Lakeland, FL

First Friday in Lakeland Florida – Local Event “Honoring Service” – November 6th, 2009

Being married to a veteran, who served 20 years in the Army and both of my sons (SIL) serving in the military, one as a Marine reservist and the other active duty in the Air Force, this is very dear to my heart. Veterans Day is November 11^th and Lakeland, Florida’s First Friday local event “Honoring Service” could not have been timed any better.

With all Lakeland First Friday events, Downtown Lakeland Partnership has always done an outstanding job organizing, which proved at last month event of “Art Walk”. I’ve never seen that many people downtown Lakeland comingling, shopping, dining and having a good time.

What can you expect to see in and around Munn Park?

It all starts at 6:00 p.m. with the National Anthem that will be performed by the Harrison School for the Arts string quartet in front of Brooke Pottery.

• Color guard demonstration by Lake Gibson High, Lake Region, and George Jenkins High Schools.
• Dance and ROTC performances throughout the evening are scheduled – Kentucky Avenue will close from Lemon Street to Oak.
• Music and Entertainment
• Student art displays along the streets

At 7:00 p.m. between Main and Lemon Street, you’ll be entertained by clogging and nutcracker dances.

• Girl Scouts are sponsoring card making activities to be sent to troops overseas.
• Massages will be offered
• Prizes to win, sign up for drawings and more.
• Lifestyle Fitness Center will also have you entertained

There is so much more from Nonperishable Food Drive organized by Brooke Pottery to benefit the Talbot House to Operation Drop Zone donating items for our active military members deployed overseas. Think about our military veterans when you shop downtown Lakeland!

Also, Senator Paula Dockery, who just announced her run for governor will be there to talk with you.

Stop by at the classic car show!

Ever wonder just how many people call Lakeland, Florida, home? Well, at the present time, about 93,000 people consider themselves Lakelanders. And of that amount, 46.5% are male and 53.5% are female. The population of Lakeland is actually up about 14.6% since the year 2000.

Lakeland boasts 5 high schools, 7 middle schools and 26 elementary schools. What about private schools and other types of schools in Lakeland? Well, there are 17 of those. So if you can't find an education in Lakeland, you're just not looking in the right places.

The U.S. cost of living index is 100 but Lakeland's is only 84.5 so despite how it feels when you're checking out at the grocery store, it does actually cost less to live in Lakeland than a lot of other cities in the United States. Lakeland is 190 feet above sea level and covers 45.8 square miles.

How about some information on the weather. Our annual precipitation is 49.13 inches with April being the driest month at an average of 2.04 inches and September being the wettest with 6.33 inches.

And then there are Lakeland's tropical temperatures. Daytime average high temperatures are in the 70's in January, February and December, in the 80's in March and April and in the 90's the other seven months. Lows range from the 50's in January, February, March, November and December, the 60's in April, May and October and the 70's in June, July, August and September. This all works out to an average annual high temperature of 85.5 and an average low of 63.2.

If you want to learn more about such things as politics, where to volunteer in Lakeland, government resources or other community info, check out the American Towns website.

If you want to learn more about finding housing in Lakeland or selling your home in Lakeland, check out The Boyce Team. Contact Damion Boyce and let him and the rest of the team use their extensive knowledge of the area to find your perfect home.

Update for the Lakeland real estate market! Currently, there are 1940 homes for sale throughout Lakeland – as of 11/03/09, still balanced no major increase in inventory for the past few weeks. Newly listed homes for the period of October 16th through October 31^st totaled 192 Lakeland homes recently came on the market. Average sales price of $177,940 or $85.32 per square foot with area Realtors®.

The types of homes and average prices just listed in Lakeland, Florida according to the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are as follows:

2 duplex listed with an average sales price of $36,299

5 condos listed with an average sales price of $104,560

16 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $96,212

11 Townhomes/Villas listed with an average sales price of $110,561

158 single family homes with an average price of $195,022

Three Lakeland homes exceeding $1 million were just listed. The priciest Lakeland real estate was a former “Home of the Year” in the 2006 Spring Parade. This custom built pool home is located in the Lazy Creek subdivision; featuring 5 bedrooms and 5 baths with close to 6,000 square feet of living space currently offered for $1,499,000. On the contrary, the cheapest Lakeland home newly listed is a 2 bedroom 1 bath listed for only $10,000 – just under $12.00 per square foot – located in the Palma Ceia Court subdivision.

For a more detailed report, please continue to read by clicking this link!

Lakeland's CommonGround Park was originally thought of from two Lakeland-area mothers of children with special needs, who contacted the Parks and Recreation Department with their suggestion. After four years of fundraising, planning and construction, this park opened up for all children ages 2-12 earlier this year. CommonGround Park's playground is designed to have fun play experiences, as well as aid children in their cognitive, physical and emotional development.

I just love when Lakeland's community leaders, various fund raising organizations, such as the Rotary Clubs, businesses and volunteers come together and create such a place for children.

Located in Lakeland's Edgewood Park, at the corner of Edgewood Drive and Buckingham Avenue, CommonGround uses the space very efficiently with two separate playground areas, a rock-climbing wall, an astroturf mound for kids to roll down, and much more for all children of all abilities. Play zones are exceptionally designed, so children can play side-by-side.

The park is open from 8:00 a.m. until dusk!

I’m a member of a network of over 400 real estate agents and growing at Short Sale Superstars,
Visit Short Sale Superstars
who are committed to help sellers and buyers with short sales in Florida and across the America. Short sales can be difficult at times and this is why this group of professionals is so helpful not only to us real estate agents, but for you, especially. I would say that we are a Short Sale Agent support group, helping each other, solving uncommon issues for our clients, making suggestions that can only help you the seller or buyer. We are not complainers - we are solvers, here to help you.
There is information about lenders, such as Bank of America aka Countrywide, Wachovia, SunTrust, Wells Fargo, Saxon, and Chase just to name a few. This is a place where agents help, inform and reach out to consumer by providing valuable information to make a short sale a success.

If you are looking for an agent within your state, who is very proficient doing Short Sales, I'm sure you will find one right here within this wonderful group of Short Sale Superstars. Give them a call!

This is one of the comments left from a Short Sale seller today, "I just love this site! For a homeowner facing SS process, it's a comforting to have experts all in one place".

Polk County, Florida - Lakeland, FL

With Polk County’s unemployment rates, this foreclosure epidemic is going to continue and it may even grow. Lakeland Short Sales are at an all time high, there are currently over 400 Lakeland homes for sale that are short sales.

The jobless rate in Polk County is at an all time high since 1992 – 13.6%

The jobless rate in Lakeland-Winter Haven for September is recorded at 12.7%

If you are in a situation where you can’t no longer afford to make your mortgage payments because of job loss, divorce, health, or other hardship; a short sale would be your best remedy to save your home from foreclosure and salvage some of your credit.

There are over 1,000 Lis Pendens filed within the city of Lakeland Florida alone. Since September 1, 2009, 143 Lis Pendens were filed with the Polk County Clerk of Courts for properties that are located in Lakeland – a city with a population of an estimated 97,000 people.

What is a Lis Pendens?

In essence, a formal notice is filed on behalf of the lender, who holds the note on your mortgage. It is considered a lawsuit; however, the homeowner still has possession and the right to sell the property. Short sales can be your best remedy to a foreclosure.

Give me a call at (863) 619-6918 or email me at petra@petranorris.com to arrange for a confidential consultation – I’m here to help.