watson realty: What Do I Do With All This Stuff?
- 04/12/11 02:58 PM
For years now Americans have been gathering and collecting at an amazing pace. Filling homes that over the past half-century have more than doubled in size, the average size home is nearly 2,500 square feet. And even that hasn't been enough to contain our nation's overflow of stuff. My daughter Kelly lives in a home in St. Augustine and she, like many of the nearly one in 10 U.S. households here, maintains a least one self-storage unit, 65 percent more than did so in 1995!
Filling these spaces, of course, comes naturally to baby boomers, even Generation X'ers like my daughter. Born … (6 comments)
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watson realty: Have you Heard----Help for Struggling Florida Homeowners.
- 04/11/11 01:39 AM
The State of Florida launches "Hardest-Hit Fund Program" statewide beginning April 18th. This financial assistance is designed for unemployed or underemployed Floridians that are having difficulty paying mortgage. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation has been conducting a pilot of its Hardest-Hit foreclosure prevention program since October in Lee County, and is now opening them up statewide.
What does this mean for struggling homes in St. Augustine? Owners may apply for Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMAP) that provides up now provides up to $12,000 to pay monthly mortgage.
Also available is the Mortgage Loan Reinstatement Payment Program (MLRP). This program provides up … (0 comments)
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watson realty: Adapt Your Home to it's Selling Season
- 04/08/11 11:36 AM
Homes in St. Augustine Florida are beautiful all year long. We don't have the brutal winters or the mess from leaves in the fall. So we are lucky to have a great selling season all year long.
There's a selling myth that you should wait till springtime to sell your home. While spring is the busiest season for real estate sales across most of the country, people buy homes 365 days a year. Here are some great hints to help emphasize your home's seasonal amenities.
… (2 comments)
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watson realty: Are Short Sales Benificial?
- 04/06/11 05:35 AM
Short sales play an ever increasing and beneficial role in the St. Augustine Real Estate market. Here are a few reasons why I favor a more streamlined Sort Sale process:
Short sales help reduce the inventory of bank-owned homes on the market. Homebuyers who can qualify for a mortgage at today's low interest rates also are able to purchase a home at below-market prices. Banks get a nonperforming asset off their books and avoid the headaches associated with disposing of assets they don't want to own in the first place. Neighborhoods have fewer abandoned homes, and local businesses have more customers with money to … (1 comments)
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watson realty: Debt -- Can it be good?
- 04/04/11 03:56 PM
My Daughter, Kelly, would like to buy a home in St. Augustine, I tell her, that the trick is to know how and when to use credit. So Kelly, your Mom has some more advice for you!
Debt can get you into a lot of trouble, as the financial crisis illustrated with an exclamation point, but it's not all bad.
Here are five ways that your debt can be good for you.
… (0 comments)
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watson realty: How To Increase Property Values In St. Augustine
- 03/15/11 07:58 AM
Is there a difference between price and value. ABSOLUTELY! Price is the amount you are asking for the property. Value is buyer perceived, and this perception of value is influenced by many factors such as location, features, condition, comparison to other purchase option, etc.I help educate my clients, sellers of homes in St. Augustine, that the details are crucial and will have a positive impact on the value. These simple tipswill help sellers significantly increase their chance of selling their property faster and at a higher price by attracting qualified buyers who willing to pay the asking price.
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watson realty: St. Augustine Real Estate Market Stabilizing?
- 03/05/11 03:35 AM
In a search of our MLS this morning I found that there are 1,096 active residential listings. Of these listings only 49 are REO foreclosures, that's about 5%. However, there are 144 Short Sale Listings - 13%.
With a lot of the nations markets Distressed Sales are often in the 20% and higher range. Could this mean that the St. Augustine Market is stabilizing? Lets take a look at these numbers each month to see.
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watson realty: 29 Tax Deductions for Real Estate Professionals
- 02/24/11 01:11 AM
It's that time of year again. The time that I dread, postpone and simply want to ignore. It's tax time. UGH!
2010 was not such a bad year for me. My gross closed commissions were higher than in the years past, however, I spent more too! Fortunately, I found this great checklist of taxable deductions to help me stay on track and not miss any deductions this year.
Checklist of deductions
advertising expenses, including websites, mailing lists, newspaper advertising, fliers, online advertising, postcards, promotional materials, logo clothing, and anything else you pay for to market your real estate business; bookkeeping, accounting … (6 comments)
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watson realty: It's a Win-Win.
- 02/14/11 03:06 PM
Customers often ask me the some of the same questions over and over again about homes in St. Augustine, especially about Short Sales and Foreclosures. My solution? Write a blog about it and when the question comes up, I'll shoot them a link to my blog. They get their question answered and I get exposure for my website.
It's a win-win!
… (6 comments)
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watson realty: Florida is ON SALE again!
- 02/11/11 01:30 AM
In a few weeks Florida Realtors will be hosting the Annual Open House Weekend. Homes in St. Augustine will be open both Saturday and Sunday March 26-27, 2011. This is the time for buyers and sellers to come and preview homes in St. Augustine.
I have seen some buyers at my open houses come prepared with Zestimates from Zillow (accurate or not). So this year I am going to be prepared with the same information. I'll have the current zestimate along with the CORRECT market data to share with the buyers. I'm sure they will appreciate that information.
I bet all of the … (3 comments)
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watson realty: Are Real Estate Agents Worth The Commission?
- 02/09/11 11:26 PM
I know that everyone in this economy is counting dollars and cents; and I am no different. With the current market conditions, the shrunken buyer pool and significantly longer days on the market it costs more to market a property today than it ever has. Why are you asking me to reduce my commission when I sell your home?
The fact is, after I take the risk of marketing a home, (because I don't get paid unless it sells), and cover all of my marketing expenses (which I must say is an extensive list), and cost of my phone bill, postage, time, fuel, … (79 comments)
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watson realty: Shifting Demographics
- 02/09/11 02:44 PM
I entered the general real estate sales market, representing homes in St. Augustine two years ago. Coming from an extensive background in strong developer sales, general real estate has been a challenging venture. To say this has been a wild ride is putting it mildly.
Florida real estate developers and agents have been catering to the Baby Boomer market, and in a recent article by Inman News, this demographic is shifting.
… (1 comments)
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watson realty: Try it before you buy it!
- 01/30/11 11:38 AM
Marsh Creek Country Club is the ultimate combination of Intracoastal marshes, luxurious homes, bountiful wildlife and a top rated championship golf course. I have been selling homes here since 1992 with the Development team, PARC Group. Even now that all of the Developer properties long gone, there are still some attractive buys in Marsh Creek.
In addition to beautiful estate homes, patio homes and villas; Marsh Creek Country Club boasts one of the finest golf courses in Florida. For a limited time Marsh Creek Country Club in St. Augustine FL is offering an amazing Trial Membership to allow prospective members … (1 comments)
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watson realty: Cold Calling Blues
- 01/11/11 02:29 AM
Here it is, 11 days into the New Year. What has happened to my resolution to put away my fears of cold calling? I hit an ice block and a deep freeze comes over me when I pick up the phone when I start to call old customers. What do I say? How do I start? It's not just the weather that has me shaking as I start to dial my Homes In St. Augustine SOI. I admit, I panic.
I read recently that I should be prepared with a script - a few written points that I would like to cover … (45 comments)
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watson realty: St. Augustine Golf Community
- 12/27/10 03:54 AM
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> … (0 comments)
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watson realty: St. Augustine New Years Eve Dining Recommendations
- 12/27/10 02:02 AM
Historic St. Augustine is the place to celebrate the New Year! Here are a few ways to save some of your hard earned cash and ring in 2011 in style!
St. Augustine New Years Eve Dining Recommendations
10% OFF Entire Check Open Xmas Eve, New Years Eve and New Years Day. Enjoy the view in our new fully enclosed outside patio. Just in time for the winter season! CLICK HERE to print coupon. 612 Euclid Ave. | 904-829-1105
Open New Year's Eve & New Year's Day Aviles Restaurant & Lounge wishes you a very HAPPY … (0 comments)
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watson realty: St Augustine Beach Blast Off 2011
- 12/26/10 04:36 AM
Ring in the New Year with your family and friends at St Augustine Beach at the Beach Blast Off 2011!
Make your plans now for St Augustine Beach for a “family friendly” early New Year’s Eve, Friday December 31st, 4:00pm - 10:00pm at Beach Blast Off 2011!
Enjoy a Chili Cook Off competition that features delicious samples from 14 local restaurants. Who will win first place this year? Celebrity Judges will be voting for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Come and vote for your favorite in the Peoples Choice category.
Food vendors will be on hand with an assortment of yummy … (0 comments)
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watson realty: 4 Bedroom Beauty in St. Augustine Golf Community
- 12/25/10 03:06 PM
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watson realty: New Home - Olde Florida
- 12/25/10 02:42 PM
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watson realty: Homes in St. Augustine Short Sale Deals
- 12/22/10 12:19 AM
Homes in St. Augustine don't get much better than this! Today's Homes in St. Augustine short sale deal is a 2 Bedroom St. Augustine Shores condominium for $79,000! The other condo, $650,000 in the planned community of Palencia went under contract.
… (0 comments)
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For years now Americans have been gathering and collecting at an amazing pace. Filling homes that over the past half-century have more than doubled in size, the average size home is nearly 2,500 square feet. And even that hasn't been enough to contain our nation's overflow of stuff. My daughter Kelly lives in a home in St. Augustine and she, like many of the nearly one in 10 U.S. households here, maintains a least one self-storage unit, 65 percent more than did so in 1995!
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