On Thursday a group of forward thinking Realtors gathered at Keller Williams Realty at the Celebration office to talk about the market and to tour some of our premier properties in the Celebration community.

On Thursday a group of forward thinking Realtors gathered at Keller Williams Realty at the Celebration office to talk about the market and to tour some of our premier properties in the Celebration community.  These Keller Williams agents discussed each listing and came up with marketing ideas for each listing.  Part of this plan was that we are presenting all these listings here at our BLOG and other ways to increase visability to these listings!

443 Water Street is situated in the Main Village area of Celebration in the Water Street Condos.  This is an Orlando Avenue Top Team listings and features 2 bedrooms/2 baths condo built in 1998 with charming courtyard views and centrally located in Celebration and a quick walk to Downtown.

900 Spring Park Street #103 is in the Spring Park Terraces of Celebration across from park.  Features hardwood floors, 3 bedrooms/2 baths, 1,460 heated square feet, 1-car garage and was built in 2003.  Stunning decorator touches throughout.  Furniture negotiable.

1109 Blaze Street is located in Celebration Village of Roseville Corner.  This Craftsman Bungalow overlooks a small park was built in 2001 with 3 bedrooms/2/5 baths, 2-car garage and 1,810 heated square feet.

1030 Jeater Bend Drive is located in the South Village of Celebration.  This home was built in 2000 and is a Cambridge Meditterean Monticellio floorplan with fresh pait, new carpet and title and offers a home warrenty.  3 bedrooms/2 baths, 1,416 heated square feet, 2-car garage.

119 Celebration Blvd is located in the North Village of Celebration.  This David Weekly home features 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, 3-car garage was built in 1998 and has 3,658 heated square feet with soaring ceilings.  There are beautiful park views from this double balcony and has plenty of room to add a pool.

953 Starling Drive is located in the West Village of Celebration.   This "Devonshire" model was built in 1997 features 5 bedrooms/5 baths, 3-car garage and in-ground pool and 4,300 heated square feet.  Ready for you to move in, great location close to the school.  Stately front porch greets you as you enter the home, hardwood floors and many updates.

• 1401 Celebration Avenue #3-406  "Schofield" floor plan was built in 2006 and is ready for you to move right in, features 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths, 1-car garage and 2,109 heated square feet.  This is the largest floorplan available and has soaring ceilings and open floorplan.
• 1231 Wright Circle #202 "Carlson" floorplan has a lovely view of pond featuring 2 bedrooms/2 baths 1,434 heated square feet, and 1-car garage.

If you wish to have your own private tour, please call the Orlando Avenue Top Team today!  It would be our pleasure show you any of these wonderful Keller Williams offerings.

What’s happening in and around the resorts.

Perhaps you’ve received one in the mail – a free ticket to a day at Universal’s two theme parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Free sounds great! Universal also has a deal whereby children under 9 years old get in free.

Universal is a fun place to be and June 1st a new ride for children is opening at Islands of Adventure. It’s called The High In The Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride or, alternately, The Seuss Sky Trolley. The name leads me to believe the ride is up in the air although I believe it’s a monorail ride of sorts!

My nieces and nephews love to go to Sea World. They love to touch and feel the dolphins and they can’t seem to get enough of the Shamu Show. I love Sea World, too. Fortunately, Sea World comes to us Florida residents at a great price. All we have to do is pay for a single day’s admission and we can come back all year, until December 31st, on the price of that single day. The promotion is called the Sea World Orlando Fun Card. Next time I go, I’ll get a card!

A very fun thing for the family is the annual Great American Pie Festival in Celebration. This year it’s on the weekend of April 22-23. I have been there when the weather was soggy and it’s still fun. This event is sponsored by Crisco and its highlight is this: for the price of admission there is a pie buffet and you can eat and eat and eat all the slices of pie you want. Not to mention the culinary demonstrations and, of course, the pie-eating contest! Have fun!

Are we there yet?

It seems that "Are we there yet?" has been issued a 100 times already and you have been on the road for only 2 hours of a 23 hour drive to your final destination.  I know that only too well.  I have experienced being the child bored out of my mind and now as the parent.  I have now the joy of older children and they have iPods, DVD’s and the laptop computer to keep them occupied.  The best $500 investment years ago was the behind the seat DVD player with headsets. 

If you are planning a car trip this summer with the kids, here are a few suggestions, on things to pack in the car to keep you from going crazy. 

• For each child buy a bunch of little trinket items and wrap them up (I wrapped the stuff in two different types of paper to make it easy to grab something for each when I needed  a surprise)  I usually go to the dollar store and get things that the kids are always asking me for.
• Invest in some paper towels, but even better bring 6 or 8 kitchen towels for the ride, they come in handy for clean ups, make great placemats in laps for eating in the car and if you have the terrible spill, they work so well.
• Have a clean washcloth in a baggie with you.  Each time you stop rince it out and you have something to clean sticky fingers.  A container of baby wipes is also a great resource to have on these trips — I still bring them and my son is 11 years old!
• A huge stash of plastic bags — sounds silly but you will generate garbage on the way and what better way than when you fill up gas rid the car of any excess garbage.
• Make sure you bring some windex and paper towels, windows get dirty
• A pillow and blanket for each child, if you are lucky they will take a long nap during the trip!
• Bring a laptable for each child, bring crayons, coloring books and lots of paper for them to draw as they go by.  Note if you are going to travel anywhere where the car will get hot when parked, colored pencils a smarter option.  Magic Markers just a bad idea, the caps never stay on and something always gets stained.
• Create coloring sheets of the trip and things that they might see.  Help the kids create a memory book by keeping the sheets in a three ring binder, as they color them, they go back into the binder.  At the end of the trip you can use these sheets to add to the photos you take to build a memory book.
• Snacks.  Bring lots of them, and invest in the individually wrapped items or put items in the small baggies for the kids.  Juice boxes put in a cooler frozen solid (with a couple that are not).  Kids get bored they want to eat.  Don’t forget carrots, celery, grapes and apple wedges are great snacks too for the car!

In case the DVD player dies on you there are some options that you can do to keep your kids busy.  Trust me, these are things that you can use even in your everyday run around town:

• Play I am thinking of a person — basic game you come up with a person, it took my kids 2 years to figure out when I started the game that Santa Claus was the person I always started with.  The other players have to ask yes/no questions to figure out the person, the winner comes up with the next person.
• Play I am going on a picnic game – using the letters of the alphabet you name items you would bring on the picnic — appple, banana, candy, donuts …  As the kids have gotten older we have changed the paramaters, I am going to the zoo and I saw Annie the Avark, Becky the bat, Charlie the Chimp…. which then eveloved to going to the zoo and I saw Annie the Amazing Arvark perform acorbatics, Becky the brave bat fly through the bat cave, Charlie the charming chimp create colorful crafts… and the game has now evolved to all sorts of levels that the kids think up.
• Using road signs, or store signs, or billboards going through the alphabet search for words systematically going through the alphabet — Ace Hardeware, Bob’s Big Boy, Checkers, Dunkin Donuts, Exit three miles….
• Starting your trip put a piece of paper with all 50 states on it, and check off the state license plates that you see.
• Create stories with the kids about people they see in other cars.  This one always amazes me with the kids.  They will take a look at a couple with a baby in the car and they will come up with a whole story about how they are heading to visit family because Aunt Sophia is celebrating her 89th birthday.. 

Hope these suggestions help with your next car trip!

Searching our listings couldnt be easier! Visit our convenient site on the web, where you can search by zip code, by address and the easiest way by map!

Once at the site you have complete access to all of the Central Florida Listings!  The first screen you will see will be to search by County/City, Address/zip, Subdivision and Map Search.

MAP Selection is the best if you are not familiar with the names of the various communities or zipcodes that you wish to search in.

You will see a series of flags. Roll over these flags with your mouse and it will give you brief details of the listing and an option to see more information.

 

At any point in time you can save your search and have the system automatically send you similar searches or you can come back and review your searches you have completed.  At the top of the screen just click on Save Search.  Remember to do this, you must have an account created.  If you have created an id and password – enter them, if not, follow the instructions to create one and you can easily get back to your searches the next time you visit our site!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us today for help in this or any other aspect of your property search here inthe Greater Orlando Area.

In Orlando there is such a thing as a free meal..

if you are under 12 that is!

• Denny’s on Tuesday nights from 4-10pm for kids age 10 and under
  • 11037 International Drive 407-238-0010
  • 9880 International Drive 407-351-5127
  • 7660 International Drive 407-351-1420
• Beef o’Brady’s on Tuesday nights with a paying adult between 4-8pm with kids age 12 and under
  • Avalon Park 407-658-6331
  • South John Young Parkway 407-518-0050
  • West Irlo Bronson Highway 407-239-7710
• Andiamo Italian Bistro & Grille kids 12 and under eat free with the purchase of an adult entree
• Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant kids eat free on Monday nights from the kids menu 407-852-9818
• Lone Star Steak House kids eat free on Tuesdays during regular business hours and on Saturdays from 11am – 4pm 407-827-8225
• Nickelodeon Family Suites

Real Estate Professionals from Florida Gathered in Celebration Florida

Saturday was a big day in ActiveRain history at least for the State of Florida where several members gathered in Celebration Florida at the Columbia Restaurant. 

What is resulting is one of the most powerful social networks in the country.  A network that we have in our arsenal to assist you in the buying or selling of Real Estate in the Greater Orlando Area.  This social network of Real Estate Professionals empowers these professionals in the latest and greatest technology and trends in assisting buyers and sellers with their Real Estate transactions.  A beta version of the consumer site called Localism is in the process of being built by the power of these almost 25,000 members.  A place where buyers can view photos, read articles get to know a Realtor, Sellers can find useful information on the sale of their Real Estate. 

Florida Gators win the NCAA men’s basketball title.

Florida Gators, the Orlando Avenue Top Team would like to thank you for winning the NCAA Men’s Basketball Title and making all of us here in Florida proud. From our home in the greater Orlando area to your home in Gainesville, here’s a big and well-earned gator chomp to you!

Our hearts this week are leaning toward the thoughtful as Holy Week for Christians and Passover for Jewish people once again coincide. We hope this week will be a meaningful one for you.

If you’re looking for a kosher caterer to prepare the traditional Seder meal, there’s Amira’s Kosher Deli and Restaurant in Altamonte Springs. The Passover holiday begins this Wednesday at sundown.

Both Easter and Passover are celebrations which are egg-intensive and though I am not a great cook, I seem to have success with eggs! The following recipe is for a Matzoh Brie, a dish between an omlette and a pancake. This recipe was given to me by a client-turned-friend in Windermere who learned it from her father!

The equation is two eggs to a half of a plain matzoh (not egg matzoh) for one matzoh brie. Crumple the half matzoh so you have some very small and some larger pieces and then soak this in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes so you have very wet matzoh pieces. Take them in your hands and squeeze out the water. Drop the pieces in two eggs which are already mixed and, yes, you can add milk if you like. Soak the pieces in the eggs so the matzoh pieces are plump and full of egg. Use either an omlette pan or the double pan with the hinge. Heat butter in the pan and cook as you would an omlette. Serve with sugar or jam. This is delicious! Enjoy!

Call the Orlando Avenue Top Team today for expert advice…First Time Home Buying?

Ready to buy your first home? It can be a scary time and the process can be intimidating. First you have to decide how much you can afford, then you need to decide on the location you want to live.  There are hundreds of decisions that can make even the most experienced buyer buckle under the pressure.  It doesn’t have to be intimidating.  Working with an experienced expert is the best thing that you can do. 

• Help you understand the tax advantages of buying over renting
• Give you resources to help you make informed decisions
• Help you decide how much can you really afford, explain how to qualify for a mortgage
• Explain how to get approved for financing, down payments and reccomend financing options available to you
• Explain why it is not a good idea to purchase a new car, change banks or jobs during this process
• Guide you through the process of finding a home

We are ready to help you in every aspect of your first home search, just call us today to start working with one of our experts!  Remember that there are no dumb questions!

Star Wars Tango sparks an important question… When exactly is the upcoming Star Wars Weekends?

Public Transportation Options in the Greater Orlando Area

There are many public transportation in the Greater Orlando area when you arrive at the Orlando International Airport.  Being one of the most popular vacation destinations with almost 500 hotels with 113,000 plus guest rooms, there are 26,000 vacation homes available for rent and there are 16,000 vacation ownership units, there are many places to stay here. 

If you are staying in the area of the parks and you are not renting a car, you can use the buses or taxis, for the latest information click here.  For more information about the Public Transportation — LYNX for the latest schedules and public transportation option in the Greater Orlando, Florida area.  If you come into the area and heading out of town, there are many providers of shuttles to other Florida areas, click here for more information on the out of town shuttle providers.