Last month I posted on the shrinking disparity in transaction totals in Westchester County comparing 2010 to 2011. This year has been playing “catch up” with last year’s totals, and each month 2011 has been closing the gap. It was my theory that 2010 started out hot due to the stimulus but that 2011 would catch […]

In light of recent events, such as Market Leader’s newest investment in Active Rain Corp. and other developments in Seattle, there has been one area of the company’s operations that has been been conveniently ignored, and it is for the reader to decide if this is oversight or clever obfuscation. But those of us who […]

This morning in New Windsor, New York, I had the privilege of witnessing the Orange County Association of Realtors overwhelming vote in favor of merging their association with WPAR (Westchester-Putnam) and ROCBOR (Rockland) to form the new Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors. This was the third and final “yea” vote between the three boards, and paves the […]

I like nice people. You probably like nice people too. Nice people are…nice. Given the choice, I prefer to do business with nice folks. Especially here in rushed, rude, New York and occasionally aristocratic Westchester County, nice people are such a breath of fresh air. Of course, in business, being nice isn’t enough. People want […]

48 powerless hours and two chilly nights where the temperature in our home hit the 40’s can affect a guy. Like many people who lost power in the worst October snowstorm ever to hit Westchester County, we had to “camp” a little in our home, getting acclimated with flashlights, candles, sleeping bags and fireplaces. Two […]

This will be my first-ever blog post written by candlelight, courtesy of my Verizon 3G hotspot and a generous battery life on the laptop. When you mix a severe combination of snow and ice to trees that still have all of their leaves, you get downed fallen branches by the thousands and power outages all […]

The best use of an agent’s time is to be in front of someone who wants to buy or sell real estate. That is what we work for- we advertise, blog, do mailings, answer the phone, and some even knock on doors to be belly to belly with someone who want to buy or sell […]

Bizarro World continues in the real estate industry as our government and business leaders raise tanking consumer confidence in the market to a fine art.  Take today’s exchange I had with a fellow agent for example. I have a very aggressively priced southern Westchester County listing in a beautiful area that has been on the market […]

People are hurting in this economy. Many good folks who did nothing wrong are caught in the undertow of the recession and can’t find a soft spot to land. Upon occasion, I run into people in those circumstance. If they had been born at any other time in history, they wouldn’t face foreclosure. They’d have […]

This afternoon at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Suffern, the membership of the Rockland County Board of Realtors voted overwhelmingly to merge their organization with the Westchester-Putnam and Orange Associations. This was the second thumbs up in three days, as Westchester-Putnam had a similar yes-vote on Monday. Orange will vote on Tuesday.  You might ask […]

Once you’ve purchased your dream home, it’s time to protect it! Buying a home can be very risky without homeowners Insurance. It is essential for safeguarding your most valuable possession against defects, vandalism and disaster. It will cover the costs of repairs in the event of calamities such as fire, storms, vehicles, aircraft, riots, theft, […]

If you ever watch any home buying or remodeling shows on satellite or cable TV, you know what kinds of secrets a home inspection can reveal about a seemingly-safe house! Home inspections are crucial before finalizing any real estate purchase. The purpose of a home inspection is to evaluate the physical condition of the home […]

If you’re ready to start looking for your dream home, and you’ve narrowed your search to a few select neighborhoods, take these following tips to heart: 1. Types of homes. Choose the type of home that is the most appealing yet practical for you. In addition to single family homes, there are multifamily homes, condominiums […]

While the holidays are a favorite time of year for millions, it’s definitely not their favorite time to buy a home. The housing market plunges between the months of November and January as people put turkey dinners, tinsel and trees on the top of their lists and house hunting on the bottom. However, if you […]

Today was the annual meeting of the Westchester-Putnam Association of Realtors (WPAR), and it was not your typical annual meeting. Elections were held for both the Association and the Empire Access MLS, and Yours Truly was confirmed for a 3rd term as MLS Vice President. Among my duties in the past few months was to […]

What can you get for $540,000 in Tuckahoe, New York? I’m so glad you asked! $540,000 can get you a pretty, pre-war tudor on a quiet residential street in the Tuckahoe school district just a hop skip and a jump from New Rochelle and Bronxville. If you are like our client, you’ll get an 1840 […]

I have often said that a good real estate broker is more valuable for what we know than what we do. This evening, for example, my meeting with some nice people in Yonkers brought this to light.  I met with some prospective home sellers who were looking into selling a home that was built in […]

Almost exactly 2 years ago, on October 14, 2009, we closed on my in-laws’ co op in Queens. It was the end of an era, as my wife had grown up in that apartment; it had been in her family for decades. That day, we had a babysitting challenge, and we were forced to bring […]

(Consumers will find the following post either very boring or an interesting look inside baseball. My point of view is less of a selling broker and more of a manager of 20+ licensees.)  Chris Smith, AKA Tech Savvy Agent, has authored a gutsy article on Inman entitled You Need to Delete Your Facebook Business Pages […]

Perhaps you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Joe Sasquatch and his lovely wife, Nessie. I never have, but a former client of mine knows someone who either knows a mutual friend or knows OF Joe, but the details are not important.  Joe, if you haven’t heard, is the guy who bought that $700,000 bank owned […]