Sea glass can be found on many (not all) our beaches. There are certain beaches and areas where you find lots of wave tumbled glass and others where I have never found a single piece. Once you hit the motherload the question is - what to do with all your new found sea glass treasure? Make sea glass art of course. Here's how!

Must Have:
- Sea glass
- A substrate like driftwood, wood blocks or art canvas
- Adhesive (hot glue, Gorilla glue or my favorite DAP)

Nice to Have
- Acrylic paint
- Tweezer (for tiny pieces)
- Hanging hardware
- Sharpie (for signing or drawing)
- Gesso
- A keen eye

How I Do It
1. Prep canvas with Gesso
2. Decide on design and best canvas size for your layout
3. Paint with acrylic (determined by the design)
4. Install wall hanger of choice
5. Adhere sea glass
6. Scribble and sign
7. Let dry then package 

Here's a quick time-lapse of me making sea glass art.

Making the decision to rent involves many important considerations including the best locations for you, your budget, distance from work or social circles and whether you have children or pets that will be living with you. One of the most important, especially for first time renters, is how much monthly rent costs you can comfortably afford. 

I'm featured in this great article from Better Homes and Gardens that outlines 'Three Ways to Figure Out How Much Rent You Can Really Afford'. 

Think:
- Set a budget
- Consider all costs
- Calculate your debt and rent-to-income ratio
- Figure out all your utility costs
- Account for the upfront costs of moving

Does your real estate search ever feel like a long walk through very tall reeds? Listing after listing with sold, off the market, rented, expired or just plain non-existent. There's a reason it may seem that way and there's a simple solution.

The Bahamas Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a great tool. It essentially puts exclusive listings in front of every agent (who is a member of the MLS) and every buyer, either through their search directly on the MLS website or through their searches on various broker sites.

Why do you see the same property on several websites?
Broker websites feature MLS listings by using what's called the IDX feed. This is why you will see the same property on multiple broker websites. It's also why you have no idea who the listing broker actually is. Which isn't a problem because any agent can represent the buyer in the purchase of any listing.

Why are properties on the website but not available?
Because the listing broker is responsible for updating the status on each of their exclusive listings. They're many reasons that's not always done quickly. A property may have an accepted offer but the sales agreement hasn't been executed so the property cannot be updated to 'under contract' or 'pending'. Or a property may have expired and is in the process of being renewed but that requires forms and multiple signatures as well as approval before it goes live again. And of course the same is true for a property being cancelled by the owner and removed from the MLS; it's likely to take a few days for the site to be updated.

What to do about it?
Do your searches directly on the Bahamas MLS website and if the user experience isn't your cup of tea then use our website www.bettermcrbahamas.com to search for properties. Work with a responsive agent that you like and trust and they will do all the leg work running down the status of the properties you're interested in. In my experience, agents work really well together and we can very quickly call or message each other to confirm the status of a listing.

What about open listings?
That's another kettle of fish. There is no central registry on open listings so it's really up to the owner to advise all the agents who have the listing about any changes. You can imagine how much fun that is for the owner. 

Don't get frustrated. Get on the phone and give me a call!

Let's make this quick! This is what you really need to know about exclusive listing agreements!

Do yourself a favor - find an agent you feel good working with and list your property with them exclusively UNLESS you can sell it yourself for more money in less time. That way you won't have to pay a commission and you'll have a double win.

If you're not so sure you're a better agent than your agent then read on.

What's the MLS?
All exclusives are MLS (Multiple Listing Service) agreements. All exclusives are listed by one exclusive broker but can be sold on a co-broke basis by any licensed real estate agent. Agreeing to an exclusive puts pressure on your agent to perform in the contractually agreed time (usually 6 months to one year), that gets you and your property a lot of attention which is what you want. And yes, you will have to pay a real estate commission when your agent secures you the sale. And yes, you can cancel an MLS listing. But don't try to hack the system by cancelling the agreement to deal with a buyer directly. You are obligated to pay real estate commission on the sale once the buyer was  introduced to your property by an agent.

The Power of the  MLS
All agents who are members of the MLS have access to your exclusive listing and can share the details with their database of buyers. Anyone in the world can access your listing by searching The Bahamas MLS website. All MLS listings are replicated on multiple broker websites through the IDX feed. MLS listings are also replicated on international real estate websites. You simply cannot beat the marketing reach of an MLS listing.

What's an 'open' listing?
An 'open' listing is not an exclusive and can be listed with multiple agents. You can also rent or sell your open listing yourself in which case commission is due to no one. Open listings appear only on the website of the broker(s) it is listed with and has the lowest market reach and in my opinion the lowest agent attention. Avoid an open listing unless you have a great chance of selling the property yourself.

Still have questions on how the MLS works? Drop me a comment.

My lovely client has just closed on her first real estate purchase. Yes, it took over a year to close - don't ask, it happens, that's another post. Happily, after some light renovations and staging she will be listing her one bedroom, one bathroom, beachfront apartment for lease. Did I mention she's a young and savvy investor!