To Be Thankful For

This year most people I speak with feel there's not much to be thankful for. The performance of the stock market and real estate market do indeed have most of us searching for gratitude in sluggish economic times.

In periods of economic slow down, it is wise to re-assess your situation and make changes that can benefit you, both financially and emotionally. If you are making efforts to save money and spend less, than you are already doing a large part to make it through these challenging times.

We've heard the word recession lately and it appears that is the direction we are not only heading, but are in. This is indeed scary. There are many websites for you to use that can provide direction if needed, just google "surviving the recession." The key is not to panic and seek assistance.

How does this all relate to real estate? Well, many sellers, in an attempt to survive the real estate slow down, are renting their properties in order to prevent foreclosure or help pay the mortgage. This means opportunities for buyers are slowly disappearing as low priced homes and condos are being removed from the market. If this pace continues, combined with the price reductions we're seeing and potential assistance from the government, the real estate market may start a slow turnaround as soon as the third quarter 2009. With less inventory for sale, properties priced correctly and hopefully competitive interest rates, there may be lots to be thankful for next year this week.

Please enjoy the holiday this week and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Preparing Your House for Winter

This week, we'll take a look at preparing your house for the winter.

The first step should always be to give your property one last thorough cleaning. This eliminates potential mold and mildew that may have grown over the summer and fall months with the high humidity. It also gets rid of food particles that rodents and the like can sniff out.

Take crisp white sheets and cover your furniture and electrical components like your tv and stereo. This prevents dust from getting on the upholstery or inside televisions, video players, computers and clocks.

Once you have identified a date that you’ll be leaving, for some it will be right after New Years, you may want to call a plumber and set an appointment to drain your water and shut it off. This will eliminate the threat of frozen pipes and damage. Be sure to leave your taps open both in the kitchen and bathroom. This lets extra water escape. OR if you’ll be coming to your house over the winter, be sure you have your boiler checked. Fill the oil or propane and set the thermostat to 60 degrees. I know that sounds high, but not as high as a bill for the repair of frozen pipes.

If you do leave your interior water on, at least make sure the water source to your exterior spigots is turned off and your spigots left open.

With this quick checklist complete, you can close the door to your vacation home and on what was hopefully a fun filled and relaxing summer and fall here on Cape Cod.

Change, Change, Change

This past Saturday we turned our clocks back an hour. Yes, it’s that time of year already.

Besides the extra hour of sleep that you hopefully were able to take advantage of, this is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Wherever you live, whether you own or rent, inspecting your smoke detectors and changing the batteries twice a year is strongly encouraged.

Even if your smoke detectors are hardwired, which means they are attached to a separate electrical source, you may want to ensure that they are working and that the battery backup has a fresh battery.

Landlords, this is a good time to check smoke detectors in your rental units. Whether you have seasonal, vacation or year round renters, its wise to take the preventive step and make sure the detectors are functioning properly.

Renters, if you rent year round, making sure your detectors work is very important. If you do not have a smoke detector call your landlord immediately. If you do have one, you may want to check it yourself or call your landlord to inspect it.

And finally, it may seem like a hassle to always be changing the batteries, or worse I’ve heard some gripe about the cost of a battery. These are life saving devices. Think about what could happen if a smoke detector has no battery and there is a fire.

Mischief Night

Halloween can leave you with it a variety of tricks that make you cry Boo Hoo.

Mischief night, October 30th, is notorious for the evening that trees get toilet papered, houses get egged and cars get covered with shaving cream.

Although there is no preventing hooligans from targeting your property, and usually it is random and not personal, there are measures to take to lessen the chances your home will get smattered, creamed or papered.

The only real preventive measure you can take is to turn on every exterior light you have and leave them on all night. The bright lights may deter tricksters and have them move on.

You may want to leave some interior lights on in living room as well and bedrooms. This will make it appear as if someone is home and awake.

However, the thrill of getting caught is what really drives these youngsters and having their handy work seen by many is what motivates them to run amuck. The more visible your property is, the stronger the chances you’ll be hit.

If after illuminating your property, the eggs still fly and your home and car is covered, wash the egg off your house as soon as you can. It could stain. Also, remove toilet paper from trees before it rains. That is a mess. And remember, most of the time this isn’t personal as hard as it is to take, its only kids playing pranks. 

Hopefully none of us will be the recipient of such annoyances, but tis the season for candy and fun and tricks galore!

Getting to the Bottom of It

A few weeks back, we speculated about how much farther the real estate market will adjust before hitting bottom. At the time, we felt the market was more or less bouncing along the bottom due to the upheaval in the mortgage industry and numerous price reductions of active listings.

More evidence that we are potentially close to the bottom continues to make itself known. New properties that are listed for sale are in line with what the market is bearing. We are seeing fewer if any, overpriced listings go on the market. Properties priced right, are indeed selling.

Many sellers are now taking their homes off the market and not making further price reductions. Other sellers are putting year round renters in their properties to hold the investment until this cycle ends.

The recently passed rescue package will help homeowners stay out of foreclosure which may impact the real estate market considerably. Now, sellers will not be forced to sell at lower prices. These rescue mortgages do come with baggage of their own though. Homeowners could lose equity in their property by assigning a portion of the profit when they eventually sell. 

It will be interesting to see what will happen in the months ahead. The upcoming election and recent stock market activity will have an impact on all of us in one form or another. We'll have to see how this plays out. The fourth quarter is promising to be an exciting, anxiety filled and revealing time.

Third Quarter Performance

This week, we take a look at 3rd quarter 08 performance of the real estate market and comparison to last year's 3rd quarter sales in Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet and Eastham.

Here’s what sold:

Provincetown:
8 single family homes, 3 multi family homes, 1 hotel and 29 Condominiums
last year
8 single family homes, 1 multi family home and 27 condominiums

Truro
13 single family homes and 8 condos
last year
11 single family homes and 8 condos

Wellfleet
7 single family homes and 1 condo
last year
21 single family homes and 7 condos

Eastham
30 single family homes
last year
29 single family homes and 6 condos

With Wellfleet being the exception, it appears that Provincetown, Truro and Eastham numbers are the same as 07 quarter 3. It’ll be interesting to see how the 4th quarter compares.

Prepare Your Lawn for Winter

This week we’ll talk about lawn care and preparation for the upcoming winter.

If you have a lawn consisting of grass and not Cape Cod landscaping, now is the time to plan and execute fall fertilization.

Starting early to mid-October mow your lawn one final time. Rake up any clippings and apply a weed killer and grass fertilizer. This will help prepare your lawn for winter while it lay dormant and will assist in spring growth.

Most of our soil on the Outer Cape is sandy, so plan on using a fertilizer that has slow release nitrogen. You may want to ask your garden center professional to help you pick out the proper fertilizer for your area.

It is important to follow instructions when applying fertilizer. Never over do and base your application on your lawn’s square footage. It is best to use a rotary spreader for an even application. Once you finish one direction, repeat in the opposite for thorough coverage.

Make sure your grass is dry when applying the fertilizer, then, water lightly, directly afterwards. This helps the fertilizer stay adhered to the blades of grass and mix into the soil.

When fertilizing your lawn in the fall, make sure you use the proper product for grass and a different fertilizer for shrubs, plants and flowers. Using an incorrect product can impact evergreen growth and decrease fruit and flower count in the spring.

With these helpful tips, your lawn should be preserved through the cold winter months and ready for regular yard maintenance once spring arrives.