Joyce Kelley Realtors® Pensacola/ Gulf Breeze Homes

Played right down to the wire and won by a field goal in over time. There is no better football than the SEC and this year it is as if they have been on steroids. The only bad thing is there loses have been against each other. Which makes it bad for a team like Auburn or Kentucky because all the SEC teams should be playing in the top bowls. I do not think any of the top ten teams that are not SEC teams could beat the worst team that is in the SEC. What do you think? Too bad the Championhip will actually be played between Alabama and Florida. The winner should be automatically crowned NAtional Champs.

Joyce Kelley, CBR, SREE - 800-309-3414, The Lead Buyers Agent to Charles Stallions here in Pensacola, Pace and Gulf Breeze, Florida. Being a buyers agent allows me to really WOW my customers, devote the time needed for them to choose and pick the PERFECT home. I don't have to weigh my decisions on the sellers needs or any third party. 100% totally to the buyer. Being the Lead Buyers Agent means I set the Standard of which our team will be judged. I want the EXPERIENCE to be spectacular and any thing less is unacceptable. Call Joyce and meet first hand some of the many buyers that we have helped buy a home where you are not another buyer, are family.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

THOUSANDS OF HOMES.... One Address www.charlesstallions.com

Pensacola, Pace and Gulf Breeze Homes for sale

AND HOW YOU CAN TOO...

When you decide to sell your home, you want the highest possible return from its sale. Determining price is the most critical step in preparing your home for sale.

Obviously, pricing your property too low won't provide the best return. You are apt to be deluged with lookers and may get many offers, but you could lose thousands of dollars on your family's largest investment.

Likewise, pricing a property too high is risky. Homes priced too high miss their target market. Qualified buyers who might find the home just right for their needs won't see your home, or make an offer on it, because it is out of their price range. If they are shown an overpriced home during its early marketing stages and do not buy because it isn't a good value, they are unlikely to revisit your home once the price is lowered. Real estate agents will hesitate to show an overpriced home, unless it will make a competing property look like a better value.

Many home sellers make a mistake by implementing the 'let's try it and see' pricing attitude. But testing the market can be dangerous. A property receives its best exposure during the first three to five weeks on the market.

If your home is priced right from the outset, you maximize your opportunity of reaching the most qualified buyers. Buyers who have seen most available homes in their price range are waiting for the right house to come on the market. This is why a well priced home often sells quickly once it is put on the market.

Multiple listing association statistics show that the longer a home is on the market, the lower the selling price. The home becomes stale and a price reduction results.

Pricing a home is part art and part science. It's based on hard evidence by looking at sale prices for comparable properties. But, no two homes are identical. That means the evidence must be evaluated by an experienced sales associate, like myself.

The right price really is the right price range to attract the maximum number of qualified buyers within a time frame that suits the sellers' needs. Pricing strategy depends on the market conditions at the time your home is put up for sale. It can best be determined by an agent who is active in the market, who constantly views homes and is monitoring the changing market conditions.

If you need help to determine the right price for your home, in order to sell your home in the least amount of time for the highest return, please contact me for a comparative market analysis and consultation.

Joyce Kelley, CBR, SREE - 800-309-3414, The Lead Buyers Agent to Charles Stallions here in Pensacola, Pace and Gulf Breeze, Florida. Being a buyers agent allows me to really WOW my customers, devote the time needed for them to choose and pick the PERFECT home. I don't have to weigh my decisions on the sellers needs or any third party. 100% totally to the buyer. Being the Lead Buyers Agent means I set the Standard of which our team will be judged. I want the EXPERIENCE to be spectacular and any thing less is unacceptable. Call Joyce and meet first hand some of the many buyers that we have helped buy a home where you are not another buyer, are family.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

THOUSANDS OF HOMES.... One Address www.charlesstallions.com

Pensacola, Pace and Gulf Breeze Homes for sale

Real Estate Sales Strategies... That Work

With the number of bargain properties now available in the local real estate markets, you would think both investors and owner-occupants would be racing to take advantage of all these attractive deals.

While many potential homeowners -- especially first-time buyers attempting to take advantage of the federal tax credit -- have re-entered the market and have made compelling offers to purchase homes, investors have been reluctant to capitalize on reverse tax-free exchanges.

Nine years ago, the federal government enhanced 1031 delayed exchanges that allow taxpayers to defer the capital gains tax on an investment property if they purchase a "replacement" investment property of equal or greater value within specific time frames.

The enhancement, Internal Revenue Procedure 2000-37, permits the title to the "replacement" property to be held by an independent third party (typically a facilitator or attorney) until the "old" property sale closes. In other words, you can buy before you sell and still defer the gain.

"I think the reason why reverse exchanges have not been terribly popular of late is that investors still need the cash to buy the property," said Kelly Yates, an attorney who, along with fellow attorney Dennis Helmick, operates Exchange Facilitator Corp., which specializes in tax-deferred exchanges. "Even though something might be an absolute deal and too good to be true, you need money to buy it. It's difficult finding financing for exchange properties."

This original concept of a 1031 delayed exchange, or Starker exchange, is named after T.J. Starker, an Oregon man who made a deal with Crown Zellerbach in 1967 to exchange some of his forested property for some suitable "like kind" future property. That agreement ended up in court. Starker's battle was the basis for congressional approval of delayed exchanges.

"What we have been seeing more since the real estate market slowed down more than 18 months ago is conventional tax-free exchanges with a longer closing date," Helmick said. "This gives the seller a longer period to execute the entire exchange."

The clock does not start ticking on a tax-free exchange until the first property closes. Then, the seller has 45 days to identify a replacement "like-kind" property of equal or greater value and 180 days to close that second leg of the exchange.

In real estate, "like kind" can apply to a variety of situations and is quite flexible. A house may be traded for an apartment building, and vacant land traded for an office building, etc.

A house that is the owner's primary residence, however, cannot be traded for investment property. Nor do stocks, bonds, securities and similar equity investments qualify as "like kind." Likewise, if you own land and build a structure on it with 1031 exchange funds, the IRS will probably not consider your investment an exchange.

One of the more complex parts of the original regulations explains that within the 45-day period following sale of the investment property, you can identify three or more parcels of property, regardless of value, that you may wish to buy for your new investment. In other words, you can consider taking the equity from your first rental house and reinvesting it in three or more new pieces of real estate without paying taxes.

However, if the number of parcels on your list exceeds three, and their combined value is greater than 200 percent of the property sold, you are required to buy 95 percent of the total sales price of the replacement properties.

To totally defer capital gains tax, you must pass the IRS' acid test by:

³Trading even or up in value.

³Trading even or up in equity.

³Not pocketing any cash from the first sale.

³Identifying the new (or old) property (or properties) within 45 days of the sale. (This typically means having a signed purchase and sale agreement.)

³Closing the transaction within 180 days.

"In this environment, investors are thinking twice about reverse exchanges because they don't want to take on the financial risk and the business risk," Helmick said. "They are wondering where their money would be better placed and if the property they bought for cash will retain its value or appreciate.

"It's far more likely to see individuals tying up a property for as long as possible with as little as possible."

By: Tom Kelly, www.inman.com

Joyce Kelley, CBR, SREE - 800-309-3414, The Lead Buyers Agent to Charles Stallions here in Pensacola, Pace and Gulf Breeze, Florida. Being a buyers agent allows me to really WOW my customers, devote the time needed for them to choose and pick the PERFECT home. I don't have to weigh my decisions on the sellers needs or any third party. 100% totally to the buyer. Being the Lead Buyers Agent means I set the Standard of which our team will be judged. I want the EXPERIENCE to be spectacular and any thing less is unacceptable. Call Joyce and meet first hand some of the many buyers that we have helped buy a home where you are not another buyer, are family.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

THOUSANDS OF HOMES.... One Address www.charlesstallions.com

Pensacola, Pace and Gulf Breeze Homes for sale

As a parent, you recognize that teaching your children the skills for a successful life is your responsibility. Neither the government, schools, community groups, churches, nor any other person has as much riding on your kid's success as you. One of those life skills is the ability to manage money and it's a learnable skill (thankfully). As your kids get older, hitting those wonderful teenage years, learning these skills becomes even more critical.

1. Balancing a checkbook

Balancing a checkbook is a crucial skill in money management. It's a lot easier today with software (like Quicken), but there are simple instructions printed on the back of most bank statements. The next time you get a bank statement, take a few minutes to show them how it's done. Knowing the real amount you have in your checking account is the first step to avoiding overdrafts. Make sure your teenager knows the how of balancing a checkbook, but more importantly, the why.

2. Budgeting money

Balancing a checkbook tells you where your money went, but using a budget tells your money where to go. Teens learn how to control their money when a parent takes the time to teach them how to set up, use, and prioritize their budget and it's categories. A budget teaches how to properly allocate your money to what's important and how to be flexible when the situation demands. As a parent, the best way to teach your teenager the importance of budgeting is to walk the walk yourself.

3. Establishing credit

Teach your 18 year old the importance of establishing a sterling credit reputation before they go off to college so they can know how to handle the temptation to get more credit cards after they get there. Good credit all boils down to a few things:

³Having only a few accounts open and paying them on time;

³Keeping your balances low in relation to credit limits;

³Better yet, paying off outstanding balances each month.

Good credit can be established for 18 year old+ teenagers by getting a secured credit card.

4. How to pay for college

In an ideal world, parents would have plenty of money saved for their teenager's college experience, but we live in reality, don't we? With the continuing increases in college costs, 18 years of savings might not be enough. As a result, either the parent or the student will have to apply for financial aid. There are other options though, ranging from:

³Work a semester, go to school a semester (pay as you go).

³Attend a local junior college for the first two years.

³Go to college online.

³Take advanced placement courses in high school.

5. Identifying wants vs. needs

I believe it's important to keep some wants in front of you. After all, needs aren't particularly motivating. But it's important that teens recognize that some things in life really aren't priorities when put in proper perspective. Paying for groceries is more important than paying for a house party. Paying car insurance premiums is more important than another road trip.

6. Dealing with debt

No matter how much you teach, chances are pretty good that your teenager will rack up some sort of debt, whether through credit cards or through student loans. Plan to teach them early how to attack debt and get it wiped out quickly.

I'd recommend Debt is Slavery as a short but captivating book on dealing with debt.

7. Paying taxes

Yeah, I don't like paying taxes either, but they're as inevitable as dying for about 50% of the population. When April rolls around each year, make sure your teenager has already filed his or her taxes or has a plan in place to do so. With software packages and free online options, filing your taxes is as easy as setting up a budget or balancing your checkbook. Paying them isn't always easy, but filing is.

8. Saving and investing for the future

Saving and investing for the future can potentially be the hardest thing to teach. The "future" seems just so far away when you're young, but if you teach them to save for a trip or a gadget, they will get some sense of what it's like to hit a goal. From there, ask them if they have any advice for a 10 year old, given their life experience since then. Then ask if they would be willing to listen to your advice to them, given your life experience since your teen years. They just might listen.

From there, I'd recommend reading How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street for some simple, yet effective investment advice and then setting up a savings account.

9. Understanding the total cost of ownership

Teach your children that a price tag is a liar! What is rarely implied is the cost of ownership, not just from the physical standpoint, but from the opportunity standpoint. Sure, that "gently used" BMW may seem like a good deal, until you factor in the cost of tires, brake jobs, oil changes, tune ups, and the inevitable minor fender-bender, but what about the cost of lost opportunity? That car may cost more in the long run than a less flashy, more expensive Toyota!

Economics is simply about the decisions we make with our money, and since money is a finite resource, making one decision precludes others.

10. Choosing a thrifty lifestyle

Everything in life boils down to choices, and that's one of the points of The Wisdom Journal. Making the wise choice to live a frugal lifestyle isn't about being cheap. It's about saying no to gluttony (the desire to consume more than you need) and yes to temperance (the constant mindfulness of others; practicing self-control, and moderation).

By: Ron, www.thewisdomjournal.com

______________________________________________________________________________________________

THOUSANDS OF HOMES.... One Address www.charlesstallions.com

Pensacola, Pace and Gulf Breeze Homes for sale

Looking for a home to rent, sell or buy in Pensacola, Pace or Gulf Breeze Florida. E-mail joyce@charlesstallions.com or click here for foreclosures, short sales or homes for sale or rent in Pensacola, Florida. Charles Stallions Real Estate Services located in Pensacola Florida, a 12 member team of local experts on Loan Modifications, Certified Residential Specialist, Distressed Property Specialist with fourteen years in real estate dealing in foreclosures, first time home buyer programs and investor sales. We are the company you keep, with your one stop office for Property Management, Title and Closing Solutions, FHA, VA, Conventional Loans, Termite and Pest Control, Land Surveyors, Around the House repair company, Legal Service Provider in Pensacola Florida. Click here to view Homes for sale in Pensacola Florida or search pensacolamls for new homes on the market.

Flat Fee of $2995 to SELL or MLS $1495 + 3 %

We offer Property Management for $50. flat fee monthly

Call Now 800-309-3414 for over the phone evaluation and NO Obligation