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Get Organized the Simple Way
January usually brings the desire to clean-out, put-away and freshen-up your life. You can simplify the easy way by doing just a few small tasks at a time and following some basic steps. From taking the time to get rid of extra trash, going through each room and each drawer one at a time, you’ll find you just have extra “stuff”.
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THANK YOU
As I pen my last letter for the Cumberland Valley Business Journal, I reflect upon what a great honor it was to be asked to contribute my thoughts and opinions over the last year.
While my job was to provide information and insight regarding local real estate, the scope of my thoughts are so much more.
In a few weeks, many of us will be making resolutions for the New Year. One of my resolutions is to be more thankful for the privilege and opportunity of living in the community that I call the Greater Carlisle Area.
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An app for homes for sale
The Homesnap App puts the convenience of house shopping right at your fingertips. It keeps you informed in real time of new listings, price changes or any other market activity you want to know about.
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Easy home maintenance tasks
1. Drain and disconnect your hoses and outdoor faucets to keep from getting frozen pipes. So easy but people often forget this important step.
2. Dust snow off of trees to avoid a buildup of heavy precipitation that could possibly down branches and wreak havoc on your property.
3. Create Gift- wrapping central by storing paper, boxes, ribbons and more in an easy to access location. A rolling cart is great for this and can be put away when company comes over.
4. Invest in an extra coat rack or boot mat to prepare for the overabundance of winter jackets, wet shoes and potential mud. This will save time cleaning floors and gathering coats in a rush.
5. Check shovels and window scrapers and be sure you’re ready to handle the possible winter storms. Store salt, extra batteries for flashlights and even propane for extra heaters in case you need them. -
LET’S MAKE A DEAL!
There is an old adage that says the secret to real estate success is “location, location, location”.
I would argue that a better axiom might be “negotiation, negotiation, negotiation”.
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A Bright-er Future
The Real Estate world, as we have come to know it here in our geographic area, will undergo a seismic shift by the end of this very month.
“Bright” MLS is here.
As most consumers know, Multiple Listing Services, commonly referred to as MLS, are the organized “pool” of residential listings which Brokers make available for reciprocal privileges among other Brokers and Agents. Transactions in which the listing broker’s listing is sold by a broker or salesperson from another real estate company are called “Co-Brokered Transactions”.
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NAME THAT FORM
One of the most noticeable changes in the Real Estate Industry has been the proliferation of forms and standard agreements and addenda over the years. When I entered the real estate business, back in 1982, we could have listed your house with a one sided, 8 ½” x 11” document and sold it using a two sided, 8 ½” x 11” document. My clients frequently laugh when I share this story.
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Real Estate Remorse
It is commonly acknowledged that buying or selling a home is, for most people, the largest financial transaction that they will likely encounter in their lifetime. As such, it is only reasonable to expect that you will experience a wide range of emotions when going through the transaction process itself.
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ASSESSMENT vs. APPRAISAL
Many people interchange the terms “Appraised” and “Assessed”. While there are similarities to these valuations, there are also very distinct differences.
“Appraisal” is a “valuation of property by the estimate of an authorized person”. Real estate appraisals are conducted by licensed and certified real estate appraisers. Real estate appraisers are either Certified Residential or Certified General Appraisers. Federal guidelines outline appraisal process and technique. The overriding guideline is known as USPAP – Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
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MILLENNIALS MATTER!
Much has been written about Millennials – – the group of young adults born between 1981 and 1997 who have now surpassed Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation. Millennials are affecting the national economy in a big way.
When it comes to real estate, Millennials have been slow to use their numbers to influence the housing market. In fact, Millennials have not, until recently, been entering the housing market in any significant way. I have attributed this in the past to four specific reasons.