Our post-Michael recovery continues moving forward and all utilities have now been restored to the Cape, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor. Rental properties with minimal damage are trickling back onto the market. As I mentioned last week, businesses and some restaurants have reopened downtown. Admittedly we still look badly beaten and bruised, but we’re pretty much back to a functioning, operational level, so if you’re wondering what you can do to support our community I would have to say simply please plan to come visit. Our beaches are cleared and our sunsets remain the best in the world.
Our real estate market is slowly reawakening, with one sale and one new contract this past week, six new listings and one price change. Unfortunately, our new MLS provider told me flat out this week they cannot provide the same links to data I’ve shared with you for the past 11 years that our old MLS handled without a problem so I’m grappling with how to go about providing you with that data by some alternative method. The more time I spend with this new and so-called “improved” MLS system designed by Navica, the less I like it. It doesn’t allow me as a Realtor to share anywhere near as much info with consumers as our previous MLS provider did. Case in point: documents I upload to listings such as surveys, seller disclosures, or elevation certificates that are useful info no longer are available to the public, only to other Realtors, except by emailing them to consumers. This just seems so “Back To The 90’s” to me. I am not a happy camper.
Bottom line seems to me that I am going to have to figure out how to repackage the info my readers are accustomed to into my blog. If I can get back into my home this week I should have fewer distractions and more time to work on resolving this problem. Redesigning my website is long overdue so in the end it may not be a bad thing, but the timing sure could be better!
Trying to live a normal life surrounded by post-apocalyptic scenery takes some getting used to, but strangely enough, I find I am getting used to it. I’m becoming numb in a way I really don’t want to to the mountains of storm debris lining the sides of every road that initially upset me. I accept that everything now takes much longer than usual no matter what, and trying to live on what used to seem like a “normal” time schedule is futile. So much has changed in the past month. It’s hard to get my head around the enormity of that change. To get an idea of the magnitude of this storm’s impact, if you have ever flown into the NW FL Beaches Airport, you know how long a drive that is to the Cape. So now imagine nearly every building you see from the time you exit the airport until you arrive at the Cape being either damaged or destroyed.
If you have questions I can help you with, please feel free to call or text me at 850-227-5197, or send an email to [email protected]. I’ll be glad to help you in any way I can.
We are #CapeSanBlasStrong