Design Lines – Modern Design By Pamela Hughes There is lots of talk and awareness of “Modern Design” today, so for this month’s column I thought it might be interesting to explore the history of how this design style evolved. Sarasota is a place known for its Modern Design heritage, and in fact, has numerous wonderful examples of this design dialect, which we will delve into in a future column. So, let’s look at a bit of history first. Design is all around us, whether we are aware of it or not. Any time a human being has applied paint […]
Habitat For Humanity – Myths And Facts By Renee Snyder Take a moment and learn the true facts about Habitat for Humanity. You’ll be surprised at the misconceptions you may have. MYTH: Habitat gives away homes to welfare recipients and poor people. FACT: Applicants must have sufficient income to pay mortgage payments of approximately $650 monthly, not to exceed 30% of their take-home pay, and have an acceptable credit record and payment history. They also have to make a down payment of $2,000 and contribute 300-500 hours of “sweat equity” on the construction of their home or another Habitat home. […]
It’s Alignment, Not Your Swing By Golf Pro Nick Arthur Have you ever hit a golf shot that you thought should be perfect, however it ends up going in a different direction from what you intended? This could be an alignment issue rather than a swing issue. Proper alignment is one of the most important fundamentals in golf, yet it is one of the most overlooked. To correct an alignment issue you must first understand the proper alignment points. The first point is your target line. The target line is the direction in which the golf ball is intended to […]
Manasota Key, A Natural Choice By Catherine Seress Dawn on a misty May morning and I cannot sleep. I roll out of bed, determined to go walk the beach in the early morning light and look for shark’s teeth. Instead of choosing Manasota Beach, closest to my house, I choose Blind Pass, halfway down the Key and the middle of the 3 Manasota Key public beaches. I had heard recently that Blind Pass was the best for shark’s teeth. I don’t find shark’s teeth; instead I find Fred from Maine, a member of the Mangrove Coast fly fishing group, out […]
Tips For International Buyers Of Real Estate By Patricia Tan In recent weeks I have worked with people from several countries who purchased homes here. Their motivations to purchase a property were different, the kind of homes they preferred were diverse, and their budgets varied widely. The buyers also came from different parts of the world, so there were cultural and language considerations when dealing with them too. However, it did strike me that there were many similarities in the questions they asked and the amount of information they required before they felt comfortable making a decision to purchase property […]
Don’t Let Them Practice On Your Home By Robbie Brown How true? I believe all of us, at one time or another, has experienced paying a so called professional for work that we are far from being satisfied with. Some have even fallen victim to home scams! Over the years as a consultant/builder/roofer, I spend more and more time trying to teach people “How not to get ripped off in Florida”. So what steps can a home owner or business owner take to assure his or her selection of a contractor is the right selection? Here are some steps in […]
Design Lines – Buying Art By Pamela Hughes In a column a few months ago, I wrote about the art of framing. Now, after spending a few weeks searching the art markets for clients, it seems appropriate to write about the selection and purchasing of art. The phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” is never as true as it is with art. Even educated and totally knowledgeable art critics can have different views on a particular piece of art. Sometimes art is selected because the viewer sees it as pleasant, calming, beautiful, technically well-produced, shocking, avant-garde, valuable, […]
Increase Sales With Underused Loan Products By C.J. Coury With the tightening of mortgage loan underwriting criteria we have experienced a much higher percentage of cash buyers than at any time since the creation of Fannie Mae. This phenomenon will continue to forestall the housing recovery for months to come unless we work harder to find ways to provide financing to those buyers who do not have the ability to pay cash. One way to help combat the effects of the increased difficulty in obtaining financing is to look beyond the standard mortgage loan products to some of the less […]
Go Global – Citizens of the World… Bridging The Cultural Divide By Patricia Tan I recently returned from marketing trips to the United Kingdom and China – two very different countries and cultures, I think you will agree. In the many hours of plane-sitting I endured, I had time to reflect upon the ways in which we work to bridge the divide that different cultures and languages often bring to us in international business situations. “Two nations separated by a common language” is how George Bernard Shaw described the U.S.A. and U.K. It is easy to assume that, as we […]
Developing Better Balance During Your Golf Swing By Chad Jones What is balance, and why is it important to the golf swing? According to experts at the Titleist Performance Institute, balance is one of the key physical factors needed to produce an efficient golf swing. Balance is the ability of the human neuromuscular system to maintain proper alignment, posture, center of gravity, and coordination. Throughout the golf swing, a golfer must maintain the proper spine angle, transfer power and coordinate movements. In order to do this properly, a golfer is required to maintain balance of the body and control the […]
Mortgage Shopping 101 – Making Sense of the Mortgage Market By Jim Soda Shopping for a mortgage can be time-consuming and difficult for homebuyers, especially in today’s market where many buyers don’t know where to begin. The Federal Reserve Board has put together the following tips so that you can make sense of the mortgage market and be sure you are getting the mortgage that is right for you. 1. Know what you can afford. Review your monthly spending plan to estimate what you can afford to pay for a home, including the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and monthly maintenance […]
Design Lines – Embellished Surfaces By Pamela Hughes It is amazing how intertwined art is with design. The two words are almost synonymous. In previous columns, I’ve written about buying art and how to frame it, and we have had numerous columns about various facets of design. In this column, I’d like to write about having art actually created on the surface of our interiors: truly blending art with design. We have long been an admirer and proponent of painted surfaces and have often used artists and craftsmen to embellish limited surfaces of a home. Like most things, if overdone, […]
View From The Top: Passion And Excellence By Robbie Brown Can anyone really say they set out from the start to be mediocre? I mean how many stories do you hear or read about where the contractor or skilled professional has left such a mess for a home owner that regulatory boards and legal entities have stepped in. I understand the different budgeting involved in low income and high income projects, but as a skilled craftsman couldn’t a builder say “I built that house to the best of my ability with attention to detail.” Since 1980 Anmar Builders/Green Roofing Technologies […]
Will The New FHA Short Refinance Program Help Stem The Foreclosure Tide? By C. J. Coury Many of you have asked me what I expect the market impact to be of the newly released government program that calls for some principal reduction on the part of the lender. This is the FHA Short Refinance Program and here are the highlights of it: Program dates are 9/7/2010 to 12/31/2012 Borrower must owe more on their first mortgage than the property is worth Program is for primary residence occupancy only Mortgage being refinanced must be current Borrower’s […]
Go Global International Buyers By The Numbers By Patricia Tan Regular readers will be familiar with my fascination with numbers and statistics. As a real estate professional working to bring overseas investors, immigrants, retirees and part time residents to Florida I am always interested in statistics about international buyers in our market. I had occasion recently to revisit a report published by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) earlier this year, and thought I would share some of their findings here. The Profile of International Home Buyers in Florida is the result of research carried out by the NAR on […]
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
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