Hideout Home For Sale is only $124,900!

Just in time for Christmas! This home in The Hideout in Lake Ariel PA is PRICED RIGHT and READY TO GO.

Many improvements have been made to this cute two-bedroom ranch home, including: brand new updated bathroom, new kitchen counters, ceramic tile floor in kitchen/dining area, brand new entry door, great carpets, warm and tasteful color scheme - and a huge brick fireplace for LOTS of character.

There is also an enclosed porch, complete with brand new steps leading to the wooded back yard. The home sits on nearly half an acre.

This ranch style home will appeal to anyone looking for a smaller vacation get-away, or an affordable year-round starter home. Most of the work has already been done; it's practically turn-key.

Not many homes in this price range are in SUCH BEAUTIFUL CONDITION, and very few come with an attached one-car garage! The garage has an added bonus of a carpeted storage loft (very easy to get to) to store your seasonal items and other goodies.

Don't take my word for it - VIEW THE VIRTUAL TOUR and see for yourself. The seller has put much love into making this home comfortable and adorable, and they're ready pass the keys to a new owner - perhaps to you!  See more about The Hideout below.

 

The Hideout has many perks as well:

• Central water & sewer
• Security gate & full time security force
• Motorboating lake: Lake Roamingwood
• Several other non motor boat lakes for quiet enjoyment
• Ski hill with lift & lodge
• Ice skating
• Two outdoor pools
• Clubhouse w/ banquet center
• 9 hole golf course, with clubhouse, shop, & restaurant
• Arts & Crafts building, woodworking center, and more!
• Close to shopping, skiing, and other recreational pursuits

Read more about The Hideout here.

 

 

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Do you have a home in Pike or Wayne County PA to sell? Email me and learn about my innovative marketing plan which will be personalized specifically for your home. Are you interested in Pike or Wayne County PA homes for sale? Visit my real estate website to see all the property for sale in Hawley, Honesdale, Greentown, Lackawaxen, Hamlin, Lake Ariel, and the entire Lake Wallenpaupack region of Northeast PA's Pocono Mountains. Registration is NOT required to search the Pike/Wayne MLS. You may create an account to save your searches and keep track of your favorite listings. WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Paupack Group Independently Owned and Operated Karen E. Rice is a real estate agent working in Pike & Wayne County of Northeastern PA in the Poconos. The Hideout, not too far from Lake Wallenpaupack, is one of northeastern Pennsylvania's most popular gated communities for vacation homes, retirement, and purchasing a year round primary home. The Hideout: AFFORDABLE HOME AT ONLY 124,900 © 2008 by Karen E. Rice. All rights reserved. Originally published by the author on PikeWaynePABlog.com - "Hideout Home: Serious Seller Looking for Offers"

"Happy Holidays" has been a seasonal greeting since way before I was born.  My parents had a recording of Bing Crosby singing "Happy holidays.....happy holidays...." This was an acceptable greeting long before anything was politically correct, and in fact, lots of stuff was politically incorrect.  There is no reason why "Happy Holidays" should be offensive.

Yet, some Christians are offended by it.  According to them, the proper term should be "Merry Christmas," since that is the "main" holiday we are celebrating (at least in their eyes.)

Actually I find it interesting that many Christians are upset about the idea of Christ being removed from Christmas...when Christmas was never a holiday He asked us to celebrate for Him, anyway.

Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to celebrate Christmas, or the birth of Christ.  In fact, many Christians don't even celebrate it.  Why? 

Because, in their eyes, Christmas is nothing but a string of pagan-rooted traditions that have been Christianized...never mind the greed and materialism bred by this holiday.  The Puritans refused to acknowlege Christmas; to this day there are different sects (including 7th Day Adventists and various fundamentalist believers) who do not observe Christmas.

I am not one of them.  I like my Christmas tree, and I don't worship it, and I could do without it (it's rather a pain to put up, decorate, and take down...).  I enjoy giving gifts to family and friends. 

I like the lights, I like the decorations.  I even like Santa Claus.  We never taught our kids to believe in Santa-from-the-North-Pole-who-delivers-presents-to-good-kids (but we also taught them not to rain on someone else's Santa parade...)  I always felt sorry for the poor children who were very good but never got much from Santa. (Thankfully, we have the Marines filling in for Santa, but still....)

Anyway, I like "Happy Holidays" because it IS inclusive.  I do not know many people who celebrate Hanukkah, but I'd like to wish them a happy holiday anyway.  I don't know of anyone who celebrates Kwaanza, and I really don't know much about the celebration, but I'd like those who celebrate it to be included in my greeting.

And I'd like to think that when others say "Happy Holidays" that they are including Christmas in that greeting as well.

That's enough for my soapbox for today.  Enjoy the show I put together.  I call it "Happy Hawley-Days!"

 

Generally, I enjoy watching HGTV. It's terrific for ideas on staging, updating, landscaping. But please, remember this is entertainment...and some of the advice given is really BAD, in my opinion.

One of the worst shows, IMHO, is My House is Worth WHAT.  This show features a real estate agent taking on the role of an appraiser, and homeowners discuss borrowing more money based on these "expert opinions."

They are told, without any kind of disclaimer, that if they spend more money and do "X" they will see many thousands of dollars back on that investment, making their home worth $50,000 to $100,000 more... After a quick tour, the "expert" says "If I were to put your house on the market, I would list it for...." and then the homeowners are either crestfallen because it came up "short" or they're "elated" because NOW they have the green light to spend more money on their house!

They never mention that the listing price is often quite a bit higher than the selling price - and a mortgage appraiser is probably going to be more conservative about the value of those upgrades. Additionally, there are thousands of dollars of seller's closing costs which will also come out of that sale price.

Here's my Tuesday Tip: If you're selling your home, avoid doing any major remodels or upgrades unless really necessary. Be sure you can afford the improvements without going further into debt and sacrificing too much equity!

Also, beware of "over improving" for your neighborhood...it's difficult selling a $350,000 property surrounded by $120,000 homes.

Buyers don't walk into a home and say "Look, honey, granite counters and stainless steel appliances! They spent $35,000 on this kitchen! Let's offer $50,000 above the asking price 'cause it's so pretty!" In this market, they'll likely start out at $100,000 below asking price to see how "flexible" or "desperate" a seller you are!

Remember, real estate agents are not appraisers. We can give you educated opinions - but they are only opinions. And yes, Virginia, even real estate appraisers make mistakes. A Pike County home sat on the market for about two years - appraised at $475,000. I have no idea how that appraiser came up with that figure - but hey. The home eventually sold for well below $300,000.

I know of another that "comps out" at $160,000, but the homeowners were given an appraised value of $240,000. Thankfully they didn't refinance for that amount!

If you want to renovate/remodel for your own pleasure - go for it. Do what you want to your home to make it YOUR home - just be aware that you may not see as much of a return on that investment as these television shows may lead you to believe.

HGTV is not educational - it's entertainment.

So, what kinds of things should you do to prepare your home for sale? Coming soon!

 

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Do you have a home in Pike or Wayne County PA to sell? Email me and learn about my innovative marketing plan which will be personalized specifically for your home.

Are you interested in Pike or Wayne County PA homes for sale? Visit my real estate website to see all the property for sale in Hawley, Honesdale, Greentown, Lackawaxen, Hamlin, Lake Ariel, and the entire Lake Wallenpaupack region of Northeast PA's Pocono Mountains.

Registration is NOT required to search the Pike/Wayne MLS. You may create an account to save your searches and keep track of your favorite listings.

WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Paupack Group
Independently Owned and Operated

Karen E. Rice is a real estate agent working in Pike & Wayne County of Northeastern PA in the Poconos. Lake Wallenpaupack is one of Pennsylvania's most popular destinations for vacations, retirement, and purchasing a home.

Selling Your Home & HGTV: Tuesday Tip into Reality © 2008 by Karen E. Rice. All rights reserved. Originally published by the author on PikeWaynePABlog.com: "Selling Your Home & HGTV: Tuesday Tip"

Photo Credits: 

Green light photo by Ted Percival, House image by Woodley Wonderworks, via Creative Commons.

Or,

You Can't Sell Your House If The Buyers Aren't Interested

There are currently more than 3,800 active listings (over 2,200 are residential properties) for sale in thePike/Wayne MLS.

In November 2008, there were over 4000 active listings; and 105 listings sold (83 were residential homes)...leaving us with 38 months of inventory. (Meaning it would take us 38 months to sell all the listings at the current absorption rate.)

Sounds kind of grim. Guess what homes are being invited to the prom?

Not necessarily the prettiest ones, because unlike prom dates, looks aren't everything. The ones that are priced right are the ones that are most attractive.

There are generally five things that work toward getting a house sold:

1. Price (This is key.)
2. Location (You can't change your location; if the location is not so great, see #1.)
3. Condition (The condition determines the price; don't price a home on its potential condition, but on its actual condition. Believe it or not, even the ugliest homes will sell if priced right.)
4. Supply & Demand (If there are a lot of homes for sale and not as many buyers, you need to be as competitive as possible and be the shiniest penny for #1 and #3.)
5. Marketing (A good real estate agent does much more than the 3 P's of Placing it on the MLS, Putting up a sign, and PRAYING for a sale!)

 

However, all the creative marketing in the world isn't going to sell a home that is - overpriced. That home is not gonna make it to the prom, and won't have the chance to be the queen on settlement day.

Not everyone makes Prom Queen, but I'd really like to help get you to the dance! Are you ready to sell your home in Pike or Wayne County?

Contact me for a free analysis and I'd be happy to show you what the market is doing for homes like yours and in your neighborhood. If you'd like to just keep track of your market and know what's going on in your neighborhood, I can keep you apprised of that as well via email alerts.

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Credit where Due:

I'd like to thank my wonderful mentor and friend, Judy Rodonski, for the catchy phrase that inspired this post. It was a fine sunshiny day when Judy and I met - and the day she welcomed me to the team at Weichert Realtors Paupack Group is one I'll always be thankful for.

This savvy lady has taught me so much about real estate - I don't know what I'd do without her. Thanks Judy, for all of your unselfish support, advice, gentle reprimands, and most importantly, your friendship. You are truly the BEST!

 

 

Prom queen photo by Melle Oh; prom table photo by Tracy Hunter; via Creative Commons.

 

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Do you have a home in Pike or Wayne County PA to sell? Email me and learn about my innovative marketing plan which will be personalized specifically for your home.

Are you interested in Pike or Wayne County PA homes for sale? Visit my real estate website to see all the property for sale in Hawley, Honesdale, Greentown, Lackawaxen, Hamlin, Lake Ariel, and the entire Lake Wallenpaupack region of Northeast PA's Pocono Mountains.

Registration is NOT required to search the Pike/Wayne MLS. You may create an account to save your searches and keep track of your favorite listings.

WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Paupack Group
Independently Owned and Operated

Karen E. Rice is a real estate agent working in Pike & Wayne County of Northeastern PA in the Poconos. Lake Wallenpaupack is one of Pennsylvania's most popular destinations for vacations, retirement, and purchasing a home.

You Can't Be the Prom Queen If You Aren't At the Dance, Or, You Can't Sell Your Home if the Buyers Aren't Interested © 2008 by Karen E. Rice. All rights reserved. Originally published by the author on PikeWaynePABlog.com: "You Can't Be the Prom Queen if You Don't Go to the Dance, Or, You Can't Sell Your Home if the Buyers Aren't Interested"