Nocatee Community Construction Begins

After almost a decade of planning and permit applications, developers are beginning construction of the planned Nocatee community, launching a project that expects to bring 14,800 housing units and about 25,000 residents to an undeveloped area of Duval and St. Johns counties.

Construction will start immediately on the project's first step -- a new County Road 210, which will be a four-lane parkway similar to J Turner Butler Boulevard.

Within a month, The PARC Group also plans to announce details about Nocatee's first three residential communities and their developers. It is expected that construction will begin on those communities, which will offer a mix of single- and multi-family homes, in spring 2006. Construction costs are estimated between $2 billion and $3 billion.

The PARC Group won approval for the construction of the new County Road 210 from the Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday, clearing the final hurdle before actual roadwork could begin.

The road, which developer The PARC Group plans to name "Nocatee Parkway," will stretch from the Intracoastal Waterway to U.S. 1 and eventually replace the existing County Road 210, now a twisting, two-lane road through mostly undeveloped land.

About the project

In addition to the residential units, the new development's 15,000 acres will encompass 4.2 million square feet of office space, 1 million square feet of commercial and retail space, and 250,000 square feet for light industrial use. About 8,600 acres will remain undeveloped in preserves and greenways.

About 2,200 acres will be in Duval County, with the other 12,800 acres in St. Johns County. Full development of the community will take about 25 years. A large portion of land in Nocatee will be devoted to playgrounds, schools, ball fields and preservation.

Just west of Nocatee, Gate Petroleum Co. has purchased 5,460 acres of land near Interstate 95 between Race Track Road and County Road 210. Plans haven't been disclosed yet, but the area is zoned for single-family, multi-family and commercial uses.

In addition to servicing the Nocatee community, the road will serve as a hurricane evacuation route for the Beaches area.

Credit Score Tips

A key rule for homebuyers: Don't do anything that would hurt your credit score.
But a lot of savvy Internet users hurt their credit scores inadvertently because the act of applying for a mortgage can, by itself, lower a borrower's credit score, and applying is easy to do online. A loan inquiry raises a red flag to lenders, suggesting a possible financial problem, and multiple loan inquiries automatically lower a credit score if done over a period of time.

To offset problems for mortgage shoppers, most credit scores ignore multiple mortgage applications submitted within the 30 days prior to a credit check because they assume people will shop around for the best rate. Beyond 30 days, credit scores will consider mortgage inquiries as separate events within each 14-day period. Anyone who shops for a loan for three months could find themselves getting offers and interest rates that are progressively less attractive. Best advice for your buyers: Use the Internet for research but only apply for a mortgage when you're ready to make a commitment, apply to a handful of companies, and make a decision within 30 days.

Florida Real Estate Boom Attracts More Foreign Buyers

For foreign investors, U.S. real estate remains a real bargain thanks to
the weak dollar. It's not only affordable, but a growing number of Europeans
tend to view U.S. real estate as a safe investment in a world of currency
devaluations and political turmoil.

The relative weakness of the U.S. dollar has spurred growing numbers of foreign homebuyers to consider the real estate market in the United States. As the British pound and the euro have increased in value, a second home in America has come within reach of a growing number of Europeans, who tend to view U.S. real estate as a safe investment in a world of currency devaluations and political turmoil.

They have particularly gravitated toward homes in Florida, California, Chicago, Atlanta and the ski towns of Colorado. The focus is split between buyers who simply want a secondary residence and those seeking to make a permanent move and open a business.

Among the latter, rapidly burgeoning cities such as Tampa are especially attractive. Declining airfares have led many Europeans and Asians to consider coastal property close to their continent of origin.

Additionally, the globalizing effects of the Internet have filtered into real estate, as the ability to run a business from home has contributed to the attraction of foreign purchasers. So, too, has the launch of the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations, which facilitates the process of shopping globally through a worldwide network of realty professionals.

This caters to the real estate climate abroad, where buyers place a premium on the relationship they have with their agent.

Quality craftsmanship also is high on the list of many foreign buyers, as is thriving cultural activity, the presence of which has boosted the international appeal of cities such as Miami.

Florida Bankruptcy Law

A new bankruptcy law signed by President Bush in April changed Florida's homestead exemption protections. A home's value is fully protected from creditors if the owner has lived in it for more than three years and four months. However, anyone who has lived in a state--including Florida--for at least two years but owned their home for less than 3 1/3 years before filing for bankruptcy can only protect up to $125,000 of equity. (A debtor who has lived in a state less than two years prior to a bankruptcy filing must file in the state where he previously lived.) Florida's unlimited homestead exemption still applies for residents who have owned their house more than three years and four months.

Florida has long been notorious for being a debtor's paradise. The state constitution allowed most residents to shield from creditors the full value of their homes, which enticed some wealthy debtors to the Sunshine State.