Its that time of year again in Andover for the annual Boutique Blowout 2012! This year Andover Business Center (ABCA) members and local Retailers have a whole new approach to the event with the addition of a day long “Warehouse Style” sale at the Old Town Hall on Main St. Shoppers will find multiple downtown retailers underneath one roof in a bazaar style setting, reminiscent of the famous “Daher’s Shoe Events’ that Andover was so well known for!

This year the event will raise awareness and support for Andover Youth Services. There will be a $2.00 cover fee for customers to shop in the Old Town Hall in support of Andover Youth Services.

Need more info on Andover Boutique Blow Out or want to get involved? Contact Debbie Hirsh, Manager at Lyn Evans at andover@lynevans.com

Have a community event you’d like to share with us that we can Blog about!? Contact Us!

Last night I had the pleasure of being a Table Host for the annual Team Haverhill event, Possible Dreams. This was the 4th year the group has put on the event and my third time as a Table Host (facilitator). The idea behind this is like a large Mastermind group, where we all get together to synergize new ideas, and come out with a great vision supported by the community who helped create it.

At the event, guests which included citizens, business owners, elected officials, civic leaders and more were asked a series of questions while seated in a mini-group (facilitated by the table host) and then asked to move randomly to another table to interact with different people and continue the questions and discussions. This style of engagement is known as a World Cafe format.

The theme of the evening was Bridge to Bridge and Beyond and the discussion focused on how we can improve the downtown of Haverhill and its attract-ability towards new residents, visitors and connecting it with other more suburban/rural sections of the town.

Some great ideas came out of the event like bringing a Multi-Museum which housed a Comic, Children’s, Science and Historical museum each on its own floor in one of the historic downtown buildings. Another was creating a cultural and music hall for performance arts and concerts at the current site of the vacant Woolworth building. Yet another great idea was to tie Haverhill’s farming and agricultural community together to play a bigger role focused on the latest trends emerging in that sector.

Overall it was a great night for the city, it’s people and for Team Haverhill. We we’re thankful to be invited and play a small part in it’s success.

To learn more about the event or Team Haverhill visit them by clicking here.

Ever wonder if buying or selling a home in the Fall/Winter market is better or worse than in the Spring/Summer markets? How does it effect inventory and sales? And how can it help or hurt your real estate goals right here in The Andovers, Haverhill and beyond. Watch and learn.

”If we price it right, we’ll get multiple offers quickly and the highest possible market value” This is what real estate professionals will tell you when advising on pricing strategies for selling your home these days. However it’s a common thought that in the real estate realities of today, homes just wont sell at or above the asking price with multiple offers. So to prove once and for all if this is fact or fiction we went through the data for Andover and surrounding towns to uncover the truth at our local level, and you may be surprised at the results and what this can mean for you.

In Andover according to data from the MLS, in 2010 of the 284 completed single-family home sales, 48 homes (16.9%) sold at or above the original asking price. Now, 16.9% may not seem like a high percentage, but it still proves the statement and it got me curious to see what the numbers were like for the 2005 sales year, which is considered to be this markets high point for sales. We found on 368 completed sales, 24.18% of the homes (89) sold at or above original list price. So in times of higher demand, this situation seems to happen more often. Next we thought we’d take a look at the surrounding towns of North Andover, and Boxford for 2010 to see if the theory holds true and sure enough we calculated 14.2% of the homes in North Andover and 14.4% of the homes in Boxford did indeed close at or above the original asking price.

Now this may seem obvious, but when digging deeper into the Andover numbers, what was most interesting was the amount of time the homes took to be sold. Again, looking at the 2010 data, homes that sold at or above asking price sold on average in 23.25 days while homes selling below asking price took 100.05 days, that’s 3.3 times faster.

If you break that down its about 2.5 months faster which could mean fewer mortgage and carrying costs, possibly prevent a foreclosure process, or help to make a deal happen on the next home. The numbers held true for the 2005 market year, however the gap between them was smaller. Homes selling at or above asking price sold in 34.3 days versus 66 days for the homes that did not.

In conclusion, it is true that homes do sell at or above list price in today’s market and these findings lead me to believe that in times of lessened demand, pricing the home appropriately to begin with is more critical than before, as the results of not selling quickly will mean much longer market times and all the possible pitfalls that can come of it.

Buying a home in The Andovers, Haverhill or anywhere in Massachusetts? Take a look at this quick video discussing the difference between Assessed Values and Market Values on a home and how they factor into a home purchase.

Autumn is here and for our family that means a few things. One important family tradition we have is apple picking and making some homemade apple pies! Each year we head to Smolak Farms in North Andover and always have a great time. This year, due to hurricane Irene and some unusual weather, our trek happened a little later in the season.

When we arrived, we were excited to see so many other families enjoying the great weather we were having that morning. Just a slight breeze, not too cool and not too warm, a perfect fall morning. The smell of those incredible Smolak Farms cinnamon donuts, just fresh out of the kitchen was unmistakable in the air, I quickly downed a ½ dozen…diets be dammed!

Next we went to the animal petting and playground area out back and were surprised to see the facilities were completely re-vamped. Now complete with a larger cleaner playground and updated petting/feeding area for the animals, Smolak farms can’t be beat for some fall family fun. Just be aware you do need to pay admission to the playground during the fall fair season.

Of course the cleanliness of the out-house facilities is always an issue for families with children, at least there appeared to be more of them. My advice is to make sure the kids don’t need them, before heading off to the farm.

On to the apple picking and as usual Smolak did not disappoint, although a lot of the trees had been picked through, there was plenty more for our enjoyment. The cost of a ½ peck (the small bag) was $20, which felt a little pricey for apples to us. But when you factor in all they had to offer, plus the experience of family fun, it was a value and well worth it!

For more information, prices, upcoming events and hours visit: Smolak Farms, North Andover MA.

What a great day for the town of Andover as the Andover Business Center Association (ABCA) completes another successful Andover Day.

This years activities included local community entertainment on the new second stage located in the Old Andover Village area of Main Street sponsored by Enterprise Bank.

I had a great time as Emcee introducing the performances from Dance Infusion along with Zumba With Kelli, The Storyweaver Nicolette Heavey, Andover Vocal Music Association Summer Theater Ensemble performing Hairspray, the AHS Varsity Show Choir “From Start To Finish”, the AHS Jr Varsity Show Choir “Nothin’ But Treble” and more.

The Andover Historical Society Farmer’s Market was open for the day with festivities at their South Main Street location. And the 2011 Andover Little League Baseball State Champions were honored on the Main Stage at Elm Square by town officials.

Our major sponsor Stop & Shop and supporting sponsor Lawrence General Hospital through The River 92.5FM brought the main stage with live music from the Rockoholics, Jason Spooner and our headliner Beetlejuice, a fantastic Beetles tribute band.

Keller Williams Realty Andover supported the event with a table handing out market information for the adults with candy and balloons for the kids. There was plenty of fun activities for the entire family from over 90 vendors and sponsors throughout the day, as the weather cooperated holding back the rain all day.

Andover Day is an ongoing local event produced by a volunteer group from the Andover Business Center Association. Co-chairs for the event were Kathleen Bates of Isotope and Phyllis Harrell of Samel Insurance

Interested in joining the Andover Business Center Association (ABCA)? Contact me to learn more.

With winter on the way it is important to be reminded about “Nicole’s Law” in Massachusetts. The law was named after 7-year-old Nicole Garofalo from Plymouth MA who passed away when drifting snow from a blizzard blocked a vent from a gas boiler and caused carbon monoxide to build up inside her home.

Under legislation signed into law in 2005 by then Gov. Mitt Romney, Massachusetts became the ninth state in the U.S. to require carbon monoxide detectors for residential dwellings. The measure took effect on March 31, 2006 and applies to single and multi-family housing units as well as large complexes like hotels, motels and college dorms. Housing units that have enclosed parking or equipment such as boilers, furnaces or hot water heaters powered by gas, coal, oil, or wood will be required to have a working CO detector in place.

Our friends at the Andover Fire Department have prepared this Massachusetts Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector and Placement Chart to make it easier to understand what is required under the law. Although this chart represents the states requirments, it is important to remember your local fire chief has final authority on requirements in your town.

This Andover MA Condominium built in 2004-2005 by nationwide homebuilder Pulte Homes is an 80 unit garden style condo complex located at the intersections of Route 114 and Route 133 at 170 Haverhill St Andover, MA 01810.

These condominium Units range in size from a 4 room 1 bed 1 bath 932 sqft unit up to a 1500 sqft 6 room 2 bed 2 bath units. 9ft ceilings with hardwood floors in most condo units, elegant moldings and detail work abound. Kitchens range in size and quality from basic materials to upgraded cabinets, appliances and countertops.

Master bedroom suites include a large walk-in closet and some condo units have tray ceilings and recessed lighting options. All condos are heated by 1 zone forced hot air and are cooled by central A/C. Parking is a mix of underground deeded garage spaces and outside common area parking depending on the unit purchased.

Professional offsite management handles all the exterior condominium maintenance and the condo fee includes: Water, Sewer, Master Insurance, Exterior Maintenance, Landscaping, Snow Removal, Extra Storage, Refuse Removal, with a typical condo fee ranges from $225 for the smaller units to $300 for the larger units. Close to local shopping, amenities and access to Rts 495/93 & Commuter rail and pets are allowed.