Harleysville-Lansdale Real Estate and More: May 2010

Tomorrow is the big Harleysville Country Fair Days parade.  It is the last day of the Harleysville Country Fair and the official kick-off of the Memorial Day Weekend.  Every year, our office hosts an open house during the parade.  From 10am to 1pm, we serve free hot dogs, soda, and water ice.  We have a moon bounce, face painting, and a mini golf course set up for the kids.  We have giveaways and balloons.  All in all a very festive event and everyone is welcome to come. 

And the highlight is the parade marches down Main Street (right past our office) at 11am.

The parade is nothing too fancy.  It is comprised of community groups (some walking, some on makeshift floats), marching bands, old fashioned cars, horses, carriages, fire engines, etc.  One of the best parts is everyone throws out candy to the kids, at least that is every kid's favorite part of the parade.

Well about six years ago we had a life changing moment for my daughter (and me).  My daughter Caroline brought her friend Sierra to the parade.  Both girls were nine years old and really excited about the parade. 

NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON THREW THEM ONE SINGLE PIECE OF CANDY!  NOTHING!

Everyone threw the candy to the younger kids and completely passed over our two girls.  Disappointment and sadness is an understatement for how the girls felt.  Caroline, holding back a tear, said to me afterward, "I guess we're too old.  They gave it all to the little kids."

Here is a picture of Caroline and Sierra at nine:

I was speechless and not sure what to say.  I offered to buy them candy but I knew it was pointless and not the point anyway.  It was the sudden realization that a kid can't be a kid in today's society.  People treat you differently as you get older.  But at nine, you are still just a kid. 

It didn't seem fair, but LIFE IS NOT FAIR.

On the way home in the car, the girls said they didn't even want to come to the parade the following year.  I looked them straight in the eye and said,

"Next year, you will have to figure out a way to make them WANT to throw you candy."

The following year, Caroline got busy the day before the parade.  She took a huge red toy bucket and a piece of posterboard.  She cut a big hole in the poster and drew rings around the hole and wrote "BULLSEYE!" at the top.  I asked her what she was doing and she said,

"I remembered what you said.  It's a target.  They will want to throw me candy this year." 

That's my girl!

Did it work?  LIKE A CHARM.  Every single person in the parade threw candy at that bucket.  No one could resist ('cause we are all kids at heart).  It was practically overflowing by the end of the parade.  Caroline and Sierra were passing out candy to all the other kids after the parade because they got too much!

The girls used the Bulleye Bucket the following year with the same success.  After that, they passed the bucket down to their little brothers.  Here is a picture that made the local newspaper:

The boys used the Bullseye Bucket for a couple years and then passed it on to my nephews.  The bucket broke last year so it is no more unless my nephews decide to recreate it. 

Caroline and Sierra are planning to attend the parade again tomorrow and they are bringing another friend Marisa along.  The girls are 15 now and more interested in seeing if there will be any cute guys at the parade. 

Candy?  Forget about it!

The lesson here is sometimes in life we have to look for a different approach to help us achieve our goals or overcome rejection and obstacles.  And unfortunately, most people need to start learning this at a very early age.

Happy Memorial Day!

~Lisa

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

A neighbor asked us to sponsor a table at the Lansdale YMCA's Senior Fitness Day which was held yesterday from 9-12 at the YMCA in Lansdale, PA. 

We will admit that we mainly did it because our neighbor asked us to.  She is a lovely woman who always comes to us with her real estate questions.  She has told us many times that someday when she does sell, it will be with us.  She is always looking out for us.  We are her go-to Realtors.  How could we possibly let her down?  So we paid our $15 fee and got a table.

We had chip clips as giveaways with a corny tag on it which read, "For easy closing, call the Scott Loper Team at Re/Max Realty Group (and no stale aftertaste!)"

We also donated a $25 Kohl's gift card as a door prize (which ironically our neighbor won).

So how did it go?

It was a low-key but fun morning of one-on-one meeting and talking with seniors from the Lansdale area.  Turnout was relatively light, but in some ways, it made it easier to really get to talk with people.  The only high tech thing about it was we had virtual tours of our listings running non-stop on a laptop, (which admittedly got a lot of attention).

We met one gentleman who is 80 years old, doesn't own a computer but plays basketball everyday and recently won a free throw contest against much younger guys.  He hit 44 free throws in a row!

At our request, Scott's mom and stepdad came to the event.  They are members of the Lansdale YMCA and introduced to a few of their friends.  Our dear neighbor also introduced us to her friends that were there.

We hit it off with the vendor next to us, Lorna Fitzgerald from Life's Images By Lorna.  We reconnected with another vendor, an old friend from the North Penn Visiting Nurses Association who we hadn't seen in about five years.  And a guy who works at the YMCA recognized us from a newsletter we send out and talked for quite a while about the development he lives in.  His Realtor has gotten out of the business and he asked to get on our mailing list, indicating he would like to work with us when he is ready to move.

Will we get any business from this?

Who knows?  But we made some real connections and that is what this business is all about.  Sometimes it is worthwhile to step away from the computer and get out in the public eye.  If nothing else, it gives you something to blog about!

~Lisa

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Reaching Out to Seniors - The Old-Fashioned Social Media Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

You can only imagine someone must have asked....

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Wordless Wednesday - Stating the Obvious Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

As we all embrace the internet and social media, there are people out there looking to take advantage of the naive and honest folks like us out there.  So as you use Facebook, Twitter, and the other social media outlets, please keep the following warnings in mind...

Here is a link to Five Social Media Scams put out by Club Norton Internet Security.  These scams include:

1. Chain Letters (for scammers to gain access to legitimate "friends"; you will have better luck just deleting them)
2. Urgent Requests for Money (if any of your friends are stuck in Europe with no money, let them figure it out)
3. Hidden Charges (test your IQ and see how dumb you feel when you get a $10 monthly service bill)
4. Phishing Requests (login in here to see crazy pictures of you, problem is it is a fake site that looks like the real one)  The same hold true for comments on your wall post.  Always go into Facebook and Twitter on your own, not through any email links.
5. Hidden URL's (shortened URL's especially on Twitter can link to spyware that will infiltrate your computer)

Not to be outdone, the Federal Department of Business and Industry put out their own list of Social Media Scams.  In addition to the scams listed above, there are a few other nasty con jobs out there:

1. Click here for "Secret" celebrity news and video (problem is it will ask you to update your Adobe Flash and then quick as a Flash - You're infected). 
2. Join this Facebook group (if you don't know the originator, the group can install new toolbars or other malware on your computer - talk about hazing!)
3. Tweet for $$$ (but you will need to buy the Tweet for Cash Starter Kit or some other such nonsense and there in lies the problem)
4. Adult-Content Site Lures (just cause someone says you are cute, doesn't mean you should click on any links to chat with them)
5. False Amber Alerts (why anyone would want to dilute the effectiveness of such a system, we don't know, but that is exactly what is happening - don't repost Amber Alerts unless you verify them at fbi.gov)

We would like to add a few precautions of our own:

1. Try not to say what you are doing AHEAD of time; give the replay AFTERWARD.  Admittedly, privacy is weak on the social networking sites like Facebook.  So it really is best not to announce a week long vacation in the Caribbean.  This could leave your home vulnerable to thieves.  On any given day, don't give a play by play of your whereabouts - this is for YOUR protection.
2. Don't use the same password for any social media sites that you use for online access to bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, etc.  The phishing requests mentioned above can cause others to learn your passwords.
3. Many secure sites now use questions to verify it is you, such as what city where you born in?  What is the name of your pet?  Don't let the answers to any security questions be found on your Facebook page, etc.  Select questions that no one can easily find the answer to.
4. Any information that you deem private, keep it off of the internet.  Period.

Be careful out there!

~Lisa

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Social Media Scams Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

BE OUR GUEST!  BE OUR GUEST!  BE OUR GUEST!

Re/Max Realty Group is hosting an Open House this Saturday

For the Harleysville Country Fair Days Parade

Saturday, May 29th

10am - 1pm

The Harleysville Country Fair Days Parade starts at 11am and marches right past our office!

All kids should bring a bag to collect candy during the parade.

Re/Max Realty Group will have great activities for families:

• A MOON BOUNCE
• MINI GOLF
• FACEPAINTING
• HOT DOGS AND SODA
• GIVEAWAYS

Please stop by, it is ALWAYS a fun and wonderful way to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend! 

439 Main Street, Harleysville, PA

Come early to get good parking!  Main Street in Harleysville closes for the Country Fair Days Parade.

Hope to see you there!

~Lisa and Scott

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Be Our Guest for the Country Fair Days Parade, Harleysville, PA Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

The best and most comprehensive website that we have found regarding Chinese drywall is www.ChineseDrywall.com.  The problems are most prevalent in Florida because so much building material was needed after Hurricane Katrina but it has been found in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  Chinese drywall has been found in some home in Pennsylvania.

Chinese drywall is a defective drywall that was imported to the US from China between 2001 and 2007 (but mostly during 2004-2006).  Over time, the drywall emits sulfur gasses which smells like rotten eggs or ammonia and is corrosive to metals such as copper.  Therefore, it can corrode copper pipes and electric wiring.  It can damage appliances, electronics, and HVAC systems.

Chinese drywall can also create health and safety issues within a home. 

Healthwise:  The material is very friable, which means very small particulates can come off the material due to friction.  So even if you remove the drywall from the home, during the removal process, you can breathe in the particulate matter and some is likely to remain in the home.  In addition, long term exposure to the gases emitted from Chinese drywall can lead to numerous health issues especially in children.

Safetywise:  The corrosiveness of Chinese drywall can cause arching of electrical wiring which could lead to an electrical fire.  It can also cause the smoke detectors to fail if the wiring within the detector corrodes.

When evaluating a home, a good home inspector should be able to find tell-tale signs of the effects of Chinese drywall if it is present in the home.  Careful attention should be made to check for any signs of corrosion in the electric panel, appliances, and HVAC system.  One of the first places to check would be the evaporator coils in the air conditioning unit (all the air in a home gets moved across those coils to cool it), look for pitting, corrosion or a black sooty deposit.  Another good place to check is the electric outlets and electric panel for blackened ground wires.

Attention should drawn to any unusual odor, sulfur or ammonia smell (even faint) when inspecting a home.  Attention should also be drawn to any GFCI outlet that keeps tripping, flickering lights, buzzing noises, discolored switch plates and outlet covers, and any other indication of an electrical issue.

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Chinese Drywall - A Synopsis of What You Need to Know Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

Re/Max Realty Group has opened a satellite office in Conshohocken, PA.  The new location is:

441 East Hector Street, Conshohocken, PA

This will help us to better serve clients in the lower parts of Montgomery County, Philadelphia, and the Main Line.  Here are a few pictures of the new office.

The office is in the Freeman Nut Factory Building and right next door to the Edwards-Freeman Candy Store.

Ironic, a bunch of Re/Max Realtors are in a nut factory!

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Re/Max Realty Group - Open for Business in Conshohocken, PA Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

We've read a few funny posts lately regarding what comments and pictures an agent will put in the MLS.  While it seems like the mistakes provide great blog fodder for some, this will probably be our only weigh in on the topic.  And while it might seem "all in good fun," there is a lot of truth to the messages.  CHECK YOUR LISTINGS!  There really seems no quicker way to come off as unprofessional and sloppy.

As for pictures?  The MLS has it all!  No pics, blurry pics, grainy pics, super dark pics, pics with tons-o-clutter, pics with pets in them, and the list goes on. 

Scott's pet peeve is pictures on cloudy days or pics with snow in them long after winter has passed.  He makes a point of getting his photos on a sunny day (even if it means two trips).  He even plans what time of day to take photos according to when the most sun will be on the front of the house.  He will re-shoot all his exterior photos if the season changes.

WHICH PICTURE IS BETTER?

A cloudy day or a sunny day? 

First impressions are everything.  You can't change the color of the house or make the grass greener, you can only control the conditions in which you take the first picture a prospective buyer will see.

My personal pet peeve is pictures of a single piece of furniture.  Every picture should show some architectural feature of a home or give a real sense of the room sizes, amount of light, flow, etc.  The buyer is not buying a bed or a couch, so if there is no window, doorway, or even flooring in the photo, it tells me there is nothing special about the home to even photograph.

WHICH PICTURE IS BETTER?

A bed or a bedroom?

To read Part 1 on text, click here.

~Lisa

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

What Are Some Realtors Thinking? Part 2 - Good Photos Please Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

We've read a few funny posts lately regarding what comments and pictures an agent will put in the MLS.  While it seems like the mistakes provide great blog fodder for some, this will probably be our only weigh in on the topic.  And while it might seem "all in good fun," there is a lot of truth to the messages.  CHECK YOUR LISTINGS!  There really seems no quicker way to come off as unprofessional and sloppy.

Really, what are some Realtors thinking?  Realtors need to spell check and proof read their listings.  Maybe multi-tasking is to blame!  The following are a few comical examples of what can go wrong with a listing... 

Shower with multiple heads  (That and Psycho will scare me out of the shower)

Inclusions:  Four custom made brown stools  (Yuck! No thanks, I'll pass.)

Three full bedrooms  (What does a half bedroom look like?)

Full frontal and rear landscaping  (Hmm... let's not go there)

Heater with new boils  (Sounds painful)

Seller is motivated - doesn't like the area  (TMI, TMI)

Big lard in back of house  (Is that included with the sale?)

Freshly stained bathroom  (Will the seller clean that before settlement?)

Five bedroom house with Jacuzzi tub, great for parties  (What kind of house is this?)

Large walk in closet and hanging area  (Lethal injection seems more humane)

Stable neighborhood, avoid sinkhole  (Must be a stable sinkhole)

Big fenced in yard with kennel and sandbox for the kids  (Good for when you can't find a babysitter).

Large in-ground heated poo.  (Sounds like an environmental hazard.)

A sinking living room.  (Does that go along with sinking house values?)

Will smell fast!  (The Realtor must be stinky too.)

Oak bra with brass accents.  (Sounds terribly uncomfortable.)

Good property for investigators.  (Why? Are there bodies buried in the yard?)

Owner evacuated - will consider all offers.  (Talk about your fire sale.)

Near hopping area.  (Are we talking rabbits or kangaroos?)

Seller will not pay for any introspections.  (Gee, and I've been feeling a little conflicted lately.)

This house is a real germ!  (Got hand sanitizer?)

Kitchen with trash contractor.  (In case you need your garbage remodeled.)

To read Part 2 on pictures, click here.

~Lisa

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

What Are Some Realtors Thinking? Part 1 - Good Text Please Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.

If you are busy with spring cleaning, here are some dates you will want to mark on your calendar!  This is how you can best get rid of old batteries, paint thinners, corrosive materials and all the other items that your trash hauler doesn't want to find in your weekly pickup.

Montgomery County, PA has five dates from now until the end of the year in which they will collect household hazardous waste and electronics.  This program is a community service to the residents of Montgomery County and the other four counties of the Southeastern Pennsylvania County Region (Bucks, Delaware, Chester and Philadelphia) ONLY.  It is not open to any businesses, institutions or industries.

All collections are open 9am - 3pm and will collect any household hazardous waste and electronics.  For more information, call the Montgomery County Recycling Hotline at 610-278-3618 or go to www.MontgomeryCountyRecycles.org

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Temple University - Ambler Campus (Upper Dublin Township)

Butler Pike Entrance ONLY

Student parking lot

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Montgomery County Community College

Enter near 473 Cathcart Road, Blue Bell (Whitpain Township)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Abington Junior High School

Rear faculty parking lot

970 Highland Ave, Abington

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Spring-Ford Flex School

833 South Lewis Road, Royersford (Upper Providence Township)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Lower Merion Township Public Works

1300 N. Woodbine Ave, Penn Valley (Lower Merion Township)

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

2010 Calendar for Household Hazardous Waste Collection in Montgomery County, PA Copyright © 2010, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.