As you may recall, I changed over from my Palm OS phone to a Droid OS 8/1/11.  Since then, I've made some changes with my email and had some difficulties. I was told at the phone store that Droid could not run or support Microsoft Outlook. This was a BIG deal to me, as that is my favorite software for organizing my life. They told me I would need to switch from POP3 protocol to IMAP. Now, there is not a large difference, and the challenges I encountered certainly could be unique to me, but to me, it was a huge difference.  Why? All my nice neat POP3 folders and filters were gone. For whatever reason, my webmail put all my new mail only in the ALL MAIL folder, and ceased using the Inbox once I changed to the IMAP protocol on 8/1/11. This was a huge PITA for me (acronym for Pain In The A$... 09/29/2011

People who have not lived near a beach may wonder what you can do at sunrise on the beach.....there are many fun things to do, and this morning, I caught a few photos of locals enjoying the beach at sunrise:   You can bicycle at low tide, which gives you plenty of options, and is a great way to get some exercise while enjoying the beach.     You can jog the length, another great way to get exercise and enjoy the beach.     Or you can hone your surfing skills - the surfer's upper body is the left in this photo.   Or, you can just enjoy the sunrise!     09/28/2011

I just toured these fabulous ocean side condos in South Jax Beach this morning, as part of our weekly Realtor meeting. They have 1, 2 and 3 bedroom condos, starting at (are you sitting down?!) at $161K EAST OF 3RD STREET! (which is so sweet, as you have no major roads between you and the ocean!) They qualify for FHA financing, which is tough to find for any condo project these days, and to find such great pricing east of 3rd Street is awesome. Amenities include: Zero edge pool with cabanas Outdoor summer kitchen with poolside BBQ Private clubhouse Wi-Fi available in clubhouse and pool area 24 hour fitness center ONE block to the Atlantic Ocean & beach Minutes to Bonefish, Roy's, Starbucks, Outback and much more The community is 70% sold out, with the 1 bedrooms being the most popular.  ... 09/22/2011

     Here are the 2011 stats and 2010 for comparison -   2011 21 Homes Sold (down 9 from July, or 30%) Lowest price: $63,700 (July=$64,900) Highest price: $1,700,000 (July=$1,115,000 ) Shortest Days on Market:7 (July=0) Longest Days on Market: 379 (July=693)         2010 20 homes sold (July=20) Lowest price: $113,500 (July=$145,000) Highest price: $950,000 (July=$1,350,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 6 (July=2) Longest Days on Market: 701 (June=350)   There are some great nuggets in this month’s numbers: home sales are flat year over year, days on market is down almost 50% on the long side (which reinforces the concept of pricing and presenting property correctly) and the bump in sales price on the upper end is nice to see as well.   The great thing about Jacksonville Beach, however, whe... 09/17/2011

This is the video I shot with my HTC Sensation HD phone this morning on the beach - you can see some surfers' heads bobbing in the water - a few caught some good rides this morning. If you want to see this every morning, I can help you get your oceanfront view, or close to the beach home so you can walk or bike to the beach.  Great homes at great prices and close to the beach! 09/15/2011

I'm training for my second sprint triathlon, coming up quickly in early October on Jekyll Island, GA. The swimming has been going very well (please notice, I refrained from typing swimmingly!), I joined a pool close to my office, and have been swimming at least 1/2 a mile in the pool a couple of times per week, and have done a mile a few time (36 laps in a 25 yard pool, in case you were curious). The cycling portion is the easiest for me; I drop into a spin class once or twice a week, I'm still working on getting the right bike for me at the right price. The running part is my weak leg (no pun intended), and I've been doing jog/walk intervals on the treadmill at the gym. Now, I knew I would have to get outside at some point, I had just decided I would wait until the weather cooled down ... 09/12/2011

I took this last night with my HTC Sensation 4G on the T-Mobile network - love my new phone, and love how the colors came out in this spectacular sunset! This was taken in South Jax Beach, about .5 mile north of JTB, one of the 3 major east west routes here in Jacksonville. JTB is the southernmost east west route, and has no lights on it, meaning you can get to where you want to be faster.   09/08/2011

I worked with buyers this past Saturday & Sunday, and we found a house they were ready to make an offer on. Being diligent, they had looked online at the property appraiser's website, and found the current assessed value of the property. This led them to believe the property would not appraise at it's current listing price, or anything close to it. I had to explain the difference between the mass appraisal approach the city takes, versus the one-off kind of appraisal an individual property appraiser would take. For example, the property website was not giving any value to the metal roof (which will last longer than a shingle roof), the Hardiboard exterior (which will last longer than T-111), or the myriad green features of the home that will enable the owners to enjoy lower-than-average... 08/24/2011

I could have gone along with the mostly Wordless Wednesday title, but it just wasn't calling out to me, so I went with my own. These are not from this morning (wish I had my camera today, the sunrise was spectacular!), but just from last week, so they are still "fresh"! Here is the sun just starting to come up... And now a bit more showing as it inches up over the horizon...   And now starting to disappear amidst the morning clouds. If you walk along Jacksonville Beach in the mornings, I'm usually out there about 7 or 7:15am.... 08/17/2011

Ok, I have found some really cool things about the Droid, that I may not have posted about before. Using Wi Fi: you can stream from any available Wi Fi source,and NOT use your data plan. Nice to know and it can be used for calling. Flashlight App - yes, I know, it's seemingly cliche, and yet OH SO HANDY, especially in dimly/not lit REO's that you are previewing. DejaOffice - I'm on my first day syncing, will report back. This program ($50) can sync ALL your Outlook files, including notes and tasks (key to me). I'm on trial with the program for 14 days, so expect more on that. It also has Dejaexpenses, which I have not used just yet. The camera is super sharp (I'll post photos later), and easy to use.  A nice complement to the HD camcorder. E Key program is working much better; the way t... 08/15/2011

We are always looking in the Jacksonville MLS for homes for sale that stand out as outstanding. Since we spent most of the weekend at Jacksonville Beach... ocenafront properties were on our mind. So we came up with this fantastic listing offered for sale by Ware Commercial Properties Inc. Thought we'd share... View all Oceanfront Homes in Jacksonville, Florida View all Oceanfront Condos in Jacksonville, Florida Sought after location with oceanfront home in Jacksonville Beach on a 100 ft lot with pool permit underway. Built in 1956, updated and renovated staying with the true historical seaside design. Completely re-plumbed and new electrical wiring, renovated garage and updated exterior. This fabulous home has high smooth ceilings with Pella and Anderson windows and sliding doors. Wood ... 08/15/2011

I had thought I would be able to more consistent with this, however, there have been so many adjustments, I have not had time to catalog every one and write about them. In short, I still really love the new HTC Sensation 4G....there are, however, some definite differences which include: Not having Outlook on my phone; there were a few refernces to being able to purchase a software to do this; I'm addicted to the notes and tasks, so I've been trying some work arounds including Funambol and a Google Calender. No final decision reached just yet; if anyone has suggestions/advice, I would love your input. The fob for the Supra lockbox entry is photographed as being something that looks like it would fit on your keychain - IT IS DECEIVING! It is actually about half the size of my phone, and q... 08/11/2011

Here are the 2011 stats and 2010 for comparison -   2011   30 Homes Sold (up 6 from June, or 25%) Lowest price: $64,900 (June=$121,000) Highest price: $1,115,000 (June=$825,000) Shortest Days on Market:0 (June=5) Longest Days on Market: 693 (June=251)   2010   20 homes sold (June=29) Lowest price: $145,000 (June=$69,000) Highest price: $1,350,000 (June=$900,000) Shortest Days on Market: 2 (June=4) Longest Days on Market: 350 (June=665)   There are some great nuggets in this month’s numbers: home sales are up 50% year over year, days on market is, for the most part (I’m looking at the shortest days on market), and the number seem to have a seen a nice bump from June.   The great thing about Jacksonville Beach, however, when compared to Atlantic & Neptune Beach is that we are a larger com... 08/04/2011

Now, I know, as well as most of you that the titles of Best, Biggest, Brightest, Shiniest are, at best, somewhat let's just say "enhanced", it is still pretty cool. The Daily Beast sought to find the best beaches recently and they turned to the US Lifesaving Association (I was unaware there was such an organization) and the answer was Jacksonville Beach. What was it based on? Attendence figures for one thing. Then attendence divided by population to get the propert visitor/resident ratio. You can see the entire article here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/31/most-popular-beaches-in-the-u-s.html 08/03/2011

Here are the 2011 stats and 2010 for comparison - 2011 118 Homes Sold Lowest price: $28,500 Highest price: $1,250,000 Shortest Days on Market: 0 Longest Days on Market: 804   2010 103 homes sold Lowest price: $146,000 Highest price: $1,000,000 Shortest Days on Market: 1 Longest Days on Market: 665   Ok, I’m not happy to see the lowest price home sold for less year over year, but I also know that particular home was a cash only purchase, small, as-is house, that has been on the market, off and on, for the better part of 4 or so years. I just checked the MLS history on that particular house, and it was first listed for $115K in 2007! I’m also not happy about the days on market, as both Atlantic & Neptune Beach had reduced days on market, and so far this year, Jacksonville Beach has too. H... 07/13/2011

Most of us know how important it is to re nourish the beaches after they get pounded by tropical storm waves, or heavier storm action. I realize the noise, and the decrease in public parking are both undesirable, but the long-term gains, and the fact the Federal Government might make the sting a little less worse. The beach renourishment project will concentrate mainly on Jacksonville & Atlantic Beach, as those are the two larger cities with beaches, and will start at 16th Avenue South, and progress north.  Due to the sea turtle season, the sites will be checked daily for new sea turtle nests.   07/10/2011

Here are the 2011 stats and 2010 for comparison - 2011 24 Homes Sold (up 2 from May, or 10%) Lowest price: $121,000 (May=$62,000) Highest price: $825,000 (May=$500,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 5 (May=20) Longest Days on Market: 251 (May=562)   2010 29 homes sold (May=19) Lowest price: $69,000 (May=$140,000 ) Highest price: $900,000 (May=$495,000 ) Shortest Days on Market: 4 (May=1) Longest Days on Market: 665 (May=210) There are so many great facets to these stats:  lowest end sales price is up, which is a leading indicator of a stabilizing market; longest days on market is down significantly, another indicator of sellers properly pricing their homes; the highest priced home is fairly consistent year over year, another indicator loans are in fact being made, and higher priced homes ar... 07/07/2011

I'm sure we've all had things happen when showing properties, from actual emergencies arising, requiring a buyer to leave promptly, to driving up to the property and having the buyer say "No way. I'm not getting out of the car!". It's our job as a buyer's agent to show the buyers the houses they want to see, the ones they can envision their families living in. Now, I try to spend time in the office with my buyers first to confirm what we are looking for in person.  That is not always possible, however, as my buyers came in from out of town this weekend, and we started at 10am Saturday.  They had wanted something close to the beach, and I had encouraged them to open their minds to a few very family friendly communities about 4-8 miles from the beach. When we drove by the entrance to one ... 07/04/2011

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My training for the sprint triathlon continues... Today, we swam "between the buoys" for the appropriate mileage (1/4 mile) for our sprint tri, coming up VERY quickly on 7/9/11 - and it was interesting to say the least.  This was in Jacksonville Beach, right by (conveniently) the lifeguard station. The view you have in the ocean is VERY different from a pool (especially here in NE FL) and there were so many other swimmers, you could easily end up with someone swimming on top of you (good practice, I think!). My new goggles worked out great, and my pool work has paid off well - next weekend, our own "mini" tri to train for 7/9  - I will of course, keep y'all posted! 06/26/2011