Central Florida Real Estate and Community News

Central Florida Living!

One of the wonderful perks of Florida Living: Flowers All Year! We love living here in Central Florida as we get to enjoy the perks of seasonal weather with some cool down in the winter but still get to enjoy abundant flowers all year long.  This is a beautiful Angel's Trumpet Tree blooming in my side yard right now. Look at those blossoms! They are bigger than my hand!! Come visit and let us show you the fantastic benefits of Florida Living!

If you are looking for a quick day trip from Lake County and surrounding areas, take a drive up to the Barberville Yard Art Emporium.  You could lose yourself for hours among all the interesting finds from unique yard furniture to lawn statues to indoor/outdoor wall art.  In the photo below, Jim is looking at a unique outdoor grill made to look like a pistol!  We had a wonderful afternoon enjoying ourselves during this beautiful Florida winter weather walking among all these special finds.

Is it possible we are heading for a real estate shift?  Have you been waiting until this shift occurs so you can sell your home for that higher price you have been waiting for?  My question to you, is what happens if you wait too long? What if you miss it, or jump in too late? Here are some of my thoughts on why you should not wait to sell.  If you wait for proof that a shift is taking place before you act, you might wind up losing money.  By the time the proof is there, the market has changed and everyone else may have beat you to the market, causing you to possibly sell for less than you could get right now.  The real estate market is hot right now, homes that are priced and marketed correctly can sell within days or hours right now and prices continue to rise.  This might convince you to wait to put your home on the market in hopes of more profit.  Interest rates sitting at all time lows appear to be changing.  They have just passed 4% for a fixed 30 year mortgage and all signs say they are going to continue to rise.  Sure, there are a lot of buyers that were sitting on that fence that will now buy for fear of higher rates but that will only last so long if rates jump sharply.  So if everyone catches on all at once, and they always do, especially when the media projects the rate hikes and the fall to come, hundreds of homeowners can wind up listing their homes all at once.  Now that higher price you were waiting for is probably gone, in fact now you will probably need to sell for less than what you could have received before the shift took place. It is always my goal to help you sell your property for the most amount of money in the shortest time possible. See what homes have SOLD for in your area. 

Did you know that there are many many natural springs located within 1 hour driving time or less of Mount Dora, FL?  Jim and I just spent some time this weekend at Blue Springs.  We love taking time out to enjoy the beauty of nature and Blue Springs, located in Orange City, is a wonderful place to do so! We were able to view the many manatees (441 to be exact) keeping warm in the springs from the cold St. Johns River and coastal waterways.  We also saw other wildlife as well including turtles, alligators and many birds and fish.  Blue Springs stays at at constant 73 degrees year round offering a warm sanctuary for these creatures in the cold winter months and refreshing cooler waters during the hot summer months.  Manatee season lasts from approximately the middle of November through March.  Although the waters are off limits to swim in during manatee season, during the summer months this park offers swimming, snorkeling and diving to enjoy the crystal clear waters and explore the wondrous cavern containing the boil from the spring. Blue Springs is a fantastic Florida State Park to visit year round!   

Celebrating a successful weekend with my husband, Jim Reynolds, realtor, completing final negotiations on the sales of 3 of his listings in the areas of Mount Dora and Eustis with all parties in agreement.  All that remains are the closings scheduled for the end of the month!  What a wonderful way to start the new year with many more to come!

Absolutely love this time of year in Mount Dora, FL!  All the sights sounds and smells!!  From the huge musical Christmas tree to watching children sled ride in the park to drinking a warm (or cool) beverage while enjoying the beautiful thousands upon thousands of twinkling lights that illuminate all areas of this city from the park through town to the marina.  We hope you are able to take time to enjoy this holiday season and reflect on all the blessings in your life.  We are extremely blessed to be able to enjoy this holiday time with family and friends and look forward to what the new year has in store for all of us!