Real Bird. Web-in-AR. - 06/30/10 02:29 AM
June 29, 2010 was marked on my calendar (Outlook), as I am notorious on missing on the good stuff. I know of in advance, but so often forget in the routine.
So, I had it chiming on my computer, and I was so proud with myself. I still had 30 minutes to do something, then 15, then 10, and when my wife asked whether I have forgotten all about the seminar, it was 2:04 PM.
How could it happen to me? Again?
I rushed to the link to “go to my computer” thing and waited for the program to download, and … (20 comments)

“I believe all Realtors should belong to NAR” - 06/30/10 01:11 AM
There were many excellent comments left on my blog post Let’s Set the Record Straight. It was obvious, however, that for many belonging to NAR was never a question, and for some NAR became more than a trade association, but sort of business religion. I think it is a normal spectrum of opinions and beliefs.
The idea of the post was to show that we often wrongfully call everyone Realtors instead of real estate licensees, which we are (except when we are not), but that we also often think about the industry and see it through the NAR's (and COE) glasses. … (54 comments)

Let’s Set the Record Straight - 06/28/10 11:29 PM
When we are discussing industry issues on AR, whether it is practice of real estate or education, practically always there is an assumption that we are all Realtors (excluding related industry professionals).
This is not true. We are first and foremost Real estate licensees.
Belonging to NAR is something that you may be forced to (to be able to use MLS) in some States, or may not be forced to in other States, but this is not the same as RE licensees, who get licensed by their respective states and not NAR.
When you assume that all good agents are Realtors, … (71 comments)

Life is Back In Daytona - 06/27/10 11:35 PM
It may sound surprising, but Daytona Beach is busier this year than the year before and, sadly enough, some people attribute it to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I have heard myself that people cancelled their reservations in Panama City and are looking for a place to stay in Daytona.
We see more cars, more people, and on weekends it is not uncommon to see the signs “no vacancy”. Not that we see any more activity I Real Estate, and, considering international market, it may be even hurting the whole State of Florida, as it looks like it … (5 comments)

Best Priced Oceanview 3 bdr in Towers Grande - Daytona Beach Shores - 06/27/10 03:49 PM
Just checked MLSand my listing in Towers Grande is $100K lower than the next unit. It is a huge difference, but somehow we still do not have an offer. Yes it is a short sale, but some others are short sales too. And the Seller has a letter from the Lender with the number that they have in mind, and it is pretty close to our price. We had people trying to offer$200K, but we know that it is not going tot be even considered, and the letter from the bank just confirmed it, but somehow many buyers think that they … (15 comments)

Strategic Default in Ethical Terms - 06/27/10 01:08 PM
Fannie Mae strikes against the strategic default. That’s their prerogative. In discussion, there were a lot of ethical considerations.
So, is strategic default ethical? I would not be surprised if the answer would be no. And I can understand why.
However, the other end of the stick is just a real hardship. And most everyone is OK with it. Yeah, this is ethical, they can’t pay, so let them off the hook.
Note that it is the same action, i.e. walking away from the property. How can the same act be ethical for one and unethical for the other?
What are … (10 comments)

How Does It Sound - Anna Maria Caserta Cavicchia? Much Better Than You Think - 06/26/10 06:34 PM
Last Saturday my wife took me out to a restaurant for Father’s day.  To my surprise there was a beautiful lady singing. And singing she was… To the point that the whole setting started resembling the concert, where a few confused patrons get upon a stage and had chutzpah to eat between the beautiful song.
I wrote about this experience in Honey, Let Me Take You to a Restaurant, which started a bit awkward, but ended very nicely.  And in couple of days in the best tradition of Russian hospitality we were sitting at our kitchen table with Anna Maria and … (5 comments)

Got a License? ... Now What? - 06/25/10 10:07 PM
One of my favorite bloggers Karen Anne Stone posted Realtors Charging a Retainer Fee Up Front. Is it Realistic ?
Besides other things she is amazed with 210 classroom hours needed to get a Real Estate license compared to 1,500 classroom hours to get a beautician’s license. Of course, it is in Texas.
The whole point of comparison is that beautician’s license has more credibility. Well, in Florida salesperson has to sit 63 hours and then a test to get the license, but does that mean that Texas licensees are 3.5 times better prepared? Or that they are 3.5 times slower, … (96 comments)

Have Dummy... Need Answer - 06/23/10 12:59 AM
There is something that I am fundamentally missing. Everybody else seems to understand how it works, and I keep pretending that I am with them… but I am not.
Maybe it is because I am an immigrant, and we tend to miss on something “American”… Or it is because I am in Real Estate in Florida since 1999, and everyone got smart before that…
I need economics 101 for dummies.
I remember how difficult it was to get a mortgage in mid 90s. I had 10.375% and to get it they wanted my firstborn child…
Then in 2003-2006 there was … (26 comments)

3 Hours Before The War - 06/22/10 01:10 AM
I am looking at the calendar and it shows: 6/22/2010.
June 22. It is 1 A.M. now.
On June 22, 1941 at 1 A.M. my then 22- year old mom was sleeping in a small town on the Ukrainian border. She was on a summer internship at a local hospital. She just finished her 4th year in Medical School and had one year ahead.
She still had 3 hours before the life has changed for her, for her family, for her country... There were 3 more hours before the howling whistling sounds of falling bombs would awake the town, and she, who … (36 comments)

He Buys in Harbour Beach Resort and Makes It Work for Him - 06/21/10 11:38 PM
A few weeks ago I was at the county Foreclosure auction in Deland, our Volusia County seat. Deland is a nice quaint small town, home to Stetson University, and numerous local government offices.
A condo-hotel unit in Harbour Beach Resort in Daytona Beach was scheduled for the auction, and I was curious to see what happens to it, along with a few other properties to be sold at the auction.
We waited until they announce the priced up to which the Lenders were going to bid, otherwise known as the lowest the Lender would accept. The condo-hotel unit was not … (2 comments)

Passing the Torch - 06/21/10 10:48 PM
I was walking barefoot on our wonderful beach from the office to home. It is now my routine, as I need exercise, and I am too lazy to go to the gym or to the pool. The family decided that an hour and a half of brisk walk (about 4.5 miles) would be good for me.
They forgot to ask me whether I share their confidence, but I have no objection to walking on the sand along the water and enjoying the most beautiful scenery.
It was about 6 PM and I noticed the moon in the light blue sky. The … (82 comments)

Anybody Working For Me? - 06/20/10 10:05 PM
 I am sure we all heard that. Or received a post card, sent to every realtor in the area. People are very creative.
Why would they do it? Well, there are myths and reality.
Myth: if they make it open, instead of one agent, they will have 1601 agents and brokers (in Daytona MLS) bringing them the buyer
Reality: exactly the opposite. Nobody works for you. The property is not listed, and that’s the most effective way to make 1,601 agents and brokers aware of the availability of this property.
When listed, agents and brokers will find it doing the search. … (10 comments)

Honey, Let Me Take You to a Restaurant - 06/20/10 05:03 PM
 - Honey, let me take you to a restaurant…
I was firmly planted in my office chair when my wife excitedly threw that at me…
- You want to take me to the restaurant? What happened?
That’s how I learned that Father’s day was coming
And feeling flattered, I accepted the invitation.
Father’s dayis Sunday, but we have to go on Saturday, as what we are going for is not there on Sundays. Hmm… don't they serve their patrons on Sundays? Do they charge them for what they do not give them? Weird Sundays at Toscana?
So, we are on our way. … (18 comments)

Bring Me the Buyer - 06/19/10 01:58 PM
This happens with surprising regularity. People come to my office, and say that they want us to help them sell their condo. BTW, it is listed with a relative, or another agent, who is such a nice girl (why am I not a nice girl?)
“Bring me the buyer, will ya?”
Nope, we will most probably not.
We do not have buyers in our pocket. Buyers are the result of our concerted effort, but our effort is always a particular property or a particular deal.
We do not just get buyers in general, so do not expect us to bring you … (25 comments)

No Mercy... Just Kill 'Em - 06/18/10 12:20 AM

When I sign in, I always check the comments. And time from time you get a surprise when you see a comment on a blog post, that was written long ago.
Sometimes they are pleasant surprises and a chance to cry rereading your own sentimental blog ;-), bit very often they are a spam, choosing an older post in hope that it would not be noticed and deleted.
These are AR termites, they fly in, and then they start their destructive work. They are parasites, as they feed of AR popularity.
We are all busy people, and with age we … (47 comments)

Blogging For Buisness Or Fun - 06/17/10 09:25 PM
PG 18 (with some sexual overtones)
I was reading Jenny Kotulak’s post There's A Secret Agent On AR - And It's Time He Goes Public  She wrote about Bruce Walters, a member, who writes Members only posts, and does not want to be featured. In a comment Rita Fong wrote “I think he enjoys writing instead of blogging for business” ...
“Instead of blogging for business”… Hmm…
For some reason many members assume that we are all here for business and not for fun, pleasure, enjoyment…. I really do not know why.
We need to feed and provide for the family, so this … (28 comments)

Who Burned AR Flag? - 06/17/10 12:41 AM
Maybe I am the only one that missed that piece of critical information, I am not sure. Recently we noticed the addition of a “Suggest” button. I guess it OK. What surprised me though is that the “Flag” has gone, and “e-mail” and “Bookmark” were left orphans…
I remember that Flag was more than suggesting a feature. It also was a way to report advertisement, spam, plagiarism and something else. I did not notice it in any other shape and form hidden somewhere on the page (and I may be wrong).
I am a little confused. I remember AR gods telling … (31 comments)

Short Sales. Should The Buyer Bring EMD? - 06/16/10 01:39 AM
Diana Lisinski posted Why should a buyer have to give his/her EMD upfront for a short sale? For some reason she made her blog Members Only, so if you are not a Member, you would not be able to use the link.
“Who in their right mind would agree to that?” she asked.
If they are in their right mind, who wouldn't?
I am working with attorneys, and if I bring the contract with “no strings attached”, they would tell me that this is not good.
They would not recommend the client to accept a contract with no deposit going at … (84 comments)

Which Shoes To Wear? - 06/15/10 09:11 PM
Shoes are never out of fashion.
I posted How Footwear Affects Vision. As you can see, it was about shoes (I am becoming an expert in shoes). There were a lot of comments, and they made me think that if I were writing it now, I would have done it differently. I would have added that in short sales there are 3 pairs of shoes, not just Buyer's and Seller's. There is also one critically important pair…the Agent's. The pair worn by a professional…
Yes, we need the ability to step in both Buyer's and Seller's shoes…see the transaction with their … (4 comments)

Buying a Shack, Selling a Castle - 06/15/10 12:26 AM
In a comment to my post How Footwear Affects Vision Erica Ramus wrote: “Isn't it funny when you sell a property to a buyer, he thinks it's not worth the asking price and he denigrates it. Then when he goes to sell it, it's worth gold. Same property.” This simple statement is so true.
This is something that I constantly run into. A couple from Midwest, who found us on the Internet, wanted the best. We took them to several new developments in Daytona Area. Remember that era of pre-construction?
They liked Ocean Villas.  A high-end oceanfrnt building, terrific amenities, beautiful…  They picked the least expensive unit of … (8 comments)

Fountain Beach Resort in Daytona. Are Condo Owners Crazy? - 06/14/10 01:10 AM
People walk into our office and ask for the list of condo units in the Fountain Beach Resort, a Daytona Beach popular condo-hotel. We print it for them. 9 units for sale in Fountain Beach Resort from $35K to $75K.
- Are they different in size?
- No. Same 385 sq ft inside.
- Is the owner selling for $75K crazy?
- No, the owners of the units for $35K are crazy (in distress), but they can’t do anything, and the owner of the unit for $75K is not crazy… he can wait, and he will get his money, and, … (2 comments)

How Footwear Affects Vision - 06/13/10 11:49 PM
We have a listing. Beautiful 3 bdr/3 bath oceanview condo on the south side of Dimucci Towers Grande in Daytona Beach Shores. Very spacious unit, with two balconies, terrific amenities, and one of the most liberal rent restrictions, making it a great choice for those who plan to rent.
This is a short sale. At $239,000 this is the lowest price for an oceanview 3 bdr unit in the Condominium building. So it is not unusual that I get calls from the agents.
And all of them are asking the same question about our progress with the Lender. They want to … (94 comments)

The Light Is There... Even If We Do Not See It - 06/13/10 05:52 PM
Sometimes I venture to the sites about the places where I used to live back in the USSR. That’s what I was doing a couple of days ago when I ran into this photo taken in the arctic city of Vorkuta. It is Aurora. In my time there it was considered one of the miracles that you couldn't take a photo of, pretty much the same way you could not take a photo of a lightning and to do the lightning, we used a sharp pin to scratch the film (negative. Digital changed everything…
Now there are plenty of photos of … (19 comments)

Direct Oceanfront One-Bdr Condo in Daytona Beach Shores - 06/13/10 12:15 PM
This is my new listing - direct oceanfront one-bdr condo in Daytona Beach Shores
There are only four condo units on the ground floor of Oceanside Inn, a 191-room premier Daytona Beach Shores direct oceanfront resort converted to a condo-hotel in 2003-2004.
All four ground floor condos are direct oceanfront one-bedroom units. There are several advantages of being on the ground floor:
·       14’-high ceilings
·       Your own door right to the beach
·       They are hooked to AC system serving first floor and there are not noisy wall AC units
·       These units are equipped with full kitchens
Except for … (4 comments)

Inna's Dad - 06/10/10 01:54 AM
First it was Susan Mangigian in her post What's in a Name? I answer to many!, where she gave weight to my comment, which was a joke (I thought so), then Russell Lewis in comment to Susan’s blog, and then it was Sharon Alters, who sent me an e-mail asking me what program I used to add text to the image used in my blog I Am Mozart & Salieri. When I told her that I was using Photoshop, she wrote that she didn’t expect anything less from Inna’s dad. It was, of course, complimentary… and I again felt myself as … (28 comments)

“Dancing” Bridge Over Volga - 06/09/10 12:55 AM
Newly built 7 Km long (4.7 m) bridge over the river Volga in Volgograd (former Stalingrad) took 12 years to build and shortly after opening suddenly started “dancing” sending a few dozen cars into panic with the “waives” over 3’ high.
Authorities immediately blocked traffic over the bridge, and even stopped all traffic on the river, causing serious problems. Emergency personnel are trying to determine the cause of action and ensure safety of the people.
It is not clear what caused this. The bridges always move but not to this extent. Specialists think that the movement resonated and amplified itself. Strangely, … (17 comments)

Radical Islam and Eric Holder - 06/08/10 09:48 PM
I was watching Eric Holder answering one question and I was so pleasantly surprised by the profound knowledge of Islam that he had demonstrated.
Gotta be a distinguished scholar. Looks like he knows so much about Islam. He also is one of those who knows that Islam has nothing to do with terror. OK, it is radical Islam, but wait, there is no such thing as radical Islam if you listen to Eric Holder.
Every time he was asked to acknowledge that “radical Islam” played a role, he was like an eel on a frying pan.
As he said, “there are variety … (17 comments)

I Got A Book And I Can't Read It... - 06/07/10 07:03 PM
Every day I stumble upon Facebook. From a fun thing with no business sense just yesterday it seems to have become an all-encompassing phenomenon.
To the point that I am surprised that the Word’s built-in dictionary still does not recognize Facebook like a few years ago it limped on ‘blog’ and ‘blogging’
I got my personal page some time ago, and do not know what to do with it. And now my daughter Inna tells me that she found a vanity URL to die for, and I need 25 people to like me. That scares me to death, I did not … (20 comments)

A Sick Joke - 06/06/10 09:03 PM
I don’t think that it the news that there are plans for a Muslim community center near the Ground Zero… a mega Mosque at 13 stories high.
Of course, there are those who would say that it “represents a symbol of tolerance and triumph over Islamic extremists”,  some would say that we have freedom of religion, and heck knows what else can those “tolerant” people say… and why should we care?
For me it will be a symbol of tolerance to the very religion and the very god (Allah) that terrorists used to perpetrate their heinous crime.
I would not … (18 comments)

Short Sale Gurus. Where Are You? - 06/05/10 11:40 PM
It is not the first time I notice it on AR, when you ask direct questions and the comment thread is anything but answers. I remember once Richard Zaretsky was asking whether anyone on AR had the specific experience with a particular Lender and he added that he was not asking for the opinions, but only for the direct answer. I do not mind opinions, but if I can get someone to answer, I would be thrilled.
AR does better with rants and opinions, and maybe it its strength. I guess for straight and exact answers we better go to experts. … (11 comments)

Affidavit of Arms Length Transaction – What Is It? - 06/04/10 05:31 PM
I am getting close to closing on a short sale where I have never seen the buyer, and I have never seen the Seller. The lender sent us the Affidavit of Arm’s Length transaction. I signed for me and sent to both the Seller and the Buyer.
The buyer called me next morning. What the heck was that? I told him about relationship between the Buyer and Seller, and me as the agent. He was OK with that. He did  not have a slightest idea who the Seller was anyway.
But he is an investor. He would sell it when he … (22 comments)

No Negativity... And Get Out Of Here - 06/04/10 03:24 AM
When I walked into the lobby of Harbour Beach Resort, a Daytona Beach oceanfront condo-hotel, yesterday to see how they were doing, I could not even imagine that I would end up kicked off the property.
I saw that the sign “Atlantic Shores Management”, the manager was there, I did not meet this lady before, so I decided to introduce myself.
I actually did not need the manager to see that the balconies were fixed and aluminum railing installed. I have photos of before, and while they were doing it. I just came to say ‘Hi’…
I told her that I was … (19 comments)

Harbour Beach Resort – a Daytona Beach Condo-hotel. - 06/04/10 12:48 AM
It was time for me to pay a visit to Harbour Beach Resort, a Daytona Beach oceanfront Condo-Hotel, as I have not been there for quite some time, and last time I was there, they were in the process of remodeling, or better say, concrete restoration, a major and costly repair, which all oceanfront buildings in the area have to go through after 30-40 years.

It involves replacing balconies. Because to do that they need to go inside 18", and for that they have to take out the glass wall with a sliding door, owners usually replace them with new ones, … (5 comments)

Hawaiian Inn - 06/02/10 02:41 AM
Hawaiian Inn is in the middle of remodeling. Time came for this condo-hotel in Daytona Beach Shores to do the concrete restoration of the resort, which is there since 1965. 45 years until concrete restoration is not bad, but it does not make the life of owners there easier.
Special Assessments dealing with the concrete restoration in Hawaiian Inn came at the worst time, when even maintaining units is a challenge for some owners. The resort tried to do it in installments, but it is still not easy.
Initial $3,000 was followed with 12 monthly installment of $350 a month (in addition … (5 comments)

I Am Mozart & Salieri - 06/02/10 12:54 AM
I posted Featured Blog... Is It Your Best?  It is not that I was arguing with AR about what to feature, I was merely surprised that they would pass on what I thought was a very good blog post, and then feature the next one which was simple and easy. Turned out many of us feel the same way. Of course, featuring is subjective, but it happens often, there should be an explanation.
Some blogs for us worth more simply because they took more effort, were especially dear to our heart… but our readers do not know that…it is not the … (15 comments)

 
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Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach, Florida connection

Daytona Beach, FL

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Jon Zolsky, Daytona Condo Realty LLC, 386-405-4408

Address: 313 S Atlantic Ave., Suite A, Daytona Beach, FL, 32118

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