Mothers Day by one of our Favorite Bloggers

Our own local Momma, Kimberly Jackson has done a great blog post on Mother’s Day… Enjoy!

Town Meeting, Night 2

The 2008 Town Meeting wrapped-up last night just after 10:00. The much anticipated debate on the Village School repairs was informative and with the exception of a few questions the support was overwhelming. With a room filled with almost 600 residents, there were only 3 people that voted against the project. It would have been much closer if it were not for the newly promised “at least 40% reimbursement” from the State School Fund. News to me was that 1% of the State Sales Tax goes to funding school projects in the Commonwealth. As with our other 2 big school projects in recent history, Bill Woodfin eloquently and with great vigor rightly told the meeting that if we don’t use this opportunity for funds, someone else would. It is rare that our community has this opportunity to receive aid like this and it is a great situation for our town given the dire need for these repairs. Don’t forget, this is only the first step in moving forward with the work. Be sure to hit the polls in June to cast your vote. Either way you vote, it is an honor and a privilege to have a say in our “Town Business”.

As much as some would like to convince us that Proposition 2 1/2 overrides are a bad thing, I think that it is the best thing that has happened since Town Meeting started. It gives us the opportunity to properly vet these articles while at the same time understand that our budget limits are a reality.

Closing… it must have been a full moon last night… The vigor of some speakers and the diversion off topic on several articles made for some of the most interesting amusing discussion that I have seen for some time.

I can not let this post close without remembering a very special Marbleheader and dear friend, Benjamin Arthur Woodfin. I will never forget Ben’s eloquent words on Town Meeting floor when my Grandfather, Bowden Gregory Osborne passed away in the mid 1990’s. Ben was a true Header in every sense of the word. He was compassionate to everyone that he came into contact with, especially all of the families that he counseled as our Cemetery Superintendent. He was a true friend to me and many others. Whip, Ben! Rest in Peace.

Town Meeting, Night 1

Even before Marblehead’s Incorporation, her residents have gathered to “do the business of the Town”.  One of our earliest decisions as a group, in Marblehead was to build The First Meeting House.  Some 360 yeas after our incorporation, we are still blessed with the opportunity to have this sacred form of government still in place in Marblehead.  Recently, local papers have been talking about the struggles to get town meeting quorums and many have transferred to a Town Meeting Membership where the communities are not able to gather a quorum so they elect representatives from different areas of Town to represent themselves at Town Meeting. So many more have scrapped Town Meeting all together.

I am so proud to say that here in Marblehead, Town Meeting is alive and well.  We sitll meet at least once a year to “do the town’s business” as evident with a packed room at our Veteran’s Auditorium and even some overflow into they gymnasium.

Yes, we still have challenges where some people only show up for a special interest and, it is frustrating to so many long-time Marbleheaders when a special interest article moves and then a bunch of people get up and walk out.  I lost 3 neighbors around me last night after we moved pass Article 21.  Yes, you have the right to do whatever you want and I am sure that many are new to this process or naive to it but it is like going to a business meeting and walking out after your interests were satisfied.  Please remember that this level of control over our Town’s Budgets and say in our decisions rests on your shoulders as a citizen and your attention and commitment to Town Meeting is critical.

Always exciting and unpredictable, last night was no exception.  Committee reports in the begining of the night and discussion on Angenica Terrace, which most thought would be a slam dunk, was met with a very close vote. Zoning issues always bring lively discussion as it is a topic that addresses people’s coveted property rights.  As quickly and efficiently as Dana Snow’s presentations are, the articles considered the most controversial can breeze through and the easiest can hang-on with extended discussion.  Bottom line is that it is the business of the Town and the Town is all of our business

Look forward to part 2 tomorrow with some great news on the biggest article facing the Town this year (outside of our budget).

The new and improved

If you didn’t hear it…we launched our new website last night.  You may not have heard it but I can tell you that it we did.  Closing the cover on Amy’s notebook sounded like the truck hitting the ground after being dropped in the Ford commercial.  It is a great feeling to finally have this up and we hope you enjoy it.  Our goal was to provide a hyper-local community resource for Marblehead.  Having come from 13 generations of Marbleheaders, my family has always had a great passion for our town.  With real estate being such a big part of any community, this resource has given us the opportunity to combine our love for real estate and the community.  We are very fortunate to be able to integrate these two components together in our everyday lives as one.

We launched our first site over 9 years ago and it amazes me how much the  has changed our lives since then.  Although, at one time, it was thought that the computer would replace the Realtor, as it did to a great extent in the the travel industry, the Internet has given us a tool to quench the thirst of information that today’s consumer expects.  Now, everything is not just a click away but you can, and should, be able to find anything you want online.  Gone are the days when the Realtors “own” the information and with today’s tools, it is not uncommon for the consumer to know about a new listing before the agent.

Early websites were basically static information and, with the exception of an email link, provided information that the builder wanted his visitors to know.  Today, interactive websites (web 2.0) allow the site builder to create a site and then, let the visitor drive the direction of the information through interactive blogging, immediate access to live information through RSS feeds and live services like video, weather and changing information as it happens.  We are clearly in the beginning of the Internet Age and we have come a long way so far.

Our goal was to change the way real estate is done in Marblehead and this website is our first step.  Like most real estate agents, I was a one man show running a 20+ million dollar annual sales business.  Now, we have re-built our business plan, brought on 2 fantastic people to help and have added systems to create a new community experience.

Our biggest compliment is that the majority of our business is from our past clients and referrals from them.  We hope you enjoy our website and welcome the opportunity to be of service.

 

Frostbiting on Marblehead Harbor

from vodpod.com posted with vodpod

Personally, I like to go sailing in warm weather and skiing in the winter. Just watching these sailors from driving across the causeway makes me cold…

Promising Market Outlook

In the last 12 hours, I have read 2 articles with optimistic projections on the market.  One is from Realty Times, a fairly conservative industry newsletter and the other is from Sam Zell (tune in to 11:20 into video), the multi-billionaire investor who has a track record of being spot-on and his views are highly respected.  Checkout the links…  Only time will tell but I will share with you again the market timing video from Peter Lynch.

This news comes on the heels of seeing 7 sold properties and 4 under agreement properties over the past week.

The Presidential Race and Real Estate

Here is the unbiased view of where the Presidential Candidates stand on the current real estate situation.  Personally, the only thing that scares me is Mrs. Clinton’s idea of freezing interest rates.  My fear is that it will crush the mortgage industry and penalize the investors that make this money available for housing.

500 feet and counting

from vodpod.com posted with vodpod

Our new seawall is now 500 feet long and counting. It is definitely the coldest job in Marblehead… right next to rebuilding the crane at Marblehead Trading (coming soon..) on Front Street. Check out the video:

My Favorite Programs

I love technology.  Just a computer or any electronic toy…ahh..er.. important business tool sitting on a desk is not enough.  Getting it all to work seamlessly and in concert as one is a thing of beauty.  Call it my inner geek if you want.  Here are some of the tools that I use to make my digital life work:

Logmein.com - This I can not live without.  It is a free utility that allows me to access any of my computers from any computer connected to the Internet.  I can log into my account and see a list of every computer that I own.  then, I can open up, full screen, the desktop of that computer.  I regularly transfer files, print from my home computer to the printer next to me at the office (monthly fee) and reset my web-cams - weather station.  I have logged in from the office to my wife’s computer or the kids in the basement when they call me from work with a computer problem.  If you own more than one computer….this is a must have.

Carbonite.com - If you don’t get this, someday you will wish that you had.  Plain and simple…. a program that backs up all the data on your computer, 24/7, off-site with no effort on the user end.  $50 bucks a year for unlimited storage.  If you crash or have a disaster at the site of the computer, you can get all of your data and back it up to a new pc right away.  If you change a file by mistake, you can log in and retrieve the old one.  You will be thumping your chest if you bought before you crashed!

Hypersnap.com- Quick and easy program to cut any image, part of a file or website and convert it to an image file (jpg, gif, bmp)  This is great for capturing a photo from a website, pdf or a screen shot of a problem or settings that you would like to capture and share.

igoogle.com- This is the newest addition.  What ever you have on your home page… the website that opens when you start your web browser… is not as informative as an igoogle page.  Sure, other sites have allowed you to add your own choices of news feed and information but igoogle has, for me, put it all together in the right way.  It is also the tool that I have decided to use for RSS feeds.  Trust me on this, get to know RSS feeds.

imovie- Ok….I had to put a Mac program in here.  It is the reason that I bought my first MacBook and I love it.  I have bought my last PC!

Primopdf- The best way (and free) to turn any document or file into a pdf file.  Simply “print” the file and choose the primopdf printer and you are done.  Great for documents that you do not want to have changed.

It started!

I am sure it has happened to you.  It is a freezing cold morning and perhaps the car has been sitting for a few days.  You jump in and turn the key and the engine turns over like it is connected to a double a battery.  Just when you think it will not start, the last possible cycle happens and then…vrooooom.  That is the best analogy that I can think of for today’s real estate market.  The past few weeks have seen a welcomed sharp increase in showings and open house attendees and we are starting to see a few properties go under contract.  Are all of the cold days gone…probably not, but the car runs!

I expect that we will see a year of spurts in the local real estate market.  You will see bursts of new inventory and buying along with fluctuating rates.  Over the last month we have seen rates hit as low as 5.25% and have been climbing ever since to 6.04% today.

My message to Buyers is….  if you bought your next house today, you will be able to look back in a couple of years feeling very good that you locked in with an interest rate that is close to historic lows and bought at a very good time in the real estate cycle.  This is a great video on “market timers” by Peter Lynch

To Sellers…  Price, condition and patience are key in today’s market.  Partner that with a solid Marketing and Technology Plan and you will sell your home.