Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Tampa Coastal Homes

Tampa Coastal Homes

New Waterset Community Sells 32 Home During Grand Opening

More than 5,000 people attending the grand opening for the Apollo Beach community.
Newland Communities, the developer of the award-winning FishHawk Ranch community, opened the new 1,300-acre Waterset community in Apollo Beach Oct. 6 and announced that 32 homes were sold.
Builders in Waterset’s initial phase include Ashton Woods Homes, Cardel Homes, David Weekley Homes and Homes by WestBay, all of which have built homes in communities developed by Newland in the Tampa market and around the country.
The Waterset community is owned in a joint venture partnership between North America Sekisui House LLLC, Japan’s largest homebuilder and leading diversified developer, and Newland Real Estate Group LLC.
“This is the largest new home community to open in the Tampa market in more than seven years, and the crowd on opening day is indicative of the excitement Waterset is creating in South Shore,” said Sandra Murman, Hillsborough County commissioner.
More than 5,000 people attended Waterset’s grand opening festival where nine model homes were featured along with 10 homes under construction and ready for immediate move-in. Homes are priced from $170,000 to the low $300,000s with home sizes ranging from 1,634 to 3,800 square feet. Many of the home sites offer extended back yards lined by conservation and ponds, and others will front on to community parks.
At the grand opening, attendees also previewed Waterset’s Greenway, the 12-foot-wide spine of the community’s expanding trail system, which connects the many parks, play areas and natural areas, and which is also planned to eventually tie into Hillsborough County’s Regional Trail System. The Landing Club & Café was also open for tours, featuring Waterset’s welcome center and café, fitness facility, swimming pool, playground, screened pavilion and pier overlooking the pond. Waterset is also home to the South Shore Montessori Preschool, which is now enrolling students 2 1/2 to 6 years old.
“This was a huge success for us, and a long time coming,” said Rick Harcrow, senior vice president for Newland’s Southeast Division. “The housing recession caused us to pause and wait on Waterset, giving us the opportunity to redesign the products and amenities being offered here to better meet the needs of today’s consumers. With 32 homes sold already, clearly we think the effort was worth it.”
Initial plans for Waterset include approximately 3,500 homes, including single-family homes and townhomes, and is planned to include schools, a regional county sports complex, apartment homes and limited commercial space.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

New Top & Must See for RNC

Tampa Coastal Homes Mitt and Ann’s “Must See” List Tampa Bay and Company put together a survey of the top seven things for Mitt and Ann Romney to do while they visit the Tampa Bay Area during the RNC. The winners of the top 7 list are: 1. Dive with the Sharks at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa’s Downtown! 2. Visit Ybor City, “The Former Cigar Capital of the World” 3. Try the Original Cuban Sandwich 4. Take a Run, Jog or Walk on Bayshore Boulevard 5. Feed the Giraffes on a Safari at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 6. Visit Tampa Coastal Homes with Bella Bonnie Fagoh 7. Register for a Boat Tour of lovely Apollo Beach from BellaSol!!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

In Apollo Beach : I thought I would share with you the importance of putting offers and/or counter offers in writing. A recent buyer I was representing put in an offer on a lovely home listed at $169,900. The home has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a screened lanai, privacy fenced back yard, wood floors and is over 2000 sq ft. (Yes, you can still get a lot of home for your money here!). It is in a community with some nice amenities such as pools, playgrounds, recreation building, fitness center, sports fields and courts and an on-site elementary school. My buyer offered $150,000 cash, of course not wanting to leave any money “on the table”. The listing agent called me the evening of our sending her the written offer and verbally countered at $163,900. My buyer was ready to accept but I felt since it was only a verbal counter, it was quite easy to just verbal back a counter of $160,000 saving my buyer $3,900. As it ended up the sellers accepted the $160,000 so now my buyer can buy some new furniture with that $3900 in savings. My point is that if I were representing that seller I would have had the sellers make that counter in writing. My buyer would have signed that just to know she would then have an executed contract as she loved this home. But since it was only a verbal counter, it was easy to just verbal back a counter offer to them. Of course, once we had verbally agreed, the $160,000 price was initialed by both parties and we have an executed contract. Please keep in mind that verbal offers and/or counters are legal, but unenforceable. Another buyer I recently worked with put in an offer that was “verbally” accepted by the seller only to have another buyer put in a higher offer that was accepted before the seller actually signed my buyer’s offer. That seller did not live up to his word, which was disappointing, but my buyer has no recourse as the seller never signed her offer. So do all you can to get these agreements in writing. This was an unfortunate event that was not in the control of my buyer or me. And fortunately, most sellers are honest individuals. Just do all you can to keep them honest. ☺