About Orange Park's Oakleaf Plantation

The first offer I ever wrote as a real estate agent was with a customer that called on a home while I was on floor duty. The home was listed at $212,000, and the buyer offered $160,000. The home across the street, a foreclosure, had recently sold for $165,000. The buyer insisted on their offer despite the different circumstances. I presented the offer to the listing agent, who presented it to the seller. The seller did not accept our offer, and countered at just slightly below list price. The buyer was not willing to pay that price and moved on.

Almost a year and a half later, that home is still on the market, now a short sale, and under contract at $160,000. It will probably close near $150,000. This is interesting first hand support of the statistic that the best offer will be the first offer.

This experience also shows how the market price is now being set by distressed properties. It makes me wonder what kind of a difference it would have made if both realtors and the public had accepted reality sooner about prices, and taken the big hit right away. Then we might be further up the recovery hill, instead of wallowing in the valley of the bottom.

Melissa Tolson, GRI - Buyer Specialist

The Oakleaf Animal Hospital is one year old this month! To celebrate their first year in our community, Saturday April 25th they are hosting an open house. There will be free food and prizes and music. They will also be offering tours of the hospital. I'm looking forward to learning more about the behind the scenes workings of a vet's hospital.

I've always enjoyed great service from Dr. Weichman and her staff. Come out and meet them, and support our local Oakleaf businesses.

When: Saturday April 25th 10-2 Where: 8483 Merchants Way (behind Vystar, across the street from Beall's)

See you there!

Melissa Tolson, GRI - Buyer's Specialist, the Landry Team

The Wallstreet Journal released an article on March 27th 2009 that stated why its a good time to buy a home better then I could ever try to explain. Below are those six reasons.

1. Uncle Sam is willing to help. First-time buyers (defined as anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years) are entitled to a maximum $8,000 tax credit; interest rates are at record lows; and the Federal Reserve is doing its best to make mortgage loans available.

2. People have to live somewhere. About 800,000 new households are formed each year in this country, ensuring that the housing market will tighten, even if the economy doesn't soar.

3. Borrowers leverage their investment. If you put $10,000 into the stock market and it earns 10 percent, you've earned $1,000. If you put $10,000 down on a home and its values increases 10 percent, you've made $10,000.

4. When prices come back up, you'll have instant equity. In parts of the country where foreclosures have driven down prices, better times will mean the price of the home you buy will rise rapidly.

5. Mortgage costs stay the same. If you get a fixed-rate mortgage, the monthly payment stays the same - while everything else, including rent, goes upward.

6. You own it. There is something comforting in the notion that your home is your own. You can paint it any color you want, let the dog run in the back yard and hang a swing for the kids in the front.

So, I would say that those are some pretty powerful reasons on why its a not just a good time to buy a home, but a great time to buy a home!

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (03/27/2009)

There is a big problem occuring these days in the rental market. As we all know foreclosures are popping up right and left. An alarming 1/13 homes are going into some stage of foreclosure in Florida. So you ask how this affect rentals/tenants. We'll a large amount of these homes that are going into foreclosure are tenant occupied.

A good tenant, pays their rent on time, keeps the house up and all of a sudden there is a knock at the door and the bank says they need to be out within 30 days. Confusion sets in....the tenant has been paying the rent, why is he getting kicked out! Well the case is that many landlords are falling on hard times just like the rest of us. They take the rental money and pay the bills that they currently have, neglecting their investment property.

Why you need to know this. With home prices being so aggressivly priced right now it truly is cheaper to own then rent in most neighborhoods!! So, renting may not be your best option if you are qualified to own a home. If you choose not to purchase and continue to rent, be careful. Rent from a property manager, make sure that the property manager is in good communication with the landlord. Lastly, check the public records often for a Lis Pendens (notice of foreclosure) filing.

Its a crazy market out there right now......... be sure to safeguard yourself by working with qualified professionals.

The time that all Oakleaf Residents have been waiting for. POOL TIME!!!

We are happy to let you know that the Oakleaf Pools (Both of them) will be re-opening for spring on April 4th!!

POOL HOURS

Liz- 904-803-2459