Drive-In Theaters Almost a Thing of the Past

After moving to Apollo Beach, we had a nice little treat to realize that one of the last Drive-In Theaters still functional was a mere 3 minute ride down the street.  The Theater has been around for along time, same owners, and the movies that they play are the latest and greatest, not like some of the other hole in the wall theaters that play movies that are long since gone.

In addition, they have some of the best hamburgers and pizza around for cheap.  It’s always a family affair when you go to the drive-in.  People setting up their lawn chairs, everybody enjoying themselves, it’s like going back in time.

Again, the Apollo Beach area along with Ruskin have great surprises for all.  Sometimes you come across “Amenities” that the Tampa Real Estate market just can’t reproduce…and this is one of them.

Little Harbor Hidden Gem of Ruskin

Little Harbor is a little known area in and around the Apollo Beach / Ruskin Florida area.  When my wife and I first moved to Apollo Beach, no one ever spoke of Little Harbor and what was there.  It took us about a year an a half to actually find it.  It was truly amazing that this place even existed where it is.  Let me try to explain why I am so surprised.  First off, it is in the middle of literally no where, and I mean no where.  You have to drive about 2 miles off the main road and it appears that you are driving through boonyville to get there.  Then at almost the end of this road, there is a sign on the right…if you are not paying attention, you will miss it.  You take the right and low and behold, you enter a development with a private marina, private beach, beach front restaurant with live music on the weekends, water sports, pier, tennis courts, helipad, basketball courts, and so on and so on and so on.

Little Harbor is a fantastic place to own a second home/waterfront townhome.  With the Tampa Real Estate Market being what it is, there are plenty of deals and even a couple of Tampa Foreclosuresto add to the mix.  Little Harbor is truly worth the look if you want loads of amenities, private beach and restaurant, private marina and loads of privacy!

Please check out the quick video of Little Harbor here Tampa Real Estate Video Tours

Fishing in and Around Tampa Bay

Being a pretty active Realtor in the Tampa Bay Real Estate Market, sometimes I need to just “take a break” from the hustle and bustle of the way things are.  I had one such day this year so far (tell me about it) and was able to go out fishing in the bay with my buddy and his father on a chartered boat.  We left at about 7am out of Little Harbor in Ruskin, and proceeded out to the bay where we started fishing for snook.  Now if you have never fished for snook, it gives you a hell of a fight, swimming in and around the edge in the mangrove roots, these bugger’s are tough to get a hold of, but when you do, they head right for the waters edge.

We didn’t actually get any snook on the boat (I guess to smart for us) but we did catch grouper, trout, flounder, watched a couple manatees go by, listened to an occasional cheer come from another boat near by that caught something big, and a lot of sun.

All in All, it was a fantastic day, forgot about the world spinning around me, and enjoyed some great guy time on the water…isn’t that what life is all about!  Now it’s back to the hustle of the world as I know of, but I think about that day looking forward to the next time I will have sometime to take a break.

Why hire a High Tech Tampa Realtor

Coming from the High Tech industry has afforded me the ability to represent my clients in a unique way, with an advantage over other Realtors.  The Tampa Real Estate market is very competitive and it seems like Tampa Foreclosures are popping up everywhere, my goal is to get properties sold before that ever happens.  To do that, one must apply unique concepts and techniques in advertising homes, ways that most Real Estate Agents don’t fully have a grasp on.  The Internet is a big factor in today’s market and homes that are advertised online get sold four times faster than not.  This is the way of the Future of Real Estate.

NAR reports that more than 90% of buyers check the Internet first when looking for a home.  That is why we advertise on more than 500 search engines and websites to make sure your listings are seen more than any on the planet.  In addition, we don’t just limit it to local traffic, we advertise worldwide.  We are starting to see more than 10% of our traffic in today’s market coming from out of the country.  We have clients from Turkey, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and Africa just to name a few.

So if you are looking for the number one Real Estate Team in the Tampa Bay area, with more website presence than anyone, make sure you stop on by!

Tampa Beaches Like No Other

Ok, so I am a Tampa Realtor playing in the Tampa Real Estate Market, and constantly doing battle in the Tampa Foreclosures Market, so what do I know about beaches.  Well, let me tell you, I work 15 hour days, 7 days a week, but when I do take a day off, I want to make sure I make ever second count.  Coming from Cape Cod, where, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful beaches are, the Tampa Bay beaches hold a couple of things that the Cape Cod beaches will never have.

Pros:

Sand is like Butter
Parking is cheap
The water is like bath water
No salty smell

Cons:

No Salty smell (I like that smell for some reason)
The water sometimes can get too warm
Boats get too close to shore

The beaches of Cape Cod and Tampa Bay Area have their pros and cons.  I have been acclimated to the Florida lifestyle now and I don’t think I could go swimming in water colder than 85 degrees which is common in Florida (most people will not go swimming unless their pool is at least 85 degrees).  I recommend anyone from up North that is looking to come on down to Florida to please check out some of the great beaches Florida has to offer.  There is something here for everyone.

Tampa Real Estate Market in Recovery

Tampa Foreclosures have been declining, Buyers are looking for that home they thought the couldn’t afford but now can, the phones are starting to light up, and people are more optimistic regarding the real estate outlook.  Most buyers realize that these homes are at a price point that will not be like this for years to come.  The bottom is here and the only way to go is up.  Most are playing the Tampa Real Estate Market like the stock market, buy low sell high, well the low is here and now so go at it!

First time home buyers are looking, 2nd home buyers are realizing that now is the best time in years to buy and investors are trying to get their hands on as much property as they can.

The Market is prime for the recovery, now we will all see how long that takes.  Builders are not building any new inventory so what is there, is there!

Tampa MLS Site hits the Web

Team Masse is in the process of creating a new addition to its family of Websites - soon to be announced TampaBay MLS.com to it’s family of websites.  Tampa MLS will continue its focus on delivering complete Tampa Bay Real Estate information in conjunction with our Main Site Tampa Real Estate.

Team Masse continues to outperform other real estate companies around the Tampa Bay Area.  For more information on our services, please contact us at teammasse@findmyfloridahome.net.

 

Team Masse Looking for Buyers Agents for Tampa Real Estate Market

Team Masse is looking for Real Estate Agents to help handle Buyers for the Tampa Bay Real Estate Market.  We have been swamped lately with buyers looking for great deals in this market and there are many currently to choose from.  So if you are an Agent that is currently licensed in the State of Florida, want to be part of an aggressive team with leads supplied and listings to man, please come to our website at Keller Williams Tampa Bay and fill out our more information request form.  We will get back to you in short order.

 

MiraBay Great Development to Buy a Waterfront Home…Now!

I have a vested interest in this post as I live in MiraBay.  Carla and I bough just before things went crazy here in the Tampa Real Estate Market, so our price was not so bad.  For our Team, I do most of the Marketing and Carla does all the rest.  We have a few clients coming in the next few weeks to look in MiraBay and other Apollo Beach Homes and boy was I surprised at some of the statistics.  First off, there is approximately 150 homes for sale in MiraBay.  Out of those 150, the majority are Short Sale properties, meaning that the owner owes more to the lender than what the home is worth.  The lowest priced home currently looking at water is $300,000 and the next lowest is $314,900 (that is my listing click here to view  MiraBay Homes).  The lowest priced home with a dock and Pool is currently priced at $525,000 (another short sale).

MiraBay is a great community that needs a little fixing with this Mortgage mess, I guess like every other development across the country.  So if you are looking for a great community (and Mirabay is an award winning community), come on by and take a look, and if you want a Guided Tour, just stop on by

5 Oppose Little Harbor Rezoning Request

So here is the latest on the great Little Harbor debate in the great Tampa Real Estate Race.  There were 5 apposed to the little Harbor Rezoning Request put forth by Little Harbor, ie. Earthmark.  The 5 in opposition lived next to or near the development.  This does not make the debate dead, but there was no one that appeared at the hearing that was for the rezoning.  Those 5 sited problems with noise, parking issues, and traffic issues if this change went thru.

The next step is a recommendation on or before May 20th.  At that point, this will go to the County Commisioner for another hearing and vote on June 10th.  Will this ever end!

 

Stay tuned as things progress