About Columbia County, FL

A good way to save money and even lower your monthly payments on a home or mobile home that was bought in 2009 is to get Homestead Exemption. You can for the Lake City and Fort White FL area go to the Columbia County Property Appraiser's Web Site at http://g2.columbia.floridapa.com/ for more information.

To be able to get the benefit you will need to have lived on the property by December 31, 2009. An application will not be started unless you have the following information;

1. You will need a Fl. Drive Lic. with the New Property Address on it.

2. You will need a Fl. vehicle Registration.

3. You will need your Social Security Number.

4. You will need your Columbia County Registeration Card, if you are registered.

5. If you are applying for a Mobile Home, you will need your Mobile Home Registration.

Bruce Dicks, Realtor

Coldwell Banker Bishop Realty

Lake City, FL , www.NorthFlHomesandLand.com

I had to post this after the two marathon loans I just got to closing - Enjoy!!

'Twas an hour before closing and the agents were tense,
to close Christmas Eve just didn't make sense.
But the seller was booked on the 6 o'clock flight
and had warned "THERE WILL BE A CLOSING TONIGHT!"
The agents agreed because business was dead,
and visions of commission checks danced in their heads.

The loan was approved by the lender's good grace,
Everyone knew 'twas a borderline case.
The buyers divorced, remarried again,
Divorced once more, and now were just friends.
The loan package complete to the closer was carried,
With instructions to close before they remarried.

The title policy arrived via UPS,
From page One through Sixteen, a terrible MESS!
An improper legal, 3 judgments, a lien,
But a few lines on page seven, looked pretty clean.
The title was cleared and the closing was set,
But to finish today was not a sure bet.

The closer dashed in waving her HUD,
It was covered with whiteout, coffee and crud.
But down in the corner you barely could see,
that the buyer still owed a buck thirty-three.
So the closer extracted a bill from her compact,
And the agents agreed to the rest on the contract.

To add some interest, the seller revealed,
to everyone's horror - the well wasn't sealed.
And, oh yes, he wanted to change the disclosure,
His mother just died of RADON EXPOSURE!
Everything else in his house was O.K.
(his cracked floors and walls were always that way)

About that time the buyer chimed in,
"we'd like to continue, but before we begin,
I noticed these papers - I'm likely to blame,
But I gave my agents the wrong legal name,
And one more thing I had hoped to avoid,
Does it really matter if I'm self-employed?"

About this time the closer exploded.
She pulled out a gun and said it was loaded.
Everyone froze and sat there amazed,
She frothed at the mouth and her eyes were both glazed.

More rapid than eagles, her curses they came;
she bristled and spouted and called them BAD names.
"THE CLOSING IS OFF, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR??
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL - NOW GET OUT OF HERE!"

Fannie Mae now a landlord? They plan to lease to former owners after deed in lieu of foreclosure http://bit.ly/2ZmXEX They will be offering an initial one year lease and month to month after that. Freddie Mac will also be leasing... they will only be offering leases on a month to month basis. Read more by clicking on the link I provided above.

Today is the day! House is voting on extending the first time home buyer tax credit and extending it to non-first-time home buyers. Here is a letter to the House of Representatives from NAR http://bit.ly/3V8zdX