smart girl: Introducing NaplesSmartGirl.com!
- 08/15/08 12:20 PM
NaplesSmartGirl.com is now LIVE! This is the domain name I chose to set up my new Active Rain outside blog. The whole process was easy and took just a tiny bit of effort. In fact, if it hadn't been for my loser wireless Internet connection (since I am "vacationing" in the sticks right now) it took me awhile but had I been on real speed, it probably would've only taken a few minutes to set it up.
I'm excited about my new blog and thrilled that I have yet another tool to help me expose my market, listings … (18 comments)
10. Social Media is the new "Big Thing": Not that I'm unfamiliar with social media. I'm familiar. I just wasn't as wired in about social media as I probably should be. For example, I've had a twitter.com account for awhile now but simply "didn't get it"...until after one of the sessions yesterday. I hopped on hoping to be hit in the head with why so many people like it so much....and then...a twitter...tweet...whatever from Desiree Daniels with her phone number so we could meet. Thanks Des....I … (46 comments)
smart girl: Yep, I'm still here selling Naples, Florida!
- 06/21/08 09:31 AM
As my close followers know...I study my website hits constantly. Oh, I am ridiculously addicted to wanting to know who's looking at what page and how they're finding my site, what keywords they're using, which search engines, and how long they're surfing around. I think it is so interesting. It also helps me understand what's on prospective buyers' minds. What's even more interesting is the bits of information I've been able to pick up along the road. I have a few people I know who are watching the market closely, and I can tell when they've been checking stuff out because they've … (5 comments)
smart girl: A Few Steps Ahead Of The Game...
- 06/21/08 08:45 AM
When working through real estate transactions, it pays to look past today and think ahead a little bit to ensure a successful and happy closing for all parties involved: For example: I recently had an Old Naples condo under contract. Because there were tenants in place, the buyer (my client) wanted to do the inspections closer to the end because she wanted to make sure everything was going to remain as close to the condition at the time of inspection as possible. The seller accepted that term, so it worked out. A few days before the inspection, I reviewed the contract timeline. I realized … (2 comments)
smart girl: Need A Rug?
- 06/16/08 06:29 AM
Then you must make a stop at Rug Decor located at 8002 Mediterranean Dr. Estero Florida. This store is quite simply a terrific rug shopping experience! Here's how it went for me: My husband and I still burdened with the task of completing our newly remodeled home are in the process of making our final selections in decor. For whatever reason, the rugs have been a hard task for me. I don't really know why, but it probably has something to do with the fact that rugs can either really make or break a look you're going after. We were actually … (8 comments)
smart girl: Who's Your Buyer?
- 06/06/08 04:08 PM
When we're working with the seller, hey, at least we know where they live. But, let's talk about the buyer for a minute. How many of us "know who our buyer is"? When I sold real estate in Texas, there wasn't really any hocus pocus that went down but when I moved to Naples, at least initially it was a different story...at least it was for me. My first BS episode in Naples was with a colleague of mine who had been selling real estate a short while longer in Naples than I but who figured out that although I was new … (9 comments)
smart girl: What's Your Dream?
- 06/05/08 03:32 PM
What's your dream? Remember the movie "Pretty Woman"? There's a guy known as "happy man" who says, Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, the land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't, but keep on dreamin' - this is Hollywood. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'. You take the word "Hollywood" out and replace it with the words "real estate," and the same concept rings true! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is real estate, the land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't, but keep on dreamin' - this is real … (22 comments)
smart girl: Is Naples, Florida A Good Place To Relocate And Sell Real Estate?
- 06/04/08 01:35 PM
Here's a question asked by a fellow "Rainer" in an email to me today: Hey Shannon.. my name is **** and I am with *** in **, **. I have seen your blogs and stories and thought I would ask a question if you don't mind. We here in ** have turned what we hope is the worst of the sub-prime mess we have been in.... what about you down in the South? Has the market improved and would you consider your area a good place to relocate to and practice Real Estate? Thanks for your time.. I appreciate it and if you … (1 comments)
smart girl: Blogging Attitudes Are Evolving!
- 05/31/08 04:36 AM
I remember less than a year ago sitting down with my fabulous broker and having a chat about Naples real estate. I recall distinctively him telling me that the future of real estate marketing was in blogging and as he continued I sat quietly...completely skeptical. I remember asking...really? Why? Who cares about what we have to say? That sounds so stupid, how could it possibly help build business? Then about a week later I went to the Inman conference in San Francisco and I miraculously transformed from a non-blog-believer to a true Active Rain Juice Fan. When I got back to … (74 comments)
smart girl: Naples Renters Are Coming, Naples Renters Are Coming!
- 05/29/08 02:34 PM
One of the trends I've noticed lately is the increase in number of rental searches that have been occurring on my Naples, Florida website. So I can actually feel some of you think, oh how would you know! Well, it's all in the search terms my friends. For example just today I saw: Avalon at Pelican Bay rentals Terraces at Park Shore Naples rental vacation rentals on Gulf Shore Blvd Naples Florida I also received my first list of rentals for next season from a property manager in town who keeps me up to date with available rentals. People who are really on the ball start making … (2 comments)
smart girl: We're Past The Point Of Convenience...Get It On!
- 05/28/08 05:32 AM
You gotta love people's sense of urgency sometimes. When I received a call today about scheduling an appointment for an appraisal on a property regarding a deal requiring full loan approval by Friday, my convenience of getting you in the door, although sweet to consider, is really a mute point. Would you have time to open the door tomorrow? Uh, yep! Not only will I make time to open the door for you tomorrow I will (EDIT) arrive at the property, do back flips across the lawn to the front door, stand on my head while opening the lockbox while holding … (17 comments)
smart girl: Brett Arends, Do Your Wall Street Journal Readers A Favor!
- 05/22/08 08:56 AM
As promised in my last post, Naples, Florida has recently had a visit by a Wall Street Journal reporter by the name of Brett Arends. As expected, he has made Naples sound more like a devastation spot instead of the destination spot that Naples is which by any measure is no great surprise. The unfortunate part of course is that by not reporting all of the facts, he's portraying a false impression of the state of the Naples market and the motivation of many Naples homeowners which in turn will greatly disappoint those planning on coming down here and capturing the … (9 comments)
smart girl: Naples, Florida Real Estate Secrets You Should Know!
- 05/20/08 09:03 AM
According to a colleague of mine, a reporter from a very well known newspaper is coming tomorrow to interview someone in my office about Naples, Florida real estate. This should be a good thing because even negative press is press and well, you can ask Paris Hilton or Britney Spears negative press isn't ALWAYS bad for business. But incorrect press IS BAD for business. Although I respect the newspaper...mostly, I had a pretty tasteless experience with them a few years back. There was a reporter doing a story after Hurricane Charley and apparently she didn't think what I had to say was … (4 comments)
smart girl: Naples, Florida Buyers Say And Do The Craziest Things!
- 05/19/08 11:24 AM
You gotta wonder what goes on in the minds of the people we come across. For example, I should be on my 3rd week of hibernation had this years' real estate traffic turned out to be like last years' traffic but no, I'm still really busy with existing and new customers just itching to buy real estate in Naples, Florida. I spent nearly the entire week with clients from Switzerland who have narrowed their sites on a particular waterfront property in the Moorings. Not to mention I tried to juggle the time I had left between a batch of both new and existing customers looking … (5 comments)
smart girl: Confidence - Too Much Or Not Enough Can Hurt!
- 05/16/08 05:25 AM
How's your confidence? When we're doing great it ROCKS, when we're not doing so well...well, it can be a little more challenging to maintain. Is it you, is it me, is it the economy? All of those second guesses start taking place. When you have a "healthy" confidence, everything shines towards your direction. Tip toe across the "over-confident" mark and it's amazing how buyers, sellers, other agents and the general public start shying away. Fall back past the unconfident mark and the same thing happens. Then of course there's the broken confident meter. People who are over or under the healthy confidence range … (8 comments)
smart girl: Seriously, Can We Talk?
- 05/15/08 03:25 AM
A successful showing agent knows when to talk, when to shut up, when to be available for questions and when to step back to allow buyers to talk about what they're looking at. An interesting thing happened a couple of days ago when I showed some customers from Sweden. Before we started our tour, he turned to me and said, "Shannon, the sign on your door says that you speak German"? I replied, "Actually, the sign on the door says that there are German-speaking agents, but I am not one of them...I hope that doesn't pose a problem". He and his wife … (32 comments)
smart girl: "I Can't Disclose That" Is Not Helping You Or Your Seller Part 2
- 05/12/08 09:56 AM
Back in March I wrote a post called: "I Can't Disclose That" Is Not Helping You Or Your Seller. This turned out to be a pretty controversial post when you review the comment section. For those of you who don't want to go back and read that post I'll summarize it for you. It basically says: Buyers and agents working with buyers are quite possibly going to ask you how flexible the seller is going to be on the price if they decide to write an offer. This is a passionate point in real estate today because many of us were taught. DO NOT DISCLOSE ANYTHING … (17 comments)
smart girl: Naples, Florida Real Estate & Zillow
- 05/01/08 09:40 AM
There's no mystery that Zillow has had their fair share of challenges when attempting to accurately provide real estate estimates for Naples, Florida real estate. But before anyone gets too excited, this is not a Zillow bashing post...just an update. Besides, I'd like to give a special high five to that Zillow representative who admittedly said they had been faced with the challenge down here. It was quite some time ago and they explained that they were "working on it" so I thought I would double check again to see what has improved especially since I recently wrote an offer with a … (7 comments)
According to the Collier County tax records the lowest priced unit to ever sell in Biltmore was only $815,000. I'm sure back in 1997 when the building opened that may have seemed like a pretty expensive venture but as time rolls on, sales throughout the years have proven it was a sound investment. Of course not everyone purchases properties in The Biltmore at Bay Colonysolely for investment reasons. Afterall, it is one of the six condominium gems lining the … (2 comments)
smart girl: Pelican Bay Naples, Florida ~ I'd Buy It!
- 04/28/08 01:34 AM
A couple of months ago I reported that perhaps the prices in Pelican Bay were going up. I made that report because there were several Pelican Bay neighborhoods where the lowest priced properties were either under contract or sold and the next properties available were significantly higher in price. Now taking a look at the overall indicator, average sold price: You will see that Pelican Bay is doing a great job holding it's own in this Naples real estate market that seems to be so diverse. At one point last year Pelican Bay was down...I think around 11% if memory serves but as you can see from … (2 comments)
Author Bio: Shannon Lefevre, PA sells Naples Florida real estate and has been doing so successfully since 2002. That's why many call her Naples Smart Girl.
NaplesSmartGirl.com is now LIVE! This is the domain name I chose to set up my new Active Rain outside blog. The whole process was easy and took just a tiny bit of effort. In fact, if it hadn't been for my loser wireless Internet connection (since I am "vacationing" in the sticks right now) it took me awhile but had I been on real speed, it probably would've only taken a few minutes to set it up.
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