NEW LISTING IN SNOW SHOE, PA.

This maybe "THE PERFECT HOME". Lovely setting on just under 1/2 acre w/mature landscape. Simply bring the family since all the work is done. New windows Sept 08, new bath & kitchen floors Jan. 09. Central air, detached 2 car insulated garage.

The home is located one mile from the elementary school (http://www.beasd.org/education/district/district.php?sectionid=1)

An easy commute to State College and Penn State University are available via I-80 and I-99.

Visit KW.com for all the details and call Tim Rogers for all the first-time home buyer loan programs available for this beautiful home.

If you take a peaceful drive through the tranquil Amish valley that is Penns Valley you may stumble upon a new neighborhood perched on the edge of Millheim. And for you Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks lovers (http://www.elkcreekcafe.net/I'm one too), you can walk to the brew pub from this cozy little neighborhood.


Mensch Estates is a "builder exclusive" project of Brookside Homes (http://www.brookside-homes.com/) and there are 14 buildings lots available that offer public water and sewer in a quiet neighborhood setting on the edge of Millheim. In addition to walking to the brew pub, active families can jump on their mountain bikes and start pedaling through the countryside in about 90 seconds. There are several world class trout streams within minutes of the neighborhood and two state forests are ten minutes away.


The neighborhood is located in the desirable Penns Valley school district and is an easy drive to Penn State University or Bucknell University. Check out the Brookside Homes web site to view the quality constrution available in this new neighborhood.

For more detailed information about this new Penns Valley neighborhood give me a call.

What is your excuse?

Born the twentieth of twenty-two children, in a small, rural Tennessee town in 1940, she contracted polio as a four year old and was told she may never walk again. She lost the use of her left leg and was in such a weakened state she was shackled with leg braces. Living in a house with no money for special medical treatments, her TEAM of siblings took over. Thus, her legs were massaged a number of times each day, helping her to regain strength. Her confidence may have flagged at times in her childhood when it seemed she might spend a lifetime in leg braces or even a wheelchair. Through the efforts of her devoted family—and her own steely determination to strengthen herself—she rose from disability to Olympic glory in a few short years.

After five years of leg massage treatment, she one day stunned her doctors when she removed her leg braces and walked by herself. Soon she was challenging her brothers to races in the back yard.

Her love of basketball led her to try out for the ninth grade team where her coach cut her and told her not to bother with the sport. As a tenth grader she was added to the roster simply because the basketball coach wanted her older sister on the team and her father told the coach that the older sister could play if he allowed the younger girl to be a part of the team. The girl with the leg braces that was cut as a ninth grader went on to score 803 points that year which is still a Tennessee record for sophomores.

As a fourteen year old she started running track after the track coach saw her on the basketball court and encouraged her to run.

You see, WILMA RUDOLPH, the girl with the leg braces had never heard of the Olympics as a fourteen year old and two short years later she was toeing the line of the 100 meter dash in Australia where she won a bronze medal.

Four short years later the poor girl from Tennessee that stunned her doctors by removing those leg shackles shocked the world in Rome, Italy.

At the 1960 Olympics, Rudolph won all three of her gold medals in very dramatic fashion. In both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, she finished at least three yards in front of her closest competitor. She tied the world record in the 100-meter and set a new Olympic record in the 200. Rudolph also brought her 400-meter relay team from behind to win the gold. The French called her "La Gazelle." Without question, Rudolph's achievements at the 1960 Olympic Games remain a stand-out performance in the history of Olympic competition.

Are you hurting today? There is nothing you can’t overcome without a singleness of mind and purpose. And I ask again, “What is your excuse?”

GREAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN PHILIPSBURG!

Don't miss this great home with an excellent location in the heart of Philipsburg. This house was gutted and completly rebuilt on the inside and shows like a brand new home. You will find three bedrooms and a large bath upstairs and a large eat-in kitchen, living room and bonus room with a half bath on the first floor.

Check out the hypothetical financing:

Result:
Monthly payment:
30 Years
Interest rate:
6.250%
Loan amount:
$ 74,900.00
$ 461.17 a month

Call me today for a free preview before this home sell's. Remember, interest rates are still at historic low's so give me a call at 814-280-0054.

Fly Fishing pinnacle - The Green Drake hatch on Penns Creek!

Early June on Penns Creek just east of State College, PA. provides for some of the most exciting limestone trout fishing in the Eastern United States. The section of stream from Coburn down to Poe Paddy and about six miles south of Poe Paddy provides scenic beauty and trophy trout fishing in early June. The drive through tranquil Penns Valley and the Amish communities is worth the price of admission.

The famous Green Drake hatch smothers Penns Creek with millions of flying morsels that the trout gorge on from about 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Generally, the first and second week in June is the prime time and you will be catching 16" and larger trout.

For specific information about the current hatch and stream conditions you can visit several web sites including:

Penns Creek Angler http://www.pennscreekangler.com/

The Feathered Hook http://thefeatheredhook.com/

TCO Fly Shop http://www.tcoflyfishing.com/1sc_pennsconditions.cfm

I live on a tributary to Penns Creek and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about catching the Green Drake hatch on Penns Creek.

JUST SOLD!

Great home for first time homebuyers looking for nice neighborhood in good Centre Hall location and a lucky buyer just moved in.

This home sold in 47 days for $97,850.

If you are considering buying a home for the first time and need help with the process of finding a home or navigating the maze of first-time home buyer loan programs, including PHFA and Centre County Grant programs, give Tim Rogers at Keller Williams a call at 814-280-0054.

Spring is finally making an appearance in Happy Valley and just as the tulips are blossoming so is the real estate market as buyers come in to the market at a time when interest rates are at historic lows.

WINTER HANGS ON IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

Just when our thoughts turn to planning spring break getaways we received a solid reminder about why we need to get away from the cold winter blues. Of course, my son would go out of his way to drive into the winter blues if it meant good snow boarding or "riding" as those in the know call it. I think at this point in the calendar the Florida Keys are looking pretty good although it has been a fairly mild winter.

The photo's were taken along Fishing Creek as it flows down the mountain from Centre to Clinton County in the midst of a fairly strong snow storm.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN CENTRE HALL
Featuring:
* Double lot - .28 acres
* 3 Br 1 Bath
* Quiet neighborhood
* 1,400 Sq. Ft. Living Area
Monthly P & I Payment - $668.37*
* Utilizing Centre County Grant Money

Great first time home in comfortable neighborhood. Move right in and update each room at your leisure. Large double lot for gardening. Walk to Centre Hall Elementary and the Centre Hall Library.

Lovely 2 bedroom home in PENNS VALLEY School District

1.20 acres bordering state forest land

Meets criteria for affordable housing and first time homebuyers programs

1.20 acres bordering State Forest land. Large 2 bedroom home close to State College and Lewistown. Nice opportunity to move right in and stop paying rent. Currently tenant occupied.

Call me for a preview of this home and stop paying rent.

NEW YEARS EVE 2007

Think about the new Years Eve party you could host in this gorgeous bed & breakfast in Victorian Bellefonte. Located on Linn Street amid the splendor of historic B & B's, the stately "Garret" is awaiting its new owners with measured excitement. The new owners may want to continue the profitable operation catering to a loyal clientele built over the past thirty years or return it to a private residence and host private parties for friends and family.
No matter what you choose to do with the elegant residence, call me now to schedule a private tour of the residence and a review of the books. Seldom does an opportunity present itself that can satisfy your dream of owning a part of Bellefonte history.
Call me directly at 814-280-0054.

Visit http://buyBellefonte.com for many additional photo's and details relating to this beautiful home.

The For Sale by Owner Conundrum

I've been talking to quite a few For Sale by Owner property owners recently and I thought I would provide some interesting information and a quick story from the past year. First the statistics taken from the NAR database so they are not tainted by my possible bias as a Realtor.

Average sales price w/Realtor - $247,000

Average sales price FSBO - $187,200

Realtors obtain an average 32% higher sales price than a FSBO on an identical property.

FSBO Methods used to market home

* Yard Sign....................51%

* Friends/neighbors....53%

* Newspaper ad...........31%

* Open house...............29%

* Internet.....................22%

Most difficult tasks for FSBO sellers

* Getting the right price.....................11%

* Understanding paperwork..............16%

* Preparing home for sale...................18%

* Attracting potential buyers............. 9%

* Time management relating to sale...9%

So what does it all mean? I suppose it depends on your viewpoint and my guess is that if you asked a hundred people you would get a hundred different viewpoints.

Now the story. I was representing a buyer earlier this year and he wanted to buy a FSBO property. So I happily scheduled a meeting with the seller and we visited her home. She greeted me at the door and quickly explained that she didn't need a Realtor because she had an attorney. I thought that was a great idea and told her that I was acting as a buyers agent on behalf of my buyer and that my interest was that of my buyer and I would do everything in my power to get the best deal possible for my buyer. She agreed that I would be a buyers agent and she would be a FSBO with a local attorney as her counsel. She agreed to pay me a buyers agent fee and we signed a statement outlining our roles.

We then sat down at the kitchen table and started to negotiate the sale of her house. Of course her attorney wasn't present (it was 7:30 in the evening) and I continually reminded her that I was representing my buyer quite possibly at her expense. She kept telling me not to worry that she had a great local attorney that would handle everything on her behalf. We kept negotiating until we had hammered out a very favorable contract filled with numerous items to help my buyer. She very happily signed the offer and asked for 24 hours for her attorney to review it. I granted the 24 hours knowing that the contract would come back drastically changed after the attorney's review.

The next day the attorney called me and asked me to pick up the executed contract that he had approved with her consent. A bit surprised I headed over to the office and picked up the contract without a single change to it.

I called the buyer and told him it was time to implement all of the items we requested in the contract. To shorten the story a bit, we did as we promised in the contract and the seller kept calling me asking why we wanted or needed to do a variety of things that she thought we shouldn't address. I reminded her that she had signed a legally binding contract that allowed us the options we were requesting, and oh by the way, she would get to pay for some of it as well. She called her attorney about the matter and the attorney explained to her that we could do the things requested, and in fact, we were not asking for anything unethical or illegal. We were simply asking for things that any excellent buyers agent would ask for on behalf of his client.

I'll never forget the final walk-through the day before closing. The seller was present and pulled me aside as the proud new buyer walked through the house prior to closing. She said to me and I'm paraphrasing but the point was very clear, "You have cost me more in this transaction than if I had hired a Realtor to represent my interests. I really think that you asked me to pay for items that you shouldn't have and I wished I had retained the services of a sellers agent but I didn't know you would cost me so much money."

The truth is I did an excellent job representing my buyer and her attorney didn't really pay attention to much of the detail nor did he explain things to her as they were happening. She ended up spending more than she would have saved on commissions with a sellers agent. I love attorney's and have several that are very good friends but they don't do this every day and it cost the seller real dollars.

Keller Williams Realty wins Stevie® Award for Real Estate Sales Organization of the Year

Could this be the best company in America? Recently, Keller Williams innovative business model was added to the core MBA curriculum at both Yale and Stanford. The company has donated $5.0 million dollars to Baylor University to fund a center to advance the study of residential real estate. “The goal of the Keller Center will be to study the issues that are pressing for real estate companies and agents in today’s marketplace,” Keller says. “For all the awesome research that is already out there, there is an equal amount that is still not being done.”

Keller Williams Realty was recently honored with a Stevie Award in the Best Run Sales Organization category as the Real Estate Sales Organization of the Year at the second annual Selling Power Sales Excellence Awards in Las Vegas, Nev.

The awards were jointly presented by Selling Power magazine, the leading sales management publication with 145,000 subscribers in 67 countries, and The Stevie® Awards, which have been hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” (the New York Post, April 27, 2005).
More than 400 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories this year.

I can't imagine a better place to work and I can't imagine a buyer or seller finding a more dedicated company of trained professionals to represent them in a real estate transaction.