Northdale Homes | Country Place

Located in Northwest Tampa, Country Place was built upon a sprawling orange grove in the 1970's and development continued into the mid 1980's.  Country Place is located close to shopping in Northdale and Citrus Park and has access to Grade A schools including Northwest Elementary and 

 Steinbrenner Highschool.  Along with its proximity to the Veterans Expressway, County Place is the perfect location for Professionals, Families and Retirees.

The community has a very active HOA that serves the 1541 homes. The Country Place community and HOA take pride in the upkeep of the neighborhood and planning community events.  You can visit the HOA's Website to find more information on upcoming events, winners of Yard of The Month and other happenings in the community.  

Homes for Sale in Country Place, Tampa : Click Here

Looking to sell your home in Country Place?  Contact me today to set up an appointment.  I have the knowledge, tools and experience to get your home sold quickly and for more money.  Michael Galovic Homes 

Zombie Homes

When you first hear the term "Zombie Home" you might think that this would be an article about sprucing up your house for Halloween. But what it really refers to are vacant homes that still have the original owner, mostly unaware, owning the home.

Florida happens to have the most zombie homes in the country. According to RealtyTrac, a California based real estate statistics company, Florida has approximately 90,000 vacant foreclosed homes. Second and third place go to California and Illinois who combined still have less than Florida.

So how does a zombie home happen? It isn't a virus or a bite from a diseased animal. When a bank initiates a foreclosure they will send a letter to the owner notifying them, a lot of owners are walking away from the property at this point. In some cases, the bank decides that the house is not worth going through with the foreclosure and cancels the foreclosure, passing ownership and liability back to the owner. This is where the Zombie happens. A lot of owners are unaware of the turn in events but the counties and states continue to assess taxes on these properties and charge the owner. The houses start to fall into disrepair and become eyesores in the communities. Most owners don't realize they are in fact liable until they start seeing the effects on their credit.

The good news is that the Florida housing market is still making upward movement. March was the 15th consecutive month that median home prices have increased year over year in the state of Florida according to Dean Asher, President of Florida Realtors.

If you know of anyone that is looking to buy or sell their home, send them over to www.MikeGalovic.com to contact me and start looking through all the available properties!

Buyers Entering Tampa's Market

We live in a pretty weird time when it comes to Real Estate.  5 years ago the market took a complete tumble.  Buyers left the market and short sales became a norm.  Today's market, in Tampa at least, can be labeled with one phrase.. Low Inventory.  Buyers entering today market looking for their first home or for a new one will find that pickings are pretty slim when it comes to move in ready homes.  Even investors are having a hard time finding short sales that are worth a flip.

The Greater Tampa Association of Realtors reports for June that area single family home inventory sits at 4 months.  A drop of about 34% from last year.  Mix in the fact that buyers are returning to the market in droves and this combination flipped the market from a buyer's to seller's in a blink of an eye.

So as a buyer entering the market, what does this mean for you?




      1.   Don't be surprised to find yourself entering a bidding war with other buyers 

           With the limited inventory and increase in buyers,  it will be pretty common when finding a home that you like that there will be several others that are fond of it too.  Talk with your Realtor about what will make your offer more attractive.  It's not always a higher price that will win the bidding war.   

      2.   Good, move in ready houses don't stay on the market for long so if you find one you like, nab it 

          GTAR reports show that in June, the median days on market for a single family home was 33 days.  While the Average Days on Market was 91 days.  This shows that a lot more houses are staying on the market for very short time frames, but there are some (normally distressed properties) that stay on the market for much longer.  Expect the homes that are move in ready to move very very quickly if priced within acceptable market ranges.

     3.   You can still find good deals and can still negotiate good prices, but don't go in expecting to get below 90% of the asking price.  

          For the most part,  you shouldn't expect to negotiate a price that is far off of what the seller is asking.  Ask your Realtor to create a Comparative Market Analysis for you on properties that you are interested in, this will give you a ballpark of what comparable homes are selling for in that area.  This is an extremely important step because you can still find houses that due to age or lack of upgrades or a stubborn seller are priced well above local comparable sales.  

Certainly consult with your Realtor about your specific market as things can change from day to day.  As for the Tampa market, prices continue to climb every month.  So if you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to either buy or sell.  Now might be the right time for you. 

As always if you are interested in buying or selling or would just like to talk about options.  head on over to www.MikeGalovic.com to get in touch with me.  

Introductions

Hello Tampa,
I decided I would start this blog to help reach out to people looking to settle down in Tampa, or for people that want to know what is going in the world of Real Estate as it pertains to this wonderful city.  I will be posting a lot about things that involve Real Estate directly.  However, that could get very droll very quickly, so I will also be posting about all the wonderful things happening in the city and surrounding communities.

First let me tell you a little about myself.  My name is Michael Galovic, most call me Galovic as my first name is pretty common.  I am a Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty in New Tampa.  Although I was trained in sales in the retail world, I have a passion for all things Real Estate and really truly love helping people buy and sell their homes.  On the personal side, I have a wonderful daughter, age 7, who is currently on summer break from Carrollwood Day School.  She has the greatest sense of humor and is smart as a whip... and she keeps me on my toes.  We live in the Carrollwood area of town which I have been a resident of for the last 10 years.

Tampa has something for everyone, and based on what I've found and done here in the last 10 years, it has the strangest smatterings of historical significance, cultural influence and best of all diverse authentic cuisine (i'm a fat kid at heart).

So please, bookmark the blog, and check in from time to time to see whats going on in Tampa and Tampa Real Estate.