Other Sites Pull In Your Blogs From Google: You Better Get Bloggin'! As I was perusing my blog stats, I came across someone who found my Lindenhurst NY localism post from Recreationparks.net I'm the third one down. I had no idea that this happens. No, my phone is not ringing from it but it goes to show that other sites will pull your blog posts from Google! The more exposure, the better! This has got to be the shortest post ever, lol. 08/26/2010

Housing Tax Credit: A Website To Help You Track Your Refund For those of you who bought a home and are waiting for that refund, here is a website to help you track it: Tax Credit Refund Tracking It's a secure site and you only have to enter your SS#, Filing Status and the amount of your refund in whole dollars so check your tax return. 08/25/2010

The Real Estate Agent Who Turned Ambulance Chaser I just finished reading a post by Connie Harvie titled, When Prospecting Is Just Tacky and it reminded me of a few situations when my Father passed away. My Father passed away unexpectedly in March of 2000. When he went into the hospital he had told me that just in case anything happens, he wanted one day for the wake and to be cremated. We did that as per his wishes. As we were all at the funeral home, some neighbors of my father's neighbors stopped by to pay their condolences. One even made me an offer on my father's home. A low-ball offer at that. I told her to leave. As she was leaving she told me I'll never get a better offer. I chased after her and my Brother had to hold me back. Right before the end of the wake, a well-known, loc... 08/24/2010

The Lindenhurst NY Real Estate Market: Who Do You Think You're Fooling? A few nights ago I was out with a buyer client showing homes. We entered a nice home and the homeowner gave us a brochure that their real estate agent created for them. After we left my client read it and pointed out something very interesting. One section said: "There are more homes going off the market than coming on"   I don't think so scooter! Here is why:               Here you have it. 64 new listings in July for Lindenhurst NY. 8 are under contract. Half of those are REO (real estate owned) properties. Oh yes, it's a seller's market....NOT. There are 19 price changes (PC in red) already. How did my buyer know the information in the brochure was "false?" Because I have educated her. My job is to educate my buy... 08/20/2010

Listing Agents & Buyer's Agents: Who Works Harder? From time to time, we all hear discussions about who works harder: Listing Agents or Buyer's Agents? Listing Agents will sit for a few hours initially with a homeowner gathering all sorts of info to find out why they want to sell, the market value of their home, previewing their home, etc. Once the homeowner decides to hire that agent, then it's another few hours completing the listing paperwork, taking nice photos of the home and going over the marketing plan in order to get that home sold. Then that agent is off to create the listing in their local MLS and whatever other marketing they need to do. They also will hold a Broker's open house and public open houses during the time that home is on the market. They take calls from potential... 08/18/2010

If I Do Not Take A Vacation, YOU Will Pay For It! We went on vacation to Montauk Point, NY this past week and I had no idea how much I needed it. I realized how much I've been working for the last 11 months and barely taking a day off. I was feeling pulled from all sides. I'm a Mom, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Aunt and a Realtor® to sellers and buyers. Even with all the stress I somehow maintained my composure and patience for almost a year. I mainly neglected myself and took care of everyone else. Don't get me wrong, I love my personal and professional life and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. This vacation taught me that life is short and I need to enjoy it more. If I do not, then everyone else will suffer for it including myself. Even today I went fluke fishing out of Captre... 08/14/2010

Friday Comedy Hour: Vivian Vance (Ethel) Roasts Lucille BallThis is short, but it's pretty funny. I can't believe I came across this. Nice to see them back in the day! I always loved I Love Lucy. Lucy was always cooking up some scheme and Ethel was always in for the ride! 08/06/2010

Lindenhurst NY Short Sale Homes Sold Prices As Of 7/31/10     230 Lindenhurst NY Short Sale Homes have been listed since January 1st, 2010 through July 31st, 2010 and 15 have sold so far this year to date. Sold Statistics: Average Listing Price - $312,411 Average Sold Price - $298,900 % Difference -4.33% Average Property Taxes - $8,130 Average # of Bedrooms - 3.5 Average # of Baths - 1.5 Average Days on the Market - 99   99 days on the market is great for a short sale home! Banks are supposed to be getting better at  cooperating with homeowners in order for them to sell their home as a short sale. I would like to see that 230 available homes in Lindenhurst NY go down as this year progresses. We will see how well that will do by the end of this year. Short sales will be around for a whil... 08/04/2010

Lindenhurst NY Homes Sold Prices As Of 7/31/10   142 Lindenhurst NY Homes have sold since January 1st, 2010 through July 31st, 2010 Average Listing Price - $312,411 Average Property Taxes - $8,130 Average # of Bedrooms - 3.5 Average # of Baths - 1.5 Average Days on the Market - 99 The charts below are for the last 3 months. This will help you determine if now is the right time for you to sell your home. No one knows how the Lindenhurst NY real estate market will be next year. You can clearly see from the other charts below that the Lindenhurst NY real estate market is slowly going up so far. If you want to know what the current market value of your Lindenhurst NY home, please call me anytime at: (631) 703-0201end_of_the_skype_highlighting for a no-obligation appointment.       08/04/2010

Do Not Apologize For Your Successes - You've Earned Those Bragging Rights! From time to time I read success posts here on Activerain. It's great to read those success stories because it gives others the incentive to keep on blogging. But, occasionally those writers apologize for "bragging". To me, it's not bragging. You are happy as a pig in poop because you got a new listing, you closed on a short sale thinking it was never going to happen because it had a slew of problems, you wrote something that changed a person's life forever in a positive light and shared it with us. You got a tv interview with your local station because of what you write here in the "Rain". You are proud of yourself and you should be. I love reading these stories and we all become proud for that person. We all w... 08/02/2010

Ron White is part of the Blue Collar Comedy Team with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry The Cable Guy. Ron White is my favorite. There is language warning with this one but for those of you who know Ron White, that is not surprising.Enjoy your day and weekend everyone! 07/29/2010

REO Homes Suffolk County - Real Estate Market Report 1/1/10 - 6/30/10     Listing StatisticsAverage Listing Price: $232,242 Average Property Taxes: $8,015 Average # of Bedrooms: 3 Average # of Bathrooms: 2   Sold Statistics Average Sold Price: $210,294 Average Property Taxes: $7,666 Average # of Bedrooms: 3 Average # of Bathrooms: 1 Average Days On The Market: 66 **All data is provided by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island** If you would like to receive FREE weekly REO listings delivered to your email inbox daily, please complete the short form below: Loading... 07/28/2010

A few years ago, my former boss was supposed to get a file on his desktop from the computer tech guy. He couldn't find it and he calls me from his office and asks me to call Joel to find out what is going on. The conversation went like this: "Hi Joel, it's Jackie. Bob can't find the file you left for him. Did you do it yet?" Joel - "Yes, I did it last night". Me - "Ok, let me go into Bob's office and I'll put you on hold". I walk into Bob's office and there he is shuffling through papers that are on the TOP of his DESK. Bob didn't see me peeking my head into his office. I walked away and got back on the phone with Joel. Me - "Joel, you are not going to believe this but Bob is trying to find the file on the top of his desk, not on the desktop of his computer!" Joe - ... 07/27/2010

Lindenhurst NY Real Estate Market Report Week Ending 7/25/10   Newly Listed Homes - I am proud to say that out of the 10 homes that were listed last week, 6 of them are in my Century 21 AA Realty office! We are #1 in Lindenhurst and the Town of Babylon!   Homes Under Contract:   Sold Homes:   If you are looking to sell your home and want a free Competitive Market Analysis, please call me anytime to schedule a no obligation appointment: (631) 703-0201 or Email me 07/26/2010

Suze Orman Said There Are Deals To Be Had.....2 Years AgoHere we are, two years later and it's the best time to buy a house. Better than two years ago. Housing prices are low as well as mortgage rates. If you have the money for a down payment and closing costs, now is the perfect time to buy. Mortgage rates are at historic lows. If you are sitting on the fence, get off that fence now. I've heard buyers say that they are in no rush. That is all well and good, but, do not wait too long because you could end up regretting it.Enjoy your day! 07/26/2010

Queen Elizabeth Has Become Tech Savvy! Queen Elizabeth gave approval to a Buckingham Palace Twitter feed and a YouTube account. Starting today, they have a Flickr account where we all can see her favorite family photos. There are over 6oo images. There are a lot of older photos when Prince Charles and Princess Anne were babies and small children. I've been enjoying viewing them this morning. Anyone who likes to keep up with the Royals will love these! Enjoy your day!   07/26/2010

Friday Comedy Hour: George Carlin On Saving The PlanetAs most of you know, I've always loved George Carlin. Yes, he can curse up a storm but he tells it like it is. Just a warning with this one: Do not drink anything or else it will be all over your keyboard. It's a really funny one! 07/23/2010

Open House 602 Narragansett Villas Drive 55 & Over Community Lindenhurst NY Saturday 8/28/10 & Sunday 8/29/10 Both Days From 1-4 P.M. Refreshments will be served and there will be a gift card raffle!Open House Flyer - 602 Narragansett Villas Drive - Lindenhurst 07/22/2010

No Longer on The MarketNarragansett Villas Condo 55 & Over Community 2 Bedroom Condo For Sale Lindenhurst, NY - New Price - $369,000 Nothing to do but unpack and enjoy life at the Narragansett Villas in Lindenhurst, NY! Situated on Montauk Highway just East of Delaware Avenue. Convenient to shopping centers and the Venetian Shores Beach Hut. Beautiful updated kitchen with Cherry Wood cabinets and granite counter-tops. Plenty of cabinet storage and a roomy pantry. Enough counter-space to make food preparation very convenient. Private, Upper corner unit with Large living room with circular windows to let the sunshine in while maintaining privacy. The windows have beautiful custom roman shades that filter out the light. Armstrong laminate flooring which is low maintenance.  Large master be... 07/22/2010

It's Nice To Hear, "I Trust You Jackie!"I took a new listing on Saturday. I sat down with my new client and went over the listing paperwork. I gave a short explanation as to what each document is for and I asked her to read everything before signing. I'm that way. I do not care how long it takes. I read everything no matter who is sitting in front of me so I make sure to have my sellers and buyers read everything before they sign documents. Then I hear,........."it's ok Jackie, I trust you" and off she signs. Yes, I can be trusted. I know myself but she didn't know me from a hole in the wall. It was very nice to hear that. I'm sure she will read every document entirely at her convenience. She also has sold a home before so she was familiar already with what she was signing. The point i... 07/20/2010