Article: New York Times: Retirement Haven Hunts Youthful Violators
An interesting article. The restricting of children in 55+ communities isn’t just for the peace and benefit of those who live there. It’s also the law. Failure to enforce a No Children policy now could threaten the ability for the community to restrict who live there later.
When considering a 55+ community, pay close attention to the covenants and conditions you’ll be asked to abide by.
Image courtesy alancleaver_2000
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.36% this week from 4.42% last week, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said yesterday. That’s the lowest since 1971, when the company began tracking rates.
It’s never been a better time to refinance or purchase a new home.
Not to repeat myself, but each quarter point reduction in your mortgage interest rate can mean thousands or even tens of thousands off your mortgage interest paid over the life of the loan. Couple that with the unparalleled real estate opportunities in Central Florida right now, and there are some great deals to be found.
We just received notification that the Del Webb Orlando e-brochure is now available. This is a fantastic way to learn more about the community in a rich-media format in the comfort of your own home.
To request the e-brochure, navigate over to our Del Webb Orlando page and fill out the form.
As you’re suffering through the sweltering summer heat (and eye-popping electric bills), remember this: for the last 30 years, the average March high temperature for Kissimmee was 79 degrees, with an average low of 55. For November, the average high was 79 with an average low of 57.
It gets better from here, I promise! 
Courtesy flickr user rcbodden
Article: AP (via FloridaRealtors.org): Mortgage rates remain at lowest level in decades
From the article:
Government-sponsored mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.57 percent. That’s the same as a week earlier and the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.
Each quarter point reduction in your mortgage interest rate can mean thousands or even tens of thousands off your mortgage interest paid over the life of the loan. Now is a terrific time to lock in at record low levels!
Article: WSJ.com: A Walker’s Guide to Home Buying
For a few years in the early 2000′s, I lived in South Tampa and worked in central New Jersey (Somerset County). Monday mornings I woke up bright (well…) and early, hopped on a plane, and was to my cube in Raritan by lunchtime. On Fridays I’d head to Newark around lunchtime, catch the 2:50 to Tampa, and be back home in time for happy hour. Rinse, repeat. During the week I was staying in a rented room in Stewartsville, about 35 miles from work, which took anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour each way. Point is, there was a lot of time spent in cars and planes. Enough time to know that I didn’t want to do it any more.
When presented with the opportunity to move to either Tampa or Orlando, there wasn’t much debate. We chose Celebration. Within a 25 minute walk, or 10 minute bike ride, I can visit my choice of banks, grab a Starbucks coffee, drop the son off at the K-8 school, work on an MBA, drop off drycleaning, check my PO box, get a haircut, have pad thai or sushi, see a movie, or visit a friend at our hospital. And most Celebration residents live closer to the downtown than we do.
I’ve lived in Florida for 30+ years, cumulatively. This degree of walkability is not easy to come by. Yes, it’s factored into the real estate prices here in Celebration, but to some degree that investment has been recouped in the form of fewer fillups (and lower dependence on oil), lower auto insurance premiums, reduced chances of getting in an accident, and improved health through increased exercise.
And if it means I spend more time enjoying the outdoors with my family, then it’s priceless. Hopefully others will discover this, too.
Ridgewood Lakes is offering a special golf deal for tomorrow.
Come play Ridgewood Lakes Wednesday, June 30th
One day only!
Play for $18.00 + Tax per person
Please call the Golf Shop at 863-424-8688 to set up your tee time. It’s just a short drive from Celebration!Ridgewood Lakes Golf & Country Club
200 Eagle Ridge Drive
Davenport, FL 33837
“Home of Golf for the Fun of it”
Ridgewood lakes is located approximately 2.5 miles south of I-4 on Highway 27 in Davenport. Mention that you saw it on FloridaOver55.com.
It’s late notice, admittedly, but Del Webb Orlando is having their official grand opening tomorrow, Saturday, June 26. The community, located in Davenport, Florida (just outside Orlando) features detached single family homes ranging from 1400 sq ft to 2200+ sq ft, with prices ranging from mid-150′s to mid-200′s.
If you’re in the area and would like more information about the community, the sales center is at 225 Ridgewood Lakes Boulevard, Davenport, Fla., 33837, and should come up easily on your GPS of choice. If you’d instead like more information, you can click in to the Del Webb Orlando page and fill out the contact form.
The incident surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has prompted many questions about what the impact will be to Florida. As of this writing, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), all Florida beaches are open. There are several areas in the panhandle near Pensacola where swimming and wading is restricted.
As the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation will quickly point out: “At this time, there are no beach closures and the majority of Florida’s state waters remain open to recreational fishing. Florida’s 825 miles of beaches, 1,260 miles of coastline and 14 seaports, including cruise ships, remain open for business.”
More information can be found at:
Panama Beach, courtesy Bob Therina
One of the bonuses we discovered after moving here is that Florida doesn’t have a tax on personal income. When we lived in Pennsylvania we owed Federal, State, and even local income tax. In our case, the amount totaled a pretty nice vacation every year that we were handing over to government, instead.
Here in Osceola County, we pay no state income tax and no local income tax. Florida’s general sales tax is 6%, and Osceola adds another 1% to bring it to 7%. The total sales tax rate will vary county to county.
Of course, if you’re a tourist staying in a hotel, there will almost certainly be other taxes: convention development tax, local option tourist tax, etc.
There are other taxes you should make yourself aware of, especially Florida’s application of its use tax as it applies to motor vehicle registration. In a nutshell, if you purchased a car within six months of moving to Florida, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise when you go to register the vehicle. You’ll want to discuss with a tax person here in Florida.
The Florida Department of Revenue publishes a Tax Information for New Residents PDF that may be of interest. Of course, we’re not your tax advisor, so we recommend finding a tax specialist that can help you understand what your budget might look like, tax-wise, once you’re here.