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buying second home in vermont

This from Jackson Gore at Okemo Valley!

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Okemo Mountain Resort

Jackson Gore is Open! We’ll have 37 trails with 8 lifts spinning starting at 8 a.m. Don’t forget that you can get a $39 lift ticket at the clock tower ticket plaza or the Jackson Gore Archway if you donate 5 or more non perishable food items. The Rail Jam is also today– registration is in the clock tower base lodge with the event itself in the Jackson Gore base area.  Come to the Okemo area and Ski with us!

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If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying Real Estate in Southern Vermont, please give me a call at 802-353-1983, visit my website or email me at [email protected]

Yuck, Ouch Inspections!

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I just saw this sad article about a woman in Canada who bought a million dollar home.  She thought that having an architect and engineer walk through the home would be enough to verify that it was safe for habitation, so she didn’t get a home inspection.  After closing, she discovered that the walls were totally and completely infested with mice.  Yuck!

Worse still… the damage from their droppings and urine is so severe that the house has to be gutted.

Enough said, right?  Here’s a link to the article – don’t be shy if I can help you with anything!

Best,
Irene

Irene Joins the Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.

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The Chamber welcomed the following  new member in September:

 Irene Gaffigan C/O Bean Group

800 659-1819

Having been a Realtor® in NJ before coming to Vermont, Irene has over 20 years of experience bringing buyers and sellers together. Irene’s key to success begins with people skills and really listening to her clients and customers. Irene lives in the Okemo Valley area, but has gotten to know Southern and Central Vermont and happily services buyers and sellers in these areas, having experience with all types of properties.

Unique, One-of-A-Kind Hawk Mountain Resort Condo For Sale!

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22000 sq ft Ledges unit! Beautifully decorated, set over 2 levels with spectacular views, large sauna, large wet bar and 2 large field stone fireplaces that set this apart from other Ledges units! The unit has two living areas and offers an ideal location at the end of the road at the highest elevation!
 
Main Level: Large deck. Tiled mudroom inside front door leads to elegant entrance hall, half tiled bath. Bright spacious living room with magnificent field stone fireplace and sliders to deck. Open fully applianced kitchen with newer Bosch dishwasher adjoins dining room. Master bedroom and bath with large, round whirlpool tub and hand painted mural, separate shower and double sink vanity. Honey hardwood floors throughout. Double-door owner’s pantry closet. Deck, off living room, offers beautiful views of the valley and colorful fall foliage!

Lower Level: Comfortable den with queen sleep sofa, additional fieldstone fireplace and large tiled wet bar with refrigerator for entertaining friends and family. Library area with separate seating. Spacious bedroom with king bed, full bath and large sauna. Separate laundry/storage area featuring new Maytag washer with 5-yr warranty. Owner’s closet as well.

The unit is beautifully furnished and includes several televisions, DVD players and a fully equipped kitchen including dishware, cookware, coffee maker, toaster and utensils.  Two living areas make this unit ideal for two couples to each enjoy private space or for children to enjoy a separate play area!  Ready for immediate move-in! Priced to sell at $199,900.00

Warren Buffett’s thoughts on Real Estate

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Well, spring has descended upon us!  I am trying to enjoy the 70 degree weather here in Vermont in March – and trying not to think about how this over-the-top spring like weather is affecting the local economy. 

While the weather patterns dictate our local travel and tourism based economy, there are some general economic factors that support a healthy real estate forecast for 2012 and beyond.  Recently, Warren Buffett – the so called “Oracle of Omaha” was interviewed on CNBC.  He recommends buying real estate over investing in a diversified group of leading companies. 

It has been a long time since buyers and sellers heard that kind of good news!

Buffett said that along with stocks, single-family homes are cheap and attractive investments.  In contrast, investments in Treasury bills, gold or simply keeping money in cash are not as attractive.  He also said that if he had a way to buy “a couple hundred thousand single-family homes” and easily manage them, he would “load up on them” and “take mortgages out at very, very low rates”. 

In reality, managing “a couple of hundred thousand single-family homes” is an impossibly Herculean logistical task.  In my last blog I mentioned several reasons for the real estate market improvement:

  • Interest rates are at a historic record low.
  • Baby Boomers are nearing retirement and have the ability to snap up high end properties at lower than usual prices.
  • Some people who watch the real estate market feel we won’t see further drops in value.
  • Some buyers who have been on the side-lines for the past several years are ready to re-enter the market.

Let’s face it – it is much easier to buy stocks with a few keystrokes and mouse-clicks.

So while this news is good for investors and Warren Buffett followers – who really will benefit?  When asked if a young individual should buy stocks or his first single-family home, Buffett recommended buying a single-family home with a 30-year mortgage.  “It’s a terrific deal,” he said.  “It’s a leveraged way of owning a very cheap asset now and I think that’s probably as an attractive an investment as you can make right now.”

Are you looking to complete the “American Dream” and own your own home?  Are you interested in the second-home market?  There are great buys to be had out there and interest rates make an attractive investment.  As I’ve mentioned before – if you are thinking about buying property in this area – now is the time to do so!

Until next time, Irene

Improvement on the real estate front!

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After several months blogging about the Vermont towns that I know and love and after a reminder about how important your own life should be as we enter 2012 – well, it’s time to get back to business!  Let’s talk about real estate.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that it wasn’t a breakout year in 2011 for residential real estate sales.  In my opinion however, there was slight improvement.  While the percentage increase in residential home, condo sales and second home buyers vary from county to county and town to town, the real estate market has been positively affected by the following:

  • Interest rates are at a historic record low.
  • Baby Boomers are nearing retirement and have the ability to snap up high end properties at lower than usual prices.
  • Some people who watch the real estate market feel we won’t see further drops in value.
  • Some buyers who have been on the side-lines for the past several years are ready to re-enter the market.

This does not mean that we will all enjoy easy and quick real estate transactions.  Clients will be cautious, as they should be.  Many home prices remain depressed and are well below their replacement value that it would take to build a new home – which is not necessarily good for builders – but good for qualified home buyers.  There are great buys to be had out there and with interest rates where they are right now, the average person still has a great opportunity to own the “American Dream”. 

Due to the financial hardships that many of the American people have endured in recent history and the country’s Financial Institution’s past lending policies – in my opinion a good credit score and adequate down payment are most important for your future real estate transactions.  There are programs out there for first-time home buyers who qualify so if you are in the market to buy a home, it would be foolish not to look into it now.

I’m happy to live in Vermont in a 4-season resort area.  I believe we will remain a strong second-home market and also a destination supported by our local tourism based partners who continue to focus on that economy and add to their year-round amenities.  If you’ve been thinking about buying property in this area – well, now is the time to do so!

Until next time, Irene

For all your real estate needs in South Central Vermont, contact me at:

[email protected]

802-353-1983

2012 is a Brand New Year!

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Happy New Year to you!  As most of us do at this time of year, we reflect on what has happened over the past year and what we want to have happen in the coming year.  I find that my own behavior contributes to the success that I enjoy, whether it is a personal success or a professional one. 

So I wanted to take a moment and outline some of the thoughts that I hope to keep close this year.  Consider these some great ideas to improve your life in 2012!

  • Wake up each day thankful for your life.  No matter how good or bad you have it, someone, somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you are missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing and be grateful.
  • Take Responsibility for your life.  The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  Blaming people or circumstances gives others power over that part of your life.
  • Don’t follow the path of least resistance.  Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary!
  • Face your problems head on.  It is much easier to run!  Know that there is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  It’s okay to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  The purpose of living is to face problems, learn, adapt and solve them over the course of time.  This will help mold you into the person you eventually become.
  • Be yourself.  One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.  Someone might always be prettier, smarter or younger – but they will never be YOU!  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
  • It’s okay to make a mistake.  Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing!  Every success has a trail of failures behind it and every failure leads you toward success.  Don’t regret any of your life experiences.
  • Be ready for a challenge.  Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zone, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.  But when you overcome that challenge – what a feeling!
  • Be sure to look at the beauty of small moments.  Enjoy the little things because one day you may look back and discover they were really the big things.  The best part of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

Here is wishing you the best year you can possibly have!

Until next time, Irene

New Listing – Come Home to Okemo Mountain Vermont!

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Move-in condition ranch style home sporting 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, formal dining room, updated eat-in kitchen, full basement.  All the rooms are large and airy.  The living room has a corner fireplace for those cold Vermont nights.  The kitchen has one of 2 double doors.  There is an attached 2 car garage with heat – plus another detached 2 car garage with separate driveway, electric and bathroom – How about a guest cottage?.

 

The manicured front and back yard make you feel as though you were in your own private world, but you can walk to the stores, bakery and post office. 

 

Proctorsville (part of the town of Cavendish) is only about 3 miles from Okemo Mountain in Ludlow.  The Okemo shuttle bus will be happy to pick you up as it travels back and forth to the mountain.

 

This is truly a home worth seeing!

 

Offered for: $349,900.00