Jacksonville on the Forbes Best Retirement Places List

YES!  We made it on the list!

Forbes list are always a mystery to me.  Year to year cities can make the list and then be completely off the list for the next few years.  Do they change their criteria?  Do they have a sophisticated algorithm that they tweak like Google tweaks theirs?  Do they throw darts at a map?  Who knows, and for 2011, who cares.  Jacksonville made the list!

What helped Jacksonville make the list?

  • Climate:  We have, what I like to call, a temperate Florida climate.  Which I define as being warm when it is supposed to be warm, but also very comfortable during the Spring and Fall, and still have a chance to wear a jacket every so often in the middle of winter.  We…

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Updated for 2014 - We stay current here!

Deciding to Short Sale your home is a tough decision, however it is often the smartest decision. 

Walking away from a home and not working with the bank will have much worse consequences!  Many people don't know that in Florida, the banks have the right to collect the deficiency in a Foreclosure up to 5 years after they resell the property!

The Deficiency in a Foreclosure:  the amount you owed, plus fees, late fees, attorney fees, MINUS the amount the home sells for minus realtor commissions minus closing fees, etc.  The deficiency could be very large and most often much larger than that in a Short Sale! Take into account that foreclosures sell for 30% less than a short sale, and you've got yourself a…

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Home Values continue to drop nationwide but there are so many conflicting news stories about the housing market, it's hard to know what is actually happening.  This graph from Zillow, shows the run up in values and then the fast decline of values to current day 2011.  I like this graph as it doesn't interpret housing starts, foreclosure filings, mortgage delinquencies, pending sales, etc.  It just shows the values, which is a sum result of all those other statistics.

What does this mean for Jacksonville Home Owners? Nothing.  If you own a home, you've known for the last 4 years that your house is worth less and less year after year.  Not trying to be cold here, it's just the facts.   If you don't want to sell, no worries, you don't realize the loss…

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HAMP or Home Affordable Modification Program has been a complete failure.  Here are some of the more recent articles on the failures:

Home Owners Protesting that it's a SCAM

Only 1 in 4 got mortgage relief

And the most honest, realistic article of them all comes from Fox Business:  HAMP UPDATE:  Foreclosure More Likely Than Modification.

Many home owners who have attempted modification, soon find themselves in foreclosure after they are put through the endless amounts of big bank red tape.  If you are in this situation, DO NOT WALK AWAY from the home!  You have options.

Start researching Short Sales.  It is your best option for getting out of a home that you can no longer afford. I consistently sell houses for Jacksonville home owners who…

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