Palencia St. Augustine Florida Community      Get 1.5% Cash Back on any new home in Palencia. The Palencia Community is along along the 2 miles of beautiful Intracoastal Waterway and Marshall Creek on 1,450 acres off U.S. 1 between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida in St. Johns County.  Northern St. Johns County has quickly become of the most desirable areas in Northeast Florida. One of the biggest reasons for the popularity is the unparalleled schools that this area has, the majority of them are "A" rated! Due to the close proximity to Jacksonville, the majority of employed residents in Palencia do commute the 25-30 minute traffic free drive to Jacksonville Florida every day.  Palencia St. Augustine Golf Course and Amenities    Anchoring the Palencia Community is a 40 acre villa... 07/19/2008

Veterans Please read- A lot of people are misinformed about VA loans funding fees- you need to know:   Veterans who qualify as 10% disabled or greater as a result of active Military service are NOT required to pay a funding fee. No Down Payment You often have no up-front, out-of-pocket expenses with a VA loan. This is because a VA loan doesn't require a down payment and with VA loans the seller is allowed to pay the closing costs for you. No Monthly Mortgage Insurance Mortgage insurance can run $100 - $200 a month on a non-VA loan. But since the VA guarantees the loan you DO NOT have to pay Mortgage insurance VA loans often have lower interest rates than non-VA loans. When buying a home- You need to know it all!! and thats what Im here for- get you all the info you need and find your ho... 07/16/2008

At the intersection of Coastal Highway and Vilano Road a new Sea Turtle/Dolphin "roundabout" has been installed. I use the term "roundabout" as it is actually a driveover roundabout to enable emergency vehicles to get into the community. However, let's drive around it, okay? Let me know what you think. I think it's lovely. UPDATE: The county has informed me that this is indeed a driveover and NOT a roundabout. Once the paving has occurred it will be obvious in that none of this area will then be raised. So, drive on over it.  June 27th a.m. picture  June 27th p.m. picture (cones removed):     06/27/2008

It seems everywhere you look in the Vilano and North Beach areas of St. Augustine, Florida, utility crews are working. A couple of weeks ago I noticed Powercon digging trenches along the west side of A1A around Villages of Vilano north to about 15th St. They said they are laying conduit to bury the overhead electrical lines. I have not gotten this information verified by FPL, however. Powercon did not know when the actually burial of the lines would occur, but the conduit is in place.  They were contracted for 6000 ft. along A1A. They are not doing the east side due to safety issues of being able to have their equipment off A1A while doing the work. AND... the big news:  The poles are coming down in the Vilano Beach Town Center as I type this. This has been happening this past week and ... 06/13/2008

- by Barbara Jenness, website: http://BarbaraJenness.com Greg Caldwell from St. Johns County engineering reported the following updates on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Vilano Beach Main Street meeting concerning the Vilano Beach Town Center infrastructure improvements:   The roundabout fountain by the fishing pier will be operational by this weekend (Memorial Day weekend). It was operational on Thursday, May 22nd. It looks great especially at night. Yes, it is shut off late at night. Have you noticed the nice neon lights on the bell tower by the fishing pier?   FPL's underground utilities are now hot, so work can start on removing the poles and overhead utilities. Hopefully you have noticed the nice streetlights with the neon trim in the Vilano Beach Town Center   The conversion to undergrou... 05/24/2008

World Golf Village FL Real Estate 1%-2% BUYER REBATE! World Golf Village Florida takes up a very large area of Northwest St. Johns county FL along interstate 95, and has quickly become a popular area to live in in Northeast Florida.  Amenities currentlly available in World Golf Village or currently planned in the near future include an enormous outdoor shopping mall with several department stores and high end restaurants, a 6,000 seat arena, several different golf courses, a roller skating rink, movie theatre and MUCH more!  For commercial Real Estate development, the World Commerce Center located across from the village is developing as well, which is inviting large corporations from across the country to take advantage of all that Florida has to offer.  In the next few years, the are... 05/12/2008

Sebastian Cove St. Augustine 1.5% BUYER REBATE! Sebastian Cove community in St. Augustine, Florida is a new community being built out by Dr. Horton.  Whether you are looking for a house or a condominium, with three different homes styles there is something in Sebastian Cove to suit any home buyers lifestyle and interest.  Sebastian Cove is in perhaps on of the most convenient locations in St. Augustine directly off of SR 16.  The St. Augustine Outlet Mall is less than one mile from the community, providing shopping, dining, and entertainment for residents in the community.  Interstate 95 is also only one mile from the community, making for a short 25 minute commute to Jacksonville.  Historic downtown St. Augustine FL is also only a short five minute drive from Sebastian Cove,  For the ... 05/12/2008

 I just completed a six week class at the Board of Realtors on Excel. It was very informative and the instructor was great. I was a little overwhelmed at first because of my challenged computer skills, but I quickly caught on. The reason I initially signed up for the class is that we started a virtual tour and web design company. I needed to be able to keep track of sales, expenses, etc. My sister told me the best way to do this in a simple way was an Excel spreadsheet. I thought ok, what am I supposed to do? My partner told me to call the BOR and find out when the next Excel class started. It happened to be a couple weeks later. I think all local Realtors should take advantage of the education opportunities at the Board of Realtors. It was only $10 per class for professional instructio... 03/26/2008

I have been in sales for all of my adult life. The funny thing about sales is, the more things change... the more things stay the same. For example, my main goal is to differentiate myself from other web design and virtual tour companies. I feel like we do a pretty good job of this. The real question is, "why would somebody choose Listing Solutions over the competition?"  (I'm glad that you asked.)First of all, we are laser-focused on our client's wants and needs. It doesn't matter how we think it went, it matters what they think. It is one thing to say this, (everybody does) it is something completely different to live it. We live in the community that we work in and we see our clients all of the time. It is more important to me, to be viewed as one of their valued business partners. I... 03/26/2008

I am pleased to announce that on March 9th Ruggeri Realty teamed up with Exit Realty Experts of St. Augustine, Florida. It was the best decision that I could make for my customers. I am committed to providing my customers with the same professional, courteous and on time service that they have become accustomed to. The resources that are available to me through Exit Realty Experts will definately benefit my customers. Please give me a call and come by to see the new office.Beth RuggeriRuggeri Realty/Exit Realty Experts4010 US1 South, Suite 112St. Augustine, Florida 32086Phone: (904) 808-6476Email: ruggerirealty@bellsouth.netWebsite: Ruggerirealty.com 03/16/2008

I am the Marketing Director for a virtual tour company in St. Augustine, Florida. Recently I have had several clients ask me about elevated photography. I started researching this field and found that there are a lot of different techniques used to accomplish this. There seems to be a lot of demand for this special photography and not that many providers. I tried to find a system that would fit into my budget and be mobile enough to be practical. That turned out to be a difficult task. Elevation poles are either too expensive or cumbersome to be practical. RC helicopters really caught my attention, but there were a lot of obstacles to this technique. First of all, the helicopters are several thousand dollars and then you have to learn how to fly the thing. After a couple of weeks of res... 03/14/2008

It was in 1859 that Alligator, Florida renamed itself Lake City.  Up I95 to 295 and west on Rt. 10, it's about a 100 miles and a fairly easy ride to the closest city to Ichetucknee Springs State Park, our real destination. We headed out this morning, February 23, 2008, just to explore the area and find an interesting restaurant before heading to the springs.  We didn't.  However, Wendys was on the way and as any Wendys affectionado will tell you, there are good Wendys and bad Wendys.  This one was very good.  So no fine dining, but we did find Keith Goodson, a muralist at work and decided to stop and say hello.  Keith is an artist with national recognition and has an extensive portfolio that you can visit HERE.  We watched him paint for a bit, but with a canvas the size of the side of a... 02/23/2008

Just because the springs dried up doesn't mean there isn't anything to do in White Springs, Florida.  Hmm?  I wonder why they left off the word "sulphur" when they named the town?  Either I75 or I10 will take you almost to the front gate of this sleepy town of about a thousand people.  Reminiscent of one of those sulphur spring towns in West Virginia that we used to frequent when we lived near D.C., White Springs is complete with hills, twisted roads, and Victorian architecture.  And this picturesque town has more than a few attractions.  Of course there's the Suwannee River, the Stephen Foster State Folk Cultural Center, and The Historic Telford Inn and Restaurant (which inexplicably has no website).  But we also found the Visitor's Center to be as commodious as anyplace else in the en... 02/11/2008

Due west of Gainesville, and about an hour and a half drive from Saint Augustine is Dudley Farm Historic State Park, (DudleyFarmHistoricStatePark) a working 19th century farm now owned by the Florida Park Service.  What drew us to this day trip was the website definition of "working."  There were a few cattle, a mule, a small horse, and four turkeys, but I couldn't find anything yet growing, purposefully planted, or otherwise viable on this farm.  What I did find were very friendly people, probably volunteers; one of whom was feeding hay to the horse and mule, and another who was shelling pecans on the back porch of the original farmhouse. There is a visitors center that has a running video loop of the history of the farm, and that was very interesting.  The main gatekeeper was also kno... 02/10/2008

Stephen Foster never set foot in Florida but he wrote our official state Song:  Old Folks At Home (Swannee River).  There's an interesting story about how he dropped a syllable to make the cadence of the song more viable, but this is not my story. A bit over 100 miles from St. Augustine, The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park qualifies as a day trip, and is an excellent destination point.  The park itself, when not hosting a festival or jam, is quiet, friendly, and easily negotiated by car.  If you're interested in this park and its events, visit www.musicliveshere.com.  However, if it's quiet, not music, you have come to experience, this section of the Suwannee River can be a great place to unwind. Banks of soft white sand interspersed with limestone crops make the water color even more... 02/09/2008

Moving from Washington, D.C. to Saint Augustine, Florida changed my life in a variety of ways; ninety-nine percent of them good.  But do I miss walking to the Metro from my Arlington apartment and the next rental car I'm in is in Europe?  You bet I do.  Jacksonville's airport is efficient, clean, consumer-friendly, and filled with nice people and fast-moving lines.  So what if I have to "connect" in Atlanta or New York.  That's the price I pay for yesterday's weather (February 3, 2008) of 75 and sunny making every moment of waiting in a connecting airport worth it. But some of that waiting may change.  Not that we'll ever have direct flights to Europe, Skybus is in town and there are some future destinations in their hopper that we'll definitely take advantage of.  For instance, Richmon... 02/04/2008

Many visitors to the First Coast are surprised to learn how many theatrical venues there are.  For instance, my husband and I saw David Copperfield at the Moran in the Times Union Center last night.  Not only is this a comfortable, well-situated theatre with great acoustics, it's easy to access from all parts of the city as well as Saint Augustine.  Parking is cheap with out-front lots at $10, and a one-block walk will bring it down to $5.  Our personal season continues with Michael Buble, The Lord of the Dance, and Spamalot.  But these are a small sampling of what's available, and that's just in Jacksonville.  Saint Augustine is rife with theatre and concert productions.  We have several comedy clubs (without smoking!) that attract a large following and get some great comics.And we don... 01/30/2008

 Up until now, our whale sighting reports have been zero since January 1st.Nothing, nada, zilch...I went in search of our famous mother/baby duo on Saturday, January 5th and found nothing.I even called Jim Hain, Scientist from Woods Hole, Woods Hole, Massachusetts to see if they (him and Joy Hampp, Project Coordinator for The Marineland Right Whale Project) were out watching the whales anywhere.Jim told me no, no whales had been sighted, but if I made it as far north as Marineland to please stop and say hi.I did make it that far and stopped to see Jim. I was treated to photographs that Joy had taken from the Projects spotter plane of Arpeggio and her baby.Read more about the photo I saw and the recent sightings herePhoto used above is a photo I took in 2006 in Ormond By The Sea of a Mot... 01/18/2008

There is nothing like it on earth.  It is bitterly cold, it has just snowed a foot and now the sky is so clear you can see far beyond the boundaries of our Milky Way Galaxy, or at least you believe you can.  But most of all, and what makes this moment so unforgettable, is that you can't hear a thing other than the beating of your own heart.  The silence is palpable.  It is like the world has simply stopped moving, stopped revolving, and everything on it is now motionless and thus unable to create sound.  Then a piece of ice falls from a tree and you know that what lies before you is, indeed, real. Moving south meant those surreal moments were behind me, or at least I thought they were.  I am not a meteorologist.  Neither am I a physicist.  But I know what I know, and what I saw and felt... 12/22/2007

By definition, acclimations require time.  It's been three years going on four that I've endured the heat of Florida, and I dare say, or should I dare say, that I'm finally getting used to it. Getting the Christmas spirit in 80-degree temperatures (with a thunderstorm looming on the horizon) has been a bit more difficult.  I'm shuffling through Michaels today, trying to get a jump on next year's ornaments, and everyone is in shorts and flipflops.   I saw flipflops today with jingle bells on them.  Now that's pushing the envelope. But alas, I'm fairly sure that we, meaning my neighborhood, is visible from the space station at night.  St. Johns Golf and Country Club, at the very northern tip of St. Johns County, has done more than its fair share in growing Florida Power and Light stock.  ... 12/21/2007