I am not a clairvoyant, but I tend to look into the future when I am working for home buyers, especially first time buyers. People tend to get so caught up in the excitement of buying a home that they sometimes forget about practicality. I hate to be a killjoy. But, I have a tendency of reeling buyers back to reality. My job is to help my buyer clients make smart investments and I take this part of my job very seriously. Being that many of my clients have become repeat customers, I find that it's better to point out the good and bad of each property they are considering so I won't face the challenge of having to sell a property in the future which might not have been a wise choice to begin with.
I might not think like the average agent because I encourage buyers to think long term. I encourage them to not rush into making decisions they might regret. Yes, I would rather show a lot of homes in the process of finding the almost perfect property. I will usually suggest that a buyer play out many different life scenarios. What if.....? I encourage them to think long and hard into the future. Will this house be comfortable for a long time to come?
Some questions I will ask are as follows:
How long do you see yourself living comfortably in this house? If you should grow out of your home in 3 years, the expense of selling and buying a new home could weigh you down and you might find yourself living in cramped quarters longer than you'd like.
Are you planning on expanding your family? A young couple with no children who tells me they would settle for two bedrooms while emphasizing that they will convert a room into a home office might not be thinking into the future. And, if they can afford a 3 bedroom for the same price, this only makes better sense giving consideration to future resale.
Do you have important family members who will have difficulty visiting you due to the excessive number of stairs into the house? Young home buyers don't think of stairs as being problematic. The elderly especially, may not be able to handle excessive stairs. The same holds true for houses that have no main floor bathroom and/or lack a main floor shower.
Is just one full bath really enough nowadays? I know many people who grew up in large families where there was only one bath. But, today it seems that having one bathroom has become very inconvenient even when shared by two people in a household. And, this can often effect resale.
Does the floor plan have a convenient path from the entrance into the kitchen for unloading groceries? As you park your car and enter into the home, imagine how the distance comes into play. Will you manage okay if you have a child saddled on one hip while carrying things inside.
Is there enough storage space? If a home lacks ample storage, a homeowner will quickly find the walls closing in. You can never have too many closets. The couple buying a starter home and planning for kids cannot really imagine the property scattered with baby paraphernalia and toys.
While it may not be possible for every buyer to have everything on the wish-list, I tell my clients to think about having to sell to other buyers down the road. I stress the importance of understanding there is no such thing as the perfect house, while emphasizing that the things on their wish-list are probably more essential than they think. And, I might even add to their list. I don't mind when it takes a little longer to find the ideal house. A real estate purchase is the one time in some-body's life when he or she literally has to live with the decision - usually, for years to come. What could be the ideal living situation today, might lead to daily nuisances later on.
Most real estate agents are good at pointing out positive selling features. But, I find it necessary to just be sure a buyer is not overlooking some of the negatives. See, while a slam dunk sale might be fast and easy, selling a home with too many negatives could become a bigger challenge in the future.
It was the longest bridge in the world when it opened in 1888, and it will be the longest pedestrian bridge in the world when it reopens in October 2009. A fire destroyed the railroad portion of the bridge in 1974. After 34 years of dormancy, the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad bridge is undergoing a makeover. Local officials and business owners hope it will bring millions of tourist dollars to Dutchess and Ulster counties each year. Click on the links below for more information.
Irish eyes are smiling on the Hudson Valley. On Saturday, March 7th at 1 p.m. the county's 14th annual St. Patrick's Day parade will wind its way through Wappingers Falls, starting on Route 9D at St. Mary's Church and ending in the Town Square. This parade is for all of Dutchess County to enjoy. The parade will be held regardless of weather. There will be bagpipe bands, floats, fire trucks, and classic cars. Area restaurants offer traditional Irish food with more music and fun for everyone. 
I've given just a couple of examples on how technology is starting to drive me a little crazy. There are days when we feel a little inundated. And, I don't understand this because I thought technology was suppose to have a positive effect on how we do business. Yet, sometimes I find that it causes us to be counter-productive. Like right now! While I'm blogging away, while you're sitting there reading this post ...don't we have other things we should be doing? I know I have a to-do list, but here I am checking all these different portals and then suddenly I started blogging ...and that's now keeping me from doing all the many other things that make up the day. - How about you? 
Now, I'm no Kevin Costner, and this is not a game of baseball. But, pricing real estate to sell ...well, it feels a little like the movie "Field of Dreams." But, instead of building a ballpark where the legends of baseball come out of cornfields to play the game, I'd like to think of myself as the Realtor who helped her sellers build a new strategy so they can make an amazing come-back. If we are smart, if we play it right - we might hit a home run! Price it right - and they will come! 
My first time buyer is understandably very nervous. She even brought her mother along to help her make this very important decision. This was a second showing and I knew this was THE place for her. But, she's very scared. It's such a big step for her take by herself. And, we're having to take baby steps actually.
