Eileen's Blog

Flip on the news and you'll see stories of economic mayhem; anxiety levels and loneliness are up and 401ks are down. Through it all, Sun Country real estate is taking its COVID-19 punches like a prizefighter.

Virtual tours, sight-unseen addendums, and creative workarounds to deal-making are prevailing over consumer fear and indecision. While activity lags, prices and "days on the market" improves.

Christian and Holly Schlitzer, new Derry Township residents, bought and sold homes during the quarantine.

"We listed our home in Hampden Township (Cumberland County) and made an offer on a home in Derry Township prior to the COVID-19 issues," Holly Schlitzer said. "We were in the middle of those transactions when things started shutting down. We saw n...

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How has quarantine been for you? I've had good days and bad. I heard the below info on a podcast yesterday and thought it was so profound and wanted to share it with you.

This is from Shawn Anchor, brain researcher and author of the book "Big Potential." The wording is a bit awkward because its transcribed from a podcast, but I hope you get the gist.

"Two researchers out in VA found that if you're looking at a hill you need to climb, if you look at that hill by yourself your brain shows you a hill that is 20% steeper than the same hill you look at when you're with someone who's going to climb the hill with you. Basically, by including another brain, you see another hill. I always thought when I looked at a mountain, that's the mountain. And I can decide whether to climb it. That's not how the human brain works at all. The geometry of the challenges in your life are constantly in flux based upon whether you t...

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Don't jump into mortgage forbearance without counting the cost.

Homeowners in Sun Country are struggling; furloughs, layoffs and business closings surround us. Our government is trying to help, bless their heart, but accepting Uncle Sam's offering of mortgage forbearance could leave us feeling all sorts of blue.

Let's back up.

In response to COVID-19's economic impact, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which includes a mortgage forbearance option for homeowners of up to 12 months. While this might initially seem a great option for relief, looking closely (and metaphorically), the cure could be worse than the disease.

Why?

The CARES Act does not provide mortgage forgiveness, only forbearance, a temporary postponement of p...

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Greetings from your friendly neighborhood real estate columnist! I can say with 100 percent conviction that I never thought I would be writing about real estate during a pandemic.

That said, we've got a lot to discuss.

Your local real estate office is affected by Governor Tom Wolf issuing all non-life sustaining business in the state to close. As of the writing of this article, our physical office in Hershey is closed, but we continue to work remotely.

How is this government mandate and other COVID-19 issues affecting the real estate market? From what I'm seeing, buyers still want to buy and sellers still want to sell.

During the week of March 16, there was a spike in homes hitting the market mid-week. That volume dipped by end-of-week, but...

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Several years ago, I interviewed Ruth Goepfert, founder of the Hummelstown Swim Club. This comment stuck with me: each year the board voted to do something to improve the swim club. Sometimes it was something big (adding a kiddie pool and fountain); sometimes it was small (adding a sand box). She said this mindset dramatically impacted their business.

Recently, I worked with Phil Guarno, owner of Fenicci's of Hershey, in facilitating an entrepreneur field trip for high schoolers. Guarno told the students that each year

he puts a significant percentage of his revenue toward a capital improvement fund, as he was taught to do by former employer Bill Marriott. Each year, Guarno improves the physical aspect of his restaurant.

As I show homes all over Sun Country, I view firsthand the impact seemingly small actions (or...

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