Dale Simmons's Blog

Improve Yourself - Feed the World

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:34:04 -0700

Are you ever just chilling out while setting at your computer? Would you like to take a few minutes out of your day to improve your speaking, writing, and thinking?

You can do all this while having fun and curing world hunger.

Please visit Freerice.com

They display a word on their web site with several possible definitions. You simple choose the correct definition and their sponsors donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. Yesterday there was 89,381,180 grains of rice donated. Their sponsors have donated over 26 billion grains of rice so far. I saw a report on television where many kids are also playing this across the nation and around the world.

I have played several times and I do feel smarter. Just kidding!

Site Maps

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:11:35 -0700

I recently set up a new web site http://www.dealwithdale.com/. I really love all of the included content that is packaged into the site. All of the standard feautures are included, as well as some deluxe feautures. One of which is called a "site map". I am listing below what my site map displays. What is the real purpose and benefit of having a site map? There is a button to turn this feature on or off. What would you do?

SITE MAP

Primary Navigation

Secondary Navigation

Today's Top Real Estate News:

Provided by Inman News. Sunday, April 06, 2008
More news...

Today's Rates:

Mtg Loan

Rate

APR

30-yr Fixed	5.88%	6.07%
15-yr Fixed	5.42%	5.71%
1-yr Adj	5.19%	6.44%

* national averages

Keller Williams First Coast Realty 2233 Park Avenue Orange Park, FL 32073
Phone: 904-541-0180 Fax: 904-541-0175 E-mail: dalesimmons@dealwithdale.com

Jacksonville Made the Top Ten

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:04:21 -0700

Did you see the article about the Top Ten Fastest Falling housing markets posted on Forbes.com?http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/12/foreclosure-housing-property-forbeslife-cx_mw_0212realestate.html

Forbes.com reports that Florida nabbed three spots on the list of 10 fastest-falling markets, with Tampa down 11.7%, Miami depressed by 10.6% and Jacksonville in an 8.7% decline from last year.

With prices down and interest rates at almost an all time low, NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!

The article went on to say that there is a one sign of good news in these markets is that construction has all but stopped, and sellers are starting to get realistic about cutting prices. I have seen this personally first hand. I just posted a $10,000 price cut on one of my listings in Oakleaf Plantation, it's a beautiful home with lot's of upgrades. Someone is going to get a great buy on this home. Please visit my web site at www.dealwithdale for more details.

Great Time To Buy in Orange Park, Florida

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 06:55:28 -0700

I recently bough an investment property located at 2995 Brittany Bluff in Orange Park, Florida. This home is located in the Argyle Forest area in the Brittany Bluff subdivison. My wife and decided that we just could not stand on the sidelines and wait any longer. Local prices are great, interest rates are down, this is a great time to buy. I've noticed that the new listings of local homes for sale have been declining. Are we nearing the bottom? Should we wait longer and miss out on the best time to buy? No way, we bit the bullet to take advantage of the wonderful deals available now. Also, with the local major shopping expansion of the Oakleaf Town Center we see this area really exploding in the near future. Please check out my new web site www.dealwithdale.com

Dale Simmons Orange Park, Florida Realtor® Press release on new web site launch

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:28:11 -0700

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Real Estate Agent Website Launched!

DealwithDale.com is a complete resource for Buying or Selling Real Estate in Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida.

ORANGE PARK, FLORIDA March 21, 2008: We are proud to announce the launch of our new state of the art Real Estate Services Web site. The new site is powered by a la mode, inc. net.X technology, which integrates and leverages a range of desktop and Internet applications and data sources to extend the network to better serve our clients.

This new site provides streamlined services for existing as well as potential new clients, while also providing our staff with technology integration that allows us to be more effective in our daily operations. Not only can clients view our listings, but they can also search for a home or get pre-qualified for a mortgage and much more. The new site also provides rich multimedia content for potential new clients, showing them the benefits of hiring a professional Agent in an engaging, highly professional presentation format that will create new demand for our services. Going forward, the underlying a la mode net.X platform of our new site means that we are automatically going to be adding features and capabilities to meet our changing business requirements and keep up with the technology curve in Real Estate. We are a full service Real Estate Services firm and a recognized leader in the local market. Our firm combines a focus on customer service with the utilization of technology to provide clients with the highest quality and fastest turnaround times in the market. Our site features some unique features such as local utility links to help when relocating into the community. Another out of the box feature is our (FSBO) For Sale By Owner section. Lastly, we post a lot of community information on our web site Blog (Orange Park Area Blog) and we have dedicated sections for local areas such as Oakleaf Plantation, Fleming Island, Pace Island, Argyle Forest, Bent Creek, WaterMill and Eagle Landing.

To learn more about DealwithDale.com, visit their website at http://www.dealwithdale.com/ or call 904-541-0180. Dale Simmons is a licensed Realtor® with Keller Williams First Coast Realty.

Argyle Forest looking up

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:07:34 -0700

Things seem to be turning a little in my local market. Many people have been waiting to make a move just standing on the side lines. Occasionally going on line to look, but no in-depth conversations about details on specific listings and very few showing request. Now things are picking up. I have had several great calls in the past few days about some of my listings and showing requests. People are starting to take advantage of the low interest rates and great home prices right now. Maybe this will be a good year after all.

Closing Delays

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:43:10 -0800

Is it just me, am I the only one having hick ups with closings right now. The credit crunch has made the lending institutions cut back on staff. Now, things are starting to pick back up and the lender's dont't have enough staff to keep up. I had two closings this week and both got delayed. I finally did get them both closed and I am very thankful to have them. I just wish things would go smooth sometimes.

The light went on

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:15:49 -0800

Am I the only one that has a listing where things are not just perfect. Maybe the carpet is stained, maybe the walls need painting, maybe the light is bad. I mean the kitchen or great room looks good, but with the fluorescent light things look a little dark. Well I just had an eye opening experience with fluorescent lighting. Most of the bulbs in the homes are CW (cool white) bulbs. People use these because they are the least expensive. Well I had a dark kitchen that needed more light. The lamps were switched to a Daylight lamp and the difference is amazing. The kitchen is much brighter and the colors look better. The lamps were switched to Phillips Alto Daylight lamps. The CW lamps cost about $1.25 each. The Daylight lamps cost about $3.99 each. But, they are worth every cent. Wow, what a difference!

web site host recomendations

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:12:25 -0800

Getting ready to start another website. Being new to Real Estate I really need a great site. I could also use more leads, but couldn't we all. I have reviewed many different web hosting sites out there. They all seem to look good to me. I was just wandering who you use for your site and why? Are there special or key features that are included with your site? What type of price does your hosting site charge?

MLS Lead Generator

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:13:52 -0800

Working hard to increase my web presence this year. Last year I only used my company sponsored website www.dealwithdale.com. This year I plan to lauch multiple new websites some fee based and some free sites as well. If you are using one of the free sites and would recommend it, please pass the information forward. Also, I just set up another site www.oakleafplantationhomesearch.com. One of the featues is a MLS Search Lead Generator. Your thoughts on turning this on or leaving it off.

Thanks,

Short Sales

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:00:30 -0800

Short Sales love them or leave them. Personally I love them. I know they are a pain and they take a long time to close. But, money is money. In this struggling market, I'll take a close any where I can get one. Four contracts closing by the end of the month. Two of them are Short Sales. Maybe this will be a good year after all.

We need to keep our mortgage lenders in our prayers

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:00:41 -0700

I just got a call from my brother-in-law to list his home. He works for or should I say worked for Homebanc.

When he went to work today he was told that the company had filed for bankruptcy. He was also told that he would not get an August paycheck. Many of our friends are hurting right now. I just think we need to keep them in our prayers.

Remember When You were New?

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:42:05 -0700

Remember when you were new to Real Estate? Everything was new and exciting. You ran around chasing this and that just trying to get off to a good start. I'm there NOW! I have only been active in Real Estate for two months. I have so much to learn it's almost scary at times. My question to those of you viewing this page is, if you had to go back and start over, what would you do different? How can I get off to a great start in my new career? Thanks for the help and support.

Jacksonville, Orange Park Florida

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:30:29 -0700

I read about all the different leads being posted here on Active Rain. I would just like to make myself available to anyone that has a lead in this area. I was born here in Jacksonville and I am very familiar with the area.

Thanks again for any leads.

Insurance?

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:26:28 -0700

I have been a part time Real Estate agent the past few months. I really love everything about my new occupation and I would like to go full time as soon as possible. My struggle is health insurance. I would love to know what most agents are doing about health care insurance. Any help would be appreciated.

Am I at a disadvantage?

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:22:33 -0700

Realtor.com recently started adding an office logo on their real estate listings. This logo is visible while potential home buyers are viewing multiple listings without clicking on a particular add. I called and asked about upgrading my membership to get this service. Besides the logo, you can add several lines of other advertising and a link to your personal web site. I was told that this new feature is only available under an "office account".This new service is called a "office sign rider". Are any of the other KW locations using this new service?

Thanks for the input.

MLS Issues / Suggestions Requested!!

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 06:15:45 -0700

I have only been in Real Estate about six weeks, So when a friend sends me an email to list her dad's property, I jump at the chance. Just getting started, I need any and all listings. Here's my problem. After taking the listing I discover that the property is really not in Putnam County, it's in Alachua County. Alachua County is not a part of my local MLS. I have no problem getting the listing in my local MLS and KW site. However, the listing does not come up on Realtor.com. Are there options for me other than joining another MLS Board? This is a small rural town listing. I will probably never have another in thisting in this County? Any suggestions would be appreciatted. I have heard of Co-Listing, but I am not sure how that works. This is a very good friend and I should have a listing on her home soon. She is in my local MLS area.

Thanks again,

"Remember When?"

Dale Simmons (Realty) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 09:24:37 -0700

Remember when a "Hand Shake" and saying "Thank You" really meant something? They still do. I want to earn your business. If you are a buyer, I will commit to work with you until you find that "Special Home". If you are a seller, my objective is to sell your home at the highest price possible, in the shortest period of time. You can reach me at 904-237-6854. Please check out my website @ www.dealwithdale.com.

THANK YOU, for your time.