Random Thoughts
Random Thoughts
No Clearwater Real Estate Here – It's all about this Native Floridian sharing More About MEME!
June 1st, 2008 Categories: Random Thoughts
Clearwater Real Estate Off Topic – You may learn more about MeMe than you Cared to Know
Clearwater Florida – Mary McKnight took a Memorial Day break from serious real estate blog coaching to have a little fun MeMe’ing some people she wanted to know more about. Here’s what she had to say,
“There are two me-s in meme because it’s all about me. Meme’s are the perfect way to let other
bloggers know about you, let your audience know about you and get to know and
relate to other bloggers, expand your network and watch your sphere of
influence expand outwards. If you ever
posed the question to yourself, “how many degrees are between me and Kevin
Bacon?” this is the way to find out.
I am asking 8 questions because when tipped over the number
8 is the infinity symbol and that is totally geeky and 8 is my favorite number
and it is 2008. Oh, how the stars have aligned!”
She then tagged 8 people which lead to two of my friends tagging me and you can read their MeMe’s on their sites. While this all started over Memorial Day weekend I’m just getting caught up since I was working with 2 families in town for the weekend so I’m just getting caught up now. I don’t know whether to I say thank you or not to Irina Netchaev, Pasadena CA Realtor, and Ann Cummings, Portmouth NH Realtor – just kidding, it’s great fun and Sunday is the perfect day to share some random thoughts and a little more about myself however you’ve been warned – this may be more than you want to know and it’s all Mary’s fault – lol!
1. Who’s your favorite musical artist?(Post a Youtube video)
For me my all time favorite musician is Jimmy Buffet – growing up in Florida, honeymooning in Key West 22 years ago, racing sailboats in my 30’s and living on our amazing Florida beaches he captures the real Florida lifestyle for me.
I admire that he continues to live out his dreams on his terms. He’s someone that wasn’t popular with the main stream music crowd since he wasn’t focused on being commercial. He writes and sings what he’s passionate. He has always connected with his audience and fans – ultimately his fans are responsible for much of his mainstream success – demanding to hear his music and their desire to buy it. I own all his music because his music always makes me RELAX and smile and reminds to take time to live life NOW and those that know me best know that sometimes I can be too focused on work 
.
For me this song, “A Pirate Looks a 40″ reminds me that life is not a dress rehersal – I strive to live with no regrets!
My other favorite (and our families favorite) artists, especially since I got to see them play front and
center last year in Clearwater’s Coachman Park are the gifted musicians of Casting Crowns.
I love this song of theirs,..“I Will Praise you in the Storm” – when things seem rough it’s that it all has a purpose. They inspire me – also because they changed careers to pursue their dreams and passion which I relate to since we left successful corporate jobs to start our own business and even in this crazy market I have no regrets – always learning and looking forward! Enjoy!
2. Who is your favorite artist (Post Photo from Flickr)
My Favorite Artist is a local artist, Christopher M Still, who has been nominated to be “Florida’s Official Artist”. He is passionate about capturing the “real Florida” and paints murals and large works of commissioned art like his recent paintings done for the Sandpearl Resort lobby. I have also had the privilege to hear him discuss his work in his private studio and he is so talented and puts so much into his work. He will study and research the components of his paintings until he is an expert. His artwork is so lifelike and realistic it is amazing.
He has also painted several historical murals that line the walls of the Florida House of Representative Chambers in Tallahassee – I also had the opportunity this spring to see them in the Chambers this past spring and took some shots of them. While these photos don’t do his artwork justice I hope it wets your appetite to learn more about this gifted native who calls Tarpon Springs Florida home, Christopher Still.
Read more here:
-
Clearwater
Beach Real Estate – Sandpearl Resort offers Finest in All things
including Art – Christopher M. Still Art Exhibition -
Clearwater Beach Real Estate – Sandpearl Resort is a Showcase for local Artist, Christopher M Still
3. Who is your Favorite Blogger?
Wow this is a hard one. I read so many talented bloggers from a variety of industries not just real estate, however, I have so many favorites in the real estate industry that I am going to pick my favorite non-real estate blogger who has both inspired and mentored me along my blogging journey. My favorite is Micheal Martine, business blogging coach and author of blog Remarkablogger!
If you haven’t read his blog before and are in business you need to, especially his thoughts on Gateway blogging. I think you’ll enjoy his unpretentious and honest style – I know I do.
4. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who
would it be and what is the most interesting thing about them?
There are so many people I would love to meet if given the chance however today at this moment the one that popped in my mind (maybe because this exercise has me thinking about my days back in corporate America and the path to how I got here) but Jack Welsh comes to mind – because I loved his philosophy that if you can’t be #1 or #2 then get out of that business. I think all things can be taken to extreme but I also think mediocrity hates accountability and I believe strongly in getting measurable results. In the 80’s he woke a lot of employees up and put a fire back in there belly by knowing if their part of the GE business wasn’t tops in their industry he’d get out of that business – BAM, now that’s a wake up call.
Those lessons translate into real estate for me by helping me focus on the areas where I can be the best (or #2 while moving up and delivering measurable results. One of his points was that the majority of the spoils go to #1 and #2 so for #3 and below why work that hard to get so little left over (it’s not profitable) – if you can’t be #1 or #2 find out where you can be (hmmm it also reminds me of Google Placement and how #1 & #2 get almost 60% of the traffic – it seems that model plays out in many ways in the real world).
I am constantly energized by learning more, raising my skill level and knowledge base to be a true consultant and resource to my clients. I wake up everyday with a fire in my belly and a love of this business – I hope I never lose that desire to be the best and having an opportunity to meet Jack Welsh, named Fortune’s Manager of the Century, would be such an opportunity to learn.
5.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a lawyer well into college however I had an uncle who was a lawyer an insisted I read the book One L to make sure I knew what it was really going to be like. He and some other opportunities took me in other directions. Ironically many of my college friends went on to get their law degrees and withing the first few years gave it up since the idealistic view of “the good guys always win” isn’t the reality – many say “justice is what you can negotiate.”
Marketing has always interested me and so with that as a background along with a BA in Computer Science I have had some great jobs along the way before stepping out on our own and using these skills in our high tech – high touch Clearwater real estate business.
6.
What is the most interesting piece of trivia you
know?
I am not a trivia girl at all – I’m married to the man who knows all the answers in Trivial Pursuit. Sorry – I got nothing for you on this one
7.
If you could live in any point in history what
would it be and why?
I am someone who loves the here and now so for me I love living now at a time when we are breaking new ground daily like having a ground breaking Presidential election no matter who wins. I love the way technology is providing so much info too everyone’s fingertips – knowledge is empowering and I believe the great equalizer for all. I believe people today have the ability to achieve anything they set their mind to so for me I say we live in an amazing time.
8.
What is the most interesting job you chave ever
held?
Outside of my current one {which could fill a novel and may one day} I was hired away from IBM to be the Director of Strategic Marketing and Development for one of Tampa’s Top 100 companies when I was 29 in the early 1990s. I was the first female executive in a family owned and run business (that was interesting enough in itself).
The most amazing part was experiencing the challenge of creating, developing, implementing our National Sales and Marketing strategies and programs. It was then that I had that ah ha moment when I first realized that there was no one to give me “the answers”, no book to read, no magic bullets – I just had to taking all I knew along with all I could research to educate myself and then putting my plan on the line with the accountability of taking it from the drawing board to results. While
I still had a lot to learn and life definitely changes when you realize you’ve reached the point where there’s no answer book – that’s when you have to really educate yourself, trust yourself, have a vision and be fearless in it’s pursuit. I love the saying “you can’t discover new oceans without first losing sight of the shore”.
Now The eight people I would like to know more about are…
(which means they are required
by meme law to answer and ask 8 other people to answers these same questions
on their blogs!):
2. Jason Secor and Steve Wolfe
7. Teri Isner
If you’re reading this and want to play along – I’d love to know more about you too! Tomorrow it’s back to
Clearwater Real Estate ! Can’t wait – then search the Tampa Bay MLS now!
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Clearwater Real Estate Agents Are Real Advocates For First Time Home Buyers
April 29th, 2008 Categories: Random Thoughts
Clearwater FL – When youre ready to buy a Clearwater home even in this real estate market having a great experience is not guaranteed. Getting the best Clearwater Real Estate
deal is not a given so the first important decision you will make is choosing a REALTOR to act as your Home Buyers
Agent makes a big difference. If you are a first time home buyer or
someone who hasnt bought a home in a long time – you definitely want
someone working for YOU and only your interests!
Hear from one of our recent Tampa Bay home buyers about their experience buying a home.
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- You should look for a Clearwater FL Realtor who finds out what your home or condo requirements are;
- When you have a Buyers agent working for you youll get someone who recommends home
inspectors who do a thorough job so you can make decisions based on
good info. This will enable you to avoid costly surprises later like an
unsuspected leaky roof or a buried fuel tank with possible hazardous waste clean up liabilities; - Look for a Realtor whos always working for your ONLY best interests -
takes time to explain everything to you, especially if youre a
first-time homebuyer and as this buyers says ˜treats you like family - You should look for a local REALTOR who cares more about you than selling a Tampa Bay home or condo;
- You should look for a Clearwater Real Estate agent who
negotiates with your money like it was their own – weve had recent
buyers even get FHA mortgage where the seller has paid their 3%
downpayment and up to 6% in closing costs;
898587477
Related Articles:
- Tampa Bay Home Buyers purchase pool home;
- Clearwater Real Estate Agents help Luxury Home Buyers;
- Clearwater Real Estate - Clients give video testimonials
Are you planning to buy or sell Clearwater Florida Real Estate
- Jack and I are here to help. You can call us now at (727) 710-8036 or get started by searching the complete Clearwater MLS
with photos to see all the homes of condos for sale Clearwater and in the whole Tampa Bay area.
898587477
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Clearwater Florida Real Estate Blog Now Available Via RSSHugger
March 9th, 2008 Categories: Random Thoughts
Clearwater Florida – This Clearwater Florida Real Estate blog is now available through the blog RSS site, RssHugger. This is another way that our real estate articles about living in Clearwater Florida 
can be found by more internet blog readers. This is especially important for us since a large portion of our readers are not Floridians.
If you have have a blog you should check out the RSSHugger site and allow your real estate blog or a blog on any other topics of your interest find a wider audience.
I first learned about RSSHugger from Mary McKnight, of RssPieces.com who specializes in real estate blogging services and SEO – so when Mary said she liked that ‘it is a blog directory that combines Technorati, rss directories, and search engine optimization into one’ – that was enough for me.
There are 2 ways to get your blog included in the RSSHugger site:
- Write an honest review of the site on your own blog;
- Pay a $20 one-time fee;
I like this policy since it should minimize the ‘spam’ and ‘junk’ sites in the directory and actually create more awareness for their site through blog posts like this one.
Why not sign up and submit your blog to RSSHugger today? Id love to hear what you think of it and Ill keep you posted on my RSSHugger experience as well.
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Clearwater Real Estate Market Report for The Morningside Estates
February 29th, 2008 Categories: Random Thoughts
Clearwater Florida – We are having more and more people checking out the Clearwater Real Estate Market. Spring is approaching here and we are fnding people are relocating and looking at great deals on homes for sale in Clearwaters best neighborhoods like Morningside Estates which is located off Belcher Rd between Druid and Nursery roads next to the homes in Grovewood. Weve enclosed the latest real estate market information.
For those who may not be familiar with this Tampa Bay neighborhood, we included a quick show to give you a feel for it. People tell us they love the tree lined streets with sidewalks leading to one of the City of Clearwaters best recreation centers, playgrounds, tennis courts and public pools.
They also recently installed traffic calming bumps to ensure safe driving speeds through out the neighborhood – its easy to see why this is always at the top of home buyers list when looking at Clearwater Florida Real Estate.
Clearwater home buyers are taking action now that the uncertainty and doubts been cleared up with regards to Floridas Property Taxes because they can now move affordably with the new portability feature. Now moving to a new home doesnt come with a steep tax penalty. If you need help calculating your property tax portability credit on the new law feel free to ask your Tampa Bay Realtor.
Clearwater Real Estate Market Report – The Morningside Estates
- Currently there are 16 Morningside Homes for Sale in Clearwater;
- The prices range from $198,000 for a 2 bedroom to a 1 and 1/2 bathroom house to a $550,000 6 bedroom 4 bath waterfront home;
- The average Morningside homes for sale are 4 bedroom 2 bath home being offered for $314,943;
- The average dollar per square foot for these Morningside homes for sale is $ $147.38;
- The average size is 2137 square feet;
- The average amount of time these 16 homes have been on the market is 150 days or almost 4 months.
There are no Morningside Estate homes currently active with contract or pending sale. 1 home sold in January. It was a 4 bedroom 2 bath 1850 square feet home. It sold $236,900 after 262 days.
This is a Clearwater Florida neighborhood where most homes are 3/2s or 4/2s with a size of 1800 – 2200 square feet even though there are a select few larger homes. The general price range for this neighborhood is $275,000 – $375,000.
Are you interested in learning more about Clearwater Real Estate for sale? Feel free to search our complete Tampa Bay MLS or pick up the phone and give Jack and I a call at (727) 710-8035. Were always happy to answer your questions about Clearwater real estate.
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Clearwater Real Estate Tips for Buyers – Good Tampa Bay Realtor Helps You Find Short Sale Bargains Not a Pig in Lipstick
February 27th, 2008 Categories: Random Thoughts
Clearwater Florida – When people discuss all the homes for sale and whats happening locally, we 
truly believe now is a great time to buy Clearwater real estate. We are still experiencing a buyers housing market in the whole Tampa Bay area. Jack and I have successfully helped lots of first time home buyers, vacation home buyers and seasoned investors get great real estate deals this year in the Clearwater area by working with us.
Why a Buyers Agent Matters when Buying a Short Sale Property
And like me, everywhere you turn you probably see reports in the newspapers, on TV, driving down the street and know that there are lots of Clearwater homes for sale.
Now with all the media attention its important for you to know that no ones got around to giving away homes.
Not a day goes by when someone doesnt tell us they want to buy a Clearwater Beach Condo for $100,000 on the water. Me too, but unfortunately it doesnt exist. We also have lots of buyers call us and say they ˜want to buy a short sale property and now that is something we CAN definitely help with.
We always ask them if they are ONLY interested in purchasing a short sale condo or home OR are they really just looking to buy a Clearwater FL property that represents a great value. Many of the real estate home buyers weve work with in the Clearwater area are surprised to find out that ˜short sale andgreat bargain may not be the same thing. Does that surprise you?
An old saying goes, ˜You make your money in real estate (equity) when you buy. So how do you buy right? We believe by having a team working for you thats committed to your goals. Thats what we offer the buyers who work with us. Experience shows that having a REALTOR like us, who is YOUR buyers agent definitely puts the odds of success on your side because now youve got a team who:
- knows the real estate market in Tampa Bay Florida;
- knows the Clearwater neighborhoods – even in this market certain neighborhoods always sell seem to well;
- does the research, digging and leg work necessary to get you good information;
- prepares the contracts heavily protecting the home buyer from spending money on appraisals and inspections when the bank may not approve the home or condo sale.
- can successfully negotiate the short sale purchase with the listing agent and the bank (were not in Kansas anymore Dorothy);
- will recommend home inspectors and specialists so you can really know what youre buying (especially since we had so many cosmetic flippers in Tampa Bay – you know the type – slap on a fresh coat of paint, make a few minor improvements and call her done. In addition we had the new roofing code go into effect in Oct 2007 – so if the home needs a roof youre looking at a BIG expense that can be up to 50% more than before)
- can oversee all the transaction details (weve had several take 5 months to close because of the bank);
- always puts your interests above selling any one house of condominium.
- Will be honest and give advice which may mean walking if the deal is no longer in your best interest.
- does all this at no charge to you as the buyer.
This is the first in a series of articles we are planning to write about how your can work with a good real estate agent, especially a Buyers Agent in todays Clearwater real estate market to get genuine real estate bargains (from short sales, bank owned, REO, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures and dont forget truly motivate sellers with equity) without getting sucked in by marketing and lingo – authentic Tampa Bay property values WILL shine through.
So please dont buy the dolled up pig someone just put a new shade of lipstick on and called ˜short sale – lets do our homework up front so you dont have to be afraid to look later!
Remember, the home listed as a short sale in our MLS could be the same overpriced house thats been sitting there 365 days and wont sell – much less appraise! We advise you along the way and let you know when we think it would be a waste of your money to do inspections and appraisals on properties like that.
So why would you risk buying a short sale without someone just reprenting YOUR interests? Imagine what its like to have an experienced team working for you throughout this detailed process – the seller does! Consider letting us help you, doing research, negotiating and being your advocate every step of the way through this crazy short sale maze and the best part is our services are always free to you, the buyers.
So you still think a short sale is for you¦then read the following questions and lets compare answers.
If a Clearwater Home for Sale is a Short Sale then it must be Myths Busted!
Doesnt a Clearwater Short Sale mean its a bargain?
Maybe, Maybe not
Doesnt it mean a short sale home is a great value?
Maybe, Maybe not
Doesnt it mean I can steal this house for 50% of the fair market value?
Probably not
Shouldnt I just focus on short sale property listings since these home sellers are acknowledging they cant sell it for what they owe the bank? I advise my clients, No dont limit yourself and heres my reason why
Why Buying a Short Sales May Not be your Best Bargain
By definition, a short sale means that the home seller owes the bank (or banks if they have a 2nd mortgage) more money than the home will currently sell for.
The thing you need to know about the Clearwater Real Estate market is that many of the homes we see being sold as short sales were purchased 18 months to 2 years ago (and the home buyers may have actually paid too much for their property during the hot housing market of late 2005-to late 2006).
The other thing we see are people who took out home equity lines of credit (werent those banks just so generous – they turned our homes into giant ATM machines) and people borrowed (between their first and second mortgages) more than they can now recoup.
Unfortunately, these are often the people who will call Clearwater REALTORs, like me, to sell their home and start the conversation by saying, ˜I NEED TO GET for this house. Now, please understand REALTORS dont control the price a home will sell for¦buyers and banks do because they determine what they are willing to pay and then if there will be home mortgage it will also depend on what the bank is willing to finance (based on information from the appraiser).
Unfortunately many of these sellers are in denial and the reality pricing process can be a long one with many ending ultimately as bank owned properties after foreclosure (another good topic for another day)
So once you see a home you like – we check out the asking price next and begin to determine if its a good value. We research things for you like this and more:
- The Clearwater homes or condos condition (ex. distressed or remodeled like new?)
- Other recent sales (and their impact on the appraised value)
- The competition – other similar homes and condos currently for sale – what are they asking and how long have they been waiting to sell. (Supply and demand has dramatic effect on real estate),
- Research expireds, withdrawns, etc,. for this home and others.
- The property value range for a given neighborhood – Ive seen some ˜deals in neighborhoods where the home seller did too much and the homes value is limited by the neighborhoods top end.
- How far in the lis penden (pre-foreclosure) process is the home seller;
- How much of a loss is the bank (or banks) looking at? PMI usually pays 20% on the home owners first mortgage which can represent a great opportunity to find value.
If the value is there and you decide you want to make and offer we move on to the next phase and enter the Short Sale Maze (accompanied by the listing agent, the bank and more). Ill write more about successfully navigating the Short Sale Maze in the future.
So when youre ready to start looking into buying Clearwater homes or condos, feel free to search the complete Tampa Bay MLS listings and give us a call at 727-710-8036 to be part of your home buying team.
We realize that selecting a real estate agent over the internet is hard since we havent met yet, so some of our clients who started their home search here too want to introduce us and tell you a little about their recent real estate experience. These Tampa Bay home buyers share candid thoughts and examples about their home buying process and why working with our Clearwater Real Estate team saved them money, made the process ˜painless, ensured they got great values, helped them avoid costly mistakes and treated them like family and more. Wed love to be your choice too.
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