Archive for August, 2007
Friday, August 31st, 2007
Dawn Pratt asks some interesting questions about the Alafaya Trail expansion that should be connecting it to the Beachline (528). Yes, that would be the road that goes past the power plant that gives Avalon Park such a beautiful skyline.
Linda Hutchinson points us to an Orlando Sentinel article that has a bomb sweeper coming to the Vista Lakes area to search for old bombs.
Tim Gallagher helps us keep tabs on Church Street in downtown Orlando. (There’s a lot happening in that area!)
Posted in Quick Links | 3 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
I came across a great website for homeowners who are looking to hire a little bit of help for odd jobs around their property. The website is Hire A Helper, and it connects you with local people to do the manual labor if you’re moving, need lawn work done, cleaning the house or any other type of general chores.
From the website:
Many helpers are college students looking for general day labor type jobs (either providing moving help or even just offering cleaning help) that will provide them with a little extra cash. Day labor is one of the best ways for students to make money while they are in school. A day laborer often makes 2 - 3 times minimum wage.
Since I wanted to see how many people were signed up for it in the Orlando area, I did a quick search for this Saturday using 32801 (downtown) as my zip code. I was pleased to see that there were a good dozen results for me to choose from. Of course, I’d like to see more than that, and I’m sure I will as more college kids and others find it.
Posted in Local Community, Orlando, Real Estate Tools | 4 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
A product of a large housing surplus is the increase in the number of condos going up for auction. If you’re flush with cash and want to get some steals, this might be your chance.
If you’re looking for a nice 2260 sq/ft condo on Turkey Lake (near the Mall at Millenia), there will be an auction on September 8th and 11am on site: 6336 BUFORD ST, Orlando, Fl, 32835 (map) Contact Bob Calistri for more information (bob@realestateauctionsllc.com), or download a PDF with more property and auction information.
A couple of properties are having multiple-unit auctions. Both of the following were found via Condo Metropolis, contact Marcus for more information:
- In Altamonte Springs has 60 condos going up for auction, starting at $30,000. Not a bad starting point.
- 30 units are going up for auction in the Wekiva area.
Posted in Altamonte Springs, Condos, Real Estate for Sale | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
Originally listed at $8.5 million, Lou Perlman’s 12,000 sq/ft home “Chaine Du Lac” on Lake Butler in the prestigious Windermere area of Orlando is now reportedly under contract for $7.1 million. It looks like someone is interested in living in the same pad as the famous manager for the Backstreet Boys and NSync.
[Update: the home is under contract to John Choi, a local plastic surgeon. (via TampaBay.com and St. Pete Times)]
(Via WFTV)
Posted in Real Estate News, Windermere | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
Should there be a “right to dry“? - talking about using clotheslines to dry your laundry, and what to do with HOA’s that are against it. (hat tip Jim)
Thinking about redesigning your Kitchen? How about using some dark colors - maybe even make one of the walls a chalkboard for writing on (via Girl Meets Glamour):
Home buyers with solid credit and money for a down payment are now better positioned than they were a few weeks ago (via USA Today).
Steve Leung talks about, “Tools for Protecting Yourself During a Home Purchase” - lessons that apply in Orlando as much as they do in the California Bay Area.
Posted in Design & Architecture, Quick Links | No Comments »
Monday, August 27th, 2007
One of my favorite aspects of living in Orange County is their library system. The library system, you may exclaim!! Yes, the library system.
In Orange country, you can go to the the library website, requests books, movies or CDs, and then click on “request home delivery,” and they’ll be delivered to your door. To your front door!
No more figuring out which hours the library is open, dragging your children in, or spending time looking for that mis-filed book you really wanted to read. Now it can all be done from the comfort of your home computer.
Another reason to love Orange County!!
Posted in Orlando | No Comments »
Monday, August 27th, 2007
This is what a retention pond should NOT look like.
Waterford Lakes is a fabulous community. I own a property in here. The Association is very good at sending notices when there’s an infraction. So, why don’t they do anything about this eye sore?
Let’s break this down…
First of all, I’m not a big fan of the chain link fence around a retention pond at the entrance of a community. If you’re going to put up a fence, at least build a nice iron one.
Second, an unmowed, weed infested ::: was that a mole cricket that just ran over my foot? ::: fungus-growing thatch of straw that someone, somewhere calls grass doesn’t really scream, “BUY IN HERE!”
This leads me to the most obvious, and most distressing, object of my wrath…an umbrella in the pond. I am not exaggerating when I say that this umbrella has been here since I bought the house almost 2 1/2 years ago. Does nobody else notice this? Is my neighbor’s patchy grass worth noting but an umbrella is easily overlooked? Granted, you don’t see the umbrella sometimes when the water’s high. It’s just a teaser, though, because as soon as the drought that’s been plaguing us returns, so does the umbrella.
All you realtors out there…you know this retention pond (or one like it)…how do you even begin to sell a house in this market when you enter a subdivision and see…THIS?
Posted in East Orlando, Orlando | 5 Comments »
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
Orlando Magazine has put together a “Top 3 List” covering the best of Orlando. Besides the lists of restaurants and shopping places, here are a few that we like best at Roofable:
Best Gated Community:
- Isleworth - Windermere
- Heathrow Woods - Lake Mary
- Reserve at Belmere - Windermere
Best Orlando Building:
- LYNX Central Station - map
- The Sanctuary Downtown - map
- SunTrust Center - map
(hat tip EKDAY, who also has the full list with links)
Posted in Downtown Orlando, Lake Mary, Local Community, Orlando, Windermere | 2 Comments »
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
(click here to “>download a PDF version of the map)
The skyline of Downtown Orlando has been in flux for the last 5 years, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. A healthy portion of the condos that have been completed are sitting vacant, and there are quite a few more (like 55 West) that will become available soon.
All of this is part of the Downtown Orlando 20-Point Strategic Plan (PDF - beware, this is a 100 page document).
(hat tip OrlandoCondo411)
Posted in Commercial, Condos, Downtown Orlando | No Comments »
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Lake Nona is one of the real “up and coming” areas around Orlando and is found in the Southeast part of the city. It’s at the bottom right elbow of I-417 (the Greenway). There are some fairly exclusive homes found within the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, and the overall community has been well planned out. Lake Nona is also the home to some famous golfers, such as Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson, Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Trevor Immelman, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter and Annika Sorenstam.
Nonaology (www.LearnLakeNona.com) is a creative and well done informational site about the Lake Nona area. Outside of the exclusive luxury home area, Lake Nona is a great place to live because there is still space to move. It doesn’t have that uncontrolled sprawl issue that is found in the other areas of Orlando (yet).
What isn’t mentioned on Nonaology is that the area surrounding their mega-planned community is still very nice. You’ll find beautiful unplanned neighborhoods around Lake Mary Jane and Lake Hart, open roads that many bicyclists make use of on the weekends, and access to the large lakes for fishing and other water leisure activity.
This year the Burnham Institute for Medical Research is expanding to Orlando, and they’re doing it in Lake Nona. That’s 200-300 well paying jobs being injected into that community. This bodes well for real estate prices too, of course Lake Nona is one of the few areas in Orlando which hasn’t seen a decrease in average prices on real estate.
The Lake Nona area is a healthy Orlando community, and is really one of the hidden gems in the greater Orlando area.
Posted in Lake Nona | No Comments »
Friday, August 24th, 2007
On Thursday, August 23 police found three shooting victims in a house in the Hickory Cove subdivision. That’s located in a subdivision near Rouse Road and Lockanotosa Trail (near Blanchard Park). Right now it looks like it may be a murder-suicide. The victims are Ralph Gonzalez (a GOP political strategist) and his roommate, David Abrami. Gonzalez’s mother asserts that their former roommate, Robert Drake (also killed), may be the shooter.
This is a picture taken from the Orlando Sentinel website. The man on the right is victim Ralph Gonzalez.
Read more about it in the Orlando Sentinel or on Wesh 2 News.
Posted in Local Community | No Comments »
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Fall sports season is fast approaching. Here are a few options for enrolling your children in Orlando league sports:
East Orange Soccer - U5-U19 teams, seasonal and premiere league team, you can register online
Association of Christian Youth Sports - fall and spring soccer, winter flag football, winter basketball, spring baseball/softball, U5-U12 (7th grade)
Florida Basketball and Volleyball Association - volleyball and basketball for ages 5-18
Catholic Youth League - ranges from K-8th grade (depending on sport), fall soccer, winter flag football, winter lacrosse, spring baseball, summer basketball
Youth Sports Association - some phone numbers for basketball, soccer and volleyball youth leagues
If you know of any other youth (or adult) league sports, please them them in the comments section.
Posted in Orlando | No Comments »
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Alex Rudloff contrasts the condo markets in Orlando and Washington DC. Asking, “why does a downtown Orlando condo cost more than a downtown house?”
There’s a big (bright) orange building near downtown on Mills and Lake Highland. Tim Welch finds out what’s it all about. (Flickr Pictures)
MetroWest seems to be staging a comeback. Marcus at Condo Metropolis talks about it, claiming that Kevin Azzouz’s Veranda Park is the catalyst.
Posted in Condos, Downtown Orlando, Metro West, Orlando | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007
It looks like $11 million can get you almost 20,000 sqft of lakeside (Lake Sheen) real estate in Orlando. This Penny Lane property has 7 bedrooms, 10 baths, a tropical resort-style pool, staff quarters, boathouse and a dock.
Listing - 10216 Penny Lane in Orlando, FL is for sale for $10,900,000 [Danny Veal] MLS#O4713329
Posted in Orlando Neighborhoods, Real Estate for Sale, West Orlando | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007
The Florida Association of Realtor’s annual convention and trade show is converging upon Orlando this week. Starting today and going through Sunday (August 22-26, 2007) all the players in the Florida real estate space will be meeting at the Buena Vista Palace Resort in Lake Buena Vista.
I have to state here - the new FAR website is about 200% better than last time I looked. I believe it was updated this year, and kudos to their team for a job well done. It’s actually useful now.
I’ll be there tomorrow.
Posted in Orlando, Real Estate News | No Comments »
