Active Rain

Active Rain

Westchester’s Windiest Road

Route 6 West approaching the Bear Mountain Bridge has to be the most twisty, serpentine windy road I’ve ever been on, and to top it off, it is on the edge of a mountain cliff overlooking the Hudson River. Locals have dubbed it the “Goat Trail.” The Goat Trail starts northwest of Peekskill, NY and culminates […]
Active Rain

“I Have a Referral For You.”

I got a message yesterday from a client whose home I sold early last year. He told me he had a referral for me on a voice mail message, and I called him back as soon as I got back to my office. It sounded promising, and he seemed excited. I love referrals from past clients, and […]
Active Rain

Who Are You? I Really Wanna Know (Before I Cross the Bridge)

I got a call yesterday from someone keenly interested in one of my short sales. He was in the neighborhood and couldn’t find the house. I talked him through thanks to Google maps, and we spoke all about the house. He said he’d like to see the inside, and I offered to set up an […]
Active Rain

Lowering Property Taxes on a Westchester County Home

Also known as grieving property taxes or tax certiorari, having your home re assessed is becoming commonplace in Westchester as people realize that their local government will happily raise their taxes when the market is up, but won’t break a sweat lowering them when it is in decline. There are three typical ways Westchester property owners […]

Active Rain Westchester’s Windiest Road Route 6 West approaching the Bear Mountain Bridge has to be the most twisty, serpentine windy road I’ve ever been on, and to top it off, it is on the edge of a mountain cliff overlooking the Hudson River. Locals have dubbed it the “Goat Trail.” The Goat Trail starts northwest of Peekskill, NY and culminates […]

Active Rain “I Have a Referral For You.” I got a message yesterday from a client whose home I sold early last year. He told me he had a referral for me on a voice mail message, and I called him back as soon as I got back to my office. It sounded promising, and he seemed excited. I love referrals from past clients, and […]

Active Rain Who Are You? I Really Wanna Know (Before I Cross the Bridge) I got a call yesterday from someone keenly interested in one of my short sales. He was in the neighborhood and couldn’t find the house. I talked him through thanks to Google maps, and we spoke all about the house. He said he’d like to see the inside, and I offered to set up an […]

Active Rain Lowering Property Taxes on a Westchester County Home Also known as grieving property taxes or tax certiorari, having your home re assessed is becoming commonplace in Westchester as people realize that their local government will happily raise their taxes when the market is up, but won’t break a sweat lowering them when it is in decline. There are three typical ways Westchester property owners […]

Active Rain Top 10 Westchester Town Names It wasn’t until I lived outside the Metropolitan area that I truly appreciated the cool names of many of the towns in Westchester County. You have to imagine being on a commuter train and having the MTA guy shout out the stop in the local tongue. Yonkers- YAHNK-ahs! Or, as my mom used to […]

Active Rain Westchester County’s Best Restaurants Westchester magazine has published its picks for best restaurants in the county, and I thought I’d chime in with a few picks of my own. These are my opinion only, and if you disagree I hope you enjoy your research. Bronxville: Underhill’s Crossing. American Bistro owned and operated by Stephen Palm, who I have known […]

Active Rain Ossining Economy is Growing Max ran out of kibble so I ran down to Arcadian Shopping Center to replentish the dawg Smörgåsbord. You see a lot when you open your eyes, and I am glad I brought the camera. Over the past 2 years, I have seen business in town contract, close, and cause vacancies. That trend appears to […]

Active Rain Commercial Zoning is Not a Winning Lottery Ticket Not far from my home, adjacent to a popular shopping center and on a well traveled, visible street corner, there is the former home of Chase Bank. It is an all-brick building, with a parking lot and offices. It would be a turn key opportunity for another bank and a phenomenal location for any professional or retail business. […]

Active Rain Amanda’s Law Takes Effect February 22: All NY Homes Must Have Carbon Monoxide Detectors In 4 days, all homes in the state of New York must have carbon monoxide detectors under the newly passed “Amanda’s Law,” named for Amanda Hansen. Amanda was a 16 year old girl who died from carbon monoxide poisoning while at a sleepover at a friends house. She and her friend were camping out near […]

Active Rain Westchester Real Estate Market 2005-2009 and a Startling Conclusion This is not your typical local market post. A 4-year look at back at single family home sales for Westchester County, NY with data from the Westchester Putnam Multiple Listing Service. The stats are banal. Read the conclusion if they bore you. A few observations: The number of transactions in 2009 was just […]

Active Rain Westchester County Has 6 Cities Among Westchester’s 45 municipalities are six cities that are all quite different in character. They are: Mount Vernon New Rochelle Peekskill Rye White Plains Yonkers I have sold homes in every one of them. I’m the only agent I know to pull that off.

Active Rain Wordless Wednesday: Palisades Mall- Commitment

Active Rain How to Get the Most From a Real Estate Agent I received an email yesterday from someone I showed some houses to this past summer. I didn’t remember him at first, but he had some questions about a property. I reached out to the listing agent for answers, and before she responded, I got another email from the guy today. ” I didn’t hear from you yet,” […]

Active Rain Chocolate Chalet in Briarcliff Manor, NY My name is Phil and I am addicted to chocolate. My mother was the same way. I got Jeanne’s gene. When you have a homemade confectionery on the same road as your office, the power of suggestion can be compelling. Especially around Valentine’s Day, when justification for indulgence seems so…reasonable. Chocolate Chalet has been a fixture in […]

Active Rain Why do Buyers Make Lowball Offers? I am often asked by seller clients “what are these people thinking?” when a low offer comes in. I can only speak of what I see in my marketplace (Westchester and other suburban New York counties), and it is easy to answer “they AREN’T thinking,” but the real truth is far more complex. At the […]

Active Rain Fully Available! New Kitchen! New Bath! I should have known something would be up when the walk wasn’t shoveled… Here’s the new kitchen: Here’s the new bath: Thinking that perhaps the place was vandalized, I called the listing agent. Him: “Oh, did you call Centralized Showings? The pipes burst and we discontinued showings.” Me: “CSS isn’t responsible. You are. You should […]

Active Rain For Sale By Owner Myths For Sale by Owner, or FSBO is not uncommon in Westchester County. I have sold quite a few of them. I had an interest in a FSBO assistance firm, and a number of selling gurus like Craig Proctor have systems for converting FSBOs to listings thorugh such programs. I have seen dozens of FSBOs sell […]

Active Rain How to Sell a Home in Westchester County, NY Spring is almost here, and many Westchester County home owners will be listing their homes for sale. Given that the market in New York is still weak, I am often asked what sellers can do to gain a competitive advantage. Here are a few guidelines: 1. Choose a good Realtor. Look for track record, references, experience and […]

Active Rain An Active “Competing” Broker Speaks Out The company started out with just me. Then, when I was in the weeds once, my wife Ann answered my cell phone for me. That got her on board. Not long afterward, a young guy asked me for help on a home he wanted to buy and resell. He became my first agent. That’s how […]

Active Rain Dozens of 5 Bedroom Homes Under $500,000 in Westchester County “5 under 5 in the 914” Some people need a lot of bedrooms. In my case, we have 4 children, so having more than 4 bedrooms was optimal. Here’s the challenge: kids are expensive, and so are 5 bedroom homes. Something has to give. Well, something did give. The market crashed, so there are now […]