Mindy Sylvester Naples Fl Real Estate

Now this is living! Check out the views of the Gulf of Mexico from this beautiful 3 bedroom condo on Bonita Beach!! No, it wouldn't stink having to look at that in the morning while having your coffee!!! It looks like a post card, but it's an actual photo taken from the condo!

Silver Sands in one of the most private buildings on Bonita Beach - with only 24 residences!! This home is in immaculate condition and has newer carpet, appliances, and nicely furnished with Tommy Bahama style furniture!

It's the LOWEST priced per square foot 3 bedroom condo on the beach! Priced at $699,900 - owner says sell!!

For the longest time, Naples got a bad rap for being overpriced and having no affordable housing! Well, look no further! Here's a super cute 2 bedroom condo, just a few miles from the beautiful Naples Beach and downtown Naples! It's in excellent condition, has a great view and is priced to sell at $93,000! What a great place to vacation or a perfect starter home!! Click here for more details

Homes are selling in Naples! As of today, there are 10,512 homes for sale. Last month 369 homes sold, with the average month sales being 366. It's hard to say what will happen over the next couple of months, but activity has definitely increased! Last week I had 3 sets of motivated buyers and this week I've had 2 buyers that plan to buy within the next 30-60 days. It's nice to see the activity increase, though inventory always increases dramatically in January, which is the beginning of our season.

If you're thinking of selling, now's the time to get on the market and get a head start for the "season increase" and if you're thinking of buying, there are some great deals!!

As the Agent For Athletes, I have the privilege of getting to know professional athletes, and how they have managed to achieve things that only a small percentange of people in the world have achieved.

I know what you're thinking, what does a professional athlete and a Realtor have in common? No, they haven't taught me any routes or patterns for my flag football team (though I do have some pretty slick moves, I must say!). The athletes that I work with inspire me on many levels.

They have known what they have wanted since they were 5 years old, playing little league. The guys I know have always known that they will play professional sports. It may of started as a dream when they were little, but they kept that dream through high school and college and never lost sight of it. Can you imagine how successful you would be if you had known since you were 5 that you were born to be a Realtor? Heck, I didn't figure that out until I was 30.

They don't listen to the negativity. At some point in their lives, there was someone -a coach, parents, fans or the media that told him that he was either too slow, too short, too skinny or just not talented enough. He didn't listen. Just like Michael Jordan getting cut from his high school basketball team. Thank goodness for the world of basketball that he didn't quit just because one or two coaches told him he wasn't good enough! The same goes with real estate - there will always be someone to tell you that you're too new, not smart enough, too short ...yada yada...whatever. If you don't get a listing or you get fired by your buyers, then find out what you could of done better and use that criticism (with fire) to become better.

They have to work harder than the competition. The top athletes don't have an "off season". They use there downtime to work harder. They fight for their position daily. They know that there are 20 rookies also fighting to take their position away from them,so they have to do what others won't do in order to keep their spot. Just like in real estate - there are always other Realtors working to find buyers and sellers. Maybe the same buyers and sellers you've been working with. What are you going to do today to keep those clients?

They never quit. No matter how many games they've won that season or no matter what the score is at the half, they give every play 100%. They start every game at zero. I'm sure the 0-7 Cincinnati Bengals are feeling down and out right now, but come Sunday, they'll be on that field fighting just as hard as their opponents. Are you going to stop giving real estate 100% of your efforts just because maybe you've had a bad day, a bad month or a bad year? There's a reason why only a small percentage of athletes actually get to play professionally and do what they love - because they maximize their talents and they work hard. I suggest we all take a few tips from the pros!

The Agent For Athletes

Mindy Sylvester - Naples, Florida and Chicago Real Estate

As the Agent for Athletes, people are constantly asking me what kind of homes athletes look for. That's such a tough question to answer because just like all Realtors are not alike or have the same taste, neither are all athletes. The mistake many people make is thinking that all professional athletes make $36 million a year, drive Ferraris and party like rock stars. Well, there are some that do, but many do not.

Professional athletes are becoming more and more educated and conservative in their purchases and not all are looking for a $14 million dollar house. (Though I like it when they are!) :-) The NFL League minimum in 2008 is $285,000 for rookies, $360,000 for 2nd year players and so on. You can see that just because a guy is playing in the NFL, doesn't mean he's an automatic millionaire. Take out agent percentages, taxes and the cost of living in a major city and you're looking at a pretty modest living. Don't get me wrong, making $285,000 for doing something you love at that level is a dream of it's own!

Some guys want quiet and low key while others like to make a statement. I have to say, at first I was a little surprised at how simple and down to earth many pro athletes are. I have a couple of friends who, if you sat in a room with them for 3 days, and you didn't already know what they did for a living, you'd think they were regular guys with regular jobs. They are so down to earth that you wouldn't have a CLUE that they make millions of dollars a year and have thousands of fans! Well, on occasion, there are the groupies who ask for the autographs in imaginative places, but that's a whole other blog.

Just to give you an idea of how the different tastes are, here are 2 of my listings that athletes have inquired about....couldn't be more night and day!

This gorgeous $3.8 million home in Quail Creek with custom built English Pub, Pool, Exercise room, Theatre and more

And, this more modest and beautiful 4 bedroom home in Island Walk with a fabulous lake view and in perfect condition for $521,000!