I've just listed a beautiful town house at 8314 Via Verona, Orlando, FL 32836 in Vizcaya. Beautiful window treatments, crown molding, wainscoting, ceiling details, granite counters, jetted tub, huge closets, tile roof, all appliances, 2 car garage, and it being walking distance to "Restaurant Row" just adds to its appeal.

This Dr. Phillips place is outright gorgeous... I fell in love the first time I saw it, and started getting a little nervous because I really wanted to be the listing agent. I promise you'll love it as well when you see it.

Offered at $342,000 (MLS# O4907095)

3 Beds 2.5 Baths

2,060 Square Feet

2 Car Garage

Tile Roof

Granite Counters

Jetted Tub

Private Views

Year Built: 2003

A slumping housing market means you need to come up with creative marketing ideas to sell homes and I think this idea by a Michigan couple trying to sell their home for retirement is ingenious. They’ve put up a replica of their home for sale in the form of a dollhouse for $169,000 and as a bonus you get the real house for free.

The homeowners, Gerry and Cindy Mann, found this dollhouse in their basement. Cindy’s late father created the dollhouse for their kids years ago, but the kids have grown up so they thought to use it for marketing. It took Cindy’s father over a year to create this scale model so I can see how they were inspired to put it to use.

In any case, it’s quite a clever idea. We’ll have to wait and see if it gets their home sold. At the very least, it ought to bring lots of attention.

I just met with a locksmith at one of my properties and somehow we got to talking about the bump key. It’s a low tech device that picks locks like it’s nothing and can be purchased at Wal Mart and on the internet. An entire set of bump keys costs about $30 and it will give you a full arsenal of tools to pick locks. I did a check on YouTube and there’s all kinds of videos showing how to use this device. It looks like criminals use the internet as well. I was really shocked to see how easy it is to pick a lock on a home. There’s even a 12 year old successfully using a bump key on YouTube. When replacing locks on your home, it may be worthwhile to consider putting in locks that are impervious to the bump key. I found one solution by a company called Medeco and another by Schlage Primus who claims to be bump key proof. The locksmith told me that he’s been installing the Medeco locks all over Central Florida especially where crime is more prevalent. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than a high tech security system and probably more effective.

 

If you're one of those people who'd like to consider your house a work of art, you may be interested in the Nautilus House created by bioarchitect Javier Senosiain in 2006. It truly is a work of art, although you may want to make a little less of a statement. It's definitely not gonna go over so well with the homeowner's association, but if you've got a plot of land overlooking the ocean or mountains or something then this could be the home that makes you stand out from the pact. World Architecture News describes it as "The metaphor was to feel like an internal inhabitant of a snail, like a mollusk moving from one chamber to another, like a symbiotic dweller of a huge fossil maternal cloister. This home social life flows inside the Nautilus without any division, a harmonic area in three dimensions where you can notice the continuous dynamic of the fourth dimension when moving in spiral over the stairs with a feeling of floating over the vegetation". I was never gonna come up with a description like that, so I decided quote their description. In any case, I really like it because I'm one kooky son of a gun or more of a real estate geek than I thought. Whether or not I'd live in the darn thing is another argument altogether. It would definitely make a nice beach house somewhere in New Smyrna, Melbourne, or Ponce Inlet and everyone in Central Florida would know about it. I guess the question of the day is would you live in the Nautilus House? As crazy as it sounds, I think I would depending on the price. Some family in Mexico definitely would because they've been living in it since 2006. I wonder how it would do for resale. Probably not so good, but you can always say your house is a work of art and no one could argue. Anytime someone asks if you've been living in a shell, you can always say yes and have an excuse for not being up on current events.
see video: Nautilus House

Say goodbye to ever running out of how water again or having to wait for the water to heat up. The Eternal Hybrid Water Heater produces an endless supply of hot water instantly and is the most efficient water heater on the market today because it doesn’t waste any water while you wait for the water to heat up. So it’s green, but not so good for the other green, your pocketbook. It runs around $3,000 and it’ll take a long time recoup the added costs from the efficiency.

At least you’ll never run out of hot water and doing some good for planet earth. It’s a wonderful luxury item to consider for new construction or remodeling projects, but it’s not cheap. It costs twice as much as a normal water heater but really within reach of most consumers if you gotta have it.

If price is no object or you’re getting sick of running out of hot water or waiting for it, then you gotta have it. All homes over a million dollars should have it and hopefully we’ll all have it eventually.

Barbara Corcoran has been showing up quite a bit lately on the Today Show with some great tips for real estate. In this segment, Corcoran suggests that a beautiful backyard can add 11% to a home's value. I wish I agreed with her on this one, but I think she's exaggerating here. Sure a nice backyard adds value, but not 11%. Not around these parts. Corcoran says to stay away from adding swimming pools, sports courts, and concrete patios. Instead you should strive for less lawn, more landscaping, and create an outdoor room. I love her suggestion about adding trees but stay away from the maple trees because the falling leaves will make it a nightmare to clean up. When adding trees in the front yard, try to plant trees where it doesn't block the front facade. There's nothing worse than pulling up to a house and seeing all tree. Many times, hiring a landscape designer can make all the difference. It's not that expensive and the yard will look much more attractive.

Spacious Pool Home on Conservation Area offered at $380,000 Truly a sanctuary with gorgeous greenbelt views and loaded with tasteful upgrades with granite counters and backsplash, new Maytag appliances, gorgeous ceramic tile, and self cleaning pool with screen enclosure and water feature. 14500 Greater Pines Blvd Clermont, FL 34711 MLS# O4841127

• 4 Bedrooms
• 3 Bathrooms
• 2,744 Square Feet
• Year Built: 2002
• 3 Car Garage
• Split Plan
• Vaulted Ceilings
• Security System
• Mother in Law Suite
• Granite Counters
• Tray Ceilings
• French Doors
• Walk in Closets
• Garden Bath
• Laundry Room Inside
• Gas Available for Appliances
• Self Cleaning Pool with Water Feature
• Home Warranty

One of the most common suggestions made by interior designers and home stagers is paint. Time and time again they say it gives you the most bang for the buck when it comes to home improvement. The only problem is the colors that are in fashion seem to change every year. So I started wondering who comes up with these colors and who decides they’re the colors for the year.

According to The Furniture Store Blog, they’re decided by so called color forecasters which are usually paint companies. They go to great lengths to keep interior designers informed of their forecast and they in turn introduce the fashionable colors to consumers.

The colors designated to be fashionable for 2008 by Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore appears to be a bold mix of colors which goes against the popular suggestion made by Realtors of staying neutral. My personal opinion is that beige everywhere is all too common and way too boring and sterile looking. Bold colors can be striking in moderation and in the right places. You just gotta keep from going overboard.

Fashionable Colors for 2008

• 2008 Sherwin Williams Color Forecast
• 2008 Benjamin Moore Colors for Your Home