I received the following message from the Pasco County Community Development Manager concerning "first-time" home buyers who would like to use their $8,000 tax credit as part of their down payment. In the past, buyers who wanted to use the county's program were required to attend a buyers education class. Since the tax credit will end on November 30th, that means if homes do not go under contract very, very soon, there will not be enough time for them to close by 11/30/09! So those buyers would lose the tax credit (unless it gets extended). So the county is apparently now trying to streamline the process to help people who qualify for the tax credit. The text of the message is as follows:
The Florida Housing Opportunity Program (FHOP) is a special program to provide up to $8,000 in assistance to first-time homebuyers to receive advance funding for the homebuyer’s tax credit. Right now, this program is set to expire November 30, 2009. To help the program along, Pasco County is SUSPENDING the requirements for all recipients to go through the County’s homebuyer education class. We know for a closing to occur before November 30, a contract needs to be signed now. One-on-one counseling will still occur, but that will not delay closings.
Please contact us if you have any questions. Information about the program is available at the following website:
George Romagnoli, AICP - Community Development Manager
Pasco County Community Development Division
5640 Main Street #200
New Port Richey, FL 34652
(727) 834-3445 New Port Richey
(813) 996-7342, ext 3445 Land O'Lakes
(352) 521-4274, ext 3445 Dade City
(727) 834-3450 Fax
On Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM a lot will be happening in downtown Zephyrhills, Florida. Officially the event is called Music and Motorcyles, but includes a lot more.
Our weather is turning slowly cooler and November is a beautiful month here in Zephyrhills, Florida. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to get out and enjoy a wonderful day appreciating our veterans and enjoying a unique local event?
If your group wants to participate in the Veterans Parade, please download and fill-in the following document: Download VerteransParadeApplication0001 The applications need to be returned to the Main Street Zephyrhills offices by October 30th so the parade line-up can be planned. Their fax number is: 813-783-3475 Or you can drop it off at their office at: 5224 7th Street, Zephyrhills.
For more information you can call the folks at Main Street Zephyrhills, Inc. at: 813-780-1414, e-mail them at: mszi@verizon.net, or visit their website at: www.mainstreetzephyrhills.org I am sure they will be happy to assist you!
Hard to believe, but a year has gone by, and I wanted to let you know that the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival in San Antonio, Florida will take place on October 17th and 18th of 2009. San Antonio, Florida just to the north of Tampa and a couple of miles east of Interstate 75 in the hills of Pasco County.
This is a very popular event, and of course, encompasses more than rattlesnakes. Some of the events are:
Admission to the festival and parking are FREE! Though some shows have admission fees.
I had a call today from a potential seller who had found me via an internet search. He lives out-of-state and had some questions he wanted to ask. The very first one was, "How many listing do you currently have?" He seemed to put great importance on this fact.
It so happens that at the moment , I do not have a ton of listings. Why? Because I am a bad agent? Because I am lazy? Not at all. I have so few because I sell my listings relatively quickly. Often so fast I can not get them on agents' caravan since I do not have time enough to do so. In fact, I just closed on another one last week. Here in Zephyrhills, most agents work with both buyers and sellers, unlike some other areas where the agents concentrate most of their efforts on either one or the other.
I do this by pricing them correctly, working seven days a week, having good networks of "birddogs" in several subdivisions, having reasonable sellers, and excellent internet exposure.
I tried to explain to this seller that it is not the number of listings that you have that is definitive, but how many homes you have sold. For our franchise, I am consistently in the top 100 agents for central and northern Florida based on sales. Not bad in this market.
I also explained to him that I know lots of agents here in Zephyrhills and in other parts of the country who have long inventory lists of 20, 30, and 40+ homes. However, these same agents also complain constantly that they cannot find buyers for any of them. That could be due to their particular market, but it often is due to the fact that the homes are priced too high, are not advertised effectively, and/or have sellers who do not cooperate or negotiate in good faith. In my case, on several occasions I have turned down sellers who had unreasonable price demands. But other agents took them and a year later, there they sit on the market. Stale as last month's bread.
Just as agents do not rely heavily on the ACTIVE listings when we do CMAs and set a price, but instead we look to the sold listings, a seller needs to look to the sales record of each agent he is thinking of employing. The listing inventory is just an indicator of potential sales, many which may never take place. Solds are "money in the bank". Also, with less stale listings to service that means I can provide better assistance to those sellers who have homes in my current smaller inventory. That is very important to me, and my customers tell me constantly that they appreciate it.
As we used to say when I was a school administrator, "past performance is a good indicator of future performance." Getting listings is just half of the process. Getting the homes sold is the other AND the "better" half.
The more years we make it by without a hit the better for all of us. Less problems and perhaps more options for insurance as companies begin to return or start up here. That year a few years back when we had four come barreling through scared a lot of them, even though here in Zephyrhills, and in most of the state, no major damage occurred.
For even more infomation you may also want to visit the National Hurricane Center by CLICKING HERE Make it one of your favorites so you can visit it from time-to-time. They follow each depression, tropical storm and hurricane as they approach the United States. They also offer a variety of maps similar to the one above that can tell you where the storm may go, how strong the winds are, etc. It can be a very interesting site, especially for those of you who own homes here in Florida.
If you have not already done so, you may still want to get prepared. Waiting until the last minute could be too late. Even if it turns out to be a false alarm, all of the canned food and bottled water can be eaten in the fall and winter when severe storms no longer threaten us. To learn more about preparedness in Florida you can go to: http://www.floridadisaster.org/DEMpublic.asp 
You might also want to invest in a weather radio. They are quite inexpensive and can be found at Publix, Radio Shack, Walmart, and many other outlets. Most of them have an alarm feature so that if dangerous weather should appear in your area, the National Weather service can send through a special signal that will set off an alarm in your radio. Thus you are alerted and can take precautionary measures, even in the middle of the night. Not a bad idea! I often give them to buyers as gifts.
I will try to post updates as storms approach, but the National Hurricane Center or your local weather services are your official sources of information. You can also access The Weather Channel for their local forecasts by: CLICKING HERE.
I will try to post updates as storms approach, but the National Hurricane Center or your local weather services are your official sources of information. However, if I can be of any assistance to you, do not hesitate to call me at: 813-783-4444 or e-mail me at: jelwell1@tampabay.rr.com You can also visit my main webpage at: www.jelwell.century21bnr.com
Experienced full-time, full-service real estate agent and REALTOR in the East Pasco County area of Florida. Including Zephyrhills, Dade City, San Antonio, Ridge Manor, Wesley Chapel & Land O'Lakes.
You Deserve a Full-Time, Full-Service REALTOR®, NOT Reduced Results!
As a former teacher I helped my students achieve their goals. Now as a REALTOR® I help my buyers and sellers achieve some of the most important goals of their lives, buying or selling their homes. If you are considering selling and/or buying a property, I would be happy to assist you. I always place my customers' satisfaction very high on my list of priorities and work hard to help them in any way that I can. My hours are very flexible, so feel free to contact me at any time! Evenings and weekends are no problem. My cell phone number is: 813-783-4444, or you can use my e-mail: jelwell1@tampabay.rr.com . I will respond promptly. Licensed in Florida.
34619 State Road 54, Zephyrhills, Florida 33541
John T. Elwell
Create Your Badge
Working with buyers and sellers of residential properties and vacant land in Zephyrhills, Dade City, and the general East Pasco County. area of Florida. I have sold everything from $18,000 vacant lots to $1,450,000 properties. I am a 27 year resident of this area and am very familiar with it. In addition, I also speak Spanish for those customers who are more comfortable using that language.
Here are some of the comments that past customers have sent to me. It is always great know that my hard work is appreciated!
Thank you so much for your "above and beyond" role in selling Mom and Dad's house. Your persistance, endless kind concern, and limitless patience have been remarkable. Words cannot express my gratitude that during the most difficult time in Dad's life, you so willingly took on so much more than we ever could have asked for or expected. Your kindness and humor buoyed Dad's spirit time and time again. You made a huge positive difference in his life, and in mine as well. Thanks, is just not enough to say. Please know that, however insufficient, it is heartfelt. - Patty R.
We want to thank you again for helping us find a place. We appreciate all of the extras you had to do for us, especially the extra work involved with the (buyers). We will keep you in mind if we hear of anyone selling or buying in your area. - Diane and Dan B.
Thanks John. Sorry this has been such a hassle for you. You've been great and I will always give my business to you and recommend you to others - Celeste B.
Rick and I are real glad we had you handle (the sale and purchase) of both houses. Thank you for everything. - Rick and Penny W.
It was a pleasure working with you on both of (the buyer's) loans. When working with Realtors it is rare that I can make that statement. The understanding and positive attitude you presented through all of the obstacles was refreshing. The remote closings, insurance problems, manufactured homes, storms, etc were all taken in stride. The loans closed and I hope you, the sellers and their agents and (the Buyer) were all satisfied. I hope we can do business in the future. - John Kimmel, Mortgage Broker
Thank you for helping us find our house. We really like this home. - Richard and Nancy K.
You have been a wonderful real estate agent. I am sure you will do great with this career. - Yvette I.
I'm so pleased that everything went so smoothly with the sale of the house. I felt completely at ease from the moment we met. - Lynn M.
We both thank you so very much for all your expert salesmanship, time, directions, and most of all PATIENCE in guiding us along this business transaction. You've been wonderful! - Donna and Tom S.
I want to take this opportunity to personally thank you for all your help during these past two months as we maneuvered through the maze of buying this property. You were very helpful. I am particularly impressed with your attention to detail which I hold as a hallmark of excellent work. Your effort to assist me work through some of the more difficult issues was impressive. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again as I continue to purchase properties here in Florida. - Michael and Jessica W.
Thank you again so much from the bottom of our hearts for the best gift Betty (new baby daughter) has ever gotten from anyone - our wonderful home. You were so patient with us, and because of you, we are exactly where we want to be! You are highly recommended by me to anyone who is seeking a REALTOR! - Michael and Lorie M.
Just a quick note to let you know that I am happy with my purchase of a home in Colony Hills. Your salesman, John Elwell, was very helpful, and I appreciate all of his work on keeping me informed all along the way. I will recommend him highly to anyone. - Elaine S.
Just a note to say once again how much we appreciate the high caliber of your service to us. Having been real estate brokers ourselves for many years in Michigan before our retirement, we know a hard-working, ethical, knowledgeable salesperson gives both sellers and buyers confidence that they are well-served. You are all that, and we recommend you highly! - Lee and Luanne B.
It was a pleasure working with you as we searched for and settled on our winter get-away property in Zephyrhills. Your service, attention to detail, knowledge of Zephyrhills 55+ communities, and market savy helped us find the home we wanted.
We have been in our new home since the first of December and are very happy with it and the community. You listened to what we wanted and that is exactly what you found for us. We especially want to thank you for all the time you spent on us, four months of phone calls and emails - five days when we came down to see the properties, and always with a friendly and WANT TO HELP attitude. We also had apprehensions about conducting all closing procedures over the phone and by mail from up north but you were on the job and everything went without a hitch.
Once again we are very grateful for your help and guidance and will be looking forward to sending our friends to Century 21 and John Elwell! David and Mary C.
Thank you so much for going the extra mile in this sale. I have been pleased with your services and look forward to again working with you when the need within our family arises again. Evan B.and Family
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