Town Government:

Come meet the people in the Town of Crawford's Government Center:  I have heard from Charlie Carnes, Supervisor and Kelly Eskew, Town Clerk that the Town  will be holding an Open House on Thursday March 19th from 8:30 a.m.- 7:30 p.m. and Friday March 20th from 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

All departments will be open for you to come in and meet your department heads and their staff the are encourging all the residents to come out; light refreshments will be served.  If you have any questions please feel free to call 744-5010 or 744-2029.

School:

Pine Bush School Board of Education meeting will be on Tuesday, March 24^th at 7:30pm at the Pine Bush High School.  The topic will be the Final Decision making and establishing the budget for 2009-2010.

Library:

Pine Bush Public Library is always looking for volunteers.  Their activities help support the library's goals.  Meeting time s on the second Thursday of each month at 2pm.  Our next planned event is the Easter Bake Sale to be held on Good Friday, April 10^th.  Other events included the Spring Fliing on Saturday, June 6^th 7-11pm tickets will be available in May.  Don't forget about the annual town wide yard sale for May 23^rd. 

Meals on Wheels, Pine Bush:

We are in need of home delivery people to deliver meals to the sneiors of the Pine Bush area.  If you can spare an 1 ½ hour once or twice a month  please call Anna at 615-3700

Town Government:

Come meet the people in the Town of Crawford's Government Center:  I have heard from Charlie Carnes, Supervisor and Kelly Eskew, Town Clerk that the Town  will be holding an Open House on Thursday March 19th from 8:30 a.m.- 7:30 p.m. and Friday March 20th from 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

All departments will be open for you to come in and meet your department heads and their staff the are encourging all the residents to come out; light refreshments will be served.  If you have any questions please feel free to call 744-5010 or 744-2029.

School:

Pine Bush School Board of Education meeting will be on Tuesday, March 24^th at 7:30pm at the Pine Bush High School.  The topic will be the Final Decision making and establishing the budget for 2009-2010.

Library:

Pine Bush Public Library is always looking for volunteers.  Their activities help support the library's goals.  Meeting time s on the second Thursday of each month at 2pm.  Our next planned event is the Easter Bake Sale to be held on Good Friday, April 10^th.  Other events included the Spring Fliing on Saturday, June 6^th 7-11pm tickets will be available in May.  Don't forget about the annual town wide yard sale for May 23^rd. 

Meals on Wheels, Pine Bush:

We are in need of home delivery people to deliver meals to the sneiors of the Pine Bush area.  If you can spare an 1 ½ hour once or twice a month  please call Anna at 615-3700

Here are a few tips to use in this market to keep you visible and make the emails come or the phone ring.

1. Blog  Try active rain, google blog, your own website etc. your content can come from the local newspaper, from your mls stats or propety advertising or just your own experiences.  Make sure you use your own content.

2. Go to local events in your area. Sporting events, parades, bingo, school board meetings, church dinners, fire-mans events etc.   Don't be shy introduce yourself and get involved in a conversation.

3. Join your local organizations  network and make sure you hand out your business cards.

4.  Volunteer in your community.  Meals on Wheels, Senior Citizen programs, Humane Society, Garden Club, Library.  You can benefit with referrals and you can help people in need. 

5.  Review your old sales files the people who bought 7-10 years ago probably are thinking about selling and the best thing in most cases is that they have equity in their homes. 

6.  Get on the internet and get involved in social networking, Face Book, Linkin, Plaxo  theses are great ways to meet people and catch us with people that you haven't seen since high school. 

7.  Market your properties free on Craigslist, Face Book and several other sites.

Remember keep a smile, always be passionate and ready to help anyone in need.  Oh and don't forget to hand out your business cards.

Community organizations in need of volunteers if you're looking to join in and help out in your community here are some.

The Walden Rotary which encompasses Pine Bush, Walden, Wallkill, Maybrook and Montgomery will be conducting Operation Clean Sweep on Saturday, march 28^th.  The goal is to pick up roadside trash along the streets within all of these communities.  Walden Rotary is reaching out to the clubs, organizations churches and the community to work with us on that day in picking up roadside trash.  Orange bags will be supplied along with street assignments in the parking lot in front of the Pine Bush Government Center on Rt 302 from 8-12pm on the morning of March 28.

 Office of the Aging is in need for Home delivery people to deliver meals in the Pine Bush area.  If you are interested in volunteering call Anna at 615-3700.  It only takes 1-1-½ hours of your time, it will be worth it to you.  The satisfaction you will get is unbelievable.   

Pine Bush area Garden Club will meet on March 18^th 6:30pm at the Crawford Town Hall on Rt. 302.  The topic of the meeting will be "Pruning of Trees"  The installation of new officers will also take place.  Any new members wishing to join are welcome to attend. 

I wanted to take an opportunity to tell you something that might be of interest to you regarding a set of unprecedented circumstances that are taking place in Orange County and throughout the Hudson Valley region regarding housing. 

Right now, there are three changes that dominate the market.  In the last 17 years in my own successful real estate practice, I have never seen better circumstances for homebuyers because of the following:

•         Prices on homes have decreased substantially
•         Interest rates have decreased substantially
•        There is a new $8,000 TAX CREDIT for some homebuyers

 
What does this mean to a new homebuyer?  In 2006 an Orange County home that cost $300,000 is now likely to sell for $250,000.  The interest rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage was (about) 7% and is now about 5.5%.  The table below shows what savings a homebuyer may enjoy: 

*Not an offering:  these rates are illustrative only of what was a common apr rate at the time. 

On top of that, the president signed the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on February 17, 2009.  In that law, there are provisions for a TAX CREDIT of $8,000 to homebuyers who qualify.  $8,000 is typically close to the amount needed for most closings.

If you are interested in exploring the market, or if you know someone who is interested (a  friend or family member) please call me and I will guide you through the process of finding your dream home and taking advantage of this wonderful moment for homebuyers. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As I look out the window, I can see that it is a gloomy day and it does not look like it is going to get any nicer out. Sometimes, I think this is the way that people are feeling about the real estate market.  

But, if you are optimistic, you can find all that is good.  This week I have listed a new house, negotiated an offer on another house (an offer that I have been working on for a long time) and one of my Team members closed on a vacant land transaction yesterday.  I also received an offer for a new construction model home in a subdivision that we have listed.  It is from another Realtor® that is buying the home for himself and I am really hoping to be able to get everything worked out.  This is GREAT!  We are busy!  For first-time Buyers, we are really trying to push the message that it is a GREAT time to buy.  In fact, it may be one of the best times to buy EVER and people really need to put their fear aside, with the help of a Realtor® (of course!) and make the commitment. Many people can take advantage of the tax credit, but even those that cannot can benefit from LOW interest rates and favorable pricing along with Sellers that are reasonable and willing to negotiate.  

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Hudson Valley area, I can help.  Let my experience work for you!  Feel free to visit my Team's website to browse available properties at http://www.teamrjsmith.com or our company website at http://www.real-estate-solution.com.




 

Healthy Aging Programs.  First Monday of each month in Ellenville (at the Trudy Resnick Farber Center).  Info from Ulster County Office for the Aging.  Call (845) 340-3456.

Knimble Knitters.  10am-Noon.  Bring your knitting or crochet Saturday mornings.  Beginners are welcome.  Ellenville public library, 40 Center Street, Ellenville.  Call (845) 647-5530.

Senior Luncheon.  Noon.  Tues.  Kerhonkson Synagogue.  26 Minnewaska Trail.  Call 845-626-0185.

Learn to Line Dance.  Beginner lessons 6:30-7:30 PM.  High beginner/Intermediate lessons 7:30-9PM.  All proceeds go to Catholic War Vets for charitable use.  Pine Bush Catholic War Vets Hall, 161 Center Street, Pine Bush, New York,  Call 361-2339 for more info.

Sunday-Beginning Fly-Tying and Fly-Casting Classes.  2PM.  First class on Jan. 18.  Pine Bush Equipment Co., Route 302, Pine Bush, New York. Reservations required, equipment will be provided.  Call Bob at 744-5608.  Runs through March.

Sam's Point Preserve - Kids Rock.  Saturday, 2/14.  9AM-Noon.  Children between the ages of 6 and 13 are invited to immerse themselves in the geology of Sam's Point with educator Linda Richards.  Participants will hike to Sam's Point and beyond with rocks as the focus.  Activities include hiking, rock exploration, rock tests, rock sculpture and maybe even a little rock and roll-through songwriting!  To register, call Heidi Wagner at 845-647-7989, x101, email hwagner@tnc.org.  Meet at Sam's Point Conservation Center.

Valentines Day Dinner Dance.  Saturday, February 14th. 6-11PM.  Hosted by the Walker Valley Fire Dept. Ladies Auxiliary.  Music of Ken Henry.  Advance tickets $25/couple, $15/single, $30/$17 at the door.  RSVP to Debbie King.  744-5531.

Free Budgeting and Credit Card Management Workshop.  Tues, Feb 17th., 6:30 PM.  Cornell Cooperative Extension of ULster County hosts a workshop teaching how to develop a spending plan, budgeting and saving skills, identify opportunities to reduce expenses, how to manage credit card debt and more.  Free and open to the public, registration required.  340-3990 to sign up.  Highland Public Library, 30 Church Street in Highland.

The Hudson Valley area is full of exciting things to do.  So, take advantage of what is offered and have a great time.

If you are thinking about making the Hudson Valley your home, I would be happy to assist you.  Please call me at (845) 744-6589 or email me at suej@rjsmithrealty.com.