The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay is one of Coastal Delaware’s most beautiful resort properties. Last year when Bill and I were homeless, waiting to move into our new home in Lewes, we were thrilled when good friends told us we could stay at their condo at The Peninsula. If you are new to this blog, you may have missed all the great photos I posted during that time. View Peninsula photos!

The Kingfisher

There are more choices than ever at The Peninsula and the latest addition is the new Coastal Series from Schell Brothers. Just introduced are 6 models in the Marina Bay neighborhood starting at the unbelievable price of $499,900 for The Kingfisher, one of the most popular new models from Schell. In fact, this price is lower than the Base Model price for the same home at Breakwater in Lewes, Delaware. The Spinnaker is priced the same at Breakwater and The Peninsula, and The Beach Plum introductory price is actually $30,000 less! The New Model pricing may not stay this low for very long, so if you have always wished you could afford an elegant single family home at The Peninsula, you should Email Kathy now!

Remember, The Peninsula is the only true gated community in Coastal Delaware. It also features the private Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and amenities that are unmatched in this region.

The Pep Rally and the Benefit Concert took place last night at the Cape Henlopen High School. The auditorium was packed and the crowd was enthusiastically in support of the Extreme Makeover about to take place in Sussex County, Delaware.

Schell Brothers is scheduled to build a home for the selected family beginning Monday, August 22nd, when Ty Pennington knocks on their door to tell them the good news. Donations filled the barrels for the Food Bank of Delaware. Governor Jack Markell joined the celebration and along with the Schell Brothers family led the Pep Rally.

The excitement is building as we wait to learn which family has been selected for an Extreme Makeover here in Sussex County, Delaware. Schell Brothers has been selected as the builder for an upcoming episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. The build will take place between August 22 and 29, 2011, somewhere in Sussex County. Read More

“Building Happiness Extreme Performance”
Cape Henlopen High School Auditorium
Time: 8PM – 9:30PM (immediately following pep rally)
Tickets: $30 (Donation)*
*All proceeds from tickets go to “Sussex County Family Fund”.
“Glee” star, Telly Leung to perform and host the show. Variety show with performances by Blue Moon favorite, Pamela Stanley; Delaware Choral Society; Miss Delaware – Maria Cahill; Pianist Melanie Bradley and vocalist Leigh Nordley; First State Ballet Theatre; Pianist and singer Jerry Birl; Vineland Regional Dance Company; Rob and Jen Barbarita jazz ensemble; Shenandoah graduate, singer/dancer Erika Conaway; Delaware Arts Conservatory tap dancers & AMDA dancers Alexa DeBarr and Christine Slato.

Bill Bell, owner Gotcha Covered, has signed up to help build and I expect there will be lots of volunteers lining up to make this a special moment.

“Many baby boomers who once vowed they would never trust anyone older than 30 are now in their mid-60s — and don’t consider themselves old.” begins the article written by Adam Taylor in the Wilmington News Journal

As one of those Baby Boomers who is now in her 60s, I do not consider myself old! Look for my quote based on my experience working every day with retiring Baby Boomers who are extremely active adults

Read More!

Jamie Hudson

This year Schell Brothers awarded me the “BFF Award”! I think this might be the best award I have ever received.  When Jamie Hudson, Director of Sales, announced the award at the Schell Annual Realtor Event, she said it was because “Kathy is a good friend to Schell Brothers and brings many of her clients to our communities. BUT, she is a better friend to her Buyer clients, even if that means bending Chris Schell’s arm behind his back!” That was the ultimate compliment and it tells you a lot about Schell Brothers.

What do I mean? A lot of builders say they cooperate with Realtors, but what they really want is for us to drop you off at their doorstep and then leave. A serious Buyer Agent will never do that. Our job doesn’t end when we find you a home you might like. It continues throughout the selection process, the actual building and periodic inspections right up to and including settlement. That is true whether it is a to-be-built home, an inventory home, a quick delivery home or a Resale.

The BFF Award

Do I like Schell Brothers? Absolutely, because they build a quality home that is both elegant and energy efficient. They also understand Customer Service and they respect the fact that I represent my client. No matter how hard you work, things can go wrong. I have always found that it is not the problem but how the problem is resolved that people always remember. I have to say that everyone at Schell Brothers, regardless of position or community is a real pleasure to work with.

Do you know the difference between “land lease” and “fee simple”? I never did until I got into real estate and moved to Delaware. In a land lease community, you buy the house but you do not own the land on which it sits. You pay a monthly or annual fee to rent the lot from the owner of the community. Even though this makes the home more affordable, saving the cost of the lot, many people just don’t feel comfortable with the idea. Real estate by definition requires that you own the land as well as the home and the land is where you realize appreciation over time.
So, I was extremely happy to learn that Nobles Pond in Dover, Delaware, made the change from Lot Lease to Fee Simple and announced it December 1st! (more…)

Once a year,  Realtors in Sussex County gather to auction “baskets” of wonderful goodies to raise money for families this holiday season. All of the funds from this event go to a big day of shopping for presents for 100s of families throughout southern Delaware. This year, the selection of items and baskets ranged from wonderful art work to trips, vacations and golf packages. Join us and see how much fun we had!

Front page of the Sunday News Journal featured an article by Eric Ruth on Housing market gains in Delaware. Some of the statistics are still tentative but one fact is clear – Delaware weathered the housing turmoil better than many other parts of the country. Prices have begun to inch up again and builders are pulling permits. Sales of all homes – existing and new are up 34% in Sussex County, the southernmost part of Delaware.

“The coastal Sussex County market is still driven by retirees,” as Ruth quoted Chris Schell, president of Schell Brothers. “Even if it’s not a retirement community or an active adult community, you’re still selling almost all your homes to retirees. That was not true in the housing boom – it was mostly investors and second-home buyers.”

Read the full article!

In a companion article, Wade Malcolm reports that the recovery of lost home equity will take many years for those who bought at the peak. Again, Delawareans are doing better than the national statistics. Only 14.3% of Delawareans have negative equity vs. the Nationwide rate of 23.8% .

It’s always nice to get a compliment and it feels great to be recognized by your own industry for the work that you do. Recently, ActiveAdultsDelaware was recognized for outstanding niche marketing in the real estate industry! We spent much of the past year revising this blog site and providing information for our target market – Baby Boomers who live in Delaware or wish they did. Read the comments at Agent Applause. Both Bill and I are Baby Boomers and we decided that it made sense to focus on working with people we understood and could relate to. It makes business enjoyable for us and, we hope, for our clients as well.