Archive for the 'Local Stories' Category
Pensacola Real Estate Breaking News: Boeing Wins Air Force Tanker Award Protest
June 18th, 2008 Categories: Local Stories
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said today in Washington that they are going to sustain Boeing’s protest of the awarding of the $35 Billion U.S. Air Force contract to Northrop Grumman-EADS. The GAO believes Boeing deserves another chance to bid on the contract because they feel the Air Force made a significant number of errors that may have affected the outcome of the awarding of the contract.
The GAO ruling is not binding. However, failure of the Air Force to revisit the bidding will not sit well with Washington politicians who were complaining about the award. Of course, all of these politicians were from areas of the country that stand to benefit from the contract award going to Boeing. Politicians in the Pensacola Florida and South Alabama area obviously will feel differently about this turn of events.
More on this story can be found at Bloomberg or MSNBC.
Anticipation of this contract has been high in the Pensacola Florida area. Real estate prices are moving up in Mobile Alabama, and the Pensacola area was hoping to reap some of the benefits of the large contracts coming into Mobile, namely the Air Force tanker contract and the new steel plant. It remains to be seen how this protest award will affect the movement of the economy in Mobile. Thus far the work in Mobile has not appeared to have any effect on Pensacola real estate prices.
The Mobile steel plant is already in the construction phase. They are currently hiring workers for the contruction of the plant. The pay scale looks good also. I know of someone who was offered $22 per hour to drive a dumptruck for the construction site. He would work 12 hours per day, 6 days per week. That is extremely good pay for our area.
In addition, the Alabama economic development council is looking for land for industrial parks for suppliers who hope to supply the steel mill and the airplane plant.
I will provide updates here on Pensacola Real Estate News as they become available. What is happening in Mobile will have an effect here. Let’s hope for the best.
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The Fruits Of Pensacola Florida - Pick Your Own
June 16th, 2008 Categories: Local Stories
Many people who I talk to are not aware that there are numerous farms and fields around the Pensacola Florida area where you can pick your own fruits and vegetables. And if you are not excited about getting out in the heat and picking yourself, these places usually have pre-picked fresh produce for sale.
Picking your own can be a very relaxing and nurturing experience. It gets you back into nature and connects you with the fruit of the earth, so to speak. I hear many pickers talking about how much they enjoy just being out in the fields. A friend was telling me that she went picking with her husband and he started reminiscing about picking in his childhood, and it ended up being a very bonding experience for both of them. Picking with your children can also be very rewarding. It is hard to explain the feelings that go along with picking. You just have to try it out for yourself and see if it works for you.
So where can you pick?
For more information on places to pick, check out the Pick Your Own website. This easy-to-use web site lists all of the known pick-your-own fruit and vegetable farms in the US. For farms near Pensacola Florida, check the sections for Northwest Florida and Southwest Alabama. 
Right now, blueberries are in season. The photo shows the fruits of my efforts earlier in the week. I have picked over 40 pounds of blueberries so far this year. And the cost is a fraction of the cost of buying in the stores. At Beulah Berries, my favorite local field, the cost is only $9 per gallon. Hillcrest Farms in Elberta Alabama also has blueberries now. Strawberries are no longer in season. They are available around Easter. BJ Farms in Elberta is a great Strawberry picking field.
Muscadines will be ripening in August/September. If you are not familiar with muscadines, I would recommend checking them out. They are reported to be one of the healthiest fruits on the planet.
Here’s a link for more info on Muscadines. Muscadine Grapes - A New Health Food And Alternative Crop
Happy Picking!!!
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Two Top Pensacola Real Estate Brokerages Announce Merger
June 15th, 2008 Categories: Local Stories
Pensacola real estate firm Top 10 Properties has announced its merger with ERA Beach Ball Realty. This merger now gives ERA Beach Ball Realty four office locations including; Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach and Downtown Pensacola Florida on East Gregory Street. The newest ERA Beach Ball office is the existing Top 10 Properties office in University Mall. This merger has made ERA Beach Ball Realty one of the largest real estate companies in the entire Pensacola Metro area.
This merger is huge for Beach Ball Realty, as they will now be acquiring Woody Wolden, owner of Top 10 Properties. For those of you who don’t know about Woody, he took second place as Pensacola’s sexiest man. You can read about that contest in the article “Is Pensacola Real Estate Really Sexy?” All kidding aside, Woody is a great guy and an asset to the Pensacola community.
“We are extremely excited to become a member of the growing ERA Real Estate worldwide network,” said Woody Wolden. “As an ERA affiliate, we will continue to provide our clients with the personal dedication they’ve come to expect from us, but will also be able to supply them with some of the best products and services the industry has to offer.” Mr. Wolden will continue to act as a consultant for ERA Beach Ball Realty.
ERA® Beach Ball® Realty is a proven leader in traditional as well as web-based real estate marketing. The company was founded in 2001 and is locally owned and managed by Kimberley Gibbons and James Hlubek. They serve the entire area with a philosophy of dedication to quality service while providing superior support and growth opportunities for sales associates.
And I would like to extend my appreciation to Kim Gibbons for providing most of the content for this article. I knew what I wanted to say, but she knew how to say it. Thank you Kim.
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DirectBuy In Pensacola Florida
April 12th, 2008 Categories: Local Stories, Saving You Money
I had never actually heard of DirectBuy, most likely because I don’t watch much television. But at the Pensacola real estate investors meeting last week, someone mentioned that a DirectBuy store had opened in Pensacola. It is on Navy Blvd, next to the Goofy Golf. This is just about a block east of Old Corry Field road.
If you want to know more about DirectBuy, just search for it on Google. They claim to provide you super savings on all sorts of home products, such as furniture, appliances, cabinets, and almost anything you need for your home. A nice lady on the web site tells you all about how you are being charged far too much money for standard household products and how DirectBuy can save you big money on almost anything for your home.
Once you’ve checked out the DirectBuy website infomercial, Google DirectBuy again and look down a few links to the Infomercial Scams link. I can save you the time. Here it is.
http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/direct_buy_scams
Read up on some experiences people have posted on this site. Then make your own decision on whether or not you want to save money using DirectBuy. I personally do not like high pressure sales situations. That is one reason I like real estate. I offer guidance and support for people buying and selling homes, which helps to build real lasting relationships with clients. I could never be a high pressure sales person.
Being a neutral party who has no experience whatsoever with DirectBuy, I also recommend reading the defenses part of the web page, where DirectBuy members talk about their good experiences with DirectBuy. Follow the link below:
http://www.infomercialscams.com/defenses/direct_buy_scams
And go here for a Consumer Reports article on DirectBuy:
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2007/09/with-directbu-1.html
As one commenter on the above linked blog wrote, “If your household income is less than $100-150K depending on where in the country you are, I’d recommend you don’t do it, as your expendable income isn’t going to allow you to spend the amount of money they you’re likely to want to recoup. ” Hmmm? How many people in Pensacola make over $150K per year?
As for the fees DirectBuy charges for the privilege of being a member? Their website won’t tell you how much it cost to become a member. You will have to go to a sales presentation. The scams website will give you a rough idea of the cost. I think I’ll take my money and invest in Pensacola real estate. The market is low and there are plenty of good deals available. I recommend holding your money for a down payment on a home, rather than spending it on a shopping club. But that is just me. I’m not big into shopping.
I hope this article will help you save some of your hard earned money. If you do choose to go for a DirectBuy presentation, let me know how it goes. I would love to hear about how the local Pensacola operation is run.
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An Evening With Chris Jones, Escambia County Property Appraiser
April 1st, 2008 Categories: Local Stories, Pensacola Real Estate News
In the March 2008 monthly meeting of Pensacola Real Estate Navigators, our local Escambia County property appraiser Chris Jones was the guest speaker. I have never met Chris, although I have been friends with other members of his family for many years. And Chris, like the rest of his family, is a warm and friendly person and truly cares about his Pensacola community.
I have also had to work through real estate related issues with the Escambia County Property Appraisers office, and they are a pleasure to deal with. (I’m not kidding. No sarcasm intended.) Maybe you’ve dealt with our local county or city government and were left wondering how anything ever really gets done in our county. That is not Chris Jones’ office. They are extremely customer service oriented and just as helpful and friendly as they can be.
The main topic of the speech was Property Tax Exemptions: Limitations on Property Tax Assessments, also known as Amendment 1. If you are not familiar with Amendment 1, follow the links on the Escambia County Property Appraisers home page for more information.
The first topic Chris covered was the doubling of the $25,000 homestead exemption. Chris made the point that this was not a “true doubling”. The homestead exemption was increased to $25,000 in 1980. At that time, it should have been indexed to increase at a rate to keep pace with inflation. However, it was not. It was kept at $25,000 for the next 27 years. If the homested exemption had been indexed to keep pace with inflation, the exemption would now be $65,000, not $50,000. Hence, not a true doubling. This exemption does not apply to school taxes.
Why did we end up with Amendment 1? The taxable value of Escambia County real estate doubled over the last 7 years. The taxing authorities refused to lower tax rates, and just raked in all the extra money. Citizens of Florida said enough is enough. Hence, Amendment 1 was the Florida citizens’ way of stopping the government from taking advantage of rising property values while not providing any better service to the people. 
Another feature of Amendment 1 is portability. Portability refers to being able to move your “Save Our Homes” benefit from one home to another if you buy and sell your home in Florida. Without this portability, it can be cost prohibitive for many citizens to move in Florida. Chris gave the example of a gentlemen in his 80s who had lived on waterfront property on Bayou Texar for many years. His current property value is well over a million dollars. However, to downsize and move to a more modest $250,000 home would result in an increase in property taxes paid by this man. Portability will help with these types of issues. Chris believes that the portability feature will help absorb much of our current glut of inventory in the Pensacola real estate market. You can follow my Pensacola real estate market reports to keep track of local inventory.
The next feature of Amendment 1 discussed was the Tangible Personal Property Tax Exemption. This exemption pertains to Florida businesses. It basically helps the property appraiser’s office focus their efforts on larger businesses that have more assets, versus wasting valuable resources on smaller businesses.
The last feature of Amendment 1 discussed was the 10% per year cap on non-homestead property. Thus if you own land, a second home, or other investment properties, your property taxes cannot increase more than 10% per year. This does not apply to school taxes.
After Amendment 1 was discussed, Chris went on to give his assessments of what he felt was the state of the Pensacola real estate market. He felt one of the big positives for the area was commercial property. We are seeing commercial property selling well, and holding its value. In addition, homes under $200,000 are holding their value fairly well. This should be a call to action for first time home buyers. There is bond money available at low interest rates, down payment assistance, and other programs to help first time Pensacola home buyers.
Of course we also have our negatives in Escambia County. Chris saw our big negatives being sales of waterfront properties and condos. These properties are not selling well in the current Pensacola real estate market. However, the prices are coming down on waterfront. See my article on Cheap Pensacola Waterfront Properties. Unfortunately, insurance rates are a big factor in preventing sale of these properties.
Chris also sees that people are leaving Escambia County faster than they are coming in. We need new business to attract people to our area. Santa Rosa county is rated as the 5th fastest growing County in Florida. Mobile Alabama is booming, along with Baldwin County and Orange Beach. And here sits Escambia County, sandwiched between 2 of the fastest growing areas in the nation. Our economy is stagnating and we are losing residents, while our neighbors are creating new business and have positive growing economies. Something is wrong. My feeling is that our local government leaders are not proactive in bringing new business to our area. Chris did not go so far as to say this, but I did hear several people in attendance mention poor leadership as our biggest problem.
I would like to extend a big thank you to Chris Jones for sharing his time and his knowledge with our local real estate investment group. It was a great educational experience for all who attended.
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Pensacola Local Stories - UWF Student Shares Her Love With Children in Need
February 12th, 2008 Categories: Local Stories
I’ll deviate a little from my typical Pensacola real estate posts and share some news about a local student who will be making a big difference in the lives of children on the other side of the world.
I typically go to church on Saturday nights at Cokesbury United Methodist church on 9th avenue across from Pensacola Junior College. I like going Saturday nights because there is an awesome band that plays at the church. I say “plays”, but I should say “rocks”. This band really does rock out the praise and worship music. If you are in to that sort of thing, I highly recommend checking them out at 6:00 PM on Saturday nights. But on to the story.
One Saturday night a couple of weeks ago, a girl gave a short speech at the church. She talked about graduating from UWF and then going to Kenya to help children who were orphans of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. It is estimated that there are over a million AIDS orphaned children in Kenya. And HIV/AIDS is just one of many problems they are facing over there. 
I was overcome with emotion listening to her speak of the conditions in Kenya and the work she would be doing with the children. I found it hard to imagine graduating from college, with the option of staying home, close to friends and family, and living a comfortable Pensacola lifestyle, but instead deciding to go to a poor unstable country and risk everything to help out children in need. This student has become someone in Pensacola who I truly admire and respect.
Her name is Mary Ann Kaiser and she writes a blog about her upcoming trip and news of what is happening in Kenya. Her blog address is http://ajourneytobehad.blogspot.com/ . (And be sure to click on her “About Me” link to learn more about her mission). I hope you’ll take the time to visit her site, send her your positive energy, pray for her, and support her in this great humanitarian mission she is about to undertake. It takes great courage and character to make such a commitment, and I honor her as a true heroine of our community.
Mary Ann still has some time in Pensacola before she leaves, and she has said she enjoys talking to groups about her mission to Kenya. If you have any interest in learning more, I recommend contacting her through her web site. If you hear her speak, you will know it is coming from her heart, and I hope you would be as moved as I was. Thanks Mary Ann.
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