This is a true story and I think it is simply fun! 

A woman from our golf club said that her daughter and son-in-law were married at Wynn's Casino in Vegas.  It was a place that both of them really enjoyed and the wedding was a blast.  (If you have ever been there, the setting is very special.) The casino did everything to make the day unforgettable. The event cost a small fortune, but it was outstanding! 

Within a year after the ceremony, the newlywed gave birth to a beautiful little girl.  The couple struggled with what to name the child. They wanted a name that was rather unconventional but totally positive.  The father finally set upon the notion that "Wynn," after his favorite casino, would be absolutely perfect.  (He is very conservative, but he likes to gamble and play the golf course. I do not want to make him sound too far out there.)

The parents took a picture of the baby and sent it to Ms. Wynn with an explanation about the origin of the baby's name. Ms. Wynn mailed back a cashmere baby sweater and hat with a charming letter.  She had  baby Wynn's picture blown up and placed on the hallway of  the employee's lounge and every time the couple goes to the Wynn with Wynn they are treated like "rock stars."  (Plus, there is always a special present for Wynn at the counter.) 

Moral of the Story: Do take that extra time to name your child or grandchild.  It could pay off on many levels!

Not all foreign nationals are out to get us.  I wish the government could figure out that there are people from other countries who want to live here peacefully, spend a lot of money and pay our taxes.  We make it so darn difficult, from mortgage constraints to visa restrictions to a lack of extended health plans.  I know many super talented English citizens who would love to own real estate here and spend vacations on our soil.  Many of them do find a way to settle here, but we do not exactly make it an easy process.

One of our golf members lived in the United States for 35 years.  He was a top executive in an oil company.  He was British and no one in the states could fill his job. The day he retired, our government notified him that he was to return to England to live.  He would only be welcomed back into the country for 6 months a year.  He had to go back to a land he did not know and start a new life.  He struggled to get a US Visa. He would have much preferred to settle here and have one luxury home.

I am working with an English couple who are trying to obtain a mortgage for a vacation home.  This too is a burdensome process.  I have found lenders willing to work with them, but it was no easy task.  Another couple decided not to buy here because to cover their English health insurance, the costs were prohibitive.

I am not naive.  I do understand that there are some very nasty people out there who do not like us.  But last I checked, we do have some allies and I think we should start treating those citizens like we are buddies, not as if they are part of the evil axis.  We need to look at our policies and find ways to let talented foreigners enjoy our part of the world.

I have English customers in town looking for property.  The husband had to stay home, but the mother and two teenage daughters are here looking at real estate and enjoying the Florida sunshine. We have narrowed down the search to one development.  Yesterday, we had 7 homes to look at and my customer wanted to walk to all of them since she was staying in that area.  It was a gorgeous day and it was fun to see the neighborhood by foot.  (I am sorry to say, I would have driven the group to the homes without thinking.  So many of my customers are not walkers, I forget about this outstanding option.)

In walking through the neighborhood, the youngest girl observed all of the homes with American flags out in front proudly presented to the world.  She was surprised because she said you never see English flags in front of British homes.  She seemed to like the idea.  Her older sister commented, "The flag waving in front of the property means that they are prejudiced, right?" I was taken aback because she was so mature and sincere but obviously confused about the word she selected.  Her mother quickly corrected her and said the word she was looking for was "patrotic."  Her daughter than asked what "prejudice" meant.  Her mother explained that being prejudice is when you do not like someone without knowing them because of their sexual preference, skin color, etc.  A good discussion followed. 

It is nice to see the flags out in front of the homes.  The British should consider adding their flag to their homesites.  It is a good reminder of where we are and where we came from. 

I have European buyers looking for a home in a gated community here in Naples, Florida.  They have school-aged children, so they will only use the house during summer/winter breaks. They want to rent the house out during high season to offset their expenses.  They will purchase a home with at least 3 bedrooms and a pool, which makes it an ideal rental property. 

They have pretty much decided on the community they want.  One of the big draws to this area is that the Home Owner's Association allows 7 day minimum rentals 52 times a year in one neighborhood and 12 times a year with a 30 day minimum in most of the other areas, so the properties are easy to lease.  This rental information came from our MLS.

Unfortunately, agents have not been verifying the rental information.  All of the 12 times a year with a 30 day minimum have been changed to 4 times a year or 3 times, per the developer.  I went through the communities with the builder's rental agent and he gave me the correct information.  That is a very different picture and greatly limits our viewing, which will not please my customer.  REMINDER:  DO NOT TRUST THAT THE LAST AGENT POSTED THE INFORMATION FOR RENTAL POLICIES CORRECTLY.  VERIFY THE RENTAL INFORMATION AND OTHER POLICIES BEFORE YOU POST.  THIS MAKES ALL OF OUR JOBS A LOT EASIER.

Last October, I had a customer who was in the process of buying a single family home, when the stock market crashed.  I had written in a three day rescission period for him to review the home owner's association's financial postition.  (He was concerned about the health of the community.) During this review period, all heck took place in the world and the stock market fell to a record low.  It was really touch and go as to whether the buyer wanted to proceed or not on the contract.

My customer said,"What if the stock market does not come back?  I have already lost so much money.  I cannot afford to have the whole system fall apart."  I would like to take credit for the solution, but my customer found the answer to the problem.  He had me draft an amendment that said, "He would pay X amount more for the home if the stock market were over 9000 points on October 31,2009 and he would owe nothing more if the stock market were under 9000 points on Halloween. 

The world looks better today.  The stock market and our economy seems to be going the right direction.  My customer will most likely have to pay more for the home at the end of the month but he is in a better financial position and he protected himself from a catastrophic situation. It was a very cool amendment!

There is a band called, "They Might be Giants," which are pretty popular and they like to write songs about science.  During an interview  the DJ asked the band if they could write a ditty about anything and they said they could so the DJ gave them the title of one of my stepson's (Dan Sheehy) physics research paper to play with and they did a number of silly variations on a theme of "Quantum Decoupling Transition in a One-Dimensional Feshbach-Resonant Superfluid." Heaven and Dan's group of scientists only know what this means.  His stepmother has no clue on the inner meanings of this paper.

In one of the sonnets, they decided "decoupling" was about a man and woman breaking up and the song reflected that sadness using this quantum phrase.  The paper is rather obscure and it sounds like it was picked because the DJ felt it was "dense" and very non-lyrical.  (Dan is a professor at LSU. He specializes in theoretical high temperature superconductors.  He thinks in a dimension I cannot imagine.)   Another person heard this clip and wrote a song using many paragraphs from this same paper.   Do give it a listen to because it is pretty funny!  This is about as far as one can be from real estate, but it is a fun diversion. Physics is another world and his papers are off the charts! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIXRXMMlZBM

Our real estate sales are picking up.  We have two years of inventory throughout the area, which means there are still a lot of good deals out there. We expect season to be a record.  Here is an update for our area:

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there are fund raisers for this cause all over town.  Saks 5th Avenue will be selling thie year's edition of the Key to the Cure T-shirt and important information.  More than 80% of the proceeds from the sales of the top will be donated to local charities.

Arts

• Naples Museum of Art reopens after summer vacation this week.  (239) 597-1900.  Do support this wonderful venue.  The guided tours are outstanding!
• Art League of Bonita Springs puts on their fall exhibition through 10/29
• Naples is holding their Interenatinal Film Festival on 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29.  Call (239) 331-2678 for details.
• Marco Island Executive Airport will display batiks throughout October. (239) 263-8242.

Food, Wine and Fashion

• Yabba has $10 for 10 samples of wine October 5-9 to benefit The Children's Museum, which will open next year!
• Robb & Stucky will reopen classes and events throught out the month.  (866) 206-3840
• Thrid Street Farmer's Market is open every Saturday behind Tommy Bahahma's (239) 649-6707.
• Some of the best fish and veggies are offered at the Collier's Fairgrounds every Saturday.  The prices are so reasonable that it makes it worth the trip.
• You can also order fresh handpicked organically grown veggies from www.TheFreshGarden.com . Residents in Bonita Springs and Naples can have it delivered.
• October 31 is the Halloween Party at Fifth Avenue and many other shopping centers in the area.

Special Events

• Oct. 23- Nov 1 is the Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival with speakers and races in Bonita Springs. (239) 433-3855.
• Evening on Fifth is October 8 and Third Thursday on Third Avenue is 10/15 with bands, shopping, and dining.

Insider Tips:

• If you are a resident and have problems with green hair or itchy scalps, think about adding a shower water conditioner to your bathroom, if you cannot setup the usual water system.  The water in Florida is full of chlorine.
• Mercado's first Friday of the month continues to be a blast.  Whole Food's wine tasting and food sampling for $5.00 that goes to charity is an incredible deal.  Do try it next month!

My friend's son was just arrested for selling drugs to an undercover policeperson.  He got in with the totally wrong crowd and thought he was smarter than everyone else. He could serve 2-9 years in prison.  He is from a loving family.  I do not know what caused his brain's wiring to become dismantled.

What he did was wrong, however, it has caused me to recycle my misspent youth.  I made so many mistakes in my '20's and even my '30's that my life could have been very different.  I have always been a rather conservative person.  My life compared to many of my contemporaries was pretty normal, but I did a lot of foolish things. For example:

• I hitchhiked around England by myself for part of the summer, thinking I was saving money. 
• On many occasions I drank too much and drove myself or my friends home without a second thought.
• Years ago, I ran a red light and dodged a police car one Saturday morning for no logical reason. I got away with it, which is so out of character for me.
• I dated a man who became very violent.  When I broke up with him, he threatened to kill me.

These are just a few selections from my challenged youth.  I have dodged death a number of times. The bottom line is that if you live long enough you have to be aware that you are lucky to still be on this earth.  Some days it is appropriate to thank the heavens that you survived and have gained wisdom with age.  I really believe, that, "There but for the grace of God, go I."  I hope my friend's son turns his life around and figures out a better path before it is too late.

I just got back from a trip to my in-laws.  At 80, my father-in-law built a 6000 square foot house in place of his 1950's homestead. They placed an elevator shaft in a strategic area, in case they became disabled.  Their plan was to hire live-in care, if additional help was required.  Today, at 90 you can see both in-laws are challenged with health issues, but still pretty functional in their home.  The problem I see is the lack of social opportunities. 

My visit was a reminder that housing is more than just a structure to protect individuals from the elements.  The right setting provides a support group to help you through the last stage of your life.  Without a growing social circle, life gets pretty isolated.

I know people fight to stay in their homes and shy away from senior housing.  However, senior housing has changed.  There are so many options and I feel strongly that everyone needs to find the right setting for their last years on this earth.

I have made a decision that I will embrace the opportunity to build a solid network for my final years.  I want to walk down the hall and have a drink with a neighbor, play bridge without facing the elements, and take advantage of all the activities my world has to offer.  If that means senior housing, assisted living, or just a condominium that has a relationship for future care, I am on-board.

The good news is that I have time to prepare for the final chapter.  It was interesting a Hospice nurse I know said, "Asians honor death.  Europeans know it is inevitable.  Americans think it is an option."  Unfortunately, we Americans need to get with the program and adapt accordingly.

I am inspired to start an outside blog but I am clueless on where to begin.  I have read a number of success stories about how the blog is driving traffic to your Website. I am concerned about how much time you set aside to keep the blog up and if it is a daily committment.  Can I see some examples of blogs that work? Any suggestions for getting started?