Grand Prix coming to downtown St Petersburg - 03/22/09 06:39 PM
Each night when I drive past this section of the Grand Prix racetrack (not blocked off) I'm tempted to step on the gas and race away ... but I don't.
Some of our downtown streets and part of our downtown airport become the Grand Prix racetrack each year. The first weekend in April is this year's race.
From an illuminated night parade to autograph signings, from an air show to a gala, there's lots to do that weekend.
The first of the megayacht has already arrived - those who join the weekend Yacht Club can moor at the floating docks and … (9 comments)

Bayfront Tower Condo Downtown St Petersburg Florida Market Update 3/21/09 - 03/21/09 05:18 PM
Since a potential buyer contacted me today for available listings in Bayfront Tower, it seems an appropriate time to do a Market Update for Bayfront Tower condominium in downtown St Petersburg Florida
There are currently 9 active listings in Bayfront Tower, ranging from $299,900 for a 1 bedroom unit to $559,000 for a 2 bedroom unit. There are three 3 bedroom units listed in this range.
There is one Bayfront Tower condo that shows a contract, a 3 bedroom unit listed at $345,000.
There have been 2 sales at Bayfront Tower in 2009, a 1 bedroom unit listed at $199,000 that … (3 comments)

Market Update - Broadwater Waterfront Homes - March 21, 2009 - 03/21/09 05:09 PM
Market Update for Broadwater waterfront homes as of March 21, 2009
Broadwater waterfront home sales have been slow so far this year - in the first quarter there has been only one sale, a bank owned property that was listed at $350,000 and sold at $275,000.
Prices are stimulating activity, though - there are four waterfront homes in Broadwater currently under contract - two short sales and two "normal" sales (recognizing that foreclosure and short sales are the new normal). Two are listed at just under $400,000; the other two are listed at $475,000 and $549,999.
There are currently 21 Broadwater … (0 comments)

Elizabeth Anyaa - 03/21/09 02:46 PM
Elizabeth Anyaa is a talented and charming woman who has won the Fashion Group International Award. Tami and I visited her studio in Dallas while brainstorming with the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.
Anyaa grew up in Sierra Leone and Ghana, and studied textile design at The Rovaniemi Institute of Industrial Art in Rovaniemi, Finland, where she earned her degree in Fine Arts. She expresses her artistic vision in weaving, felting and surface design - producing unique clothes as well as textiles for the home. She weaves metals and other unusual textures into her textiles.
Her textiles and fashions have appeared … (3 comments)

Why neighbors don't like foreclosures - 03/21/09 01:57 PM

 
Of course neighbors aren't happy about foreclosures because of the prices, but they also don't like properties that are vacant, abandoned, and not taken care of.
This is the pool behind a beautifully renovated waterfront home. Fortunately the lender has secured the pool so that children won't fall in.
But this doesn't stop the nastiness - and this can become a health hazard ... mosquitoes, snakes, rodents, etc.
Pity the poor neighborhoods where these are the rule rather than the exception.
Legislators here have discussed requiring lenders to register vacant homes, so that they will better be able to … (9 comments)

Broadwater Garage Sale - 03/21/09 01:45 PM
Every year Broadwater, a waterfront neighborhood in southwest St Petersburg Florida, has a neighborhood garage sale. It usually generates a lot of traffic because there are so many homes with things set out to sell. It starts at 8, but of course people start arriving between 6 and 7.  Today was Broadwater's annual garage sale.
One enterprising homeowner, on the main entrance street, set out a large and a small tent for their wares. The tents were visible blocks away, and generated extra traffic as people came to see what the tents were all about.
Many of the neighborhood children turned … (0 comments)

ALVA's Grand Opening - 03/20/09 06:31 PM
With the window lettering now done, we're ready for our Grand Opening of ALVA International, our new real estate company on Friday, March 27th, here in downtown St Petersburg Florida.
"What does ALVA mean?" is a question we're often asked. ALVA is my maternal grandmother, Alva Swanson Lagerberg, a feisty, entrepreneurial gal. She was born on March 29, 1896, and this is as close as we can come to celebrating her birthday as well (coincidentally, March 27 is also my late father-in-law's birthday).
You're all welcome to come and join us, but PLEASE call or e-mail and rsvp - then we'll … (6 comments)

Don't believe all the rumors about Costa Rica - 03/20/09 06:11 PM
This view of Playa Hermosa is very similar to the view from a condo I crave in Playa Panama in the Guanacaste region (north Pacific coast) of Costa Rica.
When I was there in January, Mike Simons told me - no, showed me - all that's happening in this region of Costa Rica. We hear that prices are dropping ... but much of that is the dropping of unrealistic asking prices and "never sold at" prices, rather than declines in actual prices.
Kevin Brass is the international real estate reporting guru for the International Herald Tribune. Today he posted a blog … (4 comments)

Whither Suburbia? - 03/15/09 11:34 AM
Michael Cannell of Fast Company write an article entitled, Suburbia R.I.P. Though his vision of subdivisions as "ghost towns patrolled by squatters and looters" seems extreme, there is food for thought in the massive overbuilding in some states, where subdivision after subdivision gets further and further from the transportation arteries. His premise is that these neighborhoods were created by cheap gas and disposable income. His conclusion is that people will return to urban living.
I think that's a pretty stark contrast. I do, think, though, that it makes a statement of the difference between neighborhoods that have matured and those that … (2 comments)

What a difference a year makes - 03/14/09 08:41 PM
A year ago a waterfront pool home in the Broadwater neighborhood in St Petersburg was listed for $809,000. It wasn't large at 1,900 sq ft, but it was beautifully renovated - custom cabinetry, granite, Tuscan style. From the circular paver driveway to the private, lush pool area, this was a beauty. Nothing to do but move in. Southern exposure in the rear, a path of pavers going from the pool to the dock.
Now it's a short sale, and I noticed that it has been listed at $459,900!
What a difference a year has made.
… (8 comments)

Light and Views Attract - Costa Rica Condo - 03/14/09 08:04 PM

 
 
You can see the attraction here as the living room and dining room are open to each other and filled with light. It immediately has you saying - Yes, I want to be here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and then you look outside and you see the beautiful ocean, the quiet bay, the sailboats.
and then you step outside onto your patio  ...
 
Oh, Yes, I could live here! Now - if only I had the $450,000 to buy it !
It's just 20 minutes from Liberia International Airport, and only a few minutes … (2 comments)

There's more than one way to have a Harley - 03/14/09 05:57 PM
Theres more than one way to have a Harley - this modified bicycle was at one of the beaches near Tamarindo, in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica.
Many of the roads in Tamarindo are dirt, which shouldn't phase the owner of this bicycle.
Note the bottles as well - the owner's prepared for anything, though it looks as though he's already taken care of what's in the bottles.
This was taken at Outback Jack's, a popular beachfront restaurant.

 
… (10 comments)

Red Pier over St Petersburg - 03/14/09 05:42 PM
Last night Tami took this photo of The Pier in downtown St Petersburg. She posted this and a couple of other photos on her Facebook page.
The Pier is an inverted pyramid that sits out in the water at the end of a long pier. You can walk, drive, or take a trolley to get there. There are restaurants and shops, and a top observation platform.
You get a great view of downtown St Petersburg from the top observation roof or you can sit on the city side of the Columbia Restaurant and get a great view of the St Petersburg … (4 comments)

Multilingual Welcome Works - 03/10/09 05:11 PM
ALVA International, Inc., the new real estate company on Beach Drive in downtown St Petersburg welcomes international visitors and clients.
Among us (3 real estate agents working with buyers and sellers, 1 real estate agent handling our website-internet-transactions-coordination, and 1 part-time receptionist) we speak 7 languages, so we had Welcome printed in 7 languages on our front window.
The window lettering went up on Saturday, and it happened that 3 of the team were in the office for the afternoon. In less than one hour after the lettering went up, we had a Dane come in, exclaiming "I can't believe you … (16 comments)

Finally - the world can see we're a real estate company - 03/10/09 05:03 PM
On Saturday we got the lettering on our front window, so that people know we're a real estate company. The window reflects the Museum of Fine Arts just across the street.
This was Try #3 on window lettering:
Vendor #1 was the man that the awning company contracted with to do the lettering on the awning. The lettering was in the wrong font (looked like McDonalds's rather than Sotheby's) and had to be redone. Obviously we didn't want to contract with him for the window lettering since he couldn't match our samples.
Vendor #2 was a local company, and for weeks … (7 comments)

Condo Rentals in downtown St Petersburg Florida - Market Update March 1, 2009 - 03/07/09 07:18 PM
There is so much going on in downtown St Petersburg Florida that lots of people want to buy or rent in the ara. Right now is a great time to rent.
 
You can rent a condo in downtown Saint Petersburg Florida with choices from $800/month (1 bedroom, 1 bath, 650 sq ft) to $5,500/month ( 3 bedroom 2.5 bath, 3,373 sq ft).
There are 43 condos offered for rent and in February an even dozen leased, randing from $800/month to $4,200/month. There is a just over a 3 month supply of rentals in the Multiple Listing system.
Right now you … (2 comments)

Grand Bohemian St Petersburg asks for postponement - 03/07/09 06:59 PM
The Kessler Group has asked for a 3 year extension on the commencement of construction for their Grand Bohemian Hotel in downtown St Petersburg Florida.
I say - Yes, by all means, extend their deadline.
The Grand Bohemian St Petersburg, which started as luxury residences atop a luxury hotel, went through a few changes that decreased the condos units and increased the hotel units until it was all hotel.
The high road is: Richard Kessler has put a lot of time, money and passion into this hotel project. Hotel financing is nearly non-existant. Why not say THANKS for your efforts, and … (7 comments)

For sale or rent - whichever comes first - 03/07/09 06:47 PM
In today's economy it's not unusual for us to be offering a home For Sale or For Rent, which ever comes first.
We rented both of these this week. The one on the left was listed for $1,000,000 or $3,000 per month. The one on the right was listed for $225,000 or $1,400 per month.
The owner of the Million Dollar Home was apologetic that we were only renting it rather than getting a sales commission. I reminded him that we weren't One Transaction Agents - it was all about what was best for our clients (and he's VERY happy to … (9 comments)

What made me want a new 3G iPhone? - 03/06/09 08:12 PM
Was it because it's newer? no, that happened months ago.
Was it because it had more storage space? no, I hadn't used even half of what I had.
Was it because it's faster? Well, somewhat. The web browsing is slow on the old one.
Most of all it was because of the cumulative effect of their full page ads about all the apps for the iPhone. Yes, most of them will work with the old phone, but some that are cool work with the GPS function on the 3G phone.
By the way, the difference in monthly cost with AT&T is … (7 comments)

Little Things Mean a Lot - 03/04/09 09:55 PM
Tomorrow our new waterfront home in St Petersburg goes live in the MLS at $1,250,000.
The sellers have a commuting marriage. The husband, working here, took the listing papers to his wife in Montana, and returned late last night. We discussed logistics, and I'd be leaving earlier in the morning than he would, so we arranged for him to leave the signed listing paperwork in his mailbox, which I'd pick up at 5:15 am this morning on my way to the gym.
When I pulled in to the driveway, I discovered he had left the outside lights on. Yes, I could … (8 comments)

When did you last comparison shop? - 03/03/09 03:40 PM
When I comparison shopped a year or two ago, I found prices pretty comparable, sometimes one pennies higher, sometimes the other. Since I buy most of my books for reading on Kindle, my electronic reader, I really haven't compared prices in quite a while.  So I was quite surprised comparing
amazon.com  vs  barnesandnoble.com
 
At Barnes & Noble you can buy a Membership Discount card that gives you from 10% - 40% off their retail prices. I've shown those figures in parentheses (  ). I looked up a particular book in each of these categories:
New popular business book:  B&N was … (14 comments)

Textless Tuesday - 03/03/09 03:24 PM
It's Friday, so now I can text. Kathy Toth was correct - this is the bottom of a swimming pool for the new $1,250,000 waterfront home we're marketing. These are 1" glass tiles, and the look is spectacular.

… (10 comments)

Why I love amazon.com - 03/03/09 09:49 AM
Of course I love amazon for their books and their prices and their free shipping - and most of all, for their Kindle. But there's more:
I used to have to send an e-mail to customer support if I wanted to suggest that a particular book should be made available on Kindle - now there's a single button to click.
Have you ever (inadvertently, of course) bought a second copy of a book? Perhaps it has a different color cover, or the title seems different, or you read a lot from the same author and forgot you read one? Well, when … (5 comments)

What are the variables in a sale? - 03/02/09 01:13 PM
Jeff Belonger posted today about "I want the same deal my friend got". He relates this primarily to loans, and the many variables.
When comparing a house on the market with one that sold, there's a lot we don't know. The figure in the public records may not tell the whole story - were there concessions or  improvements? was a boat or a car included, or a vacation? We call the agents to find out, but some won't say, and some may not say accurately.
Then there are the human factors: perhaps that house was the only 4 bedroom in the … (9 comments)

 
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Sharon Simms St Pete FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS

Saint Petersburg, FL

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ALVA International, Inc.

Address: 238 Beach Drive NE, St Petersburg, FL, 33701

Office Phone: (727) 898-2582

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