Last week I was reminiscing about my old home when I was driving to Charlotte airport at 5 AM. How are my new homeowners doing? Has my next door neighbor finally sold his house? Have the Quigleys moved yet?

I have had the occasion to visit on business a dozen times in the last 6 months but hadn’t kept up with my neighbors.

The only flight I could get to Allentown was via O’Hare for a reasonable price. I landed there in of the busiest airports in the world and proceeded to my connecting flight at gate E3. I sat down in the small gate area in one of the few open seats I could find.

I looked around (as one does if you’re a people watcher like me) and next to me sits Mark Quigley!!

Mark proceeded to tell me all the neighborhood gossip that I had wondered about hours earlier! What are you doing here, I asked. He told me he had been working in Des Moines, Iowa for the last 6 months and this was only his second trip home.

The most bizarre of these rare coincidences seem to happen while traveling. The diving community and my travels remind me of 2….

1) We met 3 wild and crazy guys from New Jersey on a trip in Belize in 1990. Years later we were on 1 of 2 US-run liveaboard dive boats in Palau. Both were anchored in the harbor and the crews were friendly with each other. Our captain told us about these 3 guys on their boat and how wild they were! Guess who?

2) On the same trip to Belize we met anojther couple from California. Two years later I was in a Qantas lounge in Fiji and ran into the same couple!

In my dreams, sometimes you can will things to happen! Sometimes it happens in real life!

Dream or coincidence?

I started attending networking events from the Tech After Five Group in September, led by a guy I’d met on social media a year earlier. It’s a great concept.

During January when Lisa was talking about returning to work, I suggested she come along. It’s a wonderful event held in Greenville at the Carolina Ale House and usually attracts 200 people.

They collect information when you RSVP using Eventbrite so you know attendees, their firms, and their reason for coming. Having become a networking savant a few years back and I scoured the list on Lisa’s behalf.

I found at least 3 financial types, who were attending to look for potential customers. Little did they know that they would be accosted by rabid job seekers.

We got there around 545 and it was already packed. We found Phil Yanov, the creator and organizer, holding court in the far right corner as usual. We took a number and waited in line. When Phil called our number, I re-introduced Lisa and told him I had a list of names I wanted to run through his memory banks.

I got a hit on the first one, David Kelley, who ran Kelley Retirement Services. Phil said, “big guy, red shirt, far left corner of the bar.” Lisa and I walked over and saw a guy that was unmistakably David Kelley. I laid back and struck up a conversation with a name I recognized on the other side the bar to allow Lisa her privacy with David.

No more than 5 minutes later I looked over my should and saw the following vizio diagram.

David had obviously found that he couldn’t help Lisa directly and was now practicing “degrees of separation”. The two well dressed suits were from Hilliard Lyons and IMG.

Lisa interviewed the next day, was made a verbal offer the following day and ended up meeting with another firm, Raymond James, before accepting the original offer. Raymond James was aware of the other firms offer and was able to offer her something even more in line with her wants and experience.

Another classic networking story. Its why I love social media!

It started in January with a third house hunting trip to Greenville and ends as I sit in my recliner in Greer reminiscing about all the change 2011 has brought.

our new home

We purchased our new home on January 27th, thanks to Lisa DeLuca Alexander of Delco Realty, our local buyers agent here. It was a contingent purchase as we had to sell our home of 17 years in Doylestown, PA.

We flew home and had the house on the market within a week, though we hadn’t planned to list that early. The first week we had a horrendous ice storm and had some fairly major tree damage, but we persevered and had Keystone Tree Experts there within in a day (thanks Bob M)!

We had the house under agreement before Memorial Day but lost the buyer due to unreasonable demands after the home inspection. We had a second buyer under contract within 2 days after losing the first and this one stuck.

We had some wrangling with our seller here on the settlement date but finally settled on August 10 in PA and Aug 11 here. We used a mover and an auto transport company, with Lisa driving the 4 cats and me the wine collection.

Moody’s Movers

the wine transport vehicle

arrival of the bug a week after we moved in

We are loving the Greenville area, especially the mild winter thus far. Friendships are developing slower than anticipated but after a lifetime in the same place, we need to be patient.

Lisa had her knee replaced in late October at beautiful Patewood Hospital and is recovering nicely!

Now our last order of business is selling the lot we originally intended on building on at Cherokee Valley. We just relisted with Tammy Cooke of Allen Tate, who has been a resident there for many years. We’ve discounted the price to a point where we hope it will sell. View of Glassy Mountain is shown below.

So my only New Years Resolution I made was to try to satisfy the urge to write by updating this more often! Happy New Year all!

Getting acclimated has been slow; half of our furniture we ordered in August still hasn’t arrived (see slide show below if you arent using IE)

The time I have spent in SC has been awesome. The people are unbelievably friendly and willing to help. My job has taken me back up North almost weekly; therefore getting acclimated and making new friends has been much slower than hoped

We hadn’t heard much from our new owners at 215 Southwind, but knew that they were going to make changes (read drastic).

Here are some before and after photos.

Whether you like the changes or not, its always difficult to see your home transformed for better or for worse!

I hope to have my camera out and about and continue the chronicle of our new life in South Carolina.

Why: Smaller home with different layout and style forces sale

When: 9 AM to noon

Where: 215 Southwind Dr, Doylestown, PA (Doylestown Ridge)

Cash and carry. Everything priced to move.

Directions are here

Update July 4

Well everything you read below was accurate until the inspection results came in. Three pages of stuff including adjust kitchen drawers, replace (unnamed) closet light fixtures, brlng deck to code (it passed inspection when built), waterproof a dry basement, replace or re-install propane tank, etc., etc., etc.

In this market I am convinced that the inspection just begins the second round of price negotiations as buyers are scarce. Realtors and the inspectors they use are at the bottom of the food chain. SO, engage plan B.

1. Solicit offer from other interested buyer who couldnt counter as they didnt have their relo buyout number.
2. receive offer from a same $5k higher than previous
3. tell first buyers no to inspection demands
4. first buyers terminate contract
5. sign new agreement with new buyers
6. begin inspection cycle all over (during vacation)
7. receive reports that are almost clean
8. receive request from new buyers to reduce sale price for $10k for no reason that they could produce documentation for
9. cave in from fatigue

So though we still await the appraisal and loan approval I sit here on July 4 and breathe a sigh of relief.

We now are scheduled to settle August 10 and 11 repsectively.

________________________________________________________________

June 4

We had been on the market 15 weeks for 215 Southwind, had dozens of showing and lots of interest. We had a contract on the house below, contingent on the sale of 215 Southwind.

Up until last the day before Memorial Day , no offers. Two couples each saw it twice in one day..this was going to be fun, I said. The first couple came in with an offer 12% below asking price.. still hard to get excited. The second couple couldn’t reach that high. A buyer’s market, it is.

Then the gap closes as we each give $10,000 at a time toward middle ground. Finally, we reach an impasse $10,000 apart. I go back and renegotiate with homeowner in SC, where I already have a contingent contract. My realtor, the awesome Lisa DeLuca Alexander, makes up the 10k through homeowner concessions and sacrificing some of her commission.

A true professional!

So now we must get through inspections, but have our settlements scheduled July 7 in Doylestown and July 8 in Greer. Final logistics underway for cat and wine transport.

I had a chance to re-visit the new home and take some measurements and get estimates for structured wiring and 500 bottle wine cellar Thursday from Robert Bass at Kessick Cellars. If you’re connected to me on Facebook, you can see photos here.

I have bittersweet feelings. Excited to begin a new chapter in a beautiful home in a great part of the country. Sad to leave friends behind. Fortunately, my job will bring me back on a regular basis. My great friend, Mike Rubillo, is having a send-off, on July 5. All are welcome!

Enjoy your weekend!

no, this is a great cause that you’ve all heard about!!

Multiple Sclerosis.

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with MS. That’s why I am turning this years ride to ride 200 miles across North and South Carolina (my new home), and why I’m asking you to support my fund raising efforts with a tax-deductible donation.

Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=9625975&pg=personal&fr_id=16424&s_tafId=213393

Click here to view the team page for Cycle-icious
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?team_id=254172&pg=team&fr_id=16424&s_tafId=213393

Follow along this summer and during the ride for live blogging at my site located here

Frankenfield Covered Bridge

This covered bridge was built to allow people, horses and wagons a dry passage across the Tinicum Creek, an area once known for an abundant turtle population, on a common travel route of the day. In the winter time workers would “snow” the bridges for the benefit of uninterrupted sleigh rides.  Historically covered bridges have been called “kissing” or “Wishing” because young couple used the shaded passages to steal a kiss or make a wish before entering a new bridge for the first time.  The bridge was made with a roof to protect the wood and timbers from rotting.  People were not to drive or ride over the bridges faster than a walk (about 3 to 4 miles per hour) and smoking was prohibited.  Ithel Town, an engineer and architect from new Haven, CT, Patented the lattice like design in 1820.  Timbers were held in place by wooden pegs know as “tree nails,” allowing the bridge to be built by less skilled workers.

According to a 1982 publication on covered bridges, the county had recently restored it.  It is in excellent condition with vertical plank siding, gable roof, inside walls in the portal area and cut stone abutments.  In 1984 it was one of thirteen remaining covered bridges in Bucks County of the 26 that had been built. Haupt’s Covered Bridge (Which bears the name of some of Simon Frankenfield’s descendants) was burned in January 1985 to bring the number of covered bridges in the county to 12.  In October 1991 arson destroyed the Scholfield Bridge in Tyler State Park.  hence Bucks county had only 11 covered bridges left in 2000.

Thanks to friend and fellow photographer, Mike Rubillo, for braving the cold to go take pictures! Additional thanks to John C. Frankenfield for the history. 

I was staying right across the street at a friend’s Casita in Delray Beach.  I shot some photos (ableit without getting a fine) to give you a feel for the community.

In October 2005, developer Jean Francois Roy, of Ocean Land Investments, made an offer to buy the entire town for $500 million. This would equate to an average of slightly more than $1 million per residential lot. In December 2005, it was announced that 73 percent of the 488 lot owners had voted to hire a lawyer to pursue the sale. Later, Roy raised his offer to $510 million.

Had the sale gone through, it would have meant a huge windfall for each lot owner. Many people paid between $30,000 and $40,000 when they purchased their homes. In comparison, the 2000 census reported $129,000 was the median value of a home in Briny.

A vote to ratify the deal was set for January 10, 2007 and 80 percent of residents approved of the sale, with 97 percent of owners voting. The residents would not receive any compensation until 2009 and the plan was yet to be approved by state and local officials, due to zoning concerns.

However, on July 30, 2007, when the “earnest money” was due to the town, the deal was cancelled by the land developer over a dispute with the town board of directors over how long a period was to be allowed for due diligence.

As a result most of the landowners (median household income $34,583) lost the chance to become millionaires. That said walking around and talking to residents today they all seemed to be very content with a beautiful setting and great sense of community.

Thanks to Wikipedia for verification of the story’s details!

Family

Thanks to my immediate and extended family for making my life complete. Thanksgiving is a time for family and sharing all that we have with each other.

In my case, my family includes my 4 children who all happen to have fur.

Friends

Virtual and physical, online and offline, I am thankful for all the friends that I have made recently or over the many years, I have rekindled some friendships from high school as a result of social media.

Making friends and networking is one of the beauties of social media. As I move south, I have made good friends through a “self-selection” process online that matches interests, styles and personalities and then chosen to meet those people face to face. Much more efficient (and fun). Thank you all for enriching my life!

Fitness

So I forced this one to be “an F”. Fitness is important. Maintaining good health and quality of life is paramount.

As I lay yesterday in an MRI tube for a silly wrist injury and thought, “this is horrible”, I caught myself. I said to myself that this is just a small artifact of aging and that at my age I am still able to do the things I love athletically and physically. I remembered riding across the state of PA last year and thinking of the kids I was doing it for. The Make A Wish foundation helps kids who do not have the good fortune to have the good health that I do. Thank you for my good health and allowing me to help others that don’t!

Fun

And even without the other 3 “Fs” aligning perfectly, I am grateful when I remember that life is richer and fuller when you think about smiling and having fun! It makes each day that much more fulfilling!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!