December 23, 2025 • 40 mins
We talk about Christmas traditions what are you eating? Does Santa wrap the presence are we giving too many gifts and are you going to give your family $1 billion for Christmas?
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Welcome to the Business Happy Hour radio show with your
host Frankdebank Coodo, the owner of Lincoln Lending Group right
here in Tampa Bay for twenty three years, joined by
his incredible co host, Senia Akishna, rialtor with Mahara and Associates.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Tampa's top real estate company.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Together they have helped finance and clothes nearly one billion
dollars of real estate every year.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
If you're looking for local mortgage or real estate advice.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The Business Happy Hour team has been right here on
news radio WFLA for over a decade. Listen right here
or fight us on the Business Happy Hour YouTube channel,
or follow us on Instagram at Frankdebankkodo. Now, sit back, relax,
and get ready for some serious mortgage, real estate and
business talk with two of Tampa's top experts.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Here's Frank the Bank and Senia.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Hey Tampa Bay, Welcome back to the Business Happy Hour,
your number one show for all things business and entrepreneurial.
I am your host, Frank Theebankkodo, owner of Lincoln Lending
Group eighty one three, mortgage dot Com and all kinds
of other things you can find and doesn't contact Frank
theebank dot com. Today is our Christmas episode. I know
last week we said it, but this is our real one.
If you're watching Instagram or Facebook, send good morning and
(01:11):
Merry Christmas.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Good morning, Merry Christmas. Oh man, it's almost here. It is,
but you know what on our next episode and even
when our listeners hear this on the radio, I think
I'm just going to be a lot more. Oh thank goodness,
that's done.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh my god. The stress of the question is are
you done? Are you ready? Are you leaving here? Going?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Shausted?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Exhausted?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Right?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I know, and hasn't even been Christmas time and I
still got to do all the wrapping. My closet is
full of stuff. But yes, I'm excited to just have
the Christmas.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So not not a lot of presents under the tree,
not a lot of things wrapped yet, No, and you
know what.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
We usually do that and it fills up. But I
know with my almost four year old, those are going
to get unwrapped, whether they're his or not. So we
kind of we're waiting till the last minute.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Does he do that? Will he go down? Does he
does he know what he's doing? Like is he like
oh yeah, yeah, presence. Yeah, yeah, but he knows it's his,
you think.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Or no, no, he thinks everything is his.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Even better, So did you ever do it as a kid?
Did you ever run wrap any presents under the tree? Oh?
Speaker 4 (02:16):
You know what I did when I came to America.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Before they would flog you.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Well, in Russia, no, because I grew up in Russia
till I mean I was about nine.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Wait, wait, you didn't have Christmas in Russia?
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well we do, but our Christmas celebration like you guys
do it here, like the whole you know, Santa visiting
that happens on New Year's Eve?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Is it putin claws?
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Back then it was not.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
That's awesome?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
But yeah no. And then I mean, you get one gift.
You know, you're so excited for the one gift, some oranges,
some candy. That was oh my gosh, no, my, something
happened to my.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Tripod it was it was me. I probably messed it
up now that okay, the whole one gift thing. I
was actually thinking about this the other day. I don't
know if that's a Russian and American thing or if
that's just a spoiled American thing, because I don't know
I was talking to somebody and they're talking about oh,
you know, the kid was saying what he wants for
(03:14):
Christmas and it was one thing, and then somebody asked him, like, well,
what else do you want for Christmas? He goes, no,
that's that's my gift. That's what I want. And I
try to think back, like growing up, I think for
the most part, you know, you asked for one thing
when we were at least that's kind of what I remember,
want maybe two things, and then you would get other stuff.
You know, then you sayah, would surprise you with things
(03:35):
and stuff like that. But I think it's gotten absurd
these days with like the kids and the wishless.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Yeah, my like fifty item Amazon wishless from my lash.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
That's what it is. It's the Amazon literally perpetuates this right,
and they make they send these things out where kids
fill out their wish lists and they just clickick click clicklick. Now,
when you and I were younger, they had catalogs. You
remember that, the magazines, did you? Now? Also?
Speaker 4 (03:58):
Did I grow up with those? And I never got
to ask for what I wanted. It was just, hey,
you get what you get and you don't pitch a
fit and hopefully you like it.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Well, we're getting a history lesson here. If you were
in Russia, they didn't have catalogs for you to circle
what you want, So that's what it was. It was magazines.
It was like they came out with the toy store magazine.
Like toys r Us had a magazine.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Do you remember talking, Oh well, when I came to
the States, Oh yes, I do.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Okay, good, good, all right, So I didn't have Toys
r Us. They had Gorbachev r Us.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
We did have a really cool toy store, but it
was only a Moscow. I didn't live in Moscow.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
At the time. How far were you from Moscow?
Speaker 4 (04:30):
A good way. I'm from like the Arctic Circle. I'm
probably like another four or five hours north of Moscow
by plane. Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Really, were you really that high up?
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Really that high up? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So did you like see Santa Claus leaving the North
Pole or not?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
I mean I like to think that I did, sure,
amongst the northern lights, and you.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Know, it could have been an ICBM. You know, I'm
so messive with sending today, but it is kind of
fun to like talk about cultures and stuff because you know,
people don't realize that other parts of the world things
are different. So you guys, you did kind of have
a Santa Claus. You got one gift?
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Yes, yet motos What is it called, Grandpa Frost?
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Grandpa say that in Russian again diet maros, diet the moroos.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
That's very nice.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yet the moosu me pronunciation is diet the moos. So
it was would you call it again, father father Frost,
father Frost? Okay, And you know, and the one gift
thing going back to that. Here in America, I just
think we've we've gone overboard. You know, how many gifts
kids get and these wish lists and and it's like,
where did you draw the line? I know last night
(05:32):
I was I was looking at the list with my
wife and I of kind of what the kids had
asked for and what we got. And now my son
and daughter both have birthdays in December. My son is
Christmas Day. So yeah, I know, right, everybody says that
they're like ooh, but I'll tell you I was January sixth,
and I always felt like I was. I am January sixth.
I always felt like I got screwed. Like the family
(05:53):
would come in town and they'd visit for for Christmas
and be like, here's your Christmas and Birthday present, and
I'd open up the same present my brother got for
just Christmas, and I'm like, that's not how that works.
My son, on the other hand, he actually loves it.
He has not had a problem with it because when
we wake up, it's Christmas whole day, it's Christmas, sun
(06:13):
goes down, it's Landon's birthday. And I think he likes that.
And I think he also likes you know, and we
people take very good care to make sure he gets
two different gifts because it's on the same day. But
I can think with these kids, I almost think there
has to be some rules to this. There has to
do we got to do something. It's too much. It's just,
you know, it's too much.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Last year, I mean, we got exhausted opening Presence. It
took so long, like we had to take a break,
like it was just it was too much. Now that
it's going to be different this year, we said it
was going to be, but it's.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Not looking like a Now what's under you trees or
are you? But are you like us? Like there's presence,
but they're not under the tree yet.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Yeah, I think right presents they're hidden away. Hopefully the
kids haven't found the hiding spots.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
But yes, so I want to I'll get to I'm
gonna ask you another question. I want to go back
to opening gifts. But before I do that, here's an
interest in question. Kids, close your ears. Does Santa wrap
presence that he brings or not? Yes? He does? Okay, okay,
Santa wraps his presence. There has been a controversy in
my family that Santa has changed his ways. On occasion,
(07:20):
Santa used to not wrap, and then Santa started rapping,
and we thought, I know what is going on. Could
it be the elves have more time on their hands
these years? Could it be the certain years?
Speaker 4 (07:32):
There was a shout of some like robots, you know,
elf robots, so they can handle a lot more.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Elon, Elon, Are you the reason that the presents are wrapped? Now?
I don't, James, are you when Santa brought your presence?
Where they wrapped or unwrapped?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Always rapped horribly, but rapped always so Santa's good at delivery,
not so good at rapping.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Okay, so wrapped.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Wow, that's for my little one. I think that's the
most exciting part, actually more than the gift itself, was
actually tearry off the paper and yeah, taking stuff out,
that's the excitement.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Man. You know, this is a great poll. I'm gonna
put this on Facebook later today. Rapped or unwrapped the
Santa's they started out not wrapped and Sana. Now, when
Sanna goes to my mom's house, Nanni's house, he wraps
the presence. But when he comes to our house a
lot of times he doesn't. He just throws them on
(08:24):
the floor, like right by the chimney.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
So we got different Santa clauses. I guess going to
different homes.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, I think Santa just knows what we like. So
that's going back to own wrapping our own gifts. I
remember I love surprises. I know you like surprises, right,
So I didn't really want to know. But there was
one Christmas and I wish I could remember how old
I was. I want to say I was probably ten.
And do you remember the teenage mutant Ninja Turtles? Okay,
so kids, now, they're good. We know the turtles. No, kids,
(08:49):
you don't know the turtles. They came out when we
were kids, not when you were kids. Just like everything,
else okay, and the slime they had the turtles had
that mutant ooze that that would turn you into turtle
and stuff a ninja turtle. Well, they sold the slime.
They probably don't sell it today, probably because it killed us.
Who knows. It was probably made a letter or something.
But all I asked for, all I really wanted was
(09:11):
a jar of that slime. And my mom didn't want
to get me that slime because she knew it was
going to wreck the house because she knews going to
do with it. But I found what I thought was
the slime under the tree, and I didn't unwrap it
all the way. I just kind of made a hole
and I and then I was able to open the
little lid with my two little fingers and I was
able to pull out little booger sized pieces of the slot.
(09:32):
So I was playing with the slime, little tiny pieces
in my room. And she had no idea for like
a week exactly like that stuff. And here's the best part.
When I when the Christmas came and I opened up
half my slime was dried up because I didn't close
the thing back there there you go. I'm like, Mom,
I was like this slime's ruined. I need some more
slime anyway, and then I only have one more. I'm
(09:55):
gonna give a Christmas Did you ever have a Christmas
disappointment story? Did you ever ask for some and like
it was the only thing you wanted and you didn't
get it type thing?
Speaker 4 (10:04):
No, because I mean I was already older, you know
what I mean. I wasn't used to that kind of
thing where you asked for something, i'd expect to get it.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Well, if you did it in Russia and you got upset,
they'd probably cut your finger off, right, she's laughing. Notice
how she didn't say no, let me see your hands?
All right? She has all ten. I was just checking
so we're all there. But I didn't know what I
was gonna say. Now, Oh yeah, that's right. One year
and I was older. And I feel like a jerk
about this, but I was. I was probably like fourteen
(10:30):
or something. And that's when black lights were popular and
the and those those you bought the posters at Spencer's
do you remember lit up?
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And I and I had asked that I wanted a
black light for my room, and I had asked all
my friends and family or whatever. I said, get me posters,
get me, get me, you know, glow in the dark posters, whatever.
And they got me all the posters. And I guess
Sanna or Santa, Mom and dad, uh, just to ignore
the fact that you needed a black light for the posters.
And here comes Christmas morning all a little frank he
(11:00):
wanted his go downstairs and get his black light and
turn it on with all the posters he had gotten.
Guess who didn't have a black light, Frankie.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
I could see that being disappointing. I'm sorry you still
think about it now, I do.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That's that's right. I'm gonna cry over this. And my
mom called me right when I was going up on
the stairs to go into the radio studio. I was like,
it's like, sorry, Mom, I gotta go in the air.
So if you're listening, you scarred me. You did not
get me that black light. But guess what. In college,
I had more black lights than anybody in my room
and more jars filled with a highlighter fluid. Did you
(11:34):
do that? Oh man? So I'm giving her these kids
all these ideas. Don't drink the jars with highlighter. It's
probably not good for you. But I did destroy many
bottle many highlighters to make the water inside the jar glow.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
I never even heard about that.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Oh there you go, kids. There's an easy tip for
your kids. But buy a pack of highlighters, get a
mason jar, drop the inside of the highlighter into the jar.
It clows amazing. We're gonna take a break care on
the Business Happy or get it back with more Christmas
stories from Frank the Mankin, Sinia, and we might talk
mortgages in real estate.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Stay tuned all the best mortgage are real estate advice
from Tampa Bay's top experts. It's the Business Happy Hour
with Prank de Bank Koto and Senia Akisha.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Hey, Tampa Bay, welcome back to the Business Happy Hour.
This is our Christmas show. Now, if you're listening to
the radio and you know that's right, then you know
Christmas is over and you're picking up all the mess
and all the wrapping paper and hopefully you've kicked your
family out at Sunday. You probably got to go back
to work tomorrow. But don't worry. You got New Year's
(12:36):
Eve coming up in just three days. Pull out that
champagne you forgot to drink on Christmas day and get
ready because we're about to be in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Yes we are, and for me, that's a second Christmas.
So after we do this Christmas, we still follow the
tradition and what is still the gift expectation. You know,
we obviously don't go all out, Okay, but no, like
New Year's Eve, we still do you know, memor double
gift for everybody?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Wait, wait, wait, wit you guys do a you do
New Year's Eve gift exchanging?
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Well, yeah, because that's still Russian. That's how you know
Russian Christmas is. Actually it's like the orthodox calendar. Okay,
so Russian Christmas is January seventh. That's why I say,
I get so exhausted, and I've already exhausted this time
of year, but our like holidays feel to run up like,
oh well into January and the break.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
You told me your mom's birthday is a few days
before Christmas.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
It was yesterday, so yeah, it's not much of a break.
And this year we're like, hey, let's just do the
dinner Sunday. We're not gonna cook. We went out tea.
It was wonderful.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
But you said you hold on, I mean, you said
you went to a Russian restaurant. Yes, what is a
Russian restaurant?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
Well, there's Babushka's and we actually haven't been to the
Hyde Park location, so we're like, let's check that one out.
And we had the best time.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
What is it nice? Is it?
Speaker 4 (13:49):
It actually is? Yeah? Like the other one's more like
a little you know, traditional Russian cottage with the decor,
but this one feels a little bit more upscale. But
service was awesome, food was good, Like, this is the
way to go when you don't have to do the
cleanup or the cooking.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yeah, we have fun. If Nichol's listening, she's like, I'll
go to a Russian restaurant before I will cook for
the holidays. So what what do you get it at
a Russian restaurant besides vodka?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Oh, we got all kinds of stuff. I mean, of
course we have to have some caviar. Oh, so we
did caviar. We got a little charcuterie board with some
you know, the Russian calbasa.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
That's awesome. Yeah, I'm about caviar. So do all Russians
eat caviar?
Speaker 4 (14:33):
I think most probably do.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
And because I mean caviar, if you tell them say
caviar here in the States, that's like, oh you're hoity toy,
you got some caviar. But like regular Russians eat caviar,
that's a thing.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Well, we didn't get the super duper pricey one. We
do splurge on that sometimes, we did, like last year,
when it's you know, a big occasion, like.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
The black you know what, what is the good caviar?
What is it? I want?
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Yes, like the really expensive little teeny jaw you know
of the black caviar you get for like two hundred
dollars for an ouns or whatever.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Oh my god, and you put like the krama with it.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I like to do mine just actually a plain white
bread butter and that that to me, just the flavors really,
you know, come back. But I like the red salmon
caviar too. Okay, that one's really salty though, So if
you're not a big cavear person, you're not gonna like
that one. The black one is very mild, and I
think most people when they tried.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
They're like, Okay, now, isn't it isn't it whale eggs?
Is that what it is? Or is all kinds of eggs?
That the different ones.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
No, I think they just maybe that's the perception because
of the name. It's just no, it's a certain type
of fish.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
It's just a type of fish. Yeah, man, we are
learning stuff today. So you had caviar for Christmas, you
had vodka for your meal? What else did you have?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
We did well, I had to get Moscow mules. That's
the one I was wondering about.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You know what.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
They did actually make a really good one, and they
had different flavors. But I don't know if that's really
a traditional Well you should rush the beverage, because I
don't remember like growing up with that. So I wonder
if somebody just gave it that name, and like I think.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
They did for like a thing that's like my wife.
We went to Italy a while back and I kept
trying to look for a caesar salad and I'm like, like,
I'm in Italy, like who's got the caesar salad? And
we were there for like a week and nobody and
finally this this old Italian guy Greek caesar. Oh yeah, see,
I don't even I was thinking it was Italian. I
(16:21):
actually maybe I don't know.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Actually, well yeah no, because yeah, carabas on the I
don't know.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Somebody's gonna have to call this in and tell us
what this is. But I just remember there's two things
I wanted when I was in Italy Fetichini Alfredo and
Caesar salad. Guess what I didn't find until the eighth day,
and it happened to be at a restaurant in the Vatican.
Fetcini and Caesar. Sadly, yeah, so I'm thinking, like maybe
they just don't do that. I don't know, all right,
So what else? What else do you eat for Russian Christmas? Oh?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
I mean no, we had all kinds of the one thing.
I mean, Russia is huge, so actually even culturally, like
we have different regions. So one of my favorites was
like the okay, but they served that on a big platter.
We got like lamb and chicken and like lu luki
or something like that. But that's like a little but
it was so delicious and Adrika actually my daughter liked
(17:11):
it and she's a bit picky. It's almost like a salsa,
but it's got some spice to it and it's just yeah,
if you go to Babushka, they do lunch there. I
think they do. Yeah, But we had cabbage rolls. We
had like a chicken kiev beef stroganoff borsh of course
Borshe is a huge thing in Uh. Well, the color
(17:36):
is from the beets. It's really red, but mostly it's cabbage.
Because my husband will not try because he doesn't like beats.
I'm like, honey, you can't really taste the beets. It's
really just cabbage potatoes, you know, some meat, and it's delicious.
It's very hearty and it's a big tree. When my
mom makes it. I don't think anybody, even a restaurant,
can make it better than her.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Okay, this is the challenge. Yes, well, see we're doing
multicultural Christmas here. Let's see. How about this question, what's
the best day of the week to have Christmas on?
I've thought hard about this.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
I think I'm liking it that it's coming on a Thursday.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I think I like it too. I agree, I think
it's the best day. I think it gives us a
little time during the week. And then because it's on Thursday,
I mean, who's really working on Friday, right, right? But
if it's on Wednesday, then you kind of like it's like, oh,
I kind of got to go back to work. Right
(18:32):
one day, I mean today's Christmas Eve Eve? Right? Doesn't
it almost kind of seem like a non work day
today too?
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (18:40):
Man, it seemed like that to me Monday. I mean, yeah,
for sure yesterday, and yeah, yeah, I almost called out today,
but I had a present for you, so oh, I'm like,
I can't. We gotta just gotta show up. And you know,
do you our Christmas episode or you know, leading up
to Year's Eve?
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Exactly? That's right, that's right. If you guys are listening
on the radio, you do have New Year's Eve coming up.
So let's see what's going on. How about travel? Well,
we only have a minute left. When we get back,
we'll talk travel, and then should we talk a little
real estate? Did the stats come in?
Speaker 4 (19:11):
I god, November numbers?
Speaker 1 (19:12):
All right? So that's what we're gonna do when we
get back, guys, we're talking November numbers. We're talking about
Christmas travel. What are you guys about to do? Are
you leaving? Are you already gone? How about New Year's
What are your plans for the New Year? And you know,
I don't know, maybe we can all get together and
not have to buy fifty presents for Christmas? Every year.
We can just tell the kids Christmas, you get one
(19:33):
gift and Santa brings you one gift. That's two. I
think that's all they really need. Anyway, we'll be back
here in the business happ here. Don't forget. If you
need a mortgage, you can reach out to contact Frankdebank
dot com. And if you need to talk real estate
and find a home, SENDI. How do they reach out
to you?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
They can call me at eight one three seven five
five reel.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
That's seven five five real. Very easy, guys. We are
real people. So we will see you guys a little
bit later here right after the break, and we're gonna
talk Christmas, travel and November stats in the real estate market.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Stay tuned, Welcome to the Business Happy Hour radio show
with your host, Frank de Bank Coodo, the owner of
Lincoln Lending Group right here in Tampa Bay for twenty
three years, joined by his incredible co host, Senia Akishna,
realtor with Mahara and Associates.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Tampa's top real estate company.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Together they have helped finance and cloths nearly one billion
dollars of real estate every year.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
If you're looking for local mortgage or real estate advice.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
The Business Happy Hour team has been right here on
news radio WFLA for over a decade.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Listen right here or.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Fight us on the Business Happy Hour YouTube channel, or
follow us on Instagram at Frank Thebankkodo. Now, sit back, relax,
and get ready for some serious mortgage, real estate and
business talk with two of Tampa's top experts. Here's Frank
the Bank and Senia.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Hey, Tampa Bay. Welcome back to the Business Happy Hour,
your number one show for all things business and entrepreneurial,
Mary Christmas. If you're watching on social media, Happy new Ye.
If you are listening to the radio this weekend, we
go hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas and you're
sleeping in a little bit. If you're sleeping in, you're
not listening to our show, I'll tell you that Senny
and I have some uh some great stuff. Today we've
(21:12):
been talking about presence under the tree, rushing Christmas. What's
your tradition? I know I get fought every single year
because I like to have that traditional meal at the house.
I like this for Christmas. I'm gonna smoke a turkey.
That's what I normally do. Thanksgiving, I fry at turkey Christmas.
I for hey, I smoke a turkey. And you know
this year we're going out of town the next day,
(21:33):
so we're trying not to have leftovers. But the whole
family has been fighting me like, oh, you know, do
we have to do the same thing? Yes, guys, we
cook one meal, one meal the same era. Too fine
A count Thanksgiving? Right. I like the stuffing, I like
the dressing. I feel like that's just the holiday meal
send right. I mean, what do you guys? What do
you guys do on Christmas Day? Do you cook or
(21:54):
do you Christmas Eve? Do you do anything this year?
Speaker 4 (21:56):
Yes? We actually we will be and we are going
to be doing a turkey.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Oh, we switch it up.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
We don't have a traditional menu. You know. One year
maybe we want to do a ham and a fish.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
This year, well, I really want some red meat. Ah,
so I would like a good steak, yeah, and a turkey.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Do you guys have a green Eggs No?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
I want to get one of those.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
They're really good. So I've got a great recipe for you.
If you want to make a tenderloin, that would be
very nice. Go to Costco get yourself the big old
tenderloin the filet right, and then depending on how many
people you have, then you cook it all at once.
I can give you a couple tips. You can do
it on the grill too, and you just slice it
and then everybody gets their sliced piece of steak.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
And on the green egg, you can actually still get
it to like medium rare.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Oh, oh my gosh, the green egg is perfect. Thing
about the green egg that's that's so much different. It
adds like a smoke taste. But you can see it.
A green egg you can get really hot. Do you
have a grill at home that gets real hot? You
guys can see her. All right, I've got a tip.
I don't know if we're going to give it to
everybody here, but if we got time in the show,
I'll give you my steak tip of the week here
on how to prepare your chrisp or New Year's tenderloin.
(23:01):
I'll write that down here. I'll write down tenderloin. But
before we do that, why don't we talk about the market,
because we, you know, we do need to make a
little money. Things obviously are slow around Christmas right now.
We're probably only gonna you know, get a couple of
deals put in the pipeline this week, but that's okay.
Everybody needs to hang out with their families and we
already talked about we like Christmas on Wednesday and Thursday. Yes,
(23:23):
right middle of the week shuts it down. So it's
kind of like today's almost the last work day of
the week. Yes, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
This is this wraps it up for me. I leave
the studio and then I unfortunately still have a couple
of random gifts. I feel like that part's never ending.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
I couldn't sleep. I'm like, oh man, all right, just
you know, trying to run through you know, if I got,
you know, everything I wanted for everyone, and yes, always
a couple of.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Straggling you still got to go home and wrap them,
which is the worst part.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
That'll probably be all day for me tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Yeah, I'm thinking tomorrow, I guess we'll do some wrapping.
So tell me, tell me about the stats. Every every month, Senny,
it brings us the stats here.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Yes, I was excited because I wasn't sure because it's
today is the twenty third, so I'm happy that they
came out. Sometimes even when it's like that time like,
all right, they should be out, but we do have
our November numbers. Okay, the only ones I pulled for
us this week. We can save the you know breakdown
by county for the next show. But this is for
(24:23):
Tampa Saint Pete Clearwater, but it's actually also including Hernando
County as well, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsboro. Panella's closed sales. This
is the one I was a little bit surprised about
because that was actually down by two point eight.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Percent November to November.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
So we had, you know, definitely an uptick you know
in October, and I think that's largely due to the hurricanes.
But where I was a little bit surprised was because
our new pending sales for October numbers were all up,
like really high. But I'm thinking about it too. I
bet you a lot of those people that went under
contract in November because it does all around the holiday time,
(25:01):
it really you I mean, even as a mortgage broker,
you lose a lot of time you do between the holidays,
you know, getting title everything they need. So I'm willing
to bet that some of those new pending sales that
we had in October they actually probably won't be closing until.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
January I or even December though.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
I mean November, sorry, the November one, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, the ones that because we had a lot of
pendings October, right, yeah, And I follow you because then
you've got Thanksgiving week, so a lot of people take
off vacation that week. So it's kind of pushed his
closings out. Oh yeah, that too, right exactly. So I'm
thinking we're going to see a ton of closings, and
I'm predicting. I hope we see a bunch for December.
I hope our December December numbers are up big. Yes,
(25:43):
people don't realize this thing about homestead.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
You know.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
How do you know how important it is? Yeah, to close? Right?
Tell the listeners your thought on that?
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Well, I think yeah, if you want homestead for you
know that next year. So for twenty twenty six, you
need to close on your home before.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
The end of the year, right this year.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
Otherwise you'd have to wait a whole year exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
So you you gotta get closed. And I'm speaking to
everybody out there who's under contract in underwriting right now,
if even especially if you're not working with Lincoln Nding
Group in Senia, you need to tell your mortgage banker
or broker. Sorry, guys, you've got to work this week,
and you've got to work next week too. By the way,
they have all the way until I guess they have
until next Thursday, right, yeah, because that's the thirty first
(26:21):
you got to close. If you don't close this year,
then your taxes will not go down with your homestet exemption.
You won't get that exemption until twenty twenty seven, right,
So that's kind of a big deal if you ask me,
So you want to get closed right away? And I think, yeah,
I do think our December numbers will be strong because
we're gonna see all the people trying to push those closings through.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Yes, agreed, that's what I'm hoping. That's there. So what else? So,
median sale price was down by one and a half percent,
puts US at three hundred and ninety nine almost four
hundred thousand. But this is across the four counties. Obviously,
you know Panelo's Hilborough County numbers. You know our median
sale prices higher. The other number that I don't usually mentioned,
(27:02):
but it's the median percent original list price received, which
that means pretty much of your list price to sold
price ratio.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Uh huh.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
So if you know you're listed at five hundred, uh,
the percent that they're closing at is about ninety five.
So what that means for the buyer is that on average,
you can expect that five percent discount, which I do
think is huge, Like people don't realize that. You know,
even though something's listed for that, that doesn't mean you
can't go into negotiating. We have been doing that. We're
(27:34):
negotiating good deals, like you can you know, probably get
another twenty five thirty, you know, one thousand dollars versus
you know, with concessions, whether it's on price, you know,
what the seller gives you, you know, for closing costs.
So that's something to take into account. That's a little
bit less. So it's a percent less year over year.
So last November it was ninety six percent. Okay, we
(27:55):
were teetering there for a while, but now we're at
ninety five.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
So that kind of also tells me, you know, the
market's not really weak either. I mean, you can get
a good deal right now, but but they're not you know,
houses are not being given away. There's not a foreclosure crisis.
There's not a boom in foreclosure numbers. You know, don't
wait because you think the market's tanking, because every every
week almost we do the stats and we show you
(28:19):
it's not. Now I am I am with sin though
I'm a little surprised some of the numbers, you know,
just because we saw October. But then again, thinking about
the holiday, you're right, it's I bet you December is
going to look really strong. What else did you pull?
Speaker 4 (28:31):
Ah? So, medium time to contract where at fifty days?
So that's up by twenty eight percent year over year.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So wait, wait, wait, so's it's taking longer by twenty
eight percent from last year? Yes?
Speaker 4 (28:44):
Is that I think around last Yeah, last November probably
more like thirty five ish days. Now it's at fifty
So yeah, that just means that it's taken a bit
longer for you know, people to get a contract worked out.
So properties are maybe sitting a bit longer as well.
And let's say new listings though that is actually down
(29:04):
twenty seven percent year over year.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
That's a surprise.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
That's a surprise. The other surprise, actually, month's supply of
inventory is at three point eight.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Okay, so are we down or up from that? On
that one.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Well, year over year, we're up by roughly five and
a half percent. But if you know all the numbers
that I've been telling you lately, like we've gotten into
the fours for months supply right back in the day,
you know, it's like in Penela's for a minute, it
was like four point eight four point nine, you know,
we were teetering there. But now like across all four
counties though, I think we're under the four month mark.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Okay, So what does that mean consumers? If there's not inventory,
it's supply and demand. So if something triggers people to
come into the market, we don't have what we have
three point eight months well as of.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Now, my one theory is like I'm wondering what we
do have to expect, say the first couple of months, right,
because we definitely have lots of sellers that we've been
talking to for the last few months. They are ready
to go come January, right. I just wanted to wait,
get stuff ready, get through the holidays. There are going
to be a lot of people listing their homes, which
I think is good. I think so, you know, for buyers,
(30:11):
but I think in general it's just going to spur
the market hopefully, you know, with us having the positive
you know, great news here and there, it's going to
start trickling down. I do expect that come springtime things
are going to start. They're going to running around, they're
going to start moving. All of us across the real
estate community expect twenty twenty six to be a good year,
(30:32):
much better year than the last couple of years we've had,
you know that have been a bit slow, nothing not horrible.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
I think what did you call them earlier, just kind.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Of correct if the market needed a correction from our
you know, COVID craziness.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
So the you know, this whole thing about inventory, I
think about this. I think most would agree. People you
don't want to list your house around Thanksgiving or Christmas,
right because you want to live in your house. You
have people over, you have parties, you have family, you.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Have decorations, super pictures and throwings. You know, you want
people to see the house now you're big Christmas tree
and all those stuff you have everywhere.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
So I would I bet you if you and I
looked at stats going back every year, we probably would
see that November and December has the least listings. That
would be my guess that less people list at that
time of year. I'm with you on the January though.
I think January is going to be big. I think
people are going to get done late January and then
we know that, you know, the FED chairman's getting kicked
out in March. So things are going to happen. And guys,
(31:31):
remember it doesn't have to be interest rates. It could
be a fifty year mortgage, it could be some other
buyer incentive. During the Obama administration, he didn't drop rates.
He did an eight thousand dollars incentive for new home buyers, right,
and that spurred the crap out of the market. So
watch out. There's going to be something that's going to
happen that's going to spur the market. And all we
all we know is we're telling you right now there's
(31:51):
not enough inventory to handle that and there's going to
be a lot of buyers.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
So and if we get that inventory though, I do
think that's going to excite buyers, yes, because you know,
much as people are saying, oh, you know, buyer's market. Yeah,
in terms of negotiating things like that, but inventory levels
like we need to you know, we need more, We
do need more so when they have more, they'll have
more options, and they're gonna get excited. They'll get off
the funds exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
We're gonna take a break care on the Business Happy
are going into our last Christmas segment. Stay tuned all the.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Best mortgage or real estate advice from Tampa Bay's top experts.
It's the Business Happy Hour with Prank, de Bankkoto and Santia.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Hey Tampa Bay. Welcome back to the last segment of
the Christmas and New Year's episode of the Business Happy Hour.
That's right, listen to this music. We are in such
good spirits and if you're watching Instagram, you have no
idea what the hell I'm talking about because you can't
hear the Christmas music that James is playing. It is
a beautiful day out here. I'm wearing my Florida Christmas outfit.
(32:48):
I literally I wanted to dress up in like a
sweater and I had something cute picked out and I
walked outside and it was like eighty degrees. I'm like
son of a biscuit.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
I know, so much for a cold weather. I was
so excited.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
I know we got it early.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
It was we got it early, but I was hoping
that yeah, we'd have a nice, just cold week for Christmas,
and that's been hot.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
The only what you're going to have to do, guys,
is you got to wake up at like six in
the morning, open your doors when it's still like fifties outside,
and pretend like it's a beautiful Christmas day, and then
about about seven thirty eight o'clock in the morning, shut
them and turn on the air conditioners. Sadly, it's all
you can do. Maybe rip up a couple pillows, throw
them around the house, have a little snow. I don't
(33:27):
know travel you do any of traveling for Christmas?
Speaker 4 (33:30):
Eent Well, I don't think so. So I was telling
you in the break, I'm like, if it happens to
snow where our family is at in Minnesota, then we
might do a trip. But we haven't taken our four
year old on a plane yet. We haven't been brave enough.
He's you know, high energy, so we just don't know
what to expect how we'll do. But yes, in that
case we may. But I know you told me about
(33:50):
this really exciting trip you got coming out.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
When is that we are leaving the day after Christmas.
We have actually never done this before we are. We
are not big holiday travelers, you know, like we'll go
to the farm for Thanksgiving. You know, we actually last
couple of years we went up to the farm for
New Years and things. But I don't consider that like
a vacation. You know, it's in the woods, you know,
hunting farm and you're just kind of relaxing. But this
(34:15):
my wife talked me into. So originally we wanted to
go skiing. My son wanted to go skiing, right, and
I thank god we didn't plan that because all the
Western mountains. I was looking at videos from Tahoe yesterday
and other places, it's like dry, like there's no snow
on the ground, very very few spots. So a lot
of people are complaining, you know, their ski vacations got
(34:37):
ruined because there's no snow. But what I got talked
into was my wife's sister lives near Barcelona, and she
really wanted to visit her. And I'm like, dude, I
don't want to go out there, like during Christmas time
it's gonna be nuts. And she's like, we can ski,
and I'm like, how do we do this? Right? I'm
not skiing foreign countries. There's a place called Andorra, and
it's a little tiny country in between Spain and France,
(35:00):
landlocked and all it is is like ski mountains and
apparently there's a lot of snow there right now. So
we are flying into London, never been there before. We're
doing a red eye on the twenty six, so we're
gonna sleep hopefully throughout some of the night. And then
we got two nights in London. And supposedly London is
beautiful like New York during Christmas. Have you been? No?
(35:20):
I haven't either, So I supposedly that's like all lights
everywhere and all the Christmas e stuff, and they're they're
big into Christmas. And then we're gonna do three nights
in Andorra and then go visit the sister for a
couple nights near Barcelona.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
That sounds wonderful. I'm excited for you.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Thank you. New Year's even another country. Never done that before?
Speaker 4 (35:38):
Oh even that you've never had in years? Even another country?
Speaker 1 (35:41):
No, I no, I've never had a New Year's age
outside of Florida before.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
That's really cool.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
I think that is I'm trying to think, what are
they They're ahead in time, right, so that means I'm
gonna celebrate New Years before you. Is that how that works?
I think you are. Yeah, yes, I think that is
a happy New Year. She'd be like, what are you
talking about? Yeah, so I'm very excited about that. I
know there's gonna be a lot of travel. I had
a prediction. We're talking about somebody the other day. How
busy are the airport's going to be? Well, I'm hoping
(36:08):
because of how all this falls, that because it's on
the Friday after Christmas, it won't be busy. Ially, Yeah,
I'm just thinking that people who's going to travel on
the Friday, Like, if you're going somewhere for Christmas, you're
probably already there, right, And why would you go home
on the Friday not the Saturday or Sunday.
Speaker 4 (36:29):
Maybe you don't love your family that much Christmas Day,
but no, for your sake, I hope it's not that busy.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
I'm not like this, come on. But then we're flying
back on the third, which is probably going to be
a wild day to come back, I would imagine. So
it's super exciting. You know what else is exciting guys?
The lotto. I listen, I'm not a big lotto player,
but I kind of have this thing when I see
a B next to the number, but but a billion,
I think we should play the lotto right and right now.
My company we did. We did a like I think
(36:59):
we're everybody through in twenty We did it a couple
of weeks ago, and and we we keep rolling like
we're making enough money to play the next roll or whatever.
And we just did another twenty dollars pool today because
the lotto on Christmas Eve s is going to be
one point seven billion dollars.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Making a big note yes on my little sheet.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I take so what that could be great stocking stuffer? Yes?
Can you imagine if you bought your family a billion
dollar lotto ticket for Christmas?
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Can we do some kind of agreement though, like hey, yeah,
when yes you get I would ride on the back.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
This is half mine half yi, but I yeah, this
this is amazing. Or maybe you just take a picture
of the ticket and you put it in the stocking
and if it hits you're like, oh, that's a little
d Yeah, it's a little little that's the bad elf,
bad elf on my left shoulder.
Speaker 4 (37:50):
But no, that's gonna be my air. And then I'm
going to go ahead and get a bunch of power
Ball tickets to finish up. That's a great idea, yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
And you know, I think your chances are one in
a billion, but you did It's you win one point
seven billion. So and I haven't done the math, but
I'm pretty sure that you would be a straight billionaire
if you took the lump sum. I think that you'd
be pretty close to having a billion dollars in your
bank account if you did that. So we did travel,
we did lotto. I'll tell you what I'm gonna give you,
(38:17):
my my Christmas tendrillin recipes for everybody, is that we
got time for that, all right, Here you go. So
here's what you do. First, you get the tenderloin or
the steak, right, and you just salt and pepper it
lots of ground salt and pepper all over. Get the grinders.
Get the good stuff, guys, a Himalayan sea salt right
it comes from Russia probably anyway. Salt and pepper, real goods.
All you need. You can put a little garlic if
you want. And then you got to sear it. And
(38:39):
when I mean sere, you got to get that grill
up to like at least five hundred something, if not
six hundred degrees, and just take it out there. Now,
there's a little trick before you see it. You got
to rub it in a mixture of anchovy paste and butter. Yes,
anchovy paste and butter. It creates a great season. Put
a nice light coat of that on there right see it,
(39:00):
and it'll kind of burn it on there. You really
wanted to like charg like a dark brown, not black,
dark brown. That's why it's gotta be really hot. Flip
it a few times, get it all the way around,
because that's also going to lock in the juices. Right,
pull it off, Let it cool down the room temperature
might take forty five minutes or so. Temperature might have
been put in the frigerator, just with the seers with
(39:20):
thee sear it and then get it off the grill.
You want it to chill back out right, and then
you put another coating of the anchovy pipe paste and butter,
which you just mix soft butter and anchovy paste. Put
it back on the grill or the egg at like
three twenty five, three fifty and cook it slow until
you get to your internal temperature. It will come out
with a beautiful salty delicious crust on there and then
(39:45):
you just slice it the way you want it, slice
it to order. Okay, that's it.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
Do do you like yours medium rare?
Speaker 1 (39:52):
I love my medium rare?
Speaker 4 (39:53):
Okay, yeah, that's about how long? Because I'm big on
the time thing. He don't. I'm not good at using
the thermometers. I don't know why, don't know how.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Thicke it is. I use a little digital thermometer no
more than an hour probably, and you'll and you'll be.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
At the at the I'm gonna try that because we
were going to get just the full on thing, not
individual steaks. I'm like, this seems easier because we're just
gonna slice it up. We'll steaks.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Well, Christmas, there's your present, right, Merry Christmas. And it's
been a great episode.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Yeah, so fine, Yes, Merry Christmas everybody.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
We'll see you guys in a happy new Year. We'll
see you guys in the new year.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Welcome to the Business Happy Hour radio show with your
host Frankdebank Coodo, the owner of Lincoln Lending Group right
here in Tampa Bay for twenty three years, joined by
his incredible co host, Senia Akishna, rialtor with Mahara and Associates.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Tampa's top real estate company.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Together they have helped finance and clothes nearly one billion
dollars of real estate every year.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
If you're looking for local mortgage or real estate advice.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The Business Happy Hour team has been right here on
news radio WFLA for over a decade. Listen right here
or fight us on the Business Happy Hour YouTube channel,
or follow us on Instagram at Frankdebankkodo. Now, sit back, relax,
and get ready for some serious mortgage, real estate and
business talk with two of Tampa's top experts.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Here's Frank the Bank and Senia.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Hey Tampa Bay, Welcome back to the Business Happy Hour,
your number one show for all things business and entrepreneurial.
I am your host, Frank Theebankkodo, owner of Lincoln Lending
Group eighty one three, mortgage dot Com and all kinds
of other things you can find and doesn't contact Frank
theebank dot com. Today is our Christmas episode. I know
last week we said it, but this is our real one.
If you're watching Instagram or Facebook, send good morning and
(01:11):
Merry Christmas.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Good morning, Merry Christmas. Oh man, it's almost here. It is,
but you know what on our next episode and even
when our listeners hear this on the radio, I think
I'm just going to be a lot more. Oh thank goodness,
that's done.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh my god. The stress of the question is are
you done? Are you ready? Are you leaving here? Going?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Shausted?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Exhausted?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Right?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I know, and hasn't even been Christmas time and I
still got to do all the wrapping. My closet is
full of stuff. But yes, I'm excited to just have
the Christmas.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So not not a lot of presents under the tree,
not a lot of things wrapped yet, No, and you
know what.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
We usually do that and it fills up. But I
know with my almost four year old, those are going
to get unwrapped, whether they're his or not. So we
kind of we're waiting till the last minute.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Does he do that? Will he go down? Does he
does he know what he's doing? Like is he like
oh yeah, yeah, presence. Yeah, yeah, but he knows it's his,
you think.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Or no, no, he thinks everything is his.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Even better, So did you ever do it as a kid?
Did you ever run wrap any presents under the tree? Oh?
Speaker 4 (02:16):
You know what I did when I came to America.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Before they would flog you.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Well, in Russia, no, because I grew up in Russia
till I mean I was about nine.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Wait, wait, you didn't have Christmas in Russia?
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well we do, but our Christmas celebration like you guys
do it here, like the whole you know, Santa visiting
that happens on New Year's Eve?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Is it putin claws?
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Back then it was not.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
That's awesome?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
But yeah no. And then I mean, you get one gift.
You know, you're so excited for the one gift, some oranges,
some candy. That was oh my gosh, no, my, something
happened to my.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Tripod it was it was me. I probably messed it
up now that okay, the whole one gift thing. I
was actually thinking about this the other day. I don't
know if that's a Russian and American thing or if
that's just a spoiled American thing, because I don't know
I was talking to somebody and they're talking about oh,
you know, the kid was saying what he wants for
(03:14):
Christmas and it was one thing, and then somebody asked him, like, well,
what else do you want for Christmas? He goes, no,
that's that's my gift. That's what I want. And I
try to think back, like growing up, I think for
the most part, you know, you asked for one thing
when we were at least that's kind of what I remember,
want maybe two things, and then you would get other stuff.
You know, then you sayah, would surprise you with things
(03:35):
and stuff like that. But I think it's gotten absurd
these days with like the kids and the wishless.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Yeah, my like fifty item Amazon wishless from my lash.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
That's what it is. It's the Amazon literally perpetuates this right,
and they make they send these things out where kids
fill out their wish lists and they just clickick click clicklick. Now,
when you and I were younger, they had catalogs. You
remember that, the magazines, did you? Now? Also?
Speaker 4 (03:58):
Did I grow up with those? And I never got
to ask for what I wanted. It was just, hey,
you get what you get and you don't pitch a
fit and hopefully you like it.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Well, we're getting a history lesson here. If you were
in Russia, they didn't have catalogs for you to circle
what you want, So that's what it was. It was magazines.
It was like they came out with the toy store magazine.
Like toys r Us had a magazine.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Do you remember talking, Oh well, when I came to
the States, Oh yes, I do.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Okay, good, good, all right, So I didn't have Toys
r Us. They had Gorbachev r Us.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
We did have a really cool toy store, but it
was only a Moscow. I didn't live in Moscow.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
At the time. How far were you from Moscow?
Speaker 4 (04:30):
A good way. I'm from like the Arctic Circle. I'm
probably like another four or five hours north of Moscow
by plane. Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Really, were you really that high up?
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Really that high up? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So did you like see Santa Claus leaving the North
Pole or not?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
I mean I like to think that I did, sure,
amongst the northern lights, and you.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Know, it could have been an ICBM. You know, I'm
so messive with sending today, but it is kind of
fun to like talk about cultures and stuff because you know,
people don't realize that other parts of the world things
are different. So you guys, you did kind of have
a Santa Claus. You got one gift?
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Yes, yet motos What is it called, Grandpa Frost?
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Grandpa say that in Russian again diet maros, diet the moroos.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
That's very nice.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yet the moosu me pronunciation is diet the moos. So
it was would you call it again, father father Frost,
father Frost? Okay, And you know, and the one gift
thing going back to that. Here in America, I just
think we've we've gone overboard. You know, how many gifts
kids get and these wish lists and and it's like,
where did you draw the line? I know last night
(05:32):
I was I was looking at the list with my
wife and I of kind of what the kids had
asked for and what we got. And now my son
and daughter both have birthdays in December. My son is
Christmas Day. So yeah, I know, right, everybody says that
they're like ooh, but I'll tell you I was January sixth,
and I always felt like I was. I am January sixth.
I always felt like I got screwed. Like the family
(05:53):
would come in town and they'd visit for for Christmas
and be like, here's your Christmas and Birthday present, and
I'd open up the same present my brother got for
just Christmas, and I'm like, that's not how that works.
My son, on the other hand, he actually loves it.
He has not had a problem with it because when
we wake up, it's Christmas whole day, it's Christmas, sun
(06:13):
goes down, it's Landon's birthday. And I think he likes that.
And I think he also likes you know, and we
people take very good care to make sure he gets
two different gifts because it's on the same day. But
I can think with these kids, I almost think there
has to be some rules to this. There has to
do we got to do something. It's too much. It's just,
you know, it's too much.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Last year, I mean, we got exhausted opening Presence. It
took so long, like we had to take a break,
like it was just it was too much. Now that
it's going to be different this year, we said it
was going to be, but it's.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Not looking like a Now what's under you trees or
are you? But are you like us? Like there's presence,
but they're not under the tree yet.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Yeah, I think right presents they're hidden away. Hopefully the
kids haven't found the hiding spots.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
But yes, so I want to I'll get to I'm
gonna ask you another question. I want to go back
to opening gifts. But before I do that, here's an
interest in question. Kids, close your ears. Does Santa wrap
presence that he brings or not? Yes? He does? Okay, okay,
Santa wraps his presence. There has been a controversy in
my family that Santa has changed his ways. On occasion,
(07:20):
Santa used to not wrap, and then Santa started rapping,
and we thought, I know what is going on. Could
it be the elves have more time on their hands
these years? Could it be the certain years?
Speaker 4 (07:32):
There was a shout of some like robots, you know,
elf robots, so they can handle a lot more.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Elon, Elon, Are you the reason that the presents are wrapped? Now?
I don't, James, are you when Santa brought your presence?
Where they wrapped or unwrapped?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Always rapped horribly, but rapped always so Santa's good at delivery,
not so good at rapping.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Okay, so wrapped.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Wow, that's for my little one. I think that's the
most exciting part, actually more than the gift itself, was
actually tearry off the paper and yeah, taking stuff out,
that's the excitement.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Man. You know, this is a great poll. I'm gonna
put this on Facebook later today. Rapped or unwrapped the
Santa's they started out not wrapped and Sana. Now, when
Sanna goes to my mom's house, Nanni's house, he wraps
the presence. But when he comes to our house a
lot of times he doesn't. He just throws them on
(08:24):
the floor, like right by the chimney.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
So we got different Santa clauses. I guess going to
different homes.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, I think Santa just knows what we like. So
that's going back to own wrapping our own gifts. I
remember I love surprises. I know you like surprises, right,
So I didn't really want to know. But there was
one Christmas and I wish I could remember how old
I was. I want to say I was probably ten.
And do you remember the teenage mutant Ninja Turtles? Okay,
so kids, now, they're good. We know the turtles. No, kids,
(08:49):
you don't know the turtles. They came out when we
were kids, not when you were kids. Just like everything,
else okay, and the slime they had the turtles had
that mutant ooze that that would turn you into turtle
and stuff a ninja turtle. Well, they sold the slime.
They probably don't sell it today, probably because it killed us.
Who knows. It was probably made a letter or something.
But all I asked for, all I really wanted was
(09:11):
a jar of that slime. And my mom didn't want
to get me that slime because she knew it was
going to wreck the house because she knews going to
do with it. But I found what I thought was
the slime under the tree, and I didn't unwrap it
all the way. I just kind of made a hole
and I and then I was able to open the
little lid with my two little fingers and I was
able to pull out little booger sized pieces of the slot.
(09:32):
So I was playing with the slime, little tiny pieces
in my room. And she had no idea for like
a week exactly like that stuff. And here's the best part.
When I when the Christmas came and I opened up
half my slime was dried up because I didn't close
the thing back there there you go. I'm like, Mom,
I was like this slime's ruined. I need some more
slime anyway, and then I only have one more. I'm
(09:55):
gonna give a Christmas Did you ever have a Christmas
disappointment story? Did you ever ask for some and like
it was the only thing you wanted and you didn't
get it type thing?
Speaker 4 (10:04):
No, because I mean I was already older, you know
what I mean. I wasn't used to that kind of
thing where you asked for something, i'd expect to get it.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Well, if you did it in Russia and you got upset,
they'd probably cut your finger off, right, she's laughing. Notice
how she didn't say no, let me see your hands?
All right? She has all ten. I was just checking
so we're all there. But I didn't know what I
was gonna say. Now, Oh yeah, that's right. One year
and I was older. And I feel like a jerk
about this, but I was. I was probably like fourteen
(10:30):
or something. And that's when black lights were popular and
the and those those you bought the posters at Spencer's
do you remember lit up?
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And I and I had asked that I wanted a
black light for my room, and I had asked all
my friends and family or whatever. I said, get me posters,
get me, get me, you know, glow in the dark posters, whatever.
And they got me all the posters. And I guess
Sanna or Santa, Mom and dad, uh, just to ignore
the fact that you needed a black light for the posters.
And here comes Christmas morning all a little frank he
(11:00):
wanted his go downstairs and get his black light and
turn it on with all the posters he had gotten.
Guess who didn't have a black light, Frankie.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
I could see that being disappointing. I'm sorry you still
think about it now, I do.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That's that's right. I'm gonna cry over this. And my
mom called me right when I was going up on
the stairs to go into the radio studio. I was like,
it's like, sorry, Mom, I gotta go in the air.
So if you're listening, you scarred me. You did not
get me that black light. But guess what. In college,
I had more black lights than anybody in my room
and more jars filled with a highlighter fluid. Did you
(11:34):
do that? Oh man? So I'm giving her these kids
all these ideas. Don't drink the jars with highlighter. It's
probably not good for you. But I did destroy many
bottle many highlighters to make the water inside the jar glow.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
I never even heard about that.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Oh there you go, kids. There's an easy tip for
your kids. But buy a pack of highlighters, get a
mason jar, drop the inside of the highlighter into the jar.
It clows amazing. We're gonna take a break care on
the Business Happy or get it back with more Christmas
stories from Frank the Mankin, Sinia, and we might talk
mortgages in real estate.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Stay tuned all the best mortgage are real estate advice
from Tampa Bay's top experts. It's the Business Happy Hour
with Prank de Bank Koto and Senia Akisha.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Hey, Tampa Bay, welcome back to the Business Happy Hour.
This is our Christmas show. Now, if you're listening to
the radio and you know that's right, then you know
Christmas is over and you're picking up all the mess
and all the wrapping paper and hopefully you've kicked your
family out at Sunday. You probably got to go back
to work tomorrow. But don't worry. You got New Year's
(12:36):
Eve coming up in just three days. Pull out that
champagne you forgot to drink on Christmas day and get
ready because we're about to be in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Yes we are, and for me, that's a second Christmas.
So after we do this Christmas, we still follow the
tradition and what is still the gift expectation. You know,
we obviously don't go all out, Okay, but no, like
New Year's Eve, we still do you know, memor double
gift for everybody?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Wait, wait, wait, wit you guys do a you do
New Year's Eve gift exchanging?
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Well, yeah, because that's still Russian. That's how you know
Russian Christmas is. Actually it's like the orthodox calendar. Okay,
so Russian Christmas is January seventh. That's why I say,
I get so exhausted, and I've already exhausted this time
of year, but our like holidays feel to run up like,
oh well into January and the break.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
You told me your mom's birthday is a few days
before Christmas.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
It was yesterday, so yeah, it's not much of a break.
And this year we're like, hey, let's just do the
dinner Sunday. We're not gonna cook. We went out tea.
It was wonderful.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
But you said you hold on, I mean, you said
you went to a Russian restaurant. Yes, what is a
Russian restaurant?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
Well, there's Babushka's and we actually haven't been to the
Hyde Park location, so we're like, let's check that one out.
And we had the best time.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
What is it nice? Is it?
Speaker 4 (13:49):
It actually is? Yeah? Like the other one's more like
a little you know, traditional Russian cottage with the decor,
but this one feels a little bit more upscale. But
service was awesome, food was good, Like, this is the
way to go when you don't have to do the
cleanup or the cooking.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yeah, we have fun. If Nichol's listening, she's like, I'll
go to a Russian restaurant before I will cook for
the holidays. So what what do you get it at
a Russian restaurant besides vodka?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Oh, we got all kinds of stuff. I mean, of
course we have to have some caviar. Oh, so we
did caviar. We got a little charcuterie board with some
you know, the Russian calbasa.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
That's awesome. Yeah, I'm about caviar. So do all Russians
eat caviar?
Speaker 4 (14:33):
I think most probably do.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
And because I mean caviar, if you tell them say
caviar here in the States, that's like, oh you're hoity toy,
you got some caviar. But like regular Russians eat caviar,
that's a thing.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Well, we didn't get the super duper pricey one. We
do splurge on that sometimes, we did, like last year,
when it's you know, a big occasion, like.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
The black you know what, what is the good caviar?
What is it? I want?
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Yes, like the really expensive little teeny jaw you know
of the black caviar you get for like two hundred
dollars for an ouns or whatever.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Oh my god, and you put like the krama with it.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I like to do mine just actually a plain white
bread butter and that that to me, just the flavors really,
you know, come back. But I like the red salmon
caviar too. Okay, that one's really salty though, So if
you're not a big cavear person, you're not gonna like
that one. The black one is very mild, and I
think most people when they tried.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
They're like, Okay, now, isn't it isn't it whale eggs?
Is that what it is? Or is all kinds of eggs?
That the different ones.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
No, I think they just maybe that's the perception because
of the name. It's just no, it's a certain type
of fish.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
It's just a type of fish. Yeah, man, we are
learning stuff today. So you had caviar for Christmas, you
had vodka for your meal? What else did you have?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
We did well, I had to get Moscow mules. That's
the one I was wondering about.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You know what.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
They did actually make a really good one, and they
had different flavors. But I don't know if that's really
a traditional Well you should rush the beverage, because I
don't remember like growing up with that. So I wonder
if somebody just gave it that name, and like I think.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
They did for like a thing that's like my wife.
We went to Italy a while back and I kept
trying to look for a caesar salad and I'm like, like,
I'm in Italy, like who's got the caesar salad? And
we were there for like a week and nobody and
finally this this old Italian guy Greek caesar. Oh yeah, see,
I don't even I was thinking it was Italian. I
(16:21):
actually maybe I don't know.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Actually, well yeah no, because yeah, carabas on the I
don't know.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Somebody's gonna have to call this in and tell us
what this is. But I just remember there's two things
I wanted when I was in Italy Fetichini Alfredo and
Caesar salad. Guess what I didn't find until the eighth day,
and it happened to be at a restaurant in the Vatican.
Fetcini and Caesar. Sadly, yeah, so I'm thinking, like maybe
they just don't do that. I don't know, all right,
So what else? What else do you eat for Russian Christmas? Oh?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
I mean no, we had all kinds of the one thing.
I mean, Russia is huge, so actually even culturally, like
we have different regions. So one of my favorites was
like the okay, but they served that on a big platter.
We got like lamb and chicken and like lu luki
or something like that. But that's like a little but
it was so delicious and Adrika actually my daughter liked
(17:11):
it and she's a bit picky. It's almost like a salsa,
but it's got some spice to it and it's just yeah,
if you go to Babushka, they do lunch there. I
think they do. Yeah, But we had cabbage rolls. We
had like a chicken kiev beef stroganoff borsh of course
Borshe is a huge thing in Uh. Well, the color
(17:36):
is from the beets. It's really red, but mostly it's cabbage.
Because my husband will not try because he doesn't like beats.
I'm like, honey, you can't really taste the beets. It's
really just cabbage potatoes, you know, some meat, and it's delicious.
It's very hearty and it's a big tree. When my
mom makes it. I don't think anybody, even a restaurant,
can make it better than her.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Okay, this is the challenge. Yes, well, see we're doing
multicultural Christmas here. Let's see. How about this question, what's
the best day of the week to have Christmas on?
I've thought hard about this.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
I think I'm liking it that it's coming on a Thursday.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I think I like it too. I agree, I think
it's the best day. I think it gives us a
little time during the week. And then because it's on Thursday,
I mean, who's really working on Friday, right, right? But
if it's on Wednesday, then you kind of like it's like, oh,
I kind of got to go back to work. Right
(18:32):
one day, I mean today's Christmas Eve Eve? Right? Doesn't
it almost kind of seem like a non work day
today too?
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (18:40):
Man, it seemed like that to me Monday. I mean, yeah,
for sure yesterday, and yeah, yeah, I almost called out today,
but I had a present for you, so oh, I'm like,
I can't. We gotta just gotta show up. And you know,
do you our Christmas episode or you know, leading up
to Year's Eve?
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Exactly? That's right, that's right. If you guys are listening
on the radio, you do have New Year's Eve coming up.
So let's see what's going on. How about travel? Well,
we only have a minute left. When we get back,
we'll talk travel, and then should we talk a little
real estate? Did the stats come in?
Speaker 4 (19:11):
I god, November numbers?
Speaker 1 (19:12):
All right? So that's what we're gonna do when we
get back, guys, we're talking November numbers. We're talking about
Christmas travel. What are you guys about to do? Are
you leaving? Are you already gone? How about New Year's
What are your plans for the New Year? And you know,
I don't know, maybe we can all get together and
not have to buy fifty presents for Christmas? Every year.
We can just tell the kids Christmas, you get one
(19:33):
gift and Santa brings you one gift. That's two. I
think that's all they really need. Anyway, we'll be back
here in the business happ here. Don't forget. If you
need a mortgage, you can reach out to contact Frankdebank
dot com. And if you need to talk real estate
and find a home, SENDI. How do they reach out
to you?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
They can call me at eight one three seven five
five reel.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
That's seven five five real. Very easy, guys. We are
real people. So we will see you guys a little
bit later here right after the break, and we're gonna
talk Christmas, travel and November stats in the real estate market.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Stay tuned, Welcome to the Business Happy Hour radio show
with your host, Frank de Bank Coodo, the owner of
Lincoln Lending Group right here in Tampa Bay for twenty
three years, joined by his incredible co host, Senia Akishna,
realtor with Mahara and Associates.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Tampa's top real estate company.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Together they have helped finance and cloths nearly one billion
dollars of real estate every year.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
If you're looking for local mortgage or real estate advice.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
The Business Happy Hour team has been right here on
news radio WFLA for over a decade.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Listen right here or.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Fight us on the Business Happy Hour YouTube channel, or
follow us on Instagram at Frank Thebankkodo. Now, sit back, relax,
and get ready for some serious mortgage, real estate and
business talk with two of Tampa's top experts. Here's Frank
the Bank and Senia.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Hey, Tampa Bay. Welcome back to the Business Happy Hour,
your number one show for all things business and entrepreneurial,
Mary Christmas. If you're watching on social media, Happy new Ye.
If you are listening to the radio this weekend, we
go hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas and you're
sleeping in a little bit. If you're sleeping in, you're
not listening to our show, I'll tell you that Senny
and I have some uh some great stuff. Today we've
(21:12):
been talking about presence under the tree, rushing Christmas. What's
your tradition? I know I get fought every single year
because I like to have that traditional meal at the house.
I like this for Christmas. I'm gonna smoke a turkey.
That's what I normally do. Thanksgiving, I fry at turkey Christmas.
I for hey, I smoke a turkey. And you know
this year we're going out of town the next day,
(21:33):
so we're trying not to have leftovers. But the whole
family has been fighting me like, oh, you know, do
we have to do the same thing? Yes, guys, we
cook one meal, one meal the same era. Too fine
A count Thanksgiving? Right. I like the stuffing, I like
the dressing. I feel like that's just the holiday meal
send right. I mean, what do you guys? What do
you guys do on Christmas Day? Do you cook or
(21:54):
do you Christmas Eve? Do you do anything this year?
Speaker 4 (21:56):
Yes? We actually we will be and we are going
to be doing a turkey.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Oh, we switch it up.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
We don't have a traditional menu. You know. One year
maybe we want to do a ham and a fish.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
This year, well, I really want some red meat. Ah,
so I would like a good steak, yeah, and a turkey.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Do you guys have a green Eggs No?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
I want to get one of those.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
They're really good. So I've got a great recipe for you.
If you want to make a tenderloin, that would be
very nice. Go to Costco get yourself the big old
tenderloin the filet right, and then depending on how many
people you have, then you cook it all at once.
I can give you a couple tips. You can do
it on the grill too, and you just slice it
and then everybody gets their sliced piece of steak.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
And on the green egg, you can actually still get
it to like medium rare.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Oh, oh my gosh, the green egg is perfect. Thing
about the green egg that's that's so much different. It
adds like a smoke taste. But you can see it.
A green egg you can get really hot. Do you
have a grill at home that gets real hot? You
guys can see her. All right, I've got a tip.
I don't know if we're going to give it to
everybody here, but if we got time in the show,
I'll give you my steak tip of the week here
on how to prepare your chrisp or New Year's tenderloin.
(23:01):
I'll write that down here. I'll write down tenderloin. But
before we do that, why don't we talk about the market,
because we, you know, we do need to make a
little money. Things obviously are slow around Christmas right now.
We're probably only gonna you know, get a couple of
deals put in the pipeline this week, but that's okay.
Everybody needs to hang out with their families and we
already talked about we like Christmas on Wednesday and Thursday. Yes,
(23:23):
right middle of the week shuts it down. So it's
kind of like today's almost the last work day of
the week. Yes, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
This is this wraps it up for me. I leave
the studio and then I unfortunately still have a couple
of random gifts. I feel like that part's never ending.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
I couldn't sleep. I'm like, oh man, all right, just
you know, trying to run through you know, if I got,
you know, everything I wanted for everyone, and yes, always
a couple of.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Straggling you still got to go home and wrap them,
which is the worst part.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
That'll probably be all day for me tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Yeah, I'm thinking tomorrow, I guess we'll do some wrapping.
So tell me, tell me about the stats. Every every month, Senny,
it brings us the stats here.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Yes, I was excited because I wasn't sure because it's
today is the twenty third, so I'm happy that they
came out. Sometimes even when it's like that time like,
all right, they should be out, but we do have
our November numbers. Okay, the only ones I pulled for
us this week. We can save the you know breakdown
by county for the next show. But this is for
(24:23):
Tampa Saint Pete Clearwater, but it's actually also including Hernando
County as well, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsboro. Panella's closed sales. This
is the one I was a little bit surprised about
because that was actually down by two point eight.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Percent November to November.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
So we had, you know, definitely an uptick you know
in October, and I think that's largely due to the hurricanes.
But where I was a little bit surprised was because
our new pending sales for October numbers were all up,
like really high. But I'm thinking about it too. I
bet you a lot of those people that went under
contract in November because it does all around the holiday time,
(25:01):
it really you I mean, even as a mortgage broker,
you lose a lot of time you do between the holidays,
you know, getting title everything they need. So I'm willing
to bet that some of those new pending sales that
we had in October they actually probably won't be closing until.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
January I or even December though.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
I mean November, sorry, the November one, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, the ones that because we had a lot of
pendings October, right, yeah, And I follow you because then
you've got Thanksgiving week, so a lot of people take
off vacation that week. So it's kind of pushed his
closings out. Oh yeah, that too, right exactly. So I'm
thinking we're going to see a ton of closings, and
I'm predicting. I hope we see a bunch for December.
I hope our December December numbers are up big. Yes,
(25:43):
people don't realize this thing about homestead.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
You know.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
How do you know how important it is? Yeah, to close? Right?
Tell the listeners your thought on that?
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Well, I think yeah, if you want homestead for you
know that next year. So for twenty twenty six, you
need to close on your home before.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
The end of the year, right this year.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
Otherwise you'd have to wait a whole year exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
So you you gotta get closed. And I'm speaking to
everybody out there who's under contract in underwriting right now,
if even especially if you're not working with Lincoln Nding
Group in Senia, you need to tell your mortgage banker
or broker. Sorry, guys, you've got to work this week,
and you've got to work next week too. By the way,
they have all the way until I guess they have
until next Thursday, right, yeah, because that's the thirty first
(26:21):
you got to close. If you don't close this year,
then your taxes will not go down with your homestet exemption.
You won't get that exemption until twenty twenty seven, right,
So that's kind of a big deal if you ask me,
So you want to get closed right away? And I think, yeah,
I do think our December numbers will be strong because
we're gonna see all the people trying to push those closings through.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Yes, agreed, that's what I'm hoping. That's there. So what else? So,
median sale price was down by one and a half percent,
puts US at three hundred and ninety nine almost four
hundred thousand. But this is across the four counties. Obviously,
you know Panelo's Hilborough County numbers. You know our median
sale prices higher. The other number that I don't usually mentioned,
(27:02):
but it's the median percent original list price received, which
that means pretty much of your list price to sold
price ratio.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Uh huh.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
So if you know you're listed at five hundred, uh,
the percent that they're closing at is about ninety five.
So what that means for the buyer is that on average,
you can expect that five percent discount, which I do
think is huge, Like people don't realize that. You know,
even though something's listed for that, that doesn't mean you
can't go into negotiating. We have been doing that. We're
(27:34):
negotiating good deals, like you can you know, probably get
another twenty five thirty, you know, one thousand dollars versus
you know, with concessions, whether it's on price, you know,
what the seller gives you, you know, for closing costs.
So that's something to take into account. That's a little
bit less. So it's a percent less year over year.
So last November it was ninety six percent. Okay, we
(27:55):
were teetering there for a while, but now we're at
ninety five.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
So that kind of also tells me, you know, the
market's not really weak either. I mean, you can get
a good deal right now, but but they're not you know,
houses are not being given away. There's not a foreclosure crisis.
There's not a boom in foreclosure numbers. You know, don't
wait because you think the market's tanking, because every every
week almost we do the stats and we show you
(28:19):
it's not. Now I am I am with sin though
I'm a little surprised some of the numbers, you know,
just because we saw October. But then again, thinking about
the holiday, you're right, it's I bet you December is
going to look really strong. What else did you pull?
Speaker 4 (28:31):
Ah? So, medium time to contract where at fifty days?
So that's up by twenty eight percent year over year.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So wait, wait, wait, so's it's taking longer by twenty
eight percent from last year? Yes?
Speaker 4 (28:44):
Is that I think around last Yeah, last November probably
more like thirty five ish days. Now it's at fifty
So yeah, that just means that it's taken a bit
longer for you know, people to get a contract worked out.
So properties are maybe sitting a bit longer as well.
And let's say new listings though that is actually down
(29:04):
twenty seven percent year over year.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
That's a surprise.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
That's a surprise. The other surprise, actually, month's supply of
inventory is at three point eight.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Okay, so are we down or up from that? On
that one.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Well, year over year, we're up by roughly five and
a half percent. But if you know all the numbers
that I've been telling you lately, like we've gotten into
the fours for months supply right back in the day,
you know, it's like in Penela's for a minute, it
was like four point eight four point nine, you know,
we were teetering there. But now like across all four
counties though, I think we're under the four month mark.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Okay, So what does that mean consumers? If there's not inventory,
it's supply and demand. So if something triggers people to
come into the market, we don't have what we have
three point eight months well as of.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Now, my one theory is like I'm wondering what we
do have to expect, say the first couple of months, right,
because we definitely have lots of sellers that we've been
talking to for the last few months. They are ready
to go come January, right. I just wanted to wait,
get stuff ready, get through the holidays. There are going
to be a lot of people listing their homes, which
I think is good. I think so, you know, for buyers,
(30:11):
but I think in general it's just going to spur
the market hopefully, you know, with us having the positive
you know, great news here and there, it's going to
start trickling down. I do expect that come springtime things
are going to start. They're going to running around, they're
going to start moving. All of us across the real
estate community expect twenty twenty six to be a good year,
(30:32):
much better year than the last couple of years we've had,
you know that have been a bit slow, nothing not horrible.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
I think what did you call them earlier, just kind.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Of correct if the market needed a correction from our
you know, COVID craziness.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
So the you know, this whole thing about inventory, I
think about this. I think most would agree. People you
don't want to list your house around Thanksgiving or Christmas,
right because you want to live in your house. You
have people over, you have parties, you have family, you.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Have decorations, super pictures and throwings. You know, you want
people to see the house now you're big Christmas tree
and all those stuff you have everywhere.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
So I would I bet you if you and I
looked at stats going back every year, we probably would
see that November and December has the least listings. That
would be my guess that less people list at that
time of year. I'm with you on the January though.
I think January is going to be big. I think
people are going to get done late January and then
we know that, you know, the FED chairman's getting kicked
out in March. So things are going to happen. And guys,
(31:31):
remember it doesn't have to be interest rates. It could
be a fifty year mortgage, it could be some other
buyer incentive. During the Obama administration, he didn't drop rates.
He did an eight thousand dollars incentive for new home buyers, right,
and that spurred the crap out of the market. So
watch out. There's going to be something that's going to
happen that's going to spur the market. And all we
all we know is we're telling you right now there's
(31:51):
not enough inventory to handle that and there's going to
be a lot of buyers.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
So and if we get that inventory though, I do
think that's going to excite buyers, yes, because you know,
much as people are saying, oh, you know, buyer's market. Yeah,
in terms of negotiating things like that, but inventory levels
like we need to you know, we need more, We
do need more so when they have more, they'll have
more options, and they're gonna get excited. They'll get off
the funds exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
We're gonna take a break care on the Business Happy
are going into our last Christmas segment. Stay tuned all the.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Best mortgage or real estate advice from Tampa Bay's top experts.
It's the Business Happy Hour with Prank, de Bankkoto and Santia.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Hey Tampa Bay. Welcome back to the last segment of
the Christmas and New Year's episode of the Business Happy Hour.
That's right, listen to this music. We are in such
good spirits and if you're watching Instagram, you have no
idea what the hell I'm talking about because you can't
hear the Christmas music that James is playing. It is
a beautiful day out here. I'm wearing my Florida Christmas outfit.
(32:48):
I literally I wanted to dress up in like a
sweater and I had something cute picked out and I
walked outside and it was like eighty degrees. I'm like
son of a biscuit.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
I know, so much for a cold weather. I was
so excited.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
I know we got it early.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
It was we got it early, but I was hoping
that yeah, we'd have a nice, just cold week for Christmas,
and that's been hot.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
The only what you're going to have to do, guys,
is you got to wake up at like six in
the morning, open your doors when it's still like fifties outside,
and pretend like it's a beautiful Christmas day, and then
about about seven thirty eight o'clock in the morning, shut
them and turn on the air conditioners. Sadly, it's all
you can do. Maybe rip up a couple pillows, throw
them around the house, have a little snow. I don't
(33:27):
know travel you do any of traveling for Christmas?
Speaker 4 (33:30):
Eent Well, I don't think so. So I was telling
you in the break, I'm like, if it happens to
snow where our family is at in Minnesota, then we
might do a trip. But we haven't taken our four
year old on a plane yet. We haven't been brave enough.
He's you know, high energy, so we just don't know
what to expect how we'll do. But yes, in that
case we may. But I know you told me about
(33:50):
this really exciting trip you got coming out.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
When is that we are leaving the day after Christmas.
We have actually never done this before we are. We
are not big holiday travelers, you know, like we'll go
to the farm for Thanksgiving. You know, we actually last
couple of years we went up to the farm for
New Years and things. But I don't consider that like
a vacation. You know, it's in the woods, you know,
hunting farm and you're just kind of relaxing. But this
(34:15):
my wife talked me into. So originally we wanted to
go skiing. My son wanted to go skiing, right, and
I thank god we didn't plan that because all the
Western mountains. I was looking at videos from Tahoe yesterday
and other places, it's like dry, like there's no snow
on the ground, very very few spots. So a lot
of people are complaining, you know, their ski vacations got
(34:37):
ruined because there's no snow. But what I got talked
into was my wife's sister lives near Barcelona, and she
really wanted to visit her. And I'm like, dude, I
don't want to go out there, like during Christmas time
it's gonna be nuts. And she's like, we can ski,
and I'm like, how do we do this? Right? I'm
not skiing foreign countries. There's a place called Andorra, and
it's a little tiny country in between Spain and France,
(35:00):
landlocked and all it is is like ski mountains and
apparently there's a lot of snow there right now. So
we are flying into London, never been there before. We're
doing a red eye on the twenty six, so we're
gonna sleep hopefully throughout some of the night. And then
we got two nights in London. And supposedly London is
beautiful like New York during Christmas. Have you been? No?
(35:20):
I haven't either, So I supposedly that's like all lights
everywhere and all the Christmas e stuff, and they're they're
big into Christmas. And then we're gonna do three nights
in Andorra and then go visit the sister for a
couple nights near Barcelona.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
That sounds wonderful. I'm excited for you.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Thank you. New Year's even another country. Never done that before?
Speaker 4 (35:38):
Oh even that you've never had in years? Even another country?
Speaker 1 (35:41):
No, I no, I've never had a New Year's age
outside of Florida before.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
That's really cool.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
I think that is I'm trying to think, what are
they They're ahead in time, right, so that means I'm
gonna celebrate New Years before you. Is that how that works?
I think you are. Yeah, yes, I think that is
a happy New Year. She'd be like, what are you
talking about? Yeah, so I'm very excited about that. I
know there's gonna be a lot of travel. I had
a prediction. We're talking about somebody the other day. How
busy are the airport's going to be? Well, I'm hoping
(36:08):
because of how all this falls, that because it's on
the Friday after Christmas, it won't be busy. Ially, Yeah,
I'm just thinking that people who's going to travel on
the Friday, Like, if you're going somewhere for Christmas, you're
probably already there, right, And why would you go home
on the Friday not the Saturday or Sunday.
Speaker 4 (36:29):
Maybe you don't love your family that much Christmas Day,
but no, for your sake, I hope it's not that busy.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
I'm not like this, come on. But then we're flying
back on the third, which is probably going to be
a wild day to come back, I would imagine. So
it's super exciting. You know what else is exciting guys?
The lotto. I listen, I'm not a big lotto player,
but I kind of have this thing when I see
a B next to the number, but but a billion,
I think we should play the lotto right and right now.
My company we did. We did a like I think
(36:59):
we're everybody through in twenty We did it a couple
of weeks ago, and and we we keep rolling like
we're making enough money to play the next roll or whatever.
And we just did another twenty dollars pool today because
the lotto on Christmas Eve s is going to be
one point seven billion dollars.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Making a big note yes on my little sheet.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I take so what that could be great stocking stuffer? Yes?
Can you imagine if you bought your family a billion
dollar lotto ticket for Christmas?
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Can we do some kind of agreement though, like hey, yeah,
when yes you get I would ride on the back.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
This is half mine half yi, but I yeah, this
this is amazing. Or maybe you just take a picture
of the ticket and you put it in the stocking
and if it hits you're like, oh, that's a little
d Yeah, it's a little little that's the bad elf,
bad elf on my left shoulder.
Speaker 4 (37:50):
But no, that's gonna be my air. And then I'm
going to go ahead and get a bunch of power
Ball tickets to finish up. That's a great idea, yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
And you know, I think your chances are one in
a billion, but you did It's you win one point
seven billion. So and I haven't done the math, but
I'm pretty sure that you would be a straight billionaire
if you took the lump sum. I think that you'd
be pretty close to having a billion dollars in your
bank account if you did that. So we did travel,
we did lotto. I'll tell you what I'm gonna give you,
(38:17):
my my Christmas tendrillin recipes for everybody, is that we
got time for that, all right, Here you go. So
here's what you do. First, you get the tenderloin or
the steak, right, and you just salt and pepper it
lots of ground salt and pepper all over. Get the grinders.
Get the good stuff, guys, a Himalayan sea salt right
it comes from Russia probably anyway. Salt and pepper, real goods.
All you need. You can put a little garlic if
you want. And then you got to sear it. And
(38:39):
when I mean sere, you got to get that grill
up to like at least five hundred something, if not
six hundred degrees, and just take it out there. Now,
there's a little trick before you see it. You got
to rub it in a mixture of anchovy paste and butter. Yes,
anchovy paste and butter. It creates a great season. Put
a nice light coat of that on there right see it,
(39:00):
and it'll kind of burn it on there. You really
wanted to like charg like a dark brown, not black,
dark brown. That's why it's gotta be really hot. Flip
it a few times, get it all the way around,
because that's also going to lock in the juices. Right,
pull it off, Let it cool down the room temperature
might take forty five minutes or so. Temperature might have
been put in the frigerator, just with the seers with
(39:20):
thee sear it and then get it off the grill.
You want it to chill back out right, and then
you put another coating of the anchovy pipe paste and butter,
which you just mix soft butter and anchovy paste. Put
it back on the grill or the egg at like
three twenty five, three fifty and cook it slow until
you get to your internal temperature. It will come out
with a beautiful salty delicious crust on there and then
(39:45):
you just slice it the way you want it, slice
it to order. Okay, that's it.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
Do do you like yours medium rare?
Speaker 1 (39:52):
I love my medium rare?
Speaker 4 (39:53):
Okay, yeah, that's about how long? Because I'm big on
the time thing. He don't. I'm not good at using
the thermometers. I don't know why, don't know how.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Thicke it is. I use a little digital thermometer no
more than an hour probably, and you'll and you'll be.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
At the at the I'm gonna try that because we
were going to get just the full on thing, not
individual steaks. I'm like, this seems easier because we're just
gonna slice it up. We'll steaks.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Well, Christmas, there's your present, right, Merry Christmas. And it's
been a great episode.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Yeah, so fine, Yes, Merry Christmas everybody.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
We'll see you guys in a happy new Year. We'll
see you guys in the new year.
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