Jacksonville Real Estate Ramblings

THIS HOME HAS BEEN TEMPORARY WITHDRAWN

2771 Samara Ct Green Cove Springs, Fl 32043

This is an awesome home for a first time home buyer, located on a cul-de-sac. Noticed how the landscape is easy on the eyes and simple to maintain.

As we stroll to the back, notice how ginormous the completely fenced yard is.

Here's another view of the backyard from the house. The shed stays with the home.

Foyer area, notice how clean and nice the laminate floors look!

The laminate flooring continues into the family room.

ARAVA SUBDIVISION

There are two ponds in the neighborhood, this is the first one. Both ponds are a catch and release pond, so bring

your fishing poles!

Arava also has a neighborhood playground, which is surrounded by beautiful trees.

2771 Samara Ct Green Cove Springs, FL 32043

This home is 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, with a little over 1500 square feet. Offered for sale at only $103,000

Youth Soccer Clubs in Clay County FL, Spring Season 2012 Starts Soon! Sign ups are happening right now, deadlines coming up in February. If you're new to the area or you're not aware of the different Youth Soccer Clubs in Clay County FL, I've compiled a list below for easy access to the information you need to get your kids signed up. 

The one I'm most familiar with is:

Clay County Soccer club

Both my kids have been playing there for about 4 seasons now and they love it.

• Ages U5 up to U19

• Recreational, Academy, Premiere and Top Soccer leagues
• 4387 Lakeshore Dr Fleming Island, FL 32003
• 904-278-1182

Oakleaf United FC

• Ages U4-U17
• Recreational, Academy and Select
• 370 Oakleaf Village Pkwy, Orange Park, FL 32065

Keystone Heights Youth Soccer Club

• Ages U6-U16
• Recreational
• 6065 Twin Lakes Road Keystone Heights, FL 32656
• 352-473-7777

Ymca in Clay County

The YMCA isn't a soccer club, but they do offer a variety of sports, including soccer. Both my kids played there as well.

The info above could change, so if you have specific questions, contact the individual Youth Soccer Club in Clay County FL that you're interested in.

Jacksonville Florida Market Report

 Single Family homes (attached & detached)

December 2011

December 2011                        December 2010

Active Listings: 5,071                 Active Listings: 6,763

Sold: 709                                    Sold: 678

Months Inventory: 7.15               Months Inventory: 9.97

Average Price: 528,749            Average Price: 445,886

We experienced an increase of sold homes in December vs November 2011, to get those babies off the books and get some homesteads claimed! We are still in a buyer's market, but are getting closer to seeing a stable market, based on the months inventory creeping down closer to 6 months. Our average price is also higher this month over last year, which is a great sign too.

December 2011

And now for a Blast in the Past…………..

December 2010

Active Listings– The amount of active listings in the month reported

Sold– The amount of sold listings that closed in the reported month.

Months Inventory– How many months it would take to sell the current inventory based on the sold amount.

Avg Sale Price– Average sale price of the sold houses in the reported month.

SP/OLP Ratio– Sales price to Original List Price, this is the percentage showing the difference of what the house was originally listed for and what it sold for.

Days on the Market– The length of time it took the house to get under contract from list date.

Sold REO– How many homes sold that were foreclosures (REO=Real Estate Owned). 

Sold Short Sales– How many homes sold, that were short sales

Want to know what these numbers mean to you when selling your Jacksonville Florida Home? Call me at 904-910-3516 and find out!

St Johns County Florida Market Report  

Single Family homes (attached & detached)

December 2011

Single Family homes in: 

·St Johns County

·St Augustine

·St Augustine Beach

·Ponte Vedra 

·Ponte Vedra Beach

·Palm Valley

·Nocatee

·Vilano Beach

December 2011                         December 2010

Active Listings: 1,698                  Active Listings: 2161

Sold: 232                                     Sold: 225 

Months Inventory: 7.32                Months Inventory: 9.60

Average Price: 516,913               Average Price: 479,286

Don't worry, the sock buddy in the above picture is completely harmless! :) Not huge differences this month over November 2011, but we did see the average price rise, the amount sold go up, inventory levels went up just a tiny bit and the months inventory went down. Did you know a balanced market is one that has about 6 months of inventory? Take a look at the chart below, showing 300k and below, both price ranges are below that 6 month balanced market. Things are looking up, just in time for the new year!

December 2011

And now for a Blast in the Past…………..

December 2010

Active Listings– The amount of active listings in the month reported

Sold– The amount of sold listings that closed in the reported month.

Months Inventory– How many months it would take to sell the current inventory based on the sold amount.

Avg Sale Price– Average sale price of the sold houses in the reported month.

SP/OLP Ratio– Sales price to Original List Price, this is the percentage showing the difference of what the house was originally listed for and what it sold for.

Days on the Market– The length of time it took the house to get under contract from list date.

Sold REO– How many homes sold that were foreclosures (REO=Real Estate Owned). 

Sold Short Sales– How many homes sold, that were short sales

Want to know what these numbers mean to you when selling your St John's County Florida Home? Call me at 904-910-3516 and find out!

                 Clay County Florida Market Report    

December 2011

Single Family homes in: 

· Fleming Island

· Orange Park

· Middleburg

· Green Cove Springs

December 2011                   December 2010

Active Listings: 1,212           Active Listings: 1,632

Sold: 171                             Sold: 229

Months Inventory: 7.09       Months Inventory: 7.13

Average Price:  300,930     Average Price: 408,260

December is typically the month to try to get all the closings in as possible to end the year good, get the properties off of the banks books and for buyers to close in time to meet the Homestead exemption deadline. Although December 2010 had a higher inventory level, more homes sold that month compared to December 2011. December still outperforms November 2011 slightly in the inventory level and sold homes, but not in the average price category. Stay tuned for the complete Clay County Market Report for the year 2011 and 2010 to hit a blog near you. Yep, you got it, this blog! :)

December 2011

And now for a Blast in the Past…………..

December 2010

Active Listings– The amount of active listings in the month reported

Sold– The amount of sold listings that closed in the reported month.

Months Inventory– How many months it would take to sell the current inventory based on the sold amount.

Avg Sale Price– Average sale price of the sold houses in the reported month.

SP/OLP Ratio– Sales price to Original List Price, this is the percentage showing the difference of what the house was originally listed for and what it sold for.

Days on the Market– The length of time it took the house to get under contract from list date.

Sold REO– How many homes sold that were foreclosures (REO=Real Estate Owned). 

Sold Short Sales– How many homes sold, that were short sales

Want to know what these numbers mean to you when selling your Clay County Florida Home? Call me at 904-910-3516 and find out!

 Successful Short Sale in St Johns Florida!

The property: This was single family home in St Johns County Florida with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2666 square feet. Fenced yard, needs some sod, new paint and some flooring. Desirable neighborhood. The biggest concern for people was that the master bedroom was upstairs. 

Hardship: Loss of job, found employment requiring relocation.

This was the grandaddy of all short sales, one that tested my and the seller's endurance! This listing didn't start out as a short sale, but certainly ended that way unfortunately. This one had a first mortgage with Wells Fargo and a 2nd mortgage with ING. Once it became a short sale, we finally got an offer, the BPO came back 35k over contract price. The contract price was not a low ball offer and we had the house at the the BPO price months before without any success. 6 or 7 offers later (I lost track) we had a buyer willing to wait for approval, wasn't paranoid about the house flooding, which there was never a reason for the one buyer to think that, willing to do some repairs and pay past HOA fees. ING was easy to work with, Wells Fargo not so much. I had to fax in the same docs over and over, I was trying to get an extension and couldn't get an answer from the negotiator for weeks until I emailed the CEO of Wells and other higher executives, which produced a supervisor who gave me their direct number to call and the much needed extension.

Once we were ready to close we had issues with a Quitclaim deed that was never done,  the new lender firing the loan originator, the paperwork getting shuffled, the VA appraiser requiring the carpets to be professionally cleaned and the new lender missing closing deadlines, we finally got this closed. It really makes a difference when everyone has patience and cooperates with one another. The seller was great at getting me required docs, the buyer was patient and understanding, the buyer's agent was professional and never took the lack of communication from Wells on me. And of course the listing agent was not going to allow this last contract fall through and did everything in her power, legally, to make sure this closing happened. In the end, the seller had no promissory note and no seller contribution. The loss to the banks were approximately 55k, with the banks waiving their rights to a deficiency judgment. The sold price was 192,000

This experience is kinda like childbirth, the labor pains hurt like heck, but once you have the baby you forget. This short sale hurt like heck, but now that it's over and closed, I'm happy it worked out for everyone involved, and yes, I would do it again!

If you find yourself in a short sale situation and want to know your options either call me at 904-910-3516 or email me at pam@pamgraham.com.

The property: This was single family home in Middleburg with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, little over 1300 square feet. On a cul de sac. House was in move in condition. New roof, tile flooring, ginormous backyard. 

Hardship: Required relocation, loss of tenants.

Short sale scenario: 2 loans, one with Wells Fargo, one with Bank of America. Only had one buyer on this house.  From contract to closing it took 3 months. The seller did have to contribute around $300. No promissory note and the defiency judgment was waived on both loans. Sold for 81k, owed a total of approximately 120k.

If you find yourself in a short sale situation and want to know your options either call me at 904-910-3516 or email me at pam@pamgraham.com.

The property: This was a single family home in Jacksonville with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, little over 2000 square feet. On a cul de sac. The house needed some paint, carpet and a little tlc. 

Hardship: Loss of tenant, couldn't get reliable tenants. Financial difficulties. 

Short sale scenario: One loan, with the lender being Select Portfolio Servicing. We were in  a multiple offer situation, with the highest and best offer submitted. The BPO was done before the offer was submitted. It took around 2 months from contract to closing.  This sold for 182k, the bank paid 7k towards the buyer's closing costs. The seller owed around 245k. There was PMI on the loan, which the bank put into place on their own after the owner had bought and closed on it. The seller had a promissory note to pay to the PMI company.

If you find yourself in a short sale situation and want to know your options either call me at 904-910-3516 or email me at pam@pamgraham.com.

The property: This was single family home in Middleburg with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, almost 1800 square feet. On a cul de sac. House was in move in condition. 

Hardship: Required relocation.

Short sale scenario: The lender was Navy Federal. Only one loan. The seller's continued making their payments all the way up to closing. Took 2 months to get short sale approval. Not easy to talk to the negotatator. Whenever I called to get updates, I was never put through to the person handling the file. I could only get updates from the person who happened to answer the phone that day. Only one contract on this home. Sold for 151k, owed approximately 206k. No promissory note, but the seller did contribute 5k at closing.

If you find yourself in a short sale situation and want to know your options either call me at 904-910-3516 or email me at pam@pamgraham.com.

The property: This was single family home in Middleburg with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, little over 1500 square feet. Ginormous fenced backyard.

Hardship: Divorce situation, financial difficulties.

Short sale scenario: We did have an offer on this property before the final one that closed. The first offer was approved in 32 days. This short sale was with Litton Loans.  This is another lender who is easier to work with, from contract to closing (the final offer that stuck) was only 40 days.  The seller did have a promissory note of $3k. Sold for 104k, owed 175K. 2 loans both with Litton.

The real estate market would turn around faster, if we could decrease the short sale inventory drastically. One way of doing that would be to have a faster short sale approval turn around. Less buyers walking away from getting impatient.

If you find yourself in a short sale situation and want to know your options either call me at 904-910-3516 or email me at pam@pamgraham.com.