Hawley, PA

The other day while out on caravan, I had a dry throat and coughed.  People cringed even though I did cough into my sleeve (never my hand).  

A few houses later, the dust in the home tickled my nose too much and unfortunately, on our way out the door the dust combined with the pollen in the air was too much - and I sneezed.  People ran.  Well, just joking - nobody ran but my friend Linda ducked and said "You better not have swine flu!"

It's the latest scare on the scene and it has lots of people concerned.

Some home sellers are nervous about having many strangers view their homes - with all the talk of swine flu going around, it's reasonable to be a little scared, especially if someone in the household is suffering from a weakened immune system and is at risk of becoming very ill.

It's not really possible to pre-screen buyers for the flu - I can see the list of questions:

• How much do you have for a downpayment?
• What is your credit score? Are you preapproved?
• When would you like to move?
• Have you been to Mexico lately?
• Have you started sneezing or sniffling?

The problem is, there are all kinds of bugs floating around that could be just as devastating to an at-risk person.  People can be contagious and not even know it, so asking them if they're sick before letting them see the house will probably not be very helpful. 

Short of taking your home off the market, there is always going to be the risk that someone may come into your home, touch the doorknobs, and leave behind germs.

I suggest having a container of Lysol or Clorox wipes handy - and after a showing, wipe down every possible surface someone may have touched - most likely all the door knobs, cabinet and drawer pulls, the counter top, the bathroom fixtures.  It will not eliminate all of the germs - and supposedly, the flu germs do not survive on surfaces very long anyway - but it will help.

This would be a great time to declutter and eliminate a bunch of knick knacks - less surfaces for people to touch and less surfaces for sellers to clean afterward.  Not to mention, the lack of clutter makes your home appear more attractive to buyers...

I for one plan on carrying a bottle of hand sanitizer with me everywhere.  I will not be touching many surfaces in homes I show - just to be safe.  I will be sanitizing my hands often - and you're welcome to share - just let me squirt it into your palm.

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.

Pike & Wayne County PA Real Estate - Real Estate and the Flu, Swine or Otherwise... ©Copyright 2009 by Karen E. Rice. All rights reserved.

Just a quick note, Spring is here and it's time to clean out!

The WEICHERT WALKERS team goal is $2,000. Donations may be made online for your convenience - simply click here!

I know, I know - you've all been wondering where the heck I have been this past month.  All the fan mail I've received, begging me to come back to blogging has been staggering.

(Okay, that was a lie, I didn't receive but one email, that was from my good buddy, professional mortgage banker Jason Sardi, asking me if I was going to be in Philly last week.  I didn't reply until after the event...which was an obvious "NO" to his question.  Thank you Jason, for missing me and writing to me.  That was very sweet.)

The fact is, I have been swamped with work the past few weeks - I have actually either been out with clients selling real estate, working on behalf of clients helping them buy or sell their real estate, or keeping up to date on paperwork (real estate generates almost as much paperwork as the military) practically non stop. I haven't had time to go on Facebook, or Twitter, or anything!

I only took time out to help my team with my awesome bowling handicap on Wednesday nights, and to watch 24 on Monday nights.

Oh, and one other thing - I took most of Saturday, February 21 off to attend my son's big Boy Scout event: Pack 229's Pine Derby 2009.  Clients were informed that I already had that day booked - indeed, it was to spend the entire afternoon with the family that hasn't seen much of me since sometime in January!

Every year our son Jared looks forward to the Pine Derby.  He and Glenn, my talented, creative, and oh-so-hot husband, figure out a design for the car and work on it together.

This year, I think Glenn outdid himself, fashioning an excellent replica of the Mach 5.  Keep your Dale Earnhart Jr's - give me Speed Racer any time! ;-)

There were lots of creative cars in the race - my favorites, aside from the Mach 5 of course, included the super-fast skateboard, the bubbly bathtub, and the giggle-inducing Spongebob car.  

I got caught up in the cake auction.  Luckily for everyone there, I did NOT bake a cake but desperately wanted the figure 8 racetrack cake.  I didn't win but did my part by helping drive up the price! Ha ha!!!

Love Scouts - Love Pine Derbys - Loved the day with the family.

"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!"

(This was originally posted on PikeWaynePABlog.com)

This weekend, October 25, 2008, Weichert Realtors Paupack Group will be hosting several Open Houses in Fawn Lake Forest. If you've been thinking about selling your home, and would like to put it on the market, please contact me for a price evaluation and to learn about my unique marketing plan.

The Fawn Lake home that I originally had planned to hold open has a contract pending, so I'm looking for a new home to market and put on display!

It's not too late to get in on the action - I'd love to talk with you and tell you about what Weichert and I will do for you.