Hi to everyone New and Old!

Hi to everyone new and old! Just a quick note: this was an exhausting week, I ended it with convincing yet another person to fall in love with Brevard county. It is really great to enjoy this through someone's eyes that has never been here. She is a professional photog and I am hoping lots of what she snapped will end up on my website. She was completely devastated by the beauty of Sebastian and the quaintness of Melbourne Beach. She kept saying " I can't believe this is all here!"
She was frankly amazed at all this county has to offer. Drove down to Sebastian and ended in SB just due to super tight scheduling. Saw the new Montecito subdivision, very nice well built Mercedes Homes. She just really found it all awesome. I got the OK from the State for the branch office (1170 A1A, Satellite Beach, Florida! ) and will be at the Space Coast Board on Monday. Have a marvelous week and Oh yeah the swells at the Buccanneer Condos were awesome today!
Fixer-Uppers Made Easy
If you've been passing up on buying a home because of the expense of anticipated cosmetic repairs, you're missing out on a great opportunity. Sure, it used to be that if you bought a home and then applied for a home equity loan to pay for repairs, the result would be two separate loans (or worse, a mortgage plus a short-term loan for repairs that often had a much higher interest rate). This is not the case anymore if you qualify for an FHA Streamlined 203(k) loan. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's FHA Streamlined 203(k) loan allows qualifying home buyers to finance up to an additional $35,000 into their mortgage to improve or upgrade their home before move-in. With this product, home buyers can quickly and easily tap into cash to pay for property repairs or improvements, such as those identified by a home inspector or FHA appraiser. And the best part is, the additional funds are combined into your mortgage, so you only have to worry about one loan. There are, of course, rules and guidelines we have to follow, and not every repair qualifies. But if you or anyone you know are interested in taking advantage of this great opportunity, give us a call, and we'll gladly provide you more information about this valuable program.
School Loan Forgiveness Program
Are you having trouble paying back your federal student loans or you just aren't looking forward to 25 years of monthly payments? Well, according to www.FinAid.com, you could qualify for the government's Loan Forgiveness program, which cancels all or part of qualifying federal student loans based on your work or volunteer service. Created by The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, this program is designed to help certain borrowers with their educational expenses. To qualify, you must: perform volunteer work (AmeriCorps., Peace Corps., and Volunteers in Service to America); perform military service; and teach or practice medicine in certain communities. Ask your Human Resource professional if you qualify or visit FinAid's website. There's also a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program that discharges any remaining qualifying educational debt after 10 years of full-time employment in certain positions of public service. Jobs include: emergency management, government (excluding members of Congress), military service, police officers and fire persons, public health workers (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and others), public education, early childhood education, social work in a public child or family service agency, and many more.
Social Security Suffers
For the first time in 35 years, it's expected that Social Security beneficiaries will receive no cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase next year. Since the automatic COLA went into effect in 1975, beneficiaries have never failed to receive an increase, raising concerns that millions of beneficiaries will suffer a lowered standard of living since, according to The Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare Part D (prescription plans) and Medicare Part C plans are expected to increase. In addition, about 60% of Medicare Part D plans are expected to have an annual deductible in 2010 while only 45% had an annual deductible last year. To address these concerns, legislation has been introduced to provide an increase independent of the automatic benefit adjustment, including H.R. 3557, which seeks to provide a 2010 benefit increase based on the average COLA from the past 10 years. The projected increase in Social Security benefits would average $35 per month, or $420 annually. Congress is also considering creating a one-time payment of up to $250 for singles and $500 for couples. At the time of the writing of this article, however, no such bills have passed, so it's important to review these programs carefully.

Best time to see the Beach is NOW

Good morning....brrrrr.....49 degrees this morning and it is sunny and beautiful. One of my friends said he used his fireplace last night. (Yes they build houses with fireplaces in Florida, Virginia) I plan on a walk on the beach today. Fall is always my favorite time here, I guess it is like summer everywhere else. the great thing about the beach right now is the snowbirds are not quite here and the summer tourists are definitely gone. Not a soul...except me. The smell of the salt is crystal clean. The wind is burning your face, you know it you just can't go in yet. A couple of sandpipers chase the shore looking for sand crabs. This is what makes you know all will be right with the world for the rest of the day, week or month. Aquarina had an absolute auction of 20 units in their condos last week and sold the rest out!!!! Lowest price was around the 150K mark. There is a townhouse near Dakine listed for 285K 3/2 on each side...ocean view from the patio across A1A. The deals are here still expect to kepp finding them for about another year. Meanwhile I will just take a deep breath of Ocean Air and sigh and wish you were here. Sand and smiles across the miles

Working on the Beach

I just read that they are getting closer to a netbook/tablet that I will be able to work straight from my towel. Being self employed as a Realtor, whenever I travel I look at property. Today I had to find a doctor and quick. My youngest had pharyngitis and an icky infection. I popped over to OMNI Urgent Care in almost West Melbourne(You know just west of the Melbourne Square mall. ) After a one hour wait and and 5 cell phone calls from clients here and abroad, Dr. Mayor -Davies fixed her right up with a Z-Pak. West Melbourne has grown immensely and is a city unto itself. It now reaches out to I-95 in what used to be the sticks to most of us. DiPrima, Mercedes Homes and JerJef all build just north in the area of West Eau Gallie. East Eau Gallie is now an arty district becoming quite a nice Friday or Saturday night date. After a nap for her and more work and phone calls for me we popped down to Melbourne Beach. Pulling up to an access just south of the Longboard Shop we trotted down to a perfectly flat day with onshore break. The baitfish and mullet were running. A cute guy half my age with a mohawk was engrossed in his book and tanning. A group down the beach was fishing and resting under umbrellas. The dad fisherman went and picked his baby up from under the umbrella and carried him out to the surf. He dipped this four or five month old baby in the surf a few times and in a way baptized that child as yet another barrier island kid. Oceanfront ranges from condos to mansions all the way down the coast. Current Pricing runs 250K to about 3 million. I hiked back to the car to make a call to London(I could not hear her over the ocean waves) and explain the short sale and foreclosure process to my newest listing.
Next week: The Chinese are here and the dragon is gone but the tip is now for sale. Until next time Welcome Back to the Beach.

Cozy Homes Beachside

Hello Everyone and Welcome Back To The Beach....
Some of us left and are now returning, some are wishing they could return, some stayed and never left (the lucky ones) and then there are those who want to join us in Paradise. Our new office Cozy Homes Beachside will be opening in about two weeks(no rushing here in relaxoland!) We will be located at 1170 Hwy A1A in Satellite Beach , Florida. We are located in the Coquina Point Office building just south of the KFC. and... You guessed it , right across from the beach.
As everyone that I speak to realizes, I am very happy to back on the beach. I took a nine mile bike ride this morning across the river to pick my car up from the mechanic. (Thanks to C&D auto repair in Eau Gallie for fixing up the old Volvo!). I decided that this bike ride should be a daily thing (OK I am 45 and need something to stir this metabolism!) Even though I grew up here, lots has changed and there is nothing like seeing it at Bike speed. In the up coming blogs I will feature , neighborhoods and listings as they come in. From Cocoa Beach to Sebastian it ought to be an interesting year. Any questions or suggestions send 'em to me sunnyflcyn@yahoo.com. Also if you are raising money for charities locally or have a local sports team that can use a plug, send me your requests! I of course am a soccer Mom and we will be featuring Tsunami girls and Satellite Girls Soccer here lots! This is a great place to live and I hope to show it and sell it to anyone thinking about making Breard county their home or home again.