Author Archives: Mary Kelly

About Mary Kelly

Mary Kelly is a retired community college professor, a licensed real estate broker in the states of Florida and Georgia, and a writer. She has three masters' degrees and is an avid reader - mostly of non-fiction. Her areas of study and experience are in business, computer science, and education. She currently resides in Waycross, Georgia, and her home is truly furnished for the comfort and convenience of her dogs. She loves the outdoors and loves walking in parks along lakes and on beaches. And she is somewhat of a minimalist and doesn't value having a lot of possessions.

Land 4 Sale – Interlachen, Florida…some under $5,000

One of the places that you can still buy land that is not in a flood zone and is still under $5,000 is Interlachen, Florida. The town is centrally located in northeast Florida within a commute of 45 to 75 … Continue reading

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Update on my REALTOR status

I have closed Kelly Property Expert, Inc., my own company where I worked full-time from 2017-2022. I am now working under the name of Mary Kelly MBA, my new company, as a REALTOR® and a licensed real estate broker. My … Continue reading

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Mortgage rates up – what does that mean?

Mortgage rates have gone up again. (See Here Are Today’s Mortgage Rates on March 3, 2023: Rates Tick Up written by Justin Jaffe (CNET) at https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/mortgages/here-are-todays-mortgage-rates-on-march-3-2023-rates-tick-up/). Normally when mortgage interest rates go up, home prices decline. However, right now we … Continue reading

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3 Reasons Why You Should Get Pre-Approved for a mortgage first before you shop for a home to buy

Flyer by Georgia REALTORS® may be downloaded and printed If you are pre-approved for a mortgage when you plan to finance the purchase of a home, you have a better chance of a seller accepting an offer to buy a … Continue reading

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Home buying contract contingencies (real estate)

Contingencies are provisions that must be met for the home sale transaction to go through, or the buyer is entitled to walk away from the deal with their earnest money. Both buyers and seller should understand how contingencies work. Here … Continue reading

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Florida’s Property Insurance Rates

“The report notes one of the big historical problems in Florida: In 2021, Florida had 6.91% of all U.S. insurance claims in the U.S. – but three out of four property insurance lawsuits (76%) were in Florida (from Fla. Releases … Continue reading

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Home sales in Ware County, Georgia in 2022

I compiled this report from information taken taken from qpublic.net, which is where Ware County Property Appraiser posts all of Ware County, Georgia, property sales information for public viewing. The file embedded below (which you can download) shows only the … Continue reading

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Florida – unaffordability & foreclosures

See the video: Foreclosure WAVE in Florida Getting BAD I have been saying over the past year (in 2022) that I was feeling like I was back in 2005 selling real estate. Back then, prices were going up by the … Continue reading

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COVID and the world’s economy – TODAY

COVID is still alive and well! And unfortunately, too many people are still not seriously taking precautions in this pandemic which has NEVER gone away. We are one world today! No country can live as an island, and I do … Continue reading

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Politics & Real Estate come together….

DECEMBER 29, 2022 What Does the U.S. 2023 Appropriations Bill Do for RE? By Kerry Smith The $1.7T spending bill that funds the federal government through Sept. covers a number of RE priorities, such as buyer assistance, fair housing and … Continue reading

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Scams hit real estate…Sellers & Landlords need to know this….

DECEMBER 1, 2022 Fake Sellers, Fake Landlords: What’s Real Anymore? By Meredith Caruso “The advice for anyone you meet in real estate? Trust but verify – which means don’t fully trust anyone who isn’t your mother. Scammers continually find new … Continue reading

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Jacksonville, Florida’s St. John’s River 1921 (bits-n-pieces)

This is a copy of a picture I have that was taken on July 15, 1921. I is labeled “Opening St. John’s River Bridge, July 15, 1921, Jacksonville, Fla.” And this is a copy of a picture I have of … Continue reading

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Review: Edward Jones “Protect financial accounts…” (internet-security)

Review: Edward Jones Protect Financial accounts from “cyberthieves” {Jones, E. (2022, December 28). Protect financial accounts from “cyberthieves”. Waycross Journal-Herald, pp. 5–5. Reported by John Pfaff in Financial Focus. John Plaff, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones, 608 Jane St., Waycross, Georgia, … Continue reading

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Internet scams

by Mary Kelly Please be careful! Spams, scams, and hacks are on the rise. And if you are an older adult (and more so if you can be identified as being single or a widow/widower), you are a target! See … Continue reading

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Emerging trends in real estate markets (residential-markets)

So what are the predictions in the real estate market as we enter 2023? Emerging trends are in part just the opinions of the authors. However, trends are determined by recent market activity and what history tells us that recent … Continue reading

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Commercial Real Estate Market (commercial-markets)

The commercial real estate market is not the same as the home sales market. In fact, when commercial properties are listed, the listings are not normally marketed in the same manner or on the same internet sites where homes are … Continue reading

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Are you there? (internet-security)

Have you ever received a phone call and heard the caller say right up front, “Are you there?” I bet you have. And I bet you said “Yes.” I heard of a new scam. The caller gets you to answer … Continue reading

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Relaxing activities to recharge yourself (bits-n-pieces)

Activities that will relax and take your mind off of anything that might be causing you stress or just preventing you from relaxing will be activities that only you can determine. “Activities” to relax…..Really? Yes, activity is a stress buster….but … Continue reading

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Sweetwater sign in Waycross defines Christmas (bits-n-pieces)

I drive by Sweetwater Baptist Church frequently and love seeing the quotes on their sign. It changes from time to time. I haven’t determined if they have a schedule for the changes or if they just change the quotations as … Continue reading

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Downtown Christmas tree in Waycross, Georgia (bits-n-pieces)

The Christmas tree is located in Phoenix Park in downtown Waycross. In 2022, the annual Christmas tree lighting to begin the Christmas season in Waycross was held on December 5.

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