Buying local

I was at Legacy Place last week and saw signs for the newly to be opened Amazon Book Store.  When Legacy first opened there was a Borders Book Store.  This quickly went out of business as have many smaller and more local bookshops in malls and suburban shopping centers.  It is ironic that when Amazon came to the market the primary goal was to be an online resource to buy and sell books and it is now reestablishing itself with a storefront bookstore.  This store will be opening soon.

In the travel industry, for example. for a while consumers only booked travel through online sites.  I. for one used hotels.com until I ran into an issue with an overbooked hotel in NYC and had a difficult time reaching a real person to relocate us to a comparable hotel.  This was not a successful venture and I now book my hotels directly when I can.

In the real estate market, internet sites such as Trulia, Redfin and many others had for awhile made buyers think everything could be done online for real estate transactions.  Several small realtors have either lost market share or have merged with the larger players.  After going through a do-it-yourself phase clients have come to realize the value that a realtor can add to become an advocate and help with details required for a smooth transaction flow.  Realtors provide many services that cannot be done online.

The same phenomenon has been happening to other businesses as well.  Many online and cyber business have effectively hurt the local economy.  Many small mom and pop stores have a hard time facing the competition of online vendors who undersell their products.  Although the cost may be lower, I try to think about keeping the local vendors in business when I can.

Perhaps the internet and cyber transactions have expanded too quickly and consumers are now realizing the value of human contact for their business transactions.  Why else would Amazon be opening a storefront venue?  Although I am now with a larger real estate firm,  each office specializes in the local community and places high value in providing services that will benefit the community.  Next time you think about cyber Monday or going online think about the importance of human interaction and supporting the local businesses near you.

Wendy recently joined Coldwell Banker Needham.  She has been a realtor for over 8 years and knowing the area quite well can share a hands on local perspective.  She has also recently earned the SRES  designation and looks forward to helping other baby boomers as they approach their next transitions.  Feel free to contact her directly or click here http://www.wendybcb.com if you would like to learn more.  

The Urge to Purge

Do you find yourself surrounded by stacks of stuff and overfilled cabinets and closets.  We are all victims of clutter and we often blame our housemates for not throwing anything away.  My husband often says to me that if there is a surface I fill it.  In truth his office looks like a fire hazard with piles of paper.

We get so much unnecessary mail and it is easy to put it in a "todo" pile to look at later.     This can create extra work in the long run.  A few times I have been caught missing a bill or getting a second notice to sign up for something when if I had paid attention in the first place, one piece of correspondance would have been enough.    It is very important to periodically go through and clear the desk.

As I go through my closet and my kids rooms noting disarray it is apparent that we all have too many clothing and accessories items.  I have things I haven't worn for years but somehow can't give up.  Of late I have been trying to wear things I forgot about hidden in my back drawers.  It is fun to rediscover things in your own closet.  I recently found a suit I bought 8 years ago for my nieces Bat Mitzvah that I had dry cleaned and hadn't worn since.  I have more than enough clothing and really don't need more although I admit I do like to shop.  Ok I love shoes, scarves and jewelry but I now ask myself if I really need something before I make a purchase.  I think about if it is for a one time outfit or if it will be a staple to wear as part of my working wardrobe.

Christy Farr's new book Is Your Home a Happy Place confronts the issue of the "unruly woman" and looks at techniques to make your home a happy place free of stress and clutter.   With the holidays coming it is a good time to organize your home for company and ease of the season.   http://theweeklybookscan.blogs.realtor.org/2016/10/04/recognizing-clutter-for-what-it-is/

As a realtor I often confront people saying they would love to downsize but can't think about it until they clean up and get rid of their accumulations.  A daunting task of which I am quite familiar as I had the pleasure of helping my in-laws downsize and move to assisted living 3 years ago.  The process was grueling and difficult as we had to work within a tight time frame to purge and move 50 years worth of things.  It would have been so much more helpful if my in-laws had periodically gone through and gotten rid of things that they no longer needed or used.  I do now know what it takes to declutter and have a good rolodex of helpful resources to help my clients do the same.

I have since inherited my parents condo in Florida and it is also filled with 50 plus years of too much.  In order to sell the condo it first needs to be emptied and cleaned.  The task of cleaning, sorting and emptying its contents is much more difficult since it is out of state.  After a year on this project we are now ready to run an estate sale to help get rid of items that are impractical to keep or transport up north.  There are companies out there but you need to do research to find a reputable one.

After months of cleaning and sorting I made a promise to myself that I would never leave this type of situation for my kids.  I have since been much more diligent with purging and cleaning.  Although a lot of work it is something that needs to be done regularly.  I now feel much better when I address clutter before it gets out of hand.  Now if I can convince my other family members to follow my lead.

Wendy recently joined Coldwell Banker Needham.  She has been a realtor for over 8 years and knowing the area quite well can share a hands on local perspective.  She has also recently earned the SRES  designation and looks forward to helping other baby boomers as they approach their next transitions.  Feel free to contact her directly or click here http://www.wendybcb.com if you would like to learn more.  

Does Dover Run on Dunkin?

I was surprised to walk through Dover center the other day and see a large banner across the Springdale Crossing building that says "Dunkin Donuts Coming Soon".  Dover is a small rural town and up to this point has resisted all commercialization.  There is a little coffee shop transformed from what used to be an old fashioned pharmacy with a soda fountain. There is a little grocery market, a Mobil gas station, a bank, credit union and a real estate office.  That has been the center of town for the past almost 30 years since we moved to Dover.  Now getting a chain franchise of Dunkin Donuts will surely change the center of the town and bring more traffic to our morning commute.  Is this a good or bad thing?  I am mixed as there is no good place to buy coffee in Dover Center and I often do drive to nearby Medfield, Westwood, Wellesley or Needham to get my fix.  My first preference though would have been a Starbucks.  It will be interesting to see the impact of DD on our traffic flow and I am curious to learn what others feel about having a Dunkin Donuts nearby.

Wendy recently joined Coldwell Banker Needham.  She has been a realtor for over 8 years and knowing the area quite well can share a hands on local perspective.  She has also recently earned the SRES  designation and looks forward to helping other baby boomers as they approach their next transitions.  Feel free to contact her directly or click here http://www.wendybcb.com if you would like to learn more.  

the local one is now the lokal one

Welcome to my new blog called The Lokal 1 (wendybcbthelokal1)

I enjoy traveling extensively but I do not like to be considered a tourist.  The standing joke in my family is that I always check out restaurants and places where the "locals" spend their time. Last spring we were in Prague and were introduced to a restaurant where the Czech locals go and the name coincidently was "Lokal".   I would now like to be able to provide and share information as a "local" via my blog to those who want to learn more about the local area.  Since the name "The Local" was not available I have adopted the name "the Lokal 1".  I will be reviewing and sharing local area restaurants, activities and areas of interest to my readers and will also welcome reader input.