Foto Friday:  An American Hero Once a month I'm at the VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach FL and every time I'm there I always enjoy seeing this statue.  I have been wanting to capture a picture and yesterday I finally stopped my car long enough to grab this shot, which I should have zoomed in a tad more.  If you can't make it out it's a solider carrying a child on his shoulders. 04/16/2010

Nicolas Cage hasn’t been able to find a seller for his house on Los Angeles (floor area of more than 1,000 square m). At first, the actor priced the house at $ 34 mln, later he reduced the price up to $10 mln but without success. The reason for loosing the house was his debts for tax authorities.According to the US press, Cage doesn’t have enough money to keep the house. The actor is blaming his manager for his problems – last year he even brought him to the court, though the manager filed a counter claim and accused of wastage.       Unfortunately, such situations are typical for present day. For example, in West Palm Beach (Florida) there are many foreclosed houses as the situation in the market is really far from ideal. The place is very attractive but the real estate market is overs... 04/13/2010

Soccer Equipment Donation Locations "Soccer Equipment Donation Locations" was the search phrase I recently used to find out where I could donate all of the soccer equipment my family no longer needs. After coaching soccer and having children participating in the sport for several years my family has acquired a big collection of soccer balls, cones, bags along with cleats that my boys have outgrown, but still had plenty of life in them. Passback US Soccer Donation at Passback.org was the first result to come up and they have a Passback Bin, which provided me with a list of all the local donation locations for soccer equipment. The National Alliance For Youth Sports in West Palm Beach FL was the non-profit organization that I chose because of their Global Gear Drive. "The Global Gear Dri... 04/10/2010

Located in West Palm Beach, Bay Hill Estates is a beautiful golf course community comprised of Mediterranean-style homes. The community has many homes situated on large lots. Bay Hill Estate Homes vary in size from 2,590 and 6,713 square feet. Standard upgrades include swimming pools, patios, garages, hurricane shutters, roman tub, vaulted ceilings, walk-in closets, granite countertops, central vacuum, split bedroom plan, pantry, washer, dryer, dishwasher, disposal, laundry room, ceramic tile and marble floors. Maintenance includes cable television, security and common area care. Prices range any where from $429,000 to $1,650,000. 04/08/2010

Educational Gallery Group at CityPlace West Palm Beach FL: "My Piece of the World" The Educational Gallery Group (Eg²) will be holding another fantastic exhibition "My Piece of the World:  Creations by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder," which will showcase art created by students of all grade levels.The opening date will be Friday, April 23rd, 2010 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at The Educational Gallery Group in CityPlace. "My Piece of the World" will be on display at The Educational Gallery Group until May 23rd, 2010.Information:477 S. Rosemary Avenue, City PlaceSuite 193West Palm Beach, FL 33401561-315-5947Wed-Fri:  4:00 pm to 9:00 pmSat:  Noon pm to 9:00 pmSun:  Noon to 6:00 pmwww.egsquared.orgIf you would like to make a donation to this wonderful organization, please mail it to:Educa... 04/06/2010

Florida Waterfront Lifestyles- Boaters Paradise Found In West Palm Beach Florida.  South Florida has some of the best beaches in the world but it also has a lot more than that. If you are a boat owner from a small motor boat to a mid size sailboat to a yacht you will need to have the amenities nearby not only to dock your boat or yacht but also to be able to have easy access. Many boat enthusiasts want to be members of Yacht Clubs or boating clubs.  West Palm Beach is home to a fantastic Sailing club that offers lessons to small children, youth and adults. They sponsor all kinds of regattas and other sailing events. Stay tuned for more information regarding all of the Yacht, Boating and Sailing clubs nearby.   As there is a limited amount of coastline and the regulations are quite stric... 04/02/2010

Cityplace Downtown West Palm Beach Lifestyle- Luxury Living Steps away from some of the best beaches in the world to night life that is welcoming to all- you can live where the downtown action is in Cityplace of West Palm Beach Florida.  Here you can choose a luxury condo or a simple urban loft to call your second home or full time residence here in West Palm Beach Florida.  Or you can live in a down to earth town house right next to the hustle and bustle of Cityplace shopping by day and clubbing by night.  This unit here is actually one of our listings in Cityplace of West Palm Beach. It is a townhouse that you can now get for a really great price. We also have a gorgeous condo right on the intracoastal waterway here. Living anywhere along the corridor you have some great views of City... 04/01/2010

Jonathans Cove West Palm Beach FL Real Estate - Homes For Sale Jonathans Cove is a great townhome community located in West Palm Beach FL. Shopping, dining and entertainment are in every direction. I-95, the Florida Turnpike and Palm Beach International Airport are also close by. Jonathans Cove in West Palm Beach FL was built by Transeastern Homes from 2002 to 2003. Almost every townhome in Jonathans Cove is located on the beautiful lake or canal. Jonathans Cove has a total of 264 townhomes with living square footage ranging from 987 up to 1,386. Six different floorplans were built and some include a one car garage with additional driveway parking. Jonathans Cove West Palm Beach FL Amenities Clubhouse Swimming Pool Fitness Center Tot Lot Volleyball Court View Floorplans View Site Plan ... 03/18/2010

Mezzano West Palm Beach FL Real Estate Market Report: Sold in 2009 Mezzano is a luxury condo community located in West Palm Beach Florida. Super Target is just minutes away and McDonalds is within walking distance. Mezzano is a small gated community that was built in 2004. There are only 240 condos in Mezzano and each building has three stories. Six different floorplans were built and each unit will have one, two or three bedrooms with living square footage ranging from 820 up to 1,315. Mezzano West Palm Beach FL Real Estate Market Report: Sold in 2009 2009 Sales in Mezzano West Palm Beach FL range from $45,000 up to $186,900 and a total of 17 condos sold. 10 Homes were Bank Owned, while 2 were sold way of Short Sale and only 1 was a Traditional Sale. Address Bed Bath Garage Sales Pric... 03/11/2010

Live The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams! Bring your boaters, your dreamers, your water enthusiasts to this fabulous direct waterfront South Florida Condo on the Intracoastal and they will make it their own. When we arrived at this secluded and tucked away dream spot on Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach Florida the views took our breath away. The first thing we noticed is that with this direct Florida waterfront location is there will never be anyone or anything that can obstruct the breathtaking views from outside on the patios or inside from the great room. This is a boaters' paradise with passage to the ocean inlet. There are no bridges along the 1 mile waterway to the inlet. Go slowly along this waterway passageway because there are Manatees in thewaters here. In fact, Manatees swim right o... 03/05/2010

Get your Green Out! St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, and Clematis Street in Downtown West Palm Beach is ready to celebrate! On Tuesday, March 17, visitors will have the chance to sample traditional Irish food and drinks and enjoying music and dancing at many of Clematis Street restaurants and bars. The major celebrations will take place at Roxy's Pub and O'Shea's which are the street's premiere Irish gathering spots. Free concerts with the bands LIVE and Bad Company along with bagpipe performances, traditional Irish dancers and a St Patricks Day Parade will make this is an Irish festival you certainly don't want to miss! The celebrations begin at 8 a.m. 03/03/2010

Ibis Golf & Country Club is located near the outdoor shopping center known as City Place! City Place is an outdoor shopping and entertainment center, perfect for a sunny day! There are tons of things to do at City Place - whether you feel like shopping at Macys or any of the other specialty stores, seeing a movie at Muvico, or eating at the Cheesecake Factory or Il Bellagio. If you feel like an excellent fresh yogurt, Sloan's is available. They have a variety of specialty desserts, as well as nonfat yogurt options and you can choose a variety of toppings including rainbow sprinkles, chocolate chips, and more. There is also a Publix and a Barnes & Noble, complete with comfy reading chairs and relaxing music. There are plenty of special events going on City Place, especially during the ho... 02/25/2010

The Acreage- Palm Beach County Florida- Cancer Cluster- Realtors® To Disclose Cancer Findings The Palm Beach Post, The Town Crier and the SunSentinal all are printing nothing but negative stories about the cancer cluster in the Acreage. This is really getting the residents upset that happen to be trying to sell their homes as there is only one section of the Acreage that is experiencing this mysterious rise in brain cancer.  The emotions are running high with those who are affected and have family members affected by cancer tumors and then you also have the other side of the Acreage where homeowners are in deep financial straits trying to sell their homes as short sales only to find out that banks such as Suntrust are denying buyer loans for the reason of the "possibility" that there me... 02/18/2010

We just closed on another Palm Beach County short sale and What Our Clients Have To Say!   This listing was in downtown West Palm Beach in a condo development right on the Intracoastal waterways in South Florida. Here is what the sellers say about Palm Beach County short sale agents, Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset:      Our experience with International Properties and Investments, Inc was superb! Katerina, Nestor, and Milet are very professional, knowledgeable and helpful, and having them represent our property was a pleasant undertaking during a stressful time. We needed to “Short Sale” our property and they helped us through the entire process. They found the buyer and dealt with the bank in a timely matter. We would highly recommend them.   Thank you,   Gus and Tracy Torres     Av... 02/18/2010

A quiet and friendly community of 820 homes in eight neighborhood, Andros Isle is located in West Palm Beach on Okeechobee Boulevard between the Turnpike and Route 441.  Homes that were once priced in the $500,000's can now be bought for the high $200,000's to low $300,000's.  It is a buyers' market and there are good deals to be had in this moderately priced neighborhood. Residents at Andros Isle speak about the peace and quiet and the beauty of the area which is carved out of marsh and preserve land.  Looking to the north and west, it is easy to see unique birds and wildlife in the marshes. There are both single and two story homes in Andros Isles with the larger homes having nearly 3000 square feet under air and the smaller ones with under 2000 square feet. There are townhomes as wel... 02/16/2010

The massive condo building at 1515 South Flagler Drive  in West Palm Beach, Florida met a Valentines Day Demolition.  The Palm beach Post captured on video this spectacular event.  Although the video may be slow to load it is well worth the wait.  Enjoy1     02/14/2010

The Short Sale Closing That Was Saved In The 11th Hour! Short Sale- West Palm Beach Condo- The Slade   Short Sale Lender: BankUnited Florida - One Mortgage Condo Fees- Current Mortgage- Lis Pendens Source Of Listing- Referral from our attorney- she does not do short sale negotiating.   Bank approval in less than 60 days. Cash buyers Hardship- Investment underwater, business decision Seller had to pay for HOA fees, attorney fees and a few minor title fees.  The first buyers were a group of investors who failed to perform on their contract at the end of the day. We went through the whole short sale process, negotiated the short sale with the bank and the sellers. This was an investment purchase. Our attorney who was doing the closing and the buyers' attorney went back and forth settling t... 02/06/2010

Last night I had the pleasure of going to a french bistro with my son in CityPlace.  It was called Carousel. The food was great, the service outstanding, and the CanCan girls, well what's not to like.   I did a little research on CanCan's and found that basically they are a group of chorus girls dressed in petticoats and skirts and black stockings, much like the dress from back in the 1890's.  The dance is basically the lifting up and manipulating of the skirt in a provocative way with high kicking and dancing.  I never knew a person could lift their legs as high, and hold it there!  If you have any visitors from out of town, you should visit the Carousel in downtown CityPlace.  It was a very festive atmosphere, and my son forgot all about his admiration for the Radio City Rockettes, a... 01/24/2010

How To Quickly Scroll To Your Most Current Message ON Your Blackberry? How do I quickly scroll to my most current message, when I have found that my Blackberry has been rolling around in my purse all morning without it's cover? Well I am ashamed to say that I didn't know the answer for 3 years as a Blackberry owner, but I finally found out this week!  Do you ever find that your Blackberry scroll button has you about 2,000 emails back, and you have to scroll your way up to the top with the scroll ball to get to your most current message?  Isn't that the most annoying thing? I remember talking to a Realtor about it almost 3 years ago. I asked her if she knew how to scroll to the top, and she told me she didn't,but while she is driving, she has her teenager scroll to the top for her. Is th... 01/12/2010

I've kept a chart of average sales prices in Flamingo Park, West Palm Beach, FL dating back to 1989 - a very interesting 20 year picture.  In 1989 the average sales price was $59,889.  In 1999 it was $145,156.  In 2009 the number came in at $199,166.  Of course that average is lower than before the unprecedented rise in the bubble years - but the 2009 average is half way between the average numbers for 2001 and 2002.  If we've only gone back that far - I think that's a real decent sign! 01/10/2010