About Monroe County, PA

The Pocono Mountains, PA is truely a magestic place to be in winter. Skiing is a given...lots of slopes to choose from, but for those who prefer a more laid back form of recreation, just taking in the crisp air and freshly fallen snow can be a wonderful experience. Natural beauty abounds here and while the weather can be harsh, there is plenty of wildlife brave enough to tough it out ... and if you sit still long enough, you just might catch a glimpse.

~Apostle Art Home Staging & Design offers professional real estate staging services to sellers, real estate agents and investors in the Pocono Mountains Region and beyond. www.apostleart.com ~

I was coming back to the office after showing houses all day Saturday in the Poconos. I've said it before, I love our Main Street in Stroudsburg, and I'm lucky enough to have my office right there! As I drove up Main Street, looking at the store fronts and the white-lights wrapped around the trees, I looked ahead and just stared at the beautiful colors the sunset was drawing in the sky. I had to take a picture and share it. Just add this to my list of reasons why I love Main Street, Stroudsburg!

Heavyweights of the squared circle, not the gridiron, played host to a great crowd gathered for pro footballs' championship game yesterday at Gypsies nightclub located in Mt. Airy Casino. Larry Holmes, Gerry Cooney, Bobby Czyz and Chuck Wepner, met with fans, signed autographs, took pictures and told stories as patrons got ready for the big game. Many took advantage of the discounted buffet, specially priced at $7.77. That was a jackpot for sure. I, however, took great pleasure in meeting these boxing greats. Larry Holmes, still sharp with the verbal jab, held a heavyweight title (either undisputed or organizational belt) for a still record 7 years. I think I caught Larry off guard a little, when I threw back the tag line form his show at him, saying: "What the heck were they thinking?", which drew a laugh from the "Easton Assassin". Larry Holmes is very active in the Easton area, with Larry Holmes Drive being the main section of Rt. 611 that runs through it and is where his "Ringside" restaurant and offices are located.

"Gentleman" Gerry Cooney was a fighter from Huntington, LI (near where I grew up) and is best known for his fight with Larry Holmes. In a racially tense atmosphere that was unjustly hyped by the promoters (and decried by Cooney), the two pugilists engaged in a fantastic fight, with Holmes systematically picking apart Cooney until Cooney's corner stopped the fight in the 13th round. The two are friends to this day and Cooney is involved with J.A.B., a union for boxers, protecting their finances and other interests, and also is involved with domestic violence prevention. Bobby Czyz was a light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion who also was an analyst on many boxing telecasts. His intellect and insightful approach to both boxing and commentary should be no surprise to those who know Bobby as he is a proud member of MENSA, an organization for the top 2% of all IQ test takers. Chuck Wepner, the "Bayonne Bleeder", is best known for his courageous fight against dominant champion Muhammad Ali. Wepner went the full 15 rounds with Ali, knocking Ali down toward the latter rounds of the fight. This fight, and Wepner is credited as Sylvester Stallone's inspiration for his "Rocky Balboa" character and series of movies.

A great time was had by many and a big kudos to Mt. Airy Casino for putting on this great event which was free to the public.

WOW! Positive news in the POCONO REAL ESTATE market. In viewing the chart below you will see that the number of homes sold for January of 2010 was 86, that is 3% over the number of homes sold for January of 2009 which was 83. WOW! Positive news in the POCONO REAL ESTATE market. Then if you take a look at the average sold price for homes in January of 2010 you will see it is $173,343, a 1% increase over the average sale price of homes sold in January of 2009 which was $171,369. WOW! Positive news in the POCONO REAL ESTATE Market.

The best news is that on 2/1/10 I reported that the number of homes sold was only down 1%. I apologize for that. I guess I was to anxious to report the "small" difference and did not wait long enough for all transactions to be processed through our flexmls system because as you can see, this figure is MUCH better now. I'll try not to be so anxious in the future and give it a few days into the new month before I publish some stats.

Anyway, the point is that the news keeps getting better and better.

Now, the question is, do we or do we not attribute this POSITIVE news to the Homebuyer Tax Credit? The economy has not picked up that much so I believe it is due to the tax credit. Let us hope that the next few months and the months to follow all have POSITIVE statistics also.

Stats taken from flexmls on 2-8-10 and are deemed reliable however I am not responsible for typo errors.

Funny how all this talk about short sales and foreclosures being so prominent and wonderful (sarcastic) left one small detail out of the equation. The fundamental principle of CYA (Cover Your Ass). What was rule number one in real estate school (or what should have been if you went to a decent school), seems to have evaporated when it comes to these transactions. Why should we put ourselves as Realtors at risk to the perils of incompetent banks, dishonest sellers, other bad agents and other factors beyond our control without a safeguard in place absolving us of such wrongdoing. I wouldn't want to stake my reputation on a deal where I am at the whim of a bank that has to go through 3 levels of beauracratic red tape before an offer can be approved, and then I have heard stories of the same bank reneging on the deal. I feel that a waiver should be produced on National, State and/or individual levels that will be honored and would absolve an agent representing a buyer in a short sale or foreclosure transaction of any worng doing from a who list of factors such as "As-is condition", to bank addendums, to the unpredictableness of dealing with a sellers' bank and more. I have made it a point to avoid most of these short sale and foreclosure situations (unless it is necessary for my buyers price range and/or buyer is willing to accept the risk vs. reward). If you want to risk getting egg on your face as well as a lawsuit, then keep going about your business as normal. I feel this should be a call to action for every Realtor out there who is dealing with short sales and foreclosures.

Situation I am dealing with now: I am dealing with a gentleman who wants to close and take advantage of the $8000 tax credit. You think I can safely enter an Agreement of Sale and close in time when the feedback I got from the sellers' agent was that it could take months for an accepted offer? Why would I risk my reputation on the whim of a bank? Would you without some kind of protection? If this guy does not get his tax credit, guess who he is coming after? You got it!