Hello...what is going on in the mortgage world. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are publically traded stock companies. What kind of reasoning is taking these stocks lower and lower?? Speculation is creating a run on the bank so to speak. When Wall Street puts a target on your stock, the market makers will create some action. Many people don't know you can make money on a stock falling as well as going up. That is what is happening. I read that less than one percent of their loans are failing, yet we have a near collape of the system because the talking heads on the daily financial news shows have put it in the spotlight. Never mind that the stock holders are loosing thier shorts, thier life savings in some instances. We have an investor who says he will buy a commercial building in town a... 07/11/2008

  This week the papers and media in general are alive with stories of failure and losses. The stock market is jumping around and gas prices are rising. Housing in general is continuing its slow downward spiral and Detroit is laying off more workers in their SUV plants. Its not a rosy picture, is it? But wait, it appears there is more activity on the investor side of the market. Investors are seeing its time to get busy, and are activley seeking newer properties at bargin prices. I, Mike Norvell Sr,  work for Developers Capital Realty. We work primarily Commercial Properties and Land Deals. We have never been so busy. Long days and longer days are now becoming normal. Now it appears we may have to bring on more help to handle the load. In the last few weeks I have been in contact with s... 06/23/2008

  In three days it will be exactly 22 years since I met my wife. A few weeks back we celebrated our 5th year of marriage with a weekend at the beach. Twenty two years and three days ago I was a single dad with four sons. In the movies, this situation is easily remiedied by the perfect person coming along and after a few wonderful mishaps, a few hours later they are happily married an driving off into the sunset. In reality, most single women hear that you, a single dad, have 4 kids and suddenly have other plans. Sock drawers need organizing, plans to enter the convent, stuff like that. I had resigned myself to a life of an occasional pity date and relying on my Mom, my Sister, and my Church for assitance in raising my kids. For those of you who want a formula for changing the storyline... 06/14/2008

*************************************************** Update.....Due to the responce on this post,  have contacted our local board and told them I will be forwarding  these replys on for their consideration. Comments with solutions would be appreciated..Thanks *********************************************** What if we just quit....Yes, If we just QUIT..Just QUIT doing short sales... For one thing, we would get rid of an entire category of People Complaining about how this bank or that lender is not responding, not meeting deadlines, won't call back, is wasting our collective time and our customers time..For what??   What would happen??? The banks would turn on the charm and set up programs to either move the houses in short sales or run them into full foreclosures and let them be actuall... 06/02/2008

Now is surely the time to get the best price on your retirement home!  Alysa and I specialize in Active Adult Communities in Lake County.  Prices have fallen an average of $50,000!  A 1600 square foot home last year would have been priced at $234,000.  Now it is priced $187,000!  Larger homes over 2,000 square feet used to bring $425,000 and are now priced $339,000!  The market here in Lake County is seeing an increase in buyers and Realtor activity has picked up considerably.  The new Pringle Community of Lakes of Mount Dora has just recently finished it's beautiful new clubhouse!  Come enjoy winter's without snow and high energy bills!  Enjoy communities that offer every range of activity to keep you active and involved.  Lake County is centrally located and within an hour of beaches,... 05/28/2008

 Welcome to the Active Rain Blogging world. Its not often you will find a forum like Active Rain. If you are looking for a way to move up on Google, then this is your best bet. In fact, I cannot believe how quickly blogging on Active Rain will make a difference.I suggest using phases that will show up in normal searches for your area in your blog. If you are in Lake County, Fl, then use Lake County, Fl in your blog. If you put a title like " Short Sales Specialists in Lake County, Fl in your title, then when someone is searching Google for Short Sales they will come across your article.Try posting with your name in the title. If you put Mike Norvell Sr is finding bargins in Lake County, Fl in the title, then try putting the same thing in Google a few hours later...Yep, its that powerful... 03/22/2008

    Hello Active Rainers...Points are an easy commodity on Active Rain. For some, it appears it is the only reason for being here. I just found a series of posts that are obviously cut and pasted from some article on-line. One article right after another, with her smiling face right beside it like she is proud of her accomplishments. So anyway, back to the tutorial. Start by naming your post with something like How to make points on Active Rain, a Short Tutorial. Actually, if you just combine some of these phrases together, it may work just as well. Also try to name it along the lines of " My broker ran off with my wife and my commission check..I know I would check in for that one myself. Another favorite is How to insert pics, how to change the color of your fonts..That is a mind alter... 03/22/2008

                 Its a rainy Saturday Morning in the neighborhood. Its quiet, and outside our window is a large tree with a dozen or so small birds that are learning to fly..Thier occasional light chirping is all that interupts the quiet of this Saturday morning. This is the beauty of living in Leesburg, Fl....quiet country life within minutes of all the advantages of a small city...malls, resturants, shopping...     Being from Florida, I don't keep up with the seasons, but it feels like a rainy Spring morning. Temps are in the low seventies, with a light rain, and just enough breeze to move the curtains. The cats are hovering protectively around the bed, watching over my wife who finally is sleeping. Its been a rough night for us, especially her, as she goes thru a painful healing proc... 03/22/2008

 Hello Active Rain, I have an announcement again!Effective Feb 28, 2008, a new Real Estate Brokerage is now in business in Leesburg, Fl. The new brokerage is called Developers Capitol Reality, LLC.Developers Capitol Realty, LLC will focus on larger acquisition projects in the State of Florida. One of it's primary clients will be Blount Development Group, LLC. Rick Blount is the Corporate President of the Brokerage, and Rob Arrington is the Lic Broker. Mike Norvell Sr will operate as a buyers agent for the Brokerage, and will seek out Motivated Commercial listings as well. Blount Development Group, LLC is actively seeking financially troubled subdivisions and platted raw land developments.  It is also currently seeking Fl based mobile home parks located in the central part of the State. ... 02/29/2008

 Blount Development Group, LLC is based out of Leesburg, Fl. From this base of operations, this company has continued to expand across Florida and into the Southeastern US. The company specializes in locating housing developments that have stalled due to financial issues and then acquiring them for themselves or their investor partners. They also aquire large land tracts suitable for future development. I have known the Rick Blount, President of Blount Development Group for nearly 20 years. Recently, we have been discussing the pursuit of  local subdivisions in the Lake County and Sumter County area that are failing. For those who don't know, over the last decade, Blount Development has successfully purchased and resold millions of dollars worth of land in the area, and has been expandi... 02/26/2008

In my opinion, here are the Top 10 restaurants in Leesburg, Fl.  (in no particular order) 1.) Cracker Barrel. Great home cooking. Try the meatloaf, you won't be disappointed.9450 US HWY 441 (352-315-8447)2.) Sonny's. In the mood for BBQ? Try the Brisket.1396 North Blvd. W (352-326-3000)3.) San Juan Mexican. Check my blog for further info.http://activerain.com/blogsview/383635/Want-Good-Mexican-Food1341 S. 14th St. (352-787-7575)4.) Osaka Steak House. Japanese Steak House. Try the steak, chicken and shrimp combo.1401 Citrus Blvd. (352-728-0788)5.) HP Grill. Mom and Pop. The buffet is very fresh.1403 S. 14th St. (352-314-0006)6.) Tijuana Flats. The burritos and enchiladas are AWESOME!10300 US HWY 441 (352-343-3337)7.) Outback Steakhouse. Alice Springs Chicken. Enough said.9600 US HWY 441 ... 02/20/2008

Decided I would share a little secret with you...kind of let the cat out of the bag. My wife and I really enjoy trying small local restaurants and on this particular night, we found ourselves going to San Juan Mexican Restaurant. We had never been to this establishment before, It is located at 1341 S. 14th St. Leesburg, Fl. 34748. The place was nicely decorated...very clean also. If restaurants we visit are even slightly dirty, my wife will never eat there again. Not this one. Very clean. We walked in and were seated in a booth immediately. After we ordered drinks, we were presented with some chips and salsa. Most Mexican places I go to give chips and salsa...however, these chips were very fresh and warm. We quickly asked to try the cheese sauce since we are both addicts when it comes t... 02/17/2008

 I am working for a super great buyer/investor right now. He is a retired commercial broker that did very well buying and leasing huge commercial projects in the midwest. Now he plays golf , day trades, and has chosen me to represent him on a number of investment properties. He has freinds with cash and believe this is a great time to get out of the stock market and into something more stable. At long last, after all this time, Investors are coming off the sidelines and want to play again.Its about time...We have been busy working on finding deals. Deals are everywhere, but they are not simple. There are some with serious complications, some that look sooo good and then you see the hidden traps...Ohhhh, thats why it won't sell.. Others have appraisals, and well written, beautiful CMA's ... 02/12/2008

Looking around my local MLS, I was curious to see how many homes have been on the market for over a year in the Lake County, Fl. area. After doing a little research, I was surprised at the results: 354. That is the number of homes in Lake County, Fl. that have been on the market for over a year. 77 of those are in Leesburg, FL. A little more curious, I was wondering how long have some of these been for sale. WOW!!Check some of these ADOM (average days on market): 798, 749, 738, 720, 664, the list goes on!   Why are these homes taking so long to sell? Is it because they are $1,000,000.00 homes and those homes are hard to move? Not at all. Here is the prices for the homes mentioned above: $299,000. $299,900.00. $259,900.00. $349,900.00 $149,900.00. Not exactly luxury real estate prices. A... 02/12/2008

I have had a few people in the last few weeks ask me if I knew the trash collection schedule for the City of Leesburg. I decided to do a little research and provide you with all of the information that you will need to know. Here is the schedule:Residential Garbage: North of Main St.: Monday & Tuesday. South of Main St.: Tuesday & FridayBulk Items (furniture, appliances, electronics, etc...): North of Main St.: Monday. South of Main St.: TuesdayYard Waste: North of Main St.: Thursday.  South of Main St.: FridayRecycling: North of Main St. & East of 14th St.: MondaySouth of Main St. & East of 14th St.: TuesdayNorth of Main St. & West of 14th St.: ThursdaySouth of Main St. & West of 14th St.: Friday The Solid Waste Management can be contacted at 352-728-9878 Hope this information is helpf... 02/10/2008

  The joy of lease option in todays world. To those of you who don't like, or don't understand the power of lease option, then here is a short story.Over 18 months ago I got a call on a sign. The property was a large double wide with about 3/4 acre and a beautiful huge deck. The mobile had been a model home for a development, and was very unique in how it was built...Well this couple were in love with this home, the location, the landscaping...everything.So I get them started. We work with a friendly mortgage broker, who comes back with bad news. We have an issue with them when they lived in the west coast of Fl..The problem is, they never did live there..But her daughter did....You got it, Identity theft. From your kids....Long story short, she won't press charges, and they take money ... 02/08/2008

 Last night I was ready to go home..I was tired, and my wife was expecting me for her Dad's 81st birthday party. If you haven't read it here before, I got sooo lucky when I got married, not only did I get the perfect woman for me, but she came with a super family that took me in like one of their own..I grew up without a Dad, this guy has been great!!So its dark, and I am going to my car, and there is a van parked behind it. The hood is up, and a big guy is underneath untying a rope. I look around, and start to say maybe he should leave it hooked up and pull it forward a few more feet...I gotta go!!!But, the door to the van opens, and a lady in the drivers seat looks like she is at her wits end. I did spend 14 years in the Auto Repair business, I offer to lend a hand for a minute. As a ... 02/06/2008

Leesburg High School Varsity Baseball Schedule It's that time of year again! Here is the schedule for your 2008 Leesburg Highschool baseball team.Go out and support the Jackets! Day          Date                      Opponent                                   Site                   TimeThurs.       2/7                        South Sumter                              EHS                   7:00 PMFri.           2/8                        Eustis                                         EHS                   7:30 PMThurs.      2/14                       Wildwood                                   WHS                  7:00 PMFri.          2/15                       Eustis                                        EHS                   7:00 PMTues.      2/19                       Forest           ... 02/05/2008

 Lake County, Fl is starting to see more investors looking on from the sidelines. We at Mid-Florida Real Estate Brokerage have been working with foreclosures and short sales at an ever increasing pace. The only question is where is the bottom. Where is the bottom?? Where indeed...The bottom is a perception of a buying public. The bottom is something that is declared when prices are heading back up. So, if you wait for the bottom to be declared, you will miss it.Trying to buy only at the bottom will certainly cause a buyer to miss the majority of the deals. True investors have a system for actually buying properties that  takes out the emotion. True investors make a property work on paper before they even bother to visit the actual location. If you are a local investor, or would like to ... 02/03/2008

Leesburg, Florida January Market Report***These stats are from the Mid Florida Regional MLS. Stats from For Sale By Owner are not included. Stats are from January 2008 only*** Residential HomesTotal Active Homes for Sale: 1072Total Homes Sold: 35 (average price sold was $153,587.14)Total Pending Sales: 92New Listings: 148Expired Listings: 49Vacant LandTotal Vacant Land Parcels for Sale: 193Total Vacant Land Parcels Sold: 2 (average price sold was $89,325.00)Total Pending Sales: 13New Listings: 18Expired Listings: 9Commercial PropertiesTotal Active Commercial Properties for Sale: 110Total Commercial Properties Sold: 0Total Pending Sales: 9New Listings: 15Expired Listings: 7January's Featured Property3/1.5 1153 Sq. Ft. Carport $129,900.00This home would be a great starter home. New tile &... 02/01/2008