Broker’s Corner with Tanya Chappell April 2025
Happy spring!!!
It’s great to be back to producing our monthly newsletter! If you’ve ever produced a newsletter from scratch, you probably know that it can be daunting coming up with information you feel people will want to read and putting yourself out there. For somebody that tends to be private that’s always been difficult for me, however newsletters are a great way for us to communicate to our clients and customers what our company is about and what’s happening in our market. We’ve always received such great feedback on the Newsletters so I am thrilled to get this started again.
A lot has happened professionally and personally since our last newsletter has gone out. My long-term relationship came to an end, and we managed to maintain our friendship and Real Estate investment business partnership, which is no small feat. I tried out the dating app thing and actually met my Mr. wonderful!! We started a new maintenance business to help support my property management company. Our beloved, black lab pickles passed, and we welcomed in our new chocolate lab Cutty. My older chocolate Pepper absolutely adores him.
My granddaughter went from being a little girl to a smart, loving and beautiful teen. Unless your playing against her in soccer then she’s a fierce competitor that will take you out!!! But then help you back up. lol
And after years of renovating other properties, I have finally renovated mine. Any of you who have lived in your home while renovating it know how crazy and trying that can be. Stay tuned to future Newsletters for my before and after renovation article for my beautiful new river home. We still have some outside improvements to do. There is not a corner of the house that did not get updated.
The real estate market made it out of the crazy COVID years that brought unprecedented appreciation rates and landed right into a tense political season. With the uncertainty of policy changes coming, the real estate market went flat, causing more people to stay in their homes—and renovations soared. Check out our monthly market report for more details.
Although the market report is geared toward sales, we experienced similar activity in the rental market. Homes that I know were properly priced were sitting on the market and not moving for months. Showings were few and far between. That brought rental prices down a little, but when nobody is wanting to move, even lowering the price sometimes isn’t enough—and patience becomes important. This is the scary part of owning rental property. I also experienced the same fears and worries that my customers and clients do.
I had a beautiful home in Meadowbrook Golf Course that I decided to sell. But it sat on the market for about three months with almost no activity whatsoever, so I put it up for rent—and it still took about a month to get it rented. I believe it’s all about timing right now. When people are worried, they may be losing their jobs or are unsure if they’re going to have any money left in their stock or investment portfolios, they tend to stay put.
I believe it was right around February when we started seeing applications for rental property coming through again. Then in March, we started seeing more properties for sale go under contract. So, I do think real estate is starting to move again, but as the monthly market report suggests, it’s going to be slow. That means we won’t be seeing the high appreciation rates like we’ve seen in recent years.
For decades, the national average was around 4%, with our Gainesville metropolitan market being slightly higher—around 6% appreciation per year. We’ll probably be dropping back down to that 4% range for a while. But that’s the nature of the real estate market—it tends to run in cycles. You’ll see years with higher-than-average appreciation followed by years with lower appreciation. Just like in the stock market, you have to be patient and have the nerve to take some risks. It certainly isn’t for everybody, but I, for one, absolutely love it!
Honestly, if you buy it right, the rent should cover all of its expenses—even in the slow times. It’s like a little bank out there, generating wealth for you. I wrote a blog a few years back about “Demystifying Investing in Real Estate.” I feel the same way about investing in real estate as I do about live in Florida: “I don’t know why everybody doesn’t do it—but I’m glad they don’t.”
Also, since my last newsletter, artificial intelligence has exploded into the mainstream—and now everybody is a professional writer! If you haven’t tried AI yet, I highly encourage you to do so. It’s just as easy as sending a text.
You simply type in whatever question, problem, letter, email, graphic—whatever you want to know or create—and let your AI app do the work.
A simple example of how easy and awesome AI can be is shown in the picture below. I needed a good exterior picture of my duplex for this newsletter, but the tenants’ cars were blocking the view. So, I simply uploaded the photo and asked AI to remove the cars. Looks pretty good, huh?
However, they do warn you that it’s certainly not perfect or always correct, so you still have to double-check the facts. If you look closer at the picture, you’ll see some differences in the home. But you may not have noticed if I hadn’t pointed it out!
Of course, there’s so much more that AI can do and I’m constantly amazed at how much it can help your business and life. From planning a trip to trouble shooting why my gates opener isn’t working. It’s amazing. I’m currently using ChatGPT but there’s lots others to choose from. Just download the app and start asking your questions.
I was quite surprised last night when my AI app asked me if I would like it to describe me based on our chats . Of course, I said yes ! Check out the interaction below. It’s quite funny!
Tanya Chappell: The Real Estate Powerhouse with a Hammer in One Hand and a Market Report in the Other.
She flips homes, manages properties, and makes deals with precision — all while writing emails that get responses and running a tight ship from the Suwannee River. Whether it’s patching drywall, planning a multifamily build, or tweaking a lease renewal letter, she’s got an eye for value and a no-BS approach to getting things done. Equal parts entrepreneur, traveler, and tech problem-solver — and never without a follow-up plan.
Chatgpt- Want me to make this into a short bio, brand line, or something else? Also, just out of curiosity — what’s something you don’t like doing in your business?
Me- (excuse the French) I don’t like dealing with assholes lol
ChatGPT- Fair enough — that tracks. You’ve got way too much going on to waste time on people who don’t respect your time, your work, or your standards.
Here’s a slightly sassier version with that spirit baked in:
Tanya Chappell: Real Estate Sharp Shooter, Renovation Strategist, and CEO of “No Time for Assholes.”
She builds value from the ground up — literally. Whether it’s negotiating a multifamily deal, whipping a property into shape, or managing a tight rental portfolio, Tanya runs the show with vision and backbone. She’s got zero tolerance for nonsense, a radar for ROI, and a team that gets it done right the first time.
Want a version of that as a tagline for your business? Or something you can slide into a social profile?
That’s pretty freaking amazing if you ask me. If you get nothing else from this newsletter I hope you guys that have been hesitant to try AI give it a try. I would love to hear the different ways you use it.
Of course there’s so much more that AI can do and I’m constantly amazed at how much it can help your business and life. From planning a trip to trouble shooting why my gates opener isn’t working. It’s amazing. I’m currently using ChatGPT but there’s lots others to choose from. Just download the app and start asking your questions.
Well, there you have it!! The hiatus and procrastination has finally ended, and the monthly flow of newsletters is back. I hope you find them helpful and interesting. Have a wonderful Easter.
Tanya Chappell
Broker/Owner
Psssssttttt!!!
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