Douglass & Christine Marie Smith, The Castle Rock Group

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United States
Tampa, FL
Douglass & Christine Marie Smith, The Castle Rock Group

The Castle Rock Group, Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc Our team closed over 189 homes last year.

Dedicated Real Estate Professionals with extensive experience in providing both buyer and seller representation throughout Pasco, Hillborough, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties. With my skill set, I bring an incredibly unique combination of marketing, finance, technical construction, and design experience with the knowledge of what individuals truly look for in real estate. In today's comp

etitive real estate market, you need an agent that has the knowledge in all areas to ensure your purchase or sale is handled properly. My background in assisting national, private equity firms prepare their properties for sale certainly helps homeowners, investors, and business owners bring their properties to market for maximum returns and superior results. I am also a relocation specialist with vast knowledge of assisting homebuyers, particularly those relocating to the Tampa Bay area, with buyer representation in the market, and making the transition a well planned and seamless process. If you're looking for the best, than look no further, as I am here to help you with all of your real estate needs.

07/26/2025

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, 7/26 from 11:00am-1:00pm!
Easy access to the Gulf, NO HURRICANE DAMAGE or FLOODING with hurricanes last year. Private Beach community in Gulf Harbors. Bottom floor has its own entrance, 2 additional bedrooms, full bathroom and kitchenette. Beautifully renovated.

6311 Bayside Dr, NPR, FL 34655
5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Pool, Boat Lift
In-law quarters
Access to Gulf
Private Beach Club
Renovated
So Much More to see in person...
Open House 7/26, 11:00am-1:00pm

06/07/2024

So much for rates slowly coming down a bit. Wall Street is reacting to weak economic news. I remember my Econ 101 Professor, Dr. Harrington, saying "The problem is that politicians don't understand economics." I think that they and the media might understand economics...they just can't sell the real actions that need to happen to strengthen the economy to voters that don't pay attention. This whole "the economy is strong and rates are coming down" talk isn't correct. The 10-Year Treasury is a direct indicator of what mortgage rates are doing. We saw them coming down a bit earlier this week, but today's weak economic news caused the markets to give it back. We're watching closely.

05/02/2024

New changes coming July 1st with Home Owner’s Associations in FL. All of my real estate people or people who live in communities with HOA’s, there’s some important info in here.

04/18/2024

Why wait to build when you can purchase this stunner!

04/15/2024

This chart shows mortgage interest rates over the past 30 days. Rates are directly tied to the 10-Year US Treasury which are impacted by not only our market-driven economy, but also government action (or inaction). I’ve been saying for many months that I did not see a path to dramatically lower interest rates like government officials, the media, and many real estate pros were touting. Today’s economic news…heck…economic news for the last several months seem to continually be “worse than expected”. The US Federal Reserve (do they ever really help out or simply get in the way) is notorious for taking action way, way too late. One of my biggest bones that I have to pick with them is this fascination with “2% inflation”. When I studied Econ in college, we used an average 3.1% inflation rate as an assumption. When I was working for banks and did financial planning for customers, we used 3.1% as an assumption. The 2% inflation target was adopted by New Zealand in the 1980s and then other central banks followed suit.
That certainly doesn’t mean that such a low target is a good idea. The Fed under Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan, there was no 2% target. Ben Bernanke mentioned it and then Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell are all in for 2% inflation. Damn the rest of the economy! The Fed is fixated with 2% inflation, but they are ignoring what is best for average Americans who are just trying to put food on the table. Couple with it the dramatic increase in currency in circulati...

03/26/2024

👨‍🎓Are you or a client struggling to find a home worthy of your standards? 🤔🔍Can’t find a home with a pool? 🌴Have you decided to “stay put”, but need to renovate to be happy? We can help.😀 You’ve always know that Castle Rock is a superstar when it comes to real estate investor construction and flipping finance, but did you know we NOW OFFER RENOVATION FINANCE for consumers? 👍We can roll your mortgage and renovation funds into one, market-rate Conventional, FHA, VA, or USDA loan. If you’re a consumer or real estate pro looking to expand your property-buying pool or a contractor seeking a financing partner, we would love to speak with you today! ❤️

03/18/2024

👨‍🎓I keep hearing "I'll wait until the rates fall a bit", but are the rates really that bad right now? Historically, they are about where they normally would be on average. The red line on this Federal Reserve chart that tracks the average 30-year fixed rate back to 1971 shows where we stand right now vs over the past few years. There are 4 really good explanations for the real estate market being so slow right now...
👨‍🎓Rates were artifically low over the past few years. If you're sitting at a 3.5% rate, why would you move? It makes it difficult to justify putting your home on the market if your new home is going to cost you a ton more than what you're paying now. That means there are fewer homes on the market.
👨‍🎓Taxes have skyrocketed. As values have increased, so have taxes. In Florida, the taxes on your homestead can only increase by a small amount each year. That means when you go to buy a new home, you might get sticker shock.
👨‍🎓Florida insurance rates are out of control. Thank hurricanes and door-to-door home improvement salesmen saying "I can get your insurance company to pay for your roof".
👨‍🎓The future is uncertain. Politicians from both political parties have spent money poorly. The additional currency in circulation and the debt we are incurring as a nation (government and personal) causes our dollar to devalue and we get more and more inflation. Not knowing what is next has most people frozen where they are. That causes a downward spiral...

03/15/2024

🎼Needing an approval over the weekend? I’m working! Call me and let me get your loan approved while you home shop! Call us today! 🎸Doug Smith, Castle Rock Capital Funding (NMLS 1984040 personal and 2318381 business, www.mortgagesbycastlerock.com), 813-727-3621, [email protected] 👍

03/11/2024

👨‍🎓Realtors are really struggling to find affordable homes for their buyers right now. If you can’t find one, make one! We are the experts in renovation lending…not just for real estate investors, but also for consumers too! We can take a regular conventional, FHA, VA, or USDA loan and tweak it into a loan where we finance the purchase of the “fixer-upper” as well as the renovation for a licensed contractor to execute. You or your client then get a newly-renovated home with the fixtures that YOU choose…not some flipper. Let’s discuss how we can help you and your client turn that fixer-upper into the perfect home! 🌴Doug Smith, Castle Rock Capital Funding (NMLS 1984040 personal and 2318381 business, www.mortgagesbycastlerock.com), 813-727-3621, [email protected]👍

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Tampa, FL

Website

http://www.go-cr.com/

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