Coastal Serendipity

If you haven't already noticed, I Love the Coast. I cannot imagine living any further inland. I did not grow up on the Coast but I always had an affinity with it. I have driven to many of the beaches and little seaside hideaways hereabouts in RI. I did not get to visit Block Island until I was 30! Amazing as its a 40 minute ferry ride from Point Judith! I know a lot of Rhode Islanders who have not been there. They do not know what they are missing! I have since been to BI hundreds of times, spent many a weekend there, both in hotels, inns and on my boat and my brothers boat. It never changes. I guess that's one of the reasons I love it. Although the past few years it has attracted a lot more people. The homes have increased in value due to the incredible beauty of the Island and I do have piles of photos which I will be getting up here soon. The parts of BI that have made the most impression on me are the people that live there year round. Not in the mansions, but in the little cottages that can barely be seen behind the big hotels. These people are the heart and soul of the Block. Have you ever noticed the smell of the Island? Incredible. Guess you have to be there to feel the peace!
I have just started another blog on the Coast of Rhode Island. Not much there yet, but stay tuned.

What you should know about the Rhode Island Real Estate Market
Paul Silver wrote in his article on Active Rain that now is a great time to buy and I agree. This last year has had home buyers holding their breath trying to decide whether to buy now or wait out what was starting to appear to be a possible bubble burst for Rhode Island. Being in the business has helped me watch the home prices very carefully everyday in our local MLS program. As the year went on, the prices started falling, slowly at first, then a little more drastically. Homes began to wilt on the market for longer periods of time.

Photo from Birdsandbeacons by Ann Searle
It took some getting used to after the amazing growth that was prevalent throughout Rhode Island in the past few years! Sellers were horrified that homes they had purchased in the last two years were now worth less than what they originally paid for them! Foreclosures were starting to creep up. Where two years ago, the foreclosure page in the Providence Journal was not completely full, now they were up to four complete pages! The boom was over!
What does this mean to you.
Selling right now is probably not your best move. If you can possibly hold off for awhile you would benefit. If you have to you can always rent out your property to cover your payments, watch the market and decide when it will be a better time to sell.
If you are considering buying, now that is another matter altogether. Now is the time! If you have been debating with yourself and feeling like the surplus of homes on the market means that escalating home prices have stopped, then you are right! They have. Not only do you have a much wider choice in homes, locations and anemities, but you can buy that fixer upper you have been hankering for. Get out of that rental apartment.

Rehab for Sale Investors and Contractors!!!

You cannot find a lower priced home for sale in Warwick! Home needs total rehab or demolition. (check zoning)

Drive by 82 Fuller Street, Warwick RI and contact me at KarenHurst@rihome.net.

***All offers must be accompanied by proof of cash or proof of Direct Lender. Home is bank owned. AS IS.

Nemed on Active Rain!

Okay, I've been nemed along with a couple of thousand others here at Active Rain.
Actually I have been nemed twice so I guess that means I need to tell 10 things about myself that no one here knows.

The picture is of my Son and his wife and my two grandchildren...
I have two grandchildren
I have two sons
I have two step daughters
I have an aka, which I will not disclose here
I had three brothers, one passed away. His birthday was December 26th
I am an artist, studied under Herman Itchkavitch and Majored in Fine Arts in college
I have been a waitress, bartender and Office Manager twice
You all know I am a Great Realtor in Rhode Island!!!!
I am a very private person and that is all you're getting:)

Random Acts of Kindness....You Get More than you Give.

The other day I was reading a blog on Active Rain about giving and it inspired this blog because it has occurred to me that the everyday things we can do for people that they do not expect are not only a surprise for them but a grateful feeling for ourselves.
I am talking about little things and things that do not necessarily require lots of money. I have always felt that I could not do much for people because I did not have a lot of money. This is not a good way to think because there are millions of things we can do to make someone else's life nicer everyday without spending money!
There was a time in my life when I had two small children, was recently divorced without any cash and it was a week before Christmas. I met this older guy and he was asking me what my children wanted for Christmas and was I getting it for them. Well, I didn't lie about it, but I didn't really tell him the whole scope of what was happening in my life. I guess it must have shown though, because I was extremely upset about my children not getting Christmas presents! To make a long story short, he handed me a couple of bills and said. "Listen, I have the money and I would like to give this to you for your children. I have a big family and we all have what we need, so please let me do this for Christmas." Normally I would never have accepted anything from a stranger, but these were my kids we were talking about! So I thanked him and left, with the money in my hand all the way home. I couldn't look at it until I got home for some reason. When I did look, I saw it was $200. which at that time was a large amount! I was able to buy both my boys presents to open on Christmas morning.
At that time, I vowed to return that favor, to other people as they came into my life whenever I could. We never know what something like that means to someone who doesn't have it! I will always remember that man, his generosity and ability to make me feel like he was doing something for himself so as not to hurt my pride.
He was doing something for himself! Not only me. It took me years to realize it and get to the point where I could actually start doing the same thing.
The moral here is that no matter how small something seems to you, to the receiver its large! And theres nothing like the feeling of giving to someone who needs it.

***I wrote this post and had it in my word program. Then I read Marianna Wagner's post today and decided to post this also.
For the Holidays, a Random Act of Kindness can make all the difference!

Happy Closing this week

This week I had a real nice closing where everyone ended up happy. I was the Buyer Agent in the transaction. The buyer, who was a first time buyer, ended up in a multi-family home with as little as $1500! As I was sitting next to my buyer and reveling in his/her happiness, it occurred to me that there are so many people out there that have no idea of the amount and type of programs that are available to them if they only ask.
I as a Realtor, tend to notice advertisements about these programs. I also spend a lot of time researching for them so I am able to help whomever calls me. However, the general public really does not know where to go, who to contact or what the programs even do! I just hope when you are looking for a home, you remember to contact me and get an amazing deal. I will show you how to do it. Back to my buyer, when he first called me he said "I need you to show me the way". I did and he is now in his new home and not paying rent anymore.

Oakland Beach Warwick, Rhode Island

Oakland Beach Warwick Rhode Island a beachfront community

Photo credit to http://www.rigreenways.com/
Oakland Beach

This is the first in a series that I promised to do on all the little villages in Warwick, Rhode Island

I am going to start with Oakland Beach.

First, Oakland Beach has one of the lowest elevations in Rhode Island.
Because of this, it was almost wiped out completely during the hurricane of "38.
Oakland Beach used to be a great amusement park up until then.

40-50 years ago, Oakland Beach was the place to go for a summer vacation.

People from Providence and surrounding areas would rent homes there and enjoy the beaches and views, along with the boardwalklike main road consisting of restaurants, complete with a Merry-go-Round. I remember staying there with my aunt and uncle when I was young and those memories are pleasurable.

After awhile, Oakland Beach started to degenerate. A lot of the homes there are and were quite small. Most of them had been beach houses, now converted to year round homes. Some were badly neglected and the neighborhood values deteriorated, attracting a more transient type of person who was not interested in keeping up their home.

Now, after the increase in Real Estate values in Rhode Island, especially in waterfront communities, Oakland Beach has started to awaken from its slumber.
Take a drive through and see the new construction, homes being redone, smaller homes being torn down. Yes, there are still some of the neglected homes, but the trend is definitely on the upswing.

I predict Oakland Beach to be a good investment for anyone who is considering beach property and cannot afford some of the higher priced areas in Rhode Island.

To learn more about Oakland Beach or to search for properties there email me at Karen Hurst