Progress Energy Florida is considering adding about 200 miles of transmission lines across 10 counties to maintain reliability and to move energy efficiently to customers throughout the region and state. The lines would be 230 and 500 kilovolts (kV).

All but 20 miles of the 200-mile project will follow existing routes. New transmission lines will slice through parts of northwest Citrus County, along a stretch south of Wildwood in Sumter County, and a small swathe northwest of Brookridge in Hernando County. In Hillsborough County, upgraded lines will follow existing paths.

• Proposed Corridor aerial map 

Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties:

• Hillsborough aerial map
• Polk aerial map

Citrus, Hernando and Levy counties:

• Citrus aerial map
• Hernando aerial maps: Map 1 | Map 2
• Levy aerial map

Lake, Marion and Sumter counties:

• Marion aerial map

How to make a seller's home stand out

In many real estate markets, the biggest problem sellers face is simply a bigger than normal inventory. That means a seller's big challenge today is figuring out how to stand out amidst all those other homes buyers can look at.

Sellers need to act like they're in competition with every other home for sale in the area. Because they are. As always, what matters are location, condition and price.

A seller can't do anything about improving the appeal of a location-it is what it is.

They can, however, put price in their favor. Sellers need to focus on what comparable homes in their area have actually sold for (not listed at). If they're under pressure from a job transfer or expanding family, they should probably price BELOW the prevailing range. The idea is to price aggressively enough that buyers have to check them out. That brings us to condition.

Improvements it makes sense to do

In today's competitive market, sellers aren't recouping the money they put into upgrades the way they did in the past. But there are still areas where a judicious investment will pay out with a timely sale.

Sellers should start with improving their home's curb appeal. Today, sellers are finding out that anything they do to make the outside of their property look terrific is money well spent. Ideally, people should fall in love with a home between the car and the front door. New windows, doors and siding will help a home look crisp and well cared for from the street. They also make the home more energy efficient, a big plus in today's market. Just having freshly painted trim and new hardware go a long way to making a great first impression.

Sprucing up landscaping is also important today-especially for an older home. Well-trimmed trees and shrubs can do a lot help older homes compete against new ones with sparse foliage.

Inside and out, any repairs the seller has begun must be completed. An unfinished repair usually looks worse than the untreated problem. Inside, sellers should freshen up paint, clear out clutter and hire a professional stager. These things give the impression a home is well taken care of. Staging doesn't really cost a lot-smart sellers look at it like having a car detailed.

Anticipate buyer's mindset

For repairs or upgrades most buyers will want to make, advise the seller to get contractor estimates for the improvement and present them to interested prospects. You might even suggest the seller hire a home inspector, make the essential repairs and show the receipts to serious buyers.

Sellers should also consider projects that can lower insurance premiums. Electrical and plumbing upgrades may cut rates. If a roof needs replacing, have sellers check with their insurer about discounts for wind, hail and fire-resistant roofing. The same may be true for burglar and fire alarm systems.

Some improvements have regional appeal. In the West and Southwest, after a few seasons of extreme weather, homes with backup power generators got very attractive. Homes with steel replacement roofs are now popular in parts of California subject to wildfires. In tech savvy regions, "wired" homes with broadband access already installed have extra pull.

The goal is to create positive buzz around a listing.

Put the facts on your side!

Unfortunately, the media's continued focus on negative real estate news is keeping many people solidly on the sidelines. But remember, these people aren't getting the whole story. And the facts they're missing can alter their mindsets. All we have to do is put those facts out there!

Fact #1: Some six million Americans are expected to buy a home this year. Six million people in the game make up a pretty big game. That's a level of sales equal to the one we experienced in 1998-by all accounts, a pretty good year.

Fact #2: There is still over $23 trillion of value in u.s. housing stock. Home ownership continues to be the basis of our wealth in this country.

Fact #3: The housing market cannot help but grow. Our country's tremendous wealth, liquidity, and entrepreneurship will continue to drive our economy. 70-100 million people will be added to our market in the next 40 years.

Fact #4: Real estate is cyclical. The biggest fear in good times is that the fair weather won't last forever-because it doesn't. But the reality of a cyclical real estate market also provides its brightest hope in bad times-foul weather won't last forever either. What's happening today is a market correction, severe in some places, but it's not the end of the world. As shown by Fact #1, people are still buying and selling homes. The markets will stabilize.

Fact #5: 2008 is the best year to buy a home in 35 years. 1973 was the last time mortgage rates were this low in a buyer's market. We had rates this low in 2001 and 2002, but those were strong seller's markets with little inventory. The last two big buyer's markets, in the early ‘80s and early ‘90s had much higher rates. Low rates and good inventory make 2008 the best year to buy in decades!

Fact #6: First-time buyers have a real advantage in today's market. First-time buyers can buy at a reduced price without having to sell at one too. Higher limits on lower cost conforming loans also help first-time buyers purchase more home for their money. Today's ‘starter' homes can be pretty impressive.

Fact #7: First-time buyers lose money while they wait on the sidelines. First, renters typically pay more state and federal income taxes than homeowners with a mortgage deduction. Renters are also losing the wealth they could be accumulating as they pay down their mortgage and as their home increases in value over time (as it surely will). Lastly, renters who wait to buy will lose money if interest rates increase by the time they finally act. Higher payments from higher interest rates represent money buyers could have kept if they had bought earlier. Conversely, if they were willing to spend that amount of money earlier, they could have bought more home.

Fact #8: Homes sell when they're priced right and show well. Buyers are looking for value in today's market. When sellers make their home's value obvious, they make a sale-it's as simple as that.

Source: Jerry Heckman - CTX Mortgage