"Singing in the Rain!"

Yours truly has been given the pleasure of meeting with the brokers, agents, and support staff of Windermere Peninsula Properties this coming Tuesday, December 2nd, at 9am.

With two offices located in North Mason County WA (Belfair and Allyn), Managing Broker Richard Bell has assembled a team of top-notch professionals who have established themselves as the predominant area leaders in real estate and superior client representation. Several of their agents have become valued contributing members of our community here on ActiveRain, including Dinah Lee Griffey, Valerie Spaulding, and Michelle Roethle.

Just as a reminder to all ActiveRain members in Kitsap, Jefferson, Pierce, and Mason Counties, a few of us get together every Thursday morning at 8am at The Global Bean in Silverdale WA, just to hang out and share our collective knowledge/strategies with using social media/networking in our business. We'd love to see you there!

When it comes to agricultural fairs, the community of Stratham, New Hampshire, takes theirs very seriously. 

This year July 24 - 27 at Stratham Hill Park the 41st annual Stratham Fair will be held and attendance is expected to be over 25,000 people.

The fair started out as a small lobster bake to thank the volunteer fire department and has become a huge charity event that benefits many local organizations. 

Entertainment, in addition to the usual games and rides of the midway, include performances on two stages, baking competition, pie eating contest, Miss Stratham Fair pagent, a Fine Arts and Crafts exhibit, a road race, and a Fireworks display on Sunday night as a finale to the fair.

In traditional fashion, you will find 4H Shows and agricultural exhibits.

In addition to the food delights of the Midway and the traditional lobster bake, a barbeque and a lasagna supper are also scheduled.

The very reasonable price of admission is $7 daily.  Children 6-12 and Seniors 65+ are just $4 daily. 

 Children under 6 are Free.

         Grandparents get in Free on Thursdays.

Military personnel and dependents get in free on Fridays.  Group rates and discounted tickets for Stratham residents are available. 

Parking is Free.

For info including Event Schedule, Admission Specials, directions and more visit the Stratham Fair website.

.......I probably wouldn't do it. But I don't want to run into her in a dark bar in New York during Real Estate Connect and have to explain why I ignored her meme. If you've never seen Teresa in a dark bar in NY, lucky you........haha.

She also asked that we immediately ban all future meme's from ActiveRain. I am seriously considering it (again, the whole dark bar and running into Teresa thing again).

So the rules of this meme:

1. Grab the nearest book
2. Open the book to page 56
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the text of the next two to five sentences
5. Dont dig for your favorite book, the cool book or the intellectual one. Pick the Closest.
6. Tag five people to do the same

**The one book that this can not be is the Bible**

I have been flying more than normal lately. Jon always gives us books to read. If Seth Godin has a new book out, you can be assured it will show up on my desk from the book fairy with a request that I read it. So the combo of lots of flying and book reading assignments make for a great pair. So when I got this email from Teresa saying I was tagged, I leaned over and opened the zipper on my bag and out pops a little Seth Godin book, Tribes.

There is another (WOW, I have no idea how I was going to finish that sentence. I just got off a 30 minute phone call with a person that we suspended for copyright violation. I don't know how many times I have to say the same thing over and over to get the message through. I must have tried to say the same thing ten different ways. I am seriously patting myself on the back for keeping my cool......very frustrating.)

Let me start over........

There is another book in my bag, but it was buried a little deeper, so Tribes was the first one I saw. I normally read historical fiction books for relaxing and 'The Alexandria Link' by Steve Berry was just underneath. Great book but like about ten other books on my shelf right now, I haven't actually finished it. Two hour plane rides never allow me to finish the whole book and I always forget them on the next trip. The airport book store LOVES ME! Ok so Page 56 then......fifth sentence......Tribes:

"First, they're not going to do the local leadership required when tribe members interact. They're going to be so busy following the playbook that they'll hesitate about engaging in the interactions that make a tight tribe such a vibrant organization. People don't engage merely to remind on another of the status quo. Instead they eagerly engage when they want something to improve. This microleadership is essential to the health of your organization."

So there you have it. I am 99.999999999% (maybe even higher) sure that Seth Godin would not try to come after me if I posted a picture of the cover of his book, (in fact, he would probably welcome it) but with all the crap I am dealing with around copyright and trademark violations, I am just not going to post a picture, short of Seth himself stopping by and saying it's ok. (Believe it or not, my blog was recently audited by a member who I was dealing with regarding copyright violations and she went through EVERY post I have ever written to make sure my blog didn't have copyrighted or trademarked images........I had to erase one post that was questionable.)

In the spirit of outlawing meme's on ActiveRain, I am not going to tag anyone further. Is that a fair enough trade-off Teresa?

Tucked away among the trees off of Old Bridge Road in Prince William County is the community of Lake Ridge.  With over 7000 detached homes, townhomes and condominiums a buyer can find just about any type of home at a price that fits their budget within Lake Ridge.

As you drive through each of the different sections of Lake Ridge you will get a true sense of "small town America."  Frequent community events including Youth Flag Football, T-Ball, Summer Camps, Yard Sales, and Holiday Parades give everyone young and old a chance to meet their neighbors. 

With multiple grocery stores, plenty of places to eat and a nice mixture of small shops residents of Lake Ridge don't have to drive far to find everyday necessities.  When the need arises Lake Ridge is only a few miles from the huge Potomac Mills Outlet Mall, Ikea, Costco, Lowes and Home Depot.

If your family includes children there are 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school and 1 high school all within the community.  Many children can walk to school and for the others it is a short bus ride.  There are also a number of pre-schools located within the boundaries of the community as well.

Looking for recreation activities?  Then Lake Ridge is the place for you.  If you are a runner join the Ridge Runners Club, launch a small boat Hooes Run Boat Ramp, play tennis at one of the seven courts, swim at one of the five pools, or join one of the many other clubs that meet at one of the two community centers.  If that isn't enough for you Prince William County Park Authority also operates Lake Ridge Park with a 9 hole golf course and a small marina.

Lake Ridge has always been popular with military families who find themselves with orders to Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon or Quantico.  Not only are all of the reasons listed above important to military families but the drive to Fort Belvoir is within 30 minutes or less depending on where you live in the community.  There are multiple options for commuting to the Pentagon including slug lines, bus routes from commuter lots and the VRE with transfer points to the Metro.  Quantico is a reverse commute on either I-95 or Route 1.

So if you are looking for a neighborhood where the developers left the cookie cutters at home then give me a call to take a tour of Lake Ridge.  Let's see if this Prince William County community is the next place you want to call home.

It's 7am on a Friday morning, and I'm sitting here at one of my favorite Kitsap County WA haunts, the Global Bean, enjoying a delicious Cup 'O' Joe, waiting for my good friend and blogging counterpart, Mark Flanders, to arrive.

On an adjoining table, the following headline on today's issue of the Kitsap Sun catches my eye:

"With House Values, What Went Up Has Come Down"

According to the article submitted by Rachel Pritchett, if you purchased a home here in Kitsap County WA in 2006/2007, when prices had peaked, then there's a one-in-three chance you own more on your mortgage than your home is actually worth today.

And the expert source for such a sobering dose of reality?

Why, our Friends at Zillow.com, of course!

Zillow also claims that home values in Kitsap County WA have fallen 12 percent since the Spring of 2007, and are now back down at 2005 levels. The Seattle-based company calculates its home values based on median price, tax assessments, physical characteristics of the house, and comparable sales.

As a locally licensed real estate professional here in Kitsap County WA, my experience with Zillow's 'Zestimates (their name for estimated home valuations) have varied. Sometimes their estimates are high, other times they're low. I usually find them to simply be a 'starting point' in the conversation with Buyers and Sellers, and set the stage for my own detailed comparative market analysis (CMA).

My point here is not to necessarily argue the reliability or accuracy of Zillow's figures, but rather to draw attention to their obvious ability/success at establishing themselves as a perceived leading industry authority, even for very specific local markets like Kitsap County WA.

Regardless of what you may think about Zillow or their Zestimates, you have to admit they've done an impressive job of creating a viable Internet presence, and cultivating their position as a leading voice in the real estate industry.

Back in May, the US Justice Department announced that it had reached a proposed settlement with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), staving off a 2005 lawsuit filed against NAR by the Department's Anti-Trust Division. The suit claimed that NAR obstructed fair competition and discriminated against Internet-based residential real estate brokers. The Department said the settlement would enhance competition in the real estate brokerage industry, resulting in more choices, better service, and lower commission rates for consumers.

According to a statement by Deborah Garza, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division,

"When there is unfettered competition from brokers with innovative and efficient approaches to the residential real estate market, consumers are likely to receive better services and pay lower commission rates."

Hey, I'm all for competition. It's the cornerstone of a capitalistic society. It keeps us on our toes and constantly challenges us to always bring our 'A' game.

Additionally, I'm a huge fan for exploring new, creative business models, developing innovative methods, and implementing emerging technologies to improve efficiencies.

Consumers should have a multitude of choices. It's the American Way! And such is the beauty of a free enterprise system.

However, drastically reducing what you charge for your services isn't necessarily 'innovative.' Some of us would use a different term for that. And charging less doesn't always ensure an improvement in services for the consumer. In fact, it almost always translates into a reduction in the scope and quality of those services.

You want to eliminate discrimination and the obstruction of fair trade/competition? Cool, count me in! You want to level the playing field and give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed? I'll wave that flag!

If someone wants to pony up and pay all the same fees that the rest of us pay, is willing to be legally bound to the same regulations and ethical requirements as we are, and agrees to fulfill the same duties and obligations towards their clients as we are, then they should be granted full and equal access to the same data/database.

However, please don't insult our intelligence or the intelligence of today's savvy consumers by equating discounting with better service.

Faithful ActiveRain contributor, Brian Eibner, of BrokerIPTV.com, did a great interview with Brian Bowman of Reply.com, one of our newer advertisers, during the Inman Connect 2008 in San Francisco. Brian authors their company blog at http://blog.reply.com/

Finally all of my hard work blogging, posting, and months of my husband asking me what are you doing on Active Rain again has paid off.  I got my first call from someone who read my Active Rain profile.  I have to tell you I was thrilled.  When I got off the phone I yelled "Y E S it works!" 

I got a call from buyers in Long Island, New York.  They are looking to buy a winter home here in Florida and plan to retire here in 7 years.  They first started their search in the Naples area and a friend of theirs told them they should check out the Venice Florida area and how beautiful it is here.  The buyers went to the internet and found my Active Rain profile on About.com and gave me a call.  I asked them when they plan on coming to the Venice area, that I would love to show them around and while they are here I can show them some homes.  I scheduled the appointment.  They were only in town for 2 days before leaving on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera.

I meet the buyers, showed them around town and showed them about 20 homes.   They found a home they liked, submitted an offer and it was accepted the next day.

I am really glad I was able to help them while they were here and excited to receive my first Active Rain lead.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Contact Kari A. Battaglia, GRI, Realtor®, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Licensed Realtor® in Florida at 941-270-1851 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Venice Florida, South Venice Florida, Englewood Florida, Nokomis Florida, Laurel Florida and for Tennessee real estate investments.  I am currently accepting referrals.

Contact Kari Battaglia by email at Kari.Battaglia@floridamoves.com. Need information fast, call me direct at 941-270-1851.

Please visit my outside web blog www.VeniceAreaHomesBlog.com, my personal website www.KariBattaglia.comand my business website www.floridamoves.com/Kari.Battaglia.

Copyright © 2008 By Kari A. Battaglia, GRI  Realtor® Broker Associate.  All Rights Reserved.

The 2008 NAR Conference Orlando FL starts this Friday!

So here's the unofficial Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Be There!....

Reason #10:   Any conference in Florida is simply just an excuse for spending a few days at Disney World.

Reason #9:     You want to meet the guy whose leg-breaking video has garnered nearly 800K views on YouTube.

Reason #8:     The Burt Reynolds Museum is just down the road in Jupiter Florida.

Reason #7:     You can brush up on your US Civics & Poli-Sci studies by spending the day with Simon Conway.

Reason #6:     You have a thing for guys in biking shorts.

Reason #5:     You have a thing for aging entertainers attempting a come-back.

Reason #4:     You're a real estate professional and you want to show your support for NAR.

Reason #3:     You've seen David Knox a gazillion times, but he still makes you laugh!

Reason #2:     Ines promised to bring Rico and make us all Mojitos!

And the Number One Reason why You should attend the 2008 NAR Conference in Orlando Florida?

Reason #1:   ActiveRain is hosting a Killer Party on Saturday Night!

The Festivities begin at 8pm. Location TBA through various Social Media venues