She appeared in a block quote, next to an AP article titled, "Homes sales up, offering hope for housing recovery," by Derek Kravitz. 

She shared local analysis on why the housing market in Chittenden County has not yet reflected the jump in sales that was seen nationally in December. Here's what she had to say:

"We follow the major markets; we always have. We're two to three years behind Boston and New York; that is what I've seen happening all the time. So that's a good sign if they're moving more houses, we'll be following in their trail."

Click here to read the AP article that appeared in BFP's Saturday print edition.

This month, we received two notes from past clients who said the nicest things about the Nancy Jenkins Team:
 

This is the second time I've used the Nancy Jenkins Team for the sale of my home. The real estate market was COMPLETELY the opposite during this past sale. The Nancy Jenkins Team never gave up and the house sold. If you have a home that you think will never sell - call the Nancy Jenkins Team, you won't regret it!"

- Michael E. Gates
January 11, 2012

Nancy Jenkins and her associates are a highly professional team. We live out-of-state and had to arrange all aspects of the listing and sale over the phone. They did everything that needed to be done promptly and with efficiency. All phone calls were returned and concerns alleviated. We highly recommend Nancy and her team.

- Rosemary & David Bitzer
  January 18, 2012
 

Let the award-winning Nancy Jenkins Team help you write your real estate success story! We'd love to work with you. Call us today at 802-846-4888!

She writes, "Never simple, the philosophy — and the psychology — of home pricing has grown ever more nuanced as markets drop and edge back up, then stabilize, only to dip again."

While most Realtors agree that price trumps other salability factors, such as condition and marketing, setting the true value of a house can prove challenging, especially in this market. This is why it is critical that homeowners committed to selling their property set a realistic price from the beginning.

Those of you who have sold your home with me and my team will recognize my "Is Your Price ON TARGET?" bulls-eye, which helps sellers use real-life data like their number of showings to date and number of offers to set and adjust their home price.

Click here to read Anderson's full article, "Setting a Listing Amount Is the Key to the Deal."

We are very proud to announce that the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington is the recipient of a 2011 Prudential Global Volunteer Day Challenge Grant.

The club will receive a $1,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation, in recognition of its committement to improving the lives of children and families in Burlington. Congratulations to all of the wonderful kids and staff at the club who contribute so much to our community.

The grant comes as the result of a special Dinner & Internet Essentials Night held at the Club, on September 29, 2011, that was organized and led by the Nancy Jenkins Team. Our team had help from an enthusiastic group of volunteers, made up of clients, customers, and vendors.

The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington has served area youth since 1942. Their mission is to inspire and enable community youth to realize their full potential as productive, healthy, responsible and caring citizens. They offer programs for children and teens in grades K-12.

"Entrenched poverty has escalated," says the club, "and we have expanded our services that focus on the basic needs of the children we serve--food, clothing, and adult guidance."

The Nancy Jenkins Team has been a long-standing supporter of the Boys & Girls Club, organizing regular dinners at the club's Kids Cafe and assisting with promoting other club events. Nancy Jenkins serves on its Board of Directors.

Says Nancy, "We really enjoy meeting the kids and working with clients and cusomters during the meals we organize for them a few times each year. Every child is a gift and every child has unique strengths that contribute to our community."

Prudential's Global Volunteer Day is celebrated annually on October 1. It brings together over 30,000 volunteers worldwide participating in more than 800 projects in 11 countries. It is an initiative of The Prudential Foundation, which invests over $25 million annually in grants that support the revitalization of communities and support Prudential employees' community engagement efforts.

Our sincere thanks goes to The Prudential Foundation--and the many people who participated in our Global Volunteer Day event--for their generosity.

The World Giving Report, the largest of its kind, looks at charitable behavior in over 150 countries.

This year the United States moved to first place from fifth place, with Americans reporting a 4% increase in volunteering time and an 8% increase in helping a stranger. 

Interestingly, prosperity and giving do not always go hand-in-hand. Countries whose populations are the most likely to give are not necessarily the world's most affluent. Only five of the countries that feature in the World Bank's Top 20 by GDP (PPP) feature in CAF's World Giving Index Top 20

In the spirit of the giving season, Nancy and Bryan are making donations to the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, The Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS), The Sara Holbrook Center, Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, Women Helping Battered Women, The United Way of Chittenden County, and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. 

If you have not already made your year-end charitable gifts, please consider giving to some of these important and much-needed organizations in our community. Charity Navigator is a helpful resource for selecting top-notch charities.

We wish you all a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season, on behalf of the entire Nancy Jenkins Team—Nancy, Bryan, Alison, Amanda, Carol, Cindy, David, Jason, Jennifer, Jim, Patti, & Ruth.

The deliciousness of this pumpkin pie comes from the maple syrup, which adds an earthy caramel flavor. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:

• 10-inch pie crust
• 1 cup Grade B Maple Syrup
• 2 cups fresh or canned pumpkin (or squash)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 large eggs

Directions:

Prepare a 10-inch pie crust or purchase one. Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a saucepan gently boil maple syrup and let cool. (You may also substitute unheated Grade A fancy syrup.) In a bowl whisk together pumpkin, spices, salt, cream, milk, and eggs and whisk in maple syrup.

Pour filling into shell and brush edge of shell with some egg wash. Bake pie in middle of oven for 70 minutes, or until filling is set but center shakes slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer pie to a rack to cool completely.

Optional: Serve with bourbon whipped cream

Clocks in the United States officially roll back one hour on November 6, at 2am, when Daylight Savings Time ends, giving you an extra hour of sleep! (This is your chance for a little bonus hiberation time before the busy holiday season ahead. Thanksgiving is three weeks away!)

Sunday is also a good time to REPLACE BATTERIES in your home all your SMOKE ALARMS and CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS. 

Homeowners should check their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors monthly -- and replace batteries annually -- to keep them running in optimum condition. Did you know that most injuries and deaths from residential fires happen at night while victims are asleep? This is why fully functioning detectors are so critical.

So why not REPLACE YOUR BATTERIES THIS WEEKEND?

Put it on your home to-do list today!

Glowing Jack o Lanterns! Black cats! Witches hats! Spider webs! Spooky Goblins! Gravestones! Piles of Candy! King Kong-sized Sweet Tooths. It's almost that thriller night, Halloween!

Catch the Halloween spirit!  Visit a local Vermont pumpkin patch to pick your own pumpkin. Make your own Halloween costume. Bake scary tasty Witch Finger Cookies. Decorate your house for trick-or-treaters!

Here are some of our favorite Halloween events happening around the Burlington and Chittenden County Area this weekend:

• The Haunted Forest at Catamount Family Center. Good-natured thrills and chills await visitors at this spooky take on outdoor theater. Children's matinee shows on Saturday, October 29, 11am-2 pm
• Haunted Happenings at Shelburne Museum. Trick-or-treating on the grounds of Shelburne Museum. Plus games and other seasonal fun. October 30, 10am-1pm
• Nightmare Vermont at Picard Circle, South Burlington. The state's creative and evil geniuses scare the socks off visitors to this interactive PG-13-rated haunted house. "Monster wards" and "monster teasers" customize the experience. Performances start roughly every 10 minutes. October 29, 6pm

Remember, some simple planning and common sense can help keep your superheroes, ghosts, and goblins in tip-top shape right through Halloween:

• Eat a good meal before trick-or-treating to discourage youngsters from filling up on Halloween candy.
• Ask kids to wait until they're back home and have checked through candy before eating any. An adult should examine all treats and throw away spoiled, unwrapped, or suspicious items.
• Try to ration treats for the days following Halloween.

The National Fire Protection Association recommends an annual chimney inspection and sweep for your home. This is because soot builds up on the inside of your chimney over the course of normal use, restricting the flow of heat up and out of your chimney.

More dangerously, though, soot can catch on fire, causing significant damage to your chimney and general property.

An inspection and sweep generally takes 60-90 minutes and costs up to $300.

You can find a certified chimney sweep here in Vermont through the Chimney Safety Institute of America.

We recommend local chimney sweep David Kehoe, of Artful Chimney Services -- (802) 658-3253.

PIECE OF TRIVIA: Did you know that in parts of Great Britain it's still considered lucky for a bride to see a chimney sweep on her wedding day? Many enterprising British sweeps still hire themselves out at weddings.

National Chimney Sweep Guild Logo.

On Sept 29, 2011, the Nancy Jenkins Team organized a fun-filled "Dinner and Internet Essentials Night" for kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington. The event was organized as part of Prudential's 2011 Global Volunteer Day. We had a blast!

We started our event on September 27 with a trip to a local apple orchard, Shelburne Orchards, where children picked apples and completed a treasure hunt. Each child took home apples—and picked apples for our main event on the 29th. Delicious!

The dinner was a huge success, with over 130 children served. A local prizing-winning BBQ team, Sweet Breathe BBQ, headed by one of our former clients, helped us to make a nutritious dinner of pulled chicken, pasta salad, green salad, and vegetables with dipping sauce—as well as cake and apples for dessert. The kids loved the BBQ! Of the 40 pounds of chicken made, none was left by the end of the night.

The highlight of our event was a Computer Give-away. Our team donated 11 gently used Dell desktop computers that were raffled off during dinner. Eleven happy children took home a computer to share with their family, perfect for doing homework, writing e-mails, surfing the web, and more.

This is our third year at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington. It's a terrific way to support children in the community.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped make our event a success:

Carol Blouin, Russ Cooke, Jason Gerlack, Diane Handy, David Miner, Cindy Warfield-Sowalskie, Maggie McEntee, Eric Gray, Chris Mazur, Sweet Breathe BBQ, Mark Benton, Gabe Handy, Eileen Casey, Laura Ludlum, David Cooper, Pamela Hunt, Alison Barges Derouchie, Meredith Barges, Jennifer Cassani, Ruth Hamilton, Patti Brinckerhoff, Nancy Cathcart, Benton Mitchell, Jim Mitchell, Brianna Sibley, Bryan Jackson, Alison Card, David Card, Glenn Sowalskie, Tuck Rainwater, Nick Cowles

Check out the full photo album on our Facebook page -- www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150335243703893.352009.206999083892&type=3. Please "Like" us while you're visiting!

When you buy or sell your home with the Nancy Jenkins Team, you don't just receive professional care from our award-winning team.

You also connect to a group of tried-and-true local professionals who will provide you with superior services, before and after your move.

Need a good furniture cleaner? Try All Seasons. Need a roofer? We know the perfect guy!

Take, for instance, the exceptional team of accountants at Angolano & Company. Not only is this business family owned and operated, they know the value of community. Since Hurricane Irene devastated parts of Vermont, they've been collecting donations for Vermont flood victims.

They get our very highest seal of approval.

Let us introduce you to some more of our local favorites!

A "Man Cave" housing vintage motorcycles. Courtesy of Jeffery M. Dean.

A Man Cave could be the latest must-have feature on the sophisticated homebuyer's wish list...or at least, a good basement for building one.

Snug, masculine, plastered with music and sports memorabilia, often subterranean, and smelling of beer, a man cave is a place where a man can retreat and do guy things, in his own home.

According to the Man Cave Site, a man cave is "A dedicated area of a house, such as a basement, workshop, or garage, where a man can be alone or socialize with his friends."

Homeowners are known to make considerable investments in these testerone-conentrated areas, some spending up to $50,000 furnishing and decorating their Man Caves to their unique taste. 

But most Man Caves are probably built on a more college-aged budget.

Does your home have a man cave? How is it decorated? Can you imagine life without the man cave?

* * *

Watch "America's Man Caves", a short news story from BBC News.

Check out some interesting Man Cave incarnations.

Manning the grill: from left, Dave Bessery; Nancy Jenkins and Cindy Warfield-Sowalskie
of the Nancy Jenkins Team; Eric Gray, of Sweet Breathe BBQ; and Marc Benton,
of Regency Mortgage Corp.

On September 29, The Nancy Jenkins Team and our clients will host a BBQ dinner for kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, prepared by Grill Master Eric Gray, of Sweet Breathe BBQ. Our team of 15-20 volunteers will plan, cook, and serve a nutritious 3-course meal for nearly 100 kids.

But that's not all!

In conjunction with the BBQ, ComCast will host an informational event for parents about its Internet Essentials Program. Through the program, qualifying families can purchase fast, reliable internet home service for just $9.95 per month. As ComCast explains, “If your child receives free school lunches through the National School Lunch Program, you may qualify.”

To top off the night, The Nancy Jenkins Team will raffle off twelve "gently used" Dell computers, loaded with basic software and ready to go.

In volunteering during this week, the Nancy Jenkins Team and our group of client and vendor volunteers join forces with thousands of Prudential associates and volunteers around the world participating in Prudential’s 2011 Global Volunteer Day. Held every year near the first weekend of October, this initiative encourages Prudential associates to get more involved in their communities.

Last year, over 25,000 associates, their families, and friends made a difference in 7 countries, 41 states, and over 800 projects. With your help, we can make this year’s event an even greater success!

Shifts are available between 2:30 and 6:00pm, with food prep, serving, and clean-up.

Based on our participation, The Prudential Foundation may also provide a generous $1,000 grant to our nonprofit partner organization, the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington.

Join us! Join in the fun! Meet the fabulous kids of the Boys & Girls Club.

For more information or to register as a volunteer, e-mail meredith(at)nancyjenkins.com.

Adam Gerlack, of The Vermont National Guard, delivering food aid in Pittsfield, VT. 

We send our best to all affected up here in flood-ravaged Vermont, which now has been declared a Federal Disaster Area. Tropical Storm Irene has caused devastating damage to our area in the worst flooding since 1927. Nancy and I and our families are all safe, and we have power, water, food, and shelter, but many have lost their homes or their homes have suffered major damage.

Towns and cities are cut off as bridges are lost, roadways have been affected, some for many miles. On NBC news this morning, it was reported that the town of Killington is opening a road temporarily so tourists, who have been stranded on the mountain since Saturday, can get back home (some to flood-damaged homes in NJ and elsewhere).

Nancy and I have always supported the American Red Cross in times of national disaster, and now we will be doing the same for our own Vermont state chapter.

Donations can be made to the Vermont and New Hampshire Valley Red Cross.

Many have seen the passionate video on the storm from Jim Cantore, of The Weather Channel.

Our entire state thanks all who have volunteered. There are many people stranded, with no access to food or water. FEMA is here and we are also being helped by the Ohio National Guard, which has sent 10 helicopters to assist in evacuation and emergency supply distribution. More helicopters and assets are being sent here today. 

There is ongoing national coverage of the effects we have from Irene.  

Vermont heads back to school this week. Get ready to see kids gathering at the bus stop, their backpacks filled to the brim with new pencils, erasers, and notebooks. Rows of shiny yellow school buses. A layer of summer dust blowing off the school bell with that first morning ring.

The rush and excitement of the first day of school.

Many in our area mark the start of the school year with the arrival of the Champlain Valley Expo, which runs frrom Aug 27-Sept 5 this year. With Hurricane Irene mostly behind us, the Expo still stay open all week. There's still time to savour that last 3,000-calorie taste of summer. 

Here are back-to-school dates for many local schools:

Champlain Elementary School: September 1

Mallets Bay School: August 31

Essex Elementary School: August 31, Sept 1 (kindergarten)

Milton Town School District: September 1

Orchard and Chamerlain Schools: August 31

Renaissance School: September 6

Shelburne Community School: August 31

Williston School District: August 31

Winooski School Distrcit: September 1

 * * *

2011 - First Days of High School

Burlington High School: Sept 1 (9th graders), Sept 2 (grades 10-12)

Champlain Valley Union HS: August 31 (9th graders), Sept 1 (grades 10-12)

Colchester High School: August 31

Essex High School: August 30 (9th graders), August 31 (grades 10-12)

South Burlington High School: August 31

Hurricane season is here, and the first major storm of 2011 is anticipated to reach Vermont in the next few days. You may aleady have noticed stronger winds and rain here in the Chittenden County area today.

It’s hard to say what we should expect from Irene, but most forecasts predict tropical storm activity, heavy rain and 50-mph winds. You can track the path and intensity of Hurricane Irene at Weather.com -- http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker.

Remember, during a hurricane, keep family and pets indoors. Bring inside loose outdoor objects, like trashcans, potted plants, and lawn furniture. And wait to call 911 to report power outages until service has been restored to your service area.

Here is a Hurricane Preparedness Guide with helpful tips from our friend Jack Cotton, at Sotheby’s International on Cape Cod -- vt-homes.com/pdf/Jack_Cotton-HurricanePrep-Aug2011.pdf

Our friends at Point Bay Marina, in Charlotte, also shared this Vessel Prep Guide.

The IRS has just published new and helpful information for individuals selling their home, to help ensure they file taxes correctly and can determine their eligibility for special real-estate-related deductions.

For example, did you know that a home seller is eligible to exclude the gain from income if he or she has owned and used a home as a main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale?

Find about more by reading the IRS's "Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home": www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=243682,00.html

To help homebuyers face the enduring reality of an ultra-competitive real estate market, he provides five no-nonsense tips for getting your home sold:

1. PRICE AGGRESSIVELY.

2. STAGE LIKE A PRO.

3. GO ALL-OUT ONLINE.

4. BE FLEXIBLE WITH BUYERS.

5. DON'T RUSH TO RENT.

Read the full USAToday article here -- www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-07-02-home-sellers-down-market_n.htm

Click here for the Town of Williston's July 4, 2011 Schedule of Events!