Episode #16 – 2 BR in SummerBreeze for Only $180k

The Beach Show is your ONLY internet TV show all about Real Estate on Panama City Beach.

This week we feature three waterfront DEALS that are phenomenal. Folks, there are so many great deals right now in Panama City Beach, if you’re on the fence, now’s the time to hop off on the Beach Side. Give us a call and we’ll get you in something special.

Remember, it doesn’t cost anything to work with us if you are a buyer.

Click the “more” tag for show notes and pictures.

Call us at 850-527-5651 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.


Show Notes

Deal 1 – 4 Bedroom Home on West End for $177k

  • List Price: $177,500
  • Square Feet: 1,482
  • Price/SqFt: $119.77
  • 4 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
  • Built in 2001
  • This home is a fantastic deal in a west-end neighborhood that needs a little work. Located in quiet Riviera Beach, this home is a steal at $119/foot. You’ll need to bring some new appliances and some plants. This is a foreclosure listing.

Deal 2 – Summer Breeze Home for $180k

  • List Price: $179,900
  • Square Feet: 1,300
  • Price/SqFt: $138.38
  • 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
  • Built in 1984
  • If you’re looking for a great move-in ready home in a popular neighborhood that has it’s own fenced in yard AND pool, this is the deal for you. What’s more, is that it’s only $180,000 with super low association fees. This is a pre-approved short sale.

Deal 3 – Bay-front Super Nice Townhome only $325k at over 2300 sf

  • List Price: $325,000
  • Square Feet: 2,357
  • Price/SqFt: 137.89
  • 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bath
  • Built in 2000
  • Wow, this is a rare deal and won’t last long. This place is super nice and sits right on the water. Located in the nice Pelican Bay, on the way back to Bay Point, this neighborhood is well known for staying nice. This townhome has a two car garage and tons of square footage to move around, along with tons of storage closets.

Call us at 850-527-5651 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

4 Questions (and answers!) About the Homebuyer's Tax Credit

Somethings in Real Estate can wait but getting a move on with the HOMEBUYERS TAX CREDIT cannot wait. So, this is a timely message for all of you home buyers that have been doing my favorite exercise. . . Procrastination. I have addressed this before but thought since time is running out for this great savings, I should bring it to the forefront again. As I always do I am going to answer some ACTUAL real life questions that people have brought to my attention and have consulted other legal resources for my answers. (Federaltaxpayerscredit.com)

Q. What if you have already owned a home or you are married and your spouse has already owned a home, can you qualify?

A. This is a big misconception that people have when you talk about the First time homebuyer credit because YOU CAN qualify even if you have already owned a home per the “Economic Recovery act” definition is as follows:

“The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.”

For example, if you have not owned a home in the past three years but your spouse has owned a principal residence, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the first-time home buyer tax credit. However, unmarried joint purchasers may allocate the credit amount to any buyer who qualifies as a first-time buyer, such as may occur if a parent jointly purchases a home with a son or daughter.

Q. What if you already have a partnership in a vacation home can you still qualify?

A. Ownership of a vacation home or rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify a buyer as a first-time home buyer. This is a big question I have gotten from many people and the answer was quite surprising to me as well. What a great surprise!!!!

Q. How is this home buyer tax credit different from the tax credit that Congress enacted in July of 2008?

A. The most significant difference is that this tax credit does not have to be repaid. Because it had to be repaid, the previous “credit” was essentially an interest-free loan. This tax incentive is a true tax credit. However, home buyers must use the residence as a principal residence for at least three years or face recapture of the tax credit amount. Certain exceptions apply.

Q. How about short sales at this stage of the game? Should I buy a short sale or a foreclosure?

A. Now that could be a whole other article. Let me preface this by saying. . . “don’t shoot the messenger!” All short sales are not inherently bad, but I would at this point ask your Realtor if it is possible to close in time. It may be a risky venture for a home buyer and they should know the time frame going in. Most foreclosures are not complicated and can close in a timely fashion so they should be just fine. Again seek the consult of your trusted Realtor and lender, and they can help you with this on a case by case basis.

A big thing to remember that makes this so wonderful is that this is NOT a deduction, it is a CREDIT meaning that you actually get the check up to $8,000 if you qualify. You may use the money as you see fit. You may want to pay yourself back for the down payment or closing cost or you may purchase a home that needs a little face lift. You DO NOT have to justify your expenses it is your money to spend. Another huge bonus is that in addition to this money you also will be able to take a tax deduction for interest payments.

So now that you know and you have just enough information to get excited, give us a call and we will send you a Reference guide to the “Economic Recovery Act of 2009” You can also call your lender and he will help walk you through this process but you only have until November 30 to close so. . . on your marks – get set – GOOOOOO.

Rates Hold, Home Sales Picking Up

Mortgage Rates have managed to survive some significant volatility in both the equity and bond markets over the past week to remain at 5.50% for thirty-year, fixed-rates. Stocks reacted positively last week after some better than expected initial corporate earnings but have since pulled back on more sober earnings reports and a second monthly decline in consumer confidence. Bond market volatility has been driven by a reaction to stocks along with a massive $200 billion government debt auction this week.

It is expected that the Chinese and others will readily buy up this new debt but concerns linger as to how much of an appetite they will have in the long run as the Federal Reserve raises an unprecedented amount of cash to pay for stimulus and the purchase of mortgage-backed securities. As I have discussed before, it is this delicate balance between the issuance of new government bonds, creating excessive supply, and the purchase of mortgage-backed securities, to create demand, that has managed to keep rates low thus far. If bond prices can hold up through this week we should see reduced volatility and perhaps a slight dip in rates next week.

Last Friday the National Association of Realtors released June existing home sales figures that, while showing an increase of 3.6%, also showed prices of existing homes were 15.4% lower than in June of 2008. Still, the 3.6% increase in sales was slightly better than the 3.4% most economists had expected. On an even more positive note, the government said on Monday that new home sales rose by a whopping 11% in June to a seasonally adjusted 384,000 homes. And while that was still 21% below the same month last year, it still easily beat economists’ forecasts of 352,000 new homes sold.

Perhaps the best news of the week came on Tuesday when the Case-Shiller index of home prices was released for May showing that home values rose on a monthly basis for the first time in nearly three years. The .50% increase was the first month-over-month increase since July of 2006. The Case-Shiller index also showed that home prices for May were off some 17.1% in the 20 major markets but May also marked the fourth straight month where the year-over-year decline lessened in those markets.

I have been reporting a lot of real estate statistics over the past eight months and what jumps out at me most is that in January it seemed for every positive report on housing, there were two that were negative. . . a kind of ‘one step up and two steps back’ scenario. By the middle of the spring, I was reporting roughly a 50/50 split between good news and bad news but now, for the last several months, all I am seeing is positive news. Granted, much of it, though positive, has not exactly been enough to make one jump for joy for a resurgent real estate market but it has been encouraging nonetheless. Two things are abundantly obvious in the recent data. Home sales, both new and existing, are rising and home prices are stabilizing. This has what has long been needed to correct the oversupply of housing through lower prices and increased demand. Let us hope this positive trend continues.

New Airport 65% Complete

On Tuesday, July 28th, Panama City Airport Board met to discuss current financial activities, award bids for NAV AID and exterior signage, but the topic that dominated the short meeting was the airport relocation process, specifically how close to “on schedule” work at the new site edged.

An airport construction representative with KBR said the new airport construction was 65% complete, with most the projects ahead of schedule, only a few, albeit an important few, lagged slightly behind.

Stormwater ponds are 90% complete and the utilities 63% complete Gulf Power awaiting a DEP clearance. Water and sewer is over 90% complete. The terminal is 44% complete and is currently two weeks behind schedule as well as the control tower. Cargo maintenance is ahead of schedule and the roof is nearly completed at 90%. The representative said, “Although a few projects are behind schedule we are working hard to maintain the May completion date. The building’s getting dried in…the baggage handling system will run down to the wire. But we are confident in the original commitment.”

In related news, the bid for the NAV AID package was awarded to High Power for $1,728,800 with an additional $331,000 for center line lighting. The bid for Exterior Lighting was awarded to local company, Bell Sings, for just over $691,000.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-28

The Madness That Is Krystal Burger: A Personal Experience

img_0502There are times when a very little story can suddenly become big news. Case in point, the newly opened Krystal Burger on Hutchison Blvd: where so many cars and people gravitated you’d think they were giving away burgers for free or someone glimpsed the Virgin Mary in a chilli cheese pup.

While you may not be a fan of the tiny, tasty burgers, it has become apparent that a lot of people are. In my lifetime, I’ve never witnessed the type of spectacle I saw at Krystals. First of all, it was nearly impossible to get into the parking lot as traffic on Hutchison trying to turn in was backed up severely. Once I got into the place, I noticed one uniformed police officer managing traffic and I thought, “at the height of the tourist season you’re managing drive thru traffic at Krystal burger?” It was then that I realized he was not the only badge-wearing fellow on drive-thru detail; there were in fact four, yes four, fully-armed police officers monitoring traffic at Krystals. Stunned, was I.

img_0498After I passed the first officer, I saw that the drive-thru itself was very strange, split in two by orange cones, a route reminiscent of a line at the Disney World Magic Mountain, as it wrapped around the building twice, whipping 360 degrees just to get to that all important intercom order stop. The process proved surprisingly quick and I made the first turn, then the second, the third and reached the intercom feeling a bit like a nascar racer. I was greeted by a woman at the intercom. I told the lady I wanted 4 of those savory burgers. Her voice, delightful in a rather raucous scene, told me my total and said, “it’ll be my pleasure to serve you at the first window.” When I drove up to that first window and it slid opened, half a dozen workers in light blue shirts, still obviously new to the system, tried hurriedly to get my order out. The whole process took about twenty-minutes–twenty minutes worth of armed guards, high-traffic and an amusement park drive-thru all for a soft, flavorful bite of a burger many have ached to finally get their hands on. And as you are reading this, you are probably asking yourself, “was it at least worth it?”

The answer is a simple, contented, muffled-by-a-mouth-full-of-burger, “definitely.”

Send Us Your Events and Deals – We'll Put The Word Out

Everyday on PCBDaily.com and SeePCB.com, I’ve receive loads of emails from tourists who want to know what’s happening when; big events, small giveaways–whatever, they want to know and we want to make sure they see what you’ve got going on Panama City Beach.

Let us help you get the word out. All you have to do is email your event to me, cebo@toocreative, or Jason jason@pcbdaily, and we’ll take care of the rest.

If you have something as big as a city-wide festival or something as small as a two-for-one special, drop us a line and we’ll publish that information on seepcb.com, on the facebook fan page, give it a few tweets and, if it’s a weekend event or special, we’ll run it in our new “Weekend Wednesday” column detailing what’s happening every weekend on Panama City Beach. Even if that event is months away, send it to us and we’ll place it on our online calendar for everyone to see. When the date nears, we’ll post an article. All you have to do is send us the info.

No event or special is too big or too small.

New Library Ahead of Schedule

img_0158Panama City Beach has been itching to get into its new, state of the art library and the wait may be shorter than expected.

If you’ve ventured down Hutchison Blvd. you’ve noticed that in a short period of time, the entire frame of the building is erect, giving gawkers the full scope of what the new facility will look like. And that’s not all. Already the plumbing and sewage are in place and the groundwork for the electrical is ready as well.

Groundbreaking on the new library was in April with a completion date set tentatively for February 2010. At this pace, however, that date could be moved up. In fact, Charles Lewis, Director of Construction Operations at the Construct Two Group called that tentative date “more than enough time.”

On Tuesday plans to set the walls are in place. After speaking with an onsite worker, I learned that the once the walls are up the process will accelerate making the date even sooner still. For those who are excited about the new library, you can start practicing your library card picture poses.

City Continues Steps in the Green Direction

If you had not known already, back in March the City of Panama City started a cooking oil recycling program as a part of its Green Initiative.

Basically, the programs works like this: anyone can stop by one of 9 Green Recycling Stations, look for the hard-to-miss neon green shelves, pick up an empty container from the top shelf and fill it with your used “Plant Based Cooking Oil”. All you have to do then is just bring the container back with your used oil and place it on the bottom shelf. You may also bring your used oil in the original container. The oil is collected by the city, which is then converted into Bio-Diesel Fuel and used in city vehicles reducing the city’s expense for diesel fuel. Already, Panama City has produced hundreds of gallons of bio-diesel fuel. This program benefits everyone by providing an easy way to dispose of used oil while keeping cooking oil out of sewer systems. And the bio-diesel fuel is much better for the environment as it significantly reduces engine exhaust emissions.

After seeing this program in action, my immediate reaction was, “what is the beach doing to conserve energy and move in the green direction?”

As of today, Panama City Beach has but two recycling drop off sites for the entire city; one at Pete Edwards field and another on the West End on San Vincent Street, both of which are surprisingly secluded. Such was the case with Panama City, although they have more recycle stations, but local businesses helped out, allowing the city to use their space for pickup and drop offs.

With as many restaurants as there are on Panama City Beach, having a system like this could greatly benefit the city. In fact, as city budget talks continue, having a bio-diesel fuel program could reduce some expenses at little cost.

If Panama City Beach increases the number of recycle drop offs, say by two, put them in less obscure places and provide incentives like a cooking oil recycling program, people would be more inclined to participate. I know I would.

Panama City Beach can become a much greener place, all that’s needed is a little initiative.

If you are interested in taking your used cooking oil, Panama City dropoff/pickup locations are:

Behind the Old Bay County Library next to City Hall.
Texaco Station Jenks & 23rd St Intersection
Texaco Station Harrison Ave & Hwy 231 Intersection
Texaco Station at the Curve on Thomas Dr. PC Beach
Texaco Station at 1138 Beck Ave in St. Andrews
College Texaco Station on 15th St near G.C.C.C
Bay County Health Department on 11th Street
Rege Helletts Auto Body 2014 W.23rd St
Panama Generator & Alternator on 11th St

City Budget Talks Looming

Panama City Beach officials will meet at city hall for a workshop aimed at framing the budget for 2010. While these are somewhat preliminary workshops, it is apparent that hard economic times, which have disturbed budgets everywhere, will muddle Panama City Beach’s budget as well.

As it stands, draft projections for the 2010 city budget forecast recreation expenditures to increase from $2,563,803 to $3,509,428, nearly $1 million. The new library, which broke ground back in April, will cause library expenditures to increase from $889,010 to $1,675,950. On top of that, law enforcement expenditures will increase from $5,301,011 to $5,888,759 more than $500,000. But the plus side to that is police officers will finally get the upgrade in patrol cars which were delayed last year. And as the economy continues to turn around as well as the completion of the new airport, Panama City Beach tourism should see a significant increase amplifying the need for well-equipped officers.

The city’s contingency fund, by the end of the 2010 fiscal year will take an estimated $2.2 million dip.

These continuing workshops should help city officials stamp out what will be a tough budget to manage.