Often, good service can be distinguished by what it isn’t. I am in a service industry, and my bones are made based on my communication, responsiveness, ability to troubleshoot, and getting the job done. All of this melds together for the currency of any good business, which is good will. I’m sure you could add other virtues, and I’m sure, along with your list of things that make good service are things that don’t. Here are things that are not good service. 

1. Making my Problem a DIY Project. When someone clicks on “contact customer service” on your website, instead of putting them in touch with a helpful human being, you have them search your “extensive customer care database.” This is supreme bullsh!t. Now, when I need help, you are going to make me do the forensics needed to hopefully put in the right keyword to find the last time a guy had a problem like mine? What if there is a technical problem on your end? My time is too valuable to go on a scavenger hunt through your 62 gigs of customer care data, which are often nothing more than message boards of fellow customers guessing what the hell might help another. 
2. Not Allowing me to Manage my Account When I Want. One merchant we deal with allows me to renew or cancel my account one week out of the year. They send an email and make one phone call beforehand, and if I have a death in the family or a sick kid I am automatically renewed to the tune of 4k for the next 12 months. Grieving property taxes is easier than this. 
3. Making it Hard to Cancel. Today, I called a company whom I have done business with for almost 5 years. It was time to move on. When I called and told the customer rep I wanted to cancel, he asked me what the problem was in the same tone my father asked me about a fender bender when I was 17. Then, I was sent to some territory manager’s voicemail. I will predict that I am going to be forced to instruct my credit card to decline their auto pay because they are going to play footsie with my cancellation request for the next 4 months. That is a shame, because I will go back to people that don’t piss me off. I’m on my 7th or 8th Sports Illustrated subscription. They never pissed me off. 
4. Voice Mail Hell. This is such a widespread annoyance they parodied it on Saturday Night Live years ago. Connect me with someone who can connect me with someone who can help. Please. Agents who hide behind voice mail often have 3-minute greetings telling you how responsive they are. Ironic, no? 

Ironically, many companies, after putting their customers through these ordeals, have the gall to survey them afterward to get feedback on how good a job they did. Obviously, nobody pays attention to the feedback, because if they did, these shenanigans would cease overnight.

If I am paying you I want results. Period. I don’t want a runaround or wait. I want results.

I know one company that will put you in touch with the CEO just because you asked. And if you have a  problem? They’ll grind a mountain to fix it for you. If you decide to not sell your house, they take you off the market. If you want to make a change, they make the change in real time. 

I’ll bet you know what company I’m referring to. If you don’t, call or email me and I’ll whisper their name in your ear.  

Every so often, I have a listing celebrate an anniversary. I hate anniversaries. No broker wants to have a listing that doesn’t sell for a year. Every year-old listing has a story of old offers they regret not accepting and a journey of chasing the market. Recently, I had a year-old client dismiss my recommendation of a price reduction with the words “you just want to make a sale.”

Well, duh. That’s what you hired me for, isn’t it? The rub here, is that the house has an offer on it, but he doesn’t like the offer! On a $450,000 listing, we have an offer of $400,000. I suggested that we reduce to $425,000 in the hopes of getting a more reasonable buyer who might be willing to pay $425,000. He rejected the idea with the above-referenced glibness. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Last year, I sold a $575,000 listing for $528,000 because reducing to $550,000, even with two offers on the table of below $525,000 at that time was an anathema. Here’s what these people don’t understand: 

• Overpriced listings, if they get offers at all, are more likely to get offers from lowballers.

• Reasonably priced listings are more likely to get offers from reasonable buyers.

Lowballers pay less attention to asking price and make offers on homes that fit their criteria for what they think the house is worth. Asking price isn’t a big consideration. They assume everything is overpriced and don’t care if they insult or annoy. It’s business. Reasonable people consider asking price as part of their criteria and seldom look over their price point. They are more indicative of the conservative, cautious buyers that make up the bulk of the market in this economic climate. They aren’t interested in making a killing as much as they want to avoid making a mistake.

If a listing has been on the market for a longer than average time and has a low offer far below asking price, it makes sense to lower the price to a reasonable price point in between to attract more eyeballs that often didn’t see the home because it was listed higher than their maximum. Not every buyer offers 80 cents on the dollar. Overpriced people think that is the case, because their only experience with offers comes from a different breed: the lowballer. And because they don’t lower their price, they either die on the vine or are forced to take less than they might otherwise get. 

But what do I know? I only do this for a living. 

I had the opportunity to attend a Yankee game the other day with a fellow broker owner (we don’t all hate each other) at the New Yankee Stadium. We took the brand new Metro North Hudson line down from Croton on Hudson and arrived in about 40 minutes. The stop was a long time coming (before they had only a subway stop, and the subway doesn’t run in Westchester), and you have to walk a little ways to get to the new Yard across the street from the old park. On the way, I passed by a familiar place and made a discovery that was a bit somber…I had to take a few pictures at what has become of hallowed ground and the home of many happy memories.  

Old Yankee Stadium is no more: 

The most famous real estate in the Bronx. After a year of dismantling, old Yankee Stadium is just a vacant field. I don’t know what they’ll put there. However, for those of you familiar with the old park, one thing remains intact: 

For the record, the Bronx Bombers beat the Mariners 4-2. They broke open a tie game in the bottom of the 8th and the Great Mariano shut the door in the 9th. Just another day at the office for the greatest reliever that ever put on spikes and the best franchise in baseball. 

The old joke goes something like this: The Engineering major asks “how shall we build it?” The Business major asks “how much will it cost to build it?” The English major asks “Do you want fries with that?”

Since graduating college with a BA in English, I get kidded about the fact that my degree is not exactly the precursor to big things in industry. There is no job waiting for an English major the way there is a nursing or marketing position for people with those degrees. English is a good discipline for pre law or teaching, but it isn’t job training. It’s not vocational; it is educational but limited in its pragmatism. My father told me to get an education first and a job training second. I think he hoped that I would go back to school and get a masters in something that would get me a real job. Sorry Dad. 

However, I think that I actually do use my degree far more in real estate than most people realize. You can’t quote Keats or Shelley and convince someone that a Formica counter top is really fine; but English is the spine of communication. That’s important in marketing, and it is crucial one on one. I write killer home descriptions, not because they are flowery, but in their economy of words and their vivid accuracy. I have sold tens of millions without ever resorting to that awful EIK abomination. 

Beyond that, the language is my canvas and stock in trade. Blogging is the icing on the cake; I never wrote the Great American Classic, nor did the NY Times ever ask me to write for them twice a week, so I self publish right on this platform.  I went into sales right out of college, which is sort of the stereotypical liberal arts plan B at age 21, but I approached it with my eyes open. And the opportunity to actually do what I love, write, daily, and have it become part of how I engage in commerce is a dream come true. I write for my living. That is what any successful English major would want. I am a better broker because of that. 

I would therefore assert that I use my degree daily, and it gives me an advantage over my competition. 

Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

This is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for June of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 

The numbers are far better for June 2010 than they were in June 2009 for Ossining. In May 2009, there were 13 sales at a median price of $410,000. Therefore, the volume is up 45% and the median price is up almost $19,000. As I said last month, I would not call this appreciation as much as I would the weeding out of distressed fire sales and foreclosures. 

Available inventory is healthy (138), with less than a year’s worth of homes active on the market. 21 homes are under contract, so July and August promise to be active months as well. 

Ossining just completed one of the county’s most impressive public libraries, with tens of thousands of modern square footage devoted to knowledge and learning. It is am impressive place. The village of Ossining also has one of the best public works departments you’ll ever find. Quality of life here is high, and I’m not saying that jusy because I grew up in Ossining. 

You can search for a home in Ossining by getting yourself a free Listingbook account. 

This is for single family home activity in the Pleasantville school district for June of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. I blogged last month about the anomaly of no May sales in Briarcliff or Pleasantville, and true to  my expectation sales recovered strongly in Pleasantville in June.

Compared to June 2009, Pleasantville sales volume increased from 2 to 9 closed transactions. The median price of $510,000 is significantly lower than last June’s $755,000, but the 8 homes under contract have a median price of $769,000, which bodes well for the strength of values.

Of the 9 sales, every single home closed at at least 96% of asking price. There are 62 available home in inventory at a median price of $639,000, which is probably about a year’s worth of inventory. Pleasantville should have a decent July.  If you’d like to search for a home in Pleasantville, get yourself a free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 

This is for single family home activity in the Briarcliff Manor school district for June of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. I blogged last month about the anomaly of no May sales in Briarcliff or Pleasantville, and true to  my expectation sales roared back in June.

Compared to June 2009, Briarcliff Manor sales volume more than  doubled. The median price of $649,000 is rather low for the area, but the 14 homes under contract have a median price of $1.1 million so it balances out.

One interesting fact: of the 9 sales, only 2 had more than 120 days on market. The homes that sold in under 90 days got 99% of asking price. The homes that sold in more than 120 days only got 89% of asking price. That is a huge disparity, and it speaks to the weakness of stale listings. Yet again, more evidence that pricing the house right to start with will net the seller more money, and that overpricing hurts in the long run. There are 54 available home in inventory, which is a healthy selection but not a burdensome amount. I expect a strong July in Briarcliff Manor real estate sales as well.  If you’d like to search for a home in Briarcliff, get yourself a free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 

About a year ago, while driving a client and her toddler up from Manhattan around Westchester looking at homes, I got a flat tire on North Avenue in New Rochelle. This is not a welcome occurrence for obvious reasons, but North Avenue is also very busy. As I began to put my car in jacks, several workers from a restaurant came across the street and offered to help. I looked over at their boss, and he nodded. 6 hands are better than 1, and I was back on the road in a jiffy. I made a mental note to stop by, and proceeded to forget. 

Two weeks ago, I had lunch with an attorney to whom I recently sold a house in the neighborhood, and she suggested me meet at AJ’s Burgers on North Avenue. I didn’t put it together until I met her, but this was the same place from my car incident last year. I had a burger, which was delicious- perfectly cooked, tangy, lightly seasoned and melted in my mouth. And the fries were not heavy, seasoned and still had the potato skin. Yum. My friend proceeded to tell me that AJ’s had been her 2nd home while her kitchen was renovated. One look at the menu explained it. You had plenty of choices if you kept coming back. It isn’t just a burger joint. 

I returned to AJ’s Burgers again this past week and had a pulled pork sandwich with the house-made sauce. It was exquisite-tangy, slightly sweet, and tender. Just so you know it isn’t a house dedicated to clogged arteries, there are always steamed veggies and spinach available, and I loved the spinach. They also have cajun chicken. That’s next on my list. 

This time I got a chance to speak with AJ himself, and thank him for the help with the tire a year ago, as well as hear more about his place. They make their own desserts, and they smoke the meats right on the premises. The ice cream and sherbet is exceptional as well. They cater, deliver, and do take out. Not only that, they have a breakfast menu, and are open 24 hours Wednesday through Saturday. For our area, the price is right too. Dinners are served not on a plate but a warm skillet, which sets the place apart. Actually, there is much that sets AJ’s Burgers apart, and I’ll be going back in the near future.

AJs Burgers is located at 542 North Avenue, New Rochelle, not far from Iona College. Call them at (914) 235 3009.

I had a nice day yesterday at my 84-year old uncle’s home in Connecticut. He was a graphic artist in New York City for decades and had a chance to rub elbows with some very big names. He had a penchant for that; as an adolescent he caddied a number of times for Babe Ruth (excellent tipper; gave my uncle $5 tips, which was a king’s ransom in the late 1930’s). Uncle’s art career yielded a lunch once with Joe DiMaggio, a collaboration with Grace Kelly (“she thought I was nuts”), and professional relationships with many captains of industry. But the man my uncle looked up to the most was not a CEO, MVP, or Academy Award winner. That would be my grandfather, a humble barber who never owned a car and arrived in the US penniless in the 1900’s at Ellis Island. 

Last month, Ann and I were honored to be guests at the wedding of Eileen Hsu and Morgan Evans, and the event took place on a boat ride in New York Harbor. We cruised past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and I paused for more than a moment at what must have gone through my grandfather’s mind when he first saw Lady Liberty. I don’t need to look far to know I’m not alone- Ann’s parents both came to America from Seoul, Korea when she was a toddler in 1969. South Korea was experiencing tension with the North in those days (sounds familiar) and her parents saw the USA as a safe place to raise their daughter. Ann went to NYC public schools, including Stuyvesant High, and graduated from Columbia University.

While I may look like a descendant of the Mayflower, I am only one generation removed from a penniless Ellis Island immigrant. My wife is a first generation citizen, having become naturalized many years ago. Our children are true Americans, like millions of others, not because of any similarity in how they appear but the similarity in their story. They know nothing of the tension and prejudices of even 25 years ago. 

Freedom from fear is a big theme in our home, because both sides of my family came to America, not just for a better life economically, but to go to bed at night knowing that we’d wake up safe- safe to express ourselves, safe from persecution, and free to go about our lives with no thought of repercussion from the state about our chosen faith, occupation, or opinions. We live where we choose. We earn our living as we choose, and when we looked for a home in 2007 the only doubt was our mortgage rate. In 1950 my marriage would have been a scandal in some precincts. I’ve never gotten a hint of that. America moves forward rapidly.

So in between the barbecues and fireworks, those are the things I think about lately. Capo D’Orlando, Sicily and Seoul, Korea, living in Briarcliff Manor, on our own terms, free from fear. That’s America to me.

Here’s how another son of an immigrant put it in 1945:   

The following email thread is cut and pasted with the address redacted. I left the “reputable” guy’s name etc be, since he’s so reputable and ethical.

For the record, a Google search of the two companies yield only their web pages, and although the author claims to be in business for 6 years, the Better Business Bureau has no record of either firm. For context, my firm has been in business for 5 years and has an A rating with the BBB at this time. 

I told the highly reputable and ethical person we used our own attorney to negotiate the short sale because I’ve seen this movie before and knew that the person would insist on using his guy. His response didn’t surprise me. Google either one and they are curiously close to each other. 

Sorry; too many red flags. But who wouldn’t want to trust a client’s financial life with a guy with an email address of apocolyps89@hotmail.com?  

___________________________________________________________________

J Philip Real Estate  to Bryan

show details 11:08 PM (10 hours ago)

This post is inspired by Mark Boyd’s thoughts on short sales. I don’t understand why agents say no to business they are perfectly capable of handling (or referring). Mark’s beef is with short sales, and having done plenty, I agree. I would also add rentals to the mix. I often hear agents say they don’t do rentals, often because they don’t pay enough. Well, excuse me. Even if you are swamped, the least you could do is refer that prospect to someone who can help them. 

I used to rent. Now I own. You probably used to rent. Today’s renters are tomorrows buyers. They are also people who need a home, just like you and me. I have had past rental clients call me up to buy when the time came, and they all say the same thing. They called me because I treated them with respect the first time around. I don’t personally handle every rental inquiry that comes into the company, nor do I handle every sale. But anyone who contacts my firm to do business will be treated like a million dollar client. That is our commitment. 

We are open for business, and we are open for rental business. We represent landlords and tenants alike. We’ll do rentals in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and the Bronx. We are working on opening a merchant credit verification account to assist with rental applications. We mean it. My company is all about putting a roof over your head. I deal in homes, and my bottom line is more long term than the disparity between a sale and a rental fee. 

I have blogged about the Ossining reservoir before. I grew up a block away and rode my bike around it when it was an overgrown mess. It was rededicated as a park about 10 years ago. It was mentioned in the TV series Mad Men, as the Drapers live in Ossining in that program. I actually got a fair bit of attention when I wrote about the many historically accurate references from that fictional show to the reality of Ossining history. That’s all good, but what’s better is actually being there. I drove past a few days ago and took a nice pause at my childhood haunt.

You can see the infamous water tanks in the back. They were sky blue and covered with graffiti when I was a kid. Now you hardly notice them. However, they did put the reservoir out of a job when they replaced it as the primary water source for the village in the 1960s. 

The pace is never vacant- there is always someone else walking, running, or reflecting.  

I still live a few blocks away, and it remains one of my favorite places. I am not alone. You can read more about the history of the Reservoir in one of my earlier posts. 

I suppose I could title this “for spouses,” but having never been a wife I felt it best to come from my perspective as a husband. 

It is not easy being married to a real estate licensee. We aren’t just on straight commission; what we go through for that commission typically takes months and often comes with with risk, rejection, crisis, and drama. Our profession epitomizes the high risk/high reward lifestyle. Ann and I are coming up on our 9th anniversary this September 29th, and the past 5 years I have run my own brokerage. We are in our 40’s and are bookended by geriatric parents and our 4 children. No day is a cake walk. 

I would not be where I am without her support, encouragement, belief, confidence and skills that have complimented my own. I joke that I am the hot air; Ann is the administrator. But even if a wife has no involvement in her husband’s real estate career, much of what Ann and I have learned (sometimes the hard way) is worth sharing. If these things relate to other industries, all the better. Here goes: 

1. Please understand that I’ll eat whatever you put in front of me. After a day of making decisions, many of which were punctuated by high stakes and high stress, I don’t want to decide between pasta or chicken. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to make a single decision in the first hour I come home about anything. 
2. Respect the cave. I need to decompress. I’ll be far more use to you once I settle my thoughts. I just had a home inspector tell me my buyer had him inspect another home 2 weeks ago, and I didn’t show him that place.  A prospective client who told me I got the job just went on the market with another agent. I need to place all of that, along with the entire crazy day I just had, on my mental bookshelf. I need some quiet, a quick revenge fantasy, and ponder who is pitching for the Yankees tonight. Once I do that, I’m yours.
3. Never, ever ever shield me from bad news. Tell me straight, and early. Never spin, control the message or try and manage my reaction. I could be wrestling with an anaconda in quicksand that is on fire, just call me when the bad news comes in and I will manage. 
4. There is never a good time to bring up a touchy subject, but there are some bad times. For me, bringing up money after I collapse in bed is a rough one.  
5. I am all about the Big Picture to a fault. Short term difficulty is a means to an end. My eyes are on a goal far larger than this snapshot in time’s challenges and crisis. If I make a decision you dislike, or one that makes no sense to you, or if I take on an expense that you feel is too ambitious, I have a plan. Support that. Own it. Speak your mind, but never undermine.  
6. Your belief in me is more important than money, or that other thing. I can’t enjoy either without it anyway. As a matter of fact, I don’t work this hard to push you away. It is a big picture thing. 
7. Yes, I do love this. I love the challenge. I live the reward. I love building my empire. It’s mine. 
8. I do this for you. As a matter of fact, I see your or one of our children’s faces before I do anything difficult and it helps me to do better. 
9. It is not lost on me that you’ve had a day yourself. 

• Board approval is required for all new shareholders (owners). The board meets monthly. 
• Minimum down payment required is 20%
• Flip tax is $1 per share (We found shares vary from 500s to the 900s, depending on the size of the unit). 
• Monthly Maintenance/co-op fee is approximately 50% deductible. 
• Buyers must pay 3 months monthly maintenance at closing upfront to the Edgemont reserve fund at closing.
• Heat is hot water baseboard. Air conditioning is wall units. 
• Electricity is paid separately from the monthly fee. Heat is included!

While the Edgemont is right on Central Avenue, it isn’t on top of the traffic. The buildings are set back from the road and have wooded coverage. It backs up to the Greenburgh Nature Center, so there are no neighbors on the other side except birds. Another nice thing about the Edgemont is that there is ample visitor parking, which can be an issue in other complexes. 

There are other nice things to note about the Edgemont. Both buildings are 24 hour security buildings, the management staff are excellent, and many apartments, as the pictures show, have balconies. The buildings were erected in 1970, and they are updated and in solid shape. All units are broadband and cable compatible. If you are looking for a nice co op in the area, the Edgemont is probably compatible with you as well. 

I appreciated Michael Thornton’s thoughts on featured blogs and the many great blogs out there that seldom or never have shown up on the dashboard. Sadly, some people who write great stuff have stopped their efforts on Active Rain, and it could be that they were discouraged by a lack of recognition. As much as I love seeing my posts earn a star, there are other sources of acknowledgement than getting featured. 

• Comments. I have made more good friends from comments than seeing them on page 1. Debate, discussion and insight get you bonded. Having someone reach out and relate to me about my thoughts is powerful. This is one reason why I never understood the automatons who write “great post we learn so much here,” as if the 25 points were all they were after, even at the expense of fostering associations. Those people would never get a referral from me. 
• Subscribers. To me, a person subscribing to your blog is a bigger reward than being featured. This is a person who is interested in what you have to say and what you’ll say next. That is huge-blogs are all about readership! It is “repeat business,” interest, and a potential referral in the making.
• SEO- Getting FOUND. Even if you never got featured once, but Google is finding you, then you are primed for success. I recently closed a $500,000 sale from someone who found me online, and he sure didn’t care how many featured blogs I wrote.
• Referrals from fellow bloggers. Isn’t this what it is all about? I want people to think of me when they think of Westchester County, New York. I am in business to make money, and referrals are manna from heaven. 

There are other nice things too, such as being featured in groups, and as  broker-owner I have found my blog to be a useful hiring tool. It is an online resume’ and pre-listing package. You control the message. This past week I was contacted by a paralegal in another state to list two properties in New York on behalf of a bankruptcy trustee. She didn’t find me in the Yellow Pages.  

I hate seeing people getting discouraged and giving up. It is not how I am wired, but I do relate to disappointment (who in sales doesn’t relate to that?). I would offer these things to fellow members as encouragement  to keep on keeping on here in the Rain. This is a special community, and if you are consistent, good things will happen for your business even if you don’t show up on that dashboard. 

Parts of the Bronx and Queens have been deemed by NY Secretary of State to be “cease and desist” zones where it is unlawful for real estate licensees to make phone calls, mail flyers or engage in any other activity soliciting business. This is far more wide a prohibition than a Do Not Call list. It is the government forbidding licensees to call, mail or otherwise contact homeowners. They can’t call expired listings. They can’t call For Sale By Owners. 

The justification of the move, which came after 3 public hearings, was “intense and repeated solicitation.” People who want to be on the cease and desist list can register with the Department of State and licensees are then required to ensure that anyone they are contacting is not on the list. These zones are in force for 5 years. There was already one in Brooklyn. The exact geographic areas can be found on the Department of State website.  

With so much being written on Facebook, Twitter and other social media’s real estate applications, many people are choosing different camps. You have those who embrace social media, many of whom are deriving business from it, and then there are those who are either skeptical or prefer in their words, to separate business and personal. I see the point on both sides, but I do believe that the skeptics can have their cake and eat it too. 

Facebook is not for shamelessly spamming and promoting yourself to your friends. Those people are annoying and probably generate zero business. Moreover, it is against Facebook TOS for your Facebook profile to be an advertising vehicle. My personal Facebook page is not spammy, but it does get a feed from my blog. If I were so motivated I’d figure out how to turn that off but it isn’t an issue. Note the difference in my personal and business pages.  

Personal page: 

Facebook has a business only tool anyone can create. It is separate from your personal page, and is a better forum for more business oriented content. Once you have 25 fans, you can create a vanity URL. Mine is Facebook.com/JPhilipRealEstate. 

Now my business page:

Facebook is not for making business contact with people you have no prior connection to. You know who I am talking about- some guy in Colorado who wants to sell me 500 coffee mugs with my company logo or a real estate  motivational speaker I never heard of will not get access to my family photos.  

Facebook is a sphere of influence tool. People who already connected with you are the “farm,” not  people you have never met. 

When you tell people your business and personal are so separate that you don’t want to mix them you can unwittingly create the impression that you have a weird double life. Or, at least it is fun to think so. 

The Westchester Putnam Multiple Listing Service has voted to change its name this morning to the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. The name change from WPMLS to the EAMLS will be formalized later this year. For years the WPMLS served areas outside Westchester and Putnam Counties, as it has been the dominant MLS in the Bronx and an ever growing number of participants in Dutchess County (that only makes sense, since so many buyers in Dutchess come from Westchester and Putnam). There is also significant inventory in neighboring Fairfield County, CT and Rockland and Orange Counties west of the Hudson. 

It was no easy task coming up with a name that would fit. We have a very large and diverse footprint, and we also wanted a name that would be forward thinking. I think we did it. 

Personally, my next goal is to have the EAMLS get a great public portal that will ensure that buyers can search an MLS sponsored, unbranded database of the entire MLS like MLSLI.com out on Long Island. That might be a long time coming, but I am all for a transparent, consumer-friendly interface. We’ll see what’s next.