Luxury Real Estate

By John Brian Losh of LuxuryRealEstate.com

Another addition to my ongoing discussion of the principles I believe are required for success.

Hard Work: Preparation is extra work and pays dividends. Being prepared to work with a buyer or seller puts you miles ahead of the ‘ad-libber’.

Passion: Decide what you enjoy the most and build your practice to make yourself the expert. Your passion is apparent the moment an individual meets you.

Community: Go out of your way to make your new neighbor feel welcome and that neighbor will be forever grateful.

By John Brian Losh of LuxuryRealEstate.com

Community: Give back to your community everyday. Thank God for our many blessings.

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

Jim Walberg and his fellow Rotarians completed another map of the USA on the playground of Tassajara Hills Elementary School - 40 feet long and 25 feet high! It is part of our continued support of education projects in our community.

Since our local Rotary Club was founded in April 1989 it has been serving the many needs of our East Bay communities. During the past 20 years, we have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of people hours to address these local needs. Many of our Rotary Club’s community projects have been focused on educational needs of our school districts. We call one of them “The Maps Project”. Several years ago we learned of a map painting kit that was painted on elementary school playgrounds to assist kids with their understanding of our country’s geography. It sounded as if it was a winner of addition to any school.

We contacted our local school district and opened a discussion with them regarding how it could be of benefit to school kids to better understand the geography of our country. They accepted our invitation to paint this map on all of the elementary schools in the district. Yesterday we completed our eighth USA map on the playground. It has evolved into a very organized operation which now allows us to pull it off in just one day. Yesterday we are done from start to finish in must under six hours because of many volunteers showing up to help.

One of the ways that “Service Above Self” is learned by our younger generations is by modeling it. We invited local high school students and students from Tassajara Elementary School to assist us with yesterday’s project. So, you had young and old working together to create a magnificent end result. There were smiles and high-fives all around as we admired the finished product. The last step of any of the maps we have painted is having the Mississippi River painted along its entire route with it ending at New Orleans. What a great day.

During yesterday’s project I overheard many conversations among the adults and students about when our next project would take place because they wanted to make sure they helped us again. The “virus” of community service continues to be spread as we are always on the lookout for the needs within our community that need to be addressed. Our “army” of volunteers has now expanded to include high school and elementary students who also want to give back to their community.

You may remember my daily mantra, “To whom much is given, much is required.” As long as we are still breathing our work is not over on this earth in order to make it a better place. So, what does community service have to do with East Bay real estate? The quality of life of a community is a key factor as to why people want to live in our region. We want to make sure we are doing our part to improve the life experiences of all who live here. Contact me anytime if you would like to join us on any of our community projects. Until next time…your lifestyle detective remains on duty in the East Bay.

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

Jim Walberg and his fellow Rotarians completed another map of the USA on the playground of Tassajara Hills Elementary School - 40 feet long and 25 feet high! It is part of our continued support of education projects in our community.

Since our local Rotary Club was founded in April 1989 it has been serving the many needs of our East Bay communities. During the past 20 years, we have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of people hours to address these local needs. Many of our Rotary Club’s community projects have been focused on educational needs of our school districts. We call one of them “The Maps Project”. Several years ago we learned of a map painting kit that was painted on elementary school playgrounds to assist kids with their understanding of our country’s geography. It sounded as if it was a winner of addition to any school.

We contacted our local school district and opened a discussion with them regarding how it could be of benefit to school kids to better understand the geography of our country. They accepted our invitation to paint this map on all of the elementary schools in the district. Yesterday we completed our eighth USA map on the playground. It has evolved into a very organized operation which now allows us to pull it off in just one day. Yesterday we are done from start to finish in must under six hours because of many volunteers showing up to help.

One of the ways that “Service Above Self” is learned by our younger generations is by modeling it. We invited local high school students and students from Tassajara Elementary School to assist us with yesterday’s project. So, you had young and old working together to create a magnificent end result. There were smiles and high-fives all around as we admired the finished product. The last step of any of the maps we have painted is having the Mississippi River painted along its entire route with it ending at New Orleans. What a great day.

During yesterday’s project I overheard many conversations among the adults and students about when our next project would take place because they wanted to make sure they helped us again. The “virus” of community service continues to be spread as we are always on the lookout for the needs within our community that need to be addressed. Our “army” of volunteers has now expanded to include high school and elementary students who also want to give back to their community.

You may remember my daily mantra, “To whom much is given, much is required.” As long as we are still breathing our work is not over on this earth in order to make it a better place. So, what does community service have to do with East Bay real estate? The quality of life of a community is a key factor as to why people want to live in our region. We want to make sure we are doing our part to improve the life experiences of all who live here. Contact me anytime if you would like to join us on any of our community projects. Until next time…your lifestyle detective remains on duty in the East Bay.

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

December 26^th the Kwanzaa celebration begins in the Caribbean. It is an annual celebration in December that lasts seven days - ending on January 1^st. Each day focuses on a principle that reaffirms the African commitment to themselves, their families, their community, and their black struggle for equality.

• December 26^th - Umoja - Unity
• December 27^th - Kujichagulia - Self-Determination
• December 28^th - Ujima - Collective Work & Responsibility
• December 29^th - Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics
• December 30^th - Nia - Purpose
• December 31 - Kuumba - Creativity
• January 1^st - Imani - Faith

The seven principles are collectively referred to as the Nguzo Saba, and are intended to serve as guideposts for meditation and daily living. The greeting each day of Kwaanza is Habari Gani, and the reply is Habari Gani, followed by the principle of each day. Kwanzaa is celebrated by people of African descent in North America, the Caribbean and other part of the world connected to African heritage. It was created by M. Ron Karenga in 1966.

The St. John gathering is held in Cruz Bay in a small park near the ferry dock. Lucinda Parsons, Sigma Theta Omega Chapter President welcomes the audience of local residents and tourists each year.

The Love City Pan Dragons play the America National Anthem and the Virgin Islands March. The “3 Sweet” trio sings the Black National Anthem and South African Anthem. There are also student performances, as well as the St. John Cultural Dancers.

There are celebrations all week on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Also check out the local celebrations held in all of the Windward and Leeward islands. Habari Gani! My family and I send you our best wishes for an unforgettable Kwanzaa celebration!!!

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

There is an increasing number of East Bay families at risk during these challenging times. The One Warm Coat project is a critical service provided to these families.

For the past 13 years we have organized our local real estate community to participate in the One Warm Coat project. We spent the last two weeks collecting any type of good warm clothing; coats, sweaters, blankets, sleeping bags, socks, hats, etc. This year there was over 15,000 pieces of clothing collected in the East Bay for this critical project. Giving back is critical for all of us who are alive.

What we have discovered is that people in our community want to help with the needs of those less fortunate. Often times the reason they don’t participate in giving is because they have not been given an easy way to do so. We passed out over 1,000 large plastic bags on the front porches of the neighborhoods for whom we serve their real estate needs. We made it very easy for individuals to help, and they did in overwhelming ways. You would not believe how many truck loads of pick-ups I made. It is as if the community as a whole are reordering their priorities and giving back even more during these difficult economic times. “If you have a loaf then at least share a slice.”

We even invited other friends of ours to take up the challenge to gather warm clothing. Dean Langston from Milestone Mortgage and Ashley Provost from ROI Home Services decide to through a Holiday party at Dean’s home as the “hook”. The ticket to the party was a warm coat. They collected over 660 coats the night of the party!!! They even involved our local community vendors to supply the party’s needs. For example, The Peasant & The Pear supplied all the food! And they passed out coupons for a free dessert the next time you go their restaurant. It was an inspiring result from two people dedicated to giving back to the community.

Several community organizations are benefiting from the collection of all these warm clothes. Two of them are Sheperd’s Gate, and Contra Costa Family Services. The impact these two organizations have in serving families at risk is unbelievable. Contact me if you would like to find out more information as to who you can help in serving the community needs of the East Bay. Until next time.

By Michael Edlund

The Luxury Lounge is an exciting project we’ve been busy working on over here at Luxury Real Estate.

The Luxury Lounge is a gated social-networking community for professionals within the LuxuryRealEstate.com affiliate network to make connections with quality peers all over the world. Initially, you will be able to search and connect to people, send private messages and write public comments to others, write and comment on blog posts and discuss topics in forums.

We’ve also implemented online purchasing of Luxury Real Estate conference tickets and the Luxury Lounge will over time grow in to a hub for everything related to Luxury Real Estate. From managing your listings and exposure on LuxuryRealEstate.com to tracking your leads and much more. Rain or shine, noon or midnight. In the lounge, luxury professionals can utilize the full power of their Luxury Real Estate affiliation at the time and convenience of their choosing.

We have already started sending out invitations to a limited number of members, but will expand their reach over the coming weeks to the whole LuxuryRealEstate.com network. When you see an email with the subject “Invitation to Luxury Real Estate’s VIP Lounge” you know what it is all about. It is about embracing and empowering your interaction with the global Luxury Real Estate network.

Thank you for your participation!


Editor’s Note:
Michael Edlund is the Director of Technology with LuxuryRealEstate.com. He is in charge of all of LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Web projects, including website creation, software updates and implementation, and much more. Big changes are afoot here at Luxury Real Estate. The Luxury Real Estate Blog is gaining in popularity on Google, Yahoo and MSN searches, and now the Luxury Lounge is gaining momentum! With the rise of social-networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Naymz, many people are starting to see the possibilities opened up through them. This is a great chance to build relationships in creative ways online. Happy networking!

By Brian Langhorst

As in luxury real estate, sometimes selling and parting with something close to your family is tough. This example easily extends over to the situation of the Seattle Supersonics, a National Basketball Association team, being sold and now moving to Oklahoma City, as you can read in this Seattle Times article.

Unfortunately a deal has been struck and the Seattle Supersonics are no longer going to be playing in Seattle. The former Sonics ownership group sold the team a few years ago to another group based out of Oklahoma City. The new ownership group has decided to move the team to Oklahoma City to play as a new team.

It is frustrating to see something that has been a large part of the Seattle culture and community just packed up and shipped to the Midwest. The final decision came yesterday as the City of Seattle agreed to settle out of court with the new ownership group on the move to Oklahoma City. The city did receive a substantial payout, but money does not replace what is being lost.

R.I.P. Sonics Basketball


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. This whole situation is quite silly, in my opinion. It could have been easily avoided if everyone involved had simply been honest about their intentions from the start. The photo above is from www.flickr.com/photos/yannickcarer/426046468 and it is the copyright of Yannick Carer

By Bob Melvin

Dear Friends,

There was a very important vote before the Charlotte County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. This vote decided whether Charlotte County will be either OPEN for Business or will continue to be CLOSED for Business. In short, the vote will allow developers, on a case-by-case basis, to increase heights of buildings up to 65 feet, from the current 35 feet.

No quality developer will come to Charlotte County without this flexibility. For each 10 feet a developer raises a building, a community enhancement “public access” has to happen on-site. The County staff and County Commissioners will make these decisions, based on merit, with lots of public input!

This flexibility is absolutely necessary for the economic development of Charlotte County. For example, I am currently working with several world-class hotel companies to bring an eco-tourism resort hotel to West Charlotte County. In turn, I believe that this type of development will also bring upscale retailers and upscale marinas, in particular, to West Charlotte County. In my opinion this is exactly the type of economic development we need.

I would like to encourage you to send an email to our County Commissioners, hopefully in support of this Planned Development amendment change. Make no mistake, change is coming to Charlotte County. This change will allow for higher-quality development… especially now that we have lots of rooftops, and a lot more that have been approved and not yet built… this is a “window of opportunity” for hotel and commercial development.

For example, did you know Charlotte County has the most waterfront in Florida with the least amount of hotel rooms? These are the types of businesses we need, and I hope you agree.

All the best,

Bob Melvin
Owner/Broker/Realtor

Gasparilla Properties, Inc.
P.O. Box 1364
411 Park Ave.
Boca Grande, FL 33921
941-380-8891 Cell
941-964-5650 Office
941-964-5654 Fax
bmelvin@GasparillaProperties.com
www.GasparillaProperties.com

Bob Melvin Properties LLC
1861 Placida Road, Suite 203
Englewood, FL 34223
941-473-5444
941-473-5447 Fax
bmelvin@bobmelvin.com
www.bobmelvin.com


Editor’s Note
Bob Melvin is the Broker, Owner and REALTOR® of Gasparilla Properties and he and his company are considered the “go to” experts for real-estate sales in the Boca Grande, Fla. area. Issues like this are very important for luxury brokers and agents to be aware of and take an active part in shaping. I hope that we will follow Bob’s wonderful example and do our best to improve our communities through positive public policies. Here’s to Charlotte County’s future as a luxury community.