So it’s pretty common knowledge that people rank Realtors right up there with Doctors and philanthropists car salesmen and lawyers, and boy does this story just bring it all home.

According to a story in the Orlando Sentinel, Garry S. Martin, a licensed real estate broker (yay, just like me), was arrested this week, and charged with mortgage fraud and grand theft. Oh joy. According to Orange County Sheriff’s detectives, Martin

forged signatures on various documents and wired home-sale proceeds to bank accounts that he controlled.

In case you’re wondering, the net amount Martin made off of these transactions is $426,288.

Image via Wikipedia

This is such welcomed news. Orlando is now the largest metropolitan area in the COUNTRY without a VA hospital, but all that’s about to change, thanks to a 407-4 vote to pass a massive spending bill that will pay for various military construction and Veterans Administration projects in Orlando, in the Lake Nona area.

According to Local 6, the bill was passed Friday morning after spending hours late Thursday night debating numerous amendments to the measure. The new VA hospital will provide relief to more than 75,000 veterans living in Brevard County since the closest in-patient care facility is more than a two-hour drive away.

This is all part of Lake Nona’s planned medical center, including the new UCF College of Medicine, and the Burnham Institute. We’ll be discussing the developments of this project as they happen, so keep checking back for more information.

You wouldn’t know it by watching the local news (or national news, for that matter), but according to a recent post by our good friend Marcus Burke over at Condo Metropolis, Orlando real estate inventory is finally levelling off. This is great news for sellers, and probably luke warm news for buyers. Inventory is the largest problem in the Orlando real estate market. We have too many homes for sale, and it’s forcing sellers to lower their prices to compete with the 10 other homes on their street for sale. Don’t believe me? Take a drive through Avalon Park, and you’ll get the picture.

Marcus has a great breakdown and explanation of the inventory, so header over to the story on Condo Metropolis and have a read.

Ok, yes this is a serious post, and yes, I guess you COULD stage your home for free, but it might not look the way you were hoping.

Here’s the deal. Home staging is a common practice of adding furniture to a house you’re trying to sell to show how it looks furnished. Problem is, hiring a stager costs money, and doing it your self means you have to leave your furniture behind, or dish out for furniture that you probably won’t need in the future.

Enter Orlando’s Craigslist. There’s a section in the Orlando Craigslist called Free Stuff - seriously. Many times, you can find furniture, and other home items. Currently, the top 3 “Free” items are Dark Wood Study Desk, Wood Swingset with Slide, and Shitzu. We do NOT encourage staging your home with free dogs…for obvious reasons, but the other two items might work.

So what else could you do with this free stuff? Well, you could probably grab some of it and sell it on ebay. Might make for a unique business opportunity. One tip - keep an eye on this list, and if you see something you like, call immediately. Free stuff is free, so it usually goes quickly.

If you find anything interesting, tell us about it in the comments.

I can’t wait for the Ron Jon Surf Park to open! I’ve been waiting with baited breath since…. well, since about 2003. Actually, that’s when I signed up to be on the passholder’s list. It guaranteed me a pass when the park opened. Back then, we were promised the surf park would open in 2005 at the latest.

Fast forward five years, and checking the Ron Jon Surf Park site tells you the park is “estimated to debut in 2008/2009 .” Say wha???

If you’re unfamiliar with the non-existant park, it will be located at Festival Bay on International Dr, and should bring a small boost to Orlando’s economy. It will feature 3 wave pools, and offer surf lessons for beginners.

Here’s to hoping this amazing park shows its face sometime soon. If so, I’ve got a golden ticket.

It’s no surprise that red-light runners cause a large portion of Orlando’s accidents. Let’s face it, we’re a tourist town, so we often have to deal with drivers not familiar with the area. Well, the Orange County commissioners have decided to do something about the red-light runners, and will be meeting today to discuss placing cameras at two local intersections, according to Wesh.com. To me, the surprising part about this is the location of the cameras. The cameras will be located at the intersections of West Colonial Drive, and Hiawassee Road, and the other will be at South Orange Blossom Trail, and Holden. I’ve included a map for you to see the exact locations.

These two intersections account for nearly 4,000 drivers running red-lights a day. No final decision has been made regarding the results of being caught running a light on camera, but it could lead to warning letters, or code enforcement.

Consider this your warning. These are the only cameras that I know of, but I’m sure there will be more to follow.

This is an older post from the original Ekday.com. We’ll try to add all relevant content back to the site over the next few days/weeks.

First, I’d like to welcome my new readers. My last video stirred things up a bit, and introduced my site to many (MANY) new readers. My subscribers doubled, so thank you to all my new fans.

Most of my readers are familiar with blogs, but I still have a few people ask me almost daily, “What’s a blog?” If you don’t know what a blog is, I found this video that should make it very simple to understand. Pay close attention to the “Comment” portion. That’s where you, my loyal readers, share your thoughts, and become part of the ekday blog.