Did you know Kathy Lee owns a home in Rehoboth? She has always frequented the area, especially since she grew up here. Her co-host, Hoda, also has a family summer home here.

Recently the two women visited and brought along their show! Check out the video here. Pretty cool having mini-celebrities here, huh?!

-Lee Ann

WOW! The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) has rated Rehoboth and Dewey Beach as two of the top cleanest beach water sites in the country! This is an amazing honor, especially wonderful since only four beaches nationwide earned the honor.

Consideration for the award is based on five factors: water quality in 2010; water quality overall for the past 3 years; frequency of testing; issuing advisories and posting closings (if needed).

The locals take a great deal of care to keep the beaches safe, clean and fun. In fact, Prudential Gallo holds an annual beach-cleanup day, where this past May I rolled up my sleeves, along with members of The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, to do our part. It's a rewarding experience.

And the news gets better! For 3 consecutive years, we’ve had the cleanest beach water in the US. The EPA reports on beaches nationwide. Find out all about your beach here. The Natural Resources Defense Council’s website provides a quick look at Americas most popular beaches and their five-factor ratings.  The ‘Best and Worst Beach Water Quality’ article can be found here.

So, as we (quickly) approach the 4^th of July, I wish your family nothing but fun in the sun on Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.

All the best,

Lee Ann

** Happy 4th of July! **

Well, the Fourth of July is nearly upon us. Can you believe how fast its come? Seems just like yesterday we were all wishing the snow would stop! There are some great activities coming up for you and the family this 4th.

July 2: Sidewalk Art and Artisan show at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, starting at 9am.

July 4: Old-fashioned 4th of July Children's activities on Second Street, starting at 9am.

July 4: Lewes Boat Parade on the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, starts at 2pm.

July 4: Lewes Doo-Dah parade in the late afternoon. (route: Kings Hwy to Second St, to Market St and up Savannah)

July 4: Rehoboth Beach Fireworks. Sit beach-side and enjoy the great show! Fireworks will be launched approximately 9:15 and last for 45 mins. Afterward, a concert by the US Navy Country Current band will be held at the bandstand.

Stay safe, wear sunscreen and have a wonderful 4th of July!

-Lee Ann

(Note: Fireworks are illegal in the State of DE and officers will be out enforcing the law. Please leave the fireworks to the professionals and don't risk fines, arrest or injury.)

The Sussex County Delaware demographics are here! The county just released the June stats and they are pretty interesting: Did you know that in 2010, 42% of home owners in Sussex County own their home outright (no mortgage). Kudos to them!

Additionally, the sales volume of homes in the county has risen in the past year. The report points toward stabilization in Sussex. Check out the full Sussex County Demographics report.

Best,

Lee Ann

I recently attended the Prudential Real Estate Convention in San Diego, CA, March 6-8, 2011 to catch up on industry news and to receive the award for being a top performer in the Southeastern region for Prudential.

Guest speakers at the convention were Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the parents who inspired The Blind Side movie. They told their story, welcomed others’ and shared their hopes of having every Prudential agent make an impact within their community.

Their speech happily reminded me of the success and accolade that go along with being a Prudential Gallo REALTORS® agent. Prudential Gallo takes great pride in its community roots. In fact, they launched a new marketing program, Community minded, Customer Focused, which emphasizes the importance of family, life in Sussex County and having a place to call home…Something I embrace whole-heartedly when it comes to Lewes.

Overall, I left the convention with a renewed sense of purpose and am looking forward to (an already) productive 2011!

Check out the great photo of Carrie Gentile and I with Sean and Leigh Anne

This Old House recently did an article on Milton, Delaware. This quaint, quiet little town is the perfect place to call home...or just get a great ice cream cone!

April 28 from 1:45p-2:45p in historic Old New Castle

Renowned film maker Ken Burns will be coming to Delaware to receive the Delaware History Makers Award from the Delaware Historical Society on April 28. Mr. Burns will be arriving in Delaware that morning and has agreed to participate in a press event to highlight the need for Delaware to have a national park.  As you know, the Delaware Congressional Delegation introduced historic legislation to authorize the creation of a national park in Delaware – the First State National Historical Park Act of 2011 in February.  

Senator Thomas Carper’s office plans to host a short, 30 minute press conference at the New Castle Courthouse (which is the proposed headquarters for the First State National Historic Park) from 1:45-2:15p followed by a 30 minute tour.   Folks from the Park Service, local stakeholders, etc will all be invited to attend the event and go on the tour as well. 

The Senator’s office hopes that you will be able to join them at this historic event!

Don't make plans for Sat, April 23, 2011!

We will be holding 6 open houses' in Lewes, DE from 12-3pm that day. Bring your friends, bring your family....

4 Delmar Avenue

412 Mulberry

320 Pilottown Road

114 Coleman Avenue

431 Kings Highway

4 Dunes Terrace

Need directions or more information? Call anytime (302) 645-6664

As yet another way to bring real estate buyers and sellers together, the Lee Ann Wilkinson Group of Prudential Gallo Realtors has incorporated Microsoft’s Tag in its advertising, among other places, that will direct users to various related websites.

This tag is a type of two-dimensional bar code that, when used with a mobile application, allows the user to review websites, receive messages, get access to special deals and more from the advertiser. The particular tag in the weekly Cape Gazette ad sends participates to the group’s real estate search page at lewesrealestate.com.

“It’s fascinating that it’s possible to go from medium to medium via mobile phone,” said Wilkinson. “This tag will connect newspaper readers to our website. Its cutting-edge technology that I think will benefit both buyers and sellers.”

Currently, very few real estate companies in the country have implemented this technology, and this is the first in the area.

Get the tag reader by visiting http://gettag.mobi on your mobile phone. Then test it with the tag below.

For more information about that tag application or general information, call (302) 645-6664. The office is located at 16698 Kings Highway, Suite A, Lewes, DE 19958.

Epworth United UM Church is hosting a free thanksgiving Day diner at 1 PM at the churfch on Holland Glade Road, just North of Rehoboth Beach, DE. Call 302-227-7743, ext 125 and leave them your name and how many people you will be bringing. Long Neck United Methodist Church will also be hosting a free thanksgiving dinner from noon to 2 pm at the church on Long Neck Road, east of Millsboro, DE. For details call 302-947-9221.

First of all, let's dispel the common misconception that home buyers have about Realtors. Some buyers are still under the impression that by allowing a Realtor to accept them as a client they will pay a Realtor's commission.

Although a very few Realtors now charge buyers a fee, all commissions in any property sale are paid by the seller to the listing broker. What does this mean to the buyer? It means that buyers get free representation. Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but it is true.

If you are a buyer shopping for a home, right now, you can contact a Realtor, get them to show you a zillion homes (a bad idea, but that will have to be another column) and then ask them to write up and deliver a contract for you to the seller with the terms and conditions you agree and you will pay that Realtor absolutely nothing.

In fact, almost any Realtor will be willing and able to help you find a mortgage lender who meets your needs, explain to you the process of buying a home, negotiate the contract, refer you to any number of contractors or professionals for estimates, and progress successfully through settlement to close on your dream property. And, yes, it is all free to the buyer.

A Realtor can help you in so many ways and yet buyers today are still so anxious about committing to a Realtor that they will often do themselves a disservice by opting to forgo a Realtor or delaying in contacting a Realtor until they have already spent countless hours driving around from home to home and calling listing agents on their own, each time they want to see a property.

A first-rate Realtor can really save you a lot of time, money and stress! Because a Realtor has so much more experience than the average buyer in purchasing a home, they will notice items that a buyer might overlook, such as water or pet damage, high-traffic roads, or items that could lower a property's value. They will know a developer's or a builder's reputation. They may even know about a great house that's going to be put up for sale in a few days. And yes, again, this is all free to the buyer.

Need a one-story single family home with a heated garage and a mother-in-law suite and in a pool community? An experienced Realtor can not only quickly retrieve a list of available properties that meet your criteria, he or she may even be able to propose an alternative that fits your needs that you never considered.

For example, I met with a couple recently who had made a list of their 'must-haves". One of the items on this list was a basement. Where I asked them what they intended to use the basement for, one of the pair replied that he needed it for his very LOUD hobby. I mentioned that there was currently for sale an unusual home with a 2-car attached garage AND a detached 3-car garage which was on the opposite side of the driveway from the house... and that this 3-car garage was heated and even had a second floor. At a glance I could see from their expressions that I had made that "lightbulb" connection. And while they didn't end up buying that particular house, they told me that they appreciated having a Realtor who could see the forest for the trees.

And it cost them nothing. Really.