Western Mass Homes Lesley Lambert

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Excited to be a presenter at Florida REALTORS 2011 Convention!

First Face To Face Meetings!I am very excited to be heading to Orlando, Florida in a very little while to be a featured presenter for the Florida REALTORS 2011 State Convention.

I will be presenting “Tweet Success:How To Market Yourself on Twitter” to the attendees of the Florida State Conference for REALTORS. It is an honor to be presenting along with so many amazing stars in the real estate field.

I will also be attending (and perhaps facilitating a session) at the RE BarCamp Orlando on August 24, 2011 just prior to the conference. It will be wonderful to see many great friends, learn from the best in the real estate social media space and meet new friends!

This will be my second year at both functions and I had such a terrific experience, I can’t wait to return!

Will you be there, too? Let’s connect!

Tobacco Season in Southwick, MA

I drive through Southwick, MA almost every day and as the growing season progresses, I get to enjoy the farms’ emerging lushness.

Prevalent in the farms of Southwick, MA is shade tobacco, a crop grown for cigars in this part of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Yesterday I noticed one of the tobacco fields was teeming with teenagers working on the harvest and it brought me back to my teen years.

One of my first jobs was working on a tobacco farm in Southwick, MA. I started at 15 and because I was small and fast, I was able to make a good amount of money doing piecework. I was on a team of kids that went row by row tying the tobacco by string wrapped up the stem, but carefully between the tender leaves up to a wire frame above, then cutting the string with your fingers. I can still remember the taped callouses where the string had rubbed and I can still do the motions for the tying to this day!

Working tobacco was a right of passage in Southwick, MA when I was a kid. It was filthy and hot, but everyone did it and somehow we made it fun. There were field mice, tobacco worms (giant green caterpillars), 110 degrees or higher heat under the nets, tar stains on your hands and balls of tar on your hair and back breaking work, BUT it was a job.
Shade tobacco in Westfield MA
I had thought that kind of work ethic was gone until I saw the group of kids working in the field yesterday. I am glad to see that there are still kids willing to put in a hard days work for their paycheck. That lesson has brought me far and I know these kids will benefit from it, too.

Saying that makes me feel like an old fart, but so be it.

Welcome to Downtown Westfield: Ezra’s Mercantile

Downtown Westfield, MA has a few new businesses working on opening up on Elm Street, which is a terrific sight to see.  Last week I took the time to shop at Ezra’s Mercantile on Elm Street in Westfield, MA and was excited to find that it is a completely adorable shop.

 

Their slogan is: “A new place to shop for, Pizazz, Provisions and Presents”

The store is decorated in a classic vintage theme with items that reflect a vintage or homespun feel. They have some Westfield T-shirts with an image of the new clock tower and wooden signs and other decor that is Westfield themed. There is a cute toy section, jewelry, home goods and beauty items.

I, for one, will be stopping in often as the store is only two doors from
my desk at Park Square Realty on Elm Street in Westfield, MA.
Here are a few more pictures that I took:


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Park Square Realty Westfield, MA Sales Leaders

It is no secret that I work hard at my career in real estate.  It is my privilege to help people with the transitions in home ownership and I love my work as a REALTOR for Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA. What an amazing thing when doing the thing you enjoy brings some accolades, too!  I am so grateful and proud to have been named one of the top three sales leaders for Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA for the second quarter of 2011. What is more important to me than the sales numbers is the number of friends, family and clients that have helped me to achieve this goal.  Real estate has never been more demanding and as a top producing agent for Park Square Realty I need the support of a lot of people to remain successful. My daughters and I want to thank all of my friends, family, management at Park Square Realty, loyal clients and my ever supportive boyfriend, Morriss Partee for their tireless support in helping me to grow as a REALTOR. If you are considering selling your Western MA home or buying a home in Western MA, I hope you will consider reaching out to me to assist you in this process…you could be the next person I thank!

Selling a Condominium? Buying a Condo? Read this First…

If you are considering selling your Western MA condominium or buying a condo in Western Massachusetts, you need to read this post.

Condo living can be great. I live in a condo and I love it…it feels like going home to a resort and all the exterior work is done. For many people, they hit a point in their life where the condominium lifestyle is perfect for them, BUT…

They can’t get financing.

Did you know that in 2010 almost 40% of mortgages issued were through FHA? Did you know that a condominium complex has to be approved by HUD and FHA before you can use an FHA loan to purchase the condominium? Did you know that most Western Massachusetts condominiums are not on the approved list?

If you are a condominium owner who is considering a sale, that means that you might be missing out on 40% of the potential buyers!

If you are a buyer who would consider a condominium, but you are going with an FHA mortgage, that means many complexes are not available to you.

UNLESS…

You work with a team that knows how to obtain the approval needed.

If you are considering buying or selling a condominium in Western MA, please give me a call or email me. We can discuss the options and work to get the condominium on the FHA approved list.

You can use the contact button to the left of this post, or call me:  Lesley Lambert, Park Square Realty, 413-485-7380 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 413-485-7380 end_of_the_skype_highlighting