FISHING MEMORIES ARE THE BEST Cleaning our boat today - or scrubbing about anything - tends to let my mind wander.  I heard a loud splash on Table Rock Lake, which usually means a large bass  flipping his tail at me.  And that brought to mind a comment made by a client  this week. "I haven't had my boat in the water for more than two years" he declared.  Each home we  previewed  would have the wife examining the room sizes, closets, kitchen - the usual.  The husband, after getting a feel for the house, would drift to the water side.... eagerly scanning the boat dock.  "I've fished this cove", he would  remark.  "I've caught my best fish in Shell Knob."  It was as though he had a map of the lake in his head and knew where each piece of property we saw was located on the lake."Is Carole's... 09/20/2008

 Shell Knob housing market's numbers closed higher in August than in preceeding months.  Nine homes and three lots closed - a big improvement over July's sluggish three closings.  This is encouraging both buyers and sellers.   Sales this month reflected a drop in average sales price.  The sales price average was $97,333, which is a drop in sales price, from the $213,667 in July.  Buyers for homes priced over $250,000 are still not shopping for higher priced homes.  This months' figures only had one sale over $300,000. The local inventory was increased by 15  additional listings.     CALL JOAN FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SHELL KNOB AND TABLE ROCK LAKE REAL ESTATE.  417-858-2209   TRI-LAKES REALTORS  417-858-3344 09/19/2008

NEW BRANSON VA CARE Shell Knob, and other SW Missouri veterans,  will soon be able to chose where they get their medical care  The opening of a new clinic in Branson by the end of September, will provide primary care and a mental health clinic. Veterans in rural areas have been underserved and had to travel to Mt. Vernon or Fayetville, Arkansas.  The VA anticipates it will serve 900 existing patients.The new Branson VA clinic is one of 38 new clinics announced last year.   FOR ADDITIONAL AREA AND REAL ESTATE INFORMATION, CALL JOAN - 417-858-2209 TRI-LAKES REALTORS  417-858-3344     09/19/2008

ROARING RIVER PARK Roaring River Park, outside Cassville, MO, is a popular place for both tourists and locals.  Noted by avid trout fishermen for the record trout caught there, it also features some fine camping spots, hiking trails and lodge with restaurant. Volunteers are needed to join in a park clean-up day on September 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.     Everyone is invited  to participate in beautification projects and to help clean up the park.  All Roaring River Recovery Day workers will be treated to a free picnic lunch. 09/14/2008

Should they ever meet? Before the electronic age, both buyer and seller would sit  down together at closing.  It wasn't unheard of for the seller to be there for the walk-through (if there  was such a thing as a walk- through) and help the buyers become familiar with their new home. And no - this is not an episode from 'Leave It To Beaver'.  The Offer To Purchase was a self-carboned page with 3 copies.  And the counter-offer was on the reverse side.  And yes - I said PAGE - singular. That was then and this is now.  We can now transfer properties without the buyer setting foot on the premises, and take care of all the forms, regulations and signatures via the internet. We spend less time driving and more time surfing the net.  We have lock box codes and drive less picking up keys for hou... 09/02/2008

   I haven't just escaped from an old  Bug's Bunny cartoon, but I have to admit I'd like to escape.   The Gnats are here again!  They're in my face - on my food - everywhere! Not only do I not  LIKE bugs...... I HATE bugs.  Every year about this time gnats appear in my house.  I have a clean house.  I do not leave food out of the refrigerator to attract insects.  So where do these irritating little fly-by-night's come from?   We moved to the Ozarks about 20 years ago.  I do not recall having them up in Indiana, unless you left a melon or some other fruit out - then these critters were called fruit-flies.  However, each year from August till the first frost, they have miraculously made an appearance in my home - unwelcomed and unwarranted !   POTENTIAL SOLUTIONI recently received one of ... 08/24/2008

Quilting is an age old craft that has seen a resurgance in recent years.  Shell Knob is blessed to have a great quilt shop aptly named Stitches.   Stitches has been in Shell Knob for five years.  It outgrew it's first location.   Owner, Sharon Smith, moved it into a larger cabin in the Timberock Village complex where there is  room to store and display over 2,000 bolts of fabric.    Sharon tries to find the unusual to stock for her customers, and is able to special order to meet client's needs.   She also has a large number of quilting books and magazines for sale, and stocks the Better Homes and Gardens quilting magazines, along with back issues too.   There are two quilting for beginners clases offered each year, as well as special classes for ladies wanting to learn Bargello and appl... 08/03/2008

It seems  that the national media, sometimes referred to as the 'Drive-by Media', has maintained their Prophet status -  that being - if you repeat something often enough, it will come true. i.e. The Housing Crisis. The average sales price for homes in and around Shell Knob, MO was $213,667 in July, 2008.  This area includes Golden and Eagle Rock.There were three homes closed last month, plus one lot.  The recreational and retirement market,  which makes up the majority of real estate sales in the Shell Knob area, remains in the doldrums.   July was only slightly better than June's sales.There is now an excellent inventory of homes for potential buyers to choose from.  There were nine more houses listed in July to be added to June's 18 new listings.     CALL JOAN FOR THE LATEST REAL EST... 08/03/2008

COME ON IN - THE WATERS FINE I am happy to report that the water is no longer at flood-stage on Table Rock around Shell Knob, or  the rest off the lake communities that make up this great part of the Ozarks.   It went up to 933' at it's worst in April, and with the monsoon- like rains that continued,  stayed up  much longer than anyone anticipated.    This prevented many boaters from reaching their boat docks, as the water flooded yards and parks.  It ruined  many vacation plans , which in turn,  hurt local merchants.   The flood will soon be part of history.  Water level today is 923', on it's way down to normal pool of 915'.       Table Rock's water is again clear and clean with temperatures in the high 80's, so ya'll come on back now, you hear?     CALL JOAN FOR AREA INFORMATION:  41... 07/27/2008

  CALL ME THE LOT LADY   When I first started my real estate career, I only thought about selling houses.  That's what real estate was all about to me.  I sold a drug store once, but found myself more drawn to the Burbs and new subdivisions.  It was fun being able to find the perfect home for a family. Fast forward a few years and a move to the Ozarks.  Shell Knob is almost rural, and yet being spread out around this portion of Table Rock Lake, it tends to be recreational.   Now all I seem to do is list and sell lots and land on and around Table Rock Lake.  This is not all bad, but I didn't set out for this to be my specialty.  I currently have 11 parcels listed (just sold 4).  As everyone knows..... like draws like.  If I have no homes listed, I don't get calls on homes.   Just call me... 07/25/2008

LET THEM CALL HOME   I've always been satisfied with the service and products I've purchased from Amazon.Com and this satisfaction was enhanced when I opened my Cisco purchase yesterday.  This is not about real estate, but more about the care and generosity that is so much about what Realtors show others. An envelope was added to the packing for a program I had heard of but not pursued - CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS.  This is a worthy cell phone recycling program.  I know I've got a couple of old cell phones on a shelf and if I only need to place it in this plastic envelope, and it eventually gets in the hands of our Troops to enable them to call home, why not?  Postage is free! If you would like to get rid of your old cell phones and do some good at the same time, check out: http://www.cel... 07/25/2008

TABLE ROCK GETTING NEW REGULATIONS          According to the Missouri State Water Patrol, they have finalized proposed changes to buoy guidelines. The changes will become permanent with the approval of the amendments to the Code of State Regulations.Effective immediately, the Water Patrol will utilize the proposed changes as temporary guidelines to allow the moratorium of new buoy permits to be lifted. Applications may be submitted, which meet the proposed guidelines, to be heard at upcoming public buoy hearings. Although the proposed buoy guidelines now require applications to be received forty-five (45) days prior to the hearing date to be heard, the Water Patrol will allow applications for the September 15th hearing to be received until August 8th, due to the late disclosure of the p... 07/25/2008

There was a song from an old Hollywood musical - maybe the film version of Oklahoma - "June is busting out all over, all over the meadows and the hills, etc."  It came to my mind as I tallyed up the June closings for the  Shell Knob area, cuz June numbers AIN'T busting out all over.  In fact, June's numbers ARE a  bust.   It was easy to ad them up, using one hand and having fingers left over, there were TWO HOUSES CLOSED, and five lots.  Based on those two sales, the average for a home in Shell Knob would be $322,500, which is far from our long term average values in the $140,000 - $150,000 range.   Table Rock Lake continues to be close to flood stage.  The Corps of Engineers predicted that it would be back to normal pool of 915' by mid July, but it keeps raining. Last year we had buyer... 07/11/2008

'TIS THE SEASON  Do you start to salivate at the thought of a special delicasie sauted in garlic butter?  This treat can be  expensive, but  persons of a mind for this tastey delight can start collecting it this week -  free for the taking.  I'm speaking of  FROG SEASON in the Ozarks.  It starts June 30 and runs through October   31.  It's classified as both a hunting and a fishing season, depending on the method used to   catch the bullfrogs. Shades of Mark Twain - bullfrog hunting is as much a tradition for the Ozarks as some of the state's other hunting and fishing events. The tastiness of frog legs, plus the ease of hunting them, adds to the popularity of the frogging.  The only equipment many froggers use is a flashlight, their bare hands and a gunny sack to hold the caught frogs. ... 06/28/2008

I wrote most of this post in the spring of 2007, but wondered how true it could be now that we've experienced such monumental rains and flooding.  Local pundits predict that we will have a huge explosion of insects due to the rain forest conditions and record amount of rains here. That may be true inland, but I do not see that happening lakefront.  So I will continue to enjoy my deck and patio without insect repellent.  Here is what I wrote last spring.  Would you like to have a summer home at a lake where you didn't need to swat mosquitos?  Then let me show you around some Shell Knob real estate on Table Rock Lake.  Yes, you read correctly - I said NO Mosquitos on the lake.  How can this be?  The typical lakefront cottage has to have a screened in porch for residents to be able to enj... 06/28/2008

HOW INTERNET DEPENDENT ARE YOU?I've heard of tests where participants had to leave their blackberrys, cell phones and laptops turned off for a week.  Wondered what that would be like, and today I had a chance to find out. The office internet server has been down all day in Shell Knob.   Almost everything I wanted to get done this day requires use of the internet!  It seems that one of our storms has affected (infected?) a cell tower. I can't check the new  Multiple Listings to see if there is anything of interest for my clients. I can't place listings on Postlets or Craig's List. I can't send  or RECEIVE emails.And worst of all, of course, I cannot read or post to Activerain!  It's not as bad as my cigarette addiction was, but I am getting nervous.... VERY  NERVOUS.  What can I do witho... 06/25/2008

WATER QUALITY IN QUESTION There is no need for concern about the quality  or safety of  the water in Shell Knob on Table Rock Lake for swimming, according to David Casaletto, a member of a non-profit environmental organization working to keep the lake clear and clean. He has been receiving calls and emails from residents concerned about the floodwaters condition for whole body contact.  "I feel very confident that the lake is as clean (maybe cleaner due to the "flush" of all the water thru the flood gates and downstream)as it is every year.  The flood has had no lasting impact on water qualtiy".     COME ON IN........THE WATER'S FINE The Corps of Engineers has been unable to run normal lake tests for E.Coli  due to swim beaches being under water, and the Stone County Health Department i... 06/12/2008

 FIRE & THUNDER    It's that time of year again.  Shell Knob's Fire & Thunder - impressive fireworks display will be held on July 4th in Shell Knob, Missouri.   The display is known for its multiple bursts of large shells.  Fireworks will be shot in the same general area as in the past - approximately a mile east of the Shell Knob bridge about 9:30 pm.   There is good viewing from any location with a clear view of the southwest side of Shell Knob Mountain, as well as several sites off of YY Highway. Visitors often have enjoyed the show from the waters of Table Rock Lake, along with a thousand boats or more sitting east of the bridge to see the display.   There is no cost to the public for the event, sponsored by the Shell Knob Chamber of Commerce.  Fireworks ae supported by sale of She... 06/12/2008

 MY HOUSE IS WORTH WHAT??If you are wanting to sell your home in Shell Knob, MO , but all you hear about real estate sales is  negative, what should you do?  You aren't alone with your concerns, there are a large number of sellers waiting anxiously for the market to head back up and  they are seeking answers to questions. Is the national trend hitting  Shell Knob? What is my home actually worth in this current downturn? Can my house compete with my neighbor's? Do I need to update my fixtures? If I don't sell now, how long do I have to wait for values to go up again? Let me see if I can get some answers for you.  Is the national news hitting Shell Knob?  Yes, it is.   We have been hit not only by the economic's of increased gas and grocery prices, but unusual spring rains brought Table R... 06/07/2008

  One of the neatest  things about being a real estate agent in Shell Knob, Missouri, is seeing and falling in love with some of the homes we list.  Let's face it - I  can't buy them all, but I have found that when I fall in love with a property, I feel compelled to tell everyone I meet about it!  I'm just not happy until I can find the perfect buyer who will  also love it.  For instance, I recently listed a property that    consists of 160 gorgeous Ozark acres, which means hills.  It's like having your very own private park.  The first time I went in past the electronic gate and drove down the paved drive to the cabin, I fell in love!   And that was before I took a tour of the potential home sites on the hilltops, with marvelous views of Table Rock Lake in every direction. You  hear on... 06/05/2008