Linda's Southeastern CT Real Estate Blog

The hardest part about writing my Eastern Connecticut Real Estate Blog is the writing part.  I find it necessary to keep a copy of William Strunk's "The Elements of Style" right next to me at all times to help with placing the necessary comma or semi-colon. . I really should be better at it since I went to Catholic Schools for 12 years and diagramming sentences was a part of growing up.  But (oops, can you start a sentence with "but"?) I struggle for the words and I'm a terrible speller.

I have no problem coming up with ideas.  Heck, I have a bazillion masterpieces just waiting to be written.  Early on I decided to stop worrying about being technically perfect and just write the way I talk.  I'm a Pittsburgh gal so that presents some challenges but I get by. 

Today I got this email: 

hi linda
i stumbled across your blog while reading on foreclosures.
i am a freelance writer & it occurred to me to let it be known to you that if you ever have any writing work that you wish to delegate to a freelancer, you could contact me.
with regards,

Um, I don't think so.  But (there I go again), thanks for trying to help. 

Ok, I'm back and talking politics and real estate.   I've been gone for awhile.  For those following, I sold the assets of my business and I'm now an agent in the office I used to own, doing what I love...listing and selling real estate.  If you haven't been paying attention, you can read about all of that in some of my past blog posts. If you don't care, that's ok too.

While I was away from Active Rain, I completed the sale and moved to a home office which was a challenge since I had so much crap* to move.  My truck still doesn't fit in the garage but I promise it will before the snow flies.  I am thrilled with the transition.  I mean, how lucky was I to be able to pull this off in this market, huh?  And the first Friday I didn't have to put out the garbage was so rewarding. 

I wasn't sure what to write as my first post having been away from Active Rain for so long.  Wow!  The place has changed and looks very different. It will take me awhile to get back into the swing of things and come up with a worthy Carnac post.   Since I'm a political junkie, I thought I might write about a favorite subject of mine...mixing politics and real estate. I'll fess up and tell you this is a semi-reblog since I wrote about the subject here 18 months ago.  

This is really quite the election.  Everyone has an opinion and sometimes it's hard not to get into the debate.  Most bloggers that follow me here know I'm a bit conservative.  Ok, I'm a lot conservative and a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.    Ledyard is a small town with 15,000 people. I'm a past Chairman of the Ledyard Board of Education and now serve as an elected official on the the Ledyard Town Council.  When I am in the local grocery store and someone stops me with a question, it can be to ask about the price of their neighbors home... or whether their street will be repaved soon.  

I've managed to juggle politics and real estate for a number of years.  It was probably the hardest juggling act when I served as Chairman of the Board of Education. In that position, you can easily make as many friends as enemies.  Since then I moved on to the Ledyard Town Council where I serve as Chairman of the Land Use and Planning Committee. 

Most people in town know my politics but I have listed the homes of the most liberal among us. It is easy to make enemies in politics, but I find that disagreeing with someone shouldn't necessarily harbor bad feelings. There are very few people I wouldn't want to join for a morning cup of coffee. 

There is, of course, the ugly side of politics.  It can be hard to make progress in a small town where egos are large and personal agendas can get in the way. In addition, our meetings are televised and there can be a certain amount of grandstanding for the camera. I hate being on camera and at times need to remind myself not to get caught picking my nose or reading the email on my Blackberry.  I also prefer only to speak only when I have something to say which is rare for a politician.  The best part of speaking only when you have something to say is that people actually listen.

The biggest benefit of being involved in public office is gaining current local knowledge that would be hard to obtain in other ways.   Serving in public office is also my way of giving back to the community that has been so supportive of my business. 

P.S.  I hope to catch up with all of you again by reading your blogs and making comments.  Keep in mind, Carnac is now watching so be on your best behavior.  Ok?

I guess I kind of expected it.

When I decided to sell the assets of my RE/MAX Realty Group office in Gales Ferry and stay on as an agent at the new RE/MAX Realty Group, I knew to anticipate the rumors.  Fortunately, blogging gives me the opportunity to clear up a few things so here goes....  

To my competition:  

1.  I am not closing my office because business sucks.  I'm doing quite fine, but thank you for your obvious concern.   

2.  No, I'm not interested in multi-level marketing no matter how much better you think my life will be. Your emails go in my spam folder and I won't be returning yours calls.  

3.  I AM NOT "RETIRING" and you know it. Knock it off, OK?   

4. I am not "going on the speaking circuit".  (that's my favorite so far and I kind of like the idea so please email if you have a gig for me)    

Here's the scoop:  After 31 years, I've decided I love listing and selling real estate more than unjamming copy machines and taking out the garbage.  I plan to sell a lot of real estate over the next few years.  In addition, with the elimination of the burden of broker ownership, I plan to golf more, blog more and share more of what I've learned.  It doesn't get any better than that!     You can read more about my plans in my previous post about my move to a home office.  

So...if you hear any more crap about me, please refer to numbers 1 through 4 above and then just call and ask. 

There are many factors to consider when determining the value of real estate.  In  addition to square footage, condition and amenities, there are things like steep driveways, busy roads, power lines, and bright colors.  In New England, swimming pools don't necessarily add value like they would in Florida or Georgia.  Electric heat can negatively affect value in Connecticut despite rising oil costs. Water, mountain and sunset views increase value.

I recently completed a market analysis on a foreclosed condominium in the Jewett City area of Griswold, CT.  This condo has a view. Unfortunately, the view is of a cemetery. A very close up view of a cemetery.  From every back window. You get the picture.  Actually you really do get the picture since you will find a picture below of the view from the bedroom window.

So how much is that view worth in time and money?  For my analysis I deducted 5%.  I also assumed an increase in days on market. There are some buyers that won't consider this condo no matter what the price.  I'm hoping others might enjoy the benefit of having quiet neighbors.

On January 1, 2008, I wrote a blog post on Active Rain called "From Single to Team to Single Again".  I described how I had decided to push my buyer specialists out of the nest, and to return to practicing as a single agent with an assistant.  (I continue to refer all my buyers to my former buyer agents.) I made this change for reasons unrelated to market conditions but rather to golf more and concentrate on building my niche of listing homes in the town of Ledyard.  Having been blessed with a great business over a long career, I also want to spend some time helping other people grow their businesses. To that end, I have started my Real Estate Solutions Blog and also have a few other ideas swirling in my head.

And now for the rest of the story..... On September 1st, I'll be selling the assets of the RE/MAX Office I have owned since 1985.  The new owners will keep the name, so RE/MAX Realty Group is alive and well!  And no, I am not retiring but instead moving to a home office and still working at RE/MAX Realty Group.  After going into the office almost every morning by 8AM for a whole bunch of years, it's time for a change.  Yes, this 58 year old welcomes change.  To almost quote Ray Croc....I'd rather be green and growing, than ripe and rotting.

For now I have plenty to do to get ready for the change.  I have years and years of "stuff" that needs moved to my home office.   A couple weeks ago I committed to bringing home one box a day.  At that rate, I should have everything home by 2012..... so next week it is time to speed it up a notch. 

While concentrating on the things leading up to this change, I've missed my social networking buddies on Active Rain and Twitter and I apologize for not being as attentive as usual and not commenting on some great posts. Once I've settled in, I (and Carnac) promise to be a lot more social.

In the meantime, this "home office thing" is going to be very different for me. This weekend I've started to work on my physical home office. I'm moving into a 9x11 space from an office much larger. Every bit of floor space needs to be well utilized.  While measuring the spot for my waste basket, it occurred to me that there must be plenty of Rainers already working in a home office who might have some advice to share.  Or maybe I'll have some advice myself to share along the way.  Stay tuned.   

Several months ago I wrote a blog post called Military Homeowners Face Foreclosure.  I wrote it after meeting with several military families stationed at the Submarine Base in Groton. The subject troubled me because these families, in service to our nation, were being transferred from the Groton area, but unlike corporate transferees did not have the same protection with a "loss on sale" or other typical corporate benefits. 

Since I wrote that post I've worked with more military families facing the same predicament.  As I mentioned in the previous post, any military family who bought a home since 2005 and is now being transferred is facing a dismal situation especially if they used a 100% mortgage product, like VA or the Veteran's Choice program offered by the local Navy Federal Credit Union. With prices flat and inventory building, these families are most likely looking at a loss after paying their seller closing costs. 

It didn't seem right and I ended the post with the question...... shouldn't there be a military relocation program similar to that of civilians?  The blog post went pretty much unnoticed until today, when within 30 minutes of each other, I received a call from a senior producer at CNN and a producer with the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.  And while it was pretty cool to talk to them both, they really were calling to see if I knew of any military personnel facing foreclosure who would be willing to talk to them. 

I'm hoping that the stories they produce call attention to the problem.  I think it is a story that deserves to be told beyond where my little blog can reach.

If you are a military family facing foreclosure and would like to tell your story, please contact me and I will put you in touch with the big guys.

That's the message I heard on my voice mail yesterday from an agent who wants to show one of my listings.  Shame on me because I use one of those dreaded.....(cover your eyes if you don't want to see the words) ....Electonic Lock Boxes.....OH, the horror of it all!

After saying, "Shame on you Linda Davis", she proceeded to tell me how I am the only one using electronic lock boxes and to please let her know if I really have the dreaded electronic lock box on my listing or some better kind of lock box. 

I called her this morning.  She went on ad nauseum about how much she dislikes electronic lock boxes.  BUT THE GOOD NEWS..... she would be able to show the house because it was a cloudy day.  HUH?   She says she can't use the electronic pass key on sunny days because she can't see the display. OK.  Lucky for me.

I hate blog posts that are rants about other agents. In fact, I try hard not to complain about other agents even if they are a special kind of stupid.  Instead, I smile and remind myself that this is the competition and why I have been successful. 

Heck, I never let a little thing like sunshine ruin my day. 

HOLY CRAP - It's Been a LONG TIME.

But Not today. HA.

But Soon.   

AND Just in case you missed Carnac in the past:

January 1st Carnac Predictions

February Carnac Predictions

March Carnac Predictions

April Carnac Predictions

May Carnac Predictions

June Carnac Predictions

July Carnac Predictions

August/September Predictions

October/November Predictions

December/January Predictions

I can't even begin to count how many times I look at homes and discover that the owners didn't apply for a required building permit.  Decks or sheds seem to be the biggest culprits and mostly fall into the "I didn't realize I needed a building permit" category.  But I also find a fair amount of finished basements without required permits.  These sometimes falls into the "but then my taxes would be higher" category.  Yikes. 

As a seller's agent, I always print out a copy of the assessor's property card before I go to visit a home.  This is where I find the hidden secrets like the 3 bedroom, 1 bath home that really has 2 full baths.  Connecticut law requires that towns revalue property every five years and do a physical inspection of the interior and exterior of the property every ten years. As a result, it is possible that a bathroom can exist for almost 10 years without being taxed. 

Agents:  As a real estate agent, you should ask the question whether a building permit was obtained for work that required one.  Besides the obvious safety concerns, the taxes listed for the home,  could be lower than they should be if the town is unaware of improvements like decks, bathrooms, and other finished rooms.  In addition if disaster should strike,  an insurance company could try to avoid paying a claim if they can prove work was done without a required permit. There you'd be right smack in the middle of that mess.

Buyers:   Be sure to ask your buyer's agent to obtain a copy of the assessor's property card to be sure it lists the proper number or rooms and baths.  If in doubt, the building officials office will have a file of any permits applied for on a particular property.

Sellers:  Please don't ask me to pretend I didn't notice that you failed to apply for a building permit when you should have. I'm trying to avoid problems down the road for both of us. If you added a deck or a shed without a permit, go to town hall and admit your mistake.  You won't be arrested or end up in jail. 

When hurricane Gloria struck in 1985, I lost 2 decks when a few trees crashed into my house.  I thought you could replace a deck without a permit. 

Silly me. 

I told you my first Dirty Little Secret in a post a few weeks ago. Yes, I still farm and am proud of it.  My friend, Joey Aszterbaum commented "So are you going to write another blog post, or are you just going to send me a postcard?"  So with Joey's nudge, I thought I'd tell you my second, dirty little secret.  I use Home Gain's Buyer Link.  There I said it. 

There is little debate that the ability to generate and capture leads can be what separates a successful agent from a mediocre one.  BUT start a discussion about paying for leads and the debate can get downright ugly.  You're likely to hear the words ripoff and parasite used to describe lead generation companies like HomeGain. I've done a product review of Home Gain at the RealtyAgents site where I write product reviews, and I've also posted my experience at the Home Gain Blog.

Home Gain Buyer's Link is a pay per click system. I pay around seventy-eighty cents everytime someone clicks on my link for the cities I chose.  I  have a cap on the amount I can be charged each month. I can change my budget at any time and there is no long-term commitment.  For the past few years, Home Gain's Buyer Link has been responsible for an extra 25 sales a year for my team.  That's a secret I plan to keep!   Shhhhhh