Joanne Tarantino's (joannetarantino) Blog

Last week while taking a morning bike ride along Smathers Beach there was a red inflatable type raft at the foot of Bertha St and another blue one at the foot of the White St. pier. Both of these looked to be      "chugs", which are a primitive makeshift handmade vessels used to transport Cubans ...

Finally! You found the perfect home! Now how much do you offer? As a professional Realtor there are a few main things I advise all of my clients to consider while making this decision.  Your first consideration should be "Am I in my mortgage range?" You want to make sure your offer is within this...

This week it felt like summer in the Keys. The temperatures are in the 80’s and the humidity is up too. As much as I am a hold out and love fresh air I am sorry to say even though it seems too early in the year it was time to crank up the a/c. This year our 1997 unit didn’t crank up and the repa...

In Key West as well as the rest of the nation more buyers are paying cash for real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors nation wide 28% of all sales in 2010 were cash sales.  In 2008 it was only 14%. Additionally it seems that areas that have been hit hardest by the down turn...

A pleasant surprise to boaters after Hurricane Wilma was the creation of a new little island with sugar white beaches off of Boca Grand that apply become know as Wilma Key. Four years later after currents, winds and the shifting of sand Wilma is almost gone As we approach the end of the year it i...

I just attended a seminar to help Key West Realtors under stand the new residential real estate purchase contracts. These are the forms approved by the Florida Bar Association and the Florida Association of Realtors which allow Realtors to put together transaction agreements without the help of a...

    Bone Island throws the dogs a bone.  Dogs are almost allowed back into the Key West restaurants and bars. Certain establishments like Schooner Warf Bar and Blue Heaven have allowed dogs for years unitl it was realized that we needed a local ordinance on the books for the State to allow it to ...

What bothers me more is when and agent puts no interior photos in because it's a dump.  We all get our share of trashy homes why not be upfront about it.    If a buyer is looking for something immaculate and in pristine condition why are you wasting everyones time keeping the condition a secret.M...

The story is common all over Key West in the down turn of our economy.  An investor owns a condo or townhouse, they owe more on the property then it is worth so they stop making payments.  In the following years that it takes to foreclose the property is rented and the owner continues to collect ...

It was recently announced that one of the premier real estate developments in Key West has just done a dramatic price reduction on their units.  These beautiful luxury town houses are truly unique, in the heart of Old Town and with wonderful water views.   The former City Electric Plant had been...