If you're in Florida, and you haven't heard about the Property Tax Reform proposal, you're living under a rock. This is an extremely hot topic - so I thought. Florida Governor, Charlie Crist, visited Valencia Community College in East Orlando yesterday evening. I expected a tremendous turnout, but sadly, less than a hundred residents and Realtors attended. I was there with my video camera, and decided to share the entire presentation with you.

The Governor does a decent job outlining the proposal, and different options, followed by questions from the public. Everyone in Florida, or anyone considering moving to Florida, should watch this in its entirety, and email this to all of their friends and family. In 9 days, the face of Florida real estate could be forever changed. Here is the speech in 5 parts, each lasting roughly 10 minutes:

FL Property Tax Reform - Part 1

FL Property Tax Reform - Part 2

FL Property Tax Reform - Part 3

FL Property Tax Reform - Part 4

FL Property Tax Reform - Part 5

So what are your thoughts? What would you like to see happen? Are you for or against an increase in sales tax? Please share your opinions in the comments, and don't forget to share these videos!

Submitted by Eamon Mooney

The Promise

Here in Fl, the big thing is Govenor Charlie Crist's promise to get property taxes under control. I am Optimistic that the Governor, the Speaker, and the Senate will be able to get this done before sessions end. Lets look at the proposals. First, increase sales tax by 2.5% and get rid of your property tax. This sounds great, but the more I look at it, the more loop holes open up. What is to stop investors from buying up a large portion of a county. With the investors living out of that county, spending thier money elsewhere, how high will your sales tax get. I know people will say, "Well, the tenants will pick up the taxes for that home." Lets take a small, 2 bedroom house, 1,100 sq ft. for example, valued at $185,000 with a millage rate of .0189. As it stands now, the owner would pay approximetly $2,972 to the county for property taxes (home value, at 85% for appraised value or taxable amount times millage rate of .0189). This means the tenant would have to spend $146,600 for the county to recive the same amount of money it is currently reciving. If this is an owner ocuppied home, then the homestead exemption ($25,000) would drop the taxes due to $2,490 ($185,000 * .85% = $157,250 - $25,000 = $132,250 * .0189 = $2,499). I don't see any county giving up that much money. When you take a county by county view of average income, you see that it's impossible for a home owner or tenant to spend the amount needed to generate the same amount of tax money for the county Government.

Second, roll back property taxes to the year 2001 values. This is a great short-term fix that would stimulate the market, helping first time buyers and those on the fence wanting to move, but can't afford the taxes on the new home at the current rates. The question is how long until the government needs that money, and how will they get it? Our local government has become accustomed to bigger bank accounts. They would need to be restructured from top to bottom, and many belts tightened. We've all heard this before. In my opinion, this will never pass due to the fact that it is too open for arguments on the floor. Everyone, including yours truly, will have a different opinion, which will lead to nothing getting done.

Finally, a transportable home value or homestead value. This makes the most sense for Floridians. First-time home buyers, and transplants to FL, are left out in the cold. This will help all current homeowners in FL. who are homesteaded. With homestead, your taxable property value is decreased by $25,000 and can only go up 3% annually, keeping a lead on what your local government can collect from you. This has great longterm effects, especially in a booming market. There is also talk of increasing the homestead amount to $50,000. This, with a roll back in taxable values to the year 2001, could be just what the marketplace needs to stimulate buyers. Both of these methods combined would help current home owners, first-time buyers, and transplants to Fl. I just don't see it getting done this session or in any session soon. There are just too many opinions or points of view in all the offices needed to get this done. Can you say filibuster?

For those in the Orlando area, Govenor Charlie Crist will be hosting a meeting on this subject on April 25th, 2007 in Orlando at Valencia Community College, East Campus, building 5,
701 N. Econlockhatchee Trail 6pm to7:30pm. Show up and let him know enough is enough when it comes to our property taxes. We'll be there, and try to have video coverage posted on our site tomorrow.

I saw this originally on speculativebubble.com, and thought it was worth posting. Basically, this is a roller coaster that is riding the actual market history from 1890. You'll notice the year in the bottom right corner of the video. Very interesting. These are the national figures, but the Orlando real estate market is too far off the track (pun intended).

I'll admit, this one slipped right under my radar, but my favorite little search company, Google, has updated one of my favorite features. How many times have you done a search for Orlando real estate, come across the PERFECT house, and then the next day, you can't find it anywhere? Maybe you were looking up home staging ideas, but can't remember that tip they told you about the kitchen. Last Thursday, Google released Web History. This new feature makes it easy to view and search across the pages you've visited. If you remember seeing something online, you'll be able to find it faster and from any computer with Web History. Web History lets you look back in time, revisit the sites you've browsed, and search over the full text of pages you've seen.

For a better definition of how it works, or to sign up for the free service, visit http://www.google.com/history.

This is just one more tool you have to help you research the perfect home - and actually find it again a few days later.

I spent a few years living in Windermere, FL, and grew to love the town. It's a small town, but is home to many of Central Florida's elite (I wasn't one of them). Tiger Woods, Denzel Washington, Shaquille O'Neal, Ken Griffey, Jr., Mark O'Meara, NBA All-Star/Orlando Magic team member Tracy McGrady and Planet Hollywood CEO Robert Earl have all resided in Windermere in a neighborhood named Isleworth (Local Tip: pronounce it correctly - no "s" after isle).

Isleworth is nearly impossible to enter unless you are a resident. The news once featured a story about Michael Jordon visiting, but being turned away at the gates because he didn't have an appointment.

The point of all this? Well, when I started in general real estate, I decided I wanted to focus my efforts on Windermere, FL. One of the first things I did was grabbed my video camera and took a drive down Main St, stopping off at a few of the town's landmarks. I figured I would include this video in a website at some time, so I shot it, edited it, and posted it to YouTube, but haven't thought about it since - until this morning.

I received an email from someone in the military, stationed in Iraq. He thanked me for posting the video because he's from Windermere, and just seeing the trip made him very comfortable. I was a little blown away, so I thought I'd share the video here. It's nothing incredible. The editing is pretty bad, and it's the YouTube version, so it's been compressed by their standards. However, for anyone that has visited Windermere, none of that matters. The town is full of pride, and this video gives a dashboard view of the entire trip down Main St.....with a few stops to enjoy the lakes. I've included a map of Windermere so you can follow along. By the way - I did 30 the whole trip! (inside joke for residents)

Map of Windermere, FL

I can't believe what I'm about to post. Trust me, it's not because I took a Mickey oath saying I would never discuss the "behind-the-scenes" stuff at Disney, but just because I'm not really a Disney fan.

I guess I should preface this post with my brief history, and why I'm qualified to even discuss this.

First, I am a native Floridian - one of only four (number might be off slightly). I was born in Miami, but moved to Orlando when I was 6 months old. I was raised on the west side of town, very near Disney - close enough to see the fireworks nightly - actually, as a kid, I just heard them nightly, and they always woke me up. Like almost every Orlando resident, I served my time working for the mouse, spending 7 years on and off, working in Epcot attractions (RIP World of Motion and Horizons - or MOHO for you CMs out there), and various roles in the Magic Kingdom. When I finally turned in my ears, I was one of the 5 Mike Fink Keelboaters that brought the keelboats from Liberty Square to its rightful home in Frontierland, after serving a year in the tunnels as an operations manager.

The reason I'm writing this is because, for some strange reason, my last two clients asked me what I did before becoming a real estate broker. I went through my resume, discussing my experience as a financial planner, licensed stock broker, marketing specialist, teacher, and yep, a little bit of time at Disney during high school and college. Why that's the ONLY job they hear, I'll never know, but it is. Then the conversation turns to Disney stuff. Are there really tunnels under Disney? Are there really hidden Mickeys? Did you see Walt's frozen head? I guess these questions really only come from buyers from outside of Florida, but having 2 clients in the past week get into this discussion prompted me to write about "The Tunnels."

The Tunnels under the Magic Kingdom

When you get hired by Disney, you become a Cast Member (or CM for short). You are required to attend a Traditions class (mine was 4 days long, but I believe they have shortened it to 1 or 2). It's all rah-rah during Traditions. They teach you a very detailed history of Walt, the park, the characters, and how to look and act when you're "on stage." According to the class, Walt was walking through Disneyland and saw a Frontierland character walking through Fantasyland, and thought it killed the perception of the theme for that land. There's a very long, interesting story about how Walt came to Orlando and bought land under the radar, as he planned his new theme park - the Magic Kingdom. He decided he wanted people to be able to escape reality and needed a way to keep cast members in their designated areas. The tunnels were born - and if you really want to sound like you know what you're talking about, they're called the "Utilidor," short for utilities corridor.

Anyone who lives in Orlando knows that if you dig deeper than 6 feet, you'll hit water. So how can there be tunnels UNDER the magic Kingdom? Well, because the park is built on the 2nd floor (technically speaking). the tunnels are at ground level, and the park is built on top of them. They serve many purposes, the main one being the ability to get from wardrobe to your spot, "on stage," without crossing lands. It also gives cast members a much easier way to get to their destination without having to fight crowds.

So what's in the tunnels?

Lot's of stuff. Here's a map:



At the top of the map is the tunnel entrance. As a cast member, you park in a parking lot about 1 mile away from the tunnel entrance, and take a bus to the tunnels. If you're hungry, your first stop with be the "Mouseketeria." Burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and amazing omelettes are available for a fraction of the cost of the park prices. The "mouseketeria is immediatly on your right as you enter the tunnels from the bus (on the left in the map). If you look to the right of the entrance on the map, you will see costuming, and locker rooms. The best part of working in the Magic Kingdom was being able to show up in shorts and a t-shirt. You walk up to a window and say the name of the area or attraction you'll be working for that day, and your measurements, and they hand you a freshly laundered (questionable) costume. You change, and travel the utlilidor to your final destination.

If you look at the map, you'll notice the tunnels are fairly simple. It's a large circle, with a line through it. There are other sections that branch off of the tunnel, but only a few. To make things easier, the tunnels have lines on the ground that are color-coded for the section of the park that is directly above you. To travel the tunnels faster, there are bikes parked at many of the exits to the park - so they say. I often saw people on bikes, but never saw one waiting for me to jump on. From wardrobe to the back of the tunnels is about a 10 minute walk if you travel around the circle.

In the map, each of the park's "Lands" are labeled. Here's a map of the Magic Kigdom to give you some idea of where the tunnels are in relationship.

What Else is down there?

Disney has an amazing trash system called the AVAC system. The trash is sucked through tunnels to a centralized collection area. Walking through the tunnels, you know when trash is flying by you - it's very loud. There are service vehicles driving around all over the place. There is plenty of room for you to walk, and a full-size truck to pass by. They deliver merchandise to each area via the tunnels so you never have to see a delivery truck "on-stage." There are also offices, storage, kitchens, break rooms, two employee cafeterias, including the Fantasyland Dining Room, Kingdom Kutters (a hair salon), a Fire Prevention Center, Studio "D" and many of the support departments for the Magic Kingdom.

So how do you get out of the tunnels?

There are so many unmarked doors in the Magic Kingdon, you would never think that most of them lead to a stairwell that leads to the tunnels. Here is a list of most of the exit doors and their locations from the internal phone book:

• Stairway 1 - to Pinochio Village Haus
  
• Stairway 4 - to Liberty Square, Columbia harbor House, and Peter Pan
  
• Stairway 5 - to Fantasyland Theatre (Lion king)
  
• Stairway 9 - to Fantasyland and Tomorrowland
  
• Stairway 10 - to theHall of Presidents
  
• Stairway 12 - to Ye Old Christmas Shoppe
  
• Stairway 13 - to Liberty Square and Adventureland Veranda
  
• Stairway 16 - to Adventureland and Frontierland
  
• Stairway 17 - to Crystal Palace and First Aid
  
• Stairway 18 - to MO-8
  
• Stairway 19 - to MO-6 and West Parking Lot
  
• Stairway 20 - to Town Square Kitchen
  
• Stairway 21 - to MO-5 and East Parking Lot
  
• Stairway 22 - to MO-7
  
• Stairway 24 - to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
  
• Stairway 25 - to Mickey's Star Traders
  
• Stairway 27 - to Transportarium
  
• Stairway ? - to Tinkerbell's Treasures

If you've ever curious about the Magic Kingdom Tunnels in Orlando, I hope this has answered all your questions. Why is it on my Real Estate blog? Well, because I work in Orlando, and my clients have asked me about it. For some reason, the tunnels have always been a local mystery. I intended to shed some light on the subject. If you're an Orlando Realtor and you find this post, the next time someone asks you about Disney, you'll have a wealth of information to share with them.

I've noticed that many of my friends that I've emailed my blog link to, have not subscribed like I asked. Now, I know there had to be a reason - it couldn't have been anything wrong with my blog. So I did some checking, and it turns out...my friends have no clue what an RSS feed is, or how to use it. Considering how short on time I am this morning, I've decided to post a few links here to help you understand the marvelous creature we call feeds. I'm providing links to the absolute experts on this topic, so read it.....and no more excuses. Click the orange button at the top of my page.

For a very thorough explanation of RSS, visit wikipedia's description. This should give you enough of the basics to at least understand the concept.

Once you understand RSS, it's time to find a feed reader. I use Google Reader for reading feeds, and love it because there are a variety of ways it can be used. If Google Reader isn't for you, try one of these popular readers: Thunderbird, RSSBandit, or Netvibes.

Still not convinced you need a reader, or to bother with feeds? Take a look at what Charles Richey from RSS Pieces has to say about the Future of Websites.

Once you start becoming addicted to blogs, you may decide it's time to start your own. There are many options for this, and one free one is Google's Blogger.

I hope this clears up the confusion. I hope my Orlando friends can join me in real estate bliss now, from the comfort of their feed reader. If you still have questions, you can post them in the comments, and I'll help you out.

I've mentioned before my general feeling that the real estate business is slow to adapt to changes in technology. If there's any doubt, analyze the beast we call the MLS (Multiple Listing Service." MLS works in Internet Explorer only - No firefox, and definitely no Safari. It's slow, hard to navigate, and very unstable.

How will the MLS hold up against the new kids on the block? I've discussed Zillow before, but now the 800lb gorilla known as Google is stomping down the path!

Google posted a small hint in their blog about what they are doing with real estate searches, and have been quietly rolling out improvements at record pace. Agents can enter their listings in Google Base free of charge, and now brokers can feed ALL of their listings directly into Google. The search results show not only the listings, but give you a nice map mashup to make your search even easier.



With all of the improvements being made to Zillow and Google Base, not to mention the many other sites starting to capitalize on real estate listings, how will the MLS hold up? As a real estate agent, one of the biggest tools we have is the ability to list your house on the MLS - something only a Realtor can do, but will all this change in the very near future? The real estate industry needs to adapt!

Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Have you been watching TV lately? Dateline has been doing their thing with identity theft lately, so I started doing some research on what's available to protect us. I stumbled across Lifelock, and was surprised at what I saw. I a big fan of great marketing, and think the CEO of Lifelock has nailed it! Here's his ad:



WTF? Is that really his social security number?

LifeLock doesn't just report unauthorized use of your credit information, we prevent it by working with the top four credit bureaus to make sure you're contacted to approve any credit transaction before it takes place. We also remove your name from pre-approved credit card offers and junk-mail lists, where identity theft often gets started.

I was so impressed by the marketing that I am considering enrolling. Thing I wonder is, will his identity not be stolen because of their product, or because he has now launched himself into such a high profile?

Been very hectic around these parts, so I've been slow to post. In staying with that theme, I'm just going to touch on something that has been discussed a million times before: Staging your home.

Some of the best staging practices are free, like getting rid of clutter and rearranging your furniture. To help improve the way potential buyers view your home, you may want to consider a few of these ideas - all for under $25.

• Plants and Bowls of Fruit: These add color and warmth to a room
  
• Lighting: Replacing heavy, dark shades with lighter ones can give the room more light. Making sure your lighting fixtures aren't outdated.
  
• Artwork: Check your flea markets for these. Nothing fancy, just something to add a bit of color, design, and character to your room.

These 3 ideas are simple and cheap, and the results are pretty amazing. If you're trying to sell your home, make sure to take advantage of all of these for better results. If you have other ideas, please post them in the comments.