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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. But other times the buyer’s agent is told that there is a deal on the home, contracts are about to be signed, and the that the seller has concluded showing the property. Often, it’s still active a week later. Why, you might ask, is it appearing online as active and available when the showings are finished?
In other cases the frustrated buyer has contacted the listing agent directly, only to be told that the agent will happily show them the property.
It’s frustrating for buyer agents also.
Part of the problem is that the contract process in Westchester and surrounding counties is not super compatible with MLS practices. Our local market is quite unique compared to the rest of the country and indeed the rest of New York State.
Here’s what I mean. In virtually every other market, the agents themselves fill out the contract paperwork. Even in upstate New York, the agents execute the contracts and it is contingent on attorney approval and inspection. But both parties sign the c0ntract almost immediately. In those cases, the MLS status is changed to reflect that the home is officially under contract, and the active listing disappears from consumer online searches. The contract is contingent on a home inspection in most cases, but the property is under contract.
But in Westchester, the Hudson Valley, all 5 boroughs of New York City, and Long Island, the contract process is completely different. First, the attorneys, not the agents, promulgate the contracts. Agents do a non-binding memorandum. Before the lawyers will send out the contract, they want the inspections completed. Now, if a buyer and seller have a meeting of the minds on a Monday, the inspection may not be completed for another few days. Often, wrapping up scheduling the inspection and resolving the findings can take 3-4 days even if everyone is on their game. That puts us to Thursday or Friday. Then, the seller’s attorney send the contract to the buyer’s attorney.
It is safe to say the-at the buyer’s attorney seldom agrees with 100% of the verbiage on the proposed contract. There may be some back and forth on wording. But again, let’s suppose that both attorneys agree to the contract verbiage within 48 business hours. This put us to the following Tuesday, or 8 days since the original meeting of the minds. Then, the buyers have to schedule a time to meet with their attorney and go over the contract for signing and to make their deposit. That often takes another day or two, so even in a fast scenario, we are at Thursday. The signed contract and deposit arrive back to the seller’s attorney the following day if we are moving fast, and then another day or two for the seller’s to meet up with their lawyer to sign and have a fully executed contract.
We are now two weeks into the “deal,” and all this time the property has remained in Active Status in the MLS and appears available the entire time. In that time, the buyer could change their mind, or another offer could come in that the seller likes better, and the could switch horses also. Anyone watching the property online would reasonably presume that the home is available.
In some cases, the seller can end showings and by rule their agent should change the status of the listing to TOM or “Temporarily off Market,” but my colleagues aren’t always that proactive. Moreover, contracts could be out and signing could be imminent, but until they are signed, the listing agent could still show the property to anyone who inquires to at least have a backup if the current offer doesn’t perform. It’s not very nice of them to say one thing to a buyer agent and another to a direct consumer inquiry, but it does happen.
But as you can see, the timeframe of local practices in Westchester and the surrounding area are far longer than the rest of the country , and the 2 weeks I outlined is more or less average. I’ve seen instances where it is drawn out for a month or more before contracts are fully executed and the listing status is finally changed.
Do I prefer how we do it locally? I do not. But I don’t have the magic wand to change it either, so all I can do is advise clients about how to expedite matters for their best interests and to prepare them for the timeframe and its foibles.
It does take longer around here, and my job for clients is to move things forward as expeditiously as possible to ensure that their meeting of the minds becomes memorialized contractually.
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.
One ironic request, however, is when the seller does not want a yard sign. Their rationale is understandable in many cases, as the perception of privacy from nosy neighbors is often mentioned. Moreover, consumers aren’t primarily driving around looking for signs, they are looking online. That’s true- to a degree. I’ve had clients opine that the signs are more for the agent than the home seller, as if it is more of a self promotional vehicle than one to sell the listing. Selling a home successfully is a win/win proposition for client and agent, so I take issue with that more than the others.
Ah, north Westchester! The land of horse country, idyllic lake communities, winding roads, and spotty cellular coverage. When you find a home with lake rights that has good mobile phone signal like this one, you know you’ve got something special. Snark about cellular data aside, this 1500 square foot colonial set on nearly a quarter acre does offer quite a package. My clients will now enjoy lake rights on the pristine Lake Kitchawan, enjoy their deck overlooking their level rear yard, and have already begun the remodeling process on their new home.
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 or phone number, and is told they just want to buy the thing and be on their way. It seems like everywhere we go, we are asked for our information. You can’t even log onto some websites without a popup window offering you a discount if you enter your email handle, and you haven’t even decided if you want anything they sell.
This was the house that came back; I interviewed with the prior owner who sold it to my clients but we didn’t get the listing. This time we did! It just closed on July 31st for $800,000. Somers is known for its bucolic setting and this property didn’t disappoint, as the nearly 1.5 acre lot backs up to the a forever green preserve, the Somers Land Trust. The nearly 3500 square foot home has three bedrooms, 4 baths, a finished walkout basement, and a master suite to die for. The road is a no-through traffic street as well.
If you feel priced out of Westchester, fear not. Dutchess County, sometimes humorously referred to as “Nextchester,” often has what you need if you are open to living a little farther north. A great example is this renovated raised ranch on a 1.2 acre lot on a cul-de-sac street that we closed on today at 6 Briar Lane in Wappingers Falls. The MLS description paints a great picture:
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 to expect a response to an offer. The seller might set a date and time for all parties to submit their highest and best bids.
When is Assisted Living the Right Move for Seniors?
First, it is worth noting that getting old is good fortune. Not all people get to live well into their 80s or 90s, and my mom made it to 88.
It’s also worth noting that there are lots of reasons to consider assisted living beyond one’s house being too much for them to manage. But let’s tackle the obvious reasons first.
For our family, the physical, mental and financial arrows all pointed to a significant need for change. My mother needed to make new friends. She needed help with her meals. She could no longer drive and couldn’t do as much for herself as she once could. Moreover, we couldn’t stay on top of the things we once took for granted, like making sure she didn’t eat expired perishable food or experience difficulty procuring and taking her prescription medications.
It’s kind of heartbreaking to see a person who was once a dynamic career woman lose her ability to care for herself the way she should. Even bringing my kids to see her was challenging, because her space was no longer toddler-friendly.
It’s also tough for some people to ask for help, especially for basic things like a broken toilet, a leaky faucet, or a new light bulb. There were times when I’d spend the first half hour of a visit addressing those very things- throwing rotten food away, refilling prescriptions, and fixing small household things that she was too bashful to ask for help with.
When the decision was made, my brothers and I all discussed the state of affairs with my mother, and she agreed that the quality of her life would be better if she didn’t have so much on her plate. She had spent winters in Texas with my older brother, but when he passed away we had to sell that house. The agent we dealt with, Tina Bertucci, was excellent. What is done with the primary residence once assisted living becomes the permanent arrangement is where a good real estate agent is worth their weight in gold.
The timeframe and preparation for selling the primary residence is a big part of where an agent matters. It’s not always easy to clean out decades of possessions and memories from a home, even if a senior has moved out for good. They often feel that they should have a say is how the contents of the house are dispensed with, and deservedly so; that’s their stuff.
For my mother, having her meals taken care of and being around other people with similar interests was a big game changer. She had always been a bit of a pack rat, and we were surprised that for a majority of her things, out of sight was out of mind. She wasn’t nearly as opposed to throwing out, donating, and otherwise removing things she no longer needed. The new reality of never missing a medication, never having to do dishes or drag a big garbage can out to the curb, and dozens of other “little things’ to the rest of us made her later chapters in life better.
For the past 7 years, I have been a Senior Real Estate Specialist, or SRES. The designation did teach me quite a bit, but it was my experience with my mother that makes this more personal than any other professional designation I have. Moving is a big deal for anyone; sunsetting a home and making a lifestyle change for someone in their autumn years is considerably more.
The big question to ask when considering assisted living is fairly simple. Will this improve the quality of life for the person? That doesn’t fully take into account the pain of change, the adjustment or the new challenges. They will always be baked in and there’s no way to sugarcoat that difficulty. But if the day to day quality of life for a person is such that they are unable to truly care for themself and assisted living would improve their day to day quality of life, then it should be explored sooner rather than later.
I think I speak for legions of other real estate licensees when I say that our involvement in this chapter of someone’s life is something we take very seriously, and we bring with us a significant amount of empathy, compassion, and patience.