Western Mass Homes Lesley Lambert

Towns of Western Massachusetts

A day in the life of a REALTOR

You know what? Being a REALTOR isn’t easy and it demands a lot of time and attention that most people might not think about. A lot of people that I chat with have an impression that real estate isn’t a “real job” because we don’t work traditional hours.

I happen to know first hand that a full time real estate agent works a lot more hours than most people realize. In addition to going on showing and listing appointments we have a lot of running around, phone calls and computer time that can absorb a day. I thought I might use my day today as an example of what a full time, hard-working real estate agent goes through.

8:30 am – coffee while reading emails and real estate news
9:00 am – gather up my kids (it is school vacation) and head to the office. Thankful that Park Square Realty in Westfield is family friendly!
11 am – drop kids at play date and head out to deliver purchase and sale agreements to listing in Chicopee for signature
1 pm – present marketing and pricing plan to potential listing client in Westfield, MA
3 pm – back to Park Square Realty’s office to check messages, emails and prepare for evening showings
4 pm – pick up my kids and work from home for an hour. Work on website marketing for listings and start editing video for a virtual tour.
5:30 pm – head back to Chicopee to show three properties to some first time home buyers
8 pm – home to research recent comparable sales because buyer is considering making an offer, write this blog post, write a blog post for my column at Masslive and another for Agent Genius Magazine.
10:30 pm – finish emails and blog posts – ran out of steam and will have to finish that virtual tour tomorrow.

During the course of the day I am answering calls and emails on the go…thank goodness for smart phones!

All of this costs my household something though, and I know other agents pay the same toll….

The laundry is piled up, the dishes need doing, dinner is late and sometimes not so healthy and don’t even get me started on the garden!

Ah well, it is all worth it when a buyer signs for a house that they love and a family selling their home is able to make their next move!

photo courtesy of Robbert van der Steeg on flickr

First Time Homebuyer Homes for sale in West Springfield, MA

Welcome to Map Mondays! Each week I will create and highlight a google map featuring homes for sale from different towns or in different niches. Today’s map is for the First Time Home buyer in West Springfield, MA 01089.

Are you a first time home buyer looking for an affordable home in West Springfield, MA ? This map shows the homes for sale and available between $100,000 and $200,000 in West Springfield, MA.

I love working with first time home buyers and have a series of videos available that help explain the process of buying your first home in Western MA. To see the videos visit my YouTube Channel.

If the search shown above doesn’t fit your needs, I can help you to get the information you need to find your Pioneer Valley home. Please don’t hesitate to ask, I am here to help! You can call me at 413-575-3611 or use the interactive card below to reach me via social networks, email and more!

I am your proud, grateful and very TIRED Realtor in Western MA!



Headlines with style


Wow, what a year 2010 has been in Western Massachusetts real estate!


Not long into January I started to meet a lot of new first time buyers who found me mostly on the internet. Some were friends that I stay in touch with on Facebook, others I met through social media events and the rest found me through my blog posts and videos. I was soon working with over eight sets of first time home buyers who were trying to take advantage of the tax credit, low interest rates and low purchase prices.

That’s A LOT of showings!

I wish I kept track of how many houses I showed these buyers in total, but I am going to have to guess that it was well over 150 houses between all of them. Five months later six of these buyers are closed or will close this month on their new homes and the others continue to look even with the expiration of the tax credit.

While at the office yesterday my manager handed me a printout with the office standings and was I ever floored! I was listed as the #1 real estate agent at Park Square Realty’s Westfield office for the year to date!



Headlines with style


Too Busy to Notice!


I have been so busy taking care of all of these buyers that I didn’t pay attention to my sales statistics and hadn’t realized exactly where I stood.

Real estate is my career, but I don’t work this hard for the paycheck. I work like this because I want to help my home buyers and sellers realize their real estate dreams and goals. I work this hard because I know that each of these transactions deeply affects their lives and is one of the most important decisions of their life.

That is what makes me so proud…that I have helped so many amazing first time buyers realize their dream of home ownership. The rest is just gravy. Really good, yummy gravy, but still just the top dressing.

Thank you to my clients and customers for your faith in me. Thank you for your trust and for your business. I appreciate you more than you know!



Headlines with style


Now all that door opening has tuckered me out, but I after a little restorative cat nap I will be ready for the next bit of business. Who wants to move?


Selling your Western Ma home? New guidelines for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Attention Western Massachusetts home owners. If you are considering selling your home then you will want to be up to date with your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Effective April 5, 2010 the State of Massachusetts Department of Fire Services has changed the requirements for homeowners who are selling their home.

Once your home is under contract and you have a closing date you should:

-Contact the local fire department to schedule an inspection of your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Fees vary and are assigned by the town or city.

Before the inspection date you should:

-Make sure that your street number is posted and visible from the street.

-Check to see that you have the correct detectors and that they are installed in the appropriate areas and are functioning.

For information about the new requirements you can visit The Department of Fire Services consumer information site.

After passing the inspection you will get a certificate that you should provide to your closing attorney.

If you are looking for a real estate agent in Western Massachusetts who goes the extra mile for her sellers, look no further!

What Does A High Tech Realtor Do?

A high tech realtor takes the marketing goodies that the internet has to offer and turns it into purposeful tools to get her listings in front of the most people possible. Exposure to a larger audience means a larger pool of potential buyers and potentially a faster sale for a higher price. I use the new media (internet marketing, social media sites, etc) to optimize the exposure for the homes I represent in Western Massachusetts. Using new media like customized web sites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and others, I reach out through my computer to get in touch with buyers.

Although you're far...

My New Media Marketing plan takes a traditional marketing plan that includes mailings, signage and print advertising and puts rocket boosters on it! ZOOM….your home is exposed to thousands of buyers!

For example my listings are marketed to a large arena of websites including:

Point2Homes.com Free Syndication
point2homes.com

GoogleBase Free Syndication (Beta)
maps.google.com

HotPads.com Free Syndication
hotpads.com

Yahoo! Classifieds Free Syndication (Beta)
realestate.yahoo.com

Cyberhomes.com Free Syndication (Beta)
cyberhomes.com

The Real Estate Book Free Syndication (Beta)
www.therealestatebook.com

SecondSpace Free Syndication
secondspace.com

FrontDoor Free Syndication (Beta)
www.frontdoor.com

Trulia Free Syndication (Beta)
trulia.com

Zillow Free Syndication (Beta)
www.zillow.com

Oodle Free Syndication (Beta)
oodle.com

Homescape Free Syndication (Beta)
www.homefinder.com

vast.com Free Syndication
www.vast.com

CLR Search Free Syndication
www.clrsearch.com

Clickable Directories, Inc. Free Syndication
clickablecitydirectory.com

HomeHippo Free Syndication

HouseLocator.com Free Syndication
www.houselocator.com

The Housing Pages Free Syndication
www.thehousingpages.com

Kazork Free Syndication
www.kazork.com

PropertyShark.com Free Syndication

HomesZ Free Syndication
www.homesz.com

Bilingual Marketing Group Free Syndication
www.vivareal.us

RepeatProperty.com Free Syndication
www.repeatproperty.com

campushomesonline.com Free Syndication (Beta)
www.campushomesonline.com

HomeAway Free Syndication (Beta)
HomeAwayRealEstate.com

kneedl Free Syndication
www.kneedl.com

Realty Showcase Free Syndication (Beta)
www.realtyshowcase.tv

Real Bird
www.realbird.com

Facebook
www.facebook.com/lesleylambert.realestate

You Tube
www.youtube.com/user/LesleyLambert

Park Square Realty
www.parksquarerealty.com

Masslive
www.masslive.com

Craigslist
www.craigslist.com

and this is just a partial list!

In addition my listings are featured with their own website. Visit the page for this listing to see for yourself. These sites feature video, lots of pictures, maps, flyers, open house information, contact information and details of the home. There is also a text code available for mobile phone users to obtain the information via text. Each home has a specialty sign rider with this information making it easy for buyers to view pictures, documents and other information on the property.

Another page that I host allows potential buyers to contact me by live chat! I take tons of pictures of my listings and every property has a video “virtual tour” posted so that buyers can preview the home before they make an appointment.

My listings are optimized for internet searches. Today’s buyers start at the internet. They may drive by a home and instead of calling the phone number on the sign, they will put the home’s address into Google. This is what they will see for one of my listings. Buyers from around the world can find listings this way, not just the local Western Massachusetts ones!

So, if you are considering listing your home in Western Massachusetts for sale, I hope you will let me visit to show you my plan in person. I enjoy being the High Tech Realtor with Old Fashioned Service for over 20 years in Westfield and surrounding Western MA towns!