Beachy Beach Real Estate

There Are No Bad Days

karen — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:23:08 +0000

I was prompted to write this after a friend that I admire greatly asked the question and I paraphrase, “What has been your best part of this year so far?” Of course she got a variety of answers but what surprised me that some could only think of something bad and it made me think surely no matter tumultuous there must have been friends that would rise to the occasion and at the very least an exercise of faith to show a spark of hope. I have learned that in a state of gratitude the good things grow and the others they fade away or at the very least become not so dominant.

Not sure the exact time and space that this attitude of terminal hope came upon me in my life but for whatever reason through prayer, quiet time with God, amazing people I have come to believe that there is good inherent in ALL things. I have learned that whatever state that I am in that is is what is meant to be to take me to the next level of my life. Simply I learned to praise God in the valley.

I love everyday in every way because if I am seeking that which is good I will find it in the worst of circumstances in every situation!!! The worst of times have shown me the greatest love of others and it has taught me the strength that can only come of that experience. So for me there is NEVER a bad day only different days with different ways to learn about love and its impact on me and my world and the lives of others!!! That is my truth and my day and my year in a nutshell and so it is.

Testimonials From our Customers and Fans

chris — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:11:58 +0000

Look at this nice comment from one of our new friends, Ed Harper with Re/Max Legacy in Newnan, GA.

“I must say that I love your company concept and your always up-beat attitude. You are doing a fantastic job in representing one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and one of everyone’s favorite vacation spot in the south!”

We love when people have nice things to say about us! Our motto is “The only people we have to get even with…are those that have helped us.”

30A Songwriters Festival

chris — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:18:52 +0000

Hooray! It’s the 30A Songwriters Festival and this year, as always, it boasts an incredible line-up of performers and venues. If you’re lucky enough to be here in the Panama City Beach/30A/Destin area from January 11-15th you absolutely have to make plans to attend. This year there are 23 stages along Scenic Highway 30A offering every musical genre.

The 30A Songwriters Festival headquarters is located just West of Seaside at the Watercolor Inn. An updated performance schedule was posted on 1/11/12 but it’s a good idea to check the website for updates as changes may occur. You can pick up a printed schedule at Watercolor Inn or download the schedule here.

The festivities kick off on Wednesday, January 11th with a special pre-festival performance at Fish Out of Water for members of the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County.

Friday, January 13th is the 30A Songwriters Festival kick-off party hosted at Pandora’s. (open to all weekend pass holders) Most of the venues will be open with performances from 6:00-12:00AM.

Saturday starts at 10:00AM and ends at 12:00AM with performances by Matthew Sweet & The Bangles at the Seaside Lyceum.

Start Sunday out right with a gospel brunch at Caliza in Alys Beach…heavenly music and incredible atmosphere! Again, most venues will be open with performances until 12:00AM

This is an awesome festival, no matter where you end up on 30A you won’t be disappointed. See you there! And if you’re looking for real estate, don’t forget to give us a call at Beachy Beach. Check out our weekly real estate shows for 30A and Panama City Beach.

Letter To My Beachy Beach Bunch

karen — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:28:33 +0000

GOOD NEWS!!!!

Intelligence and technical skill factor into only 25% of a person’s chances for success, the other 75% is made up of your optimism, the support of your social network, and your attitude toward stress (whether you view it as a challenge or a threat). So your optimism, the optimism of those around you, and your attitude about stress( optimism under pressure) account for ¾’s of your success.

HAPPINESS AND OPTIMISM ACTUALLY FUEL PERFORMANCE AND ACHIEVEMENT.

The mental construction of your daily activities, more than the activity itself, defines our reality. WHAT CONNECTS YOU TO THE AMAZING EVERYDAY???? For me it is affirming what I know to be true and good and holding those thoughts and words in my heart and my head. Denial is not a strategy but looking for the good in all challenges and disappointments is.

READ GOOD STUFF!!!

SAY GOOD STUFF!!!!

RUN like a son of a gun from Negative people, places and things.

Attitude is not everything but the first thing!!!! Start there!!!! Aren’t you glad to know that what you need you already have and thankfully you can learn the rest?

I love you and believe in you and can not wait to watch you succeed.

Tax Free Short Sales?…Not For Long

chris — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:23:42 +0000

So, have you been wondering if it is a good time to do a strategic short sale? A short sale is when you sell your house for less than what is owed on the mortgage…quite a common thing nowdays. A “strategic” short sale is when you can afford to keep making your mortgage payments but you are so upside down on your loan that it makes more sense to just let the house go and start over. 2012 may be the time for you to make your move. In 2013 the amount short on the mortgage will become taxable.

Currently if you sell your home and the proceeds are $100,000 less than the mortgage you can usually have the bank forgive the amount short and there are no tax ramifications (there are conditions that have to be met and every case is a little different). In 2013 due to changes, if you are $100,000 short and you are in the 25% tax bracket…you will owe $25,000 in Federal Taxes. To avoid the tax, you must sell your house in 2012 and you must have documentation of the bank forgiving the deficiency dated prior to 2013.

So if a short sale is something you have been thinking about in the back of your head…you might want to start thinking about it a little harder. You can call me, Chris Charles at 850-866-3720 or any of the highly qualified associates at Beachy Beach Real Estate for more information.

Beachy Beach Fireside Chat

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:26:53 +0000

It was a perfect evening, just a slight chill in the air. It made the roaring fire feel just right. We gathered, one by one, at the boathouse to celebrate a great year and to share our hearts and souls with each other about 2012 and what we plan to do to make it even better. It was difficult to keep it a secret from Karen Smith, our broker, but we actually pulled it off. She was totally suprised and in awe. We decided at the onset that she should not know because she would assume some type of responsibility for the evening. And after a very busy year, Karen ended 2011 like a whirlwind. There were board meetings & extra beach shows. We opened a new office on 30A, and then Karen was named Broker of the Year for Bay County Board of Realtors and there was a huge banquet. Then there was the office Christmas party, the other office Christmas party, and planning for Christmas. And if that wasn’t enough to fill her busy schedule, she pulled off a wedding for her son on Christmas Eve! whew!

This was our night, and Karen’s night. It was our turn to get her to sit down and relax by a warm fire while we all, one by one, shared our hearts about each other and for Karen. There was laughter and tears, lots of thankfulness and appreciation for each other and for our wonderful little company. It was a great opportunity for me to share with everyone how I came to be here, and how awesome God is that he led me to this place and these people. “I know the plans I have for you”, it says in Jeremiah.

As I sat there listening, I was reminded of how much God must love me. And how that his plan for me is always so much more than what I could imagine for myself. I learned a few things about my office team, and I learned a few things about me.

This was one of those moments you put away in the corner of your memory and will never forget. It brought synergy to our group and pulled us together, and brought our minds together for a greater purpose. You see, here at Beachy Beach Real Estate, we don’t feel like we are here just to sell real estate. We feel like we are here to make a difference in people’s lives. And as a team of professionals, we strive every day to be a positive force and an inspiration to each other and to our community. There’s no doubt that our ‘little office’ is quickly becoming the ‘big deal’ on the beach. Karen’s philosphy is that the only people we have to get even with are the ones who have helped us. And together, we plan to do alot of ‘getting even’ with folks this year.

Gratitude and love is all around, and we are so blessed.

~Kimberly Luna, Broker Associate

Beachy Beach Real Estate

Could the BP Oil Spill In Some Way Actually Helped Panama City Beach?

Opey — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:44:38 +0000

I was visiting with a client for whom I had helped buy a gulf front condo recently. He lives up north where at this time of year there’s snow on the ground. It was a beautiful day as usual here in Panama City Beach. The sky was clear and blue without a trace of clouds. The sun was bright and warm but not too hot. We were having lunch at one of my favorite gulf front restaurants, Hook’d Bar and Grill. Sitting there looking out over the sugar white sand at the emerald green waters of the gulf and eating the best smoked tuna dip on the planet, my client said something that stunned me. He said, “Good thing that oil spill happened.”

At first I thought he was being facetious but after a moment or two I realized he was being serious. Not only was I shocked, I was borderline offended. How could one of the worst industrial disasters in history possibly be good? It claimed 11 lives, massacred countless varieties of marine and coastal wildlife, soured hundreds of miles of pristine coastline, devastated fishing and tourism industries, and the list goes on and on. I took a moment and several deep breaths to calm down before I asked him to explain. Before going any further let me say that this client of mine, lets just call him “Ben” for the sake of this article, is actually a really great guy. He’s a devoted husband and father, an accomplished businessman who is well respected in his community and he volunteers a lot of his time for many worthwhile causes. “Ben” is not a schmuck! So I asked…..

He started by saying that when he first heard of the tragedy, he was mortified. He grieved and prayed for the 11 workers and their families and was outraged that big oil companies actually lobbied congress to relax restrictions on safety standards when it came to the manufacturing of the infamous “blow out preventer”. He expressed genuine sympathy for the devastating effects felt by so many of us residents as well as the environmental impact. What he meant by his comment was that before the oil spill, the only thing he had ever heard about Panama City Beach was that it was the place where college kids migrate in the spring to get drunk and act like heathens. He had no idea how beautiful the sugar white beaches were or how intoxicating the emerald waters wine was. The constant 24 hours a day news coverage, that many of us locals were wishing would stop because it was scaring away the tourists, was in a strange way attracting new ones. Ever heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”?

Historically, the vast majority of tourist to our area have been from Atlanta, Birmingham, New Orleans and to a lesser extent Nashville. “Ben” is from Connecticut! Several of my most recent clients are from places like Chicago, Washington D.C., Houston, and Denver! I’m even working with someone now who is in the market to buy a gulf front condo and they live in Honolulu, Hawaii!!! Now I’m not suggesting that the oil spill was a good thing, but “Ben’s” comment was his way of finding some silver lining in that huge dark cloud. How does the saying go? “When life hands you lemons…”

Opey Russ
Broker-Associate, Licensed Instructor
Beachy Beach Real Estate

Prayer… Life giving, Love giving…. NEVER ending PRAYER

karen — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:08:24 +0000

I am reading a most incredible book given to me by a most incredible woman with a heart overflowing with love. The book that I am just getting into is by River Jordan, Praying for Strangers. Funny thing about it is that through the years I have done this on a much smaller scale and not sure why I was doing it. My heart just led me that way and I followed.

Many times when I am going down a street or Pier Park or running… anywhere there are other of God’s children I will offer up a quick prayer for the people I see. It makes you feel so uplifted and because I believe the prayers and thoughts are not in vain….there is power amazing power in that moment.

This spirit packed author made a Resolution to pray for a total stranger each day and the results of that are in small but SOUL LIFTING stories filled with compassion and great love. I am already touched in the first few chapters and can hardly wait for the impact that the completion of the book will bring. I suspect it will be one more affirmation that there is something so much bigger than us and that we have a far greater impact on each other than we can imagine. After all we are all formed and created from the same energy source.

Please do yourself a favor and get this book and don’t stop there get another one or two or three for friends or better yet…. Strangers.

To give you a taste of one of her thoughts that set my soul singing… here it goes. “And I wonder what my life would look like if I lived this way, walking and breathing out prayers. Blessings and peace and prayers and wonders and miracles for all that I encounter. I wonder what the city would look like if we all did that, if the world was one big cup of prayer for one day. Only one day. I wonder.” River Jordan.

I don’t want to look back and regret that there are so many people that I could have learned from along the way if I would but slow down!!! Maybe tomorrow or maybe right now I can do that and change the rest of my life into a more purposeful and meaningful life that will pave the path for a more prayerful life.

Thank you Ellen for taking the time to bless me with this book!! What a difference you made in my life and how many others as the chapters unfold. Prayer prayer wonder working LIFE giving LOVE giving prayer!!!!

Betsy & Chris Return to The Beach Show!

karen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:12:06 +0000

Prepare to be impressed as Karen is joined by Chris & Betsy on this week’s episode. From east end to west end, we’ve got you covered!

Episode 119

Panama City Beach Economy on Upswing

chris — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:56:15 +0000

More Great stuff coming!!!

Hooray! Panama City Beach Economy On Upswing!

A new shopping center is going to be built across from Simon Properties Pier Park Development. This is great news for Panama City Beach. Wal-Mart is also building a Super Store adjacent to Pier Park so this is going to be a busy area and can only mean investors think this area is ready to grow.

The new shopping center, called Pier Park North will occupy 60 acres and will be approximately 400,000 SF, for reference, Pier Park is approximately 1,000,000 SF. The architecture and landscaping will be very similar to Pier Park. The new center is being developed by Glimcher Development Corp. and they consider themselves direct competitors of Simon Properties, so…if you love Pier Park, you should love the new Pier Park North also.

The Glimcher Development Corp will release an announcement once leases have been signed for fifty percent of the space, some of the names mentioned include The Fresh Market, Men’s Wearhouse, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Pier 1. I know my whole office would be incredibly stoked for a Fresh Market. Projected opening for the new shopping center is Spring of 2013.

If you’re keeping track, you can add Pier Park North to your list of new businesses that now include Wal-Mart, Harley Davidson and Whataburger.

PierParkN