Gainesville, FL

Well here is my crack at a real estate blog. I've wanted to start one for almost two years now, so in my own mind anyway I was ahead of the curve, now I'm late to the party. Feel free to comment anyhow you like. I could just as easily, and possibly will tell you the top 10 things to consider before you buy investment property in Gainesville, Florida.

Top 10 Reasons why now is the time to start buying residential homes for investment in Gainesville Florida.

1. Remember that before the big boom investing in real estate was always a marathon, not a sprint. Think 5 years out at least when buying real estate for investment.
2. Interest rates are pretty darn low, for an investor they are right around 7 percent
3. Inflation is coming in 2011. I don't really know anyone who is in the know that doesn't believe inflation will start to really drive up towards the end of 2010. That's good for real estate, bad for mortgage rates, and thus good for those who have low fixed term mortgages. Remember the cost of borrowing money will go up, so will rents and asset values.
4. Property Taxes will be going down. Next year will be the first year the rapid decline in real estate prices starts to reflect in our property taxes. The values used for our property taxes in Alachua County this year were based on home prices as of January 1, 2008. According to the Gainesville MLS home prices rose 3% from the previous January. They are already down in excess of 20% year to date.
5. The golden rule of a real real estate investor is: "Buy low, never sell" Of course you never know when the bottom is in, but in our area chances are you won't get much of a better price then you will in the next couple of months. The credit markets are frozen and it's our local off-season. There is over supply, pricing is low and negotiating power is high.
6. Warren Buffet summed it up better then I in the NEW YORK TIMES. Fear is temporary, greed is permanent.
7. Negotiating power is back. The real real estate Investors have always had to put down 15% cash or more to purchase an investment. Leverage is good, but like anything else not in excess. There is just not the same level of competition for well priced homes with the primary home buyer now facing much more stringent down payment requirements. We always felt like we we're treated so poorly by the banks in comparison. I guess in the end it was the primary home buyer that was treated poorly.
8. Every rags to riches story there is starts with real estate investments. It would be nice to jump right into the stock market like warren buffet, or buy apartments and strip malls. Very few people have the capital to do that at first. Think big, but start small and be realistic.
9. Cap on non owner occupant increased assessed value increases. In January we passed a cap that says no property's assessed value may increase more then 10% regardless of market value. Yeah long gone are the days of 10% price appreciation in the current low inflationary environment of the past 10 years, but perhaps not with respect to the return of inflation. It seems that Public policy is turning in favor of the real estate investor, Both Ammendment 3 and Ammendment 6 passed in November 2008 and both offering some value to a long term investor.
10. The insurance crisis is over, for now, Insurance rates for properties and liability have dropped, both for the individual landlord and the Condo and homeowners's associations that pass them through dues. If your rates haven't gone down the past two years you're not with the right insurance broker

Last Friday, November 7th, I had a closing at 10am at Security Title with my buyers. As Realtors, we have transaction after transaction - closings after closings. It's our life. But, every once in awhile there is a client you work with that presents "challenges" for our current market conditions. Being a Relentless Realtor, I love a challenge. I want to win...for my clients.

And when it all finally gets to the closing table....you just want to jump up for joy!

You are filled with a warm heart and happy feeling that their "mission was accomplished"!

I'd like to introduce you to Andy and Robyn in front of their brand NEW HOME. Andy & Robyn are "first time home buyers". And by 1pm on Friday they were picking up their rental truck to start moving into their new construction home.

I think Andy contacted me through my web site when they began their search in June.

We began to view homes that met their price range and their wish list. We saw a lot homes. Some were horrible, some were "OK", and of course some were too expensive. There were homes that were too much of a "handyman special" for their liking. Some homes were too small, some too big. There are so many homes to see. It's a long process of elimination when you search for homes.

I told Robyn, we'd have to kiss a bunch of frogs to find the "Prince" of a home for them. By August they were frustrated. We expanded our search and kept searching.

Luckily, I got them hooked up with an excellent local lender, and Leslie Remy at Countrywide Home Loans.Leslie got them pre-qualified, selected the loan program best for them, and walked them through all the hoops, valleys, and peaks that it took to get to that closing table. She's a trooper! (Thanks Leslie!) I know Andy and Robyn were discouraged at times, but steady perseverance won.

The seller/builder was Great! Andy & Robyn fell in love with newly constructed home by Thomas Baker of Baker Development. Quality built home, with wonderful bells and whistles for Andy & Robyn. This home was one of those showings that when you "show it".....you know that "THIS IS THE ONE".

Andy & Robyn will be putting up a basketball hoop, and fencing the back yard so their adorable daughter, Tory will have a big back yard to play in. Life is Good! And their new life started on November 7th at that closing.

Everything happens for a reason. This home is why we had to kiss all those other frogs/homes.

I love first time home buyers. I love it when my buyers love their home and are proud of "their accomplishments".

This transaction warmed my heart. Andy & Robyn are my latest buyers that I consider "clients for life".

**** MY 200th POST **** Written and Posted By: Chris Bohn, GRI- ABR-ePro- ** Gainesville FL Real Estate Copyright © 2008 Chris Bohn, RE/MAX Professionals, Inc., is a Florida Realtor® who specializes in Gainesville, FL and communities in Alachua County, FL . To find out more information about her real estate services please visit her profile . You are welcome to contact her by phone at 352-375-1002 or by email at chris@eHomesGainesville.com . You can click to view her listings or visit her website. Thank you for your visit.

I am sure you have seen clips on the local news stations or seen info in our local papers here about the November 4th elections.

Will there be massive "waiting" lines to VOTE on November 4th?

Will it be too cold or nasty, rainy weather on November 4th to VOTE?

But, hey our wonderful Sunshine State has EARLY VOTING!! Convenient times and you can even vote this Saturday on November 1st too. Vote on Saturday.....YES !

You can visit the Supervisor of Elections web site to see the official information.

Early Voting Times:

Weekdays

Monday, October 20th through Friday, October 24th - (9 AM to 5 PM)
Monday, October 27th through Friday, October 31st - (9 AM to 5 PM)

Saturdays

October 25th - (9 AM to 1 PM)
November 1st - (9 AM to 5 PM) Early Voting Ends

Early Voting Sites

Supervisor of Elections Office
County Administration Building Location
12 SE 1st Street, Gainesville

Millhopper Branch Library
3145 NW 43rd Street, Gainesville

Tower Road Branch Library
3020 SW 75th Street, Gainesville

Exciting news in the Gainesville apartments market!

Trimark Properties has announced that they will not be renewing or renting out their popular Oak Lawn apartments for the Fall 2009 leasing season. Instead, the award-winning development company will be performing a complete redevelopment on the site begining in August 2009. The redevelopment project will add several buildingds to the current site plan and will include a complete renovation of both the interior and exterior of the current apartments.

For those of you not familiar with Oak Lawn, allow me to give you some background information. Trimark Properties purchased the apartment complex 2 years ago. The small parcel is located two blocks from the University of Florida campus and walking distance to UF classes. It is also located on an important thoroughfaire, across the street from the Alachua General Hospital (also known as Shands at AGH), which has recently been slated to be closed during the 2009 or 2010 year (see several articles in the Gainesville Sun newspaper). Currently, there are three buildings on the site, each holding a total of four apartments. Each of the current apartments are 2 Bedroom / 1 Bathroom floorplans that are rented out of the main Trimark Properties Leasing Office located on 13th Street. The site also includes a parking lot and laundry room, and is across the street from the popular and luxurious Ashton Lane apartment complex.

The new development plans have not been announced in detail. It will be interesting to hear what Trimark Properties has in mind for this important parcel! Check out their Gainesville apartments website for further details.

While building is down throughout most of the country, Trimark Properties announced earlier this week that they will be breaking ground on two new Gainesville apartments near the Univeristy of Florida campus this month. The two new developments are slated for July 2009 completion, and will be ready long in advance of their August 2009 move-in dates for new residents.

Trimark Properties has built several new luxury apartment complexes in the last few years.

Previous Gainesville Apartments Developed:

• Ashton Lane
• Heritage Oaks
• Royale Palms
• Camden Court

This year, the Trimark Properties development team will be building:

• New Phase of Luxury apartments at Stratford Court
• Sabal Palms
  

Trimark Properties just added the webpages for these two properties to their Gainesville apartments website earlier this month. The Sabal Palms Gainesville Apartments page shows that there will be three floorplans, including two different 3 bedroom / 3 bathroom floorplans, and a spacious 4 bedroom / 4 bathroom floorplan. One of the three bedroom floorplans includes a bay window area.

Stratford Court's new phase will be announced in further detail in the next few weeks. Stratford Court will offer mainly 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom and 3 bedroom / 3 bathroom floorplans.

Both apartment complexes will be within 2 blocks of the UF campus and walking distance to Sorority Row in the popular University Heights overlay. Features will include gourmet kitchens with granite countertops, energy efficient appliance packages, real maple wood cabinetry in the kitchen and luxury bathrooms, washer/dryers included, oversized windows for abundant sunlights, picture shelves in each big bedroom, dual master suites, private luxury bathrooms with porcelain tile and pedestal sinks, designer light fixtures and upgraded black appliance packages.

For further details, check out their websites.