Peggy Smith

The Smuggler’s Notch road has been closed for the season. This is one of the first signs that winter is just around the corner. Of course reaching this conclusion is not much of a leap when it’s already snowed enough for a few brave skiers and riders hit the hill. Along with that, temperatures have been cool enough for the Stowe Mountain Resort to have the snow guns going. You can see the mist raise off the top of the Mountain like fog.

The surest sign is my daughters constant praying for snow and praising of her new skis. Oh and how she’ll need a helmet this year, so she doesn’t knock herself out upon her return to downhill skis from teley after 18 years.

Yes, winter is knocking at the door in Stowe, Vermont. And if the early snow is any signal, we’re in for another good year of snow!

I can’t turn on VPR, the local or national news or open a paper without hearing about the down turn in the real estate market. I also have seen the slow down in my own business. Symptoms like a greater number of deals falling apart, homes are talking longer to sell and buyers demanding more from sellers in order to close.

But, through it all, it seems the real estate market in Stowe VT is holding strong. Prices have been holding steady and buyers are still coming to the table to … buy. Just this month The Stowe Reporter had 2 articles on the topic. Check them out in the below links. If you have any questions, post me a comment or shoot me an email. I’ll be happy to give you my insight on the Stowe Real Estate market.

Stowe Reported Real Estate Articles

Prices steady, but selling property takes longer, 10/16/08
By Lisa McCormack

Stowe real estate market bucks national downtrend, 10/21/08
By Lisa McCormack

The whole nation is now focused on the financial crisis that seems to worsen by the day. I have been getting a lot of questions regarding the availability of credit, loans and mortgages. This memo from Coldwell Banker Mortgage was recently sent to me and I think ithas some valuable information for buyers looking for a mortgage to buy Stowe VT real estate or really real estate anywhere.

Please see the following document Coldwell Banker Mortgage Memo. If you have any questions, give me a call and I’ll be happy to answer what I can.

I receive newsletters from Jeff Teplitz, a Mortgage Consultant for National City Mortgage in Burlington VT. I found this one to be of particular interest, so I thought I would pass it on. If you are looking for more information, Jeff’s contact information is below.

FHA Changes:

The following changes look like they will take effect with the passing of the FHA bill in Congress.
1. Minimum Investment will increase from 3% to 3.5% with the current maximum loan amount calculations being simplified. This money does not have to come from the borrowers own saved funds. It can still be a gift.

2. The down payment assistance program which currently allows the seller to donate money to a non profit which in turn gifts the money to the purchaser in essence allowing for no money to come from the borrower will be eliminated as of October 1. Loans will have to be approved by September 30th. There’s still time to utilize this program so get motivated sellers within the $317k sales range to take advantage of it. (more…)

On Saturday, July 12, I will be walking 20k in the 27th Annual Prouty Bike Ride & Challenge Walk to raise money for cancer research at Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Unfortunately, we all know someone - a family member, friend, colleague, parent, child - who has been affected by this disease. Truly, cancer does not discriminate.

To participate in The Prouty, I’ve committed to raising $2500 towards cancer research. It is my personal goal to raise even more and I hope you can help! You can sponsor me right now by clicking on the website listed below. All donations are tax deductible and should be turned in by July 9.

Money raised by The Prouty stays locally to support cancer research and patient services at Norris Cotton Cancer Center. It’s one of the best cancer facilities in the country and has been named one of only 41 Comprehensive Cancer Centers by the National Cancer Institute. Research conducted here helps cancer patients all over the world. If you’d like more information on the research done here, go to www.cancer.dartmouth.edu.

If you prefer to send a check, you can make it payable to Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center and mail it to Friends of NCCC, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756. Make sure that you indicate that it’s for my walk by placing my name in the memo area of the check.

Thank you in advance for joining the fight!

Together, I know we can make a difference in the fight against cancer. Thank you for your support!

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center

Peggy Smith

With the real estate market seeing a down turn across the country, more and more seller’s are receiving “low-ball” offers. I was reading the NY Times and found an article including a sample response letter for seller’s. See the letter below and a link to the full article… happy selling!

Dear Bidder:

Thanks so much for your note. I’m truly glad that you like our home as much as we do. You’re right that my family and I have many great memories of this place, and we hope someday you will, too.
And I just want you to know that I’m not insulted in any way by your offer. The fact is, none of us are very good at buying and selling homes. We don’t do it often, and as much as we know we’re not supposed to let emotions get in the way, it’s hard not to. After all, few people buy or sell anything else as expensive as a home in their lifetimes.

That said, your offer disappointed me. You seem to believe that I’m not aware of how bad things are out there or that I’m in denial. But I do read the headlines, and I priced the house accordingly. I knew I might have to wait awhile to sell it.

I should point out that your data draws on what has already happened in the housing market. Instead, I’d ask you to consider what’s about to happen.

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I thought you might like to read this article and the comments. Although I am happy that Obama got the nomination, I think this is a very telling article as to where women really are today. It is appalling to me that the news media treated Hilary Clinton as they did. It is also disappointing that so many men and women still have the attitude they do toward women and their place in society. Other nation, including the Arab world, has more respect for women as leaders than the United States.

Please click here to read the article “Woman in Charge, Women Who Charge” by Judith Warner.

I just happened upon this information and thought how perfect wine tasting and chocolate sampling on the same day! Not a drinker myself, I’ll be heading straight for the chocolate.

If you are looking for something to brighten this gloomy Vermont day, right here in Stowe, check out these two events today, June 6th:

Wine Tasting in the Trapp Family Lodge Wine Cellar, 4-6PM
Indulge in a selection of wines from Washington State’s Columbia Valley. A sign up sheet is available at the front desk, call 253-5742 or 800-826-7000 to sign up! There is a $15/person fee for this event.

Laughing Moon Chocolates Benefit Chocolate Tasting, 3-7PM
This event benefits the African Food Aid and Water treatment programs in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. A $5 donation is requested, in exchange you will be treated to make your own chocolates, plenty of samples, give aways and dipping demos! Enjoy.

After drinking all that wine and eating all that chocolate you may want to walk or run it off… what better way to do that then to join the NCAL MUTT STRUTT on Saturday June 7th. It is too late to register online, so head over to the event at 8AM tomorrow to pledge or donate. Now you are supporting 2 great cause in 1 weekend. Check out my daughter’s NCAL Mutt, Gizmo, below!

Yesterday I attended a memorial service for my friend that died from ALS. I have never known anyone with this disease. My friend was also my lawyer and we saw each other everyday for 20 years as we worked in the same building. He was diagnosed with this disease back in November. It was hard for me not to want to say, “oh I am sure there will be some drug that they can give you to make you better.” I think he kept hoping for the miracle, but none came. Over a five month period I watched as he lost a little bit of himself each week until he could not eat, speak or move a finger. It was more than I could bare to see my friend trapped in his body, still with eyes that recognized you but no ability to tell you.

I thought during these moments when I would visit him, there was not much I could say to him to comfort him. Even reporting the news, or talking about some real estate problem seemed ridiculous when I am sure these worldly problems seemed trivial to him. But what I mostly thought about was Vermont’s struggle to bring about the ” Death with Dignity Law.” If ever there was a time where this law would have been a blessing for my friend, this was it.

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I have had several phone calls in the last couple of months from potential customers and past clients that have asked me about building. My standard answer has been, if you can find a home you like, it is better to buy than to build. But lately I have been rethinking this.

In the latest issue of Money Magazine (April 2008) there is an article (Dream It, Build It) about building your dream home. The article makes an argument stating that” now “might be an excellent time to build that home. It says that “behind the dark clouds hanging over the houseing market is a very compelling silver lining. The cost of building your dream house is coming down.”

Why would this be? Well, there are many factors, but the main one is; the cost of raw materials has dropped and contractors are not as busy as they once were. In interviewing some modular home companies I have found that the demand for modular homes is so far down that some companies are running on a skelton crew. What this means to you the consumer is; dollars are not coming out of your pocket. Money Magazine states that framing lumber is 18% cheaper thtn 18 months ago and that drywall is selling for 40% less.

Not only are prices dropping in the construction area ,but also land prices have dropped in Vermont; in some cases 48% of the asking price from 2006. This is not as true in resort areas such as Stowe. The list price of land might not have dropped, but the actual sale of land has done so. We have seen the listing price of large lots over 25 acres being dropped while the smaller lots prices have stayed the same. Overall, large or small lots have not seen a record number of sales, and this has lead to lower sales prices.

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