Litchfield County real estate information, local events and more.

Playing in the rain will certainly change the way you do your business, and most probably will make a positive influence on your life!

I was at the office the other day when my broker came over and handed me a package that had just arrived for me. Before handing it to me she asked who did I know from Coeur d'Alene Idaho? Without skipping a beat I loudly announced I knew Janna Rankin Scharf!!! I dove into the package like a kid on Christmas morning.

Inside was a book called "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" by Gary Keller. Janna said that the book "Shift" that caused such a stir on AR a while back is the sequal to this book. She knew I ordered "Shift" and wanted me to read this book first. So read it I am, I lost myself in the first half of the book with wild abandon. Janna even marked some places she felt were very important things to remember, and I have to say, I agree with her. My own hi-lighter pen is busy as can be.

What a great book! Mr. Keller is certainly upbeat, his unique perspectives are ones I can easily agree with. I have not finished the book but I am already thrilled with what I have read and am realizing some very important things I have done, shall we say, not quite right in my thought process and planning of my business. Mr. Keller insists that re-inventing the wheel is just not smart, if something is proven to work, base your plan on that plan. Of course you may have to do some tweaking, markets are a bit different. But that should be your base when making a plan.

Aim high is another tenet of the book. I believe that is a positive way to look at things. I like positive, when I think positive, positive things happen. There is no doubt in my mind about that, I have seen it happen over and over and over again. Positive thinking is not as easy as one might think, I work hard to keep that train of thought heading in the right direction and I am the first one to admit that I am not always successful with it.

One more very interesting tenet of Mr. Kellers is his take on failure and success. He says that failure almost always precedes success. To prove his point he refers back to a print on the wall of his childhood home called "Portrait of an Achiever" with the following on it.

• 1832 Failed in business-bankruptcy
• 1832 Defeated for legislature
• 1834 Failed in business-bankruptcy
• 1835 Fiancee died
• 1836 Nervous breakdown
• 1838 Defeated in election
• 1843 Defeated for U.S. Congress
• 1848 Defeated for U.S. Senate
• 1856 Defeated for Vice President
• 1858 Defeated for U.S. Senate
• 1860 Elected President of the United States of America

I am sure you realize it was Abraham Lincoln. I was amazed at his perseverance, I don't think I realized how many personal defeats Mr. Lincoln endured to become one of our most remembered presidents. If he had quit he would have been an obscure figure in history and our world could possibly be very very different even to this day. This proves a very important point to me about looking at failure, and yes, failures do precede success.

Mr. Keller believes that we should all aim high, limiting yourself because you think you can't do something is just foolish. He shares a conversation he had with someone where he said perhaps we should tell our children that they can never achieve anything good, don't have dreams as you won't ever be able to have them come true anyway. I had to put the book down when reading that, realizing that although we tell our children they can achieve anything, we often don't tell ourselves that, he is so right.

I am so grateful Janna Rankin Scharf sent me this book, it has already changed my train of thought and I am not half way finished yet. By the time my copy of "Shift" arrives I should be in the right frame of mind to read and absorb all that book has to offer.

So to Janna, thank you. Although we are miles and miles apart and have never met face to face, I am so grateful to have made a friend like you here in the 'rain. You are one awesome lady! I am so enjoying the book and it not only applies to real estate, but to life itself.

Doctor Electric still makes house calls! Thank goodness for that, cuz I am a certified elecri-phobe! Really, it's true, Doctor Electric of New Milford, CT will make house calls for whatever ails the electrical systems in your home. Doctor Electric is a full service, fully licensed electrical contracting company serving most communities in Litchfield County and Northern Fairfield County in Connecticut . Doctor Electric is extremely reliable, has years of quality service backing their reputation. Doctor Electric is independently owned and operated by Michael Fairclough. I personally think Mike Fairclough IS Doctor Electric and he is committed to a highest level of customer service.

Electrical stuff makes me cringe, I am an electri-phobe. If you start telling me about problems with electrical systems I get all sick to my stomach, weak in my knees. I have an almost unnatural fear of electricity. A breaker box can send me into a total tizzy! A few years ago I needed my house rewired. I was thinking perhaps I should move instead, but Mike Fairclough from Doctor Electric took care of everything. Bing bang boom the house was rewired, I lived through the ordeal and was able to use my blow dryer and have the microwave on at the same time. It was a miracle!

The other day we had a monsoon here in CT, or close to it. The wind was whipping, the rain was coming down sideways. I called Doctor Electric to see if they could check out a listing I have. I found out the electrical box outside was loose and I was very worried rain would get in to the box and create a problem, or the wind would blow the cover off. Within an hour Mike Fairclough of Doctor Electric was there, standing in the pouring rain, checking out the entire house, inside and out. Me? I was wearing a rubberized suit, on the ready to run just in case. Electricity scares me to death. (And the good doctor didn't even make fun of me!)

After only a few hours I had a detailed estimate in my email inbox! The major part of the work has been finished, the meter box is new, the whole system is new actually. And it was done the right way, a permit was pulled at the town hall, and the building inspector will be coming to the house next week to sign off on the work. Mike Fairclough of Doctor Electric rocks, no doubt in my mind. My client is happy, I am happy, things are good! I can put away the rubberized suit for a bit.

So if you live in New Milford, CT or surrounding towns and you need electrical work done from general wiring, building a custom home, pools, outdoor lighting, or whatever your electrical needs are, do not hesitate to call Doctor Electric at 860.350.1980.

Doctor Electric services New Fairfield, Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Bridewater, Kent, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Sherman, Southbury, Washington, Weston, Easton, Wilton and MORE! Give them a call, you might even be lucky enough to talk to Diane, who runs the office!

Holy cow he ain't, he is just a bit Goofy...

There was a lot of fuss in CT about the calf that was born with the cross on his head. I have always had fun looking for pictures in markings on cows. My baby has a very special marking, but a holy cow he ain't.... he is just a bit Goofy if you ask me.

I have been busy as can be since the first of the year. Real estate seems to be picking up! We real estate people don't get to work 9-5, or Monday through Friday. We make hay while the sun shines! And shining it does seem to be, which is good news for the area. Sunday I got to take the day off from real estate. I went over to the farm and got to see my wonderful pet Patrick. He has been out to pasture since the spring, I was only able to see him from afar. We brought Patrick home for the winter a few weeks ago. Patrick is 3, and can move from the steer category to the ox category in a year. He will continue to grow until he is about 6 or 7. Patrick is probably around 1,400 pounds now and may weigh upwards of 2,500 pounds when he is fully mature. He is also, like most teenage boys, a bit on the messy side so excuse his appearance!

After all these months of not seeing him, he still remembers me. Probably because I fed him a bottle most of the time after he was born. Perhaps he thinks I am his mother. After a moment or two of hesitation he was back to begging for his tail end to be scratched, looking for treats from me, rubbing his head all over me. Isn't he spectacular? I am especially proud of his very unique marking, notice Goofy on his side. (Patrick's picture does appear on a Disney travel website.)

This spring Patrick will go back to pasture with another group of heifers, his job is to take care of them, keep them calm and scare off any coyotes that may have bad ideas. He takes his job seriously, I think he is grateful for the opportunity to have such a cushy life. Let's just say, most bull calves born on dairy farms don't exactly have a long life expectancy.

I think Patrick's true calling would be to live at Disney where he could show Goofy off every single day to crowds of adoring and amazed fans! For now, he lives in New Milford, CT.

It is still a buyers market in New Milford, CT. Listing your home for sale.

This is a buyers market in New Milford, CT, no doubt about it. As a result it is imperative that your home be ready to sell. Before you sell you should be aware of what issues may prevent the sale of your home, or prevent you from getting the best price possible. You see your home one way, a buyer sees it in another light, and you can take that to the bank... (or not).

With current market trends curb appeal is very important, clearing the clutter is mandatory and issues or potential issues should be addressed prior to placing your home on the market. Lenders are reading the disclosures and listings, they are also reading the inspectors reports. Have you done renovations yourself? Did you get the proper permits as needed?

You may have owned your home for a few years and not even realized there is an open building permit at the town hall for work started by the prior owner. This can really cause problems for you if you wait until you have a buyer for your home.

Your Realtor® should be checking for potential issues at the town hall. Don't hold your breath and hope no one notices. Someone will notice and it will cost you in the end. Cost you $$, cost you the sale, cost you in many ways.

You may not have the money to hire an inspector, and with the economic climate this is understandable. But you can eyeball a few things and point them out to your Realtor® as they walk around your property with you getting ready to list your home. This will NOT replace a full inspection, but it may bring to light some obvious issues you need to think about. If you can hire an inspector pre-listing, even better!

Some very common issues that pop up today are:

• No permits or CO's for decks or additions.
• No permit for roofing, etc.(Check your building department and see what is there, or not there that should be there!)
  
• Decks improperly built. If you are able to walk under your deck, do so and LOOK UP. Are there joist hangers? Is the deck bolted to the house? Of course standards change, and your deck may have been built with older standards, but if there are apparent structural issues, if the wood is rotting, if the deck wobbles, if the railings are loose it will be a problem.
• Electrical issues. I have an unnatural fear of electricity, looking inside a box gives me instant stomach churn. However I know enough that if I see exposed wires or a rusty box there may be bigger problems. And if you can't turn on the hair dryer and the microwave without tripping the circuit breakers then you already know you have a problem. And if you don't even have circuit breakers, this will be an issue too.
• How about your roof? If there are 3 layers of shingle on your roof that is it, the next time all that has to come off and it will cost big bucks. Are the shingles loose? Are they looking old and worn? And more importantly, does your roof leak? If you can get upstairs to your attic, look up! Are there water stains on the underside of the roof?
• Clogged gutters, missing gutters, loose gutters. This is not only unsightly but it can cause so many problems.
• Is your basement wet? Does it get wet on a regular basis? Address the issue!
• Check your home with your nose! Pet smells will deter buyers, a mildewy smell will raise a red flag. Mold is a big problem for homes. Find out what is going on. If you see a bit of mold on the outside of the wall you may have a far larger problem behind the walls. A note, please don't try to attack this yourself, mold spores are very small and will spew into the air and travel all around the house!
  
• If you are on well water, take a water sample down to be tested. There are many places that do this testing and they will tell you how to pull the water for the test.
• On the well issue, look at your well head cover, if it is close to the ground that may not fly. Is the cover cracked? Broken?
• When was the last time you had your septic pumped? In older systems I find a big problem is there is no riser installed, the opening is buried beneath current standards.  Since 2000, no matter how old your system is, access to the tank for clean-out cannot be more than 12 inches below the surface of the ground. If it is, risers must be installed.
• How does your heating system function? Do you get your furnace/boiler cleaned regularly? Have it cleaned and checked. Buyers and agents check the side of the furnace/boiler for information telling how regularly it has been serviced. Something that looks like it came out of the dark ages will scare the pants off a buyer!
• If you still have an in ground oil tank this will stop a sale dead in its tracks. This is something that must be addressed, speak to your Realtor® immediately for solutions to handle this issue if you don't have the resources to pull the tank right away.
  
• Check under your sinks for leaks. If the cabinets are moist, if there are stains on the wood get it addressed!

Remember, you are not a licensed home inspector, electrician, carpenter, plumber or septic installer. But you and your Realtor® certainly can look around for potential issues before you put the house on the market. And sometimes you just know there is something wrong. Face it head on, don't put your head in the sand!

As I said, it is a buyers market in New Milford, CT. Not only does your home need to look good visually, it needs to be in good "working order". And if you can't address some of the issues you know about, make sure you price it accordingly and that you disclose issues up front.

I took a trip through our solar system today in about an hour and a half. I did take along my camera to share what I found along the way!

Not only can you travel through the solar system in New Milford, CT, but did you know we have a world class observatory here too? The John J. McCarthy Observatory, located on the grounds of New Milford High School on Rt. 7, was dedicated and turned over to the New Milford Board of Education on December 2, 2000. The observatory is open to the public as well as to the students of New Milford, CT, with no charge for its use. The observatory also is fully equipped for the disabled. There are 3 telescopes, a weather station, video cameras, a film camera, CCD cameras, an adaptive optics unit and much more!

On November 15th, 2009, the John J. McCarthy Observatory in New Milford, CT put up a Scale Solar System. I started at Schaghtichoke Middle School with the representation of our galexy and ended up with the sun just outside the John J. McCarthy Observatory. What great fun it was and I got some good shots of our solar system. There are driving directions at the observatory website, as well as more information on the display.

I learned some things I never knew, I relearned things I forgot such as, poor Pluto is no longer a plant, but a plutoid. How about that? And in case you were wondering, I did see a few UFO's, but as always my camera was not ready. Maybe next time!

I do plan to get to the observatory to "observe" the skies over New Milford, CT soon and report back. In the meantime, please enjoy my slide show of my trip through our solar system!

Short Sales beware of new twists and turns from lenders!

I first read a bit of very important information from Bryant Tutas warning of instances where home owners in the short sale process had their bank accounts seized by their lender. One would have to have an account with the lender in order to have this happen, but happening it is, in more than one state. The recommended solution for this is if you have bank accounts with a bank that also holds your mortgage, pull your money out and transfer it elsewhere. This practice may be illegal in some states, I do not have confirmation at this point in time if it is illegal in Connecticut. However agents who live in states where it should be illegal have clients who say it happened. Checking with an attorney is the suggested way to find out if it could happen in the state you live in.

Bank of America has been named in the above practice.

As if this wasn't bad enough, CNBC has a report that second lein holders have begun to demand money paid outside of closing to them from the buyer and or from the real estate agent in order to release the lien. We all know this practice is illegal, however it is being done according to real estate agents interviewed. Check out this video from CNBC, it is an eye opener. BOA, Chase and Citimortgage have been reported as participating in this practice. Thank you to Mark Archer who alerted me to this, Mark is a bull dog who is not afraid to tell it like it is!

NEXT CHRISTMAS PLEASE!

Tonight is Christmas Eve again for us, Russian Orthodox Christmas that is. Poor hubby has to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, on this side of the globe there is no holiday. I for one am hoping that Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) will bring me that much needed power supply cord for Christmas, I am getting more than frustrated with the computer conditions in this house.

I am thinking that after Christmas I will be looking for an extra cord to keep around, in case of yet another crisis. The desktop at the house isn't working properly, the laptop I am on now is fraught with issues, and no programs loaded on it that I needed other than Firefox. (I am really not complaining, just whining a bit, LOL. Not being able to use AR to it's fullest is a bit frustrating)

So, Merry Christmas yet again! If Santa forgot your very special gift the first time around, perhaps Ded Moroz will bring it tonight!

(And if I haven't been by to visit your posts lately, please forgive me. I am working with stone age equipment!)

Day 4, 2010 Challenges... making lemonade out of lemons...

Yesterday brought an unexpected snow storm, I had to get to the hospital, pick up mom and baby and take them home. Her car just couldn't cut it, and her Jeep is not ready to drive. OK, not bad except I am up 1000 feet, only way to town is STRAIGHT DOWN! My little Wrangler made it, putting an infant seat in the 2 door Wrangler is always a challenge, ok, temps down in the teens, we made it. Whew... But the much needed trip to the store had to be put off till today, which changes everything. Getting home was a real challenge, shot most of my day for sure. No emails, no nothing.

Today? Started off the day with a bang. Was sitting all comfy cozy in my recliner and pinched the laptop cord in the chair when getting up. Bye bye cord... I almost started a fire! I found one online and ordered it, expedited shipping, but that still will not be fast enough. Between the store trips today I have to try and find a cord somewhere. Uh oh.... I may be MIA for a few days without a cord. Unless I can pry my old laptop away from hubby who uses it to watch Netflix. You have to use an external monitor to use it, a truly unique laptop! I have a deal going on which needs attention, another potential buyer to nail down, and scads of other things to do which do require this particular laptop with all my files in it. I have 1 hour of battery life left, LOL. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I find a cord today in my travels.

So, my lesson here? That flexibility has to be on the top of my list in 2010. And creative ways around those challenges. Funny that within 4 days my daily plans for 2010 and my business were shot right out into outer space!

Stay warm, we are trying to! I am off to make lemonade out of these lemons in my way.

New Milford CT 3 year real estate trends.  With the start of 2010 it is time to check the yearly market stats for New Milford, CT.  We continue to drop on the amount of homes sold, a very dramatic drop from 2007. The average sale price has also continued to drop over the 3 year period.

Real estate is local, what news you hear about the market improving in one section of the country, while overall is great news, may not apply here YET. Factors such as job availability, unemployment rate, growth factors of each town, city and state have much to do with local markets.

There is good news, we have ended 2009 with a bang, the amount of homes sold in December is up, I will be posting November and December market stats later on today.

What does all of this mean to you, the buyer and seller? Buying now is certainly an option, rates are low, home prices have continued to drop overall. Make sure you have an experienced LOCAL Realtor® who does know the market, who can guide you on the issues that plague today's buyer. Short sale issues, foreclosure issues, helping you to pay a fair market value for a home, etc. If you are selling, you have to be the pick of the litter. Best price considering condition of the home, neighborhood, market conditions.

This is definitely a buyers market in New Milford, CT, no doubt about it.