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The good old days!

 
 I remember my parents telling me that they paid $6000 for the house I grew up in. Now the value of that house would be around $170,000.  It was a decent house, needed some work.  I remember the red wallpaper with gold eagle emblems all over it in our living room.  The starburst clock above the sofa with wooden arms.  Standing on the heating vent in my nightgown to try and stay warm.  Listening through the vent on my bedroom floor to the scary movies I was not allowed to watch.  The creepy dirt floor basement where we kept extra can goods and how I hated having to go down there.  My sisters and I were the official "remote controls".  We got up to change the channel when Dad asked us to.  My kids will search for an hour before they would think of changing channels manually! 

My Mom stayed home with the 5 of us but we entertained ourselves by playing records in our rooms, dancing, hide & seek, Barbie's, drawing, etc....  When the weather was good we would play outside until the street light came on or even later.  Red light, Simon says and acorn fights.  Yes, we would chuck acorns at each other.  Not very safe and could be very painful depending who was throwing them. 

My parents made sure we worked around the house.  "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" was my Dad's favorite saying.  He was a Mason and I remember all 5 of us having to chip the cement off of used bricks with a chisel so he could reuse them.  No eye protection, no gloves, just 5 little girls with chisels chipping bricks.  Cutting wood, stacking the firewood, weeding the garden while battling horseflies.   

We lived in that house until I was 11 years old.  I drove by it not to long ago and it looked so small.  The fence I did tumbles on was gone, the chicken coop was gone and no sign that our vegetable garden ever existed. 

My parents worked hard to provide for us and to keep a roof over our heads.  It was no palace but it was Home Sweet Home and I cherish those memories.

Myself, Sandi, Carmen holding a crying Rita and Theresa (and there is that couch with the wooden arms!)

                                                 

Wow they have grown...

I was looking through my blog and found the two pictures of my daughters from a few years back....time to update. They are now 18 and 15! I am so proud of them, they are great kids. Driving and soon to be driving. Graduating this year for one and looking into college. They are not perfect but they are pretty awesome!

Winter 2011

This winter was going by so fast…until we started getting snow storms!  That put a damper on things. :o)  I miss driving my 56 Chevy, being out side, riding my motorcycle…all the warm weather activities! 

SPRING FEVER!

New England is so beautiful in Spring, everything comes to life! Even the housing market. Rates are at an all time low and the market is saturated with homes available to purchase. If you have been waiting to buy NOW is the time. No one can say what Fall will bring, could prices and rates be up? Possibly. Will prices and rates be lower? Not likely. Give me a call with any questions you may have, I would be happy to help. :o)

Info on Mortgage rates

ICE STORM

Five days without power brings a new appreciation for the things we take for granted! I, like most of you, was woke in the middle of the night to breaking branches crashing down to the ground and on my house. I was in shock at the sight of my yard in the morning. Limbs the width of telephone poles were down. Broken wires everywhere.
The warmth slowly left our home and on went the jackets, slippers, hats, etc.... Temp in the house got down to 38. A power surge blew my furnace, 3 televisions and 2 dvd players! Once the power was restored I was still without heat. So now, tress are cleared, lights are on, we have hot water, furnace has been repaired (thanks to Wayne Arsenault! awesome), and we are warm! Need televisons and dvd players but that won't happen for a while. Isn't it strange that a crisis brings so much appreciation for the little things we take for granted! I think we need these things to happen to make us wake up and realize how fortunate we are. I am so thankful for the storm because it has made me thankful for what I have everyday. It will be a great Christmas for the Tolman family and I wish everyone the same.

Fall is busy!

Again, Fall has brought along with it the ringing of the telephones. It always happens this time of year. Believe me, I am in no way, shape or form, complaining!
My girls are back in school and it is nice. :o)
I have been showing alot of properties and when I am not doing that I am trying to work on my house. And, well, a new project also arose in my life and I find myself spending more time with that project instead of home interior projects. She is a 1953 Chevy that I fell in love with. I drive her everywhere. To showings, listing appointments, shopping, etc.... It needs alot of work and but someday I hope to have her in great condition (a few years and a few thousand dollars would help too!).
So for now I work on my house when I can, take care of my children, my Real Estate clients and now my car. My favorite, of course is my kids

A NEW SEASON TO GROW!

THIS MULTI FAMILY IS FOR SALE!

This 3 Family is centrally located in Gardner and has an updated 1st floor apartment. Vinyl siding, replacement windows, offstreet parking. There are 2/3/2 bedrooms. Laundry in the basement. New furnace! And more.... Call me to view this home!

$234,900

I don't know how your winter was, but mine was long and eventful! All the end results have been good though! Good things are worth waiting for. And recently the phone has started ringing due to the appearance of warm weather. I have been patiently waiting for this. Spring brings out buyers, so here is some information that you may find useless or helpful. Hopefully helpful. Home prices are not declining like everyone thought they would. Yes, they have dropped but the actual percentage they have changed is minimal. I have noticed that Multi-Family prices have dropped due to the financing requirements that exist for them now. The percentage required for a down payment for investment purposes, not owner occupied, is somewhat significant. Taking that into consideration I feel that may be why the reduction of prices on Multi's.


The interest rates are still low, but they change everyday, sometimes a few times during a one day period. Either way it is a great time to get a good deal.