Dan - The Running Man's Blog

The Great Schlep

2008-10-13T08:08:14Z

The Great Schlep has surfaced in the news recently touting their latest tactics during the Columbus Day weekend to utilize the young and dumb in an effort to bribe the old and feeble.

Hope my opening line catches attention but I do not really consider college students young and dumb or their grandparents old and feeble. However I have always despised the tactics of brainwashing the American youth to carry out the agenda of middle-aged Americans.

The Great Schlep is a perfect example of a misguided message. The message in my opinion encourages young people to lie, cheat and steal in an effort to buy a few more votes for a presidential candidate.

What do you think of The Great Schlep?

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Hope the kids respect their grandparents enough not to use bribery!

The Running Realtor's Home Sales Report - September 2008

2008-10-06T19:34:51Z

The month of September was filled with gloom and doom from government officials who foolishly decided pumping 700 billion into Wall Street was the solution. The stock market continues to slide downward and big banks are bickering about who gets to take over the fallen financial institutions. With all that bull about it being nearly impossible to get credit I will pull a quote from the front page of today's New Haven Register, "But even against that backdrop, Connecticut-based banks are faring well and have money to lend".

Single family homes sales continue to be sluggish. September volume was down 20% from last year with 59 homes closing in my 5 primary towns. The lower priced communities on North Haven & North Branford actually saw in increase in the number of homes sold compared to last year while Branford, Guilford & Madison had less.

Asking Price	Sale Price	Address	Beds	Baths	Town / State / Zip
.
250,000	250,000	19 Barton Court	3	1.1	Branford, CT 06405
350,000	361,000	23 Buena Vista Road	2	1.0	Branford, CT 06405
199,900	170,000	40 Cherry Street	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
395,000	350,000	10 Cocheco Avenue	4	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
599,900	525,000	18 Dudley Avenue	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
430,000	385,000	22 Grove Street	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
379,000	379,000	12 Millwood Drive	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
316,500	300,000	18 Oak Ridge Road	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
354,000	354,000	12 Oakgate Drive	4	1.2	Branford, CT 06405
359,900	347,500	10 Roby Court	3	2.1	Branford, CT 06405
299,900	300,000	20 Sandra Drive	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
1,295,000	910,000	81 Sunset Beach Road	4	4.0	Branford, CT 06405
279,900	250,000	33 Todds Hill Road	2	1.1	Branford, CT 06405
.
13,750,000	11,900,000	173 Andrews Road	6	6.2	Guilford, CT 06437
625,000	590,000	23 Cornwall Lane	5	4.1	Guilford, CT 06437
314,900	310,000	315 Foxwood Road	5	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
382,500	340,000	10 Ives Place	4	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
310,000	300,000	1327 Little Meadow Rd.	3	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
419,000	384,000	34 North Madison Rd.	3	3.1	Guilford, CT 06437
379,000	341,000	90 North Mill Circle	2	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
697,000	624,000	394 Northwood Drive	5	4.0	Guilford, CT 06437
364,900	323,000	15 Point Arowhead Rd.	3	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
339,900	320,000	41 Preble Drive	3	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
358,900	349,900	106 Russet Drive	3	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
339,000	330,000	14 Stonewall Lane	4	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
255,000	250,000	270 Weatherly Trail	1	1.1	Guilford, CT 06437
305,000	280,000	1535 West Street	3	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
585,900	600,418	Lot 4 - White Birch Dr.	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
719,000	649,000	15 Wingate Road	3	3.1	Guilford, CT 06437
360,000	330,000	71 Woodside Road	5	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
.
1,295,000	1,200,000	27 Chestnut Hill Road	5	5.1	Madison, CT 06443
412,500	381,000	141 Concord Drive	4	3.0	Madison, CT 06443
319,000	282,500	53 Hickory Lane	3	1.0	Madison, CT 06443
429,000	408,000	15 Hull Road	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
924,999	840,000	9 Linden Lane	3	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
286,000	286,000	22 Pardee Place	3	1.1	Madison, CT 06443
649,000	632,000	34 Richborough Road	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
275,000	280,000	78 Scenic Road	4	2.0	Madison, CT 06443
750,000	695,000	47 West Wharf Road	3	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
.
384,900	375,000	14 Ashley Park Drive	3	2.0	N Branford, CT 06471
340,000	330,000	11 Dogwood Road	3	1.2	N Branford, CT 06471
159,900	152,000	22 Lake Road	2	1.0	N Branford, CT 06471
339,000	310,000	148 Lanes Pond Road	2	2.1	Northford, CT 06472
299,900	300,000	384 Village Street	4	1.1	Northford, CT 06472
259,000	252,500	163 West Pond Road	2	1.0	N Branford, CT 06471
334,900	300,000	197 White Hollow Road	3	2.0	Northford, CT 06472
249,900	244,000	34 Woodland Drive	3	2.0	Northford, CT 06472
.
269,900	238,000	17 Ball Road	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
269,900	250,000	390 Clintonville Road	2	1.0	North Haven, CT 06473
329,900	320,000	10 Fortune Drive	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
300,000	280,000	120 Hartley Street	3	2.0	North Haven, CT 06473
299,000	283,000	18 Helen Drive	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
229,000	217,000	33 Laydon Avenue	3	1.0	North Haven, CT 06473
445,000	400,000	25 Marion Drive	4	2.1	North Haven, CT 06473
899,900	887,000	126 North Hill Road	3	2.1	North Haven, CT 06473
239,900	234,000	52 Northside Road	4	1.0	North Haven, CT 06473
289,900	280,000	11 Oakwood Drive	3	1.0	North Haven, CT 06473
399,900	399,900	82 South Avenue	4	2.1	North Haven, CT 06473
329,900	320,700	13 Westerly Road	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473

If you are thinking of selling and curious about the value of your home click the house on the right to request a Free No Obligation Market Analysis of the property. With today's on-line databases I can give you a fairly good idea of the market price without even touring the house.

Anyone ready to undertake the adventures of searching for property in New Haven County can contact Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor via email or call my 24 hour access line : 203-672-2455

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Last Day of Summer Fun at the Distance Run

2008-09-21T18:59:24Z

The weather this morning was great for the Philadelphia Distance Run as a record number of participants made their way to the starting corrals for the 13.1 mile event.

With over 13,000 finishers the course was quite congested moving through the downtown city streets. Even after 8.5 miles the runners were relatively thick as I pulled off to the side for a photo as we crossed the Falls Bridge over the Schuylkill River.

In this case as with most the real fun of the run comes before or after the main event. While the sun beats down on you for 13.1 miles there are times when you certainly question your logic of spending a bundle to travel to a race.

Some runners customize their shirts with sayings or pin notes on their back and one that caught my eye today said Running Costs $7.50 per Mile. I dwelled on the theory for awhile and must be doing something wrong because I cannot even do a 5k ( 3.1 miles ) that cheap.

My next big event is the ING Hartford Marathon coming up on October 11, 2008. In the meantime if you'd like to talk about Running or Real Estate on the Connecticut Shoreline contact me, Dan@CummingsTeam.com or call my Access Line at 203-672-2455.

The Running Realtor's Home Sales Report - August 2008

2008-09-02T17:59:19Z

The market remained sluggish during the month of August with volume lagging last year by about 25%. In my five primary towns a total of 92 Single Family Homes sold during the month compared with 125 in the same time period last year.

Asking Price	Sale Price	Address	Beds	Baths	Town / State / Zip
.
316,500	300,000	23 Applewood Road	3	2.1	Branford, CT 06405
599,900	580,000	8 Beechwood Road	4	2.2	Branford, CT 06405
1,090,000	990,000	40 Brookhills Road	6	5.1	Branford, CT 06405
259,800	255,000	44 Brushy Plain Road	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
219,000	220,000	34B Double Beach Road	3	2.0	Branford, CT 06405
228,000	217,000	17 Driscoll Road	2	1.0	Branford, CT 06405
469,900	445,000	23 Glendale Place	3	2.1	Branford, CT 06405
1,995,000	1,950,000	15 Killams Point	5	5.0	Branford, CT 06405
139,000	100,000	51 Lanphiers Cove	1	1.0	Branford, CT 06405
1,997,000	1,637,500	93 Linden Avenue	5	4.0	Branford, CT 06405
489,900	425,000	1 Lomartra Lane	4	2.1	Branford, CT 06405
299,900	280,000	44 Millwood Road	3	1.1	Branford, CT 06405
339,900	230,000	52 Milo Drive	2	1.0	Branford, CT 06405
625,000	590,000	90 Northford Road	6	3.0	Branford, CT 06405
425,000	390,000	30 Pawson Trail	2	1.0	Branford, CT 06405
427,000	385,000	26 Quarry Road	3	2.1	Branford, CT 06405
425,000	415,000	7 Ramblewood Drive	4	2.1	Branford, CT 06405
175,000	170,000	106 Short Beach Road	2	1.0	Branford, CT 06405
429,900	411,000	151 Sunny Meadown	3	2.5	Branford, CT 06405
499,500	485,000	10 Wellesley Drive	4	2.1	Branford, CT 06405

749,900	734,000	2 Balaurel Drive	4	2.2	Guilford, CT 06437
415,000	387,000	54 Canary Court	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
395,000	385,000	172 Cooks Lane	4	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
459,000	435,000	84 Denison Drive	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
549,900	534,000	2023 Durham Road	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
279,900	265,000	38 Edwards Street	2	1.0	Guilford, CT 06437
279,000	257,500	28 Fawn Lane	2	1.0	Guilford, CT 06437
1,090,000	965,000	16 Franklins Way	4	3.2	Guilford, CT 06437
1,049,999	850,000	34 Grove Hill Road	4	4.1	Guilford, CT 06437
559,900	537,000	20 Halleck Street	3	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
275,000	240,000	64 Hoop Pole Road	3	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
699,500	689,250	724 Jennifers Drive	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
689,000	670,000	2084 Jennifers Drive	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
429,900	350,000	534 Lake Drive	3	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
489,900	465,000	514 Lake Drive	3	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
574,900	545,000	1439 Little Meadow Rd	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
324,900	305,000	2461 Long Hill Road	4	1.1	Guilford, CT 06437
595,000	562,000	41 Meadow Ridge	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
269,900	245,000	50 Oriole Circle	3	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437
329,900	280,000	9 Quonnipaug Lane	4	1.0	Guilford, CT 06437
295,000	225,000	23 Seaview Terrace	2	1.0	Guilford, CT 06437
167,000	145,000	28 South Hoop Pole Rd	2	1.0	Guilford, CT 06437
649,000	649,000	72 Spruce Hill Road	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
649,900	646,000	Lot 2 - Sunset Ridge	3	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
498,800	482,000	193 Village Pond Road	4	2.1	Guilford, CT 06437
1,899,000	1,600,000	381 Vineyard Point Road	7	5.2	Guilford, CT 06437
599,000	575,000	455 Whitfield Street	4	2.0	Guilford, CT 06437

449,900	420,000	95 Acorn Road	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
495,000	483,000	50 Blinnshed Road	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
445,000	435,000	114 Bradley Corners Rd	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
524,900	518,000	53 Colonial Road	4	2.0	Madison, CT 06443
414,900	387,000	25 Conestoga Drive	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
354,000	344,500	2`2 Copse Road	3	2.0	Madison, CT 06443
249,900	240,000	798 Durham Road	3	2.0	Madison, CT 06443
338,000	328,000	2142 Durham Road	3	2.0	Madison, CT 06443
530,000	530,000	94 Five Field Road	4	3.0	Madison, CT 06443
649,900	585,000	27 Grandby Drive	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
649,000	565,000	26 High Field Lane	5	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
3,199,900	2,875,000	20 Holly Park Road	4	3.1	Madison, CT 06443
415,000	375,000	30 Milestone Lane	4	2.0	Madison, CT 06443
509,000	499,000	610 Opening Hill Rd	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
289,900	285,000	9 Scenic Road	3	1.1	Madison, CT 06443
479,000	460,000	15 Surrey Drive	4	2.1	Madison, CT 06443
454,000	425,000	20 Sycamore Lane	3	3.1	Madison, CT 06443
290,000	290,000	9 Winding Road	4	3.0	Madison, CT 06443
829,900	780,000	101 Windsor Court	4	3.1	Madison, CT 06443
419,000	395,000	97 Yankee Peddler Path	5	2.0	Madison, CT 06443

399,900	399,900	89 Branford Road	3	2.1	N Branford, CT 06471
229,900	205,000	85 Deforest Drive	4	1.0	N Branford, CT 06471
345,000	371,000	65 Gail Court	4	2.1	Northford, CT 06472
245,900	230,000	27 Jay Place	4	1.1	N Branford, CT 06471
329,900	312,500	30 Surrey Drive	4	2.0	Northford, CT 06472
279,000	269,000	101 Totoket Road	3	1.1	N Branford, CT 06471
385,000	350,000	149 Walnut Lane	3	3.0	Northford, CT 06472

289,900	289,900	9 Angel Place	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
264,500	245,000	17 Belont Road	3	1.0	North Haven, CT 06473
269,900	245,000	14 Buell Street	2	1.0	North Haven, CT 06473
334,900	325,000	8 Country Way	3	2.1	North Haven, CT 06473
292,000	283,000	31 Forture Drive	3	2.0	North Haven, CT 06473
328,900	320,000	20 Goodsell Road	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
299,900	285,500	88 Maple Avenue	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
289,900	252,000	358 Middletown Avenue	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
349,000	345,000	773 Middletown Avenue	3	2.0	North Haven, CT 06473
239,900	235,000	26 Palmer Road	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
259,900	250,000	25 Quinnipiac Avenue	4	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
259,900	253,000	291 Quinnipiac Avenue	2	1.2	North Haven, CT 06473
89,900	110,000	465 Skiff Street	4	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
384,500	375,000	10 Southgate Lane	3	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
239,900	220,000	300 Spring Street	4	1.1	North Haven, CT 06473
309,900	311,850	35 Surrey Drive	3	2.1	North Haven, CT 06473
299,900	289,000	38 Weaver Circle	3	2.1	North Haven, CT 06473
439,900	412,500	2121 Whitney Avenue	4	2.1	North Haven, CT 06473

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Running Rainers Miami Marathon Mingle

2008-08-21T19:14:46Z

Quite often my eyes will catch the word RUNNING in a blog title so of course I click to see what it's all about. A few months ago a title of interest really hit me when I saw "Be a Running Realtor" since I began branding myself as the Running Realtor shortly after discovering the Active Rain Real Estate Network.

The post happened to be authored by a relatively new blogger, Pat Murray of Naples Florida, who is planning to run her first Marathon in Miami on January 25, 2009 and was looking for other real estate professionals that might want to participate in the event.

Fast forwarding a few months as fate would have it I wound up stranded on Fort Myers Beach for a week so I had an opportunity to run with Pat. Although she says she is "not a runner" she pushed the pace in the early morning heat and humidity of Florida and told me the weather conditions we ran in were nothing like what would be expected on race day. January in Miami has an average low temp of 60 and highs in the mid-70's. Very nice running conditions for me and a great break from the winter conditions in New England.

I haven't committed to running Miami yet but it is being considered. After running my first 26.2 mile event in San Diego on June 1st with the Team in Training one of my coaches noticed my photo was being used to publicize the Hartford Marathon so I figured I should run that event in October. I was planning a little break after 40 weeks of continuous training but maybe I will look into a 3 week rest and a condensed training program to prepare for Miami.

Marathon training typically involves a 16-20 week program so if you would like to Mingle in Miami with other Active Rain Real Estate Pro's now it the time to start thinking about it.

Who knows.... If we get enough support maybe we can plan an Active Rain Running Realtor event every year. Not sure if we should go for custom shirts though, I wore one once and appropriately got Rained On.....

Where ever you travel in the United States it's easy to find a good running route or a good Realtor. If you need assistance relocating to the Connecticut Shoreline contact me, Dan@CummingsTeam.com or call my Access Line at 203-672-2455

My ever growing list of Real Estate Professionals from Coast to Coast will also help you find a good agent in other parts of the country.

America's Running Route on Fort Myers Beach

2008-08-17T10:10:39Z

This is a great site I discovered a few years ago after a several months of fitness walking evolved into my interest in running. Since I have always been somewhat of a numbers nut tracking my time and mileage was important to me so while searching for a better way to figure out my distance I stumbled into America's Running Routes.

Last week while on vacation in Fort Myers Beach was the first time I used the site to select a route. On the west coast of Florida the sun doesn't rise as early as I'm accustom to in New England so I was up early waiting for dawn so I could begin my first run on the sand. Since I was staying towards the northern end of the island I estimated the journey to the starting point of the mapped route and back would be about 7 miles which was what my training plan called for that day.

As the sun attempted to break out a dark cloud seemed to be following me as I approached the 3-1/2 mile mark. The "awesome beach run" listed on America's Running Routes turned out to be a decent change of pace for me since I never run on sand. There is not traffic to worry about but you do need to pay attention to each step. Along the way I passed a few sand castles and seveal deep holes that could easily result in a broken leg.

On the return run the distant rainbow was pointing the way to my pot of gold. Unfortunately to reach that point I did have to endure the wind and rain. My expectation of a flat easy run was not exactly as anticipated but this was only the first of five outings I planned to for each morning of my summer vacation.

My ever growing list of Real Estate Professionals from Coast to Coast will also help you find a good agent in other parts of the country.

Did I fall for a SCAM?

2008-08-13T20:59:33Z

Typically I consider myself pretty conservative and tend to use extra caution while in unfamiliar territory. While traveling I'm always keeping a watchful eye in congested areas like airports or train stations and keenly aware of details that seem out of place. In the age of Internet SPAM offering all kinds of SCAMS I have learned to skim the title and hit delete.

The On-Line World is such a big part of my daily routine that I check in quite often. Before dinner Monday night I received and email that caught my eye with interest thinking a couple from the UK that purchased a home a few months ago must have given my name to a friend. The email from Jane Everett asked that I call her but since the time differential between the East Coast of the United States and England is 5 hours it was too late so I emailed her.

Tuesday I tried unsuccessfully to call and wondered if my cell phone required some special code to make international calls but didn't aggressively look for a solution. Wednesday morning there was still no response so I sent a second email and did some Google searches with the information I had in an attempt to verify the phone number and email address of the prospective home buyer from the UK that would be arriving next Thursday.

A few details in the email did strike me as odd. First was the salutation, "Hi There," a red flag since I was never addressed by name. Next I noticed the spacing of digits between the first and second phone number, could be a simple typo but in a signature you'd expect it to be corrected. The email also struck me as strange because it was so general but I ignored all the little clues and really thought it was legit.

My google search did turn up an exchange from Twitter. With a little digging within Twitter I learned that this "Jane Everett" also contacted others around the country and they were trying to figure out where in the world she is relocating.

This is not rock solid evidence of any wrong doing but the Red Flag is waving. BEWARE because"Jane Everett" may not really be out there to purchase a home in your area.

Tee'd Off - LIVE

2008-08-12T05:21:27Z

This morning as I sit here waiting for daybreak so I can head out on my long run before the Florida heat drains my New England body of energy I'm watching the LIVE Olympic coverage of the Men's Gymnastics. Typically as I'm watching the games I notice whether the coverage is previously recorded or if I'm watching it as it unfolds..... LIVE!

My plan was to be Tee'd Off about the US Network coverage of the Olympics and their leading us to beleive we are tuned in during the wee hours of the morning watching the drama as it unfolds. During a commercial break I grabbed on the laptop to check my email. Yahoo is my start up page and I noticed a featured article with the Gymnastics Results that I am watching LIVE but it says it has been posted for 1-1/2 hours!

What?

The LIVE scam continues on the Internet! When I saw this article a few hours ago and now it says it just just posted 12 minutes ago. With a little more research I prove I'm not going MAD. The network broadcasts taped footage and calls it LIVE while the internet articles are time stamped over and over to keep it NEW..... Is it LIVE, is it 12 minutes old or was the buzz for hours ago, we never really know!

So today I'm Tee'd Off that nothing is as it appears. If you are in the market for Real Estate and need a straight shooter that calls the as they are contact me, Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor.