Archive for December, 2008
New Year’s Resolution #1: Refinance Your Pinellas Home?!
December 31st, 2008 categories: Mortgage Updates
As Palm Harbor Realtors, our client friends count on us to look out for their best interests. With the country’s current financial woes traced to mortgage-related abuses by loan providers and Wall Street, we feel compelled to take steps to protect them in any future home financing.
Although we’ve been referring the fabulous Brian Forrester of TriCounty Mortgage for years (and still do!), sometimes we find that when working with new clients they like to have more than one option. So, begrudgingly, we set out to find another loan provider to give our clients the choices they crave. It seems they like to talk to two people, and then decide. Who knew?!
For ourselves, the first step was obvious. We needed another provider like Brian that gave our clients more control over the mortgage process so they don’t run into the many problems we’ve seen when mortgage companies don’t deliver what they promise. Or worse yet, Read the rest of this entry »
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Restaurants, Businesses & Artisans Sought for 12th Tastes of Palm Harbor
December 29th, 2008 categories: Eat A Peach Restaurant Reviews, Palm Harbor Homes
The GFWC Palm Harbor Junior Women’s Club is now accepting applications from businesses, restaurants, artisans & crafters wishing to participate in the 12th annual Taste of Palm Harbor. The event will be held on Sunday February 22, 2009 in the historic district of old downtown Palm Harbor Florida. Over fifteen thousand patrons attended the 11th Taste of Palm Harbor. All proceeds benefit The Palm Harbor Women’s Club’s “Making a Difference” Grants and Scholarships Program. The past Tastes of Palm Harbor have generated over $175,000.00 for area not for profit charities & organizations in the greater Palm Harbor area. Applications for vendors may be obtained by visiting the club’s web site or via email to PalmHarborWomensClub@hotmail.org or by calling (727) 934-7001.
The Pinellas Peach will be there! Will you? If you want to chat about why we believe this is an outstanding business opportunity not to be missed, feel free to contact us. Plus, did we mention, there will be lots of great FOOD?! Usually there are at least 20 Palm Harbor area restaurants for this gastronomical experience.
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Innisbrook Golf Resort and Innisbrook Homes and Area Palm Harbor Real Estate
December 28th, 2008 categories: Palm Harbor Homes, Pinellas Golf Course Homes
People new to Tampa Bay are often curious about Innisbrook, and thus, by popular demand, The Pinellas Peach staff has assembled this Innisbrook digest. Here you will find details about the resort itself and information about the wide selection of Innisbrook homes.
The Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club is located at in Palm Harbor at 36750 US Hwy 19 North between Klosterman and Alderman Roads, and was purchased by Sheila Johnson and her company Salamander Hospitality in 2007 for $35M. Since then, more than $25 Million in renovations have been completed or are underway. This always wonderful resort was growing just a little tired, and in just a short time is now on the verge of a complete transformation into something spectacular.
Whether you are looking for Palm Harbor real estate close to Innisbrook, or just planning a visit to Tampa Bay and want to play a round, here you will find a comprehensive overview of Palm Harbor’s shining resort attraction and Innisbrook homes.
INNISBROOK GOLF
The golf club, designed by architect Lawrence Packard, has long been regarded as one of the most celebrated golf resorts in Florida, and is consistently voted by Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 You Can Play” and in October ‘08 was awarded Golf World’s Reader’s Choice award. Golflink ranks Innisbrook as one of it’s Top 100 Courses with 4-1/2 stars.
Innisbrook has four championship courses with plenty of hilly terrain (a rarity in these flatlands!). The Copperhead course hosts the PGA tour each March. A $2 Million renovation was completed on the Islands course in 2008, and is believed by some to be Read the rest of this entry »
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Predictions for the Tampa Bay Real Estate Market … When Will we Hit Bottom?
December 17th, 2008 categories: Buyer News and Tips
The #1 question on the minds of those thinking of buying a Dunedin home or a Palm Harbor home is “When will we hit bottom?”. Timing the real estate market is no easier than trying to time the stock market. This graph illustrates this point.
We recently reviewed the benefits to buying a Pinellas home now. Pinellas real estate over the long term has always historically appreciated, n0t to mention there are many tax saving and intangible emotional benefits to home ownership. And whoa ….. interest rates are ridiculously low. If you’re a first time homebuyer looking for an FHA loan, you’ve got critical timing issues to consider that can affect your wallet.
Now is the time to be investing in Pinellas real estate, because by time the bottom has been officially announced in the St. Pete Times, it will be staring at us in the rear view mirror.
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87 Eastwinds Court, Picture Perfect Palm Harbor Real Estate for Boaters
December 17th, 2008 categories: Featured Listings
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Buying a Dunedin Home? All about the $7,500 Tax Credit and Is It Good for Me?
December 9th, 2008 categories: Buyer News and Tips
Since HR3221 went into effect on July 30th, there’s been enough nationwide analysis and debate to make even a Palm Harbor Real Estate professional’s head spin! Today, let’s focus on one wonderful little piece of that legislation – the $7,500 tax credit!
Am I Eligible?
- The $7,500 tax credit is for first-time home buyers only for any home in the U.S. If I haven’t owned a home in the past 3 years, I qualify!
- I must be a U.S. Citizen and file my taxes.
Will the Palm Harbor Home I’d Like to Buy Qualify?
- Any Tampa Bay home qualifies as long as it’s my principle residence.
Do I Earn to Much Money to Qualify?
- Dunedin home buyers filing as single or head-of-household can claim the full $7,500 if my adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $75,000.
- Married couples filing jointly can double that to $150,000.
- Single or head-of-household taxpayers who earn between $75,000 and $95,000 are Read the rest of this entry »
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Dunedin Home and Shower Curtain For Sale
December 8th, 2008 categories: LIST and SELL MY HOME FAST!
Taking good bathroom photos is challenging, even with a wide angle lens. Does this shower 
curtain close-up make you want to run out and see this Dunedin home that’s currently on the Pinellas MLS? Do you suppose there’s something lurking behind there? What?!
When you’re house hunting online, what photos do you most like to see?
The most interesting response to these questions wins a Starbucks gift card and a possible feature on The Peach! Please send your response here.
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Pinellas Home Buyers Need to Know About FHA Loan Changes Effective January 1st
December 4th, 2008 categories: Mortgage Updates
The FHA is pulling in the reigns on it’s lending practices again. If you’re currently out shopping for a new Dunedin home and were planning to put just a little money down, there are 2 critical changes coming January 1, 2009 that you must know about.
Increase in Down Payment for that Dunedin Home
- Effective January 1st, you’ll need 3.5% down minimum instead of the current 3% requirement.
- You don’t actually have to close on your Dunedin home purchase this year, yet you must have a fully executed contract dated on or before December 31st. If it’s a Palm Harbor short sale property, that means that the owner and the lender(s) must have executed that contract by year-end also.
- As detailed in an earlier post about the passage of HR3221, the seller can’t pay your down payment any longer, yet your Palm Harbor Real Estate professional can help you negotiate for seller-paid closing costs.
Mortgage Limits Decreasing
The maximum home purchase price effective January 1st will be $271,050, down from $292,500, as detailed in HUD’s Mortgagee Letter 2008-36. Take heed of this if you’re Read the rest of this entry »
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Pinellas Real Estate Prices: Exactly How Much Have They Fallen?
December 1st, 2008 categories: Pinellas Market Statistics
As Palm Harbor Realtors, we’re often asked exactly how much Pinellas real estate prices have fallen. It’s usually the buyers that are asking because Pinellas home sellers are having a harder time accepting the reality of today’s market. Prices will rise again to 
those crazy 2006 levels, but it’s going to be many years before that happens (speculation for another post). Yet this Zillow graph helps put perspective on the fact that homes always appreciate over the long term. In the mean time, if you know someone selling their Palm Harbor home now, give ‘em a hug and a stiff drink and then, and only then, share this.
Before we get to the numbers, it’s important to acknowledge that the fall in Ozona Florida or Dunedin real estate prices is actually a market correction from the falsely inflated prices we saw in the peak in July 2006. Things were nuts then, and would you agree that we’ve had a wake up call about the current state of the US economy, helped largely in part by the lending madness we saw a few years ago?
So the numbers…. The St. Pete times reported on November 26th that Tampa Bay homes lost 18.5% of their value the past year, according to September’s S&P Case-Shiler home price index. As of end of 3rd Quarter ‘08, Zillow’s reporting a 17.1% drop in Tampa Bay Read the rest of this entry »
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