Real Estate Views from St Pete

Villa Terranova is the latest home on Snell Isle built by Windstar Homes. Snell Isle is close to downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, and has many 1920s homes as well as 2000s homes. This home on Snell Isle Harbor has 18,000 sq ft and is built on two lots. It will be occupied by a family of three: Jon and Suzanne Clements and their 10 year old son, J, Jack.  As a custom built home, it's unlikely you'd ever have a chance to see the inside.

To benefit All Children's Hospital, the Clements are allowing the public to tour their home this weekend, as well as October 2-5 and October 9-12. Hours are 10 - 5 Thursdays through Saturdays and 12-5 on Sundays. Admission is only $15 per person ald the proceeds benefit All Children's Hospital.

Windstar Homes believes in giving back to the community. Bobby Gross, co-owner of Windstar Homes, is on the Board of Directors of All Children's Hospital.

Satisfy your curiosity - get decorating ideas - see new luxury construction features - and support a good cause. Head over to Snell Isle and see Villa Terranova.

Rendering is courtesy of Windstar Homes.

Multiple offers are here in St Petersburg, Florida and the Gulf Beaches.

No - it's not back to 2005 when each listing had multiple offers, rising above the listing price.

This is 2008 and it's buyers making offers on multiple homes.

Version 1:  4 condos in this building would be acceptable to Buyer. Buyer offers same offer (low) on all 4 units, including the comment - I am making 4 simultaneous offers. I will take the first one that gets back to me accepting the offer, at which time the others will become null and void.

Version 2:  Here are my 10 favorite homes, along with the price I'd be willing to pay for each of them. I'll sign all ten offers, same clause as above - with first acceptance, other offers will be null and void. If none of these are accepted, we'll go to our next list.

So - the days of falling in love with a single house are gone (at the moment), and the reality of a buyer wanting protection against further falling home prices is here.

Many, many sellers are asking - do you think the offer that came in 4-5-6 months ago is still interested? Haven't found one that was still interested, and if they were, they'd offer less now.

One of my favorite magazines is Fast Company, because it has some cutting ideas and interview with many leading, interesting people.

This month, in it's October issue it has an article called The Cure. This discusses how 3 hospitals in central Pennsylvania have reduced costs, improved health care, and replaced fee-for-service with pay-for performance (P4P). It discusses consistency, checklists. The concept relies on implementing what clinical data says works.

By the way, use IE, not Firefox. On Firefox I couldn't get it to stop repeating the ad, never getting to the content.

Broadwater is a great waterfront neighborhood in southwest St Petersburg, on Boca Ciega Bay and the Intercoastal Waterway. The rainbow ends here, and living in this neighborhood is indeed a pot of gold.

A neighbor sent me this photo with the rainbow ending right on this waterfront home in Broadwater, St. Petersburg.

It's on a wide yacht basin (do it's protected, deep, and has lots of turning space for large yachts or sailboats(up to 90 feet long it they're parallel to the seawall, larger if they're angled or perpendicular). More on this renovated waterfront home on its own website.

The last time I was sent a rainbow picture it was from a landowner's daughter in Tennessee, and showeda rainbow ending at one corner of her father's farm - not long after that we drilled in Tennessee's largest oil well - right at the spot where the rainbow ended.

So  if you're looking for a treasure, check out this open plan, renovated waterfront pool home in a great neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Florida.

No future rainbows guaranteed, but I will give the new owner  a copy of the three rainbow photos forwarded to me by the neighborhood across the yacht basin.

p.s. - Yes that's the hint of a second rainbow to the left - but that home's not available for sale.

Last week I blogged about Kahwa coffee shop in downtown St Petersburg. One of the questions was: was the lovely design a heart or a leaf.  Answer: a heart.  The second design was a leaf.

This morning I shared coffee with both Raphael and his wife, Sarah, co-owners of Kahwa coffee - both this local coffee shop and a wholesale coffee roasting business here in St Pete. Mmm, both the coffee and the conversation were great - and the shop was busy, both inside and out. Several of my friends were there as well, including Jamie Bennett, the Chairman of the St Pete City Council.

I took home a pound of Sirocco coffee beans, so that I could enjoy their specially roasted coffee at home, too.

Sarah spoke of how different St Petersburg is now from when she left several years ago - Raphael added it's improved a lot in just the last three years - and you know they're including coffee in their definition of improved. What you might not know about this couple? They spent their honeymoon at the Marriott Los Suenos resort in Jaco, Costa Rica.

Remember - Kahwa Coffee is at 475 2nd St N (the corner of 2nd St N and 5th Ave N) and opens at 7:30 am on weekdays and 8:30 am on weekends. It's not just for locals - if you're staying at the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel, the Heritage Hotel, Marriott Courtyard or Hampton Inn - just walk on over and enjoy some local flavor, a friendly environment, and some great coffee.

We could (and should) say Welcome to our new neighbors across the street, since they moved in on Friday, but they beat us to the punch -

our new neighbors invited the owners of all 98 homes on our street as well as their own family and friends to a New Home party last night. It started with their Dad's 90th birthday party in the afternoon, for family that flew in from around the country, and went on to a grand celebration.

Neighbors got to meet their new neighbors, see the new house, and mix and mingle.

For these new homeowners, Mike and Debbie Zito, it was the second neighborhood party. More than a year ago, they held a party for neighbors and friends in the old house that they tore down - new plans were tacked on the walls, and graffiti and sledgehammers were welcomed. They introduced the contractor, who gave the neighbors his card with a phone number to call if they had any problems.

My husband, George, was the unofficial superintendent, and went over across the street every night for the past 18 months or so, to inspect what had gone on during the day.

Congratulations, Mike and Debbie, on a job well done, and on a great party as well!  Thank you for inviting us!

This Costa Rica sunset shot was taken by one of our co-travelers, Jeff. It's been a month since Tami and I visited Costa Rica to check out investment opportunities for some of our clients - and now it's time to write about that experience - long past time, to be precise.

We went to the Central Pacific coast, to the del Pacifico development in Esterillo Este, between Jaco and Quepos. The weekend Gathering truly exposed us to the lifestyle of being there in Costa Rica.

The Ticos (Costa Rican people) were so very friendly. There were boundless active activities - or you could laze by the pool or walk along a solitary beach. The people we met at the Gathering - the del Pacifico people, the potential buyers, the owners who were visiting or waiting for their home to be built ... were a great group of interesting people that we enjoy spending time with.

More about real estate later - for now, just know that it's a fantastic place to escape to.

The many comments to my Webinars post brought up some additional points: Main criteria are interaction and convenience.

With "webinars" that are really teleconferences or broadcasts, i.e. that are primarily listening to the speaker, panelists, interviewer/interviewee - which are the least desirable "webinars" for me, I agree with Katerina Gasset, who said she likes teleconferences because she can call in and walk around or listen in her car - for that I prefer the tapes or CDs that StarPower, Jack Peckham and many others have been producing for years, that I can listen to in my car whenever I want. Or, to be more up-to-date - that can be downloaded onto my iPod for listening anywhere, anytime. That's convenience.

If it's truly a teleconference, like our FIABCI luxury group monthly calls, then the phone connection is fine (of course it would be nice to see everyone who speaks on the screen so that And for me - clicking two survey buttons during an hour's phone call doesn't count as "interactive". Even for those calls, seeing each other on the computer screen would be even better, so that we can identify names and faces, if we don't already know each other. It's the "listen only" ones that I'm referring to above. At the very least, interactive needs to engage all of our senses. We need to be involved rather than passive to learn the most. In addition to seeing the participants on the computer screen (and sometimes they just speak and don't appear), I like seeing examples of the marketing they're talking about, screen shots with arrows and movements when they're teaching a computer skill. If polls and questions can be included on a sidebar, so much the better. That's interaction.

And of course - what's the real content and level? This applies to conference sessions, seminars, meetings, etc. Please describe exactly what's going to be covered, rather than a specific topic. Please specify if this is very basic, hoping to capture all levels, advanced, etc. Otherwise, you'll not only get walkouts and hangups, you'll have disgruntled attendees who could have better scheduled their time.

Best of all - adding that little something extra - since many of us can't take an hour in the middle of a business day, an hour away from our family or a monthly meeting in the evening - post the webinar on the web (yes, it's ok to be for registrants only so that you can keep track of who's listening - but then, let the registrants know upfront that if they register they can attend the "live" event or catch it on the web later, and ideally for the Katerina-types, also have it available for download to an iPod for later listening-only pleasure).

This time - add your comments, of course, but also please share with us which webinars you've found the best technologically, and the best in content.

                               ***********************************************

p.s.  Stefan Swanepoel has opened voting for "The Top 100 Most Influential Women in Real Estate". You can vote for 5 people, and Stefan has separated the 100 nominees into 5 categories. Voting closes at noon on Friday the 26th, but don't wait. Vote now!

Call me spoiled!

It hasn't been that long that we've had webinars to the extent that we do now. Yesterday there were three separate organizations that I belong to holding webinars.

You can't tell from the term webinar exactly what it means. Sometimes it's interactive and sometimes it's just dialing in to a central phone number.

That's where I'm spoiled ... and I think our clients are spoiled when it comes to technology, too.

After having some Go To Meeting type interactive sessions, where I can see the people who are talking, and see what they're writing, I like it better than listening to a phone call for an hour.

I like having the choice of plugging in a headphone and microphone (so it doesn't bother anyone around me) rather than having to use a phone - it's cumbersome and it costs  money.

I'm all for webinars, but let's make them worthy of the name.

Some people like to hold on to things - and I don't mean antiques. I mean old magazines, newspaper clippings, e-mails from years ago. Amy is always after me to clean out my e-mail because it fills up, both in Eudora (old) and Outlook (a couple of years new). My Home on Active Rain is like that, too.  Do I ever go back to look at something that's more than a week old? Probably not - but I might!

So the Active Rain designers helped me clean out My Home. Yes, they have an "Are You Sure" button after the "Delete" button, but it's just like doubleclicking, it's automatic.  If they really didn't want us to confuse Delete Selected with Delete All they wouldn't put the two choices on the same side of the computer screen.

It's just like Microsoft with their x for close document so close to X for close program. It's all too easy when you're in a hurry or not concentrating to click the upper X instead of the lower x.

So, thanks, Active Rain, I guess. You forced me to clean out My Home and start with a clean slate. It sure does feel uncomfortable.

And if I've missed responding to anyone - I'm sorry, but now you know why.

p.s.  Active Rain - that Thanks was tongue-in-cheek.  Take it as a suggestion to put the two delete choices on opposite sides of the screen.

This deceptive return address is a solicitation to renew a subscription to ACT! Extra. 

Some years ago, when I first started using ACT! as my contact management program, I subscribed to ACT! Extra. Since I didn't find it valuable, I did not renew the subscription. At first they kept sending me invoices and Past Due notices, with PAST DUE splattered all over the outside of the envelopes that came to my office (Thanks for that reputation). For the first year or two, I sent several mail responses and left several phone messages that I did NOT want to renew and to please take me off their mailing list.  No - they're still sending stuff, often from different return addresses. 

When I opened this envelope this morning, I was really ticked off, to find yet another "subscriptional renewal notice" from these people. How can these people imagine that I would want to do business when anyone who has to resort to these tactics?

I don't believe there is any direct connection with ACT! software, which is owned by Sage.

In any case - I just wanted to warn any of you thinking of subscribing to ACT! Extra that you may never, ever be rid of those people! The company (?) at the top of the notice is Eli Research with a post office box in Philadelphia.

Kahwa is the new favorite neighborhood coffee shop, at the border of downtown St Petersburg and the Old Northeast neighborhood, and within walking distance of the Renaissance Vinoy Resort. Today was still hot in St Pete, so people were sitting inside with their coffee, reading newspapers, checking their e-mail on the free wireless, or chatting with regulars and newcomers alike. The shop was opened in March of this year by Catherine and Jean Thibault and Sarah and Raphael Perrier, so it has a distinct French flavor. Raphael and Jean are master roasters, and the two couples have had a roasting warehouse and wholesale business here in St Petersburg since 2006. Before that, they were in Philadelphia - then Raphael convinced Sarah to return home for the Renaissance of St Petersburg.

When I came in this morning Aaron and Leeanne were hard at work. I looked at the choices - Kahwa offers four blends both by the cup and by the pound, named for 4 winds of the world: Sirocco, Mistral, Boreas and Zonda. Not only does Kahwa supply local restaurants from Parkshore Grille to the Garden and from Cafe Alma to the Don ce Sar, they also supply Paul Bocuse, Michel Richard and Joel Antunes. Coffee ... Expresso ... hm, I'll take a latte this morning. Despite the ambiance, this morning mine will be To Go.

My latte came with the lid off, in case I wanted to add sugar (I didn't). How could you not smile when you see this heart in your coffee? Of course I had to take a photo of this. Aaron noticed, of course, and while I was talking with Leeanne he prepared a cup of coffee To Stay:

Yes, definitely another photo. I carefully brought it over to one of the tables so that there wouldn't be the distractions of the counter. Now everyone seemed to be taking notice of this crazy woman taking photos of coffee.

Raphael Perrier, one of the co-owners of Kahwa Coffee and a master roaster, introduced himself and started asking me questions. I told him that although his shop is just 3 blocks from my office, it was a client who brought me in. The client is renting in Parkshore Plaza, just "around the corner" and whenever I'd pick him up to show property, he'd always insist that we stop at Kahwa to get some coffee to take with us. One thing led to another, and now I come in whether it's for coffee to go or coffee to stay. Raphael told me about working in Philadelphia for La Colombe and then convincing his wife Sarah to move back to her St Petersburg home because it was an up-and-coming spot, ripe for a renaissance. So, from Leon, France, Raphael wound up in St Petersburg Florida. Though the building is contemporary and the decor is minimalist, this French cafe is warm with its Cheers-like atmosphere and it's heart is evident both in the conversation and on the coffee!

The customers next to Raphael joined in the conversation and wanted to pose - didn't I want to show happy customers?  Of course! Welcoming smiles stop time, just for a moment, and we can pretend we're in Europe.

Kahwa coffee cafe is located at 475 2nd Street North in downtown St Petersburg Florida. Weekends they're open from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm and weekends from 8:30 to 5:30. To borrow from their coffee website, Tradition, Perfection, Passion: Kahwa Coffee Roasting strives to bring to your table the ultimate Coffee Experience.  At Kahwa Coffee roasting, our process is simple: Green Arabica beans from different regions of the world selected for their specific inherent characteristics, hand picked when fully ripened, blended together according to strict proportions, and traditionally roasted at the right temperature so their flavors mingle in perfect harmony obtaining what, for every master roaster and customer is looking for, the perfectly balanced blend.

Even the New York Times wrote about Kahwa in their article on St. Petersburg.

So - stop in for coffee at Kahwa - and tell them Sharon Simms sent you!

Remember when clients were taking out adjustable rate loans - most of them chose an index based on a regional cost of funds, but some of them chose a rate based on Libor, the London interbank offered rate, because they thought it was less volatile.

The Wall St Journal reported this morning that the overnight dollar Libor soared to the largest jump on record - from 3.10625% to 6.4375%! In just a day the rate more than doubled! This is the overnight rate, but longer term Libor rates also rose, but nowhere near as drastically.

Today I spoke with a colleagues in Colorado and Texas who said that a Washington Mutual representative had told them that they were now requiring no more than 25% non-owner-occupied condo units in a building, a change from 50% (a huge change). Have you heard that?

I know that the lenders are also considering how many condo units are behind in paying their monthly condo association payments. Do you know what percentage becomes a problem? It's a serious concern since the ongoing obligations must be paid by the remaining paying condo owners, whether through an assessment or increased fees.

With so many condos on the market, the increasing difficulty of financing these condos - while logical - magnifies the problem.

Davis-Anthony home & garden shop is scheduled to open October 1st in Parkshore Plaza in downtown St Petersburg Florida.Davis Freeman and Philip Weber are opening their home & garden shop to beautify your urban spaces.

Whether you have a condo balcony or a home with a backyard, Davis-Anthony has something for you.

They have "stuff" from potting soil to plants to window boxes, from fountains to statues to cut flowers and candles. They have design services that can plan your garden space or deck out a space for a party.

For black thumbs like me or whether you travel a lot, you may be interested in their plant maintenance services.

Philip Weber studied design at Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.  They plan to have classes on Saturdays for urban gatdeners as well as aspiring green thumbs.

The Davis-Anthony Home & Garden shop is in the space formerly occupied by the Croatian Art Gallery. While we were sad to see them close, we welcome Davis and Philip to downtown St Petersburg!

Once open on October 1st, they'll be open weekdays from 10 am to 9 pm, Saturdays from 8 am to 9 pm and Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm. They are located at 300 Beach Drive NE in downtown St Petersburg, in the shops of Parkshore Plaza.

Welcome, Davis and Philip!

Martha Brown posted earlier today about "I guess I better bring the cow" and that brought to mind a recent offer on one of our listings:

the buyers wanted a boat included in the sale.

Now, that's not all so unusual in Florida, when the buyers see a boat behind the house, but in this case it was strange because there was no boat behind the house. In fact, the sellers would have to buy a boat in order to convey it to the buyers.

I thought this was pretty ridiculous, but once the sellers slept on it, they thought that would make sense, because they could actually use the boat until closing.

So, this was a reminder - never answer for your clients, and don't presume that you know what they'll decide.

Brad Andersohn posted about how to use the forms feature in google docs and how to insert it into your blog posts. I thought that would be a good opportunity to

test whether his instructions worked

and

see who uses google docs

so here is a form I did in google docs in just a few minutes:

9/19/08 - just to update you, it's pretty neat to check the responses on the spreadsheet. 71% of the respondents use google docs, 19% do not. 

There is currently an optional box to check after we comment, "Notify me of new comments".

Often I want to know if the blogger post another comment, whether in response to me (which encourages conversations) or in response to others, but not to have 30 or 100 comments from others coming to my e-mail or My Home.

Could you add a second box as an option,

                                               Notify Me When the Blogger Comments?

Would anyone else like to see that choice?

Last night agents from RE/MAX Metro held a client appreciation evening. It was held at the studio of artist Patton Hunter.

In addition to lots of conversation and new people finding things in common,

clients were treated with a private showing of Patton Hunter's painting, and a look at her studio;

and

they were able to see one of the condominium units at McNulty Lofts in downtown St Petersburg - seeing the paintings, the sunset, and really feeling what it would be like to come home to McNulty Lofts every night.

I'd guess there were a couple of hundred people greeting and chatting over wine and cheese - even Patton's cat meandered among the guests.

There were paintings on the walls in every room - and it was delight to see the wide range of style that Patton has painted - there was truly something for everyone! We did see paintings being taken off the walls and purchased.

Most of the attendees thought this was a unique event and expressed pleasure.

    They were able to meet Patton Hunter, talk with her and ask questions. What a bonus!

At noon some friends pulled up at the dock behind our house to pick us up for lunch. We got on board and all boated over to the yacht club on Pass-a-Grille. We had a leisurely lunch inside - it was too hot for us to want to sit on the deck in the sun, and we could see the yachts just as well from inside. We showed our friends around the renovated club (the St Petersburg Yacht Club purchased and merged the Pass-a-Grille Yacht Club a year ago. For us it's closer by boat than the St Pete club. By car, we're about 10 minutes from either club. There are at least a couple of dozen nearby restaurants when we can take our boat for lunch or dinner.