Dolan Home Group

Dolan Home Group

6 Ways to Make Your Move to Jacksonville Easier

By

Moving to a new city can be stressful. You’re leaving behind familiar stores and places—not to mention friends and family! Jacksonville is a diverse city perfect for families, young professionals, retirees and entrepreneurs. You’re bound to feel at home in no time if you follow our tips:

  1. Try the local cuisine. Chains can be good when you need something familiar but it’s not much fun to venture into a new part of town and stick to the basics. You won’t want to miss local favorites like Metro Diner or Poe’s Tavern.
  2. Make connections before you arrive.  Whether you are moving from Tampa or Boston, chances are you already know someone who lives in Jacksonville or St. Augustine. Mention your upcoming move to your circle of friends and you may snag an invite to lunch with an old friend.
  3. Find the local chapter of national organizations. Jacksonville is home to many non-profit organizations and has scores of chapters of national organization. You can get involved with Toastmasters or Rotary Club to make new friends.
  4. Get to know your neighbors. Many communities host monthly events for residents. This is a good way to get to know others who may be new to town.
  5. Find people with similar interests on Meetup, through Facebook Groups, or even LinkedIn Groups.
  6. Sign up for alerts about nearby events. Receive information in your inbox about upcoming events in Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Both cities have a thriving tourism industry and a lot of options for locals as well.

We know that whether you come to Jacksonville with a new job, to join family and friends, or to retire, you will find many things to do to keep you engaged in the community.

What to Do: Nov. 13th Weekend

By

There are a lot of great things to do in Jacksonville and St. Augustine this weekend. Below are a few of our favorite options:

Food Truck Friday. Nocatee hosts Armada Takeover Food Truck Friday tonight.  Jacksonville’s favorite Jax Truckies food trucks will gather at the Swim Club Green to serve members of the community local one-of-a-kind, gourmet food and snacks. This event will feature interactive Jacksonville Armada soccer activities, photo opportunities, inflatables, and live music by Nocatee Resident Sam Lee. Beer and wine will be available for purchase at the bar, including select craft beers and wines. For the latest information on the Jax Truckies line-up for Food Truck Friday, please visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jaxtruckies.

Dinner and a show. Watch a live performance of Anything Goes, the classic musical theater show, complete with amazing tap numbers, campy jokes, unlikely happy endings and eminently hummable songs like “De-Lovely,” “I Get a Kick Out Of You” and “Anything Goes,” courtesy of the unforgettable score by Cole Porter at Alhambra Theatre & Dining. Tickets start at $47 for matinee performances, with $55 per ticket for Friday and Saturday night and $50 for Sunday night. Call 904.641.1212 for last minute tickets.

Riverside Arts Market. Enjoy the Riverside Arts Market The Riverside Arts Market is Jacksonville’s premier destination for art lovers, treasure hunters, music fans and foodies alike. RAM’s expansive Farmer’s Market features local produce, as well as artisan breads, gourmet spreads, fresh cheeses and other tasty treats. The Market’s three stages present exceptional live entertainment, from great regional bands to barbershop quartets to bellydancers, magicians, fire-eaters and jugglers. With ample free parking, a beautiful riverfront setting and a family-friendly, community-centric vibe, RAM is your bridge to a better weekend.

St. Johns Town Center Holiday Spectacular Holiday Spectacular features free festivities and entertainment topped off with a tree lighting and evening fireworks show. St. Johns Town Center retailers will offer holiday shopping opportunities, in-store promotions and specials throughout the weekend. The event kicks off at 2 p.m. with family-friendly activities including stilt walkers, costumed characters, a family lounge, balloonists, holiday-themed photo opportunities and more. Main Stage entertainment begins at 6 p.m. with dynamic holiday performances. The Main Stage is located in the Town Green in front of Maggiano’s Little Italy on Midtown Parkway.

For the grand finale, Santa will lead the crowd in an official countdown to light the dazzling 32-foot tree and kick off an energetic fireworks finale. Santa will then be available at the Santa House near Dick’s Sporting Goods to hear holiday wish lists.

Remember that November is Kids Free Month at many places around town. Visit http://www.visitjacksonville.com/kids-free-november/ for more information.

You can find out about upcoming Jacksonville events at http://events.jacksonville.com/ and upcoming St. Augustine events at http://www.oldcity.com/calendar/.

 

 

4 Tips to Make Selling Your Home Easier During the Holidays

By

This time of year has historically been one of the slowest for real estate.  Many people go out of town to visit family, and those who stay in town can struggle to plan showings around holiday parties and unusual work hours.  Modern technology has made shopping for a home more of a year-round process than it was in the past.  Today’s buyers can continue their home searches in the midst of holiday festivities with the help of the internet and mobile apps.

Contrary to popular belief, sellers who weather the real estate market during the holiday season may enjoy several advantages. With so many realtors and homeowners clinging to the assumption that it is not worthwhile to list until January, buyers will have a smaller selection of properties from which to choose.  Less competition increases the likelihood that a particular home on the market will garner an offer.  When more properties flood the market after New Year, this advantage will disappear.

Furthermore, buyers who are taking time off from their holiday activities to search for a home are more likely to be serious about moving as soon as possible.  Therefore, while homes on the market during the holidays will attract fewer potential buyers, the showings that they have may be more likely to yield an offer. If you are facing a holiday season with your home on the market, heed these tips to help you secure a sale without sacrificing the festive spirit:

1. If you do not feel ready to move and do not have a strict timeframe within which to do so, consider delaying until you are more prepared. If you find yourself resisting changes that will make your home more appealing to buyers or insisting on a high listing price against the advice of your realtor, you may simply not be ready to leave. Do not feel pressured by your realtor’s agenda; selling your house is a deeply personal process and you do not want to regret rushing it unnecessarily.

2. If the move is necessary but unwanted, be honest with your agent and tell him or her that you will require some patience. Realtors are accustomed to working with sellers facing all sorts of difficult situations, and being upfront with your agent about potential problems that you foresee will enable him or her to act in your best interest.

3. Preserve memories with the help of technology. As you are preparing to pack your belongings, take photos of your favorite spots in your home, and scan letters and other important papers into the computer.  This will help you eliminate paper to reduce your moving burden while still maintaining a permanent copy of the things that are important to you.

4. Use a professional stager. He or she will help you remove your personal items and neutralize the home so that buyers will view it as a blank slate. This should help accelerate your process of moving on and seeing your home for what it is when it is for sale: a commodity that must be marketed and purchased by the right buyer.

The holidays can be a good time to sell your home. If you are interested in more information about listing your home, please contact Carol or Linda.

Searching for your next home, click here to Search All Listings.

How We Sell Your Home: The Inner Workings of Our Listing Process

By

Selling a home is one of the biggest life choices, and we want to ensure our clients are not only happy with their choice, but also happy with the service provided by the Dolan Real Estate Group team.

Our team utilizes the latest technology to maximize internet exposure for our listings. We take advantage of marketing trends and our own custom websites to reach the widest audience of buyers.

For my sellers I prepare competitive market analysis, establish asking price, provide staging advice and assistance, provide consistent feedback from viewers to seller, produce appropriate contracts, review every offer that is received with the seller, negotiate, and consult with escrow and lenders to ensure that the terms of the purchase agreement are met.

Here’s what the listing process looks like:

Meet with your Realtor. We will go over the unique features of your home and discuss comparable homes in the area. This can be over several meetings as we prepare your home to be listed on the MLS.

Stage your home. We will discuss the best way to present your home and make suggestions for staging. This can include small home repairs to show your home at its best. It’s a good idea to move most of your personal items into storage while your home is on the market. After your home is staged, we bring in our professional photographer in order to show off your home’s best angles.

Market your listing. Our team uses the latest technology to drive online traffic to your listing. We use a combination of traditional methods like adding your home to the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS), as well as non-traditional ways like social media.

Coordinate showings and schedule open house as needed. You will receive immediate notification when an agent requests to show your home. Our office will keep you informed of feedback from recent showings.

Negotiate any potential offers. Why use a Realtor? It all comes down to commanding the best price for your home. From our initial meeting to any potential offers, your Realtor is on your side. We are there to keep you informed and make sure you know your options.

Consult with escrow and lenders to bring contract to close. Dolan Real Estate Group will coordinate between the buyer’s agent, title company, and lender to make sure that your home has a successful closing.

We proudly work with Future Home Realty to make sure that your home selling process is clear and ethical. Want to list your home? Contact our office for more information about how to get started.

DIY: Tiling the Lanai

By

Becky White and her husband took on the job of tiling their own lanai. The results of their labor turned out quite nicely! It wasn’t their first foray into the DIY World and I am very glad it will not be her last. She was very kind to grant me an interview:

Tiling Before and After

What prompted you to decide to do the tiling yourself?

We had just had a screened enclosure around the back of our house enclosing the lanai and pool. The cool deck apparently was never poured correctly and we had drainage issues that would sometimes flood the lanai area. So it was suggested that the lanai floor be raised with concrete and for safety issues either paint the deck and lanai floorings a different color because the lanai now had several inches of step down.  So we thought nice tile would look great and serve as a clear indicator that there was a
step down. We thought to incorporate the colors from the house and the decking so it would look well. We had tiled before and thought that we would just do it ourselves. Save a little money for the “cookie Jar”!

Have you done other projects like this before?

We had done tiling before at our previous home. Actually tiled the whole inside with the exception of a couple bedrooms. We already had a tile saw and the experience and this was a smaller area so we thought we would just do it ourselves. I had also tiled with ceramic tile in bathrooms and kitchen backsplashes.

How long did it take you to finish?

I would say it took about 3 weeks off and on and part of that time was allowing for cement to cure and grout to dry.

What was the easiest part of the project? The hardest?

I would say the easiest part of the project was just deciding to do it! Planning ahead, as far as what type of type of tile, tile design, where to have it centered and so on makes it a breeze. We were dealing with heavy items so we figured out how to do it in small batches. The cutting of the tiles can be a little tricky but I love the challenge of piecing them in there. I would say the hardest part is the cleanup! Cleaning the cement from between tiles and dried grout from on top of the tiles can be a challenge and I can still see some dried grout that I need to get off!

What other DIY projects do you think you will take on in the future?

Well the next immediate project will be to get some aluminum sheeting and sheet metal screws and put a cat door in our screened enclosure. Never did it before but, how hard can it be? I think our future like our past will be full of DIY projects.

Thank you again to the White family for sharing their DIY journey with us.

What kind of DIY projects are you planning to tackle? Let us know in the comments.

 

Where Transactions Become Relationships