The Real Benefits of Getting a Home Inspection for your Westchase Home   You will never be able to avoid this advice when buying a new home: Get a home-inspection! Is it really that important to get a home-inspection? Whether you are buying a newly constructed home or are including your house in the listings of Westchase homes for sale, getting a home-inspection will probably be the one of the best decisions you will ever make in your life. Buying a new home is an exciting experience yet it may be burdensome at some point because of doubts that will fill your mind when you are about to do a purchase. Home-inspections take out the doubt and prevent you from unnecessary worry wondering about the home. You will appreciate it more once you know the real benefits of having one. For the buyer... 08/04/2014

It's never been a better time to buy a home!  Who says so? Well, among others Freddie Mac, short for The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation which is a GSE (government sponsord enterprise) created by the United States Congress. Why it's never been a better time to buy a home is illustrated in this chart issued by Freddie Mac showing how the cost of a $100,000 loan has decreased over the past 10 years.   Many people are comparing today's housing market to the market in 2003 because prices are roughly the same! But there is one big difference!  The COST of a home is now 28% cheaper today than in 2003 and here is why! This chart shows the monthly principle and interest payment per $100k borrowed today compared to 2003, the payment today is only $443, versus $609 in 2003, which is 28% le... 03/02/2013

Coming to Westchase in Feb 2013 - Forgotten Pets, a fund raiser for animals that have been left in pet shelters and with rescue groups throughout the Tampa Bay region. Sponsored by St. Francis Society and Icon Realtors, the event will be held to give attention to the forgotten pets of Tampa Bay with a fund raising walk in the Westchase Town Center. Along with Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Service I will be attending both as a sponsor and as a Captain of a fund raising group to help our own stray and rescues pets, as well as those sponsored by St. Francis Society and other deserving rescue organizations throughout Tampa Bay. 11/05/2012

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  I am currently fostering him in Westchase and this wonderful boy needs a permanent home- please spread the word and find it in your heart to adopt this amazing boy. His profile is at http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21752030   01/05/2012

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Flash back to 1973, senior year of high school and a book I was required to read, "A Hero ain't nothin but a Sandwich", about a young boy living in the inner city.  Why I thought of this book specifically and at this time I am not sure, because if yesterday you had asked me about it I probably wouldn't have remembered it.  1973 was quite a few years ago. But the book suddenly came to mind while watching the news on television and seeing the ceremony where Marine Cpl Dakota L. Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan two years ago while saving the lives of 36 US and Afghan soldiers.  He is the first "living" Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, so you can see it usually comes at a great sacrifice. Later, in the same newscast, was an updat... 09/16/2011

That was the headline in the "local" section of yesterdays St. Pete Times Newspaper, and then today the following headline appeared in MSN News from Realty Trac "Foreclosure Activity Increases 7%...". Is this Armageddon; the beginning of the end or just the inevitable result of the current market and actually the solution to the current housing market. I know in my market area here in Tampa Bay that on nearly every residential street I drive there is going to be at least one home on average that has had at least a "Lis Pendens" filed in county court indicating the owner is delinquent on their mortgage.  Some were filed last month and others were filed months and in some cases years ago.  But, because of our "robo signing" fiasco and the closing of three of the major law firms handling f... 09/15/2011

I don't know how many store's have these self checkout lanes, while it may be some what of a cost savings for the store, it doesn't really seem to speed up my checkout time. The only store that I go to regularly that uses them is my local Lowe's Home Improvement Center, just outside of Westchase at the corner of Race Track Road and Hillsborough.  They have a section set up where there are four self checkout stands together and "usually" a clerk to assist customers who may have trouble making their purchase.  Invariably I find myself needing assistance or if there is no one else using the stands, having the attendant complete my purchase with their hand scanner for a quicker checkout time. Tonight I stopped by because I needed one (1) PVC cap to plug a section of my sprinkler system whil... 09/14/2011

Westchase Elementary is the primary elementary school for the master planned community of Westchase, located in northwest Hillsborough County.  The school is situated on Linebaugh Avenue, to the west of Sheldon Road.     While many students are still bused, this years school budget constraints have forced some children that live within close proximity to the school to walk for the first time since Westchase Elementary opened in 1999.  While a few may actually be walking, judging from the number of cars in line to drop off or pickup after school, many more parents are choosing to drive their children to school. With this in mind, having access to the school calender will definitely be helpful for planning purposes as the school year is already at it's first major holiday, Labor Day, less... 09/04/2011

While I do not have children and thus never had to be directly concerned with schools and their locations, working as a Realtor requires me to keep up with the basic functions of the Hillsborough County School District and in particular those that are within my market area.     Deer Park Elementary is the current assigned elementary school for children in my neighborhood of Twin Branch Acres, it's located at the current dead end of Citrus Park Drive.  While this makes for a very quiet and out of the way location, the eventual connection through to Citrus Park Drive in front of the Citrus Park Mall will lead to increased traffic.  Fortunately, this is years into the future and will not have any immediate impact. Although the current school year has barely begun, the school calender is a ... 09/04/2011

Earlier today I was reading a blog post on Trulia written by their resident blogger Tara titled 4 Buyer Incentives that Sell Homes.  I like her blog and can generally pickup useful ideas to help my business, just as I do here on AR.  The 4 buyer Incentives that she mentions are: 1. Offering an interest rate buy down 2. Kicking in a closing cost credit 3. Paying HOA dues for up to a year or more 4. Providing a Broker Incentive All of these are good ideas and certainly may entice some buyers to choose a particular home over another and obviously the last incentive will probably encourage some/many agents to put a particular home on a showing list. But are any of them individually or collectively enough to make one home seem to provide more value than another in the eyes of a buyer. In my ... 09/03/2011

The Greater Tampa real estate market saw a minor reversal in the relative supply of homes for the month of June 2011. Relative supply is measured in terms of months of supply when measured against the current rate of demand.   The following real estate supply and demand graph shows that the Tampa MLS currently has just under 8 months of supply, which is still a buyer’s market. Most real estate professionals identify a balanced market (a market at equilibrium) when the relative supply of homes for sale falls between 5 and 6 months.   Tampa Real Estate Supply And Demand July 2011     In the real estate graph above, the one-year trend of home sales is shown in green, the current supply of homes for sale is shown in red, and the resulting relative supply is shown in purple and measured on t... 08/02/2011

Come see some impressive  Hannah Bartoletta  homes in Harbor Links of Westchase. Westchase is a masterplanned community in the northwestern section of Tampa. Westchase is conveniently located less than 15 minutes from Tampa International Airport. Westchase is easy to access via Veteran's Expressway, Linebaugh or Race Track Road. Westchase is just 20 minutes from Downtown Tampa and 30 minutes to MacDill and just minutes to the Pinellas border.  Westchase is also a quick commute to Tampa International Airport, Raymond James Stadium, The Ice Palace, Lowry Park Zoo, Busch Gardens, The Florida Aquarium, and Tampa's Performing Arts Center. It is also minutes from a number of golf courses, as well as Tampa BayDowns, and the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.  Nearby schools are Deerpark Elementary, Fa... 06/20/2011

Great 3 bedroom 2 bath home with pond in back yard. Kitchen boasts granite countertops, solid wood cabinets, under cabinet lighting, stainless steel appliances and tile floors. Living Room and Dining Room have beautiful hardwood floors and high ceilings. Guest Bathroom has been newly upgraded with granite vanity and glass sink. Great entertaining space with screened in lanai, BBQ and pond views! Alyssa D Tsias McBride Kelly & Associates 813-777-7343 atsias@live.com 06/09/2011

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