8860 Grey Hawk Point

Beautifully Landscaped

 Seller says Sell! Beautiful Dr. Phillips home built by Royal Custom Homes. 23′ ceilings greet you at the door to the wonderful split floorplan. Master bedroom suite is separated from the living space and the other bedrooms to make a quiet retreat. Formal living and Dining Room are separated from the kitchen by a large wet bar & wine storage area. The huge kitchen overlooks the family room and has 42″ wood cabinets, granite countertops and plenty of workspace to make evey chef feel at ease. The Family room is connected to the kitchen by a nice breakfast bar. The kitchen nook overlooks the french doors to the screened in paver patio around the pool. Plenty of covered patio space to enjoy your summer kitchen on the porch that is connected directly to the gas line. 4 large bedrooms and a nice bonus room await you upstairs. Natural gas for your water heater, kitchen stove, fireplaces and the BBQ grill. Pool has electric heater for the Spa or the Pool. Central Vac makes it convenient and easy to keep the house clean. Reserve at Cypress Point is a quiet gated neighborhood where you can enjoy the private gazebo, playground, park, tennis courts and basketball hoops. Excellent Schools !! All this and you are less than a mile to the famed Restaurant Row on Sand Lake Road !!  AND the BEST PART $725,000!!! 

 

NEW First-Time Homebuyer Federal Tax Credit

As you may have heard, significant improvements in the temporary First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit were
signed into law on Feb. 17 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provide a
housing stimulus for first-time home purchases that close between January 1 and November 30, 2009.
This is even better news for first-time homebuyers than the tax credit announced in April 2008 because not
only has the tax credit maximum increased from $7,500 to $8,000 –more significantly – it does not need to
be repaid unless the individual resells the home within three years.
There are several notable points about this federal income tax credit that I have bulleted for your
convenience, they are:
• Credit maximum was increased from $7,500 to $8,000. The credit is calculated as 10% of the
purchase price. Example: If the purchase price is $70,000, the credit is $7,000.
• Removed the repayment requirement, provided the homebuyer does not resell the home for three
years.
• Eligibility remains for first-time homebuyers only. In this case, a first-time homebuyer is defined as
an individual who has not owned a primary home at any time during the three years prior to
purchase, but who may have done so prior to that time. Although certain income limits do apply, the
amount of the credit is the same for all taxpayers, married or single.
• To be eligible for the full tax credit, the homebuyer can have an annual adjusted gross income of no
more than $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). A homebuyer with an annual adjusted gross
income above that level, and up to $95,000 ($170,000 on a joint return), is eligible for a reduced tax
credit.
• The refundable tax credit can be claimed on the purchase of one’s individual or joint tax return for
any single-family home that closes between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009. It can be
claimed on a 2008 tax return (to be filed by April 15, 2009), an amended 2008 tax return, or a 2009
tax return. Individuals should consult a professional tax advisor for specific details and restrictions,
exact tax calculations and timing.

Short Sales should not be avoided.

I hear from agents all the time that they avoid showing short sales to their clients.  They say with a groan that short sales take too long and never get approved.  If there buyer searches on the internet and sends one of these houses “by mistake” to theiragent, the agent will try and find a way to not show the house.

These are the houses that need shown the most.  In many cases selling one of these houses saves a family from foreclosure and isn’t that part of our responsibility as Realtors?  To help.

I’ve been working short sale properties for over 18 months and was the first agent in my office to sell and list short sales.  I did a lot of research and read many articles on the problems that many home owners were about to face.  I became a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) over a year ago and have become even more successful in getting short sales to close since then.  My training didn’t stop at my first class, I went back for a 3-day refresher and then I have been active participating in monthly webinars so I can continue to stay on top of the short sale trends and I can have the most recent information on what the banks are doing.

I received 3 approval letters this week to allow families avoid that foreclosure sting that will haunt them for many years.  Most of the families I’m helping didn’t choose to have this done to them, and in many cases it has just been the market that fell apart so quickly that it has caused their house to drop in value so much that it would take years and years before they weren’t upside down anymore.  If you need help with a short sale property; you should seek out a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) that has been trained on how to get these sales approved.

Short sales are closing more and more frequently; and the banks have better and better procedures for getting these deals done.  I’ve received short sale approval letters in as few as 3 weeks and have banks doing BPO’s and preliminary research even before we’ve received contracts on the properties!

Don’t avoid a house because its a short sale;  you never know it might just save a family from foreclosure!

MATT

It’s Great to be a FLORIDA Buyer!

Inventories are at all time highs and the prices have come down to a place where Florida is affordable again.  Interest Rates are at Historic Lows – I spoke to one of my favorite lenders yesterday who was quoting 4.5% on a 30 yr fixed!Investors are starting to buy properties not to flip, but because they are finally cash flow positive with a renter.  First time home buyers are buying because they can – it’s cheaper to pay a mortgage now than it is to pay a rent payment! PLUS right now if you close before December 1, 2009 you can receive $8000 in FREE MONEY.  That’s right if you haven’t purchased a home in the last 3 years and/or you are trying to purchase your first home the government will give you $8000 in a tax credit.  Unbelievable!

It’s time to get off the fence, stop procrastinating the purchase and Call the Brady Davies Team to help you find a house.  We have 4 Buyer Specialists who show property 7 days a week from sun-up to sundown.    MATT

Let’s Here if for GOOD NEWS!

Don’t you just love good and I mean awesome news!  There does not seem to be much of it these days.  What with the war in Iraq, Oil Prices, Foreclosures, Ike, the Dollar and on and on! 

Happy Days are Here Again!  My best friend sent me some outstanding economic news for my hometown, Orlando, Florida.  Jean Shine is a fellow Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Harker Heights, Texas, home to Ft. Hood and our wonderful soldiers.  As friends do, when we see something that is interesting and beneficial to each other – we share!

Orlando and Central Florida ranks as one of the Top 25 metropolitan areas for growth.  This report is based on job creation and job maintenance!  Click on this link and you will be able to check it out and see the other strong markets in the USA, too.

http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/

Orlando is not only highly ranked in this area, it is highly ranked for real estate investment opportunities. In the real estate market from 2002-2005, we saw unprecedented appreciation – it really was crazy!  The housing market has been correcting since that time.  Now we see prices that are so attractive, interest rates that are so low, tax deduction to the tune of $7500 for first time buyers and a large inventory of homes – my G—D, I have never seen such opportunities for buyers before in my 33 year career! 

Often I will be showing a home to customers who already reside in Central Florida and I will hear the following.  “Honey, remember when we could have bought the house across the street which is bigger than this home and has pool with a pond view for $50,000 less than this home?”  NEVER LET IT BE SAID, I AM GIVING YOU FAIR WARNING . . . THOSE DAYS ARE HERE RIGHT NOW, NOW!

I am a little lady, 4′8″ and I cannot jump high enough, scream loudly enough, waive my arms wide enough to tell the world . . . THOSE DAYS ARE HERE RIGHT NOW, NOW!

Now I feel better and hope that you share this with your friends and family, you will be doing them a great favor!

BB

I am a Native from Orlando Florida

Did you know I was born and raised in Orlando?  Yes, and my mother is also a native, too!  I do live in the the sleepy Windermere area of Orange County. What brought this to mind?

Well I just came in from outside where I had walked my frisky white schnauzer, Snowie; and I can really tell that the seasons are changing. Having spent my life here, I can read the signs.  I know them intimately.  It is the light – the direction and the brightness.  It is the color of everything.  Much brighter and more distinct.  It is the fragrence.  From the rain that fell last night and the way it smells and feels.  There is not as much humidity today.  It is even the way the birds are singing and the squirrels gallivanting.  It is everywhere, the promise of a new season.

The new season will bring cooler days, drier weather, the smell of moth balls and cinnamon branches in Publix Grocery Stores.  It will bring a new array of flowers – gold ones and yellow ones!  It will bring more people out for evening walks and children who just don’t want to come in for dinner.  It will bring different aromas from the kitchen like my bubby’s comforting chicken soup, juicy turkey and dressing, roast with lots of Rosemary.  Foods we would never think to serve in the Summer when it is just too hot here in Central Florida!

And in my little kitchen, most of all it brings a rainbow show par excellence with with colorful light prisms on full display from wall to wall.  The colors dance and sway.  You see I have collected all these wonderful crystals that hang in my kitchen bay window that has a southern exposure.  When the sun falls low enough in the sky, voila!  So I really don’t need a calendar.  I have my own harbinger of changing seasons and I am so happy just thinking about all the cozy, comfortable days to come.

Sweet days, long comfortable afternoons and peace to you to!

BB

Merging on the Gen X & Y Communication’s HWY

Just got back from a real estate conference in NYC – RISMEDIA and learned if you are not with it you will be lost in the dust of all those racing by you!  Hey man, do you social network?  It is really hard for me to embrace it.  I am so used to just plain old e-mailing or calling friends.  Our website is suppose to tell everyone what we do, right?  Here are just a few vocabularly words that I learned today on Facebook!  Tagging, Graphitti and Facebook Walls!  Tagging is when you post a photo with a picture of another Facebook Friend, Graphitti is posting comments, Facebook Walls is where you post the comments.  Aren’t you impressed?  There are so many sites for social networking, GOSH! 

I know what I will be doing this weekend?  Updating my Status of Facebook, uploading pics and visiting buds! 

Oh yes, I will also be meeting with new sellers on Saturday!  Attending a large Political Formal Dinner, hopefully working in the yard & showing some property.

Hip Hip Hooray for Women!

Now it is out and in the open!  Year 2008 and it is about time we realize that half of our population has as much ability as the other half.  Everyone isso shocked and amazed.  Just think Hillary Clinton came up #2 in the Democratic Primary for President of the United States and now out of the blue, there is a female vice presidential candidate for the Republican Ticket, Gov. Sarah Palin.  We have come so far and in my lifetime.

When I started to sell real estate in 1974 women who wished to purchase real estate were really penalized.  In order to qualify for a mortgage, only 50% of a woman’s income could be counted to qualify for a loan.  The was before Equal Credit Opportunity Legislation. The consequences were so damaging.  Now why was that?  Well, the lenders and all banking institutions felt that women would certainly stop working to have babies!  Don’t forget that women at that time were relegated to only a few areas of employment: teaching, nursing, secretarial services, bank tellers, house cleaning and let me see, housewifery!  Now all of these were significant positions in our society, but when there was so much more talent that could have been utilized, boy things would have been so different.

Today women in the United States of America can do anything!  Have you read any recent reports regarding college student populations?  Female students outnumber male students even in such previous restricted areas as Engineering!  Don’t be surprised today to see a firetruck arrive on an emergency scene with female firefighters.  Vets, Doctors, Dentists, Mayors, Bank Presidents, Building Contractors, Airport Adminstrators, CEO’s, Space Explorers and maybe someday soon, President of the United States of America.

It is about time!

BB

Another Closing Today!

My wonderful customer announced at the real estate closing table, I really appreciated that you never said, “I told you so!”  You know what he was referring to?  Well, I had prepared a finely tuned market analysis for his home in SW Orlando.  We had carefully reviewed all the comparables, we had walked through the house and made a list of all the repairs, painting, furniture placement, music, lighting and so on to enhance his property.  Oh by the way, this property was in great shape.  There were just some minor changes that we suggested. 

After all of our work was completed, my customer said, you know I will just do this myself.  I cannot afford the expense of paying an agent.  I do want to buy that new townhome which is situated so close to my office, but frankly I cannot afford to do it and pay the real estate fee.

Well, he did do it himself.  Wonderful couple came by his home and they explained that their agent would contact my customer. They did go to contract and I became involved a few days before closing.  Everything was progressing swimmingly according to our customer who was scheduled to close on the new townhouse he so loved.  He was working with the buyer’s agent and really had no experience in mortgage processing so he had no idea the problems that existed on the file.  As soon as I heard that his buyer’s lender was asking for more written information, I realized that the loan had not even been approved!  How on earth would there be a closing that afternoon?

It did indeed close several days later.  But my customer has aged a good 10 years and is now ready to pass his mortgage brokers license exams.  Speaking to everyone from one department to another, title agents, wiring delays, approval of packages and the list goes on.  He ended up keeping his transaction together, being coached along by our team to be sure and get an extension on the contract that was expiring, working with his own lender to prepare another package for his own closing, new figures and then even at the last minute, yesterday evening the buyer called on his way to transfer funds, “you are not going to believe it, there is another $7000 error in our costs to close.” 

Yes I have so much for which to be thankful!  It did close!  I also now have a wonderful advocate.  He learned a valuable lesson and we were glad we were there to pick up the pieces!

BB

My Thoughts About Coffee & Other Tidbits

Flash!  Watching the Today Show this a.m., I learned that consuming 6 cups of coffee a day is actually healthy. If I drank that much coffee, I would be walking on the ceiling. Eventually there will be another report that drinking coffee at that level will surely shorten your life.  The jury is not out, the jury keeps getting different evidence.

Just thinking back over my life, so many beliefs have been abandoned. For example, growing up in Orlando where swimming was always part of lives, I can remember my mother and father not permitting us to swim for at least one hour after eating.  If you would be so misguided as to jump into the pool prior to that, you would certainly drown with severe Charley Horses.

At picnics we never ate items with any mayonnaise or what was in our families pantry, Miracle Whip.  It was sure to be bad since in those days coolers were not in use.  General our picnic items were sliced bread and a jar of peanut butter. Fresh fruit which when finally eaten was bruised from being packed in the same paper bag as the jar of peanut butter.  Also running after eating was also forbidden.

Can you believe our obsession over bottle waters, power waters, vitamin enriched bottle water, naturally sweetened bottle water?  The assortment of bottles, labels and amounts of bottle waters.  When we were thirsty as children, we would just turn on the garden hose.  Of course that was while my brothers and I played outside.  In the refrigerator in the kitchen there was a glass jar with a twist off metal cap.   This was the cold water.  And who ever drank the last iced water would fill the jar and put it back in the refrigerator.  We also would file the metal ice trays with water. Now that was a trick, balancing two ice trays while opening the refrigerator and slipping them into their little box.

Which that reminds me of defrosting the refrigerator. The melting ice, banging on with a hammer or rolling pin, something to get it break off the sides of the wall of the ice box.  Finally when the job was done, the refrigerator was cleaned out and there was virtually nothing in the freezer. 

As a summer treat, my father would take a few pieces of ice and wrap them in a dish towel.  He then took a hammer and cracked the ice.  He would open up the towel, scoop up the ice and put it in a small bowl and then sprinkle the ice with sugar.  What a great treat!

My work has undergone so many changes, too.  I am a pre-computer Realtor.  Can you imagine? It’s like I started selling before dirt. We manually typed our listings, there were these huge books that came out once a month and we were not allowed to let anyone borrow it, all the information was confidential.  We would go by offices and pick up keys and then return the key after the appointment.  How ancient we were.  Now we have Palm Pilots, which are phone, cameras, Internet connections, all our listings have tons of photos, tours, google earth, e-mail and on and on.

How much will things change in the future.  Just in my own lifetime, WOW.

BB