Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor: August 2008

Quite often my eyes will catch the word RUNNING in a blog title so of course I click to see what it's all about.  A few months ago a title of interest really hit me when I saw  "Be a Running Realtor" since I began branding myself as the Running Realtor shortly after discovering the Active Rain Real Estate Network.

The post happened to be authored by a relatively new blogger, Pat Murray of Naples Florida, who is planning to run her first Marathon in Miami on January 25, 2009 and was looking for other real estate professionals that might want to participate in the event.

Fast forwarding a few months as fate would have it I wound up stranded on Fort Myers Beach for a week so I had an opportunity to run with Pat.  Although she says she is "not a runner" she pushed the pace in the early morning heat and humidity of Florida and told me the weather conditions we ran in were nothing like what would be expected on race day.  January in Miami has an average low temp of 60 and highs in the mid-70's.  Very nice running conditions for me and a great break from the winter conditions in New England.

I haven't committed to running Miami yet but it is being considered.  After running my first 26.2 mile event in San Diego on June 1st with the Team in Training one of my coaches noticed my photo was being used to publicize the Hartford Marathon so I figured I should run that event in October.  I was planning a little break after 40 weeks of continuous training but maybe I will look into a 3 week rest and a condensed training program to prepare for Miami. 

Marathon training typically involves a 16-20 week program so if you would like to Mingle in Miami with other Active Rain Real Estate Pro's now it the time to start thinking about it.

Who knows.... If we get enough support maybe we can plan an Active Rain Running Realtor event every year.  Not sure if we should go for custom shirts though,  I wore one once and appropriately got Rained On.....

Where ever you travel in the United States it's easy to find a good running route or a good Realtor.  If you need assistance relocating to the Connecticut Shoreline contact me, Dan@CummingsTeam.com or call my Access Line at 203-672-2455

My ever growing list of Real Estate Professionals from Coast to Coast will also help you find a good agent in other parts of the country.

This is a great site I discovered a few years ago after a several months of fitness walking evolved into my interest in running.  Since I have always been somewhat of a numbers nut tracking my time and mileage was important to me so while searching for a better way to figure out my distance I stumbled into America's Running Routes.

Last week while on vacation in Fort Myers Beach was the first time I used the site to select a route.  On the west coast of Florida the sun doesn't rise as early as I'm accustom to in New England so I was up early waiting for dawn so I could begin my first run on the sand. Since I was staying towards the northern end of the island I estimated the journey to the starting point of the mapped route and back would be about 7 miles which was what my training plan called for that day.

As the sun attempted to break out a dark cloud seemed to be following me as I approached the 3-1/2 mile mark.  The "awesome beach run" listed on America's Running Routes turned out to be a decent change of pace for me since I never run on sand. There is not traffic to worry about but you do need to pay attention to each step.  Along the way I passed a few sand castles and seveal deep holes that could easily result in a broken leg.

On the return run the distant rainbow was pointing the way to my pot of gold.  Unfortunately to reach that point I did have to endure the wind and rain.   My expectation of a flat easy run was not exactly as anticipated but this was only the first of five outings I planned to for each morning of my summer vacation.

Where ever you travel in the United States it's easy to find a good running route or a good Realtor.  If you need assistance relocating to the Connecticut Shoreline contact me, Dan@CummingsTeam.com or call my Access Line at 203-672-2455

My ever growing list of Real Estate Professionals from Coast to Coast will also help you find a good agent in other parts of the country.

Typically I consider myself pretty conservative and tend to use extra caution while in unfamiliar territory.  While traveling I'm always keeping a watchful eye in congested areas like airports or train stations and  keenly aware of details that seem out of place.  In the age of Internet SPAM offering all kinds of SCAMS I have learned to skim the title and hit delete.

The On-Line World is such a big part of my daily routine that I check in quite often.  Before dinner Monday night I received and email that caught my eye with interest  thinking a couple from the UK that purchased a home a few months ago must have given my name to a friend.  The email from Jane Everett asked that I call her but since the time differential between the East Coast of the United States and England is 5 hours it was too late so I emailed her.

Tuesday I tried unsuccessfully to call and wondered if my cell phone required some special code to make international calls but didn't aggressively look for a solution.  Wednesday morning there was still no response so I sent a second email and did some Google searches with the information I had in an attempt to verify the phone number and email address of the prospective home buyer from the UK that would be arriving next Thursday.

A few details in the email did strike me as odd.  First was the salutation,  "Hi There," a red flag since I was never addressed by name. Next I noticed the spacing of digits between the first and second phone number, could be a simple typo but in a signature you'd expect it to be corrected.  The email also struck me as strange because it was so general but I ignored all the little clues and really thought it was legit.

My google search did turn up an exchange from Twitter.  With a little digging within Twitter I learned that this "Jane Everett" also contacted others around the country and they were trying to figure out where in the world she is relocating.

This is not rock solid evidence of any wrong doing but the Red Flag is waving. BEWARE because"Jane Everett" may not really be out there to purchase a home in your area.

Anyone ready to undertake the adventures of searching for property in New Haven County can contact Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor via email or call my 24 hour access line : 203-672-2455

This morning as I sit here waiting for daybreak so I can head out on my long run before the Florida heat drains my New England body of energy I'm watching the LIVE Olympic coverage of the Men's Gymnastics.  Typically as I'm watching the games I notice whether the coverage is previously recorded or if I'm watching it as it unfolds..... LIVE!

My plan was to be Tee'd Off about the US Network coverage of the Olympics and their leading us to beleive we are tuned in during the wee hours of the morning watching the drama as it unfolds.  During a commercial break I grabbed on the laptop to check my email.  Yahoo is my start up page and I noticed a featured article with the Gymnastics Results that I am watching LIVE but it says it has been posted for 1-1/2 hours!  

 What?

The LIVE scam continues on the Internet!  When I saw this article a few hours ago and now it says it just just posted 12 minutes ago.  With a little more research I prove I'm not going MAD.  The network broadcasts taped footage and calls it LIVE while the internet articles are time stamped over and over to keep it NEW.....  Is it LIVE, is it 12 minutes old or was the buzz for hours ago, we never really know!

So today I'm Tee'd Off that nothing is as it appears.  If  you are in the market for Real Estate and need a straight shooter that calls the as they are contact me,  Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor.

The summer real estate market along the Connecticut Shoreline is showing mixed results this year.  In the town of Branford & Madison where price declines were a little steeper than surrounding towns the sales volume was about the same or slightly above last year.  In North Branford, North Haven & Guilford prices were a stable but volume dropped off.  Overall for the 5 towns contained in this report 74 single family homes sold in 2008, off from the even 100 sales in July 2007.

If you are thinking of selling and curious about the value of your home click the house on the right to request a Free No Obligation Market Analysis of the property.  With today's on-line databases I can give you a fairly good idea of the market price without even touring the house.

Anyone ready to undertake the adventures of searching for property in New Haven County can contact Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor via email or call my 24 hour access line : 203-672-2455

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