If you’re decorating your porch with real pumpkins this fall, you naturally want them to last as long as possible (and prevent this from happening too soon) – but what can you do? This guide will help you preserve your porch décor and make your pumpkins last through fall.Tips to Make Your Porch Pumpkins Last LongerLet’s be realistic: Our warm weather isn’t necessarily conducive to preserving pumpkins outdoors – but there are a few things you can do to make them last a little longer. If these tips fail, you may want to opt for faux pumpkins, which you can find at most party goods stores at this time of year.Tips for Preserving Whole Pumpkins on Your PorchIf you haven’t opted to carve your pumpkins, the best thing you can do is keep them out of the sun. Direct sunlight can cause them t... 10/26/2021

The Florida Realtors/Florida BAR contract for sale and purchase of real estate will change effective November 1.   Updates to the financing clause addressing appraisals may affect you. Now, the mortgage approval deadline will also include the receipt of a satisfactory appraisal. The previous version of the contract did not have an appraisal deadline.BACKGROUND:Appraisals have been backlogged in the busy Destin, Florida real estate market, and all over Florida for the past year. Appraisals, or alternate valuations (for example, “desktop” appraisals, appraiser-assisted, or AVM “automated valuation models”) are part of the mortgage loan process, and how a lender vets a property they are lending on. Appraisals can take two to three weeks, and many assignments are turned down by appraisers d... 10/26/2021

7 Affordable Home Improvement Ideas Home improvements are the best way to increase your home's value without remodeling if you are on a budget.  Here are 7 tips that won't break the bank: Shelving for extra storage – Take advantage of small, unclaimed wall or corner space in your kitchen and add open shelving to hold dishes, cookware and spices within easy reach. Embellish plain shelves with decorative brackets, and if you entertain often, add a wine rack. Upgrade cabinets with molding – Plain, personality-less kitchen cabinets take on new sophistication with the simple addition of molding at the edges. You can do it yourself with a little guidance from home store designers. Restore the floor – The warmth and versatility of wood is incomparable, but exposure to dirt and foot traffic can... 10/25/2021

  Long time readers of my real estate blog know how much I value photos to help add meaning to my posts. I confess I watch repeat episodes of The Three Stooges. I watched the shows as a kid and as an adult. Some are funny. Some are hysterical. And the short entitled Dutiful But Dumb (1941) are prophetic so much so that I stopped eating dinner on Saturday to pen this piece. The episode was described this way in The Three Stooges Online Filmography: Three dimwitted photographers are sent to Vulgaria to take pictures of a new death ray machine. Unknown to the stooges, the penalty for snapping pictures in this country is death. The stooges manage to escape a firing squad and the chase begins as they hide from the Vulgarian army. As I watched the stooges get into trouble with the police for ... 10/23/2021