SDW1's Blog

I went into a local gas station and asked for a quick $2 sale of gas. (I did save 10 cents a gallon paying in cash!) Gas prices had gone up 40 cents in the last two weeks said the guy behind the counter. I dont know if he was the owner but I continued to ask him why they continue to go up. This was last weekend and he noticed looking outside and seeing all of the tourists coming to the Cape, going to Woods Hole and Marthas Vineyard. He said that they have plenty of money and they dont care if our gas prices go up 5 cents a day. He has just bought $40K worth of gas the other day and all of the local gas stations are marking up their prices.

   I said do you read the papers? Our economy is in a recession, homes are in foreclosure, food prices are climbing and the Cape's major source of income is those tourists now showing up in our motels, hotels and restaurants to enjoy our local weather, beaches and shopping. If they stop coming we would be in a world of trouble! He said this is only the end of April and the long line of cars at the red light means that the cars were going to still come and that they were going to continue to pay whatever gas prices the local gas stations ask. He says that Marthas Vineyard is already at $4 a gallon so $3.53 is a bargain! I thought that this is out of control and this is just getting worse. We never got this bad last summer. I see people siphoning gas in the news stealing it from each other cars. People stealing catalyic converters right from under their parked cars? Is that in our future? Weve got plenty of greed but where is the sanity? when will our government step in to do something? Our economy is being held hostage by the Oil Companies and our president the Oil Tycoon soon to be replaced!

     I got a call from a local realtor yesterday asking me for a showing on my listing. She said that all of the other properties that she was showing her buyer were on lock box which was more convenient for her and her buyer which I can understand. Did I have one too? I politely said no. Oh she said then maybe we could see it on another day after I show her all of the lockboxes?

    To me I can do a better job than any lockbox or other agent who has never seen my listing and may not have even read the listing (if she had read the listing she would have known that I didnt have a lockbox!). A lockbox can do a disservice to a seller. Ive know many a seller who has changed realtors because of agents leaving on lights and doors wide open after getting access to a lockbox. I prefer to meet the agents and their buyers in person to do my job, which is to screen buyers, show and sell my sellers home to the best of my ability.

    Well hopefully I will show my listing in a day or two to this agent. But then again, this same realtor called me months ago about this listing and never did show it? 

It finally looks like spring has sprung. There are kids on the streets playing in the yard, There are bright sunny days (almost in the 60's now), tulips and flowers are a blooming! Baseball fever has started with the Major Leage Baseball season underway. You got to love this time of year on the Cape!

 Hopefully this will all mean that buyers will wake up from their winter long hybernations and come out of their caves. All the buyers that I heard say "Im going to wait til the market drops all the way to the bottom!"  Maybe they will realize that we are at the bottom?! But no one has a crystal ball- no not the media, not Donald Trump, not George Bush, not even dare I say Hillary Clinton?

 Maybe even my sellers will rake their yard? Summer is not far off! and old man winter has come and gone again! yes the market has been buzzing with sales here on the Cape. Its the best time of the year to buy or sell a home. And prices are excellent and rates are very good! People are coming down to the Cape to look and get in by the summertime it seems. Time to get while the getting is Goooooood!!

 Yes Im even submitting this post here on activerain about something other then technology, a new listing, a price reduction, new web blog, or marketing free web sites! Ive got a closing this week and its about time! :)

Ive noticed that nowadays realtors have to thoroughly embrace technology and the web to help them do their job- which is to sell real estate. Embrace technology or get left behind the battle cry goes!! Technology and use of the web has all but revolutionized real estate! Thanks for telling us- Yes you say youve noticed?!

But Ive heard some realtors having an attititude towards people in IT- Techies , programmers, coders, call them what you will, -people who make their living being in the computer/web business. Of course realtors sell real estate and are not at the same level that "techies" are and techies dont sell real estate.

I am a former (once a techie always a techie) PC Techie who because of the market overhead & profit for the computer biz has generally dropped out of sight and disappeared decided a few years ago to get my real estate license. Probably not the best time in the world to get into an every changing and seemingly downward spiraling career with too many realtors in the marketplace but I have all of the advantages of my techie background in building websites, blogs, maintaining personal computers and using the web in all that it offers to realtors who want to sell real estate. Im sure a good and bad attitude exists for many people of many professions toward others who work in different professions. Selling real estate is a full-time, 7 day a week job and sometimes you work for free as we all well know too much.  Sometimes we go without a paycheck but when we get paid we get paid well. Ive met many a seller and buyer with bad attitudes towards realtors because of bad past experiences. Your comments are welcome

Major price reduction for 15 Maravista Ave, E. Falmouth MA to $260K!!

 You say that you want to be Less Than A Mile from the water, South of Rte 28 w/ the VERY BEST Falmouth WARM WATER Boating & Swimming for $260K?! Very Popular Maravista area, 5 minute walk from Great Pond Boating, Swimming at Bristol Beach & Falmouth Heights! Recently RENOVATED with new Bay Window in living room, Anderson Windows, new gutters, ceiling fans w/lights & fans, & Pine Wainscoting. BRAND NEW CARPETS w/Hardwoods underneath, spacious Fireplaced 18x13 living room. Eat-in Kitchen has wooden cabinets, BRAND NEW VINYL floor, Refridge & both a Gas stove & Electric range! UPGRADED Electric box in basement with Washer/Dryer & Pool Table in Game room included! Space for Garage addition and Boat in large yard. Excellent first-time, year round or part-time summer home. Excellent central to everything location! PRICED TO SELL!!

see my previous blog below for pics