What constitutes “home” is a very personal thing … quite different for everyone. Home might be a place your grandparents lavished you with love …  or where you grew up under your parents’ watchful eyes … or where you first lived as a grown-up. For everyone, the idea of “home” is quite different … and rarely consciously expressed.

You walk into an open house and you can appreciate all the amenities … the coffered ceilings, granite counter-tops, wood floors, huge master suite, double shower. And they attract the rational you. But it’s the sun streaming through the French doors, or the view of a park, or an inherent sense of sophistication that makes it feel “just right.”

Home is either evocative of a place you felt comfortable and loved. Or  representative of how you want to see yourself. You know it when you see it … but you can’t always say why. And it’s that intangible something that makes you say ‘wow.”  It makes you fall in love enough to buy.

A Realtor^® can and should dress up a home, present it in its best light, market its best features. But in most cases it’s more about the Realtor^® taking the time to understand the buyer and match him or her up with the right property than it is about the property itself.

Bottom line … it’s often psychology that makes the sale … not the “sell.”

Most people define a treasure as a small, undiscovered jewel that surprises and delights. The 3-story Jupiter Townhome I just saw at 4119 Parkside fits that description to a T. Built in the classic style of a metropolitan East Coast townhouse, this one combines traditional design with Florida creature comforts.

Enter on the level of a spacious den, with a half bath and easy access to the enclosed 2-car garage.

Step up a flight to a great room with a great open kitchen (complete with corian counters, oak floors, tumbled marble tiles) open onto the living room. Just out of sight … a separate dining room, laundry closet, and half bath.

Step up again to the 3^rd floor with its huge master suite with a high recessed ceiling, stunning fan, and light pouring in the skylight window.  Two more bedrooms and two full baths complete the picture.

In all, 2200 square feet of well designed, private space tucked away on a quiet street next to a community park, in close proximity to the Antigua Clubhouse and pool.

At $245,000 this little gem is perfect for two … or as a vacation retreat, which is what it’s current owners had in mind. Lucky for you, they rarely appeared.  So, though delightfully furnished, it has barely been used. Kind of like finding a small, low-mileage, BMW convertible at a ridiculous used car price!

Pros & Cons

If you make a side-by side-comparison about whether to rent a home or buy one, it can be a tough call. Ownership means a big tax write-off on mortgage interest, a predictable stable payment (with the right mortgage), a sense of stability and pride of ownership.

It also means responsibility for property taxes, maintenance, and HOA dues (depending on where you buy). And if you’re still undecided … there’s also the appreciation vs. depreciation question, since you can’t be certain whether this market has bottomed out and prices are on the way up. There is no easy answer.

But if you make your personal list and decide that, for whatever reason, it’s best for you to rent right now … here are a few pointers to keep in mind.

Rental Tips

1.  There are some amazing homes for rent out there right now…furnished and unfurnished. But rentals go quickly. Some people are just coming out of short sales and foreclosures and need a place to land. Some are relocating and want to get a feel for the market before they buy. So while it’s not a great market for real estate investors who want to flip homes quickly … it is a great market for landlords who want to hang onto their investment properties and rent them out.
2.  As a tenant, expect to pay first and last month’s rent plus a security deposit (typically a month’s rent). That’s standard operating procedure. Often you can negotiate a lease with an option to buy. That way if you fall in love with the home and want to stay there, you’ll have first right of refusal.
3.  But be careful when renting! Have a trustworthy Realtor^® scope it out for you. Some owners are renting homes that are already in foreclosure. Pocketing the deposit and leaving the tenant to the mercy of the Sheriff … who shows up to evict them before the sale date stipulated by the lender.

Great Locations

I personally represent some remarkable rental properties … like this 5-bedroom home in Tuscany at Abacoa in Jupiter. …within walking distance of the community pool, town center and baseball stadium. Just call for details. Jupiter is a great place to live and love life.  And I ought to know … because I live here and love it!

Everyone has them. Those moments when something strikes you a certain way, alters your perception, changes the outcome.

Take Florida summer rains, for example.  They’re particularly impressive. The sheer heaviness of them. The electrical violence of lightening streaks and thunder booms that stun any new transplant. Dangerous. Dramatic. Run-for-cover rain that makes you pull off the Turnpike, duck off the golf course, head for shore in a small boat. Deluges that turn everything even greener. Refill our water supply. Refuel our ecosystems. And give everyone the chance to hide inside, snuggle up, take time out.

Summer rains in Florida offer a dramatic change of perspective. And if you’re looking for a new home, they make you pause…and consider things like hurricane glass. Lots that won’t flood. Landscaping that’s safe. Not getting soaked financially. Finding a Realtor that won’t leave you high and dry.

Yes, watching a summer storm will send your thoughts racing. And if they happen to run to real estate, turn on your computer and give me a click call. That single action could be a watershed moment that alters more than your perspective.

Where the sky’s so dark, the stars don’t just twinkle. They pop. And the moon seems to hang in mid-air, almost close enough to touch. So oversized, you expect to see the Dreamworks® logo… And the waves keep rolling gently in.

If all that sounds just a bit too picturesque, you haven’t explored the Jupiter atmosphere. Where you can live your life in flip-flops. Dine alfresco nearly every night. Sip a martini or a brew. Sail the intercoastal or bike along the beach. Scout the local art fairs that spring up on weekends. Alternate between the Food Shack and Kee Grille, depending on your mood.

Jupiter is a small town with a sophisticated soul. At any given time or place you’re just as likely to see a family outing, a retired couple, singles of any particular age. It’s easy living. Close proximity. Great shopping. Fine dining. Live music. Excellent education. And as Scripps® will attest, a smart place to do business.

And right now, thanks to factors well outside its sphere, Jupiter is a great place to buy property. The real estate market here has never been better or more accessible for all kinds of buyers, all kinds of homes. Condos. Townhouses. Estates. Gated communities. Vacation homes. Rental properties.

You can take my word for it. I’ve lived here for the past 6 years. And the only way to explore the atmosphere in Jupiter is to move here. An hour from Miami. A million miles from everything you want to leave behind. 

A smart man I know has spent a lifetime watching for depressed real estate markets. When everyone else is fleeing the scene, he swoops in and buys up everything he can afford. He did it in London in the 70’s. If he were here right now, he’d buy up a chunk of Palm Beach County — especially Jupiter homes for sale and Palm Beach Gardens real estate. And he wouldn’t be the least bit daunted by the fact that mortgage underwriting is a little more stringent. No indeed. He understands that real estate is like the stock market. When people are sitting it out, that’s the time to roll up your sleeves and plunge in.

Contrary to common concerns, there will never be a better time to buy than right now. If they’re looking for a deal and don’t think the bottom has hit yet, you just might miss your opportunity. The bottom will flip before you ever see it, and you’ll miss a great deal waiting for a better one.

Besides, rates are lower now. So there’s a window of opportunity that won’t last long. Rates can swing from 5 percent to 9 percent surprisingly quickly. And if your credit is in reasonable shape, you’ll probably qualify. I should know. I’m not just a Realtor, a Certified Residential Specialist. I’m also a mortgage broker with years in the business.

There’s huge inventory out here. A lot of people, a number of builders who need to get out from under and are willing to take a big cut in price to do it. So right now you can probably afford far more than you could have a year or two ago. In fact, some sellers will even carry the note.

If you’re looking at pre-construction, chances are prices have gone down from where they started. And many homes or condos built on spec are standing empty, with the developer carrying the note at a loss.

So listen up. You can sit this one out and regret it for years. Blame it on high insurance and tight underwriting and miss the buyer’s market of a lifetime. Or you can make the right call. As for me, I know what I’m doing. I’ve invested it all.

I have no trouble making waves now and again. That’s our right and privilege. But it always amazes me how people respond and what they respond to.

I recently developed a marketing piece aimed at people who live in Miami. It was short, but not sweet. It referenced all the problems everyone recognizes…the traffic congestion, crime rates, inadequate schools and unplanned urban sprawl. In short, it told the truth. It’s why this long-time Miami resident finally moved up and became a Jupiter Realtor/resident. Why so many people are moving north of the Broward County line. To the small-town ease and big city amenities of the Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens area.

One response I got was particularly interesting. The woman called me four times. I think she had to work up the courage of her indignation. A self-appointed spokesperson for the Miami area, she was determined to let me know I had no right to malign her fair city. She didn’t deny what I said about it. But her anger was off the charts.

Now I ask you, is my opinion of Miami worth all that fuss.

Maybe, just maybe, if she’d come with me to the Green Market in downtown Abacoa on Saturday morning, she’d get it. That’s when a number of local organic farmers truck in the fruits of their labor. And if you haven’t been, you need to go.

Talk about fostering a real sense of community in the old-fashioned go-to-market kind of way! Everyone turns out for healthier produce, a chance to chat and mingle, to support local growers and enjoy fresh picked tastes no grocery store can offer.

There’s an info-byte for you. Emotional, physical and economic health all one tasty bit of green grocering. Who knew?

A former client recently reached out to me for help. It seems he had lost my number and had gotten caught up in a refinance sales pitch from another company. “What could be so bad?” he thought. No out of pocket closing costs and a payment that, on the surface, seemed like it would save him money. But, within a year his principal balance had zoomed from $600,000 to $675,000! Read the rest of this entry

Anyone who knows Jupiter knows it’s a wonderful place to raise kids. Pretty much anywhere you go you see happy, active kids fully involved in and enjoying life… biking, skating, playing baseball, swimming, skate-boarding. So much so, I thought I’d seen it all. Then I ran across the Veggie Kids on my Saturday morning pilgrimage to the Abacoa Green Market!

The three oldest kids in the remarkable Shirley family— Renee 12, Josiah 10, and Katie 6 — grow and sell their own homegrown, remarkably oversized produce under the guidance of their father, Steve, an agronomist. The 7,000-square-foot garden they tend is on the family’s Jupiter Farms property. Not only do the kids produce seasonal produce (October till June)… tomatoes, eggplant, beans, squash, radishes, carrots, onions, potatoes, corn, broccoli, cauliflower and GIGANTIC cabbages… fresher and more luscious than any this blogger has yet seen. But they now also have fresh eggs year-round from 22 free-range chickens and a website filled with all sorts of smart saleables. These kids are single-handedly reviving the concept of cottage industry!

Clearly, at their house, kids rule. But don’t take my word for it. Visit their website at www.veggiekidsfarm.com and discover one more reason why buying a Jupiter home is ideal for any family who really wants to put down roots!

Jupiter, FL is a nearly pristine little town with large city amenities. It’s where everyone fleeing the crime of Miami, the competitive nature of Boca, the outright snobbishness of Palm Beach finds far more than refuge. They find manageable living, true beauty, a sense of community Florida style. In short, there’s a reason so many people in southeast Florida are moving up the coast to Jupiter.

Yes, Jupiter is a world apart. And Abacoa is pivotal to that world. Very possibly the best-designed planned community anywhere … in or out of Florida. It’s its own little town, really. United, not divided, by its very unique neighborhoods.

Now, my little piece of Abacoa is Valencia. Filled with Mediterranean-style homes, gracious landscaping, and a truly upscale persona. And at the heart of Valencia is its clubhouse. Home to outdoor parties and competitions on the adjoining grassy field. Home to those who exercise religiously …  and those who simply pray they’ll make it though a workout. A clubby, cozy place with couches and chess sets - where you can play, chat or chill. It’s very bit as well designed as the neighborhood it serves.