PSA Foundation Spotlight: MOWD Celebrity Chefs’ Celebration

Dishes featuring double smoked-bacon chowder, spiced molten milk chocolate cake, and shrimp and grits with white wine butter sauce are designed to make your mouth water. But delicious culinary creations are not the only thing on the menu at the 2021 Celebrity Chefs’ Celebration event. This annual Meals on Wheels Delaware fundraiser serves up support for area seniors in need and is our PSA Foundation spotlight for April.

MOWD is a non-profit organization that supports the delivery of nutritious meals to homebound seniors, age 60 and above, who may be battling hunger, isolation, or loss of independence. By raising awareness and funds, MOWD helps the various statewide meal delivery programs coordinate the charitable contributions that aid in their mission.

A history of support

From a guest bartender event to a homemade soup cook-off, PSA has supported the Meals on Wheels effort through many fundraising events over the years. Several members of the PSA family also volunteer their time to the meal delivery programs. Patterson-Schwartz is a proud returning sponsor of the Celebrity Chef event for 2021.

The 2019 Patterson-Schwartz Guest Bartender event raised over $7000 for MOWD

Mike Clement, a member of The Crifasi Group of the PSA Greenville Sales Office, has served as Board Chair for MOWD since 2019. He also has served as a member of the Board of Directors since 2013 and as a Celebrity Chefs Brunch silent auction committee co-chair since 2005.   

“So much can be gained from being a part of an organization like ours,” says Mike. “There is a sense of community and belonging to a network of like-minded individuals you can call friends. The best part of the experience is meeting our clients, the deserving homebound seniors across Delaware, who are so appreciative of the personal touch our home delivery programs provide.”

Now, more than ever, your contribution counts

Meals on Wheels Delaware supports five meal programs throughout the state. As a result of the pandemic, they have seen the number of home-bound seniors using their services increase more than 26%. In 2020, they reported the delivery of over 877,000 meals to 6,285 local seniors. 

Like many recent fundraising events, the 2021 Celebrity Chefs’ Celebration has gotten creative with its format. The event taking place April 19 through 25 will continue to showcase local chefs, wine and spirit producers, culinary personalities, and of course, the fantastic food, but in a hybrid experience. Guests and sponsors have a choice of dine-in and take-out options, with a virtual component that features interaction with the participating chefs, entertainment, and an online silent auction. To learn more about MOWD, this year’s event, and how you can participate, please click here.  

Culinary delights from the 2019 Celebrity Chef’s Brunch, photos courtesy of Nicolette Pomije

Together we can light the way to a better tomorrow 

The PSA Foundation was created in 2001 and supports numerous local charities and organizations whose causes are close to the hearts of the Patterson-Schwartz family of sales associates, employees, and friends. We invite you to learn more about how Patterson-Schwartz is giving back to the communities where we live, work, and play, and to connect with us when you’re ready to partner with a local real estate expert.

Patterson-Schwartz Launches Coastal Rentals Division

In January of 2020, the Property Management team of Patterson-Schwartz was laying the groundwork for its Coastal Rental division. Their first major project was taking on the rental management services for the association at One Virginia Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. Little did anyone know that the start of this new venture would coincide with the challenges of a world-wide pandemic and state-ordered shutdowns.

Boardwalk access for One Virginia Avenue located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

“We are forever grateful for the trust that was placed in us by the owners of such an established property and active rental hub,” says PSA Property Management manager Brian Pomije of the One Virginia Avenue condos. “We owe a lot to Patterson-Schwartz leadership and the capable team at the helm of our Coastal Rentals division.”

Placing safety first and serving the clients and properties with care was paramount to navigating the rental market in 2020. As the year came to a close, Patterson-Schwartz Coastal Rentals successfully booked 198 weeks’ worth of rentals.

A busy season ahead

At this time, Patterson-Schwartz Coastal Rentals is in charge of over 50 rental properties with plans to grow. They recently launched a new web page and anticipate new rental opportunities in the days ahead.

Patterson-Schwartz has helped homeowners manage their properties since 1977 and has earned a reputation for professionalism. Their services include expert landlord guidance, property maintenance assistance, and tenant relations management. The Coastal Rentals division handles vacation/short-term and long-term rentals in the coastal Delaware community. The team, which operates out of the company’s Rehoboth Sales Center on Highway One, offers local expertise and is sure to be busy this rental season. They can’t wait to see people safely enjoying the Delaware beaches and all they have to offer!

Need someone to manage your property?

Patterson-Schwartz offers professional property management throughout Delaware and nearby communities in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Landlords may choose Full-Management, Non-Management, or the Landlord Assistance Program. Whether you are considering renting out your primary residence or seeking assistance with your investment portfolio, we offer service levels to fit your needs. Reach out today to get started!

PSA Foundation Spotlight: CHEF’s Winter Jam

This month’s Patterson-Schwartz Foundation spotlight is on the Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation (CHEF) and their Winter Jam 2021 virtual event.

CHEF was created in 2006 to help the Cape Henlopen School District teachers raise funds for unbudgeted projects, support, and resources for their classrooms. Many students have benefited from the CHEF school supply distribution efforts, scholarship funding, and wellness programs over the years. By engaging the community in its support initiatives, CHEF helps local students obtain the tools to thrive and succeed.

Joe Lingo of the Patterson-Schwartz Rehoboth Beach sales office is a former teacher and active CHEF board member. Many of his colleagues from the PSA coastal Delaware team have kids in the Cape Henlopen School District.

“2020 was a year unlike any other and was very unpredictable,” says Joe. “By helping CHEF, you are helping the Cape stay strong, and our schools remain a positive place for students to learn.”

Winter Jam is CHEF’s annual fundraiser and Patterson-Schwartz is a returning sponsor. This year’s virtual event is on March 26 and includes live stream appearances from local celebrities and musical acts, and a online live auction and gift card drawing. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.

Together we can light the way to a better tomorrow.

The PSA Foundation was created in 2001 and supports numerous local charities and organizations whose causes are close to the hearts of the Patterson-Schwartz family of sales associates, employees, and friends. We invite you to learn more about how Patterson-Schwartz is giving back to the communities where we live, work, and play, and to connect with us when you’re ready to partner with a local real estate expert.

Our Rehoboth Beach Sales Center is conveniently located on Route 1/Coastal Highway. Opened in June 2013, this full-service office is home to more than 30 REALTORS who are proud to serve the real estate needs at the beach and surrounding communities of Sussex County, Delaware.

5 Tips for Making a Successful Offer

Today’s real estate market clearly has high home buyer interest and low housing inventory. With so many buyers competing for a limited number of houses for sale, it’s more important than ever to know the ins and outs of making a confident and competitive offer. Here are five keys to success for this important stage in the home buying process.

1. Listen to Your Real Estate Advisor

An article from Freddie Mac offers guidance on making an offer on a home today. Right off the bat, it points out how emotional this can be for buyers and why your trusted agent can help you stay focused on the most important things:

“Remember to let your home buying team guide you on your journey, not your emotions. Their support and expertise will keep you from compromising on your must-haves and future financial stability.”

Your real estate professional should be your primary source for answers to the questions you have when you’re ready to make an offer.

2. Understand Your Finances

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Bottom Line

Today’s competitive landscape makes it more important than ever to make a strong offer on a home. Connect with one of our local experts to make sure you rise to the top along the way. We’ve been guiding home buyers and sellers since 1961.

Source: “Things to Consider When Buying a Home” Spring 2021 Edition, courtesy of Keeping Current Matters

2020 Patterson-Schwartz Realty Alliance Sales Award Honorees

Real Estate transactions during 2020 were certainly a bit of an adventure but, despite the shutdowns and restrictions, Patterson-Schwartz was able to adapt, thrive, and ultimately assist more clients with their homeownership needs in 2020 than in the previous year.  This accomplishment would not have been possible without the hard work and perseverance of our family of sales associates.

Realty Alliance Sales Award plaques were distributed to Patterson-Schwartz honorees in early March 2021

The Realty Alliance is a network of North America’s elite real estate firms, and each year they identify the leading residential sales professionals for their exceptional performance.

The Patterson-Schwartz agents and teams recognized for their efforts in 2020 make up the top 15% of our sales associates in the individual categories of Units and Total Dollar Volume. The qualifying amounts were 18 Units, and/or a Total Dollar Volume of $5,500,000.

A Commitment to Exceptional Service

The 2020 Realty Alliance Sales Awards are well-deserved, especially considering the year’s uncertain outlook and business challenges. We are thrilled to congratulate the 75+ Patterson-Schwartz agents and teams for being recognized at a national level for their outstanding efforts and accomplishments. These honorees exemplify our company’s dedication to providing superior guidance and service while offering exceptional knowledge of market conditions and a commitment to represent clients honestly and professionally.

2020 Realty Alliance Sales Award recipients, listed by sales office:

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PSA Foundation Spotlight: UnLocke the Light’s Sean’s House

This month’s PSA Foundation Spotlight is on Sean’s House of Newark, Delaware. Created by the local nonprofit SL24: UnLocke the Light, Sean’s House is located within walking distance of the University of Delaware campus and offers a mental health safe haven for young adults ages 14-24.

Sean’s House was developed in the hopes of reducing the rate of youth suicide by providing a place for young adults to feel safe, welcomed, and supported, and by promoting mental wellness through access to trained peer support specialists and assistance connecting with community mental health resources. Guests can use the space to do schoolwork, relax with friends, or simply pick up a hot cup of coffee.

Kate Bianchino of the Patterson-Schwartz Greenville sales office has been involved with UnLocke the Light and Sean’s House at various levels since its inception in 2018 through weekly volunteer work and contributions to annual fundraisers and special events.

“Mental health programs and support is something we all know is much needed,” says Kate. “The programs at Sean’s House and the community outreach that UnLocke the Light provides is removing stigmas and creating a safe and welcoming space for students and young adults on their path to health and wellness.”

At this time, many of our community’s charitable partners are suffering from the inability to hold large, in-person fundraisers, so they need our support now more than ever. To learn more about Sean’s House, the story behind the SL24: UnLocke the Light Foundation, and how you can get involved, please visit their website.

Together we can light the way to a better tomorrow.

The PSA Foundation was created in 2001 and supports numerous local charities and organizations whose causes are close to the hearts of the Patterson-Schwartz family of sales associates, employees, and friends. We invite you to learn more about how Patterson-Schwartz is giving back to the communities where we live, work, and play, and to connect with us when you’re ready to partner with a local real estate expert.

Why Low Inventory is a Win for Sellers

Real estate continues to be called the ‘bright spot’ in the current economy, but there’s one thing that may hold the housing market back from achieving its full potential this year: the lack of homes for sale.

Buyers are actively searching for and purchasing homes, looking to capitalize on today’s historically low interest rates, but there just aren’t enough houses for sale to meet that growing need. Nadia Evangelou, Senior Economist & Director of Forecasting for the National Association of Realtors(NAR), explains:

“These ultra-low mortgage rates make homebuying more attractive, boosting activity to the highest level since 2006…Nevertheless, inventory continues to fall, widening the gap between housing demand and supply.”

According to NAR, right now unsold inventory sits at a 2.5-month supply at the current sales pace. To have a balanced market where there are enough homes for sale to meet buyer demand, the market needs 6 months of inventory. Today, we’re nowhere near that number. If this trend continues, it will get even harder to find homes to purchase, and that may slow down potential buyers. Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for realtor.com, notes:

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Source: “Things to Consider When Selling Your House” Winter 2021 edition, courtesy of Keeping Current Matters

This Old House

Contributing blogger Charlie Schwartz, II, shares real estate insight steeped in family tradition in the January 2021 Schwartz Report

My father was fond of dispensing real estate bromides in the form of little parables that more often than not had snappy punch lines.   They often left the receiver scratching their head trying to winnow out what he was intending.  For example, take these two which are particularly appropriate to today’s inventory starved seller’s market:  “You can’t sell fruit from an empty wagon”; or, “You wouldn’t go to Happy Harry’s if Happy Harry didn’t have anything on the shelf.”  By which he meant to charge us with the need to urge more sellers to put their homes on the market NOW! For a buyer’s market when prices were too high and showing activity stagnant, there was this one: “Too much weight stops the freight.” That generates images of a little steam engine struggling to pull a heavy load up an impossible incline much like a seller trying to get more for his property than the current market will bear.

To a buyer, most appropriately to a first time buyer, there’s this gem:  “Never buy a home on a road with a line down the middle of it.” This gets at the three most important things about residential real estate, location, location and location. Highway departments put lines on roads with significant traffic counts, don’t they? So stay away from them. Here’s one that will need some explaining. It gets to the subject at hand:  “Never buy a home that is older than you are.” This seems like the most improbable dictate of them all. It might be difficult to follow especially in our three state market area where many homes date well into the last century and beyond.

photo scanned from “Houses, The Illustrated Guide to Construction, Design and Systems” by Henry Harrison

Here he was advising that you not take on more of a fixer upper than your age, finances, temperament and or experience will allow. A historic home, one full of “character”, which may have been the former residence of some important family, might just be a project that you take on at your peril, a bridge too far. The illustration above is one of 56 that appear in the first reference book that I bought after starting in the business. Houses, The Illustrated Guide to Construction, Design and Systems by Henry Harrison was published in conjunction with the National Association of Realtors in 1973 and many sections, particularly those dealing with classic home architecture, are still valid today. Want to know the difference between a Cape Cod Colonial and a Cape Ann Colonial or a Dutch Colonial and a Salt Box Colonial; it’s in there. You will find a Swiss Chalet and a Spanish Villa as well.

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Content by Charlie Schwartz, II ©2021. Visit charlieschwartz.com for more Schwartz Report content.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait Until Spring to Buy a Home

The housing market recovery has been nothing short of remarkable. Many experts agree the turnaround from the nation’s economic pause is playing out extremely well for real estate, so it’s framing up to be an ideal time to buy a home for those who are ready to make a purchase. Here’s a dive into some of the biggest wins for home buyers this season.

1. Mortgage Rates Are Low

In 2020, mortgage rates hit all-time lows more than a dozen times, falling below 3% for the first time ever. Continued low rates have set buyers up for significant long-term gains. realtor.com notes: “Given this means homes could cost potentially tens of thousands less over the lifetime of the loan.”Essentially, it’s less expensive to borrow money for a home loan today, a huge opportunity for buyers to capitalize on right now, before rates start to rise.

2. Buying Is More Affordable Than Renting

This trend toward low mortgage rates has made the typical monthly payment (including principal and interest) less expensive for buyers. According to realtor.com:“Over the past year, many counties have seen the difference between the cost to purchase a home compared to the cost to rent a home improve toward favoring buying a home.”Buying a home versus renting one may be a game-changer, as it amplifies long-term savings for homeowners. When paying a mortgage, as opposed to paying rent, that money is reinvested back in your favor. Instead of contributing to your landlord’s savings, you’re contributing to your own net worth. This is a term called equity, and it is one of the biggest financial benefits of owning a home.

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Source: “Things to Consider When Buying a Home” Winter 2021 edition, courtesy of Keeping Current Matters

PSA Turkey Drive

Jennifer Jamieson of PSA Greenville

We are so thankful for our office admins who not only keep our day-to-day running smoothly but help spearhead many of our fundraising efforts. Hats off to Jennifer Jamieson in the Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate Greenville Center for coordinating our PSA “Fill the Freezer” Turkey Drive benefitting the Sunday Breakfast Mission. This 2 day collection effort resulted in donations of 28 turkeys and over $25 from the PSA family.

The Sunday Breakfast Mission, a local charity based out of Wilmington, Delaware, provides care and support to many homeless, hurting, and hungry men, women, and children. Active fundraising provides shelter, meals, clinics, and many more services for these individuals.

Learn how you can help SBM this holiday season by visiting their website.