Earlier today my #1 agent asked me who I would refer to in Gatlinburg. He had and old client come into the office and ask him to help him find a Realtor in Gatlinburg,Tn. I told him to give me a few minutes and let me ponder that.

My ponder lead me to my office and desktop computer and a log-on to Activerain. Since I did not know someone from an almost daily contact on Activerain, I pulled up the states, picked Tennessee and then picked the city of Gatlinburg.

Guess what? The top two agents on the page did not have enough smarts to even load up their picture! I clicked on the number 3 position(he had his picture), and there were current posts(some of which I read)he had done. Not only that, he had a great profile filled out explaining his experience and the team he had assembled in place to help him.

I told my agent to call Jeff Schoenfield in Gatlinburg,Tn and he did so a few minutes later. He ended up on the phone with his buyers agent and now our client is now their client. Jeff, if you have google alert set up for your name, you are welcome for the referral!

Thank-you Activerain for helping us help ourselves with this internet marketing!

I received a google alert for the term Destin Pelican Beach Resort this morning. It was an article originally written in the Florida Sportsman Magazine just a few days ago.

The reason the alert popped up is because the fishermen in the article stayed at the Pelican Beach Resort. They were quoted as saying they stayed on the 7th floor and had a view of the ocean and morning sun. They had to have stayed in a 2 bedroom on the angled side which has a somewhat side view of the beach.

My #1004 is on the 10th floor and directly faces the gulf. Personally I prefer looking out of the condo directly at the ocean. It was be very easy from my balcony to be a fish spotter for a friend fishing from shore behind the resort.

Here is a link to that Destin fishing article and I know you will enjoy. If you are interested in booking a Destin beachfront condo for your next Florida vacation check out my availability calendar at Destinpelicanbeachresort.com and then call or text me for pricing and additional information (731-589-7841).

In searching for a post to reblog as part of testingof new software on the new activerain website I chose to reblog Lynn Pineda's post about 5 stages before a short sale is considered.

Who says the Kindle fire isn't an Ipad killer? It is if you like to read books and surf the net and check your e-mail and download awesome free apps.  This is in addition to being able to pull up my listings on the MLS and share them with customers I am with.

For someone like me who likes to save money, the $199 Kindle Fire is an economical alternative. I paid about $500 for each of my daughters' Ipad2's. They love them but they cannot do hardly any more with theirs than I can my Kindle. The only thing I have found that I cannot do that they can do is face time. That's it!

I have my email loaded on it, several free(did I say free?) books either I now own or I checked out at the library. I took a Kindle class yesterday at the public library and fell in love there(with my Kindle) after I found out I didn't know hardly anything that the Kindle is capable of.

I am no expert but I know one thing. I love my Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire is an IPAD killer!

Almost 3 years ago my wife and I purchased a Destin beachfront condo at the Pelican Beach Resort. At that time rentals were not quite up to par. The second year rentals were still not great but this past year 2011 the rental market came back.

If you will remember, the oil spill really affected business in general all along the gulf coast. However, Destin never really saw any of that oil from the spill but people across the country were scared because of all the news hype.

2011 was the turn around year for the beach condo rental market.This year 2012 promises to be even better that last year. I am getting bookings every day and some are unable to book my unit because their dates are already taken. Click on that link up above to see if your dates are available and to get more information.

I had a snowbird check-in at the beginning of this month and leaving the middle of March. They just re-booked my unit for 2013.

Since the rental market is so good, it might be a good time to contact one of the fine Destin Realtors and purchase your condo while the prices are still at the bottom.

Are you moving to Dyersburg,Tennessee and you know the subdivision or neighborhood you want to live in?  I have made it very easy to find your next home in your favorite Dyersburg subdivision or neighborhood by just clicking this Dyersburg subdivisions link.

When you click into the link you will see about 18-19 different Dyersburg subdivisions and neighborhoods. You should be able to see the current homes listed for sale in the Dyersburg MLS.

Whether you are looking to live in The Farms, Lakewood,Rolling Meadows,Cottonvilla or the others areas listed, this will make your house hunt much easier. If I have missed an area you are interested in let me know and I will add it if possible.

If you appreciate this feature I have created then contact me when you are ready to look at one or more of the homes. I am Mike frazier and my direct number is 731-589-7841.

As most of you know, there is now a competitor for Apple's Ipad and its the Kindle Fire. I bought each of my daughters an Ipad 2 for Christmas but they cost $499 each.

I personally like to read and have almost quit reading new books because of the higher sticker prices. I am considering a Kindle Fire that I would want to be not only an ereader but also use it sometimes to get on the internet and get on activerain while laying in bed.

There was one person who commented on a post on activerain that she was unable to do comments on posts. Have any of you experienced that? I do have some trouble with my Droid x phone and I believe they use the same or similiar operating systems.

Do any of you belong to that club on Amazon that costs $79 a year and allows you free video and movie streaming on the device? I believe that you would also get one free book download per month, is that right?

Can I use the Kindle Fire with a client to highlight one of my listings on the internet(assuming near a wifi signal)?

I would appreciate any information you can give me as a owner and user of a Kindle Fire!

I am ready to declare that the Dyersburg real estate market is back and in recovery mode! Here is a post I did on my Dyersburg real estate market blog about the final numbers for 2011. I also did a post here on activerain detailing what happened in the Dyersburg real estate market in 2011.

Yesterday confirmed what I have already decided is happening in the Dyersburg market. Tammy Ladd from First Citizens National Bank Mortgage division came to speak at Carousel Realty's weekly training/staff meeting. She also brough us a delicious lunch compliments of First Citizens. Thank-you so much!

We had lots of questions for Tammy:

1. How well did the mortgage division do in 2011?
2. Have they added new personnel to help getting loans closed on time?
3. Are mortgage applications in January up or down verses same time last year?
4. How quickly can they close a loan?
5. What does Tammy and First Citizens have to offer different from other banks?

Here are Tammy's answers:

1. The mortgage closings were up over 2010 but especially in the last 2 months.
2. Tammy has gone from processing loans to originating loans so now 3 different people are originating. They have added additional people to process the loans. They also have 2 in-house underwriters that make the loan decisions. 
3. Mortgage applications are way up over same time in 2011.
4. First Citizens processes and closes loans now according to close date. If we want a much quicker closing, the file will be pushed to the front providing the applicant provides all the required paperwork in a timely manner.
5. Tammy says she is paid just like we as Realtors are. She is paid per closed loan. She strives for great customer service and knows if she does that then there will be many repeat customers.

Based on what is happening in the Dyersburg MLS and what the bank is saying, the Dyersburg real estate market is on a rebound and let me say it is about time!

Every first Saturday my family and I drive to Union City,Tennessee(35 miles away) to shop their 50% off first Saturday of the month day.

I am sure most of you have heard of Goodwill Industries who raises money like this to help those in need. We have a trailer(tractor trailer) parked at our local Lowe's store with an attendant who acccepts clothes and furniture, etc. donations which are then transported to Union City to the Goodwill store.

I always buy books and clothing and love good deals. Our total today was $85 but it got chopped in half. If you have never shopped at a goodwill, you really should as there are lots of good deals and the money goes for a good cause. I got a couple of portable heaters for the agents in my office(chill chasers).

Here are the final numbers for Dyersburg,Tn residential sales for 2011. For the entire year(2011) the Dyersburg MLS sold $13,891,435 verses $9,999,708 for 2010. That is an increase of 39%.

Looking at the entire county(Dyer) 2011 residential sales actually slipped 3%. This is for the outskirts of Dyersburg and does not include Dyersburg or outlying cities.

The city of Newbern residential sales fell by 40% over 2010.

From these numbers I can see that the city of Dyersburg real estate market is beginning to recover but there are continued problems in the outlying areas.