Noreen Payne was the first guest of 2020 on the weekly Delray Morning Live show! Click play to hear Noreen talk about the new diverse and dynamic board members this year on the Delray Beach Chamber. She is Chairman of the Board and shares exactly why she decided to become involved in the Chamber and hints at some exciting new things to come!
By: Noreen Payne
Chairman Elect of the Board of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce
Special to the Delray Newspaper
Delray Beach has won many accolades for being an intimate town with big city sophistication. How do we maintain the image and growth of our wonderful city? We focus on supporting the local businesses that support the city and the people behind it!
Our Chamber focuses on supporting and enticing many businesses to Delray Beach – it is our Chamber’s mission to ensure that our business owners and visitors alike feel welcome and supported each and every day. The Chamber advocates on behalf of the businesses – works to build relationships and networking opportunities within our city, bringing exposure to the businesses to encourage future growth and development, organizing and delivering beneficial training and education to our small business owners who may not have the resources on their own, delivering programs and events to build excitement and focus for all of our Chamber members.
It is pure joy for me to witness a ribbon cutting of a new business in our city – to be there to watch the big smiles on the faces of the entrepreneurs who have chosen our city, Delray Beach, to plant their roots. To then see those same business owners come to one of the Chamber’s networking or education events and watch as they develop relationships and friendships within our local business community and residents. I am exhilarated when I leave a meeting with our City leadership and accomplish a victory on behalf of our Chamber business members – these wins impact the bottom line of our local business owners and I take pride in being a part of this process.
People often ask me “why” I am so involved in the Delray Chamber of Commerce. I must confess it was not an initial goal to be engaged and certainly would never have thought it possible that in 2020, I would be Chair of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce- but here I am! I simply went to an event in the hopes of meeting other local business owners and residents and the energy in the room was infectious. I found I understood our city better, was engaged in changing policy and attracting good businesses for us! I moved on to various leadership roles because I saw the value and the impact to our local community.
At the end of the day we are people looking to build relationships with other people – when we help a local business owner grow their fledgling business into a thriving business that impacts not only that business owner but also our entire economy. As a local resident, I want to see businesses thrive, I want to see new residents move into our area and participate in our community, to see our property values continue to rise and to know that our Delray Chamber is making an impact on our community and residents as a whole.
Here’s how you too can get involved:
Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce
561-278-0424
By: Amy Snook
Special to the Boca and Delray newspapers
When deciding to sell your home, what repairs or enhancements are most important for the sale? The answer varies and depends on many factors such as market conditions, age of home, competition, equity in the property, timeframe for sale and cost of repairs. There are two different aspects to analyze: Repairs and aesthetics.
Aesthetics is the simpler of the two—de-clutter, curb appeal, and painting are items that can easily be fixed. We all know that a potential buyer forms an opinion as soon as they pull up to your home, so pressure cleaning, gardening and lawn are important components of curb appeal if you want top dollar for your home!
If you are selling in a Seller’s market, you may choose to do fewer repairs/enhancements than a Seller who is selling in a Buyer’s market. In addition to the overall market conditions, an analysis of the conditions in your neighborhood such as how many homes are on the market, how long have they been on the market and what are the price points, are some of the factors you should consider. If there are many homes for sale in your neighborhood, you can expect a buyer to drive buy the various homes and compare which they may want to see.
Now for the more difficult decisions—repairs! When a potential buyer walks through a home, one of the areas they typically analyze is how well the home has been treated. If they see a leaky faucet, a rotted door jam, whether it is accurate on not, they assume there has been some neglect and start to really look for other areas to validate this assumption. Our recommendation is to fix the “easy,” low cost items that ensure a proper presentation to a buyer. Ensure each and every light bulb works and that they match, repair grout issues in the bathroom, replace dead or dying plants in the yard – these simple items make a big difference in a buyer’s mindset.
If your home is 35 years or older, the buyer will most likely need to do a “4 point” inspection in addition to the traditional inspection to even get insurance. A “Four Point Inspection” focuses only on four main areas of interest in a home: HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), Electrical wiring and panels, plumbing connections and fixtures and the roof. For a home of this age, it may make sense to have your own presale inspection.
If you have old Federal Pacific Panels, please replace them before you list. It is difficult if not impossible for buyer’s to get insurance with these panels. Electrical issues scare a buyer so remove this obstacle before it even becomes one!
Roof—broken or missing roof tiles. This is another one of those areas that cause a buyer to pause and show concern. It is a lower cost and simple fix—so address this one up front. This contrasts to a roof that has exceeded its life expectancy or even a failing roof. This is a bigger issue and can impact “who” can even buy your home.
As for HVAC and plumbing—it depends. These are items to review on a case-by-case basis and together determine your strategy to address any issues. There are times that repair is the answer and other items that you can adjust as you negotiate a contract.
“Families that can barely afford rent find it challenging to pay a security deposit and moving costs. As a result, fewer landlords are requiring an upfront deposit.” “NEW YORK – Renters find that fewer places charge a security deposit – good news for tenants but a source of stress for landlords. Security deposits have traditionally […]
