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Palm Harbor, FL

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Palm Harbor's Bamboo Gardens Nursery

02-03-10
BarbaraJo's Blog - Clearwater and Pinellas County Florida Real Estate -
BarbaraJo's Blog - Clearwater and Pinellas County Florida Real Estate -: Real Estate Agent in Clearwater, FL
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  • Office: (727) 512-0910
  • Mobile: (727) 512-0910

Palm Harbor has the most wonderful bamboo nursery that I have ever visited!!! Bamboo Gardens is owned by Jerry and Mary Ann Smith, a lovely couple that have a magnificent bamboo nursery on three acres right here in Palm Harbor Florida!

Located on Omaha Street in Palm Harbor, the Bamboo Gardens Nursery sells over 100 variety of bamboo!! They are not open at all times, so it is always best to call in advance: 727-784-0517. They are always closed on Sundays!

Through this gate you will find a magical world of bamboo - some as short as a couple of feet and others towering 50 or 60 feet in the sky!!! I have made several purchases here myself and have always been pleased with their products and knowledge of how to take care of this precious plant!

8 Comments
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Foreclosure Q & A - Who Ends Up Paying The Price?

02-03-10
Loretta Buckner | Your Home Retention Expert and GREEN Consultant For Life!
Loretta Buckner | Your Home Retention Expert and GREEN Consultant For Life!: Real Estate Brokerage in Palm Harbor, FL
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  • Office: (727) 656-6206
  • Mobile: (727) 452-0023

The Q:

With the condition of many of the properties in foreclosure. Could this be the answer? I have visited a number of these properties and had an idea that I would like to share with you. Most of them have been empty for months, some for years. One could not help noticing the tell tail odors, damaged ceilings, walls, ripped out appliances, green pools and so on. On second thought I wondered if the expression" fixer upper " can truly define these homes? Since I am no expert I wondered how it would be defined if a health department or a city code inspector would have visited with me. Could their answer become the solution we are looking for? I think lot of these properties should not be even be considered for sale and they should be demolished. Let the code inspectors across the country be challenged with the task of deeming them unfit for habitation and consider activating the emanate domain. Now I know that what I am thinking may sound drastic but consider the objective. Eliminating a number of these unsafe uninhabitable homes could be the start . Imagine . They would be replaced with new construction that not only provides an esthetic change but building homes that have features that are innovative. Smart homes. Homes that can stand up to hurricane conditions. Solar tiled roof system. Safety glass windows, solar heated pools, state of the art kitchens, cooling systems. With a little imagination the list goes on. Now I am not a economist but would not the decreased number of homes available on the market improve the demand factor? Or my gosh even appreciate home values on existing homes? Would the construction of these homes create a resurgence of employment. Would this be a model for existing homes that would upgrade to meet these standards ? Or give a reason to be competing with homes to that do not comply ?Would this not improve and level the market place? Could this be an answer for insurance companies to discount the price of insurance for homes that meet this standard. Could banks offer to sell these properties to developers who would participate in the redevelopment process for land value only at a great savings? Could this be the answer that would provide new confidence in the lending market? Would this encourage banks to make mortgages assumable? I can only ask this question from an astute group that can make the difference . It takes more than realtors to bring these changes about but it is a good start.
Thank you.

The A:

Hey there--you've got some excellent thoughts and ideas, and if you wish to act on any of them, my suggestion would be to formulate a business plan and take it to the SBA. Some of the answers you may get from others in the business:

  • there are programs in place to do just what you are suggesting--it's called the NSP, or neighborhood stabilization program. Pasco received a huge endowment from the State and has rehabbed hundreds of homes.
  • the bank's answer to this situation is to try and push through the 'fast track' foreclosure legislation already passed by 37 other States, allowing them to by pass much of the legal process, thus foreclose more quickly and minimize the vacancy rate.

Now, I ask you:

  • if there are already hundreds of thousands of vacant homes (with or without code violations), and hundreds of thousands more enter the marketplace more quickly because banks no longer must follow due process--where will the buyers come from? Or, are these homes destined to become bank-run rental housing?
  • in your scenario, who will pay all of these people whose jobs are 'created' by this new 'development'? Who is the 'developer'?

I think that efforts to improve neighborhoods by building better, more efficient, green homes is a step in the right direction, however, do you really think that demolishing existing construction, which is scattered about in many different types of neighborhoods--in order to build uneccesary new housing--is this really the right approach? As in any venture, it pays to follow the money--who will see the greatest benefit from the plan?

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It's a Blue Moon--What Will YOU be Doing with Lunacy Tonight?

12-31-09
Loretta Buckner | Your Home Retention Expert and GREEN Consultant For Life!
Loretta Buckner | Your Home Retention Expert and GREEN Consultant For Life!: Real Estate Brokerage in Palm Harbor, FL
  • view my blog
  • Office: (727) 656-6206
  • Mobile: (727) 452-0023

Just a "Happy New Year" post, a preview as it were, to the many wonderful things I predict for the upcoming year! Tonight is not only a "Blue Moon" (2nd full moon in the same month), but it's also a lunar eclipse--a portentous event, even if you don't follow astronomical stuff!

I personally don't "do" New year's resolutions--I believe that each day we have that opportunity, however for the upcoming New Year of 2010 I feel that a few intentions are in order...

  • I vow to be kinder from this point forward
  • May my thoughts and actions be more loving and careful (as in mindful of others)
  • May these intentions serve as an example to others to do the same--in the way that we treat ourselves, other people, and all living creatures, including our Beloved Earth!

Happy New Year, Active Rain!

10 Comments
Blog_tag

A SHORT REcap - If YOU or Someone You Know is Underwater and Does Not Know What to Do--Look Here!

12-17-09
Loretta Buckner | Your Home Retention Expert and GREEN Consultant For Life!
Loretta Buckner | Your Home Retention Expert and GREEN Consultant For Life!: Real Estate Brokerage in Palm Harbor, FL
  • view my blog
  • Office: (727) 656-6206
  • Mobile: (727) 452-0023
short sale: Guidelines for Short Sales Announced--Are You Underwater? - 12/03/09 11:59 AM
IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW OWES MORE ON THEIR HOME THAN WHAT IT'S WORTH--TAKE NOTE!
Government Announces Short Sales Guidelines The U.S. Treasury Department announced new guidelines this week designed to make short sales go more smoothly. Scheduled to launch in April 2010, the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) ... (1 comments)

short sale: What WOULD Happen if More Homeowners Chose a Strategic Walk-Away? - 11/30/09 08:10 PM
A recent report on CNBC highlights a controversial subject:
What if homeowners treated their homes and mortgages the way that business treats their non-performing assets?
See the report:


What are your thoughts? Would YOU walk away if it made more financial sense? What would the financial impact be on ... (4 comments)

short sale: SHORT SALES Just Got Easier in CA--Why Not for the Rest of us?!? - 09/24/09 01:01 PM
For once I agree with something happening on the West Coast regarding Real Estate--they just passed SB 306, which requires lenders to respond (accept, reject, or deny) IN WRITING within 21 days to a short sale request (with full documentation, of course). That's not all, of course, there's also something about ... (6 comments)

short sale: Who Knows How to Deal With Chase on a WaMu 2nd (Short Sale)? HELP!! - 09/15/09 05:09 PM
Here's the background:
This is the FOURTH time I've sold this house--the first three times the 1st (Countrywide, now Bank of America) took so long to work it through their system I lost each buyer prior to closing. The current offer on the table, approved by BofA and Freddie Mac after ... (1 comments)

short sale: What's Quick About a Short Sale? - 09/15/09 01:05 PM
I guess we all know the answer to that one by now: Nothing! There's nothing "short" about a short sale--ask me, as a person of diminutive height, I can tell you that short sales are nothing about shortness! So, where from did this term derive, anyway?
Well, put simply, the real ... (5 comments)

short sale: Beacon Wood Beauty - A Pool Home with Extras! - 07/30/09 11:11 AM
... (0 comments)

short sale: Aniee, DON'T Get Your Gun!! - 07/29/09 01:31 PM
I met Aniee last year--she called on one of my listings, looking for something she could purchase as a lease-option. I could tell right away she was a 'can-do' kind of a person, her enthusiasm and sparkle (yes, I said sparkle!) virtually crackles right through the phone when she's happy.
Today ... (5 comments)

short sale: It's a FEEDING FRENZY--the Bottom Feeders are out--Are We At Bottom?!? - 07/03/09 09:10 AM
There has been so much activity lately of the 'shadier' sort here in Pinellas County, Florida--I thought it pertinent to mention yet again some of the scams which have surfaced, proving yet again that greed really brings out the worst in many.
From Trulia this morning:
Our house is getting ready ... (1 comments)

short sale: Pinellas County Distressed Properties - Do You Owe More On Your House Than It's Worth? - 02/16/09 05:51 PM
Continuing the process of learning as much as I possibly can about my local market and how best to help those caught in the pinch of the mortgage crisis and subsequent foreclosures resulting, I've been compiling statistics in an effort to hopefully sooth some fears.
Nationwide, the statistics of homeowners who are ... (0 comments)

short sale: Want to Buy a Home in Pinellas County for Less Than $500 Per Month?!? - 01/27/09 05:10 PM
Seriously--with Largo's down-payment assistance program, which gives qualified first-time homebuyers up to $35,000 in down payment assistance, if that were to be applied to one of the foreclosure or short sale homes available RIGHT NOW in Largo (tour a couple below), your mortgage payment would be in the ballpark of under ... (0 comments)

short sale: The Cottages of Lake St. George - Palm Harbor, Florida Affordable Community - 09/09/08 08:41 PM
Lake St. George is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Pinellas County, Florida, because of its proximity to both downtown St. Pete and Tampa, the lovely white-sand beaches in Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, and Clearwater, and the best schools in Pinellas County.
This adorable cottage can be had for less than it ... (0 comments)

short sale: HELP!! I'm Lost in Countrywide Short Sale HELL...and NOW--SAXON?!? - 08/21/08 01:14 PM
I spent two hours on the phone with Countrywide Short Sale Department yesterday--no, I take that back, I spent hours ON HOLD attempting to speak with a negotiator for Countrywide. I did speak with FOUR different people, and the first was actually trying to put me through to the negotiator, Norberto ... (8 comments)

short sale: Sea Pines in Hudson | Lovely Waterfront Community with Boat Access - 07/29/08 10:51 PM

To GET TICKETS for the next FORECLOSURE BUS TOUR, FILL OUT THE:
EASY ONLINE FORM
Be sure to tell us how many tickets you'll need, the cost for the entire day will be only $25 per person. Thanks for your interest, and best wishes in your home search.
For ... (2 comments)

short sale: Sea Pines Golf and Gulf Front Community ~ Conservation Lot - 07/28/08 07:00 PM
Sea Pines in Hudson, Florida - Great Gulf Access, Golf Course Community, Discount Pricing!
This is one GREAT home, and one really HUGE deal--for less than you can rent a lovely 2/2/2 home like this, you could be buying THIS one!



To GET TICKETS for the next FORECLOSURE ... (0 comments)

short sale: Do I Know Short Sales?!? Yep--I Even (co)Wrote the BOOK! - 07/21/08 09:01 PM
"Should I Short Sale My Home?"
It's a question on the minds of thousands of homeowners right now, especially the "upside-down"ers out there, who've got more mortgage than house, which is why I have chosen to represent these folks, who most need expert advice right now.
Short Sale and Home Loss ... (6 comments)

short sale: Shame on You, Suze!! Bad Advice--Bad, BAD Advice! - 07/10/08 10:11 AM
Apparently now Suze Orman (whom under most circumstances I believe gives good, sound, basic financial advice), has joined the ranks of the MIS-Advisor--like Kramer, whom I also used to revere, in front of millions of Americans on Larry King Live, she has blithely thrown out the advice to an upside-down homeowner ... (11 comments)

short sale: Which Would YOU Rather--FIVE Years or ONE Year? - 06/24/08 03:41 PM
If you or anyone you know are considering "letting go" of your home to foreclosure--be sure you know ALL the facts first! The rules are changing, and have changed--used to be the difference between a Short Sale and a Foreclosure was about a hundred points on your credit, and a year ... (0 comments)

short sale: Foreclosure Bus Gets REAL! This One's No VIRTUAL TOUR... - 06/19/08 06:21 PM
That's right--we're gearing up for the FIRST Tampa Bay area Foreclosure Bus Tour in RealTime (this one's no Virtual Tour):
Imagine yourself owning your own home instead of paying rent to a landlord, and saving thousands of dollars at the same time! Imagine saving money on your income taxes and building ... (6 comments)

short sale: Foreclosure Scams On the Rise~Caveat Emptor~Let the (Short)Seller Beware! - 06/04/08 02:35 PM
... (3 comments)

short sale: The Foreclosure Virtual Bus Recap ~ Pasco County - 04/02/08 09:26 AM

... (0 comments)

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Blog_tag

Palm Harbor Florida Thrift Store: Last Chance Thrift Store

11-22-09
Lana Robbins P.A., GRI, Realtor ® in Tampa Bay, Florida
Lana Robbins P.A., GRI, Realtor ® in Tampa Bay, Florida: Real Estate Agent in Tarpon Springs, FL
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  • Office: (727) 376-0530

Last Chance Thrift Store is located at 36500 US Highway 19 North in Palm Harbor Florida:


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I love to shop for books at thrift stores. One of my favorite thrift stores is Last Chance Thrift Store in Palm Harbor. Unfortunately they don't have a website.

Some of the proceeds go to benefit Vietnam Veterans of America. Today my husband and I stopped by to look at the videotapes, books, and clothes.

 

I took two pictures with my Blackberry which are anything but clear but it gives you an idea how well-organized the store is.


Knickknacks:

 

Last Chance Thrift Store in Palm Harbor Florida

 


Books:

 

 

Last Chance Thrift Store in Palm Harbor Florida

 

I like to support local businesses. Hope that my clients do too :-)

 

A hui hou (until next time) ~ Lana Robbins

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