November 29, 2023 Breakfast Meeting Notes

The group

The Gowans speak to the club

Guests: David Chaffee of the Fryeburg, Maine Rotary Club; ours speakers Tara and Richard Gowan; and George Baranowsky.

 

Tony presented this week’s trivia: Random factoids from the Manchester Union Leader.  

 

50/50 was won by Braden who gave the money to Tom.

 

Beth won the chance to draw for the ace but failed. The game goes on.

 

Beth announced some recent birthdays and anniversaries.  Bill’s birthday was November 18;; Linda Carrier’s was November 29. Moe and Susan had an anniversary on November 25. Greg and Russ both joined last year on November 2. 

 

David Chaffee spoke for a few moments about the fundraiser at Fryeburg, Maine club. They are selling olive oil from the North Conway olive oil store. The bottle retails for $21, and that is what they are charging. It’s a great stocking-stuffer,  and it makes an ideal gift for clients or yourself.  The sale is running through Christmas. They do not have it up for sale electronically yet so you would need to speak to a Rotarian to buy it. He brought a case today and will leave it with Sharon to sell at her office.  Payment is cash or check. Sharon will also bring unsold bottles to next week's meeting.

 

 

Beth thanked all who helped on Saturday to put up lights and garlands on the Common. Peggy and the Bentwood sisters completed the job by decorating the gazebo. They suggested that perhaps next year we could try to make it more of a community event. Maryanne Barnsley of M & M Scoops filmed parts of the event and put them up on her Facebook page.

 

Steve passed out a sheet from the Penny Sale so that people could provide contact information (phone and email) from people who did not give this year. Please provide feedback on whether we should keep trying to get to these people or whether a different person should do the solicitation. 

 

The Hometown Holiday Celebration will be this weekend, with the Chillbuster and the parade on Saturday. Steve will email the sign up sheet this week to remind you of your volunteer duties. . If you don’t know what the job entails, call the first name on the list. Mike has found the6 foot Rotary banner and Steve will provide a pole on which to carry it. We will need flashlight Christmas bulb necklaces from the dollar store or Rands, as well as Christmas hats. The PSU women’s softball team members are going to be monitoring the parade, (making sure that no one throws candy), directing traffic, and marching in the parade. If you see them, thank them! Walkers should meet at 4:30-5:30 to line up.

 

Elections will be first week of the year. We are looking for a VP candidate. 

 

Interact will have a coat, mitten and hat drive tomorrow. Bring anything that you want to donate to Beth and she will take the items to the school. Items should be new or gently used. 

 

Sharon introduced our speakers, Tara and Richard Gowan, owners of Gowan Realty. They spoke on why you should use a professional realtor to sell your property. The Gowans are NH natives and have lived in Plymouth for 20 years. 

 

 

 

At your first meeting with a real estate professional, you will get a disclosure form that discusses the level of agency.  Some people prefer to be a customer, someone who looks at the listing by himself, and services provided are limited This is in contrast to clients, who are owed confidentiality, receive assistance with the process, and get help with the  negotiations.

Tara noted that sellers trying to do a “for sale by owner” receive 26% less for their property than people who list with a realtor. You can call a realtor a year ahead of time to determine what improvement are needed prior to sale. At the initial meeting, the realtor will discuss price, but from there the seller gets to make all the decisions. The realtor will do market analysis, determine what the house is worth, and let the seller know if things should be changed (such as removing evidence of clutter). The realtor will also arrange for professional photography, open houses, negotiations over what needs to be done, and generally make sure closing goes smoothly. They will also stay in touch afterwards.

 

Inspection can be tricky. During COVID a lot of people weren’t doing inspections, but this is a problem as issues may come up after closing. They recommend that buyers always do a full inspection. The inspection identifies things that may pose a danger, but may also identify things that aren’t up to code because of when the house was built. Buyers need to know thei area, get preapproval for their mortgage, and know their budget when they contact the realtor.. The realtor can then start hunting for the right property. They also work with the bank to be sure that the applications are properly done and they make sure that they monitor the timeline, so that the sale doesn’t fall apart due to missed deadlines. They do the due diligence, getting things to the title company, and checking for easements. Then they review what is expected at closing.They also noted that buyers generally do not want your old paint!

 

Real estate professionals are also a good source of referrals. If you are looking out of the area, your local realtor might have a connection with someone there. The Gowans are part of the Tom Ferry coaching group and they consider themselves to be relationship realtors, as opposed to purely transactional realtors.

 

The Gowans also put in a mention of their project, Operation Overseas. This year, as for th3e last 16 years, their office is taking community donations for service members, particularly dog handlers. Last year they collected 1600 pounds of items! These are distributed at a military base in a canteen setting so people can select what they want. See their Facebook page to see lists of items they want  (you can even order from Amazon from their site.)  If you don’t want to buy gifts, you can donate money for shipping. Any money not used for shipping they will use it to buy more items. They will ship the middle of next week so get items to them before then.

 

Happy dollars were shared by Denise and Tony.

 

The speaker at next Wednesday’s meeting will be the NH Electric Coop, discussing broadband plans for our area. Bring any friends and family who are interested with you!

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Lora Miller, secretary