Real Estate News You Can Use!: Jackie Connelly-Fornuff - Coldwell Banker Babylon Real Estate- (Lindenhurst West Babylon West Islip Islip East Islip)

Finding A Realtor To Help Sell Your Home In Babylon, West Babylon & Lindenhurst Long Island, Isn't Rocket Science...

A Realtor works for you, the seller, plain and simple. Here are some things that are crucial in getting your home sold:

• My job is to make sure you get 12 pictures of your home into our local MLS system. Not 1, 3 or 6, but 12. They are to be clear and  they have to showcase each room. If a picture is too close-up, like just showing a bed and not the rest of the room, it won't give a clear description of that particular room.
• Internet Marketing - Just having your home on our local MLS is not enough. Coldwell Banker has over 12 websites. Once your home is listed on the MLS, your home will then be fed into our other websites. This is key because there are a lot of buyers that will look at other real estate websites to search like Trulia, Zillow, and our other Coldwell Banker sites and your home will be there for them to view. Some buyers have told me they go to these other websites and not MLSLI.com
• Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter and ActiveRain. These are other Internet mediums to be used to market your home. Most Realtors on Long Island do not even use these mediums especially ActiveRain! I get over a two-thousand visitors to my ActiveRain blog and almost 6,000 page views. When it comes to Internet marketing of your home, more is better!
• Feedback - At least once a week, I will call to give you updates about each showing. You should never have to hunt anyone down for this information.
• Open Houses - The first 2 weeks of your home being on the market generates excitement among the buyers that are out there house hunting. Having open houses during the first 2 weekends is beneficial in order to have these buyers preview your home. This means you need to leave your home for a few hours on each of these days. I'll even treat you to a movie at my expense!

Contact me anytime at (631) 703-0201 and together, let's get your home SOLD!

Easter Egg Hunts On Long Island - Breakfast With The Easter Bunny - And Activities Across Long Island

Spring is just about here and that means Easter is soon upon us! Below are links to great Easter Egg Hunts and Spring Festivals across Long Island:

White Post Farms - 250 Old Country Road, Melville

Easter Egg Spectacular - The annual Easter Egg Spectacular is of course no exception. White Post Farms have train rides, the petting zoo, the indoor and outdoor playgrounds, this Easter Festival offers a chance for your kids to decorate their own emu, goose, or ostrich eggs, giant egg cookie decorating, live bunnies to pet, hold, and cuddle, and of course, the Easter Bunny himself who is on hand for photos. White Post is holding it's Easter Egg Hunts on Sunday, April 5th, Saturday, April 11th and Easter Sunday April 12th. And yes, they are open Easter Sunday until 3pm.

Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary Eggstravaganzna
Saturday April 11 1-2pm
134 Cover Road Oyster Bay, NY
Let your children discover eggs left behind by their feathered friends!

Mr. Easter Bunny
April 1st 1 P.M.
BayWay Arts Center - East Islip
Adults - $10.00
(631) 581-2700
Follow along as Billy and Betty try to convince their Dad, the Mayor of Easterville, that you are never too old to believe in a six-foot, magical singing and dancing Easter Bunny!

Gurney's Inn Annual Easter Egg Decorating Contest
290 Old Montauk Highway - Montauk
(631) 668-2345
This event is scheduled for April 3rd between 2 and 4 p.m.
April 4th is their East Egg Hunt and starts at 11 a.m. The fun and games with the Easter Bunny starts at 12 noon.

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny!
Brightwaters Farms - 1624 Manatuck Blvd, Bay Shore
(631) 665-5411
Cost: Adults $15.99, Children 2 to 12 $9.99 and children 1 year and under are free.
Date: Sunday, April 4th, Sunday April 5th, and Saturday April 11th.
Time: 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Enjoy a buffet that includes, pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns and more. You will also get a complimentary picture with the Easter Bunny!

Long Island Children's Museum
11 Davis Avenue, Garden City
(516) 224-5800
Date: April 9
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Ukranian Eggs: Your children will explore the techniques used in the Ukraine to craft beautifully decorated eggs. Your child will take home their own colorful wooden egg that will not break.

Tanger Outlet's Second Annual Easter Egg Hunt & Spring Festival
Location: Deer Park at the center Piazza near the fountain.
(631) 667-0600
Date: March 27th
Raindate: April 3rd
Time: 9 a.m. sharp for the egg hunt. After the egg hunt and until 2 p.m., your kids will enjoy face painting, arts and crafts and more.
Cost: Free but you have to register at 9 a.m.

Short Sale Federal Program To Start April 5th, 2010

For those of you that do not know, the Obama administration is trying to encourage home owners to take the short sale route to avoid foreclosure.

In short, (no pun intended :)) a short sale is when you have to sell your home for less than what you owe on your mortgage. It's also better on your credit than a foreclosure. As of now, it will take 3 to 5 years before you can get a mortgage. With a foreclosure, you are looking at, at least 10 years or more before you can get another mortgage.

This new short sale program is also to curtail fraud among the mortgage banking system.

Beginning April 5th, lenders will have to consult with real estate practicioners to assess home values and a minimum acceptable offer. Then they must accept any offer that is equal to or higher than the assessed home value. Right now, banks will not divulge the minimum they will take until an offer on the home is presented. If the bank feels the offer is too low, then they will negotiate to try to get a higher price.

The program will also offer a cash payment to the home owner, as well as to the servicer and a second lien-holder, and will protect future lender lawsuits for the unpaid mortgage balance.

Over the next 6 months or so, we'll see how it goes. It's going to be interesting for sure!

Babylon Home Buying Seminar - Babylon Public Library On 3/11/2010

This home buying seminar is not just for first time home buyers. If you haven't bought a home in years, things have changed dramatically!

Learn about the home buying process, including how to apply for government grants and tax incentives, how to fix your credit, and the dangers to avoid when buying a home.

Date: Thursday Mar 11, 2010

Time: 6:30 PM  -  8:30 PM

Contact: Adult Reference Department    631-669-1624   

Location: Community Room

My Managing Broker, myself and a few of my Coldwell Banker Colleagues will be available to answer your questions!

A Realtor That Will Work Hard For You From Beginning To End And Beyond....Call Jackie Connelly-Fornuff Today!

No matter what, I'll be with you from beginning to end and beyond. Whether you are buying or selling, deal with a Realtor that knows your needs come first always!

Daylight Savings Time Spring Ahead On 3/14/10

I long for this time of year! Spring ahead means, springtime! Ah, warmer weather, planting pretty flowers, the sounds of lawnmowers (ok, I don't mow but stay with me here), the sounds of children having fun, being able to stay outdoors longer, bbq's. The list is endless!

So, don't forget to set your clocks ahead 1 hour the night before. We lose an hour of sleep, but we can make up for it the next night.

And don't forget to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

HAPPY SPRING!!!!!!

Lindenhurst Average Sold Home Prices Market Report For 2009

Average closed price for January 2010:  $283,000

Average closed price for February 2010: $308,000

Remember, the home buyer tax credit expires on June 30th, 2010 Everyone has to be in contract by April 30th, 2010 We are in the beginning of March now and if you have been thinking of selling, call me today (631) 703-0201 and let's get your home on the market! If you wait too long, you will miss out on the buyers that are out there shopping early!

Down Payment Housing Assistance On Long Island

There are some organizations that assist with down payments, and give mortgage assistance on Long Island. Below are links to these organizations:

Long Island Housing Partnership

New York Down Payment Assistance

Nassau County Down Payment Assistance

Town of Babylon Down Payment Assistance
The Town of Babylon is not currently accepting anymore applications but check back from time to time.

HUD Down Payment Assistance

I am hoping you find this information useful.

If you need assistance with your home buying needs, please contact me anytime at: (631) 703-0201

Have an awesome day!

Whalers Cove Condos Babylon Village
Real Estate Market Report For February 2010

Newly Listed Condos 2
Average Listing Price $336,950
Average Taxes $3,718

There were no condos under contract and no condos closed during February 2010.

Interesting stuff huh? This was the shortest market report ever! :)

Whaler's Cove Condos are conveniently located. A short distance to Babylon Village shopping and to the Babylon train station for those of you who just love to commute to Manhattan! :)

They are also in the Babylon School District.

All of the above are something to consider. Partly for resale value. They also do not have a high turnover as you can see since there are only 2 units on the market right now. It is a desirable development to live in and that also helps for resale value.

If you are interested in seeing 1 or both of the units, call me at (631) 703-0201 and we will discuss a time and date for me to show them to you.

Whalers Cove Condos Babylon Village Real Estate Market Report For January 2010

There were no newly listed condos and no conds under contract for January 2010. Only 1 unit sold in January: