
As most of you are aware, Downpayment assistance programs like Nehemiah and AmeriDream were abolished on October 1st, 2008. I supported HR 6694 in favor of downpayment assitance programs last year and received an e-mail update today, which reads as follows:
"January 12, 2009
We have been informed that a bill to reinstate reformed downpayment assistance will be introduced as early as tomorrow. The bill is expected to be introduced by Congressman Al Green (TX) with bipartisan support. The bill will have the same language as unanimously passed last year by the House Financial Services Committee.
We will keep you informed as we continue to support efforts to reinstate downpayment assistance.
AmeriDream
"Doing things right for America's homebuyers"
I found AmeriDream to be a great tool to help credit worthy first time homebuyers get into a home of their very own. My customers that took advantage of this program are current on the mortgage and thrilled to be away from throwing their money away on rent. They started out in a reasonable, qualified price range that wasn't beyond their means. I understand there are a lot of economic problems, those defaulting on mortgages, lenders extending loans to those who never should have qualified, but now that the lending guidelines have become stricter and less forgiving, I'd like to see downpayment programs being extended to deserving individuals again. We need to kickstart this economy back into action. AmeriDream is a PRIVATELY FUNDED Housing Program that is not the burden of tax payers.
Watch the video. Get the facts.
Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com. A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement). Follow all my services on MyBlogLog.

CONGRATULATIONS to all who closed on a home between January 1st and December 31st, 2008! I'm certain that your real estate representative advised you file for your homestead exemtion (if you are eligible).
The invaluable place that you will visit is the Alachua County Property Appraiser Website. Here you will find FAQs that cover everything from Save Our Homes PORTABILITY, which allows you to transfer a portion of your SOH benefit from your previous Florida homestead to your new Florida homestead, to questions concerning the "double homestead".
You MUST FILE FOR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION BEFORE MARCH 1ST, so don't delay! Just get it out of the way so you can clear your plate to deal with the next big project of the year....<groan>...taxes.
AVAILABLE PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS AND HOW TO QUALIFY FOR THEM
A wonderful guide covering all questions related specifically to homestead exemption and other exemptions available (i.e. widows/Widower's Exemption, Disability Exemption, etc.)
***CLICK HERE FOR HOMESTEAD APPLICATION***
Click the TOP LINK. Fill out all of the information required on the application; it is one page. Your legal description can be located on your DEED.
![]()
The Property Appraiser's office is located at:
12 Southeast 1st Street Room 213
Gainesville, FL 32601
Mailing Address is:
P.O. Box 23817
Gainesville, FL 32602-3817
Phone: 352.374.5230
Fax: 352.374.5278
Homesteads/Customer Service: First Floor
Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com. A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement). Follow all my services on MyBlogLog.
For many sellers, preparing a home for market can be a daunting task filled with a veritable laundry list of things to accomplish. Most sellers realize that in order to sell their home quickly and for the most money, they need to price the home to sell, make sure it is CLEAN, assure the home has curb appeal and absolutely make certain that the home smells good as well! I sold a beautiful home in Millhopper Forest and I seriously think that the home's unbelievable fragrance was a strong portion of my customer's falling in love with it!
Please enjoy this helpful video, courteousy of UBoxes. Then call me for your free market analysis and to discuss listing your home in Gainesville, FL!
Please visit my website for more tips and resources to help you market your home efficiently!
Save 10% on Moving Boxes | ![]() |
*Make sure to visit my Article Index for more Gainesville Restaurant Profiles, Gainesville real estate and other Gainesville Info.*
Active Rain members: Make sure to join Active Rain Foodaholics!
Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com. A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement). Follow all my services on MyBlogLog.
One of my favorite treats in Gainesville, FL is Uppercrust Bakery. I honestly don't think there is anything here that doesn't taste amazing. My favorite staple here is the rosemary-garlic baguette, which is crunchy and very flavorful. It is delicious with cream cheese and smoked salmon, tapenade, chevre or simply plain or with butter. It makes an excellent addition to a pasta based meal or as a sandwich with petit basque, avocado, tomato and red onion. The rosemary-garlic bread is also available in ficelles and large and small batards, and sometimes as petit rolls. You need to purchase this, as well as other savory items from Uppercrust early in the day as these are the first to sell.
Rosemary-garlic Baguette:
Also pictured above is the White Bean Mousse, one of several spreads Uppercrust makes from scratch. It has a smooth texture and a strong garlic flavor. It contains olive oil and rosemary, as well as other spices. It is delicious on the aforementioned rosemary-garlic baguette. The artichoke mousse is another delicious spread made with garlic, olive and truffle oils, spices and artichokes that Uppercrust offers. They also make hummus, tapenade, chevre in olive oil with herbs de provance as staple offerings located in the cooler near the register. All are delicious, especially paired with one of Uppercrust's artisan breads.
Uppercrust also makes savory and sweet stuffed croissants and plain croissants. They are pillowy soft and buttery. One of my absolute favorites is the spinach and feta stuffed croissant, pictured below. Make sure not to miss the turkey and gruyere stuffed croissant or the ham and emmenthal croissant. These make wonderful light lunch items when you don't have the time for a sit-down lunch.
Uppercrust also offers this ridiculousy delicious artichoke, swiss and red onion stuffed soft roll, showered with rosemary and parsely. This thing should be illegal. The roll is huge, and a lunch in itself. This roll also comes in a calamata olive and cheese flavor, which is also delicious, but the artichoke one is my personal favorite.
Artichoke roll:
During Christmas I purchased a pumpkin cream cheese danish that was fantastic. The pastry was soft and flaky and the filling was not overly-sweet. Topped with a dust of confectioner's sugar. Pictured below:
Uppercrust has been in business since 1981, so you know they must be doing something right. They also carry fine wine, cheeses and jams, spreads, pasta and other items.
If you are new to Gainesville and are trying to locate a bakery, make sure to stop by Uppercrust located at:
4116 NW 16th Blvd., next to The Fresh Market Gainesville, FL
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
*Make sure to visit my Article Index for more Gainesville Restaurant Profiles, Gainesville real estate and other Gainesville Info.*
Active Rain members: Make sure to join Active Rain Foodaholics!
Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com. A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement). Follow all my services on MyBlogLog.
I started the group here on Active Rain called the Active Rain Foodaholics. The focus of this group is everything food with a strong encouragement to post profiles of your local restaurants and to become the authority of your local restaurant scene. I have done several profiles here on my Active Rain blog for the Gainesville, FL area.
As we are all aware, Active Rain has extremely high "google juice". In the food (and other businesses) world, yelp is super high ranking. If you google the name of a local restaurant, you will most likely see yelp on the first page. So it may be a long overdue addition to my internet services, but I have joined yelp today. I posted a link to all of the full restaurant reviews I have done locally and created my profile as Gainesville, FL Realtor. I also made sure to add my yelp ID to my BlogLog services.
So who here yelps? Have you connected to any members in the community because of it? Due to yelp's incredibly high page 1 ranking, I think it is a valuable free tool for us and something to help with our Search Engine Optimization!
Post your yelp ID here!
Mine is http://gvillerealtor.yelp.com
Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com. A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement). Follow all my services on MyBlogLog.
| Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this! |
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved