How safe is your pool area? Find out when it rains?!?!
From what I've heard, folks in Southern California might be a bit confused by this video- as it contains a good bit of something called "rain". I hear tell it doesn't really happen all that often in parts of the Golden State- but oddly enough, it rains a dang good bit here in the Sunshine State.
I've always been big on pool safety- and will remain so. Typically, the pool safety issues I'm most vigilant about … (4 comments)
From time to time, I'm sure we've all had properties or listings of some sort that we tried like heck to get- yet failed in the end and watched while another agent had some success with them. Yep, the ol' "ones that got away".
On the other hand, I'd figure a good number of folks have also had properties or listings that they "won"- only to feel like anything but a winner down the road as that dog of a property sat … (2 comments)
Real estate's hot...from "OC" to shining "OC" It's been a long time...for many, a looooong time. Signs that the overall real estate market is improving are everywhere, though- from Orange County, CA to Orange County, FL (or as I see it, from the West coast's "OC" to our "OC").
The story from California is encouraging, and goes along with what I've seen here in the past few months- it's become an investor's market once again. Rents are going up- and that serves to help me overcome what it often my biggest … (5 comments)
ACCENTuate the positive...ATTITUDE is everything Sounds simple enough, right? Well, many folks have trouble with this concept- leading me to believe it might be a bit harder than I've always thought it to be. Or perhaps the concept is easy and the practice is that elusive and unsolvable riddle many of us would be well served in by mastering. ACCENTuate the positive...ATTITUDE is everything I don't use ACCENT by accident- or solely for the cuteness of ACCENTuate. Rather, a funny thing has happened over the last few days involving the way I talk. I've had … (4 comments)
Planned Parenthood's great contraception deception Hmmm.... Guess this is yet another example of what Michael Sargent, Executive Director of The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, would refer to as "basic preventative health care". Food products labels are interesting things. The ingredients list uses some...I don't know...whacked-out ranking system whereas the first things on the list are what the product contains the most of- and the last things on the list are what the product features least. For some reason, this is usually stuff called FD& C Yellow 5 or something- but I digress. Is Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando … (6 comments)
Baseboards, tile, grout, vent fans...and the all-important shower curtain
Baseboards, tile, grout, vent fans...and the all-important shower curtain
Baseboards, tile, grout, vent fans...and the all-important shower curtain
Baseboards, tile, grout, vent fans...and the all-important shower curtain In dealing with rental properties, the home/townhome/condo's bathroom may very well be the room in the place that presents opportunities for problems like no other area. I'll just touch on a few of them here, and- you guessed it- they deal with baseboards, tile, grout, vent fans...and the all-important shower curtain. Baseboards... … (4 comments)
orlando rentals: Pedestrian Tales From The Middle of the Road, #16
- 02/28/12 07:46 AM
Pedestrian Tales From The Middle of the Road, #16 It's been a while... Admittedly, I haven't actually been reading the print version of the Orlando Sentinel every day- so there's always a chance that some deaths slip by me. I truly think we've had a couple of weeks without one, though- which may be a record in these parts. At any rate, this is a short story. It's not sweet by any means, though. It's yet another preventable death, yet another family left to mourn- and yet another young lady of 28 years old that must carry the memories of this … (0 comments)
Poor Trulia advice: Their 5 things to consider before renting out your home...and my thoughts Today's issue of LinkedIn Today contained an interesting column by Tara-Nicholle Nelson. She's Trulia's Consumer Ambassador of some sort, and she's written the following Q/A on the topic of 5 factors to weigh before renting out your home: http://www.rethinkrealestate.com/http:/www.rethinkrealestate.com/5-factors-to-weigh-before-renting-out-your-home/# I respectfully disagree with her in some areas, so I'll offer my thoughts here and go according to her points... 1. What's the state of your state? First thought is "What … (9 comments)
orlando rentals: Florida Whacked- All things whacked aren't equally whacked!
- 02/23/12 04:43 AM
Florida Whacked- All Things Whacked Aren't Equally Whacked! Or maybe we could go with "All Things Aren't Exactly Whacked as They Appear"- inexactly whacked, if you will. These recent cases from around here surely fit the bill for whichever moniker one chooses... Case #1: http://www.localwireless.com/wap/news/text.jsp?sid=147&nid=638257473&cid=378&scid=-1&ith=17&title=Local+News&headtitle=Local+News%22 Mom faces charges, daughter missed nearly 2 years of school Now, this case has gotten a good bit of attention, and understandably so. Most of the recent attention has been due to the fact that the cops apparently arrested the wrong lady- locking up a lady with the same name, but no daughter at all. Hard … (0 comments)
Just how big are Superman's feet? And how big is his... Um...they're some big ol' feet! NBA All-Star Weekend is upon us (shouldn't all weekends start on Wednesday?), and I signed up a while back to do some work during the events. Got in for a preview of things last night, and one of the attractions allows you to stand in the All-Star's footprints. The biggest of them all? Our own Dwight Howard's... Superman wears Size 18's I know what some of you might be thinking- and I've been … (6 comments)
orlando rentals: So how many MORE racists does ESPN have?
- 02/18/12 11:15 AM
So how many more racists does ESPN have? OK, cue the music..."duh, duh, duh...duh, duh, duh". Or is that "dumb, dumb, dumb...dumb, dumb, dumb"? Another day, another racist slur from the ESPN airwaves, another apology that makes everything better.... I love ESPN- let's get that out in the open. I love the Sports Reporters, Outside The Lines, SportsCenters of all type...and love it when GameDay makes their way to Tuscaloosa to highlight one of the games my 14-time National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide is playing. But I'm no big fan of racism- and the pattern of racist comment/apology ESPN seems to find acceptable … (2 comments)
orlando rentals: "I knock your head off your neck..." and other encouragin' words
- 02/17/12 10:38 AM
"I knock your head off your neck..." and other encouragin' words I was on my way to church the other night, and pulled alongside an older-model Chevy Caprice. The car was a classic, no doubt, and was most likely bought at a police surplus sale of some sort. Those spray paint-covered-over "POLICE" letters sure are eye-catching! But more so than the coupe's appearance, it was it's sound that drew my attention. The gentleman surely loved his tunes- and seemed to believe the rest of Orlando would love them, too. I beg to differ with his latter line of thinking, though- as … (4 comments)
orlando rentals: Keep our schools open…and pay us $50/hr to make a $20 pair of Levi’s
- 02/14/12 03:03 PM
Keep our schools open…and pay us $50/hr to make a $20 pair of Levi’s http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-seminole-school-closings-02-15-2012-20120214,0,6148315.story How important are local schools to you? I mean, how important are they to you and your business- but also how important are they to your life? Is there any difference? I just finished showing a property to some folks who were looking to move their kids into a “good” school zone- ’cause the school their kids currently attend is in a crappy one- their words, not mine. But the property’s current tenants are moving to another place because they think that that school zone is crappy! Bottom line … (13 comments)
I'm breaking my rule a bit here- and reporting this Pedestrian Tales From The Middle of the Road that 1) involves an injury to one riding a bike versus a pedestrian, and 2) (as of last I heard) doesn't involve a death.
But rules are made to be broken. This piece of traffic news may very well be more important than some of the posts I've done on deaths- it's surely one to make any parent cringe or get their dander up.
Think about it...were it not for … (4 comments)
orlando rentals: Pedestrian Tales From the Middle of the Road, #14
- 02/03/12 02:30 PM
Pedestrian Tales From the Middle of the Road, #14 I tell you, there just doesn't seem to be any type of solution to this crazy problem around here. It seems pretty simple to me, though, when the equation is the following: Pedestrian in the road and not in crosswalk + Automobile in the road where they should be = One more pedestrian death Pedestrian Tales From the Middle of the Road, #14 This one is from Volusia County, and falls under the watch of Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson and Orange City Police Chief Peter Thomas. Let's not have this … (6 comments)
The Property Manager and the Rent vs. Buy Analysis "Rent vs. Buy"... This is a topic I've heard more and more about lately. While it's no secret interest rates have been low- and no secret that that translates into historically low mortgage payments and value, I can't remember seeing any charts on the subject until recently. Following a cue from fellow ActiveRainer Jeremy Wrenn, I joined a BNI group a few months ago. I'm assuming my group is much like any other in that we have folks from a number … (2 comments)
Property management is an odd game to play. There are days when things make you mad, days when things make you sad, and days when both happen and you don't know which emotion to deal with first- I guess it's best to be sad first, then be happy it's over with!
Property management is rarely dull, though- and there's often something in one's day that begs the question "What the heck is that?" or something that leaves one asking "What dang planet did they come from?"
In this somewhat tongue-in-cheek message, … (6 comments)
Orlando Property Manager Dennis Burgess (Hampton & Hampton Management & Leasing, Inc.) discusses the metro Orlando foreclosure situation. A story in today's Orlando Sentinel speaks of a local judge, Seminole County Chief Circuit Judge Alan Dickey- and how he will speed through 300 foreclosures cases in the next 3 days. That's a pretty brisk pace of about 30 seconds per case, according to the judge- but still well short of the 125 cases/hr he processed on a recent October day.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. … (0 comments)
I discuss Realtor referrals in the attached video. Realtor referrals are indeed the lifeblood of Hampton & Hampton's business, and both I and the brokerage enjoy a great relationship with the "traditional Realtor" community. Here, I discuss the referral process as a whole- including what happens to prospects once they're given to Hampton & Hampton, how they always remain the referring Realtor's client for sales purposes and more. As always, I thank you for the opportunity to be of service.
orlando rentals: Pedestrian Tales From the Middle of the Road, #12
- 01/13/12 01:24 PM
Pedestrian Tales From the Middle of the Road, #12 Well, it's a story that's short- yet not so sweet: yet another pedestrian killed in the area. For those not familiar with our area, the Orange Blossom Trail (or the "OBT") is a pretty busy street at all hours. This is another sad incident that falls under the watches of Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney and Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings. One of these days, folks are going to enforce our pedestrian traffic laws around here....one of these days. May God bless and keep the family of this un-named pedestrian, as well … (0 comments)
Orlando Property Manager Dennis Burgess writes about property management, general real estate and news/events affecting the metro Orlando, FL area.
With more than 13 years of property management experience and being a licensed Florida Realtor, Dennis surely has some sort of information you'll find interesting!
Feel free to comment, send questions he may be able to help you with, or any referrals he may provide with top-notch service.
Thank you kindly for stopping and reading, and thank you for the opportunity to be of service in the future.
How safe is your pool area? Find out when it rains?!?!
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