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Upcoming Events and Festivals on the Emerald Coast

Image courtesy of Jazz Guy via Flickr

The weather is slowly but surely turning to cooler mornings, less humid days, and a crispness in the air that signals fall is approaching. While the beach is still a great place to go, this is the time of year to leave the confines of your air conditioned home and take advantage of the September and October activities along the Emerald Coast.

Bikers Blast for the Past Motorcycle Poker Run

Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida, Valparaiso

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Two poker runs in one – an 85 mile trip or a run within a 10 mile radius. Cars are welcome, too!

Learn more.

Hispanic Fest 2014

United for a Good Cause

Sunday, September 21, 2014; 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Emerald Coast Convention Center, Okaloosa Island

Celebrate the Hispanic culture. Listen to Hispanic music, try different foods, meet local vendors, and much more!

Learn more.

Destin Beer Festival

Benefiting Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation

Saturday, September 27; 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Wine World, Destin

Try local brews and help an organization that helps local children in need all at the same time!

Learn more.

36^th Annual Destin Seafood Festival

Friday, October 3 – Sunday, October 5

Destin Harbor, Destin

Come out for the most anticipated festival of the year in Destin and celebrate part of what makes the Emerald Coast an amazing place – the seafood!

Learn more.

4^th Annual Emerald Coast Duck Regatta

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Village of Baytowne Wharf, Sandestin

Benefits the Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast

Enjoy the water in a new way – with a duck race! A fun day for the whole family, there will be activities, prizes, and much more.

Learn more.

6^th Annual Kitty Hawk Kites Kite Festivals

Saturday, October 18 – Sunday, October 19; 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

HarborWalk Village, Destin

A free weekend of events that include kitemaking, kite flying, and in the evening, Kites with Lights, as kites light up the sky over the water.

Learn more.

When you start to think that all the fun is over because the summer is ending, the tourists are leaving, and school is back in session, think again. The Emerald Coast comes alive at this time of year. There is something for everyone!

 

 

 

14 ways to make your home more secure!

ConsumerReports.org By Susan Feinstein

More than 2.1 million burglaries were reported in the United States in 2012. That’s one every 15 seconds, according to the FBI, proving just how easy it is for burglars to gain entry. But before you make a big purchase on a security system, take a good hard look around your home. A few simple, low- or no-cost measures will significantly deter a would-be thief from targeting your home.

“The goal in home security is to make it so that the casual burglar will be deterred,” Chris McGoey, an independent security consultant in the Los Angeles area, said. “It’s impossible to make your house perfectly secure, but there are low-tech measures that will do 90 percent of the job.”

Choose a coming weekend and go over these 14 steps—which range from low-effort, no-cost chores to more-involved, pricier projects—to improve your home’s security.

1. Hold a household meeting

Make home security a habit, with every member of the household—including kids—agreeing to a routine that should include such simple rules as:

• Use door and window locks. It costs nothing and takes little energy. Make it a habit to lock every door and window when leaving, after entering, and before bedtime.
• Do not open the door to uninvited or unwelcome visitors.
• Close and lock the garage door.
• Secure your home even if you’re doing work around the house and yard.
• Use your alarm system all the time, even when you take a quick trip to the store or visit next-door neighbors. (Learn about important alarm contract clauses.)

2. Call on the police

Many municipal police departments offer complimentary home inspections. An officer walks through your home and recommends simple, cost-effective changes to tighten security.

3. Organize a burglary

This is a fun, useful exercise to do with a trusted neighbor or friend: Allow your neighbor to roam through your house for three minutes, find as many small valuables as possible, and remove them from your house. Let the ersatz burglar demonstrate how easy it is to find valuables. Then hide them from real burglars. That might mean buying a small safe that bolts to the floor, renting an off-premises safe-deposit box, or stashing jewelry and cash in unorthodox places. You can return the favor for your neighbor.

4. Remove the ‘hidden’ house key

The key under the mat, inside the mailbox, beneath a rock—everybody hides a house key. Problem is, burglars know your hiding places. Instead, give it to a trusted neighbor.

5. Place keys and garage-door remotes in a smart spot

Don’t leave car and house keys and remotes near the door or otherwise visible inside your house. Secure them inside a cabinet or a drawer to keep them hidden.

6. Add foreboding signs

Post security-company signs or window stickers near all entryways—whether you have a security system or not. Maybe you have signs/stickers on hand from a previous contract with a security firm, or maybe you can get some from a friend. In addition, post a few “Beware of Dog” signs in visible spots, say at the front of the house or on a gate to the backyard.

7. Lock up the ladder

Don’t store a ladder outside. A burglar, perhaps posing as a handyman or contractor, could use it to gain access to a second-floor window or balcony.

8. Light up the outdoors

If you don’t have them already, buy and install outdoor lighting with infrared motion sensors and install one near each point of entry. Replace any burned-out lightbulbs and put your porch lights on timers. Find the best bulbs for outdoor uses.

9. Install timers

When you leave for work or appointments or go on vacation, you can create a “someone’s at home” look using timers on lights and TVs. No surprise, there are lots of gadgets available. Fake TV, for instance, simulates the flickering lights of a television, and from outside, it appears that someone is watching TV.

10. Secure air conditioning units

Unsecured window air conditioners could provide an easy entry point for a crook. Use an air conditioner bracket, sliding window lock, or corner braces.

11. Eliminate hiding spots

If your shrubbery is too tall, bushy, or not well spaced, you’re providing a nice hiding spot for a potential burglar. Trim and prune plantings.

12. Check windows

Are the window locks operable? If not, get them fixed or replace them. Also consider installing aftermarket window locks, which let you open the window a few inches while still keeping it secure. Another alternative is to use inexpensive window-break alarms. Check our home window buying guide.

13. Assess doors

Okay, so you’re probably not going to be able to install new doors by yourself over a weekend. But you can inspect your front, side, and back doors. Replace hollow (read: low-quality and easy-to-breach) doors with solid-core (made of wood or metal) or metal-clad doors. Check our buying guide for entry doors.

Sliding-glass doors have a latch to close them but are often an easy point of entry for burglars. To make one more secure, place a wood dowel cut to size or an adjustable safety bar in the interior floor track, or consider adding a floor bolt.

Electric garage doors are not a common point of entry—as long as they are closed. “I can drive you down almost any street in America and find a garage door that is open and the inner door is unlocked,” McGoey says. “Homeowners have to treat all the doors like the front door and close it.”

14. Replace weak locks

Locks are the weakest point on a door. Make sure you have a grade 1 or grade 2 dead-bolt lock that penetrates the door frame. It’s not necessary to get one at a specialty locksmith; these can be purchased at a big-box home store. The strike plate—the stationary piece that the bolt enters—must be heavy duty, made of solid metal or brass, with six three-inch-long screws that penetrate the door jamb and the door frame. Check out our door lock buying guide and read about the $10 part that will make your door lock safer.

Tips for Getting Better Sleep

Have you been suffering from mood swings? Do you feel worn out? You probably aren’t getting enough sleep. Although pressures at work or at home often add stressors that may affect your nightly slumber, getting enough sleep is critical to your overall health. I came across these tips that may be able to help even the most stressed of insomniacs. Keeping these in mind could aid in your efforts to get your body back on track.

1) Pick a schedule and stick to it. Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day will program your body to get the sleep it needs. If sleep doesn’t come within 15 minutes, get up and do something relaxing like reading a book. Agonizing over not falling asleep will get you nowhere.

2) Eating better foods at the right times can help your sleep pattern. Avoid going to bed super hungry or stuffed. Avoid coffee, cigarettes and alcohol past a certain time. All of these can interrupt an otherwise peaceful sleep.

3) Create a bedtime ritual for yourself. Whether it’s a warm bath, an hour of reading, or a little TV in bed with the lights off, doing the same ritual every night tells your body that it’s time to go to bed.

4) Include physical activity throughout your day. Hit the gym, go for a walk, or do some simple jumping jacks or other at-home exercise. Don’t do it too late at night though or you may find yourself too energized to fall asleep.

Source: Mayo Clinic

July 2014 Townhouse & Condo Sales on the Emerald Coast

Image via Flickr from David Reber

As promised, this week it’s time to discuss townhouse and condo sales along the Emerald Coast for July. This market is very different from the single family home market as the numbers for July indicate when compared to last year.

Emerald Coast

• Closed sales decreased 23.6%
• Pending sales dropped 29%
• New listings were down 34.9%
• Median prices fell 9.4%
• Inventory decreased 3.3%

Okaloosa County

• Closed sales decreased 24.5%
• Pending sales dropped 40%
• New listings were down 33.3%
• Median prices increased 9.2%
• Inventory fell 3.5%

Walton County

• Closed sales decreased 21.8%
• Pending sales dropped 23.2%
• New listings increased 2.1%
• Median prices were nearly flat with a 0.1% increase
• Inventory rose 7.9%

A few things to remember…

Many factors contribute to the sale (or lack) of townhouses and condos. Financing for condos isn’t as easy to come by as it is for single family homes. Condo sales also tend to be seasonal. Before the summer begins and after the summer ends, sales often increase. Buyers want to buy prior to summer break, and tourists fall in love with the area, and may buy after they’ve spent time on the beach.

The overall decreasing inventory is not necessarily a bad thing as we have consistently had a high inventory in the townhouse and condo market. A healthy real estate market is five to six months of inventory. Townhouse and condo inventory levels have hovered near 10 months for a while, although that is an overall decrease when compared to 2010 and 2011 levels.

All sales data is from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors® (ECAR) Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is compiled by Florida Realtors®, the state association for Florida. The Emerald Coast statistics cover both Okaloosa and Walton counties as well as surrounding areas based on the listings entered into the MLS by ECAR MLS participants.

July 2014 Single Family Home Sales on the Emerald Coast

Image via Flickr from Robert S. Donovan

Single family home sales statistics for the Emerald Coast are now available for July 2014. The real estate market around our area and in Okaloosa and Walton counties are looking solid as we head into the end of summer.

Emerald Coast

• Closed sales increased 12.2%
• Pending sales rose 12.4%
• New listings increased 22.6%
• Median prices decreased 4.8%
• Inventory increased 27.8%

Okaloosa County

• Closed sales increased 5.2%
• Pending sales rose 11.7%
• New listings increased 18.5%
• Median prices decreased 7.9%
• Inventory increased 28.9%

Walton County

• Closed sales increased 29%
• Pending sales rose 15%
• New listings increased 45.2%
• Median prices fell 14.6%
• Inventory increased 29.7%

A few things to remember:

Pending sales do not directly correlate to the number of sales for the following month. Some sales never make it to the closing table, while others take longer than 30 days to close.

New listings contribute to the increase in overall inventory. The current inventory level is calculated using the existing inventory and the closed sales for the month. That’s why these two numbers don’t match.

Price and inventory are invariably linked. When inventory levels rise, competition increases for sellers. When buyers have more choices, prices tend to drop. Inventory levels tend to rise in the summer as this is the time of year many people choose to move.

All sales data is from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors® (ECAR) Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is compiled by Florida Realtors®, the state association for Florida. The Emerald Coast statistics cover both Okaloosa and Walton counties as well as surrounding areas based on the listings entered into the MLS by ECAR MLS participants.

Next week, we’ll look at townhouse and condo sales for the month of July. Click here to view all of the sales date for the month of Jul

Okaloosa County: Home to “A” Rated Schools!

Image via Flickr from Ryan M.

The start of a new school year has begun. Nervous and excited children and parents look forward to new experiences, new people, and a new chapter for everyone. One of the most important factors for many people who buy a new home is the quality of the local schools. Many buyers pick where to live based on the ratings, reviews, and scores of the schools.

Okaloosa has always been a very well-rated school district. In Florida, schools are given a grade each year (A through F) based on specific criteria. For elementary and middle schools, the grade is determined by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). In high school, the grade has a few additional elements. Fifty percent is based on the FCAT, and the other 50 percent is based on college-readiness, preparation, and graduation rates.

The Florida Department of Education has posted the pending 2014 grades for Okaloosa County. The high schools and some mixed schools (schools with multiple grade levels) don’t have a grade posted as of 8/18/14. Take a look at the list below for the 2014 “A” schools in Okaloosa County.

Crestview

• Antioch Elementary School
• Davidson Middle School
• Shoal River Middle School

Destin

• Destin Elementary School
• Destin Middle School

Eglin Air Force Base

• Eglin Elementary School

Fort Walton Beach

• Edwins Elementary
• Kenwood Elementary
• Liza Jackson Prep School
• Bruner Middle School
• Northwest Florida Ballet Academie
• Pryor Middle School

Niceville

• Bluewater Elementary
• Edge Elementary
• Plew Elementary
• Ruckel Middle School

Shalimar

• Meigs Middle School
• Shalimar Elementary
• Longwood Elementary

Valparaiso

• Lewis School
• Okaloosa STEMM Center

Along the Emerald Coast, we’re proud of many things – our white sandy beaches, our beautiful green water, the laid-back lifestyle, and our local military – to name a few. Schools in Okaloosa County give us something else to be proud of, as well.

Sources and more information:

• Learn more about the Okaloosa School District and the individual schools, go to www.OkaloosaSchools.com.
• View all the school grades:

◦      http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/

◦      http://www.ledgerdata.com/grade/okaloosa/