Last year I vowed I would get to the Dutchess County Fair to see what it was all about. To be truthful, I was mostly interested in having funnel cake. I picked up my niece and nephews, stopped at an ATM machine and we headed north to Rhinebeck, NY. It was everything I expected from a State fair – rides, food, games, animals, a parade, music and more!
The parade - lots of animals!
Though my wallet was drained (twice since I had to find an ATM on the fairgrounds as well) it was worth it. The kids and I had a great time. They played the carnival games, rode all the rides, visited the wildlife exhibit, ate funnel cake and burgers, drank fresh lemonade and milkshakes, and had their caricatures done. They even got to see Senator Charles Schumer, who walked right by us, shaking hands and kissing babies. We got a great picture of his back as he turned away from us a little too fast. Oh well.
My shot of Chuck Schumers back (white shirt)!
When I told my husband I was taking them again this year, he asked if I needed to take out a loan for it. Yes – it’s not an inexpensive day but it’s a fun one just the same. To me, worth every penny! I often recommend attending the fair to families that are considering relocating to the area and are in town touring or house hunting during the week of the fair. It’s a wonderful way to experience Dutchess County. This year the fair runs from August 24th to the 29th. Will you be there?
There has been much confusion and misinformation lately regarding the extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline.
Having just returned from attending the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Mid-Year meetings in Washington DC., I wanted to share some of the highlights of the meetings with you. There were over 8,000 Realtors® that descended upon our Nation’s Capital throughout the week.
Saturday morning I attended the NAR Board of Director’s meeting. The most interesting new initiative presented there was Realtor® University. It’s the association’s answer for raising the bar in our industry. If you are on Twitter, you know that there has been a lot of discussion on this topic in the last 6 months. Realtor® University will be a fully accredited institution that will grant degrees in our field, though accreditation may take 2-3 years. The curriculum will be online, and in addition to master’s degrees, Realtor University will eventually offer internship and job-placement programs. The premise all sounds great, so I guess we’ll see what NAR does with it. I just hope the classes will be more challenging than some of the online license renewal classes I’ve taken over the years. That will be the only way this will truly raise the bar in our profession.
To downsize, or not to downsize? That is the question many homeowners face as grown children leave the nest. Their home, not mention it’s maintenance, taxes and size, become more than they need.
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