J. Philip Real Estate will be participating a home buyer seminar for anyone interested in learning more about the process with no charge and no obligation on April 7, 2010 at a site to be announced shortly. We are flattered to have been asked to be the real estate broker presenting at the event. There will also be a home inspector, lawyer and loan officer present. The information will cover the steps from pre-qualification/pre-approval to closing, and the information will be good for both first-time and “move up” buyers. 

Each profession will give their presentation on their role in the transaction, and there will also be a question and answer session to address specific concerns and inquiries. We believe the location will be in Briarcliff Manor, so check back and I will post time and location as soon as it is finalized.

There is just about 45 days left to take advantage of the stimulus tax credit, and that is ample time to get out there and find your next home. I strongly encourage anyone who is on the fence about taking this step in life to consider that prices and rates will not remain low forever, and all you need to do to start the process is get a free Listingbook account and start browsing the plethora of well-priced, available homes.  

Amy Hoak’s timely article on HAFA and short sales in yesterday’s Journal concludes with timely advice that I wrote myself the very same day. The article focuses on the many pitfalls of short sales, as well as the new HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) regulations which are set to go into effect on April 5, 2010.

Here is what I wrote yesterday:

Yet people still do not ask their prospective agents how many short sales they have closed. You simply cannot be a specialist with no experience; I’m sorry. I don’t care if you have a PhD or a photo shaking the Pope’s hand. What they taught you in class simply isn’t all it takes to handle the loss mitigation department of a lender. Sellers need to understand that if they hire an inexperienced agent to do their short sale, they do so at their own peril. I’d never want a surgeon cutting their teeth on my gall bladder, a lawyer apprenticing at the expense of my freedom, or an agent getting their feet wet at the expense of my finances.

Simply ask : “How many short sales have you successfully closed?” prior to listing your home. That will guide you far better than a patch on their arm.

Sellers at the conclusion of the Journal article are advised much the same thing: to ask their prospective agent how many short sales they have successfully completed, and how many were lost to foreclosure.

Obviously, the word is getting out. Experience trumps marketing when your financial life is at stake.

Originally posted at NY Short Sale Blog

The gentleman pictured here is at the pre-close walkthrough of one of my listings which recently closed. He’s not the buyer. He isn’t the buyer’s agent. He’s the loan officer. I won’t name him here, but let’s call him Mr. Big Mouth. 

Mr Big Mouth, so far as I can tell, is a competent loan originator, and the buyer’s financing was no issue throughout the process. However, Mr. Big Mouth decided that being a competent loan originator isn’t enough, and that he’d like to play home inspector and real estate broker also. This much is certain- he’s no psychologist. If he were, Mr. Big Mouth would know that people who are about to close on a home are under “stress” in many cases, and that pointing out every picayune dust bunny or mentioning that we’ll probably “need an electrician” for a bad light bulb is probably a bad idea. 

Anyway, Mr. Big Mouth contributed to the adjournment of the closing from 11am until 4pm when a $500 escrow probably would have sufficed. We’ll never know. What we do know is that Mr. Big Mouth decided that playing his position in a transaction is not enough, and even looking out for his borrower isn’t enough. What is more fun to Mr. Big Mouth is to pretend he’s a lawyer, real estate agent, electrician and home inspector on the morning of a closing. 

Mr Big Mouth put me on his email list that morning, and I promptly unsubscribed. Mr. Big Mouth will never get a loan referral from me. Mr. Big Mouth isn’t even worth a mention were it not for the fact that sometimes you need a good vent. 

Vent concluded. 

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!

Unlike many parts of the country, home sellers in Westchester and the surrounding counties (all of Metropolitan New York, really) are actually a long way from signing contracts. When I sold in upstate Rochester, we’d go to contract the same day in some cases, with broker prepared templates written and approved by the local Bar Association. There were attorney approval and inspection contingencies, but 24-72 hours was the norm. Once the attorney approval and inspections were done, all contingencies were met except for the mortgage, which is normal anywhere. 

Not so in Westchester County. Once you get an offer here, there are still mountains to climb before buyer and seller sign contracts. 

1. Meeting of the minds. Obviously, an offer often has to be negotiated, especially in a buyer’s market.
2. Home Inspection.
3. Memos or binders.  
4. Attorneys prepare the contracts. Not as simple as it sounds. 
5. Once “contracts are out,” then the rain dance between attorneys often (not always) begins. Buyer attorney marks it up and send revision back to the seller attorney, who has to clear the changes with the seller. This has taken weeks in the past. Sellers have to tell their lawyer to get on the phone with the other lawyer and iron out the issues expediently. 
6. Once verbiage is agreed upon, the buyer signs and makes their deposit with the seller’s attorney holding the down payment in their escrow account. 

I had the privilege yesterday of attending a reunion of my former co-workers from the position I held prior to my career in real estate. It was the first time I had seen some people in 15 years. It was sales in a different industry and we were all managers. The work was difficult (what sales job is easy?), but to a man we credited it with preparing us for our next job or career. 11 of us met for dinner at the famous Sylvia’s in Harlem, where we caught up and shared memories of our time in the trenches. 

What struck me was the large proportion of us who entered the real estate industry. I am a broker, 2 are investors, and a 4th is a mortgage loan officer. That is over a third of us! As I have said before, real estate is not a career many college students state as a goal. There was no real estate degree at my college, and most people I know in the industry found ourselves in the business after other careers. Yet I would be astounded if 1/3 of former teachers, nurses or cops get into housing. Perhaps it is a coincidence, but perhaps great minds think alike. 

The other 7 of us didn’t do too badly either. Dan Meltzer (lower left) is a radiologist, as a matter of fact. I am proud to say that I hired him right out of college. My old boss took the cake. Ananta Alva (standing, striped shirt) lives full time in Guyana where he runs a cooperative project to help at risk teens. Given the nature of our old work (literacy, programmed instruction, educational publishing) this is perfectly aligned with his values. The project is an awesome undertaking and got the attention of Unicef. I’ll post about it at a later time- everyone should know and appreciate what my friend is up to. 

That said, there are very few Alva’s in the world. Many of the rest of us chose this very noble profession of real estate, and I am glad to be one of them. 

There is no typical day. Consider Friday: 

2am: Finished blog post “J. Philip Real Estate is Growing.”

2:30-7am: Sleep

7am: School morning scramble-Luke, Catherine and Gregory on the school bus by 8am.

10am: Meet with client in Manhattan. Photos taken of new co op listing.

12 noon: Lunch in Queens, handle a call where an agent cannot confirm a showing on my listing. 

1pm: Meet with new client and an attorney in Flushing. They are in serious default and must file to block an imminent foreclosure sale. Once the stay is granted Monday, I will activate their listing. I have to sell it in 90 days or more legal fees. 

3pm: Meet with a prospective new agent and her husband, who is a loan officer. We inspect office space for a future branch if she joins the firm. This would give us a new presence in north Manhattan.

<3:30 call interrupts our meeting- accepted offer for one of my buyers.>  

5:30: Pre-close walk through in White Plains with first time home buyers. There is no lockbox when we arrive. Listing agent saves the day in 5 minutes. Seller has not yet removed furniture. Closing is imminent. 

7pm: In Poughkeepsie to meet with homeowners about selling their house. 

8-9pm: Long discussion with buyer clients on way home to discuss strategy on negotiations on their recent offer on a home. 

9pm: Home. 3 of 4 children still awake-hey, it’s Friday.

9:30-1am: Blog, comment, update website, answer emails. 

Miles driven: Approximately 100

Incoming cell calls: 54

Emails: 100

I am worth every penny. 

I awoke this morning to the typical Saturday morning pandemonium. So I went right to my home office and fired up the computer. Ann came in to talk, so the horde followed and decided to climb Mt. Dad (not an ambitious project). There is something very wonderful about being physically covered with your children. I look like hell in the morning, but you are probably no prize either. Ann caught this “office meeting” on my phone camera- the good one was out of reach. The only thing missing is Luke, our oldest, just out of frame. Otherwise this would be perfect. 

Gregory found a bag of Doritos and decided to feed me, and soon all three got into the act. I am now covered in orange. 

As we enter the last month of 2010’s first quarter, I am happy to observe the growth the company is experiencing. A few facts:

• The firm now has 15 licensed agents living in 6 counties spanning from Long Island to Dutchess County.
• We have as a company over 50 active listings. 
• As of today, with our first Manhattan listing inked in Hudson Heights, our inventory of homes includes listings in 3 of New York’s 5 boroughs, Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island, Fairfield, CT, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess and Greene Counties. 
• A new agent is projected to join the company this month. 
• I am hiring. We still have openings for new team members who want to grow in our system. New or experienced alike are welcome. 
• We have over 10 pending sales in the pipeline with the busy Spring cycle beginning to heat up in spite of the cold weather. 
• The fastest growing source of clientele is our Internet presence, especially the company website and blog. 

Not bad for an operation started in ’05 in a bedroom with a fax, cell phone and a few ideas. 

Although people don’t realize it, Westchester County does have plenty of homes with wood stoves. Many are decorative, some are even antique cast iron parlor stoves, but most can and do augment the heating of the home. There is nothing like walking into a toasty, warm living room with the thermostat down to 60 degrees and the owner smiling that the heating bill will be low. Since we bought our home in 2007, one of the things on the short list for improvements was a wood stove insert for the fireplace. It hasn’t been done yet. However, I do possess a gorgeous antique parlor stove that is not hooked up, but will be at some point. 

Until it is installed, it keeps me company in my home office. I actually bought this on eBay in early 2008. I had to drive to Vermont to pick it up, and the owner had used it as his primary heat for his home. It is a nickel-plated beauty. When the time comes, it will be set up in the corner of the basement and go back into service. I remember how it’s owner, a New Englander, expected the Patriots to kill the Giants in the Superbowl. Funny how these things stick with you. 

I have another one in my office, which gives it a very homey feeling (good for a real estate office). It isn’t as elaborate, but these things weigh a ton, and I choose my back over anything too fancy when it comes to moving them. I also have a small 6-inch antique replica (salesman’s model) I keep on my desk. It is quite the conversation piece, and it always reminds me of warmth. People kid me about this stuff, but I love those old wood stoves. Max does too, as his bed is often nearby. I haven’t the heart to tell him the thing isn’t lit.