Oct 28, 2011

Moving On

Well the next phase of Century 21 Heritage Realty has arrived, this weekend the move to our new "home" 41 Cinema Dr. York PA 17402. I find I am excited like any buyer even with the bumps and all the hardwor and the worst part the Moving we are excited. Change is of course tough- we wish Hope all the Luck in her new career but welcome Christina in her new role as leader of First Capital Settlement Services LLC., our shiny new office has all the tools we feel we need, wifi, one floor accomodations, easy access, etc., I want to thank alot of people who made this move possible, some in moving, some in helping getting the office up and running, some in construction, etc. Marty couldn't have done it without you, Patty, George, Glen, Wade, Brock & Christina Warner - wow is allI can say over and above. this is just a short list but, also partners, family etc.

Sep 22, 2011

Buyer transaction fees

Coming up on 25 years in Real estate seems surreal when I got here they were moving from paper printed comparable books to MLS computers. We went from picking up keys at the listing office to keyed lock boxes, to electronic lock boxes. Some agents had a CB type radio, and beepers were getting the "thing" to have, then car phones installed in cars and ultimately cell phones big heavy "bag" phones. And we as the real estate industry were going to be green and paperless we went from a 5 page document to approx. 30 pages. and the Internet and email??? all of these changes, other than the long tedious contracts, have been pretty much for the good of the industry and the buyers and sellers, some things not so good like the par forms and inspection language but that's for another blog, We have seen transaction fees I while I understand cost cutting and other competition - THE BUYER, YOU THE BUYER SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY A TRANSACTION FEE. most people say the sellers pay the commission I beg to differ without the buyer no one pays anything, the seller has no equity unless someone buys, so then to pay a fee to an agent for selling you a property seems unfair. IF YOU ARE PAYING A BUYERS TRANSACTION FEE YOU ARE DEALING WITH THE WRONG AGENT AND COMPANY. I will not get into the legality, BUT WHAT IS RIGHT.

Aug 25, 2011

New Office

Heritage Realty has been in existence since 1970, and since then we have continued to grow and advance, starting out in York City and then becoming a Century 21 franchise moved to Waterford Professional Center and then moved from building 1 to 3 as the need for newer technologies and space was required. In the spirit of C-21 being ahead of the crowd Heritage is on the move again. In order to serve the public and our agents better we are moving to a brand new location all on one floor, with the newest technologies: cat 6 wiring, public and private broad band access, access to 3 different streets- Market, Stonebridge, Eastern Blvd. as well as many other advancements and conveniences for our agents and the public. We are truly excited about this newest step in our journey.

Aug 16, 2011

how low

It is funny how the real estate market goes, when I first got in the real estate business it seemed that people would not make an offer that seemed "too" low they did not want to offend the seller. But alas things have changed, no matter what price it is at "you should offer less" or so the "experts" on TV say. what i think some people fail to realize is that the better real estate agents actually do comparables when selling a house, because we have to have comps for the banks, etc. appraisers want to use 6 months of sales but in a slow market yo may not have had a comparable house in the last 6months, with in the school district, within 5 miles, etc etc etc. but then you have the agents who fail to understand that when a house that normally sold for 250k is now on the market for 199,980 that is a discount you don't take another 20% off... at a point builders cant build, sellers cant sell, people who add pools etc cant because they cant get an equity loan. and then these agents want to charge a buyers fee on top... hmmmmm

Jun 28, 2011

media

Well contrary to the idiot box, the real estate market has not totally disappeared- we see encouraging signs: buyers with more money down buying usually a sign of bottom, we also see investors buying investment properties - prices have come down to where buying rentals is very affordable- rents are up people who cant buy and people who think they cant buy are paying high rents, seems counter intuitive when you can lock in long term rates in the 4's and 5's but bas news sells better than good..... real estate still a good investment hard for someone else to run off with it, hard for someone to report false income etc.

Apr 28, 2011

Sprinkler repeal

Hey as you have probably heard the Government actually accomplished something that is not going to cost tax payers, and seems to actually be what the people want. The Sprinkler mandate has been repealed meaning you will not be FORCED to have sprinklers in your single family home, you will actually be able to choose this as an option to your home. Of course there are the people who are against it, once again forcing things on the general public raising the cost of housing when we can least afford it. No one seems to point out numbers of how houses with working smoke detectors have performed, how many of the people who are for it have the systems in their house? way to go Harrisburg !!! hopefully I wont regret the praise....

Mar 28, 2011

convention

The Sold Team of Century 21 Heritage Realty, freshly returned from the C-21 International Convention where the Sold Team was honored for finishing in the top 10 teams in the united states. The Convention was very informative and very encouraging. C-21 will be reasserting that we are the number one company in agents, offices, sales, brand awareness and worlwide presence. WE look forward to another great year and thank all of our clinets past present and future for our continued success.

Feb 24, 2011

Hows the market?

Well signs of improvements continue, despite what the media reports, we have seen a steady increase in both new home sales and existing homes. As rates are starting to rise, and no dont panic they are still really good low 5's, the fence sitters have come out. We are seeing more buyers with funds buying up they have ealized their house is not going to sell for as much but they are not paying as much for the new one either. Yes the media still reports how bad the market is and yes placeslike Detroit, Ohio, Florida, Las Vegas, are having issues yet but York is still moving along and real estate is still a great investment.