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Funny Questions (and Answers) on Trulia

It sort of amuses me to see questions asked by people online these days, such as on Trulia Voices. I was inspired to comment on one with the “foreclosure mentality” of many buyers, but it was actually posted a long time ago. Everybody wants a foreclosure. The perception that they are a wonderful bargain is overblown, but […]
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Ossining Homes for Sale: Lots of Choices, Even Now

The time around Thanksgiving and Christmas is typically when the inventory is often at its lowest level in general, as people tend to get more into the holidays. Homes buying often resumes after the holidays, and there is a phrase that says that spring begins January 2nd in real estate. This past July, Ossining had 146 active […]
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Behind the Scenes

There are times when I wonder if the public really knows what it takes to run a decent business when they bring up our real estate commission. Today, for example, we got our error and omission (E & O) insurance premium for fiscal 2011 and it was over double what I paid in 2010. And […]
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Monday Monday

Active Rain Funny Questions (and Answers) on Trulia It sort of amuses me to see questions asked by people online these days, such as on Trulia Voices. I was inspired to comment on one with the “foreclosure mentality” of many buyers, but it was actually posted a long time ago. Everybody wants a foreclosure. The perception that they are a wonderful bargain is overblown, but […]

Active Rain Ossining Homes for Sale: Lots of Choices, Even Now The time around Thanksgiving and Christmas is typically when the inventory is often at its lowest level in general, as people tend to get more into the holidays. Homes buying often resumes after the holidays, and there is a phrase that says that spring begins January 2nd in real estate. This past July, Ossining had 146 active […]

Active Rain Behind the Scenes There are times when I wonder if the public really knows what it takes to run a decent business when they bring up our real estate commission. Today, for example, we got our error and omission (E & O) insurance premium for fiscal 2011 and it was over double what I paid in 2010. And […]

Active Rain Monday Monday

Active Rain Utility: If You Don’t Let Us In, We’ll Bill Broker I have a listing that recently expired. A deal fell apart on it and my client lives out of state. That’s all I can tell you. Apparently, Central Hudson Gas and Electric can’t reach him, so they harass me. They want me to let them in the house so they can cut the power. One problem: I’m not authorized […]

Active Rain Open House 11/21 1-3 Condo 15 Stewart Place 1C White Plains NY 10603 White Plains condominium 15 Stewart Place 1C will be help open today from 1-3pm. Spectacular 1,238 square foot 2-bedroom condominium at Heritage Towers! Features a bi-level first floor with a step-down living room, high ceilings, glass wall of windows, and patio, plus a lovely dining room & eat-in kitchen. Sprial staircase takes you up to […]

Active Rain cd cd=400,000. Roman Numerals. I have posted on each of my millennial milestones, and with each marker I am more humbled by the impact on my business than the point total. What a trip. I discovered Active Rain while researching a scam out of Colorado. I created a profile and little else for about a year. I began […]

Active Rain The Greatness of Logo Tournament Not long ago, I decided to create a new website for a specific niche I wanted to focus upon, and an idea for a new website was born. It is currently under construction, and the need of a good logo arose. There is only so much a busy guy like myself can do with Windows […]

Active Rain My Saab Story My Saab story has a happy ending. My last car was a beige 1996 Saab 900 that I drove for many, many miles. It was a 5 speed with a huge trunk and groovy windows. I loved that car. I was driving on route 6 to a showing in Orange County midway between Bear Mountain […]

Active Rain NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo OK, perhaps I’m being a tad dramatic, but this is a plea to all you anxious home sellers out there: Stop declining showings. I have been on both sides of this today, and in both cases the cost of the declined showing outweighed any benefit the seller might have perceived in passing on the appointment. […]

Active Rain Ah Sweet Mystery of Life At Last I Have Found You Name: James XXXXX Email Address: unclejim@XXXX.com Subject: I am a cash buyer of short sales IP: XX.XX.XX Message: I am a cash buyer of short sale properties. I must deal with the listing agent and also be able to communicate directly with the property owner. If you are between me and the listing agent it will […]

Active Rain That New Kitchen Won’t Beat Declining Land Values CNNMoney has published a piece entitled It Doesn’t Pay to Remodel Your Home. Overall, I couldn’t agree more, and I have banged this drum for a while. Am I against home remodeling? Of course not. I am against the expectation that you’ll cash out handsomely in the current economy. One of the toughest jobs I have had […]

Active Rain Why Did I Call Your Broker? Because It’s Not My Job to Train You. Making an offer in New York is different from most parts of the country because purchase and sale contracts are not prepared by agents, but by attorneys after agreement and inspections. Therefore, offers vary from nice clean memos with clear terms on company letterhead to a phone call. Memos are great. Emails are OK. Phone […]

Active Rain Cookies, Brownies and Intrigue in Chappaqua I read the events in the local paper and my jaw keeps dropping. Two 13 year old boys in Chappaqua had their bake sale stand shut down for not having a permit. The police officers who had to stop the little venture were very polite, but the parents were incensed, and eventually the local paper filed a Freedom of […]

Active Rain What Can You Buy in Hartsdale for $150,000? What Can You Buy in Hartsdale for $150,000? $150,000 will get you a very cute 1 bedroom co op apartment in a pre war building like one we just closed on last week. with hardwood floors, a huge living room, a dining room, and a kitchen with a…wait for it…dishwasher. It is a junior 4 […]

Active Rain How Do You Price a Short Sale? After two similar discussions the past week, it would be wise to address how a short sale should be priced. After all, if the offer submitted to the lender is subject to approval and therefore not a certainty, all the more that the asking price is also a hypothesis. It is. But, as educated guesses […]

Active Rain Speechless Sundays: Profile Fail

Active Rain Homeowner Mistake of the Week: Over-improving the Master Bedroom I was out with buyers recently and we toured a home that was owned by architects who had done a complete renovation. Essentially, they took an 80’s era ranch and gutted the entire inside, improving it to 2000’s standards. The kitchen was ultra modern, there was now a den, and the master suite was to […]

Active Rain Fighting Foreclosure Fraud in Westchester County This article in on foreclosure fraud today’s Journal News features two things, one that is incredibly disheartening and another that gives me some hope. Disheartening: The incredible incongruities and obvious sham filings just to shunt repossessions through are chillingly obvious. For example, one of the bank officials signing on behalf of Washington Mutual is dated after Wamu […]

Active Rain How Dumb Are Politicians? How dumb are the politicians we are ostensibly sending to Washington to clean up the economy? Well, try this dumb: There is now talk of ending the mortgage interest deduction in order to rein in the deficit. It goes without saying that such a move would throw millions in the USA’s middle class into a tailspin (like we […]