Tallahassee getting new libraries again

Tallahassee is an intellectual community, with libraries in different locations around the city, several institutions of higher learning, research centers, technology centers, and top of the line museums. I am proud of the culture, research, and learning that goes on in Tallahassee, having lived here since 1994, and having lived in another northwest Florida city, with so much less in terms of books, and learning institutions.

Now, I see that Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, will be getting a couple new libraries, just when I thought there were plenty already. They will be in good locations where there is more of a need for a library. Also, one or more libraries will be relocating to a bigger space. Learning will progress as always in Leon County and Tallahassee.

There was a time when I frequented libraries, but since I discovered the internet, I really don’t go much to libraries or bookstores. I do however, for a change of pace, or to break the routine. I typically find more than what I am looking for by going online to my friend Google, and reading blogs on WordPress, and other blog platforms or social media sites like Squidoo, Facebook, Helium, Twitter, and others. No, I don’t go to MySpace. Can’t learn much or accomplish much with all the non-sense there.

Our local libraries are good places and I do like going to them. I am not tied to the computer. I do find valuable information in Tallahassee’s learning centers, and the libraries are comfortable, peaceful places to visit, and have many up to date resources, which is important to me.

Tallahassee Area’s Newest Park

Today, I took my family to a new park in Leon County, beside Lake Jackson, one of largest lakes in the Tallahassee area. Jackson View Park has plenty of open green space, trees, walking paths, covered picnic tables, a childrens’ playground, and a boardwalk looking out at the area’s nature. Green is the most common color found in this region it seems. There are so many parks, nature, and evergreen trees in Tallahassee, Leon County, and surrounding land.

We heard the happy sounds of birds. It is so comfortable walking in a park, and listening to birds. I get that from my dad, and his dad, who were both avid bird watcher. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to identify that many birds, but I do want to pick up my dad’s old bird books, and learn how to identify them. I also want to learn how to identify their sounds.

Tallahassee Composters are Out and About

Yesterday morning, at Tallahassee Mall, in Tallahassee, Florida, it was a warm, and sunny. Hundreds of local residents patiently waited in line most of the morning waiting to purchase a $30 dollar Composter from the City of Tallahassee. I was one of the eager garden types waiting for my unit.

This is one of many activities that the City of Tallahassee, and Leon County are doing to make the community more green. Tallahassee, Florida is greening up. We already have an abundance of green spaces, new and established parks, trees everywhere, and which are protected by local ordinance. We have a solar powered gym in a city recreation center, the solid waste management facility is state of the art and an example of ideal recycling, we have solar panels on some government, as well as business structures, and private residences. There is even a school and a daycare with solar panels installed. Our water is about the best in the entire state of Florida, and our water district has received awards, and praise. We also have a great recycling system. Tallahassee is becomming green.

I drive through upscale and midscale neighborhoods, and see solar panels on some roofs.  A few years ago, I could not see solar panels anywhere. In a community surrounded by nature, and nature within, including deer, rabbits, fox, turtles, Tallahassee, Leon County, is a good place to be, and to live in.

Back to composting. My familiy and I, normally grow tomatoes and peppers in our backyard, beside little Lake Jackson, in the far northwest corner of Leon County, just outside of Tallahassee. We have been doing primitive composting, but now, with our new composter, we can follow the correct process to composting.

The four key steps to composing are, first, to chop the nitrogens materials, and the carbon materials. The carbons are the paper towels, used coffee grounds, coffee filters, leaves, to name a few examples, and the nitrogens are the vegetable matter. Second is to empty the waste into the composter. Third is to stir the nitrogen and carbon waste in the bin, and mix in well. Fouth, is to cover with leaves, pine needles or earth, and tighly secure the lid of the composter. Now, the composting unit is cooking.

Happy composting out there, in which ever yard or garden you may find yourself in.

Killearn Lakes Neighborhood Remains Popular for Single Family Home Buyers

Tallahassee and Leon County, Florida, offers a big variety of neighborhoods, in all price ranges and with various architectural styles. One of my favorites is Killearn Lakes Neighborhood in the north end of Leon County, with Lake Iamonia, one of the areas largest lakes, bordering the northern boundary of this community.

Killearn Lakes is a popular community with 2072 single family homes. Many of the homes are ranch style homes, in different forms, some traditional ranches, some more contemporary ranches. There are contemporary eclectic style homes, some traditionals, and some colonials. This neighborhood is too big to walk it in a short period of time. People are attracted to the neighborhood for the abundance of everygreen trees all over, nearby parks, quiet, but friendly streets, and affordable home prices. There are deer, fox, and an abundance of squirrels in the community. People are also attracted the elementary, middle, (both within the neighborhood) and the new high school, just outside the community. There is also an active boy scout troop that meets at a church in the community. There are several churches in Killearn Lakes.

As of today, 4/2/2008, there are  currently 81 homes for sale in this vast neighborhood, and the average price of a home on the market is, $274,224. Prices start at $169,900, and go up to $749,900, but the median price of the homes is, $252,500.

Recently, a new public sewer system was put put in for the lower part of Killearn Lakes and residents had a choice of connecting to public sewer, or staying with their septic tanks. To connect to public sewer costs about $10,000. Many residents selected not to connect. They can connect at any time, however, and new buyers will have that option.

Tallahassee Ranch Style Home Basics

The ranch style home, with its low pitch, gable roof, typically fits in very well with the environment, and in its pure form, uses natural, and local materials. Tallahassee, Florida, has many ranch styles homes, and many of these are currently for sale. Ranch style homes are inside Tallahassee, and outside the city. In fact, ranch style homes are all over America, and have been since the 1940’s.

What is a ranch style home? This is a genuinely all-American architectural home style which was popular with the jet set generation of the post World War Two era. Soldiers came home from the war needing homes. Ranch style homes were built in great quantity and filled up suburbia as communities started to grow outward. With the automobile boom, people could live further from the town center, and commute long distances. Many ranch homes were built on big yards, at least big, relative to the yards offered by many of today’s new subdivisions. The ranch home was the perfect answer to a growing young family, and the need for a decent place to live. They were easy to build, and very affordable, and typically still are.

A ranch style home is a horizontal, low-lying, rectangular structure, which can be U shape, or L shape rectangular. The garage is an important part of the design, although, not all ranch style homes have garages. Later, split level, or raised ranch style homes became popular, allowing for more space within the home. However, there were always more one story ranches.

With a typical ranch style home, getting onto the roof to rake the leaves is no difficult task, since the roof is close to the earth, and the roof’s gable is low-pitched. I know it is easy to get on and off the roof. I did plenty of that when I was a teen growing up in a ranch style home. I just needed a small ladded, with just a few steps, and I was on the roof doing my regular task of sweeping, and raking the pine needles from the many pine trees that circled our Milton, Florida ranch style home.

The exterior of a ranch style home is simple. Here in Tallahassee, I see much creativity to bring interest to the facade of these kind of homes. People decorate the front with flowers, well kept shrubs, planters, mini waterfalls, sitting area, and rock garden. It is amazing what color and beauty you can bring to a simple, unadorned exterior.

The interior of ranch styles homes had open floor plans. In fact, the ranches made popular the open floor plan, and teh abundance of incoming light. The kitchen, dining, and living room were an open unit, with the master bedroom on one side of the open floor plan, and the smaller bedrooms off the hallway on the other end of the rectangular structure. These homes usually had a hallway.

Many of the features that homebuyers like today, open floor plan, spacious yard, big windows, or a lot of windows, brick or stone fireplace hearth, backyard patio or deck, separation of master bedroom from other bedrooms, built-in shelves, or cabinets, and natural materials, wood, brick, stone, all were made popular by the ranch style homes.

I suppose I love the ranch style home because I grew up in this kind of home. My friends lived in this style of architecture. I have more experience with ranchers. In fact, I am the self-designated, ranch style home specialist of Tallahassee, Florida. If you want to know more about ranch homes, or how to buy one, please contact me. Just remember one thing, there is always an abundance of ranch homes in northwest Florida, and in most places in America. The ranch remains an important home style, and most homes built today, in other architectural styles, traditional, contemporary, and other styles, contain elements characterizing ranch style homes.

Lake Jackson in Leon County Filling Up

Fo several years now, Lake Jackson, in northern Leon County, Florida, has been basically a dry lake with pockets of water here and there. That is due to the sink hole, recently established in the lake. I remember back in the late 90’s, Lake Jackson, was filled with water, and the Tallahassee residents and visitors to the area would go fishing, boating, and swimming in the lake and experience nature all around the lake in the many parks, and nature zones around the lake. Then, the drought came, the land became drier, the lake lost water, and the sink hole sucked out much of it. Oh, it was still beautiful, with parks around it, and the ability for people to hike down into the lake bed where before that was not possible with the water.

Now, the lake is changing. Lakes, like real estate, pass through cycles. I learned back in college geology, that the land is always changing, weather patterns change, rivers change, mountains change. Basically, the earth does not sit still. Change is an absolute in this world. Think of wood. As a kid living in New Mexico, I walked through the land and picked up pieces of rock, petrified wood, really. That hard substance was once part of a tree. Over time it hardened and became petrified. I do not know the process on the top of my head, but time works on nature.

 Recently, in my beautiful northwest Florida, we have received more rain, and this has been great for gardens, and the many lakes and rivers in this region. Leon County, Florida,  alone has over 60 lakes, and much of Leon County is Tallahassee, the capital, of Florida, as well as the home of two big Universities, and two nationally and internationally recognized science and technology research centers.  Lake Jackson is one of the largest lakes in Leon County.

The Lake Shore road area around the southern side of Lake Jackson is a hilly area, with big ranch style homes, with spacious yards built years ago. Each home has a unique appearance, different from the others. These are the big estates of the area. On the east, southeast side of the lake, are smaller homes, and many homes under $200,000. On the west side of Lake Jackson, are newer single family home developments, homes valued under $200,000, as well as spacious lakeside estates over $400,000. On the west side is one of the newest elementary schools in the county, Canopy Oaks Elementary. I have heard nothing but good about it, and my son goes to school there. A new recreational park with baseball, soccer, walking/running path, and tennis courts has recently been built there. On the northern side of Lake Jackson, there are fewer homes, and more nature. There are some very big estates and to get to them, you drive down thick canopy covered roads. There are also older neighborhoods with smaller homes valued under $180,000. When people leave Tallahassee, going north, northwest, they will probably pass by Lake Jackson, as one of the areas main roads, Hwy 27, or Monroe, is a north-south corridor.

You see, I live across the street, Highway 27, from Lake Jackson, one of Leon County’s largest lakes. I am now seeing the lake almost filled up full with H2O, like it had been for so many years. We have been having a lot of rain and that has contributed to filling up Lake Jackson again. I mean, rain, rain, rain. Now, I can walk from my home, over to the lake, and really see a big lake. It is beautiful. The people who bought big ranch styles homes, with over 2000 square feet of living and heating area, years ago along the lake, homes that are now valued over $300,000, have been looking out their back windows at tall grasses, and shrubs, instead of water, but now, they are seeing water again. They are again, where they want to be, by a water filled lake. However, there are still areas with the grasses and shrubs, and not all the homes are on the water, but my, what a big difference that in the recent years. The geology of the lake is again changing in its cycle.

The real estate markets are also changing in their cycles. We have beautiful homes that have gone down in value, that before, would have been out of financial reach for many. Homes come on the market, and are sold, some are sold faster than others, and some stay on the market for some time. There are more homes for buyers to choose from today, which is good for buyers. For sellers, they can sell depending on how they price their homes, or they can wait for change in the market. Changes always occurs, as we see in nature.

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO Certified
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Blvd., Suite B103
Tallahassee, FL 32309
Cell 850-339-5753  http://KennethFach.com
My blog http://KennethFach.wordpress.com

Each office is independently owned and operated. 

My Leon County Florida Backyard View

My home sweet home. In the picture you see what I see looking out from the back of my house in northwest Leon County, Florida, just outside of Tallahassee.

It is not the greenest appearance of nature since the picture was just taken, here in December. Most of my life I have had nature scenes similar to this in the back of my home. I feel blest to have experience nature up close. Photosynthesis is working right before my eyes and I am breathing good air. Deer, rabbits, fox, turtles are some of the inhabitants out in that green zone separating my home from Little Lake Jackson.

I don’t usually pass a day without admiring this forested area and expanse of privacy. Other neighbors have a simillar view, a view that I hope they admire and rejoice in as much as I do.

My love of flora came from my early beginnings, those first 9 years
of my life in southern California. Dad often took me camping in Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park and elsewhere. Dad took me out rock hunting in nature to find rocks for his awesome Japanese Garden that he built in our California backyard. During that time, I also was active in Cub Scouts, (and later Boy Scouts). When we moved to New Mexico, where I lived for 2 years until age 11 or 12, I joined the boy scouts, and went camping almost twice a month. Dad also, took me hiking, rock hunting, and taught me about rocks. We explored abandoned ghost towns that were sitting in isolated regions of New Mexico. I spent much time in the outdoors with dad, growing up.

Then there was Grandpa Fach. He owned a canyon outside of Albuquerque, over 300 acres I believe. He used to take me on mountain hikes and taught me about the flora and fauna of his canyon. He was a naturalist among many other things. He kept a record of the number of bird varieties showing up in the canyon.

To this day, I am the happiest man on earth when I am in the presense of trees, green nature around me, (and maybe some rocks to go with it).

The First Home I Listed in Leon County

A few years ago, in the fast moving seller’s market that we experienced here in Tallahassee, I listed, and marketed this traditional ranch style home sitting on an acre of land on Williams Road outside of Tallahassee, in Leon County, in the southeast direction, in the country, yet close to town.Since than I have sold other properties in and outside Tallahassee, but this one is memorable for many reasons. It was a pleasure working with the sellers, and coordinating the home selling and home buying transaction. Much goes on behind the scenes in a real estate transaction to put it all together. Many service provides get involved: mortgage professionals, appraiser, home inspector, WDO inspector, surveyor, title representatives, closing coordinator, agents, moving company contacts, home repair professionals (if required), recorder.

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.