Better Realty Services For Home Buyers, Sellers, Renters  & Business Owners

(L.-r.) Mike Kane, Kathy Rieger & Monty Bryan have joined forces to open Better Realty Services , located off S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel, to serve all of your real estate & business brokerage needs.

The three co-owners of Better Realty Services say their name says it all: Their real estate firm will help you have a better experience in a wide range of services, whether you want to buy a home, sell a home, rent a home, manage an investment property, sell a business or buy a business.

Although their company is only three years old, Monty Bryan, Mike Kane and Kathy Rieger bring decades of experience to Better Realty Services, located on Cypress Creek Blvd. in Wesley Chapel (off of S.R. 56, just east of I-75). They each have their own specific area of expertise.

Monty has been a Realtor in the Tampa Bay area since 1982. He started his own real estate company in Tampa Palms in 1989, called Florida Properties Tampa, Inc. He sold that business to Coldwell Banker in 1999 and continued to work at the firm. He now handles the real estate sales and purchases for Better Realty Services.

He met Kathy when she purchased her home — with Monty as her agent — in 1999. He says he recruited her to join him at Coldwell Banker, where she specialized in property management. Today, Kathy brings her property management expertise to Better Realty Services, where she manages investment properties on behalf of owners, making the process of finding tenants, collecting rent and maintaining the property much easier.

Monty and Mike first connected while their children were in preschool together, and the kids later played recreational sports on the same team. Mike launched a business in New Tampa 10 years ago called First Choice Business Brokers, helping business owners who wanted to sell or people who wanted to buy a business. Mike’s role at Better Realty Services is to continue to help business owners as they plan an exit strategy from their respective businesses.

Monty, Mike and Kathy teamed up to launch Better Realty Services in 2015 and will celebrate three years in business together in May.

“It’s synergistic,” explains Mike. “There are a lot of people who want to buy an investment property, and then, we offer professional management for that property. Or, we sometimes sell a business to an out-of-state buyer, who then may be looking for a house to move into this area.”

All three are licensed Realtors, and Mike is the Broker for the office. Because of their years of experience and commitment to hard work and the highest ethical standards, they say they can help any customer who may be interested in any of their varied services.

“We’re a boutique company,” explains Kathy. “We customize our service so that it’s personal and works for every client.”

Good Timing For A Move

Monty says that now is the time of year that the residential real estate market is the busiest.

“Most people want to move before the summer, so this is the busy season for both sales and rentals,” he says. “If you have considered putting your home on the market, this is the time of year when there is the most traffic, so my advice is to do it now.” Monty and his team can help you get your home ready to sell and price it correctly.

“If your house is in good shape and priced well,” adds Kathy, “it will sell quickly.”

Monty adds that the local real estate market has been busy for the past two or three years, after several slower years.

“It took from about 2008 to about 2015 for all of the foreclosures to clear out of the market,” he explains. “Now, we’re in a season of steady growth and lower inventory.”

While lower inventory may mean a higher price if you’re ready to sell, the team explains that it’s still a good time to buy, too. Interest rates are low, which is good for buyers, and builders are active again, offering many new home options in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel real estate markets.

Long-Term Relationships

Pauline Evans is a former New Tampa resident who now lives near the University of South Florida (USF) in a retirement home. She says she has been working with Monty and Kathy for 18 years, since Monty first helped her buy a home in Hunter’s Green in 2000.

Since then, Pauline says that Monty has been her real estate agent for several more transactions, as she purchased two investment homes in Wesley Chapel.

“My husband and I were managing our own properties, and Kathy and Monty were always there as advisers,” Pauline says. “They helped us to be entrepreneurs and manage our own properties.”

Since her husband, who was retired from the U.S. Army, passed away about three years ago, Pauline has turned her rental properties over to Better Realty Services for Kathy to manage. She says she trusts Kathy to manage her properties as well as she and her husband did, when they used to send one of their sons over to mow the lawn or fix small problems at any of their investment homes.

“Everything is in Kathy and Monty’s hands now,” she explains. “Now, they just send me a statement each month.”

Pauline says it’s much easier on her, and that the friendship and advice she has received from Monty and Kathy over the years has led to her trusting them with her investments.

“I am blessed to have these rental properties,” she explains, “which make it possible for me to live in this community, which is more expensive than living in a little house somewhere.”

Monty, Karen and Mike hope to become that trusted source of expertise for anyone in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area who is considering buying or selling their home, or an investment property, or even their business.”

Their years of experience have given them a perspective that is somewhat unique. When Monty opened the first real estate office in New Tampa in 1989, the only neighborhoods were Tampa Palms, Hunter’s Green, Pebble Creek and Williamsburg.

“I knew this area was going to grow, because I could see this area of raw land on the map,” says Monty. “But, it’s kept growing and growing, and now moved into Wesley Chapel. That’s a lot of growth in 30 years.”

Monty says with all that he’s seen over the last three decades, he still truly enjoys what he does.

Mike concurs. “I think it says a lot that we’re all still in this business after all this time.”

Better Realty Services is located at 2654 Cypress Ridge Blvd., #103. The office is open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and evenings and weekends by appointment. To reach Mike, Monty or Kathy, call (813) 793-4380. For more information, visit BetterRealtyServices.com.

The Continuing Saga Of Our Own Wild Bill; Plus, A Kayaking Editor Update

Wild Bill Peterseim & Derrell Newell

A little more than three months ago, in our January 12 issue, I told you a little bit about the story of my friend, local karaoke legend Wild Bill Peterseim. The article gave a lot of information about a 70-something man who not only does a pretty good Elvis impersonation while doing pushups during the musical interludes of his (and other people’s) karaoke songs at O’Brien’s Irish Pub in the Wesley Chapel Village Market, but also of his  long business career and of him saving a man’s life at the Lexington Oaks clubhouse pool.

Lexington Oaks is the community where Bill lived with Linda, his beloved wife of 46 years, who passed away last year from an extremely rare form of melanoma and where the couple lived in the aftermath of Bill falling victim to a trusted business associate’s Ponzi scheme. Believe me, the above is the Reader’s Digest version of the story.

Since then, Bill has had the home in Lexington Oaks taken away from him by the bank in the aftermath of the Ponzi scheme (another really long, hard-to-explain story) and it was possible he would have to move to Winter Haven to live with one of his two daughters and her family.

Shortly after my article came out, Derrell Newell, another O’Brien’s karaoke regular who actually is a professional Elvis impersonator, informed Wild Bill that he was planning to perform a benefit concert at O’Brien’s to (at the time) try to keep Bill in his home.

That benefit was held in February and, more than 60 songs later — including about a dozen duets by Bill and Derrell — a total of $700 was raised, all of which was donated to help Wild Bill pay some bills.

About $160 of that total came from Bill’s new friend, local photographer and DJ Chuck Amstone, who read about the benefit in the Neighborhood News and contacted me to get involved in the fundraiser, even though he had only met Wild Bill once or twice before (Bill does have that effect on people).

Chuck brought his photo booth to the benefit and raised his money by asking people for donations for Bill when they took pictures in the booth during the show.

I give major props to both the charismatic Costco employee who prefers to be called “Elvis D” and to Chuck for stepping up big time for a friend.

Around the same time, Wild Bill’s financial picture became a little bit brighter when yours truly hired him as an office assistant. Even though I knew that Bill was overqualified for the job I hired him to do — organize my shambles of an office and the storage area next to our conference room — I also knew that this vibrant guy who is back to doing pushups on stage after a little bit of a health scare of his own would sink his teeth into it and do a spectacular job. And, he has exceeded my expectations. My only regret is not taking before-and-after pictures because no one who has spent any time at our “palatial” office would believe how organized the place is now.

So, the saga of Wild Bill continues. Come meet Bill, Derrell my fiancé Jannah and all of the other karaoke regulars at O’Brien’s on almost any Wednesday night. Gary Carmichael of Heart & Soul Karaoke is back and he has the greatest song list in creation, so whether you end up singing or not, I know you’ll feel like another member of our karaoke family.

If you’re looking to hire a Vegas-quality Elvis impersonator for your next event, Wild Bill and I both urge you to contact Derrell at (617) 909-0168. And, for all of your DJ/photography needs, call or text Chuck at (727) 215-4487.

This Guy…Is Still Kayaking?

So, if you haven’t watched the recent episode of WCNT-tv, where Susanna Martinez and I tell you how I did in the Sharkbite Challenge & Paddlefest off Honeymoon Island on April 14, I hope you’ll access our Neighborhood News Facebook page and watch it.

Here’s why: Two years ago, when I first entered this four-mile (more on that below) race, I did so in a kayak I borrowed from a friend and it just so happened that the Gulf of Mexico was extremely angry following a big storm that day. It was so bad that the organizers rescheduled the Saturday races for Sunday, where the winds were still 25-30 knots and the seas were 3-5 feet. I ended up flipping the kayak and swimming it to shore.

This time around, I went to check out Honeymoon Island a few days before the Challenge, and it was like deja vu. Even though I now have my own 18-foot-long surfski single kayak (I call it the “Neighborhood News/WCNT-tv Banana Boat”), the winds were whipping up to about 25 knots and I just couldn’t stay in the boat. Oh…and I recorded it all on a GoPro-style camera and showed a smidgen of it during the WCNT video. Pretty funny stuff.

Undaunted, I still returned to Honeymoon on the 14th and, with only 10-15 mph winds and much calmer seas, I finished the 3.5-mile (they did shorten the course because of the wind) Open Division race 61st of 92 finishers, in 58:14. It may not be the feel-good story of the year, but it did make me feel pretty good about myself, despite the fact that others in my age group beat me by more than 20 minutes.

Quail Hollow Kid Cooks Ready To Take Their Talents To The ‘Gridiron Challenge’

(L.-r.) Lindsey Overland, Madison Gulley, Gracie Evans and Katelyn O’Neil show off their Alfredo Smothered Roasted Red Pepper & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Swirls.

Quail Hollow Elementary (QHE) students Gracie Evans, Madison Gulley, Katelyn O’Neil and Lindsey Overland will be competing in a “Gridiron Challenge” on Saturday, May 19, at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ training facility at One Buc Place.

But, don’t expect the 10- and 11-year-old fifth-graders to be knocking anyone down with ferocious hits.

Instead, they will be trying to knock some people out with their Alfredo Smothered Roasted Red Pepper & Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Swirls.

The Wesley Chapel girls will take part in a culinary competition against students from three other schools in the annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge, part of the “Fuel Up to Play 60” initiative, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program run by the National Dairy Council and the NFL.

The event is free and open to the public to attend. And, while it’s still a few weeks away at our press time, the girls say they are already getting nervous.

“I think about it a lot. I’m very excited,” Katelyn says, with her teammates nodding in agreement.

At the competition, the Quail Hollow quartet will have an hour to prepare their signature dish for a panel of judges, including a Florida dairy farmer, the Bucs’ executive chef, a representative from Publix and teenage culinary whiz Zac Kara, a former MasterChef Junior competitor on FOX-TV.

The QHE team has its own culinary whiz and former television competitor in Gracie. In 2016, when she was just 9-years-old, she battled against nine other kid cooks from across the country on Food Network’s “Star Kids” cooking show.

On that show, Gracie had to present a live audition to judges, prepare dishes on the fly and incorporate social media — such as a Snapchat cooking tip — into her cooking presentation. She still maintains a popular Instagram page, where she posts her most current dishes.

It’s a skill set she picked up from her mother, Juliana, a well-known dessert maker who has appeared on NBC-TV’s “The Today Show,” as well as the Food Network and local TV. She describes herself as a “freelance food stylist,” and her daughter is following in her footsteps.

It was while both were giving demonstrations at the Southern Women’s Fair last October that Gracie was introduced to the Florida Dairy Council, which suggested she take part in the council’s upcoming competition.

The idea of a team competition appealed to Gracie, as opposed to the kid-to-kid cooking combat she went through at Food Network. She decided to team up with Madison, Katelyn and Lindsey, with fifth-grade teacher Alysha Moscarelli and Juliana helping to guide the girls.

“It will definitely be better than my first time,” Gracie says. “You will be able to rely on other people. It helps you relax more. You won’t be as nervous.”

The Power Of Teamwork

In fact, each girl has her own role to play on the team, forming a finely-tuned unit.

Gracie started brainstorming immediately after finding out about the competition. She pitched the Council with one of the recipes she served on the Food Network, modifying it by replacing the recipe’s marinara sauce with Alfredo sauce, as the competition calls for dairy-based recipes.

“I changed it a little bit,” Gracie says. “It was really easy to make and it is an interesting dish because it has a lot of components that, all together, taste really good.”

One of those components, which provides a secondary dash of dairy, could be called the “secret sauce” — yogurt.

“It made it a little creamier, and yogurt has that tart kind of a bite,” Juliana says. “It plays very nicely.”

Katelyn also helps with the Alfredo sauce. “We put a lot of work into it and practice and tasting, making sure it’s real smooth,’’ she says. “And, we have a lot of back-up plans, in case it’s not perfect.”

Lindsey’s job is the lemon ricotta filling, which she says she makes with ricotta cheese (still more dairy), zested lemon, salt and black pepper.

“We mix it all up and put it (on the noodles) and roll it all up,” she says.

Madison is responsible for the roasted pepper sun-dried tomato, which is blended with pesto, baby spinach, parsley and olive oil before being incorporated into the lasagna noodles.

“It’s very delicious,” says Madison, who is dubbed the “Pesto Queen” by her teacher.

Lindsey and Madison both say that since joining the Gridiron Challenge team, they have taken a greater interest in cooking and now make more dishes around their homes.

“I really enjoy doing the cooking,” Lindsey says. “But, I think it all started with this competition.”

The team has been practicing for three months now, sometimes at home, other times at school, where they push three desks together and set up their stations.

Moscarelli, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) teacher who has all four girls in two separate math and science classes at Quail Hollow, says she has enjoyed watching them work together in preparation for the upcoming competition, not to mention all the taste-testing she has been able to indulge in.

“It’s nice to see them use their critical thinking skills, communication skills and teamwork in everyday life,” she says. “And, the recipe is delicious.”

The girls are all friends and have each brought their own special talents to the cooking table — with a mix of brainstorming and experimentation.

“They started to talk about it at lunch,” Moscarelli says, “and they would say, ‘Ooh, what if we added this to the recipe?,’ and then would go home and try different things and alter the ingredients. They all jumped right in.”

The recipe is finalized, and the team is now working on the little things, like plating and timing. They will have to plate and present four dishes for the judges, and also are responsible for producing 50 samples for the audience.

The girls are confident they will do well and deliver a hit at the Gridiron Challenge. The delicious kind.

“We have been working hard,” Madison said. “It will be good.”

Market Technologies Offers Investment Software & Career Opportunities

Building wealth by investing in financial markets can bring the reward of a secure future but there can be plenty of uncertainty along the way to that goal. For almost 40 years, Wesley Chapel-based Market Technologies has provided investors with trading software they can use to navigate the ebb and flow of economic factors influencing the stock, commodity, and currency markets, as well as their own investment portfolios.

According to Market Technology vice president Lane Mendelsohn, the company’s proprietary VantagePoint market forecasting software uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to track and analyze factors such as market reports, related market activity and government policies that can influence a particular stock or other trading investment, such as commodities like corn or copper.

A report by the financial services consulting firm Aite Group (cited in the June 2, 2016 edition of Forbes magazine) indicated that there are 54 million individual, self-directed market traders in the U.S. alone, who can manage their investments just about any time, anywhere, from their smartphones. To get VantagePoint software into the devices of as many investors as possible, Market Technologies is now hiring inside sales professionals to assist people calling to about the software.

Lane says software programs like VantagePoint analyze market information to give near-term trading forecasts. It’s an application of computer technology that has spawned new competitors for VantagePoint, which can trace its pioneering digital roots to 1991, a time before widespread consumer use of the Internet.

According to Market Technologies’ website, VantagePoint forecasts stocks, futures, Forex, and ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) with proven forecasting accuracy of up to 86 percent.

Market Technologies was founded by Lane’s father, Louis  Mendelsohn, who is still the company president. The company was the result of Louis’ quest for better returns on his own self-directed investments.

“He starting developing software for his own purposes so he could be a more successful, profitable trader and investor,” says Lane.

Lane Mendelsohn

As the senior Mendelsohn’s research gained notice through publications and television appearances, his personal project evolved into a company providing technical analysis trading software to individual investors.

“It was something he personally had a need for and later realized other people had that same need,” Lane says.

Louis Mendelsohn grew up in a Providence, RI, tenement building next to a freight rail line, and set his sights on moving away from that life of poverty. His first step was a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Administration & Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Louis’ childhood background led him to study social work, and he received his Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He followed that up by earning his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Boston University in 1977 and moved to Tampa to work as a hospital administrator.

While making investments for himself, he realized he needed better tools than the calculator and pencil technology that prevailed in the financial services industry at the time. Louis knew about computers and software, so he combined his interests in finance, investing and computers to develop predictive trading software that would compute market trading technical indicators — like moving averages that give investors clues as to how a stock or commodity may behave.

A Company Is Born

Wanting to share his knowledge and success from his work, Louis started Market Technologies in 1979 as a company and released his first trading software for personal computers in 1983. He has also written books on the subject, such as Trend Forecasting with Technical Analysis: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Intermarket Analysis to Beat the Market.

Louis Mendelsohn

Building on his early research, Louis began focusing on the relationships between individual stocks, currencies and commodities and the global factors affecting all of them. He developed proprietary mathematical processes to recognize trading patterns across different markets, leading to the development of today’s VantagePoint software.

VantagePoint is advertised in trading industry magazines such as Traders, Stocks & Commodities and Your Trading Edge. The ads generate leads for the Market Technologies sales force working out of the company’s building just off Wesley Chapel Blvd., about 1.5 miles west of I-75 on Old Pasco Rd.

VantagePoint user Eric Hall expressed his satisfaction by awarding a Five-Star Google Review, writing “This is an amazing group of people that provide cutting edge software products to traders across the globe. No other product even comes close to what they provide. If you’re looking for an edge in the markets they can provide it to you!”

Opportunity Is Knocking…

For people more interested in reaping financial and personal benefits from rewarding work, Market Technologies currently is hiring people for inside sales positions, responding to individual traders who express interest in the high-tech Vantage Point market forecasting software.

According to Lane, applicants do not need financial industry experience but persistence, curiosity and a positive attitude are essential for success at Market Technologies.

“We’ve had people who didn’t have sales experience but wanted to help people and learn new things,” he says, adding that as the market for self-directed investment products grows, so do the opportunities for those who make them available to individual traders. “There is no better time for someone to join our company and ride that wave of success.”

As to how good a time it is to join the VantagePoint team, in addition to having a product that is of interest to a lot of people, Market Technologies was just named as a “2018 Top Workplace” by the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, a recognition based on anonymous surveys completed by employees collected by the research company Energage, LLC. According to a company news release, the survey placed “Market Technologies in the top 10 out of 50 companies with fewer than 150 employees.”

That recognition comes as no surprise to Gilbert B., who has been a member of the Market Technologies sales team for nine years. Gilbert says he has found workplace satisfaction and financial security working atop the VantagePoint wavecrest.

“There’s a great opportunity here but you have to work hard,” Gilbert says, adding, “The company cares about the employees.”

Benefits include fully paid insurance for all employees, including health, dental, life and long-term disability. There is a full description of job openings and benefits available at the Market Technologies website, SellingIsFun.com.

Market Technologies has a global reach, with customers in more than 120 countries, but its connection to the Tampa Bay area has been strong since its founding. In fact, part of the company’s philosophy is sharing its success with the local community.

Market Technologies’ charitable efforts include supporting Metropolitan Ministries and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program, among others. In fact, earlier this month, for International Children’s Book Day (Apr. 2), the company collected and donated more than 100 books to Shriners Hospitals for Children Tampa. Market Technologies also has hosted events for children being treated at Shriners and has supported the hospital with financial donations. “We decided last year we wanted to make Shriners a really big focus of ours,” Lane says.

He acknowledges that there are plenty of wealth-building products and programs in the marketplace for consumers to consider, but one way to distinguish among them is longevity.

“That’s something that really differentiates our company from so many others in the industry, that next year will be our 40th anniversary year,” Lane says. “So, for 40 years, we’ve been developing technology for traders and investors to help them achieve their goals and really empower them to be able to be successful and provide for themselves and provide for their families.”

Market Technologies is located at 5807 Old Pasco Rd. in Wesley Chapel. For more info, call (813) 973-0496. Neighborhood News readers interested in employment opportunities at Market Technologies can learn more by visiting SellingIsFun.com. To find out more about VantagePoint and get a free demonstration of the software, visit VantagePointSoftware.com, send an email to info@vantagepointoftware.com or call (800) 732-5407.

Wesley Chapel Woman Gives Birth In Her Car…For The 2nd Time!

(Left to right) Micah, Mason and Maurice welcome baby sister Nylah Grace to the family. Mason and Nylah have something unusual in common — both were born in a car!

Michelle Knox seems to be able to take things in stride.

When she woke up around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, April 17, it was one day before her due date with her fourth child, her first girl.

She was feeling strong contractions that were only three minutes apart, but she didn’t panic.

She just followed the plan.

Nate, her husband, called the kids’ grandparents to take their three boys to school.

As her contractions got stronger, she felt the urge to push. Nate told her to put on pants. In case she needed to deliver her baby in the car, the pants would help catch.

Nate jumped in the front seat, Michelle got in the back. They headed to Florida Hospital Tampa near E. Fletcher Ave. on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

Michelle knew from experience that she didn’t want to be in the front seat while she delivered her baby.

That’s where her last child was born.

Yes, you read that correctly. This is Michelle’s second time delivering her own child in a car.

This time, she was in the back seat when her water broke, near their home in Wesley Chapel.

Michelle was still in the back seat when she knew it was time. She told her husband, “Next contraction, I’m pushing.”

Michelle says they were on S.R. 54, near Wal-Mart and the Nissan dealership, in crowded morning traffic, when their baby girl was born.

“I couldn’t catch her,” Michelle says, so she kind of just fell into those useful pants.

“She cried automatically,” says Michelle. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay. As soon as I heard her cry, I was good.”

She pulled a blanket out of the bag she had packed for the hospital and swaddled her baby. “I wanted to feed her,” Michelle says, “but the umbilical cord was too short.”

When they arrived at Florida Hospital Tampa (FHT) — the hospital where her obstetrician has admitting privileges — the staff was ready for them.

“We have an emergency alert called Code Noelle, which not all hospitals have,” explains Richelle Hoenes-Ahearn, FHT’s director of corporate communications. “It means there is an obstetrical emergency and part of the plan for response includes a medical cart that is fully supplied with everything needed to help a mom in labor and deliver a baby. When Michelle’s husband came in and we called a Code Noelle, that cart was brought outside and had everything needed! It allows for complete care wherever the patient is, rather than waiting to bring Mom to a room.”

Michelle says she was grateful there was a team waiting for her outside the hospital. They cut the umbilical cord right there in the car.

“It was a relief knowing all he had to do was get me to the front door,” says Michelle. “They were prepared.”

She was then admitted to the hospital, where the baby weighed in at six pounds, 15 ounces. The baby and her mom were found to be doing just fine.

Maybe the harder task was agreeing on the name for their precious new baby.

Michelle says Nate didn’t like any of the suggestions she offered — he was still pushing for the girl name they agreed on when they first started dating, which was in high school in Fort Walton Beach in the Florida panhandle.

When hospital staff asked the baby’s name, Nate suggested Nylah Grace, and Michelle agreed.

Nylah joins her brothers Maurice, 14, Micah, 11, and Mason, 5.

If you’re worried about the state of the back seat of the family’s car after this experience, don’t be. It just so happens that Nate owns Everyday Car Wash, a mobile auto detailing business.

“He couldn’t focus until the car was clean,” Michelle says. “Now it’s like new. He does a great job.”