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Federal Tax Credit for Military Homebuyers in Cape Coral, Florida

April 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Federal Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers is expiring on April 30th, 2010. However, military and their spouses can enjoy an extension of the qualification period for the tax credit.

Members of the military, foreign service and intelligence communities (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serve on qualified official extended duty service outside of the U.S. for at least 90 days between January 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010 have an extra year to qualify for the credit. In addition to other eligibility qualifications, the eligible taxpayer must enter into a binding contract to buy a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011 and close on or before June 30, 2011.

Feel free to contact me for more details!

Filed Under: Military Housing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Household Chemical Waste Collection Event in Cape Coral, Florida

April 23, 2010 By 1 Comment

Get up early and clean out the garage, workshop, boat storage, and under your sink!

Saturday, April 24th, 2010, the Lee County Solid Waste Division offers Lee County residents the opportunity to safely and legally disposed of household hazardous waste items like paint, drain cleaners, paints, thinners and fluorscent light tubes. Also, you can bring in old computers, televisions, monitors, cell phones, and batteries. Anything marekt flammable, corrosive, toxic or poison can be brought in, too!

Bring it all to the Public Works Annex in Cape Coral on SE 26th Street, just south of the Mid-Point Bridge and Veterans Parkway.

It’s the right thing to do!

Filed Under: Home Improvement Tagged With: , , , , ,

Military Life Means Moving

April 22, 2010 By 1 Comment

First Lieutenant Christopher Ball, USAF Pilot

Our son, Christopher Ball, will be arriving at his new base in Klamath Falls, Oregon this week.  A member of the Air Force for the past 3 years, Chris has been required to move a few times already. Since his graduation from undergraduate pilot training in Del Rio, Texas he’s been assigned to train and fly the F-15 and will be in Oregon until the end of 2010. 

As most parents know, each time a child moves some of their belongings still remain in the family home. Since this is Chris’ first assignment after training, it’s an opportunity to gather all of his belongings at his new base. So, things that never made it to college dorms or apartments and stuff that didn’t travel with him to Alabama and Texas at the beginning of his Air Force career are finally being shipped to his new location. It was quite a challenge getting every thing out of storage and working with the mover, since Chris wasn’t present to direct the operation. All went well and it’s on its way!

We attended his graduation ceremonies in Del Rio last September and I met many of his fellow officers. I enjoyed the opportunity to assist one of them in his relocation to his new base near Tampa, Florida.  After I returned to Florida, I arranged for one of my colleagues in Tampa to work with him and his wife in finding the right home.  They purchased a condominium and closed their sale in February.

My network of real estate professionals is global and it pleases me to help people move, no matter what their destination. Feel free to give me a call anytime you’re aware of someone with plans to relocate!

Filed Under: Relocation Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Energy Star Appliance Federal Rebate Program

April 15, 2010 By 2 Comments

 

http://www.rebates.com/florida

Check out this site to learn about Energy Star rebate program http://www.rebates.com/florida

It’s great that, once you’ve raised your kids and they grow up, you can actually learn things from them!  Our sons have a friend from high school that is just that kind of man now. Zack Lewis is in charge of Sears appliances at the store in
Naples, Florida.  Zack provided me with the details of the federal stimulus program for Energy Star appliances. Here are his tips for learning about and utilizing this program:

Program is April 16th – April 25th.  However, money is not expected to last past the first couple days.

Government is offering a 20% mail in rebate on all energy star appliances.  Only fridges, washing machines, freezers, window ac units, dishwashers, and gas tankless water heaters can be energy star qualified.

In additon to the 20% the government is offering an additional $75 dollars per appliance they haul away.  1 of the same for 1 of the same.  If you buy a fridge, theyll haul one away and give you $75.

There is $17 million allotted for this program in Florida.  Florida has the most lucrative offers and the money is expected to be gone very quickly. New York was only offering the $75 dollars and the money was gone in the
first 7 hours.

In addition to the 20% and the $75 per appliance Sears will be offering 30% off all Energy Star appliances plus manufactures are offering additional mail in rebates some up to 15% off.

People who are interested in taking advantage of this offer need to be aggressive.  The website opens at 11 am on April 16th.  The smart consumer will have already have preselected thier appliance at Sears.  Then, on April
16th at 6am they will come into the store and actually ring up their transaction.  When they get home they should wait on the computer for the website to open at 11am, apply for a priority number, then mail in the
information requested.

Customer with priority number will receive preferential treatment, but government is being very clear no one is guaranteed anything.

Please have people contact me through zlewi01@searshc.com and I will get them in touch with a sales person.

The government has set up a very helpful website, I have provided the link below.
Florida Appliance Stimulus Website:
www.myfloridaclimate.com

Thanks, Zack, for the information!

Filed Under: Home Improvement, Real Estate Tagged With: , , , ,

Statewide Open House offers Home Buyers “Last Chance” for $8000 credit

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 

FLORIDA OPEN HOUSE WEEKEND

April 10th and April 11th

On Saturday, April 10th, and Sunday, April 11th, home buyers all over Florida will have a great opportunity to find the right home and get “under contract” in order to qualify for the $8000 tax credit.

In SW Florida, over 500 homes and condominiums will be available and manned by Realtors®. There to assist with questions and information about home loans, agents will be working to guide buyers through all of the steps of buying a home.

Some of the sellers will offer special incentives to  buyers who make a decision and write an offer over the weekend.

Homes, Condos and their locations can be searched by zip code or city at: Florida Open House Weekend April 10th and April 11th and you can even use the site to plot your driving directions from the homes you select!

Feel free to call me or my partner, Rob Ricca, with any questions about the best deals this weekend!

Filed Under: Buy a House, Condos, First Time Home Buyers, Foreclosures, Homes, Homes for Sale, Housing Market, Neighborhood, Questions and Answers, Real Estate, Real Estate Agent, Relocation, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Waggin’ Tails Dog Park a Terrific Benefit to Life in Cape Coral, Florida

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jett in the Doggie Pool

Sunny Saturday in Cape Coral meant lots of fun for our dogs, Foxy & Jett. After a week of listening to the construction noise coming from the work on our kitchen remodel, they were ready for a break! We headed down Pelican Blvd. to El Dorado, where Rotary Park and Waggin’ Tails Dog Park are located. Jett, the 11-month old black lab, and Foxy, the 9-year old Chow Chow, enjoyed romping with the pack and an occasional dip the the doggy pools. There were up to 10 dogs there at different times during our visit today and lots of fun and running took place, while the owners relaxed on the benches and picnic tables in the shade. Owners must register their dogs for entry tags and to obtain the code for the gates. Information about this terrific city park can be found in this link: Waggin’ Tails Dog Park

We all enjoyed the reward afterwards with an icy treat from The Working Cow on Cape Coral Parkway near Four Freedoms Park.

Feel free to contact me anytime for more information about our area’s parks and activities!

Filed Under: Community, Neighborhood, Pets, Questions and Answers Tagged With: , , , , ,

$1,000,000 Home Sold in Cape Coral, Florida!

April 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Gorgeous View of Pool and Waterfront from Lanai

I have been living here long enough (since 1993) that I remember when I saw a headline like this the first time: someone had purchased a home in The Hermitage, a gated community in Cape Coral, for over $1,000,000 and it became regional news.  Folks couldn’t believe that a home would sell for that price in Cape Coral!

Years later, during the boom years of 2005 and 2006, we saw many homes sell for that amount of money.  Many of them were waterfront homes, but not located on the Caloosahatchee River. They were new, grand homes situated on gulf-access canals.

Once the market turned, it was rare to see any homes selling in SW Florida over the $1,000,000 mark. 

In 2009, there were 80 homes in Lee County that surpassed the million-dollar price point. Only six of those sold were in Cape Coral, Florida.  Sanibel Island counted for 18, Captiva Island counted 11, Bonita Springs boasted 10, and greater Fort Myers logged 25 homes over the million-dollar level.

I am pleased to say that in 2010, I represented the seller and marketed one of the 2 homes in Cape Coral that has sold for $1,000,000.  Happy buyers from Germany will enjoy the beautiful home and its glorious sunsets over the Tranquil Canal.

The property was featured in Unique Homes waterfront edition, shared with American and European members of FIABCI, the international real estate association, and via direct mail with full-color portfolios sent  to the wealthiest Germans. Local real estate agents who had previously sold and marketed high-end homes also received direct mail information about the home. After only 44 days, the seller was able to negotiate successfully to contract with the right buyer.

It was a wonderful experience to market and promote this property listing. I look forward to future opportunities where I can utilize my international business background and network connections to assist the next sellers of luxury homes!

Filed Under: Community, Estate, Homes, Homes for Sale, Housing Market, Luxury Homes, Real Estate