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Award for 2008 and 2009 Sales Stats - Connecticut Real Estate

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Sat, 16 May 2009 11:25:50 -0500

I received for 2008 TOP 200 Sales Agent (of 2000) Chairman's Club Award from our company William Raveis Real Estate in Connecticut. It's a nice award to have in the ole files.

I just added up my sales/listing/buyer volume for 2009. As of May 15, 2009 - $11,572,658. Explains why I am a little tired these days.

I sit and wonder if I relocate to the Carolina's where I would work to achieve the over 25 years of momentum I have created in Connecticut.

I think if I were to move to Florida I would work for a shortsale/ foreclosure division of a bank since that is all I am doing in CT.

Keep thinking and going running.

December 1 thru February 28 2009 Avon,Simsbury, Farmington, Canton Closed Price - Housing Data From $750,000 to $1.5Million

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:05:25 -0600

December 1 thru February 28 2009 Avon,Simsbury, Farmington, Canton Closed Price - Housing Data From $750,000 to $1.5Million

Posted on March 2, 2009 by GEENA | Edit

List Price: $750,000 to $1,500.000

AVON

February 1 - February 28 2009

Current Inventory 21.875 months

Closed Unit Sales 2

Average Sq Ft. 6380

Median Sale Price 1,059,500

Avg Days on Market 63

Sale Price to List Price Ratio 95%

January 1 - January 31

Closed Unit Sales 1

Average Square Ft 3100

Median Sale Price 1,375,000

Average Days on Market 33

Sale Price to List Price ratio 101%

December 1 - 12/31/2008

Closed Unit Sales 2

Average Square Ft 3100

Median Sale Price 962,500

Average Days on Market 221

Sale Price to List Price Ratio 88%

SIMSBURY

Current Inventory 11.33 months

February 1 - February 28 2009

Closed Unit Sales 0

January 1 - January 31

Closed Unit Sales 0

December 1 - December 31, 2008

Closed Unit Sales 2

Average Square Ft 3893

Median Sale Price 870,000

Average Days on Market 121

Sale Price to list Price Ratio 97%

FARMINGTON

Current Inventory Level 20 months

February 1 - February 28, 2009

Closed Unit Sales 1

Average Square Feet 3540

Median Sale Price 819,948

Average Days on Market 19

Sale Price to List Price Ratio 106%

January 1 - January 31

Closed Unit Sales 3

Average Square Ft 4208

Median Sale Price 899,999

Average Days on Market 33

Sale Price to List Price % 97%

December 1 - December 31 2008

Closed Unit Sales 1

Average Sq Ft 5231

Median Sale Price 1,000,000

Average Days on Market 166

Sale Price to List Price Ratio 83%

CANTON

Current Inventory 24 months

February 1 - February 28, 2009

Closed Unit Sales 1

Average Square Ft 4358

Median Sale Price 710,000

Average Days on Market 42

Sale Price to List Price Ratio 91%

January 1 - Janaury 31

Closed Unit Sales 0

December 1 - December 31, 2008

Closed Unit Sales 0

Notes:

Data prepared 3/1/2009

Balanced Inventory level is 6 months

Connecticut Housing Inventory for August 26 2008

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:57:39 -0500

Update on the current inventory levels as of August 26, 2008 of our area which consists of:

Avon, Bloomfield, Burlington, Canton, Farmington, Granby, Simsbury, West Hartford, Hartford and Windsor.

Keep in mind that even supply vs demand is 6 months of inventory.

Avon ( I have created this price point for Avon because of the town)

Price point $900,000 and above =21 months of inventory

Avon Below $900,000 = 4.04 months of inventory

Bloomfield = 8.63 months of inventory

Burlington = 6.58 months of inventory

Canton = 8.76 months of inventory

Farmington =4.49 months of inventory

Granby = 6.08 months of inventory

Simsbury - Price point $900,000 an above = 10 months of inventory

Below $900,000 = 3.72 months of inventory

West Hartford =2.79 months of inventory

Hartford = 10.06 months of inventory

Windsor = 6.34 months of inventory

We do have bank owned properties and short sales in this mix however it is a very small %.

I think the reason our inventory levels are low is that a lot of homeowners are just sitting tight before they sell and/or they are renting out their house until the market turns. At that point they will put it on the market. Our next 10 to 15 year cycle will not be as we have experienced. I am hearing another year of declines which I agree even in our area and we will be flat for another two years following before we experience gain. It's all about lending. If we can not get money easily then properties will not sell easily.

To quote Mr. Bucholz in talking about Americans in general "most get up in the morning to work hard, feed their families and pay for soccer uniforms and maybe a vacation, if they can stand the security lines at the airport". I also agree with him that we aren't "whining" because of the $13 billion spent on Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil. Also, we are not giving up our pets at shelters. We have spent 5% more in 2008 on our dogs and cats than in 2007 according to the Pet Products Manufactureres Assoc.

Connecticut is a beautiful state with a lot to offer.

GOVERNOR RELL CAN YOU KEEP YOUR WORD ON ANYTHING?

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:30:03 -0500

WHAT SHOULD WE DO STORM THE CAPITAL TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE ARE SICK OF BEING TAXED LIKE THEY DID IN THE 1800'S?

GOVERNOR RELL, YOU TRY AN IMPRESS US WITH ZERO BUDGET INCREASE. NO INCREASES IN SALARIES. YOU ALSO TRY AND IMPRESS WITH ANNOUNCING A MORATORIUM ON THE JULY 1ST GAS TAX INCREASE SINCE THE PEOPLE OF CT ARE FEELING THE PINCH. I ACTUALLY STARTED TO SEE A RAY OF HOPE WITH YOU.

YOU JUST BLEW IT TODAY. GOING BACK ON YOUR WORD WHICH DIDN'T TAKE YOU LONG. TODAY FRONT PAGE OF HARTFORD COURANT - GAS TAX GOES UP JULY 1ST. WE KNOW YOU MET LAST WEEK ON THE BOND EXPENDITURES IN THIS STATE WHICH WILL TAKE MORE DOLLARS OUT OF OUR POCKETS SINCE ISSUING BONDS IS LIKE ME TAKING MY CREDIT CARD AND RACKING IT UP TO THE MAX. BONDS FOR STATES ARE CREDIT CARDS TO FOR STATES TO SPEND MONEY FOR WHATEVER THEY WANT. YOU ARE OUT OF CONTROL MY DEAR LADY WITH OUR MONEY AS ALL GOVERNMANET OFFICIALS ARE IN EVERY SMALL TOWN IN THIS COUNTRY.

DOES EVERYONE KNOW THAT IN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT RIGHT NOW AS OF TODAY JUNE 3RD IF WE PUT $80.00 IN OUR GAS TANK WHICH IS ROUGHLY NOW 18 GALLONS @ $4.55 - $11.00 GOES TO OUR CONNECTICUT TAX COFFERS? AN ADDITIONAL $2.52 GOES TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

GOVERNOR RELL YOU ARE A TAXATION WILD PIG. SO ONCE AGAIN YOU ARE INCREASING OUR GAS TAX WHICH IS THE 2ND LARGEST REVENUE STREAM FOR YOU. DOES EVERYONE KNOW THAT YOU INCREASE THIS TAX AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR. THIS IS A SNEAKY TAX THAT YOU JUST HAMMER US WITH YEAR AFTER YEAR. WE ARE THE 2ND HIGHEST GAS TAX STATE IN THE USA WITH CALIFORNIA BEING THE HIGHEST. AFTER JULY 1ST WE MIGHT BLOW BY CALIFORNIA.

OTHER STATES IN THE USA HAVE TAXES AT THE $.30 CENT LEVEL PER GALLON. WE ARE ALMOST MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT. HMMMMMM, AND WE WONDER WHY OUR YOUTH EXITS THE STATE?

DO ME A FAVOR - JUST SPEND MY MONEY AND PLEASE DO NOT PRETEND THAT YOU CARE. STOP TALKING TO THE PRESS JUST STAY AT YOUR DESK IN YOUR OFFICE AND KEEP WORKING. WE SHOULD AT LEAST GET THE MOST VALUE WE CAN OUT OF THE SALARY WE ARE PAYING YOU.

BURLINGTON CONNECTICUT - NEW CONSTRUCTION - PRICED WITH INCENTIVE TO SELL!

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:12:50 -0500

6 HIGHWOOD CROSSING BURLINGTON, CT

PRICE REDUCED TO $699,900. NEW COMMUNITY OF PRICES IN RANGE OF $750,000 TO $900,000.

FINANCING PACKAGE IS 10% DOWN WITH NO PMI ON A LOAN UP TO $1 MILLION DOLLARS. BUILDER WILL ALSO PAY 2 YEARS OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAXES. LIMITED TIME OFFER.

HOUSE HAS 3900 SQUARE FEET. 4 BEDROOMS PLUS A BONUS ROOM ALL ON THE 2ND FLOOR. 3 1/2 BATHS. MASTER SUITE WITH 2 WALK-IN CLOSETS. 3 FULL BATHS ON 2ND FLOOR AND POWDER ROOM ON MAIN LEVEL.

2 STORY FOYER WITH SHADOW BOXING AND HARDWOOD FLOORING. LIVING ROOM WITH FRENCH DOORS THAT OPEN INTO LIBRARY WITH CUSTOM CHERRY CABINETRY. FAMILY ROOM WITH FIREPLACE THAT OPENS TO KITCHEN WITH CUSTOM CHERRY CABINETS AND CENTER ISLAND. CHOOSE YOUR GRANITE. FORMAL DINING ROOM WITH SHADOW BOXING. ADDED FEATURE IS THE ENTIRE HOUSE HAS HARDWOOD FLOORS EXCEPT FOR THE BEDROOMS UPSTAIRS. LOWER LEVEL IS PLUMBED FOR A FULL BATH.

SPECTACULAR NEW AREA OF BURLINGTON - HIGHWOOD CROSSING.

ANOTHER FORECLOSURE EFFECT - ARE YOUR SCHOOLS POLICING CAREFULLY IF THE STUDENTS REALLY LIVE IN YOUR TOWN?

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:54:25 -0500

Today's, May 21st WSJ www.wsj.com D8 - "School Districts Get Tough As Home Foreclosures Rise".

Very timely article since that has been brought up in our town since we are close to other town lines where kids can cross over. At our Budget hearing meeting our town council bascially said that there is only so much we can do to police the situation. The attitude/tone with our councel was.... well, it's going to happen and we do our best and that is really all we can do about it. Not good enough!

In today's aritcle it states that California and Florida actually hire Private Investigators. In our town where the avg cost per child is approximately $13,000. The average range of property taxes are $5,000 to $15,000 and I do think it is worth it to make sure that all students are residing in our town. I would bet that every CT taxpayer would agree with me since we all pay very high taxes to the towns and to the state. The state gets their money from the taxpayers and then the state turns around and gives the towns funds if they follow certain guidelines. Basically, we the taxpayer pay for everything.

What spurred this article is the amount of foreclosures going on this country and families are ending up in other homes after the foreclosure and not necessarily in that same town. This number is on the rise and is only going to continue for the next couple of years.

CONNECTICUT SHORT SALE/PRE FORECLOSURE INVENTORY HOT OFF THE PRESS

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:01:01 -0500

G496733

17 SUNRISE HILL SOUTH MERIDEN

$169,900 IN THE DIAMOND HILL COMMUNITY

THIS HOUSE IS IN AN AREA OF $200k TO $220k RAISED RANCHES. THIS HOUSE NEEDS COSMETIC AND SOME UPDATES. RENTERS WILL BE OUT END OF JUNE. EASY TO SEE!

1130 SQ FT 3 BEDROOMS, 1 1/2 BATHS, LIVING ROOM, DINING ROOM, KITHCEN, SLIDER TO A 28X15 COVERED DECK. ABOVE GROUND LINER POOL. SHED WITH POOL MECHANICS. LOWER LEVEL FAMILY ROOM, 1/2 BATH AND LAUNDRY ROOM AND A UTILITY ROOM.

CALL ME DIRECT TO SEE AT 860-983-4446

1301 SLATER ROAD NEW BRITAIN G494520

$159,900

CLOSE TO WEST FARMS MALL AND CENTRAL COLLEGE

HOUSE HAS SOME UPDATES

3 BEDROOM, 7 ROOMS, BREEZEWAY IS HEATED.

LOWER LEVEL IS FINISHED. 1217 SQUARE FEET

2 FULL BATHS AND 1 CAR ATTACHED GARAGE. GREAT BACK YARD.

MORE PHOTOS FOR ALL LISTINGS ON WWW.GEENA.BIZ

CALL ME DIRECT 860-983-4446

EIGHT BELLE'S

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:55:10 -0500

Being from Winchester Kentucky just outside of Lexington which is just outside of Paris Kentucky this tragic ending of a great event in Louisville was very upsetting and still is to me. I guess I am writing this for therapeutical purposes.

Lexington is where Calumet Farms is located. I remember a few years back when the Queen of England was going to visit Calumet and my mothers best friend Lucinda Miller (all still living in Winchester) was in charge of doing all of the flower arrangements for the entire spread. Lucinda told my mother that while she was delivering her arrangements on the last day before the Queens' arrival which was a frantic time Im sure. She reported to my mother seeing crew vacuuming the lawn, shrubs and the entire outside. Calumet Farms is the huge farm that you see when you fly or drive into Lex and you see an ocean of beautiful black fences. Black fences are the most beautiful against a green lawn and I shudder when I see the stark white fences that people put up today that just do not hold a candle to the other combination.

Paris, KY is where the infamous Clayborn Farm is located. Secretariat, Riva Ridge any many other famous horses from the US and Europe all retired at Clayborn to stud. Each horse had it's own four acre coral. 18K gold name plate on each stall door were cleaned everyday. I only mention Secretariat and Riva Ridge because I personally visited them on two different occassions at the Farm. Remind me to tell you the story while sipping an adult beverage some day.

So, as you can imagine Derby Day is a big day in my family. Even my cousin Rod Cardwell from Tolland, CT has a suite at the Derby every year. He spends the entire week in Louisville. Quite the scene to be seen as you can imagine. Rod I believe is also a Kentucky Colonel as I am. It is a membership that is appointed and signed by the Governor of Ky. the same year of your acceptance. Louie B Nunn was the Govenor when I was appointed my Colonel'ship - that let's you know maybe how far back we are talking.

Eight Belle's you were a beautiful horse, you had determination beyond comprehension and hopefully we will meet at the better Clayborn Farm in the sky one day.

WHY BLOOMFIELD CT IS THE BEST!

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:56:43 -0500

AN ACTIVERAIN COLLEGUE EMAILED ME ASKING ME TO WRITE SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT BLOOMFIELD. THIS GOT MY MIND STIRRING VERY QUICKLY BECAUSE I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF SEVERAL REASONS WHY I LOVE LIVING IN THIS TOWN.

WE HAVE WITHIN A 2 MILE RADIUS OF WHERE I LIVE 6 GOLF COURSES AND THEY ARE:

TUMBLEBROOK CC, HARTFORD GC.WAMPANOAG CC, WINTONBURY, GILLETTE RIDGE, TOWER RIDGE.

THE CENTER OF BLOOMFIELD IS ONE OF THE COZIEST TOWN GREENS YOU WILL SEE. IN THE SUMMER THEY HAVE A LIVE MUSIC ON THE LAWN WHICH IS NICE FOR THE COMMUNITY.

I CAN BE ON 3 DIFFERENT MAJOR HIGHWAYS IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES. BRADLEY AIRPORT IN LESS THAN 15 MINUTES EASILY EVEN DURING RUSH HOUR!

THE CENTER HAS TWO GREAT SPECIALITY RESTAURANTS - GINZA THAT IS A FANTASTIC SUSHI/HIBACHI RESTAURANT. GINZA IS THE MOTHER MONEY SHIP FOR FENG IN HARTFORD WHICH IS A 5 STAR ASIAN FINE DINING SPOT. THE ITALIAN PASTRY SHOP NEXT DOOR TO GINZA IS MOUTH WATERING. DRIVE JUST 4 MILES AND YOU CAN BE AT WHOLE FOODS FOR YOUR REGULAR SHOPPING.

NOW, TALKING ABOUT REAL ESTATE. WE ARE THE GO TO TOWN FOR EMPTY NESTER'S. WE HAVE LUXURY CONDO'S OF ALL SIZES. FAMILIES THAT DOWNSIZE DO NOT WANT TO DOWNSIZE INTO A SHOE BOX CONDO SO WE HAVE LOTS OF FREE STANDING STYLE CONDO'S THAT ARE FAIRLY NEW. WE ALSO HAVE LOTS OF ATTACHED UNITS OF ALL SIZES. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THEY CAN BE 1800 TO 5000 SQUARE FEET AND MAYBE LARGER OFFERING LOADS OF EXTRAS IN THE INTERIOR.

THE OTHER ASPECT OF BLOOMFIELD'S REAL ESTATE IS THAT YEARS AGO OR "BACK IN THE DAY" AETNA/CIGNA HAD A LOT OF EXECUTIVES THAT LIVED IN BLOOMFIELD AND THEY HAD BUILT BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM HOMES. WE HAVE SOME BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE FOR SURE. HERE'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE:

THIS HOUSE ON 551 BLOOMFIELD AVE IS A 5 BEDROOM, 3 1/2 BATH, 2 FIREPLACES, UPDATED GRANITE KITCHEN, HARDWOOD FLOORS THROUGHOUT, PATIO WITH FIREPLACE ON THE 7TH GREEN AT GILLETTE RIDGE. WE HAVE THIS ON THE MARKET FOR $347,900. IF THIS HOME WERE IN SIMSBURY OR AVON - WE WOULD HAVE IT OWN FOR $499,900 IN THIS MARKET.

ANOTHER PERK, UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD IS ONLY 4 MILES FROM MY HOUSE. WE HAVE PARENTS THAT ARE BUYING PROPERTIES FOR THEIR KIDS TO HOUSE. WE ALSO HAVE LUXURY APARTMENTS THAT ARE $2000 AN UP A MONTH THAT FILLED UP INSTANTLY NEAR THE COLLEGE WITH PROFESSIONALS AND SOME STUDENTS. SOME RELOCATING EMPLOYEES ALSO RENT IN THESE APARTMENTS UNTIL THEIR HOUSE SELLS AND THEIR FAMILY ARRIVES.

BLOOMFIELD IS A QUIET, NICE SIZE OF 20,000 PEOPLE, OH I ALMOST FORGOT WE HAVE A STARBUCKS IN BLOOMFIELD AND IF YOU DRIVE TO WHOLE FOODS YOU WILL PASS A STARBUCKS ON THE WAY IN WEST HARTFORD. TO ADD WE ARE ONLY MAYBE 6 MILES FROM WEST HARTFORD CENTER AND BLUE BACK SQUARE.

I CAN BE IN GRANBY, EAST GRANBY, SIMSBURY AND AVON, WEST HARTFORD IN LESS THAN 2,3 or 4 MINUTES.

WE HAVE A NICE DRIVE THRU DUNKIN DONUTS IN TOWN JUST PAST THE CVS. IF YOU WANT A SUPER STOP - NO PROBLEM. IF YOU WANT A SMALL GROCERY STORE - GEISSLERS IS RIGHT IN TOWN FOR A QUICKIE.

EVERGREEN MALL AND BUCKLAND MALL ARE ONLY 20 MINUTES AS IS WEST FARMS MALL. CINCHY DRIVES.

DOWNTOWN HARTFORD - 8 MILES FROM MY DOOR TO THE GOLD BUILDING MAIN ENTRANCE.

SO, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE YOUR TYPICAL TOWN TAX ISSUES WHICH EVERY TOWN IN CONNECTICUT HAS ESPECIALLY NOW. NOBODY WANTS THEIR TOWN RAISING TAXES AND INCREASING EVERYONE'S SALARY IN TOWNHALL'S WHILE TAXPAYERS ARE STRUGGLING AT HOME WITH INCREASES IN ALL COSTS TO OPERATE IN THE HOUSEHOLD.

SO, I HOPE THAT TWEEKED YOUR INTEREST JUST A LITTLE.

YOU TOO COULD LIVE IN ....BLOOMFIELD!

BLOOMFIELD CT - BUDGET HEARING OF APRIL 14 2008

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:59:31 -0500

Everyone must know that if we want to not pass this budget we need to get 900 signaures from registered voters in this town. Who's game?

Second, there was a Budget Hearing on the calendar for Tuesday the 15th on http://www.bloomfieldct.org/ and it was canceled without any notice anywhere. The Town council pulled a fast one on us for sure. Thank goodness Roy Duncan was in communication with one of the council members and gave us the heads up.

Okay, if everyone is so concerned about their tax bill then they have to actually show up at the committee meetings and the town council meetings and say what is on their mind or just sit and show some interest. There were less than 10 people in the room last night at the council meeting. I can see that maybe it is because we realize that the council doesn't listen. I saw a chink in the armour last night.

Now, here is a list of the meetings that are coming up if you don't want to check on http://www.bloomfieldct.org/

If you are unhappy about our finances in town then attend the finance meeting next Monday night @ 7:00. Discussions about building a new school to consolidate 3 buildings will be on the table.

If you are unhappy about how many police we have in town then attend the meeting on April 28th@ 6:00 p.m. Then at 7:30 there is a Town Council meeting.

If you are unhappy with where Bloomfield is heading or have ideas on the vision of where Bloomfield should be going then attend the Economic Development meeting this Thursday night @ 7:00 p.m.

If you are furious that we paid for Wintonbury Golf Course from soup to nuts and think it is being mismanaged since we all know it is a cash cow and we the residents are still paying for the course then please attend the May 12th Golf meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Last night's meeting was televised. Town Council allowed comments. Mr. Roy Duncan once again stood up for the citizens of Bloomfield and wanted answers to a lot of great questions. His opening line which is on the minds of all is that it was too darn warm in the building. Truthfully it had to be 70 plus degrees as it always is when we have gone to these meetings. Yes, we all conserve in our homes to save money and it was suggested that the Town Hall building do the same. We have all of the money and we have all of the staff to perform all things in our town but nothing is being managed properly. Leaking roofs, burnt out lights in parking lots, etc.

The second slap in the face for us was as we walked into the Town Hall there was a sign in the middle of the hallway saying "Now Hiring Police - starting pay $56,+++"..... Does Hartford pay their policeman that much? Again, we ask what is the average income for the entire town of Bloomfield? How many policeman live in Bloomfield?

How many town employees live in Bloomfield? If we find the average income for Bloomfield is $35,000 - pretty sad that our town employees are making more then $50,000 except for two people.

Next was the line we all know...show us the money! Roy mentioned that there were funds given to Bloomfield for drainage ditch repairs in the Foothills area of Bloomfield. Money has been given to Bloomfield to ramp up Filley Pond - we are hearing to the tune of $1 million. Where are these funds and why aren't they being used? People are extremely unhappy about both areas not being repaired or replaced and they are making it known to all of the powers that be and still no progress.

We the tax payers simply can't justify these costs in Public Safety, Board of Education, Economic Development Commission, Wintonbury Golf course and other areas until we know we need the service.

The Town Council did not come up with answers to Roy Duncan's list of questions that were all spot on and all stated in the blogs. I'm not clear if they are going to come up with the answers. My take on this is it's in our lap to get the stat's ourselves.

We did get an accurate Per Student cost in Bloomfield which is approx. $13,000 plus not $17,000 or $19,000 that has been floating around. Roy did mention scores are the lowest in the state and in our popluation rank of 30 towns we rank 29th. Scores have to improve in this town.

Board of Ed - there is fat that needs to be trimmed. Too many secretaries and a paid trip for a teacher to China for two weeks is not acceptable. Who knows what else lurks. Testing scores for the kids are not acceptable and we should not allow any increases in their budget until the scores go up. It is that simple.

Question still unanswered is how many children in town in total and how many do NOT attend the public school system vs how many attend our schools in this town that do not live in this town. I guess I will have to call the superintendents office to find that out.

Crime statistics - where is the crime and how much do we have? Police department should have those statistics.

Finance Committee meeting is next Monday as I mentioned earlier - one of the topics will be to consolidate the elementary schools in town into one and build a New larger school. Compare that to keeping 3 older buildings that all 3 need major renovations. If we have a new larger school with designs to have the small classrooms for Preschool to Grade 3 - the State of CT would be involved with funding that project at a larger level I gathered. A new central school building would be more efficient to maintain.

Good news time: Our theater is having a Grand Opening next Thursday the 24th @ 5:00 p.m.! Whoohooo! Great news. Keep in mind this would be a great place for us to get our "referendum" started since we need 900 votes to squash the budget.

If anyone watched 60 minutes this Sunday and saw those kids in Venezuela perform on stage - well, we have that same talent right in Bloomfield. Bloomfield's child musicians, instrumentalists and singers were on stage performing at the Bushnell last Friday night with the theme of "Visions". Some of the Council members attended and noted that the audience was so moved by the performance they were in tears during their performance. Scot Haney and Brad Davis were the MC's. Brad's quote was "seven years ago there were just a handful of musicians at Bloomfield High..."

Bravo Bloomfield!

BLOOMFIELD BUDGED ON THE BUDGET. A COMPROMISE IN CONNECTICUT

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:27:25 -0500

Well, tonight was our 3rd night sitting in on the budget hearing with the town council members, town manager and our finance director. The setting in the room. Nice dinner, snacks, bottled water, lots of M&M's. Michael also a town resident and also of Geena & Company www.Raveis.com/geena were the only regular attendees out of a total of THREE. Pretty sad to say the least.

The town manager asked for a 5.9% increase in our budget and tonight I am happy to say they ended up with a vote to only increase 2.8% with a new mill rate of 35.29. I think they could have been more aggressive which I'll explain why.

I was very happy to see the Republicans and the Democrats almost saying the same thing. Tough times are here for another year and half and after that we don't know what will happen. Keep spending down because it is not going to get better.

Key issues were Board of Ed has a lot of waste in their budget. We have a member of our town council who is a retired school teacher and stated that there are too many secretaries in our Board of Ed. Our Town Planner has two secretaries and they run an entire town whereas the BOE has several including one girl that her job is to go and get coffees and food for staff. Another point she made which really was disturbing. She noted that when she went to a conference it was her expense. The BOE would allow her to take off from school and get a substitute teacher. She learned that a teacher is going to China for two weeks on Bloomfield's bill. That absolutely should not be allowed. Now I am seeing why we are spending $17,000 per student and we are the worst ranked school in the state. Bloomfield Board of Ed is out of control. They are spending our money carelessly and they are not held accountable. to anyone.

Fill in Filley Pond! That was the real consensus about the pond in the room. We say put in a Starbucks! It's great land and a great location and we are hearing that it is going to cost ONE MILLION $ to dredge the pond and beautify with a new bridge. One council member was fighting for the pond because 50% of the people he runs into ask him to take care of the pond. 50%? If he ran into 4 people that means only 2 people said something. Soooooooo! It was agreed to get the funds thru fund-raising events by a separate volunteer group and not have the town pay for it. YES!

Our beautiful new golf course Wintonbury Hills is still being breast fed by the town of Bloomfield. Yes, it was agreed to have the golf course start paying for itself. Next year the lease payments for equipment stop to a tune of $400,000 but the golf course is going to ask us for $1.5MM for capital improvements which means they want to increase the restaurant. Another issue about the golf course is that the non resident fees were increased 5% and 66% of the players are non resident. I think that is fine but they need to look at the General Manager that is being paid a lot to run the golf course and the restaurant and he is not qualified. The restaurant is disgusting as far as atmosphere and food. The GM is a golf pro running the food division and being paid a lot of money to do a bad job. The second problem is they have a retired police officer as the Pro for the golf course. He also is not qualified and overpaid. The problem lies within the club. The club is packed wtih players 7 days a week so it is glaring that it is not being run right. Council needs to dig a little deeper into that issue. They need a restaurant guy running the restaurant and a golf pro that can break 100 running the golf division.

Now our police department. Deep breath.... Our town manager who I think is a very qualified person and we are lucky to have him. He is living in total fear about something. We have 33 patrolman included in public safety staff of 54 for a town of 20,000 people. Our manager said tonight that we need more policeman. It was brought up several times that they do not need an 8% increase in pay. It was mentioned 6% would be plenty. We the townspeople say... how about no pay raise and let's get rid of a few. Our town manager will not let that happen. Hmmmmmm.....

It was also stated that not one person in the town of Bloomfield makes less than $50,000 a year. Then we found out two people make less than $50K a year and that is our Registrar of Voters department. These two are asking for a pay raise of $2500 each and they do not work more than 20 hours per week. That did not go over well with the Council.

They also announced that our P & Z dept is asking (Town Planning and Zoning)for an enforcer of the building codes. That is all his job would be. Hmmmm. I know there is not going to be a lot of building permits being taken out for the next few years. Not too worry. They also are increasing our building permit license by $1.00 and demolition license. Okay well, nothing times whatever is nothing. That department won't be too busy for a long while.

So, by Thursday I am going to provide the Council with some real etate data about Bloomfield that will shock them all since they are planning for $700K in revenues on taxes from transfer of property. They will see that they will not be able to count on that figure being that high based on our declining market.

Ah yes... and GET RID OF THE MINI BUS! And, we were happy to here the Masonic building is being torn down so we can wipe out the $25,000 a year in maintenance of a building we are getting rid of.

One councilman is very worried about buildings being torn down in bad times. How it looks to people. Well, it is a sign of better things to come - could mean a sign of growth.

Quote of the night... $250,000 is like candy bars - it's nothing.

Whewwww... another tough one to sit through.

BLOOMFIELD CT - INCREASE IN TAXES? DON'T SPEND MY MONEY FOOLISHLY!

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:33:59 -0500

To set the tone of where I am going with this...I was so unnerved by the town budget meeting last night I had dreams of being in this room debating with the town council. I have lived in this town the first go around for almost 7 years and then came back and have been here for 11 1/2 years. We have the best luxury condo's and apartments in Hartford County and we also have gorgeous custom built estate homes that are the perfect size for empty-nester's. Gillette Ridge Golf Course was built 3 years ago and we have built luxury free standing houses all around the golf course and other locations near the golf course. Bloomfield is only 6 miles from downtown Hartford and 5 to 8 minutes to I-91 and I-84 and less than 15 min to Bradley International Airport.

I printed the 205 page Budget proposal on-line and reviewed every page over the weekend only to find out that 5 key pages were missing and one of the town council members was polite enough to let us look at his copy.

Revenues in town are $73,031,428 - which $61,864,885 come from property taxes.

They want to spend $73,031,428 for this year. This is where I get madder than a hornet.

We have 33 police officers in this tiny town - Fixed Budget of $6,885,081.

Last night I hear our 15 year old police department roof is leaking and we have lots of light bulbs out in the parking lots at our schools. Okay what are they doing with the $2,386,932 that we pay in for public works? Do you think we have salaried employees in this town that are like dogs on welfare? They are not getting in their trucks and actually doing their job. No one is accountable to anyone in this town.

Our education budget for 2400 students - are you tranquilized right now? $39,055,093 is our proposed budget number. That is almost $17,000 per student. This is why we are the empty nester town... get ready.... In Connecticut in our population size of 15,000 to 25,000 of 30 towns - guess what? According to "Connecticut Magazine" Issue November of 2006. Bloomfield ranked #29 as "the" worst education in CT. I was chuckling when one town council member last night wanted to throw in an additional $50,000 to our already $139,000 Economic Development Commission budget to promote Bloomfield to the world. Excuse me? One of the biggest draws to any town are RESALE values. Bloomfield's rankings are such that no one wants to buy in town if they know they have sell in 3 to 5 years. Schools drive the economic engine of towns. Just go to www.raveis.com/geena and click on "NEIGHBORHOOD MAPPING" and then go to "LOCAL HOUSING DATE" and compare the educations and values in all of the towns in CT and see for yourself.

Bloomfield population is approximately 20,000 - Setting of the room last night for a 7:00 p.m. meeting is a small conference room - 1/3 of it had food enough to feed an army that was catered. I arrive at 7:15. Everyone's belly is full. The room is about 100 degrees. The conference table is in the middle filled with the town council members and our town manager and finance director (11 people). There are chairs set up all around the walls of this room and they are filled - my associate from my company Michael Voutsas saved me a seat. I am already shocked that we are not in one of our large conference rooms complete with video cameras so this can be shown on our local Channel 5. As I sit I realize that all of the people in the chairs around the room are EMPLOYEES of the town. I can't wait to find out at the next meeting how many of these salaried employees actually live in Bloomfield! I do know that one of our top positions in town our town planner does not live in Bloomfield. Shock! That will be my next blog believe me.

In this one hour meeting these people through around $500,000 like it was paper-towels. They were spending my money and the air was so cavalier. They were numb and half conscious throughout the entire one hour. Rubbing their eyes - ready for naps. If we were in China burping I'm sure would have been added. Who wouldn't after the feast they just had. All that was needed at this meeting - coke's, coffee and cookies to keep this group alive and also to save money!

Okay here it comes... "quote of the week"

2008-2009 - First Budget hearing for Bloomfield. Drum roll........ One of our town council members stated towards the end of the meeting at 8:05 discussing a huge dredging cost of a very small pond that we use for skating in the winter in the center of town which could cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars says... "we need to spend the money like it was our own"....

Whattttttttt?????? It is our money!

The Farmington Valley - Connecitcut

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:35:14 -0600

Introducing The Farmington Valley of Connecticut

It sits Northwest of the City of Hartford.

This view is from Avon Mountain from Heublein Tower

Towns consist of Avon, Canton, Farmington, Simsbury and Granby.

Check us out on www.Raveis.com/Geena

CONNECTICUT MEDIAN HOME COST RISE AND NUMBERS OF SALES FALL

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:25:34 -0600

Connecticut is a far cry from California. Statewide our home sales fell 9.31% from 2006 to 34,391 in 2007. Yes, it may be the lowest since 1995's 34,096 however our inventory levels are low for December 2007 to now. The kicker is the median sale price has climbed even higher the past 12 years, gaining 1.45% over 2006 to reach $280,000 in 2007, which is more than double the price from 1995.

Not everyone's home price is appreciating. Sales in part of the state that have more expensive homes are keeping this price level up because the buyers for these homes that are selling for over $2M are of better means and can keep moving. It doesn't mean homes are appreciating. It just means that we are seeing a higher number of homes sell at higher price points. Of the eight counties in Connecticut - three of the eight posted a decline. The largest decline was New Haven County where the median sale price dipped to 2.42% to $248,726. Fairfield County posted the largest gain of 5.84% to $566,250 www.raveis.com/localhousingdata.asp

Another factor is that the tightening of lending guidelines are keeping the first time buyer at a lower price point from buying so that number has also decreased keeping our median sale price higher.

I was slightly annoyed yesterday when CNBC had another genius stock anal-yst say that the fact that the mortgage industry are only doing loans at 20% down will definitely bring the market down another 15% this year. So far for 08 I have $3.2M booked in sales volume and I have not had one client put down 20%. My town of Avon currently has a median sale price is $620,000 (Greenwich is $1,895,000) www.raveis.com/localhousingdata.asp I have had a nice mix of 10% down and seller paying closing costs and I have had a few sales with 3% down with seller paying closing costs and of course we add it into the purchase price. Bottom line if a buyer has good credit scores (anything over 690) we can get them into a home with flexibility on the ratios.

I was sitting at a kitchen table last night. The sellers want a larger home to start raising a family and they bought their house 2 years ago. They paid $265,000 for a 1600 sq ft Cape in West Hartford (Average sale price is $280,000). I could put their house on the market now for $294,900 www.raveis.com/geena and it will probably sell for $290,000 based on sales in Dec and Jan (they bought their house as a quick sale from a friend at a discount) and they will have some money in their pocket to go out and buy their 4 bedroom house, 2 car garage possibly with Central Air for waaaayyy less than $350,000 and have an interest rate that is pretty low right now. Another benefit is their income doesn't have to be that high since interest rates are low to qualify for their new home. They want to move up so now is the time since they will stay in their new house for 10 years. The market will not be like this for long. Our inventory is low so now is the time to list before the spring market. The golden rule... it's better to be the only one on the market instead of just one of the bunch.

Geena - 860-983-4446 or email @ Geena@Geena.biz

BURLINGTON CONNECTICUT HOUSING MARKET REPORT

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 05:24:49 -0600

Oh Little Town of Burlington...

Burlington, Connecticut, a nice village, convenient to shopping and to Hartford, Rte 8 if you need to get to the NYC and yet totally private. I have some town statistics for you with comparisons from 2005 to December of 2007. This is the best time to buy a house especially in Burlington because of the inventory and interest rates. What a difference two years makes?????

Single Family Sales for Burlington in December of 2007 were 16. June of 2007 were the highest reports sales of 25 Single Family Properties. December of 2005 reported 8 sales that month.

The town has a lot of new construction so these next flow of numbers will demonstrate to you how it looks.

33.6% of the sales in Burlington last year were in the price range of $400,000 to $599,000

13.1% of the sales were in the price range of $600,000 to $999,000. That is almost 1/2 of the town!

Inventory levels in December of 2005 were at 34 houses where December of 2007 were at 75. Burlington does have a lot of new communities with a few spec houses that have been sitting for a much longer time than the builders are used to.

The Median Sales price for December 2007 was 275,000 versus December of 2005 was $238,000.

Sale to List Price Ratio for December 2007 is 95.00% whereas in December of 2005 it was 94.75%. Not too much difference. The highest Ratio for the last two years was in June of 2007 which was 98.59%.

Market time to get houses sold for December 2007 was 132 days. December of 2005 was 115 days. The lowest in the last 2 years was August of 2007 of 38 days.

So, sellers are getting antsy in Burlington and I would recommend that buyers take a look. 2008 will be the best year to ever buy a house because of this great cocktail mix.

The photo is one of my listings in Highwood Crossing in Burlington that we orginally listed at $799,900 and we have reduced to $699,900. Builder wants to sell! We are doing Saturday and Sunday Open Houses to get it sold. Needs 30 days to for completetion. We are waiting for buyers choices before completetion.

I am offering to my buyers this year a fully paid home inspection upon signing for full representation.

This is a BUY!

CONNECTICUT FORECLOSURE DATA CORRECTED

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:56:59 -0600

The state had 23,470 foreclosure filings last year, which RealtyTrac says represented 0.83 percent of all households. But the Census Bureau says the state has 1.43 million "housing units," so the actual rate is 0.16 percent. Furthermore, filings do not mean eviction is imminent, and not all filings involve subprime loans. Meanwhile, Countrywide Mortgage's Soft Market Index says the highest-risk counties for foreclosures are in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada. Fairfield, New London and New Haven counties are considered moderately low risks, and Hartford, Middlesex and Tolland low. Litchfield and Windham didn't even make the index. In Connecticut at least, this has all the earmarks of a contrived crisis.

To further add for my area which is Hartford, Litchfield,Middlesex and Tolland counties, inventories are low even though prices of houses are still correcting gently. Properties that have been on the market for a minimum of six months need to make a price adjustment right now of 10 to 12% to sell. Sellers still have a mind set that they can get what they want on the sell side and our finding out it is just not so. Sellers must adjust price downward - get the house sold and then go play ball with what they want to buy and at the same time take advantage of the low interest rates. And if a buyer signs with me to represent them in their purchase I will pay for their home inspection. It's a win win win!

Geena- 860-983-4446 or email Geena@Geena.biz

FORECLOSURE AND MARKET UPDATE FOR CONNECTICUT

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:59:45 -0600

Just read an article on Fertility and Housing and how they go neck and neck. in other words... the easier it is for buyers to buy a house the more the family grows. This study has been going on since the 30's. Births are up 1% in this country since the 70's. Italy birth rate is down because the housing costs and the east of buying have not been favorable. It will interesting to see what happens in the next 10 years with all of the fear of buying a property now.

Now is the time to buy for sure. Mortgage rates are below 5 1/2 %. Prices of properties are low. The time is right for sure. In some areas in my area of Hartford County prices have not declined more than 5%. When I do my Market Analysis on every purchase for my buyer I always look at the current list price to sell price ratio in the area in addition to the other data that I cover. Our inventories are low which means we do not have the two and ten year inventories that Florida, California and Nevada have at this time because of all of the over-building. If you are going to live in the home for a few years then buy now. If you are going to flip make sure you buy a foreclosed property or a short sale and do your homework on how much you can put into the property before you make that decision. Get a Realtor to work with so you will know how much your flip will sell for after the improvements. Then base that number on a percentage for your return on investment (ROI). For listings go to http://www.Geena.biz and for stats on every town for past and present and more go to http://www.Raveis.com/Geena

I am handling a few short sales and love the elimination of the "phantom tax" on foreclosures for my clients, short sales or other discharges of debt on a primary residence. Consider this scenario: A property is worth $250,000, and the mortgage balance is $300,000. Under the old rules, if a lender forgave the $50,000 difference as part of a foreclosure, short sale, refinance or loan modification, the borrower had to claim the $50,000 as income and pay federal income taxes on that amount. The new law eliminates this "phantom tax," and the forgiven debt is no longer treated as taxable income to the borrower as long as certain requirements are met, such as the discharged mortgage balance must be on the taxpayer's principal residence.

Geena has been licensed and selling Real Estate for 32 years. Selling in Hartford County mostly. Call for consultation at 860-983-4446 or email at Geena@Geena.biz

"THE PERFECT STORM"

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:34:11 -0600

JANUARY 31, 2008

WE HAVE SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS BLOWING INTEREST RATES VERY LOW ESPECIALLY AFTER YESTERDAY'S .50 BASIS POINTS DROP. WE ARE LOOKING AT ADJUSTABLE RATES AND 15 YEAR MORTGAGES BELOW 5%. WE HAVE A STRONG LOW PRESSURE JUST SITTING OVER CONNECTICUT WITH INVENTORY LEVELS IN CONNECTICUT LOWER THAN 2006 http://www.raveis.com/localhousingdata.asp

THIS PRESSURE SYSTEM OF SELLERS ARE SITTING AT HOME SAYING TO THEMSELVES... WE ARE GOING TO WAIT TO PUT OUR HOUSE ON THE MARKET UNTIL THE MARKET STARTS TO GO UP. THEY ARE GOING TO NEED NOAHS ARK BECAUSE THEY WILL BE WAITING FOR 12 TO 24 MONTHS. REMEMBER BILL COSBY'S LINE "NOAH, HOW LONG CAN YOU TREAD WATER"? SO WEATHER WATCHERS ... IMPORTANT OBSERVATION - SELLERS THAT HAVE THEIR HOUSE ON THE MARKET IN THIS MARKET HAVE TO SELL.

FOR BUYERS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A DOLLARS AND "SENSE" EXPLANATION - HERE'S THE SCOOP...

I JUST CLOSED ALMOST 3 WEEKS AGO ON A LISTING http://www.Ravies.com/geena I HAD IN THE FARMINGTON VALLEY (HARTFORD COUNTY). IT WAS MY 3/3/3/3 SPECIAL. 3000 SQUARE FEET, 3 FULL BATHS, 3 FIREPLACES AND 3 CAR GARAGE. CONTEMPORARY THAT WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 80'S AND THE KITCHEN WAS UPDATED WITH NEW CABINETS, GRANITE AND STAINLESS APPLIANCES. NEWLY PAINTED EXTERIOR AND NEWER ROOF. THE HOUSE HAD GREAT CURB APPEAL. ALL BATHS WERE COMPLETELY UPDATED SOUP TO NUTS. VERY PRIVATE LOT WITH LONG DRIVEWAY - GREAT SETTING. WALKING DISTANCE TO A HISTORICAL VILLAGE. I KNOW YOUR SAYING - GEENA, GET ON WITH IT - WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM. ALL YOU SELLERS LISTEN UP...

I LISTED IT IN APRIL OF 2007 AT $424,900 AFTER I WENT OVER WITH MY SELLERS THE TREND ANALYSIS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS ON THIS PARTICULAR MARKET FOR CONTEMPORARIES AT THAT TIME. THEY KNEW IN APRIL THE AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET FOR THE CONTEMPORARIES. IF THE HOUSE WERE TO SELL AT OR AROUND THE LIST PRICE I GAVE THEM WHICH WAS 389,900 THEY WOULD BE CLOSING IN NOVEMBER. NOW THE WIFE WAS NOT HAPPY BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO BE IN FLORIDA INSTANTLY BECAUSE SHE HATES THE COLD. THE HUSBAND HAD TO LEAVE TO START WORK IN FLORIDA SO THEY BOTH KNEW THEY WOULD BE SEPARATED FOR A LONG TIME IF WE LISTED AT $389,900. SO, WHAT DID MY SELLERS DO? THEY SAID LET'S TRY $424,900. THEY SAW THE DATA AND THEY STILL WANTED TO TAKE A SHOT THINKING THAT THE MARKET WAS STILL HOT LIKE 2006 EVEN THOUGH THEY SAW MY TREND ANALYSIS WHICH CLEARLY WAS SHOWING THE AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET IN OUR AREA WERE ON A AN UPWARD TREND. BTW: IN 2005 THEY PAID $330,000 FOR THE HOUSE AND INVESTED $30,000 FOR UPDATES.

SO, THE HUSBAND LEAVES FOR HIS JOB IN FLORIDA LEAVING THE WIFE AT HOME AT HOME TO STAY WITH HER JOB AND LIVE IN THE HOUSE WITH HER TWO TEENAGE KIDS. MY WISH WAS THAT THEY HAD MOVED OUT COMPLETELY AFTER MY INITIAL WALK-THRU AND LEAVE THE HOUSE VACANT FOR ME TO SHOW BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT THE BEST HOUSEKEEPER AND THE KIDS WERE THE WORST. THE SON'S ROOM SMELLED LIKE A THEIR WAS A DEAD BODY IN THE ROOM AND THE OTHER TEEN - GIRL WAS A SMOKER. SO WHEN MOM WAS AWAY TO VISIT FLORIDA - THE TEENS WERE LEFT AT HOME ALONE AND I HAD POST- PARTY CLEAN UP TO DEAL WITH AND SMOKING GOING ON IN THE HOUSE BEFORE OPEN HOUSES. HAVING 20 OPEN HOUSES IN 8 1/2 MONTHS AND NUMEROUS SHOWINGS THE COMPLAINTS WERE THE SAME. HOUSE SMELLED, HOUSE WASN'T CLEAN - GREAT HOUSE BUT..... I HAVE A FEEDBACK SYSTEM THAT I JUST FORWARD THE FEEDBACK DIRECTLY TO MY SELLER SO THEY CAN SEE THE FEEDBACK DIRECT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH. SO, BECAUSE OF THIS WE PLAYED THE INCH WORM GAME OF PRICE REDUCTION. WE DROPPED TO $419,900, 409,900...THEN WE BROKE THE BARRIER OF $399,900 AND I GET "GEENA, WE CAN'T GO ANY LOWER." NOW IT'S LATE LATE INDIAN SUMMER- BEGINNING OF FALL - LEAVES HAVE TURNED YELLOWISH. WIFE IS REALLY HATING IT SHE IS NOT IN FLORIDA AND SHE HAS BEEN SEPARATED FROM HUBBY FOR MONTHS. I CALL HER INTO THE OFFICE TO EXPLAIN THAT BY WAITING AND KEEPING THE HOUSE FOR MONTHS AFTER GOING OVER ALL MONTHLY EXPENSES - SHE COULD REDUCE THE PRICE TO THAT TOTAL NUMBER AND BE IN CONTRACT IN LESS THAN A MONTH AND BE IN FLORIDA. SO, WE REDUCE AFTER THAT MEETING TO $369,900. WE NEEDED TO BE AT $369,900 IN JUNE. NOW PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THE HUSBAND KNEW THIS DATA AND HE COULDN'T CONVINCE HIS WIFE OVER THE PHONE ALL OF THOSE MONTHS THE "COST BY STAYING" ANALYSIS. IT IS TOUGH TO DO OVER THE PHONE IF YOU ARE NOT A MATH PERSON. THAT IS HOW SHE ENDED UP IN MY OFFICE.

SO, NOW WE ARE AT $369,900 MID TO LATE OCTOBER WITH A 5% COMMISSION AND NOW I AM TOLD AGAIN "GEENA, WE REALLY CAN'T GO ANY LOWER".

LEAVES ARE NOW OFF OF THE TREES - IT'S FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER-ITS SOMEWHAT COLD THE WIFE IS GOING INTO DEPRESSION. WE GET A SHOWING AND OUR FIRST OFFER OF $300,000 AFTER TWO WEEKS SINCE THE BIG PRICE REDUCTION. WE COUNTER AND THE BUYER GOES AS HIGH AS $325,000 AND THAT WAS HER FINAL. MY SELLERS SAY "NO WAY AM I WRITING A CHECK AT CLOSING". THE WIFE IS ANGRY WITH THE BUYER - "WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS"?

BUT THEN, THE PERFECT STORM ROLLS IN. A BIGGGGG NOR'EASTER - DUMPS ABOUT 14 INCHES ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT. THE WIFE CALLS ME AND SAYS THEY WILL TAKE THE OFFER OF $325,000. KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A WOMAN THAT STALLED THE PRICE FOR MONTHS BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO GET TOP DOLLAR FOR HER HOUSE STILL NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT IT COULD TAKE TWO YEARS TO GET THE NUMBER SHE WANTED. REMEMBER I HAD TO CALL HER INTO MY OFFICE JUST TWO WEEKS EARLIER - WIPE HER TEARS BECAUSE OF THE MONEY THEY PUT INTO THE HOUSE. SHE NOW HAS CALLED ME AFTER SHOVELING OUT AND SAYS " SEE IF THE BUYER WILL REVISIT AND BUY THE HOUSE AT $325,000". I NEEDED SNOW IN JUNE! NOW HER HUSBAND IS FURIOUS THAT SHE EXPECTED HIM TO TAKE A BIG HIT LIKE THAT SINCE SHE WAS THE ONE THAT WOULD RESISTED EVERY PRICE REDUCTION. HE HAD TO FIGHT HER TOOTH AND NAIL ON EVERY REDUCTION.

SELLERS - LEARN FROM THIS STORY. LISTEN TO YOUR REALTOR ON THE TRENDS. THIS IS A PRICE DRIVEN MARKET. I HELD 20 OPEN HOUSES AND WE HAD OVER 60 SHOWINGS. IT WAS ADVERTISED TWICE WEEKLY AND MONTHLY - PHOTOS - BLACK AND WHITE AN COLOR IN ALL MEDIA ADVERTISING http://www.Geena.biz. IT HAD A KNOCK OUT VISUAL TOUR THAT MARKETED THE AREA AS WELL AS THE HOUSE. ALL OF THAT DIDN'T BRING THEIR PRICE. THEY COULD HAVE HAD DAVID YURMAN STAIR RAILINGS THROUGHOUT AND BUYERS WOULD NOT HAVE CARED. THEY ARE LOOKING AT SIZE AND HOW LOW CAN THEY GET THE HOUSE.

BUYERS - YOU HAVE ONE YEAR TO GET INTO THIS HOUSING MARKET. THIS IS THE BEST TIME IN THAT I CAN REMEMBER IN MY 32 YEARS OF SELLING HOUSES. RATES ARE LOW AND PRICES OF HOUSES HAVE COME DOWN TO AFFORDABLE RANGES AND ARE STILL COMING DOWN. IN CONNECTICUT IF THE HOUSE NEEDS WORK YOU CAN COUNT ON PAYING $80 TO $100 PER SQUARE FOOT. IF THE HOUSE IS IN MOVE -IN CONDITION INSIDE AND OUT AND IN A GREAT LOCATION YOU COULD PAY BETWEEN $170 TO $200 PER SQUARE FOOT.

FIND ONE REALTOR TO WORK WITH AND HIRE THAT REALTOR AND GET THE JOB DONE - DON'T WEAR YOURSELF OUT SEARCHING FOR HOUSES ONLINE THAT ARE NOT EVEN ON THE MARKET BECAUSE ALL WEBSITES INCLUDING REALTOR.COM ARE NOT UPTO THE MINUTE UP TO DATE. REALTOR.COM IS ABOUT 4 DAYS TO 7 DAYS DELAYED. YOU NEED THE REALTOR'S MLS FEED FOR INSTANT NOTIFICATION OF NEW TO MARKET PROPERTIES AND PRICE REDUCTIONS. AND REMEMBER REALTORS REALLY DON'T GO TO WORK FOR YOU UNTIL YOU FIND THE HOUSE YOU WANT TO GO INTO CONTRACT. THAT IS WHEN YOU NEED OUR EXPERIENCE TO PROTECT YOU IN YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE PROCESS.

FOR MORE DISCUSSON ON CONNECTICUT PROPERTIES OR TO DISCUSS BUYER REPRESENTATION ON A CONNECTICUT PROPERTY CALL GEENA 860-983-4446 OR EMAIL AT GEENA@GEENA.BIZ

MINUTES TO BLUE BACK SQUARE IN WEST HARTFORD

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:25:03 -0500

Blue Back Square in West Hartford

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 02:29:47 -0500

New To Market near West Hartford center and the new Blue Back Square http://www.bluebacksquare.com

Exceptional Property on 18 Bainbridge in West Hartford for $749,000.

MLS#G469640 can be found on http://www.Geena.biz or http://www.Raveis.com/Geena

Rare to Market. Professionally deocrated in Sought After Neighborhood. Has a fabulous Chefs Kitchen with all high end features. Open floor Plan. Living Room with Gas fireplace. Detailed Moulding. Hardwood Floors. Floor to Ceiling Glass Sunroom that overlooks Professionally designed landscaped yard with uplighting throughout, brick patio and koi pond.

THE NEW WHATS HOT AND WHATS NOT LIST

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:49:33 -0600

WHAT'S HOT

COZY, SMALL HOMES ON A BIG LOT

WHAT'S NOT

MCMANSIONS (NOT TRUE IN HARTFORD COUNTY)

WHAT'S HOT

MARBLE, LIMESTONE AND CONCRETE KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS

WHAT'S NOT

GRANITE COUNTERTOPS (NOT TRUE IN HARTFORD COUNTY)

WHAT'S HOT

EARTH COLORS - BROWN, GREEN- AS WELL AS HANDMADE ACCESSORIES

WHAT'S NOT

THE COLD LOOK OF MODERN

WHAT'S HOT

INFORMAL LIVING SPACES LIKE AN OVERSIZE FAMILY ROOM AND AN OPEN KITCHEN

WHAT'S NOT

FORMAL DINING ROOMS

WHAT'S HOT

EXOTIC HARDWOOD FLOORS LIKE BAMBOO AND BARZILIAN CHERRY

WHAT'S NOT

CARPETING

WHAT'S HOT

MUDROOMS WITH CUBBIES,CHESTS,AND BENCHES FOR KIDS AND DOGS

WHAT'S NOT

LEAVING ALL YOUR JUNK IN THE FOYER OR THE COAT CLOSET

Source: Realtor.org

There is a new term "GREYFIELDS". Do you know what a BROWNFIELD is? This another play on words referring to the obsolete,underused retail site that have prime locations but are not longer correctly configured to meet today's retailing needs.

Cheers!

IT'S MAPLE SYRUP TIME IN CONNECTICUT

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:30:33 -0600

LIVING IN BLOOMFIELD WHICH IS ONLY ONE MILE FROM WEST HARTFORD AND 4 MILES FROM HARTFORD. I AM ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES TO ACTUALLY SEE HOW IT IS MADE. I HAVE TWO NEIGHBORS THAT MAKE MAPLE SYRUP. ONE IS ON FIVE ACRES WITH THE ORIGINAL FARM HOUSE FOR THE HILL THAT WE LIVE ON. HE BUILT A SUGAR HOUSE SHACK THAT IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE AND HAS ALL OF THE LATEST EQUIPMENT. THERE ARE FLORESCENT GREEN LINES GOING ALL OVER HIS PROPERTY ATTACHED TO EVERY MAPLE TREE. I GUESS THEY DRAIN INTO ONE SPOT SO HE DOESN'T HAVE TO GO FROM TREE TO TREE TO COLLECT THE SYRUP. IT LOOKS LIKE A GREEN ELECTRIC DOG FENCE. NOW IN MY 10 YEARS OF LIVING ON THE HILL I HAVE NEVER HAD A TASTE OF THEIR SYRUP.

MY OTHER NEIGHBOR HAS 35 ACRES (I CURRENTLY HAVE 10 OF THOSE 35 ON THE MARKET FOR A BUYER WHO WANTS TOTAL PRIVACY AND ALSO TO BE ABUTTING MDC PROPERTY). HE USES THE STAINLESS BUCKETS THAT ARE HAMMERED TO ALL OF THE MAPLE TREES TO DRAIN INTO THE BUCKETS AND THEN HE HAS TO EMPTY THE BUCKETS MANUALLY. HE THEN DELIVERS TO MY HI TECH NEIGHBOR FOR THE BIG MELT-DOWN THAT GOES ON IN THE SUGAR SHACK. I HAVE RECEIVED FROM HIM A FEW GALLONS OF MAPLE SYRUP IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. IT IS ABSOLUTELY THE BEST. IT IS SO PURE AND ALSO VERY RICH. YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE THE SAME AMOUNT AS YOU WOULD WITH THE STORE BOUGHT BRANDS. I ALSO THINK IT'S LIKE HONEY - IF YOU EAT HONEY FROM YOUR AREA IT HELPS RID OF ALLERGIES.

FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T AS LUCKY AS I AM TO WATCH IT FROM START TO FINISH THERE IS A TOUR GOING ON IN CONNECTICUT STARTING MARCH 10-11TH. VISIT LAMOTHE'S SUGAR HOUSE IN BURLINGTON, CT. IT IS ONE OF THE STATES LARGEST PRODUCERS OF SYRUP. IN HEBRON THERE IS THE HEBRON MAPLE FESTIVAL THAT HAS TOURS OF FIVE SUGAR HOUSES. ONE OF THE FIVE PRODUCERS IS ALSO A PARTNER OF MINE OF CITY STEAM BREW PUB IN HARTFORD,CT WHERE WE MAKE THE BEER FROM SCRATCH. HE DEFINITLEY WILL HAVE THE FINEST SYRUP!

ON MARCH 17TH, THE INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN INDIANT STUDIES WILL GIVE A DEMONSTRATION OF THEIR METHOD OF MAKING THE SYRUP.

MARCH 17-18TH, GREAT BROOK SUGARHOUSE IN NEW MILFORD WILL DEMO THE PAST METHODS AND MODERN DAY METHODS OF PRODUCTION.

IF YOU GET THE BUG AFTERWARDS I HAVE A 10 ACRE PIECE OF LAND FOR SALE IN BLOOMFIELD AND I HAVE 16.5 ACRE PIECE OF LAND FOR SALE IN NEW HARTFORD WITH A POND AND HORSE PADDOCK.

CHEERS!

Real Estate Licensing on the decline in Mass.

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 23:33:20 -0600

Mass.: Pool of Real Estate Pros Shrinks
Massachusetts' tightening housing market has resulted in a winnowing of the real estate industry.

The number of licensed real estate professionals has dropped by more than 1,300 over the past year, to 82,722, according to the state's Board of Registration of Real Estate.

The number of applications for new brokerage and other licenses is on track to fall by 25 percent - or more than 2,000 - from last year, the state real estate board reports.

"I think real estate has long been thought of as a service industry, when in fact it's a skill industry," says Michael Carucci, president of ERA Boston Real Estate Group. "It requires some skills sets, some salesmanship, some holding hands, some good old-fashioned work."

Source: The Boston Herald, Scott Van Voorhis (01/29/07)

I was wondering when this would start to happen? I would love to know the rest of the country!

6 WAYS FIRST-TIME BUYERS CAN PREPARE

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 23:26:11 -0600

6 Ways First-Time Buyers Can Prepare
A cooling housing market gives buyers, especially first-time buyers, more opportunities to snatch up a good deal. But just because there are good deals, doesn't always mean buyers are ready to make the leap.

These six tips will help prospective buyers find out if they are ready for homeownership.

1. Take a first-time home buyer class. It will make repairing a credit score and shopping for a loan less stressful.

2. Be conservative. Borrowing too much can mean stretching and even sacrificing - to the point that it's hard to even keep a six-pack of beer in the fridge.

3. Organize documents. First-time buyers should keep a pay stub, W-2, and bank and retirement account statements on hand to expedite the loan application process.

4. Get pre-approved. Before starting the homebuying process, consumers should get pre-approved by at least one lender. Being pre-approved won't lock buyers in to a loan but it may save them the heartache of falling in love with a home they really can't afford.

5. Play house. Every month, prospective buyers should bank the amount that they'd have to pay if they owned a home. It's good practice so they'll be ready for the real thing.

6. Consider all the costs. It's not just a mortgage payment they have to worry about. Repairs, assessments, and other costs of homeownership can add up quickly.

Source: Star-Tribune, Kara McGuire (02/02/07)

HARTFORD CONNECTICUT CHARITY

GEENA Becker (William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:25:15 -0600

DRESSED TO THE NINES

We are pleased to announce that on March 31, 2007, the 2^nd Annual Dressed to the Nines charity event will again be held at The Learning Corridor in Hartford. This community service event was created to help provide prom dresses to Hartford area teens that may not otherwise

be able to afford a dress on their own. The 2006 event was a resounding success with over 450 dresses finding new homes with our local teens!

We invite you to help make this year's event a success by donating any gently-worn or new formal wear that would help to make a young woman's prom night special. Prom is a significant ritual in the lives of young women and you can help create memories they will treasure for years to come! Hartford area teens will have the opportunity to purchase the dresses for $10 each with proceeds benefiting Connecticut Children's Medical Center.

How to donate a dress or other formal wear item:

Please Note: Dresses must be in wearable condition, no more than gently-worn and within 5 years in fashion. Dresses that are stained, ripped or otherwise defective will not be offered at the event. ALL sizes are welcome-last year's event was short on sizes 16+, so we especially welcome more this year! Additional formal wear items that are acceptable include: purses, jewelry, wraps and gently-worn or new shoes. DROP-OFF DEADLINE IS MARCH 9.

DROP OFF LOCATIONS:

West Hartford S. Windsor Avon

Sight, Your Complete Anthropologie Bodytalk

Eye Health Center Shops at Evergreen Walk 51 East Main Street

West Hartford Center 300 Evergreen Way #316 Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-6pm

17 S. Main St. Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-9pm Sat 10am-5pm

Hours: Tues, Wed, Fri 8pm-5pm Sunday 11am-6pm Sun 12pm-5pm

Thurs 8am-7pm

Sat 9am-1pm

If you are unable to make it to one of our drop-off locations, please contact one of the Event Chairs listed below to arrange for pick-up/drop-off of your gowns.