|
Friday, February 20, 2009
1557 Tattersall Way
view of golf course
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
So You Want to Sell your Home? You'll have to quit smoking first!
So You Want to Sell your Home? You'll have to quit smoking first! (edit/delete)
When it is time to sell your home, there are so many things you need to think about. First impressions are very important. You will want to make sure that your home is pleasing from the curb. A well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed plantings and a welcoming front entrance are a good place to start. Make sure the front door is freshly painted and hang a pretty wreath.
Your home can be an absolute showplace, but when the Realtor opens the front door for the buyer and the scent of cigarette smoke wafts out, your home is automatically off the top 2 list. You see, when I am working with buyers and we have a long list of homes to see, I instruct them to rule houses out. I ask them to compare the first house to the second house and pick the one they like the best. Then, I ask them to compare the third home with the home they picked out of the first two and pick the one they like the best. This enables them, if they are consistent and consciously choosing a home out of two all day, to have two top picks. And if you are a smoker, I can guarantee you, that your home will not be one of the top two.
Thankfully, the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA) took effect on September 11, 2008. This act prohibits smoking in most public places and workplaces across our Commonwealth. The one place smokers still feel comfortable smoking, unfortunately for their loved ones, is in their homes. Smoking in your home can lower, almost assuredly, the resale value of your most valuable asset. I can tell you that most home buyers will not be interested in the amount of work it takes to eradicate the smell of cigarettes in a home. These houses often require all new paint, carpeting and window treatments. I actually think that if a buyer had to choose between a house with pet odor or the smell of a heavy smoker, the buyer would pick the home with the pet odor.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Project is a regional coalition of health professionals and tobacco control advocates working to combat tobacco use and improve access to tobacco control services across Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery and Schuylkill counties.They provided me with the following statistics:
- Beyond the resale value of your home, cigarettes are a leading cause of home fire fatalities in the U.S., killing 700 to 900 - smoker and non-smokers alike - per year. (National Fire Protection Association).
- The financial impact of smoking is not limited to the resale value of your home, it affects everyone. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids estimates that smokers cost Pennsylvania more than $4 billion a year in lost productivity. Health care costs directly caused by smoking costs the state more than $5 billion a year and residents' state and federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures are almost $700 per household.
- Smoking kills an estimate 20,100 adults each year in Pennsylvania. It kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, and car crashes combined. With a slumping economy, there has never been a more appropriate time to consider quitting. Cessation and prevention programs play an important role in reducing health care costs and they've never been more accessible to the community.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Project also provided me a complete list of local smoking cessation resources available to us in our area. They are as follows:
ChesPenn Health Services
2900 W. 9th St Floor 2 North
Chester, PA 19013
610.380.4660 x230
Chester County Health Department
601 Westtown Rd., Suite 290
West Chester, PA 19382
610.344.6685
Chester County Hospital
701 E. Marshall Street
West Chester, PA 19380
610.738.2542
Main Line Health Tobacco Program
1068 W. Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063
610.891.3560
Maternal & Child Health Consortium
30 W. Barnard St., Suite 1
West Chester, PA 19382
610.344.5370
Phoenixville Hospital
Community Health Education & Outreach Department
PO Box 3001
Phoenixville, PA 19460
610.983.1295
Southeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center
35 S. High Street
West Chester, PA 19382
610.430.7500
More information on the Coalition and tobacco control services in the area, as well as throughout the seven-county region can be found at www.hpc.tobaccorfp.org/.
Questions can also be directed to their toll-free number and email address: 866.756.5412 | SEPAtobacco@phmc.org
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Meals on Wheels Welcomes new Director (edit/delete)
Some time last year, I became a Meals on Wheels delivery volunteer. I love it, and if you have ever had the urge to make a small difference in the life of a home bound person, this is a small time commitment, big rewards kind of thing to do. The first person I met was the woman who's phone number was in the local paper looking for volunteers. Evelyn Ward. Evelyn is an 82 year old dynamo. She is Co-Chairperson of the Goshen Town chapter of Meals on Wheels of Chester County. Evelyn is truly one of the most interesting and fun people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. One of the stories Evelyn told me about herself was that at the age of 65, she decided to take flying lessons! When she went over to the local airport, she met a man who later become her husband and the love of her life! What a great story and one that appeals to my romantic nature! Evelyn's husband has since passed away, but her spirit and wonderful attitude has not dimmed. If nothing else came after my calling her to volunteer, I consider meeting Evelyn one of the highlights of my life. She's a real gem.
The second person I met on my voyage to become a volunteer was the other half of the Co-Chairperson team, Jeani Purcell. Jeani is as nice as she is prety and it's been truly a pleasure getting to know her. Jeani's children are getting to be old enough, so Jeani told me she recently went back to work. She actually told me she took a job at the Meals on Wheels office, and every time I called over there, Jeani answered the phone. She made it sound so low key, I figured she was helping out over there, part time answering the telephones, etc. So, imagine my surprise when I received an invitation to come to an open house to welcome the new Director of Meals on Wheels of Chester County, Inc..... Jeani Purcell! Talk about modest and unassuming!
Pictured here from the left: Joanne Yarnall and Jeani Purcell. Joanne coincidentally also sits on the board of the Chester County Women's Commission with me.
I popped into the open house to say congratulations to Jeani. There were many other volunteers there and I had a nice time meeting and talking with them.
Jeani recently asked me to help Co-Chair the Goshen Town Chapter. I am very proud and pleased to say I accepted and Jeani and I are going on our first interview to meet a new recipient on Thursday! I am looking forward to helping Jeani and Evelyn in what I consider to be one of the nicest volunteer opportunities available.
Meals on Wheels of Chester County is located at 510 South Adams Street, West Chester, PA If you are interested in volunteering, you can reach the meals on wheels office at 610-430-8500.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
NEW LISTING IN EAST GOSHEN
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
