Port Orange, FL

Recently, some Port Orange neighbors had a feud over a 1,000 watt light bulb that was shining from one house, onto the other.

As usual, not all neighbors can get along. And in this case a feud between nieghbors over a bright light, resulted in a change in the rules regarding how bright, outdoor louds are allowed to be. This new rule was added to the city's Nuisance Ordinance. It basically allows for safety lights, but not nuisance lights. So you're not allowed to decide you dislike your neighbor, and install excessively bright lights that shine directly on neighbor's house.

Yeah, I know. It sounds ridiculous that a simple feud would result in such silliness, but it sometimes happens. I'm just happy that I live in a city that takes it seriously when citizens have complaints or concerns. I'm a Daytona Beach native, which is just 7 miles north of Port Orange, and I sell real estate all over Volusia County. But I live in Port Orange and I love it! That much is evident in the many blog posts I've written about Port Orange. You can read them below =)

Picture Yourself in Port Orange

Plan A Fun Outing in Port Orange

Port Orange City Center and Family Days

Port Orange FL- A Great Place to Live

Things to Do in Port Orange FL

Reasons to Move to Port Orange FL

Port Orange Spruce Creek High School

And here's a fabulous house for sale in Port Orange wth 2500 square feet of living area, with a brand new kitchen and other upgrades, located on one acre. The price has just been drastically reduced!

View all my real estate listings here. And learn more about Port Orange, along with some fabulous photos here.

I just got home from the Spruce Creek High School Honors Banquet at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center, for the graduating class of 2008. Why was I at a high school banquet? Well, because my daughter is graduating this year, with honors! =D (She's the redhead on the left)

If you're a real estate buyer who's considering a move to FL, here's some great information you may not be aware of. Florida has a program that enables any graduating student with over a 3.5 GPA (Brittany has a 3.8) to receive a 100% full scholarship to any participating state college, as long as by the time they graduate, they have completed 80 hours of community service and gotten a high enough score on their SAT or ACT exam. It's called the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

There's also a 2nd chance at this program, if all the criteria has not been met. If the student has a GPA, but only completes 40 hours of community service, and scores slightly lower on the SAT or ACT, they may still qualify for a 75% state college scholarship. Some private colleges accept the Bright Futures Scholarships also. The student can apply for other scholarship monies and/or pay the difference.

One more factor to consider is that the SAT can be re-taken if the score isn't high enough the first time. And it's my understanding that the ACT is easier than the SAT, if the desired results are still not achieved.

But back to the Spruce Creek High School Honors Banquet tonight. The principal of the school, Tim Egnor, said that this year, almost half the class was graduating with honors! That's incredible! Those are some hard-working kids!

Congratulations to the Spruce Creek High School, Class of 2008!

Now just to embarrass my daughter and one of her oldest friends, whose family we sat with tonight, I hope you enjoy the following photos, which I've been collecting for a few years. I did take pity on them and deleted some of the oldest ones. After all, a mother needs something to hold back for future blackmail.

Are you interested in buying or selling real estate in Port Orange? We have the best schools in the county, and fabulous neighborhoods to match! Make a Smart Choice today and contact Lisa C. Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

*ALL material, including images are automatically copyrighted. It's advisable to educate yourself on copyright laws. It's easily done through an internet search.

Congratulations Spruce Creek High School, Class of 2008.

Very cool creatures indeed, are the majestic owls who live in the beautiful Countryside Community of Port Orange, FL.

I was recently reading a post by Mike Jones, about the owl and her nest, that was found under an overpass bridge in Tucson, AZ. His story prompted me to write this post.

Let me start by saying, in my back yard is the most beautiful Norfolk Pine tree. I know everyone thinks Florida is supposed to be filled with Palm trees, and we certainly have our fair share, but my favorite tree is the Norfolk Pine. Now regular pine trees I can do without, since most of them end up with a fungus that eventually kills them. But the Norfolk Pine is different. I love the soft feel of the pine needles. And the thickness of the branches, in addition to the enormous height to which it grows, is simply unparalleled.

But back to the barn owls in our neighborhood. One of these fascinating birds lives in our Norfolk Pine tree. I’ve only caught glimpses of him or her at night. But I hear it hooting at many random times.

And our owl is not alone. I’ve seen several in our community. I once had one glide across the road, right in front of me. But my favorite owl encounter was with the one that was sitting on one of the Countryside speed limit signs. The neighborhood speed limit is pretty slow, so I got a full view of this beautiful bird when my headlights hit it. So I backed up and just stared at it. I then pulled up closer, and got right beside it, as it swivelled it’s head all around. It wasn’t the least bit concerned that I was so close. It just kept looking all around and enjoying it’s perch.

I finally pulled away and went home. The bad part about my owl encounter was that I didn’t have my camera with me =( So I have yet to take a picture of one of these majestic creatures. But if you checkout Mike Jones’ post, he has a picture of the owl that was under the bridge in Tucson. I guess we’ll have to settle for that, for now.

Hopefully some day, I’ll be able to get a good photo of one of my winged friends. I’ll start praying for the opportunity right now =)

If you're interested in moving to Port Orange, FL, make a Smart Choice and call Lisa Hill today. As a Daytona Beach native, I'm an expert on all of Volusia county.

Are you in the real estate industry? Join the Active Rain network. It's free! Just click here to start your real estate blogging, networking and learning experience. Join the Active Rain real estate network.

Each year in October, the city of Port Orange, which lies just south of Daytona Beach, has a huge event called Port Orange Family Days.

Well, this year the city of Port Orange is also having "Port Orange Family Days: Kidz Days" this Thursday through Sunday, March 20-23. There will be a carnival every day, and there is a free booth where kids can create their own Easter hat to wear in their very own Easter Parade!

As usual, the event will be held at the Port Orange City Center, but it will compliment the events being held by First Baptist Church (an Easter egg hunt!) on March 22, and the sunrise service at 7:30 a.m. by Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church on March 23 (also at the City Center).

On Friday night at 8:00 p.m., don't miss the Movie Under the Stars, at the Port Orange Amphitheater. Then be sure you don't miss out on the Kidz Expo, Saturday from 9:00-4:00. Also on Saturday, Radio Disney will be broadcasting live from 11:00-2:00.

This event is just one of the reasons I love living in Port Orange. This city goes out of it's way to maintain a family environment.

For more information on Port Orange Kidz Days 2008, just visit the special web site they've created just for you.

Want to know more about Port Orange? Check out these posts...

• Plan A Fun Outing in Port Orange
• Picture Yourself in Port Orange
• Reasons to Move to Port Orange, Florida
  

Port Orange, South Daytona, Daytona Beach residents and everyone else who wants to have a great family outing, I hope to see you this weekend at Port Orange Family Days: Kidz Days.

If you don't live here and are considering buying or selling real estate in Port Orange or any of the surrounding cities, I'm a member of the Daytona Beach area Association of REALTORS® and the New Smyrna Beach REALTOR® Association. Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs!

If you’re considering a move to Port Orange Florida, here are some great reasons to buy real estate in this area.

First of all, you have the opportunity to work with a first-class, award-winning, REALTOR®.

(That would be me)

But I’d also like to share with you, some of the many things this family-friendly city has to offer.

If you arrive at Port Orange from I-95, you’ll be looking at a sign indicating that the street right in front of you is named Dunlawton Avenue if you go east, toward the ocean, and it’s named Taylor Road if you turn west, toward Spruce Creek Fly-In, a lot of new construction, and many homes with acreage on the outskirts of town.

If you’re interested in new construction, I have information on the builders, maps, floor plans, price lists and anything you may need to buy your brand new home. The only other thing you’ll need is ME to represent your interests and help with negotiations, if a particular builder is willing to negotiate. Some of them are offering incentives in lieu of price negotiations, but it can’t hurt to ask. That’s where I come in. I’m here to help make the transaction run more smoothly, and look out for YOUR interests.

I’ve sold many new construction homes in this area, but I’ve only recently started blogging about them. I’ll be doing more of that in the future. In the interim, you can read these posts about a couple of new developments in the area.

• Oakbrook at Port Orange
• New Daytona Condo Projects
  
• New Construction in Port Orange Florida
  

Port Orange’s motto is “Unique by Choice; Not by Chance”. The primary focus in the original planning was to have a family-friendly city. This is evident in the wide sidewalks, many parks, and the overall feel of this fabulous town that I too, call home.

Now that you know the basics, and since you can look at houses or condos when you get here, as well as use my web site to find more information until then, let’s make this post a little bit more interesting. Let’s talk about what Port Orange has to offer!

On Taylor Rd., (west of I-95) the construction is occurring on not just houses, but on the roads, gas stations, shopping and more. There’s a LOT to offer there, but for now, let’s turn toward the beach.

When you pass under the I-95 overpass, onto Dunlawton Avenue, you’ll immediately see a Super Target (Yay!), Panera Bread (Yay again!), Chick fil A (I think you know my reaction) and several other necessary stores. As you continue, you’ll see the perfect stores to get you started on the preparations and decorations of your new or resale home, like Lowes, Home Depot, and a WalMart Super Center. Also on Dunlawton Ave., you’ll find a hospital, medical specialists, the entrance to Port Orange City Center and Palmer College of Chiropractic, every type of restaurant imaginable, and even a Smoothie King! (My favorite flavor is Banana Boat®) I could go on and on, but now that I’ve gotten to Smoothie King, I’m going to focus on that plaza. In that one plaza, you’ll also find a Merle Norman Studio (another one of my favorite stores), Tijuana Flats, Wine Styles, Leslie’s Pool Supplies, Firehouse Subs, Monterey Grill, Marble Slab Creamery, Bella Nail Spa, Learning Rx, and Paytas Homes (a local builder).

I focused on this plaza for starters because a couple of my favorite stops were there, but also to give you an idea of what you’ll find when you live in Port Orange. Bear in mind, I described just one, small plaza. And right next door is an Assisted Living Facility, and across the street is a Sylvan Learning Center, Lab Corp, 5 Star Day Spa, and a Pilates Studio.

I promise this won’t continue on forever, but to mention one more location, my office, Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS® is not much further east, at 1100 Dunlawton. And we share a parking lot with Chili’s, Stonewood Grill and Coquina Bank. And all this is right in front of the fabulous community of Countryside. I can see the community lake and clubhouse from the back windows of our office.

Want to know more? You’ll have to read some of my previous posts. I guess I’m a little bit obsessed with Port Orange because I have quite a few. Why? Because Port Orange is a great place to live!

• Things to do in Port Orange Florida
• Picture Yourself in Port Orange
• Port Orange FL, A Great Place to Live
• Plan A Fun Outing in Port Orange

www.BuyPortOrangeRealEstate.com