Aug. 16, 2007 - Feng Shui in Real Estate

If someone were to ask you, in relation to selling, buying or even redecorating you home, if you know Feng Shui, and your response is, "Who?" this article may be for you! Here is a dictionary definition:

feng shui (fŭng' shwâ') n. The Chinese art or practice of positioning objects based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects.

The purpose of the art in home decoration is to create a harmonious environment and enhance the flow of positive spiritual energy, or chi. Whether or not you subscribe to these beliefs, some of the ideas behind feng shui just make good decorating sense.

You'll find a good example of this art in Feng Shui Your Bedroom at hgtv.com.

Aug. 11, 2007 - Home Maintenance Classes Offered

As mentioned in my last blog article, Ithaca area residents are fortunate to have a variety of services available to us so we can make informed and educated decisions when buying a home and then maintaining it.

If you're thinking of purchasing a home that may need some fixing up, or live in one that could use a bit of repair, Better Housing for Tompkins County is offering a series of maintenance classes that are hands-on. They suggest you come prepared to get dirty! The cost for each class is $5 and the facility is located at 950 Danby Road. All classes begin at 6:30 p.m. Here are their offerings:

Electrical	August 30, 2007
Window Replacement	September 20, 2007
Drywall Repair	October 28, 2007
Plumbing	November 13, 2007
Tools	December 13, 2007

These sound like extremely useful classes to me! My father alway said to have a healthy respect for electricity. Maybe I should attend that class to learn what I should NOT do. And who hasn't pounded a big nail in the wall to hang a picture, tried to spackle it in preparation for repainting, only to make it look worse? And have you ever stumbled across a tool made for a specific task that you sure wish you'd known about last spring when you were trying to make that repair?

Call 273-2187 to reserve your spot. Also, visit their website for additional information on buying and maintaining your home and  to find out about the other services provided by Better Housing for Tompkins County.

Aug. 3, 2007 - Ithaca NY Real Estate is Alive and Well

I haven't posted to my blog in a while for a variety of reasons; one being that I have been extremely busy because the real estate market in Ithaca is not suffering the same downward turn as in other areas of the country, and generally doesn't.

A recent article in the Ithaca Journal dated July 18 espoused the discouraging news about the difficulty that first time homebuyers have. As pointed out in a letter to the editor by my esteemed colleague and good friend, Peggy Haine, even first-time homebuyers have the great good fortune to be able to avail themselves of services provided by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services for Tompkins County and also the SONYMA program that allows first time homebuyers, that qualify, to take advantage of, among other perks, a lower interest rate.

So the sky isn't falling. The real estate market always experiences fluctuations, By and large, real estate prices are reflective of the uniqueness of a property competing against other properties at a given time. If there are several similar homes on the market at one time, prices tend to go down. Because of the transient nature of the Ithaca population, we have more buyers than other areas (particularly in the spring) to absorb the excess housing and competition for the declining number of homes will cause the selling prices to escalate.

Buying real estate is not risky and is a great way to build wealth over the long run. Don't buy into all of the doom and gloom about the poor state of the real estate market. We're doing just fine in the Ithaca area.