Congratulations Jan!

Congratulations, Jan on the sale of your condo – another successful transaction!

review

Posted in Congratulations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Congratulations – Sara

Congratulations Sara on the successful purchase of your new home!

champagne-cork-1327843

Posted in Congratulations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fast, Professional and Committed – Review

I enjoyed reading this recent testimonial by a satisfied client. Time was short in this transaction, and we had to move fast, and cover a lot of ground quickly. Fortunately, they themselves were smart enough to be guided through the process by their agent. That’s a pretty serious obligation on me, but I rely on the fact that I do have extensive experience in this industry. Real estate doesn’t get taught, I always say, it gets learned – and that takes the years.

When our Condominium in Fort Myers sold unexpectedly we needed to find a new place quickly. We had been looking in the Sarasota and Saint Petersburg area. Stephanie met us several times on short notice and really helped us narrow our search. Throughout the entire process she was available to answer any questions we had. She gave the best explanation of any realtor I had spoken to about the recent changes to the Federal Flood Insurance changes.

Based on her work with us I can say without hesitation her professionalism and level of commitment to her clients is topnotch. I have no hesitation recommending Stephanie Passman to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. She is honest, hardworking and knowledgeable.
— M.M.

Posted in Testimonials | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fountain and Bench

This is a nice treatment of an area that could have been just a plain access between two structures. The bench in front of the wall fountain makes a great contemplative space.

Posted in Home Designs | Leave a comment

Granite – Gotta Love It

Granite is one of my favorite materials. For walkways, I think it can even compare with brick for elegance. What do you think?

Continue reading

Posted in Landscape | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Market Snapshot Mid-2015

Here’s a brief snapshot of the housing market in South Florida that I sent to my clients this morning. I hope you find it useful…

~~~

In general the market here is very bouyant – the bottom line hindrance is still an acute shortage of inventory. It’s very much a seller’s market, and good properties priced correctly get snapped up fast. I’m not seeing bidding wars out of control, but we have a lot of seller requests for buyers to bring their highest and best offers up front, as homes are getting multiple offers.

There’s a sense of financial prudence and caution with both buyers and sellers, and this is a national thing as well, but it works to dampen any giddiness that might occur. Continue reading

Posted in Economy, Housing Market | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Supremely Functional Kitchen of the Week

Houzz has a new Kitchen of the Week that deserves to be called out – one of the most functional kitchens I’ve ever seen.  For someone who loves to cook for company, and who doesn’t need people underfoot while she’s preparing food, this layout is hard to beat.

Continue reading

Posted in Home Designs, Lifestyle | Leave a comment

A Relationship of Trust – Review

Here’s a recent testimonial from some happy owners of their new home. It’s a great privilege to be trusted. I’m always aware that trust has to be earned. You have to demonstrate reasons for trust, and continually work to maintain that trust through your actions. It’s a serious commitment to make, but also an awesome gift to receive, and the best part of my job.

My husband and I were looking to buy a house in St Petersburg.  We called about a home we saw on the Internet.  Stephanie returned our call promptly and we decided to meet with her and see if she might be our “eyes and ears” in Florida since we reside in Wisconsin.  She listened to our wish list and set us up on her automatic alert system of homes that corresponded with our wants and needs.  We toured many homes with her and she was always honest and knowledgeable of the pros and cons of each residence.  She did a great job blending the wants of both my husband and I since they were not the exactly the same (For instance, my husband had much stronger feelings about a garage than I did). Continue reading

Posted in Testimonials | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New Listing – 1036 N Shore Dr NE Unit 3, Saint Petersburg

Desirable Condo in Old Northeast – UNDER CONTRACT

Here’s a new listing – I couldn’t send out advance notice for a sneak preview, because I brought this one to market with an offer already secured. It’s Active with Contract at the moment. This is how quickly good properties move in today’s market, and how essential it is to be represented by a strong agent.

To learn more, call me at 727-289-3289. To see more photos view the listing in my property website: www.searchstpetersburghomes.com/listings/propertyid/U7740953

1036 North Shore Dr NE, Unit 3 Saint Petersburg  FL 33701 ~~ $207,000 ~~

1036 North Shore Dr NE Unit 3

1036 North Shore Dr NE Unit 3

Fabulous light and bright 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit in the 55+ community of Whispering Waters! This is a spacious unit with sliding glass doors to 3 screened-in balconies! Gorgeous newly installed bamboo flooring throughout main living areas and bedroom with tile in the kitchen and bath. You will appreciate the abundance of closet space provided. This unit also comes with a stackable washer/dryer and garage. This is a well maintained community with a pool, a strong association, and very convenient location across from the water just a short bike ride to St. Petersburg’s vibrant downtown.

1 Bed 1 Bath 1 Car Garage • 925 Sq. Feet • 3 Screened Balconies
Large Closets • Stackable W/D • Bamboo Flooring & Ceramic Tile

Posted in For Sale | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Idlewild Cottage: Classic Renovation

A Florida beach house built in 1919 is still alive, and was lovingly renovated in 2011. You will love the story. Idlewild Cottage in Indian Rocks beach is a great story of how to renovate an old house. Houzz.com has a nice appreciation of some of the improvements, written by Tampa architect Bud Dietrich. Look at these pictures.

The porch is restored with a tongue and groove ceiling, but is unobtrusively updated with electronic roll-down screens for privacy and insect control.

Continue reading

Posted in Home Designs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Preview – 5939 27th Terrace N • St. Petersburg

Preview – To be listed in MLS June 25, 2015

Click for Online Brochure
Click for Photo Album

5939 27th Terrace N • St. Petersburg, FL • 33710 ~~ $215,500 ~~

19

Continue reading

Posted in For Sale | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Success Again & Again – Review

Repeat business is never something you can take for granted. I always feel I have to work at least as hard the next time as the first time, when a client wants help with another transaction. People and needs change, and it’s very important to have a sense of starting fresh, to really hear what they want. I’m grateful for this recent testimonial from a client who remains happy with my work.

When we bought our house 2 years ago we came across Stephanie serendipitously through Realtor.com. She was very professional and made our buying experience a breeze. Over the two years we have added another family member to our household so our old cramped house needed to go. We had no doubt in our mind to use Stephanie again as our realtor. Our house sold quickly and for top dollar! For the future, we plan to build a house and we will be working with Stephanie as well! And I think it’s safe to say that in the future we will use her again for any other realtor needs.

— M. C.

Posted in Testimonials | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Congratulations Tim and Debbie

Congratulations Tim & Debbie on the successful purchase of your new home!

congrats

Posted in Congratulations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Waterfront Preview – 728 Pruitt Dr, Madeira Beach

Preview – To be listed in MLS June 11, 2015

–>> UPDATE: Open House on Sunday June 14, 1-4 PM

Click for Online Brochure
Click for Photo Album

728 Pruitt Dr. • Madeira Beach, FL • 33708 ~~ $450,000 ~~

728 Pruitt Dr
Continue reading

Posted in For Sale | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Congratulations Mike & Meghan

Congratulations Mike and Meghan on the successful sale of your home!

sold

Posted in Congratulations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Give Your Garden a Bubble Rock For the Birds

Thanks to this article in Houzz, here’s a very simple idea for a water feature in your garden that makes a beautiful accent and attracts the birds, which makes for a constantly changing, pleasing view. It’s a bubble rock, an assembly of rocks over a recirculating water system that provides moving water for your eyes, and for the birds. Birds can hear and see moving water a whole lot better than the static pool of water in the traditional birdbath.

Continue reading

Posted in Home Designs, Lifestyle | Leave a comment

Amazing Family Agent – Review

I get a lot of satisfaction from my career. The greatest thrill is when a satisfied client shows it with a great review of my performance. Here’s another one.

Stephanie was what we would call an “Amazing Family Agent” she not only was a professional and knowledgeable agent she took it personally and put her heart into working on helping us find the property that fit our family’s needs perfectly!

We were limited as far as needing the right size house for the right price and Stephanie did not give up on finding that house for our family. We moved here from out of state so she had to look over and take pictures of houses we would be interested in online and she would contact us and go over each picture with us. She is devoted to helping out and making sure her clients are treated with honesty and courtesy. Stephanie has years of experience and we could tell just by talking with for the first time. She also helped point us to the best loan officer I have ever met.

I would recommend Stephanie to be your next agent and I mean that from the bottom of my heart!

— A.S.

Posted in Testimonials | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Rain Chains

image courtesy of Rain Chains World

image courtesy of Rain Chains World

After my story recently about managing storm water using planters, I looked at some more Rain Chains – surely the most elegant way to move water from the roof to the ground.

Water is lovely to listen to, and also pretty enough it should be looked at instead of hiding it inside an ordinary downspout that looks like it came from a hardware store!

Rain chains manage this, as well as checking the torrential nature of rainfall somewhat. And even when not in use, they remain really attractive in their own right, a design accessory, like earrings 🙂

Continue reading

Posted in Home Designs, Lifestyle | Leave a comment

Waterfront Preview – 8094 Causeway Blvd. S.

Preview – To be listed in MLS April 30, 2015

–>> UPDATE: Price Reduction June 8, 2015

Click for Online Brochure
Click for Picture Album

8094 Causeway Blvd S. • St. Petersburg, FL • 33707 ~~ $565,000 ~~

24 Continue reading

Posted in For Sale | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Managing Rainwater Runoff with Planters

Sudden storm waters can cause problems for your community with surging runoff and for your home  with temporary flooding. Ideally you want all the rainfall that falls on your lot to stay there, nourish your plants and infiltrate back into the ground to recharge the water tables. But how to manage the sudden surges of storm water? Continue reading

Posted in Home Designs, Lifestyle | Tagged | Leave a comment