Holden Beach, NC Real Estate Blog

How To Set Up An Outside Blog Using Wordpress. Part 2. Video Tutorial.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:04:51 -0500

How To Set Up An Outside Blog Using Wordpress. Part 2.

Have you ever taken out your own web domain name? If you ever start your own blog, you will need a domain name and a company for hosting your new web site. I'm sure that many of you have gone through the process, but there also may be a few of you who haven't. If you think it's too complicated, I'm here to show you that it's a very easy process. It only takes a couple of minutes and a credit card. In today's video tutorial, I will show you how to take out your own web domain name using my preferred provider, Bluehost.com.

I covered a few of the basics in Part 1 such as costs.

Video Tutorial. Getting Your Own Web Domain Name. By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 1080p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

How To Start Your Outside Blog Using Wordpress. The Basics. Part 1

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:54:13 -0500

How To Start Your Outside Blog. The Basics. Part 1

Do you have an outside blog in addition to your Active Rain blog? Maybe you want to blog about something different not usually found here on Active Rain. Do you have another business and a frugal marketing budget? Have you ever wondered what it would involve and what the costs may be? I hope you are not holding back because of the unknown. I'm going to shed a little light on this today. You have a lot to say and the world needs to hear it. I thought I would share some of the details and costs associated with starting your own blog.

I've heard people say about different things in life that "any monkey can do it". That's good news for me. I have posted my picture from my high school senior yearbook. As you can see from my picture, if that statement holds true, then I should be able to do a lot of stuff. If I can do this, so can you. It's not hard, you just have to take a little time and learn the basics.

For this article, I will be speaking of blogs using the Wordpress platform. Wordpress is probably the most widely used software for blogging in the world. I'm no Wordpress expert, but it's fairly easy to learn the basics. The great thing about Wordpress is there are thousands of free templates to choose from and download. Me and free have always got along very well. You can certainly pay for a custom theme. If you want to be frugal, stay with free.

You will need a company to serve as your host provider for your blog. Probably the most popular today would be GoDaddy. I prefer to use a company called Bluehost. Bluehost has a very fast and simple Wordpress installation built in to their system. I'm talking fast and easy and that's the name of the game for me. At Bluehost, you can select your domain name and install Wordpress in just a few minutes and you are online and blogging to the world.

How much does Bluehost cost?

The costs are surprisingly affordable. For $99 I was able to purchase my new web domain name and 6 months of hosting. If you have something to say, or you would like the world to visit you on the web, $99 is a heck of a deal in my book. I'm sure that costs at other companies are also competitive.

Keep watching for Part 2 as I begin to take you through the beginning steps of uploading a blog template to the host provider and making your site "hot" to the world.

John Wayne. American Hero. This Weeks Video Theme. Are there Any Hero's Out There?

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:49:23 -0500

What an unbelievable crappy week our country has had. With all of the bad news I have kept telling myself, what we need is a Hero. If only John Wayne could step in and save us from this mess. The "Duke" is my all time favorite and who could be better to build a theme around? I've mixed in a clip from my favorite John Wayne movie "True Grit" and the music is from Sons Of Katie Elder. Here's to a better week than last for our great country as I report on last week's single family home sales in Brunswick County, NC.

John Wayne. American Hero. Theme of the Week. By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Heavy Metal Thunder. Harley Davidson. Sales "Theme of the Week" Video. Turn Up The Volume!

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:43:50 -0500

Do you like Harley's? Do you like great classic rock songs?

If you answered yes, then I hope you will enjoy the twist I put on this video. September is a great time to ride and enjoy the weather as it begins to cool down.

The great thing about this video is you will not burn the side of your calf on the muffler, or get a bug in your teeth while watching.

Turn Up The Volume!

Harley Davidson. Weekly Sales Report, "Theme of the Week" By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

How Can I Try So Hard And Still Suck?

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:28:00 -0500

Are there some things that you try real hard at but just continue to suck? Do you ever think so much of yourself that you feel you can master everything you attempt?

Being a NC Realtor at the coast in Holden Beach, NC has it's advantages. Some days you get to go and show a beautiful oceanfront beach home. For lunch, I can grab a sandwich, a lawn chair and go sit on the beach with my iPod. It's a great way to clear your head. Every now and then, I get invited for an afternoon of fishing. There was a quote I once heard,

"Even a fish could stay out of trouble if it would just learn to keep its mouth shut".

It took me a while but I finally understand the quote. I used to tell people that I was a fisherman. I actually used to believe it when I heard myself say those words. It only takes one afternoon of fishing with me and you will realize that I suck when it comes to fishing.

Imagine this... You get invited to got out for an afternoon with a Pro Fishing Guide. You accept the invitation with a warning that you are a horrible fisherman because you feel other people have a right to know. It's sort of like I should come with my own warning sticker. This Pro Guide took me to places where it looked like the fish would jump into your boat by themselves while you get a tan. He took me to his double top secret fishing holes that looked like front covers of Saltwater Fishing magazine. I was simply amazed that these places existed on our beautiful Carolina Coast. At one point, my guide was able to anchor up to a spot that he has never been able to anchor to in all his days of fishing due to the strong currents that were always present. He got excited like a small child on this day and told me to get ready, things were about to heat up because we were now at a once forbidden spot he had longed to fish from for as long as he could remember.

The only anchor my guide carried on his boat that day was me. Nothing. Zero. Nada. No fish that day. I actually thought I had a few bites that day because I am an optimist. I still believe that I had a few bites. No way it was snags on the bottom.

We are talking the ocean here. There are fish in the ocean aren't there? I know there are because I go to seafood restaurants on a regular basis and they have fish. Where did they come from?

The National Center for Fisherman Who Suck report that 9 out of 10 people who go fishing, accidentally catch at least one fish per outing. So much for those statistics. I guess they forgot to interview me or I am the guy at the #10 spot.

I own my own boat. I have enough fishing gear that Bass Pro shop would be envious of. I can talk the talk with anyone. I can take you to secluded fishing holes where I have seen other fishermen catch fish. I can throw cast nets and rig your line like a pro does. I can dazzle you with my knowledge of tides and currents and fishing habitats. I may never master the hook and line but I doubt that I will ever quit trying. The sun can go down on my day of fishing but tomorrow is a new day.

Together, we can accomplish great things. If you are a buyer, seller or an investor you need a plan. I'm here to help. Please click my "Plan of Action" logo. I have customized an online form just for you. You can tell me exactly what you are looking for or seeking to accomplish. Once you submit the form, together, we will create a highly specific plan to help you achieve your real estate goals based on your criteria. This is just another excellent client service you can expect from Steve Sherron, the Brunswick Broker.

Once Upon A Time There Was An Investor. Sad Story, Lessons Learned.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:37:39 -0500

Lately, I have received several calls from distressed investors who are in a world of hurt. They are reaching out to anyone for any help of any kind. I listen, I sympathize and I console but for many I just don't have an answer for what they have gotten themselves into. It's very sad and some of these folks are heading into financial ruin. So many of these folks made real estate decisions during the 2004-2006 that looked like instant money back then. It's proving to be disastrous in 2008. Most all of the problems that I see deal with land deals in huge subdivisions.

If you are an investor or if you are considering becoming a real estate investor, here are some guidelines and points to ponder before you step into the deal of the century.

You live 800 miles away from a fantastic new subdivision being built in another state and one day you receive a very attractive brochure in the mailbox. It looks fantastic and if you visit, you get a free stay and meals for the weekend. Heck, if you register and pre-qualify they will fly you in for free also. Time for you and your honey to take a free mini-vacation.

No payments for 2 years. Sounds great doesn't it? You can buy a piece of property in a fantastic new subdivision with every amenity imaginable and you won't make any payments for 2 years. You have stumbled upon such a great deal that you may even buy 2 pieces of property. You may even tell your friends and encourage them to take a mini-vacation all expenses paid.

You are now the proud owner of a fantastic wooded corner lot in the most fantastic subdivision in the entire county. You are not going to make any payments for 2 years. Are you going to live there eventually? Heck no, you are going to flip that lot at the end of the 2 years and make a ton without hardly any money coming out of your pocket.

Let's fast forward. The 2 years are coming to an end and you receive notice that you are to assume the payments. Ouch! That's a lot of money getting ready to come out of your monthly budget. No problem, it's all part of your plan. Time to cash in... Ka-Ching. What do you do now? You call me of course because you found me on Active Rain. You are 800 miles away and for 2 years you didn't establish a working relationship with a local agent who has his finger on the pulse of the local market. You are not really sure what's been happening on the local scene.

You explain that you are ready to list your lot. You bought this fantastic piece of property 2 years ago for $225,000 and the payments are coming due. You can't really afford the payments because the economy has hit your family pretty hard also. It's time to sell and take your profits.

Here is the hard part. I have to inform this investor that there are 127 other lots for sale in the same subdivision. There have only been 4 lot sales in the last 6 months and the average sale price is $91,500. There have been 40 expired listings. Out of the 127 lots for sale, the average listing price is $147,500. Average days on market is 412 days. There is dead silence on the other end.

I get a call 3 weeks later from the same investor just to inform me that they had an appraisal done on the lot in an effort to re-finance and cut their monthly payment. The appraisal comes back at $115,000. The bank will not refinance. It's very sad. You are powerless to help. All you can do is to lend a sympathetic ear and just let them vent. For some it means financial ruin.

As an investor, you must keep in mind Economics 101. Supply and Demand. These investors bought into the same deal as 400 other investors at the same time. At the end of the 2 years no payments, you find yourself competing with at least 200 other investors who has the same thing in mind as you. Flip it and make a profit. A few of those other investors get desperate and fire sale their property, it kills the comps for the entire subdivision. Buyers who do have their finger on the pulse of the local market see this and stay away. All of a sudden you have a worthless property in your portfolio.

I have had this scenario presented to me at least 5 times in the last 2 months. If you deal with properties out of your area, find and make friends with a local expert first. Become a partner with a local agent who will advise you and help you. The local agent can help you avoid pitfalls such as this. We want to be your partner for life and help you make smart decisions.

Inshore Fish Of The Carolinas, Theme Of The Week. Brunswick County, NC Weekly Sales Video.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:15:51 -0500

September is one of the best fishing months of the year for the North Carolina Coast. When the weather and the water temps start to cool, the fish start to bite. Brunswick County is a sportsman's and a fisherman's paradise. In Southport, NC. we have 3 bodies of water converging. The Atlantic Ocean, The Cape Fear River and the Intracoastal Waterway creating fantastic inshore saltwater fishing. All of the areas south, which include Oak Island, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach are hotspots of some of the finest inshore fishing on the east coast. This weeks weekly sales report for Brunswick County, NC is dedicated to the popular inshore fish of the Carolina's.

Inshore Fish of NC. Weekly Sales Report "Theme of the Week". By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

How Do Meaningless Distractions Affect You?

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:05:26 -0500

Are meaningless distractions affecting you in a negative way? It's a constant struggle for me to stay focused on what's really important when there are so many distractions. What about you? I think it's that way for everyone regardless of the work you do. Too many times my day runs out and I haven't accomplished what I wanted to do that day.

Common distractions:

I get an e-mail with a link. I click it, then I click again and again, next thing you know I've wasted 20 minutes on stupid stuff on the internet.
A phone call. If possible, I answer every call that comes in. I answer requests and it takes time. Not all of the calls I receive are important but I give them all attention.
Someone walks into my office. I completely drop everything I'm doing. I push myself away from my desk and I try to give this person my undivided attention for ever how long it takes. I think it's just common courtesy. Next thing you know, I've just had a conversation about how Miracle Grow can make tomato's huge, that has nothing to do with the bottom line.
I can't say no. As hard as I try, I can hardly utter the word to the folks in my office. I like them all very much. I have a truck, a toolbox in the back and I enjoy helping them, even if I'm in the middle of writing a listing or doing business for a client I promised that day.

I feel it's my obligation every day to consider the fact that I have a list of clients that are doing business with me. There is also a list of possible clients that may want to do business with me. There is also a list of customers that would like for me to spend my precious time researching something for them when they have only supplied me with a first name and an e-mail address and will never do business with me. I give these clients attention also but only after I have taken care of those who are taking care of me. I call it loyalty. Do business with me and you have my undivided attention.

We must revisit our priorities on a daily basis. Our clients who are doing business with us now deserve top priority.
We must avoid distractions that take us away from achieving our goals. When is the last time we told our clients that they are VIP's with us?
When is the last time we sent every listing we have a handwritten note thanking them for their business and telling them that they are a priority?
When was the last time that we programmed a special ring tone in our cell phone for each client that has trusted us with their business? When we hear that special tone, we are alerted that this is a client, not a customer. I must answer this call now if at all possible.

The struggle will continue. Please, no one send me the video link for the Trunk Monkeys!

Video Sales Report. Brunswick County, NC Single Family Homes 9/05/08

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:48:03 -0500

This was a slow week for sales in Brunswick County, NC. There were probably a couple of outside factors that contributed to this. #1 was the fact that Tropical Storm Hanna was bearing down on us. The other was it was the week after Labor Day. I posted a Pre-Hanna video as we were all concerned but didn't feel it would be too bad. Luckily it wasn't. I slept through most of it but the house was rockin a few times in the middle of the night. We lost power in the early morning hours and my hurricane strength ceiling fan quit. Man, I hated that. No fresh hot coffee that morning either.

Brunswick County, NC Real Estate Report 9/5/08. By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Riding The Storm Out. Hanna Update From Holden Beach Video.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:15:44 -0500

We survived Hanna last night. Things were definitely rockin in the early morning hours as the wind howled. I lost power this morning as we heard what sounded like a transformer blowing up. No power meant no coffee, so I headed to the office for my java. Late yesterday evening I took some pictures and shot a little video as people were getting ready for the storm. All is well here at the coast. The most damage I saw this morning were roofing shingles missing and some siding blown away.

Turn up your volume.

Tropical Storm Hanna. Holden Beach, NC Update By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

How Many Grammatical Errors Do You Count in this Description?

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:24:20 -0500

While looking through MLS this morning I happened upon these remarks describing a property. I have copied it directly as it appeared in MLS. I'm no English Major but I can spot a few problems. By my count I see at least 5 errors and I'm not counting the fact that every first letter is capitalized. I cannot imagine one of my clients seeing this.

Like New Furnished Home With Great Icw View. Used Asvacation Home Only. Well Maintained Yard, 18 X 24garage For Car Or Boat, Low Maintenance, New Roof,Nice Deck, Brick Under,Security System. Ready Tomove In.

Oh yea, pleez distreegard iny misteaks I maid wile ritin this artacle.

Brunswick County, NC Weekly Sales Report Video. 8/29/08

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:46:49 -0500

This was a pretty strong week for sales as compared to last weeks data.

Brunswick County Real Estate Report By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Ocean Isle, NC by Blackberry

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:16:15 -0500

Ocean Isle by Blackberry

Last week I went out on the boat one afternoon with my best friend and business partner, Doug Weaver. We left Holden Beach and headed down the Intracoastal Waterway for the Shallotte River to get in a little flounder fishing. I forgot and left my camera at home. All I had was my Blackberry, so I took a lot of pictures as we fished and cruised the canals of Ocean Isle.

The quality of pictures from cell phones now are pretty amazing. The slideshow that I put together are all photos from my Blackberry. Enjoy.

Ocean Isle, NC by Blackberry By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce "Business After Hours" Video

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:31:32 -0500

"Business After Hours"

This is a video of the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce "Business After Hours" event held on August 21, 2008. It was held just off the beach and under the Oak Island Lighthouse in Oak Island, NC. This is a great monthly networking event that was sponsored by the Chamber, 2 of my companies and "The Friends Of The Lighthouse". The food was great, adult beverages were enjoyed and a lot of fun was had by everyone. If you are a realtor or own a business, I would check in to your local Chamber and attend events like this one. As a local Realtor, I like to cover events such as this. You meet a lot of people you would otherwise not know and it's a great way to market yourself and your business.

Business After Hours. By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Brunswick County, NC Weekly Sales Report Video. 8/22/08

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:40:23 -0500

Brunswick County Real Estate Report By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

This is data directly from the Brunswick County MLS system. This is a new feature I’m implementing on the Brunswick Broker. Check back each week or better yet, subscribe to the Brunswick Broker and you will automatically be notified by e-mail or your RSS reader everytime I post anything new.

Will You Guarantee Your Response Time?

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:33:41 -0500

I was reading an article on Inman News about the "Myth of the Million Dollar Producer". The writer mentions that if an agent cannot guarantee in writing what his response time to his client is, the client should move on and select another agent. I've never given anyone a guarantee on my response time. I simply respond and it's never been an issue. I do have another life at times, but I dedicate so much of it to my clients.

I did make the decision to go to the Blackberry and now I can almost respond immediately on e-mails. I don't call it my "Crackberry" yet, but I would probably fight you for it. I have 3 different e-mail addresses coming into my Blackberry. The reason I converted was to be able to quickly respond to my clients and prospects. I think that mere fact gives you and edge over your competition. I think it's a good idea to mention that fact also to assure them that you are reachable.

Would you be willing to go far as to guarantee your response time to your client in writing? I'm not ready to go that far, but my clients learn right away that I am very accessible to their needs.

Exploiting Your Mac. How I Use "Active Brad" To Show You How.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:52:36 -0500

If you are using a Mac, there are some great features that you may not be aware of. One of my favorite features is the ability to take a super fast screen shot of anything you are looking at. It's very simple. Just click these 3 keys.

A small cross-hair will appear on your screen. Position the cross-hair on one corner of the object you want to capture. Hold your mouse button and drag. A shadow will appear over your capture. Now let go of your mouse. You will hear the click of a camera. Your image will be saved to your desktop as a .jpg file.

That's it! It's probably the one feature of a Mac that I use the most.

Let me show a quick example. I'm going to grab a screen shot of Brad Anderson's photo on his blog page. Brad is a prolific Active Rain Community Builder. **Brad I hope you don't mind**.

Brad is wearing some cool sunglasses for his profile picture

Brad has a picture of his cat on his profile page

I grabbed all three of these shots using my Apple, Shift, 4 Keys.

Now I'll take it a step further. Using the apple Keynote program, I'll use the photos that I just screen-captured to make a quick video presentation.

Just Click Below.

Using Photo Effects in Apple Keynote By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Brunswick County, NC Weekly Sales Report Video. Changing The Method Of Delivery.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:50:16 -0500

The information is the same, but the delivery can make all the difference. Why read stats when you can watch them in a short video? I'm constantly on the look out for ways to deliver information in new ways. Please share if you have unique methods pertaining how you deliver the goods to your clients.

Brunswick County Weekly Sales Report By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 768p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

How To Make A Video Brochure and Tour Without A Camera.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:57:23 -0500

This is a

Video Presentation

using the Apple Keynote program. I like to call it my
"Digital Brochure"
Keynote is Apple's version of Powerpoint. If you own a Mac, this program will definitely help you expand your offerings to your clients if you are doing any kind of marketing. Keynote came installed on my MacBookPro. Everything you see on this video was created within the Keynote program. The only part that was external were the photos I pulled in. All motion, graphics, text, picture framing etc. were done inside the program.

You can even embed one of your videos easily into the presentation. I'll create a presentation with an embedded video on a future blog post here on Active Rain. Keynote allows you to export to a quicktime movie in much the same fashion as Final Cut or Final Cut Express. All of the video settings are customizable.

This is one of the tools that I plan to use in the hopes of getting a little bit of edge over my competition.

Your comments and feedback are appreciated.

How To Make A Video without A Camera. Apple Keynote Presentation. By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Holden Beach This Morning Enjoying The Waterway Video

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:45:57 -0500

It was nice and peaceful this morning in Holden Beach. I shot this video before heading into the office. I hope those of you who can't be here will enjoy this as you go through your busy day.

Let me help you find your little slice of heaven here in Brunswick County, NC

Holden Beach This Morning 8/7/08 By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 720p Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

Soakin Up The Sun In Holden Beach, NC Video

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:28:05 -0500

This is for all of you who were wishing you could have been at the beach today. We miss you down here. Make it through this week and then come down and see us.

Holden Beach, NC. Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Fun In The Sun

Soakin Up The Sun In Holden Beach, NC By Steve Sherron
View in HD Download 720p HD Version Visit Steve Sherron's ExposureRoom Videos Page

How Long Do You Hold On To A Prospect?

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:15:01 -0500

Time is one of our most valuable assets. As life and business rolls on, for me, most days end and I feel I needed a couple more hours. I spend a lot of time working on potential leads and clients. With my business, a certain part of it deals with internet leads and calls to the office on duty days.

I do my best to give service to this unknown person on the end of a call or e-mail. For example, someone inquires about a certain property in a certain area. As all of you know, you may be working off of a first name only and no telephone number. From this tid bit of info, I try to imagine what criteria may fit this potential prospect.

I generally set this person up for a weekly contact from me by email. I usually send a listing that is similar to the one they inquired about. It is not unusual to send several emails and never receive any response at all. You wonder if they are receiving your message or not. This is a time consuming process. Every now and then, you get an email or a phone call out of the blue from one of those prospects. Those are the times when your time may have been well spent.
My question is this. How long do you hold on to your prospect? Do you have a certain system worked out that tells you when to move on?

My Extreme Makeover. Eyelid Surgery. Father Time & Gravity Catch Me.

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:18:05 -0500

This is a quick story of my own "Extreme Makeover". I had eyelid surgery this past Thursday. I know this may not be a front and center topic for a real estate blog. There may be those out there who are going through what I have gone through and would be interested, so I thought I would post about it. I will say that my wife wasn't really in favor of this post but I appreciated those who wrote while I was considering this procedure. The medical term for my procedure is called Blepharoplasty. Father Time and gravity had finally caught up with me. I'm 48 years old and my eyelids have been giving me problems for the last few years.

There were days when I felt fine and energized, but my eyelids were heavy and my eyes would become so tired. If any of you suffer from this, then you know exactly what I'm saying. I did not have this procedure performed for cosmetic reasons. My peripheral vision was tested and my eyelids did affect my vision. My surgery was approved by insurance due to this fact. If it shaves a few years off my appearance I won't complain.

I posted before and after pictures below. These are not very graphic but it is what you can expect if any of you are contemplating this type of surgery. The surgery was virtually painless. I have not suffered any pain at all. What you must consider and devote yourself to, is the time of recovery. It's a 2 person rehabilitation. The first 2 days after surgery, you must ice your eyes for 30 minutes every hour. The next few days you must ice 4 times per day. I have listened to a lot of podcasts with earphones the last few days.

I am in my 4th day of recovery now. The swelling is going down and I'm very impressed with what I feel the results will be. I have not gone out in public yet because I still have stitches. The stitches will be removed on Wednesday, 6 days after the surgery. My wife has been a wonderful caregiver and I couldn't have done this without her. I'll be happy to answer any questions for anyone considering this procedure yourself. Just ask.

Can a Smart Phone Make You Smarter?

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:28:51 -0500

I finally did it. I got a Blackberry from Alltel. They say it's a smart phone. I'm not sure how smart it is yet, but I love gadgets. I knew the day would come sooner or later and I was always hoping sooner. If you don't have a phone that will make coffee nowadays you are either falling way behind or you at least feel as if you are behind the rest of the world. My son Jake had pleaded to me a few months ago that he needed a smart phone. I questioned this need of his. He promised that it would help him in college and be able to keep up with his schedule and study better, thus good grades would be the result. He talked a good game, so his Mother and I bought him a Palm phone for his birthday. Lo and behold, his grades were outstanding and I'm talking physics and microeconomics.

Will it help me compete in the world of Real Estate? I think so or at least I certainly hope so. The reason I got a Blackberry was for business. Specifically, email. Over the last few months I have attempted to convert everything I possibly could over to my new MacBookPro from Apple. Unfortunately, my real estate email services is Internet Explorer based. The only way I can check my email is to get to a Windows PC. In such a competitive line of work, I need to respond very quickly to email. To the rescue came the Blackberry.

Einstein certainly got by ok without a smart phone but one has to wonder how much smarter he would have been if he had been using a Blackberry? Hmmm....

I could not believe how easy the email set up on the Blackberry was. I really figured I would have to bury myself in a manual to figure it out. I just knew that I would have to configure POP servers and SMTP servers and go through a lot of aggravation. Boy, was I wrong and very happy about being wrong.

Blackberry asked me for my email address and my password. That's it. I kid you not. I entered in the information and it said I would start receiving emails in about 20 minutes. I thought to myself, yea right. I would get an email so easy just as I watched pigs fly in front of my window. I sent myself a test email. In 20 minutes I was alerted on the Blackberry. I checked it and there it was. I was completely blown away. I don't know how they do it and I don't care. I set up 3 different email addresses on my Blackberry and now I never have to wait for an email. I am PUMPED about this.

I have the Blackberry "Curve" from Alltel. I'll keep you posted as I learn more about this Smart Phone. Right now I'd have to say it's pretty smart.

Preserving A Piece Of North Carolina Coastal History

Steve Sherron-Builder Holden Beach, NC — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:06:23 -0500

The old Long Beach Pier that stood on Oak Island, NC may be long gone but not forgotten. Once, the longest pier in the state of NC, it served many and I fished on it myself many times in my lifetime.

We are preserving a piece of this coastal NC history at Brunswick Landing in Holden Beach, NC. Over the last couple of years I came to know the man who took the pier down to make room for oceanfront condo's on Oak Island. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that project will materialize. However, I salvaged some of the pilings as he took them down because I had an idea.

My business partner in D & S Developers, Doug Weaver, and myself had an idea to use the pilings to build our entrance to our new subdivision. Our entrance monument would always carry a little special sentiment.

We stored away the pilings and with the design help of my wife Luanne, we started setting the pilings this week as we start to build the entrance to Brunswick Landing. We certainly wanted to maintain the coastal feel of our neighborhood and what better way than to install a small piece of NC Coastal History.

The picture below shows how we intend to use the pilings as we start to construct the entrance sign to Brunswick Landing.

Here is a photo of how I am using these pilings now. We have designed what I consider and "eye popping" marketing sign that is really drawing attention from passers by. Since installing the pilings and the sign, the traffic in our subdivision has increased well over 100%.