Month: June 2013

Things To Do Near State College, Pennsylvania – July 2013

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Summer is well underway and there is still plenty of things for the whole family to enjoy near State College, PA. Begin the month with 4th of July celebrations and continue to participate in great events throughout the month. Here are a few things that you can do in State College, PA, this month.

 

Central PA 4th Fest

When: July 4

Admission: Free, Parking = $10

Bring the kids out to University Park for one of the best American holidays. Celebrate Independence Day with food, drinks, plenty of activities and, of course, a firework display. The event begins at 9:00 a.m. with a Firecracker 4K race, if you’re feeling ambitious. So bring your friends, neighbors and family to truly enjoy this wonderful holiday.

 

CRPR “Kids-on-Wheels” Parade

When: July 4, 10:00 a.m.

Admission: Free

This one is just for the kids! Bring them out so they can show their patriotism and be apart of this annual event. Don’t forget your bike wagon, scooter, stroller or skateboard and head out to the corner of Foster Avenue and Locust Lane. After the parade they can enjoy some fresh watermelon to celebrate the nation’s birthday.

 

Bellefonte Traditional July Parade

When: July 6, 5:00 p.m.

Admission: Free

Head out to Downtown Bellefonte to continue the Fourth of July celebration weekend. Take the kids out for a parade that they will surely enjoy and remember. The fire company may also set up a hamburger/hot dog/soda stand in the park.

 Central Pennsylvania Festival Of The Arts

When: July 11th – July 14th

Hours: Wednesday, July 10, Children & Youth Day   10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sidewalk Sale & Exhibition
Thursday, July 11 – Saturday, July 13    10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 14   Noon – 5 p.m.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts brings over 125,000 people to downtown State College and the University Park campus of Penn State to celebrate the arts with its nationally recognized Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, gallery exhibition, sand sculpture and music, dance and theatrical performances in a variety of traditional and non-traditional venues.

The 21st Annual People’s Choice Festival

When: July 11th – July 14th

The People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts is a homegrown festival celebrating the work of Pennsylvania artists. The First Festival, held in 1993, was organized to run at the same time as the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and to showcase the creativity and workmanship of artisans living in Pennsylvania. The first festival featured 50 artists, a few food booths, and limited all volunteer groups.

11th Annual Penn State Football Uplifting Athletes “Lift For Life”

When: July 12, 5:00 p.m.

Admission: Free, donations welcome

Join the Penn State athletes as they “Life For Life” at this annual event. It will take place at the outdoor Penn State Lacrosse field next to the Ashenfelter Multi-sport Facility and everyone is welcome to attend.

 

Bricktown Challenge

When: July 13, 9:00 a.m.

Admission: Free to attend, $5-$30 for participants

This family oriented canoe and kayak race was made to publicize the efforts to build a 14 mile rail/trail that connects Beech Creek Borough, Bald Eagle State Park, Howard Borough and the PHMC site at Curtin Village. So bring the family out to Bald Eagle State Park to enjoy a day of fun competition.

 

For further information about things you can do this month, visit here.

 

5 Landscaping Tips for Homeowners

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The first thing potential buyers see when they’re searching for their dream home is the front yard. Even if the inside of your home is beautiful, the buyer could be turned off by the amount of landscaping work they will have to put in right when they move in. Here are five landscaping tips for you to give your home the best curb appeal.

Clean

This is one of the easiest ways to create curb appeal. Completely clear your yard of dead foliage and tree branches. If you have plants in large pots, scrub the pots clean until they shine. Remember, a little cleaning goes a long way and it has the potential to make a great first impression.

Mow and Water the Lawn

This should be one of the first item on your to-do list. Grass that is too long looks messy and unkept, and grass that is brown is not appealing to the eye. Do your best to water and mow your lawn regularly to get the best results. As long as there is a “For Sale” sign in your front lawn, there should be clean, trimmed grass.

Trim Trees and Bushes

Your home might have great landscaping already, it just needs to be cleaned up a bit. Keep the bushes and trees trimmed so they appear clean and well-kept, and don’t take away from the view of your house. You want the landscaping to complement, not be the focal point.

Plant Instant Color

Purchase flowers that you can plant in your front yard or that you can put in pots on the porch or sidewalk. Shoot for a splash of several colors that will complement your home. Adding small amounts of color will give your home the extra pop of curb appeal that it needs.

Touch Up the Mulch

This one small touch can turn your yard from dull to vibrant in just a matter of hours. The dark color of a fresh layer of mulch gives a great contrast against the bright flowers and green grass. It helps the pop of color from the flowers come to life.

Curb appeal can make or break a home. Completing easy landscaping projects can help you give the perfect first impression to a buyer by keeping the outside of your home just as beautiful as the inside.

For more tips on landscaping for your home, visit here.

How To Use Video To Sell Your Home

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Most sellers, buyers, and real estate agents know the value of including pictures of a home in a for sale listing, but a new trend is emerging that is making it easier to sell a home. Many real estate agents are now encouraging their clients to create short videos that show off the best features of their home, yard, neighborhood, and city to include in their marketing strategy. Such videos have been shown to help certain homes stand out to potential buyers and even help to generate more people that might be interested in your home. So, if you’re serious about selling, you should consider making a short film that highlights all of the great things about your home and area to include with your for sale listing.

Social media has been of great help to many home buyers and sellers, since information can spread so quickly through sites like Facebook, YouTube, Trulia, and more. It doesn’t take much effort for people to click ‘play’ on your video, so broadcasting your sale through social media is a great, low-effort way to get your home to sell quicker. In 2012 only about 3% of real estate agents were using videos to help sell their clients’ homes, and fewer than that used videos that included the seller talking about their home on camera. This is why video tours of homes and neighborhoods have been so successful-they’re rare!

Recently, many agents and other companies in the world of real estate have started to notice the benefits of using video to sell homes; for example, Zillow has partnered with StudioNow, a suite of services to help agents – many of whom lack video-editing skills – make these short productions.

What do these videos look like though? How are they made?

Here are a few tips…

Homeowner Interview – homeowner answering interview questions about what they love most about their home and neighborhood. This is a great way to bring your property to life and to inform potential buyers of all the wonderful things they’re getting when they purchase your home.

Length – Once the video has been filmed and edited (they should only be 2 or 3 minutes long)

Where to post – Everywhere! First, upload it to YouTube then ask your agent to upload it to popular social media sites like Facebook, or include a link on Twitter, and to sites like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, RealBird, and other search sites. You also want to ‘tag’ your video appropriately so that it generates a lot of traffic. You can experiment with different tags on different sites to see what generates the most traffic, but this step is usually one that is easier when working with an experienced real estate agent or knowledgeable third party.

Keep it simple – Remember to keep it simple-no special effects or loud music.

Watch for motion sickness – If you plan on walking through your home with a camera, make sure to be aware that some will not be able to watch the entire video. The camera will shake and the video can be blurry. Try standing still while taking the video and mixing still pictures in between the videos to break up the movement.

Finally, brag! You’re trying to sell your home, so really sell it; talk about the great neighbors, the summer festivals, the conveniences of having a walk-in closet-anything you can think of!

To read more on using video to sell your home, check out the original article from MSN.

How To Buy A Home in State College, PA

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The process of buying a home can be daunting and confusing, regardless of whether you’re a first time homebuyer or an experienced homebuyer. Here are the steps you need to take to buy a home in State College, PA…

 

1. Find a Lender

First you need to see if you qualify for a home loan and, if you do, how much money you qualify for. You should look at your finances and determine how much you think you can afford, and then meet with a loan officer who will tell you what loan amount you qualify for.

 

2. Find a Real Estate Agent

Next you should find a real estate agent who is familiar with the housing market in Worthington, and who is experienced in buying the types of homes you’re looking at. Additionally, a real estate agent can help you with writing up an offer once you find a home, negotiating with the seller, and with any questions you have about the homebuying process.

 

3. Make 3 Lists

To help narrow down your search and to give your real estate agent direction on what houses to send you, make 3 lists.

 

List 1: Things you HAVE to have and can not live without

List 2: Things you would like to have but are not a deal breaker

List 3: Things you DO NOT want and will not buy a home if it has this

 

Keep in mind your lists might change, just remember to communicate that with your agent so they can continue to pull the right homes for you to see.

 

4. Search For Homes Online

Now you can begin the search for your home. You can do some research on your own by checking popular real estate listing sites, such as Zillow or Trulia, and you can also drive around neighborhoods in Worthington and look for “for sale” signs. If you want or need some help in searching for a home, you can ask your agent to suggest homes for you.

 

TIP: Most real estate websites have a lot of homes for you to search through. You need to know that not all of the information is accurate. Make sure that you talk to your real estate agent if you see a home online.

 

5. Do some research

The best thing you can do is to educate yourself. Yes, the professionals you hire will help you along the way but to be fully prepared do your research. Start by answering these questions…

– How much can I afford?

– How much am I willing to pay?

– How much does it cost to buy a home? (down payment, inspections, closing costs, etc)

– How long does it take to close on a home?

– What is a “request to remedy”?

– Is it a buyers market or sellers market?

– Are there still “steals” out there?

– Am I willing to do a lot of repairs? If so is a 203k loan right for me?

 

The list goes on. Just make sure you are financially and mentally prepared for the process!