Commentary

I don’t remember the first time I was introduced to Leah Caro, but I do recall the early days of getting acquainted. I was a fledgling member of the MLS board of directors, and she had just completed her second term as President of the then Westchester County Board of Realtors. She was broker owner […]

I just off the phone with a guy who initially sounded like a telemarketer, but claimed that he wanted me to list some acreage he owns about 90 minutes north of me to pay for an upcoming surgery. He must have done a little bit of homework, because he got the name right of the […]

Here’s a short cautionary tale. Many years ago I was representing a buyer client in their purchase of a home in Westchester County. We found a listing in Cortlandt that appeared to check all the boxes, but Mrs. Buyer Client had something last minute come up and I saw it with Mr. Buyer Client only. […]

I am paraphrasing the great Yogi Berra when I say that predicting the future is easy, but getting it right is a bit trickier. Many of my colleagues have offered their prognostications in a market that is the perfect storm of black swans, judicial actions, economic uncertainty, and so many competing interests that there doesn’t […]

A quick one today while I have a moment: I’m a NY Giants fan from way back. I remember when Fran Tarkenton was the quarterback and the futile 1970s when the team stunk. Just about every guy I know has a team they follow, and I’ll share with you some dots I connected back when […]

Everyone lives indoors. I share this with my team fairly frequently in our weekly training, and while it’s always good for a smile, the facts are that our shelter needs don’t change with election maps unless you yourself just got elected to something and have to relocate to Washington DC. If you are expecting twins […]

If I hadn’t gone through this myself with my own mother I doubt I would write about it. I do think that my (and my brothers’) experience is worth sharing for those who are considering this as an option. First, it is worth noting that getting old is good fortune. Not all people get to […]

One of the more frustrating things for consumers to experience when searching for real estate to is to see a desirable property online for sale, send it to their agent to schedule a showing, and then not be able to get in. Sometimes the listing agent doesn’t respond, which is a violation of the rules. […]

September is a big month in property tax circles in New York, and courts throughout the state are receiving “tax certiorari” cases filed in considerable volume. That term is quite a mouthful (thankfully, my spellcheck recognizes the word), and it’s related to the assessed value of properties for tax purposes. It’s no secret that property […]

For many years, there has been an awkward moment when consumers attending an open house are asked to sign in. It is understandable to not want to become someone’s prospect or lead, and it doesn’t seem necessary to many folks. We see this pushback everywhere: a cashier asks a customer at checkout for their email […]

Contractual deadlines and “by when” dates are baked into industry practices. Listings have expiration dates. Buyer agreements do also. Purchase and sale contracts have mortgage contingency dates, closing dates, and other structures of fulfillment that are terms for principals to abide by. Deadlines are not exclusive to contracts. There is a reasonable amount of time […]

NIMBY is an acronym for “not in my back yard.” It is a pejorative term, and, as I will explain, that is for a good reason. Real estate professionals with any involvement in their community will inevitably get exposure to NIMBYs, and, in my view this should be viewed as an opportunity to show some […]

Escalation clauses are sometimes included in offers that essentially state that if the offer being presented is outbid by another competing offer that the buyer will raise their number by a set amount over the higher competing bid. Sometimes they are clever due to the confidential nature of closed bids in New York real estate, […]

The term “in law apartment” or “in-law space” has become misunderstood lately by both agents and consumers, so I’d like to clear up what should be fairly straightforward. First, if a home is a single family house, it is just that: a single housing unit. It is not a multi-unit building. If it has a […]

Westchester County has a population of about 1 million residents. Most of those folks who inhabit the 914 area code live in homes that are connected to public sewers, but there are a hefty number of properties, especially in the northern part of the county, that are on septic systems. I’ve said before that there’s […]

I posted not long ago that one of the reasons why inventory is so low is that we are not building new homes at a rate needed to meet our housing needs. It is estimated that we need another 7 million units to solve this, and that won’t happen overnight. What’s worse is that in […]

For more than 20 years, home sellers in the state of New York have been required to furnish their buyer with a form known as a Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS). It is a collection of several dozen questions that the seller is required to answer about the characteristics of the home. The law always […]

If you’ve ever wondered what the story is behind those flimsy looking signs nailed to telephone poles all over the place promising you a fast cash sale on your house, I have the answer. I’m sure you know the signs I speak of. They are known in the industry as “bandit signs.” Some are professionally […]

Swimming pools are probably the last thing on most peoples’ minds but we are still selling homes that have them, and this thought is a bit overdue. Swimming pools are an improvement, so they add value to a property. They can’t not add value presuming they are in working order, but there’s a but. The “but” […]

Back in 2009, I was approached by Redfin to help them enter the Westchester real estate market as a referral partner. They did not have employee agents here, so referring clientele to other brokerages would be a win/win arrangement to start. I was eager for any new source of business, and took a closer look. […]