January 2006 - Florida HomeOwner

Florida HomeOwner
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January 2006 (Issue #18 )
HIGHLIGHTS
1
ASSIST-2-SELL
2
CURB APPEAL
2
SAN CASA FURNITURE
3
SUN SHADE CONCEPTS
4
REFLECTIONS IN GOLD
4
D.E. BLANCO
5
HURRICANE GLASS SHIELD
5
HOME TIPS & IDEAS
6
KITCHEN WIZARD
6
A-1 EXPRESS MORTGAGE
6
ALEX TABATABAI
7
MSK PRESSURE WASH/WINDOW
7
FARR INSURANCE GROUP
7
SHOWPLACE FLOORS
7
JENN’S SCRAPBOOK PLACE
8
CONSIGNMENT AMERICA
9
CUSTOM CURBING
10 PERFORMANCE AIR
10 MARTINI MAINTENANCE
11 ADVANCED WINDOW CONCEPTS
12 DAIRY QUEEN
12 MARCO POLO BUFFET & GRILL
12 ANGELO’S ITALIAN MARKET
13 VINCENZO’S LITTLE ITALY
13 24/7 RESTAURANT
13 COOKIN’ OUT GRILLS
14 XTREME TREE SERVICE
14 LAMINATES ‘R’ US
15 WHAT’S GROWING ON?
15 MOBILITY EXPRESS
16 HAZELTINE NURSERIES
PLUS HOMEOWNER NEWS,
FEATURES, TIPS, AND
VALUABLE COUPONS!
Circulation: 30,000
The Guide To Home Enhancement
HOUSING SALES EASE, JOBS STABILIZE
Economy To Show Solid Growth in 2006
A cooling housing market may
put buyers in the driver’s seat while
an improving job market could give
workers and jobseekers more leverage, economists say.
Either way, analysts read a pair
of economic reports recently released as indicating a soft landing
for the high-flying housing sector
and a smoother ride for the labor
market.
Sales of previously owned
homes fell for the second month
in a row, declining a moderate 1.7
percent in November to an annual
rate of 6.97 million units, the lowest since March, the National Association of Realtors reported.
“As more listings of homes come
on the market during this period
of modestly declining sales, more
home buyers will find themselves
in a better position to negotiate,”
said the association’s president,
Thomas Stevens.
Florida Cools A Bit
Florida’s red-hot housing market also showed signs of cooling in
November, with sales growth slowing to a 1 percent gain over November 2004, according to the Florida
Association of Realtors. Prices remained strong. Median sales price
was $250,500, a 31 percent increase from the prior year.
Saying that the market “eased
somewhat in November,” FAR released sales statistics for the state
and 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
“Housing markets nationwide
are starting to see a better balance
between demand and supply, according to many housing industry
analysts, placing home buyers and
sellers on a more even footing,” the
FAR said in a press release.
Double-digit percentages of increase over November of 2004 were
recorded in all 20 MSAs, while the
number of houses sold declined
from November of last year in nine
of the areas.
Sarasota-Bradenton’s
drop
from 1,010 homes sold during November 2004 to 621 last month
was Florida’s highest in percentage
terms. It also was the slowest performance for the market since September 2003.
The median sales price, however, remained $343,600, up 34
percent over last year.
Real estate agents said the
Sarasota-Bradenton market will
probably post moderately lower
sales this year than last.
The Charlotte County-North
Port market saw 15 percent fewer
sales, from 289 to 245.
The largest percentage increase
in median sales price among the
20 MSAs was recorded in Fort Myers-Cape Coral, where the median
rose 49 percent, to $295,400. And
unlike other areas, the number of
houses sold also increased, rising
4 percent.
Job Market Notches Up
Meanwhile, a Labor Department report showed that new applications filed for unemployment
insurance last week edged up to
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
10 REAL ESTATE MISTAKES
TO AVOID IN 2006
From bankrate.com comes this
important list of 10 real estate mistakes to avoid making in 2006:
Not understanding the
length of the buying/
selling process
You know what happens when
you make decisions based on optimism, time-on-the-market averages and generous promises from
agents -- ye old Murphy’s law kicks
in. The home-selling process is often more extensive than you think,
from the early planning stages to
protracted negotiations to oft-delayed closings. Sellers can take
months before they formally accept a buyer’s offer. Financing can
get held up, buyers have tough
time selling their old house, rough
edges discovered in the final walkthrough must be smoothed, etc.
Give yourself a couple extra months
to complete the deal.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
MANASOTA, FL
PERMIT # 495
Page 2 - January 2006
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Florida HomeOwner
MAKING YOUR HOME
“RETIREMENT-READY”
A majority of Americans - at least
75 percent - say they want to spend
their retirement years in their own
homes. They are determined to live
life fully and remain independent
as long as possible.
But most homes weren’t
designed with the elderly in
mind, especially when it comes
to wheelchair accessibility and
bathroom and kitchen safety
features.
With America’s 76 million baby
boomers edging toward retirement,
design for “aging in place” is
catching on. Even homeowners in
their 30s are sometimes thinking
ahead to retirement when they build
their homes, installing features like
extra-wide doorways (easier to get
a wheelchair through) and space
for a future elevator.
So-called
universal
design
has been around since the early
1990s, when the Americans
with Disabilities Act required
public spaces to be handicapped
accessible. The early universaldesign products were unattractive
and obvious, though. The products
have since evolved to be more
discreet, and are finally starting
to catch on with homeowners and
builders.
Some of the products have an
industrial look that fits in with the
industrial urban-loft aesthetic,
like motion-detector faucets and
sinks that can be raised or lowered
electronically. There are elevator
cabs that can be hidden in a
closet, and handhold recesses in
shower walls make an unobtrusive
substitute for grab bars.
The improvements are coming
none too soon, especially given
that in some places (Florida; Pima
County, Ariz.) builders are required
to put in some elder-friendly
features.
But the additions can be
pricey -- an elevator can run as
high as $30,000. And it can take
some adjustments for younger
homeowners to learn how to live
with universal design elements -doors with levers instead of knobs
may be easier for the elderly to
open, but toddlers have an easier
time opening them, too. The same
goes for lower shelves and light
switches. Still, given the aging of
the population, it’s probably worth
at least taking universal design
into consideration when building a
new home.
Going for the Old
With baby boomers creeping up
on retirement age, there’s a growing
market for elderly friendly products.
Here are some of the latest:
Approach sink: a motorized
kitchen sink that can be raised
to standard height or lowered for
CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
FLORIDA CONSUMERS SHOW
RENEWED CONFIDENCE
Floridians’
confidence
in
the economy rose in December,
thanks to retreating gas prices and
a strong job market, University of
Florida economists said Tuesday.
The
Florida
consumer
confidence index rose to 90 this
month, up from 84 in November.
Pump prices are a key part
of the confidence index, and
the average price for regular
unleaded gas in Palm Beach
County on Tuesday was $2.36 a
gallon, according to AAA’s Daily
Fuel Gauge Report.
That’s down from $2.45 a
month ago and $3 two months
ago.
Meanwhile, Florida’s jobless
rate stood at 3.6 percent last
month, only slightly above
October’s record low, helping
Floridians feel confident in their
financial futures.
“Given the positive indicators,
consumers
appear
to
be
feeling pretty good about the
economy and their finances,”
said Chris McCarty, director of
survey research at UF’s Bureau
of Economic and Business
Research.
This translated into good
news for Florida retailers who
were concerned about the holiday
shopping season.
Before the end of the Christmas
buying season, retailers were
reporting that holiday shoppers
procrastinated longer than ever,
thwarting retailers’ strategy to get
them into stores early.
Many blamed gift cards,
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Florida HomeOwner is published monthly and is distributed by U.S. Postal Service direct
mail to 30,000 homeowners in Venice, Nokomis, North Port, and Englewood, FL. All rights
reserved. Reproduction of contents, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission. Florida HomeOwner is not responsible for statements made by advertisers or writers.
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January
2006 - Page 3
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HOUSING SALES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
322,000 - a level consistent with
a labor market revival, economists
said.
That report provided further evidence the jobs market is back on
its feet after being knocked around
by Gulf Coast hurricanes.
In the middle of September,
new applications for jobless benefits surged above the 400,000
mark. Since then, they have slowly
drifted downward and are back at
pre-hurricane levels.
The 322,000 level of claims registered last week was slightly better
than the 324,000 seen for the corresponding week a year ago.
Hiring, which was hampered by
the Gulf Coast hurricanes in September and October, rebounded in
November as employers boosted
payrolls by 215,000.
Analysts predict 200,000 jobs
were added in December, and the
unemployment rate will hold steady
at 5 percent or move down a notch
to 4.9 percent. The employment report for December will be released
next week.
“I think the tide is turning in
favor of the employee or jobseeker
versus the company,” said Rich
Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.
A Federal Reserve survey of
business conditions around the
country, released in late November,
offered anecdotal reports of shortages of specially skilled workers including those in health care, fi-
nance and construction - in some
markets.
Housing Market Still Solid
On the housing front, even with
the drop in existing-home sales
in November, the market remains
in generally healthy shape and is
on track to set record home sales
for the fifth year in a row for all of
2005.
Moderately rising mortgage
rates are allowing the housing
market to cool slowly, easing fears
about a crash, economists said.
The average rate on 30-year
mortgages in November was 6.33
percent, up from 6.07 percent in
October.
This week, however, rates on
30-year mortgages dipped to 6.22
percent, Freddie Mac reported
Thursday.
“The pullback in the housing
market is continuing at an orderly
pace,” said Joel Naroff, president of
Naroff Economic Advisors.
Other housing barometers - including a drop in new-home sales
in November - have flashed signs
that the market has peaked and is
slowing.
The housing report also showed
that the number of existing homes
available for sale rose 1.2 percent
in November to a pace of 2.90 million units, the highest level since
April 1986.
Eventually, a growing inventory
of homes for sale should help cool
prices, analysts said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
“FROM COTTAGES TO CASTLES”
1314B E. Venice Ave.
Venice, FL 34285
bill@billcomeau.com
www.billcomeau.com
“The highest compliment I can
receive is the referral of your friends,
family and business associates.”
Bill Comeau
Realtor/Broker Associate
GRI - CBR
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRUST!
FLORIDA CONSUMERS
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
which have become a big factor in
pushing pre-Christmas sales into
the post-Christmas business.
An especially active shopping
season was experienced by online
sites.
Researchers from Nielsen
NetRatings said online holiday
spending this season totaled
$30.1 billion, an increase of 30
percent compared to the previous
year.
Traditional stores still raked
in 68 percent of 2005 holiday
spending, according to Nielsen
NetRatings, but that figure is a
10-percentage-point drop from
2002. Meanwhile, online sales
grew 11 percentage points.
Analysts expect consumer
confidence to remain at today’s
levels for a couple months, but
some say that rising energy prices
and interest rates likely will put a
damper on consumer spending.
Cold weather in other parts of
the country will boost demand for
natural gas, leading energy bills
in Florida to rise, he said.
And rising rates on mortgages
and home-equity loans will make
it less attractive for both potential
home buyers to make a purchase
and homeowners to tap into their
increasingly valuable homes for
spending sprees.
Greg McBride, senior financial
analyst at Bankrate.com in North
Palm Beach, said he tries not
to read too much into changes
in consumer confidence, given
Americans’ penchant for spending
even as they grouse about the
economy.
“Consumer confidence tends
to fluctuate depending upon
gasoline prices, the stock market
or natural disasters,” McBride
said. “Yet consumer spending has
been pretty solid through thick
and thin.”
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Page 4 - January 2006
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ANOTHER ACTIVE STORM SEASON
EXPECTED IN 2006
Leading London-based hurricane
forecaster Tropical Storm Risk (TSR)
advises people in the Caribbean and
Gulf of Mexico basin to brace for
another active hurricane season in
2006. Predictions for 2006 call for 17
named storms, with TSR predicting
five tropical storms striking the U.S.,
of which two will be major hurricanes.
The agency further predicts two storms
to strike the Caribbean area.
According to TSR, whose longrange outlooks for the exceptionally
active 2004 and 2005 hurricane
season and active 2003 hurricane
seasons proved accurate, it is 81%
likely that U.S. landfalling hurricane
activity in 2006 will be in the top onethird of years historically.
The two main climate factors
influencing the TSR hurricane forecast
for 2006 are higher expected values in
August and September for the speed
of trade winds which blow westward
across the tropical Atlantic and
Caribbean Sea and the temperature of
the sea waters between west Africa and
the Caribbean where many hurricanes
develop.
According to professor Mark
Saunders, the TSR lead scientist, “We
are witnessing record levels of Atlantic
and U.S. landfalling hurricane activity.
The years 2003 to 2005 have seen
the highest three-year total number
of U.S. hurricane landfalls (11) since
1900 and the highest three-year total
number of North Atlantic hurricanes
(30) since reliable records began in
1950.”
However, he counselled against
over-reaction to the exceptional losses
from the Gulf of Mexico in 2005:
“Despite the forecast for another
active hurricane season in 2006,
the chance of seeing as many as
five intense hurricanes in the Gulf
(as happened in 2005) is extremely
remote. No other year since 1950 has
recorded more than two intense Gulf
hurricanes.”
Local
hurricane
protection
companies echo the need for vigilance.
“If you don’t have a plan, or an idea of
how to protect your home or business,
you need to call us”, stated Rob
Martin, General Manager of Hurricane
Glass Shield. “We have hurricane
protection products and solutions to
fit any situation. However, customers
should not wait until the first hint of
a storm and expect any dealer to be
able to take care of their needs”, said
Martin.
Hurricane Glass Shield has been
protecting West Coast Florida residents
from storms since 1993.
Located
in Sarasota at 4123 Clark Road,
the company sells and installs the
country’s leading hurricane protection
products from manufacturers such
as: 3M, General Electric, and QMI
Industries.
The company has an
extensive showroom open Monday
through Fridays from 9 am to 5 pm.
Customers can call for a Free, No
Obligation estimate. Call at 921 –
0844 or toll free 1-866-224-8300.
STRATEGIES TO AVOID PAYING
PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE
If your down payment on a home is
less than 20 percent of the appraised
value or sale price, you must obtain
private mortgage insurance, known as
PMI, with your lender. This will enable
you to obtain a mortgage with a lower
down payment because your lender is
now protected against any default on
the loan.
PMI charges vary depending on
the size of the down payment and
the loan, but they typically amount
to about one-half of 1 percent of the
loan. This can amount to anywhere
from an extra $10 to $200 to your
monthly bill.
There are strategies, however, to
avoid PMI.
·
Consider
a
“piggyback”
loan. If you can come up with a 10%
down payment, the other 10% can
be supplied through a private loan - giving you the 20% down payment.
The second, “piggyback” loan often
comes with a higher interest rate,
but it can be a better deal after tax
considerations than paying the PMI.
This option, however, should be
weighed carefully.
·
Look for a lender who selfinsures low-down-payment loans.
These lenders, rather than charge PMI,
bump up the interest rate a quarter
point or so to compensate themselves
for the greater risk of default on lowdown loans. The advantage of paying
the higher rate is that the interest
charges are deductible on federal
income taxes; PMI payments are not.
·
Get your house revalued.
Home values in many parts of the
country have increased steadily over
the past few years. The amount you
owe for your mortgage may have
dropped to less than 80% of the home
value, simply because the equity has
risen so dramatically. (Note: no matter
how much your home has appreciated,
you still must pay the first two years of
the PMI.) Lender policies vary on PMI
cancellation, so you’ll need to check
the rules of your institution. And you’ll
need an appraisal.
Florida HomeOwner
HOME
TIPS & IDEAS
20
TIPS
TO
HELP
YOU
STREAMLINE YOUR MORNING
ROUTINE
·
Invest in a coffee maker
with an automatic timer.
·
Whatever type of coffee
maker you own, set it up with
water and coffee the night before.
If it doesn’t have an automatic
timer, all you have to do is turn it
on in the morning.
·
Put coffee mugs and a covered sugar container out near the
coffee maker the night before.
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
·
If you’re a tea drinker, put
your favorite tea bags in mugs
the night before or keep an assortment in a small basket or
plate on the table.
·
Set out insulated travel
mugs near the coffee maker the
night before if you take your coffee on the road.
·
Set the breakfast table the
night before.
·
Keep sliced fruit in a
sealed container in the fridge for
the next morning.
·
Pour breakfast juice in
a pitcher and cover with plastic
wrap the night before.
·
Squeeze some fresh juice
the day before and refrigerate it
until ready to use.
·
Set out boxes of cold cereal on the breakfast table as well.
·
Put dinner dishes away
so that, after breakfast, you or
another family member can load
the dishwasher with the breakfast plates and so on and reset
the table for the night’s meal.
·
Keep opened breakfast
condiments such as honey, jelly and syrup in a basket in the
fridge so you can put them all out
at once.
·
Buy small fruits such as
berries and dried fruits because
they don’t need to be cut. They
are delicious in fruit salads and
served on cereal.
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January
2006 - Page 5
·
Scramble eggs the night
before and refrigerate them in a
covered container until you cook
them in the morning.
·
Lay sliced bacon out on a
cooking tray covered with plastic
wrap the night before and store
in the fridge until ready to cook
in the broiler.
·
If you take vitamins or
medications, use small plastic
pill boxes to sort them in advance
and put them on the breakfast
table the night before.
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Page 6 - January 2006
Florida HomeOwner
HOUSING SALES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
The median sales price of an existing home stood at $215,000 in
November. That was down slightly
from $218,000 in October but was
up 13.2 percent from November
2004. The median price is where
half sell for more and half sell for
less.
The slowing in housing comes
as the Federal Reserve has been
boosting short-term interest rates
for nearly two years. The Fed this
month lifted a key rate to its highest level in 41/2 years to keep the
economy and inflation on an even
keel. Another rate increase is expected on Jan. 31.
Even with expectations that
housing - a major supporter of economic activity - will slow in 2006,
the economy should log respectable
growth next year, analysts said.
“The cooling U.S. housing sector should apply a dampener to
consumer spending . . . but some
of this could be offset by still-decent job growth,” said Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.
Recently, the National Association of Realtors issued an optimistic report for this year and a healthy
prediction for 2006.
“The housing market for 2005
is headed for a fifth consecutive annual record,” the group said, “and
sales activity in 2006 is expected
to be the second-best year in history.”
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ANALYSIS
Rates on 30-year mortgages dipped
the first week of January 2006, although it was a mixed bag for rates on
other home loans.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported in its weekly survey that rates on
30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped
to 6.21 percent for the week ending
Jan. 6. That was down slightly from
the prior week’s average rate of 6.22
percent and was the lowest since late
October.
“Interest rates for 30-year fixedrate mortgages currently are below the
monthly averages set in November and
December of 2005,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing
a home mortgage, averaged 5.76 percent, unchanged from the prior week.
One-year adjustable rate mortgages, however, edged up to 5.16 percent,
compared with 5.15 percent a week
earlier. Rates on five-year hybrid adjustable rate mortgages averaged 5.78
percent, down a notch from 5.79 percent.
Movements in mortgage rates were
subdued as investors in financial markets -- which influence the direction of
mortgage rates -- digested minutes of
the Federal Reserve’s December meeting. The minutes suggested the Fed’s
nearly two-year rate-raising campaign
could be winding down this year.
“Financial markets paused this
week, trying to decipher the December
minutes ... which seemed to hint that
the Fed might slow the pace of rate
hikes in 2006. As a result, mortgage
rates were little changed this week,”
Nothaft said.
Although home sales are slowing,
they were expected to register their
best-year ever in 2005. That would
come after home sales set record highs
in the previous four years. Results for
all of 2005 will be released later this
month.
Home prices are expected to cool,
too. David Seiders, chief economist
at the National Association of Home
Builders, predicts home prices will rise
by 6.5 percent this year, versus the
double-digit gains seen previously.
A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 5.77 percent, 15-year mortgages stood at 5.21 percent, one-year
ARMs were at 4.10 percent and fiveyear ARMs averaged 5.03 percent.
With rates on one-year ARMs going
up more over the past year than rates
on 30-year mortgages, ARM lending is
expected to slow. “Today ARMs account
for about 30 percent of new loans. We
forecast that share to fall to around 25
percent by the end of 2006,” Nothaft
said
Florida HomeOwner
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
January
2006 - Page 7
TIPS FOR BUYING AN UNBUILT HOME
As an increasing number of
Americans are snatching up new
homes at record levels and technology’s role in the home-buying process continues to mount,
many homebuyers are thrust into
the position of buying their homes
site unseen.
The National Association of
Home Builders reports that newhome sales in August reached a
record 996,000 units on a seasonally adjusted annual basis.
“Very low interest rates and the
widely held view that housing is a
very good investment are largely
responsible for the surge in new
home sales,” said NAHB President
Gary Garczynski, a builder/developer from Woodbridge, Va.
In addition, many home shoppers are relying on the Internet to
conduct virtual tours of new-home
plans and research home prices,
availability, and options.
The National Association of
Realtors recently reported that 62
percent of buyers with Web access surf the Internet to shop for a
home; 41 percent use the Web as
a tool in searching for a home.
As a result, an increasing number of new-home shoppers are
buying their homes site-unseen,
usually after viewing models and
then selecting a lot. Some buyers
know even less about what they’re
getting into.
In 2000, California’s largest
homebuilder, Kaufman and Broad
Home Corporation, held an online
auction, selling 18 new homes in
just 19 seconds. The homes, which
ranged in price from the mid$90,000s to the mid-$300,000s,
are located in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.
In addition, rising home prices
- triggered in many regions by demand outstripping supply - means
the competition to buy a new home
grows fierce as homes are being
sold before they’re built.
While this may cause some
level of uneasiness as you wait out
weather delays, watch fluctuating
mortgage rates, and worry that the
builder may be taking shortcuts to
get your house built as quickly as
possible, there are ways to avoid
potential problems. The Better
Business Bureau suggests you:
· Investigate land plans. While
you may know where your house
will be located on the community
map, look into what will be happening around you. Go to your local land planning office as well as
any current zoning requirements
and any proposals that have been
submitted to develop land near
your home.
· Visit your builder’s other
projects. Check out the quality of
the community, landscaping, and
other amenities. Talk to residents
there about their experience with
the builder.
· Check with your BBB for a
reliability report on the developer.
BBB branches maintain files on
many companies in their service
area. These reports, which cover
the past three years, will tell you
how long the company has been
in business, complaint patterns,
whether the company is pre-com-
mitted to a dispute resolution program, whether the company is a
member of the BBB, and whether there has been any enforceCONTINUED ON PAGE 12
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Page 8 - January 2006
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
Florida HomeOwner
9 QUICK LANDSCAPE FIXES
1. Remove dead or diseased limbs
from trees and shrubs. Deadhead or
remove spent annuals.
2. Clean up any edging that has
started to look ragged from contact
with mower blades or encroaching turfgrass. A power edger can quickly create
clean lines.
3. Wash the driveway. Seal an asphalt drive if needed and if you have
time. Concrete drives can be sealed,
patched or cleaned also.
4. Clean the house itself, including
brick or siding that are mildewed and
areas of the foundation where rain may
have splashed up mud.
5. Add a new layer of mulch to
the planting beds and paths. For an
even quicker fix, stir up existing mulch
to make it look fresh.
6. Add containers with in-season flowering or foliage plants. These
will help to draw the eye away from
the spots you’d rather not have people
looking at.
7. Clean and seal your deck, especially if your gathering will take place
outdoors.
8. Install low voltage lighting for
security and to highlight your home’s
best features.
9. Build simple enclosures for the
“service” areas such as trash cans and
utilities. Lattice or fence panels can be
installed relatively quickly.
10 REAL ESTATE MISTAKES
ilar “comps” from your agent. But
realize the true value of a house is
what someone is willing to pay for
it.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Exposing your hand
Never let love for a house cloud
your vision. Try to contain your
enthusiasm. Otherwise, the sellers and (or) their agent will know
they’ve hooked a live one and assume you may forgive certain flaws
because you know the place is right
for you. You can scream “yes!”
when you get back out in your car.
Skipping the loan
preapproval step
For buyers, getting preapproved
for a mortgage gives you a clear
idea of how much you can safely
borrow, plus it addresses creditrating issues and kick-starts other
financial paperwork. What’s more,
it identifies you as a serious buyer.
Sellers with a hot property should
demand nothing less than proof of
preapproval from the potential buyer’s financial institution. No sense
in wasting time on time-wasters.
Assuming the appraisal
equals actual value
In theory, appraisals are objective estimates of value. But several
different appraisals can yield several different numbers. For example,
an appraisal that’s been done for a
possible refinance may have been
slightly inflated to encourage that
refinance. So sellers, before you
put your home on the market, have
an agent do a comparative market analysis to better indicate the
home’s worth. And buyers, get sim-
Timing the bubble “burst”
Thousands of apprehensive sellers and buyers have been playing
this game since the late 1990s, trying to time their sale to either beat
the “pop” and gain optimal profits,
or to swoop in and pluck up cheap
property after a burst. In almost all
sections of the country, the bubble
remains “intact.” For the most part,
real estate bubbles don’t pop, they
just slowly deflate and the market
levels off then surges again in the
near future. Always take the approach that real estate is a longterm investment.
Hiring the wrong agent
Buyers and sellers should interview several agents, small and
large. Get references and success
stories. You may not benefit by
opting for an agency’s top-volume
seller. That top-producing agent
may have listed 40 homes last year
and sold 30, but another agent may
have listed 15 and sold 14. Opting
for a friend or family member who
is an agent doesn’t assure you of
results either. It could cause a rift.
And choosing the agent who suggests the highest listing price is not
a recipe for success either -- nor is
opting for the agent who charges
the lowest commission. Remember
CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
Florida HomeOwner
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
January
2006 - Page 9
THE SIMPLE DOORBELL
GOES HIGH-TECH
Arriving at the home of Robyn
Nelson, visitors get serenaded by
a range of musical sounds, from
Eastern-inspired tunes to spaceage lounge music.
But the welcoming notes aren’t
being piped out through an outdoor
sound system. They’re emanating from a set of $135, silver-andblack doorbells Ms. Nelson recently
installed. A third option: The sound
of the doorbell’s designer knocking
on an old wooden door.
“It’s the ring tones that sold
me,” says Ms. Nelson, a real-estate
broker in Washington, D.C. “The
Oriental music is perfect with my
décor -- it’s like a musical snapshot
of my home.”
Struggling to compete with
increasingly popular video-security systems, doorbell makers are
upgrading their offerings. Some
are focusing on the latest sounds
in music, while others are adding new-age designs to coordinate
with a home’s exterior. Seattlebased manufacturer spOre has
four models illuminated by colored
LED lights that retail from $29 to
$89. The latest doorbell introduced
by the Conran Shop in New York
is by Danish designer Jacob Jensen and features five different ring
tones. Habiform, a maker in Carlsbad, Calif., recently started selling
indoor door chimes that look like
high-end stereo speakers.
Doorbell or Coaster?
The new products are primarily geared toward design-conscious
homeowners whose taste would
run to squares of satin aluminum
with brightly colored push pads,
coaster-sized models in anodized
metal or even old-fashioned hotel
desk-bell shapes.
Three firms -- Heath Zenith,
Dimango and Broan-NuTone -dominate retail sales, an approximately $150 million business, according to industry executives. But
the Internet has allowed a few niche
players like Hannets Design Shop
in Germany to get in the business.
Graphic designer Peter Gumeson,
for example, started Habiform after
being frustrated while renovating
his own home.
So far, most of the earliest
adapters have been design professionals who are discovering the
bells while researching new products. Seattle architect Suzanne
Zahr recently bought an illuminated, amber-colored, square doorbell
for her own home after spotting one
in a product catalog from a lighting firm. She liked the first one so
much she bought a second for the
back door “so people coming that
way wouldn’t miss out on the doorbell experience,” says Ms. Zahr.
Of course, not everyone thinks
their entryway is the place for a
trendy conversation piece. BroanNuTone says it’s seeing a grow-
CLEANER INDOOR AIR
HELPS ALLERGIES
The air in your home could be
making you miserable.
Indoor air can be up to five
times as polluted as outdoor air,
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency reports. With asthma and
allergies on the rise, a clean home is
important for reducing symptoms,
said Dr. John Winder, an allergist
who chairs the Nationwide Asthma
Screening Program of the American
College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
Here are some tips from Winder and the Oreck vacuum cleaner
company:
• Dust with vacuum tools instead of cloths, because cloths can
spread dust. Don’t ignore hardto-reach spots such as moldings,
drapes and the space under beds.
• Encase mattresses and pillows in allergen-protective covers,
and vacuum mattresses and pillows regularly.
• Wash linens in hot water (130
degrees or higher) to kill dust mites
and their eggs.
• Deep-clean carpets and other
floor surfaces at least once a season.
• Use an air purifier to remove
airborne pollutants.
• Keep homes cool and dry, with
humidity at 50 percent or less. If
a humidifier is used, empty it frequently to prevent mold growth in
the tank.
• Don’t let pets sleep in the bedroom.
• Keep dust catchers such as
stuffed animals or crowded shelves
to a minimum, and vacuum stuffed
toys.
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ing interest in door chimes that
are flush with the wall and can be
painted over.
“Designers tell us all the time
that they want the doorbell to be
heard but not seen,” says NuTone
marketing manager Karen Collins.
“A chime can be a design statement, but sometimes you just want
it to completely disappear.”
As you consider which doorbell
tune expresses the “real you”, one
thing to keep in mind is whether
you expect to sell your home anytime soon. That’s because at least
one survey has found that an overwhelming percentage of potential
house buyers claim that being
confronted by a doorbell playing a
novelty tune is enough to convince
them of the property owner’s bad
taste.
The same survey of 5,000 house
buyers revealed that the majority
make up their mind about a house
before they even set foot in it.
Continuous concrete edgings from
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Page 10 - January 2006
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Joe Milliron figures he better
get used to these hurricanes.
He’s looking for a home in
Broward County and insists that
whatever he buys has shutters or
shatterproof glass.
And although Florida Power &
Light Co. says there’s no way to
know for sure when a particular
home will have power restored
after a hurricane, Milliron wants
to improve his chances by living
near a hospital or fire station.
“Grids are very important,”
Milliron, 24, said this week from
Boca Raton, where he’s director of operations for TransMedia
Group, a public-relations firm. “I
don’t want to lose $500 worth of
food in my refrigerator. Whatever
home I buy, I want to make sure
it can withstand these things.”
Incredibly, five hurricanes
in 13 months won’t burst South
Florida’s housing bubble, most
experts agree, but the storms
could change the way people look
at homes. Buyers likely will yearn
less for fancy floor plans and
fenced-in yards and focus more
on homes with new roofs and
high-priority power grids.
“People are going to have to do
more due diligence,” said Michael
Cannon, managing director of Integra Realty Resources in Miami.
“They’re going to have to better
understand the structural components of a home. They can’t
be sold any longer on a beautiful
coat of paint or the dream of living in South Florida.”
With weather experts predicting busy storm seasons in the
years ahead, hurricane-proof
homes, particularly those built
since tougher codes were instituted after Hurricane Andrew in
1992, will sell faster and for more
money than less-sturdy homes,
Cannon said.
“We’re in a 20-year cycle,” he
said. “South Florida is a great
place to be for the better part of
the year. We just have to be more
prepared.”
Mary Stratos intends to be.
She decided to put her Boynton Beach home on the market
just days after Hurricane Wilma.
She says she’s not leaving the
area, but she is downsizing, tired
of the time it takes to prep her
property for a storm.
“It’s taxing,” the Carver Middle
School principal said this week.
“I just need something where it’s
a little easier to batten down the
hatches.”
Despite hurricanes Frances
and Jeanne last year and Katrina, Rita and Wilma this year,
the real estate market remains
solid, although it is starting to
slow down.
But the storms won’t hurt the
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Florida HomeOwner
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
January
2006 - Page 11
YOU RANG?
Concierges Make Absent Owners At Home
One October evening last year,
after a tiring flight from Scotland,
Sue Ellis and her family entered
their vacation home near Sarasota,
for their first holiday visit. They’d
never slept in the house and hadn’t
yet filled its cabinets with even dinnerware or toiletries.
But they arrived to find a bed,
inflatable beds for their children,
and enough basics to get through
the weekend until they could meet
with the interior designer that a
home-concierge service arranged
for them.
“We even had chicken, salad,
fruit and -- most importantly -wine in the fridge upon arrival ...
along with a welcome basket of
muffins!” said Ellis, who discovered
Key Concierge through her Realtor.
“They also organized all the utilities
and the pool service.
Ellis is just one of many homeowners to benefit from the services of home concierges -- a growing
industry. These businesses have
evolved past the basics of plant and
pet sitting. Today, concierges have
become personal shoppers, delivery
drivers, airport-shuttle drivers and
more. They act as a liaison among
clients and their interior designers,
builders, Realtors and pool- and
lawn-care specialists. And they
provide peace of mind by answering security alarms at 3 a.m. and
giving telephone, photo and e-mail
updates during hurricane season.
“When our home is empty, they
check it weekly, check the mail
and pay any bills,” said Ellis, who
has employed a home concierge for
more than a year. “When we arrive at the airport, they pick us up.
They also fill the fridge and have
the house freshened up before we
arrive so that our vacation starts
the moment we walk in the door - no shopping, making beds, opening unpaid bills. On our return at
Christmas, they had arranged for
Christmas lights to be up, and even
offered to buy our Christmas presents and wrap them!”
With the growth in the secondhome market, these businesses
are paying attention to customer
demand. They’re getting more requests from clients who are building, remodeling or decorating new
or existing homes.
Key Concierge’s Sue Robinson learned this from experience
when she and her husband, Ferruh Muktar, moved to Sarasota
from Baltimore. She’s been able
to capitalize on that experience,
which cost her repeated flights to
Florida during her relocation process. One of Key Concierge’s international clients, building a home on
Longboat Key, watched his project
fall behind schedule until he hired
the company to go to bat for him.
“My client was clearly frus-
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tilizer.
He likes to cut at about 6:30
p.m. on the weekdays or 10 a.m.
on weekends -- when the grass is
nice and dry. Lawnmowing should
not be done when the grass is wet
(under which conditions disease
can be introduced, plus you incur the risk of slipping and getting injured).
Mr. Swain uses fresh fuel every month, and once a season,
gets the blades sharpened and
the oil replaced.
Of course, there is an even
easier way to get your lawn to look
its best: hire a company to do it.
One of the top local companies
providing lawn maintenance services is Martini Maintenance. See
their ad on the opposite page.
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
A MOWER SELLER’S SECRETS TO HAVING
A GREAT LAWN
Each time he mows his lawn,
Tom Swain, general manager of
consumer products at Toro, goes
in a different pattern. One day
he’ll cut on a diagonal, five days
later he’ll cut in long vertical or
horizontal stripes. That helps the
grass grow straight instead of in
the direction of the wheel marks,
he says.
Mr. Swain, who has been cutting grass since his teenage years,
prefers a self-propelled mower because he gets some exercise. He
leaves about 3.5 inches of height,
but when it’s warmer he’ll leave
the grass a notch taller to keep it
from scorching. Also, weeds have
a hard time taking root when the
grass is a little higher, he says.
He prefers to use a recycling
mower, so small clippings can
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real estate market in the long
term, especially because interest
rates remain historically low, experts say.
“The stock market is not a
good vehicle for investment, so
(Baby Boomers) are buying second homes down here and will
continue to do that,” said Kiku
Martinson, director of real estate
for Campbell & Rosemurgy in
Deerfield Beach. “It’ll be a little
bit slow for awhile during the holiday season, but it’ll bounce right
back.”
Agents here say relatively
few people are leaving, even with
looming price hikes for electricity and insurance making it more
difficult to own a home.
And neither are northerners
reluctant to move here, especially
with the national media aban-
doning coverage of Wilma after a
day or two.
Initially, sales slow down after a hurricane, only to return to
normal two to three months later,
said Mike Pappas, president of
Keyes Co. Realtors in Miami.
Even as home prices and insurance and electricity costs rise,
Florida still compares favorably
to other parts of the world, Pappas said.
“If you look at worldwide real
estate prices, we’re a bargain
still,” Pappas said. “I think the
hurricanes will have no effect except on those people who wanted
to leave anyway.”
“As long as it gets cold in the
Northeast,” said Martinson of
Campbell & Rosemurgy in Deerfield, “people will be coming to
Florida to buy real estate.”
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
Page 12 - January 2006
Florida HomeOwner
KEEPING IN TOUCH
AFTER A MOVE
Something really different
Keeping in touch with friends and
family after a move can be difficult.
It’s easy after a move to become
quickly involved in activities, becoming so busy that a week or more can
pass without us talking to even the
oldest of friends. Just remember that
although you have moved on the new
and exciting things, there are loved
ones you have left behind.
Here are three quick and simple
ways for you to keep in contact with
your loved ones:
Emails and Egreetings
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Keep in contact by writing emails.
I recommend setting up a “correspondence routine” of sorts. If Sundays are your least busy days, then
set aside 30 minutes on that day
each week to write emails to family
and friends.
Mention what new developments
there are in your life, perhaps tell a
funny anecdote from your week, and
be sure to ask how they have been.
If you are really crunched for
time, try what is popular among college students: the “update” email,
in which the writer sends one mass
email to all of their friends and family, so that even if they don’t have
the time to write 50 separate emails,
those they care about still hear from
them on a semi-regular basis.
Also, consider sending Egreetings. There are numerous websites
that offer these free online greeting
cards. Send them for birthdays, an-
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ment actions taken by a government agency.
· Find out about the homeowners association, if there is one.
Obtain a copy of the rules and ask
how much fees are.
· Scrutinize the contract. You
may want to have an attorney review it before you sign it. Make
sure upgrades are included. You
should also add a statement that
allows you to visit the site at several designated times. Keep your
deposit check as small as possible.
· Protect your mortgage rate.
When the closing date draws near,
you’ll want to lock in your interest rate. If the builder is delayed
niversaries, holidays, or simply to
say hello. You can Google the phrase
“free egreetings,” or visit a site I have
used called 123greetings.
Handwritten Notes
Another option is traditional letter writing. These don’t have to be
pages long. Even a few handwritten
lines can carry a lot of emotion. Get
into the habit of writing a traditional,
handwritten letter every weekend to
one of your loved ones. The only cost
will be the 37 cent stamp (for now).
Phone Calls
This is the most time consuming of the three options, but it can
also be the most satisfying. Keep in
mind that many cell phones now offer unlimited minutes on nights and
weekends and many long distance
carriers have plans that allow for unlimited long distance at a set fee.
If you plan on keeping in touch
by phone, I would recommend being
sure you have some sort of phone
plan that allows you either unlimited long distance or a considerable
amount of minutes. You should never have to make the decision not to
call a loved one simply because it will
cost too much.
So remember, keeping in touch
after a move can be difficult, but with
just a few minutes, clicking on the
“send” button or pressing the stamp
onto the envelope, you and your loved
ones can be a little bit closer.
in delivering your house on time,
ask your lender if you can extend
your lock-in rate. If that isn’t successful, ask the lender to close the
loan and hold some of the money
in escrow until the appraiser verifies the home is complete.
Most importantly, you’ll want
to inspect the house thoroughly
when it’s done. You should strongly consider hiring a professional
home inspector. Be very thorough
in inspecting every aspect of the
home - systems, roofing, counters,
fixtures, flooring, walls, and landscaping - for potential damage.
As NAHB says, once you move
in it will be difficult to prove whether damage was caused during the
building process, especially considering the potential for damage
that can occur during move-in.
Florida HomeOwner
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
YOU RANG?
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
Please patronize
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markets featured
on theses pages.
Help support
our
local
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trated and worried that the house
would not be finished for his family’s Easter holiday,” said Robinson.
“We went to the job site every day,
making sure that things stayed on
track. We were able to expedite the
project through our own experiences. ... When his family arrived, no
one would have guessed what chaos the place had been just weeks
before.”
Because of an influx of homebuyers from around the globe,
business in the Sarasota area is
thriving, giving concierge firms the
opportunity to expand. Key Concierge incorporated two years ago
with a goal of franchising.
Homeowners
pay
between
$12.50 and $35 for weekly or
monthly visits to theirs condominiums or houses. Some homeowners
want multiple weekly visits; others
have multiple properties that need
watching. Some choose monthly or
seasonal contracts; others choose
annual terms.
Clients choose which tasks
are to be performed upon each
visit ahead of time with the homeconcierge business, though these
change according to weather patterns, scheduled visits to the home,
and even such events as remodeling
and interior design. Some companies charge according to a home’s
size; others charge a flat rate.
William Beatty of The Watch
Eye has seen his share of unconventional requests in 22 years as
January
2006 - Page 13
a home concierge. One emergency
he’s often seen is leaky plumbing,
he said. Once he had to rush to turn
off a client’s water because it was
flooding her first-floor neighbor’s
condominium. But non-emergency
situations still include watching
pets -- one client has about 20.
A number of concierge firms
saw their business grow as a result
of Florida’s recent spate of hurricanes. Many clients assigned the
firms the responsibility of watching
over hurricane preparations, such
as shutter installation.
Key Concierge’s Robinson said
her company offers several measures to ensure a client’s relief
during severe weather events. “We
give our customers peace of mind
when they’re away through toll-free
phone numbers and Web sites and
other means. We check the homes
as quickly as we can, and we get
back to the customer immediately
- whether there is news or no news
to report,” she said.
Then she offered another benefit
of hiring her company: “For many
of our clients, it’s Muktar’s foreignlanguage skills that are helpful because, when you’re in a crisis like
a hurricane or a sewage problem,
you need to be able to understand
the nuances of a foreign client’s
language quickly and accurately.”
A home-concierge company
typically is listed as an alarm company’s first call in case an alarm
goes off. That’s why the concierges
prefer to limit their coverage areas,
for faster response.
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
Page 14 - January 2006
Florida HomeOwner
POST-HOLIDAY CLEANUP
Dread the thought of cleaning
up now that the holidays are over?
These undecorating tips will help
make the process faster and more
pleasant:
1.) Place ornaments in a box
filled with shredded newspaper - then you won’t need to wrap the
ornaments separately.
Don’t remove the hooks from the
ornaments. Secure them to the wire
with needle-nose pliers. This will
save you time and trouble.
2.) Hang ribbons on a heavyduty curtain rod installed in a closet,
using a small piece of tape to keep
the loose ends from rewinding.
3.) Pack extension cords together with their lights so you’ll have
them when needed.
Wind lights on a length of old
closet pole or similar dowel. Leave
a few empty inches at the bottom so
that next year, it’s easy to unwind
the lights -- you can simply pass the
pole around the tree like a baton.
4.) Remove tinsel with an old
hairbrush or a long-handled bristle
scrub brush.
Store your wreath by first tying
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it to a hanger. Then place a hole in
the top of a drawstring garbage bag.
Pull the hanger through the hole
and slip the bag over the wreath,
pulling the string closed at the bottom. Hang the wreath on a nail in
attic.
Store left over gift-wrap by first
tightly wrapping it around the roll.
Secure it with another cardboard
roll sliced vertically and snapped
over the wrapping. You can also use
PVC piping to secure the wrapping.
To collect needles from the carpet, put double-stick tape on the
bottom of your socks and dance
around to pick up the needles.
Add bags filled with cinnamon
sticks and whole cloves to boxes
containing holiday towels and linens. Poke pinholes in the bags to allow the scent to escape, and tightly
seal the box.
Wrap the box of Christmas items
in holiday paper. It’ll stand out in
the attic or basement so you can
locate it among other cartons next
year.
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Florida HomeOwner
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
January
2006 - Page 15
Monthly Garden News - January
We still can enjoy some months
of color if annuals are installed as
soon as possible. Existing plantings
that are still green and fruiting should
continue to receive normal care until
just after the chilly weather.
Vegetable choices are abundant,
and many bulbs can also be planted.
You can also plant most woody shrubs
and trees if there is a good water
supply handy, since reliable rains will
not be back until June.
Most citrus trees are in a slow
growing mode this month. The bloom
buds have formed and it won’t be long
until we are enjoying the wonderfully
fragrant orange blossoms – our state
flower. You may need a protective
spray to keep them from aborting,
though.
Your annual beds should be full of
RETIREMENT-READY
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
wheelchair-users at the touch of a
button. The Idaho universal design
company’s sales have quadrupled
to $1 million over the past two
years.
True Touch dimmer: one of a
series of senior-friendly products
from a lighting-controls company,
it’s designed for people with limited
range of motion.
Delta e-Flow faucet: it turns
10 REAL ESTATE MISTAKES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
the SEED qualities in an agent:
smart, empathic, experienced and
dedicated will usually get the job
done right
Missing the big picture
Opting for a dream house that
will otherwise create negative
quality-of-life challenges such as
longer commutes, distant schools,
limited access to services, higher
taxes, more stringent deed restrictions, stricter homeowner associations and other chronic headache-makers can cause buyers
to question their decisions after a
few months. Make sure your that
dream house is grounded in reality.
Not knowing what you’re
signing
The sales contract is a legally
binding document. Review it as if
your legal well-being is at stake. It
should address all your concerns
and the concerns of the other
party, such as who will pay what
for closing costs and repairs expenses. A poorly written or incomplete contract can cost you lots of
time, money and emotional energy
and tie up your deal for weeks or
months.
If there have been any verbal
commitments, they should be put
in writing. If you’re not using an
attorney, make sure your agent is
proactive in the construction and
interpretation of the contract be-
blooms and adding a touch of class to
your landscape. Remember annuals
need to grow constantly and therefore
should be fertilized each month.
What to do with that poinsettia
your received for the holidays? Why
not plant it in your yard this spring!
Remember to keep it watered and
fertilized until ready to plant.
Now is a good time to do your
spring planning. Break out some paper
and pencil to decide where new trees,
shrub, flower beds and more should
go.
And don’t forget that the third
Friday in January is Florida’s Arbor
Day – how about planting a nice
shade tree?
[What’s Growing On is sponsored by
Hazeltine Nurseries of Venice. See their
complete ad and special offers on page
16.]
on and off electronically with a
wave of the hand. Good for those
with arthritis -- but kids can have
a little too much fun.
Duet washer and dryer: a highend front-loading washer and dryer
with an optional pedestal drawer
that eases loading and unloading.
Brass Leaf lever: an arthritisfriendly door lever, shaped like a
leaf, that makes opening a door
easier and has a patented latch
that can’t be locked accidentally.
fore you sign it or make concessions.
Poor timing
How many stories have you
heard about people drowning under the weight of two mortgages
because they committed to a new
house before selling their old one?
The most important transaction in
the “buying-one-and-selling-one
scenario” is the sale. Sometimes,
you have little choice in the matter, but when you do, secure the
sale of the old house before signing on the dotted line for the new
one. Sure, you hate to miss out on
that rare find and you might have
to find an interim rental, but that’s
better than spending time in financial limbo and biting your fingernails to the quick.
Not completing your due
diligence with a criminal
search
In many states, agents are not
obliged to tell you if there is a sex
offender or other unsavory resident in a neighborhood you’re eyeing unless you ask. Do so. They
tell you to do your own research.
Do so. Check with your area lawenforcement agency about how to
access sex-offender lists and other
criminal data bases for this crucial
information.
VENICE YMCA PLANS 19TH ANNUAL
BLACK TIE EVENT
Co-chairs Michelle Hazeltine and Christine
Pfahler, along with a dynamic 28-member
event committee, have been working
diligently throughout the past year planning
Venice’s premier social event, the YMCA’s
19th Annual Black Tie Dinner and Auction,
to be held February 11, 2006.
This year’s theme “Building Our Future”
highlights the construction of the YMCA’s
new 55,000 square foot, $8 million stateof-the-art facility, scheduled for completion
in early 2007. More than 550 guests are
expected to attend what is sure to be a soldout event.
Funds raised at the annual event provide
YMCA scholarship assistance to children and
families in need throughout our community.
Last year, the South County Family YMCA
provided more than $300,000 in scholarships
to over 400 families.
This year’s event features a cocktail hour
and silent auction, a gourmet dinner by
Michael’s on East, dancing to the band Two
Pseudo, and a live auction that will include
a 2006 Pontiac Solstice Roadster, a 16foot Boston Whaler, a variety of fabulous
vacation packages, jewelry, wine collections,
and much more. $50 raffle tickets are now
available at the YMCA for a 2006 Harley
Davidson XL 883 Sportster. Raffle will be
held the night of the event; winners need not
be present to win.
Tickets to the event are $175/person, and a
limited number are still available. For ticket
sales, Harley raffle tickets, or additional
information, please stop by the YMCA at
701 Center Road or contact Julia Steele,
Director of Development at 207-9622;
email jsteele@veniceymca.org
TO ADVERTISE CALL 941-650-5831
Page 16 - January 2006
Florida HomeOwner
BRING IN THE
NEW YEAR
with Hazeltine Nurseries
SAVE UP TO 75% OFF SALE ITEMS!!
$5.00 BLOWOUT SPECIALS!
• AZALEAS, 7 GAL. MIXED COLORS, $5.00
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• VIBURNUM SUSPENSUM, 3 GAL., $5.00
• STAR JASMINE, 3 GAL., $5.00
• CONFEDERATE JASMINE TRELLIS, 3 GAL., $5.00
• DWARF SNOW BUSH, 3 GAL., $5.00
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EXIT 191
I-75
VENICE AVE.
.
RD
CENTER RD.
ER
HAZELTINE
NURSERIES
2401 N. RIVER RD.
RIV
JACARANDA BLVD.
EXIT 193
2401 North River Rd.
Venice, FL
941-485-1272
Se Habla Espanol
HOURS OF BUSINESS
MON - FRI : 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
SATURDAY : 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
SUNDAY : CLOSED