Tampa Real Estate Blog

For empty-nesters who may be getting anxious about [tag]retirement[/tag] or for those who are already in their 60s or older, [tag]reverse mortgages[/tag] can be a means of ready cash. They also pose a certain financial risk, making it critical for [tag]homeowners[/tag] to understand what it is they’re embarking on. Reverse mortgages convert your home equity [...]

After a half-dozen years of record growth and torrid levels of [tag]construction[/tag], [tag]builders[/tag] are finding their orders dropping sharply. And as the business plummets, buyers, aware that they are in the driver’s seat, are demanding–and getting–price breaks or special financing. Many local and regional builders have joined the major players to offer incentives right through [...]

[tag]Florida homeowners[/tag] have railed for months about the skyrocketing cost of residential property insurance and the suffering it is causing. They’re about to have a lot of company. [tag]Business owners[/tag] looking for [tag]commercial property insurance[/tag] are increasingly finding themselves in the same rickety boat as homeowners. And should the crisis get out of hand, the [...]

[tag]Interest rate[/tag], [tag]inflation[/tag], [tag]financial market and pension[/tag] worries make a midyear [tag]financial checkup[/tag] more important than usual this year. Even if you made New Year’s resolutions for your money, the scenario has since changed and your family situation may have too. Unfortunately, many Americans don’t know where their money goes each month, which is a [...]

Recipe ideas and etiquette tips for serving food at your next open house. Free appetizers won’t sell a listing on their own, but offering tasty treats at your open house encourages buyers to linger longer and creates a positive atmosphere. However, food can also be a huge hassle — creating a mess and distracting potential [...]

Kevin and Bethany Terry made a really big move. The couple looked for homes in [tag]South Tampa[/tag] and [tag]St. Petersburg[/tag] before deciding to buy a house in [tag]MiraBay[/tag], a 750-acre waterfront development in southern [tag]Hillsborough County[/tag], near the old Florida town of [tag]Ruskin[/tag]. When it’s completed in five years, the community – perhaps best known [...]

The housing standoff between buyers and sellers in [tag]South Florida[/tag] will continue for another six months, and then prices in some areas will fall, a real estate trade group economist predicted Tuesday. In some cases prices may fall by 10 percent to 15 percent, said David Lereah, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, who [...]

Does it matter who you pick as your [tag]real estate agent[/tag]? Must he or she have a long and lucrative track record? Should you insist on a dragon lady or a scarily aggressive Alpha Male? Is it really necessary that your agent be available and willing to show a house at your whim, even on [...]

For years, [tag]rents[/tag] have been flat or falling in cities nationwide — a result of the booming [tag]home-sales market[/tag], which transformed scores of renters into owners. But as the housing market cools, rentals are once again in demand, liberating landlords in many markets to raise rents at the fastest pace in years. They’re also cutting [...]

After slipping last week, [tag]mortgage rates[/tag] moved up this week better reflecting the trend borrowers can expect in the coming months. That means iron-clad mortgage rate locks and speedy loan closings should be the strategy of choice for [tag]home buyers[/tag] as well as [tag]refinancing and equity-tapping home owner[/tag]s. Inflation was brisk in May spurred by [...]