Submitted By;
Maggie Flartry-Kaminski
Broker, CEO - Century 21 Select Group
The month of May is not normally considered a peak time to visit the Poconos. All the better to take advantage of the wildflowers, hiking trails and panoramic views with out the crowds. Mountain biking at Brady’s State Game Lands – 25,000 acres or down the Lehigh Gorge trail, can expose you to River vistas and wildlife. Reminds me of the time my husband John and I were back in Bradys. Bikes are quiet, so it was no surprise when we stopped just short of two young bucks frolicking in the meadow. We watched them for 10 minutes without being spotted. Or the time John kicked up a flock of turkeys and managed to cycle down the road in the midst of them – it was awesome.
For the sportsman, Spring Gobler is in full swing and ends on May 31st. May 7 is opening day for walleye and saugeye. Trout season kicked off on April 16th. Get loads of info and places to fish at http://www.fish.state.pa.us/
May 7th – Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes 8:00pm at the Sherman Theater on Main Street in Stroudsburg. Southside and his band, the Asbury Jukes, worked on growing their reputation as a dynamic live blues band through the late 60′s and early 70′s. www.ShermanTheater.com
If you are into hiking, check out the PoconoOutdoorClub.org. May 7 they will be hiking Devil’s Hole. I was lucky enough to know the people that owned the acreage adjoining the State Game Lands and spent much of the Summer I turned 19 and 20 camping along this pristine Mountain Stream with native brook trout. Nothing like a group of good friends, acoustic guitars and a crackling fire, not to mention the tale of Devil’s Hole best enjoyed at midnight around a campfire! What I found most interesting in hiking the stream was following it to its source at the top of a mountain.
If you are into nature and hiking, check out Monroe County Environmental Education Center’s Kettle Creek Wildlife Sanctuary near Bartonsville. www.mcconservation.org
May 18 – A Spring Bog Walk through the blooming Tannersville Cranberry Bog will be led by a naturalist from the Monroe County Environmental Education Center from 1:00 to 3:30pm. The bog is special as it is a northern boreal bog, which is very unique for this part of the country. Protected by The Nature Conservancy, the Tannersville bog is a National Natural Landmark.
Ok – I know, this is a real estate blog! I suppose I should speak to real estate in the Poconos. Another reason to enjoy nature; the real estate market has not bounded back yet – so take the time to enjoy your natural playground until sales pickup. The winter was tough with all the snow and the cold temperatures. Our Ski Rentals did well and the season went well into March. But the resale market is struggling. Thankfully our agents’ “per person production” is double our competitors. And our core of Full Time, Professional Agents are loyal and hard working. There is something to be said for a company where each office has a strong Team Spirit.
Two things that I attribute to our great company team spirit:
1. A strong presence in 10 different markets of the Poconos. When our sellers need to see their agent, they don’t have to travel 45 minutes – their agent is only 10 minutes away. What makes a real estate office think they can have one centralized location to handle a geographic area as large as the Poconos? What if my seller needs a notary, needs to meet with me to revise paperwork, wants to chat and get some advice or just needs to fax something or make a copy? If the seller is in Blakeslee, do you think he wants to travel to Stroudsburg for this complimentary service, I don’t. That’s not service – that’s disservice.
2. Seeing each other face-to-face. I know some companies tout that you don’t ever have to come in the office. That can work OK for the top agents that really roll at their own pace and don’t need a lot of interaction, support and learning. But let’s face it, each office’s top agents are a select few. What about the rest of the agent population, sharing and learning from each other. The middle producers are the back-bone of any real estate company. And the team grows stronger as they work together. Don’t get me wrong – we are a very progressive and technology oriented group and we supply all the tools to work from home – Forms online, Transaction Management with secured document storage allowing agents to access files from home, free online training and webnars, fantastic 21online, web based resource center. Combine that with the face-to-face interactions and you have a dynamic – unparalleled by any of our competitors. It’s what we all need in a slow market. I hear that some offices’ morale is really low. The slow market can do that – but come into our office and find energy and enthusiasm with agents always looking to grow and find new ways to capture the business.
“Home is the place where it feels right to walk around without shoes”