Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Make sure you Drive by it at different times of the day and night!

  During one of my many showings this week, I was very surprised (mouth gaping open and all) at a very unusual site.  My clients, who are an adorable couple, took sometime to become aware of the situation.  Since I had been outside waiting for their arrival for a few minutes, I had plenty of time to scope out the neighborhood.
  The property we were previewing was lovely, great curb appeal in a well established neighborhood surrounded by homes of greater or equal value, somewhere in the low to mid $200,000.00
  As I sat down on the step to wait, I noticed the neighbor across the street was sitting in his driveway, open garage door and all, just relaxing. I thought to myself; "he's probably working on something and is resting in between breaks" until....I noticed his lovely wife drag a SECOND chair out unto the driveway to sit next to him, now I was intrigued.  See, they were both staring into the garage from the driveway, and from my limited view into their garage, I couldn't tell what it was they were looking at so intently.  I kept waiting for them to close the garage door (believe me it wasn't a pretty site), thinking "they'll be done soon, and they probably don't want me, and everyone else looking into their messy garage"...I was wrong.  Two minutes later, their son drags a THIRD chair out from the garage, unto the driveway...now I had to look.  So I got up and walked up to the side yard of the property we were going to preview, and that's when I saw it...a BIG flat screen TV  on the Garage Wall!!!!  I couldn't believe it!!  They were watching TV from their driveway! Apparently this must be everyday, they get home from work, pop open the garage door (with the cars in the driveway of course) and pull chairs out to watch the tele, while the whole neighborhood watches them.
Here's my point; When you find a property that works for you, and you think this is the one....DRIVE BY IT! drive by it at different times of the day and night, so you'll have a better feel for the activity in that neighborhood...you don't want any surprises on move in day.
  So go for a drive before you buy, you'll be glad you did.



It's been a long time

Haven't blogged in some time now, too long really.  I've been busy with life, work and family.
I must say that this year, the market has taken a turn for the better.  Homes are moving as always, but a very welcomed change has been the come back of our commercial clients ready to invest in our Market.  Leases are moving and major retailers are still flocking to our City trying to get their own piece of the pie. Home leases are still going strong, high demand and small supply keep prices up.  Homes are moving a little faster, they're not staying in the market as long as they used to, and are selling closer to their asking price.  Of course, location and condition of the home as well as price have a lot to do with this.  Overall, in my opinion, this has been a better year for Real Estate.  There's a lot of information when it comes to Real Estate, to be put into a few words, so if you ever have a question or comment that I can help with, let me know it's great to hear from you!