I was recently asked by Bob Stewart of Active Rain on how I’d raise the standards of practice in the real estate industry, a discussion which raises passions among my colleagues. I didn’t have a thought; I had about five thoughts. Higher licensure standards, better oversight by local boards and many other things are often discussed. One rather under-discussed matter is the law in New York which gives brokers with 15 consecutive years experience an exemption on mandatory continuing education.

The rationale, I suppose is that 15 years experience should make one smart enough. In our changing world, it doesn’t. As a matter of fact, if I could point to a population of licensees who really need to go “back to school” it is the old salty dogs who somehow think that what they did in 1985 has any relevance to the current era. Some are, to my sensibilities, a version of age-impaired folks who shouldn’t be driving anymore. It’s not a perfect metaphor, but it applies.

Many 15 year brokers either own their own firm or manage an office. They have agents they oversee who are doing things they don’t even grasp. Agents today are on social media, blogging, and working on teams that are subject to new laws in Albany. And their broker managers? Some of these guys haven’t closed a personal deal in a dog’s age, can barely operate a computer, and haven’t been to a legal briefing on law changes in a decade.

And when their agents “step in it,” calling their broker manager to help is nothing short of useless. They either don’t get the issue or have such atrophied skills that their buggy whip, analog, world view makes them resort to the only other tools they have in their arsenal: They bullshit. The problem ends up in the consumer’s lap, and embitters another member of the public to our profession. One of my biggest frustrations is dealing with another broker or manger who magnifies a problem due to lack of knowledge or indifference.

Does it happen often? Let me ask you this: How often would your spouse have to cheat on you or your doctor remove the wrong kidney for it to be an issue?

It isn’t just managers either. Transactions with a poorly informed associate broker are problematic as well. Their clients, who buy into their experience and years in the field, are instead subject to huge risk because the licensee at the steering wheel of the transaction is blind to everything in the road. And it’s OK by the law! The only protection is an after the fact, time consuming complaint or legal process.

It’s bad enough when dealing with a poorly educated singular broker on a transaction, but brokers and managers should be cutting edge informed and educated. They should be out ahead of the curve. Exempting them from continuing education in an age when components of 2008 are antiquated puts our industry in a compromised position, and it hurts the consumer.

At the risk of sounding like a stereotypical 40-something whining about the utility company, I have to ask who is at the wheel of these work crews Con Ed has working in my neighborhood. 

Obviously, some digging in the road is required this week, and that means the usual trucks, diversions, and jackhammers. No problem there. I can even deal with the typical sight of 3 guys standing doing absolutely nothing, hands on hips, watching one guy in the hole do whatever the guy in the hole does. What I disliked this go ’round was no flag man. This is a two-way street with one half closed for 30-40 yards. Help us out guys. Pretending the traffic doesn’t exist could get you killed or injured, you know? It’s more for you than me, and the inevitable lawsuit you’d win won’t really compensate for that crushed pelvis and lifelong ostomy bag. Trust me. 

But even that is not unexpected. What we now have to put up with for the duration of the weekend is the crappy condition of the road until they come back Monday to (hopefully) finish the job this week. NO cones. NO temporary signs. Just the sound of gravel beneath my car buzzing like a UHF TV station on my 1977 rabbit eared Zenith TV when I was a kid. It makes me glad that the physics of those big metal plates they lay down over the holes can’t be screwed up by the sloppy, careless jerks who think my neighborhood is OK to leave in a shambles. 

I recall about 4 years ago getting a push broom and sweeping the entrance to Orchard Road when a crew left copious gravel to lay and damage vehicles after another job. This instance is too big- it goes on for 4 or 6 houses.  

Consolidated Edison, or Con Ed as we’ve always known them, may not be the worst utility in the country but nobody cites them for corporate excellence either. It is galling that my bills go to those disingenuous public relations commercials they play ad nauseum on the radio while their real PR people, their workers in the field, do more damage. 

I don’t have photos of the hands on hips guys, but here is some of their handiwork. 

NO cones in this direction, thanks Con Ed. That oncoming car is getting it’s undercarriage pelted by gravel that wasn’t swept aside or cordoned off. 

I love how the backhoe gets cones. Like we can’t see the tractor. Look at all the crap on the ground because unsuspecting cars drove all over it. 

THis was the only spot to have cones, way down the hill from the main part of the job. You might note that the folks that live in this house and most other have manicured yards and take great care of the neighborhood. 

That is until, Con Ed comes along and treats the place like a gravel pit. 

Thanks for nothing Con Ed. 

A not so deep drilling of sales data from the Empire Access MLS yields some interesting information on how 2011 stacks up to 2010 in the Westchester County single family home sector. 

In April 2010: 284 sales, median price of $590,000. 

From Janurary 1, 2010 through April 30, 2010: 1041 sales, median price $598,500.

In April 2011: 245 sales, median price of $545,000.

From January 1, 2011 through April 30, 2011: 967 sales, median price of $550,000.

Overall, transaction totals are down 7% from last year during the first 4 months of the year and median price is down 8%. 

I don’t consider this to be a double dip. Quite the opposite. I believe that the first half of 2010 was artificially high due to the stimulus, and the crickets chirping after the deadline were the sound of the sales that were poached from the summer and autumn to inflate the spring numbers. 

I believe that 2011 will be more even in nature, with no spike or sudden drop and a more even distribution of sales. We may not top 2010. But we won’t have the dramatic drop off in the second half of the year like we witness in 2010. Call it consistent mediocrity if you want. 

If you’d like to play with the numbers yourself, register for a free Listingbook account and search active and even sold data like an agent. 

Mr May (I love saying that-it evokes an image of him on a calender in a Chippendale get up) has thrown down a challenge to me, sharing that my recent idea on blog radio (not really radio…it was the Interwebs) of making a game of things like blog subscribers has inspired him to catch up, and that I should watch my rear view mirror. 

The issue came up when Bob asked me how I stay motivated, as if 4 kids isn’t enough. I pimped the Active Rain point system as one source of motivation, getting comments being another, and then I opened my big yap and talked about getting subscribers. Alan, who I don’t even recall giving permission to tune in, has thrown down the gauntlet. It’s on. # 40 is Looking to surpass #34. 

I pointed out to Alan that Craig Daniels is kicking both of our tookases, and is ranked 14th on the planet for Active Rain scubscribers…with only 113 posts!!!!

As I am one of Mr Daniels’ loyal subscribers, I an attest to the fact that he puts out extremely valuable content. Every post teaches me something new and often a little inspiring.

So, Mr May (whom I also subscribe to…), challenge accepted. I for one aspire to catch Craig. That’s my game. And I’ll aspire to do it the way Craig does, by producing good content with no tricks or shenanigans. Just the best blogging I can produce.  

By the way, to keep myself engaged, I have added a few new buttons to my footer! I’d really love everyone’s input ! 😉

I am told that Westchester County property taxes are the highest in the nation. After reading this article in the New York Times on the effects of tax grievances in the County, I was inspired to make the following comment:

 People aren’t grieving their taxes because of the companies selling the service; companies are selling the service because taxes here are insane. 

What the article fails to address-astonishing, really, considering the subject matter- was the feeding frenzy of the town governments when the market was hot. They’d raise your taxes to the tune of 50% in 10 years, but when values went down they weren’t very interested in making corrections downward. Municipal and school budgets got bloated in the madness as well, which never should have occured. God forbid you build a deck or add a bathroom- they would hammer you. 

Many of these grievances are new homeowners saddled with assessments that are six figures higher than their purchase price. It could be far worse- most towns valuations assessments are decades-old figures that require a complicated equilization to translate to real market numbers. If more people saw the real numbers, appeals would spike.

There were other comments worth reading and I highly recommend checking out the editors choices. This guy was particularly compelling, asking the Times to just stop covering Westchester because their coverage was just off. 

The NY Times does, in my view, have a peculiar view of my county, and it seems hard to believe we border New York city at the Bronx. Westchester has plenty of affluence but we also have lots of working middle class property owners who are getting hammered with assessments that do not accurately reflect market value. The notion that we should just pay them anyway because, heck, we’re rich right? is insanity. 

Moreover, the suggestion that tax appeal companies are driving the high number of grievances is also incredibly obtuse. That is supply-side economics, an anathema to the Times. The companies aren’t creating the demand for lower taxes, the high taxes are. I don’t know the exact percentage of my buyer clients who do so, but plenty of them grieve their taxes as soon as they close, because their purchase price is far under their assessed value. 

I’m a foodie for sure. One of the great things about Westchester County is our vast array of incredible cuisine, and other than a good steak house my preference will always be Italian. This past week I had the good fortune to enjoy lunch with a fellow broker at Angelina’s of Tuckahoe, a wonderful place right in the middle of the village a stone’s throw from the train station. 

Angelina’s has plenty going for it: a pleasant atmosphere, and terrific wine list to be sure, but the most important things to me are food and service. I had a menu in my hand as soon as I settled in my seat, and the lunch was fantastic. The owner was right by the door greeting people as we entered, and from the moment I walked in to when I left I felt like I was in a place that earned a return visit for dinner. I love that- no drama, no apologies, no excuses, just excellent dishes and servers on their game. 

Angelina’s also caters, offers takeout, and does private parties. Lunch is served daily and they close at 9 on weekdays and 10pm n weekends. They are located at 97 Lake Avenue, Tuckahoe, NY 10707 and you can call ahead at 914-779-7944. 

If you are in Tuckahoe and are hungry, make this your first stop. 

There is nothing in the water in New Rochelle; this is just an English Mastiff, all of 250 pounds, that I met this past weekend while showing its master’s home. I have never seen a dog this big. Never. He was just huge. This pooch was quite a gentle giant, however, and happily let me pet him. Everything about him was big- his head, his PAWS (HUGE!!!) and his gentle demeanor filled the space too.

As we left the house , my client (also a dog lover) and I reflected on the sheer hugeness of that dog. He’s three of my dog Max, a big German Shepherd in his own right, and four of her chocolate Lab.

When we discussed the house and the slight slope in the octagenarian floor upstairs, I speculated that maybe what they really needed was to have the dog spend more time on the other side of the house.

I know he may have distracted us, but when you see a dog this special, you never forget it.

New York Foreclosure Settlement Conferences

I attended a foreclosure settlement conference today with a client whose house is listed with my company as a short sale. There was some understandable anxiety about the event, so I went to be a supportive advocate. As daunting as the name may sound, they are in place to ensure that the borrowers have their rights respected in their dealings with the lender. It is a good thing, and nothing to be afraid of.

The set up is simple: the borrower and an attorney from the bank will meet before a court appointed referee to come to a mutually agreed upon decision as to how to deal with the borrower’s defaulted loan. The borrower can be attempting to modify their mortgage, a short sale, or another option. The referee’s job is to make sure the bank acts in good faith, and having been to a number of these conferences I can tell you firsthand they do a great job.

The bank attorneys are not bogeymen either. More often than not they are from the firm contracted by the lender to pursue a foreclosure, but their posture is not that of a collector or heavy; they are there to make sure the lender is upholding their side of the bagain, such as acknowleding receipt of documents, and doing their best to get reasonably timely responses.

The referees I have dealt with in both Orange and Westchester counties have been very good also. They are fair, quite understanding, and reasonable. Governor Patterson signed the law ensuring defaulted borrowers rights to these conferences in 2009. Say what you want about the man, but this is a good thing for the citizenry, and a credit to his legacy.There is a clear intent at these conferences to not have confrontations or intimidation. It is as compassionate as I have ever seen court workings go.

As it turns out today, the bank attorney was detained in traffic and we adjourned for 90 days. The referee told us he wanted us to have time to get a buyer and begin the short sale process with the lender, and I appreciatd the gesture. I know that the next time we meet that he’ll ask us about our progress and ensure we have an opportunity to get the deal done without undue fear of being ignored or trampled.

Excelsior, New York. I have my beefs with Albany, but they got this one right.

I’ve seen crazy stuff in homes before. I really have. I’ve seen a basement pool table filled with sand and hundreds of plastic soldiers carefully placed upon it to re-enact a battle in the Civil War. I’ve seen people who had more photos of their kids than exposed wall. Nude art? Dime a dozen. Personal documents lying about? Plenty of times. 

One memorable thing we recently ran into was a huge number of shoes in a room apparently devoted entirely to, well, shoes. I smiled at the sheer volume of shoes; I laughed at my client’s reaction when she walked into the room. 

It may come as no surprise that when buyers leave a house like that they remember the shoes and little else. I have actually walked through homes that I thought were perfect for the folks but all they talked about after getting back into the car was the shoes, or the photos or the stack of adult videos in the master bedroom. 

Marie Graham, stager extraordinairre says it best: how you live is different from how you sell your home. If a client mentions Imelda Marcos after leaving your house instead of asking me what I think they might accept for an offer, you just lost a potential sale. And for a $500,000 list price, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when that happens. 

I will be holding 3030 Johnson Avenue, Unit 2G open today, May 7 from 1-3 pm. The unit is a very cute 1 bedroom starter with an updated kitchen and bath, dining area, and spacious open living room. Riverdale is truly one of the jewels on the crown of New York, with a fantastic walk value, incredible proximity to Manhattan, and lots of local attractions. Ewen Park is right next door.  

The unit is is priced at $149,900 with common charges of just $545, which are 50% deductable. Questions? Just call 914-450-8883. MLS ID of the property is 3107459.