Hi! Is it really only mid July? We’ve been having 100 and above heat indexes in the beginning of June! Is it just me or has this been one of the hottest summers ever? I can’t imagine it being any hotter. It’s actually made me rethink my love for volleyball….. Or at least for afternoon volleyball. It’s absurdly hot and sucks the life right outta ya unless it’s after 6:30 pm. I’ve questioned my sanity on our Sunday 1 PM games. Aside from the heavy heat and humidity, the weather is gorgeous. Beautiful blue skies and Florida’s famous out of nowhere thunderstorms where the rain comes down in buckets reminding you of how quickly Mother Nature can work her magic. I’m hoping one day she chooses to refill our lakes out in Keystone so my property values out there improve 🙂

Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Suwannee River and am looking at buying property on a beautiful high bluff close to the Sante Fe. The constantly changing river and wildlife has such a beautiful energy. It’s been a fun experience checking out the various properties along the Suwannee and learning about the various flood areas, sandy bottoms, springs, swells, various widths of the river, setback requirements etc. It’s a good reminder how important having a good Realtor is and that it really is time consuming finding the right property.  I’m a Realtor and have all the tools needed to search out the perfect property and yet it’s still very time consuming and not the easiest of tasks. Even with a good Realtor it’s so important to view the properties you’re considering in person especially if it’s not a cookie cutter style community in a suburb. There are some things you just won’t know until you experience the property by walking it and getting a feel for the land and the neighborhood. Having a great app like Realtor.com is a must. We would ride the jet ski and explore the areas by water being able to see the various property information and pictures on the app as we rode by them. I think it’d be very cool to have an organized river run open house and load up customers on a pontoon boat and take them to the various properties along the river and maybe stop for lunch along the way at a sandy beach!  It sure helps you get an idea of the values so you can make an informed decision.

Things are also heating up in the property management world and we’re in the heart of the famous “turn over season of Gainesville”. We’ve had a handful of properties turn over at the end of June and will have a larger handful throughout July. I am so thankful for how organized and attentive to detail my assistant Laura Garcia is. Because we have such good policies and systems in place coupled with her superb work habits we are able to keep our vendors on track with the multitude of work that happens at this time of year. Getting property after property, painted, cleaned and maintained and new tenants moved in one to two weeks later. We also have a lot of new owners come to us this time of year needing their property made ready for new tenants. The only way we’re able to accomplish such a large amount of work in a small amount of time is through our good trusted practices – Laura’s commitment to excellence, combined with our trusted quality vendors.  Every year it’s a challenge to see how much better we can accomplish it. There will always be bumps and the unexpected but it’s how quickly, thoroughly, and friendly, you accomplish it that matters. A big thank you to our awesome vendors like, Michael Byrne, Stellar AC, Deidre and Reggie at Carpet Systems Plus, Rocky at Titletown Plumbing and Scott Grady and of course our Laura! Keep up the great work we’re halfway there!

I made a little video of last weekend’s trip to Bob’s River place on the Suwannee. It was my first time visiting and we brought my 4 year old granddaughter Alicia. She had a blast! This place is so cool with its great big slides and rope swings into the river and its many handmade amusement water games like the log roll, hammock throw, rafting wars and the karaoke stage. It’s a must visit for sure! Enjoy ~