Join us on December 29th to watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. All of our friends and clients who make $25 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation may attend.
This year, we will be at the Shoppingtown Theater on December 29th for a special viewing of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
If you make a $25 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, you will get a ticket to Rogue One, a popcorn, and a small soda or water. This is a great Hanukkah or Christmas present for the whole family to enjoy. Not only that, you’ll also make wishes come true for kids with life-threatening conditions.
Help ill children by donating to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
So join us on December 29th at 3:50 p.m. to watch Rogue One. Just call 315-475-WISH to reserve your tickets. That’s 315-475-9474.
As always, give us a call if you need anything. We would be happy to help you. We look forward to seeing you there!
Onondaga Community College helps high school students both save tuition costs and get a head start on their academic life by offering their courses to them while they’re still in high school.
Welcome to part II of my interview with Casey Crabill, the President of Onondaga Community College. Today we’re continuing our discussion about the on-campus experience of OCC and the unique way in which they help high school juniors and seniors transition into a higher learning institution. OCC has a ‘College Credit Now’ agreement with most of the surrounding high schools in the district, which includes OCC courses that are offered in a variety of ways to high school students during the day. These courses are based on the same academic outline at OCC, meaning the same tests, the same texts, and the same assignments. Students have the choice of taking these classes on campus at OCC or at their own high school. Students who are interested tend to work with their guidance counselors and then spend part of their day at OCC for a specific purpose or to get a head start. According to Casey, they often see a lot of high schools students in the summer who are trying to explore a new field. OCC’s courses at the high schools are offered at no charge to the students during their school year.
OCC has the ability to tailor the experience to each individual student.
Some high schools students have taken their whole senior year through OCC and then transferred to a university instead of undergoing the regular application process. As Casey states, “Because we have the ability to tailor the opportunity to the individual student, we can really work one-on-one with families, parents, and guidance counselors to make sure they’re taking the right path.” From a financial point of view, students can enroll at OCC for $4,200 a year. This means that for less than $10,000, they can get two years of education and matriculate into another school and save two years of tuition costs. Casey has noticed more and more families taking advantage of this opportunity in a combination of ways. Research shows that high school students who enroll in OCC and then transfer to another institution are just as prepared and do just as well as students who started at those other institutions. For any student concerned that this option might cause them to miss out on the college freshman experience, Casey assures them that this isn’t the case. OCC has learning communities in their residence halls and first-year programs for students. “We really work hard to make sure that students who have an idea that they want a certain kind of college experience can have that here,” Casey says. To supplement that fact, she notes that nearly 40% of the students in their residence halls live within 25 miles of campus. This means that they could be commuters, but they choose to have the full OCC experience. I want to give a very special thanks to Casey for joining us for this interview. If you have any questions for her, you can reach her by phone at (315) 498-2214. If you have any other questions for me, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!
Today I’m here with Casey Crabill, the President of Onondaga Community College, to discuss the many benefits OCC offers to its students and their families.
Today I’m here with Casey Crabill, the President of Onondaga Community College. We’re going to discuss how OCC helps their students and their families. As a community college, OCC has a couple of different missions. First of all, they help freshmen and sophomores make their way towards a bachelor’s degree. “We provide the first two years in a variety of majors,” President Crabill says. “We also have some students who are here for a career-focused education.” Those students study things like nursing and, instead of transferring to a four-year program, they get to work once their two years are up. What sets OCC apart from other schools? President Crabill knows that many people are worried about the cost of college. OCC is an affordable alternative. “We can pretty much cut your college costs in half for a transfer degree,” she says. OCC has transfer agreements all across the country and all throughout the SUNY system, which makes it easier for students to transition into a four-year program.
Attending OCC can cut your education costs in half.
Price isn’t the only advantage of attending OCC. Onondaga also has small class sizes, even for freshmen and sophomores. At large universities, some students do not thrive when they are one out of 100 students in a classroom. The average class size at OCC is 22 students, so you will get know your professor better. President Crabill says, “We provide a more personal approach.” Another advantage of attending OCC is that you will not be taught by graduate students. All of the faculty members are actual professors. Even your first-year courses are taught by professors, which definitely sets OCC apart from other universities. OCC is known for several different programs. They provide everything from music or nursing to manufacturing and technology. “We have a thriving honors program,” President Crabill says. “We are also known for our lacrosse national championships.” The lacrosse program is simply a benchmark of the strong athletic programs OCC provides. There are plenty of options for students to choose from. As for cost, full-time tuition for one year is $4,200, not including other fees and expenses (such as textbooks or room and board). “We have 874 students living on campus,” says President Crabill. All told, there are 1,100 students enrolled at OCC, making it the second largest post-secondary institution in Central New York, right after Syracuse University. As we mentioned earlier, OCC is also part of the SUNY (State University of New York) system, which presents a few advantages for OCC students. OCC’s transfer pathways are rock solid because the other institutions know exactly which courses OCC provides. You will also receive a quality education, as OCC will meet the expectations of the SUNY system. OCC is truly a great option for a number of students. If you have any questions for President Casey Crabill, give her a call at 315-498-2214 or email her at president@sunyocc.edu. If you have any questions for me, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!
The slow part of the fall market—from the end of August to the beginning of September—is behind us now. We’re back into the hot fall market when home buyers are back out looking for homes and sellers are happy to see them.
As far as current home values go, in Central New York, in the $250,000 and below component to the Syracuse market, we’re looking at a tight inventory, meaning that there aren’t a whole lot of listings for buyers on the market. This means that it’s a great time to be a seller because buyers have fewer homes to choose from. Homes are pretty much holding their own in this price range.
Home buyers may have to be a little bit more creative, however. They need an agent who has contractors in line that can show them what can be done to renovate any home to make it their own.
In the Syracuse market, a balanced market is about three months’ worth of inventory. Right now we’re seeing between three and four months of inventory, and because of this balanced market, our pricing is pretty stable. We haven’t seen a real uptick or downtick in the market, which is typical for Central New York. This stability is why people like the Syracuse market!
The Syracuse market is balanced right now.
The average days on market for the greater Syracuse area is about 63 days. This can be a tricky figure because some of the houses that have sold quickly were listed on the market as For Sale By Owner first and then taken on by a Realtor. Our team’s average days on market is fewer than 43 days for first-time listings.
There are times when we see multiple offer situations in the Syracuse area and times when we don’t. The fall market is a great time for multiple offer situations because there aren’t as many houses on the market, and home buyers are still looking for homes. What ends up happening is that multiple buyers will make offers on a house that is updated and new to the market.
Because interest rates remain extremely low right now, buyers now have more purchasing power than ever before in Central New York. For anybody looking to purchase a home in the near future, finding a mortgage broker is the first step in the process.
If you have any other questions about the Syracuse market or anything related to real estate, please give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you!
With summer nearly over, I’m sure you (like me) have been reminded just how much we use our air conditioning. Soon, in the winter, you’ll also be reminded of how often you use the furnace, too.
It’s one of the major systems in your home, and a surprise issue with one of these systems can be a nightmare if handled improperly. That’s why I wanted to share a video from Angie’s List that I recently saw about proper maintenance of your heating and cooling systems.
If either unit is having issues, did you know you can actually hire technicians who are specially trained to work on certain brands? For example, if you have a Trane system, you can find a tech who is trained specifically to work on Trane products.
Secondly, always remember to get a second opinion when someone recommends that you replace a system because oftentimes a repair will do. You want to be certain when it comes to a part of your home that should last 20 years, especially considering the cost of a replacement.
Unfortunately, as the video points out, there are a lot of people out there in that deal in these systems and prey on customers that don’t know any better. If you’re hiring a company, you should investigate them by checking out their web reviews or social media pages.
Also, be proactive with service on these systems. If you wait until the system is broken down and needs repair to get it checked out, you’re now at their mercy.
As always, for any real estate questions for the Syracuse area, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to answer them for you!
Today I’m joined by Warren Pfohl with David’s Refuge to tell you about an incredible partnership that raises donations to help continue the mission of caring for the caregiver. Because of the exposure that David’s Refuge got from this campaign, we were able to do 17 transactions in April, which allowed us to donate an amazing $12,000 to David’s Refuge!
"We’re so honored and happy to be a part of the family and part of David’s Refuge."
Do you know what that means? That means David’s Refuge can serve 25 families. These families will leave knowing that they are not alone, that what they do matters, and that God loves them. That is amazing. We’re so honored and happy to be a part of the family and part of David’s Refuge.
A lot of people have been asking me, “What’s the one big thing that’s happening in Syracuse real estate?"
The one big thing happening right now is that we have a big chasm between buyers and sellers. The average buyer is about 37 years old, while the average seller is about 67 years old. So what’s the big chasm?
The chasm is that the average seller bought a home, fixed it up, and made it theirs. They may have put new floors in or made other changes to make it theirs. That’s the way they want to sell their house; the hardwood floors might need to be refinished or the countertops might need updating, or the bathrooms might need renovating. They don’t want to do it for the buyer, but rather have the buyer update the home their way. That’s what they had to do, after all.
Buyers today are considered “entitled” because they want to have things done right for them. The 45 and under buyer really wants to have a house that’s already updated for them, because they don’t have the time, money, or effort to make the updates.
The average seller might not want to put in granite countertops for fear of choosing the wrong color, for example, but the buyer looks at this as a lack of effort to sell. The average buyer would rather pay more for the same house if it’s already updated.
We’re seeing that houses that have professional photos, staging, and updates are selling so much faster than those that aren’t. Buyers are disappointed in the inventory for this reason. What we’ve got to do is coach the sellers to do some of the updating, and coach the buyers to understand that, with the help of a contractor, there’s not much work to be done. Refinishing floors, installing granite countertops or replacing a bathroom vanity doesn’t cost tens of thousands of dollars like some think.
We can help sellers with updating and staging, and we can help buyers get set up with contractors or anyone that can help with a new home. If you have any questions, give me a call or shoot me an email and let’s talk soon!
We’re very excited to announce a new partnership with a fantastic non-profit in Central New York. David’s Refuge is a place of respite for parents and guardians of children with special needs or life threatening medical conditions where they will be refreshed, restored, and renewed in their role as caregivers. Basically, they give care to caregivers around the area. They set up vacations and date nights for those who care so much for others that sometimes they forget to care for themselves.
To help out David’s Refuge, we will be donating an amount equal to 17.5% of the commission that we make on all of the home sales that we close in April. This will generate thousands of dollars for caregivers all over Syracuse and Central New York.
We’re excited to start this program, but we’re more excited to help caregivers in our area. Your love and dedication to those in need have not gone without notice! We want to help you!
Ideally, this program will grow outside of Central New York, but first we will need your help in April. The spring market will be coming early this year, so contact us now if you would like to sell this spring.
