MiamiPropertiesByEnrique

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Nancy Grace Selling Atlanta Home, Building New House

AUTHOR:CATHERINE SHERMAN
ZILLOW

Source: IMDb

After 18 years and several remodels, legal commentator Nancy Grace is selling her Atlanta residence. An out-of-town buyer is in contract to purchase the home for $1.599 million.

“She is building a new home,” explained listing agent Cathy Boston of Harry Norman Realtors®.

This isn’t surprising, considering the work Grace put into her current place. Fulton County records show she purchased the property for $407,500 in 1996 and proceeded with two extensive remodels.

“It started as a one-level, and she and her husband expanded it twice,” explained Boston. “In 2002, the main and first renovation took place. There’s almost nothing left of the original house.”

Although a newer construction, the 5-bedroom home is a traditional colonial style.

“It oozes charm with river rock accent[ing] [a] rocking chair front porch,” states the listing description. Inside, classically-appointed living spaces boast high ceilings, crown moldings and wooden built-ins.

A whimsical backyard treehouse and a toy-filled playroom are reminders of an unexpected turn in the former prosecutor’s life. In April 2007, Grace married investment banker David Linch and two months later, announced she was pregnant with twins at age 47.

“I never thought it would happen like this,” she told the New York Post at the time. “I thought ‘mother’ and ‘wife’ were just not part of God’s plan for me.”

Born in Macon, GA, Grace worked for nearly a decade in the Fulton County District Attorney’s office after her former fiance was tragically shot and killed. In 2005, she began hosting “Nancy Grace” on CNN Headline News, now HLN, in addition to her Court TV show.

The buyer of Grace’s family home was attracted to the historic Brookhaven neighborhood, Boston said.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Simple Fixes for Common Appliance Problems - Electronic Oven Controls

By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine

Blame it on the technology. It so happens that if you set the “time cook” function, the oven, much like a programmed VCR, won't turn on until the appointed time. You may have done this inadvertently, but if your digital display reads “hold,” “delay” or “time cook,” then the timer is engaged. You'll have to clear it first by pushing the “off” button. On ovens with dials, be sure the knob is turned to “manual.”

Programming snafu
Oven won't heat? Check the clock and the timer setting. It doesn't always do what you think you told it to do.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Home Finance Tips

From the Superpages.com

Home ownership is the shared dream of millions of Americans. If this dream seems out of reach for you, consider how these simple home finance tips can make your dream become a reality. Even if your credit leaves something to desire or you have only modest means, apartment living does not have to be your only option unless you want it to be.

Home Finance Tip 1: Learn About Credit

In the case of home finance, what you don’t know about credit can hurt your chances of getting the home you want. Although even seasoned financial professionals may not fully understand the complex model the credit bureaus use to score your credit, you can still understand the basic elements. Paying your bills on time and not maxing out your credit cards are solid first steps towards building a positive credit score. Make it a habit to pull your credit report at least once per year and dispute any incorrect information you find.

Home Finance Tip 2: Build Your Savings

If you’re in the market for your first mortgage, you may not know exactly how the process works. This is ok because everyone had to learn about home finance at some point. In perfect world, you want to put down 20 percent on your home purchase, but many lenders can help you buy a home for much less down, if anything at all. Keep in mind though; you must still pay closing costs that equal about three percent of your purchase price. Even if you aren’t ready to start looking for a new home, create the savings habit in your life so that you have the closing costs saved when the time comes.

Home Finance Tip 3: Discover Your Price Range

A key to home finance is understanding and accepting what you can afford. While that beautiful house you pass on the way to work each day might be your ideal home, it doesn’t make sense to put an offer on it if living there will mean doing without little luxuries like eating. If you aren’t ready to review your situation with a mortgage lender, consider using one of the many online mortgage calculators to get an idea of the payments for homes at different price points. Once you know what you can comfortably afford, you can begin your home search.

Home Finance Tip 4: Change Your Thinking

Home finance may not be your favorite topic to think about. Maybe your current financial situation feels hopeless and you don’t believe that you’ll ever own a home. In a sense, you’re right. When you believe something to be an impossibility, you’re less likely to take the steps necessary to make it a reality. Rather than focusing on the negatives, turn your thinking to what small steps you can take towards your home ownership goal. Little steps eventually get to the ultimate destination.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

For Sale: Oceanview Retreat Built for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

AUTHOR:EMILY HEFFTER
ZILLOW

If this home seems to have unusually high doorways and ceilings, that’s because it was built for an unusually tall client.

NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar commissioned the home in 1986, a few years before his retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers. And the airy retreat is the perfect spot to relax and enjoy the national championship memories. The home on more than 3 acres is in a rain shadow on the north side of Kauai, HI, perched on a bluff with access to Secret Beach.

The beach is a favorite of locals and dolphins, said agent Moksha McClure of Sleeping Giant Sotheby’s International Realty, who holds the listing. After a recent price drop the property, which has changed owners twice since Abdul-Jabbar lived there, is listed for $5.9 million.

The 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath home has almost 6,000 square feet, with vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors. A fruit orchard on the property has breadfruit, starfruit, avocado, citrus, fig, mango and apple trees, plus coconut trees and a banana patch. There’s also a 1-bedroom carriage house.

One thing there isn’t: a basketball court. Instead, the property includes a gift the Lakers gave to Abdul-Jabbar when he retired: a tennis court.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Top Woodworking Tips - Try a drafting square

From The FamilyHandyman.com

Use a drafting square for more accuracy
When you need an accurate square in the 2- to 3-ft. range, your options are limited. Drywall squares are notoriously inaccurate and cumbersome. Carpenter squares involve that nagging hassle of having to hook them onto the edge of your workpiece. If you have a drafting square lying around, drag it out to the shop. Or, go to an art supply store and pick one up ($5 or more). They're very accurate and you'll find yourself grabbing it nearly as often as you do the tape measure.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Over half of Fla.’s June sales were all-cash

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 10, 2014 – Over half of Florida's June property sales (50.9 percent) were all-cash transactions, according to CoreLogic, an Irvine, California-based financial data company. Second-place Alabama had 48 percent all-cash sales.

In a comparison of large U.S. cities, Cape Coral-Fort Myers led the nation in all-cash sales at 61.2 percent, and four other Sunshine State cities followed it: West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach (60.6 percent), North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton (59.8 percent), Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall (58.7 percent) and Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach (58.5 percent).

Other states rounding out the top spots for all cash sales are New York (44.6 percent), Kentucky (40.1 percent) and Nevada (40 percent).

Nationally, however, all-cash sales made up 33 percent of all transactions – the lowest percentage since September 2008, according to CoreLogic. The share of all-cash sales has fallen year-to-year since January 2013.

Before the housing meltdown, cash sales historically made up about 25 percent of all transactions. They reached their peak (46.2 percent) in January 2011.

The Washington, D.C. area had the lowest cash sales nationally at 15.6 percent.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s new runway now open

BY KATHRYN VARN AND HANNAH SAMPSON

MIAMIHERALD.COM

The construction workers and equipment seen Wednesday will move out of the way Thursday when Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport opens its $719 million, 8,000-foot south runway.AL DIAZ/MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article2144496.html#storylink=cpy

After years of debate and millions of dollars of construction, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport opened its south runway Thursday morning, a move that Broward County officials expect will alleviate flight delays and bring more tourists to the area.

The first flight to land on the new runway was a JetBlue charter hop with about 150 people on board, including a handful of journalists documenting the occasion. A crowd near the runway applauded and took photos as the plane touched down.

The $719 million, 8,000-foot runway is the first phase of an expansion project aiming to ease crowds and update terminals for the 23.5 million passengers who visit the airport annually for its budget-friendly flight options, said Greg Meyer, Broward County Aviation Department spokesman.

In the mid-’90s, Broward County and the Federal Aviation Administration noticed that flight after flight was delayed because of lack of space, Meyer said. The airport handles about 260,000 mostly domestic flights annually, a number that was tough to support with only one runway for large commercial jets.

“For every minute the plane sits on the ground idling, it’s money they’re losing,” Meyer said, “and it’s impacting the air space system throughout the country.”

The new runway would allow the airport to handle up to 425,000 flights annually. While the FAA doesn’t project the airport will hit that number, Meyer said, it will allow the airport to better accommodate the current number of flights and prepare it for growth down the line.

In the immediate future, the airport will see a slight increase in air traffic. JetBlue plans on increasing its number of flights from 60 to 100 per day out of a total of more than 600 per day, Meyer said. And Southwest Airlines has committed to building a concourse specifically for international flights in terminal one.

Vehicle traffic on U.S. 1 will pass under the new runway with three lanes in each direction instead of the previous two, helping to ease traffic, Meyer said.

As for the 1,800 homes — mostly in Dania Beach — that will be impacted by noise from the runway, Meyer said the aviation authority and Broward County agreed after a lawsuit to pay to insulate the homes with hurricane windows and doors as well as install central air-conditioning units for houses that depended on window units. The FAA is paying for 80 percent of the improvements, and the county is responsible for the remaining 20 percent, or about $175 million, funded in part by passenger facility charges. About 120 homes have been completed so far, and the rest will be handled in phases.

The rest of the $2.3 billion expansion — funded by a $250 million FAA grant, bonds and fees to airlines who lease space in the airport — includes restroom and concession upgrades as well as a total rebuilding of terminal four to make room for more international flights.

That project is split into two phases — the first on the west side to be completed in 2015 and the second on the east side to be completed in 2017 — to ensure the airport can continue to operate.

“It’s like remodeling your house while you’re living in it, only more complicated,” Meyer said.

Aside from the benefits to the airport, the expansion could benefit the county by bringing in more travelers.

Tourism is a huge part of the economy in Broward, which welcomed 13.4 million visitors last year. Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, home to a fleet that includes the world’s two largest cruise ships, had more than 1.8 million embarking passengers in 2013.

Nicki Grossman, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, said every 85 visitors to Broward County create one job in tourism.

“Every one of those airplanes that’s bringing us a visitor creates additional economic impact,” she said. “People that fly in tend to spend more than people who drive in. The more opportunity we give those airplanes to land, the greener our valley gets.”

While the full airport expansion project still has years to go before completion, Grossman said getting the runway portion out of the way is still significant.

“The statement that this runway makes is that Greater Fort Lauderdale is open for business and is encouraging more tourism business,” she said. “And there’s just not a better message.”