What is Real Estate

Writen by Tracey Kirchain

Whether you're looking for the hustle and bustle of a major metropolitan area or the serenity of spending time in a nature sanctuary, Jacksonville Florida offers an area that suits your lifestyle and will surely please.

Jacksonville, Florida (Duval County) is the largest city in the region and the largest city by land mass in the State of Florida. Because of its large land area, it offers homebuyers a unique opportunity of convenience and a high quality of life.

Currently, Jacksonville continues to go through tremendous amounts of growth in all areas of the city. As with any large city, the more established areas are going through more of a revitalization rather than growth. So rather than focusing on the established areas let's look at the hottest growth areas in Jacksonville right now.

Just as a note they're listed numerically but not by order of importance, that being said let's discover some of the most intriguing areas Jacksonville has to offer.

1. Duval County North
(Including North Jacksonville)

Whether it's fishing, recreational water sports or just enjoying breathtaking views many of the developments in this part of Jacksonville offer waterfront communities and easy access to the St. John's River. Its close proximity to the Jacksonville International Airport makes it ideal for those who like or need to travel. Furthermore, this part of Jacksonville remains the best-kept secret in the entire state. The amount of home you get for your money makes it an absolute bargain. Appealing neighborhoods include Broward Cove, Hidden Lake Estates and Biscayne Bay Town homes.

2. Duval County East
(Including Arlington,Atlantic Beach,Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Intracoastal West)

The Arlington area,home to Jacksonville University, is a staple of this part of Jacksonville. Additionally some of Northeast Florida's most precious environmental and historical landmarks reside in this area as well. Although much of the Arlington area is already well developed, a new and exciting growth area is beginning to emerge.

Informally known as Intracoastal West many new multifamily projects are popping up everywhere. These include Harbor Town, Mira Vista and Waters Edge.

The beaches, which include Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Jacksonville Beach all form one continuous coastal city. Fun,lively pubs and restaurants attract affluent homebuyers who enjoy a laid-back environment, upscale condominiums and oceanfront property.

3. Duval County South
(Including Southside,and Mandarin)

As one of Northeast Florida's largest concentration of office parks hotels and apartment complexes, it has naturally evolved into a hotbed of condominium activity. Some of the notable areas for condominiums are Point Meadows Place and Villagio. Lastly, Mandarin contains some of Northeast Florida's most affluent riverfront developments and home sites.

4. Duval County West

This area of Jacksonville has plenty a room for growth. Depending on your price range, you should have no problem finding a home that fits your needs. On the low end Academy Park or Brighton Park, offer two and three-bedroom two-story floor plans with square footage of up to 1682 feet. On the high end, there's Dawson's Creek and Emily's Walk that price into the 300 thousands. No matter what your budget you should have no problem finding a home in this area.

5. Clay County
(Including Argyle Forest,Fleming Island,Green Cove Springs, and Orange Park)

Located south of Jacksonville, Clay County has experienced an amazing 32.9% growth rate over the last decade. With many for Fortune 500 companies establishing a presence in the area, this becomes an ideal spot to live. The same principles apply to Clay County as they do with Duval County West. There are homes that should fit any budget and lifestyle. Some of the most popular developments include Doctors Inlet Reserve, Spencer's Plantation, and Fleming Island plantation just to name a few.

6. St.John's County
(Including North St. John's County,Ponte Vedra Beach,and St.Augustine)

St. John's County enjoys many different amenities whether your passion is playing golf or spend time at the beach you should have no problem finding fun outdoor activities. Along the shores of Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine Beach, you'll find multimillion-dollar oceanfront mansions and condominiums. Further inland to the SW the World Golf Village is becoming an ever-increasingly popular destination and in demand place to live.

Home prices generally start in the upper one hundreds and top out over the million-dollar mark. Renowned for its high-level school system this area is becoming very popular for those with a more liberal budget.

This just highlights some of the most popular areas of Jacksonville Florida. It gives you a broad overview of what's available. Depending on your budget it should be no problem finding a suitable home for you and your family.

Are you tired of having to search on your own? Tracey Kirchain works as an agent for Prudential Network Realty in Jacksonville, Florida. She will help you find the home you're looking for quickly and easily. Selling can also be challenging. Enlisting the help of a professional agent saves time and money.

Visit http://www.homesalesofjax.com for more great Jacksonville Real Estate information.

Writen by Lee Dobbins

Having your house appraised can be a scary step in the moving process, especially if you don't know what to expect. Will your house pass muster or will they find some hidden defects and problems lurking in the basement and attic? Should you scrub the house clean?

Don't worry – this isn't a test of how clean you keep your house or even if your house has problems (that will be for the home inspector to find out). The appraiser is there to determine a fair market value for your home. Whether you are selling the house or refinancing, this is a common part of the process and the inspector is quite used to traipsing about peoples homes in all kinds of disarray so you need not be embarrassed if your house is messy and it will not affect the value the appraiser puts on the property.

Determining the market value of your home is necessary so that your lender knows the home is valued at or above the amount of money you are borrowing. An appraisal is an estimate of worth. It is an opinion but is not entirely a subjective process. The FNMA, Federal National Mortgage Association sets up the guidelines and assigns values to certain assets of your home to ensure a fair sale.

The value of your home will be determined by comparing it to similar area properties that have sold in the past few months. The appraiser looks for properties that have the same number of bedrooms, baths, square footage and amenities like a fireplace or garage in your neighborhood or town. They start by looking at your neighborhood to find comparable sales or properties in similar neighborhoods that share similar characteristics of lifestyles, income level of residents, surroundings, average age and home values. A valid appraisal can be done when 3 or more properties similar to your own have been found.

Once the appraiser has these homes, there will be some adjustments made to take into consideration features that your home has the others don't or features they have that you don't. These features have nothing to do with your décor – they are based solely on house size, rooms and amenities so your hot pink kitchen will not affect the value of your home appraisal!

The process is quite methodical and done to standard practices so you need not worry. If you are moving and you have hired a realtor, you will find the appraisal will come in right on the button for what they have valued your home at. Most realtors know the market quite well so you needn't worry that your buyer won't be able to secure funding because of your home appraisal.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.moving-and-more.com where you can learn more about moving and selling your house.