The Lewiston Winter Farmers Market celebrates all there is to love about Maine, her people, and her products with a “Lovin' Maine Made” theme in honor of Valentine's Day. The market has become the community's connection to area farmers, producers, and artisans with more than 20 vendors offering in season fruits and vegetables, pastured meats, milk and dairy products, artisan cheeses and breads, baked goods, seafood, prepared meals, sweets, cut flowers, maple products, fiber arts, hand crafted soaps, herbs and herbal products, pottery, art and more.

The “Lovin' Maine Made” winter farmers market will be held at the St. Mary's Nutrition Center on Thursday, February 16^th from 5:00pm to 7:30pm. Market goers can enjoy dinner from the popular Winter Market Cafe, music by Jerry Carrier, and enter this month's raffle for a chance to win a basket of market goodies.

The Winter Farmers Market is held every third Thursday, November through April, from 5:00pm to 7:30pm at the St. Mary's Nutrition Center located at 208 Bates Street in Lewiston. Market organizers say that they have packed as many vendors into the space as possible so that customers can stock up on items from their favorite farmers, growers, and artisans throughout the winter months, adding healthy food choices to their pantry. The winter market also accepts credit, debit, and EBT (foodstamp) cards.

For questions or directions, please call 207-513-3848.

The Sun Journal did a great piece on the market and the popular Winter Market Cafe over the weekend.

This February there are a lot of Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine properties for sale, but if this is the month you’re seriously entering the hunt, all that matters is how to find the best one! If you are a first time buyer, where to begin may seem a bit daunting, but you can relax. In reality, there are no “wrong” ways to search for a new home – but there are a few great places you can start.

Internet

Statistics shows that at least 94% of buyers make use of the Internet when they search for properties for sale. This is the most convenient source of information for most Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine buyers. A great website provides them with the most up-to-date listing information, price alerts, and market statistics. Real estate agencies and most individual agents have their own websites with ample photos, listing particulars, area information, etc.

The Lewiston Sun Journal, The Kennebec Journal (KJ) or The Real Esate Book

This may seem a bit out of date but good ‘ole fashioned print ads can be a source for rentals. A better source for homes for sale in Central Maine, particularly Lewiston, Auburn, and Augusta, is The Real Estate Book. You will find many of properties for sale in the book, which you may pick up at your local stores including Hannaford. Most of these ads have beautiful color photos meant to draw you in – so let them! (Then re-check the listing online.) If nothing else, viewing the ads can help you get a snapshot view of the current Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine market. Be mindful this isn’t a complete database by any means, but it gives you something to do when you’re sitting in a waiting room!

Real Estate Agents/Offices

I may be a bit biased here, but this last tip is the most sure-fire of all: finding the right agent. Establishing a relationship with a well-networked real estate agent will make your search for Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine homes for sale easier, smoother, and vastly more productive. A well-informed agent is your singular best asset during the home hunt. He or she can explain and answer all your questions about the properties for sale you see online or in magazine, can give you the inside scoop on the neighborhood, the “comparables” (homes sold), the potential resale or long term value. The right agent will have seen hundreds of homes in Lewiston, Auburn, Augusta and surrounding towns. Putting that experience and market insight to work for you couldn’t be easier: I’m right here and I can save you thousands of dollars with my negotiating skills and years of experience! You can reach me at 207-689-9880!

The bedrock of the residential real estate industry is the American Dream of owning your own home. Current market conditions have amplified another motivator: those looking for great investment opportunities. There have always been professional “Flippers” in the market but today shrewd buyers recognize that the current market conditions offer some outstanding investment opportunities in Lewiston-Auburn and Kennebec County. It’s not just professional investors considering foreclosures; many first time buyers and existing homeowners are looking for unusual bargains.

The appeal is understandable due to some commonsense consequences caused by the mortgage meltdown (and the headlines that followed). When banks come into possession of foreclosed properties they find themselves in an unenviable position. Incented to sell them as soon as they can, they aren’t free to wait until the market rises to meet historic price levels. As a result, mounting numbers of those foreclosure listings are carrying price tags that are a fraction of their original market price.

Some current homeowners see a second home as a path to create a passive rental income stream. Foreclosure listings comprise tempting investment vehicles. And for first time homebuyers, the information in the same foreclosure listings can mean nothing less than a foot in the door of homeownership. In both cases, the first step to buying a bank-owned property comes with finding reliable Lewiston-Auburn and Kennebec County foreclosure listings. Looking for a trustworthy source means finding one that features up-to-date and accurate information. Too many dedicated “foreclosure” websites offer endlessly duplicated, incorrect, or woefully outdated information. Relying on them can send would-be buyers on a frustrating series of time-eating wild goose chases that end up locating houses that have already been sold.

One way to test a source of foreclosure listings is to take advantage of free trial subscriptions where they are offered. It’s a money-saving way to determine whether a foreclosure source can be trusted to include attractive properties listed soon after they come on the market. FIn any case, the opportunities that foreclosure listings represent also carry special characteristics that savvy buyers need to take into account. Home inspection rules are one example. Banks are under no obligation to disclose information about a property’s flaws in the same way that regular homeowners must, so it’s imperative to make a physical investigation of a foreclosure listing before proceeding further.

If you are curious about your chances of finding a great deal in today’s foreclosure market, I will be happy to send you the Lewiston-Auburn and Kennebec County foreclosure listings as well as other areas of the State. We can also help you identify other non-foreclosure “bargains” that may fit your criteria. While there are some great buys out there, there area many risk involved with foreclosure purchases and one should be fully aware of all the risks. Frequently there are also financing obstacles involved with the purchase of foreclosed property unless you are doing a conventional mortgage or you are a cash buyer.

Feel free to give us a call if you would like to know what you should be aware of upfront! You can reach The Tanya Busch Team at (207) 689-9880 or www.TanyaB.com.

Homeowners Helping Sell a home

It’s winter – the days short, the weather frigid - and unless you are someone who is trying to sell a second home at Sunday River Ski Resort or Sugarloaf Mountain, chances are you understand this is a challenging time of year to sell your house.

Fear not: with the right agent, strategic pricing, and the right marketing approach, you homeowners still do have several things you can do to help sell a home no matter what the time of year.

Show Your Bills

If you have made energy-efficient improvements to your home -- like added insulation, double pane windows, a new energy efficient furnace, etc.-- this is the time to brag about it. Collect data on the average heating bill in Lewiston-Auburn for similar sized homes and compare it yours and display to potential buyers. Energy efficiency is a big selling feature with oil pricing as high as they are. Significant savings year after year can help sell a Lewiston-Auburn home this time of year.

Crank the Heat While we’re on the topic of heat, nothing makes a potential winter buyer warm up quicker than – you guessed it - a warm, inviting home! Comfortable homes also feel well cared-for and lived-in: that’s something buyers will not find in discounted foreclosed or REO homes they may also be viewing. Few things send a buyer out the door quicker this time of year than a chilly house, so even if you're conservative, crank up the heat before your scheduled showing. Makes sure that is part of your routine as well as turning on all the lights before you leave the house.

Shovel, Shovel, Shovel Few chores are as labor-intensive as shoveling snow, but if you want to sell a home in the winter, make sure your driveway is well plowed and walkways shoveled well. Do you want buyers slipping and sliding into your driveway? Even if you never use your front door, you enter through the garage, make sure every entrance is clear of snow and ice. You do not want a buyer thinking “Oh, that’s so much work, they don’t even bother”. A buyer may not fixate on whether or not the front steps were clear, but they will remember if they had to push through snowdrifts to get there. Or worse yet, they pass on going inside altogether! I’ve seen this. The competition amongst homes is too strong so get in the right mindset and burn off those extra holiday calories. Keep your entrances clear and you will help keep similar nagging thoughts off buyers’ minds. You want to keep their concentration back where it belongs – falling in love with their future house!

While the season may be beyond your control, the right approach to sell a home can make all the difference. If you are intending to sell a home this season or even down the road, do give me a call anytime. I’ve got a game plan for the Lewiston-Auburn market this winter or anytime -- and together we can make it happen!

Few will argue that buying and selling real estate isn’t a specialized business transaction, or that when you want to buy or sell a property in the Lewiston-Auburn area, hiring a Lewiston-Auburn real estate agent isn’t the most common way to get the job done. It may be an excellent idea, but it doesn’t go quite far enough.

All real estate agents aren’t the same, because there are two types of specialists: residential and commercial real estate agents. At the Tanya Busch Team, we specialize: Cookie Dean, with years of personal commercial investing experience, handles our commercial sales and leasing while Tanya Busch specializes in residential sales.

When economic activity grows sluggish, agents may try to cross over in their efforts to keep business humming. Whether you are buying or selling a place to live, or contemplating a business-related real estate move, job one is to pay attention the type of brokerage the agent specializes in. There are very few true commercial agents in Lewiston-Auburn and while an agent may sell an occasional “in-home business”, it doesn’t necessarily make them the top choice as a commercial broker.

There are distinct differences between the residential and commercial real estate agent. Let’s take a look at the some of the major areas that make them different:

Types of Properties

The most basic distinction between a Lewiston-Auburn commercial real estate agent and their residential counterpart is the type of properties they deal in -- just about always determined by the intended use of the real estate.

For the most part, the role of the residential real estate agent is to help their client purchase or sell a single family home. On the other hand, commercial real estate agents help their clients find income-producing properties. They may be retail space, manufacturing or service locations, or any of the other types of real estate that house a business endeavor.

Valuation Methods

Not only is the intended use of the property different, so is the determination of market value. Lewiston-Auburn residential real estate market value is determined by comparing it to recent sales of similar Lewiston-Auburn properties. There are a wide variety of ways a commercial real estate agent determines the value of commercial property. All of them deal in one way or another with calculating future income and return on investment.

Clientele:

True commercial real estate agents deal with businesspeople – building owners, tenants and investors -- who are, as a general rule, dispassionate about the transaction. The client’s main concern is to get a decent return on the investment. It’s business, after all.

Residential real estate agents, on the other hand, deal with people to whom the product – the house or condominium – usually comes to represent a significant emotional attachment. There’s far more emotion involved in the residential transaction and good residential agents will have much experience in handling the emotional component in such a way that it does not wind up compromising an otherwise sound transaction.