Daytona Beach Real Estate Blog: May 2008

East Volusia county residents and visitors, here's a fun thing to do. Make your plans for June 3, 15 & 24, to join The Happy Wanderers Walking Club for their 5K and 10K "Going North for Summer" series of Walks.

• On June 3 at 6:00 p.m., the Happy Wanderers will meet in Tuscany Village in Venetian Bay.

• On June 15 at 9:00 a.m., you should meet at the Winn Dixie on S. Nova Rd. in Port Orange to start your Wandering.
  

• June 24 at 6:00 p.m., meet at Sunshine Park in South Daytona and Wander your way to happiness =)

The charge for each walk is $3.00 and many of the routes are wheelchair accessible, and allow for strollers. For more information, you can visit www.happywanderersfl.org or call 386-788-4026.

For those of you who are interested in buying or selling real estate in any of the cities above, or anywhere else in east Volusia county, make a Smart Choice and call Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

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Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS. The Smart Choice for all your real estate needs.

Hello Ormond Beach residents, and a warm welcome to all of you who are interested in buying real estate in Ormond Beach. We always welcome new residents as well!

This Friday, May 30, come to the north lawn of The Casements and enjoy Irish folk songs from the group called "The Pickin' Kind". This sounds like great fun to me!

Just don't forget your lawn chair! Unless of course, you feel like dancing a little jig all night... but if you do, can I have some pictures? I'm sure everyone reading this post would like to see your jig. LOL

Visit the page on my real estate web site, about Ormond Beach to get more information about this fun-filled evening with tickets costing only $2.50! You can't beat that!

If you're interested in history, The Casements in Ormond Beach has a wonderful story you may like to read. It's the former winter home of John D. Rockefeller.

This condominium complex in Holly Hill, just 1 mile from Daytona Beach, is absolutely beautiful and perfectly maintained. Where else can you rent a 1 bedroom condo for only $550 while also having access to the community pool, tennis, clubhouse and serene park right in the center?

Don't hesitate. Make a Smart Choice and call me today! Holly Square Condominiums is a wonderful place to call home!

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

If you're looking to buy a house in the Daytona Beach area, but aren't happy with all the Home Owner's Associations (HOA's) and restrictions, then Edgewater is the place for you. Most houses in Edgewater are on large lots with plenty of room for your boat, RV, or whatever you'd like to do.

This house at 2110 Sabal Palm Drive in Edgewater is immaculate and priced to sell! If you're not familiar with Edgewater, it's just south of the Daytona Beach area (just past New Smyrna Beach).

This house is absolutely beautiful. But if it's not the one for you, I have another house listed in the area, at 1808 Umbrella Tree Drive. It's not in the MLS, so feel free to e-mail me if you need more photos or information.

Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs. I'd love to help!

I never have to look very far to find something great about Port Orange, which is why so many people choose to buy real estate here. But yesterday, we gained another fantastic reason for people to move to Port Orange FL.

This weekend was graduation weekend for high school seniors all over Volusia county. My daughter was one of those graduating seniors.

Oblige me with a brief history of my daughter's school years in Port Orange. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I'm a Daytona Beach native. You probably also know that the Daytona Beach area actually includes 8 cities... Ormond Beach, Ormond by the Sea, Daytona Beach, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach Shores, Wilbur by the Sea, Ponce Inlet, South Daytona and Port Orange. I've lived in 5 of these cities at one time or another during my life.

Fast forward to 10 years ago. At that time, our family moved from South Daytona to Port Orange and my daughter Brittany began attending Sweetwater Elementary School. Sweetwater Elementary is a fabulous school with many specialized programs for the children, including a computer lab, music lessons and an art program. Brittany even won an award from Art Haus while she was there, for the drawing she submitted, of the school mascot. She then had the privilege of attending Creekside Middle School in the first year it was built, making her among the first class to attend all of their middle school years at Creekside, beginning at it's inception. She then, after years of anticipation, began high school at the enviable Spruce Creek High School.

At the Spruce Creek High School graduation ceremony, held at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center on Sunday morning, I heard some spectacular news and statistics...

1. Of this year's graduating class, 51% graduated with honors! I thought that was an incredible number! (My daughter graduated Magna Cum Laude- of course I'm bragging!) =D Click here to read about the recent Spruce Creek High School Honor's Banquet.
   
2. SCHS is once again, among the top 100 schools in the nation, as determined by Newsweek.
3. SCHS has the highest attendance rate in Volusia county, averaging over 96%.
4. It's once again, an A rated school!
5. It's ranked 2nd in the state by the Florida High School Athletic Association in the All Sports Category.

I could continue to tout the Spruce Creek High School accolades, but I think you get the idea. Port Orange has fantastic schools, which is a great incentive to buy real estate here.

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Port Orange FL, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

For more information about Port Orange, try some of my previous posts.

• Plan A Fun Outing in Port Orange
• Things to do in Port Orange
• Great Reasons to Move to Port Orange

Buy real estate in Port Orange FL. It's a smart decision!

In Daytona Beach FL and the surrounding cities of east Volusia county, we have a wonderful charity that helps feed those who can't feed themselves. As a REALTOR®, I'm used to working with people who are interested in buying real estate, and have not only managed to feed themselves and their families, but have mangaged to save enough extra money for a down payment for the mortgage on a new home, or have built up enough equity in their current home, to use as a down payment on their next one.

But according to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, and the Volusia Branch's Community Development Manager, 84% of the food they distribute does not go to the homeless! It actually goes to working families who just can't stretch their paychecks far enough. The worst part about this story is that 24% of the food distributed goes to hungry children.

Others who need assistance from the Second Harvest Food Bank are seniors who are struggling to make ends meet while on a fixed income. But in order to reach the most people who are in need, the Second Harvest Food Bank also serves more than 500 non-profit feeding programs and partner agencies.

As with all charities, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida needs assistance from volunteers. In this case, it takes thousands of volunteers to serve the many partner agencies. So if you'd lke to make a donation or offer your time, visit their web site at www.foodbankcentralflorida.org, or call 386-785-7612.

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Daytona Beach FL, make a Smart Choice and call Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

In this difficult buyers market, when every real estate listing has all the odds stacked against it, and slim chance of selling quickly, it's more important than ever that REALTORS® do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

I was recently reading a blog post by Susie Blackmon about a house that had been on the market over a year. As most of you know, in a buyer's market, having a listing on the market for over a year is not anything out of the ordinary. In the Daytona Beach area, we have over 2 years of inventory on the market right now. It's been that way for a couple of years now... (Hmm... I guess that means that if you have a listing that's priced properly and has been on the market for 2 years, it's almost your turn.)

But in Susie's post, the featured house that had been on the market for over a year, had 3 horrible photos in the MLS. And the house was priced at $1,495,000.00. But the worst part about the 3 horrible photos in the MLS was the fact that it's so easy to correct any problematic photos.

As REALTORS®, we have a responsibility to our clients, to do our best for them. REALTORS® are held to higher standards of practice than real estate agents who are not REALTORS®. Those higher standards of practice are spelled out in our Code of Ethics. But even real estate agents who are not REALTORS®, owe it to their sellers, to do all they can to sell their listings. And in this case, since the photos Susie displayed were found in the MLS, this indicates a high likelihood that the listing agent for that particular piece of real estate was a REALTOR®.

From the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, Article 12 states "REALTORS® shall be careful at all times to present a true picture in their advertising and representations to the public." Ironically, it's the "pictures" of the property in Susie's post that prove that whatever agent had that house listed, was in violation of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.

In the Daytona Beach Area Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS), we have spaces for 12 photos of every real estate listing. Unless I have a real ugly property listed, (Sorry, but it happens sometimes) I try to fill every space with a good, quality photo of the front of the house, each room in the house, a pretty exterior, and whatever I can find that will cause a potential buyer to want to buy that house, condo, townhouse, commercial building, mobile or manufactured home, or whatever I have listed. With the technology we now have at our fingertips, there's really no excuse to have sub-standard photos on a listing. You don't have to be an expert to make your listing look appealing. Photos can now be edited through personal software, or online. I see so many sub-standard listing photos that I wonder if the agent has been hiding under a rock, while technology passes by, or maybe they were drinking on the job could be the reason for the blur or crooked ones. (I'm joking... I think.) Do you know that today's photo processing programs make it incredibly simple to....

• Straighten crooked or tilted photos
• Brighten any photos that are too dark
• Sharpen or increase the contrast of anything that appears too blurry
• Auto-fix, or allow you to manually brighten or soften colors
• Crop out excess space around the focal point
• Add eye-catching borders

There are many more ways to improve photo quality through software or online programs. But perhaps one of the biggest problems with real estate photos is that the picture was taken with a cheap camera, or even worse, a camera-phone! It's my opinion that if this is your career, a good quality camera is a necessary investment and even a tripod can be purchased for under $25.00 at Sam's Club. The photo is what initially catches the eye of the potential buyer. The photo of the front of the real estate listing is the most imporant photo of all.

Of course, this means the responsibility is not all on the shoulders of the agent. If you're trying to sell a house, condo, townhouse or any other type of real estate, try distancing yourself from your "home", and seeing it through the eyes of your potential buyer."Curb appeal" should be as positive as possible. Serious real estate sellers need to have the house freshly painted, the yard neatly trimmed and landscaped with no debris or overgrown shrubs; driveways and walkways should be pressure washed; windows should be sparkling clean; the entry should be free of cobwebs; leaves should be removed; gutters cleared and anything else that effects the curb appeal should be improved.

Allow me to demonstrate some differences in photos. Here's a photo of one of my listings, as it's viewed in the MLS, on my web site, in blogs, in videos, etc.

And here's how that photo looked before I cropped it and added a border that would make it stand out more.

Since this particular house faces west, I waited until just before sunset to get photos that had the sun hitting the front of the house. The only thing that would help at this point would be to have the seller trim the trees, and move the truck out of the driveway. But since this seller lives elsewhere, I had to work with what I had, which was to have as little of the truck in the picture as possible, and get the best angle, so potential buyers could see the house through the trees.

If you're a real estate seller in the Daytona Beach area, I've sold real estate in every city in east Volusia county. Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

Lately I've read several blog posts from Active Rain bloggers who are receiving derogatory comments on their posts, and are seeing them on other posts as well. I knew this would eventually happen as the site continues to grow, but I was hoping it would be later, rather than sooner.

The scenario I'm about to share, is not one that I had planned on sharing. However, in light of what seems to be a rampant problem, I'm going to do my best to do it justice and not offend the parties involved... well, actually only one party is aware of this particular problem and that party is the one who consulted me.

Not long ago I had a conversation with a local REALTOR(r), who asked for my opinion on a situation that was brewing between himself and a REALTOR(r) here on Active Rain. (The other AR agent is someone I know only through blogging.) At that time, the agent I know personally, wanted to give this other Rainer a piece of his mind, in comment form. I discouraged him from doing so.

It seems that the agent who contacted me had very carefully worded a disagreeing comment on another agents' post. The local REALTOR(r) who contacted me, felt very strongly about this particular subject because he had just come be from a very specialized convention on the subject. So he disagreed, but he told me that he chose his words very carefully. He was now asking for my opinion because he knows I've been blogging for a long time and that I'm familiar with the "netiquette" in this arena. As it turns out, the other agent deleted his comment, which angered him and he now wanted to give her a piece of his mind.

First, let me explain his line of thinking, since if you only considered his side, sounds very logical and convincing. He felt that it was wrong to give the public the wrong impression of what was going on in the market. He was knowlegeable on this subject and wanted to make sure that consumers were not being misled. The public is already blaming everyone who has anything to do with the real estate industry, for all the problems that are happening in this time of crisis.

That seems pretty logical, doesn't it? Now I know that there are many unethical agents out there who will post anything to get business or points, and don't care if it's true or not. But in this case, I know enough about this other agent to know that was not the intention. It's my belief that the other agent was strictly sharing what was happening in their own neck of the woods. I don't believe there was any intentionally misleading information being given. But even if there was, here's the other side of the coin.

We each have our own blog that we use in hopes of gaining new business. I'd like to believe that most of us do our homework before we post to our blogs, and/or we speak from our own experience. So it's not about whether or not you intentionally hurt someone's feelings by deleting a comment from someone who disagreed with you. It's about being courteous to each other. You should do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Think of it this way. Would you want to spend an hour (or more) researching and writing a post, just to have another agent come along and possibly make you look bad, by posting a comment that told you you're wrong? I did not read the comment that was posted, so I can't say if there was a "tone" to it or not. I personally am sensitive to "tones". I don't think I'd delete a comment just because another agent disagreed with me. But I would expect them to be respectful of my turf. And I wouldn't take kindly to someone being disrespectful to me, or anyone else who had left a comment on one of my posts.

My mother raised us with the old adage "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". Now, this is business, so it's not as simple as not gossiping or slandering someone. We really don't want the public to believe erroneous information. I'll refer to my mother once more, since she was big on communication. My mother told us that we could get away with saying almost anything, to anybody, if we said it in the right way.

So keeping in mind what I was taught growing up, if I felt very strongly about something, I might post a comment that disagreed, but unles the other person was a complete idiot (OK. I acknowedge that they do exist.) I would want to leave the person with their dignity intact. So somewhere in my comment, I would leave the other person an "out". Example: If I read a post that I disagreed with, and felt so strongly that I felt obligated to respond with a disagreeable comment, I would probably end the comment with something along the lines of,

• "but you are in a different area, so maybe we're not seeing the same circumstances."
  

Or, I could leave a comment like this.

• "You know, I haven't experienced anything like this in my area. In our area we're experiencing the exact opposite. Isn't it strange how drastically different things can be in different areas?"
  

Or...

• "Yours is the first post I've read that has this information. Where did you find out about it?"
  

I hope you get the idea. It's about being respectful of another person's "space". And for the record, the agent who contacted me, eventually decided to just write his own post on the subject, after he had cooled down ;)

People, let's keep a professional face on our industry. We're not always going to agree. There are now more business models than ever, and there's the ongoing debate of "national vs local brokerages", and then there's the "virtual office vs actual office" debate. And so on, and so on. But unless we want the public to have an even lower opinion of our industry, we need to behave in a professional manner. The key word in my last sentence is actually not "professional". It's "manner". As in, use good "manners". Some people have no class and that's unfortunate. But anyone with enough determination, can at least keep their mouth (or keyboard in this case) shut when necessary. Or we can always agree to disagree. That's usually the best course of action.

If you're a new blogger and are unsure about how to get started with blog writing and commenting, here's some good writing advice... Write better blogs!

Happy Blogging!

Home buyers who are thinking about moving to Daytona Beach, make sure you don't overlook the beautiful city of Port Orange, just 7 miles south of Daytona. I'm a Daytona Beach native, I've sold real estate in every city in Volusia county, and I personally live in Port Orange.

One of the best things about Port Orange is the City Center. I've written several posts about events happening at the Port Orange City Center. The event that most locals are familiar with doesn't happen until October, called Port Orange Family Days. So you'll have to wait a few more months to attend that event. But this weekend, May 18 and again on June 8, there will be Concerts in the Park, at the Kenneth Parker Amphitheater. Both concerts will feature "G and the Boomers" and start at 6:00 p.m. Aside from the great music, one of the best features of the concerts is that they're FREE! If you have questions, or need more information, you can call 386-506-5963.

If you'd like to buy a beautiful house in Port Orange, check out this gorgeous 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with approximately 2500 square feet of living area, on one acre, in a great location near Spruce Creek High School. If you have children, Port Orange has fantastic schools. My daughter will be graduating from Spruce Creek High School next week, with honors. (Yes, I'm proud.) And if you're not aware of this, Florida has a program called Bright Futures that offers scholarships to graduating children with a GPA of 3.5 and higher, and between 50 and 100 hours of community service. The scholarship percentage is dependent on the number of community service hours.

To learn more about Port Orange, try reading some of my other blog posts...

• Plan A Fun Outing in Port Orange

• Things to Do in Port Orange

• Reasons to Move to Port Orange, FL

• Port Orange, FL - A Great Place to Live

• Picture Yourself in Port Orange

A few days ago I had to report some bad news about Daytona Beach's Seaside Music Theater. It turns out that SMT had to cancel their entire summer season, after the Daytona Beach News Journal who has been the grand sponsor of the Theater for over 30 years, withdrew their support.

Well, it's not live theater, but Cinematique Films, at The Book Store, located at 410 S. Nova Rd. in Ormond Beach, is playing The Diving Bell and The Butterfly until June 20. Member prices are evenings, $6.00 and matinees $4.00. Non-member prices are $2.00 more. For more information, including films and times, call 386-252-3778.

For those of you who won't settle for anything less than live theater, from May 16-25, the Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach will be featuring "Cahoots". Check the web site for dates and times. For more things to do in the area, read my previous post about the Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach, which is full of links to all sorts of great activities and places to visit in New Smyrna Beach!

If you're considering buying real estate in Volusia county, there are so many things to do in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and every other city in Volusia county, you could stay busy and entertained every night. As a Daytona Beach native, I'm familiar with and expereienced in selling real estate in every city in Volusia county. Make a Smart Choice and call Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

Florida residents and visitors who are looking for updates on the wildfire situation, here's the information I've been able to gleen so far this week. I know a lot of you have been looking for information on the recent Florida fires, since I've been getting comments on my previous blog post, about the fires from last year. So to avoid confusion, I decided I'd better post some updated information for 2008.

It started as a brushfire on Sunday. And then...

This past Monday, a 600 acre brush fire broke out in Daytona Beach, very near the LPGA Golf and Country Club/housing development and mandatory evacuations were being ordered. The irony is, Volusia county has very little natural gas. Most people who want to cook on a gas stove, need to have propane tanks. Approximatelly 75-80% of our homes are strictly electric. But LPGA is one of the few locations that actually has natural gas, which caused the fear levels to be raised up a notch. It's also important to mention that the Halifax Humane Society is in that same area and the animals had to be evacuated as well!

Now to backtrack a little bit, to a time which I just realized was actually a decade ago, when it seemed like the entire state was on fire. At that time, the wind was blowing and the fire was jumping across I-95, making it impossible to contain. Then, when the fire fighters thought they had the fire put out, it would just start again, a few hundred yards from where the fire fighters had just extinguished the fire. What was happening was, the fire was actually travelling underground, burning the tree and shrub roots, then coming back to the surface in another location. Since that time, our fire departments have posted daily notices pertaining to the level of fire threats for each particular day. Our fire fighters have also continuously done controlled burns, to keep the shrubs and underbrush from becoming as think and hazardous as in the past. Thanks to these precautionary measures, this year's fires haven't been travelling at the speed, or by the same methods as in previous years. But, I suppose it's needless to say that areas that have natural gas sources require extra concern and precaution. So there were 600 mandatory evacuations in the LPGA area on Monday, but NO HOUSING DAMAGE was incurred, and no power outages were reported, thanks to the 9 fire departments that were fighting those fires!

On Tuesday, the fires continued to burn in the LPGA area and now had encompassed 800 acres, but although these were now contained, fires were being reported in other parts of the state, and Governor Charlie Crist declared a State of Emergency. I had to drive on I-95 for a while on Tuesday, to install a sign and flyer box on one of my listings in Edgewater, and noticed several warning signs that at some future point, travelers would have to exit the interstate becuase of the fires, so I assume they have traveled further south. Thankfully, I didn't encounter any problems between Port Orange and Edgewater.

Today (Wednesday) I've seen no news about any fires in Volusia county, but there are smoke warnings for those who have allergies, asthma and other breathing difficulties.

See photos and a slide show of the LPGA forest fires.

Buy or Sell Daytona Beach real estate

Daytona Beach residents, visitors and anyone who is considering a move to the Daytona Beach area, please read this post! This may have a big impact on you!

Those of you who regularly read my blog may have become accustomed to my periodic posts about the fantastic presentations at Seaside Music Theater. I've been waiting with anticipation, for the time when I could announce the presentation of "Les Miserables" that was scheduled for June.

Unfortunately, it's with great regret instead, that I have to provide you with this information. The entire summer season has been cancelled for reasons according to the SMT web site as being due to lack of support from the Daytona Beach News Journal, who in the past as a big sponsor! According to Lester Malizia, the artistic director of Seaside Music Theater, they hit unexpected funding problems. (possibly the lack of funding bomb that was dropped on them by the Daytona Beach News Journal?) and were forced to notify dozens of cast and crew at the last minute.

The only ray of light is, by cancelling the summer season, the company will use this time to reorganize, and hopefully be able to avoid bankruptcy.

If you're a ticket holder for any of the cancelled shows, you'll be able to keep your "ticket credits" to be used for shows in future seasons. You also have the option of donating the credit back to the theater, to help SMT continue to provide educational programs. These donations would be tax deductible. You may also be interested in becoming an Event Sponsor. Contact the theater through their web site for more information.

This news is going to be a big impact on many Daytona Beach area locals this summer. But if you have a high appreciation for theater and don't want to go all summer without seeing any production, don't forget about The Daytona Playhouse at 100 Jessamine Blvd. in Daytona Beach. It's not on the same scale as SMT, but I've heard good things from locals who have seen productions from the Daytona Playhouse before. Another local theater "The Little Theater" of New Smyrna Beach.

Thanks for reading, and if you're interested in buying or selling real estate in the Daytona Beach area, I'd love to help. I've sold real estate in every city from Edgewater to Flagler. Checkout my real estate listings here. And visit my web site for plenty of real estate info for the Daytona Beach area. If you're interested in Port Orange real estate, I have a special section of the site for that city. And last but not least, if you fall into one of the following categories... Real Estate Buyer or Real Estate Seller, click the applicable link for helpful information.

It's been too long since my last post about Florida's Wetlands and how to protect our environment, so I decided it was time for some more education on the subject, with focus on Volusia County, which is Daytona Beach and the surrounding cities. If you're a resident of the Daytona Beach area, or are considering a move to Volusia County, I hope you find this information to be of interest.

I'm going to write this post as just a list of the Species of Concern. Our wetland species that are in danger can be placed into three categories...

1. Species of Concern,
   
2. Threatened, and
   
3. Endangered, with Species of Concern being the species that are least threatened.

This post is going to focus on the Wetland Species of Concern, which are species that the federal or state government have deemed as a concern, but on which they have not yet compiled enough data to categorize as threatened or endangered. Current species of concern are... (Each species listed, is linked to more information.)

American Alligator I had a hard time believing this one. Being born and raised here, I've seen MANY alligators. I even had to stop my car and wait for one to cross the road one time. But that's been a while. And before you get too happy about the thought of not having any gators around, remember that the earth's ecosystem is precariously balanced. Everything God placed on this earth was for a reason, and serves a purpose.

American Oystercatcher

Black Skimmer

Diverse-Leaf Crownbeard

Least Tern

Limpkin

Little Blue Heron

Reddish Egret

Snowy Egret

Tri-Colored Heron

White Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Gopher Frog I find these everywhere. I picked up 8 on a walk the other night... yes, I picked up all 8 of them. I love frogs! Soooo, I'm questioning the concerns about these =)

I also thought it was noteworthy to mention that in writing this post, I've run across quite a bit of contradictory information. Of course, this list is of the species on which researchers have not yet gathered enough information. When I post the next category, "Threatened Species", hopefully, we'll see the defining lines become more clear.

In case you're interested, here are my previous posts... Florida's Vanishing Wetlands, Florida's Aquifer's (Vanishing Wetlands part two), A Problem in Florida's Ecosystem, and this one which is not part of the series, but provides information on local activities with the Daytona Beach Bird Watchers and the Halifax Audubon.

I'll try not to wait so long to post my next installation in this series on protecting Florida's wetlands.

If you're considering a move to Daytona Beach or any coastal cities in Volusia county, I'd love to help. Make a Smart Choice today and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

This year, the Daytona Beach police explorers got creative in their fundraising. They decided to sell police caricature T-shirts, depicting our police officers as the "Scumbag Eradication Team".

This is great! LOL. And apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. The police explorers originally only printed 300 of the T-shirts that say "Scumbag Eradication Team. Not in our Town!" Those 300 shirts all sold within 3 days. So another 250 were ordered, and again sold right away. I have no news on how long the program will continue.

The Explorer team, and now the accompanying T-shirts serve the purpose of helping teens, aged 14-19 learn about careers in law enforcement. I read in a local new article that the idea actually came from the father of Police Chief Mike Chitwood, who is the police superintendent in Pennsylvania. Apparently father and son, liberally use the word scumbag to define criminals. And Superintendent, Mike Chitwood Sr. ran a variation of the same program a couple of years ago.

As usual, there are critics who say the shirts send the wrong image, but overall, the program has been a huge success in paying for the uniforms of the Police Explorers.

Whatever your personal feelings on the T-shirt, it's good to know that education is being offered to teens and our local police are on the job.

If you're considering a move to Daytona Beach, FL, make a Smart Choice today. Contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron, for all your real estate needs.

Daytona Beach real estate MLS listings

View videos of my real estate MLS listings

Recently, some Port Orange neighbors had a feud over a 1,000 watt light bulb that was shining from one house, onto the other.

As usual, not all neighbors can get along. And in this case a feud between nieghbors over a bright light, resulted in a change in the rules regarding how bright, outdoor louds are allowed to be. This new rule was added to the city's Nuisance Ordinance. It basically allows for safety lights, but not nuisance lights. So you're not allowed to decide you dislike your neighbor, and install excessively bright lights that shine directly on neighbor's house.

Yeah, I know. It sounds ridiculous that a simple feud would result in such silliness, but it sometimes happens. I'm just happy that I live in a city that takes it seriously when citizens have complaints or concerns. I'm a Daytona Beach native, which is just 7 miles north of Port Orange, and I sell real estate all over Volusia County. But I live in Port Orange and I love it! That much is evident in the many blog posts I've written about Port Orange. You can read them below =)

Picture Yourself in Port Orange

Plan A Fun Outing in Port Orange

Port Orange City Center and Family Days

Port Orange FL- A Great Place to Live

Things to Do in Port Orange FL

Reasons to Move to Port Orange FL

Port Orange Spruce Creek High School

And here's a fabulous house for sale in Port Orange wth 2500 square feet of living area, with a brand new kitchen and other upgrades, located on one acre. The price has just been drastically reduced!

View all my real estate listings here. And learn more about Port Orange, along with some fabulous photos here.

This is not a real estate post. Yes, I'm a REALTOR. But I'm also a wife, a mother, a singer, an artist and a fitness instructor.

A quick background: I had an eating disorder when I was younger, and I've now suffered from severe Fibromyalgia for 7 years. I'm only 40 years old. Life hasn't always dealt me the best deck of cards; and with the real estate market being as difficult as it is right now, I'm in another difficult season. But I've learned a few things and I'd like to share them with you.

• This too shall pass... In life, we will continually pass through cycles of good and bad times. But it all works out eventually. And I say this as I sit here during one of the bad times... with severe Fibromyalgia and a very tight wallet. But I know it will pass.
• Most people really DO want you to succeed. As a perfectionist, this is something I have to continually tell myself. I have extremely high expectations of myself, and of others. But God doesn't expect me to be perfect. He only expects me to trust in Him, seek His face, and repent for my wrong-doings. I tell my daughter to strive for excellence, not perfection. This coming Sunday, when I lead the congregation in worship, I'll have to remind myself of this again =/
• There are ALWAYS people who love you. Even when you don't know it or can't convince yourself to believe it, it's still true. And prayer will lead you to them, or them to you, in your times of need.
• You can do everything right, and some people will still not be happy. That's their problem, not yours. Just let it go. For some reason, I find this easier to accomplish in business than in my personal life. Maybe because I can separate business from personal? Regardless of the reason, it's still true. It's just harder to accept when it's a loved one. But you CAN overcome and live freely!
• You don't have time in your life, for unhealthy relationships. (Refer to the previous paragraph) You can only change yourself. Get rid of toxic people in your life, no matter who they are!

I know this post is sounding like a self-help book. Perhaps I needed to reaffirm some things for myself and I always like to share those times with others.

Another thing. I taught aerobics from the time I was 18 until I was 34. I even did competitive aerobics in my mid 20's. I also taught Spinning, Aquatics and Step. But at 34, the Fibromyalgia got too painful for me to work out at the level to which I was accustomed. Giving up aerobics was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. It was like giving up a part of who I was. But I then started teaching yoga. (God had opened another door.) And I found that I really enjoyed yoga. And of course, as the instructor, I didn't have to teach anything that was against my Christian beliefs. But last year I had to give up yoga too. Once again, the Fibromyalgia had worsened and I realized that if I wanted to keep working in real estate, the yoga would have to go. So once again, another piece of what defined me was taken away. And this time, there was no other door.

But those things are not really what defines me. Because I'm only who God says I am. And He sees me as the child He created and loves and wants to promote to a higher level in my life. And more than ever, I'm learning to rely on God. That's what He really wanted from me all along. We have too many distractions in our lives that keep us from hearing His still, small voice. But this time of re-learning who I am... who God has called me to be... what the next experience will be... will also pass, as I continue to lay every burden at His feet, and learn, and grow, and become the woman who will walk the path He has called me to walk.

Jeremah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I have an awesome future! And so do you!

I'll be teaching yoga again soon. I've already started training again. The break from teaching, (the only time in 21 years), not only gave me time to reflect and draw near to God, but it gave my muscles time to relax and heal as well. <=D And I'll bet that when I start teaching again, I'll be a better instructor, an encourager, a mentor, a helper, a giver, and an all-around less selfish person: One who is focused on the needs of others.

My focus has shifted. It's still shifting. I imagine that will be a life-long process of putting the needs of others before myself. And when we reap the rewards of a life that is lived for the glory of God, it's worth so much more than anything we can accomplish in our own strength, or because of our own selfish desires.

A long time ago, God showed me that some customers will be put in my life NOT for me to ever make a sale. God's plans are so much bigger than ours. Sometimes He just wants us to encourage people and pray for them, without expecting something in return. This is why it's so necessary to keep our eyes on Him; so we don't miss what He is wanting from us. The reward for this type of obedience is FAR greater than a paycheck!

Matthew 14:29-31 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Where is your focus? Are you looking at the storm? Lift your vision higher. When your eyes are on Christ, you can walk on water... (After a season of testing =/ ) When you focus on the problem, the problem just gets bigger until that's all you can see. But when we keep our eyes on Christ, all the problems seem smaller. Then we can have joy, peace and hope, no matter what the circumstances.

Phillippians 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Well, once again I've written a post that was completely different than what I had intended. So I can only assume that someone (in addition to myself) really needed to hear this. God bless you all.

This too shall pass. Don't lose focus.

Oh! And my beautiful daughter will be graduating with honors this month, with a full scholarship, and attending a bible college, relatively close to home. I guess it depends on where you look. You can always find something good to focus on... if you're willing to stop feeling sorry for yourself.

For those of you who are reading this post and were expecting real estate information, I can certainly help with that too! For all your real estate needs, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS.

ALL CONTENT WRITTEN IN THIS POST IS OWNED BY LISA HILL. THE FAMILY PHOTO IS OWNED BY LISA HILL. YOU MAY NOT DUPLICATE ANY OF THIS MATERIAL. OTHER PHOTOS ARE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

For those of you in the Daytona Beach area who enjoy theater, and would enjoy an inexpensive way to spend an afternoon or evening, you should familiarize yourself with the Daytona Playhouse. 

This month; May 9-18, 2008 The Daytona Playhouse presents "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife". I read the description on the Playhouse web site and it looks like a lively and fun presentation =)

Show dates and times are as follows... May 9 and 10 at 8:00 p.m., May 15 and 17 at 8:00 p.m., and May 11 and 18 at 2:00 p.m. Prices range between $10.00 and $16.00.

The Daytona Playhouse is located at 100 Jessamine Blvd. in Daytona Beach. For more information, visit their web site or call 386-255-2431. 

If you're considering moving to the Daytona Beach area, I'd love to help. I'm a Daytona Beach native, with experience selling real estate from Edgewater to Flagler and in every city between. Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

Want to know more about Lisa? Go here: www.DaytonaBeachNative.com 

Visit my primary web site at www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

View my listings at www.PropertiesofDaytona.com

View my real estate videos at www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateVideos.com  More videos coming soon! 

No points for this one. I just wanted to share this ridiculous phishing e-mail I just got. That sad part is, people are obviously still falling for these scams, or they wouldn't still be circulating  =/

FROM THE DESK OF REV.JOHNSON IBE
DIRECTOR,INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE
FOREIGN OPERATIONS DEPT,
OCEANIC BANK OF NIGERIA PLC,
LAGOS-NIGERIA.
Telephone: +234-8077054698,

Notification of payment by ATM Master Credit Card

Attn:N S Shankar,

We hereby officially notifying you about the present arrangement to pay you, your over due contract/inheritance fund through (Master Express Credit Card) This arrangement was initiated/constituted by the World Bank and Paris Club, due to fraudulent activities going on within the African Region.

The World Bank and Paris Club introduced this payment arrangement as to enable our contractors/inheritance beneficiary to receive their fund without any interference. the Master Express Credit Card was contracted and powered by GOLD CARD WORLD WIDE.

Reconfirm the following information to us for Security reason.

1)YOUR FULL NAME
2)YOUR RECEIVING ADDRESS.
3)YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER
4)YOUR PROFESSION 

Upon the receipt of this mail we are going to load your fund into the Master Express Credit Card and send a scan copy of the card to you before we will proceed to dispatch the card directly to your nominated home address so you absolutely have nothing to worry about all we need is your Prompt Response and Co-operation by Gods Grace we will have a successful Transaction.

We awaiting for your immediate response.

NB: Please reply to my personal mailbox: oceanicbank121@gmail.com

CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE

BEST REGARDS,

REV.JOHNSON IBE

DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE
FOREIGN OPERATIONS DEPT,
OCEANIC BANK OF NIGERIA PLC,
LAGOS-NIGERIA.
Telephone: +234-8077054698,

CC: ALL FOREIGN INHERITANCE FUNDS
CC: BOARD OF DIRECTORS [FPD]
CC: ACCOUNTANT GENERAL OF NIGERIA

FTR, I do not have an L on my forehead. I won't be responding to this phishing scam. D'oh! 

Real estate buyers and sellers, please allow me to vent my frustrations with our current real estate market. I invite you to read along and hopefully, get an inside look at some of the problems that are contributing to today's real estate market conditions.

I was just reading a post by Richard Zaretsky titled "Back to Basics-A Review on Short Sales". His post is chock full of more information than I can digest in one sitting. I bookmarked it for future reference. I also sent a link to one of my clients who is facing eminent foreclosure if we can't get a short sale for her ASAP.

Here's the problem I'm having. As a REALTOR®, I want to provide the best possible service to all my clients. But I have my hands full staying abreast of the real estate market and keeping my sellers updated with any current sales and how those sales will affect their real estate values. I also have to constantly update and tweek every web site and blog where I have my listings posted. So although the market is down and sales are few, that doesn't necessarily lessen the amount of work I have to do. It just means my focus is in a different area.

Which brings me to my current problem. The mortgage industry is going through more changes than the real estate industry. There's not enough funding to go around, even for the very few buyers we do have. And the rules of the game are changing by the day. So while real estate sales and real estate financing are closely intertwined, they are still two separate industries. There are agents who hold real estate and mortgage licenses, but they're only going to excel in one field. You can't be an absolute expert in both. I personally want to be an expert in the real estate industry so I can provide my clients with the best possible service. But I've always maintained a basic knowledge of what was happening in the mortgage industry as well. It's only logical that real estate buyers are going to have financing questions while they're going through the buying process. And while I will usually just make a quick phone call to their mortgage broker or lender and hand the phone to them while we're in the field, I still want to be able to answer their basic questions. The same goes for my real estate sellers. I can't help them to understand why they need to price their house or condo aggressively, or explain why properties are taking longer to sell, without explaining the problems that are happening in the mortgage industry as well.

So while I'm providing the mortgage information that I've gleaned from mortgage brokers and lenders, and most importantly, from other mortgage bloggers, I can't help but feel like I'm not providing my real estate sellers with enough information, no matter how hard I try. Of course, blogging is a huge help, when I'm able to forward a link to a post that I know will help my client, but I am admittedly a perfectionist. And my clients are important to me, not just because of a paycheck. But even if I had every answer in the book, real estate buyers and sellers don't have time to listen to it all, nor will they retain that much information. And most of them don't want to know. They just want to buy or sell real estate, and have a smooth transaction. They expect us to handle all the details. But this crazy market is making that increasingly more and more difficult. And most of the difficulties are coming from the mortgage area. That much is evidenced by the infighting and/or disagreements between mortgage brokers. If you really want to see the evidence of that, read Janet Guilbault's post titled "Mortgage Pro Week in Review 4/28 - 5/4: The Envelope Please". Janet took the time to insert a lot of links to the posts of other mortgage experts, with all their differing perspectives.

So I pose the questions to other real estate agents.

• Is it just my own perfectionism, thinking out loud, or are you experiencing similar problems?
  
• Do you feel like you can still provide the best service to your clients, the way you used to, or is the current mortgage climate hindering your efforts?
  
• How are you handling the unique problems that we're now encountering?

Real estate buyers and sellers, if you're interested in moving to the Daytona Beach FL area, make a Smart Choice and call someone who genuinely cares and will turn over every rock to do the best job possible to make your real estate transaction as smooth as possible. Call Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

The Daytona Beach Symphony Guild will be hosting an Annual Luncheon Sunday, May 5, 2008 at Indigo Lakes Golf Club. The Indigo Lakes Golf Club is located at 312 Indigo Drive in Daytona Beach, FL.

The luncheon starts at 11:30 a.m.

For more info, call 386-675-8335. 

Also, this Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at the Peabody Auditorium, you can appreciate the Music And Dance from Ecuador, by Yarina.  The show starts at 7:30 p.m.  For more info call 386-671-3461.

If you're considering buying or selling real estate in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS.