Under Contract ! 206 Lake Road, Lake Ariel PA

Looking for a project or a fixer upper? This 4 bdrm home on over 1/2 an acre offers lots of potential once you show her some love. Oversized one car attached garage, paved circular driveway, huge basement that needs to be refurbished, 2 exterior storage areas, and a great lawn. Nice neighborhood close to I-84 and shopping. $144,500. Ask Bobbie Smith for more information.

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Bobbie Smith, CRS
Mount Pocono Office
26 C Pocono Blvd
Mount Pocono, PA 18344
570-972-0129

East of PA 534, Kresgeville PA

Tucked Away alongside trout stream in the Poconos. Ideal for hunters, fisherman. Great getaway! Being sold ”as is”. Possible owner financing. $45,900. Ask Jeff Peterson for more information.

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SOLD! 4 Cold Spring Drive, Jim Thorpe PA

Price Reduced!
**LUSH & LOVELY** Large lovely home and yard. Truly enjoy owning over an acre of property with loads of outdoor fun and relaxation spots or stay inside your huge sunroom and watch the family enjoy the great outdoor spaces. 4 Bedrooms, 2.5 baths, large family room, large kitchen cathedral ceiling, 2 decks and oh! so much more. Low dues community too! $199,904. Ask Bobbie Smith for more information.

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Bobbie Smith, CRS
Mount Pocono Office
26 C Pocono Blvd
Mount Pocono, PA 18344
570-972-0129

Summer Vacation Travel Tips

Traveling away from home is a summertime dream. Don’t let your vacation turn into a nightmare. The following are some tried and true — unique and new ideas for easier summertime travel (alone or with kids) for you to consider.

For limiting stress before and while on vacation
Pack a little at a time during the entire week before the trip so you remember everything, you are not up late packing and you are not frustrated and rushed right before leaving. Pack light layers and fast drying items. Pack everyone’s clothing by outfit (full outfit) and by days in individual plastic bags using plastic bags to store dirty clothes at the end of each day.

Schedule adequate and regular sleep during vacations and plan reasonable itineraries. Doing too much in one day ends up causing more stress than it relieves.

For plane trips
Ask the airlines for bulk head seating. There’s more leg room and space for squirming children.

With babies and toddlers, arrive early and use a carriage or stroller until the last second when you step onto the plane.

Bring a backpack for each child with snacks, books, electronic games and art supplies.

For road trips
Drive opposite heavy traffic – very early in the morning or very late at night
Pack several “emergency” kits –
for first aid – bandages, anti-bacterial ointment, family prescriptions, OTC medicines from home, wet wipes and hand sanitizer.
for car first aid – jumper cables, flashlight, flares, reflectors,
for snacking – nuts, juice boxes, light sandwiches, fruit, yogurt

For better gas mileage, get a tune up, check tires and fluids before you leave, plan routes that keep you driving at a constant speed, avoid roads with lots of stops, don’t over pack your car and try not to hitch luggage to car top

Take regular breaks while driving and if you feel sleepy, pull over and rest.

Keep a snack-filled cooler (and trash bags) nearby so you don’t have to stop to reach it.

Bring a supply of travel toys and games (no small parts or messy items) in a shoe box for each child.

Play or sing traditional car games or songs. “I Spy”  the “License Plate Game,” “99 bottles of beer (or soda or milk, etc.) on the Wall”

Bring books on tape, kid’s music to sing along, or portable DVD players if you don’t have a built in DVD.

Include frequent stops at historic or fun sites along the way.

Keep your sense of humor and don’t be in a hurry, you are on vacation

For extra savings
If renting a car, rent the exact size you will need, nothing bigger. Bigger cars use more gas and have higher rental prices.

Bring your own food. Pack picnic lunches in coolers for car traveling. While at hotels, picnic breakfasts of cereal or cereal bars, grocery store lunches of buying just what you need for that meal and just what you would if you were home and pizza or take out chicken in the park at dinnertime are excellent ways to save on expensive restaurant meals. Plus, letting kids run around during an outdoor family picnic is much more fun than sitting at a restaurant dinner table.  (Have a picnic kit on hand. Include items like: paper plates, plastic utensils, can opener, blanket, napkins, utility knife, wipes)

If a long vacation is not in your budget this year, check out some ideas for a day of fun in the Poconos in our recent blog post — Stuff to do in and around the Poconos.

H206 Sleepy Hollow Drive, Tobyhanna PA

Price Reduced $59,975! *COUNTRY COMFY CHALET* A lovely master suite with 3 more bedrooms. Year round vacationing fun for all. You’ll love this dual floor to ceiling fireplace especially once winter comes back. Lots of deck space for outdoor summer enjoyment too. Needs some updating but is a solid home. This community offers lots to do also. Lakes, pools, playgrounds, tennis and much more. Love it today! Ask for Bobbie Smith.

View the Virtual Tour: <

Bobbie Smith, CRS
Mount Pocono Office
26 C Pocono Blvd
Mount Pocono, PA 18344
570-972-0129

1140 Cherry Drive, Tobyhanna PA

**FITS THE BUDGET** This charming chalet is sure to please your budget and your taste buds. Plenty of room, lovely lot and the owner says ‘’she loves her neighborhood.” Cathedral ceilings, double french doors, skylights and lots more to love. Pocono Farms offers plenty of fun things to do too, lake, olympic size pool, golf course, tennis and more.

Come and fall in love today!

Ask Bobbie Smith about MLS# 09-6722
View additional photos and the Virtual Tour:

Bobbie Smith, CRS
Mount Pocono Office
26 C Pocono Blvd
Mount Pocono, PA 18344
570-972-0129

AREA AGENT RECOGNIZED FOR INTERNET MARKETING EXCELLENCE

Mt. Pocono, Pa., — (July 17, 2009)

Area REALTOR®, Kris Collis, an agent with Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way in Mt. Pocono, has received the “Real Estate Online Marketing Award of Excellence” from REALTOR.com recognizing the top agents who consistently provide great marketing services on behalf of their buyers and sellers.

“Kris is one of those agents who is at the forefront of every single available technology for her customers,” said Commonwealth Real Estate Broker, Vickie Brockelman. “She is tech savvy combined with being a great communicator and she uses both of these skills to integrate traditional real estate practices and emerging technologies.

“There are always some real estate agents who distinguish themselves from other agents by doing a little more for their sellers. Even simple efforts like having more photos displayed, crafting better descriptions or adding a full motion video, can make a home stand out from competing properties,” says Max Pigman, Vice President of REALTOR.com®.

Collis received the award at a recent real estate marketing and technology seminar that demonstrated cutting edge techniques for leveraging the Internet and technology in real estate marketing.

Collis is an award-winning agent. She holds the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) designation from the National Association of REALTORS®. Prior to joining Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way, she was an agent with Coldwell Banker Phyllis Rubin Real Estate. Prior to her work in real estate, Kris developed and implemented financial services training programs for branch offices of Merrill Lynch Trust Company nationally. In addition, she designed online delivery and management assessment programs for Merrill Lynch International Training.

For more information, visit Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way, LLC, at www.creYourWay.com. Call Collis at 570-972-0128. Read her bio at http://www.creyourway.com/about/kris-collis-abr or join her LinkedIn connections at http://www.linkedin.com/in/kriscollis.

G39 Robinwood Drive, Tobyhanna PA

**STUNNING CORNER LOT** A great location for your new home. Central water & sewer, lakes, pools, tennis courts, playgrounds, 24 hour gated security, organized fun-time events, road maintenance, garage service and more. Love it today! $5,400.

Ask Bobbie Smith about MLS# 09-6665

Bobbie Smith, CRS
Mount Pocono Office
26 C Pocono Blvd
Mount Pocono, PA 18344
570-972-0129

Pocono Real Estate Company Hosts Group on Popular Social Networking Site

Mt. Pocono, Pa., — (July 14, 2009) – Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way, LLC, broker, Vickie Brockelman, has started a new group on the popular business social networking site, LinkedIn called the Pocono Mountains Real Estate CONNECTION.

The group’s main focus is as a networking, education, referral and property listing group. It is open to real estate agents and anyone in the real estate industry including builders, commercial owners, lenders, stagers, appraisers, title companies as well as property buyers and sellers.

“Anyone already on LinkedIn can easily become a member of this group by searching for the group and then asking to join,” said Brockelman. “But, what I hope to see even more is those individuals who are not part of the LinkedIn community already, to get a profile and start becoming part of the social media discussion. Everything is happening online right now and we want to make sure that anyone involved in any part of real estate has a place to go to for information, education, networking, promotion of properties and referrals.”

For more information, visit http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2051475 or go to LinkedIn site and search for Pocono Mountain Real Estate CONNECTION.

CRE finds success with social networking and blogging

The numbers don’t lie. Real estate customers are on the internet and Commonwealth Real Estate You Way is making sure that those interested in Pocono Real Estate get a chance to find available properties by using social media and blogging to the fullest potential.

For sellers, Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way listings are averaging a mere 39 days on the market before closing. According to the broker, the CRE web site, blog entries as well as the agency’s YouTube channel and social media efforts are primary reasons for that.

Our agents are out front in terms of social media. They work together to drive a heavy social media marketing agenda. They Tweet on Twitter about listings, great homes, second homes, foreclosed properties and they have also built an enormous following on LinkedIn and Active Rain to ensure they are giving their customers what they need to satisfy their real estate goals.

Here are some interesting facts:

• The majority of our buyer leads are coming from our online efforts.

• Since going live, we average about 200 new visitors to the CRE web site daily and attribute that to our social media methods.

• Customers can count on us to help them meet their Pocono real estate goals and we will continue to gauge our social media presence for their success.

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