Western Mass Homes Lesley Lambert

Lesley's Life

Home Ownership Truly Matters. Beyond Western Massachusetts: The National Association of REALTORS

home ownership matters in western maHome ownership is clearly something I feel passionately about. Not everyone has to own a home and not everyone SHOULD, but for those that are working toward the American Dream of Home Ownership…it matters.

This week is the mid-year panels for the National Association of REALTORS and there are a lot discussions happening. The week isn’t JUST about discussions, however, it is about action and pro-action, too. Tomorrow, May 17, 2012 is the REALTOR rallyl in Washington DC.

I can’t be in DC, but there is a virtual rally, too and I am a firm believer in the value of home ownership for more reasons than the fact I am a REALTOR.

My parents brought me up in a small town in Western MA, Southwick Massachusetts. They chose Southwick, MA for the proximity to Springfield, MA and Hartford, MA which resolved both familial and work obligations. Their first home was purchased when I was about a year old for $16,000. We lived there, on Sefton Drive in Southwick, until about 1979 when my parents built a new home. We move “all the way across town” to Mort Vining Road, Southwick, MA. What a change! We went from a neighborhood (even though a very suburban one) to the true country. Barely paved road; cows; sheep and horses along the road and no cable tv.

As my parents grew, so did their real estate portfolio. They bought investments to keep (like the house my mom still lives in) and others to flip. I learned about flipping properties about two decades before it became popular. I was a kid, a teenager, but I painted, weeded, carried, sanded and did whatever labor needed to be done to help our family with our American Dream. I worked alongside my mom as an assistant folding newsletters and licking (yeah we had to lick em) stamps from 1982-1988. In 1988 I took the real estate license course and became a REALTOR, myself.

After college I wanted to move out. My mom offered me discounted rent in her multi-family in exchange for management duties. I took over the building operations from soup to nuts and I can tell you that I went nuts in that soup, but I learned lessons that no college degree can teach. I always knew the value of a dollar and the feel of a hard day’s work (one of my first jobs was tobacco in Southwick) but this was different. This was an adult responsibility.

Post graduation in 1992, there were no jobs in my degree (English PR and Communications) and I went to work once again for my mom at her real estate office in Westfield, MA.

Next up was my own home ownership. I have since owned several properties, both personal and investment and I credit my parents for the wonderful education….it has paid dividends that my college education (while amazing) never could.

Why do I share this?

Because…I believe. I believe in home ownership. I believe in Western Massachusetts. I believe that you do, too.

The following video is a national interview of the National Association of REALTOR’S financial guru, Lawrence Yun. He echoes thoughts that I have daily:

Paraphrasing NAR :

Home buyers need to stay within their means when purchasing a home. YES

The lenders are overreacting to the point where even a well qualified buyer can’t get a mortgage. YES

The pendulum has swung to overly stringent requirements in lending. YES

Cash buyers are helping to move the economy, but are preventing 1st time buyers needing a mortgage from getting the affordable homes. YES

This is a bi-partisan AMERICAN issue. YES

Home ownership truly matters. YES

Watch the video to see and hear what Lawrence Yun has to say. Comment below to let me know what YOU have to say…you already know what I have to say.

Take a woodland walk in the Wildlife Refuge at Stanley Park, Westfield, MA

This weekend I had the rare few free hours and I decided to take a nice long walk at Stanley Park through the Wildlife Refuge. I have been using the trails there for years, both for mountain (trail) biking and walking. Stanley Park is an amazing place for the kids to play, for picnics, for sports and for visiting gorgeous manicured gardens, but it also is the host for these gorgeous and serene trails through the woods, through meadows and beside the river. Why not join me?

Attitude of Gratitude

Daughter's artwork- 5th grade

I have already had several conflicts rise up for this weekend, work vs. family.  I am going to have to stand by my kids no matter what, but I am glad.

I am glad for the business, of course. but honestly…if work comes up against family, family wins.  I am glad to share that fact with my clients because if they don’t understand that, then we aren’t really a good match.

I also need my clients to help with weekends like this…my daughters’ have a dance competition.  You may wonder how a customer or client could help with  a dance competition.  Well, quite honestly, I need to work to pay the entry fees for said dance.

So the attitude of gratitude is not a platitude, but rather a latitude of thankfulness that my clients understand what my children need best.

That moment of Dr. Seuss was brought to you by the letter Y.  Y? Because we like you!

Yes, I understand how many youthful commercial memorical metaphors I just mixed.

OK…back to gratitude.

My daughters are so talented.  They are amazing performers and dancers and I am so excited to share a love for dance and the stage with them.  They take the dance world experience to new levels for me…my eldest with her gorgeous voice and vocal solos and my youngest with her tumbling.  I never did either on a stage and am so proud of their fearless nature and gifts.

They are gifted in so many other ways, too.  They both dance, they both sing and they are both so smart.  The eldest is also showing amazing artistic talents.  She has been published as a poet and her art is the featured picture in this story.  We go to Mass MoCA every year and I swear this could be on display there!

My gratitude doesn’t end there, although I thank God every day for two healthy, talented, smart and capable daughters.

I am also grateful for a man who loves me so well.  I don’t want to make my readers nauseous, but today is a special day…the third anniversary of the best first date ever.  I met my boyfriend, Morriss, on Twitter over three years ago.  He turned my world upside down and taught me so many things.  As for all of you it isn’t always easy, but let me tell you…I wouldn’t want it any other way.  Morriss is an amazingly talented man.  He is musical, thoughtful, dedicated and sweet.  Take a look at this video from our five monthaversary:

In closing I am grateful for so many things, including the career that allows me to help other families with their dreams at the same time as I help mine.  What a wonderful life!  Being a real estate agent in Western Massachusetts allows me to provide for my family and to help others with their dreams.  Thank you for choosing to work with me.

Thank you to my children (Sean, Shaun and Ry) and Morriss for putting up with my crazy schedule…that is not the smallest gratitude!

For a life filled with arts, family, love, houses, fun, excitement, adventure, support and GRATITUDE…I thank all of you.

 

Save Money and the Planet with the World Wildlife Foundation Tips

The World Wildlife Foundation, the world’s leading conservation organization has been working for the last 50 years to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature.

On their site they host a series of conservation tips that are good for both the environment and your wallet.

The money saving tips from the WWF include:

Screensavers don’t use less energy. “Sleep mode” reduces a computer’s energy consumption by 60 to 70%. At the end of the day, power it off completely.

The refrigerator is the single biggest energy-consuming kitchen appliance. Opening the door accounts for between $30 and $60 of a typical family’s electricity  bill each year.

U.S. consumers spend up to 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than for tap water.

Energy saving tips included:

Using cold water can save up to 80% of the energy required to wash clothes.

Use a microwave instead of the stove to save energy. Microwave ovens use around 50% less energy than conventional ovens do.

The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper per year. Print on both sides and in draft mode whenever feasible.

These are only a handful of the very helpful and energy efficient tips hosted on this important site.  Be sure to visit WWF to read many more wonderful ideas.

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Five Reasons Why I work so hard as a REALTOR

Family
Family is the most important thing to me and I know it is for my customers and clients in Western MA real estate, too.

A day like yesterday, Easter Sunday, reminds me why I work so hard as a REALTOR.

I thought I would take a quick moment to share the top 5 reasons (besides the five in the photo above):

1- finding the right home as a home buyer in Western MA is such a personal and important decision.  This will be the home that you celebrate holidays in.

2-  selling your Western MA home to move onto the next chapter of your life is intensely emotional and I want to help ease the transition.

My sweet peeps

3- the future of your entire family rest in these decisions and I never take the level of importance, or my role in it lightly.

4- it matters to me to get things done right.  I worry about my clients and customers as if they were MY family.

5- it allows me the ability to provide well for my family.  Not in a strictly financial sense, but in a flexibility of schedule that I wouldn’t have in another field.

The girls

I very much enjoyed my holiday with my family this weekend and I hope you did with yours, as well!  When considering who to hire for your Western MA real estate needs, why not choose Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty…the realtor who puts your family first to help her family, too!

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