Small steps can add up to big savings when it comes to reducing energy consumption and ultimately your utility bill. In fact, this past year OUC-The Reliable One partnered with the City of Orlando to complete the Green Neighborhood Program, which provided 1,138 homeowners in some of Orlando’s least efficient neighborhoods with free energy-efficient upgrades and repairs. Cameron Saulsby, Conservation Administrator for OUC, discusses the Green Neighborhood Program. The program, which targeted one neighborhood in each of the City’s six commission districts, was funded by the City of Orlando... Read more
After years of surplus supply and thousands of short sales and foreclosures following the real estate fallout, is the light at the end of the residential real estate tunnel finally visible for Central Florida? In short, yes and no. Area experts say that although affordability is high and sales are expected to rise, home sales are still being held back due to the restrictive loan underwriting standards, as well as the steady levels of low appraisals that result in contract cancellations. “Some buyers are still finding it too difficult to obtain a mortgage,” says Mike McGraw, vice president... Read more
Sushi, medical and general office space, frozen yogurt and coffee shops are just some of the many upcoming commercial additions coming to a neighborhood near you in Avalon Park, Waterford Lakes and Lake Nona. A recent boom in leasing has led Avalon Park commercial space to be roughly 98 percent leased as of this writing. Recent openings in the area include the Avalon Perks Coffee Shop, Avalon Pockets restaurant, and Avalon Park Urgent Care, just to name a few. “Avalon Perks Coffee Shop has been especially popular with the community,” says Stephanie Hodson, marketing director for Avalon... Read more
Trying to find the value of your home can leave you asking a lot of questions: Where do I find this information? How is property value determined? How does the value of my home compare to others in my neighborhood? All of these inquires can be answered with the ever-evolving Orange County Property Appraiser’s website, www.OCPAFL.org. The website receives a search every second and was visited by 4 million users last year. Bill Donegan, Orange County Property Appraiser, says that the Property Map search function is one of the most used and helpful features the site has to offer. “It allows... Read more
Depending on whom you ask, UCF stands for several different things. Officially, it’s the University of Central Florida. But if you ask students, you’ll often hear “U Can’t Finish” or “Under Construction Forever” instead. The constant construction at the university’s main campus keeps the school, now the second largest in the nation, on a forward-thinking path of evolution and improvement. We start our journey through the school’s recent additions in early 2010 when the green thermal energy storage tank was completed. What exactly is that you... Read more
