Florida Real Estate, Tourism and Immigration News

The BRITISH HOMES GROUP Florida has long been ‘The UK’s favourite one-stop shop for British villa owners in Florida’ and with our new 2007 summer promotion it’s easy to see why!

We are giving away some fantastic rewards to all clients who finance, refinance or purchase a Florida home with us during the summer season… Choose from:

Stay in a Florida Villa for Free!
	7 Night Stay No Black out dates Subject to availability Additional nights and upgrades available
Stay in a 3 or 4 bedroom Florida villa! Don’t want to come to Orlando? Receive $500 towards your stay elsewhere…

Enjoy a fantastic Champagne Balloon Ride for Two!
Enjoy an amazing morning with one of the most experienced flight crews in Orlando. Soar high above the tree tops and see Disney World and it’s surroundings as you’ve never seen them before. End your flight with a traditional sip of champagne and return to a great breakfast buffet!

Edwin Watts Golf Club Choices!
	Choose Between: A full set of his and hers clubs! A full set just for him! A full set just for her! A set of ‘Big Bertha’ Irons! All sets subject to availability

1 Year’s Base Membership to the GPAA!
Over a £300 Value! Am I getting value for money? Am I legal and can I stay that way? How do I ensure that my customers return? Am I competing effectively? Do I understand market trends?

4 Adult Theme Park Tickets!
Epcot Universal Magic Kingdom Seaworld Islands of Adventure Busch Gardens …and more

CLICK HERE TO FILL IN THE ONLINE FORM TODAY!
Terms and Conditions

• Only one promotion per mortgage/purchase
• Can’t be combined with any other offers
• For new applications received between June 1st and Sept 1st 2007
• Choice of promotion to be confirmed within 7 days of Completion (Closed) date
• $500 maximum value

The luxury home sector which appeals to international businessmen and celebrities has always been expensive, after all that pad in Hollywood is nestled amongst some of the worlds most famous people, however there are other reasons for the increase in cost, land. The amound of land in Hollywood is scarce. However, in terms of Florida it is beach front property which goes for big bucks.

Palm beach for example is renowned worldwide for its image of gorgeous sandy shores and a thiriving cosmopolitan lifestyle. Getting 120 feet of beach front here would be lucky. How much does Donald Trump’s palatial home have? 475ft. These homes are not measured in just millions, but tens of millions of dollars.

The cheap dollar is making it even more atractive for Brits and Europeans. Years ago a Brit couldnt dream of owning an apartment on 5th Avenue in New York, now it can easily be a Reality. Similarly, Many Brits want a home in the sun, Miami has long been known as the playground for the rich and famous, here homes have always been expensive, now with the weak dollar they are affordable. The Florida Keys are in a similar situation…Key West has often been tooted as more Caribbean than Floridian – giving rise to the word ‘Floribbean’ of course, homes here are gorgeous and ooze charm, and now are affordable.

Staging a home is something which UK buyers and sellers are not accustomed to. It is the process whereby a home is staged by a staging company to make the home more saleable – it gives a run of the mill home a more designer home feel and is appealing to buyers. In the current market all manner of tricks are being used to ensure that homes are selling! It helps buyers see a homes potential and allows them to visualise the usage of space in the home. Staging also allows sellers to use the staging company to strategically position furniture to create focal points which pick up on the homes strengths and lessen the appearance of its weaknesses.
Most Realtors would be able to recommend a staging company in your area if you are thinking of selling.

What is interesting is that the larger the home the more help buyers need in visualising the usage of space. This could be seen as important in the British Market where the average home is between 800-1200 sq ft and where the average home here in Florida is over 2000 square feet.

So how about owning your own villa? Florida offers so much, so contact us today to let us help you find a Florida property right for you!

3 new childrens rides open at SeaWorld Orlando. SeaWorld have added three more rides to Shamu’s Happy Harbor.

The park has delivered a competitive message to its rivals, Disney and Universal stating that SeaWorld has the best kids attractions! Yesterday the three new experiences for kids opened their gates. They are as follows:

The Sea Carosel, The Flying Fiddler drop ride and the Ocean Commotion rocking boat ride. Shamu’s Happy Harbor has grown since 2005 and now incorporates a kids rollercoaster and the teacups to name just two!! This is coupled with the company going back to its roots, being a family theme park not just parents and teens. Everyone can come and have fun.

At the Kennedy Space center however more gentile rides are not to be found as the new Shuttle Experience ride blasts off!!

This new ride simulates a real shuttle launch in the most authentic way yet. The "Crew" experience the sensation of 3G’s – through various trickery including the seat pressure changing as well as subtle seat movements. At the moment the fastest thrill ride in the area is Mission: Space in Epcot which has passengers experiencing 1.5G’s….

The NASA ride will surely create a following as the passengers are "blasted into space" they hear, feel and see things as if they are travelling into space. The rocket boosters jettison and the main engine cuts off where there is decelerration from 3G’s to zero gravity as the ship glides in to the black abyss. What an awe inspiring sight. The ride finished with the revealing of the Earth through "open cargo doors" above as if the Shuttle is upside down orbiting the earth which moves overhead.

What a fantastic 5 minute ride, I would love to try it!

See what Central Florida has to offer!!! Own your own home here and become an explorer of all the area has to see and do! Contact Us today!

Buyers and builders alike are realising the benefits of building and buying green. Westmont homes was given the opportunity to demonstrate green building at the 2008 International Builders Show. Owner Jume Rahman says that they do most of those tings already!

There are builders out there and there is an increasing market for green homes. Gopal Ahluwalia, Vice President of the NAHB Reasearch Center, said that results from surveys show that buyers are willing to pay extra ($17,000 more on a $292,000 home) for a house that incorportates green technologies that will lower maintenance and utility costs.

People are becoming conscious on Global Warming and Climate Change

Green Subdivisions are springing up all over the place, Oakland Park on Lake Apopka and Blue Spring Reseve in Clermont. Oakland Park is the first subdivision to receive green certification.

The idea of a green build is a home that minimised te environmental impact of contruction and uses products which are from renewable resources. On top of this homes may use green technology such as low wattage energy saving bulbs, having wood furniture from managed forests, solar heating or electicity.

However as homeowners look to save on energy costs every little helps. Turn off that light, turn down the heating/turn ‘up’ the air con and use the economy cycle on the washing machine and dishwasher and the big one that many people do not recognise…turn those appliances off standby!! Some older appliances use nearly the same amount of energy on standby as they do switched on! All of these things add up to savings for you and for the planet.

Orlando City Council last night approved agreements for $1.1 billion in sports and arts venues. The plans are set for scrutiny by the Orange County Commission who controls the tourist revenue that would pay for much of the plan.

The Council approved agreements for a new performing arts center, a new arena and major renovations to the Citrus Bowl. This venue near downtown Orlando has often been slated as in need of improvement. However despite the celebratory mood on this vote the issue of approving funding still remains. This vote was more of a symbolic victory as the public vox pop has been in favor of approving and creating new arts and sports venues for Central Florida. The Orlando Metro area is home to 2 million people yet when a big show comes to town the area often loses out to Tampa, Jacksonville or Miami.

This will mean yet more growth for the area which is great news for everyone. Often local residents complain that the attractions are set up for tourists and not for the people who live and work in the area. These plans will hopefully change all that.

We will all await the outcome of these plans!

This very blog has now been viewed by people in 40 countries! This is the highest number of countries since the blogs creation back in 2006. This is very exciting news as it clearly shows that the interest in Florida property is at an all time high! With a weak dollar and a housing market just turning around now amy be the best time to buy a Florida property!

Contact us today and we will help you find your dream Florida property and we can help secure you finance for the property with as little as 20% of the purchase price down! We will also be more than happy to give you a free loan quote so you can see how affordable it really is to own your own Florida home!

Groveland, Fl may be redirecting one of the busiest stretches of road in Lake County. State Road 50 which runs from the west coast through Brookesville, Mascotte, Groveland, Clermont, Winter Garden…then bisects Orlando all the way to Titusville on the east coast could find that at its four lane section through Groveland’s heart could have a change of direction as city officials want to promote growth in the form of  business district similar to the historic downtown Clermont and Mount Dora with small shops and boutiques.

This stretch of road which sees an estimated 24,000 cars and trucks a day would cost millions to redirect.

This is interesting news as the development on Highway 50 between Clermont and Winter Garden has grown at such a rate that land is running out fast, land speculators are looking west to Groveland in the hope that in the near future businesses will see the perks of the cities location in relation to Routes 27 and SR 50 which will take you to Downtown Orlando.

42% of Brits are interested in buying abroad according to a new research study by the Bank of Scotland.

Interestingly the Spanish Costa’s didn’t top the poll but English speaking countries like Australia, New Zealand and the US and Canada were front runners!

Currently 4% of the British Population own property abroad (43% of these come from London and the South-East of England)

Figures from GE Home Lending showed that sales of Florida Property to Brits this year has doubled! Due in part to the weakening dollar.

Gerry Bell of GE’s British Mortgages Abroad which provides sterling Mortgages to Brits in the Sunshine state had this to say:

"The Florida market is still performing strongly for UK investors looking for a home abroad. We have seen strong growth in this market through our British Mortgages Abroad products, which are up 100 per cent on the first quarter of 2006, Clearly the US economy is going through change, with a slow down in house price inflation of 6.5 per cent across the country, however, Florida is still performing relatively strongly with house price inflation at 9.5 per cent."

Contact us today and we can look at BMA Sterling mortgage for you!! Now is one of the best times ever to take advantage of a sterling mortgage!

With the sterling trading so high against the dollar, a Real Estate Market on the cusp of a turnaround with rock bottom pricing coupled with fabulous deals and fixed rate sterling mortgages now could really be the best time to buy a Florida Villa!

Take advantage of the situation and use your holiday time wisely and Fly over and look at some great property for sale in the Sunshine State!

Contact us today and we can help look for a suitable property through our in house Realtors and help arrange finance with our in house Mortgage Brokerage service!