South Florida Real Estate and...

If you have been following my posts over the years you will know that I write often about time management and the value of time. 

Time is worth more than money.

Time is the one thing that once you spend it you can never replace it.

Time is the one thing that once it is gone;  it is gone.

You can always make more money but you can not make more time.

You can choose to spend your time wisely and on productive matters or you can spend it foolishly.

When we are young time seems like something that is going to last forever. But once you reach the half century mark like I have; time takes on a whole new meaning.

We look back over our lives and see the wasteful spending of moments that will never be recovered. So we move forward with a different attitude towards time. Spending my time watching TV is certainly not productive so I rarely watch TV. Spending my time nagging and complaining is not going to help any problem I may be having.

Taking my laptop outside to sit on my patio and blog while I listen to the birds singing to each other is a valuable expenditure of my time.

Hugging Nestor and our son is a moment that is worth spending. Homeschool to us is a very well spent block of time.

Spending an hour on the phone coaching an agent who truly wants to make his or her business successful is a worthy investment of my time.

Producing new products, writing, teaching, marketing our listings, talking to sellers about productive matters- building online relationships- these are all moments of time that will help me to grow and help others.

Then there are some of those necessary but unworthy of my time activities that must be attended to. Many of those things we can delegate to others to do. One of the most important lessons I learned about owning businesses is to spend your time on the actions you love and delegate the rest. Spend your time doing the income producing activities and delegate the rest to VAs or assistants.

With those things that just can not be delegated for whatever reason and I still have to get them done, like sorting out my receipts to get them ready for our accountant- I take a timer and set it for 15 minute blocks of time or 30 minutes depending on the activity. Then I don't have to procrastinate until the hour before a deadline. This way I force myself to stick to the task at hand because I know as soon as the ringer goes off- I am FREE from that task! Try it, you might like the results.

No matter what your age is- treasure your time. Don't spend it on things that do not matter in the big picture. You are always moving. So you can choose to move forward or backwards. The laws of the universe do not allow for standing still. The choice is up to you.


" Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action and purpose."

Lance Armstrong- 7 Time Winner Tour de France

Contact Coach Katerina when you are ready to take your business to the next level up. 

Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved "Spend Your Time Wisely, Never Foolishly Throw Away A Moment." 

Wellington Florida holds its' elections for Mayor and also for Counsel seat #2. 

There are 2 candidates running for Mayor. Our current Mayor Darrell Bowen is running against Carol Coleman.  

Study the issues and then choose the candidate you feel is going to best for Wellington Florida. 

The Realtor Association of the Palm Beaches holds screening panels on all the candidates. A committee of members put each candidate in a hot seat and drill them on issues that are important to our Government Affairs committee. Each of the candidates has been evaluated by this committee and then the endorsement of a candidate is based on how well they fit with the goals of the Realtor® Party. 

The Realtor® Party has this to say about the outcome of these panels: 

" an advocacy which is determined to protect private property rights, sensible and prudent government, fair property taxes, respect for the real estate industry and especially for Realtors®. Some of these candidates are popular or unpopular selections with our members for a variety of personal reasons. We respect that. But we urge our members to vote with their wallets in mind, remembering that your ability to earn a real estate livelihood in the current economy is pretty important" 

The Realtor Association of the Palm Beaches is endorsing our current Mayor Darrell Bowen for Mayor. Carol is a Wellington Equestrian. The issue with Carol is that she wants to take back the cuts we made to save money on  the parks. But how is she going to pay for that? We had those cuts so we could balance the budget. It is grand to want to provide more services but someone has to pay for it all and when we have to tighten our purse strings so do all forms of government. 

There are also 3 candidates running for Counsel seat #2. Anne Gerwig, Wismick St Jean and Ernie Zimmerman. 

Anne Gerwig is a mother and a businesswoman. Ernie Zimmerman is a veteran and retired law enforcement. Wismick is a Realtor®. 

The thing that bothered me the most when studying the candidates is that Anne and Ernie only spoke about themselves. Every sentence of their pitch to get your vote started with "I". Someone needs to school them in tuning in to the needs of others. Shouting your accolades is great and should be done but must be accomplished in a form of how that is a benefit to someone else. Wismick is very smart and is very concerned about issues here in Wellington. He also proposes lowering taxes. He is the only candidate to even bring that up. The other two say they don't want to raise taxes but don't talk about lowering them. What I like about Ernie is he wants a medical school to be built on the land so can generate tax revenue as well as fees instead of the community college which was going to get everything for close to free. 

Make sure you read up and understand what is important to you and then cast your vote tomorrow! 

To find your voting location go to the Wellington Village site. You can reach election information for wellington Florida by clicking here. 

To  view Wellington Florida Homes For Sale  Click here. We know Wellington Florida Real Estate and Short Sales and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida: Call us today.

Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.*Wellington Florida Mayor Race- Don't Forget To Vote Tuesday March 9*

The Banksters are claiming that they are here to help release the burden of our overloaded and short of cash courts. The Banksters are saying that they are really here to help you. 

The Florida Bankers Association has drafted a 55 page bill called The Florida Consumer Protection and Homeowner Credit Rehabilitation Act- which you can read right here. 

Now, how many people here believe that the banks really have the homeowners best interests in mind? See how sneaky the name of this bill is? 

Joe Manausa of Tallahasse Real Estate wrote an article that sums up a lot of the lies and misconceptions of this bill. You can read: Does The Florida Bankers Association Think You're Stupid? Here. 

The banks are the ones that are NOT foreclosing on the homes here in Florida. Yes, the courts are backed up but that is not the reason that the banks are doing this. They claim that 37 other states already have non judicial foreclosures and so Florida should too. Well, let's see, Georgia has non judicial foreclosures and they are worse off than Florida is. They have blighted neighborhoods with lots of foreclosed homes that are NOT taken care of and not kept up yet the Banksters want you Florida residents to believe that these banks are going to somehow start taking care of your neighborhood???? PLEASE!!!!!

It gets worse. This bill is so toxic that the Banksters refuse to release the legislative sponsor of the bill. Hmmm, could it be that this person's political life will be over once revealed????? Do not give up your judicial rights! 

As agents- you think short sales are hard now? At least we can get judges to postpone foreclosures so we can get short sales done. We can get time. In non judicial states- the agents are fighting unrealistic time clocks!  Right now we can get short sales done to help homeowners. That is moving a market. But creating more shadow inventory is not. 

Even if you are making your mortgage payments on time you need to understand what this bill really says and what it is all about and it is NOT about helping you and your neighborhood. Put yourself in someone else's shoes. Let's just say that you lost your job. Then you went behind in your mortgage payments. But then in 3 months you get another job and can start catching up on your mortgage payments. In our JUDICIAL state; you can go before a judge and ask him to grant you the time to catch up on your payments. With this bill all you are going to get is a Deed In Lieu in the mail! WOW! What a gift from your bank that would be! 

But wait, there is MORE!!!! 

Please read this entire post because there is much more for you to learn here. This is SO important! 

Do you really think this bill is about helping the consumer as the title of the bill eludes to? Please quote me one time where the banksters did something for you. Everything they claim to want this bill to do the banks can already do except they must go through the courts to do it. The carrot they are dangling is a release of deficiency with a Deed in Lieu. But don't grab your carrot so fast. 

As Joe points out in his post- the banksters really want to be able to control their ability to foreclose. There are underlying sneaky tactics that they are going to be able to pursue. Even if you plan to live in your home for 30 years and you always make your mortgage payment on time, this bill stands to effect you.

Because even if you do pay on time every month, pay your taxes, pay your HOA, pay your insurance but the market value in your house drops- there is a very sneaky piece of fine print in your mortgage that states that the bank can require you to make up the difference in the loss of value. Most banks don't try that one here in Florida because guess what!!! The judges are not very thrilled about things like this and you could fight this in court. What if the difference in the market for your home was $20,000 or $60,000. Could you pay that to the bank at their request right now? You see, a judge knows that and you can have your day in court over this issue. Sounds to me like a sneaky way for the banks to raise capital quickly or else foreclose on you. 

What the banks really want is the ability to foreclose on any property that they desire to do so to. 

And there is still more! 

The Bankers Association did not stop with this bill in the House but they also created another bill for the Senate, one that is broader and just another way to gain control. 

This one is called: The Nonjudicial Foreclosure Act For Nonhomestead Properties. 

Another sneaky way to get in one door that the Banksters are hoping on. This bill is like getting the homesteaded homeowners to attach those that come here for vacations providing income to our state or those with second homes or even those who do live here but are investors. Take away their rights to go to court, sounds like a plan to most people but again, you must read beneath the title. You have to read these bills. If you give them an inch they will take a mile. 

There is a section in this bill that says that the banks will also be able to use nonjudicial proceedings for "abandoned" properties. Well, Nestor and I are constantly going to listings we have where the banks have changed the locks even when the homeowners are still living there and the banks claim they thought the house was "abandoned". This is another snow job in a state where it is not supposed to snow. Don't let them kid you. 

Now, this bill has a sponsor that has put his name out in the open on it. We are calling out to our friends in Bradenton Florida to put pressure on your Senator! 

This bill is being sponsored by Sentor Michael S "Mike" Bennett- District 21- Republican. I don't know if he was planning on running for the Senate again as we do have term limits in Florida. Nevertheless, contact him ASAP to let him know this is not good for your property rights. 

Here is the Flyer that you can print out that you can sign and please send in to your elected members of the Florida Legislature. You can also go directly to: http://www.PigsAss.org to get a link to pass along to all of your friends, neighbors and people at work. If you are a Realtor® please go to your RPAC at your boards and get them on the side of the homeowners and property rights which is what the essence of NAR is supposed to be about. 

Stop These Bills Now. Protect Your Right To Judicial Procedures- This is being called the Trojan Horse Bill. Please reblog. Please pass along to all Florida Residents now. Don't forget, don't delay, do it now. 

Raking In The Green Stuff Via Active Rain Once Again!

It never ceases to amaze me how we can take it all the way with Active Rain. Don't miss the gravy train- get on board now! 

We just closed an REO that we got from a lender finding us on Active Rain!!!!  We do the happy dance at every closing but I also do a happy dance every time: 

• we get a phone call because someone found our blog on Active Rain and wants to list their home,
•  have us negotiate a short sale for them,
  
• buy a home,
  
• refer business to us
  
• or call us to interview us for a news station
  
• or to interview us for the National Realtor® Magazine.

The REO lender called us and asked us if we would list a property for them. Nestor did the BPO and had to tell them the hard truth. They had it listed before about 200,000K over priced!

They already knew from reading our blog that we were experts in the Palm Beach County area and this listing was in Delray Beach Florida. As soon as we posted the listing on our blog, the calls started coming in. Within the first 72 hours on the market we had multiple offers, nearly all were over asking price. Out of 7 offers; 4 were ALL CASH offers.  We listed and closed this property in less than 30 days!

The property was not without its' issues but the REO department was very good at taking care of title issues straight away. There was a $2500 lien from the water company. The water department refused to turn on the water for even  1 hour while the buyer did his inspections- so the bank sent down the money in order to satisfy the lien. They never asked us to pay for it in their behalf. The asset manager was great to work with, quick to respond and extremely respectful.

I promise you that if you:

•  pay it forward first with an attitude of givers gain,
•  blog consistantely on Active Rain with the right keywords,
  
•  provide the answer to someone's problem,
  
•  comment on other blogs,
  
• know you your audience is and
•  then provide relevent content to that audience-
  

your phone will ring too!

And you can take that to the bank!

Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved " Raking In The Green Stuff Via Active Rain Once Again!" 

Live The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams!

Bring your boaters, your dreamers, your water enthusiasts to this fabulous direct waterfront South Florida Condo on the Intracoastal and they will make it their own.

When we arrived at this secluded and tucked away dream spot on Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach Florida the views took our breath away. The first thing we noticed is that with this direct Florida waterfront location is there will never be anyone or anything that can obstruct the breathtaking views from outside on the patios or inside from the great room.

This is a boaters' paradise with passage to the ocean inlet. There are no bridges along the 1 mile waterway to the inlet. Go slowly along this waterway passageway because there are Manatees in thewaters here. In fact, Manatees swim right outside of your front door right at your seawall. We have included some photos the owner took of a mommy manatee playing with her baby. Amazing! Close enough to be up close and personal with one of Florida's wonders, the docile and gentle Manatee! Water and nature enthusiasts will be in heaven with the abundance of wildlife in and out of these waters.

But of course even those of us who love serenity and peaceful brilliant night skies filled with stars and a moon so close you think you can reach out and touch it still like to go out on the town once in a while. Geographically speaking; the location is convenient and close to anything you need. You are just 6 miles from an International Airport, 3 miles from all the downtown action with great restaurants and night clubs, street concerts and shopping. 3 miles from the famous Worth Avenue in Palm Beach second only to Rodeo Drive in CA. One of the top rated hospitals is less than 1 mile from your front door steps.

 The structure of the building is solid concrete inside and out with impact glass windows and solid roofing that withstands high winds along with at least a 9 foot concrete sea wall.  Living on the water does not have to be expensive either! The HOA fees which include your wind and flood insurance are only $300 per month! WOW! Luxury living at a frugal price! The utilities are low also. The sellers' highest bill was like $250 and lows are $60 and $70 per month. Of course, that is their bill, yours will be up to you.

As we walked around the outside of the building we enjoyed full views of the intracoastal where ever our feet landed! There are two porch style patios that have their own personal touches. From one you can watch the yachts and action along the water and from the other porch/patio you can nap in quiet serenity on a hammock. Later in the evening we were greeted by a commercial fisherman who generously shared his catch of the day with us. This is the life, we shouted! And all this can be yours for a great price!

Inside the home we were greeted with Travertine Marble floors with Roman Cuts and oversized impact windows overlooking the expansive intracoastal water views. No curtains needed here! There are motorized blinds to block out the most amazing sunrises- although we would have no clue why you would want to do that! The sunrises are an amazing sight to behold here and all yours to treasure!

The nautical theme runs throughout the home along with top quality finishes that you just have to see to believe and appreciate. There is no way we can explain in words about all the details that make this the perfect nautical themed dream home for only $749,777.

Call today to schedule your private tour of your next south Florida waterfront home. Enjoy the movie below: 

To  view Florida Waterfront Properties- Click here. We know Palm Beach County Waterfront Homes and Condos- and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida: Call us today.

Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.*Live The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams In South Florida! 4806 N Flagler Drive #2 West Palm Beach Fl 33407*

Do you niche in expired listings? Expired listing marketing for increased profitability for your real estate business: 

One of our specialized niches that we market to and within are expired listings. In fact, over 90% of our luxury market listings are listings that were expired after being listed with other agents. Last year we closed over 10 million dollars in sales from picking up expired listings through our expired marketing letter and precise "cherry picking" of the listings to choose from to market to. 

Since we were featured "Success Agents" in the National Realtor® Magazine this month we have received a lot of emails, phone calls and contacts through our website from many agents around the country who are interested in doing an expired marketing letter or to get better at the ones they are currently involved with. We can not get back to each one of these emails and calls straight away but we will contact you over the next . 

As soon as the article came out we went on two additional luxury listing appointments that were from expired sellers who responded to our letter. You will see those listings on our Active Rain blog this week. One is a waterfront property listed in the 700K range and the other is near the river in Tequesta in the high 600K range. Both of these are amazing properties that we are very excited about selling. 

Most of the questions revolved around the type of letter and what the copy of our letter looks, says and feels like. While the letter is a key part of our marketing package- it is not all about the letter. The article in the magazine was not totally complete in the short space that the editor was able to use to highlight what we do. 

For starters I am going to list here a series of articles I wrote about working the expired listing niche and most of these have to do with the letter we send out. Please go through and read each one of these posts I wrote on our Active Rain blog. The links are here listed below. We even did a case study in which members of Active Rain posted their letters in the comment section and we then critiqued them each and chose the one that fit the WIIFM station the best. Please read the comment streams as they are filled with additional tips on improving your expired marketing letters. 

Do you Niche in Expired Listings? 

So You Want More Compelling Copy For Your Expireds? 

Expired Listings and Active Rain- Matchmaking That Works In Business.

Secrets of Success and The Road To Get There.  

Expired Listings are a Gold Mine- If you Mine It Right. 

Compelling Copy Part 1

Compelling Copy Part 2 and

Compelling Copy Part 3

When we market to expired listings through our direct mail we are NOT seeking an audience to pitch our listing presentation. We are actually getting rid of all of a seller's objections before they ever call us. Please add your name and information below if you would like more information the expired marketing program. 

The goal is to already have the listing by the time they call. The seller has already decided to list with us and now all they want to do is get going on our marketing plan. 

Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved " Do You Niche In Expired Listings? Expired Listing Marketing For Increased Profitability*

Active Rain Success Story- Featured Success Agents in Realtor Magazine 

Katherine Tarbox-Senior Editor- of Realtor® Magazine contacted us a few months ago. She had found our blog on Active Rain through a Google search. Katherine was interested in how we work our Expired Listing marketing program and read some of the posts I had written about Nestor and I working the expired listing niche.  Katherine interviewed us for the article and then Realtor® Magazine set up a photo shoot for the magazine. This is how we met our new photographer- Randy Smith. The magazine contracted with Randy Smith Photography to do the photo shoot locally here in Wellington Florida.  Here is the post I wrote about the photo shoot. 

We are in the March Issue of Realtor® Magazine and in the online version. Here is the link to the online version of the article. There is a lot more to running an expired listing program than what one article can say. I will work on some follow up articles to expand on some of the tips that Katherine brought up in her article. 

Emails started coming in about two days ago from agents around the country congratulating us for being in the magazine. That is how we knew the article came out. Many of the emails were from agents who are considering developing an expired listing marketing niche. Here is one of the emails we received from a local agent:

"If you recall we spoke not that long ago regarding the xxxxxxxxxx.  I just wanted to congratulate you on your piece in Realtor magazine this month. The article on yourself and your wife did not surprise me.  You both are the few that make this industry worth its while.  You are both true professionals. When I come across your listings I know the professionalism I am going to get. Good luck in 2010.
-- 
JASON QUERO
United Realty Group"

Active Rain works. We know several Active Rain members who have been found through Google searches by industry leaders and mainstream media for content in their magazines, newspapers and on their television shows. If you have not started blogging on Active Rain- you may be missing out on being discovered for your niche or expertise. 


Well, we still don't have our copy of the Realtor® Magazine but John Novak was kind enough to send us a link with the online version of the article and then Donna Bigda read that we did not have a copy of the article, she scanned and emailed us the article from the magazine. Correction for the article. Nestor did not open our brokerage until 2005. The article states 2000. In 2000 we were still working with Re/Max. 

Now we can show you some of the other photos that Randy Smith took on our photo shoot. We could not show them until after the article came out. 

Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.*Active Rain Success Story- Featured Success Agents*