Global Health and Development as Foreign Policy – Presented by Chautauqua Institution

Miller Bell Tower - Chautauqua Institution

Take an Educational Vacation in Beautiful Western New York State! Chautauqua Institution allows us to experience Performing Arts, Religion, Education and Recreation in the scenic and tranquil setting of Chautauqua Lake.

Team VP – Vacation Properties would like to let you know that Chautauqua Institution is offering 1 full week dedicated to Global Health and Development as Foreign Policy: Week 1 of Chautauqua’s 2011 Season: June 25 – July 2.

Lecturers will discuss topics such as:

  • “What is, and what should be, the relationship of U.S. government and private foundation investments toward improving the wellness of global citizens, to U.S. foreign policy?”
  • “How do we decide where to spend valuable resources?”
  • “What other factors affect global health, well being and economic development?”

Experts in this field will be giving lectures throughout the week, including:

  • Paul Farmer, founder, Partners in Health
  • John Hamre, President/CEO, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Helene Gayle, President/CEO, CARE USA
  • Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Foreign Correspondent, NPR

If you’re interested in visiting Chautauqua Institution during Week 1, dedicated to Global Health and Development as Foreign Policy, we have many accommodations for rent on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. Fully equipped and furnished Chautauqua cottages, condos and townhomes are available to suit your needs and make your Chautauqua Experience one to remember! For availability and the option to book online, visit http://bookings.eravp.com

To contact a reservationist and plan your Chautauqua Vacation, call (800) 344-2198 or email rentals@vacationpro.com

As an added bonus, popular entertainment for Week 1 at Chautauqua will include: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers “An Evening of Bluegrass and Banjo” and more!

Find out more about Chautauqua Institution and the details of Week 1 here.

ERA Team VP Agent Awards Luncheon

On Tuesday, March 8th, ERA Team VP Real Estate hosted an Agent Awards Luncheon at the Ellicottville Inn in Ellicottville, NY.  Realtors® from all ERA Team VP offices were present representing Ellicottville, Chautauqua County and all surrounding areas of the Southern Tier of New York State!  ERA Team VP Realtors received awards in various categories based on their hard work and production in 2010.

Some of our Award Winners - pictured in front of the Ellicottville Inn

Congratulations to all of the Realtors of ERA Team VP Real Estate.  Everyone worked hard to build and strengthen their businesses and we are looking forward to an even more successful and prosperous 2011!  We’re already off to a great start!

Check out this video for some of the highlights from the awards luncheon:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahw_fF15Dsw&tracker=False]

Here are our award winners recognized at the Agent Awards Luncheon:

Team Pritchard (Cathy & Melanie Pritchard) – Team Category
#1 Gross Commissions (Company Overall & Ellicottville Office)
#1 Closed Transactions (Company Overall & Ellicottville Office)
#1 New Listings (Company Overall & Ellicottville Office)

Karen Goodell
#1 Gross Commissions (Company Overall & Chautauqua County Office)
#4 Closed Transactions (Chautauqua County Office)
#5 New Listings (Chautauqua County Office)

Tina Dillon
#1 Closed Transactions (Company Overall & Ellicottville Office)
#1 New Listings (Company Overall & Ellicottville Office)
#3 Gross Commissions (Company Overall)
#1 Gross Commissions (Ellicottville Office)

Jane Grice
#2 Gross Commissions (Company Overall & Chautauqua County Office)
#4 Closed Transactions (Company Overall)
#2 Closed Transactions (Chautauqua County Office)

Mary Beth Holt
#2  Closed Transactions (Company Overall)
#3 New Listings (Company Overall)
#1 Closed Transactions (Chautauqua County Office)
#2 New Listings (Chautauqua County Office)
#5 Gross Commissions (Chautauqua County Office)

Linda Wolfe
#2 New Listings (Company Overall)
#1 New Listings (Chautauqua County Office)

Jeff Fellows
#3 Closed Transactions (Company Overall & Chautauqua County Office)

Greg Spako
#3 Closed Transactions (Company Overall)
#2 Closed Transactions (Ellicottville Office)
#4 Gross Commissions (Ellicottville Office)
#4 New Listings (Ellicottville Office)

Dale Sandberg
#4 New Listings (Company Overall)
#3 New Listings (Chautauqua County Office)

Amy DeTine
#4 Gross Commissions (Company Overall)
#5 Closed Transactions (Company Overall)
#2 Gross Commissions (Ellicottville Office)
#3 Closed Transactions (Ellicottville Office)
#3 New Listings (Ellicottville Office)

Wayne Reimondo
#5 Gross Commissions (Company Overall)
#3 Gross Commissions (Chautauqua County Office)
#5 Closed Transactions (Chautauqua County Office)

Andree McRae
#5 New Listings (Company Overall)
#2 New Listings (Ellicottville Office)
#5 Closed Transactions (Ellicottville Office)
#5 Gross Commissions (Ellicottville Office)

Sandy Goode
#3 Gross Commissions (Ellicottville Office)
#4 Closed Transactions (Ellicottville Office)
#5 New Listings (Ellicottville Office)

Becky Colburn
#4 Gross Commissions (Chautauqua County Office)

Wayne Weaver
#4 New Listings (Chautauqua County Office)

Special Awards:
Most Improved (at least doubled their production from the previous year)
Dale Sandberg (Chautauqua County Office)
Sandy Goode (Ellicottville Office)

Rookie of the Year (based on production of newest agents to the company)
Wayne Weaver language translate . web services israel domain list ip owner schedule cloud .

Offering a Higher Level of Expertise Enables Agents to Meet the Needs of Today’s Buyers and Sellers

By Nick Caruso

RISMEDIA, January 20, 2011—Today’s real estate customers and clients have access to much more information than they did in the past. As their access to information will continue to increase with the introduction of new technology, real estate professionals must stay ahead of the curve to offer a greater degree of value to meet the needs of today’s customers. Here, Bill Soffel, president and CEO, broker of ERA Team VP Real Estate in Chautauqua, New York discusses how he is giving his agents the tools they need to be the experts in today’s market, and well into the future.

 
Bill Soffel
President & CEO / Broker
ERA Team VP Real Estate
Chautauqua, New York & Ellicottville, New York

Regions served: Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties of New York
Years in real estate: 28
Number of agents: 50
Average listing price: $175,000
Average days on market: 151

Best advice for real estate rookies: From the very beginning, conduct your real estate practice as a business and spend considerable time on market research, budgeting, goal-setting and performance tracking.

Key to staying profitable: Formal business planning is the key to profitability, and never more so than during a challenging market like we find ourselves in right now. Profit must be budgeted and planned for. A solid business plan provides the foundation or template from which to make adjustments as market conditions change.

What is your biggest challenge in today’s market and how is your company taking it on?
Our greatest challenge is offering the right type of training and support to our agents so they can successfully navigate through this tough market. Many of the tools and strategies they used when the market was at its peak just aren’t working anymore. We need to help them adapt, and at the same time, help them refocus on the basics.

How are you keeping consumers educated about today’s buying opportunities?
We are certainly moving away from the traditional methods, like print advertising, and focusing more on new technology. Since over 90% of buyers start their property search on the Internet, we are pushing our listings to as many real estate websites as we can, constantly updating and refreshing our own website, and are jumping heavily into social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

What have been some of your most effective strategies for working in today’s market?
Inventory management has been a real focus and it has yielded results for us. We are updating our CMAs for our sellers more frequently, recommending price adjustments accordingly, and frankly, are more willing to decline listings that cannot be properly priced. When sellers have followed our advice on pricing their properties ahead of the market trend, we have seen a higher list-to-sale price ratio and a reduction in days on market.

How do you determine your marketing spend?
We break down our marketing budget into two components: one for the money we will spend as a company to build our image and brand recognition, and one for money we will make available to our agents for their self promotion and promotion of their properties. We require that our agents submit a business plan if they want to access these company-provided marketing dollars, and we determine the allocation amount for each agent based on past production and the strength of their plan for the upcoming year. This allows us to direct our resources to the agents who can provide the best return on our investment.

What do you tell sellers about this market?
Seek out the real estate agent and company with the most knowledge and expertise in your local market, and follow their advice on the best pricing strategy for current market conditions. Too often, sellers insist on setting an asking price based on old market conditions or based on factors unrelated to the market, and end up overpricing. Buyers have many resources available to them with today’s technology and are very educated on the market. They don’t respond well to overpriced listings.

What is essential to your company’s ongoing success?
We have to be successful in providing a greater degree of value in order to meet the needs of the new age of buyers and sellers. Our customers and clients are very knowledgeable by the time they connect with us; we have to offer a much higher level of expertise than they are able to obtain on their own. At the same time, we have to find better ways to attract young, tech-savvy agents into our profession.

Have you heard about RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN)? RREIN is an elite network of leading real estate companies dedicated to providing consumers and their agents with leading real estate information, and committed to the belief that Information Share Equals Market Share. Having only launched this past June 2010, the RREIN network is already comprised of 40 leading brokerages, which make up 575 offices, 30,000 agents, 167,000 closings and represents over $41 billion in transactions.

Copyright© 2011 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.

Wine Weekends in Western New York

Are you looking for a fun fall activity?  Take advantage of our local wineries and breweries at these great events the next 2 weekends!  Want to turn your trip into a weekend getaway?  Call Team VP and we can help you find the perfect place to stay!

November 6th & 7th or 13th & 14thVisit the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail for their Harvest Wine Weekend!  Visit 21 wineries for $35/ticket: enjoy wonderful food & wine pairings, receive a commemorative wine glass, a gift and a $5 voucher.  Pre-purchase tickets online at www.chautauquawinetrail.org or call 877.326.6561

*Featured Properties for rent along the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail (all less than 5 min. from Mazza Chautauqua Cellars on the Wine Trail)

88 Stoessel, Chautauqua  sleeps 10

 

  • 5 bedrooms
  • 4.5 baths (2 with jacuzzi tubs)
  • 3 separate living areas
  • large deck w/ gas grill

Hunt Lea Condominiums  sleeps 8

  • brand new condominium!
  • 3 bedrooms
  • 2 baths
  • open living area & full kitchen

NorthShore Townhome  sleeps 8

  • 2 bedrooms + loft
  • 2.5 baths
  • living/dining area with gas fireplace

 

November 12th & 13th   3:30 – 7:30

The 7th Annual Beer and Wine Festival, hosted by Ellicottville Brewing Company and Southern Tier Brewing Company, will be held at Holiday Valley Ski Resort’s Yodeler Lodge in Ellicottville, NY.  Guests will be able to sample hand-crafted beers from over 30 of the best NY State and American craft breweries and wines from New York State, Southern Ontario and Ellicottville vintners.

Pre-sale tickets: $40  Purchase Online HERE
Ticekts at the door: $47

*Featured properties for rent near Holiday Valley Ski Resort

Winter Winds Chalet  sleeps 10  (Walk to the Yodeler Lodge!)

  • 4 bedrooms
  • 3 baths
  • woodburning fireplace
  • gorgeous views of the slopes and winter foliage!

Valley Village # 3  sleeps 8  (Walk to the Yodeler Lodge!)

  • 3 bedrooms + loft
  • 2.5 baths
  • 3-level townhouse
  • rear deck w/ Hot Tub & gas grill

Valley Village # 17  sleeps 11  (Walk to the Yodeler Lodge!)

  • 3 bedrooms + loft
  • 2 baths
  • beautiful hardwood floors & leather furniture
  • gas fireplace
  • beautiful slopeside location

 

Have you been to any of these festivals in the past?  What were your favorite wines and/or craft beers?  We’d love to hear from you!

We’re Still the Same Great Team!

ERA Team VP Real Estate & Vacation Rentals… (formerly ERA Vacation Properties) we have refreshed our name & our logo to reflect all that our team has to offer you!

ERATeamVPlogo

And guess what??  Our BRAND NEW website has officially launched!  Visit www.myteamvp.com to easily search all properties listed for sale in both Chautauqua & Cattaraugus Counties.  Looking for a house in Jamestown, Chautauqua, Bemus Point, Mayville, Lakewood, Ellicottville, Salamanca, Great Valley, etc, etc… our website will give you the ability to view property pictures, details, a map & directions, a satellite image, community info… see for yourself!

Looking for a Vacation Rental near the ski slopes in Ellicottville, on Chautauqua Lake, in Chautauqua Institution, or any of the surrounding areas?  View all properties available and easily book online!

We also provide full service property management, including: property association management, repair & maintenance and cleaning and housekeeping services!

Take a look at our website and let us know what you think!  We hope you’ll continue to use our site as your favorite place to search for properties, vacation rentals or area information! server ip domain expiring . webhosting info . compare hotel prices . domain analysis