Pensacola Real Estate

Maritime Park Plans Reviewed

City officials have in hand proposals by Land Capital Group and Trinity Capital Advisors to develop the 30 acres south of City Hall into a multiuse sports complex, retail and commercial space. The long awaited Community Maritime Park is getting closer. As soon as developers break ground the downtown Pensacola area will really begin to thrive. Just recently when traveling along Bayfront Parkway I noticed a sign promoting a "Crab Trap" restaurant was going to be constructed. This is exciting times for Pensacola. Can't way to see a concert or baseball game on the bay. If you are looking for downtown real estate investment property give me a call at 850 712-9077! Now is the time to buy! For more information on the Community Maritime Park visit:    http://www.communitymaritimepark.com/    

There is help for Desperate Sellers!

No doubt this is a troublesome market for many homeowners. The question often arises "what do I do when I can't make a payment or I get behind on my payments?" First of all...don't wait and to nothing. Doing nothing will definately increase the intensity of the situation. 2nd, call your lender and tell them what is going on. They are in this too and may have a way out for you. 3rd, If you have income and are able to construct a plan to catch up, present the plan to your lender. 4th, Expect the unexpected! Lenders will sometimes surprise you with what they will do. Don't give up, there is help out there but you have to be ahead of the curve to really get the best out of your lender! If you need to sell you house contact me today. I am in the business of selling property and will help you get it done!   

Great Values await Buyers in Pensacola!

Yesterday I showed 10 homes in Pensacola including East Hill, East Pensacola Heghts, Inverness, Birnham Woods, Cordova Park, Baywoods and River Gardens. Every home we entered had upgrades, new carpet, enclosed pools, nice bathrooms and even lanscaped yards! Some have been on the market for over two years. Obviously priced too high to sell when the market began to soften. But today these properties are incredible values. Really! You couldn't have bought some of these homes for the prices they are at today pre-Ivan. You certainly couldn't have gotten all of the upgrades many of these homes feature. You just have to look around and make the decision to buy today. Don't wait til next year. Rates will be higher. It will be tougher to get finaning and many of these great values will be gone. Call me today and let me show you the way!    

Gulf Breeze Welcomes New Publix!

Gulf Breeze proper has changed forever. Today marks the opening of the first major real estate retail development in Gulf Breeze proper in decades. Publix is more than just another place to buy groceries. With the doors open today, Publix will be the centerpiece of the $30 million dollar Sea Shell Collections shopping center. The shopping center, which includes the 45,000 square foot Publix, will include two restaurants along with another dozen or so professional service and retail businesses. One really cool thing to notice about this development is that there is no wasted land for a retention pond. All of the water runoff is beneath the properties large parking lot. What a great use of real estate. No wasted space!   

Pensacola Beach Rocks on Tuesday Nights

Tuesday nights on Pensacola Beach just got even better! Starting May 13th Bands on the Beach begins. Bring your family and a picnic dinner and enjoy the tunes. The schedule is as follows: May 13, Mr. Big. May 20, Southern Breeze. May 27, Wildwood. June 3, A Touch of Gray. June 10, Midnight Confessions. June 17, Tin Feet. June 24, Civilized Natives. July 1, Local Hero. July 8, The Dinosaurs. July 15, The Kyle Parker Band. July 22, The Reunion Band. July 29, Nashville County Night. August 5, Dr. Breeze. Agust 12, Mass Kunfusion. August 19, The Fort Morgan Slammers. August 26, Crosstown. September 2, DMT's. September 9, Not Quite Fab. September 16, The Kee Creek Band. September 23, Big Muddy. September 30, Wildwood. 

Foreclosures create a great Investment Opportunity!

About Foreclosures....now is the time to pick up on some great investments. Look at the foreclosures list. If you have some cash...say 35k to 100k you can pick up some really great rental investment properties that for the first time in over five years will actually cash flow! If you have alot of cash you can really cash in on the market. Think of it as a ten year investment like you would if you were placing your money in a CD, money market or government bond. The deals are out there!

Escambia County Schools Spared....

Despite a shortfall of nearly $15 million dollars in next years budget it looks like Escambia county schools will be spared. Although some school closers are emminant, Jim Paul is hopeful only a few will fall victim to the budget cut. Should of thought about closing some of the elementary schools before you closed Woodham Jim! That really is where the fat is in the school system anyway! The county and state should also look at reducing the emphasis on the FCAT. It is now more important than child safety, drug and alcohol prevention and of course, most positive faith based efforts. I really do wonder who's hands are in the FCAT cookie jar. Think about the cost of grading all of those tests. Somebody is making a profit. Hmmmmmm.

Some Buyers and Sellers afraid to Pay...

I encountered a buyer and a seller today, neither whom wanted to pay a Realtor a fee for assisting them with a sale or a purchase. The seller stated that he would only work with Buyer's agents for whom he thought the purchaser (buyer) would be responsible for paying. Typically buyer's agents are agents who's specialty is working with buyers. In most cases the seller still pays the agent's broker a fee for the transaction. The seller in most cases will always be responsible for paying the Realtor fee. Of course everything is negotiable...but the fee will still be there. The buyer whom I showed a property to explained that she had a good friend who is an attorney and that with his help and research she would be able to buy a home without a Realtor. Good Luck! I am not an attorney, nor do I want to be. I believe that attorneys should do what they do and we as Realtors should do our job as well. I will never go to court and prosecute or defend as an attorney. I wish this one, for whom I do not know who he or she is, would stay in the courtroom as well. As for the seller, as I left he said that he wasn't in a hurry to sell. Then by all means take your home off of the market! There are enough sellers who really need to sell and having a bunch of folks on the market that don't have the need to sell only hurts those who do! There are hundreds of reasons I could list as to why a buyer and seller should pay a Realtor to assist them in their purchase. The most important is a Realtor is a licensed professional whose profession is that of real estate sales. Realtors are the oldest organized profession. Realtors maintain standards, ethics and lots and lots of continuing education so that they know how to handle the transaction. You wouldn't go to a mechanic for a broken foot would you?         

Escambia County Schools could face Closer due to budget costs

The Escambia County School Board meets starting today to discuss potential cuts in the schools. It appears that there is an anticipated shortfall of $10 million due to the shortage in tax revenue. That is not the only culprit though! Diesel fuel costs are expected to rise by $1.3 million; utilities by $1 million and there will be an additional $3 million needed to cover the rising cost of health care. WOW! To make ends meet, district officials hope to cut a minimum of $11.9 million from next years' budget. Not knowing what will get cut is leaving teachers and parents and school board staff members very anxious.   

Boo...Boo...Boo!!!

Way to go Boo Weekley. Not only did he show well in the Masters, he took the Verizon Heritage for a second time in a row. Boo, you can wear your camo anytime! It is great to have a local shine in the spotlight. Cudos for Heath Slocum as well. Both are playing well and carrying the Santa Rosa and Escambia countie areas with pride. Keep hitting them long and straight!