My New Blog

The housing industry has been the hot topic in the news for quite sometime now and apparently most people feel that it is only going to get worse; especially concerns regarding the costs of fuel.

So what is happening here in our rural area markets? I can speak specifically to what I am experiencing here in this market area. While many other Realtors have been experiencing a somewhat normal market for the past couple of years, I have found it relatively quiet for the past 18 months, until recently. I have been very busy as of late, more so than I have been in two years. I must say I find a great deal of relief in this activity.

The business consists of people relocating, selling their existing home and buying a new home, and of course first time home buyers. All this being said, it feels pretty normal. Seller's are adjusting to current values as most people with homes on the market are motivated to sell. Buyers are becoming more active as well and interest rates are still very good.

So, come visit and enjoy the lush green hills and beauty of the mountains and valley areas. Summer's long days allows time to come home from work and still do some of your favorite activities. As I always say, we drive to work but come home and play right out of our front doors.

Remember that TV show called 'Cheers?' The best part about it was that you could walk in and everyone would know your name; a home away from home.

This is somewhat true in a small town. Last week at school  my thirteen year old had an eye and face injury on the playground. It was totally an accident but it potentially involved a scratched cornea. The school nurse calls me and suggested it might be a good idea to have an eye doctor look at her eye.

As quickly as possible I call her eye doctor. Being that our eye doctor lives locally I had hoped he could get me in. Well his wife answers the phone and recognizing me, assures me that I can get my daughter in right away. It was so great to have the person on the other end of the phone not only know us as patients but also as neighbors. So much concern was eliminated immediately!

My daughter is fine, but the true point here is that in a small town we have a tendency to look after each other more because we know each other  and realize that in a small rural town everyone knowing your name can be a very wonderful thing!

Lea Van Winkle

Owner/ Broker

Underhill, Jericho and Cambridge

This past weekend I read an article written by a fellow Realtor. I found it to be very accurate and well written. Basically, to paraphrase, location is in the eye of the beholder. Truly it has most to do with what location best suites the lifestyle you want to lead.

I often write about what the rural towns I work in have to offer in regards to the outdoor lifestyle. Where I live is not very convenient to, well anything. We have satellite TV and internet or at worst 'dirt road dial up'. Our roads are nasty this time of year and in the winter a 10 mile drive can be a  twenty minute ride. We aren't close to shopping or really anything.

So why do people come here? The same reason my husband and I first moved here. We are active outdoors people. We love to hike, bike, ski and swim in the rivers. The views are gorgeous and you can simply walk out of your door and get to any of these activities. After working all week it is nice to come home and just put your gear on and go play. As our 13 year old has grown up she could ride her bike in the road, play games in the street with her Mom and Dad and friends and have tons of fields, meadows and streams to explore.

Add to this, the incredible schools with the low teacher to student ratio and really just the actual grounds the kids can go outside to play on. The elementary schools have access to cross country skiing and snowshoeing and one day a week in the winter the teachers (and always the helpful parents) go out for an hour or two of skiing or snowshoeing. The middle school is located next to a large park and fields area and the classes do a curriculum that is 'place based'. In other words how can the teachers relate say, science to something relevant for the kids? Well look to see what you have in your own back yard is the gist to connections.

So, as this Realtor wrote in her column, location, location, location is most importantly relevant to the lifestyle  you wish to live. If the outdoor lifestyle and  the peace and quiet of small town living are something appealing to you, why not come out and see what we have to offer?

Lea Van Winkle

Okay I confess, I played hookey today. I took off with 5 or 6 other women and we all went up to Smuggler's for a good day of skiing! It was an incredible spring skiing day and the sky reminded of Colorado; clear, no clouds and very blue. The first couple of runs were pretty fast but by 11:30 everything started softening up to corn snow. This reminds me of why I live here. A few minutes out my door and I am enjoying the outdoors with my good friends.

We all talked about next week when the mountain closes and we are already scheduling the first trek out onto the the dirt roads with our mountian bikes. Just to get in shape for the next season. For many biking continues, me I prefer to go to the water. Lake Champlain is a wonderful asset to living here in Vermont and I rather feel like I get to enjoy the best of both worlds.

So, this is why we deal with dirt roads and long commutes becuse when we come home from work we are exactly where we want to be.

Come visit  the Underhill, Jericho and Cambridge areas and see what we have in store for you.

Lea 

It is true there is really only one real estate agent at Pleasant Valley so the group part could use a little clarity...

Because I choose to work as an individual in my own company I frequently use the services of many that add value to my company. For instance, I have a group that does home staging, another for landscaping, another for home repairs, painting, landscape architecture and many more things. All of these ad value to my ability to assist you in the marketing of your home.

A particular strength is the care of your property in your absence. Should you find yourself owning a property that needs to sell but you can not be here for relocation reasons, I not only will assist you in the real estate sale but also in the maintaining and managing.

I have  a good source of local folks that are more than happy to assist me anytime I am in need. I live locally and it is easy for me to regularly check up on a property even if it is not being shown.

More details to come..

Lea Van Winkle

Will winter ever end? I hear it every day.  The winds blowing are warmer, the days are longer and the dirt roads are muddy showing that the frost is coming out of the ground. So, while it's not pretty right now greener days are coming and so is the sun and warmth. Our lawns will soon look like lawns again , not matted brown patches, but green and lush with our gardens starting to bloom.

In the meantime April has a tendency to be wet with rain and snow and our properties do not show as well as they should. It is especially important to keep the inside of our homes as bright and clean as possible while mother nature plays havock with the outside.

Some tips... keep  it free and clear of clutter, keep it as bright as you can, open curtains and shades let what natural light we have get in.

A short blog for today but I will get more to you in the next couple of days! Lea Van Winkle

Spring time in Vermont. Well for many sellers it can be the absolute worst time to market their properties. Why? We call it Mud Season; so many of our roads are full of frost and moisture. The paved roads are like riding on a roller coaster with all the frost heaves and the dirt roads take us back to the days of the old west with the wagon wheels getting stuck in tremendous ruts.

Many sellers will wait to put their homes on the market until late April to avoid this messy time. Others, however have been on the market through the winter and are ready to sell. So, at worst your potential buyers now know what to expect and they should be aware or they could become quite surprised next year.

Some helpful hints: keep an easy place for people to remove their shoes and boots, make sure you have a good rug to catch all the dirt. Make the inside of your as bright and cheery as possible. Good lighting, flowers, clean and picked up. Curb appeal can be difficult this time of year out here in the sticks so you want to keep the inside looking great!

As a Realtor, I have a very small house, only 1400 square feet (with a finished baement 400sq.ft). This is a modest sized home, as are many of the homes in my neighborhood. This past holiday my husband's sister and her family of five came for a long weekend. So add five to three (us) and eight people are now sharing 1400 sq ft and one bath.

Fact of the matter is we showed them a weekend in the life of a Vermonter. We skied, we brought them to a friend's Sugar house and then tasted fresh maple syrup. They got to pick out eggs from the chicken coop, and use these eggs and the new syrup on their food the next day. We also took a trip to Casey's Hill here in Underhill  Vermont and did some great sliding. Not to mention an Easter egg hunt. What fun we had!

I was so greatful that relatives drove (6-7hours) to spend time with us this winter. We finally had time to show them what we do. So, the small house was not so small especially as we stood outside one evening roasting s'mores over the fire. We live out here because of the outdoor opportunities available. We ski, hike, bike, swim,walk, garden, we work on our yards and houses. I think that our New Jersey contingency throroughly enjoyed their stay.

Should you ever deside that country living is for you come see us out here in Chittenden County's Eastern boder and se what you think.

Lea

Do you want people to remember your house as outstanding or is it forgetable? Best words of advice I can give in this market is...

Get rid of clutter, clean up and fix deferred maintenance  if you can. If you can't fix it, price your property to reflect this.

Our Vermont Market is in very good shape. we are however, dealing with some simple economics of supply and demand. so, we have a larger supply and a lower demand. Generally that means prices come down some. so, to stand out in the crowd make yourself the shinny new penny and see your property 'move off the shelf' faster than your neighbors'.

Think of the grocery store and the dented can sitting in front, do you take that can or push it aside to find a 'fresh' can, one that is unmared. Well if you are like most of us we push that one aside and pick the best one we can. So it goes with houses.

Remember the shinniest penny sells first!