Chris Hounchell REALTOR

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Award-winning Florida real estate Broker PROUDLY SELLING IN PINELLAS, HILLSBOROUGH, PASCO, MANATEE & SARASOTA COUNTIES since 2004.

Home Sellers Light Up Your Home

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Correct and thorough lighting with your house can show off your amenities and downplay your weaknesses.Home Sellers:  LIGHT-UP Your Home To Show It Off Better!

You’d think with all the sun we have here in the St. Petersburg-Tampa area that lighting the home you have for sale would be easy. The fact is that many Florida homes are designed to minimize the light coming indoors to reduce cooling costs, which is a great idea. But when you’re showing your home for sale, you want to emphasize its strongest qualities while toning down any weaknesses.

During our cooler months you can bring in more sunlight by opening as many windows as possible. But now that we’re into our annual cooling season, that may not be practical. Short of letting all that wonderful cold air escape outside, try to remove as much of whatever may be covering your windows. Pull your blinds all the way up. Consider creative approaches to tying back drapes. Move aside any furniture that could block incoming light. You will, of course, want to make sure your windows are squeaky clean inside and out.

Light-Up With Artificial Lighting Tips:

Strategically placed mirrors can be used to redirect natural as well as artificial light to those areas you want to emphasize. Mirrors also make spaces look larger, and if your home is less than palatial, that could be a very good sales tool.

When it comes to artificial lighting, be careful not to overwhelm a room. Tasteful table lamps, chandeliers and possibly track lighting can be used to direct a potential buyer’s attention to the area on which you want them to focus.

The kitchen is either the most important room buyers are looking at or close to it. Current styles promote open floor plans, lots of light, sparkling appliances and abundant counter space. Recessed ceiling fixtures you can aim in specific directions and hidden, under cabinet lighting can help make just about any size kitchen shine and appear larger.

Light up your home and let’s get it sold. Contact Chris!

Tips for Finding Mortgage Lender

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Tips for Finding A Mortgage LenderHomebuyers: 7 Tips For Finding A  Mortgage Lender

With spring comes the year’s most active real estate buying time, which coincides with mortgage rates at or near record low levels. Homebuyers in the St. Petersburg-Tampa area are asking themselves how to find the best mortgage broker. Here are some tips on securing the financing you need to get into your new home.

  1. Shop your bank and credit union. Your already have a checking account or saving account, so you have a track record with your bank or credit union. Find out what rates and terms they offer.
  2. Check with Bankrate.com. This site will provide you with a variety of lenders and the rates they’re offering. You want to find the best deal, and the company that will provide the best customer service.
  3. Ask friends. Word of mouth is some of the best marketing available. Check with your friends, or even potential neighbors to see what mortgage providers they used and how they were treated. And always ask about any unexpected costs they had to cover.
  4. Remember that the mortgage market rates can change daily. Rates are a product of the marketplace, so check several sources for the best deal.
  5. Be cautious. Loan representatives, from time to time, will unfortunately try to lure you into their office with claims of lower than real rates, promises to cover closing costs, etc. Drive your mortgage bus. Interview lenders, and choose one that can provide you with the best terms and that you can trust.
  6. Consider a quality mortgage broker. If you’re buying a home with a sale price below $150,000 [Read more…]

Tips Tax Day St. Pete-Tampa

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Tips for tax day St. Pete-Tampa as tax day is Monday, April 15Tips for Tax Day: St. Petersburg-Tampa –  Tax Day Is Monday, April 15

If you’re among the few non-procrastinators out there in the St. Petersburg-Tampa area, you’ve already gathered up your tax documents, receipts and records, loaded them into an empty Amazon.com box, dropped them off at your accountant’s office and are now awaiting the good, or not so good news.  Congratulations! You’ve effectively avoided the last minute pressure, and the feelings of guilt that comes with being an LMF, Last Minute Filer. (Remember, if your tax situation is at all complex, hiring an accountant is a very good decision.)

But for those of you LMFers out there who are still trying to recall where your receipts are, need we remind you that the last day to file your taxes without incurring a penalty is Monday, April 15, as it’s been since 1955?


April 15 is also deadline day for a couple of other items you need to tidy up:

  • If you maintain a traditional or Roth IRA, you must make your 2012 contributions by April 15.
  • If you’re among the lucky ones required to make quarterly payments, the first one due for 2013 must also be paid by April 15, 2012.

If you’re a resident of the State of Florida, congratulations, there is no state income tax so you don’t have to worry about that form.  But if you need assistance here are a couple of places to go: IRS phone helpline, IRS help online, and FAQ’s.

If you’re preparing your own taxes, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

  • You can deduct state, local or foreign real estate taxes levied for the general public welfare, as long as they are based on the assessed value of the real property of which you are the owner.
  • You can deduct estimated tax payments you made during the year.
  • You can either take a deduction or a credit for income taxes imposed on you by a foreign country or a U.S. possession. However, there are some exceptions, so check with your tax professional or read the instructions carefully.
  • If you bought or sold real estate during 2012, the real [Read more…]

Best Regional Hospitals St. Petersburg-Tampa

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Best Regional Hospitals St. Petersburg-TampaSt. Petersburg – Tampa Regional Hospitals Are Among The Best In The Country

One of the questions we’re quite often asked by prospective buyers is the proximity and quality of the hospitals in the St. Petersburg – Tampa area. We’re blessed to have excellent choices.

Of the 43 hospitals in the greater St. Petersburg – Tampa metropolitan area, Tampa General Hospital and the Moffitt Cancer Center are considered to be the best regional facilities, TGH for their specialties in Diabetes and Endocrinology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Geriatrics; Heart and Heart Surgery; Nephrology; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Orthopedics Pulmonology and Urology; and Moffitt for their cancer research and treatment.

Chris Hounchell & Associates, in partnership with Bay Area Advisors and with the generous support of the community, has raised over $350,000 for the Moffitt Cancer Center and its Advanced Prostate Cancer Collaboration since 2007.

Bayfront Baby Place – A Unique Partnership

Younger buyers, especially those getting ready to start families, want to know about hospitals specializing in obstetric and neonatal care. Here too the St. Petersburg – Tampa region has one of the best, All Children’s Hospital and its Bayfront Baby Place.

Opened in 2010, the Bayfront Baby Place is an innovative collaboration between the Bayfront Medical Center and All Children’s Hospital offering the highest level and most up-to-date technology and facilities available. Housed in an ultra-modern yet warm and inviting atmosphere, Bayfront Baby Place features 13 private birthing suites, a 40-bed postpartum center, four surgical suites for C-Sections and a full nursery. All Children’s neonatal intensive care unit stands ready to treat babies requiring special care.

Pre- and post-natal services are also offered. Bayfront Baby Place has a full menu of prenatal classes for childbirth education, newborn care and infant massage, among many others. Certified lactation consultants are available to pregnant women considering breastfeeding, and at 10 a.m. every Tuesday they host a [Read more…]

Daylight Savings Time March 10

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clock, spring forward daylight savingsEnjoy The Gift Of Light! Daylight Saving Time Begins March 10!

No need to shell out hard earned cash to max out the time you spend enjoying St. Petersburg and Tampa’s pristine beaches, family-oriented parks, amusements and abundant sunshine. A full hour of glorious daylight, sixty additional minutes to be exact, is coming your way courtesy of none other than Father Time, well, he and the Federal Government.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10.

Before you lay your head down on the pillow Saturday night, be sure to turn your clocks ahead one hour. Remember, “spring ahead, fall back.”

Sure, you’ll lose an hour of sleep, but you can use that extra sixty minutes to enjoy our beautiful weather and DST purportedly has both physical and psychological benefits. Just think how much more Vitamin D you’ll absorb! And that Honey-Do list? You’ll have a full extra hour to get it done, and we all know how completing projects promotes peace at home.

Spring Training St. Petersburg-Tampa

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Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training 2013St. Petersburg And Tampa Welcome Back Baseball’s Boys Of Spring

It’s said that spring training is a time to think about being young again.

According to Dagwood Bumstead, husband to comic strip’s Blondie, “Baseball…is the cornerstone of civilization.”

Whatever it is, it’s here and it’s about time. No longer are we forced to listen to rumored aftereffects of sequestration and lavish descriptions of which dress made the best debut at the Oscars. Nor, thank goodness, are we relegated to watching professional bowling. Baseball is back, and it’s being played in our own back yards here in the St. Petersburg – Tampa area.

Tampa Bay Rays Reinvent Themselves, Again

Despite losing J.P. Howell, James Shields, Wade Davis, B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena, the Rays have added needed firepower with the additions of pitchers Juan Carlos Oviedo and Jamey Wright, outfielders Wil Myers and Jason Bourgeois, and shortstop Yunel Escobar. By rights, the Rays could be more dangerous in 2013 than ever before.

Snagging Escobar, who hit .290 last season with the Marlins, gives the Rays a much-needed punch on offense and defense. Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist are both back, as is David Price, and, as always, manager Jo Madden has assembled a bullpen marked by depth, if not experience. And the recent signing of Luke Scott should more than fill the hole left at DH.

The Tampa Bay Rays play in the American League East along with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the Orioles and the Blue Jays. The Rays won their division and the pennant in 2008. Since 2007, they’ve enjoyed four straight winning seasons, and four playoff appearances, including two AL East championships and one trip to the 2008 World Series, where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Rays play their home Spring Training games at the Charlotte Sports Park, 2300 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte. For tickets, click here.

Here is a list of teams that play within easy driving distance from the St. Petersburg-Tampa area with links to their Spring Training schedules, compliments of Chris Hounchell & Associates:

Tampa Bay Rays (Port Charlotte)

New York Yankees (Tampa)

Philadelphia Phillies (Clearwater)

Toronto Blue Jays (Dunedin)

Baltimore Orioles (Sarasota)

Pittsburg Pirates (Bradenton)

Detroit Tigers (Lakeland)

Houston Astros (Kissimmee)

Atlanta Braves (Disney)

Minnesota Twins (Fort Myers)

Boston Red Sox (Fort Myers)

Go out there and support your favorite boys of  spring or summer and let’s play ball!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keller Williams Among Top Workplaces Includes St. Pete & Tampa

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Keller Williams St. Petersburg-Tampa, FLWe Are Tooting Our Own Horn: Keller Williams Realty Ranked Among Top Workplaces Nationally and Includes St. Petersburg-Tampa Market

People who work at Keller Williams Realty, Inc., are a very happy lot. In fact, according to the independent survey firm, WorkplaceDynamics, Keller Williams employees ranked their firm as the ninth best workplace in America, and its the only national real estate franchising company on the National Top 150 Workplaces list.

Chris Hounchell, Team Leader of Chris Hounchell & Associates, and a multi-million dollar producer who ranks among the Top 50 real estate agents locally, has been affiliated with Keller Williams since 2011. Chris is headquartered in their downtown St. Petersburg, Florida office at 111 2nd Ave. NE, Suite 400.

Survey Says:

The WorkplaceDynamics survey was based purely on the opinions of the 1.7 million employees who worked through an employee survey measuring engagement of satisfaction and organizational health – characteristics that establish a clear direction for their future, help them to execute well and bring real meaning to their work.

This vote of confidence is a powerful indicator to shareholders, customers and the communities it serves that Keller Williams has strong values underpinning its outstanding behavior.

Keller Williams was founded in Austin, Texas in 1983, and is one of the largest real estate companies in the world. With approximately 700 offices and 80,000 associates, the rapidly growing firm is the second largest real estate franchise in the United States. The company also provides specialized agents in luxury homes and commercial real estate properties.

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day from Chris Hounchell & Associates

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Express Your Adoration

St. Valentine, the patron saint of romance, has his bow and arrow aimed, and is poised to unleash a salvo of affection throughout the St. Petersburg-Tampa area in the form of love notes to beloveds, cards to special friends, flowers, personalized jewelry, gifts, champagne, chocolates, colorful sunsets and dinners out at fine restaurants complete with candlelight and the holding of hands. Consider this a gentle hint.

Don’t make the fatal mistake of forgetting to express the adoration you have for your very special loved ones on Thursday, February 14. The consequences for disregarding the date are far too hideous to describe here.

Bacon for Valentine’s?

Suggestions of gift possibilities abound. The popular magazine, Men’s Health, suggests massage oil candles that melt into silky massage oil, while that bastion of romance, The International Business Times, is suggesting women give their special man a bouquet of roses made entirely of bacon. Of course, they follow up that suggestion with something a bit more appropriate, leather, personally embossed envelope made especially for holding love letters.

However you express the love you have for that special someone, do it, and do it on (once again) Valentines Day, Thursday, February 14. Got it?

 

 

Visit St. Pete’s Saturday Morning Market

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Visit Saturday Morning Market St. PeteVisit Downtown St. Petersburg’s Saturday Morning Market – Fun For Everyone

It’s no secret that downtown St. Petersburg, Florida has changed a great deal in recent years. It’s become a hipper, younger place to live and hang out, a true arts mecca and a great destination for those looking for creative, new restaurants and live music. One of the gems of St. Pete’s new downtown action is the Saturday Morning Market. If you haven’t been, you need to go.

Saturday Morning Market, October through May

Every Saturday from October through May, the market sets up in the Progress Energy Park (Home of Al Lang Field) parking lot at the corner of 1st Street South and 1st Avenue South in downtown St. Petersburg. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. over 10,000 visitors meander through an assortment of vendors offering organic vegetables, plants, fresh fish, olives, baked goods, flowers, prepared foods like pizza and Cuban sandwiches, gourmet cheeses, fruit smoothies, hand-crafted chocolates, interesting crafts, plants and more.

And it’s never the same. The Market has 130 spaces and over 200 approved vendors. That means each week there are new offerings. Craft vendors change from week to week, and there’s always something new from the fresh food booths, especially the lovely garden-fresh vegetables.

Additionally, each week the Market offers live music. For example, Pete Merrigan & Friends will perform great rock n’ roll from local favorites  from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, February 2. Check the future music schedule for more details.

Dogs are cordially invited. In fact, they’re appreciated. Water bowls and “accident clean up materials” are available near the Market booth. Just be sure to keep your mutt on a leash, and encourage good manners around humans and other dogs.

Saturday Morning Market Parking

You’d think parking would be a madhouse, but the Market has it covered, literally.

  • South Core Garage – 1st Ave. S between 2nd and 1st Streets, $3.
  • Baywalk Garage – Enter on 2nd St. N between 1st & 2nd Ave., $1
  • Al Lang Field – At the eastern portion of the lot, $5
  • Street Parking – Metered throughout the neighborhood, $0.25/20 minutes
  • Handicapped – Spaces south of the Market next to the stadium, enter from 1st St.
  • Please Note: Do not park on Beach Drive; leave spaces for those businesses customers

There’s also Downtown Looper Trolley service from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at $0.25 per ride. Check here for routes and schedules.

Enjoy yourselves at the next Saturday Morning Market!

 

 

 

Annual Florida Insurance Reviews Pay Dividends

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Perform an annual Florida insurance review.Annual Florida Insurance Reviews Can Pay Big Dividends

If you’re one of the thousands in the St. Petersburg-Tampa area (and around the state) who have had their Citizens Property Insurance “assumed” by another carrier, you’re probably finding it hard to fathom how and why they could do such a thing. Citizens is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt government corporation whose public purpose is to provide insurance protection to Florida property owners throughout the state.

Basically, the state run and funded “insurer of last resort,” as it is often referred to, is trying to reduce its exposure, and ultimately we taxpayers exposure, by shedding as many policies as possible regardless of whether there has been a history of claims, or not.

According to the Florida State Insurance Commissioner’s office, Citizens has every right to sell their policies, which is in fact what they’re doing, to other state authorized and licensed insurance companies who are members of the Florida Insurance Guarantee Association (FIGA). FIGA backs all policies “as written,” says the Commissioner’s office.

So For Example:

If your Citizens dwelling coverage is say $250,000, which comes with coverage for other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, medical payments, personal property replacement, fungi and sinkhole coverage, etc., the company “assuming” your policy does so at the same levels and premium, at least until it’s time to renew your policy. However, if for some reason you choose to stay with Citizens, they will greatly reduce your coverage limitations. So you’re left with a choice between two not so nifty alternatives. Plus, you won’t know what your new carrier will charge you upon renewal until 45 days prior to your renewal date.

As a result, many homeowners are taking on the always-enjoyable task of reevaluating their insurance portfolio and performing the annual Florida insurance review to determine whether there are alternatives to Citizens and the assuming company. Often, it turns out that alternatives do exist that can save homeowners a load of money in some cases.

Recently, one of our customers started out just looking into potential homeowners underwriters. After finding alternatives that provided the same coverage as Citizens, but at significantly lower rates, this spurred him to expand his reevaluation to include health, auto and his umbrella liability policy. At the end of the day, he was able to bundle his homeowners, auto and liability policies, and save over $3,000 a year for virtually the same coverage.

It’s a smart idea to take some time each year to compare your current homeowners and auto insurance coverage with alternative companies. You’ll certainly stay on top of how much coverage you need and carry, and it may save you a substantial amount of money.

Happy shopping!