We all want to have the latest toys.  New and improved?  Yeah, we want it. 

Will it get more traffic to my site?  I'm in. 

Will I get more leads?  That's what I want!

OK, so if our goal is to get more traffic, which will hopefully get those interested in our services to raise their hands and identify themselves why are we ignoring them after they do?

On Thursday I personally spent a few hours researching something I am in the market for and contacted 2 providers of those services via their websites.  I have yet to hear back from either one.  Not even an automatic acknowledgment.

It doesn't make sense to me that we would spend time and money at our trade shows getting the best websites, lead generation tools, search engine optimization, IDX feeds that people want, and yet when they contact us, we ignore them.

I understand that people are busy.  I understand that instant gratification isn't always possible. I was not expecting to be contacted yesterday.  I did, however, expect to be contacted within a reasonable amount of time.  I think 48 hours for the initial contact is too long.  A very simple email or call to let me know when I could expect some time to discuss my needs is not too much to expect.

In our business, or any for that matter, striking while the iron is hot is crucial.  We all know that the first Realtor to get back in touch with a prospective client is usually the one who is going to get the business.

So....who's minding your store?

The carefully wrapped presents are unwrapped now. Shreds of papers strewn about. Some glittery bows catch my eye. The kids are playing with some of their new gifts. A couple of people are back in bed sleeping since they got up so early.

We celebrated Noche Buena last night. This morning we sang happy birthday to Jesus (the Reason for the Season) before making the rounds with the gifts.

Since our labor intensive celebration was last night, we have an easy day ahead of us. I have nothing planned but to enjoy the day with my family. But I wanted to come on over to Active Rain, family now too, and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Here's wishing you all receive the gifts you long for. And wishing that the new year doesn't beat us up as the current one seems to have done. After all is said and done, it's been a good year. I count each and every one of my blessings and am grateful for them.

Among the many blessings I count is Active Rain and the many friendships I've made here.

Merry Christmas to all!

I wrote about an unsuccessful real estate auction in the Redland a few weeks back. I commented about the fact that it was not an absolute auction being the primary reason for it’s turning out to be a flop.

Then I had the opportunity to attend another auction in the Redland. This one was different in that it was an absolute auction. When the public thinks ‘auction’ they think whatever’s being sold will be sold to the highest bidder. I, personally, think it’s a gimmick to give them anything but. But that is just my opinion. When an auction is not absolute, I think it’s just a ploy to spark more interest in the property and hopefully get it sold. There’s nothing wrong with the marketing premise, in itself. I still have issues with calling it an auction. Maybe we just need to educate the public that an auction isn’t always what they think it is.

I attended the absolute auction hoping to see some action and see a property get sold to the highest bidder. The property is a larger-than-most, but older and well-kept home in the Redland area. It’s right smack in the middle of the Redland and sits on 2.5 acres of tropical paradise, well manicured yet plenty of flora. Adjacent to the property is a natural hammocks, designated as such. Beneficial to the property is that most of it has a property tax benefit because of the hammocks and the property pays about a third of what a similar property without the tax benefit would pay. With the issue of property taxes being so high in Florida, this by itself is a huge benefit to the property.

On top of the tax benefits, an acre of land in the Redland sells for about $180,000, although many would like to have you thinking it’s a lot more than that. Right now, that’s about the going price (albeit not the asking price). And even though on a single property lot an additional acre isn’t technically worth the same as the 1st acre (simply because you can only build one home on it, whether it’s one acre or five) let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and do what the county property appraiser does and calculate each square foot as being worth the same. That means the land on this parcel is worth $450,000 by my calculations.

The auction was to open at $489,000. And it was going to sell to the highest bidder. Period. Seeing how the land alone was worth just $39,000 less I figured it would be like getting the structure almost free if you could buy it at the opening bid. By the way, the county property appraiser has the structure valued at $213,000, so it’s not as if there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room there.

The winning bidder would be responsible for a 10% buyer’s premium so if he won the bid at $500,000, he’d have to pay $550,000. No matter, this home was priced right, so a good deal could still be had.

Upon arriving at the property I recognized a couple from the last auction. I guess I wasn’t the only curious one. I struck up a conversation with them as we waited for the proceedings to begin. Twenty minutes after the bidding was supposed to begin we realized they weren’t going to have an auction. Of the several parties that were there (perhaps 4) none of us were registered to bid. I was dumbstruck by this fact.

Here was a prime property in the Redland available for sale at way less than market price and no one was bidding.

Is the market in South Florida that bad? Or had the auction not been advertised fully? My opinion tells me it’s the former. I had personally found the auction online but because I specifically looked for auctions. I wasn’t searching as a home buyer. The couple I met said they had seen it advertised in the local papers. So it had been advertised. Exactly how much, I wasn’t sure.

That day I went home shaking my head and thinking that the local real estate market may be in for a really looooooong adjustment. Hmmmmmm………

Unsuccessful Auction Part I

Are you a transplanted Northerner living in Miami?  Missing snow just a little at this time of year?  Have I got news for you!

Dolphin Mall gets into the holiday spirit by including a snowfall each evening at 7:00.  This is a real treat in Miami!  Additional snowfalls occur at 9:00pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  The snow will stop falling on January 6th, though, so make sure you get to experience it before then! 

While you're there catching some flakes you might want to stop in and visit the big man in red himself.  Yes, Santa is at Dolphin Mall each day until Christmas Eve at Ramblas 9 at the fabulous Snow Globes.  Santa is there from Noon to 9:00 each day except Fridays and Saturdays he's there until 10:00.

So come experience a little magic this holiday season at Dolphin Mall. 

One of the childhood memories I have is of being 9 or so and being allowed to taste Crema de Vie.  It's a traditional Cuban drink and it made it's appearance every Noche Buena in the hands of our ever-feisty and never-boring little-old-Cuban-neighbor Sofia. 

Sofia always whipped up a batch and brought a bottle of it to our New York City apartment around Christmas.  I can still see her stout little person waddling in with it...her traditional smile on her face.  It's got rum in it, so it wasn't something I was allowed to drink.  But the first time I was allowed, I was hooked.  I think it was the sweetened condensed milk (which can single handedly be blamed for gracing the usually more than ample hips of us Cuban gals).  Who needs dessert when you have a can of sweetened condensed milk and a spoon around? ;-)

I guess Crema de Vie is the Cuban counterpart to eggnog.  Except we don't drink it in mugs.  It's too strong, too sweet and too rich.  A shot glass is the usual serving size.  I never learned to make the drink and Sofia is long gone.  But with Christmas just around the corner I started thinking about it once again.  I searched for a recipe and happily share it here.  I may just make some time this week to whip up a batch. 

Warning:  Crema de Vie is addicting.  Maybe you don't really want to take that first sip. 

Recipe courtesy of www.TasteOfCuba.com

Crema De Vie recipe
Recipe Courtesy of Cocina Cubana Club/ Pascual Perez/ Sonia Martinez/ Oscar

This recipe and the following info on using raw eggs were two messages posted in the Akaka Falls Inn Cooking Club by Oscar and me (Sonia M.) sometime ago. It is another one of those homemade aperitifs that were so popular in Cuba.

For the uninitiated this is a sort of traditional Cuban after dinner drink made up of:

One can sweetened condensed milk
One can rum
one can simple sugar syrup (**)

(**)using the empy condensed milk can, mix:
Two cans white sugar
one can water
lemon rind
cinnamon stick

Boil until it becomes a syrup. Let cool and discard cinnamon stick and lemon rinds.

Mix all ingredients in a bottle along with two egg yolks (whipped) and two or three large sticks of cinnamon.

Refrigerate for two or three days and it is ready to drink.

WARNING: It is SWEET and it can be habit forming (you just can't put it down). Serve in shot glasses and sip. It is good anytime.

SAFE EGG YOLKS:
Heat 2 egg yolks and 1/4 cup of liquid from the recipe, add 1/2 tsp sugar in a small skillet over very low heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan constantly with a spatula. At the first sign of thickening, remove the pan from the heat, but continue stirring and dip the pan bottom in a larger pan of cold water to stop the cooking. Use in the recipe instead of raw yolks.

Destroying bacteria is a matter of both time and temperature. You do not even have to get the yolks to the salmonella instant-kill temperature of 160oF (71oC). Holding them at slightly lower temperatures for several minutes is just as effective. Yolks are pasteurized by holding them for 3.5 minutes at 140oF (60oC), which is not very hot- hot tap water is in this range. Eggs don't scramble (cook) until about 180oF (82oC). So there is some margin here.

SOURCE: COOKWISE Cookbook- by Shirley O. Corriher-
page 195

PS- It is well worth the effort to go through the pasteurization of the eggs. The Crema de Vie is very good!