Prudential Homesale Website Recognized

August 5, 2010 Leave a comment

Sometimes you  live with something so long that you just take it for granted . . . that is until somebody else points out what you have is pretty special.  Such is the case with our website, www.prudentialhomesale.com.  Here’s a toast to all our IT people who work tirelessly to give us the best tools in the industry.  Here – Here!

Lancaster, PA, July 30, 2010 –(PR.com)– Prudential Homesale Services Group, a local realty firm operating twenty offices throughout south central and southeastern Pennsylvania, was recently recognized as a finalist in The Central Pennsylvania Business Journal’s 2010 Best of the Web Awards.

The Best of the Web Awards are designed to recognize local companies and organizations that have excelled in building a strong, quality and productive Web presence. This was the second year for the awards and included additional categories like “Best Use of Social Media” and “Best Recurring eNews Product.”

An independent panel of judges reviewed all entries and scored them on their design creativity, usability, innovation and overall experience. Winners were announced at the Best of the Web Awards luncheon on Monday, July 26, 2010.

Prudential Homesale was the only real estate company to be honored as a finalist. Homesale’s website, www.PrudentialHomesale.com, is the only local broker website offering real estate listings for all of south central Pennsylvania. The site receives more visitors than any other local real estate broker website. Their unique map search technology offers easy search capabilities for users of all skill levels.

Representatives from Homesale who were present at the event were Sandra Troccoli, Director of I.T. & Web Services; Rod Messick, CFO; Christine Sneeringer, VP of Marketing & Advertising; and Laurie Czaplinski, Project & Training Director.

According to RealTrends, Prudential Homesale Services Group is the 16th most successful Realtor in the country in the combined delivery of home services: real estate sales, mortgage closings, title closings, and home warranty sales.

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Considering Selling Your Home as a FSBO? Hmmm – - maybe not.

June 3, 2010 2 Comments

Hmm! This isn't as easy as I thought it would be.

So you’re thinking about putting your home on the market and moving to that condo/farm/new build/quiet neighborhood/high-rise/bigger home/smaller home (select one).  Even though prices on homes seem to be stagnant and you won’t be able to get as much for your home as you could just three years ago, the deals you can get as a buyer after you sell your home seem too good to pass up.

Your natural inclination is to save the commission and try to sell your home yourself which will leave extra cash to put toward your next home.  Simple math says that if you don’t pay a REALTOR® a commission to sell your home, you’ll have more left over to buy your new home.  You may want to reconsider your strategy.

In a recent article posted on FORBES.com, they make the case that going it alone has drawbacks that most potential ‘For Sale By Owners’ don’t even consider.

Here is the article posted in its entirety:

Five Reasons Why You Still Need a Real Estate Agent ¹

The proliferation of services that help homebuyers and sellers complete their own real estate transactions is relatively recent, and it may have you wondering whether using a real estate agent is becoming a relic of a bygone era. While doing the work yourself can save you the significant commission rates many real estate agents command, for many, flying solo may not be the way to go–and could end up being more costly than a realtor’s commission in the long run. Buying or selling a home is a major financial (and emotional) undertaking. Find out why you shouldn’t discard the notion of hiring an agent just yet.

1. Better Access/More Convenience

A real estate agent’s full-time job is to act as a liaison between buyers and sellers. This means that he or she will have easy access to all other properties listed by other agents. Both the buyer’s and seller’s agent work full time as real estate agents and they know what needs to be done to get a deal together. For example, if you are looking to buy a home, a real estate agent will track down homes that meet your criteria, get in touch with sellers’ agents and make appointments for you to view the homes. If you are buying on your own, you will have to play this telephone tag yourself. This may be especially difficult if you’re shopping for homes that are for sale by owner.

Similarly, if you are looking to sell your home yourself, you will have to solicit calls from interested parties, answer questions and make appointments. Keep in mind that potential buyers are likely to move on if you tend to be busy or don’t respond quickly enough. Alternatively, you may find yourself making an appointment and rushing home, only to find that no one shows up.

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The Incredible Shrinking House

April 25, 2010 Leave a comment

The average sized home in America is starting to shrink.  No longer are homeowners demanding square footage and soaring open vaults in their living spaces.  McMansions are OUT – - – efficiency and versatility are IN.  MarketWatch’s Amy Hoak recently reported on this fast-evolving building trend.

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Google Maps Hit a Home Run

October 31, 2009 1 Comment

Google unveiled its latest innovation for real estate this past week and they crushed a 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth into the upper deck!  Every time Google tinkers around with its website, real estate people get a shiver of anxiety and this latest innovation is likely to give many within the industry a full-blown case of hives.

Since Google announced the ability to see lots of real estate listings directly on Google Maps back in July of this year, they’ve been working hard to make it even easier to use.  They’ve added things like brand new high-resolution Street View imagery and detailed map data.  Now they’re making Google Maps an even more useful tool for online real estate searching.   Here are a couple of things you can look out for next time you visit their website:

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Ten Commandments of Real Estate Finance for the 21st Century

October 18, 2009 Leave a comment

The world of real estate finance has undergone drastic changes over the last couple of months.  Just over a year ago, underwriting standards to qualify for a mortgage were easier than they have been since I got into the real estate business back in 1983 (Yes – I’ve been around that long!).  I just read this web page¹ from The Stamford Review that lists ten things to keep in mind if you are applying for a mortgage in today’s, financing environment.  While the intent of the ten edicts is to be a little humorous, there is a grain of truth to each one.  Enjoy.

I.  Write upon thy heart the law that ‘reward’ and ‘risk’ shalt always appear in the same sentence.

Translation: Mortgages are not FREE money.  There is risk with any financing vehicle.  Know what that risk is before signing on the dotted line.

II.  Make neither markets nor regulators into idols, and follow not false prophets of simplistic bias.

Translation: The age-old adage applies here – - if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.  Use common sense.

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Debunking the Objections to Smart Growth and Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND’s)

October 11, 2009 2 Comments

I found a recent online editorial in the Lancaster New Era/Intelligencer Journal by Jeff Hawkes on “Smart Growth” very interesting.  Hawkes was writing about a workshop that he had attended recently that expounded on the virtues of “Smart Growth” and that Lancaster County needs to embrace this concept as it moves into the 21st century.  Overall I thought the piece was well-written and made a number of good points.  What caused me to sit down in front of my laptop and fire off a blog post was actually what was written after his editorial in the “Comments” section.

. . . and I quote:

“Smart Growth is dense development in townships that are not compensated by other townships for the havoc caused by traffic snarls, added services, and infrastructure needs, not to mention higher school taxes.”

. . . and then there was this little gem:

“ . . . don’t call it “Smart Growth”.  There is nothing “smart” about it, except for the folks to stand to profit off of the development. Its delusional to think that this type of development is in anyway “smart” in the long run, or saving farmland.  Continued development of this nature will bring the infrastructure of the county to its knees, and the taxpayers will be left to pick up the tab.”

Huh????????????

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Lancaster’s Central Market – A Jewel at the Center of It All

October 7, 2009 Leave a comment

The American Planning Association (APA) recently named Lancaster’s Central Market as one of American’s ten great public spaces.  If you have never been to ‘Market’, you’re missing out on an experience that is uniquely a Lancaster landmark and tradition.

The APA’s Great Places’ program celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning.  Locations are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow.  In short, they are considered enjoyable, safe, and desirable and places where people not only want to visit; but to live and work every day.  They are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement.

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Home Prices Continue to Strengthen Nationwide

September 29, 2009 Leave a comment

 

Another month – another positive sign!  The Standard & Poor‘s/Case-Shiller home price index rose 1.2 percent from June to August which reflects a positive trend for the third month in a row.

Before we all go off the deep end and declare “happy days are here again”, we should probably temper our enthusiasm just a bit.  David M. Blitzer, the committee chairman for the Case-Shiller index said, “We do need to be cautious in coming months to assess whether the housing market will weather the expiration of the federal first-time buyer’s tax credit in November, anticipated higher unemployment rates and a possible increase in foreclosures.”

Stay tuned – - -

Related articles of interest:
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