About Tampa's Westchase

What if "we the people" foreclosed on the White House. Yes, "we the people"; the first three words of the American constitution, doesn't say a word about "we the politicians".

I know I shouldn't be political with my postings, but it just (no, wait, it really is) seems that government is completely out of touch with the American people and that most politicians think their jobs are not to serve, but to continually be running for reelection. They are so into themselves that they make most overly arrogant actors, musicians, and athletes seem like mere amateurs.

To a degree, this goes for many local, city, county, state, and Federal elected officials who at their "upper (uppity)" level seem to think that "we the people" are stupid sheep who need to be led and will believe any pile of stuff they wish to feed us.

A perfect example is the recent "debt ceiling fiasco" that nearly caused our government to shut down in early August and again in the past few days. The best response/solution I am aware of came to me in an anonymous email stating the following:

"If the sewer in your home backed up to the point that it reached the ceiling, would your get rid of the S--t or

would you raise the ceiling."

Simple, to the point and thought provoking. But can our politicians see this.............Nooooooooooo!

BUT, this is just a simple rant by one person and was brought about by a recent hospital stay by my mother and a really good satire video by a good friend of mine, Rande Friedman, a fellow Real Estate Consultant at Keller Williams Tampa Properties here in Tampa, Florida.

The video can be seen here: The White House Foreclosed

The rant about my mothers hospital stay will be in a future post, after I see the final billing to her Medicare and TriCare for Life medical plans which will include an hysterical amount of charges based on her initial complaint of abdominal pains. She's fine, but we now have a complete scan, test, and biopsy of nearly every part of her body, few of which should have been neccessary based on the original complaint which apparently Pepto Bismal would have corrected.

Recently a new ice cream shop opened in Ocala, FL, the new proprietors operating in a space previously occupied by another ice cream vendor. While setting up their shop they came across a costume left by the previous occupants. I'll let you be the judge......

Their initial customer traffic was consistent with their expectations, but after a few weeks the traffic began to lag and through the "grapevine" they heard that people were offended by the costume their employee was wearing while standing on the street corner to attract traffic. Apparently people were mistaking the "ice cream cone" costume with the white sheets commonly associated with the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) of yester year.

I dunno....but the waffle cone bottom and the pink, blue, yellow and green "sparkles" on the white soft serve top should have been a giveaway to what was being represented. But, some or (many) people in the Ocala, FL apparently have no imagination and would prefer to stay in a previous era than to move into the 21st century and accept life as it today.

So sad........

When Marketing Fails is because two incidents in recent days made me think about how marketing can actually have a very negative effect and the "marketer" may never know or realize why.

In my market area we have a service available called Listingbook, it is a service that allows Rel Estate Agents to give customers/clients the ability to "Search like a Realtor", through a search portal to individuals who wish to provide their contact information. I am not sure if Listingbook is available nationwide or in specific markets only. Listingbook has a free service for Realtors and they also, like many other Real Estate oriented companies have a paid upgraded version. I personally do not use the paid version, as I can provide the same ability through an MLS search portal to individuals who contact me. Listingbook does have its good points and I am not writing to criticize, just to point out a big booboo with their marketing.

Yesterday I received an email from them, one of several I receive each week and which are automatically sent to a specific folder in my email files. I can read them at my leisure and they do not fill up my in box. This particular email was soliciting me to upgrade my account to their "paid" version to allow me the opportunity to market my recent listing, It stated and I quote:

"Congratulation on your new listing! I want to personally notify you of a special offer Listingbook has for Agents with newly listed properties. For a one-time fee of....XXXXX....this property, "address deleted" ...can become a Featured Listing until it sells! You know that the more exposure your listing has, the more buyers will view it, and the more likely it will sell."

Great line, except....the address of the property was for a home I was the Buyer Agent for just over three years ago and is not a "new" listing, it is not listed and will not be listed unless I am the listing agent. I am still in contact with the owners and although they are slightly upside down on the property at the moment, they have no desire to list their home for sell at the present time.

So why the email and how did Listingbook select this particular property to solicit me...Dunno, just a case of "When Marketing Fails.

The second case of "When Marketing Fails" arrived in my mailbox today. A post card from "not to be named" mortgage company, offering to assist in refinancing my home with today's lower interest rates. Good timing, bad case of "When Marketing Fails".

The post card was addressed to " Heinrich and Kathleen Meyer", who have been divorced since 1993 when Kathleen Meyer retained the house in the divorce and Heinrich moved on to unknown locals. This mortgage company actually bought a mailing list that contains names of individuals that are at least 18 years old. Surprisingly, Kathleen still lives at our address (and is my better half, Thank you Heinrich)and retained her same name because of her professional presence as a licensed Veterinarian in three states and is incorporated within several entities. But, my name isn't Heinrich and this is a case of "When Marketing Fails.

Both Listingbook and the "not to be named" mortgage company will never know of these "faux pas" because I will never contact them to point out their errors. How many contacts are you making daily in your marketing that are going to dead end situations of "When Marketing Fails"?

Looking for a home, townhome or condo in in Tampa Bay ? To look for homes on MLX in the Tampa Bay and Pinellas area go to my website by clicking on Tampa Homes.

Westchase is a masterplanned community in the northwestern section of Tampa. Westchase is conveniently located less than 15 minutes from Tampa International Airport. Westchase is easy to access via Veteran's Expressway, Linebaugh or Race Track Road. Westchase is just 20 minutes from Downtown Tampa and 30 minutes to MacDill and just minutes to the Pinellas border. Westchase is also a quick commute to Tampa International Airport, Raymond James Stadium, The Ice Palace, Lowry Park Zoo, Busch Gardens, The Florida Aquarium, and Tampa's Performing Arts Center. It is also minutes from a number of golf courses, as well as Tampa BayDowns, and the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. Nearby schools are Deerpark Elementary, Farnell Middle and Alonso.

As Westchase is situated close to the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Border it is also close to the glistening beaches. Surrounded by the natural beauty of preserved wetlands, Westchase was designed to be a self contained neighborhood with an 18-hole golf course, parks, swimming, tennis, nature preserves, and soccer fields, schools, daycares, health care center and retail shopping, cafes and banks are at West Park Village Town. Citrus Park Town Center Mall offers more shopping experiences with more than 120 specialty shops and is only two miles away. Westchase Elementary, Davidsen Middle School and Alonso High School are located in Westchase.

Westchase is divided into villages and neighborhoods. Each area has its own social events and clubs. The different areas offer a vast selection of beautiful single family homes, condos, townhomes and semi-custom homes.

Some of the villages in Westchase are: Abbotsford, Ayrshire, Bennington, Berkeley Square, Brentford, Bridges, Castleford, Chelmsford, Classic Townhomes, Cheshire, Country way, Derbyshire, Enclave, Fords, Glencliff, Glenfield, Greens, Harbor Links/Estates, Highland Park, Keswick Forest, Kingsford, Radcliffe, Saville Rowe, Shires, Stamford, Stonebridge, Village Green, Vineyards, Wakesbridge, Waterchase, Westchester, Westwood Lakes, West Park Village, Woodbay, Worthington, Wycliffe.

Come experience the Florida Lifestyle in Tampa Bay with the nearby sparkling beaches of Clearwater Beach and just a little bit to the south is St. Pete Beach. It is a just short drive to I-275 and then it is an easy commute to Largo, Clearwater, Bradenton, St. Petersburg, or a quick trip to MacDill Air Force Base.

The contents of this posting are the property of Pam Joffe and Solaris Realty of TampaBay. Pam Joffe is a broker working in the Pinellas and Hillsborough area helping buyers and sellers buy and sell homes. Contact Pam at 813-245-0316 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco County area. Information is provided in this blog with the intent to educate homeowners and buyers about Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Lutz, Valrico, Odessa and other communities in the Tampa area. For more information on different communities and subdivisions go to my website by clicking on Tampa Homes. You can also call 813-245-0316.