Real Estate Views from St Pete

In Florida, the new FAR offer and purchase contracts are very specific that the seller is responsible for not only obtaining permits for any work done on the property, but also for making sure any permits are closed out. In fact, in the latest version, after the blanks (1.5% of purchase price if left blank) for repairs and for wood destroying organisms, there is a similar blank for obtaining/correcting permit issues.

As part of our preparation for a listing appointment, we get a copy of the property's permit history from the city or governing body. That not only helps us correlate an enclosed porch or a new roof, it also gives us the opportunity to discuss all this with the homeowner, so they can begin any corrective action early, before there's a time crunch.

We also obtain this when we represent a buyer - if not before we make an offer, then as soon as possible afterwards. We'll share this information with the home inspector.

This is just one more opportunity to give value to our clients.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.

On the My Home page there are two large buttons at the top

    Delete Selection

and

    Delete All

They are large enough that you shouldn't confuse them, but yesterday, the first time in nearly a year, I hit the wrong button and all my saved messages for a year were gone - faster than I could unclick a button. I know the odds are small, perhaps 1 in 500, which is  only 1/5 of 1 percent, but -

could there be an "Are you sure you want to DELETE ALL" message that pops up when you click on Delete All?

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.  

Whether someone is looking for an agent to represent them, or someone to refer a client to, they want to know what areas the agent covers. Often in ads or directories, the agent will specify cities that they cover. Sometimes those cities are so large that the agent really only covers a portion of that. Wouldn't you like to know that in advance?

Sometimes directories do provide a coverage map. My question is: Do you cover as large an area representing sellers as you do representing buyers? We don't.

It's one thing to know areas well enough to represent buyers - knowing the amenities, the trends, the competition. Buyers often want to look at a lot of different areas of a city/area before deciding where to live. When representing sellers, it's not only a case of knowing the neighborhood, it's the time involved in showing it, in checking on the flyer supply on the sign post, in making sure the lawn is moved, the doors are locked and the lights turned off after showings, etc. In most cases, that requires a certain proximity to your office or your home.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.  

If you're thinking of going to Hawaii in January for the CRS Sell-a-bration, January 28-30, 2008, you may want to "double up" to take advantage of the cost and travel time. CRS has given their permission for the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing to offer their CHLMS designation class during two days prior to the CRS Sell-a-bration. If you're interested, contact the Institute directly for registration information. CRS will give elective credit for the CLHMS course. I always like it when IRS will help pay my travel expenses!

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.  

When you're shopping pre-construction, many of the same criteria apply as when you're buying an existing home, new or resale. Check its location, the quality of construction, the functionality of its floor plan, and the dependability and reputation of the builder. 

Pre-construction may be a great time to get in at the lowest prices. If the project is sound, it will likely raise the prices a few times during construction, so at closing you start out with significant equity. Since there are no guarantees about the market, though, you may want to ask for a clause that provides your price will drop if the builder drops prices between your contract and your completion. 

Prices will change with the market, of course, but there are typical times the prices will rise: Prices typically rise when the developer meets the number of units required to secure financing. Prices may also rise when the building starts or when certain phases are reached.  Many people will wait to see the building coming out of the ground before they buy, to make sure the property will be built. Others wait until there is a model, because they can't imagine the outcome from the floor plans. There are many reasons you can benefit from buying pre-construction.

Be sure to do your due diligence. Know about the project, the neighborhood, the track record of the builder and developer, the competitive products and the overall real estate and economic market. In most cases, you're well advised to use a REALTOR to represent you in this transaction. However nice and helpful the onsite sales people are, remember that they represent the builder. If you want someone on your side, you need to visit the builder/model WITH your agent the first time - you probably won't be allowed to bring them in when you're ready to write the contract, at least if you want the builder to pay their fee. Using a professional real estate won't cost, it will pay.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area. 

A study by NAR states that 1/3 of homeowners want a home exercise room so that they can exercise whenever they want.

In my area, I haven't found this true - I think it's about 10% in our area. Yes, buyers who are building a large, new home, do generally want an exercise room - probably 3/4 of them. But these homes are a minority of our market. And yes, some people will use one of the bedrooms for exercise equipment, but again, a small percentage.

Buyers looking for a condo, on the other hand, generally want a fitness center or exercise room in the building. Probably 90% ask for this - even more than want a swimming pool with the condo.

Many others do want a gym nearby. Some people like having others around them, or like the comraderie of the country club or yacht club facility.  

Have you found that 1/3 of your buyers want a room for their exercise equipment?

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area. 

If you're looking for a waterfront home, don't miss Broadwater. One reason is its location. It's in southwest St Petersburg, west of I-275 and just north of the Pinellas Bayway and Dolphin Cay, it's a wonderfully convenient location. It's on the east side of Boca Ciega Bay, with the bay and intercoastal separating it from the beach communities on the Gulf of Mexico. It's a short trip to the Gulf by boat, there are no fixed bridges, so it's great for sailboats, and there are dozens of places to boat for lunch, as well as islands for fun. By car, it's less than 5 minutes to I-275 for travel to Tampa or Sarasota, 10 minutes from vibrant downtown St Petersburg, and 10 minutes from the Gulf Beaches (choose your beach mood: St Pete Beach for people and activity, Pass-a-Grille for "old Florida" or Ft. DeSoto Park for a world award-winning beach where it's often just you and the herons.

Another is the people. The residents are a mixture of ages and interests. Most take pride in their neighborhood and renovations are constantly taking place, even some rebuilds. Several people have lived there less than a year - others have been there since the homes were new in the early 1970s. Most of the homes are "Florida ranch" style, made popular by Rutenberg and followed by Apple. Some homes were built in the 80s, 90s and 00s, and with "tear down and build new" some are brand new homes.

The feel of the neighborhood also matters.  Broadwater is one of the areas fortunate enough to have reclaimed water. Not only is this cheaper than city water (it's a fixed rate per month) but it's not as restricted during dry periods, so the lawns stay green and lush. Birds of paradise accent the palm trees, and we have colorful hibiscus and oleander must of the year, with seasonal flowers and flowering trees rotating with the seasons.

Waterfront home prices range from the $600s to nearly $2,000,000.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area. 

Fifth Avenue NE in downtown St. Petersburg, from the Renaissance Vinoy Resort Hotel to 4th Street has been a hub of construction activity for more months than I remember counting. Lane closures are common, and there's an occasional traffic backup as we wait for a construction crane to move out of the way. Construction has been ongoing with 400 Beach, 475, and the W Plaza.

Whitney's W Plaza, on Fifth Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets, is nearly complete. The blank walls of concrete on the lower floors is looking better each day as finishing details are appearing on the facade. This building should be ready by the end of August. There are several condos still available for purchase.

475, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 2nd Street, is also finishing up and working on interior details. I'd look for completion of this in October or November.  Several condos are available in this building.

400 Beach, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Beach Drive, is looking better every day as finishing touches are being put on the retail component along Beach Dr NE. Two or three condominiums are still available here. Look for the first closings at the end of December, with most closings in January and February 2008.

Fifth Avenue is the northern boundary of "downtown" with The Old Northeast residential neighborhood to the north of this. All of these condominium projects are within walking distance of the waterfront and all the desirable amenities of downtown: restaurants, museums, shopping, attractions; sidewalk cafes, ice cream shops, galleries.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.

Last night the Grand Bohemian hosted a reception at their sales office in St Petersburg, Florida. The St Petersburg Times recently reported that the Kessler Group had submitted to the City of St Petersburg their proof of financing for the Grand Bohemian Hotel and Condos project in downtown St. Pete. This step was required in advance of their closing on the property on the northwest corner of 2nd St and 1st Ave N, which is scheduled for August 15th.

Tami and I are in California and could not attend, so Rob and Amy represented The Simms Team at that gathering. The sales group had new marketing kits and are showing renewed energy with this new milestone behind them. Since the site is only a block from our office (and across the street from the Starbucks we frequent) we'll be watching every day for the start of construction.

Pinellas County has several condo-hotel projects (where individual hotel suite are individually owned, then generally part of a rental pool) but this one features several floors of luxury condominiums over the floors of hotel rooms. There are separate entrances but shared amenities. This type of project sells in other areas at premiums of 25% to 100%. The Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton are developing many properties of this type around the world.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.

If you want referrals, it's important that other agents know WHERE YOU ARE.

Many times I've seen full page ads reprinted and brought to conferences - one way to show the type of properties and price range of properties you represent. However - sometimes the ad doesn't show where you are. The agent may have designed the piece for a local market and decided that it wasn't important to spell out the city of state - and obviously not considered that when having tear sheets printed.

Some people spend a LOT of money in branding and recognition - think of Sandra Nickel and The Hat Lady. From her postcards to the hats she wears at conferences, she's branding. That's great, to remember her name, and use the hat lady hook - but if I don't remember that she's in Montgomery, Alabama, I may think of her in marketing terms, but not when I have a client buying or selling in Montgomery.

Be sure that clients and agents know not only Who you are, but Where you are. 

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.

How often at conventions and in your mailbox do you get postcards saying,

    Send Your Referrals to Bledsoe City

or

    I pay 40% Referrals 

Do they motivate you? They don't motivate me. With the latter, I have to wonder why they feel they have to "buy" referral business.

Why not use the same marketing materials you send your clients or your farm? When I get a postcard from Gayle Henderson that's talking about her negotiating skills, that has more meaning to me - tells me more about the agent and why I might want to refer business to her - than just asking me to send referrals to an area.

Think about printing more of a piece you're already doing, and sending that to agents whose referrals you're soliciting, or print extras to bring to a convention.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.

When you're out of town, do you pick up the local real estate magazines - to see what property is selling for, or to see if anyone is doing any unique advertising? Do read the classified ads in the Sunday paper? I do. 

It's interesting not only to compare prices, but to see what features get advertised. Instead of doing a crossword puzzle, you can try to figure out the local real estate abbreviations used in the ads.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area. 

34 miles of recreational trail runs from the south to the north of Pinellas County, along an abandoned railroad right of way. The first section, between Largo and Seminole, opened in 1990. The goal is to have 75 miles of trail opened by 2020. This would be a parallel leg running down the east side of the county. Current plans are to extend the south end of the existing Pinellas Trail into downtown St. Petersburg. The trail is used by about 100,000 people a month - bikers, walkers, runners and bladers. A guide and map is available on the web. 

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.   

After years of increasing enrollment, the number of students in the Pinellas County schools has now decreased enough that schools are closing. Don Shea, head of the Downtown Partnership, has thought of a possible solution both for empty school buildings and for affordable housing.

Shea is considering converting Euclid Elementary School, a two story building from the 1940s, into 9 condos and then to build a dozen or so townhomes surrounding it. To keep costs down, he proposes that the land be owned by a community land trust. He estimates a 3 bedroom unit would sell for $170,000 - half the typical price. Teachers would be the target buyers, and 3/4 of the profits on resales would go back to the trust - primarily to discourage investors. Shea is currently negotiating with the Pinellas County School Board.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.  

The P Buckley Moss Gallery at the corner of Fourth Ave NE and Beach Drive in downtown St Petersburg was a landmark and destination for years. Three years ago Tim Finn moved the gallery several blocks north to a location on 4th Street because of all the construction across the street at 400 Beach Drive, Opus' latest luxury condominium tower in downtown St Pete. That building is nearing completion, with the first closings scheduled for late December. Finn is renovating a building on Fourth Avenue NE just behind the former gallery and hopes to have the gallery opened in September.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.   

Anyone taking the CLHMS designation class from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing has heard about the apartment in London for $335,000.  Sound inexpensive? Not when you learn that it's only 77 square feet - the size of a closet. This is $4,350 per square foot.

This price is dwarfed by the new luxury flats at One Hyde Park in London. Two years from completion, it's been announced that Sheikh Hamad, foreign minister for Qatar, is paying $200,000,000 for his luxury penthouse. This is about $8,500 per square foot.

Just in 2007 luxury residential prices in central London have increased 20%. Savills is quoted as saying that annual price inflation for trophy properties valued above $10,000,000 is 50% annually. London may be the most expensive residential real estate in the world.

Relocation to London, anyone?

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.  

There are now at least six residences in the US that are listed with 9 digits:

Tranquility - Lake Tahoe, Nevada -  $100,000,000.

Trump's renovation - Palm Beach, Florida  -  $125,000,000.

Fleur de Lys  -  Los Angeles, California  -  $135,000,000.

Hala Ranch  -  Aspen, Colorado  -  $135,000,000.

The Pinnacle  -  Yellowstone Club, Montana  -  $155,000,000. 

Beverly House  -  Los Angeles, California  -  $165,000,000. 

When Beverly House, formerly owner by William Randolph Hearst,  was recently listed, it set a new record in the US.

I find it interesting that only Trump's house hasn't used a name in its publicity - perhaps The Donald feels that his name is enough.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.  

Which customer will get a better response from you?

• Customer A who smiles, is polite, understanding, and has a request; or
• Customer B who shouts at you and accuses you of intentionally causing him problems.

Think of that when you have a complaint. You want someone to bend over backwards to help you, not to shut you out.

A recent article in USA Today made some other suggestions:

• Talk to someone in sales department (they want happy customers);
• Buy a few shares of stock in the company and call the Investor Relations department;
• Talk to the manager, who may be the only one with power;
• Let them know you want to keep your business with them;
• Focus on the solution you want - let them know what will resolve the issue

and of course, the basics:

• Be polite
• Be persistent
• Keep your temper
  
• Stick to the facts
  
• Write everything down while it's fresh in your mind.

First, I want to recognize my great Lexus salesperson, Christil Pinkerton. She's been the greatest. Our Lexus dealer is in Clearwater, and probably a 45 minute drive from home. Since the one day that I went to the dealership to look at a car, I've never had to go back to the dealership. When it needs service, someone from Lexus drives to St Pete to pick it up, leaves me a Lexus loaner, and delivers it back when it's done. Even when I traded in my Lexus SUV after 3 years, I never went back - I called Christil, told her the model and color I wanted, and she drove it down, changed the plates, and just handed me the new keys.

Two weeks ago I sent my Lexus SUV in for normal service (15,000 miles, I think). The driver who returned it was someone I didn't know, but it didn't matter. I drove it later out of our parking lot, and over to a client's house. When I came out of the house 2 hours later, I noticed a dent on the right front bumper. I called Lexus, told them, and they immediately scheduled a time to pick it up and leave me a loaner. There was NEVER a question about it being dented in the parking lot, or that I didn't check it while the driver was there. They immediately picked it up and fixed it, at no cost to me.

Believing your customer, listening to what they say, and then fixing it. That's one of the keys to great customer service.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.  

On Monday, July 16, Kessler submitted to the City of St Petersburg confirmation of their $120 million in financing for the Grand Bohemian Hotel and Condos at the corner of 2nd St N and 1st Ave N in downtown St. Petersburg.

The closing for the property at 100 Second St N is scheduled for August. This financing confirmation was required before the closing.

Construction of the Grand Bohemian will start this fall and completion is expected for Fall 2009. The building will be 32 stories, with the condominiums above the hotel. 52 condominiums and 254 hotel rooms are planned. Staggered balconies scaling the corner of the all-white tower will resemble an Asian lantern.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.