Bill's Blog

There ought to be a law!!!

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:41:43 -0500

In these tough economic times we are faced with the problems of loss of our incomes, homes, jobs, and our economic future. We try to find someone or something to blame for our situations. We try to find ways to fix the problems.

I think that we are failing to see and respond to the biggest problem. That is the increasing loss of the basic family unit caused by the economic down turn.

There is an old saying, "Love goes out the door when the bills come through the window." I believe this to be so. I also believe that something should be done to help the family unit stay together. I believe that we will have a much better chance of survival and prosperity as a nation if we have strong family units.

I am tired of going out on listing presentations and finding not only an economic boon doggle, but a family in melt down to go with it. It seems that one person is always blaming the other for getting the family in financial trouble. It is a natural thing to do. But, most of the time, it is like blaming the wait person in a restaurant because our food is not cooked to our liking, when it is actually the cook who under performed that should get the blame.

In a nutshell our government is trying to solve the problems of greed and all the crimes that are committed because of it. I would love to see a law that would prosecute someone for the harm to the family unit caused by their actions.

Palm Harbor Homes - Part I

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:34:58 -0500

Palm Harbor homes are indeed beautiful! Palm Harbor is located in north Pinellas County and it is a lovely area to live! Situated between the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Tarpon, Palm Harbor offers top rated schools and an assortment of wonderful parks!

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Palm Harbor, Clearwater, Safety Harbor areas give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910 today!!!

Safety Harbor's Marshall Street Park - II

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:20:54 -0500

Safety Harbor's Marshall Street Park is an adorable neighborhood park with one of the nicest playgrounds around for the kids! There is plenty of room for picnics and a basketball game.

With boardwalks running through the wilder areas, you can take an afternoon stroll and enjoy nature at it's finest! Be sure to bring along your camera! You never know what you might find among the trees!

Located directly on Tampa Bay, Safety Harbor is a wonderful place to call home!!!!

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Dunedin area give us a call. With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. Your Safety Harbor, Clearwater Countryside, East Lake Woodlands area experts!

Clearwater Women's Shelter Donations

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:46:37 -0500

Clearwater's Women's Shelter donations are always needed!!!! Cell phones are a vital life-line for women in danger! In addition to that, there is a drop off point where you can donate clothing, furniture and just about anything else!!!

The Thrift Store at 2960 East Bay Drive accepts donations (including those cell phones) for the women's shelters in the area! Ask for Miss Linda or call 531-6266 to get directions to the thrift store!!!! Toys are always needed! As are all things related to children!!!

Abuse Shelters

CASA 727-898-3671

The Haven 727-442-4128

Family Service Centers 727-536-1817

Florida Abuse Hotline 1-800-962-2873

Remember, if you are thinking of purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Palm Harbor area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910 today! Your Safety Harbor, Clearwater Countryside, East Lake Woodlands real estate experts!

Safety Harbor's Marshall Street Park

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:43:37 -0500

Safety Harbor's Marshall Street Park is a great place a not only for walks, but also to take the little ones to play. They just installed additional playground equipment!

They have also been working on the flowers, so I had to share some shots that I took last week while I was taking a walk there!

This is also a great place to catch a glimpse of wild turkey, if you are up early enough!!!!

This is just one of the reasons that Safety Harbor is such a wonderful place to call home!!!

Remember, if you are considering purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Clearwater Countryside area, give us a call today! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. Your Safety Harbor, Clearwater Countryside, East Lake Woodlands area experts!!!

Name That Tree - please...........

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:19:47 -0500

Here we go again! Another beauty without a name! Who has an idea what type of tree this is????

It has beautiful yellow flowers and is in bloom right now! (end of July) - Do any of our fellow ActiveRainers have a clue what it is??? I don't know and would love the information!!!

As you can tell from the photo, it towers over the house!!!!! Magnificant! But what is it???

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Clearwater Countryside, East Lake Woodlands, Dunedin area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910! Your Safety Harbor, East Lake Woodlands, Clearwater Countryside area experts!

Things I Love About Safety Harbor!

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:12:00 -0500

There are many things that I love about Safety Harbor! One is the fact that there are so many beautiful trees! Everywhere you turn, the most gorgous trees and it seems that something is always in bloom!

Add to that the fact that the community is a unique little community that takes pride in itself! Homes are well maintained, there are many little funky shops to browse, it is located right on Tampa Bay - it is a great place to live!

And it seems that there are more ponds and lakes here than in most communities we visit! I really love that too!!!!

Remember, if you are considering purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Clearwater, Dunedin area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910 today! Your Safety Harbor, East Lake Woodlands, Clearwater Countryside area experts!

Painting AFTER The Carpet Is Put In??????

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:50:52 -0500

We have a home that is being listed with us and the owner is putting in new carpet and painting. The thing that blows my mind is that they are painting AFTER the new carpet is being installed!

Is it just me or is this being done in the wrong order?????????? Why on earth would you paint with the new carpet in, knowing you have to be careful and cover it? If you do it while the old stuff is in there you can make a mess and not worry................... does this make sense to anyone??????

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Dunedin area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910 or Bill at 727-916-0138 today! Your Safety Harbor, East Lake Woodlands, Clearwater Countryside area experts!!!!

Safety Harbor Florida Is Really A Great Place To Live

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:40:51 -0500

Safety Harbor, Florida is really a great place to live! Not only because it is located right on Tampa Bay and is only minutes from the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but because it is a really great community!

With some of the best public schools in the county, Safety Harbor is the perfect spot to raise your family! There are very few gated communities and very few communities with numerous deed restrictions! This is a place for people who want to control their biggest investment - their home - and not have others tell them what to do there!

Safety Harbor is also convenient to St Petersburg College and an easy drive from the University of South Florida's St Petersburg Campus as well as from it's Tampa Campus.

So when you are considering purchasing or selling your next home, if it is in the Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Palm Harbor area, be sure to give us a call!!! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. Your Safety Harbor, East Lake Woodlands, Clearwater Countryside area experts!!!!

Florida's Lush Tropical Landscape

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:25:32 -0500

Florida offers such beautiful lush tropical landscapes, I just can't imagine living anywhere else!

There is always something in bloom and the green foliage remains green all year! The very thought of shoveling snow or dealing with frozen plants and a colorless outdoors with everything covered in white is something I really never want to have to deal with again!

If you are ready to make the change to this type of tropical setting, give us a call!

With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs! Give Bill a call at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. We are your Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Coountryside area experts!!!!

Safety Harbor Homes

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:48:11 -0500

Safety Harbor homes offer so much! The community is convenient to both Tampa and Clearwater which makes it a wonderful gateway community!

The homes are diverse, ranging from multimillion dollar homes to much more modest prices in the 100,000's! Each community is unique and offers something special!

Many homes are so well tucked away that you have to meander through several side streets to find them. This provides much desired privacy to the residents of these lovely homes.

Well hidden amongst the lush tropical setting, what better place to raise your family? Safety Harbor is located on Tampa Bay and is only minutes to the Gulf of Mexico!

Remember, if you are considering purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Clearwater area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910 or Bill at 727-916-0138 today!!! Your East Lake Woodlands, Clearwater Countryside & Safety Harbor experts!

Congratulations Active Rain - 100,000 members!!! WOW!!!!

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:38:48 -0500

Congratulations Active Rain - 100,000 members!!!! WOW!!! And WOW again!!!! It is amazing how far we have come!!! I really love this place and all of the wonderful new friends I have made here!

It is a wonderful feeling, knowing that I can travel to just about anyplace in our nation and meet up with a fellow Active Rainer there!!!!

I have already met several fellow Rainers in person and hope to meet many more during this coming year! It has been one of the best things I did not only for my business, but for my personal life as well! I have made come fantastic new friends through this amazing site!!!!

Thank you Active Rain for being here for all of us !!!!!! And to each and every one of you that contribute! Without all of the active members, this place would not be the wonderful place it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dunedin Municipal Marina

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:10:21 -0500

Dunedin has a lovely Municipal Marina and Park right on Edgewater Drive! It is a great place to spend the afternoon, reading a book and relaxing!

If you are interested in going out fishing, there are plenty of Charter Boats that leave from this marina!

Dunedin is such a wonderful town! Whether you are looking for a waterfront condo or a single family home, this quaint town on the Gulf of Mexico has it all!

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Clearwater area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910!

How About Cornmeal To Get Rid Of Ants???

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:16:53 -0500

While we are on trivia and tips, how about this one? Ever find those pesky trails of ants in your kitchen and find that it is almost impossible to get rid of them? You don't know where they came from, but somehow they have invaded and no matter what you do, you can't get them to stop returning???

If you put small piles of cornmeal on their path, they will ingest it and go home. Problem is that they can't digest it, so they will die off - this takes about a week, so don't give up! It is one way to get rid of the pests without having to use poison in your home!!!! I am all about that!

If you have similar tips, I would love to hear them!

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Clearwater area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910!

Dryer Sheets And Mosquitoes

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:37:10 -0500

Another piece of useful trivia:

If you are going outside and you know mosquitoes are going to be a problem as they are in so many places during the warmer weather, there is a simple solution:

PUT A DRYER SHEET IN YOUR POCKET!!!!!

No, I am not kidding! Don't ask me the scientific hows or whys, but it will actually keep those pesty mosquitoes away!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs area, give us a call today! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910!!!!

Great Gardening Tip Against Weeds!!!!

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:18:23 -0500

Here is a great gardening tip to prevent weeds! When you are putting in plants take WET newspaper and put it all around the plant (not a single sheet of course) - unlike some plastics that will allow weeds to grow through, they won't grow through the newspaper. Just cover the newspaper with mulch and water your plants as you usually would-

When you water the moisture will soak through the newspaper, but it is a wonderful barrier against weeds AND it is much more environmentally friendly than using plastic!!!!!!!!!!!

Just another little tip!!!!

If you are considering purchasing or selling in the Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!!!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910!

To List Or Not To List....That Is The Question!

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:11:59 -0500

Listings today are easy to come by............so easy in fact that now MORE THAN EVER BEFORE I have to stress the importance of having clients that REALIZE what it takes to sell their home and ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!

It is not a question of what their house is worth! It may be worth $500,000 to them. We don't argue that point. BUT WHAT WILL IT SELL FOR IN THIS MARKET? If they are willing to work with you IN THIS MARKET and take all of your suggestions, then take the listing!

If you hear them telling you what it is really worth, answer with THAT MAY BE, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT IT WILL SELL FOR IN THIS MARKET!

When the owner has been in the home for the last 10 years or more, they are making money on what they purchased it for - if they purchased a few years ago when the prices were out of control, they may very well get less than they paid for it. No matter what they think the value of their home may or may not be, your only concern should be WHAT IT WILL SELL FOR IN THIS MARKET!

Listing a home takes time, effort and money! You have to advertise, do an open house or two (or three). If the owner is not willing to work with you, do you want to waste your time just to have the listing?

Bill and I recently went into an open house that was CLUTTER CITY!!!!!!!!! The home was only 1600 sq ft to begin with, but with all of the clutter in there, it felt even smaller. We discussed that with the listing agent. Her comment was that she had attempted to get the sellers to de-clutter but they were not willing to do it.................that means they are not willing to fulfill their side of the deal. So my question would be why is she doing an open house and taking the listing??? I don't care how 'nice' Mr & Mrs. Jones are - if they won't work with you on getting their home sold, it just is not worth your trouble!

That is my two cents worth!!!!!

If you are considering selling your home and are willing to take the advice of professionals, we would love to discuss listing it! Give us a call today to arrange for an appointment to go over our marketing ideas! Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910!!!

Considering buying in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs area? Give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!!!

Air Powered Cars - Cool Beans!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:57:20 -0500

I received an e-mail today from a good friend in Germany and it contained information about the new air powered cars - not corn powered - AIR powered!!!! What a concept! Go figure, something that is FREE! Bet the Bush Administration is not happy about this idea - how will they justify Artic Drilling?????

If you are interested in this car, check out this web site:

There is even a picture there of the CityCAT being developed in India! It is a 6-seater that would be great for REALTORS!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine, driving people around all day and filling up on AIR!!!!!!!!!! They are talking about these being available in 2009!!!!!!!!!!! Sign me up!!!!! I just hope it comes with leather interior and heated seats............I don't want too much..........just everything!

Remember, if you are thinking of purchasing or selling in the Clearwater, Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 and Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910! Call today!!!!

Pinellas Trail - Biker's Paradise

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:38:26 -0500

The Pinellas Trail is indeed a biker's paradise! The trail is 47 miles long, connecting St Petersburg with the rest of Pinellas County. It winds it's way up the county, through community after community all the way to Tarpon Springs, offering bikers, joggers and hikers a wonderful place to safely enjoy the Florida Sunshine without worrying about traffic!

In fact the Pinellas Trail is the longest urban linear trail in the entire eastern United States!!! Something to consider if you enjoy walking or biking! This was built along an abandoned railroad corridor. Development began in December 1990 and has grown over the years to take up 47 miles. Along the way you will find benches to rest as well as water fountains and rest areas!

One more reason to consider Pinellas County if you are considering relocating to the Sunshine State!

Remember, if you are considering purchasing or selling in the Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs area give us a call! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!!!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910! Your Countryside Experts!!!

Over 400 Blog Posts

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:51:02 -0500

Can you believe it??? I have over 400 blog posts here on ActiveRain! It is hard to believe that I have written so much!!! The wonderful thing is all of the fantastic feedback that I receive from my fellow Rainers! This is a great community! I have gotten to know so many interesting people and this even made our transition back to Pinellas County a lot easier! My fellow Rainers introduced me to new local people!!!

Thank you so much, fellow Rainers!!!

If you are considering buying or selling in the Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor area, give us a call today! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. Your Clearwater Countryside Experts!!!

Linkedin A Great Place To Reconnect

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:44:16 -0500

Linkedin is a great place to reconnect!!! Since signing up there I have been reconnected with several people that I had lost touch with!!! You might want to check out http://www.linkedin.com to see if you can find old friends or new contacts for your business! It is a great place!!!

If you are considering buying or selling in the Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor area give us a call today! With years of experience in the local market, we are here for all of your real estate needs!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910!!! Your Clearwater Countryside Experts!!!

Pinellas County Schools NOT Changing Start Times

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:37:40 -0500

Pinellas County Schools will NOT be changing start times this coming school year. While this had been discussed several times, in the end the decision is to keep the start times exactly as they have been. This is good news to high school students who hold jobs after school gets out. A later start time would have cost many of them their after school jobs!

While some counties are going to try starting 4 day weeks to save on gasoline costs for buses, Pinellas County will -as of this writing- remain the same!!! I will keep you updated of any changes!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. Your Clearwater Countryside Experts!

Florida Schools Start Summer Vacation

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:32:31 -0500

Florida's schools have started the summer vacation period, so remember to drive carefully! You never know when a child might run into the street to catch a ball!!! Adults have to be reminded that school is out for the summer! That means kids are everywhere! Drive carefully and expect the beaches to be full during the week too now!!!!

This is also the time of year when families start to think of relocation. It is much easier to relocate during the summer, so the little ones are ready for the start of the new school year in August!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. Your Clearwater Countryside Experts!!!

Dust Mite Problems

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:13:08 -0500

It is allergy season, but dust mites can be a problem year round! Have you been sneezing? Watery eyes? Runny nose??? You just might be allergic to your bed!!!! It seems that most people do not realize the number of dust mites that are in their bed.

With all of the buzz on saving electricity, many of us wash our laundry in COLD water - the problem is, dust mites don't die in that water - it must be 130 degrees to kill the little buggers!!!!! So if you have allergy problems, start washing those bed sheets and pillow cases in HOT water like your grandmother used to do!!!!! Grandma knew what she was doing!!!!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. Your Clearwater Countryside Experts!

Florida Lottery Winner. . . .

Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:00:34 -0500

And the winner is . . . . . you guessed it, my partner - BILL BERRING!!! Bill plays the Florida Lottery twice a week and manages to get 5 numbers every now and then ( I think this is the 5th time he has gotten 5 numbers since our lottery started 20 years ago).

This morning he announced that he had done it again! Bill won 5 numbers in the Florida Lottery last night! While it is not a Million Dollar ticket, it is one that I have never gotten! I manage to get 3 out of 6 numbers, but that is about it. I also play the lottery a couple of dozen times a year - oh, well, I guess you have to play to win...... rats!!!

Anyway, just wanted to announce that one! Some people seem to be really lucky with the lottery and Bill is one of them!!!!

Call Bill at 727-916-0138 or Barbara-Jo at 727-512-0910. We are your Clearwater Countryside Experts!