In the fall of 2007, after the sub prime crisis hit but long before the real decline hit the country in the gut, the Bush administration signed a bill into law that allowed regular borrowers to avoid a massive tax bill for the forgiven debt resulting from a short sale. Prior to that time, people […]

25 years ago I was a proud member of the Villanova University rowing program. You might know it as Crew, and we reviled the redundancy of those who would say “Crew Team.” I was a coxswain all 4 years, and my job was not to row, but to be the one crew member who sat in the […]

The cyclical nature of the real estate market has always seen a peak in activity in the spring months. We are busy. This is causing a misconception that the market is “turning around” or that we are finally witnessing a recovery. I see many colleagues and sellers alike announcing that the market is back or […]

In all real estate transactions involving a mortgage-which is most of them-all details of the transaction are recorded on a government form known as a HUD-1. A purchase can have more than one mortgage- the bank can loan a second (subordinate) mortgage, or in some cases, the seller can hold a second mortgage as well. In Westchester […]

The illusion of the spring market is that of abundance here in Westchester and all over the country for that matter. In spite of the overall down market, April and May are when the buyers are out, looking, making offers, and mainly scooping the cream off the top. Upon occasion, we see a seller get […]

If you are searching for homes online, do you care who the listing broker is? I’ll go out on a limb and say that unless you have had a specific negative experience with an agent or broker, if a house fits your needs you could care less if it were listed by Attila the Hun, Rasputin, Herbie […]

The market in Westchester County is very price sensitive; with a median price above $500,000, that is understandable. The stakes are high, and goofs cost dearly. In some markets, a cash poor buyer may be attracted by a seller incentive of sorts, such as a small credit for closing costs or repairs. However, there is […]

This past week I had the privilege of attending a Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors Luncheon with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino. Among the topics often discussed when Mr Astorino is in the room is the proposed Tappan Zee Bridge Greenway project. The idea is to convert the existing structure from a carrying I-287 over the Hudson […]

The stories of new members of the team often go back a year or more. In this case, it goes back almost 4 years! I am really pleased to introduce Madeline Gomez as J. Philip Real Estate’s newest associate broker. I met Madeline nearly 4 years ago when she was with Remax, and weighing a […]

The discussion arises in the real estate agent community about the pros and cons of working in an office where the broker or manager is also in the field actively listing and selling real estate themselves. In offices where the manager is in the field they are considered a “competing” manager, and if they are […]

Imagine that you can put a home for sale on a really stupendous, popular medium that would give it incredible exposure. In putting the home  on the medium (and it could be a website, TV program or print publication- it doesn’t matter), you are told that in addition to your content on the home, the […]

Some of my colleagues are funny bunch. They decry a Zillow Zestimate for being inaccurate. They shake their heads when an agent licensed in Illinois gives real estate advice in Trulia Voices to a consumer in Florida, where the laws are different. They shake their head disapprovingly if you mistakenly mark a home as having […]

Spring comes but once a year. Once it is gone, wave goodbye. Even in a buyer’s market, a well  priced home will get healthy demand and avoid being an October straggler where the buyer exerts leverage because they know they have no competition. This is why I advise my seller clients to understand the crucial […]

There are some things you can’t teach. One of our newer agents, Stephanie Solano, who is still in her first year with the firm, has closed another home. It is her 4th transaction in the past 6 months and was not without obstacles. This comes on the tail of two successful January closings, and a […]

This is an open letter to the parents of the world who have grown children looking to buy a home. I have 4 children myself. While they are not grown, I get the parent thing. I laugh when people mention “18 years” as the length of time for active duty parenting, because if I live […]

Full disclosure: I am a Zillow customer, as well as a paying customer to Trulia and Realtor.com. Our office received a phone call from the town of Kent Police yesterday to inform us that there was some undesirable activity at  my listing. Of course, the only problem with that- aside from youths partying at a […]

I may be biased; I was raised in the Indian Village in Ossining and I love pre war buildings, so I totally agree with Westchester Magazine’s selection of Ossining as the best place in the county for architecture admirers. Ossining has some absolutely beautiful structures, both buildings downtown and homes around the town. I have […]

8 years ago when I was in the mortgage industry, I helped a nice lady refinance her home. She had two beautiful children, worked as a nurse and teacher, and she was an awesome client. I still remember the bank attorney closing the deal at her kitchen table- that was a first. Another thing I recall was […]

Encyclopaedia Britannica announced yesterday that they would no longer print their reference library, opting instead to have it be available in online digital form only. Just a week or so ago, I wrote a post on my past life in the educational publishing industry, albeit nothing about the books and selling them. But I feel that my […]

Upon occasion, an attorney will “kill” a deal. It is part of the business, and I have seen my own client’s attorneys pull the plug on a transaction when things did not look like they were going in the best interests of our client. The attorney’s job, after all, is to handle the contract portion of the […]