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Savannah: Worlds away from Palm Harbor

Why a post about Savannah, Ga., when this is a blog about Pinellas County real estate? 

Excellent question.

The thing is, every once in a while it feels good to get away from Palm Harbor real estate and take a look at real estate in some other locale — hopefully one that has a great selection of restaurants.

So last weekend we decided to take a few days off and head for Savannah. We drove up on New Year’s Day and came back three days later. We took the Paula Deen tour, ate dinner in her restaurant, took a long walk through the historic district, had some heavenly ice cream at Leopold’s (an ice cream shop founded almost 100 years ago) and just generally had a wonderful time in spite of overnight temperatures in the 20s.

Once nice thing about living in Pinellas County is that we are a day’s ride or less from some great getaway spots — Miami and the Keys to the south, Orlando and St. Augustine to the east, Atlanta and the Georgia mountains to the north, to name a few.

We don’t take advantage of all that near enough. Maybe this year we will.

Tags: Palm Harbor, pinellas county, real estate, Savannah

Pinellas County is #57 when it comes to water quality

We’re Number 57! We’re Number 57!

Okay, I’m not really sure this is something to rejoice over, but Pinellas County was recently ranked 57th in terms of the quality of its drinking water.

Let me explain.

An organization called the Environmental Working Group recently looked at the quality of tap water in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. It measured all that water for such pollutants as herbicides, factory solvents, radium, arsenic, and cyanide — more than 300 substances in all.
Miami-Dade’s water utility was the best in Florida, ranked 46th on the nationwife list of 100; Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood and four other Broward County utilities logged only a few violations.

Pinellas County was ranked 57th, Hillsborough County 65th, Tampa Water Department 68th, and Orlando Utilities Commission was 81st.

Pensacola made the list, but was last at Number 100. 

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says water users in Pensacola shouldn’t worry — overall, Florida has very high-quality drinking water.

Personally, I’d rank Florida very high when it comes to taste.  The worst water I’ve tasted was in Iowa, and the next-worst was in Southern California. In both places, you really don’t want to drink the water out of the tap.

Tags: Palm Harbor, real estate, water

Farmers’ Market in Palm Harbor

Fruit and veggie vendor's stand at the Palm Harbor Farmers' market

If you are a fan of local farmers’ markets, you should know that Palm Harbor hosts a very nice little farmers’ market on the grounds of the  North Pinellas Historical Museum at the corner of Belcher and Curlew Road.

This area has a number of good farmers’ markets that are fun to attend.  The one in Dunedin is a good-sized market, and Clearwater has a somewhat smaller one.  I haven’t been to the farmers’ market in St. Petersburg, but it’s supposed to be terrific.

But anyway, back to the Palm Harbor market; it happens every Sunday at the museum, and vendors are on hand from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This past Sunday there was a fruit and vegetable stand, a fellow selling very good-looking fresh fish, a woman selling handmade hats, a could of sandwich vendors and several others.  I mostly just nosed around, but I did buy some bananas and some really nice-looking red grapes.

I’ve written about the Dunedin and Clearwater farmers’ markets in the past — you may want to scroll back a few pages and look those over.  It’s nice to have one in Palm Harbor, and you can combine your visit with a tour of the North Pinellas Historical Museum.

Tags: farmer's market, Palm Harbor

Got your eye on a new Palm Harbor home? Don’t drag your feet.

I just sold a house to a couple who had been working with me since last November.  That’s right, it took them a full year to find the house they wanted to buy.

Were these people unusually picky, or were their requirements so specific that the right house simply wasn’t available for a really long time?  I would say “no” to both counts; I think they just wanted to be very careful in what they considered a very volatile market.  They wanted to make sure they didn’t pay too much in case the real estate market continued to free-fall, and they wanted to be sure they didn’t end up with a house that was going to cost a lot to upgrade.

This couple looked very actively during the past year, and they actually made offers on several houses. But if the negotiations on those houses began to bog down, or if the sellers didn’t act like they wanted to significantly drop their prices (and do so quickly), these people would back away.

I think their attitude was exactly the opposite of buyer attitudes two or three years ago, when buyers thought they had to act very swiftly in order to get the home they wanted. Now, caution rules the day for buyers, along with low-ball offers. I don’t think the low offers come so much from a desire to play hardball as from a fear of paying too much in a market where prices may have a way to go before hitting bottom.

The point of all this is the new first-time homebuyer tax credit, which the Congress just recently passed. This new tax credit offers an $8,000 tax credit to first-time homebuyers, and a credit of $6,500 to repeat buyers. That credit for repeat buyers MIGHT entice some move-up buyers to come back into the market, which has mostly been dominated by first-time buyers.

The original tax credit, which was launched last spring and which was to run only through the end of November, made home ownership possible for many first-time buyers. This new version continues to offer that, while also offering a tidy tax credit to people who are NOT first-timers.

But here’s the bad part (and the reason why I started out by talking about those buyers who took a full year to find a home they wanted to buy); this new tax credit is authorized only through April – buyers have to have a binding contract in place by April 30, 2010.

If you think your home search may take a number of months, you’d better get started now. April will be here before you know it.

Tags: first time home buyer, Palm Harbor, real estate, tax credit

22nd Annual Veterans Day observances at Curlew Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor

For the 22nd straight year, Curlew Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor hosted a Veterans Day service .

The program began at around 9:30 a.m. A piper played the bagpipes, a choir from St. Alfred’s Episcopal Church sang to the accompaniment of a keyboard player, and an honor guard presented the colors. There was a threat of rain during the early morning hours, but the sun came out just in time for the service.

Remarks were delivered by Gunnery Sergeant Nathaniel Garcia, a Marine stationed at U.S. Central Command in Tampa.  The ceremony was concluded with taps played by Ron Ashley of the Marine Corps League’s Morris F. Dixon Chapter #54.

A contigent from the Palm Harbor Fire department was also on hand for the ceremonies.

The event was open to the public.

A number of other ceremonies and remembrances were held throughout the Tampa Bay area, as well.  perhaps the largest was at Bay Pines, the Veterans Administration facility in mid-county. A year ago, my husband wrote about the Memorial Day ceremonies at Bay Pines and about finding the grave of an old friend. You can find that post elsewhere on this blog.

Tags: Palm Harbor, real estate, veterans day

Fourth of July in Dunedin and Palm Harbor

People everywhere have their own favorite ways of celebrating the Fourth of July, just as they have special ways of observing every holiday. In Tampa Bay, we have parades and cookouts and fireworks displays like everywhere else, but people around here love to celebrate just about everything by getting on (or near) the water.

We spent a little time this morning poking around some of the favorite beach spots in Palm Harbor and Dunedin, just to see what people were doing.  Sure enough, the beachs were jammed with people, and the nearby waters were loaded with watercraft of all kinds.

Most of these picture were taken on the Dunedin Causeway, which runs from the mainland out to Honeymoon Island. There’s also a ferry that runs from Honeymoon Island out to Caladesi Island, which we wrote about recently as being the nation’s very best beach, at least in the opinion of at least one person who makes such nominations.

We also took a picture of what we believe is the largest American flag in all of Pinellas County — it flies over an auto dealership on US19. If you know of a flag bigger than this one, which is supposed to be just a little bit smaller than the size of a tennis court, we hope you will let us know.

We hope you are having a great Fourth of July, wherever you may be.

Flags at the entrance to Harbor View subdivision, Dunedin

Tags: Dunedin, fourth of july, Palm Harbor

New data indicates declines in Tampa Bay home values may be slowing

Are we finally starting to see some stabilization in the value of homes in Pinellas County? According to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the answer might be yes.

According to Index data released yesterday, home prices in Tampa Bay fell 0.7 percent from April to May. That works out to an annual rate of 8.4 percent – the lowest rate in quite a while.  Just two months previously, the 30-day decline was 2.7 percent, which translates to an annual rateof decline of 32.4 percent.

The Index said the annual decline of home values from April 2008 to April 2009 was 21.3 percent, the seventh-worse performance among the 20 cities that the index tracks. The worst was Phoenix, which recorded a home value decline of 35.3 percent.

Here is why real estate agents and others are watching these statistics: What we have been seeing for some time now is a steady increase in the number of home sales in Tampa Bay, accompanied by an equally steady decline in sales prices. The increase in sales has contributed to a decline in the home inventory in the Multiple Listing Service, which is good; but home prices have been continually forced down, due in part to foreclosures and distressed sales.

These trends have made us wonder just where the bottom of the market is in terms of home values. These new figures from Case-Shiller may help us find that answer. Of course, it is only one month; and other variables such as higher mortgage interest rates could slow sales and depress home values all over again.

If you would like to see the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index data for yourself, go here.

Tags: home valies, Palm Harbor, pinellas county, Tampa Bay

Palm Harbor is home to Your Claim to Frame

Don Hurt, YOUR CLAIM TO FRAME

We’ve written a number of times before about Old Palm Harbor and the things that go on there, from art shows to special events to the great food available in the local restaurants.

But any discussion about the old downtown area of Palm Harbor wouldn’t be complete without at least a mention of Your Claim to Frame, one of the long-time businesses that anchor the old downtown area.

Don Hurt started his framing business in 1979 in the Highland Lakes Shopping Center on US19, but in 1990 he relocated the business to downtown Palm Harbor, and it has been thriving there ever since, operating out of a tidy yellow building at 1210 Nebraska Ave.

This month marks the 30th anniversary of Your Claim to Frame.

Your Claim to Frame, downtown Palm Harbor

Don not only is known because of Your Claim to Frame; he also has been very active in community affairs and the local Chamber of Commerce. He takes a special interest in the Downtown Merchants Association.

We have a couple of connections to Don and Your Claim to Frame. For one thing, most of the art in our home has been framed by Your Claim to Frame, and we know first-hand that Don is a stickler for great work. And second, Don is a Harley Davidson enthusiast, just as we are.

Your Claim to Frame is one of Palm Harbor’s best businesses, and Don always seems to have time for some friendly conversation. Stop in sometime and say hello, or call 727-784-0708.

Tags: don hurt, Palm Harbor, picture framing, your claim to frame

Annual Parrot Head party comes to downtown Palm Harbor

Parrothead crowd in Old Palm Harbor

Somewhere around 15,000 Parrotheads turned out in downtown Palm Harbor Saturday to chill out, sip a few cold ones, and enjoy the style of music made famous by the likes of Jimmy Buffet.

Jimmy himself didn’t show up, but the Carribbean Chillers did, and the Jimmy Buffet tribune band put out a Buffet-style sound that had the crowd up and dancing in the street.

Florida Avenue, downtown Palm Harbor’s main drag, was blocked off for the day-long program, which started at around 2 p.m. amd went deep into the night.

As you might expect, there were plenty of loud shirts, parrot headresses and fat cigars. And the beer flowed, as you would expect from a crowd like this and an event sponsored in large part by Budweiser.

More than 30 vendors were on hand, selling everything from food items to t-shirts to parrot-themed products of one kind or another.

The event, officially known as the Palm Harbor Parrot Head Party, is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Old Palm Harbor Main Street, the group of downtown merchants and others who promote the historic district near Alt. 19.

It has grown every year for the past several years, which makes the sponsors happy in spite of the fact that sponsorship costs have gone up steeply as it becomes more difficult in a slow economy to find people to put up sponsorship dollars.

This was the eighth annual Parrot Head party in downtown Palm Harbor. See more pictures here.

Tags: Palm Harbor, parrothead, real estate

Tax credit money available UP FRONT — right here in Pinellas County

I’ve written on the blog several times about the $8,000 federal tax credit. Now, the federal government has tinkered with it to make that $8,000 more useable in the form of cash that can be used up-front for down payments.

The tax credit, which is available to first-time homebuyers through Nov. 30, provides up to $8,000. The money becomes available in the following year, when the buyer files his or her tax return.

And that has been the problem.  Most buyers need the $8,000 for the down payment or other up-front costs, but the money actually arrives later, not sooner.

Some states (including Florida) have taken the initiative to provide money that can be advanced or borrowed in time to use it for the down payment, then paid back later when the federal dollars actually arrive. The Florida Legislature just did that, providing a pool of a little more than $30 million that first-time homeowners can draw on in anticipation of the federal tax credit money.

Well, now the federal government has woken up to this issue. First time homebuyers who apply for financing that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration may be able to get cash advances or loans that will provide the tax credit money up front, in time to use for the down payment or closing costs.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says the idea is to “monetize” the tax credit, meaning that the government policy will now change to turn the tax credit into immediate cash money. That’s important, because the government estimates that half of all first-time home buyers, and maybe more than that, don’t possess enough money to cover the down payment on their new home; making that money available up-front could double the number of people able to buy a new home, according to the National Association of Homebuilders.

Here is how the FHA plan will work:

Approved lenders (that is, those lenders who have been approved to do business with the FHA) get authorized by the FHA to provide bridge loans at closing. Those bridge loans are secured
only by the tax credit. And government agencies and nonprofits will be authorized to offer bridge loans or second mortgages, financing that is secured by the value in the property being purchased.

Visit the HUD site at www.hud.gov to learn more. And get in touch with me at 727-643-7100 or at beth@bethfrederick.com – I can provide good professional counsel and advice on how to get and leverage the tax credit to your best advantage.  It’s a good idea to stop back frequently at www.pinellasnewsboy.com, also — as new tax credit developments happen, I’ll post them here.

Tags: Add new tag, Palm Harbor, pinellas county, tax credit