J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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 of my favorite place in the Village: my yard.
That tree just got those white blossoms. You can see the forsythia behind the fence.
This is a better view of the forsythia.
My lawn is not a putting green. I prefer to consider it “vegitatively diverse.” Those legs belong to a certain camera hog who loves dandelions more than her dad.
One of Spring’s other calling cards: no more need for firewood.
One more nice one:
The back yard cherry blossoms will be next week. They aren’t quite there yet. Here’s sneak preview from last year:
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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 currently is making a big push.
I have often been a skeptic of non-traditional brokerage models. I haven’t been confident that they are sustainable once the investment capital runs out, and in the case of several, inlcuding Iggy’s House, I have been right. The main reason for my skepticism is the fact that people, not gimmick creative business models, determine the success of an enterprise. Simply put, top agents will work where they can make the most money. A top producer will not join a team with lower per-transaction revenue, and you need top producers for market share an oh, um, profit. Think 80/20 rule, and remember that the unorthodox brokers were the flavors of the month in the hot market but went under when things slowed down.
I have reason to believe that Redfin will be different. I’ll give you my rationale:
They have figured out a way to recruit high producers.
They screen their associates thoroughly.
Redfin has worked out referral association agreements with carefully selected firms with a record of production. This will work well in the slower market, because, in this climate, any source of extra business is gold. I am happy to report that my company made their cut, and it wasn’t easy. They vetted me carefully, and every future referral’s feedback and rating about me will be public. Those are high standards, but more importantly, their results will be helped by the slow market, not hurt by it.
It is actually a very savvy move- open markets where you don’t have a dedicated office by referring business to established producers, and hold them to a high level of consumer satisfaction. There is full disclosure as to who is a Redfin agent and who is a referral agent. There is no ambiguity, and the transparency, both in operations and feedback, is by design.
Is it sustainable? Consider this: there is virtually no brick and mortar overhead in the referral markets, they get referral fees, and the business grows organically. No salaried pretenders running around in company cars. No expensive ads. No rent. No feaux prosperity fueled by rapidly burning capital. I think it will work, and my contact with the company managment gives me the sense that they know what they are doing. Granted, I am biased toward those who do business with me, but then again, those who do business with me make money (he said humbly).
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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 hold a co op or condo open. Having worked in the city many times, I know that opens in Manhattan are more pragmatic. There are no lockboxes in Manhattan and there just isn’t the same mobility for showings when the agent has to be present. I took advantage of an open house today in Queens on a listing I hadn’t previously had luck getting into.
However, in my predominantly suburban market, it seems inconsistent (and risky) to promise clients that I’ll only show their home to pre-approved buyers and then one Sunday a month let in just anyone with no knowledge of their qualifications or character. Last month we had a theft at an open I hosted. More often than not, they attract nosy neighbors, curious people who saw the sign, and other non-prospects looking for decorating ideas.
Interestingly, the sellers who want me to hold their houses open tend to be older and more excited about print advertising. It isn’t that they aren’t Internet savvy, they just have more years under their belt trusting those methods. Recently, I told a seller that holding their home open would help ME more than them, since the odds of someone walking in and buying their home were more remote than my likelihood of picking up a buyer.
I love to make money. Seriously. And if opens made me money I wouldn’t consider them such a time and ad expense hemorrhage. But they don’t make me money, they make me lose money in exchange for pacifying sellers. Tomorrow I am going out with 2 buyers and then I am going to play with my kids and dog until I collapse. That, in my view, is a far more productive day.
Oh- if you’re curious about that house I sold at an open house in 1998, here’s the scoop. I was already working with the buyer. I called them on the phone to come over.
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 up in a ball might work fine for an armadillo to survive, but it doesn’t help a homeowner avoid a foreclosure. I have often stated that proactive sellers, who help themselves, have far better results. It’s just that simple.
Yesterday, I met with one of my agents and a client who had bought a home with her about 4 years ago. We have known for months that they were having difficulties, and for some reason they delayed meeting with us. In fairness, they were trying to refinance and then for a loan modification, but when that failed they went to an outfit that promised to solve all their problems for a fee. The money for the fee disappeared, but their problems did not.
5 minutes into the meeting, we learned that we were too late. The bank took back the house in January. The REO broker, whom I know, was in contact with them about vacating the premises. They had a copies of legal notices, and lots of other things that indicated that they were there on borrowed time. They didn’t seem to grasp this until I told them it was over; what this all meant was that the bank now owned the property. He crossed his legs and seemed very intent on the TV news across the room. I looked around. My agent was speaking to him and he was nodding, but his eyes were lost in the TV and I noticed how nice their place was. This was a really beautiful pre war brick 2 family. The crown molding was exquisite. The pastel artwork on the wall was cheerful and beckoned happy times. Typically, the finances and the physical surroundings match. This didn’t match.
Clearly, their choice to engage with people who made unrealistic promises for a fee cost them their house. Had they met with me this past autumn when we were first made aware of their problems we could have sold their house for them. As it was, the house never made it to the market. It would have sold easily, and they could have avoided a foreclosure. While they didn’t curl into the fetal position, their failure to act smartly cost them. Westchester short sales are high stakes; you can’t just act, you have to act intelligently.
I will amend my philosophy slightly. In a short sale, people who help themselves and act intelligently will get the best results.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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 kitchen w/ professional grade appliances & granite counters/breakfast bar, magnificent imported fixtures, new heat/electric, & a gloriously restored master suite with a custom walk-in closet to die for. An unbelievable home. Owner will finance with 20% down on a 15 year term! Never a need for a bank to buy this unique home! Click on the photo for more pictures.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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 work hard daily, hope and pray that he continues his progress. His Mom, older brother and sister help “narrate.”
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 larger predator, but not good if it gives a colony of fire ants enough time to do their work.
Now, some fence lizards are adapting to the ant threat by twitching and moving. In areas where the lizards are familiar with the ants, they have begun what scientists have deemed a new practice of shaking the ants off and retreating. Something in their brain clicks. In areas where the ants are less common, less savvy lizards remain still and end up dying. They aren’t adjusting to the changes in the environment, and they don’t survive. I think there’s a lesson there for us all.
Of course, adapting, keeping moving, and evolving as the market environment changes is important to our economic survival. Buyers, sellers and licensees alike cannot operate like it is 2005 and expect good results.
Cases in point:
While attempting to set an appointment for a showing, I was informed for the 2nd time by the listing agent of an overly restrictive scheduling preference by the seller- Thursday evenings and weekends only. Clearly, this seller thinks that buyers are lining up like the market is hot. There are too many options! The buyers will buy another house instead of his, and he’ll find that out the hard way.
Agents are still promising sellers a higher than realistic price for their home. How do they expect people to pay more than what the market is clearly bringing? Hyponosis? These agents will hurt themselves, their client, and the perpetuate the image of agents as overpromisers and underdeliverers. You could outrun your mistakes in 2005. You cannot in 2009. Now we have more overpriced, stale listings in an already overcrowded inventory.
Buyers who think that an aggressively priced house in a hot zip code will accept their low offer because they read that foreclosures in Pheonix are up 50%. We aren’t in Pheonix. All real estate is local, and that $500,000 house would have been $700,000 in 2005. You won’t buy it for $400,000 because the sellers already adapted to market conditions.
The hottest real estate book out there is entitled “Shift.” How appropriate. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” voiemail hell, and the presumption that buyers will play by your rules don’t work anymore. However you term it, shifting, adapting, or even twitching, we all have to keep moving to keep up. It starts between the ears!
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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 bedroom. The walkout basement is also finished. A lot of house for the money! Click on the photo for more information.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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