I received the Coldwell Banker top sales associate award for the second quarter 2011 for Florida - 9/14/2011
I have received the Coldwell Banker award for Top Sales Associate for the first quarter and now the second quarter this year 2011. I had the top 10 most listing units for Coldwell Banker in the state of Florida for the first and now second quarter this year. The above is a JPG from a copy of the PDF file. This is now a multiple time I have received this award. Thank you to all of those who have chose me to help them with bringing to market their homes and properties.
I am now a Coldwell Banker® Foreclosure Consultant (CBFC) - 5/8/2011
COLDWELL BANKER® FORECLOSURE CONSULTANT (CBFC) QUALIFICATION PROGRAM
Foreclosure asset management companies become leading providers of REO disposition services by the quality of the professionals in their network. "CBFC Qualified" participants are considered for selection based on level of experience, attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to service multiple clients with specific requirements for servicing and report.
Sales Associate Foreclosure Consultant (CBFC) Qualification : The names of those sales associates who meet the qualifications will be incorporated into a database. This database will be made available to select asset management companies for their consideration. REO listings will be placed directly with the sales associates working within the markets where need exists for those entities.
COLDWELL BANKER® FORECLOSURE CONSULTANT (CBFC) QUALIFICATION PROGRAM
Among the many reasons foreclosure asset management companies become leading providers of REO disposition services is the quality of the professionals in their network. Participants are considered for selection based on level of experience, attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to service multiple clients with specific requirements for servicing and reporting.
Most asset management companies require a direct working relationship between the sales associate and an assigned asset manager who provides support and closely monitors progress and performance.
Every affiliate company has exceptional sales professionals, many with extensive experience in relocation and inventory management. REO is a highly specialized and unique field and most asset management entities are not equipped to provide fundamental REO training in order to develop agent knowledge and expertise.
• A production history of 20 or more REO transactions closed;
• Controls or has access to an established vendor team for property maintenance and management;
• Controls or is provided access to sufficient working capital to pay invoices for expenses related;
• A minimum of six (6) months experience listing and selling REO properties in our Marketplace (from assignment to closing) with lender and/or outsource company clients;
• Ability to supply accurate and reliable valuations and provide relevant market suggestions to asset manager;
• Thorough knowledge of state and local eviction processes and requirements, personal property noticing;
• Ability to conduct and manage "cash for keys" transactions;
• Knowledge of title and code violation resolutions skills;
• Ability to attend court proceedings on behalf of clients (evictions, etc.)
• to maintenance and management (e.g., utilities, vendor reimbursement);
• Remains a constant member in good standing of the local Board of Realtors and Multiple Listing Services that apply to the markets served by the company;
• Is registered with Equator.com or other platform servers as required by certain clients (fees may apply).
Economic Development and the Enviormental protection of Okaloosa county and vision 2015 - 11/6/2010
Economic Development The EDC of Okaloosa County promotes economic strength and development. This includes the retention and expansion of existing industry as well as target industry recruiting. The military presence and its influence is the number one economic contributor for Okaloosa.
Military Since the mid-90s Eglin Air Force Base officials have been looking for ways to prevent encroachment from development of land adjacent to area bases and within the existing military low-level flyway that could restrict the missions of the region's military installations and jeopardize their viability. Following the 2005 BRAC Commission, Eglin AFB created its growth management plan Vision 2015. Incorporated in this growth management plan is Eglin's air, land and sea buffering zones.
Environmental The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and The Nature Conservancy have long recognized the conservation value of lands in Northwest Florida with its immense biological diversity. It is known as one of the last great wilderness spaces in Florida.
Goals of the Northwest Florida Greenway
Promote the sustainability of the military mission in northwest Florida to meet national defense testing, operational and training requirements as outlined in the Joint Gulf Range Strategic Plan.
Strengthen the regional economy by sustaining the the military presence while enabling contract awards with local civilian defense contractors and enhancing tourism.
Protect lands that will sustain the high biodiversity of the region, link protected natural areas, preserve water resources and provide areas for outdoor recreation including the Florida National Scenic Trail.
The Northwest Florida Greenway is a conceptual plan to help identify and prioritize land preservation and conservation opportunities that will protect the land and air space corridors
Exxon called on to invest 10% of their profits to support other energies - 1/23/2012
Markey Chairman of the select committee on energy Independence and Global warming challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation. The executives said the companies already are spending billions of dollars - more than $3.5 billion over the last five years - on renewable fuels such as wind energy and biodiesel, but rejected any tax increases. "Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investment needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security," Simon insisted. "These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone," complained Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
BP what would I ask an Oil company can you put your money where your mouth is - 1/23/2012
The big oil companies want to talk about what they are doing and give the appearance that they care about the enviorment but when it comes to putting money where there mouth is when put to the test the object to having been asked by the house to re invest just 10% of their upcoming years profit. Thats right not gross but profit what they net and take home, they are not even willing to do that.
Markey Chairman of the select committee on energy Independence and Global warming challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation. The executives said the companies already are spending billions of dollars - more than $3.5 billion over the last five years - on renewable fuels such as wind energy and biodiesel, but rejected any tax increases. "Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investment needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security," Simon insisted. "These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone," complained Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Shell listen to your own words and put your money where your mouth is - 1/23/2012
Shell Oil listen to your own words.... The big oil companies want to talk about what they are doing and give the appearance that they care about the enviorment but when it comes to putting money where there mouth is when put to the test the object to having been asked by the house to re invest just 10% of their upcoming years profit. Thats right not gross but profit what they net and take home, they are not even willing to do that.So enjoy..
Markey Chairman of the select committee on energy Independence and Global warming challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation. The executives said the companies already are spending billions of dollars - more than $3.5 billion over the last five years - on renewable fuels such as wind energy and biodiesel, but rejected any tax increases. "Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investment needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security," Simon insisted. "These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone," complained Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Chevron Big oil wont put their money where their mouth is - 1/23/2012
The big oil companies want to talk about what they are doing and give the appearance that they care about the enviorment but when it comes to putting money where there mouth is when put to the test the object to having been asked by the house to re invest just 10% of their upcoming years profit. Thats right not gross but profit what they net and take home, they are not even willing to do that.So enjoy...
Markey Chairman of the select committee on energy Independence and Global warming challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation. The executives said the companies already are spending billions of dollars - more than $3.5 billion over the last five years - on renewable fuels such as wind energy and biodiesel, but rejected any tax increases. "Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investment needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security," Simon insisted. "These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone," complained Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
What is the total amount being spent on renewable energy by the big oil companies - 1/23/2012
Top executives of the biggest U.S. oil companies are finally being pressed to explain the soaring fuel prices with huge industry profits why they were not investing more to develop renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
The executives questions from skeptical lawmakers, said they understood that high energy costs are hurting consumers, arguing that their profits - $123 billion last year - were in line with other industries.
The biggest joke of all is being played on American families by Big Oil," Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat, said as his committee began hearing from the oil company executives.
With motorists payin at the pump and global oil prices remaining above $100 a barrel, the executives were hard pressed by lawmakers to defend their profits.
"The anger level is rising significantly," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver
Exxon Mobil made a record $40.7 billion last year alone, reports CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.
Americans are very worried about the rising price of energy," said John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., echoing remarks by the other four executives from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp., and ConocoPhillips.
The executives rejected claims that their companies' earnings are out of step with other industries and said that while they earn tens of billions of dollars, they also invest tens of billions in exploration and oil production activities.
"Our earnings, though high in absolute terms, need to be viewed in the context of the scale and cyclical, long-term nature of our industry as well as the huge investment requirements," said J.S. Simon, Exxon Mobil's senior vice president.
But Markey asked Simon why Exxon Mobil hasn't followed the other companies in investing in alternative energy. The four other companies reported spending as much as $3.5 billion in recent years on solar, wind, biodiesel and other renewable projects.
"Why is Exxon Mobil resisting the renewable revolution," asked Markey.
Simon said his company, which earned $40 billion last year, had provided $100 million on research into climate change at Stanford University, but that current alternative energy technologies "just do not have an appreciable impact" in addressing "the challenge we're trying to meet."
The prices are of concern, Hofmeister said at the time, adding a note of optimism: "Our industry is extremely cyclical and what goes up almost always comes down,"
Markey challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation.
The executives said the companies already are spending billions of dollars - more than $3.5 billion over the last five years - on renewable fuels such as wind energy and biodiesel, but rejected any tax increases.
"Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investment needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security," Simon insisted.
"These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone," complained Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
The House last year and again on Feb. 27 approved legislation that would have ended the tax breaks for the oil giants, while using the revenue to support wind, solar and other renewable fuels and incentives for energy conservation. The measure has not passed the Senate
449 points down on the market today and Washington Mutual preparing for takeover - 1/23/2012
449 points down on the dow Asian markets open up tonight down some of them catching up with the loss we have seen.
85 billion dollars to bail out AIG did not work today to calm the market after yesterdays losses.
Investors lost an estimated 700 billion dollars today.
Morgan Stanley is in talks with Wachovia to ready themselves for a buyout.
Washington mutual preparing itself to be taken over if it may come to pass one thing is learned it will be costly to have to go to the GOV for a bail out.
These financial instuations are trying to figure out how to cope without any money.
Highway 79 4 lane from Panama City International airport and beach traffic effects up to I-10 - 1/23/2012
wtvy news 4 local news report
Anxious property owners in northwest Florida are awaiting word on whether their land will be taken for a hurricane evacuation route. The state department of transportation held a public forum in Vernon on the future four-laning of Highway 79.
Florida Department of Transportation officials along with their consultants presented aerial black-and-white pictures of the proposed four-laning. One section of the Highway 79 expansion goes through downtown Vernon.
For resident Cheryl Withrow and many others, they believe their hometown will be destroyed.
"Personally I believe it'll destroy our town. Basically, they'll be taking down the businesses on the westside of Highway 79, what the city will do for business tax revenue," said Withrow.
"It is still better than a bypass, because in other communities by using a bypass it essentially brings traffic away from town," said Jerry Brock.
Florida D.O.T. officials say it's imperative that the four-laning take place for hurricane evacuation, especially to the interstate.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist has made the four-laning of north, south hurricane evacuation routes a top priority of his administration.
Tommie Speights, with Florida Department of Transportation, said "We are getting everything in place so that the long anticipated four-lane project on the evacuation routes can take place"
Sometime next year would be the earliest the four-laning work would get underway. Florida officials are still trying to get the money for the Highway 79 four-laning project to Interstate-10.
Rebuilding Together's AmeriCorps program, called the Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps is a high-impact National AmeriCorps program of 44 full-time AmeriCorps members serving in 26 Rebuilding Together affiliates in 16 states including, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Washington. RT CapacityCorps members will build the capacity of Rebuilding Together affiliates to serve additional low-income homeowners through volunteer recruitment, client outreach, direct repairs for low-income homeowners, new project implementation, community partnership development and program expansion.
We're Currently Recruiting CapacityCorps Members for the 2008-2009 Term!
In Oct. 2005, SHC received the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.
The award was created to publicly recognize American employers who provide exceptional support to their employees who voluntarily serve the nation in the National Guard and Reserve.
The Freedom Award is the highest in a series of Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) awards.
MOAA Distinguished Service Award
In March 2006, SHC was honored with the Military Officers Association of America's Distinguished Service Award.
Award recognized SHC's support of associates in the Guard and Reserve and military families nationwide.
Programs for SHC Associates
Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Statement of Support
Sears signed a Five Star Statement of Support of the ESGR, publicly demonstrating support for employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.
The five star level of support signifies that Sears:
Reviewed its human resources policies to ensure compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Acts Law.
Promotes training for managers and supervisors to effectively manage associates who serve in the Guard and Reserve.
Adopted polices and programs that are "Above and Beyond" what is required by the USERRA Law.
Serves as an advocate for associate service in the National Guard and Reserve and helps to promote the mission of ESGR.
Military Pay Differential and Benefits Continuation
In September 2004, the company extended its military pay differential (fills the gap between military pay and employer pay) and benefits continuation to 60 months for eligible employees called to duty in the Reserves or National Guard.
Previously, policy provided 36 months of coverage.
While deployed, eligible employees can:
Continue participating in SHC's life insurance, medical and dental programs.
SHC holds a comparable position for deployed employees for up to five years.
The company has encouraged and supported employees serving in the armed forces for decades.
Records indicate that Sears provided support to employees serving in the military in 1916.
Sears' pay differential was first instituted in 1990 for Operation Desert Shield-Storm.
Military Recruiting Partnerships
Army Spouse Employment Partnership (ASEP)
In 2002, Sears Logistics Services (SLS) became a founding member of ASEP, partnering with 12 other companies and the Department of Army to pilot a program that offers spouses of service members a resource for finding employment.
Provides spouses with the opportunity to meet short- and long-term employment goals and increase family financial security.
ASEP Web site links to sears.com/careers and allows spouses to search Sears job openings by zip code for added convenience.
SLS program manager continues to serve on the ASEP strategic communications committee.
Partnership expanded to all SHC units in 2006.
Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS)
Army recruiting tool designed to provide civilian jobs to qualified soldiers after completing their initial tour of duty.
At enlistment, soldier expresses interest in potential employment with SHC. When service duty ends, SHC provides soldier with priority application opportunity.
Sears Logistics Services was a founding members in 2001.
Today, all SHC, including all Sears and Kmart retail formats, participate in the program.
SHC has more soldiers signed on today than any other of the 90 corporate PaYS partners.
Department of Defense Fellowship Program
Allows senior level active duty military personnel with logistics experience to work at SHC corporate headquarters and field units for one year in lieu of continuing education at a service-related school.
Both the military and Sears benefit from sharing the service member's experience and leadership skills.
Nine members from Army and Marine Corps have participated for more than five years.
Transition Assistance Program
Kmart currently has recruiting efforts in its field organization focusing on the US Navy's Transition Assistance Program (TAP).
Community Outreach
Operation Purple
Through a grant of nearly $2.5 million to the National Military Family Association (NMFA), SHC was the exclusive sponsor of "Operation Purple Summer Camps," a series of camps for children of deployed military personnel.
SHC's donation is the largest in NMFA's history.
Funding is part of the Sears American Dream Campaign, a multi-year $100 million commitment to strengthen families, homes and communities nationwide.
Operation Purple is the first camp to bring together children of deployed parents from all branches of the armed forces, including the National Guard and Reserves.
In 2005, more than 2,500 children, ages 8 to 18, at 23 camps participated in typical camp activities and special programs to teach strategies for dealing with deployment-related stress.
In 2004, nearly 1,000 children participated in 12 camps.
Keepsake Book: "A Tribute to Military Families: Letters of Thanks from Our Nation's Children"
Sears and NMFA published the keepsake book to celebrate the importance of military families and raise awareness of their contributions to the strength of the U.S. military force.
Book features 100 essays written by children from fourth through sixth grade as part of an essay contest sponsored by Sears and NMFA.
Half the essays feature children writing about why they are proud of their family member serving in the military.
The other essays feature children writing about why they appreciate the families of service members.
Out of the more than 1,000 entries, a distinguished judging panel helped select the essays included in book, including Gen. Richard Myers, chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Copies of the book were distributed to:
Every municipal public library in the country.
Almost every major U.S. military installation in the world.
Every Member of the U.S. Congress.
National and local media outlets.
Books were sold on sears.com with proceeds benefiting NMFA.
HomeFront Cards
To honor military families as part of the Sears American Dream Campaign, Sears sold HomeFront Cards in its Full-line stores nationwide.
The greeting card outreach program gave customers the opportunity to thank military families for their courage and sacrifice.
Proceeds benefited NMFA to benefit "Operation Purple."
The cards will be available for $2 between April 17 and May 16, while supplies last. Completes cards were delivered to military families across the country living on or near installations with high deployments.
The courage community and the Courage to Combat Addiction - 1/23/2012
COURAGE TO COMBAT ADDICTION Web Seminar Series
The Courage Community is proud to announce its affiliation with Ken Seeley, and his team of Addiction Experts at Intervention 911.
We invite you to join Ken Seeley, founder of Intervention911, for in-depth exploration of veterans struggling with addiction. Ken examines the dark reality of drug and alcohol abuse, offering veteran-specific advice on how to beat addiction. Ken walks you through the steps in healing from addiction.
The courage community and National Pain Foundation - 1/23/2012
PTSD: THE COURAGE TO COPE Web Seminar Series
The Courage Community is proud to announce its affiliation with The National Pain Foundation, an organization that offers information, education, and support that connects persons living with pain to each other and to those who can help.
Join National Pain Foundation Board Member Dr. Albert Ray, and Dr. Maria Elena Collazo of Pain Medicine Solutions in Florida, for a web series that will explore ways to treat pain and PTSD. They will offer insight into EMDR and other treatment options available to veterans.
The Courage Community named as the honored charity at 2008 CCIFF
The Courage Community is proud to announce that we've been named as the honored charity at upcoming The 2008 Cinema City International Film Festival star-studded benefit gala, to be held at Universal Studios and featuring A-list Hollywood celebrities, hot new filmmakers and industry professionals.
The festival runs from September 28th to October 2nd, at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal City, California. Sponsored by American Airlines.
Heroes at Home is a program Sears Holdings has created in partnership with Rebuilding Together in response to an urgent need to assist military families facing hardship. Rebuilding Together, the nation's largest all volunteer home rehabilitation organization, is committed to bringing warmth, safety and accessibility to homeowners who do not have the financial or physical resources to complete home repairs and other necessary improvements.
By providing necessary repairs or adaptations to homes, Sears Holdings strives to improve the lives of military families across America. Heroes at Home is one of the many initiatives through which Sears Holdings acknowledges the sacrifice made by our troops every day in the line of duty, while supporting and honoring those heroes who remain at home. Donate to Rebuilding Together or refer a veteran who may need assistance.
Late summer great time to plant in Florida - 1/23/2012
The thermometer may be stuck on 90 degrees, but don't let the summer heat beat you out of a second crop of fresh summer veggies. Anyone who enjoys vegetable gardening should consider a second planting of the warm season species, and can begin preparing for establishing the cool season vegetables. Our climate is such that something can be produced in the vegetable garden during every month of the year.
The first round of summer vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, sweet corn, southern peas, snap beans, cantaloupes and eggplant were probably planted in March and April. The harvest on this spring planting is winding down. But with Florida's subtropical climate, the summer gardening fun has only just begun. You still have time for another round of summer crops before the first frost. The first frost usually occurs around late November in Northwest Florida. According to Terry Kelley, an Extension horticulturist with the University of Georgia, there are 110 to 120 frost-free days from late July until mid-November, so warm-season crops that mature in less than four months have time to produce, barring an early frost. Many gardeners make several plantings throughout the year at various intervals to have new crops maturing periodically throughout the summer. Others try to maintain the first planting and harvest tomatoes, squash and the like throughout the summer.
Rather than trying to keep the same plants producing indefinitely, it is often better to start over after the first planting plays out. This usually results in better yield and quality.
Don't, however, plant the same crop back in the exact same place. Rotate your garden space to reduce potential disease problems. For instance, plant tomatoes where you planted squash this spring. Gardeners should also rotate families of crops. Plant peppers, tomatoes or eggplant where squash, cucumbers or cantaloupes were planted. But don't plant cucumbers on the same ground where squash was most recently planted.
Lima beans, eggplant, okra, southern peas, peppers and tomatoes can be started again in July. During August plant snap beans, pole beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, southern peas, peppers, pumpkin and squash. All of these usually have plenty of time to mature and bear before the first frost. The cool season vegetables are often overlooked or planted too late to produce as well as they might. Newcomers, especially those from a cooler climate, tend to plant these vegetables in the spring - which is a mistake. In August plant broccoli, cauliflower, collards, bunching onions and turnips. During September plant all of the above in addition to beets, cabbage, carrots, endive, escarole, lettuce, mustard, onions and radish. Many gardeners who are unfamiliar with our mild winters seem to fear that the cool season vegetables will freeze if planted during late summer or fall. This generally does not happen. In fact, most of them thrive during our typically mild winter weather.
Onions are a prime example of the need for fall planting. They should be established by seeding or by transplanting so that plants are growing well by mid November. If spring planted, onions will either produce a small bulb or a plant that resembles a giant "green onion", with no bulb. Establishing the late summer crop will be more of a challenge than it was in the spring. There is more pressure from pests at this time of year, so insect and disease control practices must be implemented. Because of the intense heat, you'll need to keep the garden watered enough to reduce heat and drought stress.
The science of global warming is not new. In 1859, British scientist John Tyndall discovered that carbon dioxide (CO2) can trap heat and in 1896 Swedish scientist Svante Arrenhenius calculated that doubling a the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere could raise Earth's temperature as much as 10°F. Since Charles Keeling began measuring atmospheric CO2 in the late 1950s, scientists have accumulated a wealth of evidence documenting the increase in CO2 and other global warming gases in the atmosphere, the consequent rise in global average temperature and the influence of human activities on the Earth's climate.
Global warming refers to the global temperature rise and subsequent impacts from the increase of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere from human activities, primarily the combustion of fossil fuels. This additional pollution enhances the so-called "Greenhouse Effect" and warms the Earth. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declares that the evidence for warming is "unequivocal" and that most of the observed warming is very likely - greater than 90 percent certainty - due to the increase of global warming pollution from human activities. Over the last century, the global average temperature has increased 1.3°F, with almost 90 percent of the warming occurring over the last fifty years.
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
Just like the glass of a greenhouse traps warm air inside, certain gases in the atmosphere trap heat that would otherwise escape into space. The effect is not limited to Earth. Much of what we know about the greenhouse effect comes from observation of our planetary neighbors, Venus and Mars. The atmosphere of Mars has such a low concentration of heat-trapping gases that it is in a perpetual deep freeze, while Venus has so much, its surface temperatures is hot enough to melt lead! As we rapidly enhance the greenhouse effect on Earth by adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, we are turning up Earth's thermostat to dangerous levels.
There are a number of gases that occur naturally and are the major contributors to the greenhouse effect - water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone (at high altitudes, not smog at ground level). Methane and nitrous oxide play a lesser role. Some man-made industrial gases, like chlorofluorocarbons (more famous for their creation of the ozone hole), also contribute to the greenhouse effect.
The impact of each gas on global warming is a combination of their abilities to trap heat, their concentrations in the atmosphere, and how long they stay in the atmosphere. For example, while one molecule of methane traps more heat than one molecule of CO2, the higher concentration and longer atmospheric lifetime of CO2 means it has contributed more to global warming than methane has. Most efforts to control global warming pollution have focused on the CO2 emissions from human activities because they have the most affect and we have the greatest control over them.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 280 ppm to over 380 ppm. This 100 ppm change is the same increase as from the last ice age about 20,000 years ago until just before the 1800's. Human activities have changed the atmosphere as much in 200 years as natural variations changed it over 20,000 years.
Water vapor is different from the other gases produced from human activities primarily because of the much shorter time it stays in the atmosphere - days rather than years, decades or centuries. The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is dependent on the temperature and is not a direct result of human activities. The warmer the world, the more evaporation occurs and the more water vapor the atmosphere can hold, thus increasing the amount of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere and increasing the temperature further.
How do we know the warming is caused by human activities?
For the heat-trapping gases with no natural source, the contribution from human activities is obvious. The other gases, especially CO2, also carry a human fingerprint. The analysis of carbon isotopes demonstrates that the majority of the increase in carbon dioxide comes from the combustion of fossil fuels. The geographic differences in concentrations of heat-trapping gases - higher concentrations over land in the more heavily populated Northern Hemisphere - also points to the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities as the source of the globe's rising temperatures.
Scientists can model the temperature effects of natural and human-induced, or anthropogenic, changes in the global temperature. The results show that natural variations alone can not explain the observed temperature rise of the last decades. The changes from human activities are necessary to fully explain the observed warming.
The most recent report IPCC has estimated that of the processes that can change global temperature, what they call "radiative forcings", the components from human activities are cumulatively 10 times larger than the best estimates of the changes from solar activity. A recent paper shows that all the trends in the Sun's activity that could influence the temperature of the Earth have been in the opposite direction needed to explain the rise in temperature over the last 20 years.
What are the impacts?
Scientists have now observed impacts from global warming on all continents and most oceans. For a closer look at impacts in specific areas, check out the "Impact Zones" section of this website. The IPCC has also identified the likely impacts on crucial areas if global temperatures continue to rise.
The Select Committe on Energy Independence and Global Warming - 11/6/2010
Welcome to The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
Welcome to the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming website. This unique committee was established by Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early 2007 to add urgency and resources to the commitment of this Congress to address the challenges of America's oil dependence and the threat of global warming. Use this website to learn about how these issues are impacting America and the world, and what you can do to help solve these twin challenges.
The Select Committee will be working every day to make a difference, but it will also take concerned citizens to enact the significant changes we need to effectively address two of the most important issues of our time: global warming and energy security.
Custom Picture Framing in Pensacola Florida. We offer Custom made frames, matting services, framed and unframed art and conservation framing services. We have many sale frames in stock
Hello, my name is Eszra. I live in Navarre, FL with my wife and 3 boys. If you see me around be sure to say hi.
I've been into photography for a long time but I didn't get into landscape photography until I moved to Florida in Oct of 2006. Its the colors I see in the sunrises and sunsets along the coast line that inspired me to start.
The question I get most often about my work is weather or not the work has been enhanced. The easiest answer I've been able to come up with is "yes, I bracket shots and then blend them together digitally using layers". My technique is most often refered to as "blended exposure". Exposure blending is an art in itself that takes a long time to master. I am the only one I know who uses the particular style of blending you will see in my work.
Exclusive Summer Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!
I have watched the Roy Jones Jr match and I know that was scored incorrect and everyone has talked about that match for years. I think this we become one that is talked about in the same light all these years later and they cannot come up with a better scoring system. It is just wrong for someone to spend years training for this event to have the judges mistake cost him what he had worked so long for.They need a new scoring system maybe taking something from the tennis hawk eye scoring system?
Florida Realtors continued to report positive signs for the state's housing sector in the second quarter of 2008. Sales of both existing single-family homes and existing condos improved in the second quarter compared to first quarter 2008, according to FAR's latest housing data. A total of 35,178 existing homes sold statewide in 2Q 2008, up 38.2 percent over 1Q 2008. Nationwide, existing home sales rose from the first quarter in 13 states, according to NAR's latest survey.
2007 Florida Home sales profile of buyers and sellers - 11/6/2010
Study: Single person, non-child families trend in 2007 Florida home sales
One in three Florida homebuyers is single, with 21 percent of 2007 home purchases made by single women and 12 percent by single men - just one finding from the newly-released Florida version of NAR's "2007 Profile of Florida Homebuyers and Sellers." Another highlight: Over two-thirds of Florida buyers (64 percent) had no children younger than 18.
The 2007 Profile of Florida Homebuyers and Sellers describes the characteristics and motivations of recent homebuyers and sellers in Florida to help real estate professionals track the changing demands of consumers in a dynamic market. Here's a summary of the report's findings:
Characteristics of homebuyers
· The median age of homebuyers was 43 years old. Among first-time buyers, the median age was 32.
· The 2006 median household income of homebuyers was $67,500 compared to $74,000 among homebuyers nationally.
· Sixty-four percent of homebuyers reported that there were no children under age 18 residing in the home.
· Fifty-nine percent of homebuyers were married couples, 21 percent single females, 12 percent single males, and 6 percent were unmarried couples.
· Eighteen percent of Florida homebuyers reported they were born outside the United States, compared to 9 percent nationally.
· First-time homebuyers accounted for 38 percent of homes purchased in 2007.
· Forty-nine percent of first-time homebuyers were between 25 and 34 years old.
· The median income of first-time homebuyers was $58400 compared to $58,600 among all first-time buyers nationally.
· Sixty-five percent of homebuyers between 18 and 24 purchased a home because of their desire to own a home of their own and establish a household.
· Thirty-eight percent of homebuyers reported using social networking Web sites, such as, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Friendster. Among homebuyers aged 18 to 24, 76 percent reported using social networking sites.
Characteristics of homes purchased
· Twenty-seven percent of recent homebuyers purchased newly built homes.
· Fifty-eight percent of homes purchased were detached single-family homes.
· The typical homebuyer purchased a home 14 miles from their previous residence.
· The median price of homes purchased was $230,000 compared to $215,000 in the U.S.
· The typical buyer purchased a home that was 1,700 square feet in size.
· Recent homebuyers plan to live in their home a median of 10 years.
The home search process
· Twenty-five percent of recent buyers reported that their first step in the home-buying process was looking online for properties for sale. Eighteen percent of first-time buyers and 24 percent of repeat buyers reported their first step was to contact a real estate agent.
· Eighty percent of homebuyers used the Internet to search for homes.
· The typical homebuyer searched for a home for a median 8 weeks and saw a median 10 homes.
· Eighty-four percent of homebuyers used a real estate professional during their home search.
· Among homebuyers, the typical Internet searcher was 40 years old and visited a median 10 homes. The typical homebuyer that did not use the Internet to search for homes was 53 years old and saw a median 5 homes.
· Thirty-seven percent of homebuyers first learned about the home they purchased from a real estate professional; 19 percent first learned about the home they purchased through the Internet.
· Seventy-two percent of buyers viewed the Internet as a very useful tool in their home search.
· Real estate agents were viewed as a very useful information source by 67 percent of buyers, and as a somewhat useful information source by an additional 23 percent of buyers searching for a home.
Home buying and real estate professionals
· Seventy-one percent of homebuyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.
· Buyers searched for a median of two weeks on their own before contacting an agent.
· A friend, family member, neighbor or relative referred 52 percent of first-time buyers to their agent.
· Ninety-eight percent of buyers ranked honesty and integrity as a "very important" factor when choosing a real estate professional to assist with a home purchase.
· When asked about their agent's performance on those qualities considered important, 80 percent reported they were "very satisfied" with the honesty and integrity of their agent.
· Sixty-eight percent of recent buyers will definitely use their agent again, and an additional 19 percent will probably use the agent again or recommend to others.
Financing the home purchase
· Ninety percent of homebuyers financed their home purchase; 98 percent of first-time homebuyers financed the purchase of their home compared to 90 percent of repeat buyers.
· Savings were the chief source of the downpayment for most first-time homebuyers (69 percent).
· Fifty-three percent of repeat buyers used proceeds from the sale of their primary residence toward the downpayment; 46 percent relied on savings for a portion of the downpayment.
· Forty-seven percent of all buyers believe that their home purchase was a better financial investment than stocks, and an additional 30 percent of buyers feel their home purchase was at least as good an investment as stocks.
Home sellers and their selling experience
· The median age of home sellers was 48 years; they had a median income of $83900.
· Sixty-nine percent of home sellers were married and 61 percent had no children under 18 years old living at home.
· Fifty-one percent of home sellers traded up to a larger home when purchasing their next home.
· The typical home seller owned their home for 6 years.
· Fifty-three percent of recent home sellers reported that they undertook home improvement or remodeling projects within three months prior to putting their home on the market.
· The typical home was on the market for 10 weeks. 33 percent of home sellers did not reduce their asking price before their home sold.
· Recent sellers typically sold their homes for 96 percent of the listing price.
· Seventy-nine percent of sellers used an agent or broker to sell their home.
· Sixty-seven percent of all sellers were very satisfied with the selling process.
Home sellers and real estate professionals
· Fifty-nine percent of sellers contacted only one agent before selecting one to help assist in the sale of their home.
· When selecting a real estate professional, 36 percent of sellers received a recommendation from a friend, neighbor or relative.
· The reputation of the agent was the most important factor when choosing a real estate professional for 39 percent of recent sellers.
· Twenty-six percent of sellers used the same agent for their home purchase.
· For 37 percent of sellers, their most important expectation is that the real estate agent will help sell the home within a specific timeframe.
· Eighty-six percent of sellers reported that their home was listed or advertised on the Internet.
· Eighty-two percent of sellers used an agent that provided a broad range of services and managed most aspects of the sales transaction.
· Sixty-two percent of sellers reported they would definitely use the same real estate agent again.
Sellers nationwide want something that makes their home stand out from the sea of listings, but those who try some creative marketing generally find that only one thing counts in today's market - price.
Two essay contests in Colorado and Oregon failed to attract enough contestants, and the homes are once again listed in a traditional way. Many sellers include traditional perks, such as the furniture or a car, but some have gone much further. A 42-year-old single mother in South Florida offered herself in marriage to some lucky homebuyer; and a couple in Pennsylvania offered to will the house back, upon their death, to a buyer.
However, Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors Inc. in Miami, says all the unusual incentives are crazy. He says the motivation to buyers is the same: price. "Of course you want to draw attention to your property any way you can," Shuffield says. "But free trips or cars, that's costing somebody somewhere, and a buyer would rather have a reduced price and decide what to do with their money."
FHA extending financing for immediate purchase of foreclosured homes - 11/6/2010
FHA extends financing for immediate purchase of foreclosed homes
In an effort to stabilize declining home values in certain neighborhoods, the Bush Administration today announced a temporary policy that will extend government-backed mortgage insurance and allow for the immediate sale of vacant foreclosed properties.
For one year, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will insure foreclosed properties marketed and sold by property disposition firms on behalf of lenders. The properties, which must purchased by owner-occupants, will no longer be subject to the customary 90-day waiting period.
"A glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods, frustrates homebuyers and delays a community's recovery," said Brian D. Montgomery, Assistant Secretary of Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner. "The action we take today will allow homebuyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes in neighborhoods across the country."
FHA's new temporary policy will help stabilize neighborhoods experiencing high rates of foreclosure by reducing the inventory of unsold properties. Many foreclosed properties remain vacant for months, inviting vandalism and reducing values of surrounding homes. To address that sizeable inventory, lenders have hired companies that specialize in the marketing and disposition of foreclosed homes. It's reasonable and appropriate that these firms have the ability to sell the properties to borrowers using FHA financing.
With certain exceptions, FHA currently prohibits insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. This prohibition is intended to prevent property flipping, a predatory practice that strips a home of its equity before being quickly resold at an inflated price to an unsuspecting buyer. FHA's new policy will permit the immediate sale of foreclosed properties to legitimate borrowers wishing to use FHA-insured financing.
Free legal advise to Florida Homeowners - 11/6/2010
Florida offers free legal advice to troubled homeowners
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - July 10, 2008 - Florida homeowners facing foreclosure have access to a lawyer and free legal advice through a program offered by the Florida Bar and Florida Legal Services.
According to Florida Legal Services Inc., 77,000 state homeowners are in foreclosure, making Florida second in the nation only to California. And many others are at least 30 days past due on their mortgage payment, which places them at risk of having their loans foreclosed.
Florida Legal Services and the Florida Bar Association have partnered in establishing a toll-free hotline - (866) 607-2187 - that consumers can call. They'll be asked a few initial questions about their situation to ensure accurate placement, and then be sent to a free attorney. The attorney will then negotiate with the lender on behalf of the client to keep the home from being foreclosed.
"I applaud Florida Legal Services and the Florida Bar for offering this public service," says Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson. "Any effort that helps families keep their homes in this uncertain economy is beneficial."
More than 10,000 Florida attorneys have volunteered their services in the program, according to Florida Legal Services Inc.
Outstanding Realtor Association Web Site - 11/6/2010
About this site
Could you use a pick-me-up in today's market? At the award-winning Great Time To Buy Florida Web site, you'll find moneymaking strategies, statistics highlighting market-positives and advice from veteran Realtors. Spread the good news!
Great time to buy according to study about Florida - 11/6/2010
Economists: Housing declines to remain small
Great Time To Buy Florida
FAR has a Web site dedicated to positive news about Florida's real estate market and why it's a great time to buy. Read more here.
WASHINGTON - Aug. 5, 2008 - A team of economists who created a variety of forecasting models concludes that predictions of further large housing price declines are greatly overblown.
They point to the house price index of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise as most reflective of reality. Its data reveals that only four states - Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada - have had declines of more than 4 percent in home prices over the past year.
These economists, including professors from Columbia University and from the Center for Real Estate at Wichita State University in Kansas, discount more drastic figures from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller housing price index. They say this index is faulty because it doesn't include data from 13 states and offers only partial coverage of 29 others, making its results an inaccurate reflection of middle-market homeownership.
Using a model constructed from the OFHEO price index, foreclosures, home sales, permits and employment, the economic team concluded that declines in house prices are highly likely to remain small.
"Our analysis reveals, unsurprisingly, that foreclosures and home prices have negative effects on each other over time, but this does not imply a vicious cycle of collapsing prices. Our models predict that as foreclosures continue to climb in many states, house prices will remain flat or decline in those states - but will not collapse.
"One reason for this is that the effect of foreclosure shocks on house prices is small. Furthermore, other fundamental factors (such as employment growth and a slowing of the growth of the housing supply over the past year and a half) will cushion the impact of foreclosures," the economic team said.
Source: The Washington Post, Charles W. Calomiris, Stanley D. Longhofer and William Miles (08/04/08)
Gov Charlie Crist talked on a plan as reported by AP to lower taxes - 11/6/2010
It stands to reason that if the number of foreclosures are not going down we may want to help homeowners any way possible?
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Aug. 6, 2008 - Gov. Charlie Crist gave more lip service Tuesday to a plan that would lower property taxes and boost sales taxes, but again said he hasn't decided whether to campaign for the ballot proposal as he did on behalf of another tax-cutting measure that voters approved in January.
For at least two months Crist has been saying he supports the proposed state constitutional amendment, which will be on the Nov. 4 ballot if it survives a legal challenge.
He spoke out again for Amendment 5 at one of his periodic ‘‘Tallahassee Tuesday'' meetings with constituent groups, this time business people, but he remained noncommittal on his role in the campaign.
‘‘I'm evaluating it,'' Crist said. ‘‘I think the closer we get to November the better idea we'll have about our level of involvement.''
Crist was the face of Amendment 1, stumping the state for the measure that's expected to cut homeowners' property taxes by about $240 a month - more if they move. The amendment passed Jan. 29.
Amendment 5 would cut property taxes about 25 percent for all property owners, not just homeowners, by eliminating most school taxes. It would also require the state to replace that money - currently about $8 billion a year - through various means including a sales tax increase and spending cuts.
Another provision would limit annual assessment increases on property.
The very group Crist invited to the Governor's Mansion to talk about the state's sagging economy is sharply split on Amendment 5.
Chuck Bonfiglio, president of the Florida Association of Realtors, thanked Crist for being ‘‘the catalyst'' for Amendment 1 and said Amendment 5 would be the second part of tax relief he promised.
Crist reaffirmed his support but passed up a chance to commit to an active role. Instead, he noted that Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson made it tougher to pass.
The chamber two years ago led a successful campaign to require 60 percent voter approval, instead of a simple majority, to amend the Florida Constitution.
Amendment 1 was the first to fall under the new requirement. It passed with 64 percent of the vote. Unlike Amendment 5, though, it had nearly unanimous support from the business community.
The chamber is one of Amendment 5's leading opponents. Wilson said nothing about it during the meeting but later said the chamber agrees property taxes should be cut.
‘‘Our concern is where are we going to make it up?'' Wilson said. ‘‘The voters of Florida remember the lottery and they remember being told that we were going to put a lot of money into education.''
Lottery money has gone to education, but the state has reduced its overall share of public school funding, which has contributed to local property tax increases.
Robert Parrish, president of the Florida Home Builders Association, told Crist he expects his group to take a position on Amendment 5 in a couple weeks.
Even more than Realtors, home builders need a stimulus. Parrish said his group expects to lose 25 percent of its membership this year and another 25 percent next year due to the state's housing bust.
‘‘We're basically a very unhealthy patient right now,'' Parrish said. ‘‘We're not getting any better. We could be getting sicker between now and next year. We're looking for the doctor.''
Florida: Helping Save Gopher Tortoises The Nature Conservancy has donated two sites and sold another totaling nearly 1,000 acres to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to help protect the federally threatened gopher tortoise. The lands will provide prime habitat for tortoises that need to be relocated from development sites. Learn More About Gopher Tortoise Mitigation
How Are You Going Green? Check out our new Everyday Environmentalist tips from Nature Conservancy staff on how to make personal, science-based choices to help save the planet - from raising your own chickens to running your car on vegetable oil. Then tell us how you're going green! Read Our Eco-Tips - and Send Us Yours!
Florida: Finding Solutions for Climate Change In Florida and across the globe, The Nature Conservancy is implementing science-based solutions that will reduce carbon emissions from deforestation, mobilize governments to enact climate-friendly legislation and slow the pace of climate change, and reduce the severity of its impacts. Learn More About the Conservancy's Work in Florida to Combat Climate Change
Florida: Get Outside for the Last Days of Summer The long days of summer are winding down. Visit one of The Nature Conservancy's public preserves in Florida! Walk the beach at Blowing Rocks Preserve, hike at The Disney Wilderness Preserve, or catch a glimpse of animals found nowhere else on Earth at Tiger Creek Preserve. Explore Conservancy Preserves in Florida
Air Pollution: Not Just a Breathing Problem A new report co-authored by the Conservancy finds that air pollution is substantially harming every major ecosystem type in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States - damaging wildlife, trees and waterways. Find Out How Air Pollution Impacts Nature
The Conservancy in China: 10 Years of Success Saving a rare monkey species, combating illegal logging and transforming a nature reserve near Beijing - these are just a few of the creative ways the Conservancy is working to protect China's remarkable natural treasures. Explore How We're Helping Conservation in China
Natural Light: Photos from China Experience China's extraordinary natural beauty in August's Natural Light slideshow - a collection of stunning images from a Conservancy-held photo contest in that country. See pandas, snub-nosed golden monkeys, crested ibis and more! Watch Our Photo Slideshow!
Swimming with Sharks Is our lead scientist shark bait? Sanjayan dives into a shark rodeo as part of Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" - read his column about it! Find Out Why Shark Conservation Matters
Ask the Conservationist: A Solar-Powered Problem? Will the collection of large amounts of solar energy contribute to global warming by creating more heat on Earth? Get the answer from Conservancy climate change scientist Patrick Gonzalez. Read...and Then Submit Your Question
Coldwell Banker United Realtors, the largest Coldwell Banker in the nation. What does this mean for me? This means more exposure for anyone that lists a property with me to help them sell their property. Coldwell Banker United has offices in Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Mississippi. This gives instant access to the second-largest real estate website behind Realtor.com. Coldwell Banker United Realtors does automatic feeds to all of the top realty search engines -- Trulia, Zillow, Homegain and all others, big or small. I look forward to offering my clients many new features that are just part of being with Coldwell Banker United Realtors.
FROM I-10 TAKE CR-189 NORTH TO HIGHWAY 90; THEN HIGHWAY 90 WEST APPROX 2 MILES TO COOPER LANE. HOME ON LEFT.
Legal:
COM SW COR N ALG W LINE 1846 FT E33 FT TO E R/W CO RD N3 DEG E263 FT TO POB CONT 335 FT TO S R/W U.S. 90 N65 DEG E146 FT S3 DEG W S65 DEG W146 FT TO POB LESS ACQUIRED R/W
Here is the complete package!! Country home with a fenced in 16x30 custom inground 1 year old pool that comes with automatic pool cleaner and LED lights. There is an RV hookup on the property. Home is located on the corner of Highway 90 and Cooper Lane with short travel to I-10, Baker and Crestview. Home boast the popular split bedroom floor plan. Both bathrooms offer oak cabinets, the second bath offers a skylight to bring in great lighting during the day. Dinning room has tray ceiling as well as oak chair-rail just to add that extra country touch. Kitchen offers solid oak cabinets as well with a computer desk upgrade. Large pantry off of kitchen to accomodate washer and dryer. Newer 12x12 metal storage shed conveys with property. HVAC is updated and only one year old. A basic AHS home warranty, $395 value is provided by seller at no cost to you. Many Extras and at a great price!! This quiet serene country cottage is on One full acre, and is a must see.
Welcome to the Florida Market Assistance Plan (FMAP) Online Referral Service
We are a free referral service designed to match consumers, who cannot find property insurance, with Florida licensed agents and insurers who are writing new business.
FMAP was created by the Florida legislature in 1985 as a service organization designed to assist consumers in obtaining property and casualty insurance coverage from authorized insurers in the private market.
Online marketing - an integral part of the Coldwell Banker® national advertising strategy.
In addition to national television advertising, in 2008 we'll also execute a robust online advertising campaign. Our efforts will focus on web sites that are aligned with the various life events that prompt our target audience, to enter the real estate market.
Given our target's affinity for home improvement projects, HGTV.com and our sponsorship of Designed to Sell continues to be an excellent fit for our brand.
A co-branded sweepstakes will once again be a part of this online sponsorship package. Web banners and flyers will be available so that you can promote this sweepstakes to your existing clients and prospects.
In order to connect with consumers who are planning for the birth of a child or have young children, the Coldwell Banker brand will also engage in an online sponsorship with Babycenter.com.
As part of our sponsorship package, the Coldwell Banker will be the exclusive advertiser within the Baby Name section, the most highly trafficked area of the BabyCenter site.
There's no doubt that MSN.com continues to be one of the most highly trafficked sites on the web. As a result, we'll continue to run our behavioral targeting banner ad program on this site.
Behavioral targeting allows us to serve our banners to MSN users who have been identified as being interested in real estate information based on their web searching habits. This tactic is great for driving click through rates and qualified leads to local offices.
In addition, throughout 2008, search engine marketing on Google, MSN, Yahoo and Ask will be an integral part of our online advertising program.
Open Houses Go to the Top of the List in coldwellbanker.com; receive additional exposure and be eligible to win valuable prizes on openhouse.com!
Good Realtors® know that an open house is good business. It offers exposure to a listing that makes the seller happy, and creates activity in the market that shows consumers that yes, people are buying and selling, even in the summer months! But did you know that buyers searching for properties in coldwellbanker.com can elect to view properties with an open house first? If you want your property to rise to the top, be sure to schedule open houses for all your listing and post that open house information on coldwellbanker.com! To learn how you can post information about your open houses to coldwellbanker.com, click here.
An added benefit to adding your open house information to coldwellbanker.com is the free placement the property will receive on openhouse.com. This website, one of the Coldwell Banker listing distribution partners sites, provides additional visibility on the Web for all listings with open houses and virtual tours. This is more great news for sellers looking to maximize their property's exposure to potential buyers. Listings with open house information and virtual tours are automatically sent to openhouse.com with no additional effort on the part of the sales associate or the office administrator! Just post the information on coldwellbanker.com and it will appear on openhouse.com, and a variety of other sites. Click here for a complete list.
If exposure for your listings and happy sellers are not enough, from June 1 through September 30, 2008, any listing with open house information on openhouse.com will automatically be entered for a chance to win a Dell Inspiron computer and/or a $5,000 grand prize. One computer will be awarded each month during the contest, with the grand prize of $5,000 awarded at the end of the contest! All you need to do is post your open house information on coldwellbanker.com to ensure your open house listings are properly posted to OpenHouse.com and conducted during the contest perio
REALTOR magazine, published by NAR is looking for agent success stories to share with readers for a new feature and would love to speak with an agent from your company.
We are looking for sales associates or selling brokers who have:
Held a dominant position in a market segment, niche, or geographic area
An unusual niche - horse farms, golf clubs, retirees
Found a way to use a previous job or skill set to their advantage in real estate (not including sales), such as accounting, marketing, or business
Made a significant change - relocated, changed specialty or role (i.e. salesperson to sales manager) and been successful
Shifted careers from success in sales to become a successful broker, educator, trainer, author, or other
Had at least eight (8) closed transaction sides and $1.6 million in sales volume in 2007
If your company has a "Success Story" for REALTOR magazine to feature, please contact Mariwyn Evans at mevans@realtors.org or 312-329-5965
Complete Official Rules NO PURCHASE OR LISTING NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN A PRIZE A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING
How to Enter: NO PURCHASE OR LISTING NECESSARY. The Coldwell Banker® "$15,000 Makeover Money" Sweepstakes 2008 (the "Sweepstakes") begins at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time ["ET"]) on August 1, 2008, and ends at 5:00 p.m. ET on September 30, 2008. You may enter the Sweepstakes in any of the following ways: (i) online by visiting the Home & Garden Television ("HGTV") Website (www.hgtv.com) (the "Website"), fill in the online entry form and submit it in accordance with the on-screen directions; (ii) via mobile phone by dialing into [44881] and submitting the following code via text message: [CB] (limit one (1) online entry per valid email address or mobile entry per phone number, per eligible person per day); or (iii) via regular mail by hand printing your name, complete address and phone number (including area code) either on a postcard or on a separate piece of paper no larger than 8½ x 11 inches, and mailing the postcard or paper to: "Coldwell Banker® $15,000 Makeover Money Sweepstakes," P.O. Box 53552, Knoxville, Tennessee 37950. Entrants using U.S. mail may enter as often as they wish. Limit one (1) entry per outer mailing envelope. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by September 30, 2008, and received by October 7, 2008. Mechanically reproduced entries will not be accepted. Incorrect, illegible, and incomplete entries are void. If entering via mobile phone, your mobile phone must be capable of sending and receiving text messages to participate via this method. You will be charged the standard text message rates under your provider. See your wireless provider for pricing plan details. Online entries are deemed made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. The "authorized account holder" is deemed the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, service provider or other online organization that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. All online and mobile entries must be received by 4:59:59 p.m. ET on September 30, 2008. These official rules are also available on the Website or by writing to: "Coldwell Banker® $15,000 Makeover Money Sweepstakes" - Rules Request, P.O. Box 53305, Knoxville, Tennessee 37950. All entries submitted become the sole property of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC ("Main Sponsor") and will not be returned.
When you enter at the Website, you may be asked to consent to receive promotional e-mails and reminders for upcoming Coldwell Banker promotions and information about the Coldwell Banker brand. Consenting to receive such e-mails is optional and does not have to be agreed to in order to be eligible to enter the Sweepstakes and does not improve your chances of winning. In the event you do consent to receive these e-mails, the use of such e-mails shall be subject to the privacy policy of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, which is available at: http://www.coldwellbanker.com/home/policy. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC as the Main Sponsor and Scripps Networks, LLC d/b/a HGTV ("Sweepstakes Host") (collectively, the "Sweepstakes Entities") their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, parent corporations, and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees and agents, and any and all Internet servers and access provider(s) are not responsible for any of the following matters or issues: any incorrect or inaccurate entry information; human error; technical malfunctions; failures, omission, interruption, deletion, or defect of any telephone network, computer online systems, computer equipment, server providers, or software, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer relating to or resulting from participation in this Sweepstakes; inability to access the Website; theft, tampering, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries; transactions that are processed late or incorrectly or are incomplete or lost due to computer or electronic malfunction or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website; printing or human or other errors; and any entries which are late, lost, incomplete, misdirected, stolen, mutilated, illegible or postage due, or any combination thereof. Proof of mailing, in person submission, or online submission is not considered proof of delivery or receipt. All entries become the property of Sweepstakes Entities and will not be returned. A purchase will not increase chance of winning.
Eligibility: To enter the Sweepstakes you must be a legal resident of the fifty (50) United States (other than a resident of the District of Columbia or New Jersey), and be 21 years of age or older. This Sweepstakes is void in District of Columbia, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and where restricted or prohibited by law. The Sweepstakes, and any website pages and advertisements relating thereto, is intended for viewing only within the United States. Employees of Scripps Networks, LLC d/b/a HGTV, E.W. Scripps Company, Coldwell Banker LLC, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, Realogy Corporation, their affiliated companies, brokers, agents, parents, subsidiaries, website developers and administrators, and advertising and promotion agencies, (collectively, "Sweepstakes Entities"), and their immediate families and members of their households, are not eligible to participate in this Sweepstakes. By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and Main Sponsor's and Sweepstakes Entities' decisions, which shall be final. Online entrants may also receive information from Main Sponsor regarding other promotional offers. By entering, all participants and/or entrants release the Sweepstakes Entities and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective agents, advertising and promotion agencies, affiliated companies, sweepstakes partners and prize suppliers, and all of their respective affiliated companies, employees, officers, directors and shareholders, from and against all claims and damages arising in connection with each entrant's participation and/or entry in the Sweepstakes and/or their receipt or use of any prize awarded in this Sweepstakes. This Sweepstakes is governed by U.S. law and is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations.
Drawing and Notification: The Grand Prize Winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries on approximately October 20, 2008 by Ritway, Inc., an independent organization ("Sweepstakes Administrator"), and will be contacted either in person or by overnight courier and phone on or about within approximately seven (7) calendar days of the drawing. If a potential Grand Prize Winner cannot be not be reached within seven (7) calendar days from the first notification attempt, then such person shall be disqualified and an alternate winner will be selected. Administrator's decisions with respect to the Grand Prize Winner and other matters pertaining to the Sweepstakes shall be final. The odds of winning a prize depends upon the number of eligible entries received for the drawing.
Prizes: One (1) Grand Prize Winner: One (1) Grand Prize Winner shall receive a cash prize of Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars ($15,000). Total value of Grand Prize: $15,000. The Grand Prize cannot be transferred or substituted except at Main Sponsor's sole discretion. Main Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the Grand Prize cannot be awarded as described for any reason. All federal, state, and local taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the Grand Prize Winner.
Prize Conditions: The potential Grand Prize Winner will be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and, except where prohibited by law, a Publicity Release ("Affidavit/Release"). Such documents must be returned by the date and/or time indicated within such documents. If the potential Grand Prize Winner fails to return such documents within that time, or if an entrant is found to be ineligible, or if he/she does not comply with the Official Rules, then the potential Grand Prize Winner will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be selected. If the Grand Prize or prize notifications are returned as undeliverable, this will result in disqualification and an alternate winner will be selected. Except where prohibited by law, the winner's entry and acceptance of the Grand Prize constitutes permission for the Sweepstakes Entities to use said winner's name, photograph, likeness, statements, biographical information, voice, and city and state address on a worldwide basis, and in all forms of media, in perpetuity, without further compensation except where prohibited by law.
Limitations of Liability: Grand Prize Winner and entrants also agree to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the Sweepstakes Entities, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents from and against any claims, damages or liability due to any injuries, damages or losses to any person (including death) or property of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of the Grand Prize or participation in any Sweepstakes-related activity or participation in this Sweepstakes. Sweepstakes Entities are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, undeliverable or incomplete on-line entries due to system errors, failures or any technical malfunctions which may limit an entrant's ability to participate. If for any reason this Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned, including, but not limited to, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, or any other causes beyond the reasonable control of the Sweepstakes Entities which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the promotion, then the Sweepstakes Entities reserve the right at their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEY'S FEES) FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
Winner's List: To obtain the name of the Grand Prize Winner, (available after October 20, 2008) send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: "Coldwell Banker® $15,000 Makeover Money Sweepstakes" - Winners List, P.O. Box 53305, Knoxville, TN 37950. Requests received after November 10, 2008 will not be honored.
Main Sponsor: Realogy Corporation and Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, 1 Campus Drive, Parsippany, NJ 07054.
J.D. Power and Associates recently released their 2008 Home Buyer / Seller Satisfaction Study and we are proud to announce that Coldwell Banker was rated very positively among consumers!
The press release today noted that the study found that Coldwell Banker "performs particularly well in the services factor" and also "performs particularly well in the marketing factor." In addition, here is how Coldwell Banker stood out among the rest:
In the home-seller segment, Coldwell Banker ranked 2nd with only a statistically insignificant one-point difference from the highest ranked company, Prudential (792 and 793 respectively on a 1,000-point scale).
In the home-buyer segment, Coldwell Banker ranked 3rd, achieving a score of 816 on a 1,000-point scale with Keller Williams ranking the highest with a score of 831 and Prudential following at 820.
Coldwell Banker was one of only two brands to be featured in the top 3 in each category. And, the brand has been well represented this decade with three wins over eight years.
We are proud of our knowledgeable, professional and courteous Coldwell Banker broker/owners, managers and sales associates and the service that they provide. The results of this survey certainly prove that Coldwell Banker is making an impact and we hope you will agree that we will continue to provide the best service across the board now and in the future.
Note: J.D. Power ranked seven real estate brands in this survey including, Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA, Re/Max, Prudential, Keller Williams and GMAC and it included 3,670 evaluations from 3,205 respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2007 and June 2008.
It's important that the subject property and the comp property type and style match
in order to arrive at an accurate value. The following examples show the different
types of properties and the styles associated with that type.
• Single Family Attached dwellings consist of one building with a separate parcel
number for each unit. Each unit might be owned by a separate individual or by the
same person. The key is that each unit has its own Assessor's Parcel Number (APN).
Townhouse - A dwelling unit, generally having two or more floors, that is attached to
other similar units. Within a townhouse each unit will have at least one common wall. If
the unit only has one common wall it will commonly be referred to as a Row House. If the unit has 2 or more common walls it is commonly know as a Row House. Because of the common walls, the mid unit will normally be less desirable than an End Mid end unit. Therefore, the end units will typically be worth more.
Twin Home - A twin home is similar to town homes with only two units. Twin homes
often have two or three stories and are connected to each other by an adjoining wall.
Condo - A structure of one or more units, where the interior space is individually
owned. The remainder of the property is owned in common by the owners of the
individual units.
• 2-4 Family Dwelling homes consist of one building with multiple units and only
one parcel number.
Styles include:
Duplex - A building that houses 2 separate dwelling units.
Triplex - A building that houses 3 separate dwelling units.
4-plex - A building that houses 4 separate dwelling units.
If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed, it would deal a blow to the mortgage market. But the federal government unveiled a broad program yesterday to bolster the troubled mortgage giants. Both companies said they were financially sound but grateful for the confidence-building efforts.
Above is a sample of a story on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Florida Realtor newsletter. This article sample does not get into the whole picture of the negative view on this status of things I have heard from many writters. I understand the negative view that here we go again with another GOV bail out. I would have to just say to that: what better place for all of us as a country to invest there here in the United States? The values have dropped prices are down but if the GOV is picking up shares in these private companies for the money that is going to be laid out. We all know prices could go down more but we all also know they will go back up, it is not a matter of if but when. When the elected officials hear from all of us that we need help with these banks we as Realtors could help the situation but there need to be rules in place that a short sale should be short the bank should have to answer within a certain amount of days and not months.
Highway 90 west out of Crestview at 85 & 90 for apx. 3 miles. Turn north on hwy. 4 toward Baker. Follow for 1.5 miles and turn left on Keyser Mill rd, follow for 1.5 miles and turn left on Skeeter ln. Follow Skeeter ln. for 200 yds and turn right in the T in the road which is Maxwell. Follow maxwell for apx. 200 yds and the property is on the left side. **** Option 2 Travel North on Galliver Cutoff to Keyser Mill travel to the first Right off Keyser and to the dead end turn right you will see the home on your left.
Legal:
Lot 4, Section 30, Township 3 North, Range 24 West Okaloosa County, Florida Comm at the NW cor if Gov. kot 4, section 30, Twn 3 N, R24W, Okaloosa County, Fl: Thence S 76' 10' 54" E along the N line of said sec 30, 595.31 ft: thence S 01' 54' 21" W 479.53 ft to the point of beg; thence cont S 01' 54' 21" W 517.20 Ft; then N 88; 08' 57" W 497.21 Ft: thence B 00' 06'14" E 517.44 ft; thence S 88' 08' 57" E 513.48 Ft to the point of Beginning
This newer home was custom built with upgraded brick work on the exterior. There are mostly tile floors inside with solid surface countertops, walk-in pantry, wood shelving in the closets and laundry room. The master bath has a whirlpool tub, cultured marble surrounds, seperate shower and a treyed ceiling in the master bedroom. There is a wood burning fireplace in the living room.The oversized garage has peg board on walls and overhead storage available. The large covered rear porch allows for peaceful evenings out back and a great spot for a cookout.The buyers are to satisfy themselves with all sizes, dimensions, schools and inspections prior to closing. Take a close look at this country getaway at a great price !
Hwy 85 N, Right onto Hwy 90 East ,left on Hibiscus,Hibiscus turns into colt, follow around curve to Stallion. Take right on stallion look for sign.
Legal:
S1/2 OF N1/2 OF NE1/4 OF NE1/4
10 Acres of your own private getaway! From the entrance by the road, down a winding tree-lined driveway...enjoy the wrap around drive for easy entrance and exit. Close to town yet secluded; surrounded only by 10 acre lots, in this subdivision you have plenty of privacy, yet this 10 acres sits less than 5 minutes from the I-10 285 exit. This piece of real estate is perfect for the family that loves the outdoors. Relax and feel the country on your front deck, or come inside and enjoy the cozy fireplace. This home has recent updates including new dishwasher, new stove, and a 2-year old well. New vinyl skirting, new vinyl siding and new vinyl flooring; new carpet as well high-speed DSL availability. Come by and take a look today! Watch the Virtual Tour now available. Listing Broker/Salesperson has ownership interest in the property.
ParkingSpaces:
Lot Dim.:
10 ACRES
LotAcc:
Private Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Acres:
10.00
Zoning:
Agriculture
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
Dining/Kitchen
1
15x12
Design:
Manufactured
LivingRoom
1
15x16
Bedrm:Additnl
1
10x10
Const/Siding:
Siding Vinyl
Bath: Master
1
9x4
ExtFeatures:
Deck Enclosed, Fenced Back Yard, Fenced Lot-Part
IntFeatures:
Fireplace
Appliances:
Dishwasher, Microwave, Refrigerator, Smoke Detector, Stove/Oven Electric
Utilities:
Electric, Phone, Private Well, Septic Tank
Energy:
A/C: Central Electric, Ceiling Fans, Heat: Central Electric
Blackwater River State Forest Wiregrass Trail - 11/6/2010
Blackwater River State Forest - Wiregrass Trail The Blackwater River State Forest offers a natural retreat set amidst the beautiful rolling hills of northwest Florida. Reaching from Conecuh National Forest along the Alabama border toward Eglin Air Force Base, this state forest is Florida's largest at nearly 190,000 acres. The forest is characterized by its many streams, including the namesake Blackwater River, that flow gently south as they make their way to the Gulf of Mexico. Located in the northern extent of the state forest, the Wiregrass Trail is certified as a segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail and a portion is included in the Division of Forestry's Trailwalker Program. Among its highlights, the trail takes hikers through part of one of the largest remaining stands of longleaf pine/wiregrass natural community found anywhere.
Click here for a printer-friendly version (PDF 364k)
Major Activities
Trail Length/Surface: 12.7 miles from end to end, unpaved
Fee: None
Counties: Okaloosa, Santa Rosa
Nearby Cities: Munson, Crestview
Notes: The hiking trail is blazed orange. Heading northwest from the North Hurricane Lake Recreation Area, the trail is 6.4 miles to the terminus at the Alabama border. Heading southeast, it is 6.3 miles to the Jackson Red Ground Trail, which is a continuation of the Florida National Scenic Trail.
The Florida Trail Association (FTA) produces a detailed hiking guide and segment-by-segment maps which are very useful for hiking the Florida National Scenic Trail. For more information, visit FTA's website at www.florida-trail.org or call 1-877-HIKEFLA.
The 6.3 mile segment from Hurricane Lake to Jackson Red Ground Trail is part of the Division of Forestry's Trailwalker Program. This program offers recognition awards for hiking designated trails in state forests throughout Florida. For more information, contact the office below or visit the program's website (www.fl-dof.com/Recreation/Trailwalker/index.html).
Directions/Access: North Hurricane Lake Recreation Area From Munson, head east on SR 4 2.8 miles to Hurricane Lake Road. Turn left onto Hurricane Lake Road (which eventually becomes Beaver Creek Road) and continue north 8.6 miles to Bullard Church Road. Turn right and continue 1.1 miles to Nichols Road. Take a right and continue to the recreation area. Go to the kiosk in the campground.
From Crestview, head west on US 90 to the intersection with SR 4. Take a right on SR 4 and follow to Hurricane Lake Road. Turn right onto Hurricane Lake Road (which eventually becomes Beaver Creek Road) and continue north 8.6 miles to Bullard Church Road. Turn right and continue 1.1 miles to Nichols Road. Take a right and continue to the recreation area. Go to the kiosk in the campground.
If coming from I-10, take the Avalon Boulevard Exit (Exit 22). Follow Avalon Boulevard to US 90. Take a right and continue to Burger King. Take a left at Stuart Street (Hwy 87). Go to Milton High School. Take a right across from Milton High School on Hwy 191. Follow for approximately 20 miles to Munson crossroads (Hwy 191 and SR 4). Follow directions from Munson above.
Shoal River Canoe Trail The Shoal River Canoe Trail is officially designated as part of Florida's Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. Twisting and turning through a remote part of the western Panhandle, the Shoal River trail covers 27 miles. Few indications of civilization are evident as you paddle through forests of maple, oak, gum, and cypress. Along the trail, creeks broaden into small lily-covered pools that provide excellent fishing. Sandbars along the bends of the river make good campsites. This narrow river is usually 3-4 feet deep, and water levels do not generally fluctuate more than 3 feet.
Click here for printer-friendly map and description (PDF 393 kb).
Major Activities Counties: Okaloosa, Walton Mileage: 27 Skill Level: Beginner Difficulty: Easy Usual Current: Average (2-3 mph)
Notes and Precautions Between Access 1 and 2, there are two wooden bridges that collect debris which can be dangerous, especially at high water. The end of the trail is on the northern boundary of the Eglin Air Force Base Reservation. Obtain a base recreation permit if you plan to enter the reservation. Information about permits can be obtained by calling (850) 882-4164 or writing Eglin National Resources, 107 Highway 85 North, Niceville, FL 32578. You can continue seven miles past the takeout at SR 85 to the junction with the Yellow River, another state canoe trail.
Access
SR 285 Bridge - 3.5 miles north of US 90 / SR 285 junction
SR 393 Bridge - About 3 miles north of SR 393 / US 90 intersection. (10 miles)
US 90 Bridge - 4 miles east of Crestview. (8 miles)
SR 85 Bridge - At wayside park, 5 miles south of Crestview. (9 miles)
There may be access points (both public and private) in addition to those listed here. Please remember that some sites require a fee for launching and/or parking.
Blackwater River State Forest Jackson Red Ground Trail - 11/6/2010
Blackwater River State Forest - Jackson Red Ground Trail
The Blackwater River State Forest offers a natural retreat set amidst the beautiful rolling hills of northwest Florida. Reaching from Conecuh National Forest along the Alabama border toward Eglin Air Force Base, this state forest is Florida's largest at nearly 190,000 acres. The forest is characterized by its many streams, including the namesake Blackwater River, that flow gently south as they make their way to the Gulf of Mexico. Certified as a segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Jackson Red Ground Trail retraces one of the earliest trade routes of Indians and settlers in Florida. Also, be sure to visit the Sweetwater, Bear Lake and Jackson Trails.
Click here for printer-friendly version. (PDF 420K)
Major Activities
Trail Length/Surface: Jackson Red Ground is 21.5 miles from end to end, unpaved
Fee: Fees apply in some areas. Please contact the Division of Forestry for details. Counties: Okaloosa, Santa Rosa Nearby Cities: Munson, Crestview
Notes: Jackson Red Ground Trail is blazed orange, and is a segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail. The Florida Trail Association (FTA) produces a detailed hiking guide and segment-by-segment maps which are very useful for hiking the Florida National Scenic Trail. For more information, visit FTA's website at www.florida-trail.org or call 1-877-HIKEFLA.
Three connecting trails are also shown on the map (Sweetwater, Bear Lake and the Wiregrass trail south of Hurricane Lake) are part of the Florida Division of Forestry's Trailwalker Program. This program offers recognition awards for hiking designated trails in state forests throughout Florida. For more information, contact the office below or visit the program's website (www.fl-dof.com/Recreation/Trailwalker/index.html).
Access/Directions: Red Rock Road Area (main access for Jackson Red Ground Trail) From I-10, take the Avalon Boulevard Exit (Exit 22). Follow Avalon Boulevard to US 90. Take a right and continue to Burger King. Take a left at Stuart Street (Hwy 87). Go to Milton High School. Take a right across from Milton High School onto Hwy 191. Follow Hwy 191 north to Red Rock Road at Spring Hill. Take a right on Red Rock Road and proceed to the Red Rock Primitive Area/Canoe Launch. Trail crosses Red Rock Road .3 miles to the east. The south end of Jackson Red Ground Trail begins at the road crossing -- proceed north to enter this portion of the trail. The trail segment south of this crossing is the Juniper Creek Trail.
Krul Recreation Area (main access for Sweetwater Trail) From I-10, take the Avalon Boulevard Exit (Exit 22). Follow Avalon Boulevard to US 90. Take a right and continue to Burger King. Take a left at Stuart Street (Hwy 87). Go to Milton High School. Take a right across from Milton High School on Hwy 191. Follow for approximately 20 miles to the Munson crossroads (Hwy 191 and SR 4). Take a right on SR 4 and continue for .7 miles to the Krul Recreation Area sign. Go to kiosk at day use parking lot.
Bear Lake Recreation Area (main access for Bear Lake Loop Trail) From I-10, take the Avalon Boulevard Exit (Exit 22). Follow Avalon Boulevard to US 90. Take a right and continue to Burger King. Take a left at Stuart Street (Hwy 87). Go to Milton High School. Take a right across from Milton High School on Hwy 191. Follow for approximately 20 miles to Munson crossroads (Hwy 191 and SR 4). Take a right on SR 4 and continue for 2.5 miles to the Bear Lake Recreation Area sign. Go to kiosk in campground for information
Blackwater River Canoe Trail The Blackwater River Canoe Trail is officially designated as part of Florida's Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. Located in the middle of Florida's Western Highlands, this 31-mile canoe trail flows through the Blackwater River State Forest. Cedar, maple, and cypress trees often form a dense canopy over the river. There are also some high bluffs where pine and cedar trees tower above the paddler. The water is a dark, tannin-stained color. The Creek Indians called the river "Oka Lusa" (water-black). Along the bends, white sandbars provide a perfect place for camping or picnicking. The trail provides opportunity to observe wildlife including deer, turkey and bobcat. The Mississippi Kite soars overhead in the summer. Fishing can be an enjoyable addition to the trip. This panhandle trail ends at the Deaton Bridge, in Blackwater River State Park.
** Please note that the river is non-navigable beyond Deaton Bridge at the State Park.
Click here to download printer-friendly map and description (388 kb PDF).
Major Activities Counties: Okaloosa, Santa Rosa Mileage: 31 Skill Level: Beginner to intermediate Difficulty: Easy Usual Current: Average (2-3 mph)
Notes and Precautions The river level fluctuates rapidly following heavy local rains. Check local weather conditions before beginning your trip. The upper part of the river is fairly swift-flowing and requires some paddling experience.
Access
Kennedy Bridge - Take Hwy 90 from Crestview to SR 4. Take SR 4 north to State Forest Road (SFR) 47, the first paved road past Cotton Bridge. Turn right on SFR 47 and head north to the next paved road, SFR 31. Follow SFR 31 about 2 miles north to SFR 24, the dirt road at Hurricane Lake sign. Follow SFR 24 to the bridge.
Peadon Bridge - Same as above to SFR 47. About 2.5 miles north of SFR 47, turn east on first dirt road on right (SFR 50) and continue to bridge. (6 miles)
Cotton Bridge, SR 4 - Four miles northwest of Baker. (5 miles)
Bryant Bridge, SFR 21 - From US 90 at Harold, take SFR 23 north five miles through the Blackwater River State Park to four way stop at SFR 86. Turn right (east) and continue to SFR 21, which leads southeast to bridge. (12 miles)
Blackwater River State Park - From US 90 at Harold, take SFR 23 north three miles to Deaton Bridge within the Park. (8 miles)
There may be access points (both public and private) in addition to those listed here. Please remember that some sites require a fee for launching and /or parking.
Blackwater Heritage State Trail in Northwest Florida - 11/6/2010
Blackwater Heritage State Trail Blackwater Heritage State Trail is officially designated as part of Florida's Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. This is the westernmost rail trail in the state, extending from the small community of Milton in the south to Whiting Field Naval Air Station (NAS) in the north. Managed by the Florida Park Service, it also connects to the Military Trail (also identified on map) which is managed by the US Navy. It's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. It's mostly a rural trail with only a few dwellings at some of the cross roads once you leave Milton and before you get on the military base. There are some nice creek crossings on wooden bridges with few hills or grades. This is a pleasant trip for the whole family with lots of access and safe riding.
Major Activities Trail Length/Surface: Blackwater Heritage is 7.0 miles, non-motorized paved (asphalt 12' wide); Military is 2.2 miles, non-motorized paved trail (asphalt 12' wide); equestrian unpaved trail parallels a portion of the paved trail. Fee: None County: Santa Rosa Nearby Towns: Milton
Notes: The Milton Trailhead contains a covered picnic shelter, restrooms, a water fountain, and a bicycle rack. There is a visitor center approximately one mile from the trailhead that offers two picnic tables and parking. The Blackwater Heritage State Trail Citizen Support Organization operates a concession at the visitor center where snacks and souvenirs can be purchased. Benches have been located at various points along the trail for visitor convenience.
The equestrian portion of the trail travels adjacent to a segment of the paved trail with shared bridges. The equestrian trail itself begins about one mile north of the Milton Trailhead, but equestrian access is available at the parking area located at Munson Highway (see parking location identified on map). There is ample oversized parking available, as well as a newly constructed picnic shelter.
When you travel north of the Visitors Center, bring plenty of water with you because there are no facilities for potable water available.
Access/Directions:
Milton Trailhead From I-10 West (coming from Crestview), take Exit 31 (old Exit 10) to SR 87. Follow SR 87 to the intersection with US 90. Take a left (heading west) on US 90. Follow US 90 into Milton to the intersection where SR 87 heads north (to the right). Trailhead is located at this intersection.
From I-10 East (coming from Pensacola), take Exit 26 (old Exit 8) to SR 191. Follow SR 191 through Bagdad into Milton and turn left on US 90. Trailhead is located at the intersection of US 90 and SR 87.
Munson Highway Parking Area Follow directions above to Milton. In Milton, proceed to intersection of US 98 and SR 191. Proceed north on SR 191 (Munson Highway) to intersection with trail and parking area.
Contact Information: Blackwater Heritage State Trail 5533 Alabama Street Milton, Florida 32564 (850) 983-5338
Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday the Bush administration is trying to "blame the fire on the person who calls 911" by suggesting he had a role in one of the costliest U.S. bank failures. The New York Democrat also said federal banking regulators missed IndyMac's "reckless" behavior.
My thought was that if you had watched the reaction after Mr. Schumer did send his letter and made it public there was a large rush on the bank to draw out funds and close accounts with Indymac not to even talk of the stock price and cause of loss of asset capital. I just would think there may have been another avenue for him to go about the topic of high risk loans that may already be in place?
CNN today has a suprise list of top 10 stolen cars - 11/6/2010
This years list came out CNN said today with only one 2007 model on the list.
1. '95 Civic
2. '91 Honda Accord
3. '89 Toyota Camry
4. '97 Ford F-150
5. '94 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pickup
6. '94 Acura Integra,
7. '04 Dodge Ram Pickup,
8. '94 Nissan Sentra
9. '88 Toyota Pickup
In just its first year on the road, the 2007 Toyota Corolla made its way to No. 10 on the list.
Older models are bigger targets
Older model Hondas and Toyotas consistently top the list, because of their popularity and reliability. In other words, there are just a lot of them still on the road, making them a bigger target.
Yellow River Canoe Trail The Yellow River Canoe Trail is officially designated as part of Florida's Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. Located in the western Panhandle near Crestview, this trail offers 56 miles of very pleasant paddling. The Yellow River drains the state's highest elevation. The current is faster than many other Florida rivers because of the river's steeper descent to sea level. The upper section of the trail is bordered by hardwood forests and high sandy banks. Further downstream, the river widens and becomes more placid as it meanders through cypress-gum swamps. Sandbars can be found on some of the curves. Long sections of the trail, particularly on the upper section, are undeveloped, offering the paddler a glimpse of the Florida early explorers might have seen. Observing wildlife, particularly birds, is an enjoyable part of paddling this trail. Look for turtles sunning on logs over the water, or the large, long-legged wading birds such as the great egret as it stands motionless in the shallow water.
Major Activities Counties: Okaloosa, Santa Rosa Mileage: 56 Skill Level: Intermediate Difficulty: Moderate Usual Current: Average (2-3 mph) on lower section to swift (3+) on upper section
Notes and Precautions Motorboats are more numerous on the lower section. Be aware of overhanging branches and snags beneath the water that may require technical skill to navigate around. The end of the trail is on the northern boundary of the Eglin Air Force Base Reservation. Obtain a base recreation permit if you plan to enter the reservation. Information about permits can be obtained by calling (850) 882-4164 or writing Eglin Natural Resources, 107 Highway 85, Niceville, FL 32578.
Access
SR 2 Bridge - At Oak Grove 4.5 miles west of SR 85.
US 90 Bridge - 4 miles west of Crestview. Launch from the graded road .25 mile southwest of the bridge. (17 miles)
Boat Ramp - From Holt, take SR 189 south 2.5 miles to the river. Launch at private landing. (19 miles)
SR 87 Bridge - SR 87 leads southeast from US 90, 6 miles west of Harold. Access is at SR 87 bridge 3 miles south of I-10. (20 miles)
There may be access points (both public and private) in addition to those listed here. Please remember that some sites require a fee for launching and/or parking.
Dear Fellow REALTOR®: I hope everyone had a very safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend. By now, most of you are aware that NAR reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle the lawsuit over our Virtual Office Website (VOW) policy. I have received a lot of questions from agents and brokers about the settlement – what it means and when it will take effect. We have just posted a new video edition of NAR President’s Podcast that explains the settlement in simple terms, and what you will need to do to comply when the agreement is finalized later this summer. http://www.realtor.org/about_nar/presidents_report/_podcast_archive/presidents_podcast_doj_20080708 Please take just a few minutes to watch this video and visit realtor.org/DOJ for more information on how you can comply. Thanks to all REALTORS® for your hard work to keep our businesses strong and the market competitive. Remember, there is nothing we can’t accomplish when we work “All Together.”
Giant Solar towers could power entire city - 11/6/2010
Live Science has a story they covered on a company ENVIRO MISSION. This article talks of a solar tower and how it can power up to 200,000 homes and the basic design was displayed in Spain almost 20 years ago.
If you have Direct TV you should check for Current TV or their website Current.com. I would recommend DVR it and that way the stories they cover that dont interest you fast forward and they will provide some interesting facts like one they had on today.
1997 in the U.S.A. there was 7,759 Sq ft of solar paneling.
VS
2006 in the U.S.A. there was 19,532 sq ft of solar paneling
They do include where they get the information on all sources like this one was provided by the Energy Information Administration
Protecting our military installations while preserving our natural resources...
The Greenway Initiative!
The Northwest Florida Greenway project is intended to protect and sustain existing military lands and airspace, promote continued target industry growth, preserve the environmental quality and biodiversity of the region, maintain the economic viability of the timber lands, and create additional recreational activities by protecting a corridor of undeveloped land between the Eglin Air Force Base Range and the Apalachicola National Forest.
Recognizing their common interest in preserving the open land in Florida's Panhandle, the EDC of Okaloosa County, Eglin Air Force Base, the Department of Environmental Protection, and The Nature Conservancy are partnering on a project to define and protect the contiguous corridor of undeveloped land.
Since 2001, with the assistance of state awarded grants, the Northwest Florida Greenway has evolved into an unprecedented partnership of military, government and non-profit organizations that will protect the military mission in northwest Florida while enhancing the Panhandle's economy and conserve critical ecosystems in one of the most biologically diverse regions in the United States.
To all of you who didn't get to see the whale that was right off the beaches of Destin, here is an awesome video of it. I realize that there is a curse word in it (I think the person taping this was amazed that there was a whale here) but turn down your speakers - the video is pretty amazing! You can see how close to the beaches the whale really was! Everybody is saying our market is bad but it appears that there are some "new beings" that may have discovered our little secret here in the Panhandle and the best beaches in the world and it may help to contribute to growing our market!!!! Enjoy!!!!!
About 40 million Americans move each year, and Florida is the No. 2 spot for relocation, second only to California, according to a survey conducted by Relocation.com. The survey finds that 19 percent of those relocating went from owning their own homes to renting, with only 15 percent shifting the other way. Only 14 percent of the 1,237 respondents owned their previous residence and moved to a newly purchased home, and the majority (52 percent) went from one rental situation to another. The survey shows that most people relocate for a new job, a transfer within their current job or to seek a new lifestyle, including retirement. About half the moves were from one state to another. Two-thirds moved more than 100 miles and 54 percent moved more than 500 miles away. California is the number one destination state with 6 percent of the total sample moving there from another state, while 5 percent of all relocations move to Florida, followed by Texas (4 percent), New York (3 percent) and Georgia (2 percent).
Went in to look at the new Ford Escape Hybrids I have been very happy with the one I have still gets 28 miles a gallon avg. I do miss having a sunroof and wanted to look at the new line since they have had those for some time out I thought shouldnt be a problem to be able to go get one. I got mine in 2005 when as soon as they were available I actually had to buy one from EBAY which I have to say turned out great. The reason I went to EBAY was not to save any money but to be able to even get one. I dont understand why the Board members at Ford cry about having to cut jobs and not making share holder profits and not coming in with a good earning$ in a quarter forever. How about they listen to what the customer says enough with the Larger than life Trucks no one needs that much space when 50 percent of the time you see these trucks there is one person in them. We have said and I have read hundreds of post just like this that say I want a hybrid and why do they not make more of them so here is my post.
Why do you not make what people want to buy " Hybrid Escapes" that you can walk to one of your many dealerships and find one. I could over look it when it first came out to not be able to keep them in stock
3 years later come on to have none available in the whole gulf coast region and when I talk with your associates they say good luck getting one you only made 25,000 total and 90 % are shipped to New York and California?
Coldwell Banker and Habitat for Humanity Kick Off Green Build
This month, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate CARES, the charitable arm of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, kicked-off a "green" build. The home represents Coldwell Banker's 17th Habitat for Humanity home sponsorship since 2005 and its first green certified in accordance with the Florida Green Building Council. Click here for more details.
With 12.3 million viewers, the highly rated television show Lost, on ABC, took the number one spot in the Nielsen Top 10 and we didn't miss a beat. Coldwell Banker proactively secured advertising time during what many anticipated to be the most watched season finale of the year. Click here to see the entire ratings list.
Beginning June 16th, look for a new 15-second Coldwell Banker commercial addressing why it's a smart time to buy a home! Using founders Coldwell and Banker to deliver a message that home affordability is the best in recent memory; the commercial also touts the Coldwell Banker brand's rich heritage and experience. As Banker says in the spot, "It's déjà vu!" The ad will run during the final weeks of spring programming on such shows as ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition on June 22nd and Dateline NBC on June 29th. Preview the spot now by clicking here.
Click here to watch a news clip featuring an interview with Charlie Young, chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker® Real Estate. The interview includes Charlie's take on real estate innovation through technology and the role Coldwell Banker plays as a leader in the industry.
GOING E.ON HWY. 20, TURN RIGHT ON EDGE (BEFORE RED LIGHT BY ROCKY BAYOU BRIDGE) AND VEER IMMEDIATELY RIGHT ONTO WHITE ST. LOT IS FIRST ON THE LEFT-OR FROM MID BAY BRIDGE GO WEST ON HWY. 20 OVER ROCKY BAYOU BRIDGE, JUST PAST THE RED LIGHT GO LEFT ON EDGE AND VEER IMMEDIATELY RIGHT-LOT IS ON THE LEFT
Legal:
BENTON S/D NICEVILLE LOT 1 BLK 1 EAST OF WHITE ST BEG NE COR LOT 1 S 123.98FT TO SE COR W 203.12FT TO E R/W WHITE ST N53 DEG E 210.01 FT TO N LINE LOT 1 E 33.73FT TO POB
ATTN-INVESTORS AND BUILDERS!! THIS LOT IS ZONED MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL, ALLOWING FOR DUPLEX OR MULTI-FAMILY. DENSITY WOULD ALLOW FOR 5 UNITS(YOU WILL HAVE TO CHECK WITH AN ENGINEER FOR FEASIBILITY WITH SETBACKS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS). NEW SHOPPONG CENTER BEING BUILT JUST ACROSS THE STREET. TERRIFIC OPPORTUNITY FOR APARTMENTS OR POSSIBLE REZONING TO COMMERCIAL. AVAILABLE ALONG WITH MLS#439581 (SINGLE FAMILY @ $35,000.00) FOR DISCOUNTED PRICE OF $100,000.00. Listing Broker/Salesperson has ownership interest in the property.
Coldwell Banker awards agents Brad Humrighouse, Gulf Coast region manager of Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors announced his company's 2007 award winners.
Jeanne McKay, associate broker at Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors has earned the 2007 Top Listing Agent Award.
Larry Henderson, sales associate at Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors has earned the 2007 Top Selling Agent Award.
Kyle Knight, Sales Associate at Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors has earned the 2007 Top Producer Award for Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors Florida Division.
John Fifer, sales associate at Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors has earned the 2007 Charlie Bryant Award which recognizes a commercial agent for being an excellent team member and going above and beyond to help fellow sales associates in the promotion of commercial services along the Gulf Coast.
Brendan Doherty, sales associate at Coldwell Banker Commercial United, Realtors earns Million Dollar Producer status for 2007.
Coldwell's FWB office lists top sellers FORT WALTON BEACH - Coldwell Banker United, Realtors Fort Walton Beach office announced the following agents as their top producers for March.
David Connors took honors for the top Listing Agent and Diane McCoach took honors for Top Sales Agent in March.
Coldwell's Niceville office lists agents NICEVILLE - Coldwell Banker United, Realtors Niceville office announced the following agents as their top producers for March.
Myke Triebold took honors for the Top Listing Agent and Sandy Jones took honors for Top Sales Agent in March.
Taking care of your estate planning and ungrateful recipients - 8/8/2010
The University of California, Santa Cruz recently landed one of the great prizes in college fundraising: a treasure trove of Grateful Dead memorabilia. The collection spans 30 years, from 1965 when the band was formed, to 1995, when Jerry Garcia, the band's lead guitarist, vocalist and spiritual leader, died.
The gift, as the Wall Street Journal noted, is expected by many to turn the Silicon Valley campus into "a mecca for scholars and ... `Deadhead' fans." And, of course, it should generate additional contributions.
American colleges and universities are prodigious fundraisers. Most of the attention focuses on cash gifts and bequests, which exceeded $29.7 billion last year. But money is not the only prize.
The Harvard University Art Museums and the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas, Austin, for example, both have been designated to receive 50 works of art from the collection of New York philanthropists Dorothy and Herbert Vogel. The donations are part of a national gift program, "Fifty Works for Fifty States," in which 2,500 works from the Vogel collection will be distributed during 2008 and 2009, with 50 institutions (one in each state) each receiving 50 pieces of art.
The University of Michigan art museum also received a large donation of art this year, from the collection of retired UM professors Frances McSparran and her late husband, Ernst Pulgram.
While donors may consider such gifts - everything from land and art to first edition books, historical maps, artifacts and papers - straightforward and safe, and may even receive substantial tax benefits from donating appreciated assets, tangible gifts have special risks. One of the greatest risks some have learned is that the recipient institution and presumed steward of the gift will sell it.
Consider the case of Mattie Kelly. In 1992, Kelly bequeathed her 13-acre estate and $500,000 to Okaloosa-Walton Community College in (I kid you not) Niceville, Fla. The gift stipulated that a cultural and environmental institute and memorial garden be established on the property. Instead, the college sold the land to developers and pocketed both the proceeds and the $500,000.
In Lynchburg, Va., Randolph College last year did everything but hang a "Garage Sale" sign on its Maier Museum of Art. Many paintings in the museum's nationally acclaimed collection had been donated by faculty and alumna, or bought with funds given for that purpose by local residents. One painting - "Troubador" by Mexican master Rufino Tamayo - was recently auctioned off by Christie's New York for $7 million. More are likely to be sold.
Many other colleges - including Sewanee, University of the South, in Tennessee, St. Olaf College in Minnesota, Trinity International University in Illinois, and Tulane University in New Orleans - also have been involved in controversies over non-cash gifts.
In the end, philanthropists should be wary of giving away the family jewels. And when they do choose to donate personal or real property they need to protect themselves.
The best way to do that, for the benefit of donors and recipients alike, is to include clear language in all gift agreements spelling out the stewardship obligations of the recipient institution, circumstances under which the gift would have to be returned or repaid, and giving a third party legal standing to sue if the agreement is violated.
There is no reason to believe that UC Santa Cruz acted in anything less than total good faith. Yet, commitments made today can easily be abandoned tomorrow.
By coincidence, the Grateful Dead's first known record was the 1966 single "Stealin.'" To some of us that's what it is when a nonprofit institution, such as a college, accepts a valuable gift and then, without the donor's or a court's permission, sells it.
Frederic J. Fransen is executive director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (www.cehe.org)
I can't comment on all of these cases but the one local mattie kelly case was a big deal with everyone around here as many of the older generation in our area have big hearts and watched this case carefully when looking at what to leave from there estates and how to go about it. It is a shame really.
According to the latest NAR Commercial Member Profile, commercial members experienced a 7 percent jump in median sales volume for 2006, reaching a median of $2.249 million in sales. Selling land was the single largest commercial specialty for respondents, accounting for 19 percent.
WASHINGTON - May 21, 2008 - Reflecting a strong commercial real estate market last year, commercial members of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) surveyed for the NAR Commercial Member Profile experienced a 7 percent jump in median sales volume for 2006, reaching a median of $2.249 million in sales. Respondents closed a median of eight transactions, the report noted.
Those members affiliated with one of NAR's affiliated commercial specialty groups achieved higher totals, led by members of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors®, who had a median of 25 transactions in 2006. Experience also played a role in increasing sales volume; members who had worked in commercial real estate for 26 or more years reported a median sales volume of $5.057 million.
Selling land was the single largest commercial specialty for respondents, accounting for 19 percent of business activities among members. Other principal business activities for commercial practitioners included multifamily sales (11 percent), retail building sales (10 percent), and office building sales (8 percent).
Accounting for 11 percent of total business activity among commercial members, office leasing was the only leasing or management activity that reached double digits among respondents. Commercial members involved in leasing activity saw a 12 percent increase in leasing activity during 2006. Median lease transaction volume for members was $183,300. As with sales, the dollar value of lease transactions increases with business experience, reaching $187,000 for members with 16 to 25 years of commercial real estate experience.
A summary of the report's findings was presented last week during NAR's Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo in Washington, D.C.
From Val-p Blvd, turn on to Linden Ave. going south, make a Right on Everglade and its down on the Left. 1010.
Legal:
Bayshore Lot 6 blk 5 1002-564
This is a unique mobile home park that is well maintained. Great Location in a Quiet Community.The community features a nice pool, laundry mat, and community center for entertaining. This lot is across from the community facilities. The lot has nice Oak Trees and a fenced back yard. There is an attached carport and the mobile home has a permanent roof this would make a great starter or retirement home.This area is convenient to Eglin Air Force base, Okaloosa Walton Community College, And it's a short trip to Destin or Fort Walton Beach.
ParkingSpaces:
Carport:2
Lot Dim.:
60X100
LotAcc:
City Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Other
Acres:
0.14
Zoning:
City, Mobile Home, Residential Single Family
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
Covenants, Interior, Level
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
LivingRoom
1
14x14
Design:
Mobile Home
DiningRoom
1
14x7
Kitchen
1
14x7
Const/Siding:
Foundation Off Grade, Roof Metal, Siding Aluminum/Metal
85 N. Right on Redstone (right after Hospital). Right at first stop sign onto Brookmeade. Left onto Covell. Left into Hollyrod subdivision. First left follow down to end of cul-de-sac. House is on left.
Legal:
HOLLYROD II S/D LOT 15
Seller very motivated, bring all offers!!! Seller willing to pay closing costs upon acceptable offer!!!!Great neighborhood behind Crestview hospital! House is located in a cul-de-sac; this is a one-way-in, one-way-out subdivision. Close to shopping such as Walgreens and Publix and just minutes from bases. The new elementary/middle school is being built close by. The home features a split bedroom floor-plan with vaulted ceiling in living area. The home offers an open floor plan and a fireplace in the living room. The kitchen is roomy with lots of cabinet space and a long breakfast bar. Master bedroom is a nice size and offers a walk-in closet. Seller enclosed the patio that has windows which adds lots of square footage. Large back yard includes shed. HOME WARRANTY IS BEING OFFERED TO BUYER...A $380.00 VALUE!
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
LivingRoom
1
17x15
Design:
Contemporary
DiningRoom
1
11x11
Kitchen
1
11x8
Const/Siding:
Foundation Slab On Grade, Frame, Roof Composite Shingle, Siding Brick Some, Siding Vinyl, Trim Vinyl
Bedrm:Master
1
18x13
Bedrm:Additnl
1
13x12
ExtFeatures:
Fenced Back Yard, Fenced Privacy, Patio Covered
Bedrm:Additnl
1
12x10
Garage
1
24x20
IntFeatures:
Breakfast Bar, Ceiling:Cathedral, Fireplace, Floor:Vinyl, Floor:W/W Carpet New, Pull Down Stairs, Skylight(s), Split Bedroom, Washer/Dryer Hookup
Appliances:
Auto Garage Door Opener, Dishwasher, Disposal, Oven:Self Cleaning, Range Hood, Smoke Detector, Stove/Oven Electric
Utilities:
Electric, Gas:Natural, Phone, Public Water, TV Cable
Energy:
A/C: Central Electric, Ceiling Fans, Double Paned Windows, Heat: Central Gas, Insulated Doors, Ridge Vent, Water Heater: Gas
Beginning May 15th, 2008, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, the 2007 Inman News' Innovator of the Year winner in the brokerage/franchise category, became the first national full-service real estate company to distribute its listings to a GPS device. Coldwell Banker worked with Dash Navigation Inc., the first GPS provider to have an Internet connected GPS device and deliver Web-based content directly to the GPS.
Just as Coldwell Banker now feeds listings to such Web sites as Google, Yahoo, Trulia and others, brand listings from around the U.S. will now be fed to DASH users by accepting the Coldwell Banker feed via their "myDash" personalized Web site. Listings then automatically load on their Dash navigation device.
"We have been waiting for the day to deliver our listings to GPS users and are thrilled that the Dash Express has finally opened that door to us," said Michael Fischer, senior vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. "Our relationship with Dash is a natural progression in our effort to have consumers engage with Coldwell Banker at every turn so that when the time comes to enter the market they are apt to collaborate with a Coldwell Banker sales associate. "
The Coldwell Banker feed, now exclusive to Dash, allows consumers to call up Coldwell Banker listings, map them, get directions and view other Coldwell Banker listings in close proximity.
CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX May 6, 2008; Page A The Wall Street Journal
The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now.
How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor.
Most people forget that the current housing bust is nearly three years old. Home sales peaked in July 2005. New home sales are down a staggering 63% from peak levels of 1.4 million. Housing starts have fallen more than 50% and, adjusted for population growth, are back to the trough levels of 1982.
Furthermore, residential construction is close to 15-year lows at 3.8% of GDP; by the fourth quarter of this year, it will probably hit the lowest level ever. So what's going to stop the housing decline? Very simply, the same thing that caused the bust: affordability.
The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, it took 19% of average monthly income to service a conforming mortgage on the average home purchased. By 2005 and 2006, it was absorbing 25% of monthly income. For first time buyers, it went from 29% of income to 37%. That just proved to be too much.
Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst.
Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s. Numerous households that had been priced out of the market can now afford to get in.
The next question is: Even if home sales pick up, how can home prices stop falling with so many houses vacant and unsold? The flip but true answer: because they always do.
In the past five major housing market corrections (and there were some big ones, such as in the early 1980s when home sales also fell by 50%-60% and prices fell 12%-15% in real terms), every time home sales bottomed, the pace of house-price declines halved within one or two months.
The explanation is that by the time home sales stop declining, inventories of unsold homes have usually already started falling in absolute terms and begin to peak out in "months of supply" terms. That's the case right now: New home inventories peaked at 598,000 homes in July 2006, and stand at 482,000 homes as of the end of March. This inventory is equivalent to 11 months of supply, a 25-year high - but it is similar to 1974, 1982 and 1991 levels, which saw a subsequent slowing in home-price declines within the next six months.
Inventories are declining because construction activity has been falling for such a long time that home completions are now just about undershooting new home sales. In a few months, completions of new homes for sale could be undershooting new home sales by 50,000-100,000 annually.
Inventories will drop even faster to 400,000 - or seven months of supply - by the end of 2008. This shift in inventories will have a significant impact on prices, although house prices won't stop falling entirely until inventories reach five months of supply sometime in 2009. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market.
Many pundits claim that house prices need to fall another 30% to bring them back in line with where they've been historically. This is usually based on an analysis of house prices adjusted for inflation: Real house prices are 30% above their 40-year, inflation-adjusted average, so they must fall 30%. This simplistic analysis is appealing on the surface, but is flawed for a variety of reasons.
Most importantly, it neglects the fact that a great majority of Americans buy their houses with mortgages. And if one buys a house with a mortgage, the most important factor in deciding what to pay for the house is how much of one's income is required to be able to make the mortgage payments on the house. Today the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is 5.7%. Back in 1981, the rate hit 18.5%. Comparing today's house prices to the 1970s or 1980s, when mortgage rates were stratospheric, is misguided and misleading.
This is all good news for the broader economy. The housing bust has been subtracting a full percentage point from GDP for almost two years now, which is very large for a sector that represents less than 5% of economic activity.
When the rate of house-price declines halves, there will be a wholesale shift in markets' perceptions. All of a sudden, the expected value of the collateral (i.e. houses) for much of the lending that went on for the past decade will change. Right now, when valuing the collateral, market participants including banks are extrapolating the current pace of house price declines for another two to three years; this has a significant impact on the amount of delinquencies, foreclosures and credit losses that lenders are expected to face.
More home sales and smaller price declines means fewer homeowners will be underwater on their mortgages. They will thus have less incentive to walk away and opt for foreclosure.
A milder house-price decline scenario could lead to increases in the market value of a lot of the securitized mortgages that have been responsible for $300 billion of write-downs in the past year. Even if write-backs do not occur, stabilizing collateral values will have a huge impact on the markets' perception of risk related to housing, the financial system, and the economy.
We are of course experiencing a serious housing bust, with serious economic consequences that are still unfolding. The odds are that the reverberations will lead to subtrend growth for a couple of years. Nonetheless, housing led us into this credit crisis and this recession. It is likely to lead us out. And that process is underway, right now.
Energy Star Expert to Hone Sustainability at GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate has tapped former EPA Energy Star executive Stuart Brodsky as regional sustainability leader for its North America Equity unit.
Brodsky's appointment comes as GE is ramping up green activities across its massive property portfolio of more than 385 million square feet. Its recent sustainable initiatives include broader commitments to LEED certification and energy benchmarking, leaning on customers and vendors to improve their environmental performance, and a partnership with Bill Clinton's Clinton Climate Initiative to cut energy consumption and emissions in cities.
Brodsky, a familiar name in commercial real estate circles, will help GE develop and execute a sustainable business strategy that is both environmentally friendly and profitable. "Stuart has designed several energy efficiency programs for leading industry groups. His appointment is another step forward in achieving our goal of embedding sustainability into our practices to benefit the environment and our business," said Christian Blechinger, managing director at GE Real Estate.
At the Environmental Protection Agency, Brodsky was national program manager for commercial property markets for the Energy Star program. He led the agency's outreach initiatives and partnerships to industry groups like the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), the Real Estate Roundtable, and the Green Building Finance Consortium.
BOMA has landed two new participants for its 7-Point Challenge green building program.
Investment manager RREEF North America and New Jersey-based owner and developer Advance Realty Group both endorsed the voluntary program that seeks to cut energy consumption across property portfolios by 30 percent by 2012.
Launched last summer, the 7-Point Challenge is one of the most popular green building advocacy initiatives created the industry trade group. More than 30 local BOMA chapters and 25 industry firms have joined the program, including CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield, USAA Real Estate Co., The Irvine Co., Hines, Transwestern and Shorenstein. "Market transformation is achievable when organizations ... step up to the challenge," said Brenna Walraven, BOMA International's Chairman and Chief Elected Officer and an executive managing director with USAA.
To decrease energy usage in buildings, the program taps EPA Energy Star benchmarking, education and training for building personnel, and energy audits to identify and implement low-cost energy efficiency strategies.
Mike Kent, managing director of leasing and property management for RREEF, called the program a "natural next step" for the Deutsche Bank subsidiary. "We are committed to further developing our sustainable business practices and to fostering an eco-friendly community that involves our tenants and investors," he said.
RREEF Real Estate has about $49 billion in assets under management worldwide.
Advance Realty, the Peter Cocoziello-led firm that owns One Gateway Center in Newark, NJ, boosted its sustainable real estate platform in March by hiring energy management firm GSH Group to implement energy conservation practices across its Mid-Atlantic property portfolio of roughly 4.5 million square feet.
Liberty Mutual Develops Green Building Insurance Policy
Insurance provider Liberty Mutual has introduced new commercial property coverage tailored specifically for LEED- or Green Globes-certified buildings.
The policy responds to the rising popularity of green buildings, Boston-based Liberty Mutual said in a statement. In the event of a covered loss to a green building, the policy would provide insurance for building recommissioning and re-certification fees, the installation of a "green" vegetative roof, debris recycling and the installation of green-certified products such as those under the Energy Star label.
In the event of a re-certification, the cost to increase the property sustainability rating by one level (for instance, LEED Silver to LEED Gold) would also be covered.
The policy also covers green retrofits to non-green properties. "Our endorsement encourages property owners to consider the environmental impact of their business and enables them to act responsibly regardless of whether or not they pursue green certification," stated Liberty Mutual President Tim Rose.
The Liberty Mutual policy is similar to one created by Fireman's Fund in 2006, the first sustainable building policy issued by a major insurance provider. Fireman's Fund broadened that policy last year with increased coverage for loss of earnings, soft costs like re-registration or re-certification, and rental value.
Liberty Mutual follows LEED guideline protocols at its 22-owned buildings and 9 million square feet of leased space. The company owns one LEED-certified building and has two buildings in the certification process.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - May 7, 2008 - Florida's biggest landowner, the St. Joe Co., believes the housing market may have reached the bottom, pointing to stabilization in the residential inventory.
St. Joe Co. CEO Peter Rummell says buyers must be "retrained" to recognize the importance of making home purchases now. He notes, "We have trained people to expect that prices are going to be lower tomorrow than today if they just wait. So now people are going to have to learn that they've gotten to that point."
Though the company posted a $32 million profit for the first quarter, only $9.8 million can be attributed to its residential operations. Much of the firm's profits can be tied to the sale of "nonstrategic" land parcels in the Florida Panhandle, including 57,435 acres it recently sold to a group of buyers including sportsmen, investors and conservationists for $91 million.
Source: St. Petersburg Times (05/06/08) Thorner, James
According to Realty Times, Florida real estate experts say the state's housing market is showing signs of recovery, despite falling residential prices and rising foreclosures and short sales. They note that inventory is expanding at slower rates, and home sales are on the rise in some markets. The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers, for instance, reports an 85-percent surge in pending single-family home sales in its area during the past 10 weeks. Meanwhile, pending sales jumped 65 percent in February from January in Fort Lauderdale, and 30 percent in March from the prior month in Palm Beach County.
Mortgage delinquencies are spreading beyond the subprime market, as new data shows that more borrowers with good credit have fallen behind on their house payments. About 2.3 percent of prime loans were 60 days past due in February, the highest level in at least a decade, according to First American CoreLogic LoanPerformance
Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down slightly to average 6.05 percent this week, but remained above 6 percent for the third straight week, according to Freddie Mac's weekly nationwide survey.
Despite the sluggish economy, investors this year are putting their money into funds that invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs), a turn-around of recent trends. A total of $1.23 billion flowed into domestic REIT funds in the first three months of the year, according to new research.
People will feel more secure with the housing being fully backed and bailed out on bad loans that the Reit may have been part of whenever needed by the GOV. read about the Housing aid bills.
The House on Thursday passed a massive homeowner rescue plan to provide cheaper, government-backed mortgages to half a million debt-ridden borrowers and bolster an economy hurt by the housing crisis. The Senate now must consider the bill and President Bush has threatened a veto.
My question would be why was this not done already and why would any veto this?
The Florida Legislature has fixed its seal of approval on a property insurance bill and sent it to Gov. Crist, who is expected to sign it. Once approved, the new law, among other things, extends a freeze on Citizens rates, helps companies remove policies from Citizens, and requires insurers to pay any undisputed part of an insurance claim within 90 days.
Requests to serve on a 2009 FAR committee, council, forum or exchange are being accepted through July 31. In year's past, members could register at the annual FAR convention and trade expo; but starting this year, the forms can be accessed only from floridarealtors.org. All requests submitted through the online registration form (login required)
Outages- number of times we were unable to access this URL Time on Error- the total time this URL was not available (hr:min) % Uptime- the percentage this URL was available for the day Connect Time- the average time in seconds to connect to this URL
Internetseer.com tracks your uptime and down time for your site they offer many great things they have a free once a week.
FR I-10, TAKE HWY 85N TO REDSTONE. TURN RGT ON REDSTONE, TURN RGT ON BROOKMEADE, LEFT ON COVELL, RGT ON STEEPLECHASE DR & LFT ONTO RISEN STAR. HOUSE LAST ONE ON LEFT.
Legal:
STEEPLECHASE PH III LOT 10 BLK B
Short sale.Great Location, Great Neighborhood!! Just N of I-10. This 3/2/2, 1610 sf, split bedroom design, is open, airy and has large family room, eat-in kitchen, ample closet & storage and interior utility room and located on large corner lot!!!
ParkingSpaces:
Lot Dim.:
68X125X131X125
LotAcc:
City Road, Near Interstate Exit, Paved Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Acres:
Zoning:
City, Residential Single Family
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
Cleared, Corner, Irregular
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
Family
1
21x20
Design:
Contemporary
Breakfast
1
10x10
Bedrm:Master
1
16x14
Const/Siding:
Foundation Slab On Grade, Siding Brick All, Siding Vinyl, Trim Vinyl
HWY 85 North to HWY 90 turn left go 1.8 miles to entrance of Lee Farm turn right. Follow Lee Farm Blvd to Moore Loop, House is on the corner.
Legal:
Lot 16 Block F Lee Farm II
This JERSEY Plan is a spacious 4/2 2000 SF BRICK home is a knockout!! Lovely Columns set this Living Room off. The Kitchen has a pantry and a large Breakfast Nook, & GRANITE counter tops. Master Bedroom is 18x12 to accomadate todays large furniture. Master Bath has an Heirloom Vanity. All additional bedrooms are 12x12. Don't miss the landscaped backyard!!! Builder to pay closing costs with preferred lender except pre-paids and origination &points.Hurry it won't last long. This is a great deal. Jersey model, It is on a beautiful corner lot. SAVE BIG BUCKS. WE HAVE COUNTY TAXATION.
ParkingSpaces:
Garage:2
Lot Dim.:
83X140
LotAcc:
Paved Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Acres:
0.26
Zoning:
County, Residential Single Family
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
LivingRoom
1
16x24
Design:
Contemporary
Bedrm:Additnl
1
12x12
Const/Siding:
Siding Brick All, Trim Vinyl, Roof Dimensional Shingle
It was bound to happen. With high food and gas prices, water rates going up and available land going for biofuel, some suburbanite was probably going to plant over their lawn and azaleas with, dare we say it, crops. An April 22 report in The Wall St. Journal, by Kelly Spors, talks about the trend of moving the backyard tradition of growing a few supplementary vegetables during local growing seasons, to the front yard - and turning it into a business. The technical name is SPIN (small plot intensive) farming, and loads of folks are doing it. LawnsToGardens and PathToFreedom are but a few examples of web-sites with additional information about this interesting trend.
This was an interesting article with the Wall Street Journal
N on 85, Right on Hwy. 90 going E. to Valley Rd. , turn left on Valley to Kyle, turn right and go around curve, house on left.
Legal:
WILDWOOD GABLES
Located in Wildwood Gables, one of Crestview's rural setting subdivision with city convenience. Beautiful 3 Bdr. 2 bath home, offers a lot of extras, large utility/ laundry room. Open floor plan with tile in kitchen and large breakfast bar. An office/study that could be converted to a 4th Bedroom, computer room, or formal dining room. Peg board and work benches in garage.
Bedrm:Master
1
12x14
Design:
Contemporary
LivingRoom
1
14x18
Foyer
1
4x8
Const/Siding:
Foundation Slab On Grade, Roof Fiberglass, Siding Brick All, Siding Vinyl
Bath: Master
1
12x11
Office
1
10x10
ExtFeatures:
Deck Open, Porch Open
Garage
1
21x20
UtilityRoom
1
10x7
IntFeatures:
Ceiling:Cathedral, Floor:Tile, Floor:Vinyl, Floor:W/W Carpet, Pull Down Stairs, Washer/Dryer Hookup
Bedrm:Additnl
1
12x10
Kitchen
1
12x10
Appliances:
Auto Garage Door Opener, Dishwasher, Disposal, Oven:Self Cleaning, Range Hood, Smoke Detector
Bedrm:Additnl
1
12x10
DiningRoom
1
11x19
Utilities:
Community Sewer, Community Water, Electric, Phone, TV Cable
Bath: Full
1
8x5
Energy:
A/C: Central Electric, Ceiling Fans, Double Paned Windows, Heat Pump A/A, Heat: Central Electric, Insulated Doors, Storm Doors, Storm Windows, Water Heater: Electric
I was happy to see Ohio state players going to teams that look like they could fit and get some playing time,Vernon Gholston went to the new York jets in the first round and on the second day Kirk Barton lineman and defense player c grant went to teams that should find a place for them. I was also glad to see colt Brennan getting drafted by the Washington Redskins he had a great career except before the last game and talking with him at the senior bowl he seemed like a nice guy,he knew all alot about Hawaii my partner Christen von dem Bach chatted with him about her time living in Hawaii and I was watching the skills competition when he said on ESPN if he does well he would like a nice place in Hawaii. That was good to hear with all the bad press you hear and how all the players waste their money and spend it all on five cars and cloths. This being said by Colt with a down market not too many talking about buying homes today but these new millionaire players will be buying homes very soon I believe if given good advice.
Realtors across the country believe mortgage lenders make the housing downturn worse by taking months to make decisions on short sales and sticking to high internal target prices. As a result, more home buyers avoid short sale properties, forcing foreclosure sales that typically result in lenders accepting lower prices than they could have achieved in the short sale. "The only question banks should ask is can they make more in a short sale than in foreclosure," according to Lighthouse Point, Fla.-based Realtor Ron Rosen, who cites a "broken" system. "The answer is that in nine out of 10 cases, they will lose more money in a foreclosure." Some Realtors contend that lenders lack the appropriate systems and staff to handle short sale requests, while lenders insist the short sale process is complicated by the need for approvals from investors and mortgage insurers. Still, Realtors note that a more efficient short sale process would boost prices and reduce inventory.
Florida Realtors statewide reported slight gains in existing home and condominium sales from February to March 2008, according to FAR's latest housing statistics. A total of 9,142 existing single-family homes changed hands in March, a 10 percent increase over the previous month. Statewide existing condo sales totaled 3,145 in March, up 13.7 percent compared to February's sales
Just sold 197 VillaCrest Drive in Crestview Short Sale - 8/8/2010
Contact Brandon Jordan cell (850) 758-1236
Detached Single Family
.
MLS#:
481088m
ListPrice:
$169,900
Status:
Sold Last Change: 04/21/2008
ApproxSF:
1,755 BG:
Address:
197 VILLACREST DR
$/Sqft:
$94.02
CRESTVIEW, FL
Bedrooms:
3
Zip:
32536
Baths Full/Half:
2/
County:
OKALOOSA
Stories:
1
MainArea:
25 Crestview Area
YearBuilt:
1993
SubArea:
02 CRESTVIEW SOUTHWEST
Subdiv:
NORTHVIEW ESTATES 3RD ADDN
ImmOcc?
Y
ParcelID:
31-3N-23-2813-0000-0240
ConstrStat:
ConstrCmplt
ElemSch: ANTIOCH Middle: DAVIDSON High: CRESTVIEW
Dir:
North on 85, left by the Tom Thumb onto PJ Adams Pkwy. First right onto Villacrest Drive. Approx. one block up, corner property on left side. Corner of Northview and Villacrest.
Legal:
Lot 24 Northview Est 3rd Add
This is a must see at this price now also offering $ 2,000 flooring allowance (upon acceptable offer by seller). Desirable neighborhood below I-10 offers quick commute to bases. This home sits on a nice sized corner lot and offers 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. The curb appeal is very attractive and with a little imagination, and the fact that the square footage price is a 'wow' factor, the home can be transformed into a great find! As you enter the hallway, to the right is the formal dining that boasts a tasteful chandelier-like lighting where entertaining could be a delight; since the very large open kitchen is across the hall. The kitchen faces out to the front of the home with two windows that emit natural lighting and gives the kitchen flair. The kitchen offers a lot of cabinets and loads of work space since it has an island for extra room, there is also a skylight. Off the kitchen is a good sized extra laundry room that leads to the double size garage. The home has an open split bedroom floor plan. The living room features a fantastic view of the back yard beyond the screen enclosed patio to the above ground swimming pool.
ParkingSpaces:
Garage:2
Lot Dim.:
68.8X47.1X113.8X74.4X140
LotAcc:
City Road, Paved Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Acres:
0.32
Zoning:
City, Deed Restriction, Residential Single Family
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
DiningRoom
1
13x11
Design:
Contemporary
Kitchen
1
15x19
Laundry
1
8x6
Const/Siding:
Foundation Slab On Grade, Roof Shingle/Shake, Siding Brick All, Trim Vinyl
LivingRoom
1
17x17
Bedrm:Additnl
1
10x11
ExtFeatures:
Fenced Back Yard, Fenced Privacy, Patio Open, Pool Above-Ground, Porch Screened, Yard Building
Bedrm:Additnl
1
12x10
Bath: Full
1
4x7
IntFeatures:
Breakfast Bar, Floor:Vinyl, Floor:W/W Carpet, Pull Down Stairs, Skylight(s), Split Bedroom, Wallpaper, Washer/Dryer Hookup, Window Treatment:Some, Woodwork:Painted, Pantry
Bedrm:Master
1
16x14
Bath: Master
1
13X7
Appliances:
Disposal, Oven:Self Cleaning, Range Hood, Smoke Detector, Stove/Oven Electric
Utilities:
Community Water, Electric, Phone, Septic Tank, TV Cable
Energy:
A/C: Central Electric, Ceiling Fans, Heat: Central Electric, Ridge Vent, Water Heater: Electric
(Washington - April 4, 2008) - The mortgage industry's ongoing attempts to reduce mortgage defaults and losses in the current depressed housing market have produced a big jump in the number of pre-foreclosure and short sales now taking place. Nevertheless, problems-ranging from delays in servicer action to home inspection issues-continue to result in many failed pre-foreclosure and short sales transactions.
These are among the many revelations coming from a major new study of mortgage servicer loss mitigation practices and performance. The new research is based on a nationwide survey of real estate agents conducted by Campbell Communications in March that produced more than 3,000 validated responses. In addition to tracking important trends in how mortgage servicers deal with pre-foreclosure/short sales, foreclosures and real estate owned (REO), the study rates all major firms on their loss mitigation performance in various categories.
One of the most significant findings in the new research is that pre-foreclosure and short sales now account for about one-fifth of completed home sale transactions nationwide. Pre-foreclosure sales are home sales that are initiated to avoid foreclosures while short sales are pre-foreclosure sales where the sale price is below the mortgage debt owed.
According to survey respondents, about two-thirds of pre-foreclosure and short sales are home-owner-initiated while the balance or one-third is mortgage servicer-initiated. For homeowners initiating short sales, the most common reason given was "inability to make mortgage payments." But one-quarter of respondents also cited "decline in property value" as the primary factor behind a short sale.
Despite the growth in pre-foreclosure and short sale activity, real estate agents reported encountering a lot of problems in successfully completing pre-foreclosure or short sales. In fact, survey respondents said on average one-third of these transactions fail-even though there is a signed purchase and sale agreement.
One of the biggest obstacles cited by real estate agents in completing short sales is the delay in hearing back from mortgage servicers regarding a potential short sale. On average, home listing agents reported it takes servicers 4.5 weeks to provide an answer on a potential short sale, resulting in many potential buyers simply walking away while awaiting a response to their offer. In contrast, mortgage servicers are much faster in providing a "yes" or "no" on REO sale offers as survey respondents reported a response time of less than two weeks on average.
Some of the delay in approving short sales appears to stem from a general reluctance by mortgage servicers to accept an up-front loss on a loan. "With rapidly declining prices, combined with 100 percent or greater financing, many of the sellers are so far in the hole that the mortgage companies are hesitant to accept what the market will bear, and end up forcing these [would-be] sellers into foreclosure. This results in months of lost time, huge legal fees and, in most cases, they get a home back in a much deteriorated condition, resulting in a net loss of thousands more than they would have had by agreeing to a short sale," complained one survey respondent.
Respondents said the most common reasons for failed transactions are tied to problems with home inspections or damage to the property, seller refusal to sign a deficiency note and the seller's inability to pay a real estate commission or closing costs.
The survey also asked real estate agents to rate mortgage servicers on a number of pre-foreclosure and short sales issues. In regards to "responds promptly to offers," a major obstacle to successfully completing short sales, respondents gave the highest marks to National City, HSBC Mortgage and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. The lowest grades were given to Washington Mutual, American Home Mortgage and Aurora Loan Services.
Mortgage servicers also were rated individually by real estate listing agents in 15 separate categories related to their performance in handling pre-foreclosure and short-sales. In these company "report cards," Wachovia scored the best, posting above average ratings in 11 categories. Countrywide scored the worst, receiving above average grades in only two categories.
When asked "In your experience, which incentive to the homeowner would most increase completed pre-foreclosure and/or short sales?" survey respondents most frequently chose "no adverse re-port to credit bureau."
The new study was sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance, a leading mortgage industry newsletter.
For information on how to obtain the full study entitled "Loss Mitigation in 2008: Real Estate Agents Report on Lender Practices," contact John Campbell at Campbell Communications at john@campbellsurveys.com or (202) 363-2069.
Seller would not sign deficiency note on short of mortgage balance
Seller cannot pay real estate commission and/or HUD-1 closing costs
Mortgage servicer attempted to reduce real estate commission
Appraisal for buyer's lender lower than contract price
I find this hard to believe as the top reasons for Short Sales to not close. The way the article reads one of the top five reasons for short sales not to close is due to Realtors not accepting a lower commission ? From everyone I have talk to that has dealt with short sales and looking at many post on active rain. I would have to change that top five to include" The response time that banks take to get back and allow Realtors to help to get buyers to stay on board with the purchase I have heard horror stories of a month and a half just to get an accepted offer response.
Okaloosa County will begin its 2008-2009 budget process with a budget policy workshop Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. at the county's Water & Sewer Building on Lewis Turner Boulevard in Fort Walton Beach. The budget workshops are the most important part of the budget process. Most of the decisions presented at budget hearings later in the year are made at these workshops. Members are encouraged to attend and offer input.
RPAC Auction Combines Fun and Fundraising - 8/8/2010
One of the most enjoyed ECAR events is back. Thursday, April 17, members will meet at the Village in Destin to network, eat, and raise money for the Realtor Political Action Committee (RPAC). The event will include a silent auction, a live auction, entertainment, free food, and a raffle for a cruise donated by McNeese Title. Auction items include condo stays, dinners, and unique art. All proceeds, including a contribution at the door, will go to RPAC. RPAC uses these contributions to fund local, state, and national candidates and issues. The silent auction begins at 4:00 p.m. and the event will end at 8:00 p.m. The Village is located on the site of the old Destin RV Resort off U.S. Highway 98, across from Bass Pro Shop behind the Waffle House
(from FAR's EarlyBird News - March 28, 2008) As of Monday, March 31, a change takes place for Florida real estate licensees who have been involuntarily inactive for more than 12 months but less than 24 months (but not anyone involuntarily inactive for less than 12 months). Years ago, the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) required these licensees to take a "28-hour reactivation course" developed specifically for that purpose. In 2004, the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee (JAPC), a joint standing committee of the Legislature, challenged the statutory authority for the 28-hour course but agreed that the commission could require 28 hours of education. The end result was that the commission required the licensees to take the 14-hour CE course twice (yes, same course) to reactivate. But March 31, 2008, is the last time the commission will accept two 14-hour courses to renew a license. Thereafter, these licensees must complete the 28-hour reactivation course
(from NAR's REALTOR.org Essentials - March 2008) REALTOR® Magazine is seeking nominations for the Good Neighbor Awards - a program that recognizes REALTORS® whose commitment to volunteer work has helped make their community a better place to live. The application deadline is May 23. Continue reading >
If you have buyers who are not familiar with the availability of listing information on the Internet, tell them how to find the real estate sites, how to search for property, and how to contact you should they find a property they are interested in, would like more information about, or would like to see. Ideally, make this information available on your web site using local IDX solutions. You add value as a real estate professional by helping the consumer make sense of the Internet.
Hwy 85 North, Right on Stillwell Blvd., Right on Hyde Park, House on left.
Legal:
Lot 34, Block A, Winding Creek Estates, Phase III
Central location in Crestview, close to shopping and Walker ELementary school just up the street. Open and flowing floor plan in living room, dining area and kitchen. Home has great curb appeal and a great backyard with extra room. Great deck out back ideal for entertaining. Seller is offering a Home warranty through AHS for Buyer, a $395 value!
ParkingSpaces:
Garage:1
Lot Dim.:
70X136X104X148
LotAcc:
City Road, Paved Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Acres:
0.26
Zoning:
City, Residential Single Family
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
GreatRoom
1
17X13
Design:
Ranch
Bedrm:Master
1
14X11
Const/Siding:
Foundation Slab On Grade, Roof Composite Shingle, Siding Vinyl, Trim Vinyl
Auto Garage Door Opener, Dishwasher, Range Hood, Stove/Oven Electric
Utilities:
Electric, Phone, Public Water, Septic Tank, TV Cable
Energy:
A/C: Central Electric, A/C: High Efficiency, Ceiling Fans, Double Paned Windows, NOT USED GC/BR, Heat Pump A/A, Heat: Central Electric, Heat: High Efficiency, Ridge Vent, Water Heater: Electric
Get ready to "Ride the WAVE" trolley in its inaugural ride on Friday, April 6, 10:00 a.m., at the Emerald Coast Conference Center. The trolley, funded by a grant, is one of two that will take riders to downtown Ft. Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island. For routes, maps, fares or additional information about Okaloosa County Transit (OCT), visit our web site and select Public Transit in top menu at www.co.okaloosa.fl.us or call 850.833.9168 in Ft. Walton Beach, or 850.689.7809 in Crestview.
Senior Driver Trainer Jimmy Bobbitt was recently selected as the Driver of the Quarter by the Okaloosa County Transit. A retired United States Air Force Veteran, Mr. Bobbitt has been employed with Okaloosa County Transit since October 2001. The selection criteria for Driver of the Quarter incorporate not only his personal work ethic and compliance to OCT policies and procedures, but also vehicle operation, accurate, legible record keeping and more.
OCT now offers public transportation for every citizen of Okaloosa County, and connections have expanded to include routes between Ft. Walton Beach and Crestview. Not only can you avoid inflated gasoline expenses, but when you use public transit, you help our community and the environment by easing traffic congestion and reducing harmful emissions. WAVE buses and trolleys are wheelchair accessible and are equipped with bicycle carriers. OCT hours of service are Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and bus fare is 50 cents and senior and disabled passengers ride for 25 cents. Additional funding is provided through the Florida Department of Transportation and Okaloosa County.
The Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners will hold their next public Board Meeting on Tuesday, March 6, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Crestview Courthouse, 101 E. James Lee Blvd.
Visitors entering the Crestview Courthouse will now pass through a security checkpoint, equipped with metal detectors. Additionally, visitors will be required to enter the Courthouse at the entrance facing Highway 90 and exit Main Street. Handicapped patrons enter and exit via the existing ramp. These new security measures are for the protection of all the citizens of Okaloosa County.
For a more detailed agenda or previous meeting summaries, please visit our web site at www.co.okaloosa.fl.us. Board meetings are aired in their entirety on Cox Communication Channel 6 on Wednesday's at 7 p.m. and Thursday's at 10 a.m.
Are you ready for a break? A break from the cold, a break from FCAT and SATs? Are you ready for spring break?
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Somewhere warm, or take advantage of the snow? Whether you search for beautiful landscapes or history and culture, search no more - your local library can take you anywhere you want to go and it won't costs anything!
The Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative (OCPLC), is the best ever, offering state-of the art facilities with a wide array of new services for library patrons. Search the county web site at www.readokaloosa.org, and you will find an internet search of each library's collection of books, videos, DVDs, newspapers and magazines, audio books and electronic books, in which you can actually view on your home computer.
As a library patron, you have the ability to place books on hold, make renewals through the web site and check your own library records to see when a book is due or view your library history. Take a trip to your local library and see what they have first hand.
Additionally, the Book Mobile serves those county residents unable to travel long distances or those without access to computers, videos, etc., and makes it a priority to help patrons find the materials they want and need. The bookmobile makes regular stops at rehabilitation facilities, daycares, schools and senior centers, as well.
All these services are free at the following OCPLC Libraries. Members include the Destin Library, Fort Walton Beach City Library, Niceville Library, Mary Esther Public
Library, Robert L.F. Sikes Public Library in Crestview, and the Valparaiso Community Library. Niceville Library just completed an expansion and the many libraries in OCPLC are new, renovated or expanded to better serve patrons.
Commission Chair Recognizes Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Riemer - 8/8/2010
Commission Chair Don Amunds Recognizes
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Riemer
The Okaloosa County Board of Commission proclaimed Tuesday, January 16, 2007, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Riemer Day. Commissioner and Chairman Don Amunds, along with County Administrator Jim Curry, presented Maj. Gen. Riemer with the Proclamation on Thursday, January 18, following its approval at Tuesday's meeting.
"Maj. Gen. Riemer put politics aside and demonstrated integrity, on behalf of the citizens of Okaloosa County," stated Commissioner Amunds. "He is always welcome to return to Okaloosa County, and we wish him well during his assignment at the Pentagon," he added.
Commissioner Amunds serves as Chairman of the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners. Amunds was elected to his second term this year, and represents District 4.
We offer free instant access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) with complete real estate listings for the Eglin AFB area, including Okaloosa and Walton counties.
We offer free instant access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) with complete real estate listings for the Duke Field area, including Okaloosa and Walton counties.
Okaloosa Florida Enjoy all Okaloosa vacation spots - 8/8/2010
River Parks
Guest Lake Park Boat Ramp 3850 Yellow River Log Lake Road, Holt Milligan / Yellow River Park 5100 Ellis Road, Baker Oak Grove River Park 2751 Hwy 2, Laurel Hill Shoal River Wayside Park (Bill Duggan Jr. Park) 5999 Hwy 85 S, Crestview Cotton Bridge Park - 6301 Hwy 4 W, Baker
Beach Parks
James Lee Park 3510 Scenic Hwy 98, Destin John Beasley Park 1550 Miracle Strip Parkway, Fort Walton Beach Newman C. Brackin Wayside Park 1460 Miracle Strip Parkway, Fort Walton Beach
Bayou Parks
Longwood Park - 4 Bay Street, Shalimar Meigs Park - 45A Meigs Drive, Shalimar
Boat Ramps
Bryant Bridge Boat Ramp 100 Bryant Bridge Road, Holt Pocahontas Boat Ramp 565A Pocahontas Drive, Fort Walton Beach Ray Lynn Barnes Boat Ramp 3390 Hwy 90 E, Crestview Rickey Avenue Boat Ramp 165 Rickey Avenue, Fort Walton Beach Swift Bayou Boat Ramp 213 Edrehi Avenue, Niceville
Neighborhood Parks
Colonel Bud Day Park 185 Woodland Park Circle, Mary Esther Eagle Park 2980 James Lee Blvd E (Hwy 90 E), Crestview Lang Road Park 304 Priscilla Drive, Fort Walton Beach Leo Norred Park 48 Poplar Avenue, Shalimar Little Marler Park 1247 Siebert Drive, Fort Walton Beach Seminole Park - 1534 Cat-Mar Street, Niceville Sylvania Heights Playground - 311 Shirley Drive, Fort Walton Beach
Beach Access ways
Beach Access #1, Blue Dolphin Beachwalk - 372 Santa Rosa Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach Beach Access #2, Emerald View Beachwalk - 399 Santa Rosa Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach Beach Access #3, Seashore Beachwalk - 530 Santa Rosa Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach Beach Access #4 - 600 Santa Rosa Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach Beach Access #5 - 700 Santa Rosa Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach Beach Access #6, Doris Jordan Freeway Beachwalk - 820 Santa Rosa Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach Beach Access #7, Emerald Promenade Beachwalk - 900 Santa Rosa Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach
Special Use Parks
Baker Block Museum - 1307 Georgia Avenue, Baker Baker Park - 1450 Charlie Day Road, Baker Baker Recreation Area - 5503 Hwy 4, Baker Blackman Community Center - 7590 Hwy 189 N, Blackman Garden City Park - 6330 Garden City Road, Crestview Okaloosa Island Boat Basin - 410A Cobia Avenue, Fort Walton Beach Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier - 300 Pier Road, Fort Walton Beach Shalimar / Port Dixie Little League Ball Park - 75 4th Avenue, Shalimar Shalimar Elementary Park - 1340 Joe Martin Circle, Shalimar
Below is an article that was featured off of the Homepage on Yahoo today. I am not sure what the point would be to write an article where you admit you dont believe in Global warming but warn people not to buy because of Global warming.
Beach-house bargains
By Jon Birger, senior writer
Mar 19th, 2008
One market where both Ross and Keith see buying opportunities galore is Florida. The best Florida bargains are in condominiums. Kerry McNulty, a real estate agent in the Panhandle resort town of Destin, says Panhandle prices have fallen 25% to 30% since 2005. A two-bedroom beachfront condo that might have sold for $600,000 in 2005 can now be had for $425,000, he says.
But before booking a flight to the Sunshine State to start your bargain hunting, consider the risks. The Florida market may have further to fall. Property taxes and insurance bills are soaring. And if you're a believer in the devastating impact of global warming (I'm a tad skeptical, but that's another column), an investment in property on the Gulf or Atlantic coast probably isn't for you.
Not only is the hurricane risk higher, but the three-foot rise in sea level predicted by most experts would swamp most Florida beaches, according to real estate consultant Climate Appraisal Services. (The West Coast and the New England coast fare best in CAS's computer models, the Gulf Coast the worst.) David Purcell, an ex-banker who founded CAS in 2006 with a trio of University of Arizona scientists, views Florida beachfront as an incredibly risky investment. "Twenty years from now," Purcell says, "if you're looking to sell, you may find there's nobody willing to step into your shoes
DESTIN -- The Third Annual Emerald Coast Home Show Spring Edition 2008 will be March 29 and 30 at Destin Middle School.
Non-profit organizations will be participating in the event. Vendor booth space and sponsorships are available now.
The show is free to the public. It opens 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 29 and noon-5 p.m. March 30.
The show will feature many business categories such as a Home Show section, Health Care section sponsored by the Younger You Institute, employment, a car show and sale by Sam Tailor Cadillac, furniture show and sale, and a retail section.
A child safety area sponsored by ADT will feature McGruff the Crime Dog along with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, which will offer fingerprinting kits and other child safety information.
It will also offer seminars, and entertainment events such as gymnastics, martial arts and a big screen TV to watch the NCAA basketball finals. The Adam Brack Golf Academy will provide free golf instruction.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast will be volunteer hosts and have a fund-raising booth, plus operate the food concession. The event is also a fundraiser for Destin Middle School, which will hold a bake sale
Forum to give builders a chance to reverse their fortunes - 8/6/2010
EGLIN AFB - Local home builders and property managers facing economic slumps have a chance to reverse their fortunes.
Air Force officials are hosting a housing privatization industry forum at Hurlburt Field Soundside Club later this month.
The forum will give businesses interested in building or managing some 1,300 housing units on Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt a chance to learn about privatization. Tours of base housing areas will be included.
A tour of the housing area at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Eglin, Hurlburt and Edwards have bundled their housing privatization initiatives to pool scarce dollars.
"It makes better financial sense," said Kathy Lawhon, Eglin's housing flight chief.
After a couple of fits and starts, the local privatization effort has regained momentum.
It imagines mostly private funds being used to build homes in exchange for the Air Force letting the selected developer manage and collect rents for 50 years.
The project has been scaled back; hundreds fewer units will be built than initially imagined.
All of the construction will be on Air Force land, but the site or sites hasn't been selected yet. That decision will be made after an environmental impact statement (EIS) has been completed.
A draft of the EIS should be released in the next few months. Sites in the running are on the bases and off the bases. Plans call for a request for proposals to be issued before the industry forum.
Eglin environmental spokesman Mike Spaits said the housing program is open to any bidder, small or large, that meets qualifications.
"This is an opportunity for our local businesses to network and try to get involved in the project," he added.
Ideal for large family. 5 bedroom,3 bath. Home comes with nice size lot;South of I-10 totally remodeled all brick home. New appliances,new light fixtures,new carpet and tile throughout,and paint, security system, New 13 seer a/c heat pump system with new duct work,new "low E" vinyl windows,upgraded wiring,new outside doors,new 50 gal water heater, and more.Looking for low maintenance and high quality? This is the house for you. This is a must see.Call us today to take a look.***
FR I-10, TAKE HWY 85N TO REDSTONE. TURN RGT ON REDSTONE, TURN RGT ON BROOKMEADE, LEFT ON COVELL, RGT ON STEEPLECHASE DR & LFT ONTO RISEN STAR. HOUSE LAST ONE ON LEFT.
Legal:
STEEPLECHASE PH III LOT 10 BLK B
Short sale.Great Location, Great Neighborhood!! Just N of I-10. This 3/2/2, 1610 sf, split bedroom design, is open, airy and has large family room, eat-in kitchen, ample closet & storage and interior utility room and located on large corner lot!!!
My mom came down from Ohio after visiting a rescue shelter home for dogs. I had lost my rottweiler roxie after 14 years last year. So she brought me Jewel. Pictured below.
This was an email my mom sent me from a chain email she got - 6/26/2010
Instructions for properly hugging a baby. 1. First, spy a baby.
2. Second, be sure that the object you spied was Indeed a baby by employing classic sniffing techniques. If you Smell baby powder and the wonderful aroma of wet diapers this is indeed A baby.
3. Next you will need to flatten the baby before actually beginning the Hugging process.
**Note: The added slobber should help in future steps by making the 'paw Slide' easier.
4. The 'paw slide' Simply slide paws around baby and prepare for possible close-up.
5. Finally, if a camera is present, you will need to execute The difficult and patented 'hug, smile, and lean' so as to Achieve the best photo quality.
Dogs, if this is properly done, it will secure you a warm, dry, Climate-controlled environment for the rest of Your life.
MY comment Bull Mastif if you are looking for a perfect dog that is the breed for you.
This was an article I ran across lately has anyone had a client go thru with a claim?
Unique Insurance Policy Protects Against Home Value Loss
by Jeff Ward,
Almost everyone in the real estate world has represented a client buying a new home or condo, where there is concern over the unknown as it relates to potential rezoning....or even eminent domain type decisions.... in their new community.
Or how about the client trying to sell a house, where there's a pending controversial decision being made by local government to widen a highway or build a new shopping mall down the street, which will cause all kinds of noise and congestion issues. These types of concerns and conflicts occur routinely around the country. We hear and read about them daily.
Now there's a unique and affordable policy of insurance available to new homeowners, which will protect the value in their home if there's a rezoning or re-planning type event causing their property value to drop. It's called Home Value Safeguard (HVS) and is backed by certain underwriters at Lloyds of London.
This "Peace of Mind" protection was developed in response to the controversial 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain in the case Kelo v. New London. That decision gave more power to governmental agencies to repossess or condemn land for private or public use. After additional research on the issues facing many homeowners and lenders, the HVS coverage was then broadened to protect homeowners for any type or re-planning or unforeseen redevelopment type events, which have negative consequences to homeowners in a neighborhood or community.
Effective Jan 1, 2008, new homeowners or people refinancing their home or condo can purchase the HVS policy on line by visiting the HVS website...www.hvsinsurance.com. For less than $300 premium per year the policy provides up to $200,000 loss of market value when the home is sold....plus up to$50,000 in reasonable relocation costs...to help relieve the expense of moving.
The HVS launch has been closely watched by the large realtor firms, mortgage lenders, title insurers, mortgage brokers and homeowner insurance carriers. It's not often we see new insurance products offered in the real estate market that have real value.
I am looking into this and wanted to know if anyone has ever used this. I figure I will change out my message once a year anyway and they are built to last a year and a half they say.
CULVER CITY, Calif., Jan. 9, 2008 - PROLABdigital IMAGING is proud to announce its capabilities to print vinyl banners on ECO-Friendly, BIO-FLEX, the newest BIO-Degradable Vinyl substrate. PDi specializes in the manufacture of small and large format quality visual graphics nationwide for advertising, events, retail chains, truck-sides, entertainment, corporate, fashion, cosmetic and food industries.
Our wide selection of printing capabilities allows us to print up to 16 feet wide by any length, or tiled together to create even larger Mega-Banners, quantities from 1 to 1000's of units. The life expectancy of this material on indoor and outdoor use is the same as regular high grade vinyl and only decomposes in landfill conditions. Clients all over the world use our BIO-Degradable banners for trade shows, in-store, point-of-sales, special event and marketing collateral.
Every year, millions of tons of banners are buried in the earth; taking 500 to 700 years to degrade in landfills worldwide, BIO-Degradable substrates are a step in the right direction to reduce this problem. BIO-Degradable banners will decompose in 3 to 5 years when exposed to conditions in a landfill (darkness, high heat and moisture), where microbes breakdown the BIO-Degradable PVC and turn it in into dust.
PROLABdigital IMAGING produces a multitude of indoor and outdoor front lit-signs and banners. As reasonable stewards of this planet, we should be actively conscious of the environment and take every effort in reducing our carbon footprint at every opportunity.
For more information on BIO-Degradable substrates and PDi's capabilities to print front lit-signs and banners, please contact:
PROLABdigital Imaging 10325 Jefferson Blvd Culver City, CA 90232
Company Information: Name: PROLABdigital Imaging Address: 10325 Jefferson Blvd City: Culver City State: CA ZIP: 90232 Country: USA Phone: 310-204-4608 http://www.prolabdigital.com/
Hwy 85 North, Right on Stillwell Blvd., Right on Hyde Park, House on left.
Legal:
Lot 34, Block A, Winding Creek Estates, Phase III
Central location in Crestview, close to shopping and Walker ELementary school just up the street. Open and flowing floor plan in living room, dining area and kitchen. Home has great curb appeal and a great backyard with extra room. Great deck out back ideal for entertaining. Seller is offering a Home warranty through AHS for Buyer, a $395 value!
ParkingSpaces:
Garage:1
Lot Dim.:
70X136X104X148
LotAcc:
City Road, Paved Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Acres:
0.26
Zoning:
City, Residential Single Family
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
GreatRoom
1
17X13
Design:
Ranch
Bedrm:Master
1
14X11
Const/Siding:
Foundation Slab On Grade, Roof Composite Shingle, Siding Vinyl, Trim Vinyl
Auto Garage Door Opener, Dishwasher, Range Hood, Stove/Oven Electric
Utilities:
Electric, Phone, Public Water, Septic Tank, TV Cable
Energy:
A/C: Central Electric, A/C: High Efficiency, Ceiling Fans, Double Paned Windows, NOT USED GC/BR, Heat Pump A/A, Heat: Central Electric, Heat: High Efficiency, Ridge Vent, Water Heater: Electric
North on 85, left by the Tom Thumb onto PJ Adams Pkwy. First right onto Villacrest Drive. Approx. one block up, corner property on left side. Corner of Northview and Villacrest.
Legal:
Lot 24 Northview Est 3rd Add
This is a must see at this price now also offering $ 2,000 flooring allowance (upon acceptable offer by seller). Desirable neighborhood below I-10 offers quick commute to bases. This home sits on a nice sized corner lot and offers 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. The curb appeal is very attractive and with a little imagination, and the fact that the square footage price is a 'wow' factor, the home can be transformed into a great find! As you enter the hallway, to the right is the formal dining that boasts a tasteful chandelier-like lighting where entertaining could be a delight; since the very large open kitchen is across the hall. The kitchen faces out to the front of the home with two windows that emit natural lighting and gives the kitchen flair. The kitchen offers a lot of cabinets and loads of work space since it has an island for extra room, there is also a skylight. Off the kitchen is a good sized extra laundry room that leads to the double size garage. The home has an open split bedroom floor plan. The living room features a fantastic view of the back yard beyond the screen enclosed patio to the above ground swimming pool.
ParkingSpaces:
Garage:2
Lot Dim.:
68.8X47.1X113.8X74.4X140
LotAcc:
City Road, Paved Road
WatFrnt:
PrkingFeat:
Acres:
0.32
Zoning:
City, Deed Restriction, Residential Single Family
WatView:
WFFeet:
LotFeat:
ProjFacil:
Room Type
Lvl
Dimnsns
DiningRoom
1
13x11
Design:
Contemporary
Kitchen
1
15x19
Laundry
1
8x6
Const/Siding:
Foundation Slab On Grade, Roof Shingle/Shake, Siding Brick All, Trim Vinyl
LivingRoom
1
17x17
Bedrm:Additnl
1
10x11
ExtFeatures:
Fenced Back Yard, Fenced Privacy, Patio Open, Pool Above-Ground, Porch Screened, Yard Building
Bedrm:Additnl
1
12x10
Bath: Full
1
4x7
IntFeatures:
Breakfast Bar, Floor:Vinyl, Floor:W/W Carpet, Pull Down Stairs, Skylight(s), Split Bedroom, Wallpaper, Washer/Dryer Hookup, Window Treatment:Some, Woodwork:Painted, Pantry
Bedrm:Master
1
16x14
Bath: Master
1
13X7
Appliances:
Disposal, Oven:Self Cleaning, Range Hood, Smoke Detector, Stove/Oven Electric
Utilities:
Community Water, Electric, Phone, Septic Tank, TV Cable
Energy:
A/C: Central Electric, Ceiling Fans, Heat: Central Electric, Ridge Vent, Water Heater: Electric
Destin Commons Concert and Snowbird Discounts - 6/26/2010
All Concerts are FREE and take place in Destin Commons Center Plaza. The first 100 Snowbirds will receive a FREE Destin Commons Goodie Bag. Come with your lawn chairs and blankets and dance the afternoon away!
BANJORAMA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2 - 4 PM Come hoot, howl, laugh, clap and be merry with the Ragtime Dixieland band, Banjorama. A special thanks to the Destin Snowbirds from Banjorama, whose support has been the backbone of their success.
Final Phase of Construction begins on John Sims Parkway - 6/26/2010
Final phase of construction begins on John Sims Parkway
Chipley - A lane shift planned for this evening, Monday, January 28, will mark the beginning of the third and final phase of construction for the John Sims Parkway improvement.
Construction crews from APAC-Southeast plan to shift John Sims Parkway eastbound traffic to the newly constructed travel lanes late this evening. The traffic shift will occur between Government Avenue and Armstrong Street. In addition, northbound traffic on Government Avenue will also be shifted to new travel lanes.
Four lanes of traffic will remain open at all times, as will access to adjacent commercial properties. All work is weather dependent and may be re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather conditions.
www.dot.state.fl.us
Tommie Speights
sent by: Donna M. Green District Three Public Information Office donna.green@dot.state.fl.us 850-415-9661 888-638-0250, ext. 661 (toll-free) 850-260-5433 (Mobile)
Me and Christine went to the practice to check out future NFL players. Christine being that her husband is from Hawaii and she had lived there as well could not wait to strike up a conversation with Colt the Hawaii QuarterBack that has set all kinds of records while at the school.
You could hear Mike Singletary from high in the stands teaching what he knows.
Niceville Senior is National Finalist in Wendy High School Heisman - 6/26/2010
In the midst of Niceville High School's A+ award ceremony, senior Jennica Hagberg was called up to the podium, where a representative from Wendy's informed her that she is one of six female finalists for the Wendy's High School Heisman award. The award is given to student athletes who excel academically and devote themselves to community service. Over 32,000 students applied for the honor this year.
"I was very surprised. I knew I was a state finalist, but I had no idea about the rest," stated Hagberg after the ceremony.
Her mother and volleyball coach, Kris Hagberg, learned about her award Tuesday, but kept it a secret from her high achieving daughter, who is in the top 1% of her graduating class. Jennica is planning to attend Stetson University on a full volleyball scholarship next year. She has dedicated many hours to community service, including helping out with Desire Street Ministries, which relocated to Camp Timpoochee following Hurricane Katrina. She also tutored students from Lewis Middle School and played varsity soccer, managing to balance it all with a full load of stringent academic courses.
"A better recipient couldn't have been chosen," stated NHS principal, Dr. Linda Smith. "She is an incredible young lady."
As part of the award, Wendy's donated a $2000 check to Niceville High School in Hagberg's name, and officials informed her that she is invited to attend the National Awards Banquet in New York City, which will be filmed by ESPN-2. The male and female national winners will be announced at the banquet.
Okaloosa Schools Continue the Tradition of Excellence with 32 A's and 4 B's - 6/26/2010
Today the 2007 school grades were released by Florida Department of Education Commissioner Blomberg and Deputy Commissioner Pfeiffer. School grades are largely based on FCAT scores, but also include a formula that requires low performing students to make significant gains. This year, two additional criteria were added to the formula: science scores from grades 5, 8 and 11 and progress of students in the lowest quartile in math. These additions result in a total of eight criteria used to determine school grades. In other words the bar has been raised. Despite the increasing number and difficulty of the criteria, Okaloosa schools continue to excel.
In Okaloosa County 32 schools earned an ‘A', with four schools receiving a B. All district charter schools achieved the highest school grade possible for their program. The fact that Laurel Hill School and Ocean City Elementary School received B's confirms the research that schools with higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students often demonstrate lower achievement. We are addressing this issue in schools and at the district level as we begin our work in closing this achievement gap of low socio-economic students.
Fort Walton Beach High and Crestview High greatly exceeded the number of points required to earn an ‘A', but did not receive an ‘A' because the lowest quartile of students did not make adequate learning gains in reading. We have begun to address this issue by hiring literacy coaches in the high schools.
Kudos go to Mary Esther Elementary School. We are proud of the efforts of those teachers and students as they moved from a ‘B' School last year to an ‘A' School this year.
Okaloosa County has 90% of our schools earning an ‘A' rating and was second only to Gilchrist County, a district with only four schools, all of which achieved an A placing them at 100% and first in performance statewide. Of the eight school districts designated high performing by the state of Florida, Okaloosa County outdistanced them all with the exception of Gilchrist.
Teachers, support personnel, administrators, district staff, parents and community leaders should all be proud of the distinguished achievement of our students in Okaloosa County. Accolades must be given to parents who send highly motivated students to our schools and our community who value education. Teachers of all grades levels and subject areas have toiled daily to provide individual instruction, complete staff development and implement new research based practices in their classrooms. School Board members have focused dollars on rigorouscurriculum and differentiated instruction. We are grateful to each of them.
The FCAT is not the finish line, it is the start line. Students in Okaloosa County will continue to increase their skills in reading, math, science and writing due to the hard work of our amazing educators, parents, and community members who support our school system. The primary objective of our combined efforts is to assist our students in not only meeting graduation requirements but also to become better citizens, parents, lifelong learners and contributors to society.
To view a chart of Okaloosa school grades from 1999 to today, click here.
Okaloosa Students outperform nation on SAT - 6/26/2010
While the national* mean dropped five points on the 2006 Critical Reading SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), Okaloosa County School District (OCSD) students showed a four point improvement over last year. In math, Okaloosa's mean score rose six points, while the national mean decreased by two points.
As a result of this improvement, Okaloosa students' mean of 525 for Critical Reading is now a full 22 points above the national figure. In math, Okaloosa's mean is 532, 14 points above the national mean of 518.
The gap between Okaloosa students' SAT results and those of students across the state is even more pronounced. The mean for all Florida students is 496 for Critical Reading - 29 points less than that of OSCD students. In math, Florida students scored 497 -- 35 points fewer than those in OCSD.
This was the first year of scoring on the writing section of the SAT, and once again, Okaloosa students outshone their peers. With a mean score of 506, they beat the nation by nine points and the state of Florida by 26.
"We are proud of our test scores, even though we know there is always room for improvement," states Dr. Diane Kelley, Director of Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction for the district. "Our goal is to increase the number of number of students taking the SAT and ACT, as well as to increase the number of scholarships to our students."
Okaloosa students also fared well on the ACT (American College Test.) Their mean composite score was 21.8, which was fully 1.5 points higher than the rest of the state and 0.7 points higher than the national mean.
"I am very pleased with the reports," adds Curriculum Specialist Shawnea Tallman. "But it is a whole new ballgame, where we are making global comparisons. In math and science, we are setting our sights well beyond the national average."
* "National" scores actually refer to the scores of all test-takers. A small percentage of the test-takers are from other countries, such as Canada.
Niceville Senior High School (Also known as NHS) is a public high school in the city of Niceville, Florida. The school is SACS-accredited and considered to be the top high school within its high performing district. In 1996 NHS was selected as one of 226 secondary schools (private and public) to be designated as a Blue Ribbon National School of Excellence. NHS was also named a New American High School in 2001, one of only 13 in the nation to earn that honor. The State of Florida Department of Education rated the school an A+ in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005. [2] The school also received a rating of 10 for its restrooms in 2006[1]
Contrary to popular belief, the current location of NHS atop a hill running parallel to John Sims Parkway was not the original site of the school, opened in 1964. According to various sources, NHS was initially located in a dance hall on Howell Avenue and once held classes at the present-day Edge Elementary.
Niceville High School has gained some notoriety from its Athletics department. In 1988 the Niceville High School Football team won the state championship winning 48-14 over Bradenton High School and in 2005 the NHS Football team won the 5A Regional Championship.[2] In addition, Niceville has in years past fielded highly completive baseball teams earning places in the 1989 Florida State Final Four and posting district championships in 1991, 2002, 2004 and 2005 and in 2007 was ranked 19th in nation.[3] In 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 the NHS wrestling team also posted district championships. [4] The boy's soccer team also has consistently posted district championships winning titles every year from 1995 through 2001 and 2004 through 2007. [5]
Beyond athletics NHS has won accolades among many of its student run activities. In 2007, a team from the school took honors at the Ocean Sciences Bowl. During the same year seven students from the school were sent to Tanzania to participate in Natural Geography of In-Shore Areas project sponsored by University of Kyoto, Japan.[6] In 2003 a team from NHS posted 43rd out of almost 200 teams in the Super Bowl of High School Calculus. [7]
NHS's philosophy is, "teachers teach students learn" [3]
The school features a state-of-the-art IT Institute, headed by Dean Patti Bonezzi. Since the institute opened in 2004, students have been awarded 250+ certificates in programs such as Microsoft, Oracle Corporation, Cisco, and Adobe.
The school's Eagle Pride marching band is one of the biggest in the state with 330 members. They have been accepted to march in the 2007-2008 Tournament of Roses Parade.
NHS won the state championship in football in 1988 and went to the state semifinals in 2005.
Crestview High School is the only high school in the city of Crestview, Florida. It is the second largest in Okaloosa county[1], trailing only Niceville High School. The Mascot of the school is the bulldog. In January 2007 Ed Coleman replaced Andy Johnson as principal after serving as vice principal at Niceville High School.
The Crestview High School Band, nicknamed 'The Big Red Machine', was organized in 1938 and has become a major organization in Crestview. The band has traveled to many locations across the United States, with recent trips including the 1997 Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, the 2000 Marshall Field's Jingle Elf Parade in Chicago, Illinois, and the 2002 Hollywood Christmas Parade in Hollywood, California.
In 2005, Director David Cadle, Assistant Director Joseph W. Dunn Jr., and Drum Major Jamar Woods led the Big Red Machine in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In honor of this event, December 6, 2005 was proclaimed 'Crestview High School Band Day' by Mayor George H. Whitehurst.
Following the 2005-2006 school year, David Cadle retired from his position as Band Director at Crestview High School. His assistant, Joseph Dunn replaced him. David Cadle won the election as Crestview's new mayor in 2007.[2]
During the summer of 2006, Dan Akins, from Davidson Middle School, soon took over Mr. Dunn's vacated assistant band director/visual coordinator job. Mr. Akins had for three years previous to his appointment been designing the halftime show for the band, a task which he still undertakes. Also included in the staff is Zarick Randalf, the percussion instructor.
The spring band trip this year will be the biggest one yet- the band has been invited to play onboard the U.S.S. Missouri, one of the major battleships during WWII. This will be the band's first trip outside of the contigious 48 states.
The current Drum Major (2007-2008 school year) is Micah Tolar. The current band president is Kimberly Johnston and the current vice-president is Jenni Salazar.
Panama City International airport along with the Deep Sea Ports expect to come on the scene in the Worldwide US Trade Zone
Information provided by portofpanamacityusa.com
Port Panama City. Located on the Gulf coast in Florida's panhandle, this port specializes in breakbulk cargo plus some dry bulk products. The Port has become a catalyst for industrial development in Northwest Florida.
Governing Body: Panama City Port Authority
Mission: Expand economic opportunities in the City of Panama City, Bay County, Northwest Florida, and the state by providing modern port facilities, promoting trade, and supporting industrial development.
Major Goals and Objectives:
•General cargo enhancements.
• Bulk cargo facility enhancements.
• Preparation for cruise operations.
• Industrial Park development.
Primary Needs:
• Completion of the current south dock expansion.
• Completion of the dredging project associated with the south dock expansion.
• Additional property for cargo storage.
• Additional warehouse space.
• Funding to expand the Industrial Park.
Hinterland Served: Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Trading Partners: Central America, South America, the Far East (China), the
Mediterranean and Europe.
Principal Activities and Products:
Break bulk and bulk terminal service, Industrial Park development, and Foreign Trade Zone operations.
Exports: Linerboard, woodpulp, machinery, and miscellaneous general cargo.
Imports: Steel plate, steel coils, lumber, copper and bulk aggregates.
Current (FY 2003/2004) and Projected (FY 2008/2009) Throughputs:
Cargo (tons): Current - .9 million. Projected - 1.5 million.
Cargo (TEUs): Current - None. Projected - 40,000.
Cruise (revenue passengers): Current - None. Projected - 150,000.
We are pleased that you have expressed an interest in Port Panama City & Foreign TradeZone #65. Port Panama City operates in beautiful Bay County in the Florida Panhandle. Strategically located as the northernmost port in the Gulf of Mexico, Port Panama City is a relatively young port established in 1967 with one deep water berth and one 42,000 square foot warehouse. Currently, the Port has grown to six deep water berths consisting of 3,240 linear feet, with 32 foot draft, 600 linear feet of barge facilities, and 470,000 square feet of warehousing space. The Port is efficiently equipped with modem loading and unloading facilities for truck, rail, barge, container, RO-RO vessel and deep water vessel traffic. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is located adjacent to the Port, and offers intracoastal shipment capability via barge.
The Port in the 1940's
The maritime community of Panama City provides a self-contained infrastructure of services to benefit our many customers. These services are described as follows: longshoremen, steamship agents, freight forwarders , customs brokers, stevedore companies, and an in- house US Customs office. All of these together are fully committed to servicing the maritime community.
Over the years, Port Panama City has established itself as a load center for forestry products. For over 25 years, linerboard and woodpulp have been the #1 commodities moving through the Port. However, during 1997 and 1998, the volumes of steel products exceeded those of forestry. Regardless of the industry being served, quality control (Q/C) is integrated into every step of the various processes--facility design, rate structures, handling methods. From the planning stages to actual production, the customer is assured of high quality standards as observed in our low damage ratio and constantly enforced safety measures. In terms of financial benefits, the Port offers extremely competitive rates, along with efficiently planned facilities to handle and store merchandise. More recently, imported copper cathodes have become an important commodity for the Port.
FIRST SHIP THROUGH THE PASS
The menu of services at Port Panama City is geared to benefit our customers or industrial park tenants, regardless of their product line or volumes. The advantages and benefits are readily available to those industries expanding or relocating in our area, whether in manufacturing, assembly, or transshipment of commodities in the Port area, or at any of the industrial park sites.
Port Panama City rates among the most economical on the Gulf of Mexico or East Coast region, and combined with the incentives available through FTZ #65, plus Florida's number one business climate, it represents an attractive alternative to industries seeking to expand or relocate in this part of the State. Our marketing strategies are predicated on the concept of creating jobs through the implementation of personalized services to those companies who use our facilities.
Bay County has three major industrial parks consisting of 560 acres: 1. The Port Panama City Industrial Complex (125 acres); 2.-Hugh Nelson Industrial Park (175 acres); and 3. Bay Industrial Park (260 acres). In addition, the Port Authority is currently developing a new 200 acre Intermodal Distribution Center. Port Panama City prides itself for personalized service, and strives for 100% customer satisfaction. The maritime community of Bay County also adheres to this concept. The total package of services provided by Port Panama City & Foreign Trade Zone #65 can provide significant benefits to both importers and exporters.
From 85 & 90 in Crestview head 90 west to Hwy 4 Take Hwy 4 north for two miles to just before the ball park, left takes you to Hilton this acreage is located at the end of the private drive.
Legal:
NW1/4 EX PART NE OF ST RD & EX PART SE OF CO RD & SW1/4 LYING NW OF CO RD
This luxurious "natural springs" waterfront acreage is set in an impressive position, with sweeping panoramic views over your own private lake. It makes a great impression! There is an all-brick home that boasts a large front porch overlooking the lake. The home has two master bedrooms, a large living area with a great view of your private natural springs lake. Ideal for entertaining and relaxing, it is a peaceful haven with a large reception area. The home was completed in 1998 and offers interior space of 1751 square feet, laid out on 70 acres. The beautiful living area includes, while outdoors, a lovely multitude of mature trees that add to the breathtaking surroundings.
The buzz continued Panama City Florida - 6/26/2010
Information provided by portofpanamacityusa.com
Port Panama City. Located on the Gulf coast in Florida's panhandle, this port specializes in breakbulk cargo plus some dry bulk products. The Port has become a catalyst for industrial development in Northwest Florida.
Governing Body: Panama City Port Authority
Mission: Expand economic opportunities in the City of Panama City, Bay County, Northwest Florida, and the state by providing modern port facilities, promoting trade, and supporting industrial development.
Major Goals and Objectives:
•General cargo enhancements.
• Bulk cargo facility enhancements.
• Preparation for cruise operations.
• Industrial Park development.
Primary Needs:
• Completion of the current south dock expansion.
• Completion of the dredging project associated with the south dock expansion.
• Additional property for cargo storage.
• Additional warehouse space.
• Funding to expand the Industrial Park.
Hinterland Served: Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Trading Partners: Central America, South America, the Far East (China), the
Rebuilding Together's AmeriCorps program, called the Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps is a high-impact National AmeriCorps program of 44 full-time AmeriCorps members serving in 26 Rebuilding Together affiliates in 16 states including, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Washington. RT CapacityCorps members will build the capacity of Rebuilding Together affiliates to serve additional low-income homeowners through volunteer recruitment, client outreach, direct repairs for low-income homeowners, new project implementation, community partnership development and program expansion.
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