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    <title>The Insider Real Estate Blog-Tampa, Fl</title>
    <link>http://activerain.com/blogs/realtyrae</link>
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1066662/how-to-buy-real-estate-using-your-ira-or-401k</guid>
      <title>How to buy Real Estate using your IRA or 401K</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thetamparealestateinsider.com/first-time-home-buyers/first-time-home-buying-advice/how-to-buy-tampa-real-estate-with-your-ira-or-401k.html&quot; title=&quot;How to buy Tampa Real Estate with your IRA or 401K?&quot; rel=&quot;bookmark&quot;&gt;How to buy Tampa Real Estate with your IRA or 401K?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Think you can't buy a home as an investment? Looking for a creative way to take advantage of the #2 in US foreclosure market here in Tampa?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I attended a 3 hour seminar the other day that was great!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are some different options you have to buy a home, land or&amp;nbsp;to get a downpayment for a loan using tax deffers IRA'S AND 401K's.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Your tax deferred and possibly tax free investing choices are:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;land, (raw large parcels or single lots) &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A&amp;nbsp; resale or builder inventory home (use as rental only) &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Commercial property that you lease out. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Downfall:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The most important thing to remember is that you cannot live in the home. It has to be an investment, therefore a rental home, or vacant land are some of your options for purchasing.&amp;nbsp; You can't even use a beach house for personal use. It has to be a rental property under the guidelines.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How do I use my 401K to buy real estate?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Move your 401K to a Self Directed IRA. Can only be done if you no longer work at previous job.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Need a downpayment of to get a Conventional or FHA loan?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can borrow 50K or 50% whichever is less from your 401K&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can also use your business partner or spouse's IRA for a downpayment or to pay cash for a property.&amp;nbsp; You have 50K, they have 150K, save closings costs from lenders which can be 3-6% of the total purchase price.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Right now in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco Couties there are 7,309 properties that are 200K or under, 3 bedroom 2 bath.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you have been thinking of buying land or rental and commercial&amp;nbsp;properties in the Tampa Bay Area please give us a call to discuss your options. 813 784 7744 Rae.&amp;nbsp; Emai: &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;realtyrae@yahoo.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;All information is believed to be accurate. Always consult your financial advisior and CPA before making any changes to your assets!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Filed under: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thetamparealestateinsider.com/category/first-time-home-buyers/downpayment-assistance&quot; title=&quot;View all posts in Downpayment Assistance&quot; rel=&quot;category tag&quot;&gt;Downpayment Assistance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thetamparealestateinsider.com/category/first-time-home-buyers/first-time-home-buying-advice&quot; title=&quot;View all posts in First Time Home Buying Advice&quot; rel=&quot;category tag&quot;&gt;First Time Home Buying Advice&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thetamparealestateinsider.com/category/investing-in-real-estate-using-401k-and-iras&quot; title=&quot;View all posts in Investing in Real Estate using 401K and IRA's&quot; rel=&quot;category tag&quot;&gt;Investing in Real Estate using 401K and IRA's&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thetamparealestateinsider.com/category/tampa-real-estate-investors&quot; title=&quot;View all posts in Tampa Real Estate Investors&quot; rel=&quot;category tag&quot;&gt;Tampa Real Estate Investors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2009 10:17:12 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1066662/how-to-buy-real-estate-using-your-ira-or-401k</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1059904/beach-park-south-tampa-s-waterfront-community</guid>
      <title>Beach Park, South Tampa's Waterfront Community</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Appraiser says not all communities in South Tampa are depreciating in value....that doesn't mean you can't get a great deal!&amp;nbsp; If a home is listed in today's housing market you can bet that sellers are MOTIVATED. Owners are now&amp;nbsp;competing with banks and short sales, therefore they are forced to lower their price.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The prestigious neighborhood has many canal front and open bay view homes, which attracts many homeowners looking for a boating community with all the conveniences of being close to the major highways and Downtown Tampa.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What makes the waterfront community of Beach Park in South Tampa one of the BEST Neighborhoods in Tampa?&amp;nbsp; Appreciation.....Quaint Mature Oak Treed Lined Streets, and the Breezes from Tampa Bay.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The community is the closest luxury residential neighborhood to the Westshore Mall and Westshore Business District. Need to travel?&amp;nbsp; Get to Tampa International&amp;nbsp; Airport in 5 minutes.&amp;nbsp; Fine Dining and the proximity to 3 major bridges provide easy access to Clearwater and St. Petersburg Beaches.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;dt&gt;&lt;/dt&gt;&lt;dd&gt;Aerial Map View-Beach Park, Tampa, FL&lt;/dd&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;aerial-view-beach-park&quot; src=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/aerial-view-beach-park.jpg&quot; height=&quot;277&quot; alt=&quot;Aerial View-Beach Park, Tampa, FL&quot; width=&quot;430&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In 2008, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/05/26/daily40.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Tampa Bay Business Journal&lt;/a&gt; published a news article about the increasing value of some neighborhoods of South Tampa....&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;A large independent provider of residential real estate appraisals says &lt;strong&gt;some Florida neighborhoods are increasing in value,&lt;/strong&gt; despite statewide averages indicating a drop in home sales prices of 15 to 20 percent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The South Tampa market,&lt;/strong&gt; for instance, has seen luxury waterfront and inland properties in&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Beach Park, Palma Ceia and Hyde Park rise between 5 percent and 8&lt;/strong&gt; percent in the past year&lt;/span&gt;, a release from &lt;a href=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.wordpress.com/tampabay/gen/Forsythe_Appraisals_82A902D51F7F407EAF071F83174A599D.html&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Forsythe Appraisals&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;LLC, based in St. Paul, Minn. said. Forsythe has branch offices in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Stats from the MLS show since May 2008 thru January 2009 there have been &lt;strong&gt;four Beach Park Homes Sold.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;*&lt;em&gt;These are only Waterfront, Water view or homes with Water Access.&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The lowest sales price&amp;nbsp;was $1,020,00 with the highest being $1,308,00.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Currently there are four homes for sale&lt;/strong&gt; ranging from&amp;nbsp;675,00 up to 2,394,000.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;beach-park-tampa-collage&quot; src=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/beach-park-tampa-collage.jpg&quot; height=&quot;311&quot; alt=&quot;beach-park-tampa-collage&quot; width=&quot;468&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h3 style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;The lowest&amp;nbsp; BEST priced home for sale in Beach Park&amp;nbsp;with a water view&amp;nbsp;is&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;$675,000.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;at ($164.67 per&amp;nbsp;sf)
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3 style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;This home is a beautiful new construction Beach Park Two Story Mediterranean style&amp;nbsp;masterpiece&amp;nbsp;w/Open Bay Views of Tampa Bay from 2nd floor. Master Bedroom has large balcony to watch sunsets over Tampa Bay.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3 style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;No detail has been unnoticed with Crown Molding throughout, Coiffured ceiling in the Large family room, Wood floors, Travertine Marble, Granite in kitchen &amp;amp; Master bath, ornamental wrought iron railings &amp;amp; much more.&amp;nbsp; This home is a 5 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath masterpiece boasting almost 4100 square feet.
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;To see this beautiful luxury home please contact Rae at Prudential Tropical Realty: &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;realtyrae@yahoo.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; or call 813 784 7744&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;/h3&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2009 17:46:53 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1059904/beach-park-south-tampa-s-waterfront-community</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1040791/towers-of-channelside-bankruptcy-update</guid>
      <title>Towers of Channelside Bankruptcy Update</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/towers-of-channelside-update-tampa-fl/&quot; title=&quot;Towers of Channelside Bankruptcy Update-Tampa,&amp;amp;nbsp;Fl&quot; rel=&quot;bookmark&quot;&gt;Towers of Channelside Bankruptcy Update-Tampa,&amp;nbsp;Fl&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Posted on April 17, 2009 by realtyrae | &lt;a href=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&amp;amp;post=1256&quot; title=&quot;Edit post&quot;&gt;Edit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;towers-of-channelside&quot; src=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/towers-of-channelside.jpg?w=452&amp;amp;h=265&quot; height=&quot;265&quot; alt=&quot;towers-of-channelside&quot; width=&quot;452&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;TAMPA - Nearly half of the 257 condos at the Towers of Channelside have sold, including one in February to Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, but those sales still aren't enough.&amp;nbsp; The developer of the twin 29-story towers has notified its lender it's giving up on the project 15 months after it sought bankruptcy court protection and six months after it declared its reorganization a success.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Unfortunately it's the economy. It's bigger than us. It's bigger than any one person,&quot; said Richard Sacchi, a principal of Towers of Channelside LLC.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you are looking to purchase a condo or have questions about developments in the Channelside and Downtown Tampa Districts give us a call&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;813 784 7744 or email: &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;realtyrae@yahoo.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:47:14 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1040791/towers-of-channelside-bankruptcy-update</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/978805/people-who-are-distressed-in-the-tampa-real-estate-market-</guid>
      <title>People who are DISTRESSED in the Tampa Real Estate Market!</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;&amp;nbsp;When I started thinking&amp;nbsp;about a&amp;nbsp;title for this article I came up with quite a few.&amp;nbsp; &lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;The&amp;nbsp;METHOD of the Short Sale was 2nd choice.&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp; Although, we are finding there is NO Methodology in the Tampa Real Estate Market.&amp;nbsp; Both buyers and sellers are feeling the STRESS OF A SHORT SALE!&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Putting in an offer on a Short Sale Home in the Tampa Bay Area?&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thinking of buying a short sale home is painful to many who can wait as long as 45 days to hear if the bank accepted their offer.&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;sunset&quot; src=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.wordpress.com/files/2009/03/sunset.jpg&quot; height=&quot;310&quot; alt=&quot;Tampa Bay Sunset&quot; width=&quot;468&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There is no Method!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I can certainly without a doubt, say that there are no rules when it comes to what the banks will or will not do.&amp;nbsp; Every bank is different about the way they handle things.&amp;nbsp; Some are using mitigation companies to negotiate the offer, and some are not.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Banks each have&amp;nbsp;their way of handling paperwork and disclosures which makes our job as Realtors even more&amp;nbsp;challenging.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What &lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;Realtors and Sellers&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;are doing to get offers on short sales: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A price you see listed on any website is not necessarily the price you can buy that home for.&amp;nbsp; If you've seen wording or disclaimers stating &quot;listing price may not be sufficient to cover all closing costs...&quot; that is when you&amp;nbsp; know the home is listed as a short sale.&amp;nbsp; Try telling people who are qualified to buy a home, that we don't know if the price listed is a &lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;real sales price.&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;em&gt;Otherwise known as &quot;bank approved short sale&quot;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I've seen some listed for an unbelievable prices. When I contact the listing agent, I have to ask if that price &quot;has been approved by the bank&quot;.&amp;nbsp; Otherwise, the seller agrees to list the home for what ever they want.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What happens next???&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; Sellers are submitting multiple offers to the bank and the bank is then forced to either take one or foreclose on the home.&amp;nbsp; Once the bank gets offers at the low ball price, it speeds up the short sale process.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;How many properties are on the market in the metro Tampa Bay Area?&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;(approximately 33,000.00 in the Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough Areas)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I'm finding there are several situations that would&lt;strong&gt; lead more people to buying a foreclosed home&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; First, they are probably getting a better deal after the bank owns the property.&amp;nbsp; The bank will respond to &lt;strong&gt;most offers within 48 hours, 2 business days&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; You will also know if there are any other offers in the mix.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Most buyers I am working with are telling me that they want to stay away from short sales.&amp;nbsp; If you are a seller, please take this into consideration before listing your home for sale with a Realtor.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Rae Catanese, PA&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Prudential Tropical Realty- Tampa, Fl&amp;nbsp; 813 784 7744&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:28:54 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/978805/people-who-are-distressed-in-the-tampa-real-estate-market-</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/955350/westshore-yacht-club-tampa-bay-luxury-boating-community-offers-outstanding-deals</guid>
      <title>WESTSHORE YACHT CLUB-TAMPA BAY...Luxury Boating Community Offers outstanding DEALS</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;GREAT DEALS AT WESTSHORE YACHT CLUB!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/08/04/daily41.html&quot;&gt;In August 2008, a U.S. bankruptcy judge&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;approved a relief package for &lt;strong&gt;WCI Communities&lt;/strong&gt; that's designed to &lt;strong&gt;assure homebuyers would not be impacted for future purchasers at&amp;nbsp;the Westshore Yacht Club here in Tampa Bay.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you are looking for a great deal this is the time to invest.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This is&amp;nbsp;GREAT NEWS&amp;nbsp;for one of the premiere boating communities on the West Coast of Florida.&amp;nbsp; Since August, &lt;strong&gt;West Shore Yacht Club has created &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;the furious pace of the trading floor&lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; with a promotion that has people taking action.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;This is a very&amp;nbsp;positive sign for the Tampa Housing Market; especially for those who are looking to &lt;strong&gt;invest their money NOW&lt;/strong&gt; while prices are aggressive.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jgmRIBFfGiPICHqON66EyQ&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://lh6.ggpht.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/SRdDTFhSzvI/AAAAAAAAH58/IXvjt9z-c1I/s800/Westshore%20Yacht%20Club.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;From &lt;a href=&quot;http://picasaweb.google.com/realtyrae/WestshoreYachtClub&quot;&gt;Westshore Yacht Club&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Unlike some other developments here in Tampa, &lt;strong&gt;The West Shore Yacht Club&amp;nbsp;IS selling &lt;/strong&gt;their townhomes, hi-rise condo tower, and accepting contracts for the single family homes yet to be built.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More good news.....They are not turning into rentals.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Many other developments have caused the people who purchased in the&amp;nbsp;begining&amp;nbsp;to live amongst mainly renters; which is not what buyer's signed up for originally.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When you take a tour of the community you'll notice that the people who are living there are enjoying life and&amp;nbsp;taking advantage of&amp;nbsp;the wonderful amenities this luxurious, resort style community has to offer.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;There are so many things to do, you may just decide to stay home and relax on the weekends.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I love the&amp;nbsp;tranquil Spa!&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;The fitness center is state of the art with views of the water.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; They offer&amp;nbsp;complimentary towels, a very nice locker room with showers, blow dryers, and toiletries.&amp;nbsp; It's really everything you'd expect a high-end club to be.&amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;There are also 2 heated pools,&amp;nbsp;2 restaurants, 2 bars, a billiards room and a yacht shop for supplies.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you've been looking to purchase&amp;nbsp;in South Tampa, you'll know&amp;nbsp;a single family home is nearly impossible to find under 400K.&amp;nbsp; Other options&amp;nbsp;are townhomes and condos.&amp;nbsp; If you&amp;nbsp;need a 3/2 and 2 car garage, approximately 1900&amp;nbsp;square feet of living space, you may want to consider one of the townhouses or condos for sale&amp;nbsp;at the Yacht Club.&amp;nbsp; They are &lt;strong&gt;solid block construction on all floors, built to current hurricane standards, and have many upgrades&lt;/strong&gt; like granite, stainless steel appliances and high ceilings.&amp;nbsp;Best of all, these properties are &lt;strong&gt;brand new and never lived in.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; Another nice feature of the community is that there is plenty of parking for guests.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Something you don't find in a &lt;strong&gt;South Tampa Townhome communities.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This year there have been approximately 35 units sold by the developer due to their very aggressive pricing and incentives.&amp;nbsp; These Townhomes were once selling for 450-650K two years ago. The same units&lt;strong&gt; are now listed for 325K and up.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://picasaweb.google.com/realtyrae/WestshoreYachtClubTampaFl/photo#map&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;View Map of Westshore Yacht Club&lt;/a&gt;, Tampa Bay&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;These are the BEST prices we've seen in a Tampa Bay&amp;nbsp;waterfront community.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Westshore Yacht Club&amp;nbsp;has become&amp;nbsp;a lifestyle choice for many buyers...... &quot;where you live is as important as how you live&quot;.&amp;nbsp; Isn't that the truth?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:info@thetamparealestateinsider.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;contact us&lt;/a&gt; to schedule a showing of the remaining developer units. Or call Rae at 813-784-7744&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:54:01 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/955350/westshore-yacht-club-tampa-bay-luxury-boating-community-offers-outstanding-deals</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/955333/home-buyer-tax-credit-update-2009</guid>
      <title>Home Buyer TAX CREDIT Update 2009</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;child-at-beach&quot; src=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/child-at-beach.jpg?w=300&amp;amp;h=199&quot; height=&quot;199&quot; alt=&quot;Beaches of West Coast Florida&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ENHANCED HOME BUYER CREDIT&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NOT JUST FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Who Qualifies?:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Anyone who has not owned a home for the preceding three years. That means you may still qualify for the incentive even if you and your spouse owned a home more than three years ago.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How Much?:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The incentive calls for a credit of ten percent of the purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000 for a single resident or a married couple filing jointly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Are There Limits?:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The credit is phased-out based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How Does It Work?:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The tax credit reduces a your tax bill or increases your refund, dollar for dollar. It is fully refundable, meaning that the credit will be paid out to you, even if you owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax that you owe. Even better, &lt;strong&gt;there is no repayment requirements associated with this incentive if you keep your home for at least three years.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What are the valid dates to purchase a home?:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; The incentive is for homes that &lt;strong&gt;close between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Principal Residences:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; The tax credit is available for purchases of principal residences. Purchases of &lt;strong&gt;vacation homes and rental property are not eligible&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;dt&gt;&lt;/dt&gt;&lt;dd&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To request more information on how to purchase a home using the new home buyer tax credit send an email to: &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:info@thetamparealestateinsider.com&quot;&gt;info@thetamparealestateinsider.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/dd&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Search all &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;homes for sale in the Tampa Bay Area.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;address&gt;&lt;/address&gt;&lt;address&gt;&lt;/address&gt;&lt;address&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;*This information is provided for general awareness only, and is not intended for the purpose of providing legal, accounting, tax advice or consulting of any kind. Please consult with your tax professional for complete details.&lt;/address&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:47:29 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/955333/home-buyer-tax-credit-update-2009</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/855023/waterfront-deals-in-tampa-bay-area-inventory-is-high-prices-are-low-</guid>
      <title>Waterfront Deals in Tampa Bay Area-Inventory is high, prices are low!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.wordpress.com/2008/12/27/best-waterfront-home-deals-indian-rocks-beach/&quot; title=&quot;Best Waterfront Home Deals-Indian Rocks&amp;amp;nbsp;Beach&quot; rel=&quot;bookmark&quot;&gt;Best Waterfront Home Deals-Indian Rocks&amp;nbsp;Beach&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Great Deal on the Water; Indian Rocks Beach in the Tampa Bay Area!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Waterfront Beach House may be primary residence, vacation home or great lot to build your new home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
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&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://picasaweb.google.com/realtyrae/OnlineEdits?authkey=QPR9wciLgrU&amp;amp;feat=embedwebsite&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/SVZnGJ3FAWE/AAAAAAAAIZI/gBs5rEj3PZ8/s160-c/OnlineEdits.jpg&quot; height=&quot;160&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;160&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Waterfront Home&lt;a href=&quot;http://picasaweb.google.com/realtyrae/OnlineEdits?authkey=QPR9wciLgrU&amp;amp;feat=embedwebsite&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
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&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2Bedroom 2 Bathrooms&lt;br /&gt;1800 sq ft home with tile floors, great fireplace, views from living area &amp;amp; bedroom, secluded and set back from the road.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Unique lot offers wide open views and protection for boat or yacht. &amp;nbsp;Privacy at end of cul de &amp;nbsp;sac with over 100` of seawall that wraps around the point.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Pre-negotiated Deal&lt;br /&gt;Seller has further reduced the price for a CASH offer or QUICK SALE&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;First offer at $370,000 takes it!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Contract by end of year; Close in 30 days&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Call 813-784-7744 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Filed under: &lt;a href=&quot;http://wordpress.com/tag/boating-communities-in-tampa/&quot; title=&quot;View all posts in Boating Communities in Tampa&quot; rel=&quot;category tag&quot;&gt;Boating Communities in Tampa&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://wordpress.com/tag/foreclosures-tampa/&quot; title=&quot;View all posts in Foreclosures Tampa&quot; rel=&quot;category tag&quot;&gt;Foreclosures Tampa&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://wordpress.com/tag/waterfont-communities-in-tampa/&quot; title=&quot;View all posts in Waterfont Communities in Tampa&quot; rel=&quot;category tag&quot;&gt;Waterfont Communities in Tampa&lt;/a&gt; | Tagged: &lt;a href=&quot;http://wordpress.com/tag/best-deals-in-tampa/&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;Best Deals in Tampa&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://wordpress.com/tag/waterfront-homes-and-lots/&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;Waterfront homes and lots&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://wordpress.com/tag/waterfront-homes-foreclosures/&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;waterfront homes foreclosures&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;http://tamparealestateinsider.wordpress.com/2008/12/27/best-waterfront-home-deals-indian-rocks-beach/#respond&quot; title=&quot;Comment on Best Waterfront Home Deals-Indian Rocks&amp;amp;nbsp;Beach&quot;&gt;No Comments &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rae Catanese, PA&lt;/strong&gt; Prudential Tropical Realty Search MLS&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.TampaBayDwellings.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cell: 813-784-7744&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Get the scoop on the Real Estate Market&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Visit:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thetamparealestateinsider.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Tampa Real Estate Insider&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/twitter/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/itwitter.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/digg/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/idigg.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/linkedin/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/ilinkedin.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/technorati/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/itechnorati.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/facebook/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/ifacebook.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/stumbleupon/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/istumbleupon.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/y_answers/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/iy_answers.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/activerain/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/iactiverain.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mybloglog.com/s/zillow/realtyrae/?r&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mbl/services/izillow.png&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:38:20 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/855023/waterfront-deals-in-tampa-bay-area-inventory-is-high-prices-are-low-</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/516442/best-cities-to-buy-a-home-2008-economic-report-tampa-fl</guid>
      <title>Best cities to buy a home-2008 Economic Report Tampa, Fl</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Monday, May 19, 2008&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/2008/05/2008-economic-report-tampa-real-estate.html&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2008 Economic Report-Tampa Real Estate&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&amp;nbsp;Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist gave a speech last week at the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors in Tampa. Myself, &lt;strong&gt;along with 200 other Real Estate agents &lt;/strong&gt;attended the informative lecture.&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://bp1.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/SDH2Kx-ToMI/AAAAAAAAEDU/y0xA17Hgw8w/s200/Lawrence%2520Yun.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202209709663428802&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;His main focus was to let Realtors know to inform clients that our Tampa Real Estate Market is NOT the same as the National Market. National figures and statistics are much different. He emphasized the importance of buyers and sellers to &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;contact an agent &lt;/a&gt;who can provide detailed information for specific neighborhoods, and to compare sold, list pricing and days on market on each community.&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;For instance, a home located in the &lt;strong&gt;Hyde Park&lt;/strong&gt; area may not be the same as a home in &lt;strong&gt;Westchase, or Seminole Heights&lt;/strong&gt; for many different reasons. We factor in Days on Market, How much inventory is available and what homes are actually selling for. You've heard the saying &quot;location is everything&quot;?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you are starting your search, a Realtor can be an invaluable asset in being able to differentiate &lt;strong&gt;what the best price to list your home&lt;/strong&gt; for based on these numbers. The same applies to purchasing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I personally have seen an increase in buyer activity over the last 6 months. Dr. Lawrence Yun confirmed this by projecting the 2nd half of this year to see a decrease in inventory and an increase in buyers who have been &quot;sitting on the fence&quot; to move forward in making their home buying decisions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yun also stated that FL, AZ, NV &amp;amp; CA saw the biggest boom and are now experiencing the largest decline. &lt;strong&gt;This is why we are one of the Best Places to Buy Real Estate! The bottom is here.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The media met with him afterwards. FAR Early Bird picked up the Tribune article &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-050808.cfm&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CLICK HERE&lt;/a&gt; and the Times article is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/article493929.ece&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;HERE&lt;/a&gt; When meeting with the media, &lt;strong&gt;Dr. Yun said that 20% appreciation would be conservative in the next five years in Tampa Bay&lt;/strong&gt; and should actually be significantly higher...another reason to buy now on the low side. He also said that Tampa, like San Francisco, would be a &quot;superstar city&quot;. He went on to say this is an anomaly that economists can't explain, but being &lt;strong&gt;surrounded by water was part of the drawing power&lt;/strong&gt;. This corresponds to what I heard Dave Ramsey say on CNN's Larry King Live...that &quot;people buying real estate now in Tampa Bay would look like geniuses five years from now&quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To recieve the Tampa Economic Report, send us an &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;email &lt;/a&gt;with a request.&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Tampa Bay Area? &lt;strong&gt;Have a Real Estate question?&lt;br /&gt;Feel free to &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;email &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;or call us 813-784-7744&lt;br /&gt;Rae Catanese and Michelle Jordan&lt;br /&gt;Realtors.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Search MLS&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.rcatanese.prudentialtropicalrealty.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Prudential Tropical Realty&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;RESEARCH THE TAMPA REAL ESTATE MARKET&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VIEW OUR BLOG&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2008 17:30:10 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/516442/best-cities-to-buy-a-home-2008-economic-report-tampa-fl</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/402114/buyers-market-picking-up-due-to-low-interest-rates-tampa-fl</guid>
      <title>Buyers Market picking up due to low interest rates- Tampa, Fl</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://bp2.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/R07pFZERn1I/AAAAAAAAAtE/esL6lETnYlM/s1600-h/living.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://bp2.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/R07pFZERn1I/AAAAAAAAAtE/esL6lETnYlM/s400/living.JPG&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138300503713750866&quot; height=&quot;267&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Seminole Heights Bungalow for sale &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lowest Rates in 25 Months&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving treat than the one we got on Monday: the lowest 30-year fixed-rate in over two years. That's right. For those of you who have been patiently waiting, here's your chance to save anywhere from $5,000 to $7,500 or even more on the mortgage financing you've been looking for. Do not miss this great opportunity to cash in on the lowest rates since October 2005. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Here's why you should act now:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Monday saw the lowest 30-year fixed interest rate in over two years. However, each time this interest rate reached previous low points, both last year and earlier this year, it began increasing and didn't stop, climbing over 0.50% in the months that followed! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tightened guidelines, announcing new Loan-Level Price Adjustments. In the first quarter of 2008, most borrowers who have good credit, but have FICO scores below 680, will now be forced either to pay more points at closing or incur a higher interest rate. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The amount that a borrower could be forced to pay, even if they've never been late on a payment, could be as much as 2.00% in points or an interest rate that's 1.00% higher than the going rate. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On a $250,000 home loan, a borrower could have to pay up to $5,000 in order to receive normal market rates! Borrowers choosing the higher interest rate, under the worse case scenario, would stand to lose over $7,500 in just the first three years of the loan. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Choosing to wait could cost you money&lt;/strong&gt; both in the form of higher market rates and points. This could well be the greatest holiday present you could treat yourself to this year, but only if you act fast! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For Real Estate questions contact Prudential Tropical Realty Rae Catanese, Realtor at 813-784-7744 or &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;email&lt;/a&gt; us.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:45:58 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/402114/buyers-market-picking-up-due-to-low-interest-rates-tampa-fl</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/402111/seminole-heights-real-estate-market-update-tampa-fl</guid>
      <title>SEMINOLE HEIGHTS-Real Estate Market Update-Tampa, FL</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SEMINOLE HEIGHTS- Historical Neighborhood Real Estate Market Update- Tampa, Fl&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/seminoleheights&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://bp1.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/R6oN2FJJ4WI/AAAAAAAAAvw/Gp-6h2dtNyg/s320/IMG_2070.JPG&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163955145478365538&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Call Rae at 813 784 7744&amp;nbsp; for updated pricing on this Seminole Heights Lot for Sale Behind the new Starbucks! Possible mixed use or commercial zoning&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Are you relocating and looking for something unique and historical? Most people who live here in Tampa know about this quaint area we call &lt;strong&gt;Seminole Heights&lt;/strong&gt;. Seminole Heights makes sense for first time home buyers looking for opportunities and affordable prices. It seems that all you hear about it on the news is negative. I thought I'd shed some light on the brighter side of our &quot;Heights Market&quot; by going back in time to get a better perspective on the future. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remember three years ago when real estate was really hot? You were looking for a home between 200K to 250K, and there just wasn't enough to choose from. You may recall that when you found a suitable home, 2 or 3 other people were looking to make an offer on the same place. And people were buying homes left and right. Back then, sellers were all too happy to make a big profit. There were bidding wars and buyers willing to pay the price. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So now we're on the downside of that frenzy of activity. Insurance and tax issues have caused the whole state of Florida to fall into a real estate rut, but there's still a lot we can learn from the boom of just a few years ago. There were signs then that Seminole Heights was up and coming: Whispers of a Starbucks being built, and a Cappy's Pizza - who would have thought? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today, the &lt;strong&gt;Seminole Heights Market&lt;/strong&gt; is priming for another growth spurt. &lt;em&gt;The Starbucks Coffee Shop&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Cappy's Pizza&lt;/em&gt; are thriving, and there's much more to look forward to, like the &lt;em&gt;proposed Sangria's Restaurant coming.&lt;/em&gt; Now this is really turning into something big. All this and live only 10 minutes from Downtown Tampa. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Alan Dobbs, owner of Florida Design Studio Corp has moved his offices to the Heights, where he's basing most of his projects. Alan's company focuses on&lt;strong&gt; traditional bungalow architectural design,&lt;/strong&gt; and business couldn't be better. &quot;I think it's because I do work for home owners and not speculative developers or track home builders,&quot; says Alan. Alan also noted, &quot;even though there has been a downturn in the real estate market, it does not seem to of had an affect on people wanting to improve or add-on to their homes. If anything, I think the projects have become bigger and more substantial because people, including me, realize we can't afford to move, but we can afford to add-on of improve what we have.&quot; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Other buyers are opting to build new in our area, while maintaining the historical look of the neighborhood. If you're thinking of taking this route, you may want to jump on the opportunity when you see&amp;nbsp;a lot for sale.&amp;nbsp;It seems that parcels of land are becoming scarce in the&lt;strong&gt; Seminole Heights Historic District &lt;/strong&gt;as more people are looking to build from the ground up. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As a Realtor part of my job is to pay close attention to the &lt;strong&gt;Real Estate Market&lt;/strong&gt; in our area so I can inform buyers and sellers what to expect, and what not to expect. My business partner Michelle Jordan &amp;amp; I work with buyers and sellers in the entire Tampa Bay Area, and we have noticed an &lt;strong&gt;increased interest in the Heights&lt;/strong&gt; over the last few months. Prospective homeowners are excited by all the choices they have now that simply weren't affordable 3 years ago. If you haven't yet looked at &lt;strong&gt;homes for sale in seminole heights&lt;/strong&gt;, now is the time to start. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you're going to make Tampa Bay home, then Seminole Heights is still one of the first places you should look. Beautiful and affordable with a tightly-knit community, the Heights is still a boon for small businesses and a great place to call home. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a picture of a new construction home that was designed by Alan Dobbs. The home is in the Historic District across from Hillsborough High School ....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://bp0.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/R6oPa1JJ4XI/AAAAAAAAAv4/EhEtCCcsaME/s400/Front+2.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163956876350185842&quot; height=&quot;279&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;See also: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tampagov.net/dept_historic_preservation/files/maps/seminole%202003%20.pdf&quot;&gt;Seminole Heights Historic District&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/search/label/Bungalows&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;Bungalows&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/search/label/live%20in%20Seminole%20Heights&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;live in Seminole Heights&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/search/label/Seminole%20Heights%20history&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;Seminole Heights history&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/search/label/Seminole%20Heights%20Homes%20for%20Sale&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;Seminole Heights Homes for Sale&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/search/label/Traditional&quot; rel=&quot;tag&quot;&gt;Traditional&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rae Catanese. P.A. &lt;br /&gt;Licensed Realtor &lt;br /&gt;Prudential Tropical Realty &lt;br /&gt;813-784-7744 &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;realtyrae@yahoo.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rae started THE INSIDER REAL ESTATE BLOG-TAMPA,FL in July 2006 her site focuses primarily on the Heights and Downtown Tampa Areas. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/2007/04/local-realtors-receive-awards-tampa-fl.html&quot;&gt;Bio for Michelle Jordan and Rae Catanese Shatto&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Alan C. Dobbs Florida Design Studio Corp.5310 N. Central Ave., Suite D &lt;br /&gt;Tampa, FL 33603 &lt;br /&gt;(813) 232-6242 office(813) 732-4268 cell &lt;br /&gt;adobbs@verizon.net &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Tampa Bay Area? &lt;strong&gt;Have a Real Estate question? Feel free to &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;email &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;or call us 813-784-7744 &lt;br /&gt;Rae Catanese and Michelle Jordan &lt;br /&gt;Realtors.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Search MLS &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.rcatanese.prudentialtropicalrealty.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Prudential Tropical Realty&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:39:40 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/402111/seminole-heights-real-estate-market-update-tampa-fl</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/342201/when-is-a-good-time-to-buy-real-estate-in-tampa-</guid>
      <title>When is a good time to buy Real Estate in Tampa?,</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;When is a good time to invest in Real Estate?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By: Rae Catanese, Realtor&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://bp1.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/R4txKbwHFAI/AAAAAAAAAuI/992BXDYWTb8/s320/143-4310_IMG.JPG&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155338622517842946&quot; height=&quot;213&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was speaking with a friend of mine about the&lt;strong&gt; Real Estate Market in the Tampa Bay Area&lt;/strong&gt;. The conversation started by her saying &amp;quot;I want to buy a house this year.&amp;quot; Since she is a friend, I wanted to give her the best advice in my opinion as a Real Estate Agent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Through our website, we are able to track what people are searching for when they go online. Over the past couple months we&amp;#39;ve seen an increase in people wanting to know &lt;strong&gt;when the Real Estate Market is going to change, and the big question &amp;quot;when is the right time to buy&amp;quot;?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Right now sellers do not have their homes on the market unless they are in a situation where they really need to sell. At first, about a year and a half ago when our market started declining if sellers couldn&amp;#39;t sell then they just decided to rent. Because of all the condo conversions in our area there were plenty of renters to go around. Now finding a renter who can cover the mortgage has become a struggle as well due to a surplus of rentals.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most of the media and talk on the street says that the market won&amp;#39;t rebound until late 2008 and maybe even 2009 in some areas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;These are the reasons I feel now is the BEST time to purchase.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. If you can find someone who purchased 4-5 years ago minimum, chances are they have some equity in there home and can be more flexible with their price. They may have it on the market for 250,00 for instance but if they are in a situation that cannot be changed; such as divorce, relocation for a job, they need the money etc. they are going to be more likely to take a much lower price.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. If the home is vacant that&amp;#39;s even better! Now there&amp;#39;s no income AND they want to sell. Sellers are very motivated NOW because they are hearing the same news as everyone else, and they know it may take another year to sell if they keep their price the same and aren&amp;#39;t the lowest price in their neighborhood.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. If you wait until people start hearing the market is rebounding then sellers will think they can hold out to get a better deal, stop dropping their prices and become less motivated. Or even worse, people who really don&amp;#39;t have to sell as urgently will start putting their homes on the market creating even more inventory which is something our market does not need.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These are the trends that we, as Real Estate Agents in the Tampa Bay Market&amp;nbsp;are seeing. What buyers may not realize is that sellers who have had their home on the market for a year, don&amp;#39;t want to wait or cannot afford to wait another year until things pick up.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As Realtors we have access to how long a property has been on the market, the amount of price reductions they have had since they listed the property and if the home is vacant. This knowledge is critical in getting a good deal and taking advantage of the buyer&amp;#39;s market that we are in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buyers who wait much longer are going to find that everyone who also has been waiting will now become their competition. Interest rates are the lowest they have been right now. When things start rebounding they could go back up again which is also something to keep in mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are looking to purchase a home and have been on the fence, I would encourage people to take a look now and see what type of deals sellers are willing to make.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please feel free to contact us with any questions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:realtyrae@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;Rae Catanese&lt;/a&gt;, Realtor&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;SEARCH MLS&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/&quot;&gt;Prudential Tropical Realty&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;813-784-7744&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:26:24 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/342201/when-is-a-good-time-to-buy-real-estate-in-tampa-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/39832/waterfront-property-in-the-tampa-bay-area-good-investment-</guid>
      <title>Waterfront Property in the Tampa Bay Area-Good Investment?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/2007/01/are-waterfront-lots-in-tampa-good.html&quot;&gt;Are Waterfront Lots in Tampa a good investment?&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://bp1.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/Rbdvd3U9tzI/AAAAAAAAADI/lYKzG_E60EI/s1600-h/waterfront.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://bp1.blogger.com/_1x4N96MSd_I/Rbdvd3U9tzI/AAAAAAAAADI/lYKzG_E60EI/s320/waterfront.JPG&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023606468213847858&quot; height=&quot;214&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;What a great time to be a buyer. Waterfront lots in the Tampa Bay area are priced aggresively and owners want to sell. Think about purchasing your lot now and holding on to it until you are ready to build your dream home. It's like having an investment in your back pocket. A nest egg for retirement. Like most sales cycles prices go up and they come down. Buy low, sell high is what they say. I just took a listing for a Waterfront 1/2 acre lot on the Hillsborough River last week. It's listed for 400K. When things were hot, the same lot could have sold for 550-600K. &lt;br /&gt;Holding on to Waterfront property is the way to go. You won't have any insurance to pay for until you build and the taxes are always lower on vacant land. Let's face it, they aren't making anymore waterfront in Tampa.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In recent years past, some Real Estate Investors choose to buy a 2/2 condo in Hyde Park and Channelside for about the same price. They are now competing with all the other owners trying to rent their units, or sell them because they can't cover their mortgage on what they are renting for. &lt;br /&gt;The future of waterfront living in the Tampa Bay area can be displayed by The City of Tampa which will reshape the waterfront for everyone to have access to and enjoy by developing a Master Plan for the Tampa Riverwalk, a continuous pedestrian walkway extending from the Channelside area to Tampa Heights along the east side of the Hillsborough River. It will incorporate pedestrian amenities, art and interpretive elements, retail and restaurant uses, parks and open space, and other urban amenities.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:23:44 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/39832/waterfront-property-in-the-tampa-bay-area-good-investment-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/39826/best-websites-for-tampa-real-estate-tampa-fl-</guid>
      <title>Best Websites for Tampa Real Estate- Tampa, Fl </title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sellingtampahomes.blogspot.com/2007/01/best-websites-for-tampa-real-estate.html&quot;&gt;Best Websites for Tampa Real Estate- Tampa, Fl&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It seems as every Realtor has their own website today. They are used to promote Realtors listings, MLS searches and even financing options. One of the things we considered when developing our website is what would a buyer or seller want to know that they may not be able to get access to.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Information such as statistics on the housing market. The most accurate information comes from our Tampa Association of Realtors.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are two other links on &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/&lt;/a&gt; that home buyers will be interested in.&lt;br /&gt;One is school districts for both Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. When families are searching for homes how do they know which schools are best, how they are rated, how many students per class etc.? Simply type in your property address and get the information instantly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another hot topic is flood insurance. You can find out your relative flood risk. Simply enter your property information, and we'll show you the relative flood risk to your property, links to flood insurance resources, and a list of licensed insurance agents who serve your area.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Rae Catanese (Prudential Tropical Realty)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:20:43 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/39826/best-websites-for-tampa-real-estate-tampa-fl-</link>
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