Treasure Coast Real Estate Editor - Featuring Julie Gaumond, REALTOR® -

Martin County School District - Home Page of the Martin County School District

Martin County School GRADES - View school grades for Martin County

Martin County Schools - Straight A's - Read Scripps Newspaper Article

Martin County Private Schools - Website featuring Martin County Private Schools

St. Lucie County School District - Home Page of the St. Lucie County School District

St. Lucie County School GRADES - View school grades for St. Lucie County

St. Lucie County Private Schools - Website featuring St. Lucie County Private Schools


Florida Department of Education - Official State of Florida website.


Parent Reviews of Schools - For parent reviews of schools in Martin or St. Lucie County, please e-mail me Mike@MorganFlorida.com or call me 888-227-5217

Additional Information - If you would like additional information about the school systems featured on this page, or any other school system in the State of Florida, please e-mail me Mike@MorganFlorida.com or call me 888-227-5217

Prices on homes across the nation fell by an average of 3.1 percent as compaged to the Q1 of 2007. In all, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight claims prices fell in 43 states. I find it hard to believe the number was not higher. In any event, it is the sharpest decline in 17 years, and I find that also hard to believe. I submit, the numbers are worse than reported, and we have not seen declines like this since the Great Depression, but anyone can twist numbers.

Treasure Coast home prices fell by 15.68%. Palm Beach County home prices fell by 11.85%. This is not what we are seeing, but then again, numbers are only as good as the data that goes in and the way the data is interpreted.

I have written extensively on the housing crisis, and I have been published in Barron's twice over the past two years. Both articles appear on my Institutional website www.Morgan-Florida.org

The 10-20% price declines reported for Florida markets for Q1 YOY are driven more by product than reality. More homes were built in the higher range over the last few years, and as these home are completed and clear the market in sales, the numbers remain inflated. Only when we see the markets absorbl the abnormalities will we be able to look at broad numbers.

I advise my clients to look at purchasing real estate on a local level and considering a 15 different factors when making their decision. There definitely are opporunities, even when we see number reported like we did today.

My mantra lately to buyers is BVC . . . Be Very Careful. I cannot impress on you enough how important it is to stop and think. If it sounds to good to be true . . . it is. Believe me, we've all been hearing that since we were kids. And it is sound advice.

FORECLOSURES - If you are prepared to go to the auction, take a real estate agent or an attorney that is experienced in real estate transactions. By the way, if you take either along, make sure they have "successfully" handled several foreclosure purchases for clients. If not, you are only fooling yourself. These are not easy. I've written about this before, but I still get calls from buyers that are stuck with foreclosure properties they had no business buying.

If you think you're ahead of the game by using one of the Foreclosure Websites, think again. If the properties were such a "deal" or a "steal" or a "lock," these properties would not be on the Internet, being offered to anyone that can turn on a computer. Many of these Foreclosure Websites charge you a fee to join and a monthly fee for "elite" access. If you have SUCKER stamped across your forehead, go ahead and give them your credit card info. Otherwise, hire a very experienced real estate agent. When I make referrals to agent out of my area, I tell callers to only hire agents with CRS and GRI certifications. And I advise the buyers to verify the credentials online with the organization. It only takes 30 seconds.

These are the only two certifications that actually take quite a bit of training to earn and the CRS designation takes a lot of training AND actual transactional experience. So stick with these two. If agents don't have them, don't even waste your time talking to them.

Back to Foreclosures . . . This is not a magic word that means you are buying a fantastic deal. In most cases you are buying a lot of headaches. See my blog posts about foreclosure headaches or call me. There are only two times I will advise a client to consider a foreclosure at auction. First, when it is a luxury property and they have done a full due diligence. Second, when it is one of my investor clients that is experienced in buying foreclosure properties . . . and the client is prepared for the headaches and expense associated with a foreclosure property.

Too often, the term Foreclosure Property is stamped on just about anything a creative real estate agent gets his hands on. Agents use the term to signify a deal. Let's face it, a true foreclosure property is either a property you bid for at auction . . . and you are bidding against the mortgage holder. Or it is a property that the mortgage holder has taken back following a successful foreclosure, and they have put it back on the market. Foreclosure properties are NOT properties that owners are trying to sell to avoid foreclosure. Foreclosure properties once the banks take them back are also known as REOs.

REOs - This stands for Real Estate Owned, and it means it is owned by the former mortgage holder or an asset manager representing the mortgage holder. These can be tremendous opportunities, but once again, unless you are dealing with someone well versed in REOs, you are wasting your time and you are going to be taken for a ride.

I suggest you visit my website for more information on REOs and Foreclosures. www.Treasure-Coast.us and if you are a bank or asset manager reading this, visit our institutional website www.MorganREO.com or you can call me direct at 772-260-5448 or email me at Mike@MorganFlorida.com

I often am asked for referrals to real estate agents in other markets. So with this post, I will begin to provide referrals to other agents when I find SUPER Agents. I just found one that I would like to share with you . . . Susan Craft in Alexandria, Virginia. When it comes to Responsive and Attentive services, Susan Craft takes this to another level. Here's her bio from her website www.SusanCraft.com

Susan Craft's - About Susan Website Page

I enjoy calling Old Town Alexandria home. Max, my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, enjoys walking around town with me visiting the many shops that offer Max water and treats!

For the past 20+ years, I have lived and worked in the Washington area. My childhood was spent in Maple Glen, PA, just outside Philadelphia, and I graduated Gettysburg College in 1981 with a BA in Business Administration. While in Washington, I have worked for Delta Air Lines, Hertz Corporation and The Washington Post in sales and marketing. During my 18-year career in advertising sales for The Post, I worked with many local businesses: Ryan Homes, NV Homes, Safeway, CVS, Carpet One of Alexandria and Maid Brigade.

My clients appreciate my professionalism and the strategy and organized process that I bring to every transaction. Follow-through has been the key to my success. It's the only way to build trust, confidence and a referral based business! How fortunate I am to be associated with McEnearney Associates, Inc. Founded in 1980 by John McEnearney, this firm has a solid foundation of professionalism, integrity and market knowledge.

McEnearney Associates continues to out perform all other offices for listings and sales in Old Town and the City of Alexandria.

Whether you are investing, nesting or downsizing an empty nest, you can count on my dedicated, excellent service.

Professional Designations & Awards:
NVAR $10 Million Plus Club
NVAR Top Producer
NVAR Multi-Million Dollar Sales Club
Member VAR, NVAR

Specialties - Relocation Specialist, Buyers Agent, Sellers Agent. Serving Northern Virginia.

Contact: Susan Craft at Susan@SusanCraft.com or call 703-216-4501

Families that purchased homes in Tradition were recently shocked to learn their children will not be going to the new super school . . . Palm Pointe Educational Research School. In fact, some of the people interviewed only purchased in Tradition to make sure their kids got into this super school. Real estate agents and the developers promoted the school, but failed to warn buyers that the chances of their kids getting in, were not that great. Instead, just under 100 children from Tradition will fill the 1400+ seats. The rest of the classes will be made up of children from other areas of St. Lucie County.

Warning: Whenever moving for the school district, make sure you contact the school district to confirm your children's eligibility. In fact, in some markets, you can live across the street from a school, and your children could be bussed to a school 45 minutes away. Don't rely on real estate representations either. Things change, and the only source you can rely on is the school district. If you can get it in writing, so much the better.

For additional information on Tradition or Florida Schools visit my website www.Treasure-Coast.us or call me at 772-260-5448 or email me at Mike@MorganFlorida.com