Janice's Blog

ELDERHOSTEL

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:17:07 -0500

If you are 55 or older, there is hardly a better option for American heritage tours than Elderhostel.(www.elderhostel.com). There are more than 200 trips with a historical focus,from exploring the Oregon Trail to viewing Anasazi rock art in the great canyon areas of Four Corners. Lewis & Clark enthusiasts, there are more than 25 trips focusing on the intrepid exployers, including a kayaking trip to Skamakawa. Elderhostel does an excellent job describing the accommodations and physical requirements of trips.

HIKING THE MOHONK/"GUNKS"

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 10:16:01 -0500

We decided to hike the "Gunks". This way we could let the hiking customers we have had what to expect. We had to plan for this hike. Most people just go- Not us.

The first step to successful hike is to have the proper gear. So to the LLBean catalog we go. I spent a small fortune. Back packs, 1st aid kit.Anti-venom snake kit, Hiking boots, rain gear, Shirt with wicking capabilities. I even bought "smart" wool socks. Next on the shopping list: groceries- trail mix (5lbs) water, propel, water, wet naps. I decided not to get toilet paper because I would stop drinking 3 days before the hike. We had everything we would need except a SHERPA. We even had a "base" camp site selected.

The day of the hike finally arrives and off we go- My daughter, my partner and yours truly. I decide after about 15 minutes that I can not carry the heavy back pack. So that was passed to my Daughter.

You can't get lost on the hike because the trails are color coded (marks on the trees). We were on an easy trail, so they told me. It wasa very hot & humid day. I wished I hadn't worn the "smart" wool socks, They were just itchy. We had to climb a hill that I thought was rock scrambling. No!!! this is just some gravel I was told.Since I had stopped drinking days before I was very thirsty. I drank a lot which was OK(I had seen some porta-potties along the way)

We didn't see any animals, just other hikers and campers. Our adventure took about 4 hours. Finally," base camp" (a local restaurant). I got rid of the wool socks and hoped the blisters would heal soon.

It wasn't Everest, but I put a lot of "spin" on hiking the "gunks" to anyone that has an interest.

REALTORS TACKLE SAFETY ISSUES AFTER AGENTS DEATH

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 09:29:05 -0500

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

Samuel D'Costa was killed while showinga Bowie home in Maryland. Samuel was 36 years old.

Read the whole press release:GAZETTE.NET by Liza Gutierrea/staff writer: Maryland community newspapers.

A real Estate agent in a vacant house is VULNERABLE. Hosting OPEN houses alone is DANGEROUS. Woman take more precautions than men.

Call your board office and ask for a personal safety class. We did have one a few years ago. We actually got continuing ed points, but the class was canceled. Something to do with the politics at the state level.

Discuss saftey issues at EVERY sales meeting. Have a speaker come in (State trooper). Request a personal safety course be offered at the conventions.

If you have doubts about a customer Or client do not take the risk. It is just not worth it.

I AM AN AWFUL SECRETARY!!

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:42:35 -0500

My real secretary is out sick. I am covering for her. I found out that I can single handed screw up the office.!!!!

I think that we all take staff for granted! I will not do that again.

I can not find anything, let alone enter appointments into Lucero. Appointments are being made. Just like in the old days. Appointments are not being made using any of the hi-tech stuff. There will not be anything filed until she gets back, because I wasn't sure of her system. Does the paid phone bill get filed under T for telephone???

The agents have stopped asking me questions about how to find things in the office. Amazingly, they are working through this. Someone asked that I transfer a call to an agents Voice Mail. I lied and said the phones were not functioning. but I would get the message to the agent. Which I did!!

This morning I spilled coffee grounds in the freezer. What a holy mess!!! Do we have a Vacuum??? I will bring one from home tomorrow.

This is truly exhausting. Damn!!! The phone is ringing again. I will be back to this blog in a minute. Yeah!! It was a wrong #.

I miss Debbie. I hope she feels better soon. I promise to help her straighten out the office as soon as she gets back.

DO NOT TAKE STAFF FOR GRANTED!!!!!

HOGWARTS??? A TIME-SHARE STORY

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:33:45 -0500

My business partner won two"free" airline tickets to be picked up after a short sales pitch for the time-share in the Catskills. The Friar Tuck Inn to be exact.

I decided to go along for the ride and to see the sales pitch. Of course, I wanted the additional air fare ticket.

We actually were given an appointment time: 11:30AM on Sunday morning. We are both notoriously early or punctual as the case may be. We did not see many guests. Under ten that we could see. This seemed strange, but maybe they were still sleeping from a party the night before. We walked some more, until it was our time to enter the main building.

Upon entering the building, I was convinced that we were in Hogwarts and soon we would be greeted by Harry himself. I actually saw cages with brown & grey Owls (they were not real). Finally we were greeted by our salesperson: "The half-Blood Prince". His sales pitch began immediately. It was excellent. I rated it an "8". His first mission was to show us around the inside of "Hogwarts" AKA the Friar Tuck Inn. Most resorts feature many meals: so off we go with the "Half-Blood Prince" to the Great Hall. Long tables were set up for lunch or dinnner or maybe a wedding. I say a wedding because of the Dais in the front of the room. No talking hats or signs of Dumbledore. I thought we would sit with the Gryffendors if asked, but that option was never offered.

Our next tour of the facility was outside. The "Half-Blood Prince" asked how we arrived. I was tempted to tell him that we walked through a brick wall and caught a train. I didn't. We showed him the car we arrived in. I think that they determine how much money one has by their car. WE were in a jeep wrangler, the impressive car was at home.

I am now glad to see the grounds and continue my search for guests (muggles). Very FEW to be seen. I know where they are!!! They are all attending the Quiddich games. But no such luck. All I saw was a horsehoe pit.

Back at the main building the Prince tries to close us on the merits of this time share, but we were not there to buy. We were there for the airline tickets. We did confuse him: he wasn't sure about our relationship. We didn't tell him that our relationship was only a business one. He didn't know what to do next, so he went for the "CLOSER" (Lord Voldemort). The closer told us that he was upset that his salesperson couldn't convince us to buy. But neither could he. We left with the "free" airline tickets that had so many limitations that they were worthless.

We did have a fun day and I hope you enjoy my true adventure story.

ASLEEP ON THE JOB

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:58:24 -0500

A few weeks ago on a rainy & chilly Sunday afternoon, I went to see an OPEN HOUSE. A customer had asked me about it. This seemed like a good time to preview it.

I got to the Open about 2:00Pm. The only car in the driveway was the agents car. Normally, the agent would have been at the door, happy to see anyone! I did not see the agent until I got to the family room of the house. He was 'watching' a golf tournament. I said HI- no need to get up I am an agent and will just look around by myself.I thought it was strange that there was not a response. But then Tiger Woods was just about to tee off. I walked around the house and made as much noise as I could but still no response. I decided to check out this situation a little closer. Thankfully, the agent was sound asleep and not dead.

During the time I was there a "real" customer came in. She saw the sleeping agent and asked me if it was OK to look around. I told her that I was not a customer but an agent from another company and that I would stay in the house until she was finished. Sleeping agent slept through this also.

I left when the customer did. She asked for my card. I do not know if anything will come of it..but you never know!

When I got back to the office, I called the broker of the sleeping agent. She would have to deal with this issue. Hopefully, the owner didn't come home to see how her agent was working for them.

I know OPEN HOUSES can be boring. But if you snooze you lose!!!

YOGA ACCIDENT SPURS NEW AGENT INTERVIEW

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 07:48:24 -0500

The new agent interview is scheduled for this morning.

For those yogis in Active Rain: Last week the instructor "tried" to help me perfect a dancer pose. I am probably the clumsiest person in balancing that you will ever meet. As the instructor tried unsuccessfully to help me into this beautiful position of the dancer, I fell to the left. She fell on top of me, we both fell on the person next to me and he fell on the next person. It was the ultimate domino theory.

I was the only one with an injury. I thought I had broken two toes. But they were only sprained and bruised. I think I was gripping with my feet to avoid the fall.

OK, you are wondering: how did this get an agent interview?? I was wearing a company logo shirt. The new agent asked about Real Estate and told me she just completed her sales person course. Hoepfully, she will join our company this morning.

Namaste!!!

DO U TXT MSG?

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 11:43:38 -0500

If you know that GNN means "gotta go now" and FTR means "for the record" you are probably text savvy.

We hosted a training on Friday by our ERA Business consultant. He introduced us to TXTERA. This has been available since January. I thought it was too complicated to explain and waited for help. It wasn't complicated at all.

TXTERA is a sign rider that will let the txt savvy consumer find out about a house by dialing a phone# and entering a listing #. Within seconds he will get all the pertinent info on the house and how to reach the listing agent. The only cost to this program is the cost of the rider. Under $5.00.

ICBW but ?\?? This is the future!!!!!

HOUSE FIRES

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 10:15:45 -0500

I have seen two house fires in my neighborhood. Both homes were totally destroyed, but no injuries.

The first fire started because of faulty wiring to a hot tub. Instead of having a dedicated wire to the hot tub installed, the owner decided to "save" money and to jury-rig the wiring.

The fire started on the deck late at night when the family was asleep. The explosion from the grill propane tank woke them up. At this point the home was engulfed in flames. The only thing left standing was the front facade of the home.

The second fire was started by the PSYCHO Owner. This couple was going through a messy divorce and the wife was going to get the house.This was the second fire to destroy this house. The first time it was an "accident". They rebuilt and about one year later the second fire occured. This time he went to jail.

It is very devastating to see these burned out structures. I always point out to sellers how dangerous extension cords can be. Sometimes these wires appear to connect everything in the room. Just another responsibility we have in this job.

WHO CAN YOU TRUST?????

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:20:31 -0500

This is a story about our bookkeepers misappropriation of company funds.(this happened several years ago)

If anyone had asked me about our bookkeeper, I would have praised her competency plus the fact that she was a family friend not just an employee.

I should have paid more attention when an Amex bill had several items not related to the company business. However, when asked she said"OH I must have used the company card and not my personal one. I will make the corrections immediately." Which she did. I didn't give this any more thoughts. This should have been a RED FLAG!!!. I never thought to look over old bills.

I had noticed she was spending a lot of time on E-Bay. She was buying enough sweaters for her to change 3 times a day for the entire winter. I was wondering how she was able to spend this much money. However, the charges were not on the company cards. She walked away from a substantial deposit for a vacation house, because it wasn't close enough to the beach. She was buying very expensive show tickets from e-bay. She was also becoming very erratic about the time spent in the office.

I was about to set up a meeting with her to ind out what was going on. But I did not have to have that meeting.

My partner asked me one morning in January how many weeks are there in a year. I thought you have to be kidding! Why do you ask??? The answer nearly wiped me out. It seemed that the bookkeeper was writing herself payroll checks exceeding the normal 52 weeks. She had been doing this for a couple of years. The total that we came up with was $11.000.00.

We called her in for a meeting. If it had been anyone else, the police would have been present and she would have been arrested. She cried and said she was sorry and please do not fire me. I will pay back the money. We told her that she was lucky we were not having her arrested. We did not want her children to know about their mother. None of the money has been paid back. I didn't think it would be.

I still have trouble believing this happened. I thought we were friends. I guess not!!!

THE BEST KIND OF OPEN HOUSES

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:14:54 -0500

NO TIME RESTRAINTS------NO PAID ADVERTISING

If you have a listing on a busy road, you can host an Open House whenever you have the time. Just put your sign up add some balloons and you are ready. The best part is you can stay any length of time that works for you: 1 hour, 30 minutes, 2 hours, you get to choose. Unlike paid advertising where the time is pre-set.

I personally like the "piggy back" Open House. Look for the Paid Open House ads in your local paper. Look for the homes close to your listing. You then can Piggy-back on their ad. This is the easiest: you do not have put up directional signs, your competition will do that for you. Just put the balloons up on your listing.

With this type of OPEN, there are NO TIME RESTRAINTS & NO PAID ADVERTISING!

I hosted one of these on Sunday. I did get a few customers. It was a rainy cool day. I left after 2 hours. I didn't even have to take down signs.

SELLER INCENTIVES for AGENTS

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 09:19:17 -0500

I've noticed that sellers are now offering all kinds of incentives to induce agents to show their houses. It might work but I am not so sure.

If the house meets the criteria of the buyer, chances are the agent is going to show your house with or without an agent incentive.

Some incentives are time sensitive: sell by..... Some incentives are dollar sensitive: Full price offer.....

The worst incentive, in my opinion is the bonus dollar incentive. Most of these are split with the Broker. So bonus to an agent for $1,000 ends up $500.00 to the agent.

I would suggest an agent incentive be something that could not be split with the Broker. Example: Weekend getaway (I do not think the broker will go with you), Spa gift certificate, Restaurant gift certificates.

However, nothing will work if your house is overpriced. Look there first before offering incentives.

INTERESTING TRIVIA ABOUT DUTCHESS COUNTY

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:34:10 -0500

Did you know where the horse head in the infamous scene in the Godfather came from?? It came from Poughkeepsie. A local horse vet provided the head.

IBM made typewriters here.

Vassar college was actually a girls college founded ny Matthew Vassar. There were no closets in the dorm rooms only a few hooks.

Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck is the oldest working INN in the US. Some say George Washington slept there:but we all know he tended to sleep around.

The Culinary Institute of America is located in Hyde Park. Some great restaurants can be found here.

That US Route 9 runs from Broadway in Manhattan through Dutchess County to Albany, NY. It was the mail route.

Samuel Morse Home is in Poughkeepsie. His home is open daily for tours.

Smith Bros. Mansion is in Poughkeepsie. ( the cough drop men). The Mansion is now apartments.

Vanderbilt and Roosevelt both had homes in Hyde Park. These are also open for tours.

Bardavon is one of the oldest active theatre in the US. It is on the Historic registry.

Fishkill, NY was the temporary capital of NY for 6 months.

Van Wyck Homestead in Fishkill, NY was the Revolutionary War headquaters for the Continental Army Quarter Master.

These are just a FEW of the many interesting things about Dutchess County, NY.

WHAT"S IN YOUR LISTING FOLDER???

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 08:17:41 -0500

Our staff has these folders made up in advance. All the agent has to do is pick one up for the appointment. Our folders are quite extensive. Lots of "stuff" to let the FSBO know that it is important not to try to sell without us.

A list of the things:

1. Exclusive right to sell contract.

2. NYS agency disclosures.

3. Home buyers and sellers guide to Radon.

4. Lead disclosures.

5. Broker Commitment to Service "A GUARANTEE OF EXCELLENCE"

6. Home proctection Plan.

7. 20 Steps to help you sell your home.

8. "WE will sell your house or ERA will buy IT!"

9. MLS Data sheet.

10. Sellers Net proceeds sheet.

11. Referral Form.

12. Winterization for for empty houses in the Winter.

13. Property Condition Disclosure statement.

14. Carbon Monoxide Detector rules.

15. Sellers Ad worksheet.

16. Weekly marketing plan.

All of these things plus a presentation folder. Usually this is on their laptops.

It is not easy to get a listing. Training is critical to your success. Be sure to review your listing folders before you head out to the appointment.

DOLL HOUSE

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Thu, 31 May 2007 13:52:51 -0500

Not the toy kind....But a real house full of dolls.

The owner of this house collected antique dolls. She had hundreds of them. They were everywhere in the house: on the staircases, on top of cabinets, in closets, sitting in the fireplace, in the bathrooms, just everywhere! She also had old prams and carriages,etc., of course dolls were sitting in them.

The unusual thing(as if 100's of dolls isn't enough) is that most of these dolls were scary to look at. The dolls had ceramic or porcelain faces. Some of the faces were 1/2 missing. Some had no hair. They were in torn dresses.All of them had the eyes of a "cult leader" Wide eyed and staring at you. The carriages had missing wheels. These dolls made "chuckie" look good.

The owner couldn't understand why she should pack up this collection. I told her that the feedback from the agents was that their customers thought the house was scary. They were not able to look beyond the dolls.She wouldn't put them away. The house did not sell and from what I hear there are more dolls.

All personal collections should be put away before the house is on the market, especially if the collection is a distraction.

AGENT PREDATOR

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:03:59 -0500

The following person is "working the area' His e-mail Eaglewolf@aol.com. This is not a real e-mail address.

He is posing as a federal agent, contacting sales agents, and attempting to meet the agent at empty houses. This person is a very real and serious threat to agents in the immediate area.

This "bogus buyer" has been contacting mostly women and some how comes up with personal information and contacts the agents at their home. The e-mail address he is using does not belong to him .

We believe this person contacted one of my agents at home the other morning. We do not publish home #'s. He called her at 7:30 AM in the morning and said he was looking for a home in the Wappingers area and that he could spend $800,000. My agent told him that he would have to meet her in the office at 9:00AM. She would need to see a pre-qual letter and also we would require a copy of his drivers license and the registration for his car. He told her that he would do that. He also told her that he would not be occupying the house but that a friend would be in the house.

It all sounded a little strange. Our plan was to be present with the agent if he arrived at 9:00AM. My partner would go with them if necessary and I would call police. Of course, the plan was to stall him in the office as long as possible.

Because he had to meet the agent in the office, he was a no show. We have no way of finding out about him. He didn't have a phone #. He was coming in from Hawaii.

PLEASE! USE SAFETY.....YOUR LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT TO YOUR LOVE ONES THAN A HOUSE SALE.

DWI

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Wed, 30 May 2007 09:49:02 -0500

I was quite shocked to read in the paper about a local Broker that has been convicted of a felony DWI. (third Offense).

My understanding of License Law in NYS is that a felony conviction cancels your Broker/Agent license. I wonder what would happen to the agents in that office. What happens to the deals in progress?? Would an associate broker be able to step in temporarily?

I feel sorry for the broker. Alcoholism is such an awful disease and until the Alcoholic decides to change nothing or no one can help. Unfortunately, the disease effects everyone connected in any way to the Alcoholic.

Sometime I see Broker lunches serving wine(big mistake) and a potential liability that you wouldn't need. Homeowners should not allow wine to be served. They are liable also. Just not worth the risk!

DRINKING & DRIVING DO NOT MIX!!!

THE BLACK BEAR HAS LEFT POUGHKEEPSIE!!

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Wed, 30 May 2007 06:49:48 -0500

Or so it was reported.

Each year in the spring someone spots a young black bear in the area. We are a very populated town, so this always surprises me. My understanding is that the mother bear gets rid of of teenage sons in the spring.

Maybe they know something we do not!!!!!

I have never seen the bear, but he has been close by. The last place he was seen was at the tennis courts at Vassar College. The bear appeared frightened! I would be also, if people came running towards me. Believe it or not: all the tennis people ran toward the bear and not away from it.

The bear was last seen climbing over the fence at the tennis court, to the road.

The US Open is held in the summer in NY. Maybe we will see him then. You won't miss him, he is about 4 feet tall and wears a furry black coat. Maybe even tennis shorts. Look out Roddick your competition has arrived.

WHY HAVEN"T YOU SOLD MY HOUSE????

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:10:39 -0500

It is a question we hear frequently, especially in a Buyers Market.

Most sellers do not like the answer:LOWER YOUR PRICE!!. In most cases that is the only thing left to do. We can't change the location of the house. However, the seller is convinced that their house hasn't sold because of lack of advertising. I'm sure you have heard that.

I think agents have to advise sellers of market conditions: explain buyers market,etc.. This should be done at the time of the listing. It is difficult to talk about conditions later. Locally, the average days on the market is 140. Our market has about 2000 single family detached homes.

Our company advertising policy is a price reduction at day 45 for a new listing, then every 30 days thereafter. Again this is discussed at the listing presentation.

WE always dislike seeing our listings expire and to show up at a competitors at the RIGHT price. They are then the heros with a correctly priced house.

Listings priced correctly sell quicker!!! This is nothing new!!! Real Estate has always been the same, we just have a little more technology.

SHOULD I RETIRE AT 100????

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:23:21 -0500

Just a question that I can answer.

I reached that 100 blogs posted yesterday. What should I expect today after accomplishing this milestone?

So far, I do not think there are fireworks scheduled in my honor. No flowers or champagne have been delivered.I haven't received any gold stars or cookie awards. This has just been a personal fulfillment! This was my goal, to reach the 100 mark. I have succeeded!

My journey to this point has been fun. I have been reprimanded by some group moderators, I just withdrew from those groups. I haven't pasted & copied because I do not know how. I have followed the rules of punctuation and spelling and no plagiarism. I have avoided the AR Police so far. Some blogs have been well received-some not so good. I have two featured blogs: CHALLENGES OF A NEW AGENT and I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH A BUYER.

When this blog is posted I will be ranked #13 in the Sate of New York. I do not like the #13. I like the number 10. (in fact, that is the Number on my personalized license plates). I guess that sounds like I am not retiring. We will see. I think I'll set out on a few exploratory blog missions and then figure it out then if I am running for the #10 spot.

World Trade Center-2002

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Mon, 28 May 2007 07:47:30 -0500

I thought the following poem would be appropriate for Memorial Day. I wrote this poem after visiting the WTC on the first anniversay of 9 11. This poem has been published. If you would like to use it. you may. I hope that you like this poem.

9-11-02/WTC

And the people cried!!!

And the bagpipes played Amazing Grace.

And the people cried!!!

And the city of New York became quiet at 8:46AM

And the people cried!!!!!

And the quiet came again at 9:03AM,

And the bells tolled,

And the people cried!!!

And the names were read,

And the speaches were read,

And the people cried!!!

And the skys were clear and blue,

And the two lonely Black Hawk helicopters circled Manhattan,

And the people cried!!!!!

And the gentle breeze turned angry.

And the ashes from the WTC raised out of the depths,

And the spirits were released,

And the cleansing began,

And the people Smiled!!!!!!

COMPUTERS AND THE ELDERLY

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Thu, 24 May 2007 07:25:55 -0500

Wouldn't it be a great idea to help the elderly have a basic knowledge of the wonders of technology??

Some of the elderly still live on their own. They can't get to places they used to go. They have slowed down and maybe complain of being lonely.

My mother-in-law is 95 years old. Her health is relatively good, but her hearing is virtually gone. She drove until she was 90 years old and survived a stroke. She resides in a Senior complex with individual apartments. The problem with that is she is in Baltimore. We are in New York and grandchildren are not close by. One is in Florida the other is in Afica and traveling.

Her complaint is that she doesn't receive many calls from family. When we do call it is very difficult to have a conversation with her because of her hearing loss. We do call frequently, but she doesn't always hear the phone.

Our plan now is to set her up with a computer and to help her master E-Mail. Then she could comunicate daily with family.

Some communities have senior centers that teach computers to their members. If the centers near you do not have a computer program, encourage them to take on this valuable project.

ANNUAL SNAPPING TURTLE WALK

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Wed, 23 May 2007 09:07:34 -0500

About 1200 Snapping Turtles reside in the National Audubon Society Constitution Marsh, just below Boscobel in Garrsion.

Each year the female turtles climb up the steep hill to lay their eggs on the lawn - on Saturday June 9^th at 7AM.

Members of Marsh Staff will discuss the habits and history of these fascinating creatures, which were designated in 2006, as New York State's official reptile.

Weighing in at 40 lbs, snapping turtles can live to be 100 years old.

After the discussion, guests can walk the grounds searching for the females as they lay their eggs.

I have decided to NOT ATTEND this exciting event.

WILLIE WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE DISHWASHER

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Tue, 22 May 2007 08:13:14 -0500

Every Wednesday is food Day in Dutchess county. Broker Lunches are scheduled from 11:30 AM to 3:00PM. These food fest run the gamut from soup to nuts (EVEN GASOLINE CARDS). These lunches have become friendly competition between the hosting agents. Everything is done to lure agents to your lunch, to give constructive criticism as to price and anything in the house that needs to be done.

When planning for my open house, I though about what will bring everyone, what does everyone love?? The answer: CHOCOLATE!!! I went out a bought a large chocolate fountain and anything you could possibly dip in chocolate, Pineapples, banana, strawberries, cookies, Pretzels, Marshmallows, etc. The presentation was beautiful. Cascading chocolate, what more could you want?? Attendance was spectacular. The two hours were a success.

I dislike cleaning up, but it is part of the ritual. There wasn't a lot left. extra chocolate was poured in a bowl and the components of the fountain were put into the dishwasher. I will pick this up later. The house was new construction, so I could leave the dishwasher and empty the next day.

Over we go on Thursday morning to retreive the chocolate fountain and what to our wonder appeared but a completely chocolate dishwasher. A Willie Wonka dream. How did this happen. The water to the dishwasher was cold. Try to imagine your dishwasher covered with chocolate, completly covered: spokes, sides, top & bottom, silverware tray, the soap dispenser, everywhere.

We get the hot water on and turn on the cycle and leave. We would be back later that afternoon. However, it is not any better, but the house smells wonderfully chocolate. Now we buy some heavy duty chemicals to clean dishwashers. This caused a chocolate explosion. Now chocolate is all over the kitchen floor. I am not ready to cry yet, I'll just scream. We get the floor cleaned up & decide to just keep running cycles. By Friday there is still not improvement. Now we think that we will have to buy a new dishwasher(not too happy about this). But what are you going to do? That was the plan for Saturday Morning.

We gave cleaning one more shot. We took the insides out, took them home & used a power washer to clean the chocolate. Yeah!!! It worked, The chocolate was gone & the dishwasher was put back together.

I haven't used the Chocolate Fountain again. If you would like to borrow it, let me know. If not, I will donate it to the Willie Wonka museum.

NATIONAL MLS

Janice Lipka (ERA TEAM IV HOMES) — Sat, 19 May 2007 07:53:31 -0500

I've just read about a proposed National Multiple Listing Service. "Is a National MLS the way to go" www.rismedia.com. Check this out.

Mostly the responses I have read are negative. The only positive are from Canada that boasts they have the largest National MLS in the world. www.mls.ca I am not sure they have any competition.

So, if we had a National MLS, my listings would be available for agentsts in Florida, Texas, Maryland, etc to see?

Why would these agents care? Would they still refer their clients or would they fly to the various states to show & sell? I can't imagine their clients buying site unseen! Oh, Yeah! virtual tours work. NOT!!! What does the area look like is important. New York uses attornies for the closings not Title companies. How would that work with other states?

It seems confusing to me. Our MLS is not even run by the local Realtor board. It is privately owned. Members do not have to be Realtors to join. I do belong to two other MLS services. However, We usually still refer a client to an agent in that area. If we decide to list or sell outside of Dutchess County, we get the cold shoulder. We are granted appointments reluctantly. We are not welcomed into these area that are relatively close. I can only imagine having a client for another state.

I recognize the fact that change is good. But I think a National MLS is not the way to go!