Long Island Relocation>> Long Island Real Estate

Earlier in the week, I put out a post entitled Bits & Pieces (An Inspired By Song! Series), announcing this 4-part series.  Each installment was inspired by Billy Joel's, "Say Goodbye To Hollywood," and will be titled as such.  This is part 1 of the series.....So Many Faces In And Out Of My Life.

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid in school?  Did you find comfort in seeing the same people over and over again?  Did you ever think about the fact that most of the people that were there for your formative years would not be there for your adult years?  This might be a sobering thought, but it's also true for most of us.  The fact of the matter is that most of the faces that we saw everyday growing up are likely no more than a fading memory for us as adults.

By the time that high school ended, many people went off to college, while others went right into the work force or the military.  In either case, this was the first real experience with people coming in and out of our lives on a regular basis.  After all, even if we didn't have classes with everyone in high school, there just seemed to be a connection to everyone, at least that is the way that it was for me. 

In a graduating class of over 350 students, it certainly wasn't possible to be friends with every one in the class.  There's not enough time to get to know that many people on a friendship level, and yet, there wasn't a face in my high school yearbook that I couldn't put a name to at the time of graduation. 

This would all change on graduation day.  Once we retrieved the graduation caps that we all threw in the air, and drove off with our families to celebrate this milestone event, our lives would be changed forever. 

The sad part is that most of us focused so much on the end of an era and the excitement of a new beginning, that we really never stopped to think about the fact that we had just seen many people for possibly the last time in our lives.  Maybe if we had this insight, we would have done something differently.  Maybe not.  Maybe the reality of that the whole concept is too much for the 17 or 18 year-old mind to comprehend.

I still remember what it was like at the end of my high school days.  Most of us had a good case of "senioritis."  As the year wound down, and we had all long since decided upon what we would do after high school, there wasn't a great deal of incentive to put our collective noses to the grindstone to squeeze out the best possible grades that we could.

For those of us that were going to college, our fate had already been sealed.  As long as you didn't fail any classes that would prevent you from graduating, the college was not going to rescind its acceptance.  Human nature has us programmed to work hard to achieve certain results.  If the results were going to be the same regardless of the effort that was being put in, what incentive was there to do more than the minimum?

Now, this attitude likely changed for most people as we entered into adulthood, but remember, we are talking about teenagers that were mostly concerned with their social lives and their future by this point.  Sure, there were those that just had it inside them to keep their nose to the grindstone, but the majority of us saw this as an opportunity to enjoy ourselves before the next step in the journey that we call life...and enjoy we did!

It was understandable that people tended to take a break of sorts, if given the opportunity.  It would only be a matter of months before each of us would have to work harder than we ever worked before.  If the chosen path was college, then the workload was going to be far greater than high school ever was.  If the chosen path was to join the military, it goes without saying that life would be harder than it ever was.  If the chosen path was the work force, the path would also be harder, as this was no longer the part-time job to be used to earn money for gas and socializing.  This was the real thing.  We didn't know it at the time, but what we were collectively experiencing was the end of youthful innocence. 

I can still remember the last day of high school as if it were yesterday.  It was one of those moments in life that are often referred to as "tent pole moments" (moments that you'll never forget). The night before the last day of high school, a group of us got together to make up shirts with our nicknames on it, and a group name that we never went by, but someone thought that it would be cool to name the group. 

Each person used a plain white t-shirt and colored markers to create a sort of uniform that we all wore on the last day of school.  It sounds kind of corny in retrospect, but at the time, it was a lot of fun.  Each shirt was personalized to make it our own, but there was a sense of unity at the same time.

We made a bigger statement beyond the shirts.  My friend had a car that he was about to get rid of anyway, so we painted our newly formed logo on the car along with other graffiti.  Like clowns in the circus, we piled into the "Toasted Nutz Mobile" (the group name that we coined for the final day of school).  It was only a couple of blocks to the school, but it was still not a comfortable ride.

Looking back on that day still makes me nostalgic.  It truly was one of the greatest days of my life.  It was a day of pure, unadulterated fun.  I can still remember hanging out in the parking lot all day, with the music blasting from the open hatchbacks of cars.  It was a party that started before eight in the morning, and didn't end until four o'clock in the afternoon. 

It took 13 years of schooling to complete the first step of life's journey, and it was all coming to a screaching halt.  We would see each other one more time as a class during graduation, but for all intents and purposes, the last day of school was the last day that we all spent together before going our separate ways.  I wish that I had the foresight to realize just how monumental an occasion that this was.  Maybe I would have had a greater appreciation for what the day represented as it was happening.

As the day came to an end, I got into my red, 1977 Chevy Camaro and drove out of the school parking lot for the last time.  The cassette was all cued up and ready for the final drive home.  Anyone within earshot could hear Alice Cooper's "School's Out" blasting out of the open windows of my car....

School's out for the summer....

School's out forever....

This completes part 1 of this four part series - "So many faces in and out of my life." 

"Some Will Last, Some Will Just Be Now And Then" is up next.

For those of you that are not aware, I recently started a group on Active Rain called Inspired By Song! This group was co-founded with Paul Slaybaugh and Jason Crouch. The focus of the group is to write posts based on songs or music that inspires you. There are some songs that don't have a title that would make sense as a post title, but there are parts of the song (hence the title bits and pieces) that are inspirational. This inspiration usually comes from more than one part of the song, so these will be a sort of mini-series of posts.

The first "Bits & Pieces" song that I've chosen is one that I've had on my mind for a while now. In fact, it was one of the reasons that I wanted to start the group in the first place. Rather than overwhelm people with a post like this at the group's inception, I decided to wait a few weeks to let everyone get used to the group dynamic first. This timing seemed perfect, as we are finished with the November contest, and getting ready for the December contest.

Another reason that I hesitated in putting this out was because I was trying to figure out the best way to do a four-part series and keep people coming back for more. They say that timing is everything, and I think that I may have lucked into some good timing by waiting until now to do this post.

Many of us have been following Jessica Horton's blog drama entitled "What RE/MAX Means To Me" as if it were a continuing television series. This series ended today, and the response was incredible. Jessica left us wanting more with each post because of the continuing storyline. The series ended a bit abruptly, but there will be an open letter tomorrow explaining why that happened. The followers of this series are all on the edge of their seats, which is how we've felt as this story unfolded.

Jessica proved that people will come back to read each part of a series as long as the story is a compelling continuation that leaves the reader wanting more. Coincidentally, Sarah Cooper just put out a post entitled "Why Doing a Series Can Be Good For Your Blog" which touts the merits of doing a series of related posts. So the timing really seems to be right for this series to launch.

This four-part series is inspired by the song "Say Goodbye To Hollywood" by Billy Joel. There are some truly inspirational lyrics in this song, but the title would not make any sense as a post title, at least not for the message that I'm trying to convey. The titles to this four-part series will each be a line from this song. These four lines have always stuck out in my mind because so many people used various combinations of them as their quotes in my high school yearbook. Over twenty years later, I still remember some of the people that used these lines, so I know that they have staying power and meaning.

Please look for the following series this week. The titles will be as follows:

1. So Many Faces In And Out Of My Life
2. Some Will Last, Some Will Just Be Now And Then
3. Life Is A Series Of Hellos And Goodbyes
4. I'm Afraid It's Time For Goodbye Again

In the meantime, please enjoy the song...

Affordability and Long Island are two words that are rarely used in the same sentence anymore.  Taxes have been increasing by a large percentage each year, and home prices are still very high compared to other parts of the country.  At the current pace, we could be facing a crisis in our local workforce in the not-too-distant future.  So what are the solutions?

First and foremost, the tax situation needs to be remedied in short order.  In September, I wrote a post about Long Island Tax Relief, which discussed how Senator Dean Skelos is working on a plan to alleviate the tax burden that Long Islanders are facing. 

New York State Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, revealed in his recent report that school property taxes are nearly tripling the inflation rate, showing an increase of 7.6% and 8.1% annually between 2002 and 2005.  This is in spite of an increase to the amount of money being funneled into the STAR (School Tax Relief) Program. 

In Suffolk County, the school property taxes account for 75-85% of residents' annual tax bills.  On Long Island, we are paying higher taxes than virtually every place else in the state because our schools rely more heavily on local property taxes than state aid.  We are receiving a disproportionate amount of state aid because of a formula that has unfairly deemed our wealth ratio higher than other locations.  This is because the ratio is determined by income level and property values, and therein lies the problem.

Because property values have increased rapidly, homeowners are now sitting on equity which is skewing the wealth ratio.  This equity, however, is not a liquid asset.  To tap into the equity, a homeowner would either have to refinance their current mortgage, or take out a home equity line of credit or second mortgage.  Seniors that have been in their homes for a number of years could be forced into selling their homes or taking out a reverse mortgage.

If there is one thing that we learned during the seismic shift that has taken place in the mortgage industry this year, it is that people should act responsibly when it comes to tapping into the equity in their homes.  But if taxes keep rising at a rate that is much faster than salary increases, homeowners will only be left with the choice to sell or to use their equity to pay their property taxes.  Neither choice is ideal for a homeowner that wants to remain on Long Island.

Out of the 31 school districts in the state of New York that relied on property taxes to generate more than 90% of their revenues, 25 of them were located on Long Island.  The majority of this money is allocated to teachers' salaries. 

We are fortunate on Long Island to have desirable schools, and teachers deserve to be paid a wage commensurate with their experience based on their contracts.  However, there is a rule called the Triboro Amendment that allows teachers to receive step increases even when there is no new contract in place.  This burden falls squarely upon the homeowners, while teachers get the best of both worlds.  Teachers receive their salary and the increases from their previous contract while they are still negotiating their next contract, thus putting all of the leverage during contract negotiations on their side.  After all, what incentive do teachers have to give in on any issue when they are at least guaranteed to do no worse than they were doing before the negotiations started?  It doesn't make sense.

New York State Assemblyman, Fred Thiele, is proposing a cap on school property taxes at a rate of 4% or the rate of inflation (whichever number is lower).  He is also looking to consolidate some of the functions of school districts, and even combining some smaller districts.

Suffolk County Executive, Steve Levy, is working with school district superintendents, and the state comptroller's office, to try and get things like health insurance and purchasing power pooled county-wide, so that things run more efficiently.  This will help to keep taxpayer costs under control.

According to Fred Thiele, the plan that he is proposing has proven to be effective in Massachusetts already.  When they instituted a cap of 2.5% in 1983, they went from first in the nation in taxes to thirty second, while the quality of education was never sacrificed. 

As a relocation specialist, I can tell you with authority that many people are choosing to leave Long Island because of the property tax situation.  Many of these people are choosing to buy their first home out of the area.  If this continues, there will be less demand for teachers, because Long Island will no longer have enough young people having children to send to our schools.

In addition to the tax reforms that are being worked on, there are also plans in the works for more affordable housing.  This will be addressed in part 2 of this post later in the week.  Please check back for part 2.

Long Island is a place that features some of the highest home prices and highest property taxes in the country.  You might think that the people that live here are well-off, or at the very least, able to make ends meet.  However, this is not the case.  There is far more poverty here than most people would imagine.

Island Harvest is a local charity that distributes seven million pounds of food through the cooperation of hundreds of community-based groups.  In a recent post, I wrote about the Turkey & Trimmings Collection Campaign that Island Harvest was sponsoring.  Last year, this program was responsible for the distribution of 9,000 donated turkeys.  This year, Island Harvest has set their goal at 22,000 turkeys to be donated, which is an ambitious goal that can only be achieved with a great deal of support. 

There are two major objectives of the Turkey & Trimmings Collection Campaign.  The first is to have a successful collection so that there will be enough food to go around during this holiday season.  The second is to raise awareness about this program so that people will continue to donate during the rest of the year as well.

Island Harvest expects there to be an increase in demand due to the rising cost of home heating, gas prices, and health insurance.  Even those that receive health insurance from their employer are not immune to the need for assistance as money gets tight.  In fact, most of the people that access food from Island Harvest are working class people.  Only 4% of the people that use Island Harvest for food are homeless. 

Here is an astounding fact that shows just how difficult it is to make ends meet on Long Island.  To pay the average rent, a Long Islander making minimum wage would have to work 168 hours per week, the exact amount of hours that there are in a week!  Is it any wonder that Island Harvest collects and distributes approximately $15 million worth of food each year?

This wouldn't be possible without the support of local businesses.  One business, in particular is really stepping up to help.  Waldbaum's supermarket chain will donate a turkey to go along with any customer's donation of the trimmings. 

Individuals can also easily make a donation by sponsoring a light bulb to be hung on the Christmas tree in RexCorp Plaza in Uniondale.  The cost is only $1, and each dollar will be going directly to Island Harvest.  There are 50,000 bulbs on the tree.

If you are interested in donating or volunteering, you can call 516-294-8528 or go to Island Harvest's website.

Are you someone that is Inspired By Song?  Do you find yourself with music on in the background whenever possible?  Do you get frustrated with commercial interruptions while listening to the radio?  If you answered "yes" to these questions, then please continue reading.

For those of you that didn't know it, my career before real estate was in the music industry.  I even majored in Music Industry in college.  Music was then, and is today, a very important part of my life.  One of the reasons that I chose to leave the music industry was that consolidation of the radio industry caused many stations to become homogenized, and the same songs to be played over and over again all day long.

While this was going on, two companies (Sirius and XM) were launching a new medium called satellite radio.  These new companies promised to deliver a number of commercial-free music stations featuring a variety of music genres.  No longer would you have to suffer through endless commercial breaks or the limited music choices offered by most FM radio stations.  Both Sirius and XM offer quality programming.  My personal choice is Sirius, because I like both their talk and music programming better.  If you've grown tired of AM and FM radio, I strongly suggest making the move to satellite radio.  You won't be disappointed!

The inspiration for this post came as I was driving back home today with my family from our Thanksgiving gathering at my in-laws who live in a rural area of upstate New York.  Before we got Sirius, these trips required us to scan through our CD collection to come up with music that my wife and I could both agree upon so that we had music to listen to once we got out of radio range.  As you can imagine, this often resulted in a debate.  Even though we worked out the CD selection beforehand, we inevitably would have a hard time picking which music we would listen to, as we never seemed to be in the mood for anything that we brought with us.  At the very least, we usually weren't both in the mood for the same thing.  These problems no longer exist, and our car rides are infinitely more enjoyable because of Sirius Satellite Radio.

Today's trip home was especially fun, as we spent most of the time listening to one of the hard rock stations on Sirius.  My 5-year old son has become quite the little hard rock music fan as well.  The site of him playing air guitar, and rocking out with his shades on, is one to behold.  It really makes a father proud. 

We listened to songs by AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Fastway and Dokken, to name a few.  You may think that I'm creating an 80's throwback child, but we also rocked out to newer groups like Nickelback and Alien Ant Farm.  The point is that we have a genre of music that we like to listen to, and we were able to do so for the entire trip--commercial-free!  The best part is that you can listen to the same station anywhere that you are driving in the country.  You never have to waste time scanning local stations to find something that you like.  You never have to break out the CD collection either.  The satellite signal works as well in the mountains as it does in the city. 

Even if you are not someone that travels a lot in the car, a satellite radio subscription is a worthwhile investment.  You can listen to the music stations, and a number of the talk stations online as part of your subscription.  As the holiday season kicks off, you can listen to a station that plays nothing but songs of the season, if that is something that interests you.  There are many other music genres to choose from as well.  If you'd like to see what the music offerings include, please click here. 

If you know a music lover, why not give a satellite radio as a gift?  If you are a music lover, why not treat yourself to a satellite radio?  I promise you that it will change the way that you listen to, and enjoy, music!

I've had the idea to write this post for days, but I've been putting it off.  Many of you may be laughing right now, but unfortunately, this ironic statement is true.  This post, along with all of my other posts that have been written in the past week or so, are being composed on a "loaner" computer. 

Technology is an amazing paradox.  Because of technology, our lives have been made much easier, but also much more difficult at the same time.  Do I long for the simpler days?  Not exactly, but maybe a little bit of the simple life wouldn't be such a bad thing right now. 

The desktop computers that I own would be considered "old" in the typical lifecycle of a computer.  One of them has been repaired a few times already, but once it's fixed, it has been functional.  The other one hasn't ever needed any work....until now!  They say when it rains, it pours.  Normally, I'd try to throw in some clever Active Rain reference, but this is not the time or the place for that.

Both desktop computers crashed in the same week.  At the same time, my wireless router has stopped working.  The laptop computer has been shaky at best in recent months as well.  All of this technology that is supposed to make my life easier is now the reason that things have become more difficult, thus the paradox.  There was a time when I actually worked productively without a computer; now, when there are computer issues, life seems to come to a grinding halt.

Computers are not made to last forever, which is something that we all know.  Having technology issues can become expensive, but money can always be replaced.  What cannot be replaced is the six months of data that was lost because I haven't been backing up the files on the computer.  Fortunately, the data from one of the computers was salvageable, but the other one is totally wiped out. 

In this case, the pain of procrastination is the loss of information that is gone forever.  While it would be nice to chalk all of these problems up to Murphy's Law, the truth of the matter is that I could have done something about this, but I kept putting it off. 

Long before the computers ever crashed, I heard about a company called Carbonite.  This company is the perfect solution for those of us that are computer savvy, but not necessarily tech savvy.  After reading the description of this service below, you will see that it is tailor-made for real estate professionals.

Installation is a snap. Carbonite's online backup service starts automatically and works quietly and continuously in the background protecting your data. If you've accidentally erased something, don't worry; we've still got a copy. You can restore deleted files with just a few clicks on your PC. If your PC crashes, just visit our website to recover lost files.

Your data is stored safely at our secure remote backup centers. No one can see your data but you because your files are encrypted before they leave your computer. We use the same encryption techniques that most banks and e-payment sites do.

Carbonite online backup software is always looking for new data on your PC. The moment you add or modify files, Carbonite swings into action to back up your data. Whenever your PC is connected to the Internet (at home, the office, a hotel or airport...) Carbonite is working to keep your data safe. And it will never slow down your PC or Internet connection.

The cost for this service is very reasonable, which only makes it more frustrating that I allowed procrastination to take away something that cannot be replaced.  For a one-year subscription, the cost is only $49.95, and only $89.95 for a two-year subscription.  This is a very small price to pay to protect the irreplaceable.  As soon as my computers are repaired, I am going to sign up for this service immediately. 

No one wants to see their computer crash and have to spend money fixing it, but it comes with the territory of owning things that are not built to last.  At the very least, the next time that this happens, I won't have to worry about losing the data, which is the most important part of any computer.

We are a community that is based on sharing.  I'm sharing this information about what happened to me, and my plans to deal with this situation going forward so that others don't have to suffer the same fate as me. 

The pain of procrastination is a hard lesson learned.  Please heed my warning and don't let procrastination be the reason that you don't do something important in your life, whether it is backing up your files, calling a potential client back, or even spending time with loved ones.  Lost moments and opportunities are gone forever.

If you have moved recently, or have changed your mailing address, you may have money waiting for you from the IRS.  In New York State alone, there were over 7000 tax returns that were unclaimed as a result of the checks being returned to the IRS as "undeliverable."

With almost $10 million in unclaimed returns belonging to New Yorkers, the average unclaimed refund is approximately $1300.  As the holiday shopping season approaches, this "found" money may make your shopping a little less painless and a lot more fun.

To claim your unclaimed tax returns, you can go to the IRS's website by clicking here.  This will take you directly to the "Where's My Refund?" page.

To get to your personal refund information, you'll need to enter the following:

• Social Security Number (or IRS Taxpayer ID Number)
• Filing Status (Single, Married, Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow or Widower)
• The exact refund amount shown on your tax return

If you are a Suffolk County resident, and you want to see if you are eligible to claim an unclaimed tax return please click here.

If you are a Nassau County resident, and you want to see if you are eligible to claim an unclaimed tax return please click here.

As a youth growing up on Long Island, the only organized sport that I played was little league baseball.  There was one season of junior high school football sprinkled in, but for the most part, baseball was the sport that I looked forward to most.  As a grown-up, football grew to be my favorite sport.  My son, following in my footsteps, has been a huge football fan since he was around 2 years old.

In previous posts, I wrote about my son playing football for the Hauppauge Youth Organization in the five and six-year old division.  On a team of fourteen kids, my son was amongst a handful of kindergartners on the team.  Although he is mature for his age, he did struggle at times with the complexities of organized football.  As one of the coaches, it was my job to help him and the rest of his teammates improve over the course of the season.

Most of the kids showed meaningful progress from the first practice in August until the recent final game of the season.  It was truly amazing to see progress happening right before my eyes.  This is the first time that I've gotten to experience anything like this, and it was very satisfying.  As a youth playing little league baseball, we kept the same team together for several years, so we all progressed together.  When you're playing the game, you just have so much fun that you fail to realize that improvement is happening on a regular basis.

When I look back on the days of playing little league, all I can remember is the good times.  Maybe it's because nostalgia can really polish up a memory and make it exactly what you want it to be, or maybe it's because things really were fun.  At times during this season, these kids seemed to be having the time of their lives.  However, the football season is long and it takes a lot of time and dedication to get the most out of it.

The team was made up of basically good kids, but they would act up from time to time.  In our short attention span world, the mind of a five or six-year old seems to be constantly racing.  At times, I was amazed that any progress was made, especially during the practices where the kids were "acting up."

As I reflect back upon this season, the thing that I am most proud of is not the development of the kids as football players, although it was exciting to experience it first-hand.  For me, my proudest moment is that my son dedicated himself to playing the game, and kept a laser focus throughout the season.  He missed one practice and one game during the course of the entire season, and his limited absences were caused by family obligations and not by his own doing.

When judging the skill level of the kids on the team, my son would be considered average at best.  The same can be said for most of the team, although a few of them really shined.  As a first-year player, it was to be expected.  What I can say with 100% conviction is that he was the most dedicated player on the team.  Maybe it stems from the fact that the same discipline that he receives at home was continued by having me coach him on the field.  Whatever the reason, he always played the position that he was told to play and did whatever was asked of him in practice without ever complaining. 

If not for the fact that I pushed him to execute the plays more efficiently, my son would probably tell you that it was a perfect season.  Now that the season has ended, he genuinely misses going to practice and told me that Sundays don't feel the same.  I can honestly say that my son is wise beyond his years, and he often times observes the world with the awareness of an adult.  Most kids couldn't wait for practice to end, but my son actually was excited to go to football practice.

Many parents have a hard time being objective when it comes to their children, but that is not an issue for me.  There are things that he can use work on and things that he does very well.  Other parents and teachers have spoken to my wife and me about my son's wisdom and maturity level in relation to their own children, so I know that he is different than most kids his age, which can have its drawbacks at times as well.

Overall, the coaching experience was a great one.  The ability to teach and connect with kids was something that I didn't even know that I possessed until I started coaching the team.  It's a great feeling to see one of the kids from the team come up to you in school or around town and be excited to see you.  In a day and age when parents and coaches tend to take things to unfortunate extremes, it makes me proud to say that this team, the parents and the coaches were as tight-knit as the little league baseball team that I played on as kid.

The season to remember culminated in a team pizza party.  All of the kids wore their jerseys and got to bond for one last time as a team, as they will not all be together again next year when the six-year olds move up to another division.  Many of the parents have older children that have been playing organized sports for a while.  These parents, in particular, were so impressed with the way that we coached the team, that they presented us each with a gift and a thank you card at the party.

This surprising gesture was very moving, and greatly appreciated.  Each coach received a gift certificate to a restaurant inside of the thank you card.  This alone would have been more than enough, but we also each received a framed copy of the team photo.  This will hang in my home office for years to come as a constant reminder of a season to remember.

Long Island towns have many similarities, but each one has its own unique quality as well.  In the case of Levittown, the distinguishing feature is that it is known throughout the world as one of the first suburban towns.  The Levitt Home is the model that was used for many post World War II suburban communities.   This community originally started out as an experiment in low-cost, mass produced homes.

Years later, this Long Island town is again on the cutting edge.  "America's first suburb" is now on the cusp of becoming "America's first green suburb."  To achieve this goal, a dozen professional canvassers from Citizens Campaign For The Environment will go door-to-door to all 17,000 homes in the community trying to convince homeowners to get an energy audit.

The goal is to get at least 5,000 homeowners to agree to the complimentary energy audit, and then follow-up by making the recommended changes to improve on energy efficiency.  This would be achieved by homeowners agreeing to upgrade heating and cooling systems as well as their insulation, and also to take other energy-saving measures.

To fund this outreach and audit campaign, eight private firms are providing up to $300,000.  Homeowners that participate in upgrading their energy efficiency will be able to qualify for low-interest loans to do so.  The energy savings that each homeowner will receive will make repaying these low-interest loans fairly painless.  With energy costs, particularly home heating costs, on the rise, the savings will be immediately noticed by the homeowners that participate in this program.

Nassau County Executive, Tom Suozzi, is planning to hold an Earth Day celebration in Levittown in April.

Do you ever wonder who is reading your blog outside of Active Rain?  Are you one of those that isn't sure whether or not you will ever generate business by being here?  For those of you that are still having doubts, this post should give you encouragement to keep on blogging. 

Every time that I answer the phone or receive an e-mail and the dialog starts with "I found you on Active Rain," it gives me great satisfaction to know that my efforts are paying off.

Last week, I received a call from an agent in New Jersey that found me through a Google search of one of my key terms.  It turns out that she had a client that was interested in some investment property on Long Island.  Without Active Rain, I would have been just another needle in the haystack that comprises Long Island real estate agents.  I told this agent all about what Active Rain is, and how it helped her to find me, and I'm hoping that she'll be joining us soon in the rain.  My Active Rain success story continues to grow.

Last night, a call came in on my cell phone from the 303 area code.  I recognized this as a Colorado phone number, and figured that it may be someone from Active Rain.  Well, it wasn't another Active Rain member, but it was someone that found me on Active Rain.  Imagine my excitement when the man on the other end of the line introduced himself as, Andrew Gmerek, the Associate Editor of RE/MAX Times, calling about my blog.

Without a thought, I granted permission to have my post entitled
"Does This Home Feature I.O.L.?" printed in the December issue of RE/MAX Times.  This post was featured by the AR Gods, which was great.  To have it chosen to appear in an internationally distributed publication goes beyond what I would have ever imagined that Active Rain could do for me after just three short months.  Could it get any better than this?  Yes!

Andrew Gmerek told me that the people at RE/MAX Times thought that this was one of the best posts that they had ever read.  I can honestly say that there are no words to describe the feeling that you get when you here something like that.

Does blogging work?  Clearly it does, but it takes dedication, persistence and patience.  Blogging, to me, is by far the best marketing tool that has come along for REALTORS® in a very long time.  I'm glad that I am one of the early adopters.