Jesse Vasquez

Its been a tough year for many of us in Real Estate, many of us who call ourselves "realtors" and take our profession seriously. However is Real Estate supposed to be easy? is it supposed to be "easy money" the answer to that is NO, real estate is not easy and its not supposed to be a get quick rich sheme. I believe many agents still out there got into real estate because they thought they could become Donald Trumps. However that is not the case today now is it? two years ago an agent was an order taker, and anyone could be a realtor, just like in California everyone is a director, even the waiter at Olive Garden giving you your Dinner, he is a director. Well the same goes for agents, here in Florida everyone was an agent and for that reason our profession has taken a hit.

For those of us who make this business a CAREER, who work hard to get the respect we deserve from our clients I say JOB WELL DONE

However for the other 90% who got in this business to make a quick buck I say GOOD BYE until we meet again!!! These are the fly by night realtors that have given us a bad name. These are the realtors if we can call them that, that made lots of money, left a bad taste in many of our sellers and buyers mouth. these are they who are NO LONGER IN THE BUSINESS, and for that I APLOGIZE to many consumers out there. Not all REALTORS are created equal, many of us care for our clients and believe in this business.

One good thing that has come out of this down swing in the housing market is the reduction in real estate people, and I believe that is good for our business. We do not need order takers, we need inteligent men and women who will take this job serious.

If you are looking to list or buy a home get a realtor with a solid repuation one who has been in the industry for a while and is in it for the right reasons, DONT GET A FLY BY NIGHT AGENT, it will cost you.

We are a select few but we care!

Since last year Florida has lost about 30 - 40 percent of its real estate value, here in Tampa some areas upto 50% of its value. I am sure this is the case in many U.S states. I believe the the Market has corrected itself as much as it going to. Sure it might drop another 2 or 3 percent but I personally dont think it will drop anymore than that. I believe buyers are standing back waiting for the dust to settle, and I am here to tell you that the dust is settling and if you dont buy now you might loose a perfect opportunity. A few things to look for to know when the market is hit bottom and the dust has settled

1) you list a home and you get 10 calls in two days

2)you list a home and have 5 showing in a day

3) you list a home and you get two multiple offers

this is happening accross the New Tampa area (not just for one home). this is telling me for one that homes are starting to move. If they are starting to move here they will start to move everywhere. Picture yourself in a heavy traffic jam, the jam goes on for miles, possibly 10 miles, well the cars that are in front will start moving first and then then the traffic starts flowing, it takes a while but soon things start to look normal. well folks I believe the traffic is starting to move and once it moves we will start seeing multiple offers, we will start seeing more people coming out to buy homes and then we will start seeing sellers get confident and prices will start to rise.

Spring is here! and summer is right around the corner the time to buy is now!! if you procrastinate it might be to late. I dont think you should stay in the shadows anymore, I think you should start looking while there is inventory, once builiders, sellers, etc. get confidence then your window of opportunity will close.

I would advise, turn off the TV and stop listening to the negative press, they will continue to be negative forever. Call your local Realtor tell him you have decided to start looking! believe you me. DONT WAIT ANY LONGER, tomorrow might be to late

You can always tell when its springtime in Tampa. The newspapers and TV stations are kept busy covering all the major league Baseball training camps that make the Florida area their home. It is always a sweet sound to hear the crack of wooden bats on baseballs.

It is the time of season for people to come from all over the world to see baseballs biggest champions all cornered in one state. Baseball is my passion and with it comes a feeling of here comes the boys of summer, I am smelling hotdogs, cracker jacks, cotton candy, I am seeing little boys and girls hang out with there daddy's and ejoying this great American Pass time!

Spring is in the air and baseball is back! the greenery is back, the birds are singing, the bees are flying, and the weather has been 80 degrees for 1 week streight, we are told the cold air is gone!!

With Baseball and all its glory here! you know what else is here? Spring Cleaning! its time to plant some new daisy's, Orchids, plants that died during our Florida frost, its time to get our lawn and our plant beds looking decent again. Its time to make sure our A/C is workign properly so that we get no surprises in the summer time, its time for windown cleaning and presure washing that pool deck.

I love the spring, its time to let our hair down and enjoy the sun. Oh wait i cant let my hair down.

Well I must say it started on Friday night, I was perfect all day long and then around 7pm I started getting the chills, wierd, then the fever, 99, 100, 101, 102 ok thats not good. It went like this all weekend long. about 1o hours later my daughter same exact scenario!! then my other daughter same deal. oh noooooo whats going on? Took them to the Dr. well Strep throat and Scarletina fever, the Dr told me I better go and get seen too, I did, guess what same exact thing, and we are quarantined for 72 hours. These last 3 days I have not been able to think, or even get on the computer. How true it is when the body is ill or not feeling good the brain will not and or does not want to function or do anything. I think we need to appreciate our healthy bodies and treat them right, becuase when they are out of whack we are going to wish we did.

So, I consider myself a computer savy kind of guy, I tinker here and there have take more than a few courses on computers and feel comfortable with them. However last night I think I crossed the line of no return. Here is how it started:

I pressed a button ! yep I did and pressed it with out reading.

I was tinkering with "User Account" changing Administrator rights and passwords etc. after a few changes (mind you I had not finished) I was asked "in order for changes to take effect a re-start is needed, would you like to re-start" I said "Yes" and press the darn button.

What I didnt know was that I had some how changed passwords and changed user names. I am assuming you see where I am going with this! RIGHT! at logon I am asked for user name and password? WHAT? I dont have it, after trying for 3 hours nothing worked. I then went to google for help and after downloading every tool in the book, nothing worked, we are now into 8 hours of work and its almost midnight and I am ticked off at myself.

To Make a long story short I am now locked out of my computer: I have called an IT man who says he can unlock for 40 bucks, I am meeting with him later tonight, will see if it works.

What is my point or moral of the story: DONT MESS WITH THINGS YOU DONT KNOW and if you think you know you better know what you are doing and OH dont press any blue buttons or you will loose your hair like I did in 8 hours, I had hair when all this started!