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Big Bank Back Room Deals Begin

I read the NY Times far less because of the paywall, but today’s editorial brings to light a new problem with big lenders embroiled in the robo-signing scandal: they are already making a backroom deal for a slap on the wrist and permission to continue with business as usual. The banks gameplan that they are […]
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Lipstick on a Pig – Understanding the Dangers of Rehabbed Foreclosures

I seldom re blog posts from other authors but this piece by John Mulkey is sound advice that more people should consider. All too often, I’ll show a home that was bought at foreclosure and rehabilitated in a manner that addressed cosmetics but left mechanicals and structural matters in a dubious state. There is […]
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(No Subject)

Here is some good business advice for both colleagues and clientele alike: Put something in your email subject line whenever you send something. And and don’t make it “For Phil” or “Attn: Phil.” Getting an email with nothing in the subject line is a minor annoyance. But it can also be expensive. Here’s why: 2 […]
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Should Governor Cuomo Close Sing Sing Prison?

Wednesday’s Journal News has a front page story on Ossining politicians urging Andrew Cuomo to close Sing Sing Prison. As a native of Ossining who worked a block away in a neighborhood market for years while in school, the idea gets my attention. Would closing Sing Sing make sense? Would it benefit Ossining? It is […]

Active Rain Big Bank Back Room Deals Begin I read the NY Times far less because of the paywall, but today’s editorial brings to light a new problem with big lenders embroiled in the robo-signing scandal: they are already making a backroom deal for a slap on the wrist and permission to continue with business as usual. The banks gameplan that they are […]

Active Rain Lipstick on a Pig – Understanding the Dangers of Rehabbed Foreclosures I seldom re blog posts from other authors but this piece by John Mulkey is sound advice that more people should consider. All too often, I’ll show a home that was bought at foreclosure and rehabilitated in a manner that addressed cosmetics but left mechanicals and structural matters in a dubious state. There is […]

Active Rain (No Subject) Here is some good business advice for both colleagues and clientele alike: Put something in your email subject line whenever you send something. And and don’t make it “For Phil” or “Attn: Phil.” Getting an email with nothing in the subject line is a minor annoyance. But it can also be expensive. Here’s why: 2 […]

Active Rain Should Governor Cuomo Close Sing Sing Prison? Wednesday’s Journal News has a front page story on Ossining politicians urging Andrew Cuomo to close Sing Sing Prison. As a native of Ossining who worked a block away in a neighborhood market for years while in school, the idea gets my attention. Would closing Sing Sing make sense? Would it benefit Ossining? It is […]

Active Rain A HUGE Thank You I arrived back home to Briarcliff Manor tonight after returning from Rain Camp Atlantic City and two days of intense instruction. My first Raincamp was excellent, but also different. There was so much information in the new-two day event that I am exhausted from being engaged and focused for so long. It is a “good” […]

Active Rain Croton on Hudson Real Estate Market First Quarter 2011 Croton on Hudson Home Sales and Values This is the market report for single family homes sold in the Croton-Harmon school district for the first quarter of 2011. All information is sourced fom the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. In the first quarter of 2011, there were 15 closings with a median sale price […]

Active Rain Chappaqua Real Estate Market First Quarter 2011 This is the market report for single family homes sold in the Chappaqua school district for the first quarter of 2011. All information is sourced fom the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. In the first quarter of 2011, there were 15 closings with a median sale price of $946,500. In the first quarter of 2010, […]

Active Rain Briarcliff Manor Real Estate Market First Quarter 2011 This is the market report for single family homes sold in the Briarcliff Manor school district for the first quarter of 2011. All information is sourced fom the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. In the first quarter of 2011, there were 14 closings with a median sale price of $617,500. In the first quarter of […]

Active Rain Ossining Real Estate Market Report First Quarter 2011 This is the market report for single family homes sold in the Ossining school district for the first quarter of 2011. All information is sourced fom the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. In the first quarter of 2011, there were 28 closings with a median sale price of $369,500. In the first quarter of 2010, […]

Active Rain Welcome to the Sing Sing Gated Community! The Sing Sing Gated Community… Our Residents Just Can’t Leave! If you’re like me and you love waterfront property, privacy, terrific security and and homeowners association that doesn’t admit just anybody, the Sing Sing Gated Community might just be for you. Nestled on the banks of the scenic Hudson River in downtown Ossining, New York-my […]

Active Rain Associated Press Quotes Me and My Client I am quoted in this article released by the AP today on the state of the housing market. The thrust of the piece is that we aren’t out of the woods yet with prices. Distress sales are supressing values, inventory is giving buyers more choices-and moxie- and sellers are left to absorb the crisis of […]

Active Rain Gobble ‘Till You Wobble Nestled on a quiet street corner of the Campwoods neighborhood in Ossining is an old school, kid friendly cafe with an old fashioned counter, and wallet friendly prices. I just spent of of the nicer afternoons with Catherine, and the highlight was our time at the Wobble Cafe. Catherine had a strawberry smoothie and PB […]

Active Rain Starting From Scratch I got a phone call from a fellow independent broker-owner yesterday asking how one would transition into being a listing agent when they were not focused on that part of the business before. Good question, and it is one that has been asked before by Brian Rugg when he relocated to a new state. […]

Active Rain Pack 49 Visits Cortlandt Town Court This past Thursday Luke’s Cub Scout den had a visit to Cortlandt Town Court to get their badge for civics. I was eager to go, because I actually know the judge. I sold his aunt’s house a few years ago! One thing that struck me about court was the huge number of drunk driving cases […]

Active Rain Speechless Sundays: What Daddy Sees as He Leaves for Work Saturday

Active Rain Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines We are less than a week into “Spring” but the Spring Market has already begun in Westchester. Things are getting busy, as the cyclical nature of our industry turns to the most active period between now and July 4th. If this is the year you are looking to buy that first home, or even if […]

Active Rain Bucking the Trend A Shameless, Brazen Self Pimping Piece Follows. All sold data is taken from the Empire Access MLS: Much like the rest of the country, there is still a significant malaise over the Westchester County real estate market. From January 1, 2010 until March 26, 2010 there were 708 single family homes sold in Westchester County […]

Active Rain Short Sale Seller: Everyone is Getting Paid But Me. Just about every home sale is stressful on the seller. A short sale, given the higher stakes and financial ramifications, often has even more stress for the seller than a typical transaction. On a few occasions, I have had a short sale client lament that they are “left out” in a way, in that everyone […]

Active Rain Why I Will Happily Shell Out the 40 Bucks For my colleagues in the real estate industry…”politics makes strange bedfellows” I’ll preface my thoughts by tipping my cap to the memory of Elizabeth Taylor to make a point: when you think of the late Ms. Taylor, what number do you first think of? If the number is her 8 marriages, may I suggest 100,000,000. […]

Active Rain What Can You Buy for $540,000 in Tuckahoe, NY? What Can You Buy for $540,000 in Tuckahoe, NY? $540,000 goes alot farther than a few years ago in places like Tuckahoe. Take for example this 4 bedroom, 3 bath 2800 square foot home our buyers recently closed on. They got a big living room and formal dining room, a family room with a fireplace, […]