Roseann Annis

Ever dream of a savory lobster prepared with superb delicacy? Looking for a restaurant where the bill of fare is prepared entirely from fresh food? Contemplating a special dinner to celebrate a special occasion in style?If y ou live within an hour's drive from East Berlin, PA, your search is over!

Located in the heart of historic East Berlin, Adams County Pennsylvania, Restaurant Sidney offers a unique dining experience. Chef/owner Neil Annis, prepares refined, modern American cuisine, influenced by classic French cooking, that is simple yet sophisticated. Sidney features a main dining room, a fireplace room, and a charming tavern as well as three smaller dining rooms on the second floor that are ideal for private dining and special occasions. Weather permitting, outdoor dining is also available on the private terrace, weather permitting.

While the focal point of attention at Sidney (Chef's middle name) is the delightful menu, there is a great deal to be said for the decor. The old section of the restaurant, originally a roadside inn and tavern, has wide-plank hardwood flooring and huge ceiling beams. Cozy vintage fireplaces, both downstairs and upstairs, and a brick-walled tavern with solid polished wood bar create a rich architectural blend of old and new structural elements. Simple, but elegant, the spacious dining area serves as the perfect backdrop for the real stars, the prix fix, thea la carte menu items, and the impressive wine list. Because Chef Neil has fresh oysters, crab, lobster and an array of fish flown in daily, you'll never know what delectible seafood treats await you!

Restaurant Sidney offers so many gustatory pleasures that it is difficult to describe in this brief article. If you would like to get a more clear idea of the menu, please log on to the web site: http://restaurantsidney.com/ Be prepared, though, for the sudden urge to get in your car and drive to East Berlin, PA for a coulis, a croute, or a confit!

What's Your Home Worth? Actually, all homes may have two prices: 1) the price owners would like to get 2) the value buyers would like to offer in the purchase sales agreement. Pricing a home to sell rapidly at the best price, terms and conditions requires skill and due diligence.

The market cannot be fooled! Sale prices are not based on what owners need? In other words, the seller's envisioned net proceeds cannot be the driving factor in pricing a home. Homes sell according to the law of of supply and demand- pure Economics 101.

Studies have shown that the first two weeks on the market are the most crucial to your success. During these initial days, your home will be exposed to all active buyers If your price is perceived as too high, you will quickly lose this initial flurry of activity, Then you will be relying mostly on the tiny influx of new buyers entering the market each day.

Here are some key factors regarding the need to price homes appropriately from the onset:

•1. Your home may not appraise at the higher price, even if negotiated in the purchase sales agreement. What this means is that the buyer may not be able to secure a mortgage loan.

•2. Overpriced listings help to sell the competition. Comparable homes in your area priced at fair market value attract more interest.

•3. Your motivation level is critical in setting a sales price. Highly motivated sellers with a sense of urgency and immediacy need to price their homes just under the competition.

•4. Your local real estate market does not exist in a vacuum. Review sales data of comparable homes that have sold within the past 60 days to determine target sales price.

•5. Find out why certain homes have languished on the market. Condition, location, price, unique style and/or floor plan, unusual lot, noisy street, etc.

•6 Markets are dynamic.Yesterday's news is stale. If only a few home showing occur within the first two weeks and/or there is a pattern of feedback suggesting overpricing, react swiftly and decisively. Don't delay! LOWER THE PRICE! Failure to do so will prolong the frustration and potentially drive the price substantially lower in the end.

With the information explosion, buyers can readily gain access to a host of information on a variety real estate topics. Sometimes the wealth of information can be overwhelming or, in some cases, misleading. It is important to differentiate between educating buyers and disseminating information. Educating means explaining the home buying process, step-by-step and giving clear-cut examples of documents such as the purchase sales agreement ahead of time. Additionally, it is essential to point out the advantages of obtaining buyer representation.

The components of an effective buyer consultation include the following:

• Agency Disclosure, The Consumer Notice
• Home Buying Transaction Chart
• Professional REALTOR® Credentials
• Buyer Qualification Worksheet- (buyer needs vs. wants)
• Pledge of Performance
• Property Comparison Worksheet
• Consumer Guide to the Purchase Sales Agreement
• Mortgage Application Checklist
• Steps from Contract to Closing

Finding a property is often "the tip of the iceberg." Navigating through the complexities of the sales contract, negotiating price, terms, conditions, and guiding clients through the mortgage pre-approval and application process are merely some of the responsibilities of a buyer's agent. Other valuable duties of a buyer's agent focus on risk management by recommending home inspections, home warranties, and preparing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on the subject property. Knowing how and when to refer buyers to other professionals for their respective areas of expertise is another inherent responsibility of the buyer's agent. Accountability, good faith effort, confidentiality, loyalty, obedience, and disclosure are the cornerstones of the ABR.

As an Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), I cannot over emphasiz Ae the importance of a successful buyer consultation. Based on mutual trust, loyalty, and commitment, the buyer agency agreement provides the same level of representation to buyers that was previously afforded only to sellers. Awarded through the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC), the ABR designation means that this REALTOR® has "gone the extra mile" by taking advanced training in buyer services.

Why seek out a REALTOR® with the ABR designation? Council (REBAC)? Whether in the role of problem-solver, negotiator, or effective listener, the buyer's agent whom you ultimately select should arrange a formal consultation prior to scheduling home tours. That is the perfect forum to establish rapport and become familiar with how the home buying process works. Similarly, it is an excellent way to dispel myths about home buying and to initiate the dialog between the professional buyer's agent and his/her clients. In my view, failure to complete the buyer consultation can bring about confusion, frustration, and lack of goal clarity. After all, if we don't have road map (or GPS) to guide us to our destination, the route may be long and difficult. We may even get lost!

Effective July 30. 2009, the Federal Reserve Board Truth in Lending Regulations have become more stringent. The new requirements apply to all mortgages secured by a borrower's home, including primary and second homes and refinancings. Investor loans continue to be exempt.

Here are key highlights of the changes, all of which are designed to protect consumers:

• Early Disclosure- Within three business days after the consumer applies for a loan, lenders must give good faith estimates of mortgage loan costs.
• Disclosure Prior to Collecting Lender Fees- The lender may not collect any fees before the disclosure is provided, with the exception of a reasonable fee for obtaining a credit report.
• Seven-day Waiting Period- The closing may not occur until expiration of a seven-day waiting period after the consumer receives the Early Disclosure.
• Bona Fide Emergency Waiver Provision- Documented financial hardships may warrant an exception to this rule, after the consumer receives the Early Disclosure.
• Corrected TILA Requires Additional waiting period- If the annual percentage rate (APR) changes by more than 0.125%, the lender must provide a corrected disclosure and wait an additional three business days before closing on the loan.

As REALTORS®, we need to be aware of these changes to the TILA legislation in order to advise clients of potential delays in loan processing and settlements. The days of a "quick turn-around" for a mortgage loan and settlement are gone. When preparing a Purchase Sales Agreement on behalf of buyer clients, or reviewing an offer on behalf of our home owner , these extended time lines need to be addressed, especially when trying to coordinate two transactions on the same day.

Some of the variables affecting the APR, in addition to interest rate, are lower credit scores, increase in closing costs such as appraisals, PMI fees, higher than expected pre-paids, and higher loan principal, for example.

If you would like more information on this topic, check out this web sie: http://speakingofrealestate.blogs.realtor.org/2009/07/29/new-reg-z-rules-could-slow-closings/

With a twist on the proverbial Aesop fable of the race between the turtle and the hare, I'd like to reflect on why I identify more with the turtle. It's not always about winning the race. Sometimes staying calm and deflecting the arrows of angst and frustration are necessary for survival.

As a REALTOR. Some days, I wish I could run at lightning speed to knock off most of my daily "to-do" list. Yet, by standing still for a few moments, I take inventory of where I'm going and how I'm going to get there. Occasionally, I catch myself focusing on more trivial items, filling my time or veering off the key goals and objectives that I have set. At the end of the day, I wonder where all the time has gone and why I'm so frenzied.

Now to the point of why I'd rather be a turtle. We all know that turtles plod along, slow and steady, until they reach their pre-planned destinations. When encountering obstacles in their path, turtles tend to change course ever so slowly until finding an alternate path. When harried or pushed, turtles don't seem to notice. Again, they continue moving at a "snail's pace" without skipping a beat.

Turtles have really hard shells! Being very sensitive, I continue to struggle with vulnerability when it comes to flat-out rejections by clients, prickly transactions, and disappointing negotiations. When fatigue takes its toll, I am especially susceptible to falling prey to whining or overreacting.

Pivotal experiences as a professional REALTOR have taught me that rushing around, veering off course, or being overconfident about winning "the race" can be counter productive. To tell the truth, my natural instinct is to do all of the above so I need to remind myself constantly about the need to SLOW DOWN, TAKE A BREATH, HAVE A STRONG CONSTITUTION, and REMAIN TRUE TO MY MISSION.

I don't think that turtles look around to scout out the competition. Nor do I think that they are focused on winning. In my mind, the most successful turtles possess consummate determination to keep on going no matter what.

The next time you feel harried (excuse the pun) or frenetic, remember the valiant turtle- hard shell and all. In other words, try not to be bogged down by the petty annoyances that are sure to arise when dealing with people and entities in real estate transactions. Instead, keep on persevering, moving slowly but steadily, and never mind who might be faster in the next lane. Be true to yourself and you'll never lose!