Randy Chapman

I’m not shocked and that is so sad. I laughed and I should have cried.

Nothing immoral happen. It wasn’t the crime of the century but it certainly makes you wonder where the world is going.

I was anxious and ready to get my dog home. Dewey is an old dog. He had just had minor surgery and I was ready to get my boy home. Of course, the only real minor surgery is someone else’s or at least someone you don’t know.

Fortunately, Dewey is covered by a pet insurance policy. Standing at the front desk in the vet clinic near our home in Fort Pierce, Florida, I was surrounded by four young ladies in hospital scrubs. One is on the phone, one on a computer, one just drifting and one helping me.

The young lady waiting on me is computing the bill for Dewey’s visit. Finally, she says some figure just over a $1000. She looked at my expression and asked, “Is that what you were expecting.”

I said no and handed her my estimate of $273. Then, I said they removed a cist from Dewey’s underside that was not on the estimate so I knew it would be slightly higher.

She looked at my estimate and went promptly back to work on the computer. A few minutes later she said, “How does $337.37 sound?”

I answered, “That works for me.”

Then, comes the sad part. I had decided to pay in cash so I counted out $340 while she watched. She recounted and placed the money in a cash draw.

All of sudden there was silence. I watched and the problem was as obvious as the snout on my dog.

Finally, the young lady turned and in a tone that was at least frustrated if not irritated exclaimed, “Does anyone have a calculator so I can figure out this change?”

I looked at her and said it’s $2.63. She looked at me thankful and immediately handed me $2.37. I didn’t bother correcting her.

That was last week and Dewey is recovering well. So you don’t have to ask I’ll tell you Dewey is a rescue basset hound that is around 12 and a half.

With our floppy eared, big snouted and giant pawed hound on the mend, yesterday my wife, Christine, and I decided to go to lunch and a movie. At our age it’s lunch and a movie instead of dinner and a movie.

And, no I won’t tell you Christine’s age even if you do ask. However, she is more than a half decade younger then I am.

Christine wanted barbecue so off we went to one of our favorite lunch spots in Vero Beach. The barbecue was good and plentiful. We love their cole slaw. The young lady waiting on us was attentive.

I asked our waitress for the check mentioning we were off to the movies. She politely asked what we were going to see and I replied JEdgar.

She said she hadn’t heard of the movie so I said it was about J. Edgar Hoover.

Her response, “oh, the guy who made the vacuum.”

No. I am not talking about the condition of the real estate market.

Here are a few actual ads that were published in newspapers:

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER 8 years old. Hateful little bastard. Bites!

FREE PUPPIES 1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour's dog

FREE PUPPIES Mother, A Kennel Club registered German Shepherd. Father, Super Dog . . . Able to leap tall fences in a single bound

JOINING NUDIST COLONY! Must sell washer and dryer £100

WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE Worn once by mistake . . . . Call Stephanie

And the best one:

FOR SALE BY OWNER Complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 45 volumes. Excellent condition. £200 or best offer. No longer needed, Got married last month. Wife knows everything!

In January statewide condo sales in Florida jumped an amazing 81 percent compared to January 2009. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) figures showed 4631 condos sold in January 2010 compared to 2554 in January, 2009.

According to NAR the medium price for condo in January this year was $97,300 compared to $113,300 in January 2009. Existing home sales increased 24 percent last month with a total of 10,465 homes sold statewide compared to 8,444 homes sold in January 2009.

The medium price for a single family home decreased from $139,400 in 2009 to $130,900 according to (NAR). This amounts to a six percent decrease in 2009. Analysts from NAR state that this is a result of the continued number of foreclosures and short sales. Nationally, the medium sale price for homes rose 1.4 percent.

On the Treasure Coast a large number of real estate buyers are falling into three groups:

First, investors who are buying, renovating and reselling. Almost all of these are cash buyers.

Second home buyers from cold climates such as Canada, the upper mid-west, northeast and even as far south as Virginia and North Carolina. Many of these are cash buyers also although some are making large down payments and taking advantage of low interest rates around five percent.

Third, first time home buyers. Obviously, these buyers have been influenced positively by the tax credit program, low interest rates and FHA or Rural Housing finance programs.

An additional bonus for Florida residents is the drop in property tax assessments. Florida’s existing home sales rose dramatically in 2010 while the decline in home prices dropped only six They can now lock into the Florida three percent maximum Homestead Exemption increase as a beginning tax base significantly lower than previous years.

Most out-or-area buyers unknowingly benefit also now that the maximum property tax increase they can receive in one year is limited to five percent. Five percent may seem high but it certainly beats the 10 to 20 percent increases early in the last decade.

Real estate professionals are working harder, longer hours and with more clients than ever. Because of the low prices, they must now sell two or three homes to earn the same living as five years ago.