teamwebster VIEWS March/April 2021
Te a m We bs t er
EXP
REALTY
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HOW DOES SUSTAINABILTY APPLY TO THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY? Specifically in regards to our own personal, social and environmental impacts with where and how we are living independently and as a community, the real estate and housing market is a huge industry that has far-reaching effects and implications on the balance of our local environment and resources, as well as will be the most affected by the impacts of climate change. While it’s impossible to predict the future, the consequences of rising temperatures, sea levels, and increasing flood-prone areas could result in adjusted home values, higher property taxes, and insurance premiums. With this in mind, it’s important to be socially conscious and aware of these impacts in the real estate industry, not only to our environment, yet also as a way to safeguard and protect yourself, your family members and your home investments, now and in the future, by taking more sustainability-focused and energy-efficient lifestyle choices and actions today. How Can I Adopt Sustainability in Real Estate? Living more sustainably isn’t just about benefiting our environment and safeguarding our future; it also financially saves you money by being more energyefficient, as well as potentially increasing the appeal and value of your home to local buyers. This is apparent as not only are the builder and consumer interests and adoptions of sustainable living and building practices rapidly growing, yet recent studies from The National Association of REALTORS® NARGreen Designation show that 94% of home buyers rate energy efficiency as an essential factor to their home buying decision.
teamwebster VIEWS
TRI-STATE MARKET RECAP
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JAN/FEB 2021
New Castle/N. Kent County, DE
1,183
NEW LISTINGS
1,162
LISTINGS PENDED
1,092 LISTINGS SOLD Jay Webster
Cecil County, MD
281 NEW LISTINGS 251 LISTINGS PENDED 192 LISTINGS SOLD
REALTOR® SRES, Certified Home Stager Certified Home Selling Advisor Certified Home Buying Advisor
Bill Webster REALTOR® CRS, SRES, ABR, GRI, SFR, ePro Certified Home Selling Advisor Certified Home Buying Advisor
TeamWebster
302-375-5660
Southern Chester County, PA
447
teamwebsterhomes.com
NEW LISTINGS
390 LISTINGS PENDED 319 LISTINGS SOLD Source: Bright MLS
Broker
888-543-4829 x136 Licensed in DE, PA, MD
We help people maintain their wealth in real estate. 2021 TEAM WEBSTER NOT INTENDED TO SOLICIT ALREADY LISTED PROPERTIES. INFORMATION HERE WITHIN IS NOT WARRANTED.
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Tri-State MARKET SNAPSHOT
So many inspirational quotes these days; this is one of my favorites by Will Smith
SOLD $445,000 NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DE Newark, DE BEDROOMS, BATHS: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths SQUARE FOOTAGE: 1,925 s.f. LOT SIZE: .2 acres ORIGINAL PRICE: $440,000 DOM 12 CONCESSIONS: YES
SOLD $561,000 CECIL COUNTY, MD Elkton, MD BEDROOMS, BATHS: 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath SQUARE FOOTAGE: 1,712 s.f. LOT SIZE: 1.12 acres ORIGINAL PRICE: $549,900 DOM 6 CONCESSIONS: NO
SOLD $475,000 CHESTER COUNTY, PA West Chester, PA BEDROOMS, BATHS: 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath SQUARE FOOTAGE: 1,977 s.f. LOT SIZE: 1 acre ORIGINAL PRICE: $425,000 DOM 5 CONCESSIONS: NO
WAKE “UPI EVERY
MORNING BELIEVING TODAY IS GOING TO BE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY. ”
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An ecobased lawn project to consider: Found this on-line and saved it for a project this spring. This plant is called Red Creeping Thyme. The plant grows approximately 3 inches tall so there is no mowing. I have a patch of grass in front yard that is always a pain to mow and thought this could be an attractive solution. Has a lemony scent. It’s a perennial. Repels mosquitoes. And maybe grow as an entire lawn! Plus in keeping with cover theme...This plant is very attractive to bees and butterflies.
Part of “beesponsible” is free your lawn and garden from pesticides! These chemicals cause a dangeroud ripple effect through entire ecosystems...from harming bees and other beneficial bugs to contaminating soil, water and other vegetation. It’s just not worth the risk to use them!
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Science: Bees Are the Most Important Species on Earth Bees are the most important species, according to research that reveals how wild bee health impacts the environment more than colony collapse disorder. - BY KAT SMITH (Updated April 24, 2020) Insects—pollinators, in particular—are integral to a healthy environment and the planet’s survival. According to the international conservation nonprofit Earthwatch Institute, bees are the most important species on earth. The declaration was made last July at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society of London. Why Bees Are Important Without bees, global food production would look very different. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), three out of four crops that produce fruit or seeds for human consumption depend, at least in part, on pollinators. While pollinators also include bats and birds, insects such as bees, butterflies, and hoverflies are the most common. Pollinators support the production of 87 percent of leading food crops worldwide. How to Help Bees There are ways to help declining insect populations. The first is by rewilding urban gardens and parks to be more pollinator-friendly. There is potential for a huge network of insect-friendly habitats right across
the country. Already a lot of people are buying into the idea that they can make their gardens more wildlifefriendly by letting go of control a bit. One way would be mowing your lawn less often and creating “bug hubs.”
Individuals can help insects by planting wildflowers and vegetable gardens, letting weeds grow, and stopping the use of pesticides. Nectar-rich plants help attract pollinators. These include allium, chives, foxglove, crocus, sunflower, and lavender. You can also buy or make a bee hotel. The agriculture industry is the bigger issue. For example, 70 percent of Britain is farmland. Of the 915 million acres of U.S. farmland (which includes pastures, cropland, and woodland) documented by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2012, 42.6 percent was cropland. Obviously, large-scale change, not individual actions, will make the biggest impact. No matter how many gardens we make wildlife-friendly, if 40-70 percent of the countryside remains largely hostile to life, then we are not going to turn around insect decline. What we need to pursue is pesticide reduction as well as support for farmers making the transition. One method may be introducing heavy taxes on pesticides...like in Sweden, France, Italy, and Denmark have implemented. Helping pollinators should be a collaborative effort between national and international organizations, academic, and research bodies, according to the FAO. A 2017 study published in the journal Nature Plants revealed that virtually all farms could reduce pesticide use
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without impacting food production. Colony Collapse Disorder Colony collapse disorder (CCD), where all or most worker bees from a colony suddenly die off, remains a little-known phenomenon. This affects commercial honeybees, which are used not only for honey production but also to pollinate crops, including almonds, blueberries, apples, and broccoli. Commercial honeybee and wild pollinator populations are separate issues. Data on those pollinators’ populations are sparse, and the impacts of maladies like CCD on their populations are not well understood. Much more work is needed to be done to grasp the effects of CCD and other threats to bee health. We Contacted Atlantic Landscape Company and Asked the Question: Is the concept of allowing weeds to grow to feed bees and insects in early spring a concept landscapers could embrace? “Sort of...however, weeds are never going to be very palatable for the general public. We do see “no mow”, “low mow”, “meadow” signs becoming more and more ppular. Long way to say that “low mow” areas are becoming more en vogue, but they should be planted purposefully with forage for pollinators, not just let go.” Thanks to Kris Vento for his perspective to what we believe is a serious situation.
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The PET PAGE
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There is always an advantage to selling a staged home, even when the staging is minimal. BEFORE
and AFTER
The benefit of staging is that it can make listing pictures look more appealing. The listing photos you use are usually the first glimpse potential buyers get of your home, so you naturally want to make sure they look as great as they can. If staging the house, even minimally, can make the pictures better, the advantages are apparent. I’ve always told our sellers that clean, clean, clean (especially windows and front door), paint and professional pictures is also staging! Remember, the advantage of selling a staged home may be easier because you can set the stage for what buyers see. Buyers walk in and see some comfortable furniture, decorations (even just a picture), and general hominess, and hopefully feel like they could sit down and relax in this home. The more they can see themselves in the house, the more likely they are to buy it. This house sold over list first day with multiple offers!
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Are You Living in Your Dream House? If Your Answer is NO, Why Not? Here is my challenge for You. Set up a meeting with us. Let’s create a roadmap. Put a timeline on it. Team Webster knows the market, we get to know you, and we make the deal happen.
In a seller’s market, you should always assume you’re competing against several other offers. Here are a few things to consider as you prepare your offer when buying in a seller’s market: Price: The exact dollar figure isn’t always the most important factor, but don’t offer less than the list price. You may need to offer more than the amount the seller is asking. Earnest money deposit: Your earnest money deposit is the amount of money you submit with your offer. A larger earnest money deposit might look attractive to a seller weighing multiple offers. Ask your agent for advice on the deposit, then consider doubling or tripling that amount. You’re going to pay it anyway at closing. Don’t request favors: This is not the time to ask the seller to give you the refrigerator or washer and dryer, part with fixtures, or paint the front door. Delay buyer possession: If it’s customary for the seller to move at closing, consider giving them a few extra days to move. The seller may look more kindly upon an offer that lets them move at their leisure. Submit your preapproval letter and proof of funds documentation: If your preapproval letter is from an out-of-area broker or lender, get a local preapproval instead. Match your preapproval letter to your sales price and date it the same day as your offer.
Do you know the value of your home? Find out with a FREE home value report: teamwebsterhomes.com/sell.php Got questions about anything real estate?
Email us: info@teamwebsterhomes.com
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Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich
This Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich is a delicious way to enjoy nourishing chickpeas. Fabulous as a sandwich or simply as a salad. Ingredients For the Salad: 1 Can Chickpeas drained/rinsed 1 Tbs Dill Pickles finely chopped 1/4 C Purple Onion finely chopped 2 Tbs Just Mayo or mayo of choice
2 1/2 tsp Stone Ground Mustard 1 1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar 1/4 tsp Sea Salt or black salt 2 tsp Dill Weed fresh-chopped 1/8 tsp Turmeric for color Fresh Black Pepper For the Sandwich (options): Multigrain Bread or Gluten Free Bread Sprouts Kale Shredded Carrots Lettuce Tomatoes Instructions: Using a potato masher, roughmash the chickpeas until most is smashed but there are still some whole chickpeas left. Add the pickles, onion, mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt, dill, optional turmeric and black pepper. Mix well. Taste for seasoning adjustment. Store in a covered container for up to two days. Delicious alone or piled high on multigrain with accompanying veggies.
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DELAWARE BROKER:
144 Kings Hwy, Suite 301 Dover, DE 19901 Office: 888-543-4829
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MARYLAND BROKER:
137 National Plaza, Suite 300 National Harbor, MD 20745 Office: 888-860-7369