A good Realtor will have a few questions for prospective buyers. a great Realtor will explain their policies with you upfront. Honor your Realtor and you will receive the ultimate in customer service. Remember,.. this person is about to spend hours setting up systems that will help you find the perfect property, in her/his office, databases, communications, multiple listing service as well as even more time researching or previewing properties that may meet your needs and providing those to you. (Did you know that most Top Producing Realtors work between 80 – 100 hours a week?) Ultimately, even more time and money is spent in advance in showing you properties, driving to and from, taking time from other customers, family and friends to devote just to you, (often into the night and on weekends and holidays!) So, before a Realtor just pops up to “go and show,” there are a few questions they will ask of you as well! (more…)

You build it, they will come. Economically, we have proven that this works in Tallahassee. Prime example, Southwood. A planned unit, mixed use development still growing, surrounded by a growing commercial area, Publix, Starbucks, etc. all who had a vision for the business to come.  Some are going to argue with this post, saying, “Have you seen the foreclosures in Southwood? Are you oblivious to the unemployment rate in Tallahassee?”  My answer is, “No.” 

I am a third generation Tallahassee native. I not only see what is happening, but I feel what is happening with employment here in Tallahassee. (Remember, I am self-employed 100% commission!) However, what I do see, that most seem to forget, is that people are hanging on here. Tallahassee, Florida offers a quality of life that people seek when looking for a place to live, to raise families, to retire. Entrepreneurs and small business people have a spirit of perseverance. Creativity and community support rise up in times of economic struggle.  Unemployed citizens scramble for any and every possible way for them to stay here in this city. Tallahassee is home to a population that wants to see it grow and who will stay to see it support itself.

City and County officials are increasingly aware of the Tallahassee, Florida’s citizens needs and desires for growth. This year’s elections spurred dozens of community forums where hundreds of citizen and professional organizations and small business owners have vocalized their concerns promising to remain “watchdogs” of these officials to insure a higher level of accountability in the years to come. All more reasons to consider Tallahassee Florida and it’s citizens as a home base for technology based, industrial and medical based businesses.

These are the positive things I see:

• Citizens are what make this city what it is. Citizens have never been more active in participating in not only electing officials most qualified and dedicated to running our government, but in working with these officials to insure that we do grow in the ways that support our citizens.
• There is a huge skilled workforce in Tallahassee. There are brilliant minds, medical professionals, cutting edge mechanics, engineers and computer scientists who are innovative and creative, world recognized artists, musicians and fine arts performers. There are restaurateurs and chefs, graduates of a culinary school who are primed for work, ready to offer their services and grow their careers. 
• There are more than 60,000 students that pass through our college systems and graduate from our universities and community college. Why wouldn’t a business want to employ hungry graduates, primed for entry level positions. Would student’s think about staying here if they knew they had jobs and could advance within a corporation? Students came to Tallahassee because they love our universities. They live here, they know what the community has, and what it needs to sustain them after graduation.
• The Leon County’s school district is an “A”-rated district, with 33,000 undergraduate students. In addition to traditional high schools, the district also offers a non-traditional magnet high school, Sail and an International Baccalaureate Program. Also, Lively Vocational-Technical Center offers a broad range of career-oriented programs.
• County and city governments have collaborated during the recession in seeking to stimulate the area’s economy. The county waived permit fees for the extension of environmental management permits and partnered with the city in helping to finance a downtown mixed-use retail and office building called Gateway Tallahassee. This year, the county created a countywide energy improvement district to help residents finance the weatherization of their homes and businesses and help create “green” jobs — the first such effort by a Florida county.
• Projects to stimulate growth such as the Gaines Street Development Project, affecting Gaines Street,College Town and FAMU Way will provide jobs and bring opportunities for an art-district to expand and develop, all within walking distance of the Capitol, FSU and FAMU universities.
• An Economic Development Council is playing  a big part in helping facilitate growth and development and in developing incentives for businesses considering a Tallahassee location.
• Commercial Real Estate is at an all time low, infrastructure is in place and incentives for bringing business to Tallahassee are in place and negotiable.

Take a look at a few of these commercial properties, what can you do with them? Got an idea? Call me for discussion.

Join Tallahassee Florida thought leaders, consider Tallahassee for Your Business Base. The people of Tallahassee, Florida welcome new business. For business opportunities,  and a list of commercial properties for sale, contact Debbie Kirkland.

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Have a budding geologist in the family? Like rocks, science, research, the arctic?

The Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility is located on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a one story building addition on the west end of the Carraway Building referred to as the Carraway Annex.

The Facility is a national repository over 20,000 meters of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine geological core samples and 3000 meters of rotary cored geological material acquired by NSF supported drilling programs in the Antarctic. Replacement cost of this core inventory in terms of ship and ice-based drilling is conservatively estimated to be in the range of $150 to $200M.

The collections are maintained to process and store marine sediments. Most of the core storage area consists of a 500 square meter room kept at 2 degrees Celsius.

One of the core acquisitions was extracted from deep beneath the sea floor of Antarcticas western Ross Sea, the Earths largest floating ice body. The samples are segments of a drill core that measures more than 1,100 meters in length and it offers an extraordinary stratigraphic record of sedimentary rock from the Antarctic continental margin that documents key developments in the areas Cenozoic climatic and glacial history. This is critical for low-lying regions such as Florida that could be directly affected by the future behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheets and any resulting sea-level changes

Visitors are requested to call in advance for a tour of the facility.

Antarctic Research Facility at Florida State University

3219 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL 32311-5203

850-644-2407

Have you served our country, the United States of America? Are you a veteran? You may be eligible for a guaranteed home loan. Tax credits have been extended for veterans serving while we are at war. This can mean a lot for a veteran when returning home and facing challenges of injuries, illness or simply relocation for their families.

I’m thinking of my family members who are serving, one of which has a child, and where he will be when his father returns. These are young men and women, of the age where their adult lives are just beginning, who will want to own homes when they return home. There are monies available for these men and women, and it’s our job as Realtors to help them find a way to reach that goal. Nothing says peace, than the comfort of a home, the shelter of a roof overhead, and the laughter and love within it’s walls.

Today, there are over 39,000 disabled veterans of the Iraq War living in the United States.

30 percent suffer from mental health disabilities and over 20% have brain and spinal cord injuries. I personally know several of these veterans. they are young, they were leaders of man and women, they gave what we can not imagine.

The VA Home Loan program began in 1944 as part of the Montgomery GI Bill, and it has guaranteed more than 19 million home loans – valued at more than $1 trillion – since its inception. During the past four years, the number of veterans helped by the VA has risen 63 percent.

There are ways we can help thank our injured or ill veteran family members and friends. “Specially Adapted Housing Grants“  or “SAH” grants are available to build houses, to retrofit housing and to pay down mortgages. veterans or service members who have specific service-connected disabilities may be entitled to a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the purpose of constructing an adapted home or modifying an existing home to meet their adaptive needs.

“The goal of the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Grant Program is to provide a barrier-free living environment that affords the veterans or service members a level of independent living he or she may not normally enjoy.

Grants provided under the SAH program may also be used outside the United States.  However, it must be reasonably practicable for VA to provide assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing for the designated country or political subdivision outside the United States.  For more information on use of such grants, please contact Brian N. Bixler, Chief, Specially Adapted Housing, on (571) 272-0091 or via Email at: brian.bixler@va.gov.

There are two types of grants administered by VA, which are available to assist severely disabled veterans or servicemembers in adapting housing to their special needs.” (http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/sah.asp)

If you know a veteran in need of help, who needs a home to be retro-fit for a disability, or a veteran who wants to purchase a home, but is not sue how to do this contact Debbie Kirkland for help in finding out where to begin getting veteran’s home loans and assistance monies. If you are a builder or tradesman wanting to volunteer your time in helping a veteran, let Debbie know and she will add you to a list of Tallahassee community support persons. Together we can give these heroes the Welcome Home they deserve.

Download Guide to VA Loans – Heroes Welcome Home Booklet

November, the beginning of the giving season. Times may be tough around Tallahassee, FL but the sense of community and the spirit of giving are ever present in this city.  Each year The Marine Corps raises money, collects gifts, repairs old bicycles to give to children at Christmas.  Let the smiling begin!

Here are a few events coming up where you can donate, AND where you can have fun.

Wednesday, November 10  – Wednesday Wine Tasting at the Wine Loft. 1240 Thomasville Road, Midtown, Tallahassee, Tallahassee, FL 32303

Saturday, November 20 – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Seminole RC Club in Conjunction with Hobby Town USA Presents Toys For “Tots Fly-In”.

Seminole RC Airfield
  AMA Membership Req’d.
$10.00 Landing Fee- Pilots only.
          Or $10 valued unwrapped toy.
Visitors Welcome- Free Admission
Concessions, Facilities

For information contact: Frank Bastos, HobbyTown 850-671-2030  fbastos@comcast.net or Michael Atkinson 850-656-2200 nexnbax1@comcast.net

Sunday, December 12 – Capital City Harley Davidson’s Toys for Tots Ride. Come on a Motorcycle or in a “cage” (car). Donation of one toy for Toys for Tots gets you a free lunch at Dave’s BBQ. Canned good donations go to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Know of a child in need?  Click Here to register.  REGISTRATION ENDS NOV 30th.

Toys for Tots success depends a great deal on local businesses and families like us, let’s make some children smile this year!

Another Beautiful Condo in Northeast Tallahassee

The beauty of my job is that I get to work with sellers who have loved their homes. Loved homes, are maintained homes, clean homes, homes with character and appeal, and this condo at 4549 Barclay Lane in Barclay Condominiums subdivision is one of those homes, and now it is for sale and the sellers must move!

This home purchased as a first home, this sweet condo tucked away behind a white picket fence in a small, professional, family oriented condo complex has all the amenities that  a discerning buyer would want. Tranquil views, spaces designed for all the areas of living, it is sure to make a great home for someone all over again!

For more information on this great home at 4549 Barclay Lane in Tallahassee, FL  or to search other town-homes in the Northeast, contact Debbie Kirkland, Realtor today. Debbie’s online real estate website will allow you to customize your home search, have listings emailed directly to you and to save them in an organizer, you own online, virtual filing system. Debbie and her team are available and will schedule a convenient time to show you the homes that you find interesting.

Scan this code and bookmark this listing information website  today!