In my series of there's a day for everything, I found out that today is National Take a Hike Day!I have missed several days of celebrating the various national days because I have been hit by the Covid bug and I wish it would take a hike!  Fortunately, I have a very mild head cold version of it but it does wipe you out.In Chester County, there are so many beautiful hiking trails.  You can find them here.So, if you are feeling healthy, get outside and take a hike!Cover Photo by Holly Mandarich on Unsplash  11/17/2022

Yesterday when I was walking Jackie we saw this very large drone. It has six motors/propellers. It was moving slowly over the land that has been being prepared for the next phase of building at Big Elk. This area will have a number of single family ranch homes.I talked with one of the workmen and he said this drone was sowing grass seed, but I also heard from a neighbor that they were doing a laser survey. Well as you can see in the photo above they were filling it with something, which I thought looked like seed. It moved very slowly, not far above the ground and it supposedly helps them when sowing seed in hard to reach places around culverts etc.The workman we spoke with said the drone cost about $50,000 and there is a larger one too which costs $100,000. So, I am thinking this may b... 11/10/2022

These signs are all along the path of the Camino De Santiago de Compostela, they tell you how far you have to go once you real Galicia, before that the signs can be a little hit and miss, but they provide valuable feedback as to whether you are on the right path and going in the right direction. This one is actually at Finisterra on the coast and is the very end of what is known as the Camino de Finisterra which runs from Santiago de Compostella, I walked this extra distance and found this to be the most emotional moment for me.How does this relate to real estate and gratefulness. This past week, I had two buyers I am currently working with me send me feedback which I found extremely helpful and encouraging. Firstly, we can all think we are good listeners, but we need someone to actuall... 11/07/2022

It is easy to be grateful if you have a grateful heart. I generally wake up happy and grateful. A friend once said to me he was grateful to be above ground another day every day.This week I reconnected with a friend, who I have not seen for several years. I realized his business, he is a mortgage lender was right where we now live. So, I had reached out and we arranged to meet up at a coffee shop in Oxford I did not know about yet. So, I am grateful for discovering this really cool coffee shop Wholly Grounds, as it looks a great pace to get out of the house and sit somewhere comfortable with a snack and a coffee. You can see they have a whole section of comfy chairs to enjoy and if you look closely there is a piano and guitar back there. My friend mentioned they sometimes have musicians... 11/06/2022

Whilst the numbers are a little varied compared to last week, with some increases, these increases are really from about 30-45 days ago. The big number to look at this week is the drop in showings, as this is what is driving everything else. The information contained in here is from Bright MLS and covers the area of Pennsylvania covered by the Bright footprint.New closed sales were 1697 that is 31.2% down compared to a year ago, however up about 19.4% from a week ago, which is a little understandable as we were at the end of the month when most people aim to settle on a home.New purchase contracts were 1445, down 33.6% compared to a year ago and 1.8% compared to last week.New listings 1486, these were also down compared to a year ago by 18.0% and 11.4% compared to last week.New pending ... 11/03/2022

There is a name for almost every day in the year and I recently found out that November second is Look for Circles Day.This could be a fun thing to do with the kids!Circles are everywhere!Splash a circle of whipped cream in their hot chocolate!M&M's!Peanut Butter Cups!Have fun with it!Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash Featured Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash  11/02/2022

Nick Vandekar receives the Excellence in Client Service Award 2021 from Homes.com\Homesnap.In the photo above, Janet Rubino, Manager of the Long & Foster Real Estate office in Devon is seen presenting Nick Vandekar with the Excellence in Client Service Award 2021.Today, I arrived at the office to discover I have received the Excellence in Client Service Award 2021 courtesy of Homes.com/Homesnap. This attractive award is now sitting on my office windowsill reassuring current and future clients that they will be looked after.As a buyer representative or listing agent I take my fiduciary responsibilities seriously. I do not do transactions where I am a Dual agent, representing the seller and the buyer in the same transaction. I believe that both clients interests are harmed by not being fu... 10/26/2022

A friend called me on Friday and said they were coming down to visit the Clover Market happening this weekend in Kennett Square, did I want to meet up? Well as I am all about discovering new things I thought it would be a good idea, so yesterday Sunday, we met up.My friend David Mackey, the owner of the Philadelphia Print Shop now located in Wayne, PA was coming down to look at Fresh Vintage run by Chris and Colleen Allison. They were exhibiting at the Clover Market in Kennett Square. They also have space in Works also located in Kennett Square. I found the market, held close to the Consolidated District High School so parking was easy. The market had music, a winery and brewery supplying drinks and four or five food trucks for those in need of sustenance, and of course a coffee provide... 10/24/2022

 Living in a new community is appealing to many people. Currently, builders seem to be favoring building Active 55+ communities and Ryan Homes has been developing Big elk for little over a year. The new clubhouse, shown above,  opened recently with a swimming pool, mail room, exercise room and kitchen and club room too. Located on W Baltimore Pike the main road into the development is called Hood Farm Road. This is between Routes 796 and 896 so easy to reach from Route 1.The development consists of what Ryan Homes calls Villas and Ranch Homes. The Ranch Homes come in several different floor plans, but all are single family homes with a ground floor master and sometimes other bedrooms on the main floor, but with a second floor and a basement usually. The Villas are twin homes, or as we s... 10/19/2022

As a new member of the community I saw the signs and was happy to read about the Penn Township Fall Festival. The event to be held in Penn Township Park, 260 Lewis Road, West Grove, PA 19390 on October 15 from 12-4 pm looks like it has something for everyone. This day is absolutely packed with free activities and community vendors. Some of the event highlights include; 30+ vendors, a kid's carnival, a Halloween egg hunt, food by 22 BBQ, free Kona Ice, a beautiful fall photo booth, character appearances by Elsa, Anna and Spiderman, Pumpkin Decorating contest, Jungle John reptile show and so, so much more! It is exciting to see the township bring back their Halloween Egg Hunt! Think Easter egg hunt in the fall. All participants under the age of 13 are welcome. Please line up along the cau... 10/14/2022

We were excited last week when we heard that Pennsylvania had created some new State Parks, and one of them, Big Elk Creek State Park was on our doorstep. Not surprising when we live in a 55+ development called Big Elk.So, whilst it is not officially developed yet, and that is going to take some years, the park is currently part of the White Clay Creek Preserve. The Big Elk Creek flows into White Clay Creek and then into the Chesapeake.The new state park will be about 1700 acres in size and is an important resource for migrating birds and lots of plants and wildlife. Maintaining the park for the flora and fauna is one of the main aims of creating the state park.We went for a walk here a couple of days ago, and learnt that bow hunting is allowed in the park and that currently there seem ... 10/12/2022

Just fifteen minutes from our new home is Nottingham County Park. This was the first Chester County Park and was dedicated in September 1963. Located at 150 Park Road, Nottingham, PA 19362. The Herrs Factory is not far away, and you can take a factory tour there as well.You can download a copy of the park trail map here.The park is 731 acres in size with trails, a horse riding ring, and horse trails, a fitness trail with 18 stations, the link above allows you to reserve a pavilion, and three modern handicap accessible playgrounds. There are also nine pavilions which you can reserve for events, I believe all have a grill next to them and port-a-pottys close by. There are plentiful trash bins too. I took Jackie with me two weeks ago and this weekend Annie, my fiancé, Jackie and I all went... 10/10/2022

Buying a home over the last few years has been extremely challenging. With low inventory, rapidly rising prices, multiple offers, etc. it is amazing anyone was able to not only find a home but able to get an offer accepted.Right now things are improving, inventory is increasing slowly, prices are levelling off slightly, and buyers are able to make offers again that include inspections and or other contingencies as well.But, we still have a major hurdle right now. Rising interest rates.So what are buyers to do when interest rates have increased from 2.7% this time last year to approaching 7% for a 30 year conventional term mortgage. Well, I am not a mortgage broker, banker or provider. But I know many who are. And talking with them an option for many buyers is to consider an Adjustable R... 10/06/2022

I chose the photo that goes with this post for two reasons. Firstly there are two parts, one non real estate related and the other definitely real estate related.The MarinesWhen our son joined the Marines, I blogged about his progress, and when he went to Iraq I shared his emails and photos. It was a way for me to cope with the stress. He was in a Special Forces Unit that was at the sharp end of the spear, a Recon Marine.  Initially, his emails were light and it sounded as if nothing was happening. Then we got a call from his girlfriend. "Had we heard from Jeremy, something had happened to men in his unit." Well, everything changed then, on that first tour he lost twelve of his friends. As I blogged I was supported by friend and aquaintances here in the Rain. That was a success for me t... 10/04/2022

There are many terms used when purchasing a home revolving around value. We touched yesterday on the assessed value. Many people presume the appraised value is going to be equal to the appraised value, but this is not always the case.Firstly, let's talk about fair market value. Generally what a buyer is willing to offer and a seller is willing to accept is fair market value. With multiple offers that value may be higher than the asking price for a home. We have definitiely seen that over the last two years with the lack of inventory and the number of buyers taking advantage of the ultra low interest rates we were experiencing.What that caused was many situations where the appraised value did not equal the fair market value agreed upon by the buyer and seller. Why not?Whilst the buyer pa... 10/04/2022

There is a lot of information you can find online. But you also need to understand and be able to interpret the information correctly. Recently, I had a client mention to me that a home they were interested in was vastly overpriced. I asked how they knew this and they mentioned that the sales price was almost double the assessed value.Now, I can understand the confusion, surely the home would be sold for the assessed value. Well the answer is no! The fair market value, or an appraised value does not equal the assessed value in most cases.First, what is the assessed value? Each county in Pennsylvania places an assessed value upon a home so that all properties are taxed equally and fairly. The value is equal to the fair market value only in the base year. This value is often re-assessed a... 10/03/2022

I moved house just over a month ago, so this post is coming from my heart. I may very well have deliberately forgotten the stressful parts, but they were there. Did we do it right? As a Realtor I should have had this down pat, right? The answer is no, we did things wrong and could have done it much better.Firstly remember you are not moving alone, especially if you have a partner, kids or pets. Make a plan. I would create a box just for those things you know you are going to need or want immediately and put this in your car so you know where it is. It is amazing how many boxes seem to get mislaid in the move. In this box I would put toilet paper, documents you are going to need, clothes for at least a couple of days, medicines, toiletries etc. I would also make one for the kitchen too. ... 09/28/2022

Every  morning I walk our dog. Jackie, who is named after Jackie Robinson, because Annie my fiance's mother grew up in Brooklyn and was a lifelong Brooklyn Dodgers fan. When she got Jackie, she wanted a baseball name and thus Jackie. We have posted lots of photos of Jackie who is very low energy.Basically I drag Jackie on our walks, she acts like a resistance ball always behind me. That is unless she notices a fox, or you mentionthe word fox and she gets excited and rushes ahead searching for the fox, nose to the ground.As I have mentioned before we recently moved from West Chester, to West Grove.  In West Chester we lived in a golf course community.Now where we live, in a 55+ community called Big Elk, due to the Elk River nearby is a tad more rural. Hence the photo that leads this post... 09/23/2022

With COVID we all gained new skills, or improved on ones we were already using. I am becoming quite adept at making video tours of listings. I always do them for my own listings, not that they sell the house, but it helps to differentiate me from other agents. Facebook open houses can be fun as well, I had one client host an open house on Facebook when we were all but shut down for in person showings. She did a great job and we had several people on line watching.Well, recently I have a relocation client who lives out of state. He has some very specific parameters for his home search. So, as he is not here a lot of the time, I have been going to listings and making a video walk through, highlighting what I like and what I don't in relation to his parameters. I have pointed out where a y... 09/21/2022

Many people view our role as a Realtor simply as a door opener. How wrong they are. As I read Buzz Mackintosh post this morning Down to the Wire  I realized it is often Realtors who are the ones speaking up and letting people know when and where their property rights are being infringed. Please take a moment to read his post, it is excellent.It is Realtors who speak up to get Flood insurance protection plans passed in congress. It is Realtors who speak up and stand against municipalties who try to block sales of properties with onerous requirements that are costly to home owners through Use and Occupancy inspections and block the issuance over small items from being issued.It is Realtors who proposed sensible systems for sidewalks and lateral sewer inspections, rather than having these ... 09/19/2022