You won’t find a better investment unit the market that offers consistent rentals and a gulf view. This unit generated 17k in gross rental income and the owners net was 14k for 2010. This cozy one bedroom first floor unit has hallway bunks, a queen size bed in the Master and hide-a-bed couch which offers enough room for 6 people to sleep comfortably. This is a favorite family spot due to the low rental rates and nice, clean spacious units. You’re only steps to the private beach access in a condo complex complimented with two swimming pools (one is heated), a jetted tub, and barbecue area. On-site rental management is available, as well as on-site maintenance. Great Investment if you want year round rentals – popular with summer vacationers and snowbirds too. NOT A SHORT SALE~

Handy Man Special!

THIS ONE WILL BE GONE TODAY! http://ecarmls.com/EmeraldReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=0425100285

prepared for you by Shannyn Stevenson *Direct# 850.259.1874 *Shannyn@knowTheGulfCoast.com*www.KnowTheGulfCoast.com*

Prepared by SHANNYN STEVENSON of 100% Realty Inc on 8/31/2010 7:43:04 AM

Hopes are up for Labor Day tourism

Dusty Ricketts
Published: Today
A month and a half after the BP well was capped and oil finally stopped gushing into the gulf, the spill is still being blamed for keeping tourists from visiting local beaches.
Although business has not yet returned to normal for some rental properties, others have seen an increase in reservations and are expecting big numbers for Labor Day weekend.
are getting a few last-minute reservations for the weekend, but we have been booking it for quite some time, said Eric Outzen, director of sales and marketing for Dale E. Peterson Vacations. looks like our guests over the last 30 days have really started to call in and reserve the holiday weekend.
now, for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it looks like we going to be running in the low 80 percent occupancy range, which given what we went through this summer is a pretty good weekend for us. We excited that we may end the summer here with a pretty decent weekend.
Dale E. Peterson Vacations has offered rate discounts on their properties for the holiday weekend and is taking advantage of the incentive programs offered by Santa Rosa and Walton counties tourist development councils.
With the money they received from the $7 million BP grant, the Santa Rosa County TDC has offered a voucher program that will reimburse people up to 50 percent for staying at a hotel or condominium that collects bed tax.
Walton County started its Be Rewarded campaign, which offers a $250 gift card to Silver Sands Factory Stores or Southwest Airlines. Those gift cards are given to anyone who stays in a Beaches of South Walton lodging between Aug. 2 and Sept. 30. Reservations must be booked by Sept. 15.
Okaloosa County comparable program is expected to start in early September. It will provide a $200 debit card, for use only in Okaloosa, to anyone who pays for a minimum two-night stay in the southern part of the county.
Outzen said the incentives have been effective in enticing tourists back to the region.
almost the feeling of getting back to normal in a way. It the first in a while since we had that feeling, Outzen said.
Dawn Moliterno, executive director of the Walton County Tourist Development Council, said the response from the TDC gift card program has been strong and she expects that to lead to a strong holiday weekend.
pretty optimistic we be able to pull through with a pretty solid Labor Day weekend, Moliterno said.
At ResortQuest, which has more than 3,000 vacation rentals along the Northwest Florida and Alabama coast, Fort Walton Beach and the areas to the west have already seen strong reservations for the holiday.
Rentals in the Orange Beach and Gulf Shores areas are already at about 96 percent occupancy for the holiday weekend. Vickie Warner, regional marketing director for ResortQuest, said Destin and the areas to the east have more availability, but they also have more lodgings.
Warner said that, regionwide, ResortQuest reached about 90 percent occupancy for last year Labor Day and she believes they are on track to match that number this year.
Day weekend is coming in as a blessing, Warner said. day is a brand new day in relation to the number of people that are booking. It more and more all the time.
The Holiday Inn on Okaloosa Island has offered a 20 percent discount and changed its cancellation policy to make it more tourist-friendly. Still, Assistant General Manager Rachel Robinson said the volume of calls and reservations at the hotel has not returned to pre-spill levels.
Other rentals on the island, such as the Breakers, said this year holiday weekend is expected to be slower than years past.
are not even close to where we were last year, Robinson said. on Labor Day weekend, we do have a heavy activity of walk-ins and late calls, but today is Monday and the phones aren even ringing.
done everything to try to get people here, Robinson added.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Feds re-open Gulf waters to fishing

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Aug. 11, 2010 – Federal officials on Tuesday reopened federal waters off the Florida Panhandle to commercial and recreational fishing, saying that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data have shown no oil in the area.

The Coast Guard also says it hasn’t seen any oil in the last 30 days in the 5,144-square mile area of the Gulf, allowing it to be cleared for fishing. Officials in Gulf states, including Florida, were part of the decision, according to NOAA.

The closure had stunted Florida’s Panhandle fishing industry, even though large swaths of the Gulf never closed to fishing. Public confusion about allowable fishing caused problems for charter fishing captains, who saw a significant drop in clients during recent months. It also has led to a downturn in seafood sales with customers wary of possible impacts from the BP spill.

Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in 2Q 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. – Aug. 11, 2010 – Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 21 percent in second quarter 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors®. A total of 51,564 existing homes sold statewide in 2Q 2010; during the same period the year before, a total of 42,604 existing homes sold. It marks the eighth consecutive quarter that Florida has seen higher existing year-to-year home sales, according to the state association.

Statewide sales of existing condominiums in the second quarter rose 45 percent compared to the same time the previous year. This marks the seventh consecutive quarter for increased statewide sales in both the existing home and condo markets compared to year-ago levels.

THIS WEEKS LIST OF…

FORCLOSURES:http://ecarmls.com/EmeraldReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=0424738313

CONDOS: http://ecarmls.com/EmeraldReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=0424738318

HOUSES: http://ecarmls.com/EmeraldReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=0424738323

GOOD THINGS ARE ABOUT TO HAPPEN WITH OUR MARKET………SO, GET READY!

The number one Seller question: when is the best time to sell?

Today’s answer: NOW! Now that the oil situation seems to be more under control;  the buyers are becoming more confident with the condition of our local beaches and searching for their future investments again.  We have all overcome a lot of changes over the past few years with our local real estate market but  I expect to see a positive change in the very near future for our Florida Gulf Coast Properties!

I have been selling Real Estate in this market for over 12 years and have experienced it all….the highs, the lows, and the unexpected. Our local market is not a traditional one and takes the right type of Real Estate agent to understand what it take to sell investment property along the Gulf Coast of Florida.  I KNOW WHAT IT TAKES and I WORK FULL TIME AS A REALTOR (this is no side job for me)

I recently reviewed my past 5 years sales reports and noticed most of the investment property sales took place during the fall to winter months and if all goes well with the oil I will be expecting to see the same (or more) activity during those same months this year.

There are still a few undervalued properties out there but it won’t take long to get these  deals sold and off the market. As those deals continue to sell,  the values will creep up which I am already seeing in many other buildings and complexes.

 A lot could possibly happen over the next few months.  

1. Buyers get confident and the market could all of a sudden come alive and see a strong market again. (I believe this is what will happen)

2. Buyers could continue to stay conservative and look for bargains (which there are not many deals left and the ones out there are selling fast.)

3. or the market will make a slow recovery and buyers may wait one season before making their move.

 I have currently been noticing the local real estate investment inventory along all of Destin is starting to thin out a lot!

 Investors are now searching the web and putting their Real Estate portfolios together as to what properties they want to purchase for the upcoming rental season!

 So, if you have been back and forth about when the best time to sell is.  NOW IS THE TIME! GOOD THINGS ARE ABOUT TO HAPPEN WITH OUR MARKET………SO, GET READY!

 Please call/email/or text me if you have any questions. 850.259.1874

Crystal Sands unit 303A,  Gulf Front 2.5 bedrooms $299,000.00 : http://ecarmls.com/EmeraldReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=0424605403

THIS IS NOT A SHORT SALE ***Seller is ready to move this unit***An intimate, quiet property located directly on the Gulf of Mexico. This is a top floor, 2 story unit with unobstructed views of the Gulf. New A/C installed in 2008. Crystal Sands consist of two Gulf-front (roof replace 2010), 3 story low-rise condo buildings in Destin’s sought after Crystal Beach area. All units face the dazzling white sandy beaches and offer breathtaking views. Property amenities include seasonally heated pool, beach boardwalk and outside shower. Wireless internet is also available. Buyer to verify info. PROPERTY TO BE SOLD “AS IS”.   

(these units were selling between 400k and 700k)                                                                                                                      

 Crystal Sands Active, Pending and Sold 2.5 bedroom since 1/1/2005: http://ecarmls.com/EmeraldReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=0424605412

Mud plugs well; feds say much of Gulf oil is gone

Story user rating:

GREG BLUESTEIN and HARRY R. WEBER
Published: 32 minutes ago
In this image taken from video provided by BP PLC at 4:41 CDT, Tuesday Aug. 3, 2010 the new 75-ton cap atop the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In a significant step toward stopping the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, BP said Wednesday mud that was forced down its blown-out well was holding back the flow of crude in the Gulf of Mexico and it was in a “static condition.” (AP Photo/BP PLC) NO SALES

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) – BP claimed a key victory Wednesday in its effort to plug its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico while the government said the vast majority of oil from the worst offshore spill in U.S. history was already gone.

Declaring it a milestone, BP PLC said mud that was forced down the well was holding back the flow of crude and it was in a “static condition.”

Also, White House energy adviser Carol Browner said on morning TV talk shows that a new assessment found that about 75 percent of the oil has either been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf.

“It was captured. It was skimmed. It was burned. It was contained. Mother Nature did her part,” Browner told NBC’s “Today” show.

In the Gulf, workers stopped pumping mud in after about eight hours of their “static kill” procedure and were monitoring the well to ensure it remained stable, BP said.

“It’s a milestone,” BP PLC spokeswoman Sheila Williams said. “It’s a step toward the killing of the well.”

The next step would be deciding whether to cement the well, Williams said.

The pressure in the well dropped quickly in the first 90 minutes of the static kill procedure Tuesday, a sign that everything was going as planned, wellsite leader Bobby Bolton told The Associated Press. Bolton said Tuesday night that the procedure was going well. “Pressure is down and appears to be stabilizing,” he told the AP then.

Browner told NBC it was good news that the static kill was working but that “we remain focused on the relief well.”

The static kill – also known as bullheading – involved slowly pumping the mud from a ship down lines running to the top of the ruptured well a mile below. BP has said that may be enough by itself to seal the well.

But the mud that was forced down the broken wellhead to permanently plug the gusher is only half the story. To call the mission a success, crews working on a flotilla of vessels on a desolate patch of water need to seal off the well from two directions.

An 18,000-foot relief well BP has been drilling for the past three months will be used later this month to execute a “bottom kill,” in which mud and cement will be injected into the bedrock 2½ miles below the sea floor to finish the job, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.

“There should be no ambiguity about that,” Allen said. “I’m the national incident commander, and this is how this will be handled.”

A 75-ton cap placed on the well in July has been keeping the oil bottled up inside over the past three weeks, but is considered only a temporary measure. BP and the Coast Guard want to plug up the hole with a column of heavy drilling mud and cement to seal it off more securely.

Before the cap was lowered onto the well, 172 million gallons of crude flowed into the sea, unleashed by the April 20 explosion aboard the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 workers. A previous, similar effort failed in May when the mud couldn’t overcome the unstemmed flow of oil.

BP won’t know for certain whether the static kill has succeeded until engineers can use the soon-to-be-completed relief well to check their work.

The task is becoming more urgent because peak hurricane season is just around the corner, Allen said. Tropical Storm Colin formed then dissipated far out in the Atlantic on Tuesday, but early forecasts say it will travel toward the East Coast rather than the Gulf.

___

Weber reported from aboard the Q4000. Bluestein reported from New Orleans. Associated Press writers Robert Barr in London and Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston contributed to this report.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

If you have been thinking of buying or selling now is the time to make your move!

Market is starting to show positive signs again! Real Estate Sales and Values were beginning to make an upward turn in our local right before the Deep Water Horizon invaded our beaches however our beaches have hardly been affected by the oil and the properties values have not changed. Sure…buyers and sellers were worried but even during the uncertainty of the oil…deals were still closing and now values didn’t seem to be affected one way or the other.
Now that there hasn’t been any oil spewing into the Gulf Of Mexico since July 15th and BP finally seems to have a handle on things again. I expect buyers and sellers will become more confident in our market which will lead to an increase in sales, low inventory, and a rise in values. So, if you are looking to buy or sell now is the time to start thinking about your move!

Buyers, if you would like me to send you a details search on a particular building or particular neighborhood, please contact me and I will send it your way.

Sellers, if you are thinking of selling and curious what the value is on your property….Please contact me and a Comparable Market Analysis will be sent to you.

Shannyn@knowthegulfcoast.com