It is a rare thing for me to have to reconnect and heat up a winterized home, especially as a listing agent, but I did just that today for a short sale scheduled to close Monday. The interior temperature when we started at around 1pm was 39 degrees, and it was cold and rainy today. Shivering in the basement as I watched my plumber work, I really looked forward to that furnace firing up and getting some warmth.

It was a slow process due to the age of the home and the type of system. De-winterizing a home can only take a half hour in most cases, but today it actually took four. At one point we thought we were complete but hit a snag and I ended up calling the HC/AC firm on the maintenance tag, who came within 15 minutes and had us going. 

I tend to get a little funny when I am cold and irritable, and I said to the second contractor “you mean, just standing here and cursing at the boiler won’t work?”

Total damage on the day was $475 between the two contractors. I’ll never get reimbursed; the short sale bank won’t throw in a dime and I have to view it as the cost of doing business. 

It felt really nice to return home and sit in front of a roaring foreplace after shivering in that basement for 4 hours. Yesterday I had a great appraisal with a big huggable dog. Today I froze my buns off. No day is the same in this business. But my clients are great people and I am happy to get this done for them. That’s what I think about when I feel cold. 

I’m not the biggest fan of attending appraisals, but sometimes I have to make the best of it when so conscripted. Today was one of those days, and prior to meeting the appraisor I ducked into the office of the listing brokerage to say hello to the broker and recharge my lockbox smart card. After hugs and card updating, I pulled up to the house 15 minutes early to see the appraiser there, also early. 

I like that. 

We recognized each other from a prior inspection, and he and I proceeded to enter the house and get started. 

Upon opening the door, I was surprised to hear someone home- it was the owner, who was expecting us. Had I known she’d be home I would have knocked, but she was fine- no worries there. Right next to her, and probably no small reason for her being at such ease, was a chestnut colored mountain with floppy ears: a gigantic mastiff. He had to be 120 pounds. I immediately forgot I was at an appraisal and started making friends with the big pooch. You don’t see a Mastiff every day. And this one was a big mush. 

I’m a dog guy, and I love big dogs like this one. He was a gentle giant, and it was a welcome departure from business as usual. Every so often you get a nice change of pace, and this was the only appraisal I have ever been on since 1996 that I can honestly say was too short. 

Quick one here.

I am getting offers from agents who don’t have a pre approval for their buyers. This means that they are committing the real estate version of picking up hitchhikers- putting people in their car who have not been checked out, vetted, or qualified to buy a home, let alone be alone with them in a vacant house. 

Often, when I ask these agents about it, I get some hokey reply like “they are in the process,” which speaks to complete ignorance about that very process.

Folks, in 2011 it takes a 15 minute call to a loan officer to get run through Desktop Underwriter and you can have an answer by that afternoon, often within an hour in real time. It might take some time to collect documents, but at the very least, having your credit run and stating your assets & income subject to confirmation is not rocket science or over laborious. 

What if they are credit worthy, but they love a house that is beyond their affordability bracket? 

What if they aren’t credit worthy?

It is heartbreaking to find these things out once you find a house you love. 

The facts are that I have listings with 15, 25 and sometimes 40 showings and I know that there aren’t half that many sales in the local markets for that property type. These agents are just chauffeuring people around looking at houses. 

Ann is not pregnant. 

The company, however, is attracting some excellent people. So here are a few welcomes:

We welcome Leslie Miller, buyer agent extraordinaire, who specializes in Westchester county, including but not limited to Ossining, Briarcliff, Chappaqua, Pleasantville, and even as far south as Scarsdale and White Plains. Leslie is a very conscientious and caring individual and buyers can expect great representation from her! You can email Leslie at leslie@jphilip.com. 

We also welcome Jim Brick, formerly of Century 21 VJF. Jim has something in common with Joe Namath! OK, so it’s a bad knee. But he’s on our team now, and will be back on his feet soon, serving Putnam County and north Westchester. Reach Jim at jbrickco@yahoo.com.

And now something really cool: It is going to get a little, shall we say…chaotic around here. The Ambassador of Chaos herself, the artist, the Renaissance Woman, the one and only Carolyn Tann-Starr is joining the J. Philip Real estate family-when else? April 1st! Carolyn posted recently that she was looking for a new broker, but needed one who appreciated social media and her online efforts. I saw the match and asked her to call me in her comments. 

And she did. 

And I initially didn’t know who was calling me (hey I was on my mobile phone). 

However, we sorted it out in a jiffy, and shook hands over the ether about 5 minutes later. I look forward to our association. 

A few other nice bits of progress in our little corner of the world:

• Congratulations to Stephanie Solano for getting a good solid accepted offer yesterday on behalf of a delighted buyer client in Port Chester, NY. 
• Congratulations to client Scott on the successful closing of his White Plains Co op listed by Yours Truly. 
• Best wishes to my buyer clients Tom and Janine on the closing of their purchase in Scarsdale, NY.
• High fives to seller clients Terence & Nicole and Marty and Tricia on their homes getting accepted offers this past week. Both inspections went well and contracts are out on both! 

Affordability is seldom a word associated with a beautiful renovated home in southern Westchester County, but one gem recently closed that was just that. It is a 1700 square foot colonial with a beautiful updated ceramic and stainless steel kitchen, two updated baths, three roomy bedrooms with gleaming hardwoods and fresh paint, crown molding, a formal dining room, a huge living room, a rear patio, and all within a few hundred yards of the Scarsdale train station. 

The home is in the Scarsdale postal area and in the Eastchester school district. It is also very close to the wonderful Garth Road area.

We wish our buyer clients Tom, Janine and their beautiful children many happy and healthy years in their new home. I sold their house 2 years ago in Mahopac and they are repeat clients. I truly appreciate their business. 

If you would like to find a home like this for yourself, get yourself a free Listingbook Account and search the MLS database ike an agent. 

For years, co ops have been considered the starter home of Westchester, with plenty of inventory in great areas for under $200,000. This 1 bedroom apartment is no exception. It is in a pet friendly building with an updated itchen, huge living room, lots of closet space, hardwoods, and 1 block away from Mamaroneck Avenue and all the conveniences of downtown White Plains. We just closed on it this past week, and as you can see, $162,000 not only gets a conveniently located home, it buys a beautiful one.

If you’d like to find a nice place for yourself in White Plains or the surrounding area, register yourself for a free ListingBook account and search the MLS like an agent. 

Yesterday morning, as I was at the sign in table for the CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) course, the agent behind me heard my name and said “Why are you here? You could teach this class.” I turned to her and said that was very kind of her to say. But believe me, I was there to learn. I may have closed dozens of short sales, but arrogance is not a good mix with the financial well being of my clients. I have 20 agents and 45 listings in my company, and they expect me to be cutting edge. Yesterday’s accolades are meaningless. 

So, after 2 full days of of learning at the feet of the illustrious Mark Boyland, was it worth it? Or did I just get 13+ hours of continuing education in an area that didn’t expand my horizons? 

Frankly, I was blown away, and I have never said that about a continuing education class since I was first licensed in 1996. Getting the CDPE designation is not only a game changer for me, I think every active agent should take it because it will literally make an army of better agents. I know this much- I am a better broker now than I was on Wednesday. 

I have better tools to price my listings properly.
I have a better ability to safeguard transactions from failing to close. 
I am equipped to better manage the expectations of my clients, both buyer and seller (who likes to be in the dark?).
I am now an improved advocate for my clients.
I am a better negotiator- with both lenders and principals.
I am more confident that I understand how my industry is trending.

Oh- and I am even better at short sales than I was Wednesday.

I want my attorneys to take this course. I want my wife and business partner to take it. I want every agent in my firm to take it.  

My ADD self was very engaged, due in no small part to Mark’s passion for the material, but also to the relevance of the curriculum. The two days were simply loaded with knowledge, news and tools. And anyone that knows me knows I can never sit still for stuff like this. If short sales are in your market, you should take the class. It doesn’t matter if you will never list a short sale- you’ll be a buyer agent on one at some point. And this is so beyond the mere nuts and bolts of a short sale it is humbling. If I were a buyer I’d want to work with a CDPE whether I bought distressed or not. 

I did it, I am glad I did, and as I said earlier, this has been a game changer. 

I just finished my first day of CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) class, and am reflecting on one of the more profound insights given by the instructor, Mark Boyland. Mark, who is an excellent presenter, compared the difficult issues we have to sort out with distressed homeowners with the rather matter of fact way a doctor handles another rather touchy thing:

“Please take off your clothes. “

At my last physical, the doctor hardly looked up from his clipboard when he said that. But he was pretty comfortable about the request- so comfortable, that it seemed as mundane as asking his secretary if anyone called while he was out.

Now, when a guy is that blasé about your prostate test, there is a lesson to be learned.

We have to ask clients questions that are probing and invasive in any other context but real estate:

• How much do you owe on your house?
• Are you current on your mortgage?
• Why did you fall behind on your payments?
• Are there any judgments or liens on the property?
• Etc. etc.

These aren’t comfortable questions to ask. And the answers might be very difficult to examine for a seller who is facing foreclosure or imminent default. But we have to ask.  As I have blogged before, privacy does not reside in a vacuum. The more we know about a client’s situation, the better we can serve them.

Originally published on the New York Short Sale Blog

I had a newer agent ask me yesterday if his wearing an earring was a bad idea. He had friends who said he shouldn’t.

It reminded me of my pre-real estate life as a sales manager for a publisher in the early 1990’s and the battles I had with some of my more youthful charges about dressing professionally. I recall a young, pretty 20-something who dressed like she was going to a nightclub and not a business meeting: short skirts, teased hair, lots of jewelry, and fingernails painted like the Sistine chapel. It was kitchen table sales, and when I accompanied her on calls, I would see husband’s eyes glaze over and wives get annoyed and impatient. Ironically, the agitation was not at her specifically- but they didn’t buy. I recall how offended she got at the notion that I was proposing that she not be herself. It is touchy. 

Like it or not, people judge us by our appearance. I could care less if a guy has an earring. But I’m not everyone. It speaks to judgment and credibility. If you have to ask yourself if appearing a certain way might put off a potential client or make you less than credible, the answer is probably yes. We sell homes to regular people. We aren’t selling high end art, interior design, or some other thing where dressing for the part is more Lady Gaga than Margaret Thatcher. Therefore, anything that might distract or draw attention to ourselves and off the subject at hand is a potential problem. 

It isn’t that somebody would say “I didn’t buy the house because the agent wore an earring.” They just might not buy what the agent said. In an industry where our product is often the trust in our word and advice, appearance, therefore, is part of our value proposition. If you don’t have the smarts to dress wisely, why would I bank on your real estate advice? I think my new agent’s friends gave him sage advice. 

With our audience in Westchester, you don’t have to think or vote conservative, but yes, dress conservative. 

You probably remember the Google commercial that told the story of the story of courtship and love through Google searches entitled “Parisian Love.”

Thanks to Jackie Connelly-Fornuff, I got hip to the YouTube feature that lets you create your own search story. It is pretty cool, and it can take as little as 5 minutes if you are familiar with your search terms. They are very customizable- you can input your search terms, choose your music, and create your own little YouTube commercial with an huge combination of search terms and musical themes. 

Just go to Youtube.com/searchstories and try it. They even have a wizard that will give you the Google results for the search terms so you’ll know how to tweak it. 

I made one last night and while it is no Superbowl commercial, I like how it gets the message across. Best ofall, it’s free.