Celebration Florida | Lake Evalyn

The Celebration community was designed to look at feel like a southern town pre-1940's. There is a strong sense of community with a pedestrian friendly emphasis. There is a mixture of single family homes, town homes and condominiums in Celebration Florida


Celebration Florida is organized into villages. Lake Evalyn is a sleepy lakeside community boardered on Lake Evalyn with 56 single family garden homes in Celebration Florida. The following streets are in Lake Evalyn in Celebration Florida: Lake Evalyn Drive, Rosa Court, Wisteria Court and Wisteria Lane.


Across the street from this small group of homes is the Celebration School and grounds. Downtown Celebraiton Florida is a short stroll from Lake Evalyn. It is no wonder Lake Evalyn is so popular with homeowners.


Designed by the Disney Company and is a planned community with residents first moving into the community in September 1996.

Call today to find out how you too can make Lake Evalyn your home!

Colleen Kulikowski, Realtor

(716) 650-0051

Mary Poppins has some great advise for homesellers!

Mary Poppins Showing Advice

Having your home for sale it can be tough, and keeping it in showing condition can be overwhelming. Some of the best advice I can give you comes from Mary Poppins, keep it up as you go along. And if you have a showing of your home, hum this Julie Andrews classic while you prepare for the showing. It might just relieve some of the stress as you get ready. How can you not smile singing “A Spoonful of Sugar”?

Quick Showing Checklist before you leave your home for a showing:

1. Freshen the bathroom and put the toilet seat down and close the shower curtain
2. Turn on soft music through the house
3. light a single sented candle in the home
4. Make sure all the window shades and curtains are open
5. All lights are on
6. Beds made, rooms tidy
7. All dishes put away, counters clear of clutter
8. Art Gallery on Fridge removed?
9. Get out of the house before the showing!

What Every Celebration Senior Needs to Know about Reverse Mortgages

Until recently, seniors 62 years of age and older have not had the best choices when it came to getting cash from their homes. Traditional home loans only offered the option of either selling one’s house or borrowing against its equity.


With reverse mortgages coming on the scene, seniors now have some additional cash-flow alternatives. This type of loan allows mature borrowers to convert their home equity into tax-free income without leaving their current home or making mortgage payments - and they do not need an existing income to qualify.



What a Reverse Mortgage Involves

Here are some important points to know when considering a reverse mortgage:

Eligibility: To qualify for a reverse mortgage, you must be at least 62 years of age. All owners who are on the title deed must meet this age requirement. You must also have paid off all, or most, of your home mortgage. Lastly, the home you reside in must remain your principal place of residence.

Mandatory Counsel: In order to ensure that homeowners are fully aware of the financial ramifications of obtaining a reverse mortgage, you must undergo counseling with an unbiased third party before completing a loan. HUD and AARP oversee a network of counselors who can provide this service, and it should be offered for either a nominal fee or at no charge.
Tax-Free Income: One of the advantages of a reverse mortgage is that the money you receive will not be taxed. The amount you’ll obtain depends on several factors including the plan you select, the type of cash advances you choose, your age, and the value of your home. Typically, the older you are the larger the loan, as you will have more equity in the house.

Cost: The cost of a reverse mortgage varies considerably from one type to the next. However, you can typically use the money you receive to offset the loan fees. The costs will be added to the loan balance and must be repaid with interest once the loan terminates.

Repayment: Reverse mortgages do not require any payment as long as the borrower(s) remain in the home. Should the borrower(s) pass away, sell the home, or permanently relocate, then the loan would be due in full, along with interest and additional costs. If two borrowers are on the loan and one dies, the loan would not be due since one of them still occupies the home.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage - The Federally Insured Loan

The most common type of reverse mortgage is the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, otherwise known as a HECM mortgage. This is the only reverse mortgage program that’s federally insured and backed by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This type of reverse mortgage is popular for a few reasons:

Ability to choose your own interest rate.You can select one that changes annually or one that changes every month. You have several payment options.You may receive monthly loan advances for a fixed term or for as long as you live in the home. You may also choose to receive a line of credit or combine monthly loan advances with a line of credit.


The loan can be used for any purpose.With a HECM, you don't have to designate the loan to a specific use; you can apply the funds to anything you choose.
Protection.This is one of the most attractive features of a HECM. This plan protects you by guaranteeing continued loan advances even if your lender defaults.

Sell or Stay?

The main reason people choose a reverse mortgage is to gain financial independence and maintain an adequate standard of living without leaving their current home. The best way to decide if a reverse mortgage is right for you is to compare it to the other option of selling your house. To do this, ask yourself these three questions:

How much cash can I get by selling my home?
How much will it cost to buy or rent a new place?
Is it worth my moving now, or do I prefer to do something else with the money?

Perhaps you'll confirm what you knew all along, where you now live is the best place to be.

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This information provided by:
Brian Brady,Mortgage Planner
World Wide Credit Corp
Phone: (858) 503-2318 Fax:(858 -605-4230
bbrady@worldwidecredit.com
www.MortgageRatesReport.com

Is Exposure an Important factor in purchasing a home in Florida?

So what is the best exposure for your Florida home?

Well that is entirely up to you. Here is a brief breakdown of the exposures and their pros and cons:

• Southern Exposure - Southern Exposure is the most popular exposure in Florida, which gives you sunlight on you pool deck all day long. Another benefit of southern exposure is that the sun never shines directly into your home always right across your lanai.
  
• Eastern Exposure - Eastern exposure gives you sunlight on your deck until around 2:00pm afterwards your lanai cools down making it a great place to relax and possible even sit down for drinks. The negative of Eastern Exposure is that the sunlight comes directly into your home in the morning heating your home and causing glare.
  
• Western Exposure - Western exposure gives you sunlight on you pool deck from around 2:00pm on. The downfall with western exposure homes is that the sun heats home around 5:00 when most are getting home for work or in Florida the Golf Course or Beach.
  
• Northern Exposure - Northern exposure is the least preferred exposure. The pool decks tents to be shaded all day and the sun heats your home from the front all day long. However if the lanai goes out far enough there can be sunlight on the back of the lanai all day and the front on the lanai will stay cool.
  
  

When looking at Florida homes, the best thing to do is go to the home you are interested in at different times of the day. You very well could find that one exposure works much better for you than another.

The 10 Least Expensive Single Family Homes in Celebration Florida

As of today, on the Mid Florida Regional MLS the 10 Least Expensive Single Family Homes in Celebration Florida are:

Home 1 - 3/2 1388sf, Built in 1999Listed for $ 320,000

has been on the market for 384 CDOM

Home 2 - 3/2.5 1648sf, Built in 1998Listed for $ 336,000

has been on the market for 12 CDOM

Home 3 - 3/2.5 1636sf, Built in 1998Listed for $ 355,000

has been on the market for 42 CDOM

Home 4 - 3/2 1416sf, Built in 2003Listed for $ 375,000

has been on the market for 393 CDOM

Home 5 - 3/2 1289sf, Built in 2003Listed for $ 379,000

has been on the market for 111 CDOM

Home 6 - 3/2.5 2056sf, Built in 1997Listed for $ 379,900

has been on the market for 128 CDOM

Home 7 - 4/2.5 1924sf, Built in 1998Listed for $ 382,000

has been on the market for 104 CDOM

Home 8 - 3/2.5 1720sf, Built in 1999Listed for $ 389,900

has been on the market for 163 CDOM

Home 9 - 3/2 1416sf, Built in 2000Listed for $ 399,000

has been on the market for 96 CDOM

Home 10 - 3/2 1416sf, Built in 2000Listed for $ 405,000
has been on the market for 131 CDOM

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This information about Celebration Florida is provided by:


Colleen Kulikowski, Realtor
Orlando Avenue Top Team
Keller Williams at Celebration
(407) 288-0017

Celebration Florida | Artisan Park | Market Report

Artisan Park was developed by Arvida with 300 single family homes, 50 townhouses and 300 condos, featuring an exclusive clubhouse just for Artisan Park residents in addition to all that is available to Celebration Florida Residents. The Artisan Club is the social center of Artisan Park with a resort-style pool, Club Cafe', Billiard Room, state-of-art fitness, outdoor dining with grill area, fireplace where many of the scheduled social gatherings happen.

Artisan Park features parks, walks in the woods, bike trails, and a mixture of homes and condos to suit all tastes and budgets. The Artisan Park condominiums comprise six blocks with each condo full of luxurious features.

According to the Mid Florida Regional MLS there are currently there are:

• 40 Condos Ranging from $299,000 - $574,000
• 11 Town Homes ranging from $424,900 - $612,723
• 21 Single Family Homes ranging from $ 496,950 - $2,200,000

For More Information on Artisan Park in Celebration Florida, please call:

Colleen Kulikowski, Realtor
Keller Williams at Celebration
Orlando Avenue Top Team

(407) 288-0017

Celebration Florida | Move With Kids

When buying a new home usually it is the adults that make all the decisions. But are we really making the best decisions for our children? Home buying can be traumatic for the kids. Just ask my 12 year old, Nicholas. In fact he is sitting next to me helping me write this post.

From a Kid's standpoint these are the most important aspects of is a house good enough to be our home:

• What are the neighbor like
• Are there kids in the neighborhood to play with
• This one surprised me -- is the view nice, especially if it is a waterfront home
• Does it have a pool?
• How about a game room or an area that I can gather with my friends
• Is there enough room for me to have my own room!

Here are some things that Nicholas felt made a neighborhood nice:

• Friendly people - as you drive down the street people wave
• Are there dogs in the neighborhood
• Safe neighborhood - can I ride my bike freely in the neighborhood
• Clean neighborhood - no litter, yards are nice and mowed properly, flowers in the garden
• Is there a community park area, tennis, pool and playground near by
• Is the school nearby? (long bus ride - YUCK!)

If you are planning on moving with the kids anytime soon, you might want to ask them for their input and trust their gut reactions. Kids see things sometimes so clearly that they may just help you from making the wrong purchase for your family!

Creating Change in Celebration Florida Real Estate...

Innovators are different. Do you want to work with the status quo? Apple is a company that creates change in business. It is all about creating change in the Real Estate business in Celebration Florida...

Call us today to find out how we can assist you in achieving your Real Estate goals in Celebration! Come make Celebration home with the Orlando Top Team!

Colleen Kulikowski, Realtor
Keller Williams Realty
Paradise Report
(407) 288-0017