This past December I blogged about 2 neighboring homes for sale in Nyack, NY that were featured in a New York Times article discussing the merits of using a broker to sell a home and the reasons people sell by owner. The homes were side by side; I was familiar with both, and even showed the one listed to buyers last autumn. 

I was in the neighborhood again yesterday, and what I found was worth capturing with a photo. 

Yes: The home listed with the broker, my capable friends at Wright Brothers in Nyack, is under contract at an asking price of $839,000. The FSBO remains unsold, according to the owner’s website, at $795,000. Unless the REALTOR-listed home sold for considerably under contract, where is the savings? 

Will the NY Times do a follow up article on how this shook out? I doubt it. 

Meanwhile, the FSBO is still in limbo, unsold (if the website is accurate; If sold also, it can’t be for more than 795k), unlisted, and, save for the owner websites, invisible to the buying public, with an amateur at the rudder of the ship. 

Savings, I suppose, is in the eye of the beholder. 

This past November I blogged my thoughts on eclipsing 100,000 points on ActiveRain and, more importantly, the good things that occurred on the way. Today, 4 months and a day later, I hit 200,000 points. More happy things have happened out of my blogging efforts. A few highlights:

• I might write about this after it closes, but one buyer who found me online and asked to work with me just got his mortgage commitment on a new purchase. He started his search for an agent online and found my blog. His initial email was such a validation of my online efforts I am still smiling about it 6 weeks later. When I get his permission I’ll reproduce it. 
• I’ll blog about this after it closes as well, but I recently listed a beautiful property without having to make a presentation. I was just called over to price and list it. The pre-listing package, if you will, was already online. No one needed to be convinced.  
• I was quoted in an MSN Money article on the real estate market one month ago.
• I am quoted in April 2010’s REALTOR Magazine.
• We continue to receive referrals; I don’t have time to count. Regardless, we greatly appreciate those who think of me when they think Westchester County, NY (and surrounding areas) real estate. 
• We continue to bring aboard good agents. This April we will hit 21 excellent people on the team. The most recent team member walked in and asked to associate after his old firm closed. My blog is a great recruiting tool because it allows agents to “interview” me. 
• I have opened a branch office in Upper Manhattan. Two dynamic agents are on that growing team. That’s a series of blogs for another time, believe me.

Outside of business we have made great connections with fellow ‘Rainers. They have been a great source of support, morale boosting, and friendship.

• Ann and I have connected with fellow parents of children with autism. I wish we had more time to communicate; sadly, self-employment and autism don’t help in the spare time department. However, the fellowship of just knowing that there are those like us out there helps enormously. 
• I have broken bread recently with Eileen Hsu and Morgan Evans and Loreena and Mike Yao. I also met many others at Raincamp NYC. 
• I have had phone conversations with a number of ActiveRainers, including Lenn Harley, Irene Kennedy, & Barb Szabo on ways either I could help them or vice versa, or just to share a laugh. 
• Countless emails and tokens of support and friendship. In this market, smiles make a difference.  
• We have even received a wedding invitation, which we greatly appreciate (can you say “date night”). 

This is not about points, but the great things that happen as they accumulate. AR is not a blogging platform or SEO and networking tool as much as it is a community. Ann and I are grateful to be part of it. It all comes from putting yourself out there, consistently. 

I like money, friendship and smiles. That’s why I am here.   

Drive through Swiss Hamlet just once and you’ll appreciate the name; beautiful homes in classic styles with stunning views of the valley. Residents have a full homeowners association which includes tennis courts, a clubhouse, and beautiful swimming pool. The amenities are run by the Swiss Hamlet Homeowners Association, located in the clubhouse right in the middle of the neighborhood.  

Swiss Hamlet homes range in age from those built in the early 70’s right through new builds. One interesting constant, aside from the fact that nearly all are quite upscale, is that they are constructed with environmentally friendly materials (long before it was a trend): natural siding and wood roof shingles (as opposed to asphalt) are the norm. And the architecture of Swiss Hamlet homes are often stunning, especially if you like older styles, like tudors. 

I love stone homes and slate roofs. I listed my first Swiss Hamlet house in 2007 and have loved it ever since. It is actually a natural for a Westchester broker like me to end up there, because Westchester expatriots love neighborhoods like Swiss Hamlet- Westchester living with Dutchess prices. Moreover, even though it is a sleepy, woodsy area, the Taconic parkway is 5 minutes away, making it a perfect commuter locale. 

One thing a builder cannot give you is a view, and the fantastic view is the first thing that hits you when you drive into the neighborhood. On a clear day the residents can see for miles, even when the trees fill in with leaves. 

Swiss Hamlet is served by the Wappinger Falls School District. The elementary school is Fishkill Plains. The middle school is Van Wyck, and the high school is John Jay. If you’d like to see if the area is good for you, you can browse listings in Swiss Hamlet and the surrounding area. 

Dear Buyer and Buyer Agent: 

My clients and I are in receipt of your lowb-, um, offer. We are grateful that you are interested in the home- it has served my clients well for years. I can only hope that if you live there too that it will be the source of much joy and many happy years for you and your family should we do business. There is just one thing, however, that we’ll need to rectify in order to do business with you, and that would be the amount you are willing to pay to live in this property. You see, offering fewer than 75c on the dollar for the place hurts you more than it hurts us. Here’s why. 

• You probably don’t want to live in a community that has had its prices knocked back to the year 2000. But if you got the place for $430,000, that is the trend you’ll unwittingly start. The sale will be in the recent market history and adversely affect the prices of the other units, because future buyers will want to pay 430 and not 600. Places will take longer to sell for less, and your “good deal” or “steal” will start a domino effect in the complex. That effects you, not me. I won’t be living there. You will. 
• If, God forbid, you have to sell in the next 2-5 years, you are going to want the same $600,000 everyone else is asking for (and getting) now. But you won’t, because the 430k purchase will be public record and everyone will know it. They’ll also know you didn’t put $170,000 into the place because it was built in 2000. Real estate isn’t appreciating at 45%, so you’ll have no justification whatsoever for such a disparate price in such a short time.
• If you don’t believe me, ask anyone in a small community how much just one foreclosure has decimated years of appreciation for everyone else. And you don’t want to live in a stagnant complex do you? Of course you don’t. You want your home to appreciate and grow in value! Right? You want all the “steals” to end with your purchase. But that’s not the way it works. Capeesh? 
• Now, this certainly doesn’t apply to us, because my clients are interested in doing business and are very non-judgmental. But you know, there are some people out there that just might conclude, however erroneously, that an offer like this means that you aren’t really serious about doing business, getting a nice home for your family at a fair price, and that you are actually a speculative, self interested rectal cavity. And we know that’s not true about nice folks like you. 

If you’ll permit me, I’d like to give you some unsolicited advice that might serve you well. Explaining your low offer by knocking the crap out of a 7-year old unit isn’t a winning strategy. You see, we know you are going to live here should we do business. And you wouldn’t live in an outdated, run down, inferior unit that backs up to a swamp, because you have too much self respect for that. 

We are countering your offer at $575,000. Here’s a thought: Go back and sit down together and resubmit your offer, sans insults and knocks on my clients’ home, and produce a number that will benefit both you and us. You won’t get a steal. If you want a steal I know a nice shelled out gut job on the other side of town you can get with the window bars pre-installed. We wish you nothing but the best. 

Related posts:

We have just closed on 155 North Regent Street in Port Chester, and to celebrate that closing I’ll post a rundown of the real estate market in that distinguished village. Port Chester has a warm place in my heart. It was where “the office” was where my father worked when I was a child. Whenever I think of Port Chester, I think of my Dad, young and healthy. 

Port Chester borders Greenwich, Connecticut on the Byram River. It has a very vibrant, charming downtown, and plenty of pre-war architecture. 

It has some fantastic dining, including the Willett House, which I have posted on before. One notable landmark of the village is the “Lifesaver Building,” a condominium which was the actual home of Lifesavers candy when I was a kid. 

On to the data:

There are 94 single family homes available for sale in the Post Chester school district. The median price for a single family home is $485,000. 4 others are pending sale, and 26 homes have sold in the past 6 months for a median price of $422,500. In the corresponding period (9/24/08 through 3/23/09) there were 23 sales for a median price of $440,000. Transaction totals are up a tick, and median price is down 4%- not terribly bad in light of the economy. 

With 94 single family units to choose from, Port Chester offers plenty of possibility. And good food. 

George Mantor’s article “Is It Time to Go on The Offensive?” has me thinking. Mantor echoes the dissatisfaction most of us have with both the government and large banks, and he announces that he is switching to a credit union for his banking. He is using his economic vote. Should we all? 

In 2005, when I started my company, I grew dissatisfied with Chase. I thought I’d stay local and started an account with a community bank in town. Checks took a long while to clear, my ATM card incurred a fee everywhere, and Internet banking wasn’t available. That account was closed within a year. It wasn’t convenient. I elected to go with a large institution. So, my accounts and money went to Washington Mutual. They were friendly and convenient. What I didn’t know was that they were going bankrupt. 

Chase absorbed Washington Mutual in late 2008. After 2 1/2 years of happy banking, I was back with that large, uncaring monolith. Little changed at first- it was the same branch and staff. Today, however, I am back to 2005 with Chase. The branch staff are new and uncaring save for one (nervous) holdover teller from the WaMu days, and customer service is an exercise in futility. 

Is Mantor’s method the way to go? Is switching my business to a credit union or smaller local bank going to make a difference? If thousands of us switched billions of assets away from the Giants, would they change their tune? And would we be able to put up with less convenience, slower processing and other disadvantages of a smaller place? Or have the smaller operations caught up? To me, a credit union with Internet banking would sound perfect. 

Would we do better with smaller banks in spite of small inconveniences? And would it make a difference if we did? 

To get the word out about the FREE Westchester County home buyer seminar this coming April 7 at 6pm at the Tuscan Grille in Briarcliff Manor, we have set up www.TheKeysToHome.com. 

The theme of the seminar, The Keys, is very appropriate. The “key” to getting your own set of “keys” to a home is the knowledge that comes from a well presented seminar that breaks the process down so that all the ambiguity, stress, and mystery are taken out in place of good instruction, coaching and know-how. If I know it, you’ll know it. 

• No more wondering what is next. You’ll already know. The whole sequence is spelled out A-Z. 
• No more stressful waiting until your agent or lender calls back- you can anticipate the next step with knowledge instead of scratching your head.
• You’ll understand the terminology, and what it really means to buy a short sale or REO. 
• Once you understand the process, you can relax and have fun finding a home. You can negotiate from a position of knowledge as well. 

While driving through Dutchess County today, I was reminded of a pet peeve in real estate that I have long meant to blog about: builders who cut every, single solitary tree down when they build a subdivision and then plant a few saplings in their place. It seems to be particularly bad in the Hudson Valley north of Westchester County. I know people cannot have a tree in their living room. What I don’t get is how you cannot leave 1 decent tree standing for acres and acres in order to build a few houses. And those 3 sick saplings they stick in the ground  are hardly a substitute for the proud trees that once stood there. 

It takes decades for the replacement trees to grow in. Mature neighborhoods shouldn’t take decades. One county over in Connecticut they have great neighborhoods where the builders built around mother nature, not on her grave. I hate a scorched Earth- it seems so barren and austere, especially when the immediate area surrounding the neighborhood is so rich with growth.  

There is nothing aesthetically pleasing about a barren landscape in a new subdivision. The way houses just stick out with no trees to frame them, shade them or accent them is antiseptic and unappealing. It is also a waste. I wish builders and developers who engage in this practice would cut it out, and I also wish that the municipalities that bug the rest of us about relatively minor issues in comparison would not allow it either. 

We’ve chosen the Tuscan Grille in Briarcliff Manor for our upcoming home buyer seminar this April 14 at 6pm. Tuscan Grille, formerly Torchia’s, is located at 518 North State Road in Briarcliff Manor. This will not be your average seminar- we’re going to cover things seldom discussed that will give attendees a tremendous advantage in getting financing, negotiating the best deal, and finding their dream home without turning the home buying process into a new part-time job or ordeal. We’ll also define, describe and offer strategy on all the new phenomenon in 2010 housing, such as the new mortgage landscape, short sales, and the buyer’s market. All are welcome. 

There will be limited seating, so to reserve a spot simply call 914-762-2500 or email us to RSVP. 

Directions to Tuscan Grille: From Southern Westchester, take the Taconic Parkway north to 9A North (exit after route 117). Make a right onto North State Road at the intersection of North State and 9A. Tuscan Grille is about a mile down on the right. From Northern Westchester, get on 9A south and make a left onto North State Road. 

2010 is one of the very best years EVER to buy a home. This seminar will explain why, but, more importantly, how you can get the home of your dreams at terms so favorable that we may never see them again.