Hudson Valley Happenings Blog : January 2009

As those of you who often read my blog may know, I am very proud of my children.  They have done well in school (so far) and are just good kids.  One of the things that I feel helped to put them on this path was an early exposure to books.  Reading is basic to all school work and can bring joy to a person throughout their lives.  Parents with young children should bring them to a library or bookstore often and should read with them every day.  

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County,a wonderful resource for so many things, is presenting a six week program for parents and caregivers of children from 0 - 7 years old called Bookstart.  This fun approach to books and language activities will be held Tuesday mornings from 9:15 - 11:15 AM beginning Tuesday Feb 10, 2009.  The fee for the course is $30 per family but scholarships are available. The sessions will be held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension's Campus, 18 Seward Ave, 3rd Floor, Middletown, NY.  For further information or to register call 845-344-1234.

There are so many opportunities in our area for parents to help thier children learn and grow.  The Greater Hudson Valley is a wonderful place to raise children.  If you would like to explore a move to the area or if you are ready to start looking for a new home in Orange, Sullivan, or Ulster Counties, please give me a call.

If you are looking to purchase a new home in the Great Hudson Valley of New York's Orange, Ulster, or Sullivan Counties I would love to be your Buyer's Agent.  If you are looking anywhere else I can find you an agent who will treat you with the same respect and care that I give to my buying clients.  Please give me a call or send me an email to get started now before this perfect storm passes you by.

Let's look at the situation as we wake up at the end of January 2009.  We have just witnessed a new administration take charge in Washington.  We can not say for sure what they will do to stimulate the housing market but interest rates probably won't go much lower than they are right now. If you are not currently working with a mortgage professional you could miss these low rates and have to catch them on the up-swing.  I recommend working with a locally based loan officer who can not only get you pre-qualified quickly, help you clear up any issues that may cause a problem when obtaining the loan, and, most importantly in this case, keep an eye on the interest rates and alert you if they start to rise dramatically.

Many of you may be waiting for spring to start your housing search.  Spring may be too late.  Not only are the interest rates not predictable with certainty, we also have many first time home buyers who will be trying to find something to buy before the deadline for the $7500 First Time Home buyer Tax Credit Program which is currently legislated to end on June 30, 2009.  In my area of New York state the typical closing takes from 45 to 60 days after the accepted offer, so in order to close by the deadline you will need to find the home, negotiate the sale price, and have that accepted offer by April 30th.  Most of my first time home buyers spend a lot of time on the computer researching the choices I send them and we go out on tours several times prior to finding the right house.  Don't find yourself left out because you started in spring.  

Right now we have a large inventory of homes for sale but the typical first time home buyer that I am seeing is looking to purchase a home between $150,000 and $250,000.  In this price range the good listings move quickly even today.  You need something decent that you can afford.  It may take a while to find it and win it from all the other first time home buyers who are looking for the same thing.

Working with a dedicated Buyer's Agent will make your search for your home sweet home easier.  The real estate professional will be looking out for your best interests and can help you sort through everything in order to get you into your first home.  If you are looking to purchase your first place in the Great Hudson Valley of New York's Orange, Ulster, or Sullivan Counties I would love to be your Buyer's Agent.  If you are looking anywhere else I can find you an agent who will treat you with the same respect and care that I give to my buying clients.  Please give me a call or send me an email to get started now before this perfect storm passes you by.

It's all about big brand names for some people.  We can't get away from the influence of the media and social pressure to have the "ITEM" of the moment.  My daughter was speaking about how many of her friends are trying to get a bag from Prada or a pair of Jimmy Choos and she wasn't having any of it.  This girl, that many admire for a wonderful sense of fashion and who is always put together when she leaves the front door, buys good quality items without all the brand name madness. It is the look and quality of the service she gets from her clothes that matter.  And as she says, she can get a whole lot more for the same money if she steers clear of the "Labels".

I choose to work at an independent medium sized real estate brokerage for similar reasons. My company has two offices and about 100 agents but we are still leading the way in our area with new ideas and exciting initiatives to get our listings sold and bring in buying clients and customers. We offer agents with experience in many different aspects of real estate which allows us to work together on many different levels.  The Big Brand Name Companies are not able to adjust their plans as quickly as we are.  In the past few months we have radically changed our advertising strategies and as a result, are still profitable in a time of lower income for many brokers.  We are not required to make payments out to the franchised national office which allows us to put more into getting our listings sold and providing our agents with more support and profit.  

When choosing a broker to list or buy real estate through or to work for I suggest looking past the "Name" and reviewing the success of the company and individual agent in this market.  Our previous market allowed many to become agents who really did not work in the real estate industry but rather dabbled in it.  Many of these agents are now finding it difficult to produce in these difficult times.   While many agents who work in the "Big Brand" companies will provide excellent service, the "Branded Firms" may not be the best in your area.  Being "Independent" has a lot of perks and a smaller local firm just might be the perfect place for you.

In the Greater Hudson Valley of New York you will find my brokerage is ready to provide you with a personalized plan to meet your real estate needs. If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Orange, Ulster, or Sullivan Counties in New York give me a call and I will give you designer service.  If you need help elsewhere in the world let me know and I will find you an agent who can give you the service you deserve. 

Today I am making stew.  It is cold and stew is total comfort food for me.  As I plan to get the stew into the crock pot I can't help but think about the blending of ingredients and the slow simmer of the day in the crock pot and how it relates to our lives and businesses.  

Don't we all need to find a way to blend the needs of our families, friends, and ourselves with the demands of our business plans and the need for cash to make our way through life?  We need to chop our time up like I am cutting potatoes and carrots to add to this pot.   If I add too much of any one ingredient to the stew, the final result will not taste good.  It is also true that if I spend too much of my time in any one area of my life the final result will not be pleasant.  

My goal for 2009 is to find the right mixture of ingredients for my life.  Sometimes I find myself drawn too far into one project or one aspect of my life and I forget about other important things. No one thing should dominate.  A business plan and a life plan are needed and need to be adjusted but always balanced to produce the desired results.

There are times when I want everything to produce results RIGHT NOW and I forget that like a stew most things take time to prepare and simmer.  My marketing plans my not yield immediate tangible results but if I keep the fire burning low and mix enough different ideas into the marketing efforts I will see results.  

There are days when my personal obligations feel like they will take over.  Again the right balance of time and effort and the ability to let go of things that are less important helps to blend things together.  I worry about my children but I know that I put the right stuff in and they will develop into good caring adults in there own time.  I know I don't spend enough time with friends or on myself and I will work harder to allow more time for that in 2009.

I hope you all find the right ingredients for your lives this year.  Now I have to go finish putting that stew together and get ready for an appraisal and wake up the kids and.........  Have a great day.

I have been promoting a wonderful way to enrich your future by using the good will and encouragement of your family and friends to help fund the purchase of your first home.  No you don't have to ask them for handouts, you just have to ask your guests to provide you with a gift of money in place of the shower and wedding gifts they would normally give to you.  How many of you actually need a set of china for 12 or a $300.00 bedding ensemble?  In my area of the country, most people budget $25 to $50 for a shower gift and $75 to $100 for a wedding gift.  For a guest list of 100 people (this example assumes 50 couples), that can mean $1250 to $2500 from the shower and $3750 to $5000 for the wedding. Yes, you can take these gifts and place them in an account specifically for use in your home purchase. With a nest egg of $5000 to $7500 or more depending on your circumstances you can be in great shape start your journey towards your own home.  

For those of you in the Middletown NY area, I will be at a Bridal Fair this Sunday, January 18th at Tiffany's Catering in the Holiday Inn at 68 Crystal Run Road from 1:00 PM to 4 :00 PM.  I would love to meet you and explain a bit more about this program.  You will receive favors, taste hors d'oeuvres, and learn about the many bridal services in the area. There will be a fashion show with the latest designed gowns will be presented along with live entertainment. You can win some great prizes too.

Good luck to you as you begin your journey through life together.  I hope that I have given you some idea of how this exciting milestone can be a great foundation for all your tomorrows.

There are options here in the Greater Hudson Valley of NY to meet everyone's needs.  Working with an experienced buyer's agent can help you find the perfect first home.  If you are looking for a home in Orange, Ulster, or Sullivan County NY I would love to be your Buyer's Agent.  If you are looking elsewhere I would love to find someone in your chosen location to help you.  Give me a call or send an email today.