This morning went like this... 
9:00am- Meet client at bank to pick up certified check for their deposit
9:15am- Stop by office, scan & copy check, print file
10:00am- Deliver file to attorney's office
10:30am- First showing appt with new buyer
And somewhere between 9:00am and 10:30am, my stomach went like this...
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For those who don't know, in real estate we often eat on the go and in the car, it's very glamorous.  So I was trying to decide which quick option would be the least evil.  And then it hit me!  "OMG, Jessica, you can probably get a breakfast sandwich at the awesome place you and Sean had lunch yesterday!"  And so that's what I did.  And now that I've enjoyed For Love and Food two days in a row, tried both their breakfast and lunch, dined in and taken out, I'm ready to sing them praises and recommend you try it too!
Not pictured in this blog (because eating a giant sandwich while listening to an audio book and driving does not create the perfect storm for iPhone-tography) is my breakfast sandwich.  It was made with two eggs over medium on wheat toast with American cheese, bacon and avocado.  And it was perfect.  

Yesterday though, Sean and I tried some sandwiches and garlic fries, and I highly recommend those too.  And now that I've eaten the delicious bad for me stuff, I'm actually looking forward to trying their salads too!  Eventually.

Service is quick and friendly, food is delicious.  Already looking forward to my next meal there, support local business and go try it for yourself! 
 
For Love and Food 
117 Hazard Avenue
Enfield, CT 06082
(860) 749-0813

​When you decide that it’s time to purchase your first home, where do you begin? It seems so easy to just hop online and scroll through all of the available houses, then just pick one you like and click the little button on the side of the screen that let’s someone, somewhere know that you’re interested. If you’re really feeling wild, you might even try calling the number on the screen. Well, I’m here to tell you what the person at the other end of that little button or phone number is going to ask you… “Have you been pre-qualified or pre-approved yet?” If you’re ready to start looking at houses, even online, it is in your best interest to start by getting pre-approved by a lender.   

​So if you have a lender or mortgage broker in mind, give them a call and ask about how they can help you get started with the home buying process. If you don’t know of someone you’d like to work with, ask a home owning friend if they have a recommendation, you can even ask a realtor to recommend lenders they work with. 
 
Once you have a pre-qualification or pre-approval letter from your lender, you can then work with a realtor (me!) and start your search, online, on your smartphone and in real life.  And don’t forget, our services are free to buyers because the sellers take care of our fees! 

Yesterday morning I kicked off my Monday with a 9am home inspection.  In this case, my client is more savvy than your average home buying bear and this was not her first rodeo.  She has bought and sold before and knew what to expect from the home inspection process.  When it comes to realtors, the only people who have attended more home inspections than us are the home inspectors themselves.  So we had a nice, easy inspection with questions and answers tossed back and forth, notes and requests were made and everyone left the scene knowing exactly what would happen next.  Which left me feeling grateful for a smooth start to my week, but also wondering how to make it this simple every time.  The answer came to me in the form of a pictogram.    

By sharing information on what to expect and making it easy to understand I'm hoping to help everyone feel as comfortable at their home inspection as my savvy client was yesterday.  

Have a home inspection story to share?  Please leave it in the comments below! 

I'm also wondering if I can attract readers to a blog.  Everyone says that in this day and age, you have to embrace social media.  Those who know me know that I have been disinclined to acquiesce to the pressure to "be present" on social media.  I have a hard enough time being present in my real life.  I struggle with device dependence, and the common stressors of everyday that unite us all.  I strive to lead by example and be the one person at the dinner table who doesn't have their smart phone within arms reach (mostly so that I can openly scorn those who check every chime and alert their phones chirp mid-conversation with me).  I stayed off of Facebook longer than anyone I know, and I now envy those who can still say, "I'm not on Facebook".  But now, here I am, stuck between the rock and the hard place called "self-employment".  And as I struggle through the learning curve of the ever changing platform that is Facebook, I remembered a blog I had when I was younger.  And how blogging is a lot like journaling and a little more one sided than other social media formats.  And I remembered that I had once even LIKED blogging.  And that while being on Facebook and other social media sites is incredibly important if you have anything to promote, if you're not entirely comfortable with the format, you may not enjoy doing it.  When you don't enjoy doing something, it's hard to turn it into a solid regular habit.  Long story short, I like blogging and I need to be more active on social media.  You can see where this is (hopefully) going.  

Bee well & read well!