I attended Marie Graham’s home staging workshop this morning at the Ossining Public Library. It was outstanding. While I never disputed the value of stagers, I have gotten into my share of disagreements with them on matters probably not worth arguing about. One is about taking down personal photos. Marie made a good analogy about […]

There have been a number of featured blogs on Active Rain decrying what the authors perceive as either negativity, finger pointing, or undignified criticism of the competition on the part of fellow bloggers. Their rationale is honorable; they don’t want the public to see agents bickering among themselves, nor do they feel it professional for one licensee to point […]

We got a call the other day from Ronnie, our admin who is in the office daily from 9-5. Half the office was without electricity, and the other half still had juice. I told her to contact the property manager, a bookkeeper upstairs who arrives between 9 and 10am.  By the way: there are two […]

Did you ever write a thoughtful, heartfelt post and as soon as you posted it, got a comment right away? You click on the comment to see what the reader’s reaction is to your sharing, only to read this: Thanks for your thoughts. We learn so much on Active Rain. Best wishes. Huh? Did they […]

This will be somewhat of a rant, but after being sick as a dog with some exotic bug my kids brought home from school, I am in one of those moods. There is a word for a home inspector who will take $500 from a home buyer for inspecting a co op apartment they are […]

I posted earlier this week that an agent in my company had elected to leave for another firm. The day after he resigned, prior to our meeting and settling our affairs, he sent an email expressing irritation at me for not releasing him on the Department of State website right away. That only served to […]

RPR, which stand for Realtors Property Resource, has been described as Big Brother, NAR’s answer to Zillow, the precursor to a National MLS, and many other things. But regardless of what opinion you may have of the system, it is coming, and it knows you. The project is the National Association of Realtors initiative to index […]

Spam is spam, whether it is for a Nigerian diplomat or a 3 bedroom ranch. The whole point of a high tech MLS system is so we don’t have to exchange information via archaic means, such as listing books, letters, faxes, or smoke signals. The information is at our fingertips. Moreover, saved searches and hotsheets tell us when a […]

This is inspired by Richard Weisser’s outstanding blog piece about, well, blogging. It is admirable the way his blog has built his personal brand.  A real estate broker is always recruiting people in 3 categories: sellers, buyers, and salespeople. Hiring, however, always seems to come as an afterthought, especially to an independent firm. We don’t […]

Back in December I wrote a blog post aimed at my fellow broker owners asking them how fast they paid their agents once a deal closed. The post was featured and got over 100 comments. It was gratifying to get input from my colleagues across the country.  Today I have a new question, and this […]

To my way of thinking, few things make a house a home like a pet. We’ve rescued a few dogs in our time, and the latest is Max, pictured below. He is a purebred German Shepherd whom I rescued for a fraction of what it would have cost to buy a new puppy with papers. […]

This is an important clarification for all home buyers who want that tax credit: While everyone is talking about the April 30 deadline for qualification, there is another deadline to be aware of, and that is July 1, 2010. You have to be in contract to purchase by April 30, 2010 and close by July […]

I have some questions for my fellow broker-owners: Do you have E and O (error and omission) insurance? You should.  Do you have a company policy manual? You should.  Do you have an independent contractor agreement with your licensees? You should.  Do you have written agreements with your licensees for commission splits? If not, why?  […]

CNBC is reporting that some banks are being accused of, of all things, bank fraud in short sales. Those of us who sell short sales know that the hardest cases are often the ones with subordinate financing, or in layman’s terms, a second mortgage. If you owe $500,000 on a house with a $425,000 1st loan and a […]

There is a new US treasury guideline that will, according to a report, mandate that banks make their decision on a short sale in 10 days. The new rule also proposes a $1500 allowance to the seller for moving expenses. I have said before that it shouldn’t take a lender more time to decide on […]

I submitted an offer from a buyer client on a property listed with a very respected company this past Wednesday. It was a low offer to be sure, but that is not uncommon. The property has been listed for quite a while; 250 days as a matter of fact. It is vacant and needs updating […]

A common question I get from home sellers is when they should put their house up for sale once the winter holidays are over. My answer is always the same: in Westchester real estate, Spring starts January 2nd. Obviously, a February blizzard will present a temporary delay, but when you think about it, it makes sense. This […]

The other day a seller client told me that she showed her home to strangers off the street who knocked on her door and expressed interest in seeing the place without an appointment. She accommodated them. We don’t know who they are, or even if they were qualified to buy. She just hoped they might be the […]

I was one of the attendees that the Raincamp in New York this past Tuesday in Manhattan. I wanted to leave at noon.   Did it suck? No, I wanted to start implementing this stuff right away.  If you’ve never been to RainCamp and are wondering if it is worthwhile, I’ll say this: If you’ve ever wished that […]

I have written about this previously, but pre-approval letter “games” are not worth playing. Here is what I mean: If you are interested in a listing priced at $500,000 and you want to make an offer of $450,000, you are shooting yourself in the foot if your pre approval letter only says you are approved […]