they're on the way back up.

"We work hand in hand with homebuilders, and they are certainly seeing the up-tick as well, they are not worried about making ends meet, they can do this full time again," Realtor Howard Flaschen said.

Flaschen is noticing a steady upswing in home construction. The first real up-tick since the housing market unraveled. Two of the countries top selling

Jacksonville, FL Shortsale Success

Jacksonville, FL - At the Round Table we truly believe in People Before Property and hearing from our Customers and their successes gives us goosebumps!! We certainly love to help and we love to hear back that we exceeded expectations:

This note is something I am so extremely happy to write. I have bought
and sold countless homes over the years, but working with Howard has
been a great experience. Due to the unfortunate situation of the sale
this could have been a harrowing situation. I was forced to do a short
sale of my property, last year 2011. I had heard all of the horror
stories about how people are treated by lenders. How they are
requested to submit forms and paperwork time and time again, just to
be served with

BREAKFAST AT TPC SAWGRASS

Ponte Vedra, FL - Real estate agents often work out of their car and are also constantly meeting customers in locations near where they are showing homes. I am no exception.

I needed a nice place to visit with out of town customers before heading out to see homes in Ponte Vedra one recent weekend morning. Panera was crazy busy and the local Starbucks was just a little too cramped. Lo and behold, I found out about a little known secret: The Players Club at Sawgrass has a dynamite breakfast and is open to the public!

All I had to do was drive up to the TPC gate and introduce myself. The guard simply took my license plate information and waved us in. Next, we meandered the beautiful community until we got to the

The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in November rose to the highest level in a year and a half.

Phillip Spears | Digital Vision | Getty Images

Jacksonville, FL - The best reading on pending homes sales since a federal home-buying tax credit expired appeared to encourage traders on Wall Street.

Still, the National Association of Realtors cautioned that a growing number of buyers are canceling their contracts at the last minute, making the gauge less reliable.

The Realtors group said Thursday that its index of sales agreements jumped 7.3 percent last month to a reading of 100.1.

A reading of 100 is considered healthy. The last time the index was that high was in April 2010, one month

My Ode to Diana

Jacksonville, FL - What is an ode? I have no idea if this is one but its a soapbox nonetheless and its a microphone directed at Diana.

Oh, Diana. What you fail to realize when you recount your numbers, when you go on TV and duke it out with the talking heads opposite you in the quatro-box or Joe's Octo-box is that you, and so many of the analysts, like Core Logic's people, S&P's etc. is that the housing market, does in fact, get local. Super local. Hyper-local if I may be du jour. So local in fact that it boils down to James and Marie (names changed to defend the innocent).

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15837671

See Diana, tonight you wrote about the 2 different housing markets and how they are correlated but you leave out so

You may have relocated to North Florida to avoid ever having to scrape ice off of your car windows, salting your sidewalk and shoveling snow from your home's driveway again.

While the last time I can recall seeing snow here in Jacksonville was in the late 1980’s when we made a one tier snowman, we do still experience freezing temperatures at times. You may consider performing a few of these maintenance tasks in order to keep your home in tip top condition; Especially if you are on the path to listing it for sale at the start of the New Year. Here are a few pointers of things you may consider with this rapidly approaching winter:

Irrigation, Hoses and Hose Bibs

Before the first frost you will want to follow these simple steps to ensure that