Rae Catanese

Prudential Tropical Realty

Cell: (813) 784-7744

Email Me

From the category archives:

Relocation Resources


Moving to Florida and need to get a driver license and your car registered?

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If you have an out-of-state license, you may be able to convert your license without taking a written or road test. Review the
requirements for citizens and non-citizens.pelican

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Obtain vehicle
insurance from a company licensed to do business in Florida–in other words, visit a Florida insurance agent.

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Take your proof of Florida insurance; your original out of state title and verification of physical inspection of the motor vehicle’s *vehicle identification number (VIN), completed on form HSMV 82040 or HSMV 82042 to your local Florida county tax collector’s office. If there is more than one owner on the out of state title for transfer, all applicants must sign the application or all applicants must be present.

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In the state of Florida, a motor vehicle is required by law to be registered within ten days of the owner either becoming employed, placing children in public school, or establishing residency. Registering your motor vehicle goes hand in hand with the titling process.


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VIN verification is required for all USED motor vehicles not currently titled in Florida, including trailers with a weight of 2,000 pounds or more.
*The VIN must be physically inspected by one of the following:

  1. A law enforcement officer from any state.
  2. A licensed Florida or out of state motor vehicle dealer.
    NOTE: If the VIN is verified by an out of state motor vehicle dealer, the verification must be submitted on their letterhead stationary.
  3. A Florida DMV Compliance Examiner/Inspector, DMV or tax collector employee.
  4. A notary public commissioned by the state of Florida.
  5. Provost Marshal (an officer who supervises the military police of a command) or a commissioned officer in active military service, with a rank of 2nd lieutenant or higher or an LNC, “Legalman, Chief Petty Officer, E-7″.

If the out of state title is currently in the possession of an out of state lienholder, the tax collector’s office will assist you in contacting the lienholder to obtain the title. The lien will be recorded on the Florida title when issued and will be mailed to the lienholder.

Search all homes in Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater.  Visit our MLS search site.   

Need Relocation Advice? View our Tampa Bay Relocation Resources Page

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As Real Estate Agents we get bombarded with information from companies who are trying to promote the latest and greatest tools for our buyers and sellers.  I received an email today, from a newsletter that I subscribe to, that I thought was interesting to say the least!

A company called “Homethinking” has recently launched a new site that researches Neighborhoods all over the U.S.  The website allows you to search a neighborhood by identifying which are most similar to where you currently live and compare how they are similar. You would think this would be a great tool for people who are relocating to the Tampa Bay area.  My search was based on moving from NEW YORK CITY TO TAMPA, F.L.

If you live here, and have been to New York City, you’ll quickly know that these comparisons are not even close to being on the mark.  I have to wonder, sadly, if Homethinking will ever get used.

Moving from New York (Manhattan) to

Tampa, Florida

Hillsborough River, Tampa Florida

Hillsborough River, Tampa Florida

  • Garment District is like Tampa International Airport Area, Bon Air
  • Upper West Side is like Lowry Park Central, Bayshore Beautiful
  • Midtown is like Tampa-Bayshore Gardens, Bon Air North
  • Morningside Heights is like Channel District, Palmetto Beach, East Ybor
  • Upper East Side is like Bayshore Beautiful, Bon Air North
  • East Village is like Bon Air, Tampa International Airport Area
  • Little Italy is like Gandy/Sun Bay South, Old West Tampa
  • Carnegie Hill is like Culbreath, Beach Park, Riverbend
  • Financial District is like Rattlesnake, Seminole Heights
  • Harlem is like East Ybor, Channel District, Palmetto Beach

If you are relocating to the Tampa, St. Pete or Clearwater areas let us show you the neighborhoods that best match your needs.  The internet can be a great tool, unfortunately the results are not always accurate.  Email: info@thetamparealestateinsider.com or call 813-784-7744

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One problem we are experiencing in the Tampa Real Estate Market is a very large quantity of short sales and foreclosures. This leads to not only abandoned homes, but an even larger problem with HOA fees not being paid by the homeowners.Tampa Real Estate

A good buyer’s agent can tell you which neighborhoods are in trouble. Imagine buying a home and then being assesed a huge amount to make up for the back HOA fees! Call the Home Owners Association president and get the current financials.  Finding out this information should be a contingency of the contract in today’s real estate market.

HGTV’s frontdoor.com posted a great article on How To Find The Best Neighborhoods.  It’s guide for those just starting out in the home search process. If you are looking to relocate to the Tampa Bay area,  I’ve posted articles specific to our area that will help you find the BEST neighborhoods in Tampa!

Need a buyer’s agent? Call 813 784 7744 or email me!  Rae Catanese, PA-Licensed Real Estate Agent covering all of Tampa Bay

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Ybor City-Tampa, Fl

Forbes Magazine recently released a report on America’s cleanest cities. The Tampa-St. Petersburg area ranked 8th in the top 10. The study was not based on just trash removal, but environmental aspects. The story written about the report noted specifically Partnership member company Tampa Electric Company “for going beyond federal and state requirements on emission reductions.” Way to go!

Want to live where the air is sweet, the water is pure and the streets are clean? Try the country. But what if you don’t like the sticks? Then try Florida.

Led by Miami, the Sunshine State dominates our 2008 list of America’s Cleanest Cities with four metro areas in the top 10–Jacksonville (No. 3), Orlando (No. 4) and Tampa-St. Petersburg (No. 8) all make appearances. Clearly, a state that relies so heavily on tourism and part-time snow-bird residents knows the value of keeping itself spruced up for company.

read full story

See Also:

Thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Tampa Bay Area? Have a Real Estate question?
Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese, PA and Michelle Jordan, PA
Realtors.


Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty

 

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Determining the most desirable neighborhoods means considering three things……….
Convenience, Location and PriceConvenience: I recently began working with a couple who has rented for the past five years in the Feather Sound area of St. Petersburg, but have realized that there is no better time to buy a condominium in the Tampa/St. Pete area than now. They are getting ready to retire which means the maintenance of a home is something they want to avoid. Isn’t that what retirement is all about?

Location:
These neighborhoods are located in a very convenient locations. They provide easy access to Tampa, St. Pete and major highways. Shopping and restaurants are all within a couple miles. For people who work at Raymond James Headquarters in St. Pete, or Franklin Templeton, the Feather Sound Community is an ideal location! Feather Sound is also 10 minutes to Tampa Int’l Airport and the Westshore Plaza Shopping mall.

Price: Although there are many great deals for all types of buyers today; buyer’s who have the best chance of getting a great deal are able to pay cash and close quickly. My clients are in the driver’s seat because they can do both! In this tight seller’s market with almost a 2 year supply of housing inventory on the market Cash IS King! Every property on the market is negotiable; so ask for comparable properties sold with in the past year. Offer less and negotiate, negotiate….you are in the driver’s seat.

As an experienced realtor who believes in showing properties matched to the buyers’ needs, I was able to show them several properties in the Audubon Condominiums in Feather Sound and have located several more condos for them to preview as well in Clearwater.


Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay

If you are relocating to the Tampa, St. Pete or Clearwater areas and need advice on the best places to live, give me a call.

See also: Feather Sound Community-Clearwater, FL

Thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Tampa Bay Area? Have a Real Estate question?
Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese and Michelle Jordan
Realtors.


Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty

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What is most important to you? Pick one of the three and narrow your search from there.

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It seems that everyone wants to know how to find the best neighborhood in the Tampa Bay area.
The website for the City of Tampa has many useful resources, which I’ve provided a list below.
Keep in mind this is only for the actual City Limits of Tampa.
I will be posting a similar report on Hillsborough County
which will include areas like
Westchase, and Citrus Park.

Here’s a link I posted a while back on The BEST neighborhoods in Tampa so feel free to check it out.

Recently, I went back to the website for The City of Tampa and did some searching around. You really need to navigate the site because there is so much information.

For instance, the following information was listed under city “characteristics”.

Not a link I would normally click on to find out where the schools and libraries are.

Hope this will help you find your perfect neighborhood.

Lawn Watering Days
Places of Interest
Public Libraries
Public Schools
Street Cleaning

Thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Tampa Bay Area?

Have a Real Estate question?
Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese and Michelle Jordan
Realtors.

Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty
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Some things we don’t want to think about when looking for a new home is “how safe is the neighborhood”. If you aren’t sure why not find out? With as many homes as there are on the market in Tampa, buyers can be very selective.

If you are relocating from out of state, or just doing some research on your own, you can find the Sexual Predators in a specific neighborhood by searching the FLDE website.

This Neighborhood Search allows users to enter any address in Florida and search the Florida Sexual Offender/Predator Registry for any registered sexual offender or predator living within a 1 to 5 mile radius of the address entered by the user. You can also open a map of the search results by clicking the “Display Results in Map” link

You can also search Crime Statistics in the Tampa Bay area by going to TBO.COM and searching their crime tracker.

Thinking about buying or selling real estate in the Tampa Bay Area? Have a Real Estate question?
Feel free to
email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese and Michelle Jordan
Realtors.


Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty

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SEMINOLE HEIGHTS- Historical Neighborhood Real Estate Market Update- Tampa, Fl
Are you relocating and looking for a unique and historical community?
Most people who live here in Tampa know about a quaint area we call Seminole Heights.
Seminole Heights makes sense for first time home buyers looking for opportunities and affordable prices.
It seems that all you hear about it on the news is negative. I thought I’d shed some light on the brighter side of our “Heights Market” by going back in time to get a better perspective on the future.

Remember three years ago when real estate was really hot? You were looking for a home between 200K to 250K, and there just wasn’t enough to choose from. You may recall that when you found a suitable home, 2 or 3 other people were looking to make an offer on the same place. And people were buying homes left and right. Back then, sellers were all too happy to make a big profit. There were bidding wars and buyers willing to pay the price.

So now we’re on the downside of that frenzy of activity. Insurance and tax issues have caused the whole state of Florida to fall into a real estate rut, but there’s still a lot we can learn from the boom of just a few years ago. There were signs then that Seminole Heights was up and coming: Whispers of a Starbucks being built, and a Cappy’s Pizza – who would have thought?

Today, the Seminole Heights Market is priming for another growth spurt. The Starbucks Coffee Shop and Cappy’s Pizza are thriving, and there’s much more to look forward to, like the proposed Sangria’s Restaurant coming. Now this is really turning into something big. All this and live only 10 minutes from Downtown Tampa.

Alan Dobbs, owner of Florida Design Studio Corp has moved his offices to the Heights, where he’s basing most of his projects. Alan’s company focuses on traditional bungalow architectural design, and business couldn’t be better. “I think it’s because I do work for home owners and not speculative developers or track home builders,” says Alan. Alan also noted, “even though there has been a downturn in the real estate market, it does not seem to of had an affect on people wanting to improve or add-on to their homes. If anything, I think the projects have become bigger and more substantial because people, including me, realize we can’t afford to move, but we can afford to add-on of improve what we have.”

Other buyers are opting to build new in our area, while maintaining the historical look of the neighborhood. If you’re thinking of taking this route, you may want to jump on the opportunity when you see a lot for sale. It seems that parcels of land are becoming scarce in the Seminole Heights Historic District as more people are looking to build from the ground up.

As a Realtor, part of my job is to pay close attention to the Real Estate Market in our area so I can inform buyers and sellers what to expect, and what not to expect. My business partner Michelle Jordan & I work with buyers and sellers in the entire Tampa Bay Area, and we have noticed an increased interest in the Heights over the last few months. Prospective homeowners are excited by all the choices they have now that simply weren’t affordable 3 years ago. If you haven’t yet looked at homes or lots for sale in seminole heights, now is the time to start.

If you’re going to make Tampa Bay home, then Seminole Heights is still one of the first places you should look. Beautiful and affordable with a tightly-knit community, the Heights is still a boon for small businesses and a great place to call home.

This is a picture of a new construction home that was designed by Alan Dobbs. The home is in the Historic District across from Hillsborough High School ….

See also:
Seminole Heights Historic District.
, , , ,

Rae Catanese. P.A.
Licensed Realtor
Prudential Tropical Realty
813-784-7744
realtyrae@yahoo.com

Rae started THE INSIDER REAL ESTATE BLOG-TAMPA,FL in July 2005; her site focuses primarily on the Heights, South Tampa and Downtown Tampa Areas.

Bio for Michelle Jordan and Rae Catanese Shatto

Thinking about buying or selling a home or investing in land in the Tampa Bay Area? Have a Real Estate question? Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese and Michelle Jordan
Realtors.

Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty

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Hello,
This was on Forbes.com today and thought it was a very encouraging article for the Tampa area.

Towers of Channelside

Home sales have sunk to their lowest levels since 2001. Investors are jumping ship, foreclosures are mounting and lenders are exercising caution.

Still, there are areas of the county where it makes sense for some to buy. That’s because, in a market slump, sellers eager to unload their homes often accept less money from buyers. New construction also slows. Both bode well for those hoping to score a deal–if the market in which they are buying is expected to experience increased sales.

Tampa and Miami–are expecting to see significant pickups in sales activity, according to Moody’s, and therefore become better buyers’ markets because of a relatively lower risk.

But economists caution that while over the next year the dust may settle in these 10 spots, buyers should be prepared for future swings. This is especially true in the case of riskier markets like Orlando and Las Vegas, where the expected increase in sales volume and housing turnover doesn’t necessarily mean that the price trough is imminent.

If you are in the market to purchase a home please feel free to contact us or visit http://www.tampabaydwellings.com/ to search listings in all of Tampa Bay.

To find such places, we paired with Moody’s Economy.com to research current home sales patterns and sales projections in the country’s 40 biggest real estate markets. Based on models that estimated 2008 housing inventory, sales rates and turnover, we arrived at a list of markets that are experiencing price stalls or declines, but where over the coming year are expected to provide deals for buyers.

“Housing market activity revives when house prices decline sufficiently to restore housing affordability and entice buyers to step up and make a purchase,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “Some markets are already approaching those price points, in many others prices will have to decline much more to get to that point.”

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Here’s a list of resources we’ve put together to help you in your move to the Tampa Bay Area. 

Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau
  

Tampa Chamber of Commerce Relocation and Information Guide  

 

  

 

 Search all Homes For Sale!! Tampa Bay Home Search  

 

   If you would like to speak with a Real Estate Agent regarding housing options for relocating to the Tampa Bay area, or need advice on the best neighborhoods, please contact us at 813-784-7744 or email  

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