Howard Sobel posted recently on the FHA program to refinance people who have negative equity. I think the idea is brilliant, and opens up possibilities other than a short sale for people who are underwater and want to keep their home. I’m sure there is small print, but if it helps 3-4 million people in the […]

Chappaqua is a beautiful hamlet located in the town of New Castle in north central Westchester County. It is known, nominally, as the adopted home of the Clintons and Reader’s Digest, and for being a idyllic, bucolic setting. New Castle abuts the Town of Ossining, and it is time to give the place a little […]

This is the market data for August of 2010 for single family homes in Peekskill, and all information is sourced from the Westchester-Putnam MLS. OK- here goes:   Prices are way down. Only 1 home sold, so all statistics are at the mercy of a number too small to be considered a representative sample. Median price last […]

ReBarCamp Rye was held today at the Rye Town Hilton, and it was my first ever BarCamp. I am typically rather cynical about seminars, camps and such, due mainly because I am tired of being recruited and I abhor being sold to. However, like Raincamp, there was no “product.” The sponsors weren’t hawked, and the […]

Ann announced today that she’d like us to get a iPad for Gregory. She emailed me a link of 10 apps for iPad which can help children on the Spectrum. Looking over the apps, they strike me as excellent, and right down Gregory’s alley. He responds to interactive, and just mastered the mouse a few […]

There are many fellow New Yorkers (and New Jerseyans- they might have even had a better view) who might have a more up close and personal recollection of September 11, 2001. I think there is value in sharing our memories.  Ann and I were in Rego Park Queens. Our wedding was 18 days away, and […]

With a median home price hovering near $700,000, even a modest price reduction on a Westchester County home can be tens of thousands of dollars. I have to approach a reduction with the diplomacy of a funeral director but be as convincing as a physician imploring his patient to quit smoking.  No one could predict […]

This market report is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for August of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.  The numbers are up, which is encouraging we we distance ourselves from the stimulus. The number of transactions is up 40% from August of 2009 and the median price […]

We got word last week that a past client’s loan modification was approved. As happy and relieved as they were, my beleaguered clients had to swallow a rough pill: on the terms of the approved loan modification, their mortgage payment would be several hundred dollars higher than their original payment.  It had been a long […]

I have blogged about security and home sellers before; I debated how to approach this subject today, because I don’t want to give any wing nuts any ideas. But bad people will do bad things anyway, and good people will be good anyway. And I don’t think any creeps read me. So here it is. I […]

I got this idea from Terry Hunnefeld from the old Goldrush program in the mid 1990’s. Terry was a Grand Rapids based broker who has since merged with By Referral Only. This was my first foray into Direct Response Marketing, and it does indeed make the phone ring, and that is the first step.  A […]

When I started in real estate in 1996, one of the things my mentor gave me was a dog eared book with a bald guy on the cover wearing a brown suit and pinky ring.  The book was entitled “List More, Sell More,” and the author, Jerry Bresser, is a legend among real estate trainers. […]

This is for single family home activity in the Briarcliff Manor school district for August of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. I decided to mix things up a little this month and see if I could compare this past August with the previous Augusts going back to the peak of […]

This is more for brokers and owners of independent firms like myself, but if others find it helpful, use it.  Maybe I’m a total goober for not having fancy software to run my company, but that’s another post. Our setup is probably unorthodox; Ann is typically at home, Ronnie, my admin, is at the office […]

In all the panic about the drop in sales nationally this past July, few news outlets made much mention of the fact that Westchester’s real estate market went up. Now that August is past, how did we do as a follow up?  Good question. In short, the answer is “steady.” In July 2010, there were […]

Out of area phone calls could be anyone- a bank negotiator, out of town prospect, or a client on a business trip, so I answer.  Me: J. Philip Real Estate, this is Phil. Dude: Hey Phil! This is Matt with Kerfuzzle Promotions in beautiful Colorado, how are YOU DOING TODAY?!?! There was silence as he waited […]

I saw something today I never witnessed before. It happened when I was covering a home inspection for one of my agents (Yes- I know. What a great guy I am).  A home inspector brought the buyer onto the roof to show him something. I was so surprised to see this that I snapped a […]

OK, maybe Nietzsche is a little bit heavy for breakfast, but the theme of many blog posts I have read lately from my colleagues around the country is that this industry, which was never a walk in the park, is a real test of endurance, strength, and fortitude on both a physical and mental level. When I was […]