Longwood Gardens Conservatory - Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs

Longwood Gardens Conservatory - Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs

When we experience cold winter days in Montgomery County, Maryland, it is a good time to think about places to go that are warm and colorful.  Longwood Gardens, located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, just west of Wilmington, Delaware is close enough for a day trip.  This month, the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens is the location of their annual Orchid Extravaganza and the place to enjoy beautiful orchids and thousands of other flowers and plants.

If you live in the area, take your family on a day trip, with cameras in hand.  If you live in another part of the country, add Longwood Gardens to your places to visit on vacations.

Be sure to have your camera in hand to capture the special moments in your community or during your travels.

Longwood Gardens Orchid Extravaganza IMG_3700

Photograph by Roy Kelley

Orchid Extravaganza At Longwood Gardens IMG_6056

Photograph by Dolores Kelley

Orchid Extravaganza At Longwood Gardens IMG_6057

Photograph by Dolores Kelley

Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs

Life is better when there are flowers to photograph!

50 Foreclosures For Sale in Montgomery County, Maryland

Why does it take SO Long for things to happen in Real Estate?

The question of the day is "Why does it take so long for things to happen in Real Estate"? The old saying of "Good things come to those who wait" or "Patience is a virtue" works well with some arguments but not all. Some things should just not take that long. Today I am going to explore some of the segements of Real Estate that we have to deal with every day. It makes you wonder is some people are "sleeping at the switch" per say.

 

Is "waiting" in Real Estate Good or Bad?

1. SELLING A HOME: Selling a home can be a long wait for some. However what most sellers do not know is it does not have to be. There are two important things that can help you sell your home and some other factors that can affect the time in which your house is on the market.

a. Choose an EXPERIENCED LISTING AGENT who will offer personal and professional service giving you the advantages you need when selling your home. Not all agents are created equal. Before anyone can view your home, they have to know it is for sale. Using an agent with an extensive marketing and advertising program is the best start to get your home the exposure it needs and deserves. Please see my blog Houses Do Not "SELL BY ACCIDENT"

b. PRICING YOUR HOME. The second and just as important factor is your List price needs to be priced at or near market value. The simple truth is over priced listings are one of the only segments of the market that are not selling. Please see my blog Do you Want to SELL your Home or NOT?

 

2. BUYING A HOME: There are several steps when buying a home. Each has a time frame, some which is warranted and some which is not warranted if you are being neglected by your agent or loan officer.

a. PRE-QUAILIFICATION: You should choose a local and trusted loan officer who can pre-quailify you at no cost,. Stay away from internet lenders. You can avoid delays by having an actual person to assist you through the loan process. 

b. CHOOSING A BUYER BROKER: You should not just sign with the first agent you talk to. Make sure they are a Full time agent whose sole job is to work with clients to buy homes. That they are a Full service agent who will guide you through each step of the buying process. Discount brokers often equal discount services. They should also be a Local agent who knows your neighborhood and is readily available when you need them is a must. Out of town agents can leave you high and dry in your time of need. Lastly make sure they are a well experienced Listing Agent in your area who can give you the advantages you need when buying a home.

3. PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENTS: Before there can be a sale there has to be an offer. Making an offer can be easy or can be made much more difficult if not done correctly.

a. BUYERS OFFERS:  The Real Estate market is changing, the amount of listings is down in a lot of areas and the amount of buyers looking at homes is up sharply. Buyers and their agents simply need to make better offers. By doing so they can cut the time of negotiations and waiting and increase their opportunity to get their offers approved. By simply basing offers on what a home is worth in todays market, limiting continginices, including a pre-quailificiation letter you can increase your chances. Please see my blog Why do my offers keep getting rejected?

4. REAL ESTATE AGENTS: For a Real Estate agent whether you are a listing agent or a Buyer Broker, there always seems to be a "wait" to each aspect of the Buying and Selling process. We try and control as much as we can, but some things are just out of our hands. 

a. SHORT SALES: One of the most frustrating things anyone has to deal with is a Short Sale. It does not have to be that way though. Some of my best sales have been Short Sales. The key fact is they only go as well as the Listing Agent is experienced in Listing, negotiating and closing them. The Listing agent HAS to make sure they conduct a title search, know how many liens there are and do not under price the property. It should be priced at or just below market value. Underpriced short sales are often doomed before they start,

b. BANK OWNED PROPERTY: With Bank owned property there are many variables that affect how well the sale will go and the amount of time it will take. Virtually all delays start and stop with the Listing Agent. The Listing agent shoud be "hands on", they should know the policies of the bank they are working with, they should have a good relationship with the asset manager to know what they want and what they do not, there should be great communication and the agent should know the time lines for submitting offers and waiting for answers and or signatures. There are too many agents who do not answer their phone, return messages, answer questions, show their own listings or update you when you do make an offer. Those agents are finally being squeezed as with the decrease in Listings, there is pressure on Listing Agents to provide more service. For agents who have been providing a strong service to the banks throughout the last 4-5 years they are being rewarded as some banks consolodate their agent lists.

IN CONCLUSION: There is a lot of behind the scenes work going on to get a house on the market, marketed, get an offer, go through the buyers mortgage process, appraisal, inspections and get to the closing of the home. If you did not notice most of these steps, I did a great job. Some delays are not the fault of teh agent such as waiting for appraisals, waiting for an underwroter, waiting for a banks decision or decision on a short sale. Lastly there is the waiting for signatures or answers on Bank Owned Homes. Those us agents can not control but can update our clients often. Hearing "I have not heard yet" is at least some news which is better than no cal or email with any update. It is through the hard work of the agent or lack of that makes a home go well or go slow. The KEY is to choose the good agents who will give you the time and effort you deserve.

It does not take magic to turn your "For Sale" sign into a "Sold" sign. it takes a full time Local Agent who specializes in Listing homes like yours.

 

If you need to sell your home and you owe more than your house is worth, i may be able to help. I specialize in working with home owners to get your home sold. There are many options such as a short sale whcih may be able to help you.

Please try and avoid out of state or out of town agents and companies that make "out of this world promises". We are local agents with experience who never charge any up front fees. WE GET RESULTS!!!
If you need to sell a home in New Hampshire I can be that agent for you. I strive to provide the best personal and professional service through each step of the selling process.

We stand by you through every step in selling your home.

1. TOP 5 TIPS For Buying a Bank Owned Home
2. TIPS AND ADVICE For buying a Short Sale
3. Should a Buyer Use more than 1 Agent to help then buy a home?
4. Why dont Home Owners just sell their Homes before they get FORECLOSED ON?
5. Are Buyers waging WAR on SELLERS?

 

1. Do you owe more than your house is worth?
2. Who the Heck Priced That House?
3. THE TOP 5 MYTHS about Todays; REAL ESTATE MARKET
4. THE TOP 5 WAYS to know if "NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME."
5. THE "SECRETS" to getting a SHORT SALE approved

 

 

 

 

ONE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE'S LEADING AGENTS FOR SHORT SALES AND BANK OWNED HOMES...

If you are Looking for a Real Estate Agent you have come to the right place. Scott Godzyk is a Full Time and Local agent ready to serve all of your Real Estate needs through each step of the buying or selling process. We are proud to be locally owned and operated.

If you owe more than your house is worth, If you are behind in your payments, I may be able to help. Call me to find out how you may be able to sell your home at no additional cost to you.

Scott Godzyk is the Owner/Broker of The Godzyk Real Estate Services located in Manchester NH. With 25 years of Real Estate experience Scott specializes in Listing and Selling Bank Owned Homes, Short Ssles, Residential Properties, Condominiums, New Construction and Investment Properties. Scott services the counties of Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Belknap. To contact Scott Godzyk please call 603-661-2121 or email sctprop@aol.com. his website is www.ScottSellsNH.com.

If you have enjoyed reading my blog, please subscribe by clicking below

http://activerain.com/action/blogs_admin/subscribe?subscribed_agent-id=226993

Copyright 2008-2011, All rights reserved

Your Home is on the Market, Now What? Tips by a NJ stager

 You’re home’s on the market, now What? Tips by a NJ stager

While your home is on the market, your life is on hold. It's an inconvenience and you have to make sacrifices…….but there’s a big payoff and that’s selling your home as quickly as possible and moving on with your life! 

The following are no cost/low cost tips on keeping your home showroom ready:

Keep your yard manicured. Mow the lawn, trim the bushes and blow the driveway regularly so it’s free of debris. Keep in mind your home is on display for anyone who passes it so it should always look well maintained.

Wash your kitchen garbage can with bleach and spray it with Febreze, a smell neutralizer. Take it out every day because food quickly starts to rot and the odor will permeate your kitchen.  

Vacuum and dust at least twice a week and before all open houses. Those 2 jobs alone will show you maintain your home and it will look clean and sparkle.

Keep all sinks, baths and toilets clean. This doesn’t need a lot of explanation. Give it a good scrub and use bleach and Tilex to rid any mildew. Then open the window and air it out for 15 minutes.

Rent a carpet cleaner or use a carpet cleaning service to clean and neutralized any smells so your carpets not only look great, but smell clean and fresh.   

Don’t advertise Fido and Fluffy because they aren’t going to help sell your home. Besides taking them out of the house during showings, wash their beds, blankets, toys and keep all animal related things (crates, beds, dog/cat bowls) hidden when buyers are in your home.

During the evening, keep your indoor and outdoor lights on so potential buyers can see it. Don’t miss any opportunity to attract buyers!

Keep in mind that this is temporary and the payoff is selling your home as quickly as possible!

Elite Staging and Redesign - Staged to Sell, Designed to Live!

 If you enjoyed this post click:   Thank You! 

Elite Staging and Redesign - Kristine Ginsberg - 201 602 2562

Home Staging Morris County - Staged to Sell, Designed to Live!

You have 90 seconds to make a great first impression once your home goes on the market. Consult a Morris County professional home stager serving Union, Essex, Sussex Counties for that competitive edge so your home stands out from the competition, selling faster and for top dollar!  

Elite Staging and Redesign offers home staging services to North Jersey homeowners, real estate agents, banks, builders, and investors in preparing homes to stand out in today’s real estate market. For a consultation on vacant staging, lived in homes or interior redesign projects call Elite Staging and Redesign at 201-602-2562.

Home Staging Website: Elite Staging and Redesign

Morris County Staging Before/After pictures: Portfolio

Email: Kris@elitestagingandredesign.com

 

           

Brookside Gardens, A Good Place To Visit On A Winter Day

Houses Do Not "SELL BY ACCIDENT"

If you want to see my blood boil, make the saying "This home could sell itself". Can it??? There are far too many agents who use that type of marketing program by taking as many listings as they can at any price. Their great idea is to place a sign in the front yard, put it in MLS and with a wish and a prayer they hope a certian number of these homes will close each month... For the sellers that do not get their houses sold, it is often a hardship and in some cases foreclosure.

I take great pride in my work. I strive to provide the Best customer service possible as some other agents are happy with "just getting by".  It starts with Buyers and Sellers knowing there is a difference and they do have a choice. Making the best choice possible is no accident. Selling your home quickly and at the Best price possible, also is no accident.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET A HOME SOLD IN TODAY'S MARKET

1. PRICING THE HOME CORRECTLY IS NO ACCIDENT: One of the most important things that can help you sell your home is pricing it right. . List prices need to be priced at or near market value. The simple truth is over priced listings are one of the only segments of the market that are not selling. A great agent will study the recent sales, study what is on teh market and use trends and comparables to place a value on your property.

2. CHOOSING THE RIGHT LISTING AGENT IS NO ACCIDENT: As a home owner in this market you need every advantage you can to get your home sold. It starts with choosing the right agent.

a. Using a Full time agent whose sole job is to sell homes.

b. Using a Full service agent who will guide you through each step of the selling process. Discount brokers often equal discount services.

c. Using a Local agnet who knows your neighborhood and is readily available when you need them is a must. Out of town agents can leave you high and dry in your time of need.

d. Using a well experienced Listing Agent can give you the advantages you need when selling your home. Not all agents are created equal. Choose only the best.

3. GETTING A BUYER TO SEE YOUR LISTING IS NO ACCIDENT: Before anyone can view your home, they have to know it is for sale. Using an agent with an extensive marketing and advertising program is the best start to get your home the exposure it needs and deserves. Some agents whose sole marketing plan is placing a sign in your yard and placing the home in MLS is not a sound marketing plan.

4. GETTING YOUR HOME READY FOR A BUYER TO SEE IS NO ACCIDENT: A listing agent can guide a buyer to your front door, but the can not make them go inside. You need to prepare your house for sale.

a. THE EXTERIOR: Your lawn should be mowed, bushes trimed, debris, toys or belongings picked up and removed from the yard. In the winter shovel your walk and driveway, sand and or salt and knock those icicles off your roof. Make sure your scrren/storm door is in working order, it is the first thing they will touch and a storn door with a missing handle or off it's hinges will drive buyers away.

b. THE INTERIOR: Remove anything from your house you are not using, often called "decluttering". Clear off the counters, bureaus and floors. Make sure walls are free of marks or holes. Freshly painted walls in a neutral color are always a plus. Make sure all faucets and toilets run properly, no drips, no leaks and the toilets should not always run. Clean your carpets, remove pet items and during showings your poets should be taken out of the housel

5. BUYER AGENTS: Once I get the buyer to see the home, they love the interior and it is priced right. The torch gets passed to the Buyer Agents to make sure they inform and educate their buyers about current market conditions. Buyers need to be making better first offers. Offers should be accompanied with pre-quailification letters and forget the low ball offer if there is a lot of interest in a home. With the amount of homes on the market sharply decreasing and sales continuing to rise there is more competition for homes among buyers. The days of 'Low Ball" offers is near over for owner occupantsThere was a bit. Most buyers are learning the hard way losing their dream home by making a low offer. It is important to have an experienced buyer agent who can inform you of local trends and values.

 

IN CONCLUSION: There is a lot of behind the scenes work going on to get a house on the market, marketed, get an offer, go through the buyers mortgage process, appraisal, inspections and get to the closing of the home. If you did not notice most of these steps, I did a great job. With the decrease in Listings, there is pressure on Listing Agents to provide more service. For agents who have been providing a great service to their clients throughout the last 4-5 years they are being rewarded as home sellers and buyers talk, they let each other know who did the great job or who dropped the ball. As you see it is no accident a home sells. It is through the hard work of the agent.

It does not take magic to turn your "For Sale" sign into a "Sold" sign. it takes a full time Local Agent who specializes in Listing homes like yours.

 

If you need to sell your home and you owe more than your house is worth, i may be able to help. I specialize in working with home owners to get your home sold. There are many options such as a short sale whcih may be able to help you.

Please try and avoid out of state or out of town agents and companies that make "out of this world promises". We are local agents with experience who never charge any up front fees. WE GET RESULTS!!!
If you need to sell a home in New Hampshire I can be that agent for you. I strive to provide the best personal and professional service through each step of the selling process.

We stand by you through every step in selling your home.

1. TOP 5 TIPS For Buying a Bank Owned Home
2. TIPS AND ADVICE For buying a Short Sale
3. Should a Buyer Use more than 1 Agent to help then buy a home?
4. Why dont Home Owners just sell their Homes before they get FORECLOSED ON?
5. Are Buyers waging WAR on SELLERS?

 

1. Do you owe more than your house is worth?
2. Who the Heck Priced That House?
3. THE TOP 5 MYTHS about Todays; REAL ESTATE MARKET
4. THE TOP 5 WAYS to know if "NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME."
5. THE "SECRETS" to getting a SHORT SALE approved

 

 

 

 

ONE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE'S LEADING AGENTS FOR SHORT SALES AND BANK OWNED HOMES...

If you are Looking for a Real Estate Agent you have come to the right place. Scott Godzyk is a Full Time and Local agent ready to serve all of your Real Estate needs through each step of the buying or selling process. We are proud to be locally owned and operated.

If you owe more than your house is worth, If you are behind in your payments, I may be able to help. Call me to find out how you may be able to sell your home at no additional cost to you.

Scott Godzyk is the Owner/Broker of The Godzyk Real Estate Services located in Manchester NH. With 25 years of Real Estate experience Scott specializes in Listing and Selling Bank Owned Homes, Short Ssles, Residential Properties, Condominiums, New Construction and Investment Properties. Scott services the counties of Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Belknap. To contact Scott Godzyk please call 603-661-2121 or email sctprop@aol.com. his website is www.ScottSellsNH.com.

If you have enjoyed reading my blog, please subscribe by clicking below

http://activerain.com/action/blogs_admin/subscribe?subscribed_agent-id=226993

Copyright 2008-2011, All rights reserved

Kentlands Winter Weather Reminders

Free Online Photo Editing - Picnik's Twin Brother

In a frantic scramble last week to find a replacement for the Picnik.com closure on April 19th, I had written a post featuring 7 different FREE photo and graphic editing sites. 

However, some many of my online friends were hoping to actually find a replacement editor that was similar or at least closer to the same look and feel of Picnik’s site.  Is there such a site?

Well here it is!  iPiccy.com is the closest you’re going to find to Picnik.com.  The look and feel are more similar than any other site I’ve seen.  iPiccy might actually be Picnik’s twin brother.  Once you explore the site, you’ll see what I mean.  iPiccy is 100% free, no registration required, and offers many of the same features and benefits that Picnik does and more.

Grabbing any image or photo is easy.  Just click the appropriate button and GO!  The editing options are endless and the ability to create some really cool customized graphics and images will be limited only by your creativity and of course your time and schedule. The workspace on iPiccy will be easy to navigate, especially for Picnik users, and will feel just like your old Picnik stomping grounds.

There are multiple effects with single click options at your fingertips.  These will make your photos and images really “POP” and if you use a combination of the wide variety of tools and options available, the possibilities will be endless.

In literally minutes, you’ll be able to adjust your contrast, auto-correct colors, customize images, fix blemishes, remove red-eye, lighten and darken graphics, and even add text overlays, reflections, shadows and more.  Having the ability to utilize some really cool effects without being a graphics designer makes iPiccy one of my TOP CHOICE recommendations and a great replacement for Picnik.

Here’s what we just put together for our Valentine show promotion:
We added a border,
created a matting,
went with a sepia effect,
added a thick pencil sketching,
made it black and white,
re-sized it keeping constraints,
added a drop shadow border,
dropped some text at the bottom and saved to the desktop.
We then emailed it as a .jpg attachment to the event promoter.
This all took about 3 minutes from beginning to end.

Check out iPiccy.com and compare it to Picnik.  If you’ve never used Picnik.com, then you’ll have discovered a very cool free online photo and image editing site that you’re going to enjoy.  If you have used Picnik, and feel as though you’ll be losing a best friend come April, I can promise that iPiccy will make the hurt a whole lot less.  In fact, I think some of you will like iPiccy better than Picnik.  Happy creating, enjoy~

 

 

          

 

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KidServe: Kids Partnering with Grown-Ups to Serve - Kentlands

Dumbarton Oaks Museum - Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs