Shelley Jaffe, Realtor

02/05/2024

Are you a foodie or a foodie family looking for something fun to do in Tampa Bay? Then check out my latest blog post.

Winter is our growing season here in Florida, and February is strawberry season, one of my favorite things to eat fresh.

01/28/2024

Join me today, January 28th at the open house for this beautiful home!!! https://bhhsfloridaproperties.com/property/24-T3480619-2726-saint-andrews-boulevard-tarpon-springs-FL-34688

01/24/2024

Come and see this beautiful Palm Harbor home this Saturday! https://shelleyjaffe.bhhsfloridaproperties.com/details.php?mls=24&mlsid=U8225311

01/05/2024

https://youtu.be/Eyv2mGZFkaU?si=MKCfv5jRRDXXrFwm

The video you about to see is real and not staged, though no one was hurt in its creation.

12/27/2023

Looking to buy in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay? I’ve got you covered! Just let me know what you’re looking for and we can get started finding your dream location!

National Geographic has a great guide for Costa Rica here.

National Geographic’s latest travel stories about Costa Rica

12/26/2023

There is no such thing as a stupid question, especially when it comes to buying a home. Ask away!!!

No such thing as a dumb question!✨🔑

12/22/2023

The holidays can be a challenge for someone who has dietary constraints, so here is my present to those of you who cannot eat gluten, dairy, nuts, eggs, or any of the other major allergens. These were one of our top selling items at our bakery. People didn't care that they were gluten-free and vegan.

Crumb Bars:

Fill with cranberry sauce, apple pie filling, or any other fruit filling you make. Make the filling from scratch first. Preheat your oven to 375.

420 grams cassava flour (NOT Tapioca flour)
1 ½ cup sugar (I use sucanat or brown sugar)
1 ½ cup old fashioned oatmeal
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup coconut oil

Place the dry ingredients in a food processor with the chopping blade and process until the oatmeal is crumbly. Add the coconut oil to the processor and process until it is well mixed. If you don't have a food processor, just mix this together by hand or with a stand mixer.

Line one 11” x 17” pan, or or two 9" x 9" pans with parchment.
Press half of the crust in baking pan. Top with filling, then crumble remaining crust mixture over the top. Bake about 50 minutes. Cool completely and refrigerate to set.

For apple:

Core and peel 3 pounds of apples, slice them, and chop them.
Place the apples in a bowl and mix about ½ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cinnamon, a grating of nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon citric acid in well. Taste and adjust any ingredients until it has a good sweet/tart taste of crisp apples.

For cranberry:
Bring to a boil in a pot: 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Add 24 ounces fresh cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add 5 drops organic orange essential oil (optional, but tastes amazing). Allow to cool to room temperature. If not being used right away, then place it in the refrigerator until you are ready for it.

For Berry:

Mix 4 heaping cups of mixed frozen berries, (measured while frozen, then thawed with the juices), with 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons tapioca starch and ½ tsp citric acid in a pot. Cook over medium low heat stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and use at once or refrigerate until ready to use.

If you don't have dietary constraints you can swap the cassava for flour and coconut oil for butter.

12/21/2023

Even realtors dream about owning or building their perfect home. Mine would be a green certified home with a loft upstairs, a garden on the roof, and a space downstairs to host events. The outside would have a food forest, essentially being landscaped to look like a jungle, but everything would be edible. And there would be a solarium on the south side of the building.
What would your dream home look like?

12/20/2023

I love to walk through houses and listen to what they have to say. I hear stories about their history, and musings of future possibilities. Maybe it is because I have lived in houses built as early at 1723, or maybe it is my artistic side, but I have always loved architecture and had this connection to it. When I got my drivers license at the age of 17, I would spend my weekends driving around and walking through open houses or hunting for abandoned homes to explore. I still love to do this, though I get permission before entering an abandoned home these days. If I had a limitless supply of money, I would spend my days restoring houses to their original glory and finding families in need to fill them. Until then, I help buyers find their special homes, and if needed, restore them or create a new face for it to be loved.

12/19/2023

It is not uncommon these days for buyers to go out and find homes for themselves and without representation, believing that by doing so they are saving themselves money. If a buyer walks into an open house and has no agent, the seller's agent is always happy to write the contract. However, they are working for the seller and they are ethically obligated to be working for the seller's best interest, NOT yours as the buyer. And the thing is, as the buyer, you aren't paying to have representation when you hire a realtor. The seller pays the commission to your agent, but that agent is obligated to represent YOUR best interest. See, there is absolutely NO benefit to not signing with a reputable and experienced agent. It costs you nothing and a good agent is going to work hard for you, to both find the right home for you, and fight to get you the best price possible.