Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA,

My 4 year old daughter goes to pre-school at the Westfield, MA YMCA. Her teacher Miss Sarah and one of the moms from the class teamed up to hatch chicken eggs in an incubator in the classroom.

Some time had gone by and there was concern that none of the eggs would hatch. Yesterday we arrived at school to find several had, in fact, hatched. Today we arrived to no less than 25 baby chicks!

Take a peek at this adorable video for a quick Spring smile and Happy Easter and Passover!

Are you a first time homebuyer who is confused about the tax credit changes? Perhaps you are considering becoming a first time homebuyer and you want to understand how the first time home buyer tax credit will help you? Let me help to explain it to you...

There are a few key items that I think are important:

#1- The tax credit is increased by $500 since 2008 and does not require repayment as the old credit does.

#2- Any first time home buyer is eligible. A person is considered a first time buyer if he/she has not had any ownership interest in a home in the three years previous to the day of the 2009 purchase.

#3-The full $8,000 is applied to any home purchase over $80,000. Purchases under that will recieve 10% of the purchase price.

#4- Income restrictions are $75,000 for an individual and $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

Watch the video below for some other information on what the first time home buyer tax credit can do for you!

If you are a first time home buyer in Westfield, MA or Western MA and are looking for an agent that can educate and guide you through this important step, look no further! I love working with first time home buyers. Be sure to view my other first time homebuyer videos:

Western MA First Time Home Buyers Start Here!

You Found The Right Home, Now What?

Western MA First Time Home Buyers Tutorial: Inspections

Western MA First Time Home Buyers Tutorial: Inspections the Seller Does

Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty, Westfield, MA

413-575-3611

The first thing I learned at Podcamp was the #1 google search is for sex and the second is for Facebook.  Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about my first PodCamp Experience.

Being a PodCamp Virgin, I had no expectations, in fact, no real understanding of what I had signed up for.  I knew that a great friend @HeyAmaretto (on twitter) was going and I really wanted to meet her IRL and I knew that other local twitterers were excited about this event...so I decided to go.

From the moment I arrived at PodCamp WesternMA I was greeted by name, everyone recognized me from my twitter pics and everyone was warm, smiling and hugging me as I entered...My kind of People!  @HeyAmaretto, aka Diane was taller than I was expecting (but when you are 5'1" everyone is tall!), but other than that she was exactly the woman that I have grown to know and love on twitter and the telephone.  After meeting her I met several other people that I have forged friendships with on twitter like: @ChristinePilch, @mmpartee, @JasonTurcotte, @writerjax and so many others.  After getting to know these wonderful people I started to network with people I didn't know as well, or at all and there were absolutely amazing people there. 

The spirit of the podcamp is the thing that impressed me the most.  Everyone was there to learn, to share, to guide, encourage and assist.  There were no dumb questions, no silly thoughts...everything was considered input and input was valued. I met: authors, PR pros, bloggers, journalists, dancers, singers, college professionals:all leaders in their industry for advancement of social media.  I spent a small breakout session with only a few other people and had the amazing opportunity to get to know them pretty well.  The session, led by Mike Langford of www.tweetworks.com was a wonderful blend of chit chat, knowledge and support...great people in that room!

I had many questions answered and I was able (wonder of wonders) to help many people with things that I knew how to do! I made new friends, met some old ones IRL for the first time and had a blast at the after party.  Western MA has some seriously cool people here.

I will be blogging about specific ideas that grew from PodCamp WesternMA another day, but I wanted to be sure to post my feedback on the podcamp.

Here are my bullets for people considering whether they should attend a PodCamp:

*YES

*YES

*YES!!!!

Special thanks to the people and sponsors of #pcwm for a fantastic day. I am totally enervated and cannot wait to re-read my notes, start implimenting and exploring new ways to use this wonderful medium. 

I am very excited to be attending PodCamp in Holyoke, MA this Saturday, March 28th. What in the world is a PodCamp and why would I want to go you ask? Well...

"PodCamp WesternMass is a community-based ‘unconference’ modeled after a popular meeting concept in new media. Forrester Research predicts that spending on interactive technologies will grow to $61 billion by 2012, and that social media will drive emerging channels to $10.6 billion. PodCamp WesternMass is designed for anyone interested in the online world to share ideas, hear from industry experts, and participate in discussions."

This quote is from the internet press release for the event, scheduled to run from 9am-5pm.

As a REALTOR in Westfield and working in Western MA, I have been very interested in the growth of social media over the last year. I am active in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and utilize the web to promote myself and my listings. I am hoping to learn new concepts that will help me to promote my blog, personal website and the homeowner help website that I am developing.

This event brings groundbreaking opportunities to the businesses and individuals in Western MA...don't miss out!

If you are ready to register, be sure to visit the registration page to save a spot! See you there!!!

So you have started looking for your first home in Westfield or Western MA or perhaps you already found the house you love and are moving into the purchasing phase.

This next video in my First Time Home Buyer's series will focus on the inspection process.   I already discussed your inspections and now we will cover the inspections that the seller is responsible for.

I am located in Westfield, MA and will be discussing our common practice, laws and regulations.  If you live outside of this area, some details may differ, so be sure to consult a local REALTOR.

Buying your first home in Westfield and Western MA is exciting and it is even more fun when you are educated!

If you are looking for an agent in Westfield, please call me at 413-575-3611 or email therealestatenatural@yahoo.com!