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There is a Bald Eagle in These Parts

We have bald eagles around Tallahassee, Florida. They like our many forests that constitute the fabric of northwest Florida. My son and I recently saw one. Many live their entire lives and never see one.

I recently went to St Marks National Wildlife Refuge, outside of Tallahassee, Florida, with my son and his about pack. They went to pick up trash as they do each year. After picking up the trash the forest park service provided lunch for everyone. The kids got to view and touch native water species from the area’s shoreline.

Anyway, as we were picking up trash, a couple boys shouted, “Look, there is a bald eagle.” I went over and saw the most beautiful sight, a bald eagle proudly perched at the top of a tall, dead tree. It stood at a height taller than all the other trees around it. It truly is worthy of being a symbol of power, leadership, 8&2@?6, strength, courage. I was in awe looking up at that bird, which was igboring all of us.

Seeing a bald eagle is one of the benefits of living in this region. Within the city of Tallahassee, bald eagles have been spotted. There is a newer neighborhood, called Piney Z which is home to a bald eagle family, right there in a neighborhood of over 200 up scale single family homes. There is a big nature green zone, park and lake in that community. That is a very peaceful community with much natural beauty beside it.

That day at St Marks, was the second time in my life I saw a bald eagle in the wild. I will remember that experience.

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103
Tallahassee, Florida 32309
Direct/Text 850-339-5753 Blog: KennethFach.wordpress.com

Each office is independently owned and operated.

Made in America including a great real estate system

Here are some things that are American bred, made in America, and the strength of America. I have been giving some thought of what countries offer, and should be known for, and I started thinking about my own nation.

The computer, internet, blogging, the most popular blog sites, and the Multiple Listing Service.

About the Multiple Listing Service, or what is commonly called the MLS, originated in America, and provides real estate data, including homes on the market, homes sold, and property statistics, for the entire United States of America. No other nation on earth has such a complex, practical system.

I have had conversations with educated people throughout South America, Europe, and elsewhere, who have never even heard of the concept of a national real estate database or local databases connected together, in one vast web of real estate information used by real estate agents to study the real estate markets, and share property information with buyers and sellers. I tried to introduce this concept when on family and business in Paraguay and Mexico and it was not a easy concept to discuss, as much of the world’s infrastructure is not feasible for such a web of real estate data.

The MLS is one of the REALTOR’s most valuable tools, andI can even access this incredible database on my Treo smartphone.

Throughout the years, the MLS has been only in the hand of agents, but now, with sites like Trulia.com, Zillow.com, Housefront.com and others, the MLS has been opening up information to the general public, although, the completeness of the MLS is still available only to real estate professionals at this time, and I emphasize, at this time.

Many buyers or sellers of real estate in the United States, expect REALTORS to research comparable properties to assist with designing a pricing strategy for the properties to be listed on the market. Buyers ask agents for listings of available properties, and in minutes, the research is done online in the MLS. What a wonderful service!!!

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103
Tallahassee, Florida 32309
Direct/Text 850-339-5753  Blog: KennethFach.wordpress.com

Each office is independently owned and operated.

Tallahassee Doors

Doors are everywhere. Look at all the homes in your community and all the doors connected to those homes. As a real estate agent, I see plenty of doors in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. The doors of homes reveal so much: about what the interior is probably going to look like, and what the attitude of the people living there are like. The door is the like the mouth of the house.  When people see a home, they often see the door first and will remember if the door is interesting, and colorful, or dull and dirty.

You know when someone has a dirty mouth, a milk mustache, food hanging on the side of the lips, unshaven around the mouth, just an undesireable sight. We often tell children to clean their mouth when they are eating as they do not always know to do that, or remember to do that. The mouth is not the beautiful part of anyone’s  body. The act of eating with the mouth is not a beautiful sight to behold either.

However, the door of the house is the important factor in how we connect to the house. I have observed that doors that need painting, have dirt or finger marks on them, indicate that the inside of the house is anything but an interior decorating showroom. Renters often ignore dirt and marks on their doors. This one element, the cleanliness and attractiveness of the door, is what separates the homeowner mentality from the renter mentality. If you care about something, you will do just that, care for it. Often, renters don’t care about the structure they live in. They are there because of the price, convenience or necesity. They lack responsibility for maintaing a clean facade and clean door, or else they are apathetic, and do not care since it is not their property legally. I say, if they live their, it is their property to a certain extent.

Here are some things we all can do to make our door attractive. These are seven suggestions. Treat the door as part of the property’s curb appeal, whether you plan on selling or not.

1. Paint the door a contrasting color to attract attention to the house.

2. The door color should reveal the inside. It should make the transition inside.

3. Put a plant, flower pot, docorative table, or statue beside the door to give expression to the entrance.

4. Have an attractive light fixture.

5. Make sure the door opens easily, does not scrape, and does not make ugly sounds.

6. Have an attractive door handle. There are so many to choose from.

7. Get rid of any wood rot if there is any on the door. I believe that most doors in Florida have some degree of wood rot. It needs to be treated and removed before it grows up the door and presents a ugly mess, a real eye sore.

As long as we have our homes, are homeowners or renters, we can take care of the doors. For a homeowner, it is a sense of ownership. For a renter, it is a helpful act of kindness to the landlord, and also a feeling of possesiveness for the renter. We clean our mouths when we wake up in the morning. We should also clean,  maintain our doors, and make them an attractive sight leading into the interior of the structure.

I like the Spanish expression, “Mi casa es tu casa,” which means, “My house is your house.” Let our guests feel like they are at home in the house, and are attracted to it.

Who knows, with an attractive door, and clean attractive yard, you might be the Yard of the Month winner in your neighborhood.

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103
Tallahassee, Florida 32309
Direct/Text 850-339-5753

Each office is independently owned and operated.

Your Home and the Benefits

You see a home you like. It is in the neighborhood you like, near the schools you like, close to your work. Now, you need to think about the benefits of living in that home.

We buy real estate not just because of the location and price, but also because of benefits. Maybe the home has built in bookshelves, which would be a benefit for someone wich a lot of books or decorative accessories.Maybe the home has a big covered porch in the back. This could be a benefit for those who like to entertain outdoors, or who like quiet spring evenings sitting outside. Maybe the home is in a cul de sac, which would allow for quiet, greater safety for the children and no traffic passing through. I tell buyers when they are out looking at homes, to focus on the benefits. Benefits serve us. Something is not a benefit if it does not serve us in a positive way. I ask them if they can see themselves living in that home and why they can see their lifestyle there. A home represents a lifesyle. There are so many different homes in Tallahassee, Florida, and surrounding area, and there are so many different lifestyles.

Here is the house hunting plan you can use. First, find out what your price range is for buying real estate. Second, find out what neighborhood attracts your attention. Third, determine what you want in a home. You can list five features that your home MUST HAVE. Those five features will be your standard. My five features in a home are: a lot of natural light coming in, an open floor plan, a fireplace, a big kitchen, a garage. Everyone can think of their unique needs.
Fourth, see what the benefits are in living in the homes you have viewed and like. Now is the time to compare homes. Fifth, make an offer and ger ready to make another offer elsewhere if your offer or counteroffer is not accepted.
Sixth, see me for your real estate needs. I have a great team supporting me and together we will get you into your next home.
A real estate agents job is to fit your lifestyle to a home that has your required features and good benefits.

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO
Weichert,REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103, Tallahassee, FL 32309
Direct/Text 850-339-5753

Each Office is independently owned and operated.

A Neighborhood We Had to Come Home To

My wife, son, and I sold our beautiful Lakeside neighborhood home in northwest Leon County, just outside of Tallahassee,  after living there for a number of years,  and thought we would go west, to better opportunities. We did so much to our beloved home in Lakeside: painted the walls several times throughtout the years we lived there since we built the Leon County, Florida home in Lakeside Subdivision, had fun decorating with accessories, furniture, rearranging furniture in innumerable ways it seems, and had a remarkable vegetable and flower garden. Our son had a very attractive child’s room. We were proud of our home and what we did. People often are proud of what they put into their homes, but when opportunity knocks, many of us will leave our homes to establish roots and work on a new home elsewhere.

I started working in Pensacola, Florida, in real estate sales. Did good considering I just entered that profession earlier that same year, about 6 months earlier.  I listed and sold properties. I was developing a client base. Everything was looking GREAT. Wife was about to get a new job in Pensacola working for a state laboratory. Then, came Hurricane Ivan, and dad passed on just prior to the hurricane. My world changed somewhat. Dad’s loss was tremendous, and a surprise to all of us, as Dad was healthy all his 82 years and never suffered illness.

The hurricane destroyed so much of Pensacola’s homes, and real estate listings were torn asunder. I saw gorgeous beach front homes and estates destroyed by tornados as a result of the hurricane. I lost clients and customers. Homes I was selling or going to sell had trees lying in the living room or elsewhere. Roofs were missing. Several customers lost there jobs and could therefore not buy a home. So many tears shed by so many people. Horrible!

I came back to Tallahassee, moved into a rental property we own, where my wife and son were residing in the interim, until they were going to join me in Pensacola. We lived for about a year and a half in the rental before looking for a single family home to buy. As it turned out, our eyes were looking back at the neighborhood we loved so much: Lakeside Neighborhood in northwest Leon County, outside of Tallahassee, and beside one of the biggest lakes in the area, Lake Jackson.

We looked and looked, for the right home. Then, we saw a home for sale exactly next to the home we lived in. We had to consider it. We liked it very much. We bought it. Does it ever happen that we leave our neighborhood and return only to live right next door to where we lived before? This happened to us. We love our Lakeside community. We love the friendliness, the green zone in back with deer, rabbits, fox, abundant bird life and Little Lake Jackson. We made the right decision.

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO Certified
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103
Tallahassee, Florida 32309
Direct/Cell/Text  850-339-5753   http://KennethFach.com

Each office is independently owned and operated.

A Lovely Tallahassee Ranch style Home For Sale

Homebuyers: Looking for the right place to call home? Make a wish come true.
Remodeled ranch style home in desireable Eastgate neighborhood, in Tallahassee, Florida.  3/2, nice fenced back yard.
Offered at $189,900.  Seller willing to assist with closing costs for
Buyer.  

There are many more ranch style homes available as well. Get back into a ranch.

Call Ken Fach, REALTOR, 850-339-5753  http://KennethFach.com
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor, 1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103
Tallahassee, Florida

Each office is independently owned and operated. 

A way to get all your real estate news in one place.

I recently found a very good web source in which you get news information from many different subjects on the same page. In my case, I chose real estate and technology news, so each day, I can check new inputs in these areas of knowledge. As a real estate professional it is important for me to know and learn about real estate issues, and markets in other communities.

Visit http://www.congoo.com/realestatetechnician and register to get daily real estate and technology news.

You might even want to create your own news circle and invite others to share your interests. You can even have your own real estate news circle. Then, you and I will have a lot in common.

Subjective and Objective in House Hunting

Subjectivity and Objectivity occur all the time when buyers are house hunting. I regularly used these two  literary terms  in graduate school, in my literature studies. I had to apply these terms to my literary research of novels, and essays. I had to determine which characters or heroes represented subjectivity and which, objectivity, and I had to prove my findings.

How to be subjective and object in when house hunting:

Every time we view a structure, or a lot that we like, we get emotional, and desirous of having that property. We view things subjectively, from the “me now” perspective. We think we have to have that. Much of what we buy is an emotional and therefore, a subjective experience. I remember when I was a school teacher, I often graded the kids subjectively, not just objectively. I did this because each student to me, to my viewpoint, is not a number, a rating, a grade, but instead, a human being with a unique way of learning  and viewing the world. There really are no A students, B students, C student , D students and F students. Those are just grades placed on the students based on their performance in an area of study, and a grading criteria that we as teachers apply, and need to apply to evaluate the student’s progress.  Aside from the grade, however, I had to see the overall context in which the student finds him or herself. What is that student bringing into the world of experience and learning. There has to be some opinion, emotion, intuition, that is to say, the subjective. We do not buy a home without the subjective view of the home. We know what we need, but we also know what we long for and desire. What the task requires, is integrating needs with desires. Kind of like determining what someone once said, our “real estate DNA,” which means, our desires, needs and abilities to meet those desires and needs.

Now, after applying the subjective view, unconsciously, of course, we start to think about the needs we have, and if that house will satisfy the needs. We start to think more analytically, logically in depth. We are now viewing the house and its context, position in the neighborhood, features, price tag, financing options, budget, objectively.

The subjective says, “I like this 2000 square foot house. It has what I want. It would make a cozy home for my family, and provide plenty of storage space with the two, big, walk-inclosets. It will be great to have the home with the big fenced in yard in the back so we can entertain with privacy. “

The objective says, “I will have to check with my lender about my mortgage options for this home. I like the home, but is it really affordable based on my budget. Do I want to be locked into a big mortgage payment each month. Isn’t the home too far from work. What about the traffic. I know I need a fence, but I know I can put up a fence myself, and thereby save some money.”

So the objective is more analytical, and requires a benchmark, factual calculation, whereas the subjective is intuitive, and views the world from experience. Both are necessary, as we are not walking calculations, or pieces of thoughtless emotions.  Our experiences in life are really a combination of the subjective and objective.

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103
Tallahassee, Florida 32309
Direct/Text/Cell 850-339-5753  http://KennethFach.com

Each office is independently owned and operated.

What is happening to beautiful Lake Jackson

Tallahassee and Leon County is a wonderful place to live in. So many benefits, and so many natural habitats, lakes, forests, and parks to enjoy the area’s nature. However, unfortunately, we have four politicians on the Leon County Commission that are pro growth and anti environment. There record proves this.

I believe we need a balance, of growth and protection of the ecology in the region. We have a wonderful Comprehensive Plan protecting our area’s resources, but that plan has been breached it appears, and attempts are being made to change it, or abuse the plan, a plan well thought out in prior times.

On October 26, 2004, the Leon County Commissioners voted 4 to 3 against protecting Lake Jackson, which is one of the biggest lakes in the area. There are over 60 lakes in Leon county. Lake Jackson has been a popular place for fishing, boating, swimming, and for having picnics in the parks around the lake. It is an important habitat for many species of flora and fauna. Instead of continuing the protection of this ecological zone, it now appears that beside Lake Jackson,  across Hwy 27 N, which goes right by Lake Jackson, there will be 13 3-story apartment buildings with 312 units, 175 single family homes, and 120,000 square feet of commercial development, and about 15 acres of parking. I happen to live in a nearby subdivision of beautiful single family homes. In my community, we are offended by the actions of the County Commision. Of course, having an apartment sprawl next door to homeowners, will certainly have an impact on home values. This is usually the case where apartment complexes appear next to single family developments.

 For more information about the issue, go to http://LakejacksonAlliance.org. There you will find the history the the Lake Jackson lawsuit, pics of the lake and surround area, documents and who voted for who. The information above comes from this website.

Those who voted against protecting Lake Jackson are:
Bill Proctor, Jane Sauls, Rudy Maloy, and Tony Grippa.

Those who voted in favor of protecting Lake Jackson are:
Bob Rackleff, Cliff Thaell and Dan Winchester. My applause goes to these individuals who see that the proposed Planned Unit Development will harm the ecology of the Lake Jackson zone, and present a water drainage issue as well. They see that it will present traffic problems causing congestion around typically peaceful neighborhoods.