Imagine you are in real estate. If you are reading these words, not a stretch. Now imagine you’ve busted your buns long enough to start your own firm, like I did after 17 years. You decide you’ll name your firm after something very personal about you- let say your dog. Not a stretch, right? I […]

I posted a photo of a pie I got at Grandma’s earlier this week and got over a dozen comments that gave me a collective sense of cyber salivation. With good reason: Grandma’s makes the best pies around. They have been in business for decades and have quite a following.  I first learned of Grandma’s last year […]

It won’t go to print until this Sunday’s paper, but the article that I blogged about expecting is now live online. Entitled “A For Sale Sign with Brains,” the piece discusses how real estate brokers are embracing technology to sell property. The story behind the article is actually not one of the reporter finding my […]

I got a call today from an agent who claimed to have an interested buyer in one of my short sale listings. I informed him that all offers, per the instructions of my seller, would only be considered if they were in writing and accompanied by a pre approval letter or proof of funds. He […]

Google is a funny thing.  If I am logged in certain websites, that content will show up in my google search results. If I am on a different computer, it shows different results. If I google “Westchester Realtor” on my own computer, I am something like the 4th or 5th organic hit. If I go […]

One of the joys of being a broker-owner is helping my newer agents develop their client base. New agents that get a listing or a buyer in their first few weeks typically have a good outlook for success in my experience, even if that listing doesn’t sell or that buyer never closes. One of my […]

According to the Journal News, the number of foreclosure filings in Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam County is down quite a bit. Westchester is down 50% from October 2010 through January 2011 compared to the same period from 2009 to 2010. The numbers are equally impressive in Rockland (39%) and Putnam (51%).  Does this mean we […]

It is a fact that every male broker/owner has a little Lee Iacocca or Ross Perot in him. He wants to be the despot, the alpha male, and the quarterback who gets no back talk in the huddle. And, by and large, team members comply with that little illusion. My agents hang on my every […]

This is the walking tour I filmed today while the New York Times photographer took pictures.  This is not glitzy, but it does give answers and a good feel for the home. After the tour was uploaded, I printed fact sheets that included a QR code linking to the walking tour for people that drive […]

I was contacted by a reporter from the New York Times this past week who is working on a story on how technology is being utlized by real estate professionals. I guess I did OK in the interview, because she called back and asked if they could take some photos of me in action with […]

I held a listing open this past Sunday and it went quite well. One interesting scenario I never dealt with before was the issue of putting open house signs on the street corners nearby the property, because we were still so buried under snow that the edge of the road was pushed out several feel. […]

We have just listed two very nice starter homes in beautiful Chappaqua, NY.  173 Birchwood Close, Chappaqua 10514. Old Farm Lake complex. 2 bedroom, 2 bath townhome style condo, fireplace, formal dining room, updated kitchen, deck, and great complex aminities-pool, clubhouse, tennis. $399,900. Short sale.     374 Quaker Rd, Chappaqua 10514. Terrific 3 bedroom, 2 […]

Surfing on Active Rain this morning has yielded a neat discovery: There is a baseball junkies group here. I happen to be a huge baseball guy. When I was in Brooklyn, I took photos of the apartment complex that sits where Ebbets Field once was. I have been to an apartment in  Harlem that is […]

Buyers buy the sizzle

Rob Hahn has written an extremely thought provoking piece on the role that broker commissions play in the pricing of real estate. It isn’t what I originally thought when I read the title- I was expecting a “commission is just a markup” but it wasn’t about that at all. It did get me to wonder […]

The company has grown over the years and in the first quarter of 2011 we’ll pass 20 salespersons and associate brokers. I am not an overt recruiter; our growth has been organic, but in looking at the good folks we’ve attracted I do see some patterns. Chiefly, we have drawn 2 types of people: new […]