Happy Birthday Key West Properties Blog!

I was driving around Key West earlier today and remembered that I started my little blog about Key West real estate around Christmastime in 2006. I told myself that I needed to check the first entry to see when it all began. I did. The first blog was actually dated December 18, 2006 or eight years ago today.

A couple of years into writing my blog I added a counter to determine how many people were actually reading my blog. As of today there have been 1,000,430 page views. (I have no idea how many page views there may have been before the counter was added.)  I have written 2172 blogs. 2281 people have written comments most of which are still on the blog. I strongly believe in free speech and have only deleted a couple of comments over the years. I have deleted spam, however. There is some person in India or Bangladesh that has made comments praising my blog trying to get other readers to consider the option of buying over there instead of down here. People complain how long it takes to get here. Imagine how long it would take to get to India. A couple of years in to writing the blog I began to copy and put it on Activerain as well. Activerain is a blog platform used by Realtors to discuss real estate issues. I have 490,015 page views on Activerain.

One of the first calls I got of my blog was from a gentleman in the Carolinas. He had read a blog about a really cute house. We talked about the place a couple of times. I took more photos for him. We talked some more and then he made a cash offer, sight unseen. He bought the house.  A couple of years ago he showed up at an open house I held and introduced himself. That was our first meeting. I actually sold that house last year to a nice young couple from the midwest. And I have sold several houses the same way - sight unseen.

I learned I had a bit of a fan base. People have called me up just to talk. Some people have dropped by my office to meet me. A couple of couples took me to lunch or dinner (I'm not soliciting - I promise!)  A few years ago I drove a couple from Colorado (my home until I moved to Key West) around looking at houses. They didn't buy anything, but promised when the time was right, they would buy a house from me. They came back this spring and did just that. They bought their little dream home in Old Town. And there are many other readers who called me or wrote me and who have bought their dream home from me.  Thank you, all!

I have a few kids under my belt as well. I had a gay couple that used a surrogate. I see them and their daughter Millie often. I worked with a local couple who had a boy less than a year old when we started to look for a house. He was walking and talking by the time we finally got their home. I think he is now seven. He got to become a big brother last year. His dad told me he is a very good big brother. Good going, Owen! I have coffee dates with a buyer from Massachusetts when she comes to town. Her son is now seven as well. He went with us on one date and spent the whole time on his iphone playing games. The grandson of another couple referred to me as Grandpa's friend.  I have watched these kids grow up. Time seems to fly. It warms my heart to see these families now have second homes here and know that I have been a part of that process.

My internet skills are pretty limited. I figured out how this blogging thing works. Thank goodness that Google and Activerain have made the process easy to figure out.

And thank you to my Dear Readers who come back to this little blog to see what is offered for sale on the Island of Key West and to read the occasional reminiscing about my earlier life and occasional rambling about some goofiness going on in Key West now.