After the events of this week, this photo of a pretty Skaneateles Village home sums it all up, I think.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Photo Op
After the events of this week, this photo of a pretty Skaneateles Village home sums it all up, I think.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
My crazy week
This has been a CRAZZZYYYY week for me... since Friday, I have officially sold 5 houses, and doing a 6th one tomorrow! What a blessing! WOW! And I was just complaining a couple weeks ago that this time last year I was slammed and this year, I was getting a little worried, LOL guess I spoke too soon! Sometimes I am in awe of how things can happen so fast and things can change literally in the blink of an eye! I love it.
Yesterday I was showing houses, I am unlocking the door, my clients are behind me, they start to gasp like there is a spider on my head, I step back, look up in horror, and see this....
Today I got pulled over. I was coming back from Nicholasville and I will admit, I was texting.... I know, I am a horrible person, I failed Oprah's pledge, I broke a promise to myself, I feel bad about it I really do! But sometimes I just can't help it! So I am texting and driving down a straight road with hardly any cars around me (if that makes you feel better ha it does me a little bit) and I look up and see blue and red lights in my rear of view mirror. Great. Just Great. I am going to jail for texting and driving. I knew I would eventually get caught. The time has come. I pull over into a skanky redneck gas station, he comes up behind me... I roll down my window, he says "Maam do you know why I pulled you over?" I'm thinking, of course I do I was texting, somehow you saw me through my tinted windows and now I am going to jail, but I calmy say "No not real sure sir??" LOL
He says, "well you sped up through a yellow light causing you to run a red light, your tags are expired (whole 'nother story) and you are not wearing a seat belt." All I can think of is, wow he didn't see me texting haha! He then asks for my drivers license and insurance.... oh boy. Anyway that knows me knows my car is a TOTAL disaster, looks like a bomb went off, but does smell like Vanilla Cupcake Yankee Candle Air Freshener :) Just looks like the city dump. So I dig through my glove compartment, middle console, look in the visors, under the seat, all the normal places you would have an insurance card (LOL) and....
Another shocker... I don't have an insurance card!! I tell him I have insurance, it comes out of my account every month on the 10th, its $212.50 lol I think he believes me, but still says I need to have it in my car. He goes back to his car for what seems like a lifetime but really was about 15 minutes (what the heck takes so long? That is just ridiculous. I was late to my appointment, hence the speeding through a yellow light lol jk I really still don't think I sped through the light!?!)... then he finally comes back... smiles and says "I will give you a warning but wear your seat belt and get your tags up to date, have a nice day."
I couldn't help but roll up my window and laugh. I was sitting there the whole time thinking, this will be a $500 ticket, I will have to come to court in Jessamine County, I don't even know where the courthouse is, blah blah blah! I was so pissed before I couldn't see straight, mad at myself for waiting 4 months to get my tags renewed when Chris tells me WEEKLY to go do it, and I procrastinate, bc that's what I do, procrastinate... I hate doing stuff like that and I hate going downtown and having to park in the garage and walk in there and wait 2 hours in a line just for a stupid little sticker for my tag! Does anyone feel my pain on this?? Anyway, that was the bad part of my day, but good because I didn't get ticket! :) Thank you Lord!
This is random, but is anyone else ready for SUMMER? What is going on with this winter weather?? UGHHH! Frankie almost wouldn't go out to pee this morning because I think he was in shock of the coldness, which made me think back to how much he loves Summer, and how much of a model he really is...
This is Frankie w/ his cousin Lucy-Belle at the lake, with their "faux" Louis Vuitton life-jackets lol
And here he is on the boat with his visor in case the sun is too much for his eyes... haha Thanks Aunt Steph :) Can't wait to go with you this Summer and Frankie can't wait either!!
Happy Wednesday!
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Rainy Days and Tuesdays
I know it's supposed to be rainy days and Mondays that "always get me down," according to Karen Carpenter - but this is Tuesday and it's raining and raining. I'm not really down, just want to share a few things that are on the edge.
Bob made leek pesto on Sunday night and marinated the shrimp in it and then grilled them outside. You remember Sunday - it was sunny and I got a bit of a tan. Leeks are special to us because they were right under our noses on our hillside for years and we had no idea what we were seeing. A friend, Mike, told us about them - to look for the leaves that are similar to tulips, then gently pull them out. The bulb is like a garlic or onion with its own special flavor. Since then - just last year - Bob has become a leek fiend. This year we had to wait longer for them to be ready, but now there's a plastic container filled with them in the fridge. The shrimp are lying on the leaves, just for presentation purposes, in the picture. He also made a leek and potato soup that was magnificent. Thanks, Mike, yet again!I've wanted to say thank you to Kimmie, my sometime godchild and Alex's babysitter, for a while now. I rarely see her any more, but she told me at her grandmother's funeral that she reads my blog and I know will read this. She sent me this amazing card after Koko left us last month. Bob opened it before I got home and he was excited. "This looks just like Koko!" he said. And it does - even though Kimmie never met her. I keep the card with others on our bulletin board in the kitchen, and every time I see it I think of them both - and Kimmie's pug, whom I've never met. And how far we all have come over the years. Good thoughts.
Lastly, thank goodness for Panera Bread! I had a broker's open today at my new listing at 158 Shire Way in Camillus and offered a chance for a $25 gift certificate to Panera Bread - so of course afterwards I had to go get it. (Jeannine Larose from our office in Skaneateles won it - she doesn't know yet.) I went to the other opens in Skaneateles - the ranch on Crow Hill and Peter Babbles' listing on Hawthorne Woods - and then ran back to Camillus. I had earned both a coffee and a pastry for my many times there, and chose a croissant. I made phone calls and texted and sent e-mails on my new iPhone and never felt like I was sitting too long. The rain poured down outside, but inside the fire kept us patrons warm. I can't wait until the new Panera Bread goes in by Staples on Grant Ave in Sennett! http://www.panerabread.com/
Monday, 2 May 2011
Otisco Lake
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| The View from Glencove |
I went out there today to check our camp after the floods and the wind storms. Patches, our neighbor's dog, greeted Boo and me on the road. The place looked fit and fine - certainly ready to be opened up and aired out though. I also went through my listing on Glencove, wanting to make sure that it was sound. As I put the key in the lock I heard music playing. No one was supposed to be there today and I was surprised, to say the least. I opened up and tiptoed in, calling so I wouldn't take anyone unawares. It was only the radio - sigh!
Otisco Lake is about 6 or 7 miles long, depending on whether you count the south end beyond the old Causeway, or the north end in the narrows. It's about a mile wide, and only 30 to 40 minutes southwest of Syracuse. I can attest that Skaneateles is 15 minutes away from the west side. And yet it is mostly a forgotten lake.
When Alex was little he was upset that Otisco wasn't considered one of the Finger Lakes proper. Someone must have told him that - not me! We thought about the legend that a giant had swooped down and with his fingers carved out the lakes and that is why they are called the Finger Lakes. I placated Alex by saying that there were no rules where giants were concerned - he might have had 6 fingers or even more.
And if you'd like to own a place...back to the subject...there are only 6 properties available at this time. The smallest is on the market in the low $100,000 range. For that you get a very steep access hill to the camp, 50 feet of lakefront, no running water (read also no septic or outhouse?) but it does have electricity and a great view. The most expensive is my lovely Glencove listing at $494,000. It's a three story home, rebuilt from the bottom up in 1991, with four bedrooms and three full baths, over 100 feet of lakefront and half an acre of land (double lot). It's designed for year-round cozy living and in the Marcellus School District.
The other four are basically camps of all sizes. The square foot costs range from a low of $149 to $339. Last year there were 13 camps listed for most of the summer - maybe more will come on the market.
In the past 24 months 17 properties on the lake have closed. A small one south of the Causeway closed at $55,000 and needed a lot of work, but it at least had a holding tank. The most expensive closed at $420,000 fairly rapidly and was built new in 2009. While we don't have the huge houses and lakefronts that Skaneateles boasts, we also do not have the high prices.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Some Preferred Business
1. Any yard mowing or maintenance
2. Any handy-man issues that come up around the house
Now luckily Chris does most of these things, but when I lived alone, I paid a ridiculous amount of rent to live in a nice apartment so I wouldn't have to worry about it. Those days are over. And I know lots of my girlfriends live alone or with other girlfriends... or you may be married to a very
Referral Numero Uno...
A good friend and client of mine, Adam, started this company and they are a great number to have on your fridge or in your celly! They can do it all! Small or large jobs, any sort of handy-man project or task, they can handle! They are very good to work with and reasonably priced. I have used them with several of my clients and have always had a pleasant experience, as I know my clients have too. Please visit their website and store their number... you never know when you made need it! Please take it from me, don't just choose a random contractor out of the phonebook...when it comes to work around the house, if not quoted by a reliable professional, homeowners can be easily ripped a new one, if you know what I mean! Rest assured, you can trust Adam and his crew :)
Now this is a MAJOR referral right now... because if you are like me, you hate when your grass is taller than your dog while he is trying to go pee-pee outside! And also like me, you like to see the "stripes" in your lawn when it gets mowed by a professional :) This company is owned by a good Realtor friend of mine, Ben, and they tend to yards all over Lexington! If you are in need of a "landscape spruce up" or even just a good mowing, these are your guys! Also reasonably priced, I think you will be highly satisfied! Visit their Facebook Fan Page and "Like" it to get more information and to contact them! Tell them RealDanaGentry sent you :)
While I'm at it, I might as well plug Chris's new Property Inspection Company as well!
Whether you are buying a home (and if you are hopefully you are using me as your Realtor lol) or whether you know someone who is in need of a property inspection... please check out his Facebook Fan Page and "Like" it... and keep it in mind if you happen to ever need a home inspection or know anyone who does! Thanks guys!!
Now just another fun fact... my "Royal Wedding...and Divorce" blog from three days ago has had 8,767 views!! Is this insane or what? I think it's because David Beckham's name is in it and people are googling him and stumbling upon my little bloggy and thinking it is going to be something special about him hahahaha! Just can not believe it every time I look at my "stats" button! Craziness.
Note to self: blog about hot soccer players more often for the hard core blog hits!
Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update
I spent today in a tale of two rental homes. The first one hadn't been cleaned out when the new tenants arrived, so the owners and I worked to make it presentable. And worked and worked. The new tenants continued with us, bringing in furniture while the floors were being scrubbed with Murphy's oil soap. After three hours I went to check on the next home that had been vacated yesterday - and actually was. It was the proverbial "neat as a pin." I found a few cobwebs in out of the way places, but that was about all. I kept thinking that the owners of the first place would have cried. Just another Sunday in the life of this Realtor!
On to the update. There are currently 124 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. Of these, 43 are in the village. Seven "new" ones came on this past week. I say quote-unquote because five of them were in the same subdivision on the edge of the village, and range in price from a low of the mid-$300,000 to over $415,000 for a new to-be-built home. The other two listings are new - one in an older community for $400,000 and another on the water for well under one million.
In the town there were eight new ones, of which half were re-lists with slightly lower prices. I take that back - one went up in price, a house in the country with acreage. The others are waterfront, anywhere from under 300K to almost a million. New homes listed include a waterfront (seven feet) with acreage for the low $300,000, a fairly newly built home not far from the village in the mid-$400,000 and an old farm for $400,000. But the greatest of them all is an incredible waterfront home built recently that reminds me of a castle - now on the market for the cool price of slightly over 4 million.
We now have 13 single family homes closed so far this year. The most recent was a sweet little house that had great potential and sold in the low $100,000. Last year at this time only 12 homes had closed, the year before an amazing 23 (and then it stopped). The 2008 year began with only 15 closings by the end of April.
Spring has yet to fully envelop us - the streets aren't packed like they usually are on a Sunday. The rain in April was an all-time record - one I'd like not to repeat for a while please! But April showers bring may flowers....and sales!
On to the update. There are currently 124 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. Of these, 43 are in the village. Seven "new" ones came on this past week. I say quote-unquote because five of them were in the same subdivision on the edge of the village, and range in price from a low of the mid-$300,000 to over $415,000 for a new to-be-built home. The other two listings are new - one in an older community for $400,000 and another on the water for well under one million.
In the town there were eight new ones, of which half were re-lists with slightly lower prices. I take that back - one went up in price, a house in the country with acreage. The others are waterfront, anywhere from under 300K to almost a million. New homes listed include a waterfront (seven feet) with acreage for the low $300,000, a fairly newly built home not far from the village in the mid-$400,000 and an old farm for $400,000. But the greatest of them all is an incredible waterfront home built recently that reminds me of a castle - now on the market for the cool price of slightly over 4 million.
There are eight properties marked contingent, two of which are new. A waterfront property listed just under a million and recently listed is now a "C" - continue to show but under contract. My crazy Sugar Maple Lane (the photo above) - a shell of a house - garnered multiple offers at its list price of $99,500. Backup offers are still being taken!
There are no new "under contract, do not show" homes or pending homes.
Spring has yet to fully envelop us - the streets aren't packed like they usually are on a Sunday. The rain in April was an all-time record - one I'd like not to repeat for a while please! But April showers bring may flowers....and sales!
Salt Raker Home, South District - SOLD
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