Active Rain

Active Rain

The Bait and Switch vs Good Faith

At the heart of doing business in good faith is representing accurate information. This doesn’t just go for square footage, what appliances convey, or when the roof was replaced. It also applies to compensation. Actually, in my opinion, it especially applies to compensation. Charles Stallions has written a thought-provoking post on the re-negotiation of a […]
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8+ Years With a Digital Camera

Driving around New York with a digital camera has yielded some pretty neat photos that I can’t put on the MLS. There was the time a herd of deer dropped in on the photo shoot of a new listing, for instance. So, I have started a photo blog, exclusively to post all the neat […]
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Fashionably Late- More Spring in Briarcliff

When I posted Spring photos yesterday the cherry blossoms weren’t ready, but they greeted me this morning. Of course, two family members had to beautify the photo in a “where’s waldo” kind of way. So, there they are. Posted a day late but just as pretty. ____________________________________________________________________ You can search the MLS […]
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Spring in Briarcliff Manor

When I walked outside this morning, I was greeted by an old friend: warmth. Warm weather isn’t new this year, but the norm lately has been brisk mornings, warm days and cool evenings. A warm morning, for me, is a first in 2009. Briarcliff Manor is beautiful in the Spring, and I took some photos […]

Active Rain The Bait and Switch vs Good Faith At the heart of doing business in good faith is representing accurate information. This doesn’t just go for square footage, what appliances convey, or when the roof was replaced. It also applies to compensation. Actually, in my opinion, it especially applies to compensation. Charles Stallions has written a thought-provoking post on the re-negotiation of a […]

Active Rain 8+ Years With a Digital Camera Driving around New York with a digital camera has yielded some pretty neat photos that I can’t put on the MLS. There was the time a herd of deer dropped in on the photo shoot of a new listing, for instance. So, I have started a photo blog, exclusively to post all the neat […]

Active Rain Fashionably Late- More Spring in Briarcliff When I posted Spring photos yesterday the cherry blossoms weren’t ready, but they greeted me this morning. Of course, two family members had to beautify the photo in a “where’s waldo” kind of way. So, there they are. Posted a day late but just as pretty. ____________________________________________________________________ You can search the MLS […]

Active Rain Spring in Briarcliff Manor When I walked outside this morning, I was greeted by an old friend: warmth. Warm weather isn’t new this year, but the norm lately has been brisk mornings, warm days and cool evenings. A warm morning, for me, is a first in 2009. Briarcliff Manor is beautiful in the Spring, and I took some photos […]

Active Rain Why Redfin Won’t be Redflop There has been some chatter on the Internet and here on Active Rain about Redfin, and I suppose that any non-traditional firm will attract controversy, especially from the rank and file orthodoxy. We have seen non-traditional firms come and go in the New York market; Foxtons went out of business in 2007, and Zip Realty […]

Active Rain The Great Open House Debate I am not a fan of open houses. The reasons are plentiful- technology has supplanted the need, my weekend afternoons are better spent elsewhere, and oh, I haven’t sold a house at an open since 1998 (more on that later). All markets are local, so I do understand why, for instance, a Manhattan agent would […]

Active Rain Why Armadillos Don’t Own Real Estate I have blogged previously that lizards who are smart enough to move survive and those that sit still are quickly eaten by any colonies. Both sitting still and moving are survival mechanisms, but depending on the circumstances one can kill you and the other can save your life. In a New York short sale, curling […]

Active Rain Fabulous Renovated White Plains Co op! 1 BR $192,000 An exceptional, fully renovated Bryant Gardens top-floor 1 bedroom. Renovated kitchen w/ new floors, cabinets & counters; new bathroom w/ new custom tile work, plus all other upgrades. Boasts new crown molding, new Berber carpeting, & 3 custom ELFA closet systems. Bedroom accommodates king-size set. Complex has immaculate grounds, on-site laundry, barbeque area, newly renovated […]

Active Rain New Listing! Restored Stone Colonial -Owner Will Hold Mortgage! The most striking home in the Village of Ossining, now available with owner financing! A rare offering, this 1922 stone (18 inch walls) colonial has Hudson River views & has been meticulously restored & renovated with the classic character preserved. Large corner lot, slate roof & patio grace the exterior. Inside boasts a modern gourmet […]

Active Rain Gregory Spells “Water!” Gregory, our 4-year old, is on the spectrum for autism. He is in an ABA program and has made outstanding progress this year. This video represents more than something cute (although it is pretty adorable). It means our little boy is connecting with the world in a way that seemed impossible 6 months ago. We […]

Active Rain Keep Moving According to the Discovery channel, fire ants can eat an entire lizard, killing it in a minute in some cases. However, some fence lizards are adapting. Evidently, a fence lizard’s main survival mechanism is to be perfectly still in order to blend in with the surroundings. That’s good if you are trying to avoid a […]

Active Rain Charming Pleasantville Village Colonial! 3 BR 2 BA $599,000 Utterly charming Village colonial with updated kitchen and electric service! Walk to downtown, train and shopping! Classic pre-war architecture with hardwoods, 2 fireplaces, formal dining room and updated, larger kitchen with sliders to the rear deck overlooking a deep back yard. Large bedrooms are upstairs, including a finished walkup attic currnetly used as a 4th […]

Active Rain NY Times- Healing Autism with Horses This entry in the Well Blog is intriguing. I did not delve into the theories (the pattern of the horse gallop, for instance) but do feel that animals have a postive effect on us all, including our Gregory. I am for anything that “engages.” There are also some interesting links after the story about the vaccine […]

Active Rain “I Want Ice Cream Food” My wife can articulate this better than I can, and this is not a real estate-related post unless you consider the fact that autism probably affects someone you know no matter what type of blog you might be reading right now. We have 4 beautiful children ages 2 through 6. Three Boys and a Princess. […]

Active Rain Is Lilly Tomlin running Tech Support at Active Rain? My blog is askew. The header is cut off, posts are center justified, and my sidebar is buried somewhere. I don’t exactly dither in exotic code- I do a postlet for new listings and I’ve embedded 2-3 videos. Since 4/8 I have had a trouble ticket opened with tech support and the answer is essentially […]

Active Rain Just Listed! 3200 SF Short Sale on 2.5 Acres! $475,000 3200 SF Colonial on 2.5 Private Acres! Short Sale Bargain! Location: Pleasant Valley, NY Mint 3200 Square foot contemporary colonial on a dead end street set on 2.5 private acres. 5 minutes from the Taconic Parkway. Very energy efficient home- fantastic wood stoves can heat the entire home. Great covered rear porch overlooks serene woods. […]

Active Rain New York Times Hates Mortgage Brokers On the tail of my recent post on the nasty Times report on REO brokers who had to gall to enjoy themselves at a conference, today’s Times editorial fires some skud missiles into the hides of mortgage brokers. You should read the editorial to get a sense of both the editors’ contempt for, and ignorance […]

Active Rain Ossining, NY Real Estate Trends The Village of Ossining is my hometown. Ossining is in Central Westchester County on the banks of the Hudson and is noted for being the home of Sing Sing Prison down by the river and Maryknoll Mission up the hill a few miles. Notable Ossining natives include Peter Falk, Martha Quinn, Dominic Pace and Erica […]

Active Rain The New York Times Must Hate REO Brokers Evidently, a convention of REO brokers should be somber. At least, that what Eric Lipton of the New York Times seems to intimate in this report, which reads more like an Onion article than serious reportage. Apparently, REO brokers, or the brokers who list and sell bank-owned foreclosures, are just lighting their cigars with $100 bills […]

Active Rain Westchester County is NOT Upstate New York The best page on Facebook in my opinion is Alexander Yamet’s Westchester is Not Upstate You Idiot. This is one of those friendly arguments people in Westchester and the Hudson Valley get into with people when we get to college and meet Long Island and New York City types for the first time in the dorm. […]