Chicago and Southern Illinois Real Estate Happenings

 

 

 

 

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Hello there!

Here is the Central Florida real estate Lake Nona
Market Report for the day after Thanksgiving 2008!

• There are 44 homes for sale in the Lake Nona area, DOWN over 50% from my last report!
• The high asking price is $7,695,000 ~~ basically the same price as my last report. This estate is FANTASTIC!! It features over 11,000 square feet of living space to start!
• The low asking price in Lake Nona is $174,990 and the owner/builder will contribute $$$ to the closing costs for these fine townhomes..... REMEMBER, The Knights Team will ALSO rebate 1% of the executed contract price to any buyer who uses US for their representation in a new construction central Florida real estate transaction.
• There are 8 properties in special circumstances: They include being Bank owned, Corporate owned, in pre-foreclosure, in foreclosure, owner will assist with closing costs or will finance mortgage, property has an assumable mortgage, sold as is, or is a fixer-upper. There are SOME GREAT DEALS OUT THERE!!

 

Lake Nona is known for its many amenities:

• Lake Nona Town Center -- An open air mall that is 1,000,000 square feet of upscale retail shops, fashion boutiques, department stores, restaurants and a cineplex.
• The 600 acre Lake Nona Science and Technology Park -- which includes the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Healthcare, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, University of Florida Reasearch Center, Orlando VA Medical Center, and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center.
• The four communities of Lake Nona: The Waters Edge -- With a boat dock boat storage and more, this community has homes starting at $298,000. North Lake Park -- Includes a YMCA and "A" Rated Elementary School all
  under one roof. Village Walk  -- This community won the 2007 Parade of
  Homes Community Award. Quaint bridges to walk on connecting to the
  town center, a fitness center, cafes, and more are why! Lake Nona Golf
  and Country Club -- Featuring a Tom Fazio professionally acclaimed golf
  course, this community has a fitness center and much, MUCH more!!

 

Extensive care has been taken to include walking trails all through out the community. Nature is NOT something to be pushed aside in lake Nona, but something to be celebrated! 

Over 40 percent of Lake Nona is open space...which leaves You free to bike, ride horses, rollerblade, hike, jog, run or just observe nature in its unhurried setting.

Lake Nona has over 1000 acres of parks to enjoy family and freinds with. There are even two dog parks just for your four footed pets! There is an Aquatic Center and an Equestrian center....weather you want to swim or go for a brisk ride on a horse, Lake Nona has it all!!

To get FREE access to the Orlando and central Florida MLS to see current
homes for sale, just click on this link!

 

 

This Lake Nona Market Report
is brought to you by:

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
The Knights Team Sales leader

Beach and Luxury Realty Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golf course picture courtesy
of keithmuth and www.flikr.com!!

 

 

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Here is the Hunters Creek Market report for the Central Florida
Real Estate area as of 11/27/2008.

• There are 167 properties offered for sale in the
  Hunters Creek area, up one from my last months
  report.
• The high asking price is $689,000 which is DOWN
  $30,000 from the high asking price of $719,000
  last month!
• The low asking price is $161,405... DOWN from last
  months low asking price of $170,050.... prices are
  coming DOWN lower and LOWER!!
• There are 73 properties in special circumstances:
  Bank owned, pre-foreclosure, in foreclosure, Corporate
  owned, sold as is, seller will assist with closing costs
  or seller might finance mortgage. That is UP a WHOPPING
  65% from last month!

 

You can see the results of this market swing in lower prices on
my latest central Florida real estate market report.

Buyers are snapping up GREAT property deals all over central
Florida and Hunters Creek is NO exception.

 

Hunters Creek is right on the border of Orange and Osceola Counties,
convieniently located near Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World and
downtown Orlando. Routes 528, and 417 are just a minute or so away,
so you can get ANYWHERE in central Florida FAST!

 

This is a community that prides itself on excellence and professionalism,
from the landscaped medians with palm trees and flowers, to the types of
businesses in the area:

• Target Retail Super Center
• Publix Grocery store
• The Loop and The Loop West with all upscale retailers
• Numerous casual and some fine dining restaurants

Hunter Creek schools are consistently ranked at or near the
top of the scoring system for Florida schools. You know your
children will be getting a GREAT education when they attend
schools in the Hunters Creek area.

 

This post about Hunters Creek real estate
for sale is brought to you by:

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
The Knights Team Sales Leader

Beach and Luxury Realty Inc.

 

 

 

 

View Baldwin Park near downtown Orlando Florida in a larger map

Here is the Baldwin Park market report.

• There are 153 properties available in the Baldwin Park
  market area....DOWN from 170 properties last month!
• The high asking price is $5,244,000, which is the same
  price for the exact same georgeous 7300 square foot
  estate home as last month.
• The low asking price is $176,900 a WHOPPING DROP of
  $78,000 from the previous low of $255,000!!!
• There are 28 homes in special circumstances: These
  include being bank owned, in foreclosure, in pre-foreclosure,
  having an assumable mortgage, the owner will consider
  financing, the owner will pay closing costs, sold as-is, or
  the property is a fixer upper.

 

Baldwin Park has come a LONG way from when it was
a military installation. When the base was closed down in
1999, investors took over and the result is QUITE a transformation!

Downtown Orlando is just 2 minutes away and the Orlando
International Airport is 8 miles away. You will spend MINUTES,
not a half an hour or more driving to go dancing, shopping, out
to a picnic, the ballet or an Orlando Magic basketball game. There
is easy access to highway Interstate 4, Route 408 or Route 417
to get you anywhere you want to travel.

The Baldwin Park Community Network provides owners access to a
business directory, resident directory, calendar of Property Owners
Association events and parties, developer updates, club information,
current neighborhood news, classifieds, a photo gallery plus links to
recreation, shopping and others areas of interest.

Clubs in Baldwin Park currently include a Maj Jong & Canasta Club,
Sand Volleyball Team, Aviation Club, Book Club, Walking Club and more.
All clubs and organizations are sponsored by residents.

 

 

There are four major parks and recreational facilities in Baldwin Park:

• Cady Way Trail is a very well-known jogging and bike trail in central Florida that has over 50 miles of walking paths with benches and tranquil rest areas alongs its route.
• Blue Jacket Park, a 55-acre City of Orlando park, sports lighted baseball fields and concession stand, a track and field complex,tennis courts,  picnic areas with covered pavilions, two children's playgrounds, basketball courts, a great lawn for soccer and field games, fountain plaza and grand stairs. Reservations are made through the City.
• Enders Park is a recreation center for residents only that offers a state-of-the-art fitness room, a community gathering room, large pool and kiddie pool, playground and much, much more. Swimming lessons and fitness classes such as Pilates and yoga are available. This facility is access-controlled.
• Grace Hopper Hall is another beautiful residents-only recreational
  facility that offers many of the same features as Enders Park. Grace
  Hopper Hall is access-controlled and also home to the Property Owners
  Association office.

 

 

Not only are the community features excellent, but so are the schools!

• The Winter Park High School campus borders Baldwin Park.
• Audubon Park Elementary School is now located within the neighborhood.
• Glenridge Middle School borders Blue Jacket Park and is just a short walk for many residents.
  
• Excellent private schools are nearby, as are esteemed Rollins College in Winter Park and the University of Central Florida.

 

  

Here are some recent news articles and press releases about Baldwin Park:

• TenUnited Wins Top National Award for Baldwin Park 
  
• Medical offices also call Baldwin Park home 
• Baldwin Park Home To Nine Parade of Homes Winners  
• Baldwin Park's Landscape Architect Wins Award  
  
• Baldwin Park is #1 in the Top 10 Urban Areas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Baldwin Park Community information
and market update is brought to you by:

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
The Knights Team Sales Leader

Beach and Luxury Realty Inc.

 

 

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For the last two months, the central Florida real estate
market has been SMOKING!!

• Sales in Osceola County jumped 47.26% in
  October 2008 compared to October 2007
• Last month, the comparison increase was 
  a whopping 77.38% for Osceola County.
• Throughout the entire central Florida area,
  Orlando Regional Realtor® Association
  members were involved in the sale of 10%
  more homes in October of this year than
  in October 2007: 1,199 to 1,090.
• Here is ANOTHER AWESOME FACT ==> Median
  sales prices of homes sold in October declined
  by over 24% to $178,000 when compared with
  October 2007's $235,000 median price.

• The number of pending sales, considered to
  be a reliable predicator of future sales activity,
  continued its upward trend to 3,316 transactions.

• There are over 72% more homes under contract
  this month than compared to October last year 
  (1,923), and those expected closings are
  anticipated to continue shortening the current
  year-to-date sales gap of -16% by years end.

• There are currently 24,657 homes available for
  purchase through the Orlando Florida area MLS.
  Inventory decreased by 33 homes from October.
  Compared to last year, the October 2008 inventory level is over 6% lower than it was in October 2007 (26,330).

• Altogether, inventory months-of-supply has declined a WHOPPING 65% since January 2008.

• Sales of existing homes within the central Florida real estate market (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in October were up by over 15% when compared to October 2007.

 

So, what does all this GOOD news mean?

• Decreasing prices of homes on the market!
• Increasing sales from people buying GREAT deals!
• Lower inventory of homes for sale in the central Florida area.
• Lower time to sell for homes just coming on the market.

 

You put it together....to me it means it is TIME
to purchase a central Florida home!

 

This post about the central Florida real estate
market and its trends is brought to you by:

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
The Knights Team Sales Leader

Beach and Luxury Realty Inc.

 

Here I am again to give you the ending of my
"ordeal" with my cars starter, which gave out on
me before I began my trip to work at Perkins
Restaurant and Bakery last week.

You can read what happened in the beginning of my "ordeal" at this link:

Christianity and Real Estate --- What do PROBLEMS do...THEY HELP US!!

 

 

 

 

 

After everything that happened as reported in the
above mentioned post, I got home with my new
starter for the car and later that day I proceeded
to remove the old starter and install the new one.

A year earlier I had another new starter put into
the car, but unbeknown to me, the fuel filter was
partially clogged and giving the starter more trouble
than it needed to start the car. As the cars starting
got harder and harder (more than a second or two
of cranking to start) I just figured the cars engine
was getting old, since I was giving it periodic oil
changes.

 

The car was now 20 years old at this point and
had achieved the venerable standing of "Antique". The car was now worth 3 TIMES what I paid for it, which was a reason to thank the Lord!!

Now, when the first starter had been put into the car,the church choir member who did it tightened those bolts a LOT!! As I put the ratchet wrench onto the first bolt holding the old starter onto the car, I remembered how much the brother had strained to tighten those bolts and I prayed I had the strength to loosen those bolts.

The Lord spoke to me while I was under the car........

"Do NOT worry about getting this part to your car
changed, I will provide a way to make it happen,
and you will GLORIFY ME in the doing of it."

 

I sighed after straining on the bolt....... it did NOT budge an inch......

The Lord reminded me.....

"Did I not tell you this part
to the car would be taken care of ? "

I reminded myself that our Creator does NOT
speak WITHOUT following through with what
He says is going to happen. What He says
He will do, He PREFORMS! THAT is our Lords
REPUTATION to us and to the WHOLE WORLD.

I fought with myself for a while...and proceeded
to get a phone number to a mechanic my landlord
knows, but I did NOT know him and the Lord was
guiding me to ask people at work to see if someone
would do this loosening of the bolts and change
out the starter, since I obviously could NOT unloosen
those bolts my church choir brother tightened a
year ago.

Using my room mates car, I went to work
after having my car in the garage sitting for 2 days.

I talked to everyone at work I saw about what had
happened and why I was not at work the last time
I was scheduled to be there.

I spoke to our busboy/dishwasher about this also.

He said, "I can do it..I can change out your starter
for you."

Now, this man is a Christian and we have fun talking
about things while we are at work. I NOW know why
the Lord caused this to happen:

This man has done a LOT of work for people -- fixing
cars, etc. and has been taken advantage of by a
LOT of people. I will NOT be one of those people.

I want the Lord to let this man know I am NOT like
others by treating him with RESPECT and appreciating
him for what he has done for me. Of course actions
speak louder than words!!

I find I have to wait another 2 days for him to come
over to my house and get that starter taken care of.

NOW it has been 4 days since my car has been sitting
in the garage...almost like Lazarus' 4 days in the tomb!

After guiding my buddy by cellphone as he drove to
the home where I live, together we got the old starter
out and the new one installed.

While I had a couple of days off from work I helped
my landlord purchase a new (used) dryer for the one
that died while my car sat in the garage..... WHAT
timing, hmm? AND I made out a legally binding
document for my landlord that stated if anything
was wrong with the dryer, it could be given back to
the old owner and my landlord could get the money back for it.

I then installed the power cord to the dryer for my
landlord...apparently the old owner sold this dryer
because one of the power cord wires plastic holding
parts was broken and his wife did not want the wire to
touch any other wires and spark a fire...so my
landlord got a GREAT Whirlpool dryer for a song!

The old owner had told us his wife was VERY happy with their new washer and dryer, so I surmised that is why he was selling them, hehehehe....

 

I simply used electrical tape to insulate the loose wire so it would be SAFE to use for us!

 

The landlord is interested in doing business with me
in the future...can you see why?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put this all together and GOD got
the glory for this whole "ordeal" !!

("ALL things work TOGETHER for
GOOD to those who LOVE God and
ARE CALLED according to HIS purposes")

Is God AWESOME or what??

 

YOU BET HE IS!!

 

 

 

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
The Knights Team Sales Leader

Beach and Luxury Realty Inc.

Founder of "Christianity and Real Estate"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello there!

After getting every single shred of information
on the models/prices/styles/options available
from Mercedes Homes, the first couple of
webpages are now put together for the inventory
of real estate they have to offer in Orlando and
central Florida.

It is The Knights Team policy to give a 1% REBATE
on new construction purchase price of homes when
we represent Orlando and central Florida home buyers.

You will WANT to come to US when purchasing your
new home in central Florida or in the Orlando
area. We will SAVE YOU MONEY on your real estate!

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Here are the new links to our webpages for Mercedes
Homes Orlando and Central Florida real estate
inventory:

1. Our Partnership with Mercedes Homes
2. Mercedes Homes Orlando and central
   Florida real estate inventory

 

This is a website work in progress! You will see
right now homes priced from about $190,000 to
about $245,000.

___________________________________________________

 

These model home floorplans listed through those
links are in Shingle Creek Reserve, near the shores
of Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Florida.

Some of the features include:

• Lake access and view 
• Community Golf Course
• Conservation Areas
• Boat Basin

Amenities include: 

• Boat Ramp
• Community Boat Lift to Shingle Creek
• Playground
• Fishing Dock

 

 

There is MORE to come, STAY TUNED!!

 

 

This notice about Mercedes
Homes real estate in Orlando
and central Florida real estate
was brought to you by:

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
The Knights Team Sales Lleader

Beach and Luxury Realty Inc.