That’s a great question. A nice couple asked me that the other day and it dawned on me I should get that info out there for everyone. It’s a little more involved than baking a cake, to say the least.

Let me first say that we have sold these units to people who have bought with and without agents. Either way, I will be there for you every step of the way- to answer questions and to guide you through the process from start to finish.

Getting back to that nice young couple, (now they are young!) I walked them through the entire process, and thanked them for inspiring me to create a web page explaining the nuts and bolts of buying. You can view it here.

Hope this helps everybody. Let’s keep the dialogue going…

It’s been a fantastic run for The Hudson in the short 6 months since we’ve been around, and we're just one unit shy of averaging 2 sales a month. One of the most common comments I hear when someone shows up is “hey, this place actually looks just like the pictures!” We’re big on keeping it real.

And now, a word about keeping it real.

Oh, if I had a nickel for every expert telling me where the market is headed. And they might be right, but then again…

About 2 years ago I dropped my crystal ball and all the smoke leaked out. Now I can’t conjure up squat. So, I’m stuck following the trends, researching the market, and watching the competition the old fashion way. Truth is, we have diligently been following the market and the local trends almost daily, for the nearly two years it took to bring The Hudson to market. We know what’s out there, where the market sits, and have priced our units to come out on top with the best value. You can look at the national stats all day long, but remember, national has nothing to do with real estate, it's local. It even goes street by street.

In fact, our objective was to actually make the price work itself out to monthly payments that are comparable to renting a like-kind unit. That creates a great deal for you in itself, and raises us above the noise. I suppose if I had to pick the two major factors that stabilize the value of our condos, they would be:

1) The Upgrades. Ever since we started this journey to create a quality lifestyle for the first-time homebuyer, we knew we had to stand out from the crowd- especially in this market- and pay special attention to the details. This aspect gets put to the test each weekend with each open houses, and we pass with flying colors.

2) We take to heart that buying a home is a huge decision, and the biggest investment of your life. We are a strong organization, and can therefore commit to protecting the pricing of those who have already bought here. Nobody wants to stand next to a fellow homeowner, grilling a burger while hearing how they got their home for a lot less- after you purchased yours.

I’m sure location, location, location fits in there somewhere, but I’m trying to avoid clichés.

Finally. I didn't mean to torture anyone, making you sit through the flash presentations so you could get a glimpse of the images (was it really torture?) but sometimes these things just take awhile. How's that for a lame excuse? Anyway, check it out here.

On the other hand, the flash presentations detail what you get in each room, and we think everything we added is top notch. Most of you visiting us are first time home buyers, and our vision was to create a home for you that really felt like you were living at a special place, not the same box you've been renting (with the only difference being you now own this). Hey, you deserve this. Right?

Things are happening pretty quick around here, holiday activity has been great, and we will now have 2 more awesome homeowners ringing in the new year!

AND NOW FOR THE BREAKING NEWS!

Last week, we held our first, "almost-real" homeowners meeting. Not quite the first official HOA meeting for the community, but an important one nonetheless. By unanimous decision, we have lowered the monthly dues to $99 per month! Yep. Just ninety nine bucks.

Voodoo you say?

Nope, just a really sharp pencil and tenacity while re-evaluating the budget. Seems many of the improvement slated for the project was completed by the developer after the initial budget was made, and we are not only strong financially, but overkill with the reserves. Hey, if something crazy came up, the homeowners decided they would rather put in a few extra bucks at that time rather than pumping their hard earned dollars into a pot already overflowing (our reserves currently hover around $80,000.00).

These new HOA dues will kick in starting Jan 1, 2008 and we anticipate, after re-evaluating the budget again for 2009, settling in at around $150.00 per month. Not too shabby. As Cal Worthington would say on his famous car commercials...if you can find lower HOA dues, I'll eat a bug.

Not.