Pensacola Parade of Homes

Posted on April 22, 2012 by RSRealtor

Pensacola Parade of Homes 2012

Ready to head out for a sneak peek at the latest and greatest in home design from Pensacola builders? Pack your cooler with water bottles and grab the sunscreen, the 2012 Parade of Homes features a whopping 47 new homes in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. The event starts April 21st and runs through April 29th.

Courtyard in Parade Home

The 2012 Parade of Homes, sponsored by the Home Builder’s Association of West Florida, has been an extremely popular event since it’s inception in 1958.

Each year the Parade allows Northwest Florida builders the opportunity to showcase their finest work and the public the opportunity to see the latest floor plans, designs and amenities.

The central site for the 2012 Parade of Homes is the new neighborhood of Stonechase in Pace, FL. Stonechase is located off Quintette Road, just past the five corners intersection. At Stonechase this year you will find the American Dream Home and the Gulf Power EarthCents certified home built by Paragon Custom Home Group, as well as 12 other new homes in all sizes and price ranges. Continue reading →

Understanding Pensacola Property Taxes

Posted on April 1, 2012 by RSRealtor

Property Taxes Pensacola Area

Property Taxes - Pensacola

Buyers often ask about Pensacola property taxes; how they are calculated, when they are due and just what they include. When figuring your total monthly mortgage amount it is important to know not just your principle and interest (P &I), but also your monthly amount for property taxes and your monthly insurance cost. If you have a mortgage loan these are all the ingredients that ultimately make up your monthly mortgage payment.

Pensacola Property Taxes are Ad Valorem Taxes

Sounds complicated, but ad valorem simply means “based on value.” So, your Pensacola property taxes are based on the value of your home. Whether you are in Escambia or Santa Rosa County, a homeowner with a $500,000 home will pay more in taxes than a homeowner with a $150,000 home. Continue reading →

The Whispers Pensacola

Posted on March 31, 2012 by RSRealtor

The Whispers, Centrally Located Pensacola Neighborhood

Pensacola Homes priced from $300,000 – Visit our Whispers Neighborhood Video Tour

We’re working hard to update our web site, PensacolaForYou, with useful information, photos and still photography of Pensacola area neighborhoods. We want to incorporate the kind of information we would like to find on the internet if we were not familiar with Pensacola Real Estate but wanted to learn more.

The Whispers Neighborhood, Pensacola, FL

As you can imagine, it’s a bit of a daunting task! After all, our marketplace covers both Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties and is made up of numerous towns including Gulf Breeze, Pensacola Beach, Navarre, Pace, Milton, Molino, and more. That means a lot of Northwest Florida homes and neighborhoods, so plenty of time taking and uploading photos, writing the copy, making sure everything is updated, well, you get the idea! Enough whining, one foot in front of the other and in time we hope to provide a truly SUPER Pensacola real estate resource. Continue reading →

Pensacola Dog Parks

Posted on March 30, 2012 by RSRealtor

Pensacola Dog Parks

Statistics provided by the Humane Society of the United States indicate that 39 percent of all American households own at least one dog, with 33% of all households owning two or more dogs. That’s a whopping number of dogs - 77.5 million!

As a dog owner (I’m among the 33% with more than one!), and a Pensacola real estate agent, I realize that one of the biggest issues facing a dog owner is getting enough exercise for the dog.

Like people, our furry friends need to get out and stretch both for health and for mental stimulation. Bored dogs can be a real handful for their owner. This is particularly important for people living in Pensacola condos, townhomes or apartments. What’s a responsible Pensacola dog owner to do? Continue reading →

Pensacola Coupons

Posted on March 30, 2012 by RSRealtor

Pensacola Coupons

Do you like Groupon, only wish it was more local? Well you’re in luck! There’s a new Groupon-like service offering discount coupons from Pensacola area businesses. The new service is called ToucanSave.

Coupons for Pensacola Restaurants

Toucan Save Restaurant Deal

I recently scored $24 worth of dining for only $11 at one of my local favorites, Jerry’s Cajun Cafe and Catering on 9th Avenue in Pensacola. The coupon was easy to print and easy to use. I took a friend to Jerry’s and we both had their amazing Gulfaletta – Jerry’s enormous seafood rendition of the popular New Orleans style Muffaletta. Even by adding Louisiana’s favorite brew, Abita Amber, we were able to leave the restaurant without exceeding our coupon amount. Continue reading →

Cycling in Pensacola

Posted on March 30, 2012 by RSRealtor

Cycling in Pensacola

The thing that most appeals to me about biking, besides the fact that it’s a very green form of transportation – EcoBroker that I am – and you can’t beat it for the exercise, is that when I’m on my bike I see SO much more of my surroundings.

On the bike I actually see all that new construction I have been passing in my car without

Heading out for a Group Ride

noticing, I actually see the turtles floating in the ponds that are on my daily auto route to work, and I actually see the terns and frolicking dolphins when I take my favorite beach bike route.

And then there’s that exhilarating feeling of freedom that most of us remember experiencing when we got our first bike. Can’t beat it and I relive just a little of that feeling every time I clip into my pedals!

Most of the time I’m on my road bike, but I do have a beach cruiser I love to ride and I used to have a mountain bike – gotta work on getting another one of those! So I’m going to write about a few of the great bike routes in our two county area (Escambia and Santa Rosa), both for on road and off road biking. Continue reading →

Baywatch Condos on Pensacola Beach

Posted on March 29, 2012 by RSRealtor

UPDATE – We’ve sold thee Baywatch condos at well under $200,000 in the last few months. The prices have now moved up. But don’t dispair, contact us for other great Pensacola Beach condos!

Affordable Pensacola Beach Condos It’s not often you’ll come across great Pensacola Beach condos priced below $200,000, but we’ve just listed one!

This cute-as-a-button two bedroom, two bath Baywatch condo unit has great views and an even greater rental history. If you have ever dreamed of owning your own slice of Pensacola Beach now is the time as prices are down, interest rates are at historical lows and vacation rentals are in demand. Let your vacation renters help you pay the mortgage! Continue reading →

Pensacola Buyer’s Representatives

Posted on March 21, 2012 by RSRealtor

I had a great question from a Pensacola home buyer recently, so I am sharing my answer as one of our blog posts. Here we go: “Since real estate agents work with both buyers and sellers, what’s the benefit of having a buyer’s representative?”

Pensacola Buyer’s Representatives

Pensacola Homes

When a buyer contacts the Pensacola real estate agent whose name is on the sign in front of a home for sale they are contacting the Listing Agent. The Listing Agent is a real estate agent who the seller has contracted with, presumably to sell their Pensacola home as quickly as possible for the highest amount of money. So, it would stand to reason that there could be at least the perception of a conflict of interest if a buyer were to choose to work directly with a Listing Agent without the benefit of Buyer Representation. Continue reading →