Michael DeGel's Blog

Manatee Cove Park

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:00:57 -0700

Manatee Cove Park

4905 N Tropical Trail, Merritt Island
Parks Referendum Project
FROM US Hwy 1, go east 2.7 miles on SR-528 to the SR-3 Exit, then left onto Courtenay Parkway (SR-3) and go 3 miles. Turn left on Porcher Road, go 0.4 miles, then right on North Tropical Trail and go 0.2 miles to the park entrance.

Open after sunrise until dusk, except for scheduled use.

This 29.49-acre community river park is a fisherman's retreat. An access road extends from an equestrian facility at the park entrance to a small lagoon that offers refuge for manatees and a launch site for canoes. A natural trail around the lagoon provides access for shoreline fishing. Parks Referendum improvements include a playground, benches, picnic tables and grill located in a shaded area. Construction of a pavilion with serving area and restrooms commences late 2004. For Parks

WATCHABLE WILDLIFE: Waterfowl, Manatees, Bottlenose Dolphin
FACILITY RESERVATIONS: 321-455-1380
Medium Pavilion (seats 100), Equestrian Rings
ADA ACCESSIBLE: Parking, Pavilion, Playground
ACTIVITY FEATURES

· Boat Launch (nonmotorized)

· Equestrian Rings

· Fishing (lagoon shoreline)

· Picnics

· Playground

· Wildlife Observation

DOS & DON'TS: 1) Service animals only or dogs on short leash and only when leading dog between vehicle and boat. 2) Alcoholic beverages in designated areas only. 3) Other restrictions as posted.

Brevard County FL

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:01:55 -0700

Brevard County Fl will be in the movies again. Fliming of Transformers 3 is set to begin this week. They will be on location at Kennedy Space Center.

This isn't the first film to be filmed here in Brevard County. It would seem as if Kennedy Space Center is a huge draw for film makers.

If you ever wanted to be in a movie or work behind the scenes on one, now is your chance. Forward your information, work experience and a photo of yourself if you are seking to be casted as an extra to TF3@gmail.com

Good luck and I hope to see you in the movies!

Hats off to the Florida Film Commission for working to attract more movie makers to Florida and to Bonnie King, Film Commissioner, Space Coast Film Commission, located at 430 Brevard Ave #150, Cocoa, Fl. 32922.

For more information about these commissions you can check out filminflorida.com and Space-Coast.com

www.HomeInCentralFlorida.com

www.HomeInPortStJohn.com

www.MichaelDeGel.com

www.facebook.com/LivingInBrevard

www.facebook.com/HomeInCentralFlorida

Cocoa Beach Air Show

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:28:11 -0700

Coming to Cocoa Beach on October 30 and 31 is the Cocoa Beach Air Show.

The Cocoa Beach Air Show is thrilled to host the USAF Thunderbirds in 2010!
F-22 Raptor will make an Appearance
Next Shuttle Launch Scheduled for Nov 1st
Plan a long weekend in Cocoa Beach!

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will headline the 2nd annual Cocoa Beach Air Show! Military aircraft demonstrations include the USAF F-15 Strike Eagle, C-17 Globemaster III and the USN F-18 Hornet! Military jet demonstrations, parachute team jumps, civilian aerobatic performers and formation flying teams with soar over the beachfront on October 30-31, 2010 from noon to 4pm.

The Take Off Party on Friday night, October 29th will kick off air show weekend in Cocoa Beach. The U.S. Navy Seals Leap Frogs will perform a dazzling night jump over the ocean and land in the middle of the party.

The 920th Rescue Wing locally based at Patrick Air Force Base will showcase their unique skills and multi-faceted mission at the event. In addition to their role as a search and rescue wing for both military and civilian disaster relief operations, the 920th also supports all NASA and Air Force launch operations.

The Air Show can be viewed free from the beach. VIP Clubhouse, and Show Center Beach preferred viewing tickets are on sale now! Quantities are limited.

A boat or watercraft is a great way to view the Cocoa Beach Air Show. When doing so you must pay careful attention to your craft's location. The waters under the aerobatic box where the performers fly aerobatics will be closed by order of the U.S. Coast Guard during the event. The U.S. Coast Guard will be policing these waters and anyone violating their perimeter can face significant fines. In addition, watercraft cannot anchor within 1,800 feet of the beach on the North or South side of these waters.

http://www.cocoabeachairshow.com/

Living In Brevard

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:01:11 -0700

Living In Brevard,

As I entered the world of Social Media and blogging I learned early on to make sure you write what people want to read about. This got me thinking and after a couple bumps in the road I hit paydirt.

I started a page on facebook for poeple that live in Brevard County, Florida or are thinking of moving there or maybe looking for a place to vacation in Florida. www.facebook.com/LivingInbrevard.

I have had a lot of great feedback and I have met some wonderful people this way. I get an opportunity to show people about things to do and current and upcoming events in our area. I have also included things that are absolutley FREE.

I have been told by people currently Living In Brevard that they had no idea this or that was here!

As long as people visit this page I will continue to go out there and finds things for you to do!

www.facebook.com/LivingInBrevard

www.HomeInCentralFlorida.com

www.MichaelDeGel.com

www.HomeInPortStJohn.com

Power Plant in Port St John

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:39:58 -0700

The Power Plant in Port St John was demolished today, 8/22/2010 as many residents stood nearby to watch the spectacle. 1,000's of people gathered in parking lots all along a one mile stretch of US 1 in Port St John to witness the 400' smoke stacks come tumbling down. Sirens sounded and shortly thereafter there were several very loud explosions that you could feel in your chest. It only took seconds for the entire plant to lay toppled. The only thing remaining of the stacks was concrete dust.

The Power Plant has stood there for 45 years and has been the source of much controversy between FPL, environmentalist and local residents for over 20 years. The old plant burned heavy fuel oil sending black plumes of smoke into the air.

The new plant will burn a much cleaner natural gas reducing particle pollution by 88% and improve the plant's carbon dioxide emission rate by more than 50 percent.

In approximately three years there will be a New Power Plant in Port St John built with smoke stacks that will be half the size of the iconic red and white stacks they replace. They should be virtually smokeless and painted a much more subtle Gray.

The hopes are that the new plant will improve air quality and local home values. The construction of the plant should also help with the local economy providing 350 construction jobs initially and jumping to over 650 jobs during the peak of construction.

http://www.floridatoday.com/section/videonetwork?bctid=591907447001

http://www.wftv.com/news/24718499/detail.html

www.HomeInPortStJohn.com

It is the little things that make a difference

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:51:32 -0700

A few weeks ago I was talking with a former high school classmate of mine on Facebook. She told me that her and her husband had decided to sell and wants to move south. Her agent was going to hold an open house and she wanted any suggestions I could offer. Not wanting to go against anything her current agent may have told her I simply stated that she should have fresh baked cookies just out of the oven right before the open house and to use fresh flowers in the house.

This past weekend her agent held an open house. I received a phone call yesterday to tell me that the first thing that the potential buyers said was they commented on how good the cookies smelled.

This wouldn't have been such a big deal but her competition was visited and their homes had a musty smell and the other was just nothing special.

Whether or not the home sells from this open house you can be rest assured that the buyers will remember their home because of those cookies. Now the other homes have to compete with that!

Sometimes it is the little things that you do that make a difference.

Michael A DeGel, ABR,GRI,SFR

REALTOR

The Amato Group, Inc.

Florida's East coast Connection

www.HomeInCentralFlorida.com

www.facebook.com/HomeInCentralFlorida

www.homeincentralflorida.blogspot.com/

Commission split topic receives record responses

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:37:02 -0700

Well I am new to ActiveRain so I don't know if it Sharon Lewis' featured blog broke any records but what I do know is that it opened a can of worms.

I believe that in this profession we have the right to negotiate the best deal and terms not only for our clients but for ourselves as well. I was shocked when I read that agents feel as if they paid their broker. In Florida an agent can only be paid by a broker. "The Deal" belongs to the broker and as an agent of the broker we are allowed to work the deal and be paid "BY THE BROKER" only. So when you agree to hang your license with a broker, you already know what the split is and what you get for that split. If you are unhappy with it, don't hang your license there.

In the case of Sharon Lewis' friend, he was a new agent and didn't know better. I would have thought he would have called upon his friend who is an experienced agent and ask for her advice before agreeing to work under that broker.

When it comes down to it, we all need to do what is best for us. There is more to it than just the split. I talked with agents that make 100% commission. Sounds Great, right? Well not for the new agent because there is absolutely no support at all. The agent pays for absolutely everything including a $1,000/mo desk rental and a $250 transaction fee. You better be sure that you are doing the business to support that.

I am sure I didn't get the best deal for me when I first started. But as I said there is always more to the story. My broker is my friend and actually talked me into the profession. She pays for a lot of things but doesn't offer much more. It lacked in training so I decided to sign up for every seminar, webinar and training class I could. Initially we worked from home. As short sales became more the norm and banks using out of town attorneys for closings we needed somewhere for closings and to meet people. She spent a lot of money opening a new office. Does the office make us more money or is it just an added convenience? I believe both!

The long and short of it is that we all have the right to make our own choices. Customers have many choices to choose from when deciding on what agent to work with and so do you!

Make it a positive day and go sell a house!

Why would you think your house would be worth more?

Michael DeGel (Exit Island & Beach Realty) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:02:06 -0700

I accompanied a new agent to his first listing appointment the other day. I sat back and listened to him and thought he did well right up to the point he showed the homeowner the price range opinion. The homeowner could not believe how low the suggested selling price was. The new agent was at a loss for words and looked to me. I asked the homeowner what he thought the price should be and he quickly replied. Knowing the answer, I then asked him how much he paid for the house which was 15,000 less then what he thought he should sell it for now, just a year after he purchased it. After the homeowner stuttered a little he admitted he new the market in our area was still sliding a little. Although it was an opprtunity for a face to face contact, I could not help but wonder what this homeowner was thinking. The homeowner wants to sell so he can take advantage of the low prices of beach homes. I explained that when prices start to uptick in our area the beach properties will recover faster. I suggested turning his home into rental income and taking advantage of the low beachfront prices while it last. We left him to ponder that thought and will follow up again real soon.