Perseverance.   Some times it takes a while to get someone in their new home.  I remember receiving a call in July 2007 from a woman who was getting ready to move to Florida.  They lived in Massachusetts, but wanted the warmer weather of Florida.  The husband had a job offer and they were ready to move.  They came down, we looked at properties and everything looked good.  But then life happened.  Things changed and the move was off.  Always the optimist, I kept in contact and every few months I checked in.  Mrs. Buyer continued to check out her Gateway to see what homes were coming on the market and life went on.  Then this spring, I noticed a increase in activity on her Gateway.  I called and things were looking up.  By the beginning of April, Mrs Buyer called to say they would be down for a house-hunting weekend.  After two days of looking, we had to revise our search to find the right house.  Then we were down to the final two…and we made an offer.  Sellers were ready to sell, buyers were ready to buy….deal was made.  Finally, after almost two years they have their dream house in Florida.  I’m thankful I was able to help them make it happen.  My best wishes to them in their new home.  I hope you enjoy many sunsets over Lake Seminole from your beautiful new home.

Sometimes you get great clients.  In January I talked to a nice couple that were renting a house in Clearwater. They wanted to buy a house around their daughters school.  That was the only neighborhood they wanted to look at.  They had a specific budget and wanted to buy now!.  I met with them several times, each time when we were done, we made an offer on a short sale or bank owned property…but no luck.  On our fourth trip out, we were successful.  Bank owned property, they accepted our price, everything is great.  No six month wait for a decision on a short sale, they could be in their house in a month.  Not so fast.  First, the bank needed an extension as we asked for a closing date too soon.  Okay, we can wait.  Then the title company needed more time.  Finally we made it to the closing table a month after our original proposed closing date.  Everybody’s happy-Wrong.  Turned out some title issues were not resolved.  So the waiting game begins.  It’s good we insisted on a title commitment so that our buyers were protected! We had to sign extensions and still keep waiting.  My great buyers really wanted this house.  Last week we had a second closing (or was it the first, as the title company pretended the first one never happened).  Finally the UPS driver came to our office this morning with the HUD statement and our commission check.  I called my clients and congratuated them on their new home…only took an extra four months.

My ninth sale of the year…don’t believe any of them have been easy.  But I do know that I’ve made nine clients/families very happy in helping them find their dream home.  It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.  Now need to get to work to keep number 10 on track for August 5th.

For the team, Broadwater has always been important.  Mom has lived there for 15 years and knows the neighborhood better than any agent I know.  For me, I’ve sold homes from Sarasota to New Tampa, from Apollo Beach to Madeira Beach, but the neighborhood that I’ve sold the most homes in is Broadwater.  So when a nice couple contacted me several months ago to say they were moving here from Texas and were looking for a nice waterfront home, in a neighborhood that would be right to bring up their two children…Broadwater was my first choice.  They quickly agreed, so the job was to find them the right house.  They key to any buyer’s agent is to listen to their clients.  Even though they said they could live with a 3-bedroom house, that is not what they needed.  Broadwater doesn’t have too many 4-bedroom homes, and then matching up all of the other criteria…water, not too much sun, nice dock, right floorplan…it all narrows down the possibilities.  One house came to my mind, but it wasn’t even on the market yet.  The team had talked to the owners and told them all the things they needed to do to get the home ready for the market.

The opportunity for a perfect match was here.  I called the owners and said, yes I know the house is not ready and is a mess, but your home is perfect for this family.  They let us in, and it was the perfect house.  The sellers were ready to move, the buyers wanted to buy, the deal was made.  Had a long closing to allow time to sell the buyers home in Texas….and yes, it sold!  One week later, our closing happened and everyone is happy.  Broadwater welcomes their newest family.  They will be a great addition to the neighborhood.  I wish them many happy years in their new home.

After a few comments that our ALVA signs were blah and lacked WOW, we thought we’d try some others. One of the advantages of being a small, independent company is that we can try things out and change things quickly. Since we’ve used this sunset in our branding for years, we thought we’d try it on our signs. Click on the image to see a larger photo, or drive by some of our listings - let us know what you think.

Pinellas County Florida seems an odd place to be affecting coffee around the country and the world. When you sip your morning coffee at a local coffee shop, you may not think about where the beans are roasted, and for that matter, where the roasting machines are made! Here in Pinellas County. What about the filters that affect the taste, or the flavorings (more…)

From Miami to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, it’s a 2 hour 45 min flight on American Airlines - cost for the sampled first week of July is $235 round trip (from Tampa it’s $359 RT)

American also flies from Miami to Liberia, which is less than 30 minutes from several resort areas in Guanacaste (north Pacific coast, same flight time, but $662 round trip for the same period (obviously less demand). From Tampa it’s $572 on American via Miami or $517 on Delta via Atlanta (interesting logic it’s cheaper when you add an extra flight on American).

From Orlando to San Jose, Jet Blue  flies 3 hours and 8 minutes, for $218 round trip for the same time period.

Spirit flies from Ft Lauderdale to San Jose for $228 round trip - and from Tampa to San Jose, changing planes in Ft Lauderdale, it’s just $238.

All these are captured at a moment in time, and have various fees, options, etc. but it gives you a general idea of flying back and forth to Costa Rica. It’s a lot easier and faster than flying to Hawaii.

The City of St Petersburg has now proposed (perhaps starting the end of this month) standardized enforcement hours from 9 am to 10 pm.  That’s good and bad. It’s good for the Beach Drive restaurants that have lost their morning coffee business because of the meters. It’s bad for Central Ave restaurants that currently have no enforcement in the evenings andweekends, and bad for drivers who’s prefer to take a cab home and get their car late on a weekend morning.

There still won’t be consistency on how long you’re allowed to park, or consistency between time limits on metered and unmetered blocks. Let’s make it easier for our visitors and guests, and everyone visiting downtown St Pete.

City Council is scheduled to discuss the parking issue during their June 18th meeting.

6-12-08 Update:  The City of St Petersburg has backed off this proposal due to a loud and wide outcry from citizens against the proposal. A win for the businesses along Central Avenue, but still a problem for Beach Drive restaurants with parking enforced at 8 am! According to an e-mail I received, Beach Drive is the only street where meters have been installed when they weren’t requested by adjacent businesses.  Hmm.

Some of the other reasons are:

• a stable political climate (no army or militia since the 1940s)
• high literacy rate
• excellent health care
• easy to get along speaking only English and using dollars and credit cards
• relaxing lifestyle
• and most important of all, the wonderful Costa Rican people, or Ticos. They are happy people, welcoming to visitors, eager to please, and endlessly pleasant.