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

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

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

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

August Stats Show Continued Improvement in Jacksonville Housing Numbers

There are a lot of hoops to jump through

Financing just being one of them

Jacksonville, FL - Realtors dont just open doors for you, they link you up with professionals who will actually execute the gameplan so that the home will be yours...someday. Unless you're a cash buyer you also have to worry about financing your purchase and there may be no more critical part to the program than finding the best professionals, who speak the truth, and can live up to the expectations that they have set.

This is why its so important to take your Realtor's recommendations to heart when they present you with your choices of which financier to use. You are entitled to use anyone you'd like however when you mention the name of the intended bank, your Realtor's

North Florida Real Estate is Heating Up

Jacksonville, FL - You do not have to believe me. Shoot, if you need some negative news about the National Housing market? Just look up Diana Olick on CNBC for your fair share of melancholly. Want to know what's happening locally? Ask you friendly Realtor (or me if you dont have one). Ive been banging the drum that I was feeling the market starting to firm up and boy is it. Inventory is down around a third!!

Are more homes going to hit the market? You betcha but with rates this low and people still dying to relocate to Florida and not Miami the Top Right is starting to reinflate. Just today one of my buyer's had whittled it down to 4 homes that they're considering making an offer on but thats been

How Long Has Your Site Agent Worked for Your Builder?

Only Having an Experienced Realtor on Your Side Can Save the Day

Jacksonville, FL - This is a critically overlooked factor in how your home's build is going to go and whether or not you, the customer, will be happy in the end with the product. Remember, the home you're buying is built by a team of subcontractors that is overseen by a project manager or superintendant. This is however not your point of contact or your avenue to make sure that the build process and the end product is what you bought, what you were sold, and what you expected. It is the site agent that is your voice especially if you didn't invite a Realtor to be your advocate (which is free).

With homebuilders tweaking their