Florida Real Estate, Tourism and Immigration News

Orlando Sentinel Restarant Critic Scott Joseph got the opportunity to review Tom & Mony’s the British Pub on the corner of Orange Avenue and Gaitlin Avenue. He heard they were under ‘new’ ownership. – what he meant was that the new ownership had taken place 3 years previous! The ‘New’ Owners, Sue McCarthy, her Husband Gary and their daughter Toni are planning to change the name as Tom and Mony don’t work there anymore!! – Makes sense! – The new name is reportedly to be McWells – a conglomeration of all their names. The ‘new’ owners are British and according to Scott, the Fish and Chips are second to nine.

The place is a basic a bar with picnic-table-style seating area and a huge TV.

This is great news that the places where Brits can find homely food in Orlando. With so many expats and holiday-makers we Brits sometimes need some home comforts.   Again, after an afternoon sitting by the pool, what better way to cool off than with a nice cold pint with cod and chips.

The Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary is known for his unpredictability, the budget airline has been running cheap routes to Europe for years now, however the transatlantic market has been difficult due to high levels of regulation. This has now changed with the ‘open-skies’ agreement.However he announced last week that Ryanair would be offering budget routes to six cities in the USA with ticket prices starting at just $12.

However where’s the catch?? Well, there isn’t one really, the snag is that you have to fly from Europe…not the UK. Ryanair hopes to make up the revenue through the sale of in-flight food and entertainment as well as the usual Duty-Free. They have had to increase their plane fleet to accomodate these new routes and reportedly are planning to purchase additional 50 wide body jets for the new transatlantic services.

Hopefully this will provide a nice boost to the local economies in the USA as well as providing nice cheap and efficient travel between the two continents. At the moment flights to and from Florida can cost from the middle hundreds of pounds to even the low thousand pounds a ticket depending on the time of year. But $12 from europe, well, its worth having a a flight to Europe to then get a budget flight to London. The savings could be incredible.

Watch this space!!

This blogsite is designed for Brit’s looking to purchase property in Florida, it can help Brit’s put their mind at rest on certain topics and inform them about the local market and activities in the area which maybe of interest to them. We help people find out more about the area which they would like to have a holiday home. We want to give our customers the best advice that we can and help them through the process here which is vastly different to the UK. But what is a Real Estate Blog? Where do I get one? Who can tell me more?

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Whilst on your inspection trip looking at Florida property..say you fall ill…have a spout of a chesty cough or get an infected bite. What do you do?

Well..interestingly even with travel insurance it is difficult to get affordable and quick healthcare. – Often medical providers will not accept UK travel insurance unless they have a billing address in the US (Don’t count on this even making a difference either…) so what is the alternative? cough up hundreds of $$$ for a routine visit to get some medication and then having to wait until you get back to the UK and claim against your insurance and wait etc. etc. Healthcare in the US is often shockingly expensive to Brits.

There is another way, Walk in Centers. These quick in and out centers give you access to a qualified medical of staff who can write prescriptions. I had to visit one after suffering from a chesty cough – which turned out to be bronchitus! I can tell you that the experience was quick and easy. I walked in, filled out a quick form and signed a consent form then away you go, a quick examination and then a prescription for some anti-biotics. A visit to the hospital or doctors office here could have cost many hundreds of dollars. This cost me, $59 (this cost varies depending on the walk in center company that you use). I made sure that I got the prescription equivilant of "own brand drugs" from Wal-Mart – which offers $4 prescriptions. (staff at the walk in center can tell you if its on their list of $4 ones.) This is great news, for minor problems which occur in the short term its great, its no substitute for a Doctors visit for something major but for every day medical questions its great, and won’t break the bank.

The center I used was a concession within the Publix store off John Young Parkway in Kissimmee next to the great Hunters Creek Sub-division and Golf Course.

This advice shows that this convenient option is affordable and useful for Brits as it involves less paperwork and cost for something which in the UK you would just stop and see your GP about. I suppose that you could argue its what you pay travel insurance for…but for a bit less hassle it could work for you.

So, when looking at your dream Florida property, maybe think at the back of your mind, what healthcare provisions are nearby incase I need them?

You can also click on the find your new home link which will allow you to search our featured listings as well as the MLS System for Central Florida. Or, you can click on the contact us link to find the best way to contact us.

Please, feel free to Email, (info@Britishhomesgroup.com) or call UK Free phone 0800 096 5989 or USA Toll-Free 1-888-407-2748 or international/local dialing: 1-407-396-9914.

florida real estate

The largest home in Lake County, Which is a monstrous 32,000 square feet. – Remember the average American home is 2,000 square feet and the average home in Britain is between 800 and 1200 square feet is set to go into foreclosure if the bank does not get the loans secured against it repaid.

However despite its trouble in he past it has now been destined to auction after a court order. Today is supposedly the date of the auction. The mansion and the surrounding 155 acres of beautiful Central Florida are up for grabs.

The mansion and its surrounding area has been slated for residential development. However there are still many hurdles before any development could get out of the ground.

What is for sure is that this house is an asset to Lake County, its location is absolutely breathtaking, it is perched upon the top of a rolling hill in rural Groveland.

In fact a scenic way of seeing this beauty is to take CR 561 A from Highway 27 at Minneola (Just past Clermont) follow the road past the African Mission Inn, you will drive along the shore of lake Minneola, then you will take a right on Jalarny Road then at the T- Junction at the end of that take a left… and just follow that road through rolling hills, pasture and palm tree nurseries…whilst passing an exclusive subdivision amongst the lakes you will see the largest Home in Lake County perched atop its hill on the horizon. Once you reach SR 19 take a left towards Groveland itself then a left again onto Hwy 50 which will take you all the way back to the 27. Note this drive is particularly beautiful around sunset.

Give it a try!!

The reason that Brit’s buy in Florida is pure and simple, common language, better weather, nice property and all their favourite attractions are on their doorstep. Oh…and the added bonus at the moment of the exchange rate.

However, Europeans are jumping on the band wagon…A strong Euro makes US homes a bargain for Europeans. The Orlando Sentinel details some stories of Europeans who own property here and how they love the weather and the lifestyle. However many think that the place isnt getting enough advertising in Europe, many Europeans simply do not know about the place.

Maria McKee-Gandy with Worldvest Properties Inc. said that the UK and Ireland represent Central Florida’s comfort zone but there is great potential in other parts of Europe as well. She said that "Realtor’s like to work with what they are familiar with"

What is interesting is that the article identify’s that American’s have been put off by Florida’s high real estate prices, high property taxes and insurance rates. However what is interesting as they identify that Northern Europeans pay even more that Americans do here in Florida for these things and more for living expenses. – As a Brit in Florida, try telling a local that in Britain, Gas (Petrol) is $7.00 a US Gallon and see their face flinch! (In fact many do not believe you!)

This could be the next expat or second homeowner boom as an untapped market starts to get underway…

Inflation figures for the UK economy are out and inflation is currently per the CPI index (Consumer Price Index) at 3.1% more than one point above the governments target of Inflation at 2.0%. This is what has helped the pound rise against the dollar to its 15 year high of $2 to £1…however the exchange rate was trading yesterday within half a cent of a thirty year high!

However this growth in the UK economy makes a further exchange rate rise in the Bank of England Base rate more than just likely…

What does this mean for Florida property and mortgages? well…quite simply now is the time to buy, this could be the last good opportunity to buy or refinance a Florida property. This is coupled with figures released today saying that the current buyers market in the area is looking like it is coming to an end, the number of new builds is up and the number of building permits has increased for the second month in a row.

So, with a good exchange rate, a good fixed rate mortgage and the market at the bottom possibly on the cusp of a good level of capital growth, it looks like now is the best time yet for Brits to buy in Florida.

This is it, the moment Brits have been waiting for, the £1 has reached a 15 year high against the $ Dollar.
The current rate is trading at….

Celebration, Florida, Winner of the 2007 Small town America award, is an absolutely beautiful place to visit. It has a wide array of boutiques and a bustling nightlife of bars and restaurants with a decidedly European feel.

Why not grab a coffee and sit on one of the infamous rocking chairs on the edge of the lake and watch the sunset? For the outdoorsy types there is a gorgeous walking trail in which you can walk around three lakes and look at some of the gorgeous southern charm architecture that celebration has to offer. This quaint little town has something to offer all.

The town is nestled right in the heart of the worlds playground off of US 192 where millions of tourists visit each year. From US 192 Celebration is market by a white ranch style fence and a seemingly rickety old water tower once you take this entrance and travel into the heart of the town you feel like you have stepped back in time. Despite its retro charm the town has all the modern amenities that people look for. It has a golf course, a modern hospital and some of the best schools in the area – and don’t forget the towns centraly located Starbucks!

Fans of the Toby McGuire film "Pleasantville" or Jim Carrey’s "The Trueman Show" will enjoy the towns ambiance. You can even visit "Sherlock’s of Celebration" a quaint formerly British Owned store which sells mouth watering pastries and fine wines. It is named Sherlock’s of Celebration after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Character, at the side of the store there is even a Baker Street sign next an old English Telephone box. There is also an AMC two screen retro styled cinema and a street water fountain that you can let the kids run through and get soaking wet!

Its a fabulous place to visit as a family or couple…despite being just of the 192 it never gets too busy, parking spaces however can sometimes be at a premium as many are given up to the communities NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles) which are like golf carts and allow the residents to move around easily.