Gardening in Greater Hartford

The snowless winter has made sledding nearly impossible this season. We got a few runs in after the Halloween storm, and a few more after a modest snowfall in January, but since then the sleds have been idle. Instead we’ve been thinking about spring and the upcoming gardening season. And it seems like others are on the same page. Last week we learned about an updated plant hardiness map from the USDA. The map for

Try, Try Again

Have you ever submitted an offer and had the seller say “Thanks for the offer. Would you like to try again?” I’ve delivered this response as the seller’s agent, as well as received this response as a buyer’s agent. It’s really not a lot of fun to be delivering or receiving this response. If you’re the seller’s agent, it means that someone most likely submitted a low ball offer. Your seller client got excited that

January Contracts: A Fast Start to 2012

The number of single-family homes that went under contract in January 2012 jumped 14% over January of last year. The total of 458 deals that came together signals that the local real estate markets are off and running for 2012. We have heard a number of theories as to why buyers are active so early in the year. One is that the lack of snow has everyone acting like it’s spring. Another line of thinking

Battling for New Clients

Recently someone contacted me regarding a rental that I had available. They were moving to the area and wanted to rent before buying. This person had some geographic restrictions because of their job and had other criteria that made their options fairly limited. Unfortunately my rental option went away because the home went under contract for sale. I offered suggestions and help for other places they may want to look and they continued doing their

Junk in Your Basement

When you bought your home, did you allow the previous owners to leave items in the basement, garage or attic of the home? When a buyer purchases a property in the Greater Hartford area, it’s supposed to be left in “broom clean condition” by the closing. That means the previous owners shouldn’t leave old paint cans, cleaning products or a host of other things behind. Often you’ll see a seller ask a buyer if it’s