Halloween Photo Contest

Join us for our 1st Annual Halloween Photo Contest. The winner will receive a $25 gift card to Books By the Sea in Osterville. Submit your best photo of your children, pet, or friend to our facebook fanpage  from October 26, 2009 – November 2, 2009.  You will be able to vote online from November 2, 2009 to November 5th and the winner will be announced on our facebook page November 6th.

Visit our website at http://www.engelvoelkers.com/osterville for more spooky fun.

Shell Fishing For Cape Cod Real Estate

 I discovered another reason to love Cape Cod a few weeks ago – shell fishing. As I devoured by first cherrystone, I realized that shell fishing is similar to being a realtor. There is a lot of preparation involved, a lot can go wrong along the way, but at the end of the day it is very satisfying.

A few weeks ago I was at a cocktail party and over heard a friend discussing how much fun she had going clamming. I then got thinking, here is something in my own backyard that sounds interesting, I love eating shellfish, and this could be a good opportunity for some solitude and reflection. Just like a realtor I did my preparation.  I attend the Barnstable shell fishing class, got the necessary tools, did my research and jumped in the water.

I decided to go back to the same location as the class rather than venture out into the unknown. After 2 hours of raking I walked away with ½ a bucket of quahogs. As I was finishing up I developed a bad blister on my hand and my shoulder was killing me – I used the rake on the top of my shoulder but forgot to put the pad at the end of the rake. I did my prep work purging the clams and then it came time for prying them open. The clam knife worked, but I had trouble creating the opening. Once I finished my wrestling match, I laid the clams on the dish, dotted them with cocktail sauce and a spritz of lemon. Then I enjoyed the fruits of my labor and oh my, oh my, how good they tasted. I then went on to make about 4 dozen stuffed clams, a clam chowder, and a happy wife – she won’t eat the cherrystones, but loved the stuffed clams and the chowder. 

Today’s real estate market is very challenging and there are a lot more bumps along the road for a successful transaction than in normal years. If you are going to sell your property or if you have your property on the market it must be set at a realistic price, must be de-cluttered and staged, have the best possible photographs taken, and a good marketing strategy in place. If you do all that, then you will entertain some offers from buyers. Now be prepared for many bumps in the road – a very low offer, a “surprise” during the home inspection, or how about the buyer’s mortgage falling through. 

Our estate agents have being down these bumpy roads many times with our clients. At the end of the day it is very rewarding to find the yellow brick road for many of them. Please vist our web site at www.engelvoelkers.com/osterville for more information. 

P.S. If you’re interested in learning how to shell fish, you’re welcome to join me on my next shell fishing adventure.

Cape Cod has Gone Green – Open House

This Saturday, October 3, 2009 the Cape & Islands Self Reliance Corporation is having a huge open house event this Saturday called the Green Building Open House Tour 2009.  Homes and buildings across Cape Cod from Buzzards Bay to Provincetown are open for the public to see. You’ll have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with energy saving experts. Go to http://www.reliance.org/ for detailed information. They have a list of all the tours and an awesome Google Maps to plan out your day – Go Green

Beginner’s Guide to Facebook

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Time: 10am – 11:00 am

Location: Engel & Voelkers 846A Main Street, Osterville, MA 02655

Cost: Free

Registration: Call 508-428-4424 or email osterville@engelvoelkers.com

Learn how to use Facebook to communicate on line with your children, grandchildren, and friends. Facebook is a social networking service that lets you connect with family, friends, co-workers, and others who share similar interests or who have common backgrounds.  Even if you have no or little computer experience, we can show you how easy it is to get on line and have fun using Facebook.