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PROPERTIES ARE NOW LISTED BY PRICE, BUT SOON WILL BE LISTED IN THE ORDER THEY WERE UPDATED WITH THE NEWEST AT THE TOP. THEY ARE WILL THEN  BE SORTED BY PRICE. PROPERTIES ARE DELETED AS THEY SELL. EACH PROPERTY HAS A SPECIAL NUMERIC ID NUMBER THAT DOES NOT CHANGE SO THAT YOU CAN EMAIL ME WITH THAT NUMBER IF YOU WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.

Here are what I consider to be some of the top properties available in Marion County (Ocala), Florida today. Most of these are NOT my own listings, or even listings of Maverick Realty. However, I feel they are GREAT values, so I am passing them on to you.  They may not all be available when you call as this list changes daily. If interested, call me at (800) 816-5998 or on my personal cell phone (352) 427-1575. Phil Carlman, Maverick Realty, Inc. Ocala, FL

Why the great buys? When there are very few buyers, the only way to sell a property quickly is to basically “give it away”. And buying such properties is how rich people get rich!

 These are all mostly desperate sellers and I urge you to take advantage of this short term opportunity. Remember, “Rich people buy when prices are going down and poor people are selling. Poor people buy when prices are going up and rich people are selling.” Which group do you wish to be a part of?

Each Summary will have a unique code so that you can always refer to it when you call. You can copy the MLS number, go to the bottom of our “LISTINGS” page in our website, and paste it in to learn more about it. Once you are looking at the details of the listing, you can click on the “Parcel ID” and you will be taken right to the Marion County Property Appraiser’s web site where you can actually look aerial photos of the property that are less than six months old!

101) 7/2/07 - Quarter acre lots on paved roads in East Silver Springs Shores for $10,000! Most lots in this area are still priced at $25,000 to $45,000 but a few very desperate sellers will sell for $10,000 and I know who they are! Check out MLS# 227744 and 237430 

102) 6/6/07- Lots on dirt roads in Belleview Heights Estates for under $16,000. See mls# 282116 which is an oversized lot. Road is poor, but you should be buying for a 3 year hold and this will give you a good return. Roads should easily be paved by then. Best buys on paved roads are going for $21,000 (two side-by-side at this price - see mls# 279676.

103) 5/30/07 - One acre lots in Rainbow Lakes Estates for $16,100 each! There are 10 on the market. Just came on the market today. 5 of them are in Marion County and 5 are in Levy county, all owned by one builder. Check MLS # 282165 . Most lots are on the market for at least $25,000 and many are on the market for much higher. Acre lots on paved roads for $16,100? Wow!

UPDATE 6/5/07 One of these lots was just lowered to an incredible $15,000. These are all $45,000 to $60,000 lots when the “boomers” arrive. Check MLS#237873

104) 6/29/2007- Any lot Silver Springs Shores (30 currently available) for sale right now by an overstocked builder for $15,750 each. All of these lots are on paved roads, power available, and are located within 3 miles of either Ocala or Belleview. This builder PAID $35,000 for each one and had his construction foreman approve the lot before purchase. NOTHING has sold in this unit for under $25,000 this year. My projection is that these lots will be worth $50,000 to $80,000 within 36 months. I bought a lot less than a year ago that I still own in this unit for $30,000 and am still happy I did so. Go to maverickrealty.com and put in MLS numbers 279554 or 279555 and take a peek. These are a steal!

105) 6/29/2007-This desperate builder who over bought inventory has also lowered the price on 35 lots on the market in the Olive area of the Shores (units 12 and 13) to $15,750 each. When they bought these lots they hand picked the best ones so all are quite buildable. I really like these two units as they are only 2.9 miles from the center of Belleview, FL and just 4 miles from Lake Weir, the largest lake in Marion County for all your boating and fishing fun. Check out MLS numbers 278954, 279023, 279268 and 279554.

126) 6/29/2007 - This desperate builder has also just put 20 lots on the Market in Marion Oaks for $15,750 each. No other lots are on the market as cheap as these and I think this is the bottom of the pricing market. Why? When these lots, and the ones in Silver Springs Shores, went on the market at $18,500 the builder reported slow sales. Since he lowered the price yesterday his phone has been ringing off the hook and lots have been selling every hour. So don’t miss this opportunity to buy quality lots at ridiculous prices!

124) 6/18/2007 - A .33 acre (1/3 acre) lot in Silver Springs Shores on a Cul-de-Sac in the Dogwoods for only $19,900! Small quarter acre lots are selling for the mid to upper 20’s right now! This is half again bigger. Makes plenty of room for 4 garages and that pool! MLS # 283413

106) 5/15/2007-Almost ANY lot in Silver Springs Shores North or Silver Springs Shores South for under $22,000. Check with me for the best ones, but none will be worth less than $36,000 in 36 months.

UPDATE 5/23/07 - The very best buy is a .28 acre lot in the Locust area, MLS 271263 which has an asking price of $17,995. I bet we could offer $15,000 and get it!

107) 5/30/2007- A lot in Unit 55 of Silver Springs Shores for just $29,900! Unit 55 of the Shores is a very small and little known unit. It is my absolute favorite unit because it is located along the northern edge of the impeccably maintained “Baseline Golf Course.” At the height of the market, lots were selling in this unit for $50,000. right now there are twelve on the market for a median asking price of $45,000. HOWEVER, there is one lot on the market for just $29,900!! The next cheapest lot is over $7,000 more. You cannot go wrong at this price as a 2 year hold. Check out MLS 278810.

108) 5/15/2007-Several lots are available in the Units 19, 20, 21, and 26 areas of Silver Springs Shores for about $30,000 from desperate sellers. One of my smartest investors paid $30,000 per lot for 15 scattered lots in this area in January and is now sitting on the properties just waiting for he buyers to return!

UPDATE 5/23/07 Only one is left under $30,000 and what a steal it is! It’s a .24 Acre corner lot and the asking price is only $25,000! I am guessing we could put an offer in of $23,000 and get it. The next 3 lowest priced lots in the same units are all $35,000. MLS number on this one is 234221. The $35,000 lots are MLS 229156, 242363 and 272228. I apologize that some of these do not have plot plans on line, all of my listed lots have at least 4 maps to look at.

UPDATE 5/30/07 This lot is still available and is still priced $10,000 below any other. What a buy!!

121) 6/13/2007 Two lots ON THE GREENWAY side-by-side in Marion Oaks Unit 10 for $30,000 each. Greenway lots abut the Cross Florida public park that runs diagonally through Ocala. Owning a lot “On the Greenway is almost as good as owning a golf course lot. It is a public park behind you that can never be built on. One of the lots is a corner lot so if you buy the two lots, you will only have a neighbor on one side.

109) 6/13/2007-Two lots are available in Unit 10 of Marion Oaks for only  $25,000 with OWNER financing. MLS #276910 and 276912. This is an incredible deal in one of the best units of Marion Oaks. My investors paid $30,000 per lot for about 15 scattered lots in this area also in January and is now sitting on the properties just waiting for he buyers to return!

110) 5/15/2007-A 1.05 acre lot in Rolling Hills for $35,000!! That is a desperate seller for sure! Lots were selling for up to $80,000 each on unpaved roads there 2 years ago and most are still on the market for over $50,000 right now.

UPDATE 5/23/07 A second acre lot has come on the market for under $35,000 at $34,900. These are both great buys considering the median asking price for a lot In Rolling Hills is $60,000. Take advantage of the desperate sellers! This is a huge buying opportunity. MLS numbers are 250862 and 280999. By the way, the original listing price for the first lot was $50,000 4 months ago.

111) 6/1/2007 - A .64 acre MULTI-FAMILY zoned lot ON A GOLF COURSE in Marion Oaks for $39,900! I believe there is city water at this site. A duplex or triplex could be built on the golf course for great income! A “little birdie” told me we can probably get this lot for $36,000. The cheapest comparable lot on the market now is asking almost $60,000. Check out MLS 282342.

112) 6/6/07 Two back-to-back lots of almost 2/3 of an acre each on dirt roads, but just 3 lots from the paved road in the Ocala Waterway for the incredibly low price of $54,900 each. These roads are already scheduled for paving. Ocala Waterway (Sun Valley area) is one of the most desirable locations for homes in Ocala! MLS numbers 281205 and 281234.

125) 6/21/2007 - Lake front .38 acre lot on Live Oak Lake in East Silver Springs Shores for just $50,000 and the adjoining .46 acre lot on the lake. Combined, these lots have a great deal of lake frontage and frontage on two different streets.  This is a treed lot with large oaks that sits high above the lake right where the spring that feeds the lake comes up out of the lake. I would build a New England Style home with a walk-out cellar on this lot if I owned it. Other lots I consider to be great buys are in this list for up to $80,000 on this same list. The lot next to this one is on the market for $90,000 right now. This is a fabulous opportunity to own lake front. Check out MLS # 283755 and 283756

113) 5/15/2007- Lake front lots in East Silver Springs Shores on Meadow Lake. Meadow lake is a skiable lake just 7 miles from “The Villages”. There are 4 contiguous lots available. They are on paved roads. There are 4 new houses on the lake. The sun sets directly across the lake from these lots. The lots are cleared. Across the paved road is a wildlife preserve owned by an environmentalist who plans never to sell, so it is unlikely you will ever have a home across the street. Lots are .28 to 31 acres and are high and dry. (Not in the flood plain) You can buy one or two for $65,000 or take all 4 for possibly under $60,000 apiece. check out MLS 274035, 274038, 274042, and 274047.

114) 5/15/2007- High and dry lot on Live Oak Lake for just $60,000. This lot sits high above the lake and would be ideal for a home with a walk out basement. It would add and extra bedroom for guests and still have room to store all your water “toys”. Check out MLS 270397.

115) 5/15/2007- 6 contiguous lots on spring fed Live Oak Lake in East Silver Springs Shores for $80,000 each. These lots also sit VERY high above the lake for a great view. They are unique because the slope allows you to construct a home with a walk out cellar! This means you can store all your “toys” right underneath your house and still have a family room on the first floor. Check these out - MLS 270369, 270375, 270378, 270385 and 270393.

My wife and I own 12 lake front properties ourselves because they appreciate faster than anything except commercial property. I even have a cartoon on my wall of “Hagar the Horrible” telling his son “Now son, I don’t want you to think money is everything…. There’s waterfront property too!!” And he is so right. My wife picked up a waterfront parcel 4 years ago for $75,000. The identical parcel next to it is now on the market for $995,000!! Boy, am I rooting for that one to sell!!

123) 6/18/2007 A 3 bedroom 2 bath 4 year old cement block/stucco home with a 2 car garage in Belleview Heights Estates - Almost 1400 SF of living space and 2,300 sf under roof for only $130,000. I haven’t seen this one yet, but it is owned by an out of state investor who is selling it “as is” so I assume this house has been, what I call, “cosmetically trashed”. Usually it costs only a few thousand dollars to fix up, so it is a great starter home value for someone willing to work. Check out MLS # 283421

6/29/07 update. It was a great buy and sold in less than a week.

117) 5/23/2007- A brand new 3 Bedroom, 2 bath home with a 2 car garage and 1,600 feet of living area for $155,000!!. Built by Armstrong homes, a very reputable dealer. It is on the market at $169,900, which, even at that price, is the least expensive home in the area. It is owned by an investor and a “little birdie” told me yesterday, it could likely be had for just $155,000. This is an absolutely AMAZING buy. Check out MLS 276468.

116) 5/15/2007- 3 acres of Waterfront on beautiful Lake Fay for just $235,000 $202,000. And I think we could probably offer $180,000 and have a chance at getting it. This fabulous 3 acres sits high on a hill overlooking the big cove on Lake Fay. Why is this important? Because when people are waterskiing on this lake, they won’t bother you, yet you have a great water view. You are allowed both a house and a guest house on this property (no mobiles!) and it comes with a concrete boat ramp already installed. My wife and I almost bought this lot before the last owner did but couldn’t afford the $90,000 price tag 4 years ago. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid me!!

118) 5/15/07-10 Acres in Long Pond Plantation, a gated, deed restricted community of horse acreage for only $215,000! Long Pond Plantation is located almost exactly half way between Ocala and Gainesville off of County Road 318. It is only 5 minutes from Interstate 75. There are only 3 lots available in that subdivision right now, all of them about 10 acre tracts. Two of them are cleared lots that are on the market for $265,000 and $267,000. But there is one on the market that is a square 10 acre lot just 1 lot away from the main entrance. It is fully planted in pine trees and is on the market for just $215,000. Why so cheap? The investor who owns it just wants to invest his money closer to home and bought it very cheap several years ago. His lack of greed is your good fortune. Notice that I mentioned that the lot is 100% planted in pines. Why is that important? The property taxes on the other two cleared lots are over $2,000 per year making the carry cost of the investment a bit high. But because this lot carries an agricultural tax exemption due to the planted pines, the taxes are less than $200 per year! And when you are ready to build, the logging companies will pay you enough for the pine trees to cover the expense of having the stumps cleared (I already checked this.) What are you waiting for? 10 acre parcels in gated communities are hard to find. I was selling these lots 4 years ago for $50,000 to $60,000. Check out MLS 250386

119) 5/30/07 - A 90 year Old Victorian Home on 2.5 Acres just off Lake Weir for $315,000!! If you are from “up north” and like Victorian or Edwardian architecture, check out MLS 246526. This is an amazing old two and a half story home that sits on 2.68 acres only 500 feet from beautiful Lake Weir. At $315,000 this is a great buy. There are very few homes of this type left in the Ocala area. It has 12 foot ceilings, a wraparound porch, and the Realtor claims a second home can be built on this lot. A very similar home on about the same size lot, but on a busy road with no lake view is on the market right now for $399,000.

127) 6/29/2007 - A Beautiful 1772 SFLA 6 year old lakefront home with almost an acre of land on skiable “Meadow Lake” for only $249,000!! This is an estate sale, and you cannot close for 3 months (though I bet we could get it leased to you for the summer while probate is finished). This is an INCREDIBLE buy because it is one of the safest and most energy efficient homes in Marion County. It was built using ICF construction so it has an R Rating of 40 and is wind proof to 200 mph. it sits on a paved street on a lake that only has 4 homes on it. It has a 2 car garage, screened porch just feet from the lake, a dock and you can even buy the lot next to it if you want even more land. The home is on a chain of 3 lakes that sit side by side. Great fishing too!

122) 6/18/2007 - 10 Acres with beautiful dock, water, electric, irrigation, sod, beach, boat ramp, a gorgeous view and located on a 1 and 1/4 square mile lake. Over 800 feet of lakefront for just $795,000! This parcel is located on a peninsula into Lake Bryant. I know this parcel very well as my wife and I own the parcel directly beside it on the other side of the peninsula. If you build a two storyhome at the top of the hill, your master bedroom will see sunrises over the lake, and sunsets out the opposite window over the lake. An incredible piece of property. Because lake bryant has VERY limited public access, I have never seen more than 7 boats on the lake. And the spec fishing is supposed to be fantastic. Why don’t I buy it? Oh don’t I wish I could afford it right now! Check out MLS # 275816

120) 5/15/2007-Have you ever heard of an $899,000 “Handyman Special”?? This unique property is over 16 acres. It has a sturdy, structurally sound but dated Four THOUSAND four hundred square foot home on it, as well as a separate in-law apartment. it has lots of vinyl fenced paddocks and it is most of the way through subdivision into 3 buildable 5+ acre lots. It has an electric gate at the front and a 1/4 mile winding paved drive up to the home. It is surrounded by a 250+ acre GORGEOUSLY maintained farm on 3 sides. It is right near the I-75 off ramp so you can zoom to Ocala, Gainesville or Orlando. Check out MLS 279237.

Welcome, Pardner!

This is the official “buyer’s blog” for Maverick Realty. Myself and my other Realtors will be writing to tell you as much as we can about Ocala, and Marion County as we possibly can. If you have something you wish we would write about, please email it to me at pcarlman@cfl.rr.com and I will attempt to address your issue.

Many real estate companies sell property anywhere in Florida. Maverick Realty intentionally limits its sales area to Marion County. Why? Because Marion County is BIGGER than the entire State of Rhode Island! Keeping up with the changing building restrictions and zoning laws is tough enough in this county, I cannot imagine trying to do that for other counties too.

Sadly, I have had many customers come to me who bought property from out-of-county agents only to find out from me that their property is either unbuildable or completely within the flood plain. Our commitment to you is that we will only advise you to purchase property that WE would buy. We want you and your friends to become our friends, not simply make a quick sale.

Pay close attention to the “best buys” category as this is where I (and my other Realtors) will tell you about what we feel are great deals in Marion County. We will attempt to keep this updated every week. These buys are NOT necessarily our listings. They are deals we have come across that we feel are the very best opportunities to purchase property that will appreciate greatly.

Now a bit about me:

My name is Phil Carlman. My wife, Heidi, and I have lived here in Ocala, Florida for over 10 years. I moved from South Hampton, New Hampshire where I was Chairman of the Board of Selectment. I grew up in Beverly, Massachusetts and have been visiting this area for over 50 years!

Ocala, Florida and Marion County, Florida are growing FAST! This will continue for the foreseeable future as the “Baby Boomer” generation starts to retire in January of 2008. The peak period of growth is expected to be reached beginning in late 2009 and through 2010 and 2011. If you don’t get your piece of heaven now, you will not like the price you are going to have to pay at that time.

As a Realtor who comes from New England, and has been visiting Ocala to see my grandparents since the early 50’s, I have anticipated this growth for over 20 years. Most northerners begin to hate the cold as they age and there are 78 million of them about to retire! Polls indicate over 15 million of them are headed for the Sunshine State in the next 8 years.

Couple that with all the people moving north out of Miami to get away from the terrible congestion, high prices and hurricanes and we have a real estate “Tsunami” going on here in Ocala. The first wave came through and peaked in 2005. Lot prices swelled from $5,000 for a paved road lot in 2001 to $45,000 for the same lot in 2005. We are now in the trough before the second wave, so prices are down a bit. That $45,000 lot can now be had for about $28,000.

I expect the second wave to hit sometime in the next 8 months driving prices back up again. During this wave, expect to pay about $40,000 for the lot you can buy today for $28,000.

After a brief pause, the third wave will hit, and this is the one that will change everything. Somewhere around 2010 lot prices will skyrocket, probably to the $80,000 mark as these 15 million retirees show up in force. They are coming from areas where a quarter acre lot now sells for nearly $400,000. To them, $80,000 is going to look like “chump change”.

And if there are significant hurricanes during these 3 years, the demand for Ocala real estate will only increase as people who planned to live on the coast decide they would be better off living in “hurricane free” Marion County.

Hurricanes need water to stay strong. Marion County is over 60 miles from water. By the time hurricanes arrive overhead here, they rarely have over 60 MPH winds. Northerners see that kind of wind several times a year as cold fronts go through. Houses here required to be built to withstand twice that much force.

A “hurricane event” lasts about 12 hours. The clear air and sunshine lasts all year. When I finally moved here 10 years ago, and had lived here just over a month, I remember remarking to my wife “I’ve seen more beautiful days here in my first month than I see in an entire YEAR in New England”. And that’s what the “Baby Boomers” are coming here to enjoy. You can buy your dream lot now at bargain prices, and build later. You’ll save a bundle on the future cost of the same land.

This letter was sent today in response to a newspaper article in the “Ocala Star Banner” that claimed that sales of “existing homes” plummeted 37% in April compared to last April and that sale prices were up 2%.

Dear Editor,

In your Wednesday, May 30th edition, you use statistics that indicate that Ocala “existing home sales” were down a whopping 38% for April, 2007 compared to April 2006. But even more startling was your statement that home prices actually rose 2% year-to-year.

As we all know, there are “lies, darn lies and statistics” that can be used to prove almost anything. Maverick Realty is a member of the Ocala/Marion County Board of Realtors and thus have access to all the numbers you quote. Try as I might to massage the data, I could not come up with the same figures, or anything even close to them.

I think one of the problems with the data is that when trying to paint a picture, “the broader the brush, the fuzzier the result”.  By painting such a broad picture, many homeowners who would like to upgrade to a better, larger home, may come to exactly the wrong conclusion, and delay their move. Here’s why:

A “vanilla” starter home, which I define as a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a  car garage (and no swimming pool) with between 1,200 and 1,600 square feet of living space situated on less than a half acre of land sold last April (’06) for a median price of $172,000. That same home, this April, actually sold for a median price of $163,000, a decrease in price of 5%.

Folks that bought their starter home a few years ago and now need a larger home might reasonably conclude that this would be a terrible time to sell and move up, but consider this:

If you wanted to move up to a 2000 to 3000 square foot home that has up to 4 bedrooms, with up to 3 baths and as many as 3 car garage (still no pool) you would have had to pay a median price of $299,000 one year ago.

Today, you can buy that bigger home for a median price of $219,000, a 26% reduction!

What that means is that by sacrificing a mere 5% of the price of selling your existing home “costing” you about$9,000 off your selling price, you can save 26% on your new home ($75,000) or a net gain of $66,000. The total savings is almost a $150,000 on the cost of the bigger home over the span of a 30 year mortgage! And it is quite unlikely mortgage rates will go significantly lower any time soon!

But will it get even better if you wait? Experts don’t think so. The University of Florida just completed a detailed study that indicates that the real estate decline in Florida is over. I agree and would tell anyone who would listen, that you can expect home prices to explode in the next few years as an anticipated 12-15 MILLION “baby boomers” descend on our state for retirement.

Conclusion: This is the best time to move up to your dream home!

Sincerely,

Phil Carlman

Broker

Maverick Realty, Inc.