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Stefanie Bernstein

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Happy Memorial Day and a huge “THANK YOU”....

05-30-11
Stefanie Bernstein
to all the courageous men and women in the military, whom have the courage and strength to fight for our freedom in America. I am in awe of what you do and have respect for you beyond anyone’s comprehension, as I could not do what you do without giving a second thought to it on a daily basis. America is truly Great because of you!
In St. Augustine, The Florida National Guard located at 104 Marine Street is hosting its annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 10 am this Monday. The ceremony commemorates the men and women who died while in military service and special recognition will be given for veterans of St. Johns County that have dies since Veterans Day 2010. Guest speaker for the ceremony will be Retired Army Col. Henri F. "Rik" Erkelens.and more than 25 local military, police and civic organizations will conduct a patriotic "Massing of the Colors." Lt. John W. Donlon and Deputy Sheldon York, both from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, will perform Echo Taps and special music will be provided by Faith Miller and Ancient City Pipes and Drums. The public is invited to attend this annual community ceremony. Parking is limited around the National Cemetery, so the public should arrive early and park in the Florida National Guard parking lot or along the bayfront. Additional parking is available on Charlotte Street and of course, walking from the downtown area is also encouraged.

I take great pride in assisting home buyers and home sellers with their real estate in St. Augustine. If you are looking for property in St. Augustine Beach, World Golf Village, Marsh Creek, Palencia or Royal St. Augustine, I can help you achieve your St. Augustine real estate goals. I specialize in St. Augustine waterfront properties, St. Augustine historic properties and St. Augustine golf course communities. Please contact me today if I can be of service or click here to search the MLS like an Agent.

Stefanie Bernstein, Broker / Associate
Phone: (904) 669-5134
Watson Realty Corp.
3175-1 A1A South
St. Augustine, Fl. 32080
View My Website
Email Me Today

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Today’s St. Augustine Deals and FHA Financing

05-28-11
Stefanie Bernstein

The time is now if you are looking to purchase a property. Sales are up in St. Johns County, inventory is down, and prices are stabilizing in the single family residential homes catagory. If you are looking to purchase you could not ask for a better set of conditions. Add to it the fact that FHA financing is readily available where you only have to put 3.5% down (which you can ask a seller to pay for all or a majority of it) and with interest rates starting as low as 4.5%, you would be crazy not to buy. Your mortgage payment will more than likely be less than what you are currently paying in rent and you will have an investment that you can call your own and know that it will increase in value in the future, after all, real estate is cyclical, what goes down has to go back up. With a lot of homes being left vacant for considerable amounts of time, there is now an FHA 203K program, where you can borrow up to $35,000 additional dollars to be used in a one years period of time for renovations. These renovations must be conducted by a licensed contractor, and not by the owner or family member of the new FHA mortgage. Additionally, the renovations need to be cosmetic in nature and not structural. For example, new appliances, new paint (interior and exterior), new flooring, new doors, new windows, and new roof would all be acceptable repairs that would fall under the 203K program. But a house with a crawl space that has rotted out beams would not. Own your new piece of paradise! Not only is it easy, it is rewarding and more than likely will be worth every penny plus some!

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Aviation’s impact on Northeast Florida

02-06-11
Stefanie Bernstein
THERE’S A NEW AIRPORT IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA ! Well.., not really, but if you haven’t paid much attention to the news in St. Johns county in the last several months, you might think so. Recently the St. Johns County Airport just north of St. Augustine on U.S. 1, underwent an exciting new change. After many years of being called the St. Augustine / St. Johns County Airport, (or colloquially, the “St. Augustine Airport”), the name was changed to the Northeast Florida Regional Airport, (NFRA). The Northeast Florida Regional airport has been an aviation icon since the early 1900’s and is now the major gateway to northeast Florida. With runways that can handle the largest and fastest aircraft in the world, and with “all weather” capability, the Northeast Florida Regional Airport has equivalent capabilities to the Jacksonville airport and the Daytona Beach airport. The Northeast Florida Regional airport is home to the hundreds of aircraft that are based at NFRA, a full service Customs facility, and a state of the art Air Traffic control tower. The airport provides world class aviation facilities, runways, infrastructure, and service to numerous military, law enforcement, corporate and general aviation aircraft operators and owners from all over the world. The Northeast Florida Regional airport has an economic impact to St. Johns county, and tangentially to all of northeast Florida, of $500 million annually ! That’s a tremendous economic generator for any locale, but it provides our area with a huge “shot in the arm” economically. Although currently there are no scheduled airline operations at the airport, rumors abound that there may be a major airline operation serving the airport very soon. With that probable addition to the services the airport provides, the positive impact on the economy will be immeasurable ! The real estate industry is now starting to see a positive turnaround in Northeast Florida, as well as in other parts of the country. Fortunately for us here in St. Johns county, being home to “the Gateway to Northeast Florida”, (the Northeast Florida Regional Airport), and having the ability to accommodate dozens of Fortune 50 corporate jets, 757’s and 767’s, on the ramp at NFRA is an unbelievable positive economic benefit. Positive benefit..? Yes ! Why? Because the passengers on those aircraft are the corporate CEO’s, business investors and bankers, that have chosen our community to fly into, and who are pumping millions of dollars into the local economy. In many cases they are buying homes or condos while looking for other business and investment opportunities. If you would like to know more about the airport, or have some ideas / comments, about the positive economic impact the airport plays in the overall economy of north Florida, please “blog” it here and give us your input. This blog was written by Bob Cox from Watson Realty Ponte Vedra, Realtor and Vice Chairman for the St. Johns Airport Authority.

I take great pride in assisting home buyers and home sellers with their real estate in St. Augustine. If you are looking for property in St. Augustine Beach, World Golf Village, Marsh Creek, Palencia or Royal St. Augustine, I can help you achieve your St. Augustine real estate goals. I specialize in St. Augustine waterfront properties, St. Augustine historic properties and St. Augustine golf course communities. Please contact me today if I can be of service or click here to search the MLS like an Agent.

Stefanie Bernstein, Broker / Associate
Phone: (904) 669-5134
Watson Realty Corp.
3175-1 A1A South
St. Augustine, Fl. 32080
View My Website
Email Me Today

         

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Anastasia Island properties are HOT in 2011

01-23-11
Stefanie Bernstein
Today is Sunday January 23, 2011 and it has been a very busy year so far. In the 3 weeks of this new year Anastasia Island in St. Augustine, Florida has been active. I listed a duplex and within a week there were two offers and the property was successfully under contract and is due to close next week. There was a mad rush for a well priced ocean view 3 bedroom condo with an ocean view which I had customers waiting for a year for and they were lucky enough to be the ones in first position for the unit. I listed a home in the $500,000 range (usually a tough price point to sell) and had 4 showings and an offer in 5 days. A buyer that I have been working with had 4 potential homes on her final list, two went pending and so that prompted her to make an offer on one of the two remaining. She got a great deal, negotiated $40,000 off asking, and the sellers are happy because their new home is ready to move into. I received a call from 2 investors this month whom are ready to jump back into the market and build up their portfolio. Whew, and the month is not yet over. I can’t wait to see what the next week will bring, never mind the entire year! I haven’t seen this kind of activity in a long time. Although it is mostly the island area, this is a great sign for the entire St. Augustine area. If you are a buyer and you have been waiting on the sideline, you may want to put your plans into action. 2011 is the year for great deals and it will be the bottom for island single family residential homes. Real estate is so very region specific and even within regions, it can vary, the island being a prime example. Additionally, lenders are actually wanting to lend, which is a novel thought and something we haven’t seen in awhile as well. Cheers to a great 2011!

I take great pride in assisting home buyers and home sellers with their real estate in St. Augustine. If you are looking for property in St. Augustine Beach, World Golf Village, Marsh Creek, Palencia or Royal St. Augustine, I can help you achieve your St. Augustine real estate goals. I specialize in St. Augustine waterfront properties, St. Augustine historic properties and St. Augustine golf course communities. Please contact me today if I can be of service or click here to search the MLS like an Agent.

Stefanie Bernstein, Broker / Associate
Phone: (904) 669-5134
Watson Realty Corp.
3175-1 A1A South
St. Augustine, Fl. 32080
View My Website
Email Me Today

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Royal St. Augustine Golf & Country Club

01-18-11
Stefanie Bernstein
Conveniently located off SR 16 Royal St. Augustine is an established community that was started in 2001. Offering the best of the Florida lifestyle, the backdrop for these homes are golf course view, manicured natural preserve or lake views. Nice architectural designs with innovative and flexible home plans are provided in all the homes that were built by reputable builders within Northeast Florida.
Located within Royal St. Augustine Golf & Country Club is the Royal Club, a golf and country club designed for the enjoyment of your family and guests. Situated in a beautiful setting, the fairways are lined with wooded nature preserves and complemented with lakes and a few pesky sand traps. The golf course is a J. Christopher Commons golf course that offers a challenging par 71 layout and 2 PGA golf professionals are available for your needs. Golf is open to the public at affordable rates.
The spacious clubhouse offers seating for 120 and is great for any occasion, weddings, parties, and any special get together. Join the rest of the community for Happy Hour every Friday night at 5pm and meet new friends while enjoying a beverage and appetizers. Other great specials that are offered include play golf and get a free lunch every Wednesday, there is a Tuesday Night League that is $20 per person and includes 9 holes and a fountain drink, Senior Members Club for a one time fee of $25 and then $5 off daily fees plus discounts in the Pro Shop and Club Bar and more!
Having sold many homes within Royal St. Augustine over the last 9 years, I can tell you the reasons why Royal St. Augustine is so popular amongst my customers. Firstly, it is located within the county so it has the lowest tax base. It is a 5 minute drive to downtown, 5 minutes to great shopping at the Outlet Malls, 5 minutes to jump on to I-95, 10 minutes to the beaches, and 20 minutes to Jacksonville. It just does not get much more convenient! Lastly, it is an established community that is fully built out, has mature landscaping and low association fees.

I take great pride in assisting home buyers and home sellers with their real estate in St. Augustine. If you are looking for property in St. Augustine Beach, World Golf Village, Marsh Creek, Palencia or Royal St. Augustine, I can help you achieve your St. Augustine real estate goals. I specialize in St. Augustine waterfront properties, St. Augustine historic properties and St. Augustine golf course communities. Please contact me today if I can be of service or click here to search the MLS like an Agent.

Stefanie Bernstein, Broker / Associate
Phone: (904) 669-5134
Watson Realty Corp.
3175-1 A1A South
St. Augustine, Fl. 32080
View My Website
Email Me Today

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