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7 Things to Do For Halloween on the Emerald Coast

Halloween is just around the corner. Whether you have kids who want to trick-or-treat or you’re a kid at heart who loves to scare yourself and others, there are plenty of things to do across the Emerald Coast to celebrate the spookiest holiday of all. Check out seven different events and find something fun for the whole family or to do with your friends after a long week at work.

Sweet Season Corn Maze

2260 Horn Road, Milton

For the ninth year in a row, Sweet Season Farms has a fall festival that’s fun for the entire family. Get lost in the corn maze, go on a hayride, and enjoy the corn cannon. The corn maze is open Friday evenings and all weekend long through November 6. Admission starts at $9.00 per person. Kids two and under get in free. Discounts for seniors and military members are available. Learn more.

Nightmare on Old Spanish Trail

5899 Buck Ward Road, Baker

If you love to scare yourself or watch your friends freak out in terror, check out Nightmare on Old Spanish Trail in Baker. For those who need something a little tamer, don’t worry they offer non-terrifying options, too. Open on October 27, 28, and 31 and November 3 and 4. Admission is $15 per person with discounts available for seniors and the military. Learn more.

Defuniak Springs Haunted House

Lakeside Hospital, Defuniak Springs

Experience your own fright night with Jason and his hockey mask at the Defuniak Springs Haunted House. You can design your own version of Jason’s mask and get the chills from all the terror the haunted house has to offer. Admission is $13 per person and proceeds benefit local nonprofits. Have a terrifying experience on October 27 and October 28. Learn more.

Halloween Haunt at Destin Commons

Destin Commons Center Plaza

Bring the kids and the dogs out for a night of safe and fun trick-or-treating on October 27. The costume contest for 0 to 12 years old begins at 6:00 p.m. Trick-or-treating runs from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Kids can enjoy face painting, crafts, and more. Admission is free! Learn more.

Halloween Crypt Crawl

Eglin Parkway, Fort Walton Beach

Need more adult fun this Halloween? Head on over to Eglin Parkway in Fort Walton Beach on October 28 for a creepy, spooky, and terrifying pub crawl. The fun begins at 7:00 p.m. at multiple local bars and clubs: Coasters, Fokker’s Pub, Salty Duck, The Green Door, Giovanni’s One 89, and The Block. End the night at The Block with a Halloween party and costume contest where you could win up to $1000 in prizes. Learn more.

Tricks or Treasure at the Boardwalk

Okaloosa Island

Head over to the Boardwalk on Halloween night (Tuesday, October 31) from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for a free, fun, and safe trick-or-treating event for the entire family! Enjoy live entertainment and music, carnival games, a hula hoop contest, and plenty of candy. You’ll receive a kids eat free coupon when you arrive that’s good at any restaurant on the Boardwalk! Learn more.

Trick or Treat Street

Baytowne Wharf

Bring the kids out for a night of fun and candy on Halloween night (Tuesday, October 31) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Enjoy face painting, crafts, a great DJ, fireworks over Baytowne Lagoon, and, of course, plenty of candy for all the kids. Learn more.

6 Ways to Save for a Down Payment

The most daunting task for new homebuyers isn’t finding the right neighborhood or choosing your favorite floorplan. It’s the down payment. If you don’t have a current home to sell that can help pay for your new home, you’re going to need cash at the closing table. Even when you do have a home to sell, you might need cash at closing.

Forget the myth of the 20 percent down payment. Although it’s good to pay as much down as you can, for most buyers you don’t need to save that much, but you do need to save something. If you’re not sure how to do it, here are a few tips and none of them involve eliminating your daily coffee habit.

Create a Budget

You know how much your rent and car payment are, but where does the rest of your money go after bills? Before you can begin saving, you need to know how much you have. Make a list of all your monthly expenses – include extras like coffee, movies, and whatever other luxuries you allow yourself. Compare that amount to your monthly income. If you have plenty left each month, that’s what you need to set aside in savings. If not, take a look at your expenses and see where you can trim and cut.

Automate Your Savings

Once you know how much you can afford to save, don’t rely on your willpower to move money into your savings account. Work with your employer or your bank to create an automatic deposit or transfer each month from your paycheck or your checking account. If you don’t have to see the money or think about it, you can’t miss it. And you’ll be more likely to let it grow in your savings.

Save All Extras

From time to time, we all see a little windfall. Maybe that scratch off ticket actually hit or you got a quarterly bonus at work. While you’re saving for your down payment, all those windfalls should go into savings. Tax refunds, raises, gifts – yes, even the $10 your grandmother still sends you after all these years. It may seem like a small amount by itself but once you put it together with all the other savings you have, it can add up quicker than you realize.

Wait on a New Car

If you can, once you pay off your car, don’t buy a new one yet. Instead, put the amount of your car payment into savings. You’re already used to spending it, so it won’t be quite as painful as other savings may be. In a short time, you’ll grow your savings even more without sacrificing any more luxuries. Once you’ve bought your new home and moved in, go car shopping.

Look for High Interest Accounts

Letting your money make money for you is a great way to add to your savings. Talk to your bank about high-yield savings or money market accounts. If you plan on saving for a long time, you might want to ask about a certificate of deposit (CD). Ultimately, you want an account that pays you interest over time to help get to your goal a little faster.

Consider Down Payment Assistance Programs

Down payment assistance programs are, generally, for first time homebuyers. Depending on the program, not owning a home for more than three years and other factors may qualify you for funds. Continue saving money even if you qualify for assistance. Lenders want to see that you have more than enough to pay your closing costs with some left over once you move in. It makes you a better risk.

The more money you can save, the better off you’ll be when you talk to a mortgage lender. Putting down more money lowers your monthly payments. Having a solid savings account helps the approval process. If you want to start saving but aren’t sure how much you need, talk to your bank or a mortgage lender.

Once you’ve got enough saved for a down payment, it’s time to begin the search for your new home. When you’re ready, give me a call and let’s talk!

12 Halloween Safety Tips for Homeowners

Halloween is just around the corner. If you love buying a bunch of candy – some for the trick-or-treaters and some for yourself, dressing up, and decorating your home, you’re not alone. For many people, this spooky time of year is a great way to feel like a kid again. As a homeowner, you assume a certain amount of risk when costumed kids arrive for their annual dose of candy. To keep Halloween both fun and frightful, make sure your home is safe for the kids and for yourself.

Clear all walkways. Make sure toys, hoses, and tools get picked up so nothing can become a tripping hazard.
Clean your yard. Ideally kids will use the walkway, but in reality, some will walk across your lawn. Pick up garden hoses, tools, pots, hoses, and lawn furniture that may be difficult to see at night.
Light up the night and the walkways. Check your existing outdoor lighting to make sure they work. Replace light bulbs and add new lighting so that people can see from the start of your walkway to the door.
Make sure your outdoor lighting is grounded to prevent overloading your electrical outlets. Use covered electric outlets with ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs).
Don’t run extension or electrical cords across walkways.
Keep any jack-o-lanterns with candles away from the walkway and flammable decorations outside.
Opt for LED candles, light sticks, or other battery-powered or electric lights instead of candles to reduce fire hazards.
Keep your pets inside and if the excitement of the activity is too much, in a separate room. Halloween is a time when pets bite or run away because they can’t handle the stress of so many people at the door.
Test your smoke alarms. This is a good idea throughout the year, but at Halloween when candles are in use, it’s absolutely necessary.
Keep decorations away from the walkways. You don’t want anything to block kids as they walk to your door.
Inside, make sure any open flame is kept away from all decorations. Don’t leave open flames unattended. Put them out before you go to bed.
Make sure your car is locked. Put it in the garage, if you can. Innocent kids are out on Halloween, but so are criminals looking for an easy target.

Halloween can and should be a night of fun for everyone. Your top priority should be giving out candy and admiring all the creative costumes – not putting out fires or dealing with injuries. Take precautions now, and the night will be frightfully fun for everyone!

October 2017 Events Across the Emerald Coast

Now that the weather is cooling off, and October has arrived, it’s time to get out along the Emerald Coast and enjoy more of what makes our area so special. You can’t get bored this month with so many events to choose from.

Destin Fishing Rodeo

October 1 – 31, 2017

Destin Harbor

Since 1948, the Destin Fishing Rodeo has brought anglers and spectators alike to Destin. It’s one reason the city was dubbed “The World’s Luckiest Fishing Village.” The tradition continues this year. Fish for free as long as you’re on a registered charter or private boat. Weigh-ins occur daily on the docks at AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar. Will you be there when the big one is brought in? Learn more.

39th Annual Destin Seafood Festival

Friday, October 6 – Sunday, October

Destin Harbor Boardwalk

While the anglers are out on the water, there’s no better fun than the annual Destin Seafood Festival. Admission is free. Enjoy music and fireworks on three separate stages. Kids will also have access to three different Kid’s Zones. There’s plenty of fun for the entire family! Learn more.

Emerald Coast Duck Regatta

Saturday, October 7, 2017

The Village of Baytowne Wharf, Sandestin

The Emerald Coast Duck Regatta is fun for the whole family and charity event for Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast to build a 10-bed, level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for babies in need. Pay the fee to adopt a duck for the race, and if your duck wins, you’ll win prizes – plus help a worthy cause! Come out for other family-fun activities like face-painting, hula hoop contests, and more. Learn more.

10th Annual Sugar Sands Charity Golf Classic

Monday, October 9, 2017

Kelly Plantation Golf Club, Destin

Play golf, win prizes, and support a worthy local charity. Lunch and golf will be held at Kelly Plantation Golf Course, followed by an awards dinner and silent auction at Tuscany Italian Bistro in Destin. All proceeds benefit Children in Crisis. Learn more.

10th Annual Baytowne Wharf Beer Fest

Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14

The Village of Baytowne Wharf, Sandestin

The Baytowne Wharf Beer Fest is the largest beer festival in Northwest Florida. This year, you’ll be able to discover and sample specialty beers from around the country. The main event on Saturday, October 14th will feature more than 200 domestic and international craft beers available for sampling. Learn more.

Dog Daze 2017

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Liza Jackson Park, Fort Walton Beach

Friendship Veterinary Clinic is sponsoring Dog Daze 2017 – a celebration of puppies and dogs and the people who love them. This year’s theme is “Fairy Tales.” Bring your pooch out for a day of fun at the park. Learn more.

7th Annual Gumbo Throwdown

Wednesday, October 26, 2017

First City Bank at 135 Perry Avenue, Fort Walton Beach

The 7th Annual Gumbo Throwdown benefits Fresh Start for Children and Families. Several restaurants from the local area will compete to see who makes the best gumbo in Fort Walton Beach. The cost to attend is $10, and you get to enjoy all the gumbo you can eat, beer & wine, and delicious beignets. Plus, enter to win door prizes and raffles! Learn more.

22nd Annual Festival of the Arts

Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29

Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village, Destin

Artists from 13 states, and a special guest from Europe, will showcase their artwork and compete for cash prizes at the 22nd Annual Festival of the Arts this year. It’s a two day celebration of fine art. Come out to see beautiful and unique works of art and to enjoy music, food, and fun. Learn more.

August 2017: Ending Summer on a High Note

Labor Day might mark the unofficial end of the summer season on the Emerald Coast but August always has a feeling of finality to it. This is when summer fun comes to an end for many families. Buyers along the Emerald Coast ended their summer with new homes – both single family properties as well as condos and townhomes. As a result, when compared to August 2016, sales are up, inventory is down, median prices are mostly up (with a few exceptions), and the local real estate market continues to move in a positive direction.

Single Family Home Sales

Emerald Coast

Closed sales increased 8.6%
Pending sales increased 6.8%
Median prices increased 5.8%
Inventory decreased 11.7%
Months supply decreased 19.6% to 4.5 months of inventory

Okaloosa County

Closed sales increased 9.1%
Pending sales increased 4.7%
Median prices increased 2.3%
Inventory decreased 13.9%
Months supply decreased 22.7% to 3.4 months of inventory

Walton County

Closed sales increased 8.7%
Pending sales increased 9.2%
Median prices increased 4.5%
Inventory decreased 4.4%
Months supply decreased 11.1% to 6.4 months of inventory

Townhouse and Condo Sales

Emerald Coast

Closed sales increased 7.0%
Pending sales increased 5.6%
Median prices saw no change
Inventory decreased 19.7%
- Record low since current reporting began in 2011
Months supply decreased 29.5% to 6.7 months of inventory
- Record low since current reporting began in 2011

Okaloosa County

Closed sales increased 15.2%
Pending sales saw no change%
Median prices decreased 24.6%
- Median prices in August were $226,250, the lowest since December 2015
Inventory decreased 22.3%
Months supply decreased 34.1% to 6.0 months of inventory

Walton County

Closed sales increased 9.2%
Pending sales increased 42.6%
Median prices decreased 7.7%
Inventory decreased 11.4%
Months decreased 18.9% to 7.7 months of inventory

A few things to remember…

Inventory continues to decrease from the year before. Other than single family homes in Okaloosa County, inventory levels are at or near healthy numbers. Inventory shortages are occurring across the Emerald Coast. Some price points and some areas may not have enough inventory to keep up with demand which can result in new listings in desirable areas being sold quicker. This will also lead to a slow-down in sales as well as median price increases until new listings hit the market in greater numbers.

Pending sales were mostly positive in August when compared to last year. While it’s easy to imagine pending sales are an indication of the next month’s success, this isn’t always the case. The biggest jump occurred in Walton County for condos and townhomes. It will be interesting to see how this pans out for September sales.

Single family median home prices continue to increase. In August, condo and townhome prices took a hit. Because sales were positive, this may mean that buyers were looking at more lower priced units in August than in the past. While investors continue to be interested in the Emerald Coast, August is a time for vacationers to realize they’d like to own a little piece of our area. This may have contributed to the increase in sales and the decrease in median prices.

It’s best to look at the data as part of an on-going trend. One month does not dictate the entire market. If you view the data collected since 2012 for the Emerald Coast, Okaloosa County, and Walton County as a whole, you can get a good feel for what’s happening in the local housing market. Overall, the market has improved greatly.

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.

3 Things to Know After Hurricane Irma

Here on the Emerald Coast, we’ve been fortunate not to take a direct hit from any of the recent storms. But, like me, you probably know people or even have family and friends who lived in areas along Irma’s path and are dealing with the aftermath. Share this information with them, but also keep it in mind for the next storm that hits our area.

File Those Hurricane Claims

While the Emerald Coast was mostly spared from any major damage this time, this is important for all homeowners affected by Irma and any other hurricane. Any amount of damage from a hurricane should have an insurance claim filed. Don’t avoid filing an insurance claim out of fear of increasing your premiums. While this may be true for other types of insurance claims, hurricanes are considered acts of God and don’t follow the same insurance rules, according to Security First Insurance founder and president Locke Burt.

The claim may not be enough to receive a pay-out for because of your deductible but you’ll have it on the record as potential damage. And if another hurricane hits, and you sustain more damage, part of your deductible has already been used for the year. Hurricane deductibles used to be required per hurricane event, but in 2004 that changed when we were hit with four in one year.

Rebuilding Will Take a While

Ask anyone who remembers Ivan, Opal, or Andrew – let alone Katrina and many other storms – rebuilding takes a while. The higher the devastation, the longer rebuilding lasts. With Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana and Irma here in Florida, resources are stretched thin. Contractors and builders were already doing great business before the storms with waiting lists for new projects. The rebuilding process takes that wait and amplifies it for everyone. The heaviest hit areas might not be completely rebuilt for several years.

Regardless of whether you sustain hurricane damage or need any other kind of work done on your home, always work with a licensed contractor. Check to make sure they’re licensed by the state of Florida by going to the Division of Business and Professional Regulation website. If they’re a local contractor, you can also find out if they’re a member of the local home builder’s association at the Building Industry Association website. Do your homework before you hire someone, or the rebuilding effort could take much longer than necessary.

IRS Postponing Deadlines for Affected Areas

Hurricane Irma hit just before an important IRS payment deadline – September 16. In response, the IRS has postponed some tax filing and tax payment deadlines for businesses and individuals. You have to be located in an area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that qualifies for individual assistance to be eligible. Businesses and individuals who had already received extensions may or may not qualify – check with your tax professional to be sure.

The tax relief provided by the IRS is automatic if you’re located in a designated area. You don’t have to contact the IRS to take advantage of the help. Florida Realtors reports, “Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also includes workers assisting the relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.” So if you live on the Emerald Coast but have property or a business affected, or you’re one of thousands of volunteers, give that number a call to get the tax relief you deserve.

Before, during, and after hurricanes hit, there’s more information than most of us can handle or hear. A lot gets lost as we focus on the saved lives and lost homes. The information that can help individuals, families, and businesses might be missed by those who need it most.