Venice, FL

Finally all of my hard work blogging, posting, and months of my husband asking me what are you doing on Active Rain again has paid off. I got my first call from someone who read my Active Rain profile. I have to tell you I was thrilled. When I got off the phone I yelled "Y E S it works!"

I got a call from buyers in Long Island, New York. They are looking to buy a winter home here in Florida and plan to retire here in 7 years. They first started their search in the Naples area and a friend of theirs told them they should check out the Venice Florida area and how beautiful it is here. The buyers went to the internet and found my Active Rain profile on About.com and gave me a call. I asked them when they plan on coming to the Venice area, that I would love to show them around and while they are here I can show them some homes. I scheduled the appointment. They were only in town for 2 days before leaving on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera.

I meet the buyers, showed them around town and showed them about 20 homes. They found a home they liked, submitted an offer and it was accepted the next day.

I am really glad I was able to help them while they were here and excited to receive my first Active Rain lead. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Contact Kari A. Battaglia, GRI, Realtor®, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Licensed Realtor® in Florida at 941-270-1851 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Venice Florida, South Venice Florida, Englewood Florida, Nokomis Florida, Laurel Florida and for Tennessee real estate investments. I am currently accepting referrals.

Contact Kari Battaglia by email at Kari.Battaglia@floridamoves.com. Need information fast, call me direct at 941-270-1851.

Please visit my outside web blog www.VeniceAreaHomesBlog.com, my personal website www.KariBattaglia.comand my business website www.floridamoves.com/Kari.Battaglia.

Copyright © 2008 By Kari A. Battaglia, GRI Realtor® Broker Associate. All Rights Reserved.

I just attending a Green Real Estate Professional Alliance Workshop at our local board which was a program developed by Steve Wooster of Michael Saunders in Sarasota Florida to help our Realtors® association develop a new committee under our local board called the Green Real Estate Alliance. Steve is currently the Chairman and founding member of the Green Real Estate Alliance of Sarasota and his goal is to spread the word. The Green Real Estate Alliance will help teach members and the general public about energy efficent and environmentally friendly home features, and the many ways to help protect our environment. Green real estate is attracting buyers. Green homes are not just good for the environment but also a way for your to make your listing stand out from all the rest. I am excited to help pioneer the Green Real Estate Alliance at the Venice Board of Realtors®. I feel we all should learn more about green building and sustainable living. It is not just good for our planet but our responsibility to help protect our environment. Please visit my web site for eco-friendly information for homebuyers looking to add value to their current home, save money on utilities, low or no cost ways to lessen your impact on the planet, create a healthier house and garden, and view list of green resource links.

Contact Kari A. Battaglia, GRI, Realtor®, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Licensed Realtor® in Florida at 941-270-1851 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Venice Florida, South Venice Florida, Englewood Florida, Nokomis Florida, Laurel Florida and for Tennessee real estate investments. I am currently accepting referrals.

Contact Kari Battaglia by email at Kari.Battaglia@floridamoves.com. Need information fast, call me direct at 941-270-1851.

Please visit my outside web blog www.VeniceAreaHomesBlog.com, my personal website www.KariBattaglia.com and my business website www.floridamoves.com/Kari.Battaglia.

Copyright © 2008 By Kari A. Battaglia, GRI Realtor® Broker Associate. All Rights Reserved.

Its summer here is southwest Florida. It's time for some of the best fishing of the year. Year round the fishing is great. But summer brings "tarpon season". Last year I became addicted. If you've never hunted tarpon you may not understand.

Last year I caught my first tarpon. I have had tarpon on the line before but never successfully battled one to the boat. My first tarpon was over 100 lbs. That's when the obsession began in earnest.

I spend many mornings in my quest. I search the waters for rolling tarpon, hoping to place a lure or bait in front of the pod. Most days the tarpon beat me. They find my weakness and exploit it.

I use braid with a fluorocarbon leader. Early this season I lost tarpon as the braid cut through the leader during long runs. My support group at Fishin Franks in Charlotte Harbor suggested that I double the braid. So I've made the modification and double the last 3 feet of my braid using a spider knot. Then connect the fluorocarbon to the doubled braid using a uni to uni knot.

Then I started losing tarpon on the jumps. I'd been tying my hooks and lures using a uni-knot. After a series of radical jumps I'd find that my line came back without a hook or lure, just a little pig-tail. My knot had unraveled. I'm now using a palomar knot for my hooks.

This season the only tarpon I've gotten to the boat is a little 80 pounder. But the season is not over.

Tarpon migrate just off the beaches here in Venice during the early summer. They are found in Boca Grande pass in huge numbers. Charlotte Harbor and the rivers feeding it will hold some tarpon year round.

If you fish and want the experience of a life time, you must come here and try this amazing fishery. Call an area guide that specializes in Tarpon you'll avoid the learning curve I'm going through.

With run-a-way energy costs, will there be a new paradigm in how cities and communities are designed? Will we see more of a shift to town center design? I've read a bit about "Traditional Neighborhood Design" and "New Urbanism", these terms referring to a holistic approach to designing cities and communities. Co-locating where you work to where you live and play. Will (Do)home buyers place community design at the top of their wish list? Will promoting your market areas "green" and "livability" features help sales? Can suburban sprawl be adapted to a town center to buoy slumping rural sales?

I live on the Island of Venice in southwest Florida. When my wife and I moved here we never gave a thought about the "green" neighborhood design. We moved here because we love the beach and boating. We were attracted to the small town feel and the mature vegetation.

When I first moved to the street I live on, I noticed that my neighbor walked the ½ mile round trip to the grocery store. Another neighbor walked to the newsstand to buy their paper every morning. I never gave it a thought really. On the beach one day a women stopped me and asked how much further to Sharkysbeach-front restaurant. I told her that it was no more than ¾ of a mile, she continued her walk.

We routinely tell people just how easy it is to walk to downtown shops and restaurants, most homes measure the distance in a number of blocks.

Now with $4.00 gas, I have come to appreciate the wisdom of John Nolens original city design. I have equipped my bike with saddlebags, and instead of jumping in the car to do errands I ride my bike. Because everything is so close it really doesn't take that much more time. I'm noticing that I'm not alone in my new way of shopping.

As I started thinking of my town as a green place to live it dawned on me that I don't heat my house, my annual energy bill is about $1200 or $100 a month. I know it's just the 2 of us, but still I think that's way low compared to other areas.

Florida is considered by most people as a hot place to live, but reason tells me that it's easier to cool a house than to heat one. The typical afternoon high in the summer is around 90. Most people are comfortable with indoor temps around mid-70s. So at the extreme your attempting to change the indoor temps about 25 degrees. While if my memory serves me well, winter temps have overnight lows in the mid 20's (or lower) so most people are attempting to affect the inside temps by about 40 degrees. For 6 months out of the year I live with the windows open and no A/C or heat.

Yeah I'm convinced, Venice Florida is a "green" place to live, and this year it's a key feature I use in selling my town.

For home buyers searching for a waterfront community in South Florida, sticker shock is a common affliction. Many of my clients are boaters and fishermen...but they don't have a million dollars for a home in a waterfront community. But I have an answer for them - South Venice Beach.

South Venice Beach is a waterfront community about 20 miles south of Sarasota proper. Located on the Intracoastal, it is the largest subdivision in the area, and is amazingly affordable. Residents enjoy access to a community boat ramp, as well as a ferry that runs out to a private, resident only beach on the Gulf of Mexico. The price for these great amenities? About $150 per year - and it is not even mandatory! Amazingly, the neighborhood is still non-deed restricted - a rare find in this part of Florida, and the double lots afford space to park your boat, without paying dock slip fees.

Shamrock Park is also located within the boundaries of South Venice - this is a terrific state park with miles of walking trails , bike trails along the Intracoastal, a nature/education center, fishing, basketball, tennis, playgrounds and picnic areas.

All this is located within a 30 minute drive to downtown Sarasota, for those who occasionally want to venture out for a 5 star dinner and a show. But if your lifestyle revolves more around tarpon and long days on the water, South Venice is the best deal going.

How good of a deal? Currently, homes are selling from about $130K, and you can purchase an upgraded pool home for about $220K. Buildable lots are as low as $20K - but you'd better hurry. I just let the cat out of the bag.