As funny as this sounds, Florida was indeed fortunate to have been developed by a railroad tycoon by the name of Henry Flagler. He decided early in the state's history to take advantage of the federal government's largesse (free land to railroad companies to build their tracks on) and he built a series of railroads across Florida and all the way to Key West! Back then, those tracks served to move people, lumber and supplies across a wild and difficult land filled with - literally - indians, alligators, and BIG mosquitoes (according to surveyor's field notes from the 1800's).

Today, those same railroad beds serve different modes of transportation, but transporting people none-the-less: by bicycles, rollerblades, horseback and on foot. The "Rails to Trails" program started in the mid 1990's has been a tremendous success in Florida as the Office of Greenways & Trails (OGT) works tirelessly to connect the former railway corridors with our many state parks, wildlife management areas and state forests.

The link below will takes you to the OGT site, with interactive regional maps of the individual trails they mange. A quick visit will and you will be impressed by the trail system being created to provide recreational benefits for Floridians and our visitors.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/index.htm

The St. Mark's Trail start's in Tallahassee in near the FSU campus, runs along the Appalachicola National Forest and down to the town of St. Marks on the St. Marks River. About 25 miles depending on where you pick it up and many ride down and back on the weekends.

Barbara-Jo and Bill wrote recently about the Pinellas Trail, an urban trail, heavily used and the first in the state!

http://activerain.com/blogsview/600990/Pinellas-Trail-Biker-s

With funds from the Florida Forever Program and matching dollars from local programs, cities and counties are adding links to the main trail network and creating their own trails to service their local communities. The West Orange Trail in Orange County is about 25 miles long, connects three towns, is adjacent to three schools, and runs through beautiful terrain. What a great way to give kids the opportunity to get off buses and back on bicycles to go to school again!

The OGT site also has links to their local government partners that have trails or are building trails.

Check out this fabulous this recreational opportunity. You don't have to drive far in Florida to take advantage of this fun and free way to enjoy our state!

AR Friends, you are going to LOVE this!!!

Watch the short video below to learn about a process that combines:

water + landfill waste (anything and everything in it)

applies pressure - and the end result is

gas to power the plant and diesel to power motor vehicles!!!

No joke!!! check it out! How perfect is that! A dream come true! We can eliminate, or come close, the need for landfills (Hallelujah!) and produce an alternative fuel source at the same time...!

WOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWf9nYbm3ac

I love our brains!

Finally! The probate, shortsale, foreclosure-threatened-but-held off residential contract closed an hour ago after two attempts and 10.5 months of grueling, frustrating work, but...

WOW!!! Does it feel good!

Both of my clients are happy (the seller and the buyer!)

and I don't think my broker believes it yet that I carried this through to the end.

After all, it was a LOT of hours, considering the final commission.

I had been warned going into this that when banks are loosing money, the first place they tend to look to make it up is the real estate commission. I managed to hold my ground and in the end we came out ok. But with a final price of $155,000 and at least 98 hours working on this contract over the past 10 months, I don't even want to think about what my commission comes out to on an hourly basis!

But I learned a lot about Short Sales,

I have earned the respect of two people who will hire me in the future, and at least one bank that thinks I'm a pretty darn good real estate agent....

Now, on to the next deal.

But first, where is that Champagne!

As I continue the tale of my efforts to secure a much desired house for my client, we are entering the 5th month of this saga. We have been through

previous efforts to secure contracts on houses. All have failed. Time to get serious. Or, as my broker, Joe Manausa said, at least completely exhaust any possiblity on the first house, Dellview. 'Cause my buyer is in love with that house and I need to get it out of her system.

But to do that, I have to find the trustee for the estate and get him to talk to me... so I look up the registered owner, a brother in Ft. Myers, FL, call and get the number. A woman answers and when I explain why I'm calling, she gives me the number of another brother in NY and wishes me luck "he's very hard to reach." Oh great.

I call NY and leave a message. When I get no response I call again and get a woman who acts so disinterested I'm fairly confident that she didn't write down my number. So, I write a letter, very respectful but direct and send it certified. Eight days later I get a call from a third brother - who lives in Atlanta. This is the brother who is the actual trustee for the estate of the deceased. At first he has no interest in pursuing any sale of the house. His brother had created a living trust, and the family had washed its hands of any responsiblity for debts he incurred. After I explained that I had a buyer, there was a process for a short sale of the property, and it would not require any out of pocket expense on his part, unless we needed copies of documents, etc., he decided it would be worth pursuing and we moved forward.

It took me two weeks from that day to get a contract executed between him and my buyer. I first executed a listing agreement with the trust, so that I had a contractural arrangement with the seller (important for dealing with the banks.) The trustee gave me written permission to speak with the bank(s) on the Trust's behalf, then I secured the contract for sale and purchase of the house for an amount that would get the banks' attention, but was a good price for my client.

That was March 26th, 2008. There are 2 liens on the house... a first mortgage and a home equity loan.

Want to guess how long 1) it took me to get the first lien holder to even talk to me?, and 2) how long to get the deal approved, or was it approved?

If you guess right - you win a prize..... (only 1 guess per person!)....

Answers included in the next blog!

This is the third blog about my effforts to secure a house with some interesting challenges for a customer that fell in love with it the minute she walked in the door. Due to some of those challenges, our first effort to buy the house failed, and we are now making our third attempt to find a home she loves at least at much if not more so.

We head out and I have hit "another home run" as she likes to tell me ( and I love hearing!). First house we visit, a 1960's brick home on a hill, with old trees and azaleas in the yard. Beautifully maintained inside with some upgading potential, just the way she likes it. So, we begin the walk around the outside of the house and discover several places where the mortar is cracking up the wall! Of course she is concerned, and wants to make sure the house is structurally sound if she's going to buy it. But she really likes it and the price is really close to right for her (?!?!). So we prepare an offer that is contingent upon the inspection.

The seller's are pregnant and expecting ANY DAY, so they are in a rush. They accept the price (we're finally getting somewhere), but want to move up the closing date (no problem for my client). They are ok with the inspection, although the listing agent is rather defensive and keeps insisting there is "NO PROBLEM!" and that even if there is, they are selling the house "AS IS". I thought the last comment odd, as I didn't see that anywhere noted in the MLS listing, but let it go while I worked on getting our home inspector in to go over it and make sure my client is aware of any problems.

Well, according to OUR inspector's report, there were several indications the house was settling, causing the cracks in three places. He thought it could be due to one of two causes. He also found several other minor problems, but problems non-the less. I shared the report with a local company in the area that is familiar with pipe clay which we have in Florida. If it is under a house or building and not known about when the building is constructed, it can cause major structural damage over the years with dry spells when the clay shrinks. He indicated he knew there whas some pipe clay in the area the house is located in, and gave us a ball park cost for the house if in fact that was the problem. I was trying to get as much info for my customer as possible so she could make an informed decision.

We reviewed the home inspectors report and the pipe clay expert's information. Ultimately, my client decided she didn't want to risk paying the asking price for the house and then having to pay to structurely shore up the house. It was too much for her to have to deal with.

So I notified the listing agent that my client was cancelling the contract pursuant to the inspection clause - and got the necessary paperwork to her. The listing agent kept insisting it didn't matter because the house ws being sold "as is", and I pointed out to her, 1) if that's the case, you need to put that in the MLS - and 2) I made it clear in the contract it was contingent on the inspection, as is or not.

My customer and I are now on the hunt for the 4th time .... as she continues to remind me how much she looooooves that little house at 2118 Dellview Dr.....

Hummmmmm...perhaps it's time I tried a different tactic?

I'm really amazed at how patient I can be with some things. Definitely patience has been required to help my customer find a home. You wouldn't think so in this market - plenty of homes to choose from - and at GREAT prices....

It's Mid December, and after the Dellview Drive fiasco, my customer is ready to search for another house. Problem is she really, really liked that house.

So we set out after the Dellview failed contract and the second house we toured, she was ready to make an offer! Very attractive house. Little more than she had planned to pay, but it was a larger house, larger lot and in much better shape than Dellview Drive. This one needed some updating, which she really was excited about sinking her hands into (popcorn ceilings... she doesn't like them and she LOVES to scrape them off the ceilings!).

The seller and her family are out in the yard while we're there, and she makes a point of coming up to us and telling me that they are moving in two days and to make them an offer, they are eager to sell.

So, we go back to the office, discuss the house and the asking price, and true to form my client wants to offer about $30k less than they are asking for the house. This is when I learn that she likes to bargain, because as I am encouraging her to make the offer one that they can't refuse, she's telling me she doesn't understand why people don't like to haggle these days!

Oh boy, this house hunting for her could take a long....... time..... She does come up some, but not to what I would call an amount that will catch their attention.

So, I submit her offer, discussing the pros and cons of the house, market, etc. Needless to say, The sellers rejected the offer.... and interestingly chose not to counter. Which then made my client angry.

I sure hope I'm getting all my mistakes out on this one!

So we went house hunting again......

I can't believe it's been 12 months since I joined the ranks of the Florida Real Estate Sales Professionals. Wow, 12 months!!! Seems longer than that! I've learned a lot over this past year, because as many of you know, I came from public sector real estate. That is a whole different ball game from the private market. Same rules: different game.

When I was driving to work this morning, it struck me it was time for gratitude.... Time to say thanks to some key people that have been helping me learn, avoid mistakes, clean up mistakes, you name it as a newbie to this business. So here is my list of All Stars for 2007-2008!

• Tom Jacobs- Thank you for letting me interrupt your thinking to answer my many questions when no one else is around! I know that can be irritating and I appreciate your patience!

• Carol Palacios - Thank you for the guidance with the contracts and the strategy - you deserve a medal for getting all the rookies through their initial contracts and closings!

• Amanda Weldon - How you manage to keep all the balls in the air like you do amazes me... and you never lose your temper or get short with people! You are awesome!

• Dave Peeples - Our General Manager..... the tough military guy who works circles around EVERYONE , is really good with his people skills, and is a superior trainer. I somehow manage to interrupt him at the worst time... but he never shows it. Thank you for your tremendous efforts on behalf of this team!

• And last, but most definitely not least is the big guy, former Army, our Broker, Joe Manausa. A nicer guy would be hard to find. He works hard to inspire his troops (meaning us) and he is constantly seeking ways to train us to be a better sales team. He has annual goals set for each of us - and we are a team of 60+!!!

There are more folks at the Century 21 First Realty Team that also deserve thanks - but these guys stand out. They give everyday - to all of us at C-21... and I would not be writing this blog if it weren't for them (Joe is really to blame... but that's a story I wrote 8 months ago!).

Thank you to one and all for helping me in my first year - I hope I am as successul as you all have been in this business!!!

Gratitude is a good thing - look around your life and see who you have to feel grateful for - and then let them know it.

Thanks ActiveRain!

12,500 acres of pinelands, lakes, swamps and pastures. Twenty-three threatened and/or endangered species, including the recent addition of a pair of whooping cranes that have taken up residence on the property. Portions of two former ranches protected as a whole since the mid 1970's as buffer for a wellfield for the greater St. Petersburg, FL area. Owned by one county government Pinellas) within the boundaries of the neighboring county (Pasco), causing "water wars" in Florida's Tampa Bay area for years. Over the decades, cooler heads have brought reason to bear, a desalination plant has been built (although not running to expectations yet) and the wellfields on the ranch were conveyed to the company created to solve/provide water for all of Tampa Bay and Pinellas County: Tampa Bay Water.

(Picture by Albert Roller)

The creation of and actions taken by Tampa Bay Water has freed up the need for Pinellas County water utility ratepayers to continue to own the bulk of the 12,500 acres of prime conservation and recreation land in Pasco County. In fact, the water utility department badly needs to upgarde its infrastructure within Pinellas County and in order to do so, needs to sell those 12,500 acres.

Pasco County wants the 12,500 acres, known as Cross Bar Ranch, to be preserved. It is strategically located between two existing wildlife conservation areas already owned by the SW Florida Water Management District, and by preserving the Cross Bar Ranch it will create a wildlife management area just shy of 40,000 acres in size. Located northwest of Tampa in an area with steady growth, purchase of the Cross Bar Ranch would provide the Pasco-Pinellas-Hernando County area with a wealth of recreational opportunities for the residents and visitors to the area.

I toured the property last week, and must have seen at least 100 wiild turkeys and about 50-60 white tail deer during the 3 hours we were travelling the ranch roads and getting a feel for the place (the caravan tour, so to speak!). Even with three hours we didn't begin to see it all. 12,500 acres is about 20 sections of land... or 20 square miles of property!!!

Pinellas County built a beautiful environmental education center on the property that is used daily by the children in the Pasco County School System.

So you can see why I love about this work. It's about big open spaces. Wonderful wildlife experiences (eagles eating fish, etc...) and people getting out and enjoying the beauty of this wonderful place we call Earth. And when I get a client that want's me to help them sell their land to the state, it is a whole lot of fun, and very rewarding in the end.

The really good news is I've been hired to sell this property to the State of Florida through it's Florida Forever Program - Yah --hooo!!!! Stay tuned - this is going to be a challenging but fun adventure!

The long-awaited pictures from my trip up the Blueridge Mountain Parkway... are finally here!

This was even with the fog still hanging over us!

The reds were more prevalent this season... and we were really lucky that the leaves turned while we were driving north-east towards Virginia!

We did have some surprises - like when we started our adventure at Milepost 269 in Cherokee, NC , we came across the most astounding find: But he wasn't the only one! These bears were beautiful! The one below was outside the post office---

There were lots more inside a parade ground but we couldn't get close enough to take pictures... The one that captivated us the most was the last one -

He was covered with pictures of trees, indians, and wildlife. My Aunt was crazy about this one as you can see!

The other thing that was fun on this trip were the many yards decorated for fall/Halloween.

Here are our three favorites:

Biltmore's tall pile of pumpkin's guarded by scarecrows....

One of our quaint hotels' greeting us with a sign "It's fall ya'll!"

With the cooler weather up there- it was a most appropriate greeting!

and

A string of houses and street corners with bales of smiles----

Our only regret was that we didn't make an offer on this attractive FSBO!!! It was packed with the most fascinating items of interest!

And with that, I will close my slide show and wish you from my home to yours,

Ok - so I've been gone for a couple of weeks... I have a really good excuse ---

I murdered my laptop ! Yes - you read it right--- murdered my laptop!!!!

Made a real mess of it to boot - not clean and totally bloodless like Dexter (for those of you who have read the books or watched the TV series on Showtime).

Noooooo, I really did it up goooood.

Three Sundays ago, I returned late from showing houses to a really nice client. We looked at or visited about 9 homes and I was tired (my excuse for this mess). It was about 6:30 in the evening and I still had 2-3 hours of computer work ahead of me, including my AR blog, etc.... so I thought to myself:

"hum,,,, I think I'll fix a martini, salty, shaken - not stirred - with an olive, to sip on while I work!"

So I did. And I set it down - - - not on the side table where I ALWAYS put my beverages...

Noooooo. I put it right in front of me, and pushed the on button.

Well, that did it... I knocked the glass over on the laptop, BREAKING the glass and spilling the drink all over the keyboard!!! Disaster!

I grabbed the computer and turned it upside down, dumping the martini and broken glass all over my desk in the futile attempt to prevent the alcohol and salt (ugh!) from gettting onto the delicate components of the computer. I cleaned up the remnants of drink and glass while the computer rested on a towel. After about 10 minutes I shook it gently, and lots of drops fell from the board.... My heart sank. This was not good. I dried off as much as I could. When I pulled the wireless mouses' USB connector out of the port it was dripping wet. Things just kept getting worse. I couldn't stop the bleeding!

I finally put it to the test. I tried to shut it off, but the keys didn't work! Oh dear. What is a girl to do....I hit the power button, it worked and it shut down. During the visit to the computer Doc the next morning they threatened to throw me in jail! The best they could do was TRY to save my info on the hard drive!!!

So with the help of Joe Manausa from Century 21 (he is really good with computer stuff besides being a master of the Tallahassee Real Estate Market!), I now have a new, super charged laptop (that may have been my subconscious goal in all of this...?). But it has taken me extra time to get things reloaded, email accounts working right, and just catching up in general.

I do NOT recommend this as the normal course of business. If you want a new laptop - Go buy one!

So, lessons learned:

1. If you're tired - give it a rest!!!
2. Never, never , NEVER put liquids near your computer!!!
3. Backup the information on you computer at Least Weekly!!!

I hope you can avoid my mistake.....

PS - remember to take a sip of your Martini before you put it down!!!