I write this as a fiercely proud broker owner of an independent firm. My company, my good name, my actual name. This thing is my baby. It is what I make it.

We have an automated system (Centralized Showings) for appointments and feedback. It works very very well. Of course, if a seller is not quick to confirm an appointment, no system can prevent that. Here is the feedback after a showing that came from an agent from a very prominent firm yesterday:

CSS system sucks

This is, of course, read by my seller client online.

This is, of course, not feedback.

This is, of course, an incredibly unprofessional communication no matter how you slice it.

My client, a week-old listing, needed to be talked off the ledge this morning after reading that, because it made them doubt hiring me among many other things that bubbled to the surface when this clown decided to work out his baggage on me.

Upon occasion, I do run into a licensee who is nasty or arrogant. Most of the time, they seem to work for a larger company. They often wear their company like a badge, as if it makes them better than a piddly independent (or so they think) like myself. If you know me, you don’t think I’m a pipsqueak. If you are unfamiliar with me, you might see me as a good dog to kick.

I’m the wrong dog to kick. I forwarded the email to the chairman of the firm, whom I have communicated with cordially before. I told him he needs to know what is occurring in the trenches with his agents and that I expect more from one of his team. I added that the last thing an agent should do is cause a problem between a colleague and their client. True to my expectations, he responded quickly.

Agents who are this small minded don’t make their firm great, they siphon off their firms reputation to obscure their own shortcomings. That company thrives in spite of, not because of, agents like this one. Not everyone can run their own shop, or wants the headaches. I respect your reasons for working where you do. But it is how you conduct yourself, not what colors you wear, that makes your reputation. If you work at a large company, you need to understand that at one time it was small firm, built by the dreams, blood, sweat and tears of the original owners. You benefit from that, as I hope people do in the future when my company is older and bigger.

We are all tempted to vent when we get frustrated in the field. I’ll bet 25% of my active rain points are member’s only posts where I empty my guts to keep my sanity. But there is a way of doing this that is acceptable and there are things that are not acceptable at all. If you are tempted to vent, ask yourself if it is something that will make your company a more well regarded firm, or if it undermines your firm. Once you get your answer, then you’ll know whether or not to click on “send.” 

I still recall the instructor from my original 1996 license course admonishing our class that agents never give legal, accounting, or any other advice that is beyond the scope of our duty. We were even coached to repeat the phrase “I cannot give you legal advice.” Wise words.

In New York, the real estate transaction involves many professionals: agents, lawyers, title company, appraiser, home inspector, lender, loan officer, and so forth. While we do not operate in individual vacuums and there is some cross pollination of duties (I might provide an appraiser with comparable sale information, for example), by and large everyone plays their position. When one professional tries to wear that hat of another, it is an invitation for problems.

On a recent home inspection, my agent reported to me that the inspector advised the buyer that the presence of electrical fuses instead of a circuit breaker panel could cause problems with the mortgage lender. I have sold real estate for 13 years and originated mortgages for another 7; I have never heard of this. I asked Tom Ginis, one of the managers at Residential Home Funding if he had ever heard such a thing or if he was aware of any underwriting guideline to this effect. He had no idea where the claim could come from. He also wondered aloud why a home inspector would make such a foray into underwriting.

The problems that can arise from this sort of thing are numerous. First, in our marketplace inspections are done before contracts are signed. After a spirited negotiation on price and terms, this can muddy up the waters. Now our buyer, who is putting down a substantial amount on a conventional loan, has a new worry. If the reason were legitimate, fine. But no professional I have asked (myself included) agrees with this guy. We now have to devote time and energy to reassuring the buyer and researching mortgage underwriting to prove that she won’t have a problem getting approved. This is to say nothing of the fact that I have closed two recent FHA transactions on homes with fuses.

I have since heard that he sells insurance and moonlights as a home inspector. Now he’s underwriting loans in in basements. How silly! We should all play our position. Otherwise, the domino effect adversely affects both clients and colleagues. Buyers: Don’t work with part time professionals one of the biggest transactions in your life.

Dear REALTOR.com,

I tried to think of a diplomatic to say this, but I’ll just cut to the chase.

You suck.

Not just because I have to pay you $3,000+ per year while providing you with my content.

Not just because you telemarket the living crap out of me for banner ads.

Not just because as a home search tool you are inferior to any basic broker IDX search.

Not just because no matter how many times you revamp you are still a clanky, slow -to-load page even though I pay through the nose for a commercial grade FiOS connection which loads movies faster than 1 lousy photo on your site.

No, you mainly suck because it has been a month and you still haven’t fixed, or explained why you can’t fix, the web statistics I pay dearly for and my 40+ listing clients expect.

I can’t tell you how degrading it is to endure all of it. Telling my clients that I have a “trouble ticket” opened doesn’t quite cut it. Maybe you don’t understand that some people list their homes with me expecting this stuff to work. Maybe you don’t understand that many of our clients are freaking out as it is and this contributes to, rather than helps solve, the problems of those who PAY YOUR BILLS. It has been a month and this still isn’t fixed. And this is a public post because the public needs to know the frustration that I and my colleagues have with you.

If you were surgeon, the patient would have died.

If you were an airline pilot, the plane would have crashed.

As my late brother used to say, compact your fecal matter. Seriously.

I have worked in a ton of jobs in my life- bartender, deli counter, dishwasher, landscaping, telemarketing, and even pizza delivery. Each task in some way prepared me for Life. I want my children to be even better-prepared than I was for this adulthood thing, and the following are, I feel, some “must have” jobs that I want my kids to experience as they grow into responsible adults.

1. Some sort of manual labor-landscaping, roofing, or construction. The significance of this will be to teach them that all work is honorable, good work, and what it is like to work around real people. There is no pretense in the trades. Moreover, nothing says “stay in school” like a sore back, a nasty hammer blister, or a sunny 100 degree day applying hot tar to a roof.
2. A gratuity-based job like waiting tables or bartending. Working for tips brings out the inner entrepreneur and teaches a person what customer service is about. Some of those lessons hurt-like getting stiffed with no tip from a difficult, nasty patron. Overall, however, the lesson that you’ll earn more if you hustle and deliver the goods to an increasingly demanding public is as valuable as a college semester in my mind. Plus, they feed you!
3. Work in a real estate office. I don’t have any expectations that my children will follow me into real estate, although I am working to build something for them if they choose. However, even if they work in an office over the summer, that would show them what it means to deal with clients, the public, and professional colleagues. I want them to know what goes into this, which, to any licensee reading this knows, is a great deal. I also want them to know their old man wasn’t sipping cognac at a mahogany desk all those hours.
4. Something they love with no pay. An internship or volunteer position in a field they might love, be it art, medicine, dog grooming or teaching assistant would certainly help them decide if they really want to be in that field. If you love it pro bono, it will never be work when they pay you.

While I certainly was powerfully influenced by family, professors and coaches, I was equally enriched growing up by a butcher while working counter at his deli a block away from Sing Sing Prison in high school. You can’t be a prima donna and survive a line of grumpy prison guards at 11pm waiting for their hoagies.

Real estate brokerage is an ecelctic mixture of field work and desk work. We inhabit no ivory tower. I believe those of us who succeed in this work aren’t far removed from other work which teach life’s most basic lessons: work hard. Hustle. Fill the need. Listen. Don’t take yourself too seriously. I did all of the different jobs I write about when I was younger, and it makes me a better broker, a better husband and father, and, I hope, a better man.

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J. Philip Faranda is the Broker and Owner of J. Philip Real Estate, LLC in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He is a Top 10 Producer for closed single family transactions out of almost 7000 licensees in the Westchester-Putnam MLS in both 2007 and 2008. You can log onto the company Home Page at www.jphilip.com

You can search the MLS like an agent and find your dream home before other buyers for FREE at http://jphilip.listingbook.com. This Agent-Style MLS search is nothing short of incredible and is far more comprehensive than home searches on typical sites. Registration is free, confidential & at no obligation.

J. Philip Faranda ranks among New York’s premier short sale REALTORS specializing in short sales in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam & Dutchess Counties. www.NYShortSaleTeam.com. Read Phil’s short sale blog at http://NewYorkShortSaleBlog.wordpress.com.

J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.

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J. Philip Faranda is the Broker and Owner of J. Philip Real Estate, LLC in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He is a Top 10 Producer for closed single family transactions out of almost 7000 licensees in the Westchester-Putnam MLS in both 2008 and 2009. You can log onto the company Home Page at www.jphilip.com

You can search the MLS like an agent and find your dream home before other buyers for FREE at http://jphilip.listingbook.com. This Agent-Style MLS search is nothing short of incredible and is far more comprehensive than home searches on typical sites. Registration is free, confidential & at no obligation.

J. Philip Faranda ranks among New York’s premier short sale REALTORS specializing in short sales in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam & Dutchess Counties. www.NYShortSaleTeam.com. Read Phil’s short sale blog at http://NewYorkShortSaleBlog.wordpress.com.

J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.

Now, finding your dream home has never been easier. A new feature is available which allows home buyers to search the Westchester-Putnam MLS system (Which now includes Westchester, Putnam, Bronx and Dutchess Counties) virtually the same way an agent does. Click on the link for more information on this free service.

J. Philip Faranda is the broker and owner of J. Philip Real Estate, LLC, in Briarcliff Manor, NY, nestled between Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Sleepy Hollow, Chappaqua and Pleasantville. We are also in close proximity to White Plains, Peekskill, Yonkers & Yorktown. The firm specializes in residential real estate in Westchester, Putnam & Rockland County. Visit us on the web at www.jphilip.com.

Phil is one of the top selling REALTORS in Westchester County, with over 100 closed transactions in 2007-2008. He is also among the premier short sale specialists in New York. Check out www.nyshortsaleteam.com and our short sale blog, newyorkshortsaleblog.wordpress.com.

Congratulations to Ossining High School senior James Brundage on winning the New York State championship for wrestling in the 160 Lb weight class this past weekend. He is only the 2nd Ossining student athlete to win at the state tournament. I wrestled in high school and it was one of the best experiences of my life. These are superb athletes, and to be the best in a state the size of New York is special.

This is wonderful news for the Ossining high school athletic program and for the whole community. According to the local paper, James is interested in attending Harvard, Lehigh or Virginia. I wish him the best of luck. Teammate Clay Neivert placed 5th in the 171 Lb class.

The people of Ossining should be proud of both young men.  

Sometimes an inch or random extra effort is all the difference between making a sale or going broke.

I got a buyer referral in an area that is about 45 minutes from my office. Far for some, no big deal for me. What was unusual about this was that she needed me to pick her up and drive her to see the listings. This is not unheard of in New York; my wife rode the subway all her life. You don’t need a car here. However, New Yorkers are famously cynical, and for a woman to trust me blindly to pick her up is uncommon. On my way to pick her up, the thought occurred to me that maybe I was the one getting fooled. And, sure enough, there was no answer at her door or her phone.

I felt bad. We all hate no shows, but I felt I should have known better. After trying 7 times to call and leaving a note on her door, I drove toward home, chastising myself for not allocating my time toward another endeavor. As I am prone to do, I called my wife to vent about my no-show.

While crossing the Tri-Borough bridge from Queens to the Bronx, chirping in my wife’s ear about the unfairness of it all, I was shocked to get call waiting beeping in from none other than my no show. I was approaching the toll plaza. She was very apologetic. She works in health care and had to work late. She set her phone on vibrate to get some sleep and saw that she had missed all my calls. She asked if it was too late to still keep our appointments. She was mortified that she missed me.

15 minutes later (and one awkward exit and re-entry onto the Tri Borough Bridge back to Queens) I was back at her door. She and her sister would be looking together, and, luckily, all but one of the homes we had lined up were vacant, so our tardiness was meaningless. It was an outstanding afternoon. You seldom find “the” house your first time out and this was no different, but we clicked big time. By the time we were finished I knew exactly what kind of home she wanted and how I could get her into one. We actually had some fun out there, seeing the houses we almost missed.

I got a thank-you email from her that evening and we’ll be going back to it this week. It is amazing to me how close the day had come to being a washout. I didn’t have to turn around. I could have been grumpy with her or left an angry note. I didn’t. Picking up a solid buyer is always a good feeling, but snapping victory from the jaws of defeat is even better. It just goes to show that you can’t lose your faith, even if you have to pay an extra $5 toll on the Tri-Borough bridge.

I got a call from a very unexpected source today, just one day after getting my latest listing. The home just came off the market with another broker before I listed it, and while he had the listing there was a deal on it that died. The buyer agent from that deal was calling me. She wanted to know if the prior listing agent had procured any exclusion for her buyer or if she was to deal with me. I knew of no exclusion (none exists) and told her so. My seller client confirmed this. However, the buyer agent had reached out to the prior listing broker before calling me to ask the same question.

You know where this is going, right? The prior broker is livid. He had been working with this buyer agent to get the home sold and closed for months, but it never happened. The seller, tired of the headaches and feeling beleaguered by the buyer’s demands, started looking for a new agent before the listing expired. She contacted me. I would not list the house in question until she was finished with her prior broker. I did, however, list her other home, as it was never previously listed. No foul there.  I even encouraged her to stick with the other agent to get the pending deal closed. It fell apart last week.

That listing expired February 14, so we signed papers this past weekend after it was clear that the old deal was dead. It went live yesterday. So what happened? Evidently the buyer’s “plan B” purchase flopped, and, pressed for time and with appraisal, title work and mortgage completed on my client’s house, he decided to come back to it. The prior broker got wind of this, and I am told is furious with everyone, including ME.

I can empathize with his frustration. I have “primed the pump” for other brokers who got an easy sale after getting an expired listing of mine, but that’s baseball. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. The circumstances of my getting this listing are completely clean and in good faith. I never expected this buyer to resurface. For the record, I have no official offer from his agent yet.  I feel bad for the prior broker, but I do not feel that I owe him anything. He had months to get that deal closed and for whatever reason it didn’t work out. Hell, I might not get the thing closed with this buyer. But as of yesterday, I am the listing agent for that buyer or, for that matter, if Sasquatch comes along and pays cash.  

I do not feel that I have an ethical dilemma if this buyer does finally perform. If you agree or disagree, here’s your chance to opine. My stance is “that’s baseball.” What say you?

My office is located in Briarcliff Manor, NY but technically sits on Town of Ossining soil. The town of Ossining is the unincorporated portion of the municipality located outside the village. It mostly borders the hamlet of Millwood in the town of New Castle as well as Maryknoll, NY, home of the renowned Catholic Mission. The character of the town is far more bucolic and suburban than the more densely populated village of Ossining, and the population of less than 6,000 is dwarfed by the village at more than 25,000. Both the town and village are served by the Ossining Union Free School District.

There are, as of February 27, 2009, 23 single family homes for sale in the town of Ossining. In the past 180 days 7 homes have sold at a median sales price of $464,000. The median asking price of homes for sale is $550,000. 3 homes are under contract for sale and a 4th is pending closing in the very near future.

With 23 active listings and only 7 titles transferred in the past 180 days, there is a severe  imbalance between inventory for sale and closed transactions. At that rate, there is just under two years of inventory available. With the median sales price at $464,00 and the median asking price at $550,000, it would appear that the inventory would clear faster if prices were reduced. The buying public is not showing much enthusiasm at those prices.

There are a number of condominium communities in the town as well, with 9 sales in the past 180 days at a median sales price of $397,000. The active inventory of 14 units is at a median asking price between $405,000 and $425,000. Perhaps because of the smaller gap in sales and asking prices, there appears to be less than a year of inventory available in condos. However, at this time just one condominium is under contract and a second is pending sale imminently.

A healthy Spring market can change many things, so here’s to a good March, April and May of real estate activity in Ossining.

This data is unscientific and is derived from the Westchester-Putnam MLS. It does not include non-MLS transactions and is subject to input errors (such as erroneously including village of Ossining property) from other MLS members. This may be reproduced only with consent from J. Philip Faranda, who must be credited.

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J. Philip Faranda is the broker and owner of J. Philip Real Estate, LLC, in Briarcliff Manor, NY, nestled between Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Sleepy Hollow, Chappaqua and Pleasantville. We are also in close proximity to White Plains, Peekskill, Yonkers & Yorktown. The firm specializes in residential real estate in Westchester, Putnam & Rockland County. Visit us on the web at www.jphilip.com.

Phil is one of the top selling REALTORS in Westchester County, with over 100 closed transactions in 2007-2008. He is also among the premier short sale specialists in New York. Check out www.nyshortsaleteam.com and our short sale blog, newyorkshortsaleblog.wordpress.com.

Two featured posts on Active Rain this morning discuss short sales, and whether you love them or hate them, they are going to be a common occurrence in most markets for the foreseeable future. Full disclosure: I have specialized in short sales for a number of years, sold dozens, and have double digits in my listing pipeline. I feel compelled to add my 2 cents.  

Vanessa Simmons wrote that she does not advise her sellers to sign a contract before the lender approves the price. I disagree, but we practice in different states with different laws and protocols, and more importantly, she states that it works for her. Far be it for me to tell her to stop doing what works for her out in Ohio just because I do things differently here in New York.

Greg Nino, in his post entitled “Are You Still Showing Short Sale Buyers? Not Me!” epitomizes the frustration that many of us have with the short sale process. Greg appears to see things from the buyer side, and those of us who list short sales should appreciate his thoughts, at least some of them. It takes too long, buyers get frustrated, and stories of cut commissions are common. Too often, the listing agents are poor communicators, which is unacceptable. He’s right. Greg leaves the reservation in my opinion on a few of the things he says that push the boycotting/price fixing envelope, but I’ll chalk that up to justified frustration. I am certain that his clients come before any personal frustrations.

I am of the belief that the housing market would turn around far faster if sellers would just lower their prices to reflect the new reality. Prices have come down. Some won’t lower, but many can’t, and for them a short sale is the only way out. There are several things that we as licensees can do about facilitating short sales more efficiently and effectively.

• If you are a listing agent and you are inexperienced in short sales, don’t take the listing. Refer it to someone who does them well. If you want to be one of those agents, work for a broker who does them and can mentor you. But we have too many short sales now listed with neophytes who are screwing things up for us, but worse, for their clients.
• If you list a short sale, you have to communicate with the buyer agent regularly so they know the file isn’t rotting. We are familiar; the buyers are in this for the first time.  
• If you are a taxpayer, write your representative and demand that any lender that receives TARP funds should have a transparent, streamlined short sale process of 30 days or less, period. It is deplorable that recipients of our taxes would be so arrogant, unresponsive and miserable.
• If you are a buyer agent, you cannot just boycott short sales. If you have a client interested in a house, you owe it to them to ask the listing agent’s experience with negotiating short sales, who is dealing with the bank, who the lender is, if there is subordinate financing, and how far along the seller’s hardship package is. If the answers are less than satisfactory, you are justified in advising your buyer clients to pass this up…but knee-jerk avoiding them is not advocacy, it is looking for the easy way.
• Repeat this 3 times: a properly negotiated short sale virtually never has a reduction in commission. I know this firsthand. If the first thing out of a listing agent’s mouth is that they don’t think they’ll get a full commission, they may not be up to the task.

Our responsibility is to our clients. Running from one type of transaction is unethical and contrary to looking our for the buyer. If something fails the sniff test, your conscience should be clear. Buying or selling, we cannot control the short sale winds. We can however, adjust our sails, and adapting to a market where short sales are common is in our clients’ best interest.

According to Inman News, Minnesota-based Webdigs, Inc, a discount real estate broker, announced a loss of $2.7 million since it’s inception in the spring of 2007. Many businesses lose money in their first year or two, and I know nothing of Webdigs’ merits or demerits. What is significant to my mind, and what should matter to the consumer, is that this follows a pattern of non-traditional brokerage models failing. Iggy’s House and Foxtons, both discount brokers, are two recent examples.

Why should this matter to the consumer? Because your transaction is not a zero-sum event. If a broker promises you a 3% commission discount, for instance, there is a cost associated with that discount that doesn’t show up in their hypothetical net sheet because it doesn’t account for one immutable law of real estate brokerage:

The best agents who will do the best job for you will work where they can make the most money.

Foxtons’ agents in New York were all on a salary and an extremely modest commission schedule. When I checked them out in 2001 I recall a $35,000 per annum salary and a $400 bonus for closed sales. A Mini Cooper was in the package also. I know top-producing agents who gross $35,00 a month. They don’t drive Minis. They wouldn’t work at Foxtons. Since the top 10% of agents are responsible for 90% of the transactions, the agents who were attracted to Foxtons weren’t enough to keep the company in the black. And they folded.

Here’s how it affects the seller: If, as the seller you choose the firm with the lowest commission thinking it will net you the most money, you are employing backwards logic. Not all real estate agents will do the same job for you. Overall and with rare exception, good agents cost more than discount agents because good agents get great results and discount agents get discount results. Good agents sell homes faster. Good agents get more money. Good agents resolve home inspection issues faster. Good agents handle compliance & title issues more effectively. Good agents have better mortgage sources. Good agents can negotiate the pants off a crummy agent. A good agent may quote you a lower price when they first meet you, but they’ll net you more money because they won’t let your listing go stale because it is overpriced.  

It is ironic that people will shop around for the best cell phone, the best laptop, the best plasma TV and the best surgeon for their gall bladder but the biggest financial transaction gets given to the lowest bidder or Aunt Ethel. If people treated choosing a broker like it was their financial life or death, they’d get dramatically better results. If you think a 3% discount is worth forfeiting that, go ahead. Just remember that the 3% may be off a far lower price or after a far longer, more stressful transaction. And don’t be surprised when the company goes out of business.

A rather interesting homophone arose in the comment thread of one of my recent postings that I thought merited some commentary. A “homophone,” by the way, is a case of two words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. For instance, “bore” (to make weary by being dull) and “boar” (wild pig) make a homophone. Remember? Probably 4th grade language arts. I studied English. I dig that stuff. Somebody has to.

The market is tough around here. Some of our profession have had to make awful decisions, between car note and house note, between remaining in real estate or getting out, and, sadly, between declaring bankruptcy or giving it another month. One attorney I do business with told me that his largest pool of bankruptcy clients is licensees. This is very sad but not unexpected. Some of us have been fortunate to adapt. Some of us are in incredibly foul moods (have you noticed?).

The choice we have to make is whether the damage sustained from new challenges is absorbed by our soul-our attitude, our outlook and mood, or by our sole- our willingness to hit the metaphorical pavement and wear out our shoes getting to work. It is tempting to succumb to anger and frustration when a buyer is indecisive or a seller kvetches to us at 9pm when we’d rather be putting our children to bed or relaxing.

Just yesterday I reached out to the buyer agent on one of the deals I have pending. He picked up his phone. We chatted briefly, and when I asked if we could conference in another principal, he refused, telling me it was his day off (why did he answer the phone?). Here was a chance to invest 10 minutes into expediting an $8,000 commission. It was more important to be off. Fair enough. I am all for balance, but I’ll never squander an opportunity in this market when it lands in my lap.

Sometimes the answer to adversity is that we have to work a little harder for a little longer. We had a period there when there was lots of low hanging fruit. Many of us looked smarter than we really were. Now the cream rises to the top. When this slowdown is over and the market recovers, those of us left standing will be lean and mean. We’ll have far more resilient souls and far more worn out soles.

I am not unfamiliar with foreclosures. I have bought and sold more than a few, and I do dozens of short sales a year. I don’t for a moment think that selling an REO is simple; yes, they are vacant, but as an investor myself I know that the property has to be managed and overseen. I know some particularly good brokers who sell REO listings. One of them called me once about a year ago and informed me that he was the new agent for a listing I had that was scheduled to close in another 3 days. When I told him this, rather then say “tough luck,” he assisted my client’s attorney and myself in getting the home reinstated and allowing it to close as scheduled. It cost him a listing, but it earned my gratitude and respect.

That said, some REO agents conduct business in an utterly deplorable manner. You probably know the type in your marketplace: one crappy photo taken from the car, no remarks, and no communication. We’ve got a few here that absolutely take the cake in this regard. Talking with some is like dealing with the DMV- rude and arrogant. One won’t even take a phone call to set an appointment to show- he just published the lockbox combination in the agents remarks. At least I can show his listings. And to get a question answered? Forget it!

To those agents who think that the foreclosure gravy train exempts them from acting like a respectful, competent professional, you reap what you sow. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but at some point what you have sent around will come back to bite you. Maybe your asset manager gets wind of your shenanigans. Maybe the bank reorganizes and they start dealing with other agents. It doesn’t matter. At some point, these agents will have to go back to dealing with the rest of us, and it will be that much harder for them because they are no longer practiced in being accountable for their actions.

Like I said, some REO agents are very, very good. But the bad ones are the worst, and their time will come. I just wish it would come sooner in one or two cases!

I blogged recently on the incredible overlap of government and services in New York and how that redundancy adds to the tax burden of New Yorkers. In yesterday’s Journal News, there was a special report on pensioners, that is, retired government employees who are allowed to legally “double dip” and get another government job. One retired Ossining, NY school superintendent with a $165,000 pension is allowed to hold the same position in the nearby Katonah-Lewisboro school district and collect a $235,000 salary, all on our backs. He’s 65, so he also collects social security. I don’t begrudge a good living to anyone, but this is wasteful and has a high opportunity cost.

The waiver in the law that allows this is intended to handle an emergency or hard to fill vacancy. Clearly, it is being abused. There are hundreds of cases like this in schools, county and state government, law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.lohud.com/article/2009902220343

We need more reporting like this. There has to be more transparency in how our tax money is spent, and those with their hand on the budget strings need to be more mindful that it is our money and we want it spent wisely or not spent. That is the only way that taxes will not spiral even more out of control than they already have.

If I could work with first-time home buyers all day every day, I would. Given my other responsibilities, such as running a brokerage and servicing 45 or so listings, it is a rare pleasure. Today, I had that pleasure. I have a young couple who both work full time and are both in school part time. We have a pre approval, down payment, closing costs and every pre-purchase necessity well in hand. It’s beautiful.

Queens is not my primary service area, but I am a member of the Long Island Board of REALTORS and the MLS of Long Island, and I know the area fairly well, as my wife is from Rego Park. The great thing about working in Queens is that it lends itself to an energetic, fun day. If there is a gap between showings you can always go to a diner and have some laughs over a cup of coffee. Then after we are finished, I can head over to Flushing to H-Mart, the Korean Supermarket on Northern Boulevard and get all sorts of goodies for my wife and kids- kimchee (I have no idea if that is the right way to spell it), rice cakes, tofu, fresh fruit, and lots of other things that make opening the basement refrigerator an adventure.

First-time home buyers, Queens, H-Mart-so this is shaping up to be a great day, right?

Wrong. Disaster City, and indicative of tough times for both Queens brokers, who need to get their acts together, and sellers, who need a reality check.

Here’s the breakdown. Of the 20 or so 2-family homes my clients expressed an interest in seeing, about three quarters were short sales. 6 listing agents never called me back this week to answer my appointment request. In one case, the office REFUSED to give me another number for the agent, who never called me back or answered my emails. One vacant REO’s agent never gave me the courtesy of a call back with the lockbox information. Another 6 said “Can only be seen from the outside.”  Fewer than 10 listings responded normally to confirm an appointment, and of those, 4 confirmed. Of the 4, we got into 3 (the last one refused us at the door altogether). Of those three, one had occupants who were unaware of a showing but let us in. One had a unit we couldn’t enter, so we only saw part of the house. So, out of 20+ listings we contacted all week, we got ONE appointment where we were actually expected and saw the whole house.

This is after a week of trying to get in for today, Sunday, the biggest showing day of the week. I have a few observations:

• That many short sales indicates that these sellers all bought relatively recently with over leveraged sub-prime loans. Many had little or no money invested. It shows- they act like people with no skins in the game.
• Listing brokers aren’t just throwing mud on the wall to see what sticks, they are throwing poop. “Can only see from the outside” ?? This is allowed?
• Listing brokers are not educating their clients that they cannot sell the house if reasonable requests to show are not accepted. In a short sale, showings are to be treated as being of an urgent nature.
• Many listing agents just flat out stink. Sorry. Sue me. If you can’t call me back for a week or inform the tenants that I’ll be there to show the house, you suck. If the code of ethics didn’t forbid it, I’d name names just to shame them into cooperating.
• Some REO brokers have become so stinking lazy and unprofessional that if I knew who their asset manager was they would be in for a hell of a lifestyle and attitude change.
• In Westchester and the northern counties, if a listing is not available for showings for more than 72 hours it has to be taken off the active market temporarily. There apparently is no such rule in the Long Island MLS. The downside of that is that consumers see an active listing, assume it to be available to see, and when their buyer agent can’t get them in, they look ineffective. Some frustrated buyers will then call the listing agent directly, who in some cases will then kick it into high gear to get both ends. This is not cooperation, it is racketeering. 

My buyers will be fine. They heard my cell phone conversations with some of these offices and I cc’d them in on some emails. But what of other buyers who are caught up in this? Here we have a slow sales cycle, and the broker’s aren’t facilitating what few opportunities arise, to their own detriment and, worse, the detriment of their clients. Have they lost their minds? Don’t they have any idea how much damage this causes?

I recall reading a letter from my father written in August of 1945 to his parents on the news that the Second World War was over. He said that the feeling among the men was not one of celebration or joy, but weary relief. My Dad was in the Signal Corps on Leyti Island in the Pacific Theater. He, like many Americans, bowed his head in thanks when the Japanese officially surrendered on the USS Missouri.

On the Missouri that day of the surrender was a young marine who would move back to the USA and live in Yonkers, NY, just a few miles from where my father and mother raised my brothers and myself. Our families would be a few zip codes apart. My Dad never met this Marine. I met him just shy of a year ago.

Once a Marine, always a Marine, and this Marine, now this dignified octogenarian was in, to use his own words, a pickle. He was in the car business for many years, raised a son and a daughter with his beloved wife, and by the time they were retired, their home was paid for. However, she became terminally ill a few years ago, and the Marine did everything he could to get her better. He borrowed every cent he could on the house to pay for a cure, but a remedy, as many of God’s answers are to our ears, not the one he sought. Then, when the rate adjusted up and the economy shifted down, he found himself drowning in debt.

I will never forget our first meeting. Walking through that house and hearing his story and how he got where he was struck me as the ultimate irony. I remember thinking that this guy right here is a HERO, and he deserves better than this. Each room had a story. Even his workshop, where he made model planes, gave me a tangible awareness of his family’s 50 years of happiness there. As bad as the circumstances were, he wasn’t a victim. He just wanted to know a plan to make things right. The only way out would be a short sale, and I promised him my best. 

I will tell you now that this has been one of the hardest files I have ever worked on, and it has taken me and his attorney a full year and two buyers to get this short sale approved. It has been so hard that I am even reticent to write this post for fear of jinxing the good news, but I can’t be silent. I took this file extremely personally, because this is how I would want someone to treat my father. This is also one of the very few times I had a client who had every reason to be high maintenance and difficult who instead always spoke to me like I was a boxer returning to his corner. We were on the same team.

Moreover, I feel that I owe my client a debt of enormous gratitude. As hard as this was, and as beleaguered as I feel right now, I know this my experience is NOTHING compared to what this Marine has been through. My Dad and my client had a far better reason to be weary in August of 1945.