Sotheby's!

If you are checking in to the blog regularly, here's the news: beginning in January, I will be affiliated with the new Sotheby's brokerage opening in Lexington. I'm so excited to be a part of this new office and joining a fantastic group of professionals who will be affiliated with the new Bluegrass Sotheby's International Realty office. Our new offices are located in Ashland Plaza in the heart of Chevy Chase (right above Starbucks...that could be a problem).

Tomorrow's news

Be sure to check here tomorrow for some news I think is pretty exciting!

Merry Christmas!

It'll be a quiet day in the real estate market but I imagine come the second week in January, we'll be seeing lots of activity. Here's hoping that you have a very Merry Christmas!

Staying warm in the Bluegrass the Russian Way

Congratulations to Frank Marino and friends who were featured in a great article on their new Lexington-produced vodka, Pure Blue, in this morning's Herald-Leader. It's the top story in the Business Section and a great piece about their new Barrel House Distillery. I can't wait to see it on the shelves in 2009 and have another addition to Lexington's blossoming Distillery District on Manchester Street!

Tis the busy season

Maybe not for home sales...let's give it until January...but it certainly is busy finishing up everything that needs to be done before Christmas! It's so frigid this morning in the Bluegrass that I'm thrilled that the kids are out of school and we don't have to leave the house before 10 am.

One of my past clients just asked for a couple of recipes that I thought I'd share here for some great Christmas morning breakfast casseroles. Actually, they're pretty good for a brunch anytime! Bon appetit!

German Baked Eggs (a great choice for egg & cheese eating vegetarians)

12 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack
2 cups cottage cheese
½ cup all-purpose flour
T tsp baking powder
½ cup butter, melted

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a 9x13x2 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Top should be lightly browned. Lightly is the key word.

This recipe makes a very large portion and is good if cut in half for a smaller family.

Italian Breakfast Casserole

1 8 oz. can refrigerated crescent rolld
1 lb. mild pork sausage
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian-blend cheese
6 large eggs
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ cup milk

Press crescent dough in the bottom of a greased 9x13x2 inch baking dish. Brown sausage until no longer pink, drain, and spread over dough. Sprinkle cheese over sausage.

Whisk together eggs, oregano and milk. Pour mixture over sausage.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes until eggs set and cheese is lightly browned. Let stand at room temp for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Credit Scores article

This could be a recurring theme in the blog...is it a good time to buy? I just came across this article from RISmedia about changes coming in credit limits coming in the new year that may decrease consumers' credit scores. Looks like the lowering of the credit limits will have a negative effect on the credit score and subsequently a negative effect on the ability to buy. The article also includes some important tips for helping to keep your credit score high.

You can access the article by clicking this link: http://rismedia.com/wp/2008-11-15/what-about-next-years-home-buyers/

Walnut Creek -- Grab your bike!

If you really love biking, running & hiking, check out my new listing at 180 Acorn Falls. This great house, is perfect if you want low maintenance but quick access to some of the best bike rides in Lexington (gorgeous Delong Road!), and great running opportunities through Jacobson Park which is easily accessed through the Traditions neighborhood next door. While it only takes a couple of minutes to get to Hamburg or downtown from the area, you're also only about 15 minutes to Raven Run Nature Sanctuary!

Floracliff Nature Sanctuary

Most Lexingtonians know about Raven Run Nature Preserve out on the Southeast side of Lexington. Personally, I've been hiking at Raven Run for years when I need a quick hike fix and don't have time to head to the Gorge for the day. The Herald-Leader highlighted three other Kentucky areas that are featured in a new book called Wildlands Philanthropy of which one, Floracliff Nature Sanctuary, is right here in Fayette County. I first heard about Floracliff a year ago or so and while haven't had a chance to get there myself, I wanted to share the link to their website. Unlike Raven Run, Floracliff is only open to the public on a very limited basis with guided hikes. You can click on the title above to access Floracliff's website which gives you upcoming events as well as more information about Floracliff.

465 Stratford -- Open Sunday

Please stop by on Sunday, November 16 between 1-3 p.m. to see 465 Stratford. Click the link below to check out this great listing that really is like a Chevy Chase home at a first-time home buyer price! http://www.moving2centralky.com/Nav.aspx/Page=/ListNow/Default.aspx

I love the Southland location and from this great home, you can enjoy walking to Slone's, Winchell's (and Dance Biz....okay only my daughter and her friends would be excited about that!) but truly Southland is such a great shopping area and this hCape Cod on Stratford really gives you an opportunity to step back in time and enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle!

Holiday Website

One of my clients just sent me the link to this great holiday website. Looks to be a great free source of recipes as well as other Santa fun. The cake recipes look especially yummy!

www.northpole.com/kitchen/cookbook/

Great New listings

Check out these three great new listings for buyers looking for move-in ready homes under $200,000:

465 Stratford Drive -- Great Southland area where you can walk to Slone's Grocery, Winchell's Restaurant, Good Foods and Marrika's. If I could live in a house under 2,000 square feet anymore, I think this would be it for me! Check out the details at http://tponline.realty-wire.com/Users/0C443165-71D8-499E-BDC3-225D9E97965C/{c859d328-c7c7-46ae-9a1a-212e391563e7}/{c859d328-c7c7-46ae-9a1a-212e391563e7}.pdf

832 Burkewood Drive -- In the Eastwood neighborhood barely outside New Circle and off Liberty Road. This neighborhood has matured beautifully in the last 10 years and with the Liberty Road cut through puts you just minutes away from both Hamburg and Downtown. Here are the details: http://tponline.realty-wire.com/Users/0C443165-71D8-499E-BDC3-225D9E97965C/{db980970-1a7e-466c-8b99-2b48555f84a9}/{db980970-1a7e-466c-8b99-2b48555f84a9}.pdf

and...

3805 Forsythe Court -- If you aren't familiar with the Plantation Subdivision this great neighborhood is just outside Man 0'War and offers easy access to Harrodsburg Road and Man O'War on the southside. Most of the homes were built in the late 1970s and have oversized yards by today's new neighborhood standard. No postage stamp here! This particular house has been beautifully renovated by the current owner and is an incredible deal for the condition, high-end treatments and square footage. Here's a link to the Home Feature Sheet:
http://tponline.realty-wire.com/Users/0C443165-71D8-499E-BDC3-225D9E97965C/{0b93ac0b-21de-484a-95e6-21b0bbb415f3}/{0b93ac0b-21de-484a-95e6-21b0bbb415f3}.pdf

You can also find virtual tours and links to all these properties on my website under Featured Homes at www.GwenMathews.com

Quick email tip

Not related to real esate, except that I learned this at a Real Estate conference, but if you hate junk email try this tip to reduce what you are getting. Set up a free gmail or yahoo account -- I have a new one, GwendaMathews@gmail.com -- very easy for me to remember what with using my name and all!!!-- that you use just for purposes of ordering on-line and getting information from websites that require an email address. With holiday shopping approaching, I'm much happier with the on-line ordering I'm doing knowing that the junk email won't be getting into my "good" email that comes directly into my phone, etc. and uselessly fills up my memory. I do check that account once a day but I can tell it's prevented a significant number of junk mails coming in my regular inbox.

You can set up a gmail account through Google (www.google.com). I promise it's really easy for even the technically challenged.

Now if I could only get rid of all the junk email that I already have...

Happy Halloween...

It should be a wonderful night for Lexington trick or treaters. One of my clients, new to Lexington, asked me our local trick or treat "rules" yesterday and I thought it might be helpful to post them here:

They're pretty simple: Trick or Treat is from 6-8. If you want visitors, turn on your porch lights! If you don't want them...turn off your porch light. I'm hopeful that we'll have lots of visitors at our house who won't be too afraid of my hairy pet spider. And, if my son (who'll be going as Hillary Clinton?!?!?) and his best friend Wyatt (aka John McCain, I hear) come to your door, do watch how much of your candy they take. I've overheard some things that make me worry for our neighbors!

Perhaps this is how NOT to stage a house for a successful showing!

Happy Halloween!!

Frosty morning--time to winterize!

Brrr...it's supposed to be 60 this afternoon but I can't believe it was 29 degrees this morning. Seems like it's way too cold for Lexington at the end of October. I'm going to need my mittens to trick or treat tomorrow night! Will Mathews has promised me all of his Reese Peanut Butter cups so I'm getting really excited and am thinking about fasting for the next 36 hours in preparation!

This frosty morning is a good reminder to check around outside your house for hoses that may still be attached to your house. I unscrewed one the other night during a walk-through and I can't tell you how many times broken hose bibs turn-up on home inspections. Also, most of us our turning our furnaces on for the first time this winter too. Don't forget to change your furnace filter and if you have gas heat, it's a good time to make sure that you have a working CO2 detector. While you're at it, it's also recommended to check your smoke alarms when the time changes.

Have a great morning!

Holy Cow & many many thanks...

Boy was I surprised when I got a call yesterday morning to tell me to read the newspaper! I was voted Lexington's #2 Favorite Realtor in the Herald-Leader Reader's Choice Awards! I still can't believe it and I'm pretty sure they meant me even if they did put 2 "t"s in Mathews. Thank you so much to everybody who took the time to vote for me. I am unbelievably honored!

no good news...at least not in our paper...

Just heard a funny and true story about our local media and the housing market (and by funny, what I mean to say is ironic). Apparently our LBAR president was interviewed about the housing market in Lexington by the Herald-Leader. After hearing the statistics that our real estate market isn't really suffering, especially in comparison to news from the rest of the country, the reporter decided that the article wouldn't be worth writing and passed on the story. Hmmm...seems to me that maybe our community would like hearing some good news.

mileage calculator

This is too cool and a great tool for home buyers & sellers trying to figure out walking distances from a house to a particular spot like a school, library, etc. In fact, I could probably play with it all day which I'd better not since I need to set up some house showings for tomorrow! I found it trying to figure out how far one of my favorite runs is (just over 4 miles by the way in case you're curious...) but everything relates to real estate if you're a Realtor, right?

Thanks to Google earth maps, you can use this fantastic link http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ to go from one starting point to another. I popped in my house as the starting point and dragged it around using points where the road curves and bends for my running route all the way back home. The best part was that I use a cut through from my neighborhood into another neighborhood that I've never been able to calculate by car because it's just a foot path. This let me put a point on the end of my street onto the street I cut through too. I did figure out that you have to be pretty meticulous in plotting the various bends in the road.

Local market news

News from our local Board statistics reinforce that real estate really is local. In spite of all the dreadful news we keep hearing, compared to last September, single family residential sales are up 1% while townhouses and condos are down 2%. Existing home sales are up 1.4% for the same time period. Existing home sale median sales price is unchanged when comparing September 08 to September 07. Inventory is down 7% while pending inventory is up 0.9%. The Housing Affordability Index jumped to 164 in September because of slightly falling mortgage rates. Overall, September 08 vs. September 07 shows more market improvement than a year over year, year-to-date comparison.

In my own micro world of real estate, my statistics from last year to this year compares favorably. Hopefully, my 2009 will continue to buck the negative news in the media and will compare equally well.

Room Layout

I found a super new place to play on the web today: www.Havertys.com . There's a great room planning tool there that lets you lay-out a space and than arrange furniture in it. You can use their products or a generic list of furnishings including bathroom fixtures, walls, doors, fireplaces, etc. I know there's always been software sources for furniture lay-out but I love that this one is free! I tried my own living room which has way too many windows and doors, plus a funky wall and a parlor grand piano that I've been decorating around for years. I managed to get everything in, including a shape for the piano.

I wish this tool had been around when we moved into our current home. It sure could have saved a lot of furniture moving and some questionable purchases I've made over the years. While I don't think it replaces the function of a good interior designer, for the DIYer or new homeowner it could sure make arranging a room and making furniture choices a lot easier!

Fall Home Decor

Feels like Fall!! Yeah, Keeneland opens this weekend and I was quite chilly at Will's football practice last night. Isn't it wonderful to sleep with the windows open?

I came across a great little piece about selling houses in Fall and staging for the autumn season. I thought they were really great tips and wanted to share the link. One of the comments that I really agree with from the article is that putting your house on the market in the Fall or Winter isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think we all know that Spring and Summer are the busiest real estate market times but buyers that come through in the fall and winter tend to be more serious and don't have as many choices to look at so frankly I think it evens out.

Here's the link from the RE/MAX website and think about decorating for the season whether you're staging your house to sell or just enjoy Autumn like I do. I'm making my favorite pumpkin, cranberry and chocolate muffins tomorrow to celebrate October myself! Let me know if you want the recipe (It's from Creating a Stir but I've embellished it :-))

http://www.remax.net/stories/mainst/20080925/8729.htm

Craigslist fame...

Every now and then I google my name to see what comes up and I was surprised to find myself the subject of this on-line article regarding Craigslist. I've been a big fan of Craigslist and I post both listings and rental properties there because it provides just one more source to get property in front of the market. Anyway, I had my rental house on Pin Oak "stolen" a couple of months back by somebody impersonating me. I had some hilarious calls from prospective renters who filled me in on the impersonation as well as a college friend who saw a warning posted about me -- that I was a fraudulent scammer. A few days later I got a call from a web reporter who ended up writing this on-line article at Webpro news about the story. Most of his facts are correct (except that I do still use Craigslist regularly). You can click on the link above if you want to read the article. And, by the way, I am the real Gwen Mathews and I am not in a hurry to get back to welding in Africa.

Have a great day!

...live from the Kentucky Association of Realtors

l'm out of town for a few days enjoying lots of educational opportunities at the Kentucky Association of Realtors (KAR) convention in Newport, Kentucky. While it's very pretty on the riverfront up here, it's no Lexington :-). The quick trip up here reminded me though of how nice it is to be so accessible to all the great opportunities just an hour up the road from Lexington. Last night, we had a great party at the Great American Ballpark complete with local Skyline Chili and those mini hot dogs that Will Mathews LOVES! I hadn't been to the new stadium before so it was great to finally see it and the Reds museum was pretty cool. I took a turn as an announcer and remembered how much fun I used to have with my brother Morgan listening to Reds games on our old pocket transistor radio...makes me feel a little old. Hmmm...has anybody who's been there noticed there's not much about Pete Rose there???

Although out of town, we have two price reductions to make note of: 440 Peachtree (great opportunity for an investor or first time buyer) is reduced to $97,900 and 745 Cedar Lake in Ewing is now listed at $144,900! Both of those are so competitively priced for the market and their amenities -- you can check them out under featured listings on my website at www.Moving2CentralKY.com. Both of them have virtual tours there as all my listings always do!

Have a great day!

Fannie & Freddie Takeover

Wondering what the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac means? Check out this link to lean more: http://www.realtor.org/gapublic.nsf/pages/gses_conservatorship?OpenDocument

Five offers...did someone say downmarket?

Wow, whoever says it's a down market doesn't have my listing at 1408 Pleasant Ridge. Just goes to show that the right house at the right price really can sell! We received five offers on this home in Timber Creek at the end of the week. Frankly, that beat my record of three offers on one house at a time. One of my favorite things about real estate, is that you never have the same day twice although I certainly wouldn't begrudge having that day twice! Plus, it ended with a wonderful Makenna event that in spite of the downpour was a fantastic time for everybody involved!

Thank you!

Many thanks to the wonderful clients who have completed surveys through the Quality Service Certified program. I'm so proud to have the highest Customer Satisfaction rating that an agent can achieve. I was recognized this summer as the "national Agent of the month" which was a huge honor and was named to the 2007 National Honor Roll last winter. Apparently, I have one of the highest survey return rates of the 30,000+ agents in the northern hemispere who are QSC certified. Pretty cool and a definite credit to the quality clients I've worked. Thanks for helping me be the best agent that I can be! I rate you all with a 5 out of 5!

Art of Making Miracles

if you are in town looking for something fun to do on Friday night, plan to attend the Makenna Foundation's annual Art of Making Miracles event. While I might be biased as RE/MAX Creative plays a huge role in sponsoring the event, the Art of Making Miracles is one of the best charity fundraisers we attend all year! Just the right mix of casual dress-up, great local food, music and super auction items (hope somebody bids a lot on the UK-Indiana b-ball tickets I donated!). The Makenna Foundation supports UK Children's Hospital and funds are helping to open the children's emergency room -- sorely needed I can tell you from having taken my own children to the UK hospital emergency room!

Click the title link to go to the Makenna website. Hope we'll see you there!

Lily Program

I'm so excited! I just came back from a walk with the dogs while waiting for the afore-mentioned plumber and my Lily Program questionnaire was in the mail. As soon as I get it turned in, we get our new Lily raintainer!

If you missed the Herald-Leader article about the Lily raintainer -- called the Lily Program -- the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Department of Environmental Quality instituted a pilot program to address storm water run-off. The "Lily" is an attractive rain barrel that attaches to your gutter collecting and storing rainwater from the roof. What makes it different from other rain collectors is that's really cute and has a spigot on the side with which to attach hoses or fill watering cans! Horrible gardener that I am, I'll be using my saved water to fill our fish pond and water my container pots. I think the fish will be really pleased although they don't know about the last batch I accidentally killed so they might not be as excited as they could be...but that's another story. In addition, it's many more gallons of water that stay on my property rather than draining through the yards and picking up pesticides and fertilizers on its way to the lake.

LFUCG only has five hundred available and the cost is $75.00 but I think it's going to be well worth it for the environment and my fish! If you're interested in adding one to your home, call LFUCG at 311 to register for the program. I bet there are still a few left!

Beautiful morning...

It's one of those mornings in Lexington that makes living here so worthwhile! Even though, I'm waiting for my plumber so that I can continue helping support his children's college tuition funds (oh the joys of living in an older home inside New Circle!), it's hard not enjoy life in Central Kentucky -- not too hot, bright sunny sky and wonderful late summer day.

I had a moment this morning too, to spend a minute flipping through Lexington's new Skirt magazine. It's a great addition to some of our local newspapers like Ace Weekly, Nougat and the Chevy Chaser. If you're trying to get a feel for our Bluegrass flavor, all of these publications offer a great insight into our local scene. I always recommend that newcomers pick up a copy of any of these to peruse while exploring the area.

UK is back in session so don't try any shortcuts driving through campus! And, we can look forward to the UK-UL game this weekend. I'm actually excited about UK football this year. Go Cats!

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit!!!

Attention first-time home buyers, this is really big news! The President has signed into effect an economic recovery act measure that provides an up-to $7500 tax credit for qualified first-time home buyers. I don't know a lot about the details yet but I will be attending a seminar on Tuesday, August 19th to learn about this very important incentive. While like 99.87% of American, I'm tax illiterate (another great reason to be married to a CPA besides his good looks), my understanding of the tax credit is that it is the same as hard cash to the home buyer at the time that taxes are filed.

Check in with me after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, when I'm an expert!!!

Also, I understand this is retroactive for first-time home purchases after April 2008 and runs through purchases in 2009.

Mortgage Market News

Interested in knowing more about mortgage market news? Let me know, and I'm happy to forward a weekly market updated from Bluegrass Mortgage. It's a really informative and detailed resource!

End of Summer...

While this doesn't have a lot to do with real estate, it seems worthwhile to note that only four blissful days are left until Fayette County school children head back to class. Seems like summer just gets shorter and shorter and it makes me sad (not to mention the sad looks on my children's faces). We really need a couple more weeks to truly enjoy our summer -- we've had such a good one...travelling out west and just returning from our favorite beach destination -- Sullivan's Island.

I'm not alone in wishing for a later school start date and for anyone who cares there is a website for the promotion of legislation to legally change the start date of the school year to no earlier than the 4th Monday in August. The official website is http://www.savekentuckysummers.com/ .

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

In the continuing debate about whether it's a good time to buy, another argument goes on the pro side of purchasing a home. President Bush signed into effect a new housing bill that would give a $7500 tax credit to qualified first-time home purchasers. I'm including a link to a news article posted on the Lexington-Bluegrass Board of Realtors website. Essentially, this tax credit is like an interest-free loan for any qualified purchases made between April 8, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

Peachtree...best buy

440 Peachtree is back on the market! I was just looking at my June 3 post and realized that we had offers on all three of those houses within just a few days of getting them on the market! Unfortunately, our contract on Peachtree fell through due to buyer financing so that great property is available again. It's one of the best buys I've seen for condition, and square footage. It's a super house for a first-time buyer who wants room to grow or for an investor looking for potential cash flow.

Happy Summer

Frankly, I'm so embarrassed that it's been since June that I last posted anything here on the blog. Can I plead summer? I've had tons of real estate activity plus children out of school and some really wonderful vacations including two weeks in Montana & Wyoming hiking the wilds of Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Tetons National Park. Don't ask me which I liked better because I still can't decide and I'm still very much in love with Zion in Utah...hmmm...it was nice to come home to our beautiful Kentucky landscape though!

In the time we've spent in Lexington, we've been enjoying lots of bike riding in an attempt to make a game out of curbing our gas usage. Being inside New Circle Road people, we've been enjoying a number of local restaurants that we can ride to easily -- Puccini's Smiling Teeth off Euclid, and our new favorite where I've been 4 times in the last three weeks: A.P. Roots on Romany Road. If you know Lexington, you know that Romany has some great local spots, Suggins, Wheeler's Drugstore, Graeter's, but you may not know that the owners of Suggins have also opened A.P. Roots -- a terrific, more upscale but still very comfortable (i.e. you can ride your bike there and not feel too underdressed) restaurant that features lots of local produce and unique menu items. Marc and I are hooked on the homemade parpadelle noodle dishes. We want to make sure lots of people eat there as I'll cry if they go out of business.

Affordable and great looking for a first time buyer!

Just listed three great properties this weekend that would be perfect for a first-time home buyer! They pack a lot of value and updates into a great price.

Check out 440 Peachtree Road at under $100,000! My sellers have worked so hard to get this house ready to show and you won't believe the square footage! Here's a link to the virtual tour: http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?T=1544863.

Another great house! 1144 Kalone Way. This house too has tremendous square footage for the price and the location is so convenient to UK with a quick trip down Alumni Drive or out to Hamburg or for easy access to I-75. I love how quiet and clean the street. Here's a link to the virtual tour: http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?T=1544427.

The price is a little higher at 212 Pleasant Pointe but the fact that my seller used to be a professional interior designer will feel apparent here. There's a wonderful Southern Living feel to this great home and the hardwood floors literally gleam throughout the common areas. The carpet upstairs was new last week and this house is as move-in ready as it can be. Here's the virtual tour link for it: http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?T=1541948

Any of these homes would make a great place to make a first home purchase or a terrific rental property for the savvy investor.

Springtime in Kentucky!!

Bad me...Apparently keeping up with my blog was not the priority that I intended for it to be this New Year's. Could be that the last couple of months have been crazy in the Central Kentucky Real Estate market and that would be a fact! We've seen lots of buyers in the market and lots of great inventory out there for them to purchase. It really is an ideal time to buy in spite of the looming recession.

It's a great time to look at homes too! I don't know when I've seen a prettier spring in Kentucky and I feel like everyone else is saying the same thing. I'm working from home a little this afternoon and watching a shower of dogwood blossoms fall in the breeze out my window.

FHA Mortgage news

Just in from my friend Tommie Faust at Bluegrass Mortgage -- a great lender with whom to work by the way -- the FHA has new loan limits. Here's what she has to say:

FHA has raised their loan limits on single family homes to $271,050 & two-family to $347,000. The 100% loans are a thing of the past. FHA requires the 3% investment and the factor for the PMI is .50. There is a proposal for a 1 ½ investment that hasn’t been approved yet but probably will be. However, the PMI factor will be adjusted according to the risk.

Word on the street, too, is that PMI (the mortgage insurance you buy for your lender if your loan to value ratio is greater than 80%) rates are going to be going up in the future with so many more buyers defaulting on their loans.

Better than new...

First--thanks Jeff and Carl for reading my blog...which brings me to today and the topic you inspired! What's better than new? It's my favorite way to describe homes under 4 years old that have been very gently lived in by their owners. What makes them better than new? These owners have lived in these homes through all of the time-consuming and expensive tasks of upgrading lighting, painting (and painting and painting sheet rock until all the paint actually soaks in), repairing the inevitable nail pops, purchasing and installing window blinds, adding shelving, adding landscaping, nursing the sod, and essentially completing all the tedious details that a new construction home requires. What makes it "better than new" is the next owner benefits from all their hard work and still get what essentially will be a new house!! What a concept.

10 tips to not sell your home

These aren't mine but they are a riot and well, pretty accurate!!!

Paul Pastore's Top 10 Ways Sellers Can Guarantee Their Home Won't Sell:

1. Be casual, not serious, about selling. A sage once quipped, "Money is only important when you don't want something enough." Real estate expert R.L. Brown said that if half of the 58,000 sellers in Maricopa County removed their for-sale signs we'd be at normal inventory levels. Actions speak louder than words in this market. Discretionary sellers should wait for a less competitive environment.

2. Price it wrong. A home properly priced is half sold. No amount of full-color ads, glossy fliers, multiple photos, virtual tours, agent luncheons, Goodyear blimps, pom-pom girls or Saint Joseph statues will compensate for a wrong, timid retail price.

3. Ignore your agent. Attorneys believe if you represent yourself, you have a fool for a client. Doctors don't self-diagnose. Professionals use professionals. Even though many people believe they're experts on raising kids and real estate, full-time, career pros usually know what's best. Listen to them very carefully.

4. Micromanage the marketing. If you sold cookware in college, carts in California, or carpeting in Cranston, it does not qualify you to second-guess your agent. If you had a real estate license years ago, save your stories about the "good old days" for your children. You can share your concerns and timelines, but leave the details to the listing pro.

5. Reject staging suggestions. Someday shag multi-colored, sculptured carpeting will come back. Whitewashed cabinets, Navajo white walls, linoleum flooring, southwest decor, lots of personal photos, and Elvis paintings on black velvet need to go. Now.

6. Let Fido loose. I recently entered a house and had two frisky, friendly black Labs run up to sniff me. Unfortunately, I had light-gray dress slacks on that day. Both wet stains lasted for hours. Until that day I didn't realize dogs enjoyed chewing the tassels on expensive loafers.

7. Talk to the buyers. Life gets lonely at times. Why not ask the buyers where they grew up? Or how much they qualify for. Tell them about the vacant rental next door. Maybe they could babysit next weekend! Why not share war stories, horror movies or meatloaf recipes?

8. Sell personal items. Wow, maybe the buyers want to buy the patio furniture, rotary lawnmower, or life-size statue of Saint Anthony. You have only four more boxes of Girl Scout cookies to sell. Why not ask for a donation for the March of Dimes, the Humane Society, the local PBS station? Remember the saying, "loose lips sink ships."

9. Discount that smell. My house doesn't smell of pets, baby diapers, curry powder, garlic, fried fish, coconut incense, cigars, manure, mulch, dairy farms or low tide. The buyer must be confusing my castle with a tract home.

10. Dismiss feedback. What do buyers know anyway? They can't possibly mind my barbed wire fence, heavy-duty rebar, backyard bomb shelter, airport runway views, lights from the power plant, hum from the high-voltage lines, railroad tremors, scorpion skeletons, termite mud tubes and pet snakes. What are they thinking?
Copyright © 2008 RE/MAX International Inc. 2/4/08

furnace filter maintenance

I find that every time I have a buyer purchase a new home, I learn something new during the home inspection. This week's lesson came from one of my favorite home inspectors -- he's so thorough and a great home educator. He believes that the cheapest furnace filters, changed regularly, are the best choice for improving the functioning and life of your furnace. The more expensive filters have a tighter weave and don't allow enough air through the HVAC system for it to operate as well. He says the expensive ones can be like, well, having a dirty filter! Who knew! I suggest you ask your trusted HVAC professional about the right filter for your system before you rely on my information but the theory makes sense to me and I'm certainly always happy to save money!

buy & re-fi time

Hopefully you haven't been living in a bubble for the last week, but in the midst of scary stock market news, there's great news for real estate buying. Interest rates are lower than they've been in a year. Almost a full point down -- meaning it's a great time to look at savings you could capture through refinancing your current home or...take note first-time buyers--a great time to stop paying rent and start building your personal worth by investing in a home.

I always like to point out that owning a home is one of the only "real" investment strategies that serves multiple purposes: you invest your money AND you have a place to live. How cool is that! And remember, it's important to buy for yourself AND buy for future resale...but that's a whole other blog!!!

Third Street Stuff

Enough about real estate today! Let's talk how cool it is to live in Lexington.

Just down the street from Transylvania University (corner of Limestone and Third) is one of those little jewels of place that make living in Lexington so much fun -- Third Street Stuff. Full of interesting finds that delight 11-year olds and 40-year olds alike, this little gem of a shop and cafe is one of my favorite places to stop in for lunch. Third Street's cafe has a unique assortment of interesting sandwiches, salads and soups and tasty teas and coffees. The clientele is a great mix of folk from Transy, Sayre Upper School students and the odd Rastaferian. Last time I was there, I not only had a delicious lunch but also bought 2 super flashing rubber rings (one for me, one for my 11-year old), a whole bunch of buttons with odd sayings and a cell phone charm. I was sorely tempted to buy some giant magnetic words but came to my senses although I'm still thinking about the refrigerator poetry I could write.

Sooo....go downtown...have lunch...and enjoy Lexington's hipper side!!

What's important in your home

As I was running on my treadmill this morning I felt a little like our late gerbil Squirmy on his wheel. I wondered if God was looking down at me thinking, "how cute" just like we used to think of that little guy. Probably not...he didn't seem to huff and puff quite as much!!

My treadmill reminded me how important it is to think about the things that you really need and want in a house before starting the search for a new home. For us, having a dedicated place for exercise equipment (not that you can tell we use it) has been a real plus. We have a finished basement in our house that's been the ideal place to work-out, do crafts, play Dance Dance Revolution on PlayStation 2, and in general make a mess that no one sees unless we intentionally invite them downstairs. For us, we'll never live in a house again that doesn't have a basement or at least a finished bonus room.

If you're beginning to think about a home purchase, one of the best things you can do is take your own personal inventory of the spaces you want in your new home. Take stock for a week or so of what you love about your house and assess the things that you really wish you had in your home but don't currently -- fenced yard for a dog, 2-car attached garage, a particular location, ballroom -- and make a list of your wants and needs. As you work with your Realtor make sure you share your priorities with them. A good buyer's agent will help you use that list and those priorities to find the property that will make you glad to come home!

Economic news

I make it a point to keep up with the economic forecast, particularly in regard to our housing market. This week's news reinforces that it continues to be a great time to buy property. Interest rates are great and there's still a healthy supply of homes out there thanks to the media who have led consumers to believe that all of the US economy's problems are because of the housing industry. Interestingly, 95% of mortgage holders are making their mortgage payments on time. That's certainly not the portrait I see being painted in the news!

What I think is worth being cautious about is buying a new home without selling your current home in today's market. Unless you are secure and comfortable financially and two house payments won't completely stress you out, I wouldn't recommend purchasing your next home without having a solid contract on your existing home. It's important to weigh your options before making a commitment to two homes and talk over the situation with a trusted financial advisor and a Realtor whom you trust to give you a solid picture of your current market conditions and their honest opinion on how quickly they believe your current home can be sold.

Happy New Year!

It's a chilly chilly day here in Lexington and Fayette County schools are not in session which proves to my children that there really is a God. Our bedtime prayers last night included an intercession for a snow day along with a ritual wearing of the pajamas inside out! Ahhhh...January 2 really was too soon a day to start back after a wonderful Christmas break.

While I am working today from home, it's also turning into a great day to start putting away Christmas decorations. I'm going to see if I can't motivate my children to round them up for me like a scavenger hunt, have them bring them all into one room and then start packing away. It's also time to think about getting that tree out on the curb for city pick-up! Lexington has a great recycling program and I intend to be more conscientious than ever this year about reducing what goes into our Herbie. I hope you'll join me this year in reducing unnecessary waste and taking advantage of the opportunity in Lexington to recycle everything from yard waste to plastic water bottles.