Saturday, October 29, 2011

Vermont Real Estate: Mortgage Rates Reach Historic Lows

For many of you, the season to buy a house has come and gone for 2011 with kids back in school and colder weather and snow on our doorstep. That's just traditionally how the seasonality of theVermont Mortgage Rates Burlington VT Real Estate Market cycles.\

But this is no typical year! Time to think again!!

Last week, the Federal Reserve announced they were lowering rates, once again, and the result has been a new milepost for mortgage rates. Never before have rates been so low. Forget about when your Mom and Dad or Gramma and Gramps told you about their "unbelievably low home loan they got when they bought their first home".

TODAY'S VERMONT MORTGAGE RATES FOR A HOME LOAN ARE LOWER THAN THEY HAVE EVER BEEN. SOME RATES ARE UNDER 4%!

IF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING PURCHASING A HOME, IT'S TIME TO GET OFF THE FENCE. NOW IS THE TIME TO GO FOR IT. GIVE ME A CALL TO DISCUSS OPTIONS. I WORK WITH SEVERAL LOCAL LENDERS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND FOR THEIR PROFESSIONALISM TO HELP GET YOU STARTED.

If you are considering buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont, please utilize my website: Burlington Vermont Real Estate, give me a call on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me to discuss representing you, our current market conditions and your needs/wants in a new home and community. I would be delighted to assist you.

Armed with solid numbers, Vermont Real Estate buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local Vermont market.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

My Son Helping Flood Victims in Waterbury Vermont

Recently, my son returned from college in North Carolina to "pitch in" and help his fellow Vermonters by volunteering to assist those in need and in distress in any way possible. He and I showed up at an anonymous homeowners house in Waterbury VT I'd been helping previously and she led us to a Serbian family across the street from her. There we were essentially gutting the inside of their home to redo everything destroyed by the rising waters from the Winooski River. Hammers, crowbars, dust and debris. Everything all busted up. Clothing. Toys. Carpets. Photos & keepsakes. What a scene!

Displaced. Stressed. And deeply appreciative that we were there with the only intention being to help and be of service. These folks were so humbled and touched by our "showing up". As were we...

I have been volunteering at the American Red Cross Shelter in Barre Vermont when it was open and secured a local baker in Burlington to donate loaves of his delicious fresh breads to bring with me whenever I went to Waterbury and Barre so I wouldn't arrive empty handed. When I handed out the bread to random people, I remember one woman hugging me and sobbing in gratitude.

If you are considering buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate, please give me a call on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me to discuss representing you, our current market conditions and your needs/wants in a new home and community. I would be delighted to assist you.

Armed with solid numbers, Vermont Real Estate buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local Vermont market.

Monday, October 24, 2011

This Is No Bull...

Well okay... Actually it is!

I saw this monster while showing property in Charlotte, Vermont yesterday afternoon. We guessed he must've weighed 1,200 pounds. He was enormous and he had quite a set of vocal chords as he beckoned to all who would listen.

Ferdinand Lives!! And he's in Charlotte!

If you are considering buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont, please utilize my: Burlington Vermont Real Estate, give me a call on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me to discuss representing you, our current market conditions and your needs/wants in a new home and community. I would be delighted to assist you.

Armed with solid numbers, Vermont Real Estate buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local Vermont market.

Six Best North American Cities for a Bike Vacation

This month, Bicycling Magazine selected Burlington Vermont as one of their six best cities in The United States and Canada as cycling hotspots where "you can use your time off to get more time on two wheels". In addition to the numerous rides outlined by the Green Mountain Bicycle Club (GMBC), there is the Lake Champlain Bikeways network that connect more than 1,300 miles of classic New England scenery through Quebec and New York State. For maps of bike routes in Burlington contact Local Motion.

See you on the roads!

Just in case you were interested... The other five cities were Banff, Alberta in Canada, Charleston SC, Traverse City MI, Healdsburg CA and Ketchum ID.

If you are considering buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate, please give me a call on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me to discuss representing you, our current market conditions and your needs/wants in a new home and community. I would be delighted to assist you.

Armed with solid numbers, buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local market.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Double Rainbow in Charlotte Vermont off Popple Dungeon

Yesterday, while showing property in Charlotte, squall after squall swept across Lake Champlain and through the meadows of West Charlotte. It was such drama and beauty. Mother Nature in a mood wrapped it up with a double rainbow over Holmes Road and Popple Dungeon!

A joyous sight!

If you are considering buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate, please give me a call on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me to discuss representing you, our current market conditions and your needs/wants in a new home and community. I would be delighted to assist you.

Armed with solid numbers, buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local market.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Best Places for Breakfast/ Brunch in Burlington VT – Penny Cluse Cafe

One of my favorite places to have breakfast and brunch in Burlington Vermont is Penny Cluse Cafe on the corner of Cherry Street and South Winooski Avenue. They have outrageous fresh juices. Try the tangerine juice in winter and their grapefruit juice the rest the year. Delish! Lots of healthy and organic and hearty fare for those who seek it. There's something for everyone! Great mix of people and food. Be prepared to wait in line. Hours of operation
are Weekdays 6:45am - 3pm Weekends/Holidays 8am - 3pm. Located at 169 Cherry Street in Burlington VT.
802.651.8834

If you are considering buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate, please give me a call on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me to discuss representing you, our current market conditions and your needs/wants in a new home and community. I would be delighted to assist you.

Armed with solid numbers, buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local market.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Burlington Vermont Real Estate: What Does "HOME" Mean To You?

I read an article this evening that touched me deeply. The article focussed primarily upon a suburban family living in Colorado. Up until recently, husband and wife had been earning $100,000 per year. They wanted for nothing. They lacked nothing. Now, they are living in poverty as defined by earning less than $25,000/year for a family of five. Their actual income is now $1,500/month or $18,000/year! As I read about their story, I began thinking about the millions, like them, who are slipping.

A decade ago, the Jefferson County School District in Golden, Colorado reported 58 students that were known to be homeless. A year ago, that number spiraled to 2,800. That dramatic increase in such a vulnerable group hit my Bullseye. It made me think about dramatic loss and the true value of HOME. Is the value of home determined by assessors and appraisers or something much, much deeper and more profound? Something hard to quantify. What do you think?

I looked up the dictionary definitions for the word "home" and I found the definitions woefully inadequate.

As a Realtor, I have dedicated the last twelve years of my life to helping families find just the right place to call HOME. The place where dreams and memories of all kinds accumulate. The place we feel safe. That haven where children grow up. Tears are shed into our pillows. Relationships are nurtured and mature. The place where we grow older and wiser.

When I witness the process parents undergo when they struggle to select the perfect place to call HOME, it is indeed a process. It is truly an undertaking.

And when I witness first hand the emotions wrung out upon so many of our fellow Vermonters who lost everything in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, I am once again brought to my knees in complete humility and gratitude for all that I have. A roof over the heads of those I love most - My children, my family and pets. Warm. Cozy. Creating memories and spawning dreams with the passing of time. Our shelter from life's storms cloaked in LOVE.


And what of love? Love is at the essential core of our sense of HOME.

As we head towards winter, let's remember the beauty of HOME. Let's humble ourselves again to having such a special place. This sanctuary. This place of the heart. Of the soul. And let's share it with those we love. Our Family. Friends. Neighbors. Those in distress. Bring them in...

Please. I invite you to add your thoughts. Tell me and those who come to this website what HOME means to you...

If you are considering buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont, please utilize my website, give me a call on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me to discuss representing you, our current market conditions and your needs/wants in a new home and community. I would be delighted to assist you.

Armed with solid numbers, buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local market.

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If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate or Chittenden County, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market, schools and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

Burlington Vermont Real Estate: Upcoming Events In or Near Burlington VT

My upcoming picks in and around Burlington VT. Be sure to mark your calendars:

1. Leef Peeping: Grab you bike, kayak, hiking boots, walking shoes, kids, dog, wife, sweetheart, chubby hubby, camera, ipod, book, blanket, picnic okay you come up with a couple on your own. But it's time to be out and about and with Indian Summer upon us this weekend we'll have to make this blessed warmth last a loooooooong time. So go for it!!!!! Come back in on Sunday wiped out from being out and about in our lovely state. I'll see you out there...

2. Stowe Foliage Arts Festival. 200 Exhibiting Artists & Artisans. Craft Demonstration. Vermont Craft Brewed Beer, Wine & Food. Live Music on Saturday (10/8) and Sunday (10/9). 10am - 5pm Topnotch Field 4000 Mountain Road Stowe Vermont

3. Friday's Art Walk. Friday, October 7th 5-8pm. Check out the openings in the South End during this Friday's Art Walk including: the Art Hop Original Juried Show, Winner's Exhibit at the South End Arts + Business Association SEABA Center at 404 Pine Street in Burlington VT.

4. Apple Picking. Hackett's Orchard 86 South Street in South Hero Vermont. Hand picked apples. Pick your own apples. Picnic and children's play area. Fresh pressed cider. Homemade cider donuts & apple crisp. Pumpkins, gourds and mums. Weekend tractor rides. Open Daily 8am until dusk. 802.372.4848

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If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate or Chittenden County, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market, schools and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

Burlington Vermont Real Estate: Outside Magazine Names Its Top 19 Perfect Towns List...

Guess who made the list? Okay, i'm a little giddy about this one. I mean Burlington Vermont has been piling these things up for more than twenty years now. Year after year, someone else says this place is the greatest. And guess what? It really is. Here are some fast facts:

POPULATION: 42,417

MEDIAN AGE: 27

MEDIAN ANNUAL SALARY: $38,598

MEDIAN HOME VALUE: $249,900

"Stop us if this sounds familiar: a college town anchored by a left-leaning ­university, with enough bars in a four-block radius to slake the thirst of an army of frat boys and a pedestrian-only main drag full of crepe vendors, retail outlets, locally sourced restaurants, bike racks, and street performers. We thought so. But what sets Burlington apart from other U-towns is its ­affordability and, more ­important, its Green Mountain State sensibility. What’s that mean? Smart grassroots ­organizations like the alt-transportation group Local Motion; great local food and beer like the pizza at American Flatbread, Farmhouse Tap and Grill, and (of course) Ben and Jerry’s. And there’s one really, really big lake.

Staying Power: Burlington’s waterfront has been revitalized in the past two decades as the city cleaned up derelict industrial sites to make way for parks, restaurants, a seven-mile rail-to-trail bike path, and the city’s Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center. The recession took a toll on Vermont’s economy, but Burlington ­businesses, such as Web developer Dealer.com and Green Mountain Roasters, ­continue to expand. On the food front, there’s an ­innovative cooperative that allows citizens to own a stake in a 350-acre farm outside of town.

Playgrounds: Thirty minutes from downtown, you’ll find a backcountry ski paradise in Bolton Valley, with its ­famous Bolton-Trapps trail. The ­rolling roads outside the city are perfect for cycling, while Stowe, home to one of the eastern United States’ best ski resorts and a growing ­network of mountain-bike trails, is only 45 minutes away. Then there’s Lake ­Champlain and the city’s Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, the perfect place to base your catamaran, canoe, or sea kayak and launch for the 30-minute paddle north to Lone Rock Point.

The Voters Speak: Halvorson’s Upstreet Cafe on Church Street, still one of the best places to grab a beer and a burger after a day outside.” “I love the fact that people cross-country ski to work ­after a big snowfall.” “Brew pubs, boating, biking, blue skies, Ben and Jerry’s. It ain’t B-Town for nothing.”

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If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate or Chittenden County, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market, schools and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

Burlington Vermont Real Estate: Upcoming Events In And Near Burlington VT

My upcoming picks in and around Burlington Vermont. Be sure to mark your calendars:

1. Patagonia Burlington & Jay Peak present Films to Change Your World. Wild and Scenic Film Festival. "Where Activism Gets Inspired." Thursday, October 20th 5:30pm at Main Street Landing in Burlington Vermont. Tickets are now on sale,

2. Need a change or might you be looking for employment? Vermont Tech Jam 2011 presented by Dealer.com will be a locus for careers, education and networking (read what Outside Magazine recently reported that Dealer.com was #14 on a list of their 50 top companies to work at it the entire United States). Friday, October 28th from 10am-5pm and Saturday, October 29th from 10am-3pm. Both days will take place at the Border's Building at 29 Church Street in Burlington VT,

3. Emergent Landscape Speaker Series presents Michael Jager of JDK. This discussion will explore "Fearless Empathy". This event is open to the public, appears to be free and takes place at 175 Lakeside Avenue in Burlington Vermont! For more information, please contact the Graduate Studies Program at Champlain College in Burlington VT,

4. Vermont International Film Fest. This is Vermont's Longest Running Film Festival. Mark your calendars for October 21st - 30th 2011. Many venues in Burlington VT and her surrounding communities. For more information go to the Vermont International Film Festival website.

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If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate or Chittenden County, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market, schools and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

Burlington Vermont Real Estate: Creating Videos That Go Viral

Today was the final day of the Vermont Real Estate Conference at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center here in South Burlington Vermont. It was a day I was looking forward to as I had enrolled in a course entitled, "Volcanic Video Ideas to Make Your Messages Go Viral". The course instructor, Doug Devitre, taught us one of the most powerful tools for connecting with prospects can be the use of video on social media! He taught us how to use the web to build our authority in our niche and craft an online community of fans on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. He also taught us how to move our content on other blogs and websites using RSS, status updates and widgets.

I have long recognized that my next major commitment was to begin to learn how to implement a solid video strategy on this website. As was said by Doug, "if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million...".

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If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate or Chittenden County, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market, schools and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

Burlington Vermont Real Estate: The Seven Deadly Sins Sellers Make These Days

During this morning's session of the Vermont Real Estate Conference being held at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center here in South Burlington VT, I am taking a course entitled, "What's It Worth - Pricing Real Estate?" My course instructor who is a certified appraiser with over 34 years of experience in the real estate field imparted the Seven Deadly Sins Sellers Make These Days. Here they are for you sellers out there:

1. Pricing higher than the competition,

2. Refusing reasonable offers early on,

3. Not putting the property in the best possible condition for sale,

4. Making showing the property difficult,

5. Not recognizing that your home is a house, e.g. a commodity to a buyer,

6. Blaming the Realtor for the market. The market is what it is. The Realtor did not make the market,

7. Not reducing the price in a timely manner, causing the property to become stale.

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If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home or condominium in or near Burlington Vermont Real Estate or Chittenden County, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market, schools and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com