Thursday, February 28, 2008
Heritage Isles and its restaurant
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Financing Secured for The Shops at Wiregrass
Distressed Homes For Sale—Short Sales / Pre-foreclosures, and Bank Owned Properties
Of course, you have all heard something about “short sales” / Pre-foreclosed homes, and bank owned homes and what a great deal you can get. A few things you may not be aware of:
1. It can take weeks or months to get an answer back on an offer to purchase.
2. The homes are almost always sold “AS IS”. This means, no repairs will be made by the seller.
Click on the photo above for a “SLIDE SHOW” of about 5 local “bank owned / distressed” homes for sale in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. Now you know “the rest of the story”. Note: One of the homes in the poorest condition shown in the photos, has a list price of $95.00/sq. ft.!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Homes For Sale in New River in Wesley Chapel
Friday, February 22, 2008
The New Starbucks in Wesley Chapel Opens Tomorrow
Thursday, February 21, 2008
New Tampa Nature Park Update
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
S R 56 Extension
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Pebble Creek Homes For Sale
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Wesley Chapel Art Festival
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Cypress in New Tampa
Ground breaking is expected within the next month and a projected grand opening in March, 2009.
A 2nd Drugstore for Meadow Pointe
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Shh!
The St. Pete Times reports that the Chuck E. Cheese's that was reported to go into the Haverty’s and Ashley Furniture store shopping center in Wesley Chapel, is on hold.
The Times further reports that the Texas Roadhouse is under construction in the same shopping center on S.R. 56, east of I-75 with an expected opening in June.
Two Years of Blogging...
NewTampaHomes.blogspot.com recently had its second birthday. I remembered yesterday when I was answering questions from another Tampa realtor® who wanted advice on starting a blog. Little did I realize two years ago that this blog would evolve into what it is today!
When I first started this blog, blogging was not well known; certainly not local community/real estate blogging. I created the blog back then because I found it hard to find one source for the latest local information that I felt necessary for a better knowledge of the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area as a local real estate agent.
My blog posts tend to be “snippets” of the local information that relate to the blog. If I write a post that may have more specific importance to the readers, they have the responsibility to seek out additional details as required. Additionally, the blog has “labels” in the right sidebar where people can find previous posts that relate to the topic, making searches on the blog easier; a feature that I even occasionally use.
The blogging technology has improved significantly over two years. Blogger (Blogspot) got bought out by Google and the formatting on Blogspot has become much easier and more stable. Additionally, the use of new third party formats compatible with blogging, now makes it easier to have more photo enriched concise posts for the reader.
I have found that blogging requires an enormous amount of discipline. (Technorati says that only 50% of bloggers are still posting three months after they start a blog.) Sure it takes some time, but not as much as you would think! It has allowed me to become a resource to the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel community on the latest developments. Surprisingly, two years later, the overwhelming majority of real estate agents still don’t blog. Not yet at least! Many are afraid of the technology and others are not disciplined enough to maintain a blog or choose not to make the time to blog. According to the National Association of Realtors®, only 4% of realtors® blog. (Gee, I have more than one.)
Occasionally I am asked why readers can’t post directly to my blog. Early on I had the feature, but found the effort to police/censor comments to be tedious. You wouldn’t believe what some people would write! I visited some local forums and was horrified over what was posted on them as well. Since I didn’t want to be associated with these types of comments and preferred not to be the censor, I removed the comment feature. I have considered opening up the “blog” to comments again, but remain reluctant. For now, readers can contact me via e-mail or phone; so perhaps www.newtampahomes.blogspot.com is more of a community online magazine dedicated to New Tampa and Wesley Chapel new businesses, real estate issues, road improvements, etc. than a true blog.
Where do the posts come from? I read more than two local newspapers daily, national magazines, speak to local builder representatives regularly and occasionally to county government representatives, and I am a member of real estate social networking sites. Additionally, I have to thank the readers of this blog, because many times YOU are the ones who give me a “tip” on new local stories or developments.
I realize that the length of this post deviates from my usual snippet. Back to snippets after this! Yes, I always keep my camera in my vehicle; I never know what could become tomorrow’s post on this blog!
Russ Perlowski, People’s Choice Realty (813) 494-2124 Info@tampahomesontheweb.com .
Monday, February 11, 2008
Another Starbucks Opening in Wesley Chapel
Saturday, February 09, 2008
The Hampton Inn and Suites in Wesley Chapel Opens Wednesday
Click on the photo below for a slideshow of the new Wesley Chapel Hampton Inn & Suites.
Thinking about putting your home up for sale?
- Spring and Summer are typically the best times of the year to sell a home. Since we are in February, now is the time to start preparing your home to put it on the market.
Start by removing all clutter. - Your home will appeal to the most buyers if it has neutral colors, so seriously consider painting those interior rooms that aren’t neutral.
- Curb appeal is essential. Consider giving your front door a fresh coat of paint and make sure that the landscaping is neat and attractive. If there ever was a time to have the greenest lawn in the neighborhood, this is it! Additionally, your house, driveway, and patios may need to be pressure washed.
- Assess your interior flooring. Getting carpets and grout cleaned can significantly freshen up your home for those buyers.
- Clean your home thoroughly. I have never had a buyer complain that a home was too clean!
- Your kitchen and bathrooms need to sparkle! Some recommend limiting your kitchen counter tops to only one small appliance to present a clutter free impression.
- Plant some red annuals outside. The color red pops in pictures and with buyers who drive by.
With over 680 single family homes currently listed for sale in MLS for zip code area 33647, and over 775 single family homes listed for sale in zip code areas 33543 & 33544, it is essential that you make your home “the star it can be” before you put it on the market.
Friday, February 08, 2008
East-West Connector in New Tampa--Delayed Again or Doomed?
Sure enough! Bill Coats, of the St. Pete Times provides an update on the rising doubts of this proposed toll road. I don't think even the three witches of Macbeth could put more curses on this proposed road than it has had up to this point. As soon as authorities seem to resolve one issue, another issue/curse appears.
Photo Update on Market Square in New Tampa
Thursday, February 07, 2008
New Tampa Skate Park Meetings Scheduled
Average Home Sale Prices in Tampa
- Brandon: $243,569.
- Carrollwood: $289,338.
- Lutz/North West: $350,847.
- New Tampa: $346,743.
- Pasco: $231,855.
- Temple Terrace/USF: $171,265.
- S. Tampa: $591,808.
Monday, February 04, 2008
January 2008 Home Sales in Wesley Chapel
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Update on the "BIG 3" Wesley Chapel Area Malls
The Grove: Now open at the Grove in Wesley Chapel: Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Toys R Us, Ulta, Bed Bath & Beyond. Opening soon: Michaels, & Petsmart. (See Virtual Tour by clicking on photo Below.) Cobb Theatres are supposed to open this spring too. Access to this mall via C.R. 54 is still a mess. Until that work is more complete it is easier to get in and out of the Grove via Old Pasco Rd. from C.R. 54.
The Shops at Wiregrass is the 2nd of the “big 3” area malls in terms of construction progress. While the residential portion of Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel seems to have stumbled with Pulte withdrawing as the master builder, the Shops at Wiregrass is progressing nicely. I am surprised the owner/developer hasn’t held a press conference to officially release the list of new stores that have signed up for the Shops at Wiregrass. The press has released an unofficial list of stores going in to the Shops at Wiregrass. Click on the photo immediately below for a slideshow of the Shops at Wiregrass:
The Cypress Creek Town Center is the last of the BIG 3 in terms of construction progress, but the largest. It still appears pretty much in the earth moving stages. According to the local papers, recently it was ordered to stop work on at least some portions due to discharging muddy waters into Cypress Creek. Additionally, I believe a suit is still pending by environmentalists.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Green Iguana Coming to Wesley Chapel?
If you haven't been to one of the Green Iguanas, they can be a lot of fun, and they have four locations in the Tampa area. The picture is of the Green Iguana on Anderson at the Veteran's Expressway and it has a huge TIKI or Palapa (not shown in the picture).