http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=debhalsey&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000IEFVMA&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrFor supporters of our breast cancer drive, the Old Greenwich office – 189 Sound Beach Ave. –  is handing out pink pumpkins – while they last! Just a little perky perk for donating to a good cause…Each Raffle Ticket is $5.00 and there are 20 great prizes – Diamonds and Gold, Plasma TV, $1K gift card at Home Depot, Compaq Notebook, Kindle, Apple Nano, Travel prizes and more. Stop by!

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=debhalsey&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000NOK27Y&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrI “tink” that it would say, that there is a discount for it’s proximity to the Merritt

7 Tinker is the most recent “re-activated” listing,  is a veteran to the MLS.  Good news for a potential imminent sale is that it is now priced below assessment. The owner is in foreclosure, so is this the reason that interior photos have not been submitted – one wonders? In fairness, there were no interior shots submitted in 2004 either. In most foreclosure situations, it is buyer beware, since the payment to the bank is most likely not the only thing to have been neglected.

In 2004, 7 Tinker assessed at $2,066,750 and it is now assessing at $2,044,490 and the new listing price is $1,875,000. It was renovated in 2002, and the verbal listing descriptions are not so compelling, since the renovation in ’04 – understandably….

This home is situated on an oversized level 2.76 acres – zoned RA2 –  so you have a bit more elbow room than most of the other lots.

• 2004 – List date – June 15 – $2,299,000
• 2006 – Expired – November 17 – $2,195,000
• 2006 – Rent Listing – September 8 – $8000
• 2006 – Rent Lisitng Expired – November 17 – $8000
• 2010 – Active Listing – October 20 – $1,875,000

17 Tinker Lane

17 Tinker is listed as land or residence for $2,795,000. The lot slopes downward (which usually equates to a home that is “light challenged) The price is not relative to the home itself, since it needs complete renovation – wood paneling, worn carpet, dated wallpaper, sad kitchen/baths. The listing is about to expire, so it will be the time no doubt that we see a price reduction with the next listing broker that takes this one on. It has been on and off the market since ’08 for as high as $3,199,000. The listing is about to expire on November 3.

• 2008 – List date – May 12 – $3,195,000
• 2009 – Expiration Date – May 12 – $2,975,000
• 2009 – Re-listed at $2,499,000 – not sold
• 2010 – List Date – February 22 – $2,499,000
• 2010 – List Price – August 24 – $2,350,000
• 2010 – Sold – $2,100,000

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=debhalsey&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1588160955&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrDid you know that  pumpkins  and   their seeds can stave off cancer?   Pumpkins  contain  hypoglycemic substances that may improve diabetes. Pumpkins and pumpkin seeds have components such as squalene, carotenoids,  b-carotene,  zeaxanthin  and  various  tocopherols with suspected  or demonstrated cancer fighting properties. Pumpkin polysaccharide has been shown to possess significant cytoprotective effect and antioxidative activity.

William Raveis Breast Cancer Foundation raises money and awareness each year during October.  This year’s raffle tickets are $5.00 each, and the prizes that will be raffled are on the pink ticket. Tickets can be purchased by stopping by any of our offices. In Greenwich, we have offices at 45 Field Point Rd. and Old Greenwich 189 Sound Beach Ave. William Raveis has offices throughout New England – visit:
http://www.raveis.com/

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=debhalsey&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0021L8W6K&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrCoyotes are everywhere,  and they  seem  to be a  dominant  predator,  even in the most  populated neighborhoods….from Rye, NY where small children were recently attacked in their own backyards, to the postings across Fairfield County for “lost” pets – mostly cats and dogs…last week, on Druid Lane in Riverside, CT,  our friend’s daughter’s rabbit was victim to a coyote – and the tenacious hunter broke into the cage for his “dinner”!

Take a look at this fearless feline, who was a bit more successful in staving off a potential devouring, however, your pet may not have the same communication skills as this Orange County Kitty.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=debhalsey&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=393193666X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrThis Sunday,  I held an open house for a King Merritt home that is available for rent. As I was setting up the Public Open House signs along King, Bowman and Heather Lane, I also slipped invitations for neighbors to drop by. Guess  what? They all came – excusing themselves as “nosy neighbors”  as I welcomed  them
with open arms and a big smile.  I often get asked  –  “why would you invite the neighbors?”. Many reasons:

1. If they like living there, they will recommend the neighborhood to others…

2. They may want more of their family members to live close by

3. You  get the  details  of  previous  owners or tenants (as is the case here) and sometimes it is quite colorful. It definitely helps to build a case for getting former landlord references for future tenants,  as  well  as credit checks for those tenants who flee in the middle of the night instead of ponying up past due rent!

4. The more the merrier in any shopping situation – it makes the property look hot…in this situation, many people were there at one point, enjoying cookies and chit chatting away. It was like a little party.

5. Getting  the scoop on  a  neighborhood is  beneficial  to future sales, in terms of relaying first hand endorsements, rather than facts and figures..in the King Merritt neighnorhood, they have adult socials, block parties, charity drives – it is grass roots living in America. It’s just plain nice.

To learn more about the neighborgood visit:

http://www.kingmerritt.org/

See you Later!

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There is lots of  discussion about  this but mostly on an average  basis,   like the article  that  CNBC wrote yesterday.  They provided average indexes for renting versus buying,  in metropolitan  markets in the US  such as San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, New York, Las Vegas  etc…

Sometimes there are homes/condos that are just for rent, and other times there are homes that offer both, buying or renting.  This is the case with the example in this article.

66 Cherry Valley Rd –  Off Round Hill  –  designed by architect Ulrich Franzen  – built in 1992. It is listed for 13,000,000 or you can rent this interesting home for a mere $40,000 a month.

The William Raveis calculator takes into consideration, the cost of the money applied  to the down  payment,   in what otherwise might be yielding higher returns elsewhere and adds this to the cost of owning..fair enough. And for this calculation,  we’ve applied .01% appreciation over 30  years  of the mortgage  –   knowing that  many  people  are dismayed with thinking that a home is an investment.

Please keep in mind that maintenance expenses are estimates and not based on fact. Closing and insurance are estimates as well, since this expense can broadly vary depending on coverage.

In this example, it is cheaper to rent than buy.
This calculator is in excel, so please feel free to email me and I will send it to you. Alternatively, I will do it for you. My email is: debhalsey@gmail.com

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Music makes it more interesting – captures the emotion, and brings you back to places that are sometimes fun to re-visit and sometimes sad.  We  can  always  remember  songs  that  became popular when we first fell in love, when we were in school, or during a favorite vacation. We attach emotion to songs much the same way that fragrance triggers memories – some pleasant – some, not so much….

Hopefully this video may inspire those looking to live in beautiful Greenwich, CT to visit this Open House located at 4 Heather Lane, Greenwich, CT – exit 120A from the Hutch or Merritt – King St. to Bowman St. to Heather Lane – very first house on right –  Sunday October 24th from 1 – 4PM.

New Agent Enjoys The Challenge The Daily Easton

New Agent Enjoys The Challenge

by Fenella Pearson10/18/10

Deb Halsey, of William Raveis in Greenwich.

Photo credit: Fenella Pearson, ASID

 

Changing jobs always takes guts – and deciding to become a realtor at the end of 2009, when the market wasn’t too hot, struck Deb Halsey as the perfect career move.  “I was bitten by the ‘house bug’ when I bought my very first apartment in Manhattan,” said Deb, “And that was during a down market.” Deb, husband Chuck and fat cat, Nickie, moved to Greenwich six years ago. “We wanted to buy a house but had some concerns about the housing market,” she said, so they ended up renting in back-country Greenwich after making offers on a couple of houses that ended up in a bidding war.
Learning the ropes as a brand new real estate agent takes time. “I do a lot of desk duty in the Raveis office and I listen to everything that goes on. It’s the only way to learn – listening to the agents who have been in the business a long time,” she said, adding that a thorough knowledge of all the neighborhoods in the town is crucial. She makes a point of visiting as many of the realtor open houses as possible in order to familiarize herself with what is on the market.
Marketing is very important, Deb said, and explained she is becoming an expert in social media, has started writing a blog and is learning to use youtube. “I had a rental cottage and what was special about it was the owner of the main house would allow the tenants to use the grounds. I made a short film of the beautiful grounds, posted it on youtube, and someone called the next day and made an offer – they’d seen my clip!” she said.
Deb’s first career was in the fashion business, and she traveled constantly. “My last really fun job was as director of dales for Paul Smith and I would travel regularly between New York, London, Milan and Paris,” she said, noting that she loved her job until September 11, when everything changed. Flying became a hassle and the job was no longer exciting so she quit – and met her husband soon after.
Deb and Chuck are still looking for a house of their own but much of their spare time is taken up with sports. Both are avid skiers and golfers, and they love skeet shooting. “I used to work for Beretta and I opened up many of the Beretta showrooms in the premier gunrooms in this country, selling the beautiful Italian clothes,” she says, laughing. Deb Halsey is a lady with tremendous energy and charm. Her new career suits her well.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=debhalsey&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0470405279&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrIt’s great that there are websites that scrape for information, providing consumers the opportunity to look for homes on line, as well as well as see where the homes are located in 3D, find school, community and shopping information in one place. The information is not always 100% accurate, but I am sure that there is a clause somewhere that provides an escape mechanism from liability.

There is even an area on the site that provides a forum where real estate “professionals” can offer advice to others, however, the answers given are often ambiguous, since many of these snippets come from realtors who chime in about locales of which they have no knowledge. As global as the marketplace is, there are still laws which are governed by each state. We should stop trying to purport that we have a Phd in EVERYTHING!

We, “the professionals” also consistently push that “now is the time to buy. That’s profound. How about addressing consumer confidence.

Having been in sales all of my adult life, I undertsand the necessity to believe and be positive about the services and products that we are selling – because if that is not apparent, nothing moves. I also believe that sustained credibility is the number one factor in motivating people to a decision, and that is dilluted when we speak to our potential clients in ways that differ from current market trends. Taking people through historic sales to prove the value of homes today, will most likely be the proof to have people believe that the timing is right (provided that they are motivated or even curious to explore buying or selling a home).

Mortgage rates follow supply and demand, so they are always low when there are fewer takers. Relating historic low mortage rates to the curve of projecting when the market picks up again would help. Does anyone see a potential market stimulus on the horizon? If not, the only buyers are the ones that having the extra cash now and the belief in riding the historic curve. The only sellers are the ones who need to get out, for personal, financial or relocation purposes.