Brian French

Buyers and Sellers Value Good Agents

In a recent study done by the National Association of Realtors, 79 percent of home buyers and sellers have used a real estate professional up from 77 percent over the last 3 years. Although the market has taken a turn for the worse in a number of areas, apparently not the attitudes of those people involved in the real estate transaction
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Retiring Wealthy or Not

I read a number of books and magazines on personal finance and investing and found one common denominator. Those people who are willing to sacrifice in the short term for thelong term benefits, typically are the ones who have enough saved when it comes time to retire. There are so many people who feel that they can't go without the new car,
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Spring Anyone?

Okay, here we are for all intensive purposes putting a wrap on March and it is still quite cold going outside. The temperatures hovering around 22 degrees and is predicted to rise maybe in a few days to the 30's. Hallalujeh a movement in the right direction. I think I have talked to at least 8 people in the last week that have mentioned how
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Go Cats Go

We live in a great area with a number of collegeslocated in our community. This weekend is a big weekend for the University of Vermont and their hockey and girls basketball teams. Both are in the playoffs with the hockey team in the final four of the Big East tournament and the girls in the National Invitational tournament where they just
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Electronic Lock Boxes

About 6 months ago our multiple listing service switched to electronic lockboxes to access listings. It has been an interesting transition incorporating more technology into our businessesand one I think that enhanced the security of our business and communication. By having an electronic code to use that is registered and then sent to the
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Mamma's Boy

Have you ever wondered how you became your parents? If you have children you know what I am referring to. Recently my two kids were arguing and out of my mouth without a split second warning I said,"I hope when you are older that you have kids just likeyou ". I'm not quite sure the sense that statement really makes or the real impact or
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Why Wouldn't You Buy Now?

I went to a seminar last week and received some interesting information about people's buying habits that seem to be right on targetat the moment.Just a few years ago we had a lack of inventory, housing prices were at an all time high, and it was a seller's market. With that said, people were looking at very few homes and deciding to make
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Ice storm

I find that we seem to focus on the weather an awful lot. An explanation for that could be that we have a saying here, if you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes. Also, it could bethefact that we do have 4 very distinct seasons and transitioning from one to the next is sometimes to say the least interesting. This past weekend we
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The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner

I am in the process of reading another great book by David Bach with the above title. He really reinforces the advantages of owning verses renting in his books which makes complete sense. Landlords get their mortgage payments paid by tenants which helps them create wealth, while tenants don't accumulate any equity in property while they are
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The Future is Bright

Having justgone toconvention, I realize that our market is not as bad as a number of areas across the country. For example, we are much better off than most parts of California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts,Nevada and Pennsylvania just to name a few. In fact, based on our projections for closings, in March we will be up 76%
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Fashion Model, Say What ?

An interesting thing happened to me at our annual convention this past week. I was asked to model the new gold jacket designed by Geoffrey Beane for Century 21. On a lark I said yes, thinking there would probably be 20 to 30 people standing on stage and I could get lost in the shuffle. They enticed me with the fact that I could keep the
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Back From Convention

I just arrived back from sunny Orlando two nights ago to freezing rain and cold. Oh yes, there is no question I am back home with more than likely another one and half months of winter left, if we are lucky. The convention was awesome. I networked with many successful business owners and agents and had the opportunity to exchange many
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keep your Legislator honest

Currently the Legislature is in session which is an important time for the general public and Realtors to pay attention to some of the bills that are being proposed. Some of the items that are being discussed can truly be detrimental to the affordable housing crisis that we have in our area. For example their is a water buffer bill for new
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Money Magazine Supports Buying Now

I just read an article afew days ago in Money magazine which validates what we have been telling our customers for months, which is buy now. The article talked about the fact that interest rates are for all intensive purposes hovering around a two year low and there is plenty of inventory available to choose from which makes it a buyer's
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Fashion Show at Convention

I don't believe what I have agreed to, but I have. I agreed to be ina fashion show at the Century 21 International Convention this week in Orlando. I got a call from the guy in charge of events for Century 21 and he said my name was referred to him by someone who said I might beup for some fun at the convention. He said they were going to
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Orlando or Bust

Next week is school vacation for the kids and we are heading to Orlando because I have the Century 21 International Convention that I will be attending. The timing works out this year that work can be mixed with pleasure. I don't know who is more excited to go, the kids, or me and my wife. Yes it is that time of the year that we get a
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The Today Show at Sugarbush

How ironic that I just went skiing at Sugarbush last week, which I had not done in ages and the Today Show just did a live shoot there this morning at 7:00. I think they did an excellent job and the beauty of Vermont was well represented on their newscast. It further substantiates what I have been telling you all along. Vermont is not just
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My Century 21 Open House Contest

Starting March 3rd Century 21 International will be running a contest that could net someone $21,000 and an HDTV. Sellers and their Century 21 listing agent will be encouraged to create a 1:15 minute open house video. This video should be entertaining, emotional, humorous and or creative. Consumers will select the top 10 entries that will
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April Open House Month

In the month of April Century 21 International will be promoting Open House Month. There will be a number of events and promotional spots highlighting current inventory on the market. Sellers will be able to get additional exposure for their homes and the consumer will be able to get a better grasp of what the choices may be in their market
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The Skiing is Great

I went skiing this past Saturday at Bolton Ski Area. It is only 23 minutes away from Burlington which is so incredibly convenient. I think we live in such a magical place. We received 15 inches of snow on Wednesday and it was sunny with very little wind which made the trips up the lift so much more enjoyable. The snow was still on the trees
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