Archive for August, 2008
Clearwater Beach Condo Owners Know these Sunset Painted Clouds as Home
August 31st, 2008 categories: Clearwater Beach Condos
Perhaps the best part of being a Pinellas Real Estate Consultant is the wonderful people we 
encounter. Just a few weeks back I had the pleasure of meeting Wayne Smaridge at one of our Dunedin home listings. Much to my delight, Wayne also just happens to be the talent behind the three most amazing blogs that feature the joys of living in Pinellas County!
Wayne’s Clearwater Beach photo, Sunset Painted Clouds, took my breath away. Too see all of Wayne’s artistry, and to get a true sense of what it feels like to call Clearwater Beach or Dunedin home, I’m pleading with you to check out his sites! Visit Clearwater Beach Daily Photo, Clearwater Daily Photo and Dunedin Daily Photo.
Prepare to be amazed, entertained and wanting to come back for more.
If visiting Wayne’s sites has you ready to pack your bags and move to Pinellas County to buy a Clearwater Beach condo or a great piece of Dunedin Real Estate to call home, I can’t say I blame you! Feel free to search all Clearwater Beach condos or even search the Pinellas MLS like a Realtor does.
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What happens to Our Ozona, FL Real Estate Values if our Neighbors Do a Short Sale?
August 27th, 2008 categories: Ask Julia ... Your ?'s Answered
Q: What will the sale of our neighbors home do to our value? Two houses in our 
Palm Harbor neighborhood sold under market value as short sales. What does that do to the market value? Both of the houses needed substantial upgrading. We have upgraded our home from top to bottom. Will our efforts at improvement be to no avail? Pat.
A: Pat, I regret to say that these neighboring Palm Harbor home sales will affect your value, but perhaps not as much as you’re concerned about. Pinellas short sales and foreclosures everywhere are a major piece of the puzzle that are driving prices down. A whopping 38% of Pinellas County homes for sale are currently short sales - a growing trend that’s expected to continue full steam ahead through all of 2009 and beyond - and many buyers love them.
Buyers now “want a deal” and are scared about overpaying in a declining market. Even if there weren’t short sales in your neighborhood, rest assured that Pinellas home buyers Read the rest of this entry »
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Amazing Days in Palm Harbor Real Estate … and Beijing, too
August 15th, 2008 categories: Get Ridiculously Happy
If you dislike gushy, touchy-feely, inspirational talk, you’ll HATE this post. If you want to hear about a typical day of a Palm Harbor real estate agent then you’ll REALLY HATE this post. Will you read it anyway?
I’ll confess, being a Palm Harbor real estate agent in this market is sometimes hard. We’re blessed to be helping some folks facing Dunedin and Palm Harbor foreclosures, via Short Sales, and some of them amidst this turmoil in their lives can be a bit heavy to deal with. And they may get sick of my “positive speak” about believing, visualizing and going after their dreams, but hey guys and gals - I can’t stop. I’ve been a train wreck more than once, and thanks to a culmination of things, including vision and faith, that’s ancient history now. Now it’s all about helping you - with your real estate needs - and in any other little way we can hopefully make a difference.
This morning I showed this Dunedin Short Sale to a fellow who was, and let me try to be 
polite here, I guess having a very bad day and was pretty hostile. I’ll call him Charlie to protect the innocent (sorry, Charlie). I tried to put the incident past me but Charlie kept creeping into my mind throughout the day. I kept wondering why Charlie was so upset and why I had that experience.
Then it was off to write an offer on a great Palm Harbor home in East Lake for Sasha and Kim. We’ve got some hurdles to overcome to get to the closing table, but I believe we’ll get there. Next I was off to meet with one of our wonderful Palm Harbor short sale client friends, just to meet with him briefly to put his mind at ease and remind him of the end goal, as it seems that the bank’s collection people were starting to get the best of him. Then it was a usual afternoon of scheduling showings, returning calls and the like.
One call I didn’t expect was from Charlie! Charlie was mellow. A different fellow. We got to talking and he shared why he’s stressed out. And low and behold, I can completely understand why he would be, and better yet, it’s something I can easily help him with. We can be a team, Charlie and I. Charlie’s thinking about it tonight and he’s going to get back to me. He saw our business card today and logged on to the Pinellas Peach. He likes the fact that Matt and I seem to have this “real estate groove thing going on” and he thinks The Peach is “tasty”! This morning I told myself I’d be fine if I never saw Charlie ever again. Tonight, I am really looking forward to hearing from Charlie again, and, to quote him, even if he doesn’t want to buy the damned house. I’ll readily admit, I’ve now got this soft spot for Charlie.
Tonight, we watched history unfold with our 5-year old son as Michael Phelps won the 100-meter butterfly by .01 of a second for his 7th Gold Medal this Olympics, tying Mark Spitz’s record for the number of wins at a single Olympics. When interviewed by NBC after the race, Phelps was asked something to the tune of “you probably didn’t really think that something like this could have been possible?” and then again “you didn’t really believe you’d win this many Golds, did you?”. His answer (paraphrased here because I can’t Google it) says it all: “Yeah, in my dreams I actually did believe it was possible. I saw all of this happening”.
Well, there you go. That’s why our motto at Suncoast Partners is that “In Life and Real Estate, Everything’s Possible“. We see it happening. Every day.
If you’ve read this far, I bet you do, too?
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North Pinellas Dog Walker and Pet Sitter is the Cat’s Meow
August 11th, 2008 categories: Rave Business Reviews
There’s a North Pinellas dog walking and pet sitting service that saved the day for us 
recently -and the service was too good not to share. Susan Caya, owner of Canine Cardio Company, is known for her dog walking service for a “Pawsitive Lifestyle”, yet our cat, Moe, will attest to the fact that Susan is the cat’s meow when it comes to Pinellas Pet Sitting.
We also love stories of people who quit their day jobs to do what they love (we can relate .. that’s partially why we are now so passionate about Pinellas real estate). Susan’s story is an inspiring one: she was featured earlier this year in the St. Pete Times - check it out.
So….Moe, our 16 year very old cat, doesn’t take to making new human friends. Yet he loved Susan, who gave him his daily medicine, fed him his “cat yak” (our nickname for disgusting wet food), changed the cat box and cuddled and loved him for 4 days while we were away. Her service is professional and loving and she clearly has a gift for communicating with animals.
The next time you you’re headed away from your Palm Harbor home for the weekend and need a pet sitter, we highly recommend giving Susan a call. Better yet, while you’re at work, treat your pup to the best personal doggie trainer out there. Susan and her canine friends frequent Hammock Park in Dunedin, Honeymoon Island Dog Beach, John Chestnut Park and the Paw Playground at Anderson Lake Park in Palm Harbor.
Human training and consultation is available, too! Hmmmmmmmmm……
Visit Canine Cardio Company or simply give Susan a call at 727-953-8816.
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Sorry Glenn, Not all Palm Harbor Real Estate Agents are Bottom Feeders
August 5th, 2008 categories: Market Updates
Glenn Beck, who I often enough mostly agree with, really got my blood boiling the other night with this piece on his show. He did a fairly solid report about the National 
Association of Realtors’ (NAR’s) Lawrence Yun repeatedly coming out with overly optimistic real estate forecasts. As a Palm Harbor real estate agent that prides herself in telling the truth, I’ll agree with Glenn wholeheartedly that this kind of overly optimistic rhetoric from NAR makes me cringe. That being said, it doesn’t mean that all Pinellas Real Estate agents are bottom feeding sharks (by the way, did any of you catch Discovery Channel’s “shark week” that just ended?!).
Glenn sadly went on to make the points that buying a home now isn’t a good idea and that Realtors shouldn’t be trusted because all we’re interested in is the profit. I was hugely disappointed. So, for the record:
- Now is a HORRIBLE time to sell. Don’t do it unless you have to and can wait probably 5+++ years. Unless, of course, you’re selling so you can buy up, which makes it THE optimum time to do so! And, granted, often times people really want to sell for tons of different personal reasons - and hey, yes, we’re more than happy to assist.
- Now IS a GREAT time to buy if you’re financing. Prices are down (as is the case with these luxury clearwater condos), interest rates are climbing and loans are harder to get with each passing day. Trying to time further Dunedin home price drops against rising interest rates and loan availability is like trying to time the stock market. Not to mention the tax benefits and personal enjoyment you gain from home owning a nice piece of Dunedin real estate.
- Our philosophy, which matches the Keller Williams Philosphy highlighted in this video, is that it’s truly about what’s best for the client - always.
All right, I’m off my soap box for the morning. Have an amazing day! - Julia
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