May 27, 2009

Want to Sail on Geneva Lake?

Posted to Area Attractions & Events, Geneva Lake Area , Mike Pfammatter

Sailing is always great on Geneva Lake. It has been a major attraction here since the early days of glory when the grand estate owner raced their own yachts.

The main place to go for organized racing is on the south shore near Fontana. Established in 1874, the Lake Geneva Yacht Club has a rich history and a vibrant schedule for many types of one design boats. Visit them at http://www.lgyc.com.

A great alternative is the much more relaxed Geneva Lake Keel Boat Club. This fun loving group of sailors race all types of sailboats and use a handicap system to make competition even. The only requirement is that the boat have a keel, versus a center board style craft. They race throughout the summer on Wednesday evenings and alternate Saturdays, and always have a great time. There are usually 10-15 boats out for each race, ranging in size from little 20 footers to 35 feet and up.

You can even be a member and sail without owning your own boat. If you contact a club officer and let them know you are available to crew, they will try and get you in touch with a member who needs someone. Or give me a call and I can steer you in the right direction. For more information please look them up here .

The GLKC is one more reason why Geneva Lake is the greatest place in the area for having fun!

Posted by:Mike Pfammatter



May 11, 2009

A smart use of social media

Posted to Mike Pfammatter

Recently I was representing a young couple as a buyer’s agent while they were looking for their first home. When they identified the property they wanted to make an offer on, normal questions about the owners and their reasons for selling were on these buyers’ minds. After looking the sellers up on Facebook (the names were public record on the tax bill) my clients were able to get to know these people at an arm’s length. They learned about the sellers’ occupations, family ties in another state, and the need to head back there for help with their new triplets. I don’t think this put my buyers at an advantage while negotiating, but it did seem to help them “put a face on the other side of the deal”. The two sides did come to a mutually beneficial agreement, and it will be interesting to see how the rest of this plays out. Stay tuned…and be mindful of what you post on the internet, you don’t know how it will pop up!

Posted by:Mike Pfammatter