Bobbie J Smith, CRS

TO CRAWL SPACE OR NOT TO CRAWL SPACE, that is the question. As a Realtor in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania I have seen numerous homes whose owners have never been in their crawlspace, except maybe once in the ten years that they have owned the home. Now comes the sad fact that they are ready to sell their home and have found out that their floor joists and their main beam are rotted out and need to be repaired.

TO CRAWL SPACE OR NOT TO CRAWL SPACE. Homeowners need to be taught right from the start that their crawl space needs to be maintained as much as the rest of their home. If you do not have a sump pump in your crawl space you need to get one right away, keep that water out of that crawl space, and put an alarm on the sump pump so you know when it stops working (they only last so long). Next, depending on the moisture level of your crawl space you may need a dehumidifier running in the crawl space during the summer months. Next, install some type of heat in your crawl space, this area needs to be kept warm in the winter time also.

TO CRAWL SPACE OR NOT TO CRAWL SPACE. How is it that it is not a mandatory part of the building code in our HIGH WATER TABLE AREA, that all homes with a crawl space must have a sump pump? I have seen many new homes without a sump pump.

TO CRAWL SPACE OR NOT TO CRAWL SPACE. Let's build more of our homes on a slab. The continual expense and maintenance of the crawl space are a royal pain. Full basements can be just as much trouble as crawl spaces.

TO CRAWL SPACE OR NOT TO CRAWL SPACE. I vote for NOT TO CRAWL SPACE.

Here are the stats for POCONO SOLD DATA by Township for Monroe County in the thousands, Aug 08 vs Aug 09. As you can see, again like last month, some areas sold better this year than last year. The overall totals (Avg sold price for Aug of 08 was 182 whereas Aug of 09 the avg sold price was 167) still signifying that our prices continue to drop, the monthly drop being 8%.

POCONO SOLD DATA for the year (1/1/09 to 8/31/09 - Monroe County - residential sales) reflects the number sold for the year of 2009 is down 17% from the year of 2008 and the average sale price for 2009 is down 14% from the year of 2008.

SAD, SAD NEWS FOR MONROE COUNTY.

Stats are for Monroe County and are obtained from flexmls on 9-1-09 and are deemed reliable. I am not responsible for typographical errors.

Here is the POCONO SOLD DATA BY TOWNSHIP, Number Sold, for Homes in Monroe County for Aug. of 2008 compared to Aug. of 2009.

I don't like the stats. Overall the total number sold for the County during Aug. 09 was 143 homes whereas last year, for the month of Aug. the total # of homes sold for August was 184. THAT IS A 22% DECLINE. 22%! At a time when all the newsmedia is advising us that nationwide the stats are improving, Monroe County continues to see a decline.

As usual, stats are taken from flexmls data for Monroe County on 9-1-09 and are deemed to be reliable. I am not responsible for typographical errors.

My next insert will be on the stats for prices for the Month of August, 2009 vs 2008.

I had the pleasure of going back to Pocono Springs today. It is such a beautiful Pocono Community.

At one point while I was driving from one house to the other house to show my clients today, I came upon a deer right at the edge of the road on the left side and knowing that this time of year if you see one deer you will most likely see a fawn or two I immediately slowed down and sure enough there was a small fawn on the right side of the road. It was soooo cute, still covered with spots and it had just picked the biggest hunk of grass and he stood there munching away on it while I drove by. So cute.

We stopped at the island recreation area at Pocono Springs and naturally there were plenty of people enjoying their wonderful outdoor pool along with their kiddie pool. I love the way they have this huge mushroom in the middle of the kiddle pool with the pool water flowing down from it. It was not overcrowded, just plenty of people. There were people enjoying the indoor cafe, fishing from the docks, picnicking at the picnic tables, riding up on their ATV's, and just plain relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous day.

I got to thinking, you know, it's pretty awesome that you can go swimming in the pool in the middle of the lake. That's what it seems like when you have the lake on all sides around you. Cool fun!

As one of the many Pocono Communities, it is a real "best kept secret" since the Community is not overdeveloped yet. A quiet retreat on the outskirts of Gouldsboro/Newfoundland. It's still easy to purchase a home without having a house built on every lot around you and lots are very cheap here. A great place to buy a cheap lot and build your next vacation escape.

If I could afford it, I would have an "escape" home within this Community. My regret is that I did not have my camera with me today to snap some great pictures of nature at its finest and all the "fun" going on at the Island Recreation area.

Pocono Sold Data - Average Sold Price for homes in Monroe County for the Month of July. This is July of 2009 compared to July of 2008. Numbers stated are in the thousands and are rounded to the nearest hundred.

As the chart indicates, again there were some areas that the price was above the averages for 2008. A positive note and we will take any positive we can get, even if it is only slightly.

The average sold price County wide for the homes that were sold in the Month of July was $159,247 compared to $197,724 for July of 2008, which is a 19% reduction. YUCK!

To me this just shows that there are still way to many foreclosures in Monroe County, that the consumers are not getting the needed help as promised through the different "changes" instituted by the government and lending institutions. This is a darn shame.

As always, information was obtained from flexmls on 8-1-09 for Monroe County and is deemed reliable however I am not responsible for typographical errors.

Putting this blog together with my previous blog the stats show that the stats for the year for Monroe Counties residentail sales to July 31, 2009, the number sold is down 19% from last year and the average sale price is down 15% for the year.