Monday, February 22, 2010

Vermont and the Olympics

The Olympics have been a joy to watch and it was great to see the United States beat Canada in Hockey last night. One of the best parts of the Olympics has been the success of our state of Vermont both from a medal standpoint as well as some of the work athletes have done away from their sport. The state of Vermont already leads over 70 countries in the medal count. Freestyle skier Hannah Kearney won a gold and Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark picked up silver and bronze in the snowboard halfpipe. Our state still has some cross country and alpine skiers to compete.


Maybe more impressive than the medals is the charitable work Hannah Teter has done. All her prize winnings at events is given to charity but she has also started a her own charity, Hannah’s Gold after winning a gold medal in Torino in 2006. The charity focuses on the community of Kirindon in Kenya. It raises money from the sale of maple syrup and her own Ben and Jerry’s ice cream “Maple Blondie” to help pay for children's school fees, provide safe drinking water, help with local agriculture, and anything else the community needs. Teter attributes some of the morals and beliefs instilled in her working on her parents land in Vermont to her charitable work today. Great to see our state shine both on the podium and with regards to social awareness and helping those less fortunate.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Why Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman

Upon becoming a real estate agent I had the task of finding a company to work at where I could succeed and one that would be a good fit for both sides. I interviewed with a couple companies and am very satisfied with my choice of Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman. The following chart shows the success the company has in Chittenden being involved in the most buying and selling sides of home sales in the entire state of Vermont.

This success is achieved through the innovative tools and support team provided by Coldwell Banker Hickok and Boardman. The company has a dedicated full service staff team devoted to agents like myself helping to provide a level a service to clients that is second to none. I am also fortunate to have been partnered up with a great mentor in Steve Lipkin who brings over 10 successful years of real estate working at Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman. While I have only been with the company a month and a half I have no regrets about my decision and can’t imagine working elsewhere.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

About this Blog

This will not be a generic Realtor blog where I post all of my listings or reiterate a talk or presentation I attended. Of course this blog will contain some of that but it will be more or less a stream of conscience in writing. My goal is to take into account what is going on in the community for prospective buyers and past customers – after all buying a house is not just the home but also the community it is located in. As you can see in my bio I also enjoy sports and so some posts will be totally unrelated to real estate. Some posts may be boring or irrelevant to some and I apologize for that but check back in a few days for updated content. Please forgive any spelling or grammar errors, as it has never been my strong suit. Feel free to email me at lclavelle@hickokandboardman.com . Any thoughts, advice, criticism or compliments would be greatly appreciated.

Monday, February 8, 2010

About Me

Born and raised in Burlington, I left the area to attend Emerson College in Boston. After working with children at the Howard Center, at the YMCA in Colorado and a Middle School in Newton Massachusetts, I began my real estate career in Boston, specializing in the rental market. Having spent time living in Grenada and New Zealand as well as traveling to Asia, Europe and South America, I have enjoyed many different cultures but realized Vermont has something unique and special.

The greater Burlington area has so much to offer with a vibrant downtown, a gorgeous lake, and recreational activities like biking and skiing. Yet its greatest asset is the sense of community making it a perfect environment for students, young working adults, families and senior citizens.

It is my affinity for the unique qualities of this community and desire to build long term relationships with its residents that has inspired me to return to my roots and work with Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty. My commitment to this community combined with my love of sports was recognized when I received the Burlington High School Community Service Award for work I did bringing used sports equipment to Burlington’s Sister City of Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua.

As your Realtor I will be committed to continuing my record of service and building an honest and comfortable relationship. Your future matters to me and I will work tirelessly to invest my time and energy into providing you with a rewarding experience. In his free time Luke enjoys traveling, playing sports and watching his favorite Boston sports teams.

Testimonials

“Luke helped me out at a difficult time finding a place to live. He was relentless putting in the time and effort showing me as many places as possible. His professionalism and knowledge of the market was outstanding. Luke helped me overcome some difficult obstacles and a tight budget to negotiate a great price. I look forward to working with Luke again.” Mick Leddy

“The experience I had with you was great. You went out of your way for me. The attention to detail was excellent, you were very helpful and you listened to what I wanted. I do not regret talking to you and am grateful you were able to find me a great place. You not only helped me find a place but also helped me with the area and many of its attractions. I would recommend you to anyone.” Mauro

“We both felt you were great finding us a place to live. The most important thing was that you were not pushy, you had a great selection of various apartments and you didn't try and push us out of our budget like many other agents tried to do. Honestly for Max and I you were perfect. Thank you Luke.”


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