Welcome to the best monthly newsletter in St. Pete and possibly the known universe. My goal for this monthly newsletter is to highlight the best events happening within the Pinellas County Young “Professionals” Meetup group as well as other awesome things going on in the St. Pete area. I may add some sprinkles on top like a member highlight and/or local real estate update.
We will keep this short and sweet. Here’s what you can expect in this 2 minute newsletter
- Event schedule for Pinellas County Young “Professionals”
- Links to other sweet events in the St. Pete area
- Member highlight of the month
- Local real estate update
PCYP Schedule of events
Did you know there’s a sweet calendar feature on Meetup? Here’s the link.
Take a look at what’s planned so far this month. I’ll be hosting Classy As Sh*t Thursdays 3 of 4 at Copper Shaker tonight at 7pm.
Ryan will be hosting happy hours at various places around St. Pete. Next week is Urban Drinkery, the following week is Try Wine and last Wednesday of the month the happy hour will be Trivia at Pinellas Ale Works.
Melissa will be hosting the first Sunday football event on Sunday the 11th at a bar in Pass-A-Grille called The Brass Monkey.
Do you have an idea to host a meetup? Just let me know and I’ll help you post it.
Other awesome events around St. Pete
Second Saturday Artwalk! – This particular event starts at The Factory in St. Pete but the art walk spans dozens of art galleries around the city. This event is always ever changing and always fun. These art galleries open their doors for live art demonstrations, meet and greets with the artists and typically a place to get a drink. Some of these galleries even provide live music.
Intermezzo 6 Year Anniversary Party this Saturday! – Intermezzo is one of the best places to hang out, get a drink and embrace your inner hipster. Party starts at 8pm.
Cocktails On The Courts – This ones a bit pricey but sounds like a cool event $100 per person or $175 for two people. All the food and cocktails you can consume. Sounds like my kind of challenge. Also there will be live music and of course Shuffleboard. If you’ve never experienced the St. Pete shuffleboard courts you gotta check them out! I believe they still do free shuffleboard on Friday nights where you can BYOB.
Member Highlight
Salvo Caprara our Italian ambassador! Salvo is an awesome dude and a great friend. Although Salvo is a true overachiever in every sense of the word – earning a PhD and moving to a new country, he still maintains a very easy going attitude that only Italians possess. I have noticed how he understands how to enjoy life. Sometimes us Americans get caught up in always wanting more but Italians know how to not take things too seriously!
That is one of the things I really appreciate about Meetup – we get people from all different backgrounds coming out to events. Even America is ultra diverse and we bring out a wide variety of folks from different backgrounds whether American or from anywhere else in the world.
OK that’s about it. I’ll continue to highlight Meetup folks every month! Let me know if you have anyone you’d like to nominate.
Real Estate Update
Is right now a good time to buy a home? I think it depends. Rent is going up dramatically for many people so it’s important to consider securing a mortgage and buying a home to get a locked in predictable payment rather than being priced out of the area.
Interest rates are rising and home prices are dropping. We are past the height of the market thankfully. We hit that peak un-affordability level only a few months ago and now we’re going through a much needed correction. Even now many homes are being listed too high.
Home prices staying pretty steady this year however home sellers continue to list higher. Not a bad time to offer lower or ask for concessions / repairs when under contract.
With that said – Home sellers need to be more accommodating now. In the past couple years, there was no need for sellers to be accommodating with multiple offers on the table. Now they’re more open to price reductions, seller concessions or repairs. If you find the right house in the near future just know that there is most of the times some negotiation room!
The question is – Do I try to buy a home right now or wait until homes keep dropping in price? They may keep dropping in price but honestly your best bet is to start now and keep an eye out for the right home for you, even if it takes a while. We can factor in your downpayment, interest rate, estimated insurance and taxes and see if you’re comfortable with the monthly payment.
Sometimes it takes a while for the right property to pop up. I waited about 5 months for my house buying plans to pan out last year and I’m glad I did – my house is perfect for me and I didn’t settle for less. I even bid on two other houses, both of which I’m thankful didn’t work out.
Here’s my secret – I pray to the real estate gods. I’ll pray to them for you too.
In Conclusion
You have to have a conclusion right? Thanks for reading my very first PCYP Newsletter. For those of you that just moved here the past few months – we are almost to that part of the year where it’s beautiful outside again. I’ll probably plan some more outdoor meetups as it cools down a bit, including a Booyah at my house scheduled for October 28th. If anyone has a house that they’d like to a host a bonfire at let me know!
OK that’s about it. See you guys soon.