Almost everyone has an old computer, fax machine, batteries, or cell phones lying around the home. And almost everyone knows those items are supposed to be recycled and not put directly into the rubbish. But have you tried to recycle the items? It can be a daunting process and one you don’t want to repeat many times.

That’s where the College Hill Neighborhood Association in conjunction with Hope High School’s “Project NEED” has stepped in to assist. This Saturday’s program you can drop off those electronic devices in the parking lot on Olney Street just off of Hope Street. On hand will be Metech Recycling to collect the products and securely begin their journey to new products.

Privacy and identity is one of the major concerns we all have when it comes to recycling computers and cell phones. What happens to my data on the machine? Can some identity thief purchase the items and then syphon off the critical data? That’s why Metech Recycling is helping in this event. They are an expert at removing and shredding that data before the old equipment gets into the wrong hands. It can be done, and they are a Certified e-Stewards® Recycler.

NEED (which stands for National Energy Educational Development project) designs and delivers curriculum and support for virtually any classroom and at any grade level. It is a 30 year old program growing from the National Energy Education Day, started by a joint congressional resolution during the Carter presidency.

Residential Properties is supporting this effort through our Providence and Cumberland offices and Leslie Kellogg, an agent in the providence office, is leading the charge as a member of the CHNA. Please contact her if you have questions.

As we head into 2012, one of our New Years Resolutions is to blog more about our properties. At RPL we list some truly interesting and unique homes, worthy of recognition, so we thought it might be fun to exhibit what you can get for $650,000K. We will feature different price points in the future.

WHAT: A four-bedroom, two and a half bath home in Scituate
HOW MUCH: $625,000
SIZE: 3,500 square feet
SETTING: The home is in Northern Scituate, just over fifteen miles west of downtown Providence. The community is rural; known for its apple orchards, hearty farms, and stone walls, and major fall art festival. The dominant geographical feature is the Scituate Reservoir—the largest freshwater body of water in the state, with forests and ponds filling the rest of the landscape. The property is about five miles away from the historic village of North Scituate—known for its annual art festival over Columbus Day Weekend.
INSIDE: The home itself is a historic reproduction of the 1683 Parson Capen House in Topsfield, MA. The house is done in the post and beam style, and incorporates wide brick fireplaces, hardwood floors, and paneled walls into the design. The living room, dining room, kitchen, library, and family room are on the entry level. The four bedrooms are upstairs, and there is a study on the third floor. Several of the rooms have built in bookshelves.
OUTDOOR SPACE: The home sits on 1.58 acres. There is a large stone patio and a bird bath. A walkway weaves throughout the gardens.

WHAT: A four bedroom, three and a half bath townhouse in the Wayland Square neighborhood of Providence
HOW MUCH: $639,000
SIZE: 3,900 square feet
SETTING: This building is in the affluent Wayland Square neighborhood of the East Side. The neighborhood, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, features a mix of colonial revival architecture and Queen Ann style houses. The building is within five bocks of Wayland Square, a commercial area lined with restaurants and shops, amidst residential homes. It’s also three blocks from Blackstone Boulevard, a 1.7 mile green space for jogging and walking, and about half a mile from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design.
INSIDE: This unit, a townhouse, is one of only two in the 1915 building. The interior features hardwood floors, beamed ceilings, and crowned moldings. The entire building has been renovated within the last two years, including the kitchen, washer, dryer, bathrooms, windows. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are on the entry level. Three of the unit’s bedrooms are on the second level, and the fourth is on the third floor. There is a sitting room on the lower level.
OUTDOOR SPACE: There is a common area outside with a large stone patio and white gazebo.

WHAT: A four-bedroom, four bath historic farmhouse in North Kingstown’s Harborview Farm Preserve.
HOW MUCH: $650,000
SIZE: 3,687
SETTING: This house is in a private compound less than five minutes from Calf Pasture Beach and the Quidnesset Golf and Country Club. Goddard Park—about four miles away—features a nine hole golf course, a horse barn where the public can rent and ride horses, a beach with a bathhouse, sprawling open fields, and a carousel building for functions. Wickford Village—about ten miles away—is anchored by a natural harbor lined with historic buildings and locally owned shops, galleries and restaurants.
INSIDE: The house was built in 1800, and recent renovations accent the original hardwoods, five fireplaces, and exposed beams. The home now includes skylights, kitchen-and-bathroom updates, and central air, along with a new roof and heating system. The living room, dining room, family room, and kitchen are on the entry level. All four bedrooms are on the second floor. The master bedroom has a fireplace.
OUTDOOR SPACE: The lot is on well over three fourths of an acre, surrounded by stone walls and wooden fences. There’s a backyard patio, accessible from the family room. There are views of the fields in every direction.

Support for the Salvation Army’s annual fund raising using the pot and bell ringing has been elevated to many organizations this year. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors, the statewide organization for Real Estate brokers and agents, volunteered its members’ time to man the pots on Friday, December 9th. This saves the group nearly $5,000 per day to be used in other support roles.

Residential Properties offices collected at four different locations this year – Providence, at the Stop and Shop on Branch Avenue and the Eastside Marketplace on Pitman, the Stop and Shop on Mendon Road in Cumberland, and inside the Warwick Mall.

Our team has entered into several charitable endeavors this holiday season, as we have in the past years. We are proud that our agents are actively involved in so many diverse organizations, such as the ‘adopt a family’ drives and this small but important role manning the pots. It seems we always recognize the giving during the end of the year, but the tireless commitments made every day by all of our associates is indicative of their resolve to be part of each community.

Residential Properties, Ltd. and  Smith & Associates are members of The Active Enterprise Network, a union of privately-held real estate companies across the country that share information and strategy as well as a unified technology platform.

Real Estate in the Year 2030

Welcome to the year 2030…

I pull into the driveway of my dream home in my 100% hydrogen powered car, iPad 21 in hand, ready to sign the contract and call it my own.  At exactly 2:30pm (yes, Realtors are on time in this fictional age), a highly anticipated vibration comes from my iPad and a hologram replica of my vacationing Real Estate agent pops up (Yoda style) to tell me that as soon as we conference in our Title closer, we are ready to sign the papers.  The closer chimes in and the contract appears in unison on the shiny glass screen.  With the click of a few buttons and my autograph via tiny black stylus, 10% of the purchase price is removed from my bank account and I am officially a home owner.

I walk up the perfectly kept sidewalk to the door, swipe my pre-programmed fingerprint and I am granted access.  The blinds open, lights come on & air conditioning is automatically set to the temperature of my preference before I even have time to put down my purse.  I am a bit startled the first few times I am greeted with “Welcome Mrs. Campbell” upon entry but it eventually grows on me & I feel a bit sorry for the previous generations that missed out on these luxuries.  It is the year 2030.  I am a proud member of Generation Z and now I am home.

In All Reality…

While some of these ideas may seem a bit far fetched (and loosely based off of various Sci-Fi movies from my previous years), it is an indisputable fact that our world is rapidly advancing technologically and the Real Estate Industry is going with the flow.

You can’t walk into an Apple store without noticing that their checkout methods are unbelievably efficient – using nothing but a small scanner attached to an iPod Touch with the option to have your receipt magically appear under the closest table or emailed to you.  Customers with an iPhone 4 or above can even download an “EasyPay” app that will guide them through self checkout, avoiding the process altogether.  This is only a small glimpse into the future of electronic transactions, making contracts via iPhone & hologram meetings seem closer than we may have thought.

How Can You Prepare for the Future?

One of the biggest pieces of advice that can be offered is to adapt.  It is much easier to grow with technology then to try to pick it up mid swing, when you can no longer operate without it, which is a problem many generations currently face.   Attend classes, sign up for technology based newsletters, follow both Real Estate & technical blogs, take advantage of Social Media outlets including Facebook, Twitter & Google+ to ensure you are reaching out to as broad of a network as possible, have clients write Google reviews after your transactions to boost your credibility,  invest in a Smartphone (among other beneficial gadgets) and lastly, never get too comfortable because technology isn’t stagnant so we can’t be either.

I don’t have a DeLorean to steer us into the year 2030, but I have dreams, ideas and projections of an ever changing world.  I would however, also like to think that even though technology will continue to advance through our lives, trends will always come back around (except for some poor style choices that should probably stay lost in the 80s).  Staying up to date on the latest gadgets and Social Media will always be imperative to your business but never forget your roots.  Hand written notes, cards, phone calls and common courtesy may not be what closes the deal but they can definitely set you apart from your competition.

What is your take on the year 2030 and how do you think the Real Estate industry will change?  Are you ready?

By Kortney Campbell, of Smith & Associates, serving Tampa Real Estate, is a proud participant in the Holiday Blog Swap, presented by The Active Enterprise Network.

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More article on Real Estate in 2030 found here: Residential Properties, Helen Adams Realty, Murney Associates, Windermere Tri Cities, Reinhart Realtors, The Group, inc., Hasson Company, McEnearney Associates, N.T. Callaway, and LandVest.

Living and working in Providence, it has been easy to notice that the local population is aging and that the older age group has grown tremendously. What college towns have to offer is clearly attractive to retirees and pre-retirees. This week on The Money Pro$, I will be joining host Oliver Tutt, and guest host Robert Auclair to discuss the issue of downsizing in the aging population. Oliver is a Certified Financial Planner and creator of Randall Financial Group and Robert is a partner in the firm.

These days, downsizing does not necessarily mean a smaller or less expensive home, instead the concern is lifestyle. Baby Boomers make up a significant amount of home buyers, especially in Rhode Island. These people, now between 47 and 65 years old, are “younger”, healthier and have more disposable income than the previous generations. As they switch residences, they move into areas that satisfy their cultural and social interests. Residing in a walkable town filled with arts, entertainment, great restaurants and a lively atmosphere, like college towns, is extremely appealing to this generation.

Many of these buyers are searching for certain amenities in their homes, as well as location. They are in pursuit of homes with higher quality features, lower maintenance and proximity to public transportation and health care. In addition, features which they may not have worried about before now, are of growing concern. A universal design which generally offers single story living, accessibility and maneuverability have become of great importance.

The ideas of convenience and lifestyle are making cities and tight knit communities the destinations of choice for the downsizing community. To hear more about this in depth, be sure to tune into The Money Pro$ this Sunday the 11th at 11:30 on Fox Providence.