Unlike most of the US, in Westchester and the surrounding areas of New York real estate contracts are prepared by attorneys only after a process of offers, inspections and due diligence. Other than mortgage, contracts are non contingent. There is not even a deposit of any kind until contracts are signed. It is not at […]

The story of the “Leatherman” is a beloved piece of local history. I first learned of the Leatherman when I was in the Boy Scouts, probably around age 12 or 13.  In the late 1800’s, a peculiar traveling drifter appeared in Westchester and Western Connecticut clothed completely in a suit of leather. He made the […]

How much snow do we have? Today I held a house open which was under contract and vacant, so we didn’t have it plowed until this morning. Yesterday, I had to go inside prior to the clearing. The driveway entrance had a mound about 4 feet high and 5 feet deep-completely impossible to use. So, […]

We’ve heard the phrase repeated thousands of times, but there are still people who don’t get it to their own detriment.  The phrase? It is not the company that matters, it is the agent.  If you were unjustly accused of a crime and faced the death penalty, you’d hire the best defense lawyer you could […]

When my parents moved up to Ossining from Yonkers in 1957, they missed St Theresa’s, less than a mile away in Briarcliff, and somehow found St Ann’s. There, they met Monsignor Marino, who said that yes, they lived in the parish. And for 40 years, as my brothers and I attended St Ann school, my […]

The Town of Rye, which is mostly the villages of Rye Brook and Port Chester, has agreed to study the possibility of dissolving the town and allowing the villages to be their own municipalities as a means of cutting tax costs. I applaud the idea. I have blogged before about the layers of taxation in New York, which has […]

$568,000 buys a nice pre-war colonial with a big yard. This particular home dates to 1919 and has 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a formal dining room, and both a rear and side porch. The character of the period has been preserved very well over the decades.  Inside it has beautiful hardwoods, lots of period […]

The Journal News has published a report on housing discrimination in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland Counties. The results are awful. A study conducted in 2010 found that in 17.5% of the instances of study conducted by Westchester Residential Opportunities that discrimination occurred. In 2005 a HUD-funded study found discrimination in a whopping 46.5% of the cases. While the […]

Westchester Business Journal has published a story on the real estate market outlook from the point of view of agents, and I was among those quoted.  I see quite a few parallels of the current market with the last crash in the late 80’s and early 1990’s. Back then we also had a banking crisis […]

Years ago, I listed a home in a nearby town which was next door to the residence of a celebrity. It was, as you might imagine, a nice place, and some of the phone calls I got from area agents were bizarre. “What are you doing here?” “Where is your office?” “How did you get […]

This story was relayed to me by one of my agents: My agent accompanied a client on a rental showing which was being leased “by owner”. Prior to the showing, there was some discussion with the homeowner about using a broker, and she dismissed it with a blase’ remark that she could find her own […]

A rental scenario: One of my associate brokers helped a rental client find an apartment. They make an offer which is accepted, and then the fun begins. The landlord’s agent informs us that they require certified funds, and that laundry appliances advertised as part of the place won’t be installed right away. Moreover, they take […]

In the almost 400 transactions I have brokered since first being licensed in the 1990s, anytime there was a problem with the mortgage and the buyer was asked how they chose their lender, I cannot think of one instance where they did not say some variation on the theme that the bank was chosen for […]

New York is an attorney state, and in our area they also prepare contracts. Having a good attorney is crucial, for many reasons, not the least of which is obvious: the other guys have one, and you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. Lawyers examine title, advocate, and draw up addenda, pre possession and […]

I got an email from a client who was dismayed that his property taxes were raised. It bugged him, and I don’t blame him one bit. The home is a ranch with a finished basement, and I advised him that the finished basement needed a CO (Certificate of Occupancy) from the city to satisfy a buyer’s […]

What can you buy in Peekskill for $335,000? It will buy you a pretty arts and crafts colonial with a rocking chair porch, 2 car garage, updated kitchen, and beautiful woodwork like the one our clients just closed on last week. This home has 4 bedrooms, a formal dining room, a woodburning fireplace, lovely landscaping, […]

Last month when Sara Bonert wrote about Zillow’s new agent review system, I voiced my skepticism. I don’t have a beef with the idea per se, I’ve just had my ups and downs with Zillow, as many of us have. Sara, to her credit, answered me both online and in person when we met at […]

The 2011 Intel Science Semifinalists have been announced, and 18 students from Westchester County qualified. Of the 18, eight were from Ossining High school. This ties Ossining with the renowned Bronx High School for Science as the school with the most qualified students. In all, only 300 students nationwide are chosen as semifinalists, and a […]

A few events lately have me asking why agents defer their professional opinions to the client when the reason lies squarely on their income and no other fact germane to the negotiations. I’ll explain: On more than one transaction, a buyer agent has punctuated their latest negotiation with the remark “and my client is a doctor […]