Our area is recovering slowly but surely and getting a little bit better each day. Power has been fully restored, and water was finally flowing to the Cape north of the rocks at Stumphole on Thursday. Most internet service in the area is working, although Mediacom is still struggling with some cables that were damaged in the Stumphole area. Cape San Blas Road road through that narrow strip remains open to all traffic. Just know that when you approach the mile or so of patched stretches you need to drive very slowly as they are still rutted and extremely rough and could wreak havoc with your car’s wheel alignment if taken at higher speed. Piles of storm debris – appliances, mattresses, tree trunks and limbs, siding and roofing, furniture and dreams – are now mountainous on either side of the roads, growing taller every day, and we all pray for the day they are finally taken away.
It is so sad to see the damage that this storm has caused. Ultimately, although roofs are designed to withstand strong elements, sometimes heavy storms can win the battle with your roof, and this can cause some damage. In fact, you might be tired of the tiles and the shingles, and it might even Call for metal roofing services instead. Something you know will be sturdy and durable to withstand the worst conditions, especially if you live in an area where you are prone to them. I was actually talking to a friend of mine about this situation just last week. She lives in North Carolina, and the roof on her home was recently damaged by a bad storm. However, since reaching out to Carolina Home Specialists – Roofers in Winston Salem her new roof has changed her life! Above all, what I am trying to say is that if you feel that your roof might have been damaged by a storm, then it is important to get your roof checked as soon as possible. It is vital that you do not wait long to check your roof as this can lead to bigger problems in the future.
Anyway, as for our area though, both of the stores on the Cape are open and gas is available at Scallop Cove. Even more importantly, their Blue Bell ice cream and deli sandwiches are back! Restaurants in town are slowly reopening; Peppers lead the way, soon followed by Indian Pass Raw Bar Uptown, Krazyfish Grille, Provisions and Sand Dollar Cafe. On the fast food side of the aisle, McDonalds is open for drive-through only while their lobby is repaired/remodeled. The Burger King was razed a few days ago and is now a barren lot. The true barometer of recovery in the realm of food-to-go, though, is that the Pig is once again serving up the best fried chicken on the planet. Their shelves are stocked pretty well back to normal.
As for real estate, we are still in recovery mode so very little has transpired in the past three weeks as is to be expected. Most area banks have now reopened so that’s a big help. Many of our realtors are still dealing with trying to get back on their feet, with many having considered using a type of real estate dialers software to help make those important follow-up calls and emails to clients so they have some business to actually go back to once everything has returned to normal. But I’m happy to report that all of our offices at Coastal Realty Group are back up and running, and all of our agents are back at work. I fully expect activity to start picking up again in the coming months. Our inventory in my last weekly review before the storm on September 28 stood at 289 overall, with 86 homes and 203 lots listed for sale in the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and C-30 Corridor MLS market. Today we’re at 242, with 63 homes and 179 lots.
I am still wrestling with our new MLS which has terrific data available and lots of bells and whistles on the user end; still puzzling over how to share all that beautiful market data with you. I haven’t been able to devote the amount of time to that as I would like as my husband and I are still working on trying to get our house back in order to a point where we can live in it again and finally return home; we are getting close and hopefully will have only another week or so of living out of a suitcase in the home of dear friends. I am so looking forward to being able to go back to focusing 100 percent on my real estate business that I love and enjoy so much. There are a few things I still have to sort with regards to my business though. I’ve been thinking about getting some Real Estate Software as I feel like it would make my life much easier (and my working day much more productive!) Working in real estate can be very stressful so having some software to break things down for me would be a huge help. I’ve also got some payroll issues that need sorting too!
I appreciate your hanging in there with me through all of this. I am available on my cell if you have questions regarding real estate or recovery; please feel free to call any time. 850-227-5197. I hope all is well with you and look forward to hearing from you soon.
I leave you with my mantra through all of this: