Shaw’s Supermarket in Ludlow will be closing it’s temporary (tent) location at 7 p.m. on MONDAY January 16th and will celebrate it’s Grand Reopening at 7 a.m. on FRIDAY January 27th. During this 10 day closure the temporary store will be removed from the parking lot, making way for a totally renovated and expanded store.
We look forward to getting back into our permanent location and hope to see all of you there on opening day.”
Cavendish, Vermont is full of surprises. Located in Windsor County and named after William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire, Cavendish also includes the village of Proctorsville and saw its first settlers in June of 1769.
Cavendish is a very unassuming town. As you drive around the beautiful Vermont countryside of Cavendish and Proctorsville, at first glance you don’t realize the history and thriving businesses located here. Would it surprise you to know that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer, historian and Nobel Prize winner called Cavendish his home for many years?
How many times have you driven past Mack Molding, a leading supplier of contract manufacturing service and injection molded plastic parts to companies in a range of industries? Founded in 1920 and a family run business with headquarters in Arlington, Vermont, it might surprise you to know they have 1,800 employees at 10 locations with annual sales of $300 million. This is a company with no long term debt and a 5A1 D&B rating – the highest available! Learn more about them at http://www.mack.com.
Do you know where the Cavendish Canine Camp is located? If you visit their website at http://www.cavendishcaninecamp.com you’ll find an excellent description of where they are; “nestled within the green mountains of Vermont and just outside the village of Ludlow”. This wonderful canine boarding facility prides itself on the quality and conscientious care they give your pets while you are traveling or working. Their canine guests have supervised social playtime and a “quiet time” mid-day. The feline campers also get playtime to roam and socialize in their very own “cat room”.
I am so proud to live in Vermont that even three months after the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Irene I feel compelled to mention just one or two storm related items. First, if you go to their website you’ll never know how my friends at the Cavendish Canine Camp were affected by the storm. They were closed during the months of September and October and while open now, the main entrance from 103 was washed away by the storm and it is very exciting to see excavators rebuilding now!
There is another business that deserves storm-related mention; The Village Clipper in Proctorsville. While a huge section of Route 132 was being repaired by the Army National Guard, several Guardsmen came in for haircuts. Julie and Paula would not accept their money, thanking them for the amazing job they were doing for us here in Vermont.
I don’t think that you can blog about the Cavendish/Proctorsville area without talking about Singleton’s General Store. Located just past the junction of Route’s 103 and 131 on Route 131 Singleton’s is known for its Vermont smoked meats, cheeses and other Vermont products. They also have a great selection of clothing and footwear suited to this area and a sporting-goods section for all of your hunting and fishing needs.
That doesn’t tell you half the story! A family owned business since 1948 when Bud and Mary Singleton with their six kids opened Newton’s Store in Reading, it took until 1978 for them to buy the land and open in their current location. Tom Singleton joined them in 1976 with his brother John – and Sheba – their Doberman Pincer. All of the children contributed to Singleton’s but only Tom and his wife Linn remained to take over in 1999 when Bud retired. The Singleton’s take pride in Customer Service – whether it’s servicing the local’s needs or those visiting from out of state. Visit http://www.singletonsvt.com, or come into the store – you won’t be disappointed.
I love Cavendish and currently make it my home! I have so much more that I could say so I’ll settle with – come and experience what I have known and come to love! Looking forward to seeing you in town!
Until next time, Irene
When I decided to write about the town of Ludlow this month I envisioned a completely different blog from the one I am writing.
I would have told you about the 250th celebration of Ludlow’s charter and posted a picture of the new flag designed to represent the occasion. I might have mentioned the two kinds of coffee from the Vermont Coffee Company in Middlebury that Java Baba’s sells. I could have told you that the Ludlow Shipping and Copy Center has relocated to 100 North next to Bella Luna and introduced you to Pam Timmerman. I might have mentioned that the Coleman Brook Tavern is one of four Vermont Restaurants to receive the Wine Spectator Best of Award Excellence in 2011.
I could have given you the basic information about Ludlow. It is a town in Windsor County, Vermont with a population of 2,449 in the 2000 census. The village was well developed before anyone thought of skiing on Ludlow Mountain. Now Ludlow is proud to be the home of Okemo Mountain, a very popular skiing area.
Ludlow is a town of natural and historic wonders, self – reliant and community – spirited people and shops and galleries that feature local favorites. On Sunday August 28th, Ludlow was hit very hard by Tropical Storm Irene. The Black River could not hold the steady and constant rain over a 24 hour period and overflowed its banks quickly and devastatingly in many parts of town. You’ve seen the devastation to homes, businesses and our roads on television in the newspaper and on the internet.
What you don’t see is the community spirit, the banding together and the progress that has been made so quickly! Neighbors checked on neighbors and assisted when needed. Second – homeowners called upon locals to check on their property – by car or on foot. DJ’s opened their restaurant on Monday night offering a free buffet for anyone who needed food. Knight Tubs was open for business on Wednesday even though their parking lot was destroyed and their basement flooded. Shaw’s supermarket opened just one week after they were flooded – in a temporary tent set up in the parking lot. The Ludlow Health Center made the Dental Center its temporary home. There are many businesses that didn’t flood and remained open. The Local Ski Shops traditionally open on Labor Day weekend and so they did – business as usual in Ludlow!
These resilient and spirited people of Vermont are moving quickly to get their businesses open to be able to serve the community and return the town of Ludlow to the vibrant little village it is. Kudos to everyone for working hard and fast, finding creative and temporary solutions and keeping the Vermont spirit alive! Come visit!
Until next time, Irene
Ps: and I’m NOT taking the name of this tropical storm personally!
First time on Market – parcel has stone wall around 3 sides, private road along the 4th side. Just look across the road (paved) to see what may be a view. Power and phone on property, Approx 800 feet of frontage on 20 Mile Stream Road – Cavendish Vermont. 199,900.00
According to Realestate.com, buyer’s remorse is one of the top ten mistakes made when purchasing a home. Finding the perfect home and making the decision to buy a home are not easy tasks. First, you spend hours on the computer researching South Central VT real estate and neighborhoods, perfecting your search criteria on MLS websites, and viewing many virtual tours. Then, you begin making appointments to go take a look at the ones you think stand a good chance at being the future home of your family.
As you walk through the house you envision the happy life you and your family would live and the future décor for this room and that room. You see houses that “require too much work,” “don’t have enough storage,” ones that are “too small” or maybe even one that is “do-able but not perfect.” Finally after weeks or even months of searching, you find “THE house.” Now you send in a promising offer and anxiously wait for feedback. You and seller come to an agreement and the offer is accepted. Once the papers are signed you can relax and enjoy the excitement, right?
Wonderful renovated Office building on Main Street Ludlow. Was Doctors office, now just waiting for your ideas. First floor has reception area, plus 4 offices, upstairs 1 cute and comfy office. This property was updated 7 years ago and has many uses – plenty of off street parking – walk outside and see Okemo Mountain. This was once a single family home and is zoned res/comm. Don’t miss this opportunity! Just think about it – work and play at Okemo!
Top 10 Events Impacting Ludlow Real Estate In 2008
As part of the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report that is published every year during the first week of February, the research team wraps their four month study of the real estate industry by announcing the top 10 Newsmakers, Events and Trendsetters for the year.
The second list to be released is the top 10 events that during 2008 had the largest impact and influence on the real estate brokerage industry. Events are defined as those occurrences that transpired during the previous calendar year (2008) that made headlines and captured the attention of the real estate industry. The selection of these events was based upon their potential future impact on the industry rather than only their 2008 impact.
The Top 10 Events impacting Ludlow Real Estate for 2008 are:
1. The Bailout: September 17th
Most notably the one single event of the year was the announcement of the “Silver Bullet” designed to save the country from the subprime collapse itself and the failure/buyout of major Wall Street firms and national banks. Depending upon how effectively the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act’s $700 billion is going to be allocated and managed it may prove to be the beginning of the turning point in the current economic recession.
2. The Presidential Election
In one of the most competitive, contentious, divisive and yet historic political campaigns the country responded with the largest voter turnout in history to elect an African American, Barak Obama as president. The “I have a dream” has taken a huge step toward fulfillment. However, the new administration will have little time to reflect on victory as it faces serious economic challenges and a trillion dollar plus debt that will take years to resolve.
3. In Memory Of: Countrywide, IndyMac, WAMU, Wachovia And Others
Barely one year ago in 2007 these companies were not only household names but were considered financial giants. In one short year they have become a factoid of history. Some filed for bankruptcy while others were acquired by the likes of Bank of America, the federal government, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. 2008 reminded us that nothing lasts forever and everything is replaceable.
4. Facing Foreclosure Frenzy
As a direct fallout of the subprime collapse, the foreclosure rate in the U.S. hit staggering levels in 2008. At the opening of the third quarter foreclosures were up 25% over the previous October with a reported one in every 452 of the country’s homes in foreclosure. RealtyTrac reported last October that there was a sharp decline in foreclosure filings but it still estimated that by the end of 2008 there would be more than one million REOs on the books.
5. Home Prices Spiral Downward
The recession devastated many real estate markets across the country with the worst-performing towns and cities in places like central California, Miami and Las Vegas posting declines of 40% in 2008. The stranglehold on financing continued to drive home prices in many other places back to 2000 – 2002 levels, with predictions of continued declines in 2009 as unemployment reaches record highs and the financial meltdown spills over to other industries.
6. NAR – DOJ Settlement
Finally the long and protracted 2½ year legal battle between NAR and the Department of Justice (DOJ) was put to rest as Judge Kennelly issued his final judgment in November. In the end, NAR’s longstanding Internet Data Exchange (IDX) policy was validated as NAR was deemed to have not admitted any liability or wrongdoing and no payments were made in conjunction with the settlement. In addition, NAR has been cleared to reinstate an updated version of its Virtual Office Website (VOW) and the MLS has been preserved and strengthened in the process. Now it’s back to business.
7. Brokers Go Bust
Changing names, merging, consolidating, filing bankruptcy and closing branches was on the order of the day throughout 2008 as literally thousands of real estate brokerages companies went out of business during 2008. This included many independents as well as franchises from just about every major brand including Century 21, EXIT and RE/MAX. Also filling for bankruptcy is national franchise Help-U-Sell and Web 2.0 newcomers such as Igglo. 2009 may see even more brokers closing up shop than 2008.
8. Keeping It ShortFounded in 2006, Twitter moved into the mainstream this year as the next evolution in the social networking and micro-blogging environment. By using short text-based posts (affectionately named “tweets”), staying in touch has been given a whole new meaning.
9. ActiveRain Explodes Past 100,000 Members
As we discussed in last year’s report (Trend #1 – Two Worlds; One Industry) ActiveRain has moved to the head of the social networking line in the real estate industry. With as many as 35,000 users logged on at the same time, no one else has even come close to reaching that many Realtors® at one time. It goes without saying that ActiveRain has proven that social networking has made a home in real estate.
10. NAR Celebrates 100 Years
In May 1908, 120 men gathered in Chicago with the goal to “unite the real estate men of America.” Today the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is America’s largest trade association representing more than 1.2 million members. For 100 years, NAR and its members have established homeownership as a cornerstone of the American Dream and advocated private property rights as one of the fundamental principles that unite us as Americans. 2008 marked NAR’s centennial birthday.
How many of these events impacted you or were/are you aware of?
Learn more about Ludlow real estate by visiting ISellVermontRealEstate.com.
Wonderful renovated Office building on Main Street Ludlow. Was Doctors office, now just waiting for your ideas. First floor has reception area, plus 4 offices, upstairs 1 cute and comfy office. This property was updated 7 years ago and has many uses – plenty of off street parking – walk outside and see Okemo Mountain. This was once a single family home and is zoned res/comm. Don’t miss this opportunity! Just think about it – work and play at Okemo!
Cute and Cozy single family on approx. 14 acres, with 1 bedroom, plus a finished upstairs that can be used for more sleeping room, game or family room. Updated bath, eat in kitchen, wood stove and very large wrap around deck with cedar hot tub,heated by woodburning unit.
Located across from the Black River surrounded by trees and a stream, only 9 miles from Okemo Mountain on the Shuttle Bus Route.
Own your own piece of Vermont with plenty of room for expansion!
Offered for: $199,900.00
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