Southampton Village (Southampton, NY)
By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA, ...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
From Localism Posts To A Book...Sound Like A Good Idea?I wrote a post in 2010 about my adventures in blogging here on ActiveRain. Most of my posts are about The Hamptons with local information and history being my focus....and I do review some of my posts from time to time. I thought it could be quite enlightening to read this one again since it had to do with my ultimate goal of writing a book. I just wanted to see what I was thinkng about back then.  To my total surprise and joy, I discovered that I was on my way, at that point,  to writing a book.I began my book last year and started with short stories that have evolved into something much deeper. It is fiction because I found there are so many stories that can include the really good things about The Hamptons if told in story form.....
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By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA, ...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
HOW DO YOU  MARKET  YOURSELF IN TODAY'S CHAOS??We are in a shifting real estate market in most parts of this country---Our customary ways of doing things may not even work anymore. We don't have the same ways of reaching the public as we once did...not so long ago!So  many changes in social media at the moment are making it almost impossible to get the word out to those who we used to be able to reach in a nano-second.  Facebook has lost its appeal to many who are fearful of abuse in the personal information arena. Twitter has a problem right now as well and although you may not use Twitter for advertising, it is symbolic of the disintegration of social media, right before our eyes!The public, it seems has become so wary of ALL social media that we are witnessing a ".com" moment accordi...
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By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA, ...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
HOW WOULD YOU INFORM A BUYER OF THIS?I think I have heard everything now--Buyers in The Hamptons are falling victim to more and more of this sort of disruption: BUYERS CLAIM THEY DID NOT KNOW ABOUT TRASHY TV SHOW FILMING NEXT DOORMore and more we are finding the bucolic environment of the Hamptons, the reason most people come here and even choose to live here for over 2 centuries, are being whittled away. Privacy rights do not exist here--you rely on your local politicians to see to it that you can enjoy a peaceful way of life when you buy a home in The Hamptons.Slowly but surely, those who find the need to advertise "Party Town" happenings here in The Hamptons, are gaining attention and those who are looking for a "Party Town" atmosphere come here in greater and greater numbers to Part...
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By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA, ...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
When You Are Selling Your Home...LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT!Selling your home? Can't figure out what to do first?...Next? It is very hard to be someone who is trying to sell their home and trying to be objective as well. After all, the years you have spent there may add up to a lot of memories that you are not quite ready to get rid of or paint over!Start with a list and I will give you the top 10 things to do so that you will have a clear picture of where to start and how to finish the preparation. I will give you only the most obvious, common pointers so if you have a glaring situation in your home  that you KNOW on some level that it will not please a new buyer--get rid of that first! That is your priorityIT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT ADD UP TO GET MORE  MONEY FOR THE SALE OF YOUR HOME C...
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By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA, ...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
DID YOU SURVIVE THE "BOMB CYCLONE??"With the 16" of snow that we just got and with the temps now hovering around 0 degrees every day here in Southampton, I must say I am very happy I grew up in Michigan!I spoke to a friend today and she told me how she fared during the "Bomb Cyclone". She lives in Water Mill on the ocean so her situation was much, much worse than mine! However, we both had stories to tell that would make ones hair stand on end if you were there.First of all, I want to share a list of things to do BEFORE a storm hits; these are also good things to just to be prepared for any emergency where you may not have power for a time: Make sure you have cash in your pocket in order to pay for any help in the event you need it. I keep $100 at all times in case of emergency---$500 i...
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By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA, ...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MOLD?? ASBESTOS??--I DO, NOW!!I am sharing this story because as informed as I am in real estate and knowing the issues that environmental problems in older homes can be,  I found myself  living a horror story of monumental proportions without knowing what was happening! We all need to be informed about this problem....And the story is just beginning: I sold my own home in 2013; I gave up home ownership for the moment, to wait for the next opportunity to own an affordable home somewhere nearby.Instead, with prices going up steadily, I decided to rent  and found a house that would suit my needs. It was a cute 1920's renovated home that was vacant and the landlord and his wife lived in the garage apartment behind it in the summer and lived in New York City the rest of ...
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By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA, ...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
 Finding a Big Payoff For Your Local Knowledge.... As real estate professionals we all know the tremendous value of knowing what is good in your marketing area and what you find the public needs to know about if they decide to buy  and live in your niche area. I have spoken to so many of my fellow agents about my blog here on ActiveRain and when I tell them they should at least try it most say "What in the world would I write about?" Most have no idea that all you have to do is sit down and make a list--literally, a list of the things that you enjoy doing and places you find are your favorites. Then take that list and write around it, giving as much colorful detail and readable data as possible. One of my fellow agents at Douglas Elliman and a dear friend Susan Hovdesven did just that: ...
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Southampton, NY Real Estate Professionals