Bethany Phillips, MBA, ABR, EcoBroker

Campaign Earth Hour 2009 has been launched. Earth Hour 2009 is a global climate event for which 74 cities in 62 countries have already committed to switch off their lights at 8:30 p.m. on March 28. U.S. cities already committed to this "huge call for climate action" include Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago. Also going dark will be the tallest towers in the Americas, the CN tower in Toronto. James Leape, Director General of WWF International (the global conservation organization) says, "Earth Hour provides an opportunity for the public to send a powerful signal that they are watching and that they expect action."

Read about other committed cities and which prominent buildings will be dark.

Need a home that is energy efficiency to save you money? Ask me about finding one!

I have an earlier post about some pulley seals that I purchased for my old wood windows. My home was built in 1912 using balloon construction so drafts can really be significant in certain places - around the sliding pocket doors in my living rooms, around outlets and switches on exterior walls, and around the gap on the window frame where the rope pulley is. I have taken steps to seal up the house to make it more energy efficient, more comfortable, and to save money! While doing some more research on insulating techniques, I found this video from This Old House...

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20051453,00.html

Wow is this great! It is a big project but at the very end there is a super simple tip for "wintering" your pulley in your sash -- it is a short video so check it out -- you might learn something (like I did!)

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and New Year!

Ready to buy a house in 2009? I am ready to help! Search for homes in all of Hampton Roadson my website.

I had two presents this week. First was meeting a new client who is looking for her first home in Newport News. We looked at a number of townhouses near Fort Eustis and saw some real winners. There are a couple that will suite her needs very well. She would prefer a single family home. Unfortunately the choices are more limited in her price range. We are working towards an offer on a foreclosure... wish us luck.

The other present was a stray beagle that ended up on my doorstep yesterday! She is a beautiful beagle girl. No information on her family. No lost beagles listed at the shelters. The microchip trail ends 2 years ago when she was sold by a breeder in Wisconsin to a pet store! Egads! Unfortunately her family didn't update her contact information so the trail goes cold. We think she may be pregnant. That would be new to us so I am really hoping she isn't -- just a bit puffed up due to dinners of McDs and Pizza Hut while on her own!

Here she is... So cute!

Looking for a home in Hampton Roads? I can help! Search for homes or call me and let me do the work for you!

As an accredited buyers representative (ABR), I receive a weekly email with useful information from Rebac, the association that manages the accreditation. Here is something from the latest email.

This taken from the National Association of Realtors annual survey of home sellers and buyers and was published in November 2008. The REBAC links was to a Realty Times article by Bob Hunt.

"The most useful information for sellers and their agents is to be found in the section on the home search process. While the survey results are not significantly different from those of recent years, the trends continue. For example, this year 69 percent of buyers said that they used the Internet frequently during the search process, up from 60% last year. In 2003 that number was 42%.

Thirty-three per cent of buyers went to the internet as the first step in the home search process. 17 % contacted a real estate agent first, and 9% began by driving through neighborhoods looking for homes for sale.

Buyers use multiple sources of information in the process of looking for a home. Far and away the most used sources are the Internet (87%) and real estate agents (85%). What is the third most used information source? Yard signs (62%)."

Ready to buy or sell a home in Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth or Suffolk? Call me or USE THE INTERNET! :-)

I look forward to hearing from you!

I was lucky enough to spend the morning with my husband. It was our anniversary so we went to brunch at Freemason Abbey and spent time walking around Freemason District and Downtown Norfolk before heading to Prince Books to buy our anniversary gifts (romantic!) and then home to rake the last of the leaves (really romantic)!

Here are some images from our tour!

Norfolk has selected Mermaids as their sculpture/symbol of choice. There are many throughout the city from Ocean View and Willoughby to Downtown and beyond. My favorite is at the Nauticus. Even though we walked that way today, I didn't take a photo. This one is on Granby Street near Macarthur Center.

We walked through Selden Arcade which houses the D'art Center. It is decorated for the holidays with greenery, wreaths, and a tree.

This area is filled with small artist's studios and is a great place for finding a unique gift. Not many stalls were open on a Sunday afternoon, but it was fun to window shop.

I have written about Macarthur on Ice before. Here is a photo of the skaters with St. Paul's in the background.

It is really hard to tell these are skaters - but I promise!

We had a great chat with the gentleman manning the Norfolk Visitors Center booth on Granby Street before walking over to the ice skating. He was really jazzed about the number of people downtown today. He was right -- there were families everywhere - kids skating, people out walking, eating, and shopping. It was a good day to walk through the city -- usually quiet on a Sunday afternoon!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME on this brief tour! If you are looking for a home in Norfolk, Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, or throughout the area, I am happy to help!