As always, its been a beautiful week in Mexico Beach Florida!

The MBARA Kingfish Tournament went off without a hitch last weekend. The captain's party was a huge success as always with pounds and pounds of grilled sausage straight from Louisiana. Half Hitch Tackle and Blue Water Outriggers as well other local businessess donated rods, reels, coolers, gift certificates, t-shirts and various other items as door prizes.

I honestly have no idea how many people attended but, IT WAS A LOT! It's always a good time for a good cause! The fishing started Saturday and although it was beautiful in the morning it got rather stormy in the afternoon. It, of course, didn't damper any of the fishing though. In fact, rain is always a welcome sight this time of year.

We had 170 boats registered. SunDance Realty is the official weighmaster and we weighed in lots of Kingfish, Spanish, and several Wahoo!

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The Mexico Beach CDC is one again sponsoring Music in the Park, every Thursday in September from 6-8:00 Central time. The concerts are at the city park next to the El Governor Hotel. What better way to spend a Thursday evening than at the beach listening to good music with friends and family.

Bring your chairs, your family and friends, a beverage, and even a picnic! Send me a quick email and I'll send you the schedule!

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If you are an animal lover (like me) you will want to attend the annual Bow Wow Bash in Port St. Joe the last weekend in September. There will be dog parades, pet look-a-like contests, and other dog related activities all day! Should be hilarious!!!!! There's even a dinner and dance for the humans that evening!Send me a quick email and I'll send you this flyer as well! (Let me know if the flyer does not show up here!)

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Now for the real estate news.
With all the media hype about how terrible the market is I thought I'd go back to some previous years and compare the stats. Below is a chart comparing the sales from 2001-2007. The statistics are from our local MLS system for each year from January to Sept.

Looking at the stats, things aren't as bad as they as they are portrayed. There are a few buyers who bought at the height of the market in 2005 who have lost some value if they planned on selling in the next year or so.

The majority of our buyers are people who buy as a 2nd/ vacation home and plan on using it until they can retire down here. These buyers, because it is a long term investment are fine!

Property values are now stabilizing and as you can see there is still a great appreciation rate for property in our area. The number of sales in 2007 has almost tripled from last year which tells me that those who can --- are!

As for the mortgage industry, they are back to lending to only those who can afford to pay the payments! I think that is a good thing. Those who have good credit will be able to secure financing at a good interest rate. If you need financing I can put you in touch with a great lender who is reliable, fast and requires very little paperwork!

As always, if you are interested in buying or selling anywhere from Mexico Beach to Port St. Joe to Carrabelle or even up to Wewahitchka give me a call or email. You can always check out my website which has not only my listings but all the properties on the market!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Foreclosures

I don't usually blog twice in one day but...........I have had several inquiries lately about foreclosures. I do know that foreclosures are on the rise nationwide, with Florida being #1 or2 on the list as the state with the highest rate. Up until now there have been very few foreclosures in our area. Many of the foreclosures in our area now are due to the fact that people bought at the height of the market with interest only loans with the intention of flipping and were basically CAUGHT! The problem with this is that the mortgage is now much more than the market value. The basic process of foreclosure (and I know there are experts out there, so don't hesitate to chime in!!) is.....a lien is filed----this could be many months after the owner has stopped making payments. That lien is recorded and could be many more months before it is auctioned off on the court house steps (I seen a property in pre-foreclosure for almost a year). If no one buys it at the courthouse steps then perhaps a bank will list it with a real estate company. The bank, of course,will try to get as much money out of it as they can. They will start off high and every several months reduce it a little. This process can take another several months. Foreclosures CAN be a great deal if you can get it for under market value----and believe me, I'm keeping my eyes out for such deals. However, all I have been seeing of late are those properties that are mortgaged out way above current market values!!!!

I honestly believe there are better deals out there right now--better than any foreclosed property that I can know of. The key to getting a good deal right now is making offers. Find a property that you want, figure out what you are willing to pay, and make an offer. If they turn you down, find another piece of property, make an offer------sooner or later a seller will accept your terms! I'm not saying to make an offer of $150,000 on a 350,000 house. But I am saying on a $299,000 beachside townhouse--A strong offer of $250K might be a good place to start. Of course, you should know before you make the offer if it is something you will be able to afford--a pre-approval letter (or better yet,a cash offer) with your offer and a good escrow deposit make your offer strong and harder to resist. Your realtor (hopefully ME) can show you comparable properties and what they have sold for and steer you in the right direction. It is extremely important for you to trust your realtor---if you don't--------FIND ANOTHER ONE! Remember, we make a living by repeat business----it pays for us to be honest and upfront with you!!!!! Also, remember, we do not have a crystal ball----we can't tell when the market is going to go up or down---or how far the market is going to go up or down. We can only tell you what it is doing RIGHT NOW! We have all bought properties in the last couple of years that are now not worth as much---however, I have always said that real estate is a great LONG TERM INVESTMENT. I have been fortunate enough to have "flipped" a couple of properties--however it was by the Grace of God alone, because that has never been an intention of mine. I have always bought a property with the intention of keeping it for at least 5 years.

So, in a nutshell. Foreclosures can be great deals, BUT NOT ALWAYS. Foreclosures are not the easiest way of getting a good deal. There are better deals out there right now than foreclosures.

Feel free to post a response or send me an email.
Thanks,
Mary

Happy August

I am loving our weather!!! August is usually the dog days of summer, but I will tell you that it has been unusually cooler in the mornings lately! We could use more rain, but we have just really had gorgeous weather!! Well, the summer vacationers are thinning out--still pretty busy on the weekends though. I do believe we've had a good tourist season! A big thank you to all you tourists out there!! Chip, my husband, has had a tremendous fishing season--actually the fishing has not been great but he had trips booked pretty much 7 days a week for the months of June and July. We don't have any Saturdays open in August but if you'd like to go fishing with him during the week--give us a call!!

Don't forget, the MBARA tournament is the 25th. We are expecting about 200 boats this year!
The captain's meeting is Friday the 24th at the El Governor pool area and its always a good time!! I believe registration is $150 and with that you get a free MBARA t-shirt, registered for door-prizes (of which there are many), and a free sausage dinner for you and your gang-cooked right there by the official MBARA cooking team!!!! The awards ceremony is Saturday evening at Toucan's, free fish dinner! If you want to register I can help you with that!

Restaurant update: Mango Marley's and The Neon Palm are now open for business! Casual atmosphere, burgers, wings, and other assorted foods!!!

Okay now for..............................REAL ESTATE!
We are still plugging away! Our sales numbers are up about 70% but prices have come down about 26%. There is no consistency in what is selling--about 3 gulf front homes, quite a few vacant lots, a few single family homes and a lot of the pre-construction condo's have closed!
All but the condo's have been EXTREMELY GOOD DEALS!
Here's the thing---you have to make an offer! Some sellers continue to have their property at a higher number but are willing to take much less. You don't know what they will take until you try. It doesn't cost anything to make an offer---If an offer is cash or you have an approval letter from a lender already, close in 30 days, and are willing to put a 2% binder down-that is a very strong offer and there is no telling what the seller will take!!!!!! I don't want anyone to pay over market value for a property, so figure out what you are willing to pay, what you can afford to pay and then MAKE THE OFFER! If the seller isn't reasonable, well okay, move on to the next one!!! Browse through my listings or do the mls search and let me know what you are interested in! My specialty is not seasoned investors, but just regular folks who come down here all the time, love it and want a place to stay when they are down or are looking to retire here when that time comes----When the investor comes back in--and they are beginning to, the prices will once again go up. Please don't miss the opportunity to own a place at the beach! I thank God everyday that Chip and I bought when we did---I love it here!

Okay, I'm off my selling soap box------have I twisted your arm enough?

As always, don't hesitate to post a reply, email me, give me a call, and/or browse my site!

Have a great weekend!!!
Mary