http://activerain.com/blogs/a4effort RE information,local events,Market trends ,Neighborhood happenings. I'm here to help! Give me a call!I practice Buyer and Seller Representation. en-us http://activerain.com/blogsview/1313273/alphonse-and-gaston <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Alphonse and Gaston</strong>was an American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper, featuring a bumbling pair of Frenchmen with a penchant for politeness.<br />The strip's premise was that both were extremely polite, constantly bowing and deferring to each other. Neither could ever do anything or go anywhere because each insisted on letting the other precede him.(</em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_and_Gaston" target="_blank"><em>Wikipedia</em></a><em>)</em></p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img title="Alphonse and Gaston" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/JennandEric2006Sept30062.jpg" height="267" alt="Stand Off" width="200" /></p> <p><strong>Yesterdays closing should have been without incident.</strong></p> <p><br />My Clients ,The Buyers, of&nbsp;a Bank Owned property had cleared through their financing in record time. They were happy with the agreed upon price and the Seller (NHHFA) had even granted concessions on Closing Costs. The Home Inspection revealed no surprises and <strong>we were set to close.</strong></p> <p><em><strong>(I should have known better)</strong></em></p> <p>WE had our early afternoon walk-thru and headed back to the office for closing.<br />When I came through the door My Buyers Mortgage Broker was sitting there with his head in his hands....<strong>I had that sinking feeling....</strong></p> <p>It seems the Seller was refusing to sign all of the closing papers. <strong>In order to limit any possible hint of any</strong> <strong>liability....they will only sign 3.</strong> (the deed,the title and the HUD). On the other hand, <strong>The Buyers Lender</strong> <strong>insists on having 5 signed</strong>. The 3 above and two other innocuous ones (something about correctness of&nbsp;address)<br /><strong>Neither would give....we were at a standoff</strong>. And all of the decision makers were at lunch.<br />My Buyers were beside themselves.</p> <p>When the "lunch-goers" returned, at least an hour was spent going back and forth&nbsp;with each player insisting that they were right and the other should give in....as a result....nothing was happening! <br />At that point <strong>the closing attorney announced that he had one card up his sleeve</strong>. He went into the other room to make a call. <strong>He returned with a big grin on his face.</strong></p> <p><strong>WE WERE OK !!!</strong></p> <p>It seems 25 years ago he had worked with one of the decision makers at NHHFA. He explained our situation and she said....<strong>in a human, sensible, logical NH fashion</strong>...well that's just silly! I have no problem signing those. It was as simple as that!<br /><br /><strong>We were fortunate to be able to circumvent the red-tape with a personal contact.<br /></strong>Most others are not so lucky!<br />How many other transactions have been stopped in their tracks for such foolishness? <br /><strong>Whatever happened to common sense and people power?</strong></p> <p><strong>I'm still shaking my head ........<br /></strong>.</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:37:16 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1313273/alphonse-and-gaston http://activerain.com/blogsview/1311253/help-or-hype- <p><em>The headlines were there. Bold and in your face!</em></p> <p><big><small><em>On October 18th our local paper, The <a href="http://www.concordmonitor.com" target="_blank">Concord Monitor</a>, reprinted an article by David Brooks of the <a href="http://www.nashuatelegraph.com" target="_blank">Nashua Telegraph</a>.<br />The article was yet another Housing "State of the State" based on statistics and opinions of &nbsp;NHAR<br /></em></small><big><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/Lady-Rider/thumbsup.jpg" height="79" alt="thumbs up" width="104" /><br />N.H. home sales increase while prices keep sliding<br /></big></big><big><big><small>&nbsp;Median price falls 8 percent in year (By David Brooks - The Telegraph)<br />~~~~~~~~~<br /></small></big></big><big><big><br /></big>The article went on to point out that NH home sales were up 3% over the same quarter in 2008. &nbsp;A spokesman for NHAR was quoted as saying he believed that the increase in sales plus the decrease in inventory will eventually lead to an increase in prices.<br /><br />Now....I may be naive when it comes to the nuances of Marketing. And I, as much as most, want to believe that our Market is improving. <strong>But where is the fine line between</strong> <strong>Hype and Help?</strong> How much is wishful thinking? How much is <strong>"if we build it they will come"?<br /></strong><br />These types of Headlines are not only local..... you can hear about how "it's getting better" on any given day in any News Publication or TV Network. Bits and pieces of positive news blown completely out of proportion ....<strong>3 little pixels presented as the whole picture.<br /></strong><br />I think we will all agree that sales have seen improvement these past few months....it's amazing what the promise of $8,000 will do! And yes, I do believe the Inventory has dropped... Bargain Sale foreclosures, some loosening of Lender hurdles and $8,000 will help with that.</big></p> <p><big><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/sold-sign-wht.jpg" height="119" alt="sign" width="155" /><br /><strong>But that isn't the whole picture!</strong> The articles fails to mention the new Foreclosures anticipated because of ARM's resetting this year, the new Foreclosures anticipated as unemployment starts to effect Mortgage payments. They also ignore the plight of people on fixed incomes who can no longer wait it out....and are forced to sell. <br />None of these "News" sources point out that it has taken years for us to borrow, spend, speculate and over-extend ourselves into this position. And we are not going to wake up some sunny morning and find it all has passed. That's just not going to happen<br /><br /><strong>I for one want them to tell it like it is</strong>....I'm a big girl, I can take it.<br />I want to be able to tell my Sellers that they need to be making decisions on what is now....not on what someone is telling them "is coming" <br />My Buyers on the other hand, are beyond being sucked in anticipating a "bargain". &nbsp;They have developed a lase' fare attitude and are taking their time. &nbsp;At this point I'm thinking the only thing that could make them take note would be a rise in Interest Rates!<br /><br />Ordinarily I am not a pessimistic person, and when it comes to my business....I appreciate an occasional infusion of Hope. <strong>But lately....in my humble opinion....it's really starting to look like Hype <img src="http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q196/Ginneene/truth.jpg" height="50" alt="japanese" width="50" /><br /></strong><br /><br /></big><big><big><small><small><small><small><br /></small></small></small></small></big></big></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:18:32 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1311253/help-or-hype- http://activerain.com/blogsview/1295884/one-of-our-own-gets-state-recognition- <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img title="Kudos" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/35.png" height="200" alt="Chipmunk" width="171" style="border: black 5px solid;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>One of our long standing contributors to Active Rain, <a href="http://activerain.com/nhbuyerrep" target="_blank">Joan Whitebook</a>, just received The <a href="http://www.nhar.org/good-neighbor-nominees/#2009" title="Award" target="_blank">NHAR Good Neighbor Award</a>.</p> <p>Joan's championship of the <a href="http://www.newenglandpetpartners.org/" target="_blank">New England Pet Partners</a> organization is familiar to all of us who read her Local, Informative and Interesting <a href="http://activerain.com/search?cx=016483636732923014967%3Ajjjq9jpey6w&amp;cof=FORID%3A11&amp;q=New+England+Pet+Partners&amp;sa=Search#1146" target="_blank">Posts</a> here on Active Rain.</p> <p><img title="Joans PIC" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/AR%20Friends/JoanSmall.jpg" height="153" alt="Joan Whitebook" width="140" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; border: black 10px solid;" />This is just another example of the caliber of folks we find here on Active Rain.</p> <p>I'd love to see everyone jump over to <a href="http://activerain.com/blogs/nhbuyerrep" target="_blank">Joan's Blog</a> and give her a "High Five" <br />I'm betting it will make her day!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Joan Mirantz~Concord New Hampshire Area Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:08:51 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1295884/one-of-our-own-gets-state-recognition- http://activerain.com/blogsview/1285723/wordless-wednesday-last-rose-of-sumer <p><img title="Last Rose of Summer" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/LastRoseofSummerSmall.jpg" height="330" alt="frozen rose" width="440" style="margin-left: 40px; vertical-align: baseline; margin-right: 40px; border: black 5px solid;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Concord NH Area Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:06:19 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1285723/wordless-wednesday-last-rose-of-sumer http://activerain.com/blogsview/1274281/wordless-wednesday-altered-states <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Spring" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/IMG_0203Small.jpg" height="405" alt="Flowering Tree" width="540" style="margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; border: black 5px solid;" /></p> <p><img title="Fall" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/IMG_0377Small-1.jpg" height="405" alt="Flowering Tree" width="540" style="margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; border: black 5px solid;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Concord Area NH Realtor</strong></p> <p><strong>&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:21:24 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1274281/wordless-wednesday-altered-states http://activerain.com/blogsview/1200075/dandi-tidbit-and-the-doggie-door <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>One of the <strong>perks, </strong>of our recent move, was that our new place had a <strong>Doggie Door</strong>. <br /><strong>This was fantastic!</strong> <br />No more having to get up from that comfortable chair..... or out of bed early to "let the dogs out".</p> <p><strong>Tidbit&nbsp;and&nbsp;Dandi had other ideas...&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0228fixedSmallWinCE.jpg" height="73" alt="Dandi&amp;Tidbit" width="139" /></strong></p> <p>We tried pushing, tempting with snacks, clapping, pleading and cajoling.....to no avail. They wanted no part of it! They wouldn't&nbsp;venture through that little hole with the scarred thick plastic leading to... <strong>who knows where?</strong></p> <p>We cleverly decided to replace the plastic with screening.</p> <p><strong>Observations:<br /></strong><br /><strong>Dandi...led with his foot "feeling out" what lies ahead</strong>. <em>(But his claws got caught.)<br /></em><strong>Tidbit...led with her nose so she&nbsp;could see before she went.</strong> <em>(But her sight is failing and she couldn't see the screen.)<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~</em></p> <p>Now.....&nbsp;<strong>how about you?</strong></p> <p><strong>How do you approach the "doggie door" of new technology?</strong> Do you do Newsletters, Twitter, Text, do Social Networking Sites? Do you add the Widgets, check the Stats and Link the Links?</p> <p><strong>Or......</strong></p> <p><strong>Are you&nbsp;a Dandi feeling it out</strong><em>....(</em><em>but pulling back because it's "uncomfortable"?)</em></p> <p><strong>Or a Tidbit....not even venturing out</strong><em>...(because you can't "see" the value?)<br /></em><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p><strong>Solution:</strong><br />We edged the screening with <strong>bight red duct tape</strong>. <strong>It slid over Dandi's paws and attracted Tidbits eye!<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0321Small.jpg" height="240" alt="doggie door" width="180" /></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>What's your Solution?<br /><br /></strong></p> <p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Are you a Dandi or a Tidbit???<br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0320Small.jpg" height="240" alt="dandi" width="180" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0319Small.jpg" height="240" alt="Tidbit" width="180" /></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Concord NH Area Realtor</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:00:33 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1200075/dandi-tidbit-and-the-doggie-door http://activerain.com/blogsview/1199189/they-re-leaving-their-ears-behind- <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/EarlessAsianCat.jpg" height="181" alt="cat w. no ears" width="218" style="float: left;" />There was an article in my <a href="http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090817/FRONTPAGE/908170301" title="shouting" target="_blank">local paper</a>&nbsp;this&nbsp;morning about the plethora of <strong>"Town Hall"</strong> meetings being held across the country and how they are evolving!</p> <p>More and more people are expressing concerns that these have become nothing but shout-fests and mantra chanting gatherings. <strong>There is no "Listening" going on.</strong></p> <p>I, personally am seeing them from two perspectives.....</p> <p>I am a born and bred New Englander and these are like no Town Meeting I ever attended (and I have attended my share). I am accustomed to having the Moderator recognize the questioner who stands up and says his piece. There are always a few moans and groans....even shouts...but he is allowed to finish and <strong>whomever has a raised hand, is recognized and allowed to rebut (or agree). Each person is recognized</strong> <strong>and heard</strong> <strong>no matter what the opinion</strong>. If shouting ensues....the gavel is vigorously wielded until there is silence.</p> <p>AS a Realtor I am involved in written and verbal negotiations in every transaction. My job is to do the best for my client and at the same time try to ensure a smooth transaction for all concerned. <br /><strong>If I allowed my negotiations to be reduced to shouting at the other Agent or to making lengthy demands of the other party.....my closings would fall apart.</strong></p> <p>I am constantly counseling my clients- Buyer or Seller- that<strong> respecting the other person and where they are coming from helps to create a plan that both can be happy with.</strong></p> <p>So I'm thinking....perhaps those protesters who have chosen to&nbsp;<strong>shout out</strong> <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/hulk-shouting-1.jpg" height="200" alt="hulk" width="190" />&nbsp;would be more effective if they learned how to communicate.</p> <p><br /><strong>Where's </strong><a href="http://www.notesofintelligence.com/influence/basic-summary.html" target="_blank"><strong>Dale Carnegie</strong></a><strong> when you need him?</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Concord NH Area Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:30:47 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1199189/they-re-leaving-their-ears-behind- http://activerain.com/blogsview/1193014/wordless-wednesday-freedom <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/MikeKiteSmall-1.jpg" height="480" alt="Kite" width="343" /></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:25:15 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1193014/wordless-wednesday-freedom http://activerain.com/blogsview/1191064/we-shoulda-done-woodstock <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>I have heard that phrase every August....for 40 years</strong>!</p> <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/AWalkDownTheAisle8-2-69Small.jpg" height="297" alt="Wedding" width="219" />My husband and I just celebrated(?) our 40th&nbsp; wedding anniversary this month and every year he uses the&nbsp;occasion to remind me we had the opportunity to attend the <strong>1969&nbsp;Woodstock Music Festival</strong> and have a lot more fun!</p> <p>So this year, since we were taking a brief car trip get away to Corning NY, I plotted a return route that would finally take us to Woodstock and <strong>free me from the mantra!</strong></p> <p>My first discovery was that <strong><a href="http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/Portals/0/pressreleases/Woodstuck%20Fun%20Facts.pdf" target="_blank">the&nbsp;Woodstock festival</a> wasn't in Woodstock at all. </strong>After many obstacles to production the promoters moved it to a cow field in Bethel NY ....."just down the road apiece". It was actually at least 50 miles away, but on the route...so we made the detour!</p> <p>Now I knew a plaque had been erected and last year they had opened a small museum, but I wasn't prepared for <strong>what&nbsp;we found!</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0311Small.jpg" height="255" alt="Music Hall" width="340" /></p> <p>But....a little more in the spirit (of peace and simplicity)....down at the bottom of the hill was the commemorative plaque! (you New Yorkers may have caught us on the evening news...we were interviewed by an AP correspondent who liked our story)</p> <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0308Small.jpg" height="180" alt="Plaque" width="240" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/CloseupSignSmall.jpg" height="169" alt="names" width="340" />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>Can You Read Those Names??</strong></p> <p>We soon found out that the beautiful building we first saw was the <a href="http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org" target="_blank">Bethel Woods Music Hall</a>.&nbsp; The museum tribute to "Woodstock" was in a separate area of the building.&nbsp;<br />Because this was the 40th anniversary month, there was a special acknowledgement&nbsp;of the occasion.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0310Small.jpg" height="292" alt="flags" width="192" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong>&nbsp;This&nbsp; says it all!</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0309Small.jpg" height="282" alt="flag" width="202" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>This is the closest my husband will get to fulfilling his fantasy! </strong><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/IMG_0312Small.jpg" height="340" alt="Geoff" width="248" style="vertical-align: middle;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;No <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/06/22/in_depth_showbiz/photoessay1743037_1_3_photo.shtml?tag=page" target="_blank">picture</a> taking was allowed indoors so I have none of the exhibit itself but I can tell you&nbsp;there was lots of information and great presentations that were strangely able to make you feel you had <strong><em>ALMOST</em></strong> experienced just a bit of the moment!</p> <p>Funny...when we left there I came close to agreeing...<img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Blog%20Photos/P8031296Small.jpg" height="248" alt="motorcycle" width="440" style="vertical-align: text-top;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>We Shoulda Done Woodstock!!</strong></p> <p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/peace-sign.jpg" height="100" alt="peace sign" width="100" /><strong>&nbsp;<img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/peacesign_thumb.jpg" height="76" alt="saying" width="170" /></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Concord NH Area Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:28:08 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1191064/we-shoulda-done-woodstock http://activerain.com/blogsview/1168383/speechless-sunday-summertime <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/MikeTubingSmall.jpg" height="480" alt="Tubing" width="343" style="margin: 25px 40px; border: black 20px solid;" /></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:22:08 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1168383/speechless-sunday-summertime http://activerain.com/blogsview/1156830/the-seduction-of-the-first-time-buyer <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/moneyraining-gold-coins.jpg" height="200" alt="goldman" width="200" style="float: left;" /></p> <blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>"All that glitters is not gold, <br />Often have you heard that told: <br />Many a man his life hath sold, <br />But my outside to behold:Gilded<br />tombs do worms enfold. (II.7)"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shakespeare-Merchant of Venice</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Well...we've gone and done it! We've created the monster.....we've succeeded&nbsp;in convincing the First Time Home Buyer that it is a <strong>Buyers' Market......HA!!</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;">Seduced by the prices and the promise of a bargain they are seeking out "the pie in the sky"</p> <p style="text-align: left;">They eagerly go on line,every day, pulling up picture after picture of the "perfect house"....It has granite counter-tops, walk-in closets, hardwood floors and on and on. But somehow they miss the phrase "<strong>Subject to Third Party</strong> <strong>Approval</strong>". Or worse yet..... the word <strong>Foreclosure.</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;">OK...you say...so we give them "the talk" We explain about endless waiting that doesn't always end positively, neglected systems that will add $$ to the cost, one sided terms that put them at risk (not to mention little recourse.)</p> <p style="text-align: left;">So armed with info off they go&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/HPIM0979.jpg" height="113" alt="babies" width="150" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...brave settlers like the Homesteaders of old...off to settle new uncharted territory.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Ahh....but wait! Now there is more!&nbsp;New obstacles are blocking the way...</p> <ul> <li> <div style="text-align: left;">Lenders terms</div> </li> <li> <div style="text-align: left;">Mortgage Insurance Companys with hands outstreached</div> </li> <li> <div style="text-align: left;">Clue Reports</div> </li> <li> <div style="text-align: left;">Declining Markets</div> </li> <li> <div style="text-align: left;">Appraisal,appraisals,appraisals</div> </li> </ul> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Yup....it's a Buyers' Market....HA!!</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;~~~~~~~~~</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Concord NH&nbsp;Area Realtor</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: right;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: right;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: right;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </blockquote> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </blockquote><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:00:28 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1156830/the-seduction-of-the-first-time-buyer http://activerain.com/blogsview/1035546/my-easter-basket-wordless-wednesday <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/Family/IMG_0187SmallEasterBasket.jpg" height="496" alt="basket" width="321" style="margin: 30px; border: black 20px solid;" /></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:32:30 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1035546/my-easter-basket-wordless-wednesday http://activerain.com/blogsview/1034516/a-little-help-for-my-friends-sources-of-help-for-displaced-people <p>&nbsp;It seems not all that long ago that many of us were <strong>stressing about the increase in Foreclosures and</strong> <strong>Short Sales</strong>. The <strong>accepted strategy at the time</strong>....<strong>avoid them</strong>!</p> <p>Fast forward a year and Foreclosures and Short Sales have become the norm. Transactions sit in limbo and negotiated rather than dictated terms...are a pleasant diversion.</p> <p><img src="http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk240/ThiTran/homeless.jpg" height="177" alt="homeless" width="224" style="float: left;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>There are days I worry that I may become hardened to the reality of life and accept&nbsp;business as we now know it. But then as I walk through a house strewn with clothes and toys and children's homework....I recognize how important it is for me, for all of us, to keep foremost in our minds the stories behind the foreclosures.&nbsp;We should&nbsp;<strong>grasp tightly&nbsp;to the human side of what we do so that we can help our clients through it with not just knowledge but with compassion!</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Not too long ago my friend and fellow AR Blogger William Johnson wrote a thoughtful post about the <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1023080/At-The-End-Of-Every-ForeclosureThe-Devastaing-Human-Toll" title="post" target="_blank">stories behind the Foreclosures</a>. I thought his idea of putting together a resource list for people in our local area was a wonderful one and have put together one for mine.</p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Pay It Forward!!&nbsp; </strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><big><big>Helpful Sources</big></big><br /><br />* <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip//shelters.html"><big>Shelters (by State)</big></a><br /><br />*<a href="http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/" target="_blank"><big>&nbsp;</big><big>Foreclosure Information</big><br /></a><br />* <a href="http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/"><big>Job Search</big></a><br /><br />* <a href="http://www.federaljobsearch.com/"><big>Government Jobs</big></a><br /><br /><big><big>Local Sources in New Hampshire<br /><br />*<a href="http://www.cscnh.org/"> </a></big></big><a href="http://www.cscnh.org/"><big><big><small>C</small><big><big><small><small><small>ommunity Resources </small></small></small></big></big></big></big></a><br /><br />* <big><a href="http://www.nhfoodbank.org/Pages/Agencies/Find.html">NH Food Banks</a><br /><br />* <a href="http://www.jobsinnh.com/">NH Jobs</a><br /><br />* <a href="http://www.nhceh.org/StateSponsoredShelters.asp">NH Shelters</a></big></p> <p><big>* <a href="http://animal.rescueme.org/NewHampshire" target="_blank">Help For Pets</a></big></p> <p><big></big></p> <p><big>Concord NH Realtor</big></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:06:27 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1034516/a-little-help-for-my-friends-sources-of-help-for-displaced-people http://activerain.com/blogsview/1022991/setting-up-a-co-operative-first-steps <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Meadows/1b_GroundhogDay_t13Small.jpg" height="226" alt="Meadows" width="275" style="float: left;" />Our first Membership Meeting for the <a href="http://riversidemeadows.community.officelive.com/default.aspx" target="_blank">Riverside Meadows Co-Operative </a>was <strong>mainly an informational one</strong>!</p> <p>We accepted the voted on the name (Riverside Meadows).</p> <p>Following brief discussion, Membership Applications were passed out. Each family is entitled to one Membership and that Membership entitles them to one vote on Co-Operative matters. The Membership fee is $25/household. This becomes the "working capital" for the Board of Directors for initial expenses (postage, fees,filing charges etc.)</p> <p><strong>Out of a potential 70 households....we have an initial signing of 48..... Off to a great start!</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>We were charged with the task (for that evening) of discussing, adjusting to our needs and adopting a set of by-laws. We will eventually be writing our own but for now just adjusted the existing ones provided. We were then charged with electing a Board of Directors. Nominations were made by various members. The nominees gave their brief biographies and experience. A ballot vote was taken and officers were elected.</p> <p>It was made clear that this Board would have the power of negotiating on our behalf, the power to borrow money and would be researching information to present to the Membership regarding our potential purchase.</p> <p><strong>An empowerment resolution was passed.</strong></p> <p><strong>Everyone present seemed to completely engaged in the process and eager to see this happen</strong>!</p> <p>The next matter of business will be an open Board of Directors meeting!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(This is what we really look like)</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Meadows/riverside-meadowsSmall.gif" height="280" alt="meadows" width="309" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Concord New Hampshire Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:47:30 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1022991/setting-up-a-co-operative-first-steps http://activerain.com/blogsview/1013776/a-what-op-oh-a-co-op <p><img src="http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u355/NewHampshire7899/NH.gif" height="268" alt="nh" width="345" style="float: left;" />In 1983 a non-profit organization known as <a href="http://www.theloanfund.org" title="NHCLF" target="_blank">The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund </a>was founded. <strong>Their goal was affordable loans and housing for low to moderate income citizens of NH.</strong></p> <p>Their financing model was established in 1984 when the Sisters of Mercy loaned them $43,000 (at low interest). That money was loaned to <strong>13 families in Meredith who lived in a manufactured housing park and wanted to purchase the park from its&nbsp;aging owners.</strong></p> <p><strong>This was the first NH Co-Op</strong>....one of many to come. They are now known as the Meredith Center Cooperative <a href="http://www.theloanfund.org/about/timeline.html" title="story" target="_blank">listen</a> to their story! This milestone meant that the <strong>residents now owned the land beneath their homes, they controlled when and if they would move,their rates were stabilized and any sub-structure improvements built more equity in their homes.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;To date the Loan Fund has helped fund more than <a href="http://www.theloanfund.org/programs/housing/coop-list.aspx" target="_blank">90 Co-Ops</a> throughout the State and even in this economy....&nbsp;they are still lending. In February of this year the <a href="http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/7936-1" title="1.5 million" target="_blank">NHCLF is investing</a>, in the State of NH,&nbsp;<strong>1.5 million dollars where it will be lent to small businesses and non-profits, people re-financing manufactured homes and co-ops buying manufactured home parks.</strong></p> <p>In the state of New Hampshire one of the most difficult properties to finance is manufactured housing. If the home is on its own land....there is hope. But if it is in a park and older than 1973....cash is the best option. Even if you can manage to obtain financing....it usually means a&nbsp;larger down payment and higher interest rate. However,if your property is in a co-op....not only&nbsp;may your values be&nbsp;higher<strong>....there&nbsp; are also&nbsp;more lending sources available for potential Buyers.</strong></p> <p>My husband and I have reached retirement age. And like so many others, circumstances have dictated that we keep working.</p> <p>We sold our home of 25 years to not only downsize but to reduce monthly payments. Our goal was to buy a place we could still afford to live in when working may no longer be an option. Fortunately we have found a lovely manufactured home in "The Meadows" in Hopkinton NH. It has a 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and&nbsp;a sunroom on&nbsp;1/4 acre lot with a peaceful river in he back. <strong>Best of all they are taking steps to go Co-op! And will be working with the NH Community Loan Fund.</strong></p> <p>Not only is this an improvement financially but as a Realtor I will now have first hand information on the benefits and "inner workings" of the process. This can only help to benefit future clients!</p> <p>I will be posting Blogs about the proceedures and our progress.....</p> <p><strong>Talk about good timing!!</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Concord NH Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:47:48 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1013776/a-what-op-oh-a-co-op http://activerain.com/blogsview/1007005/green-vs-potential-border-profits <p>I just read a somewhat humerous but sobering article in my <a href="http://www.concordmonitor.com" target="_blank">local paper</a>.</p> <p><img src="http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd318/crestwoodhills/IMG_2781.jpg" height="240" alt="eco" width="320" />&nbsp;<strong>New environmental rules seem to have spurred a flurry of inter-state smuggling.</strong></p> <p>Last July, <strong>Spokane County Washington</strong> became the<strong> launch pad for our nation's strictest ban on dishwasher</strong> <strong>detergents made with phosphates</strong>. It is well known that phosphates are a heavy water polluter and this is an attempt to reduce water pollution! <strong>The ban will become statewide come July 2010 and several other states are expected to follow suit!</strong></p> <p>Now for the smuggling part: It would appear that "green" detergents do (1) Not cut grease and (2) Don't get dishes clean. Those folks in Spokane County were forced to either wash their dishes by hand, put them through a pot &amp; pan cycle (more water) or <strong>head East on Interstate 90 into Idaho....for the real deal</strong>! One, unnamed, Consumer says"everyone she knows buys their soap in Idaho". The manager of the Costco in Coeur d'Alene Idaho estimates his detergent sales have increased 10%.</p> <p><strong>Among the other States considering a like ban are our sister states of Vermont and Massachusetts</strong>.</p> <p>For years&nbsp;our border businesses&nbsp;in NH have benefited from tobacco and liquor pricing and our lack of sales tax......<strong>do we have another potential source of revenue</strong>? On which side will the Legislative debate land? Will we too go green or encourage non-green sales benefits?&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Boy....Kermie was right! It's not easy being green!</strong>&nbsp; <img src="http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee123/nikepoo/bozotard/tard_kermit.jpg" height="200" alt="kermit" width="150" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Concord NH Realtor Area&nbsp; Information</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:34:36 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1007005/green-vs-potential-border-profits http://activerain.com/blogsview/1003911/-hi-this-is-joan-i-m-sorry-i-m-unavailable-to-take-your-call- <p><img title="customer" src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/customer-service-1.jpg" height="393" alt="lady" width="300" />This morning on my way into the office, I was listening to my <strong>FAVORITE </strong>radio station <a href="http://www.nhpr.org" target="_blank">(NHPR)</a>. They were interviewing an author, Emily Yellin, about her newest book <strong>"Your Call is (not that) Important to Us: Customer Service and what it reveals About Our World and Our Lives"</strong></p> <p>She was discussing the observation that&nbsp;in these challenging and economically&nbsp;competitive times....many businesses were having to "re-visit" how they were spending their image and Marketing<strong> $$$$$</strong>. Many are reaching the conclusion that instead of telling people how good you are....you should show them, in an area where it really counts...<strong>Customer Service</strong>.</p> <p><strong>This concept applies equally to Real Estate</strong>.</p> <p>In this Market....<strong>hanging on to a Customer is where it's at</strong>. People are looking for knowledge and instruction from their Agent. They are looking for someone who can guide them through what has increasingly become a frustrating, time consuming, stressful and often discouraging process. They need a counselor, a cheering section and a dispassionate&nbsp;voice of reason.</p> <p><strong>Our office has always stressed Customer Service</strong>and follow-thru such as&nbsp;monthly newsletters, frequent phone calling, monthly reports on listed properties and Buyer reality checks. This attitude has helped us&nbsp;build a loyal customer referral system.</p> <p>I'm betting that many of us are finding that getting back to basics is what is keeping us in business these days. Investing of yourself, your time and your knowledge.</p> <p><strong>Good old&nbsp;fashioned Customer Service....the customers are&nbsp;passing the good word and&nbsp;coming back for more!</strong></p> <p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/customer-service.jpg" height="156" alt="check" width="220" /></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>CONCORD NH REALTOR</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:17:07 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1003911/-hi-this-is-joan-i-m-sorry-i-m-unavailable-to-take-your-call- http://activerain.com/blogsview/1004970/if-you-love-animals- <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo222/cool-photos/nopuppymills.jpg" height="235" alt="puppy" width="316" /></p> <p>This morning I received an email from a Client who is very involved with <strong>Dog Rescue Organizations (Ridgeback).</strong></p> <p>When I first met her she and her husband had taken in two female <strong>Rhodesian Ridgebacks </strong>that had been used as&nbsp;"Breeders" in an unscrupulous puppy mill. They had known no life outside of their crates and their only purpose was to have litters. When I would show my Clients property no one even knew they were there because they were so un-socialized they laid "statue like" in their crates as we walked through.</p> <p>To date one has been socialized enough to be given to a good home,the second is on her way and they have now&nbsp;taken in a new "foster child".</p> <p>She asked me to pass the word about an<strong>ABC special tonight on Nightline. They will be doing an expose' on puppy mills in PA.</strong></p> <p>Hopefully there will be information on how interested party's can get involved!</p> <p>It would seem that people are still finding it profitable to sell these puppies. <strong>It is up to us as Consumers to research not only the puppy we are buying....but where we are buying it from.</strong></p> <p>~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p><strong>This is the original email....reprinted with permision of the author.</strong></p> <p>Subject: Fwd: "Nightline" 3/27 Puppy Expose! Please Crosspost<br />To: <br />Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009, 2:00 PM<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; Permission to cross-post.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=============&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To: Rescue&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cc: Petland protest&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Subject: Fwd: "Nightline" 3/27 Puppy Expose! Please Crosspost&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:10:27 -0500&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;FYI!&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; The cat is out of the bag - or should we say the dog out of the&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; hutch!&nbsp; This Friday night, March 27, ABC's Nightline will be&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; investigating puppy mills!&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; ABC Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and investigators from Nightline&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; travel the byways and back roads of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania -&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; visiting numerous puppy mills and filming Main Line Animal Rescue's&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; volunteers as they rescue breeding dogs and puppies from Lancaster&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; County's notorious Amish commercial breeding facilities.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; This promises to be a very special program.&nbsp; If you are involved in&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; rescue, advocate on behalf of the millions of puppy mill dogs&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; interned in our nation's commercial dog breeding facilities, or if&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; you just simply love animals, you will not want to miss this.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Sharyn Alfonsi interviewed, on camera, an Amish breeder while touring&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; his facility - a first for network television.&nbsp; With approximately&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; 500 dogs housed on his property, this commercial breeder speaks&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; openly about an industry cloaked in secrecy and suspicion - the cruel&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; factory farming of man's best friend.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; PLEASE tell your friends, your family, your coworkers - ABC Nightline&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; investigates puppy mills - this Friday at 11:35 pm (Eastern Standard&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Time).&nbsp; Please take the time to forward this to all the rescues,&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; shelters, and legislators in your area.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; It has been almost one year since Oprah's puppy mill show aired.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; That program received the highest viewer response of any Oprah Show&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; in years.&nbsp; Now we need to spread the word about this very special&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Nightline.&nbsp; Only by educating as many people as we can, will we be&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; able to help these animals.&nbsp; And after you watch the program, please&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; don't hesitate to contact ABC and Nightline to thank them for casting&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; such a strong light on the plight of our nation's puppy mill dogs.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Bill Smith&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Main Line Animal Rescue&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Friday's airing of Nightline's investigation of puppy mills is&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; subject to breaking news.&nbsp; If for any reason it is not shown, it will&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; air the beginning of next week.&nbsp; Please check listings for your time&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; zone.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>~~~~~~~~</p> <p><strong>Let's do what we can!!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br 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/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:40:33 -0500 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1004970/if-you-love-animals- http://activerain.com/blogsview/916244/-25-days-12-hours-and-15-minutes-at-the-red-roof-inn <table cellspacing="0" border="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>To continue the Saga</strong>......</p> <p>(<em>I just had an email from a past Client concerned about what was happening to us and wanting details. I have also had several emails from some of you with the same concerns. Here is my return email with all the gory details!)</em></p> <p><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/IMG_0162Small.jpg" height="255" alt="motel" width="340" /></em></p> <p><em>&nbsp; </em>Hi Abby,</p> <p>&nbsp; Yes, we are still&nbsp;living in the <strong>Red Roof Inn in Loudon, NH</strong>-Geoff and I and the two dogs.... the boys are next door!</p> <p>&nbsp; You knew about the Leach Field. There were also some electrical issues. We had to put money in Escrow for the repairs.</p> <p>&nbsp;We were supposed to close on a Foreclosure in Pittsfield the same day but 4 days before that deal&nbsp;fell apart because of appraisal.... We booked the motel thinking it would be resolved in a few days! :0)</p> <p>Meanwhile after looking more closely at our Movers contract with his 10 day "free" storage....we realized it was going to cost us over $5,000 so we canceled it. We called the guy who we have used to take stuff to the dump and he rented a truck and brought a friend. Geoff and I, the two guys and the boys moved ourselves. And rented a storage unit.</p> <p>Meanwhile my smallest dog went to the Vet. for surgery for Bladder stones.</p> <p>Well.....it has been a very long 25 years since I last moved and I totally<strong> underestimated how much we</strong> <strong>had accumulated</strong> and <strong>overestimated our ability to do it ourselves</strong>! <strong>It was a disaster!!</strong> They scheduled their walk through for the evening before close (which I never should have allowed) the place was a mess and obviously we weren't going to be finished.</p> <p>That night the Buyers agent said they would give us until 6:0 PM the next evening to finish our moving. It was not a hardship for them . They only lived 3/4mile away and had until the 31st.....but...if we weren't out we would have to forfeit any remaining escrow that may remain. We foolishly agreed. (My boss said we should have asked for a delay in the closing or for an additional 2 days to move because of the circumstances)....He was right! <strong>I have learned a valuable lesson....never represent yourself</strong>. I was too close to the situation, too tired, too stressed and I just wanted it over. So....you guessed it we didn't finish till 7:30 the next evening, while they sat at the end of the driveway. They informed us the next day that not only were they taking the (if any )remaining escrow but proceeded to ream me up one side and down the other because the house wasn't cleaned to their satisfaction (they even insisted on hangers being removed from the closets). &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;I told their Agent <strong>NO</strong> that <strong>I was done giving.</strong>I had done the best I could under the circumstances&nbsp;and they could take me to court. My Broker agreed with me&nbsp;....it all boils down to your interpretation of broom swept clean. Meanwhile the Buyer called and left a message at the office that he was going to sue the company. That was going too far.&nbsp;I asked my Broker to handle it because I just couldn't do it anymore. He did and the agreement was for $750. Whether it was or was not left after the electric. Of course it wasn't left so not only did the electric cost over $3000 we handed them (the Buyers)&nbsp;a check for $750.</p> <p><strong>The saddest part....I couldn't wait to get out of a house I'd loved for 25years! </strong></p> <p>&nbsp; Now....the reason <strong>we are still here at the Motel:</strong> <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/IMG_0161Small.jpg" height="180" alt="motel room" width="240" /></p> <p>&nbsp;The Foreclosure became "on" again when Citi Bank agreed to lower the price but then no Mortgage Insurance company would insure the loan. So we tried going 20% down so we didn't need Insurance but three different Lenders wanted another appraisal. What it all boiled down to was that the other Banks just didn't like the property and didn't want another Banks bad investment....they only want to loan on houses in good condition. So the whole thing is dead in the water. Last week we started looking for an apartment that was big enough and would take the dogs....we weren't having much luck and the motel is bleeding us dry. So...we went out to look at an area we had seen about 4 years ago called "The Meadows" It's in Contoocook (Hopkinton) and has all double wide manufactured homes. It looks like a village of small ranches. <strong>We found one we really love. It is adorable!!</strong>&nbsp;It needs updating but has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a 3 season porch and fenced in yard area for the dogs. It also has a 1car garage and a workshop and the Warner River is in the back yard. The people were already moving out and agreed to let us move in before closing once we had Bank commitment. We got our commitment today from First Colebrook and plan on moving in on Sunday.</p> <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/IMG_0163Small.jpg" height="180" alt="new house" width="240" style="float: left;" />The boys have been given notice that one of them is in Geoffs future office and the other in our guest room...they have till August 1st. &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>This has truly been a nightmare!</strong> I was so stressed from the situation and the physical trauma of all the packing and hauling, I developed edema and could hardly walk....my face was like a melon and my legs tree stumps! The Dr. put me on a diuretic and I seem to be getting back to normal. &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;Sooo....aren't you sorry you asked? I look at it this way...I can&nbsp;definately identify strongly with both sides of a transaction after all of this. <strong>I'm probably the most empathetic Realtor in town!</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;I'm going to forward this to the other Joan too....she needs to hear "the rest of the story" and I'm tired of typing. Thanks for caring kiddo... Joan</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Concord NH Realtor</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:55:01 -0600 http://activerain.com/blogsview/916244/-25-days-12-hours-and-15-minutes-at-the-red-roof-inn http://activerain.com/blogsview/900977/moving-means-get-out- <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Christmas was a less than elaborate celebration!</strong> <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/IMG_0152Small.jpg" height="253" alt="tree" width="190" />&nbsp;</p> <p>I couldn't see the point of unpacking a whole bunch of stuff only to have to pack it up again!</p> <p>We hired a professional mover. <strong>We figured 25 years in the same house there was a lot of accumulation in</strong> <strong>the attic, cellar and second floor of the garage! More than our ancient bones could handle!</strong> The Mover had a 10 day free storage policy&nbsp;that we figured would work out well if we didn't close on time on our purchase. All we had to do is find a motel that would take the dogs!</p> <p>I was exceptionally proud of the "system" I came up with. I wanted to cut down on the time it took the movers so I not only labeled the boxes for content ....I color coded them for where they went. Green tape Garage, Red the shed, Yellow the <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/IMG_0156Small.jpg" height="180" alt="boxes" width="240" />&nbsp; living room and Blue...upstairs.</p> <p>As time went on it became obvious we weren't going to close on the new house on the 15th. We were going FHA and that part was all set, the Foreclosures Seller agreed to the reduced price. but, <strong>now the MI</strong> <strong>company was reluctant to insure the loan.</strong> Our Broker researched another Company and still no go because we had been late (in the past two years) on one Mortgage payment. So we decided to go with 20% down so the insurance wouldn't be an issue.</p> <p>The increased costs meant we had to cancel the professional mover so we hired a local guy and a helper....<strong>disaster!!</strong></p> <p>It was totally overwhelming....the stuff, the trash, the running out of boxes, the running out of bags, the having to rent a second storage unit, the pure exhaustion!! It was obvious that we weren't going to be able to be out by 11:00 the next day. The Sellers offered an extension&nbsp;till the next evening. <strong>If we weren't out we had to give them $725.</strong></p> <p>Well....you guessed it...<strong>we were an hour and 1/2 late getting out. And had to forfeit the money</strong>. I can look back now and see all the woulda, coulda, shouldas I should have done! but..working as my own agent I was just too close to the situation, too tired and too emotional to make good decisions!</p> <p><strong>Next Installment.....on to the Red Roof Inn!</strong></p> <p><strong>Concord NH Realtors</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:58:55 -0600 http://activerain.com/blogsview/900977/moving-means-get-out- http://activerain.com/blogsview/898206/the-search-is-on-finding-a-new-home <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Now that the Home Inspection had been signed off on ....we decided it was possible to see if we could find a new home an an affordable range that&nbsp;our new circumstances dictated.</p> <p>Since we had a closing date of January 15th we figured we had about a week to find something. If that didn't happen we were going to rent for a while. So armed with our pre-quals...<strong>we headed off into the world of foreclosures!</strong></p> <p>I can't even describe some of the properties we saw. Most were either so old or in such bad shape...they weren't worth fixing up. The others had been "rehabbed" and the work had to be undone before you could....move on!</p> <p>We had been looking at smaller homes but a Foreclosure with a price reduction came up on the MLS. Situated in the Village of Pittsfield NH, a Victorian Colonial (1865) <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/PC180632Small.jpg" height="135" alt="house" width="240" />&nbsp;In this style house the first and second floors are usually a mirror image. This would give us the option of doing over the first floor from scratch for us and making a second apartment for income on the second.</p> <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/PC180633Small.jpg" height="135" alt="house" width="240" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/PC060604Small.jpg" height="135" alt="house" width="240" /></p> <p>It had high ceilings, hardwood floors,baths up and down a beautiful lot and was within walking distance to the center of town!</p> <p><strong>We decided to make an offer</strong>. I will say I was pleasantly surprised at the quick responses with offer/counteroffer. We had a heating and plumbing contractor check the systems as best he could with all shut off and meters removed. The house had been winterized, but not properly, and there was pipe damage to the tune of $7,000. We felt the cost was worth the final product.</p> <p><strong>The hang up came with the appraisal.</strong> The appraisal came in at about 20 thousand less ($75K)&nbsp;than agreed upon Selling&nbsp;price ($93K).</p> <p>I sent in an addendum for a commitment extension and&nbsp;a new price&nbsp;plus a copy of the full appraisal.</p> <p>And so ....the waiting game began!</p> <p><strong>Concord NH Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:09:52 -0600 http://activerain.com/blogsview/898206/the-search-is-on-finding-a-new-home http://activerain.com/blogsview/897907/diary-of-a-seller-an-inside-perspective-iii- <p><em>Preface: It is hard to believe that it has only been about six weeks since my last entry in this Diary. It has seemed like eternity</em></p> <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/creative.jpg" height="222" alt="diary" width="299" style="float: left;" /></p> <p><strong>As a Realtor I have always found the home inspection to be the most dreaded part of the whole transaction.If something is to go wrong....that is where it will most likely be.</strong></p> <p><strong>I was not overly concerned about our Home</strong> <strong>Inspection.</strong> I was reasonably sure there would be some minor issues, after all the house was built in '78, but we had just had the septic pumped that Spring and felt we had stayed on top of any repairs. The furnace had been cleaned and serviced, the roof was only about 10 years old and my husband had made pool repairs in the Summer.</p> <p>As I sat chating with the Buyer's Agent the Buyer and his HI made the usual rounds...all seemed to be going fine. The septic company arrived for their inspection and after about a half hour the guy called us all outside.</p> <p><strong>The leach field was in failure. I was in total shock</strong>. We had had no indication, no sluggishness, no sponginess or gurgling.</p> <p><strong>The Buyers were very upset.</strong> Being on a septic system, to begin with, was a major concern. They had never had one before. The Buyers and their agent started talking about hooking up to the city system but I knew it didn't run down our street. As they left, their Agent said.....they'ed get back to us.</p> <p>The next day we received our Addendum. The leach field was to be replaced and the electrical in the house and garage evaluated and brought up to code by a licensed electrician.</p> <p><strong>Up until this point I had been remarkably able to put on my "Realtor Hat" when needed. But all of that was about to change!</strong></p> <p>We were very anxious to sell....in fact it was imperitive that we did.&nbsp;We decided to swallow the cost of Septic and Electric, rather than risk them walking away.</p> <p><strong>The cost of replacing our system was $8,000</strong>. Because this occured over the holidays, for 6 days we couldn't do laundry and had to limit "flushing".It was loud and annoying, <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/IMG_0157Small.jpg" height="180" alt="leach" width="240" />&nbsp;my yard was a mess and the poor dogs had to be walked on a leash.</p> <p>Strangely enough...the incident that upset me the most...was when they left and pulled out the machine that had been parked outside my dining room window for a week, I saw what they had done to my Hydrangea that I planted 25 years ago. They had asked if they could "trim" it.</p> <p><strong>It broke my heart!</strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/FallWinter2006/DSCF0011.jpg" height="180" alt="hydrangea-before" width="240" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>BEFORE&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;AFTER</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/The%20Saga/IMG_0159Small.jpg" height="240" alt="hydrangea" width="180" /></p> <p><strong>Next installment....looking for a new place!</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Concord NH Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:21:01 -0600 http://activerain.com/blogsview/897907/diary-of-a-seller-an-inside-perspective-iii- http://activerain.com/blogsview/851556/wordless-wednesday <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/006.jpg" height="558" alt="tidbit" width="538" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Concord NH Realtor</strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:34:38 -0600 http://activerain.com/blogsview/851556/wordless-wednesday http://activerain.com/blogsview/819467/wordless-wednesday <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/NoWayThatsReal5-20-03.jpg" height="327" alt="bird" width="474" /></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:18:12 -0600 http://activerain.com/blogsview/819467/wordless-wednesday http://activerain.com/blogsview/819029/diary-of-a-seller-an-inside-perspective-part-ii- <p><img src="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/jbmirantz/writing.jpg" height="165" alt="diary" width="216" />&nbsp;<strong>Part II - Preparing For Showings And Waiting For Offers</strong></p> <p>Preparing for Showings is completely anxiety ridden. Presenting a home that looks&nbsp;as if nobody lives there is is an effort ...but it is also a step in separating yourself from the personal aspects of your home.</p> <p>I am not a perfect housekeeper....<strong>my house definately&nbsp;looks lived in.</strong>I even have my share of chachkies! But,&nbsp;a week before the listing would be active I found myself entering and re-entering each room, as if I&nbsp;were a stranger, trying to see through another's eyes. I packed away many things and bought new valances and pillows for the Living Room (<strong>Red....a concession to some Feng Shui advice</strong>). I put on a new comforter ensemble I had been saving for a year! (found it on sale!) and it's matching curtains. It is a beautiful satin set but nothing I would normally use because we have two dogs who sleep on our bed.Much to my family's chagrin...I took all of the frequently used items such as toaster oven, coffee maker, blender etc. off of my counters and put them in a large bin in a closet. The kitchen looked great.....and it really wasn't <em>that </em>difficult to go get the items as needed! I felt compelled to vacuum before every showing and should have bought stock in <strong>Windex</strong> as <strong>I sprayed and polished everything in sight</strong>!</p> <p>One would think it would get less anxious as time went on but every showing was as frantic as the last....picking up and hiding the traces of normal life!</p> <p>We have been fortunate in having quite a bit of activity and great feedback. We have had <strong>five</strong> different prospects&nbsp;request <strong>second showings. </strong></p> <p>Every time there is a second showing my husband and I have allowed ourselves the luxury of going out to do drivebys "just in case". Picking out properties to see when we have an offer....don't want to waste a minute! But.....<strong>the offers don't come.</strong></p> <p><strong>The frantic cleaning cycle begins again!</strong></p> <p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong>Edit: In between starting this post and now.....we have received an offer! </strong>It was less than the asking but doable....we accepted and are now doing drivebys "For Real"! My next installment will be <strong>Dealing With Home Inspection and Finding A New Home!</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Concord NH Realtor</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<strong>Joan Mirantz</strong> - <strong>Joni</strong> is a&nbsp;Realtor&reg; with <a href="http://www.keelerfamily.com" target="_blank">Keeler Family Realtors</a>, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm. <br /><strong>Joan</strong> Publishes a monthly Newsletter <strong>"Food For Thought"</strong> under the pen name <strong>Realtor Sherpa</strong>.<br />(Joan also answers to <strong>Miz Maven</strong> and <strong>Miss Joni.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Joan</strong> works in <strong>Buyer</strong> and <strong>Seller Representation</strong> with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.<br /><strong>"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.yourrealtor.biz">www.yourrealtor.biz</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor (Keeler Family Realtors) Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:18:10 -0600 http://activerain.com/blogsview/819029/diary-of-a-seller-an-inside-perspective-part-ii-