My first listing on the NY State MLS site is live. It is a 2 bedroom co op in Hudson Heights, Manhattan. This is right up on the tip of the Island, north of the George Washington Bridge between Washington Heights and Inwood. I hope more brokers join this site so we can better publicize our listings and make a more comprehensive database of properties that crosses all the current borders. 

I’ll be adding more as time goes by- the company has over 50 listings. 

Dawn, you should come to a Guild of Independent Real Estate Professionals meeting in Westchester one of these days to introduce the concept to the other brokers. We have some great brokers with hundreds of listings to add. 

For the past year, the Guild of Independent Real Estate Professionals has been doing great work with the independent brokers of Westchester County. The group’s core purpose is to give the independent companies of the county strength in numbers. There are member brokers from all over Westchester, and one common thread we all possess is that we are smaller, unaffiliated firms that pride ourselves on personal service. No franchises and no large companies (I hope to someday be disqualified from membership on that little clause there) are eligible for membership.

Aside from being a great networking source, the Guild has run some exciting events, such as the Warmth for Westchester clothing drive this past Christmas, a large multi firm cooperative open house spanning the county, and even a live bid event for showcase listings. Home buyer seminars are the latest project. 

Brokers are not the only members. We count in our ranks mortgage companies, lawyers, technology firms, appraisers, home inspectors and title companies.

I am a charter member and on the technology committee. Groups like the guild are good for the public to know about, because people need to know that we as an industry are committed to cooperation, networking, and finding new and better ways to do business. That translates into better results for the clients. Plus, there is indeed strength in numbers. I have found that the camaraderie among us even as competitors is very good. Let’s face it- even people in the same company compete, so our affiliation is good for business. I seldom lose a listing to a big firm, but if the issue ever comes up, I have a great answer. 

It is obvious to anyone that until the housing market turns around-as in, more people buy homes-the economy will not recover from it’s current malaise. When I was primarily doing mortgages in 2002-2003, wholesale representatives from lenders would introduce products that basically had Helen Keller type underwriting. We called it the mirror test; if they can fog up a mirror, they get the loan. We should have known it would yield a bad harvest. It did. 

In 2007, the pendulum swung the other way when the meltdown began. Banks went from foolhardy crazy to stingy crazy, with common sense a casualty in both extremes. Otherwise qualified borrowers with good credit, strong down payments and steady jobs were suddenly no longer qualified. It continues to this day. Today’s NY Times has a story on the incredible reasons that lenders are turning down mortgages. 

The examples of paranoia subordinating due diligence are absurd but all to often, true. In New York, for example, the lender might not like the building or co op. I’ve seen perfectly good mortgage commitments with well-qualified buyers not close because the PMI company would not grant insurance. We almost lost a deal on a sale of our own apartment in Queens because the buyer made an error in the dates of a previous job, and a 3 month gap in employment forced the borrower to switch banks! That cost us some time. 

Until lenders realize that paranoid underwriting is sabotaging a recovery, we’ll have to deal with a stagnant industry where common sense is the exception rather than the rule. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater and putting people who do not deserve to be treated as high risks through the meat grinder is not the solution to solidifying housing. Lending money to people with good credit, income and down payment was never the problem; simply stop loaning to the unqualified and we’ll be OK. 

There is another problem with this paranoid landscape: It is making people nuts. When “full faith and credit”  in our American system loses its meaning, we have bigger problems than a condo that isn’t on FHA’s approved list. When people lose confidence, up is down, and 700 is no longer adequate credit, they make other plans- they do dumb things to compensate (like walk away from their house) and the vultures, i.e., dispassionate, cash investors, pick the bones of cadavers that should be alive and thriving. The domino effect is devastating. 

Are you listening, banks? We’re a team; you have to to increase the pool of qualified buyers to include people that would never have been sub prime 5 years ago and we’ll be OK. THAT was the reason for the bailouts. Loan money. It’s your job. Until you do your job, we can’t do ours. 

Scarborough Glen is a townhome-style condominium community located in Briarcliff Manor, NY. It is right across route 9 (South Highland Avenue) from the Arcadian Shopping Center, but to walk around the complex you’d never get the idea you were so close to civilization. The reason for this is that unlike many newer developments where the builders scorch the Earth and then plant a few saplings, Ginsburg left huge amounts of wooded area untouched. 

Built in 2003, the young age of the units means that they are far from needing updates- the roofs, furnaces, windows and other mechanicals are all young and efficient. They are very solidly built as well; poured concrete foundations were used, and there is little evidence of wear and tear that I have ever seen. 

There are 6 units for sale currently in the complex, including one our firm just listed for $575,000. It is a 3-bedroom, 2.5 bath end unit with a full walkout basement backing up to woods and a stream. There is also a loft attic, rear deck, a gas fireplace, and a large eat-in kitchen. 

2 Briarbrook is MLS ID 3006874. To see more of my new listing, or to search other available units in Scarborough Glen, get yourself a free ListingBook account and search the MLS like a licensed agent. 

J. Philip Real Estate wishes to welcome the following new agents to our growing team of professionals:

Briarcliff Manor Office:

• Cristina Gameiro
• Vivian Morales-Guerrero
• Ozichi Alimole
• Joseph Tucci

• Sasha Gaertner-Zambrano
• Aricely Alcaide

  

Martha Brown has written a nice posting on a self defense class she took, and I have to say that, all things being equal, taking the course is better than not taking it. This is not a rebuttal, but something I wish to add, since real estate agents do get attacked, and, sadly, killed in our line of work.  

Disclosure: I was assaulted by a client in 1998 when I was 31 and in good shape. I was a 4 year varsity wrestler. It did me no good. My attacker was an ex-cop it later turned out.

Disclosure: My college roommate and former co worker at my first brokerage is a black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do and was nearly killed in his own office. He required plastic surgery after that attack. 

These attacks did not occur in dark alleys, open houses in obscure locations, or in abandoned homes on the wrong side of town. I was attacked in the client’s kitchen while his wife looked on, taunting me. My friend was attacked in his office. Interestingly, we are both male, in decent shape, and do not fit the profile of the news stories about female agents being accosted at open houses. 

Beating up your attacker is not plan A. If you can defend yourself, do so to the extent to get away. Think Edith Bunker when she thwarted that would be rapist. But if you fight, you are engaging someone in their turf; they were ready- you weren’t. And the element of surprise is lethal.  

Prevention is more important than reaction. Don’t be alone with people you haven’t vetted. Don’t do open houses alone with no backup. Casually remark that you expect a male associate any minute. 

Hand to hand combat has problems. Here’s the thing: Attackers sucker punch. Attackers rely on the element of surprise. Attackers are con artists who will go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. Attackers wait until you turn your eye away. Then, they’ll hit you hard, fast, low, and repeatedly. That’s the problem. They play dirty. They never tell you to put up your dukes. They rig it to their favor. Sharks, for example, don’t attack on land, where they aren’t very tough. They get you in the water. Don’t go “in the water.” 

If there is going to be a battle, make it a battle of wits. You can win that one. If you are alone in a house with someone who makes you uncomfortable, say “Greg Nino will be here any minute with that survey I forgot on my desk,” or “Jeff Belonger is running late but he has some great financing programs for this house.” Then, get on the phone and call Greg and Jeff and say “Hi, I am at our open at 927 Elm, there is a man here who really want to see that floor plan/mortgage/survey.” They’ll get the message. If I got that call from one of my team I’d send Cavelleria Siciliana. 

There are tons of things you can do to avoid a scrap. Get names. Get numbers. Verify. Let people know where you are at all times. Work as a team. Carry mace or pepper spray. Keep your eyes open and keep your distance. Never be alone with an unknown out of distance from civilization. Casually mention that others are on their way. But it is prevention, not a good left hook, that is the best deterrent to being harmed. 

This is for both consumers and agents alike who have written about issues they have had with bad real estate agents. I have seen a lot of this lately, and the problems run from the annoying (won’t return calls) to the dumb (leaves a house unlocked) to the ridiculous (something illegal, like fraud, misrepresentation, or a fair housing infraction). In New York, the broker is liable for everything their agent does in their work. If an agent fails to present an offer, the broker gets fined. If an agent breaks a fair housing law, their broker’s license is in jeopardy. If an agent commits fraud, their broker committed fraud in Albany’s eyes. 

Yet of all the rants, complaints and incredulity I have read, I can’t think of one that actually picked up the phone and called that agent’s broker. Why is this so? Many comments have rightly suggested reporting the offender to their board or filing an ethics grievance, but only one commenter has, with any consistency, stated that the broker should be contacted. 

As a broker-owner myself, I want to know when one of my agents does something wrong. It is my liability, my good name, and my license on the line if they do. I can talk to them, re-train them, cut off their leads, and if need be, show them to the door. In my case, I do have leverage, because all new agents get the liability talk at the start. There is no excuse for unprofessional behavior. 

Brokers do have the power to make a difference. They just have to care. Whenever I’ve had a “run in” with a rogue agent I’ve contacted their broker or manager. In most cases, they’ve said the right thing at the very least. In a few cases, they have been ambivalent, but at least those instances I didn’t have to wonder whether or not a more serious action was needed. 

Contact the broker if you have a problem with an agent. That will inform you what action, if any, is needed next. 

The NY Times is reporting on a new Obama initiative to create a financial incentive for banks and home sellers alike to do short sales. A few highlights from the article:

• Program starts April 5, 2010
• Lenders will be “compelled” to accept short sales. We’ll see about that.
• The administration wants to streamline the process. We’ll see about that too. 
• Financial incentives are $1,500 to the home seller, $1,000 to the lender, and $1,000 to a subordinate lender.
• Agents will be used to valuate the properties, but lenders will not be forced to accept offers beneath the agent valuation. 

Ossining is one of the few places in Northern Westchester County with many cooperative apartments. The Village of Ossining actually has hundreds of co ops, and given the prices of Westchester County homes, they are often viewed as the starter home for our area. 

Active Listings: 46    Median List Price: $144,950

Pending Sale: 3

Sold units since January 1, 2010: 2

Most available co ops are 2 or 3 bedrooms in apartment buildings. 

Some 2009 statistics for context:

Sold 1 bedroom co ops: 9.   Median Price: $122.000

Sold 2 bedroom co ops:  15.  Median price: $147,000

Sold 3 Bedroom co ops: 6.   Median Price: $205,000

If you want a co op and don’t want to live in southern Westchester, Ossining is one of the best options with the most choices. 

While at an open house today, I got the following instant message from my wife:

Ann: While you are there take some better exterior photos. Today is sunny, and the old ones were taken on a cloudy day. 

Smart idea. The last time I was here, I didn’t get anything from the rear of the home either, which is a shame because it is so much larger from the back. No one had arrived yet, so I shot downstairs and out the back door to snap a few exterior photos from the large, fully fenced rear yard. 

And locked my shirt-sleeved dumb arse outside of the house in a yard completely surrounded by a 6-foot fence with pointy things on top. Now, mind you, the front door was quite unlocked. I was just trapped on the wrong side of the fence. 

With pointy things on top. 

It is funny how the mind races when something like this occurs. I left my phone inside. My laptop was on the kitchen table. Was it opened to an embarrassing web page? What to do? Hope nobody comes to the open and discovers what a dope I am? Hope someone arrives and opens the back door? 

Wait. Fences have gates. 

Locked gates. 

So after a few minutes of chilly weather with no coat spent weighing my options, I came upon a plan. I needed to scale the fence with the pointy things and climb over it without hurting myself. I am not dressed for that. I am too fat. I am too old. I am too trapped. 

Climbing the fence was actually easy. Getting my fat posterior to a position where I could jump down to the other side was the hard part. Muscles I haven’t used in quite some time (obliques come to mind. Left obliques) were summoned to the effort, and those muscles are not pleased with me right now. And jump I did, right into snow which got into my shoes. Wet feet were a small price to pay for freedom. 

I straightened myself out and walked calmly inside the still-empty home, puffing. My wife and her stupid ideas!