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Archive for November, 2009
Great Article On Expanded Tax Credit for Homebuyers – EASY to Read!
Sandra Block of USA Today has written an informative and easy to read article about the new and expanded version of the tax credit for homebuyers. Note that you can purchase a home up to $800K and that your maximum income (modified adjusted gross income) if you’re single can be $125K and $225K if you’re married filing jointly. You cannot use the credit to buy a vacation home but you do not have to sell your current home in order to take advantage of the credit. However, if you were to do that, your first home would no longer qualify for tax breaks associated with a primary residence. To read the full article about the expanded tax credit, click here.
An important first step in the homebuying process is to determine how much you can afford to buy. Jamie Zeitz, with Gibraltar Mortgage (an affiliate of Wells Fargo) is an excellent resource. With a quick phone call, he can get you pre-qualified and you’ll be in an excellent position to snag one of the many great opportunities in the Jacksonville real estate market today. Click here to see Jamie’s web page and to get his contact information. Jamie is easy to work with and very thorough. He also takes the time to explain things so that you can fully understand the loan process.
Thanks for reading. Please join me for my next discussion about life and real estate in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside.
Wedding by the River in Ortega – Just Perfect!
A few weeks ago a neighbor of mine hosted a family wedding at her home in Ortega. We sometimes take the incredible view we have for granted until you realize that someone values it enough to want to be married there!
The weather was perfect although a cold front swooped in and they had to replace the fans with space heaters at the last minute. There was a huge white tent set up on the lawn and a “chapel” set up by the water where the couple exchanged vows.
A golf cart was used to ferry guests to and from their cars, delicious food was served and a band played into the night to celebrate the new couple’s life together.
Having the perfect setting for a wedding might be another great reason to consider buying a beautiful piece of riverfront property right now. There are over 40 properties for sale on the River and some of them are amazing deals — to see the list, click here.
Thanks for reading – please join me for my next adventure in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods of Jacksonville!
Today’s buyer – Circling their prey like a swarm of sharks
The buyers are out there — they’re just circling like sharks waiting patiently for the seller to get tired and then they swoop in to snatch their prize.
In my weekly sales statistics report for the week ending October 25th, I wrote about a house that had been dramatically reduced and I suspected that it would surely bring a quick offer. Please read below to see what happened (and I was right, it did produce a quick offer once it was reduced to only $599K).
A perfect illustration of this is a house that recently went under contract at 3546 Oak Street in the Avondale neighborhood of Jacksonville. As mentioned in a earlier post, the house was purchased by the current owners in June 2007 for $775K. This was back when property was selling quickly and the house sold in just 33 days.
Fast forward….ONLY TWO YEARS LATER…..and the decision has been made to sell. Knowing that the market had declined and that they probably can’t sell it for what they paid, the sellers bit the bullet and listed it for $75K less than they paid. No offers.
They wait a few months and then decide to take a price reduction – now the property is listed at $687K. Still – nothing. No offers.
Now they’ve moved out and there’s still no activity so they make the final price reduction to $599K. This move brought them into a short sale (the sales price will be less than they owe on the mortgage).
When a price reduction like this is made, it’s a little like crying “uncle” or waving the white flag in war — the seller just gives up.
And guess what? Once they surrender, the offers (sharks) start coming in. They smell the blood in the water and are nearby — waiting. This house, like the one on Elizabeth Place, both had multiple offers on them once they fell into short sale.
This is a sad story for the sellers of 3546 Oak Street but the good news is that we’re beginning to see a little movement around $500K. To see the list of homes around $500K that have recently gone under contract,click here.
To see a list of home that I think are great values in this price range, click here.
If you’re watching and waiting, please subscribe to my blog. When I see a huge price reduction that brings a property into a fabulous buy position, I usually blog about it. Be the first one to see it and snag a great deal.
Thanks for reading. Please join me for my next real estate adventure in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods.
Monday Morning Market Report – Week Ending Nov. 8th, 2009
The big news for today’s Monday morning Market report in Jacksonville, is PRICE REDUCTIONS! There were 17 price reductions this week in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside Last week there were 13. That’s a lot of reduced pricing. The Stats for this week are:
New Listings: 8
Contingent: 1 (Under Contract but pending inspections)
Pending: 6
Closed: 2
Price Reductions: 17
Please note that this week I added a new category to the weekly stats (Contingent). This means that there is a fully executed contract on the property but something has yet to be satisfied such as inspections or financing approval. I’m making a separate category because occasionally something goes wrong with inspections or financing and the property reverts back to Active status. So…I don’t want to report a property as Pending until it really is pending!
One more VERY IMPORTANT NOTE! The computer this week shows that there were actually 13 New Listings but I report only 8. Why? As I researched them (for you) I discovered that 5 were actually re-lists of properties that had just expired. I chose not to “count” properties that were re-listed at the same price and within a matter of days of the expired listing as NEW.
If there has been a dramatic price reduction or if it’s been at least a month since the property was listed, I’ll count it. Sound fair? I feel that counting a property as a new listing just because it has a new MLS number is a bit misleading.
One more note…I’ve added the stats from last week to this week’s graph so that we can get a better idea of what’s happening. It really helps to have a point of comparison!
As we observe what’s happening in the market, and lookng for a shift, we hope that the number of new listings is going to drop and the number of pending sales and closed sales will increase. In order to accurately report that when I see it, I think it’s important to count only those listings as new that REALLY ARE NEW! If you disagree, I hope you’ll drop me a line and let me know.
Thanks for reading! Please join me for next week’s synopsis of what’s happening in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods! Keep up with me and I’ll make sure you get the news as it happens!
FORECLOSURE at 1661 Riverside – A Great Buy!
I noticed a great buy (Foreclosure) on a condo at 1661 Riverside today so I ran (actually, I drove) over to have a look. It’s a 3BR/2BA unit on the 2nd floor (Unit 201) and has a large balcony. The unit faces May Street and has a great view of Memorial Park but because it’s only on the second floor, you can only see a few slivers of the St. John’s river here and there.
1661 Riverside is an urban loft like building featuring polished concrete floors and tall ceilings with exposed duct work. The building has a total of 90 units (mostly condos with a few townhouses that have private entrances on May street) and is located in the heart of Riverside which is a vibrant walking neighborhood in Jacksonville with lots of great eateries like Zoe’s, Al’s Pizza and Moss Fire Grill. There’s also a Starbucks and a great Publix that has lots of fresh and prepared foods.
Because the building was finished just as the real estate market began to turn South, many of the units have been sold as short sales and there have been a few foreclosures. This particular unit was purchased for $470,000 and the owner had put down a $90K deposit. Just two years later, it’s now being sold for approximately half ($249K) of the original sale price! That’s a big drop in just two years. To see the few photos that were posted on unit #201 at 1661 Riverside, click here. Like many foreclosures, the unit has been stripped of all appliances and even the air handler has been taken!
Thanks for reading — If you’d like to made aware of other great deals in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods, please subscribe and be the first to know as it happens!
Time Starved and Hungry? I’ve got the Answer!
If you’re anything like me (and like most of the world these days), I run at the speed of light working as a realtor during the day and then when 5 o’clock comes — I CRASH! Crashing at 5:00 is not good because that’s just when I’m supposed to rally and start my second job as Mom, homework helper (or enforcer), taxi driver and dinner cooker!
The solution to my (0ur) problem is just around the corner (literally). Terry’s Kitchen prepares & sells yummy food like chicken pot pie (more on that later), chicken tetrazzini, lasagna, meatloaf and mac & cheese that’s quick frozen and ready for you to pop in the oven.
Like many small business people, Terry started in her home and was making only her famous chicken pot pie. She soon realized that the demand for prepared dinner was strong and moved on to a commercial space located at 4218 St. John’s Avenue in Jacksonville, FL over 9 years ago. Carolyn Patterson, who has been with Terry for over seven years, says that Terry will also prepare food in your dishes for a dinner party if you drop them off a week in advance. It’ll be our little secret that you didn’t prepare that fabulous gourmet meal!
Terry also makes some desserts, appetizers and breakfast items like steaming hot cinnamon rolls so load up your freezer and save yourself from a meltdown!
Terry’s Kitchen is open M – F from 10 am – 6 pm. Their phone number is 904-388-1748 and prices range from $7.75 for an individual serving size to $25.75 for her Mega size dishes that will feed a large hungry family. If you go by, tell Terry that you read about her on my blog!
Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll join me on my next adventure in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods!
Where is the Avondale Post Office? A MOST Unlikely Place!
I’ve lived in some big cities like Atlanta and Miami where you have access to every service you can possibly imagine. In addition to being available, they are generally plentiful and easy to access – there are gas stations on every corner, multiple grocery stores within a neighborhood, lots of fitness centers and easy to find post offices!
What I’ve discovered about Jacksonville, is that most of the services people need are here, you just have to dig a little harder to find them!
The United States Post Office in Avondale is just such a place. Most people wouldn’t think of looking for a regulation post office inside a convenience store but hidden inside the St. John’s Food Store (in the same shopping center as The Goal Post sandwich shop that I wrote about in an earlier post) at the intersection of St. John’s Avenue and Herschel, there is a tiny (but regulation) post office!
Open from 9am – 4pm M-F and from 9am – Noon on Saturday, you can buy stamps, send certified
mail and ship packages. The best part, however, is that there is never a line! Most “traditional” post offices that I go to are always packed and even if you just want to do something simple like buy a few stamps, you wait FOREVER!
So, maybe there’s something to be said for an unassuming (nearly hidden) post office that only the locals know about — there ARE benefits to being “in the know”. The address is 3980 Herschel Street and the phone number there is 389-6433.
While you’re in the post office, you can pick up a lottery ticket, a cup of hot coffee, a little candy for the kids or some of the many other things that the owner stocks in his store.
Thanks for reading, please join me again for my next adventure in the Avondale, Riverside and Ortega neighborhoods.
Monday Morning Market Report – Week ending 11/01/2009
Pending Sales are way up over last week. Ever since I’ve started reporting the local real estate data for Avondale, Ortega and Riverside on a weekly basis, I’ve really enjoyed looking at the “big” picture (weekly) vs. a daily snapshot.
I’m accustomed to checking for new listings and sales several times a day but what I like about doing the weekly wrap up is that it gives a nice overview of the trends for the week. Were there more listings this week? More Sales? How about price reductions? It’s nice to have a compilation of data. So…without further ado, here are this week’s stats!
One thing that you might take note of is the fact that two of the 14 “new” listings aren’t really new. They are homes that were previously listed, the listing expired and now the property has been re-listed. These two were also re-listed at the same price as the prior listing that expired.
This is a good example of why you want to work with a realtor who knows the data inside and out and can “look behind the curtain” and tell you more than is visible to the average consumer.
New Listings 14 To see the new listings for the week, click here
Pending Sales 10 For the list of pending sales for the week, click here
Closed Sales 5 Closed sales for the week, click here
Price Reductions 13
Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll join me for my next adventure in the real estate markets of Avondale, Ortega and Riverside. Get up to the minute news about new listings, closed sales and market trends as well as the people and places of interest in our area.
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