Real Estate Views from St Pete

Jeff Corbett posted today about your rights to something you've posted on a third party site. He disabled comments, but suggested that anyone with opinions write their own post and link back.

Active Rain is more liberal than most sites - and if they are giving us the exposure they do, why shouldn't they have some rights?

Our posts and even our comments are often picked up by google. So - regardless of our "contract" with Active Rain, by posting, we're allowing our writing to be public. Even on our own sites, we can delete content, but perhaps the deleted content was captured by another site that captures what was on our site at a given point in time.

When we change companies, the former franchise may demand that we remove all references to their company - we can't always do that - a site that connected us may no longer be "manned" or able to be contacted, but the connection is still out there.

The internet is a public domain - once we release our writings to the internet, we may no longer be in control. This is not meant to address plagiarism, merely the cataloguing of what we wrote.

This week I went over to Signature Place in downtown St Petersburg to look at their new models. It would be nice to go up in the tower, both to see the views and to see the unique configurations of the tower condos - but, alas, it's too early to be allowed to do that.

The two models are in their west building. Though they don't give you the feel that the tower condos will have, you can see the quality of construction, the materials and the finishes. The vignettes in the previous sales centers gave a very good idea of the kitchens and baths. The models show that the condos live larger than their square footage.

Two pleasant surprises for me were the views from the condos: the model on the east side had views of Tampa Bay on both sides of the narrow tower; the view on the west side, though facing a parking garage, was much more pleasant than I'd expect since the McNulty Lofts garage is brick, adding interest. If would be really nice if the "window boxes" had plants and greenery.

Signature Place expects to be finished by the end of March 2009, at which time they will start their closings and move-ins.

If you walk along Beach Drive NE in downtown St Petersburg, you see activity in the retail portions of 400 Beach.

Unlike the ill-fated Ooze and Schmooze, 400 Beach Seafood & Tap House is well underway, with interior partitions going up daily. This plan and a rendering of what the interior will look like are displayed in the windows. 400 Beach is scheduled to open this spring.

The owners of the very successful Parkshore Grill, just a block away, are the owners of 400 Beach Seafood & Tap House, and they certainly have the recipe for success. One day this week I arrived at Parkshore at noon with a guest I was taking to lunch and all but one of the outdoor tables were occupied and the line waiting to get in was quite long. Knowing I wouldn't get an outside table, we left to have lunch across the street at the MFA Cafe at the Museum of Fine Arts. We had a delicious lunch there at an outside table overlooking the yachts in the Vinoy Basin.

This is a wakeup call that bandaids on stimulus and housing aren't going to solve the problems. We and our elected representatives need to dig down to make sure we aren't making things worse instead of better.

This is the seating area in my new office at ALVA International, Inc real estate in downtown St Petersburg Florida. The chairs and the "table" (a round piece of glass on top of some storage boxes) are the ones that were in my own office. I changed the cushions, added the palm plant, and the coordinating artwork (available for purchase) is from Image Creations of Florida.

Certainly looks a little different, wouldn't you say?

Do these treats in the bakery case look good enough to eat? Absolutely. But these treats offered at Wags, 234 Beach Drive NE in downtown St Petersburg, are for your dog, not for you!

Wags is now open with dog food, cat food, regular and special treats, leashes and more. They offer dog grooming and a dog spa, and next week will be extending their hours from 7 am to 6 pm to offer doggie day care - with separate facilities for small dogs and for large dogs.

Right across from the Museum of Fine Arts on Beach Dr in downtown St Petersburg is a one story building with Weniger Raymond James Financial, ALVA International real estate and Wags Dog Salon.

ALVA International, Inc., a boutique real estate company in downtown St Petersburg Florida believes in synergy.

Their conference room has art on the walls done by local artists, all of which are available for purchase through Image Creations of Florida, which represents several local artists and provides framing and decorating services. The owners of ICF, Linda and Jack Albrecht, have been clients of The Simms Team for many years.

For our conference table at ALVA International, we wanted something large enough for closings, yet cozy enough to feel comfortable for smaller groups of 3-5. Our solution - this round table, which can comfortably accomodate 3-6 at equal points around the table, or with a leaf will expand to an oval large enough for 8.

We want our Simms Team office to reflect a welcoming home, a "third place". So far, I think we've succeeded.

Our new real estate office, ALVA International, Inc. in downtown St Petersburg is pet friendly as well as people friendly.

Beach Drive is a popular spot for walkers, whether they're shopping, visiting the museums and art galleries, strolling to walk off a great meal at one of several nearby restaurants, or dogwalking. The Simms Team keeps a dog bowl of water outside the ALVA International office for the passing dogs, and keeps dog treats inside - not everyone wants their pet to have them.

Molly and Tasha visit frequently, and are part of our real estate family. We keep their treats in a special drawer in our reception area.

Some of the nearby restaurants have areas of their outside dining that allow people to bring their pets along.

Come enjoy wonderful downtown St Petersburg Florida.

In a comment on a Costa Rica post I wrote yesterday Shirley Parks in a comment said "someday you will have to tell us how you got into Costa Rica real estate."  So I shall:

When your normal business slows down, as real estate has over the last couple years, you need to look for an additional niche. Many people have gone into short sales or foreclosures - my choice was to develop a niche within my international area. I have my CIPS designation, have a local network of international service providers, and have served international clients for over 20 years, but hadn't focused on selling properties abroad.

The sales of single family homes has slowed, partly because many potential buyers have been unable to sell the home they already own. Ah - but many second home buyers don't need to sell in order to buy. I've served buyers who want second homes here in St Pete, but what about people in St Pete who want second homes somewhere else?

I could have focused on a ski area, but I don't ski. So I wanted a warm, pleasant climate. I love the Big Island of Hawaii, but it's just too far away from Florida.

When attending the International Congress in Miami that RAMB puts on every year, I met some folks from del Pacifico, a 700 acre development on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. I liked the people, and what they had to say about del Pacifico, so Tami and I made arrangements to go check it out.

In the meantime, I did some research, and found that many people from the Tampa Bay area vacation in Costa Rica and many of them already own property there. I checked out flights from Florida to Costa Rica, and read books on buying real estate in Costa Rica, their business practices and their lifestyle.

I went, I saw, I fell in love with the area. (Veni, Vidi, ??) That was just the first trip. Now in fact, I'm in the process of purchasing there myself (how's that for believing in your product?) I've brought potential purchasers there.

So, Shirley - does that tell you enough?

Sometimes it's better to show a little than a lot. Rather than show the whole facade of this $3,500,000 estate in Costa Rica, this shows you the warmth, the woods, the detail, the welcoming, comforting feeling. I think it conveys more emotion than one with more details:

This lets you see more of the details - not only the wood and the brick, but the barrel tiles and the arches and the clerestory windows. It tells more, but I don't think it has the impact.

Which do you prefer?

Welcome to our new neighbor

Wags Dog Daycare Salon & Boutique

at 234 Beach Drive NE in downtown St Petersburg Florida.

Construction has been going on for months, so we're delighted to see that al is finished and they're ready for business.

In addition to doggie day care and grooming, there are lots of dog goodies at Wags. We can recommend them highly - the first day we had some Wags treats wrapped and ready in a basket at ALVA International real estate (a variety of flavors, including beef liver and chicken), our frequent dog visitor, Molly, came in and made a beeline for the basket, immediately grabbing a package in her mouth, wrapping and all. After we extricated it from her mouth, unwrapped the treats, and gave her one, she immediately started jumping up for more - enthusiastically jumping well off her hind legs - and barking. Ummm, good! (We no longer keep them at doggie level.)

So - if you want to give your dog a REALLY good treat - stop in at Wags and buy a selection of them.

This afternoon Wells Fargo foreclosed on Baywalk retail complex in downtown St. Petersburg. Other developers had expressed interest, but none placed a winning bid today.

Baywalk was a critical part in the redevelopment of St. Petersburg, and hopefully will again be a popular and successful destination. We enjoy Gratzzi's Italian restaurant, which is one of the original tenants. Chico's is another early tenant, as is Muvico. The existing businesses and restaurants will continue operating.

It's expected that Wells Fargo Bank will redevelop and improve the property prior to placing it actively for sale.

This week we finished the last of the furniture shopping for ALVA International's new real estate office in downtown St Petersburg Florida. Tami and I made round after round of antique shops, consignment shops and new furniture stores, looking for the perfect pieces for our reception area and for our conference room. Our actual offices were pretty easy - Amy got a new desk with extra storage spaces; Rob, Tami and I used the desks we had at the previous office. Furniture shopping can certainly be exhausting - I'm glad we can get back to real estate marketing and sales!

The chairs came from The Missing Piece in Tampa; the secretary came from the Bay Area Antique Mall.

This week someone came inside and asked if this was an interior design shop or a real estate office. Nice compliment! We wanted to make the office inviting and comfortable, and visitors' unsolicited comments indicate that we've accomplished that.

After many years of not being able to know where your child will be assigned to school for any given address or neighborhood in Pinellas County Florida, it's refreshing to have a simple School Zone Locator - just type in your address and your zoned elementary, middle and high schools will pop up. The Pinellas County School Board site also has an elementary zone map, and information on magnet and fundamental schools.The deadline is fast approaching to apply for magnet, fundamental and career academy programs - applications must be in by Monday, February 16th.

It's rather interesting to see all the new businesses opening in a declining economy. Here in St Petersburg Florida there are a number of dog salons opening.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal this week wrote about the opening of "Gone to the Dogs Boutique & Grooming on Corey Avenue in downtown St Pete Beach Florida. Recently Best Buddies Dog Boutique opened at 400 Beach.

This week Wags Dog Salon, Grooming and Day Care opens next door to us, ALVA International, Inc. a real estate brokerage, on Beach Drive NE in downtown St Petersburg.

Overvue condominiums near downtown St Petersburg Florida never made it to completion, so the once assisted living community of Northshore is about to reture as retirement apartments. Westminster Communities, which currently has 3 retirement communities in St Petersburg, including one, Westminster Palms, just a block away from this, has purchased the high-rise building through the bankruptcy court for $9 million.

Westminster Communities has issued bonds for $15 million, which will cover both the initial purchase and the renovations. They plan 135 retirement apartments - a higher density than the 72 condominium units planned by Overvue.

The building at the lower right of the photo is already owned by Westminster so it's a very appropriate location for expansion.

Occupancy is scheduled for the beginning of 2010.

Congratulations and Well Done to Joel Cantor and Gulf Atlantic Communities, Inc., developers of Signature Place in downtown St Petersburg Florida. Many developers in the current economic situation would discount unsold condos and leave those would contracted to buy 2 and 3 years ago to hang out there, with evaporating equity.

Not Joel Cantor. Joel appreciated the confidence and loyalty of the purchasers who signed contracts pre-construction, so has announced that they will be receiving "significant" price reductions. He feels that THEY should be receiving compensation and reward for their confidence and loyalty.

The amount of these price reductions has not yet ben announced.

For many original purchasers who must be considering whether to buy or bolt, this may make the difference - not only the money, but the philosophy of the developer.

Thanks, Joel, and Congratulations for your integrity.

There are so many sad reasons to sell:

Short Sale

Foreclosure

Must Sell!

Distress Sale

that we thought it was important to let people know this is a happy sale - the owner has been very happy in the house and is selling because she's getting married.

Pink Streets Home For Sale

They're getting married! She's selling her home; he's selling his home; they're buying a new home together.

Sometimes homes has vibes - and it's good to know that a home was happy and that there were good times there. Perhaps that means that you'll have god times there as well.

More than one person looking at this home in the three days since it came on the market said, "He must be quite a guy for her to give up this house!" He is. And this means that there's a wonderful home in a great neighborhood available for sale. Hurry, and it can be yours.

Today is Sunday, a typical Open House day.

When someone comes to your Open House and says, I'm working with Realtor Jane, or I've been working with Realtor Mitch - what do you do?

Do you respect that relationship, and the fact that the prospect has volunteered that information? Do you respect the loyalty that prospect/buyer has to the agent they've been working with? And then you contact their agent to follow up?

Do you ask if they have a signed exclusive relationship, and if they don't, then you pounce on them as "free meat"?

Realtor D, after hearing Prospect B say that they are working with Realtor A, says - oh, I have a pocket listing here in the building, and I'll call them, but if you don't act right now and sign an offer right now, they'll rent it and you'll lose the opportunity.

Realtor C, after learning from Prospect A that they have been working with Realtor X says - well, you can call Realtor X, but if you work directly with me, you can get this house for less money.

Legal?  Ethical?

Is it not enough to represent your seller by working to get your listed property sold? Do you need to be greedy to steal a buyer as well?

Beyond the legal and ethical - what about Integrity?

How you respond to the above situations definitely shows whether or not you have Integrity ... and may also show at what price you sell your integrity.