As promised, I am going to discuss the Jacksonville H2H program or Headstart to Homeownership program. If you recall in my last post, I gave the information on the Florida Assist ( Florida Bond Money ) program which provides $10,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance. For more information on this program please visit my website. Now let's get back to the H2H program ( Headstart to Homeownership ).       This program is specifically for residents of Duval county, Jacksonville, FL and it provides up to $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance to credit eligible first time home buyers. The maximum gross income is a little less than the Florida Assist Program as you may only earn up to 80% of the Median income for Florida. For example; A family of four may not earn more ... 05/26/2014

Let's talk about Jacksonville down payment assistance and see what is available. There are many options for Jacksonville residents seeking down payment assistance to purchase a home in the Jacksonville and Orange Park areas. These programs provide down payment, closing cost and prepaid assistance. Here are two very popular programs that first time homebuyers like to use, Florida Assist ( Florida Bond Money ) and H2H ( Headstart to Homeownership ).    First let's discuss the Florida Assist down payment assistance program.  Florida Assist ( Florida Bond Program ) As of 5/25/2014 the Florida Assist program is still going strong! This provides $10,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance for first time homebuyers. There are family and income guidelines such as a family of four may no... 05/25/2014

Purchasing Homepath Foreclosures in Jacksonville FL  Have ever wondered about the process of purchasing a Homepath Foreclosure in Jacksonville FL? Don't let fear stop you! I am pleased to announce the sale of another Homepath foreclosure, 8361 Candlewood Cove in Jacksonville, FL 32244! While some may shy away from these foreclosure properties because they don't understand them or they have misconceptions about them, I am actually drawn to them.                                                         One of the misconceptions is that you can't get a good deal on a Homepath foreclosure. Homepath foreclosure properties are often great deals for great properties in my experience. This Homepath property for instance of 8361 Candlewood Cove was not only purchased for under appraised value by ... 05/20/2014

  Houses for sale in Jacksonville North Jacksonville in Victoria Lakes. This wonderful home on Chipperfield Lane has 4 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms a 2 car garage and over 2600 square feet. It features an open and spacious floor plan, 10 foot ceilings and multiple decorative arches and alcoves throughout. Gleaming oak hardwood floors thru the dining room, kitchen and breakfast nook. Formal living and dining rooms and a fantastic kitchen with loads of custom 42 inch cabinets, a breakfast bar and walk in pantry. A spacious owners suite with sitting area and view of the lake with a private master bath with garden tub, separate shower, dual verities and huge dual walk in closets. A screens lanai overlooks a large pond and is perfect for watching the sunrise. Florida homes like this don't last... 05/16/2014

Blogging Takes Work and Plenty of Patience When I started blogging, I understood that it was a complementary piece to my overall marketing plan. A piece of the puzzle but not the whole thing. As I dove deeper into the blogging world, however, I realized that blogging takes a lot of work and plenty of patience. Why does it take a lot of work? Just like a writer must sit down at their desk every day or most days and pound out of few chapters (even if they lead to nothing in the long run) a blogger must sit at their desk and, not only thing of ideas for blogs, but also, write the blog and edit accordingly afterward.  Not every idea is going to flow right out of you, and sometimes you may find that what you thought was a great idea, isn't, or isn't enough to fill a whole blog post. In short... 05/16/2014

Why rent Jacksonville?   Come by today and prequalify for a new Lennar Home at Bainebridge Estates. Julie Chapman, New Home Counselor, Lennar invites you to walk in and prequalify for our new homes at Bainebridge and Lexington Park.   Visit our two furnished model homes in Bainebridge on Saturday from 10 - 6 or Sunday from 1 -6.   Text or call Julie Chapman, New Home Counselor, Lennar at 404-831-2111.   05/15/2014

  Median sales price is $154,990 while closed sales dip for month but up year to date. Sellers add 3,185 to inventory; five months now on hand.     JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – April 2014 real estate sales and activity is available from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors on NEFAR.com. Except where otherwise indicated, statistics reflect combined results for single-family residential and condominium properties.   Key indicators for the month:   Median sales price notched up two percent to reach $154,990. Year to date, the median sales price is up 2.6 percent.   Closed sales dipped 4.3 percent with 1,901 homes changing hands. Year to date, closed sales are up three percent.   More sellers are entering the market, with 3,185 new listings added; a 12.9 percent increase over last April’s ... 05/14/2014

New FHA Regulations Created to Protect Non-Borrowing Spouses Recent changes to the reverse mortgage program have made it a more advantageous retirement planning tool for the future. However, for some borrowers, there was still the lingering question of what would happen to their spouse upon their passing. Non-borrowing spouses can finally sleep soundly, thanks to the recent changes made by the Federal Housing Administration regarding non-borrowing spouses. In a recently released mortgagee letter, outlined by Reverse Mortgage Daily, non-borrowing spouses will be able to remain in their homes, after the borrower has passed away, if they were married to the borrower at the time of closing and their status as a married couple was disclosed at the time through a certified letter. While not a... 05/05/2014

Providence has Brown University. Annapolis has the United States Naval Academy. Loss Angeles has Occidental College. St. Augustine has Flagler College. It has not only been rated as a top-tier college but also rated as the college with one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, according to the Princeton Review. That said, why not consider going to a college in the oldest city in America, asked the movers, Jacksonville, Fl.? At the heart of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a luxurious hotel built in 1888 by Henry Flagler. The structure is actually four buildings and represents several historical styles which earned it distinction as a National Historic Landmark, the highest designation for a historic building or place. College students, just like others seeking to m... 05/02/2014

    1,781 closed sales for the month with median price of $159,000. Days on market until sale averaging 89.   JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – March 2014 real estate sales and activity is available from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors onNEFAR.com. Except where otherwise indicated, statistics reflect combined results for single-family residential and condominium properties.   Closed sales came in at 1,781 for the month, dipping 1.8 percent from a year ago but up four percent year to date. Pending sales, those on which a contract has been written but have not closed, showed stronger momentum by jumping 15 percent over last March to reach 2,333. Year to date, pending sales are up 11.3 percent.   Lender mediated properties accounted for 697 (39.1 percent) of total sales, while 1,084 tradi... 05/01/2014

  As I mentioned in my blog this past Sunday, my wife and I traveled to Jacksonville, FL to meet up with some friends who were there for a reunion with others who served on the Aircraft Carrier USS Hancock CVA-19.  On our way to Jacksonville we stopped at Savannah, GA. for about a half day.  I wished we could have stayed longer because our brief Vacation In Savannah, Georgia was one of the most enjoyable part of our trip, as was Our Vacation In Jacksonville, FL. While in Jacksonville we stayed at the Hyatt which is right on the waterfront.  As you will see from the pictures below there were several things to do within walking distance from the hotel.      Within a minute walk from the hotel was the Jacksonville Landing in the three pictures below.  The Landing had excellent restaurants... 04/29/2014

                                         It happens. Folks down-size and find themselves with too much stuff, said the movers Jacksonville, Fl. These homeowners often present to the movers that extra couch or table that won’t find a home in their new abode. Then, there are the folks who realize that specific items aren’t allowed on the moving truck, such as liquids. That happened to me. I had given many belongings away before moving day. But what to do with a dozen bottles of Autocrat Coffee Syrup? Too late to call anyone and, not wanting to dispose of the sweet syrup, I offered it to the movers Jacksonville, Fl. They’d never heard of coffee syrup. Typically, you stir a few tablespoons of the dark, sweet liquid into an ice-cold glass of milk. For the most part, it’s almost exclusively a... 04/24/2014

    One of my very early real estate transactions involved a young lady, who was looking for a house close to the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, FL. We would put our heads together to figure out what areas made sense, and we knew what her budget was. There waa a house she loved that "looked" ok, (remember, this is early on, so I haven't got a lot of experience yet).  This could well have been the FIRST house we looked at.  There was something funky about it, but I could not put my finger on it.  We make an offer, and get accepted, and move on to inspections. The inspector I was using was also a General Contractor, so he was able to put his finger on what was funky in a heartbeat. The homeowner had done some creative home improvements: he had attached a large shed to the back of the ... 04/19/2014

                         The new homeowner painstakingly moved the paint brush back and forth along the wall, careful not to smudge the window ledge. Crouching, she slowly swirled the brush around the edges of the electrical outlets. “This is hard work,” she said, dipping the brush into the pan of paint. “You’re just not used to painting,” said her husband, adding that he was happy they’d decided to paint prior to the scheduled move at the end of the week, a suggestion made to them by the movers Jacksonville, Fl. It makes sense - perfect sense, really. With the apartment empty – the former tenants left days earlier after thoroughly cleaning it. It afforded them an opportunity to do a little sprucing up. And, the paint would dry thoroughly before the movers, Jacksonville, Fl., placed the... 04/18/2014

Okay, so about two weeks ago I wrote a blog about the upcoming One Spark Crowdfunding event in Jacksonville, FL....well it's here!  Last night I took the family to downtown Jacksonville and experienced one of the coolest events I've ever seen on city streets!  Encompassing approximately 20 blocks of downtown, One Spark-Jacksonville was full of excitement, energy, entertainment, and entrepeneurs (E x 4). Yes, even my teenage kids thought this was cool! In a nutshell, the purpose of the event is for these 630 entrepenuers to showcase their startup business concepts in order to obtain funding.  And one of the cool aspects of this event is that we, the public, get to vote for whichever entrepeneur(s) we think should be awarded funds!  In addition to the public votes, there are judges for th... 04/12/2014

Jacksonville Florida Real Estate Market Report Single Family homes (attached & detached) February 2014             February 2013 Active Listings: 4285         Active Listings: 3520 Sold: 782                   Sold: 689 Months Inventory: 5.47         Months Inventory: 5.11 Average Price: 490,438          Average Price: 499,230 I decided to start doing this market report more until the middle of the month, and I may even push it back to closer of the month next month. The reason is, because I noticed a discrepancy in the numbers. Yes, it seems the listing companies are not changing the status in the MLS to a closed sale in a timely fashion, sometimes not even until a week or more past closing. That has a huge affect when the homes close towards the end of the month, of the month I'm gathe... 04/09/2014

I don't usually do this. I really don't. I'm not kidding. I had an impromptu 1:30pm showing today, and no "real" time for lunch (I know), so I got a Whopper Jr - it's not horrible on calories, and it was portable, so it filled the gap. I was also wearing white capris in honor of the springlike temps we had here in Jacksonville, FL today. Do you see where this is going? Yup. Despite my best efforts, I managed to get not just one big drop of runny ketchup to hit my capris, I managed three. With one napkin And no water. And the house I was showing? A short sale that had the water turned off. I did the best I could - and, no, it's not life ending. But it made me think about all the people who think we have such a "glamorous life" being Realtors.  There are many funny instances in our day t... 03/31/2014

Tomorrow the sun is supposed to shine, so even though it will be chilly, we can all enjoy some AR community fellowship face to face from 5-7pm at Seasons 52 at St. John's Town Center. I'll be there looking forward to everyone coming out.  If you need the address it's 5096 Big Island Drive, Jacksonville. Come on out, you can hear the story of where and how I captured this elusive creature: 03/25/2014

We have so many fabulous day or weekend trips from the Jacksonville Beaches area of Jacksonville, FL. Jekyll Island is one of my favorites.   There is so much history with the Jekyll Island Club hotel, and the cottages.   We docked our boat at the Jekyll Harbor Marina, and then rented Red Bug electric cars so we could geo cache.  The weather was VERY spring like - if you go this time of year, bring a few layers, or do what I did and invest in a new sweatshirt. We had dinner at Sea Jay's at the Marina two nights in a row & enjoyed the crab legs both nights.  There was an awesome band on Thursday night, the Wharf Ratz. They had incredible harmony & melody, AND a stand up bass, which is not something you see every day.  Going by boat, you can either go up the "inside" on the ICW, or the "o... 03/24/2014

I'm hosting our March Meet Up at Seasons 52, at St. John's Town Center this coming Wednesday from 5-7pm. I would love to meet any of our local (or traveling) Rainers who can join - St. John's Town Center is centrally located in our area, with easy access to 1-295 - please come out and join us and say hi! I know I've had some issues posting with pictures over the past few months, but have definitely learned how easy it is to link web pages, so if you have questions/issues/suggestions about ways for us to post, please stop by and share those with your Jacksonville Active Rainers! Look forward to seeing you this Wednesday!   PS - Seasons 52 has a fabulous menu, and I look forward to seeing you/meeting you there!  All are welcome! 03/23/2014