I have been meaning to write about this for quite a while, and two recent incidents have moved me to do so.

1. While inspecting the basement of an older home, I saw old furnace pipe insulation that was probably asbestos. When I pointed this out to the homeowner, he said “Oh, that isn’t asbestos,” and promptly flicked at it with his bare hand. I was halfway up the stairs in a jiffy. 
2. I met a buyer at a home in the Bronx. We walked in the kitchen, and a nice pile of obviously recently dumped asbestos like material was right in the middle of the floor. Some rocket scientist had obviously put it there out of carelessness or worse. Who knows how long before or what was in the air. If this isn’t criminal, it should be. 

Asbestos insulation is harmless. Asbestos dust that is airborne is a carcinogen. If I were to disturb asbestos every time I saw it, I could be breathing in huge amounts of the stuff. So I don’t touch it, ever. I’ve actually gotten into arguments with people over disturbing the stuff. “Please don’t touch that” isn’t enough for some people, who will often deny it is asbestos, or say something dumb, like “I know what I’m doing.” Yeah, I know what you’re doing too, and it can make me sick. 

Think about this: If you take your pen and poke at asbestos in a basement of a home for sale, you might not breathe it in. But if some poor slob has a showing right after your viewing and they come down the stairs a few minutes later, even if they don’t touch it and figure they are OK, they just breathed in your cancer-causing stupidity. So don’t even touch it. 

There is no reason to touch it. Touching asbestos doesn’t confirm it’s existence, make it less lethal, or help in any way. It just increases the chance that particles will become airborne. Most people would never knowingly harm another. Yet they are drawn to asbestos like a moth to a flame. Here’s the thing: You might see it once, but I see it several times per week, maybe more. And I like being alive and watching my kids grow up. So, as a personal favor, if I am showing you a house and we see what looks like asbestos, leave it alone. I thank you in advance. 

It seems that anything the New York Times writes about suddenly becomes the fab new trend. Renting is now the chic thing in New York City. The upshot of the article is that renting is simpler, often cheaper, and has far fewer headaches. While one of the people interviewed did get a little misty eyed at not having a Viking stove, overall he was at peace with it. 

This is not what I would call the best reporting from the Times. I could care less about yuppies with a “been there, done that” attitude about writing off their mortgage interest on their taxes. I thought initially it was more hard hitting reportage about people who lost their homes and had to rent, which would have been timely and relevant. Instead, it was fluff, no doubt pandering to some in the Times’ ever shrinking base: limousine liberals who were victims of the economy who would love to hear that renting is cool because the Times says it is.

Why is renting the emblem of conservative republican oppression when a Bush or  Reagan is in the Oval Office, and the new cool fad when Obama is the Chief Executive?   

Of course, the subjects in the article are mentioned as paying $5000 per month in rent like that is some bargain. Would you (can you?) pay $5000 per month for 800 square feet? I’ll bet the rest of the 99% of Americans who bother to read this just shake their heads and view New Yorkers like Martians. 

Feedback. 

Feedback feedback feedback. 

Sellers want feedback. Listing agents want feedback. I’ve been out showing homes to people and had listing agents call me while I was still with the buyer for a showing 30 minutes prior and ask for it. I have sellers who have literally asked “Did they like it? Did they like it?” like some sort of Sally Fieldian cathartic event.

Feedback is essential, but not for the reasons you might think. Quality is more important than quantity. Asking buyer agents for a debriefing when the house simply wasn’t a fit isn’t a productive use of time. Decrying an agent as unprofessional when they don’t answer an email or call back right away distracts us from our purpose. No buyer ever bought a house because the listing agent mauled them or their agent. They bought the house because it felt like home, and they probably had some space to reach that conclusion. 

Most of the time, there is no Earth-shattering feedback. It just wasn’t for them. I only married 1 girl, I dated dozens. The ones that didn’t become Mrs. Faranda weren’t all bad, nor was I a bad fit for them in many cases. It just wasn’t a bullseye. We should all consider that when we don’t get an answer within a day. Buyers might be poker faced. What is their agent supposed to do, debrief them? Demand an explanation? Those agents have skinny kids.  

On the flip side, if a listing agent doesn’t track down feedback for their buyer, it doesn’t necessarily constitute dereliction of duty. We have to work on our business as well as in our business, and updating a craigslist ad might be a better use of time than leaving a 7th voice mail asking if the pig farm next door was an issue. We send 2 email requests. Some get answered. many aren’t. If I really have a question, I’ll make a phone call. But I can’t allow it to consume me, because if they aren’t going to buy, I still have to find a buyer. 

Am I going to ignore requests for feedback? No. Am I going to stop asking for feedback? Hell no. But if I don’t get it after 2 emails, I won’t take it personally. 

“I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member”- Groucho Marx

In either a sign of the Apocalypse, recognition from my peers or a little of both, it is official: the 2010 Westchester-Putnam MLS board of directors will include me as a Vice President. 

Although the term does not begin until 2010, myself and the other new board members were at this past week’s meeting, which was actually pretty good brain food about where our association is going and how it will adapt to the changing times. 

Other newly-elected board members include:

President – Gary Leogrande, Keller Williams NY Realty                                                             

Vice President Southern Westchester- Vanessa Jones, Paddington Stone Realty, LLC

Vice President Northern Westchester-  J. Philip Faranda,  J. Philip Real Estate, LLC.         

Vice President Putnam County- Edward Scrivani, Century 21 Anita Ferri Realty

Secretary- Kimberly Ware, Bronxville-Ley Real Estate LLC              

Treasurer- Jason Wilson, Better Homes & Gardens Rand Realty

I’m hopeful I can make a meaningful contribution. All kidding aside, I appreciate the acknowledgement of both the nominating committee and my peers. I will give the position my best.                                                             

My wife and I don’t have a horse in this race, but I recall in my childhood in the 70’s that everyone in my neighborhood had a clothesline. Most of my neighbors used them. Ann grew up in an apartment in which many people dried their clothes on their terrace, but that was forbidden when the building went co-op. In my corner of the world they gradually phased out with cheaper technology and busier lifestyles, but I always viewed clothes drying in a suburban back yard as, well, suburban. 

Evidently, some communities don’t view it that way, and many have banned clotheslines altogether. Some people have fought back and overturned the bans, and the debate has reached the New York Times. Ann said that an apartment building with rows of terraces with clothes is unsightly and depressing. I view a back yard with clothes drying as a calling card of happy memories when people didn’t need their appliances to look like a rocket ship. 

Ann freely admits that clothes dried in fresh air just feel better, but she associates them with squalor. I am different- I like them and have more positive associations with them. 

Debate away. I didn’t know there was one going on, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention. 

In 1955, Dwight Eisenhower was president, the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, and there were 48 states in the Union. My parents were married only 5 years, and just 2 of their 4 sons were born. I wasn’t on the scene until 1967. 

In 2009, Dwight Eisenhower is gone 40 years. The Dodgers have been out of Brooklyn for over 50. Ann and I just celebrated our 8th anniversary on what would have been my parents’ 59th, and we’ve had 50 states in the USA for 51 years.  

One of my listings pending sale had a closing delayed recently because the title report indicated an open permit…this does happen sometimes. But what us unique is that the open permit is from 1955. Yes, in 1955 the then-owner of this house had work done requiring a permit around the time my father was still trying to figure out Mom (he never really did).  

The current owner bought the house in the 80’s, so there was at least one transaction where this obscure, open permit slipped through the cracks. Until now. Evidently, in 1955, the then owner of this home had the heating system re-done, and even that furnace is long since gone. The process here is that the work on an open permit has to be reinspected by the building department so the permit can be closed and the title declared ship shape. My client wisely decided to have a heating specialist take a look at the heating system prior to the building inspector, and the contractor did see one small thing that needed to be done to close the issue. 

It would have already been done and the deal closed by now, but there was one small delay, and you can’t make this stuff up. He couldn’t make the repair right away. It required a permit!

I recently closed on a co op purchase with a young couple that reminded me of the silliness that most co op board approvals really are. This couple had nothing to worry about- both were professionals and graduates of one of the most highly regarded universities in America, and believe me when I tell you that the co op needed them more than the other way around. Yet, several times a year I find myself on the sidelines watching a condo or co op board looking down its nose at anxious applicants and prospective purchasers who have to sweat out board approval before they can close and move in. 

I fully understand the need for planned communities to make sure prospective members are financially able to participate in their corporations and homeowner association. The irony, of course, is that most boards aren’t exactly models of competence themselves. I have a few modest, recent examples. 

• Insurance. One closing is delayed because the condo is, shall we say, “in between” insurance companies. Not only is this blatantly contrary to the law governing condominiums, it places the condo owners at a severe risk. 
• The same complex just assessed every owner $10,000 for a new roof. Assessments are controversial enough for the unforeseen, such as the 2007 spike in oil prices. But a roof? How could anyone not plan for a roof replacement in the general fund and monthly fees? 
• The cherry on top for the same complex is that the pool was closed this past summer by the board of health. Gag me. Obviously, the management of this community is inept and should be sacked.  

A different complex had a double whammy: 

• The parking garage was condemned, relegating half the community to street parking in a crowded village. 
• The management company they hired embezzled hundreds of thousands in fees, putting the HOA on the brink of insolvency. Kind of rough when you need to spend millions to fix the garage. This is poor due diligence. 

As happy as I’ll be when the day comes that I don’t have to do anymore short sales, the fact is that I am in the midst of several. And even though the public by and large understands what short sales are about now more than they did 2 years ago, questions remain, such as how to address physical issues with the property. 

1. Issue: FHA appraisal. The appraisal flagged the rotting wood on the rear deck. The seller has no equity or proceeds to address the matter. If the buyer wants to close on their FHA loan, they’ll have to fix this themselves. Don’t feel sorry for them; the price of the home more than takes into account the condition and repairs required for this home. 
2. Issue: Buried oil tank. These are cash buyers, but they want an above ground oil tank. The seller has no equity or proceeds to address the matter. If the buyers want the oil tank removed and replaced, they’ll have to do it themselves. Again, the price of the house more than compensates for the cost of this work.
3. Issue: Broken pipe. This past winter, we found a leak and shut the water off at the street for this vacant home. These buyers want the water turned on for the inspector. I can appreciate that. But if we turn the water on, the house will flood. The house is, again, priced tens of thousands less than other comparable homes in the complex. 

“As is” may not be a comfortable term for some people, as they are averse to risk. I understand that. But I also understand that purchase prices for the 3 above mentioned homes are very low. That’s the upside. Prior to making offers (and signing contracts) home buyers should understand that while foreclosures and pre-foreclosures are priced enticingly, they are cheap for a reason. In those cases, the sellers, either a bank or distressed seller, cannot remediate the matter. Those matters are the buyers responsibility, and that might require a rehabilitation mortgage, cash purchase, or a little sweat equity prior to closing. It is worth it, but caveat emptor. 

The one thing I have in common with George Costanza is that sometimes I think of the perfect comeback or response about 15 minutes after I could have used it. This happened just recently, when I was asked to take a look at a house on a street where the last sale 2 years ago was my own listing. The owner who called seemed difficult on the phone initially, so I didn’t expect an easy appointment. I have tuned many of those around. 

True to my impression, the homeowner was as difficult in person as she was on the phone- very contrarian, factually challenged, and passive aggressive. She claimed that Obama had already extended the $8000 tax credit for 2010 (!). She thought my price recommendation for the home was too low. There was more, such as a few apples and orange comparisons and other baseless assertions, and it became clear that we weren’t going to do business. After patiently enduring her statements, I thanked her for her time and wished her luck the way I do everyone else, win, lose or draw, and made my way toward the door. 

I was one step away from leaving her home with the door opened, when I heard it. 

“You are’t being honest with me. You aren’t forthright. You are trying to make fast money at my expense.”

I don’t know if it was lack of sleep, pride, or stupidity, but I stopped and again tried to explain, briefly, that if the same house (sold by ME) on the same street sold 2 years ago for $285,000 when the market was healthier and prior to 2 separate economic calamities, there is no way her home could sell for more anytime soon. After enduring more of her, um, reasoning, the light went on, and I utilized my close proximity to the door to remove myself from the premisis. She needed more than anything I could offer. I handed her back the listings I brought and turned. 

In a shrill, saccharin voice, laced with sarcasm, she boomed “Thanks SO MUCH for coming! BYE BYE!!” I didn’t turn back, I didn’t respond. I continued walking down the stairs to the oasis of my car and relief. I spent the minutes at her door defending my honor more than educating the public. I don’t have a problem with rejection. Rejection in sales is like an out in baseball. It is a huge part of the game and nothing to take personally. I do have a problem with being attacked personally. 

Of course, the “personally” part of that phrase was my George Costanza moment in the car on the way back to my office. Anyone that has a broker or agent to their home and doesn’t like the words coming out of their mouth can reject the business proposal. This is, after all, business. But this lady got personal, and impugned my character, simply because she didn’t like my business proposal. That’s silly, and I should have told her so. She crossed a line of civility that few reasonable people approach. 

Lord knows, some agents out there do enough to hurt the industry, and the good ones need to do their part to remedy that. Sometimes, that reputation precedes us, and we have work to do with some members of the public. But honest people will appreciate a professional when they meet one, but unfortunately some people won’t change their mind even if the sky opened up. 

This is business. We ought to never get personal with the public, and if we are attacked personally, that is the time to strike that client from the list of prospects and move on without exposing our beautiful minds to more toxicity. Let the dead bury the dead, and let the neurotic seek help from people with different initials after their name. 

Most consumers sort of understand how real estate works. These days, if they see a home they are interested in, they’ll contact their buyer agent and have them arrange a showing. If that is THE place, that agent writes the offer, guides the transaction, and gets paid at closing. It is an uncomplicated process, and one that the vast majority of souls who have mastered walking on their hind legs grasp. 

However, there is a misguided minority of prospective home buyers who, due to either ignorance or selfishness, don’t get it. Ignorance is not their fault. Selfishness, however, is. This past Sunday I received an email from a new buyer who saw a property on my IDX site that they wanted to see right away. I emailed and called them a number of times, and several hours later I got the following response:

Thanks

Our realtor decided not to go out of town so we will continue with him
Thanks so much anyway
David

I actually breathed a sigh of relief that I did not waste my time re arranging my Sunday to accommodate them, only to find out that I was a pro-bono tour guide for the day. These people do not understand that real estate agents are not interchangeable. If I had shown them this property and they used their agent to buy it, I would have had the double whammy of losing not only that commission, but whatever I would have earned spending my time in a more productive endeavor. 

I averted a disappointment. One of my licensees was not so lucky this past week. I referred a buyer email inquiry on one of my listings to him, and he contacted the prospective buyer to set up the showing. At the showing, a “friend” accompanied the buyer, who identified herself as a licensee. Not so much as a business card. A friend. Of course, this “friend,” a week later is now claiming to be the guy’s agent (she didn’t even set up the original appointment) and entitled to the commission. There is no meeting of the minds yet, but guess who the buyer keeps calling and emailing? You guessed it, my agent.

This “friend” is not a board or MLS member, has not produced any representation or agency paperwork, and hasn’t adhered to the usual protocols when a buyer oversteps their agent. She is a licensee; that much has been verified. But she did nothing to earn her fee! She didn’t set the appointment, write the offer or hold the buyer’s hand this past week! If this deal goes together, I’ll have to jump through extra hoops to avert a mess, and my guy has a baby due in a month.  

If you are buying a home and use an agent, use your agent from the start. You have no idea the can of worms you’ll open by not doing so. Agents are NOT interchangeable. We are not free tour guides, and we have mouths to feed just like you do. Think about that before you ask for our time. 

If you are a fan of the AMC series Mad Men, you probably know by now that Don and Betty Draper live in Ossining, NY. I am from Ossining. I remember first hearing Betty mention Ossining and thinking how neat that was, but now each episode this season is almost surreal. The producers clearly have done more than perfunctory research for historical accuracy.

For instance, last season, in a card game with the neighbors, it is mentioned that “they are going to build apartments up on Cedar Lane.” Well, they did build apartments up on Cedar Lane. Why they would insert such an obscure, albeit true, reference in a casual throwaway line is beyond me, but it has me mesmerized. Not many “Mad Men” fans are real estate brokers from Ossining, so why did they go to such lengths?   

The week before last, when Betty went to the hospital to give birth to her son, a nurse explained to her that her OB was unavailable, but that “Dr. Mendelowitz” would be delivering the baby. Dr Mendelowitz delivered me. His son (also Dr Mendelowitz) delivered my son Gregory. I have since learned that the producers did in fact contact the highly regarded local doctor to research how a 1963 birth would have been and mentioned his name in the episode as a shout out. Great stuff. 

This past weekend’s chapter had Betty meeting with an adviser to the governor about the “Pleasantville Road Reservoir” and the plans to erect a 3 million gallon water tower to replace it. They did. I blogged about the reservoir here. I grew up on Osage Drive West, a few hundred yards from the reservoir, which was a derelict pond most of my life. I rode my 5-speed around it as a kid when it wasn’t overgrown. Older guys engaged in, shall we say, more risky conduct. The reservoir has since been rededicated as a park, and the water towers were re-painted to cover the decades of graffiti.  

The history of the reservoir is sketchy, but it was the village water supply for many years. I knew the construction of the water towers were post war, but I thought it was earlier than 1963. Regardless, the way Mad Men so accurately portrays how it was in Ossining at that time is remarkable. The local paper has caught on, and it could reach Soprano’s/North Jersey proportions if this keeps up. 

A few other references: 

Swenson’s Bakery was probably on Main Street in downtown Ossining, near the old Woolworth’s. Woolworth’s is probably portrayed as “Wentworth’s” for copyright reasons, although it would seem a stretch that that old (long since closed) variety store would sell a chaise lounge like the one Betty bought. Perhaps someone older than I can shed some light on that. 

One prediction on Ossining history will be that they mention, at some point, the construction of Arcadian Shopping Center on Route 9, which adversely affected (killed, really) downtown commerce. 

One quibble: The Draper’s phone number is WIlson-4, 8032, or 944-8032. Not accurate. The WILSON exchange at that time was 941, not 944. 944 didn’t arrive until the 1990’s. Prior to that, Ossining exchanges were either 941 or 762. Regardless, I’ll be tuning in next Sunday and blog about any more Mad Men/Ossining connections. They hit close to home. 

I am a big proponent of taking a child to work to see how their mom or dad works. Sometimes, the child will even emulate their parents and become more task oriented afterward. Here, Mark clearly demonstrates how impressed he is with his Daddy. 

After walking through yet another foreclosed home with some high-end renovations that were about 75% finished, I can’t stress this enough:

Renovations to your new home do you no good if they cause you to not be able to afford to stay. 

I don’t give financial or legal advice but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that your children’s college fund, reserve savings, and retirement planning ought to come before upgrading a 15 year old bath and kitchen. Moreover, if you are borrowing to make those renovations, on a 30-year mortgage you’ll end up paying double for the work over the life of your loan. 

Once you close on a home, plan on saving your money prior to going nuts on renovations. We are descended from eons of people who bathed in rivers. You can deal with a 1975 bathroom that gets visited by adult house guests 4 times per year. If you overspend and lose the house, you’ll have primed the pump for someone else.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness should never be leveraged!

** Rant Advisory**

Since my 4 year old has elected to forego sleep and erect a Thomas the Tank Engine memorial on the dining room table, the 2-year old has followed him in the project and my 70 pound German Shepherd feels the need to jam his schnozz in my armpit, slumber has not been an option since 4:30 am. I have therefore stationed myself at my kitchen table to observe Those Two reinvent the planet, canine at my feet, and I have fired the laptop up. Thank God for wireless Internet. 

To my right, peeking out from behind the kitchen hutch, is a 59-watt Nutone radio/intercom system in the wall that probably hasn’t worked since Watergate. Not long after we moved in, we were able to get 104.3 FM, the Home of Rock, in a grainy but understandable signal, nodded at each other, and turned it off. The kitchen counter tops are the same Formica with the stars and metal edges that were installed in 1962.  Just about everything in the kitchen outside of the appliances  is original. Some call that ancient. More charitable souls call it a period piece. I just call it a kitchen. No kidding. My wife’s lasagna will taste like heaven if it were prepared on plywood wrapped in tin foil. Any flat surface will do. It doesn’t bother me that my kitchen dates back to the Kennedy administration. We eat well. 

So I have a confession to make. Sometimes, when I hear a buyer tell me that they think a kitchen or bathroom needs updating I hold my tongue and think about Aruba. It isn’t that I’m not impressed with a fabulous granite counter top, stainless steel appliances, a Viking Stove and Sub Zero refrigerator; they are very nice. The same goes for column sinks, jacuzzi tubs and ceramic tile in the bathroom. Good stuff. I just never got the memo that those things were necessities. 

Maybe I’m just too outcome oriented. In Boy Scouts, they taught us the rudimentary ways of living, cooking, and yes, pooping, outdoors. Among the principles ingrained (aside from the fact that you don’t mix the endeavors) were what it took to make the food appear and the poop go away. The last time I checked, when I flush my toilet, the desired outcome occurred. And I’ve already told you about Ann’s cooking. Plus, we’re indoors, which is very nice indeed, especially when it gets cold. 

Perhaps we just have different priorities. My parents grew up in the Great Depression. Ann’s parents survived the brutal Japanese occupation of Korea and then a horrible war. A new bath or kitchen isn’t a must. When I walk through a foreclosed property and I see a cook’s kitchen and a bathroom that belongs at the Bellaggio, it just kills me. “They must have run out of money” someone says. Can you imagine? Losing your house because you leveraged the hell out of it, not to pay for college or treat some horrible disease, but to cut celery and do Number Two in luxury? Are you kidding me? Have we lost our collective minds? Try this: Make yourself a tuna fish sandwich. This time, add some horseradish and Worcestershire. Unless you hate tuna, that is good, and it is yummy if it was prepared on granite, Formica or a butcher block. Don’t take my word for it, try it. 

I have walked through some amazing homes in this business, and seen some magnificent kitchens and baths. I am a little envious of those extra faucets that give unlimited hot water for coffee and tea. I want one of those. However, before we start gutting this old kitchen and updating the baths, I have college tuition for four children to think about. Once we have that squared away, we’ll make this a place that will give Martha Stewart the chills. But first things first. 

In the meantime, when I represent the buyer, you can bet I’ll tell the listing agent our price is more than fair considering the updates needed. I’m good at that. It is smart, honest bargaining. My buyers may in fact feel that a new kitchen is a necessity. I just hope, that once my clients take ownership, that they’ll make the right decisions, especially if they have children. 

Next week: Are walk in closets a communist plot to weaken America? 

Most of my listings are homes that were not sold by another brokerage. I work the “expired” niche, and I speak with people who have been trying to sell their home for 3, 6 and sometimes 12 months or more with another broker before they decided to go in another direction at the end of their contracts.

And some of their reasons for choosing their last agent blow me away. Before I go on, let me share something. Just yesterday, I was in Best Buy to upgrade my Blue Tooth. Among my fellow shoppers were some people driving their sales clerk utterly nuts. They were couldn’t decide whether or not to buy something for $59.99 or the other model for $79.99. You would think they were trying to choose a brain surgeon. I’ve seen the same thing at car dealerships, hobby shops, the Post Office (“To confirm delivery or not? I shall hold the 40 people behind me up as I ponder…”),  and plenty of other places that are small potatoes compared to the largest transaction of one’s life.

Yet many of these same people, who will drive to 3 different department stores to match curtains and blankets, will end up listing their home with someone they hardly know anything about. Their reasons for choosing their real estate agents run the absurd to the height of greed.

“He quoted me the highest price.” “She is my hairdresser’s daughter.” “I know him from Little League.” “She advertises in the church bulletin.”

I mean, gag me. Would you have your gall bladder removed by a doctor just because he’s a fellow stamp collector? People have made more effort choosing between 2% and skim milk at the grocer!

Here are some classic examples of poor judgment in choosing an agent I’ve heard from the past 2 weeks:

1. They said no to the owner of an independent firm who sells a high volume of homes because they were put off by his car and, and they prefer a larger franchise.
2. He said no to an experienced agent with a well known local office with many years of success under her belt because she advised him that harvest gold appliances and shag carpeting might not be well recieved by the buying public.
3. She told a successful team from the next town to hit the road because she weren’t happy with the valuation they made of the home.

Search the MLS like an agent here. Read my short sale bog here. See the New York Photo blog here. J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.

Here in the New York area, it is not uncommon for people who live in the suburbs and work in New York City to request showings on weeknights after 7pm. If you leave work at 5 or 5:30 and it takes an hour to get home and settled, 5:30 showings are a logistical impossibility. I have one such buyer, and this afternoon I got a phone call from a listing office denying our request to see their listing tomorrow at 7pm. 

I don’t believe that 7pm is unreasonably late for a weeknight showing, but I have 4 children and know better than to crab about it and then get informed that the seller takes home dialysis or some other understandable thing that would preclude a 7pm showing. However, a call to the listing agent revealed that it was just inconvenient to the seller. I have to say that in this market, that isn’t too bright. There are just too many choices for buyers, and those buyers are all too rare in this market to squander a showing request. 

Convenience is relative for a half million dollar property. If you can suck it up a few times on a weeknight that may not be ideal for catching Dancing with the Stars, but it beats another 90 days on the market  and a $25,000 price reduction. THAT’s what I’d call inconvenient.  

Search the MLS like an agent here. Read my short sale bog here. See the New York Photo blog here. J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.

Feedback on home showings has gotten automated, which is a good thing. Centralized Showings sends out 2 feedback requests to agents who show my listings, and if they don’t reply I presume that they don’t have anything Earth-shattering to report. Seller clients get upset when they don’t get feedback sometimes, but they need to understand that if an agent shows 6 people 5 houses each in a week then they are forced to write the Magna Charta. I can’t be debriefed on every showing I make either. If your home is beneath high tension wires or has a train speeding past 30 feet away you don’t need me to tell you.  

All too often lately, I have gotten phone calls from listing agents who would rather joust with me over my feedback than tell their clients what they need to hear. And very often, what they need to hear is that they are overpriced for the circumstances. Nobody in the history of the world has ever rejected a property because it backed up to an interstate and then decided to buy it because they were then told that they just needed to plant a hedge of arborvitae. It just doesn’t happen. Look at the home you live in. Did you buy it because the listing agent shot a pithy retort to your agent about what to do about something that disqualified the property for you? Any hands?

So if you are a listing agent or home seller and you are told why the buyer didn’t decide on your home, save your breath and review the comps again. It is a waste of your and my valuable time to regurgitate and re-chew a buyer’s objections. Real estate isn’t a set of encyclopedias or long term care insurance. Nobody buys a home because of the salesperson’s enthusiasm. Pretending that it happens that way is a fallacy, and a time-consuming one at that. Real Estate is rather like romance; people buy The One. If you aren’t The One, take the feedback graciously and apply it for the next people.

People only buy one home, and it is the one they love. Rebutting and debating feedback is a big waste of time. You can’t convince someone that their reasons for not buying are wrong. It doesn’t work in romance, and it doesn’t work in real estate. If they like your home but don’t love it, move on.

Search the MLS like an agent here. Read my short sale bog here. See the New York Photo blog here. J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.

The $8,000 first-time home buyers tax credit is going to go away after December 1, 2009. This means that if you are in New York and want to take advantage, you don’t have much more than 60 days. 

“How can that be?” you might ask, since December 1 is almost 120 days away. 

Note that I said if you are in New York. New York, unlike many other states, takes far longer to close a real estate transaction, which means that if you wait until October 15 to buy a home you might not close until after December 1, which could cost you $8,000. Lawyers, lenders, title companies, underwriters, insurance, code issues, and a ton of other variables make the Empire State the Glacier State when it comes to timely closings. 

We are closing on a house in Connecticut in which the client had their offer accepted 3 weeks ago. That is Connecticut, and it is a cash purchase. If the sale thing were to occur in New York we could possibly still not be under contract. 

How much time do you really have? I’d say that to make sure you avoid a last minute delay, that you should make August THE month to get out there and find a home. You can go into September, but you are pushing it if you get too close to October. Remember, plenty of others are doing the same last minute thing and there will be delays from the backlog. 30 days is ample time to find a great house.

If you are in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam or Dutchess, I know of a really good firm to use! I have some excellent buyer agents right now who know how to advocate for their clients.  

Forewarned is forearmed. Get out there and find a house. You’ve got 8,000 good reasons to act soon. 

Search the MLS like an agent here. New York’s Premier Short Sale REALTOR. Read my short sale bog here. See the New York Photo blog here. J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.