The local rag has quoted me in the Sunday edition of the paper in an article on strategic defaults. The local rag, being, of course, the New York Times. The interview for the article was this past week, and the reporter, Lynnley Brown, was very nice. She said I’m a mortgage broker, which is a mistake, as I am a real estate broker, but that’s baseball. It showed up in my Google Alert anyway. And I’m sure they’ll print a page 1 retraction on Monday. Right? 

The Times, to its credit, has reported more lately on defaulting home owners; the editorial tone has been typically more sympathetic to the borrowers, and critical of banks who encumber short sales and loan modifications. The article I appear in discusses the ramifications of strategic defaults as they vary from state to state, as some are “recourse” states and others are “non-recourse.” It is an informative article.

It is always nice to have the company appear in the fish wrap, and it is a nice result of how blogging has helped the firm create a presence. 

Of course, when you have great sources, it is easy to publish a good piece.   

This market report is for single family home activity in the Briarcliff Manor school district for November of 2010. All information is derived from the Empire Access (formerly Westchester-Putnam) Multiple Listing Service. 

A light month in Briarcliff Manor. Median price is about the same as last November, but only 3 deals closed. Nine homes are under contract at a median asking of almost $900,000, so we are positioned for a strong December. It happens that way. 

There are 39 available home in inventory, which is a light and typical for this time of year. 

Previous posts on Briarcliff Manor.  

If you’d like to search for a home in Briarcliff, get yourself a free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 

This market report is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for October of 2010. All information is derived from the Empire Access (formerly Westchester-Putnam) Multiple Listing Service. 

Ossining is a bouncing ball. Last month the median price was $535,000. November’s median was less than $370,000. The true picture is somewhere in the middle; November was just down. November of 2009 was far stronger, but with 30 pending sales at a median asking price well into the 400’s, December will ensure that Ossining finishes the year on a high note.   

136 active listings is down a touch, but December this time of year is typically a low ebb for inventory. 

A down month, but plenty of evidence that it isn’t down for long.  

Previous postings on Ossining.  

You can search for a home in Ossining by getting yourself a free Listingbook account. 

Maybe it started with the emperors thumbs up or thumbs down in the Roman Coliseum. Maybe it culminated with Fonzie. Or Sally Field. Or Facebook. Nobody knows, but the human fascination with rating each other is well-documented. In light of Zillow’s new agent rating system, I am moved to opine on the online versions of how we rate, like, love, endorse and otherwise measure the performance of those with whom we do business, as even a Facebook remark can be liked as much as a business. 

I LIKE approval and high ratings. I love to be loved. As I have blogged before, I am a Redfin partner agent, and our ratings are very transparent on the site. I am posting a screenshot from my page, because my profile is off while I catch up with the business they have given me. I have nothing to hide. As a matter of fact, I fully expect all real estate agents to be rated very openly in the coming years. Yelp and other ratings site will only grow. Zillow is just the latest entry. It is good for our industry and good for the consumer.  

That said, I have misgivings in how it is carried out. For example, when Redfin first surveyed my clients as a condition of putting me on as a referral agent, I got lots of 10’s. I also got some people asking me why I closed my company. We sorted it out, but the lesson is that the best intentioned ideas executed by really good people can still be problematic. And I have two concerns about the burgeoning industry of thumb extensions to the Heavens or Earth. 

1. I am concerned about crackpots and haters. I live in New York, lunatic capital of the world. Not so much the wacky people who leave anonymous emails or voicemails- I am talking about the folks we occasionally run into in business who can’t be pleased and have expectations that Superman can’t fulfill and then blame their agent. I can’t get you a million dollar foreclosure in Scarsdale for $200,000. I can’t help you with that rare new construction in our area if you suddenly decide to deal directly with the builder in stealth while telling me something different. And no, I can’t get you $600,000 on your $475,000 house just because you want to pay off your car and credit cards.  
2. I am concerned about the system being gamed by unscrupulous agents. This may sound surprising, but in the Bronx, for example, many number of brokerages aren’t MLS participants. Some don’t cooperate. It has gotten so bad in the NYC boroughs that the Department of State has issued cease and desist orders on solicitation to the whole industry, all brokerages, for 5 years because of agent misconduct in some areas. Does that happen where you live? When you have hugely populated areas like the Bronx and Brooklyn with sparse MLS participation with brokerages behaving like it is the wild west, people will default to sites like StreetEasy, Trulia and Zillow for their property searches. With no NAR affiliate or government oversight of those websites, abuse is not just likely, the real question is how they’ll game the system, not if they’ll do it. 

So for me, it all boils down to how it is carried out and overseen. I don’t want to pick on Zillow- Spencer Rascoff is a funny, self-effacing guy and Sara Bonert is swell; however, they never bought a house in Yonkers or Throgs Neck. I appreciate that I can respond to reviews, but what if the only way to defend myself against a flaming review were to involve confidential information? What if calling a brokerage out for bogus reviews got me slapped with a petty or frivolous grievance? 

Call me a cynical New Yorker, but remember, we actually have attorneys draw up contracts in this neck of the woods. It isn’t Kansas. 

So, thumbs up to transparency, but thumbs down to abuse. And those who do provide that looking glass into ratings have a moral obligation to prevent abuse zealously due to the damage it can cause hard working, conscientious professionals who lay it all on the line daily. At any rate, to my clients, the link to my Zillow profile is right there in the sidebar. Speak your mind! 

I’ll be posting a market report on Yorktown in the very near future, but I thought I’d give a more specific snapshot at what $472,000 buys these days. 

This is a 3 bedroom split colonial with a den and 1.5 baths on a quiet street in the Countryside neighborhood that just closed yesterday. It sits on a beautifully landscaped .4 acres with a rear patio and backyard that backs up to woods. It has new vinyl siding, new windows and a new roof. It also boasts an eat in kitchen with lots of cabinets, first floor laundry, hardwood floors throughout, formal dining and living room with bay window, updated half bath, lower level family room and a poured concrete basement. Countryside is walking distance to the Triangle shopping center and 5 minutes from the Taconic parkway. It is a fantastic location.

There is plenty of parking, and the 2-car garage is also quite deep. 

As I said, it closed yesterday, and we were delighted to help Scott and Leslie buy their first home together. We wish them many happy healthy years there.  

Westchester Fixer Uppers for Sale

I have recently listed two awesome opportunities for a buyer to get instant sweat equity in their ownership of a home. These are both rehabilitation opportunities, in need of complete renovation but priced very low for a fast sale. Neither are short sales and both can close quickly with clear title. 

1. 11 Bradley Drive, White Plains, NY 10607: 1300 square foot handyman special ranch in the Ardsley school district on a quarter acre. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, patio and close to highways. Very quiet street. $399,900. Just listed!

2. 27 Harrison St, Mt Vernon, NY 10550: 3 Bedroom pre war colonial on a quiet street in need of complete renovation. Full basement, large front porch, formal dining room, very close to shopping, schools, transportation, parks. Excellent commuting location to Manhattan. $125,000. Cash or rehab loan. Just listed! 

We find  and list handyman and fixer upper properties frequently and they sell fast because they are priced right. These are not foreclosures or short sales. They are owned by private individuals who are liquidating them and pricing them for the condition for a fast sale. They will not last at these prices, so you need to act quickly. Check back for new listings that are priced for instant sweat equity. We get new ones all the time and they do go fast. 

I very seldom re blog another author, but this was, in my view, a very timely message. All too often, it is suggested to me that that those I refer my clients to, such as lawyers, mortgage officers or home inspectors, are somehow in my pocket. Nothing could be further from the truth. No transaction is worth my reputation or license. One of my favorite inspectors, Frank Hope, had a fantastic “bedside manner” to be sure, but he played it straight and accurately, and there were times that deals died because of his findings. Yet there were those who thought he was conspiring with me to smooth deals over. 

It seldom came up, but I never heard a peep again from anyone when Frank inspected the home I bought for my family back in 2007. He was good enough for me. Frank has retired, and I sure miss him. 

The bottom line is that if I recommended an inspector or other professional for that matter, it is because they’ll do right by you, the client. That is paramount. Deal come and go, but you only get one reputation. And one license. 

Upon occasion I get a call from a cooperating agent who is calling to show one of my short sale listings. I welcome these calls- anything I can do to equip the buyer’s agent with data to help the sale is something I am eager to do. They might have questions on the layout, condition, showing instructions, and even parking, which is a big deal in many parts of New York. The one thing I can’t answer on a home with no offers is the status of the short sale.

Have you contacted the bank?

Have you started the process with the lender?

How close is the bank to a decision on the short sale?

There are dozens of variations, but until the lender has a full package with a signed contract, there is no short sale status to report on (even then, there are no exit polls- we know when the decision is rendered). Until I have a buyer, the question is a non-issue. This is the same in New York as any other place in the country with short sale agents I have communicated with. 

The reason for this is simple: the short sale decision process is a serpentine odyssey of red tape with a cog in the machine of a huge monolithic financial entity, a revolving door of contacts at the lender, the whim of whatever negotiator I might be fortunate enough to contact, and after the whole crapshoot, it often goes to the “investor,” which is a whole other nonsensical conundrum. There are no partial short sales. We can’t get a head start with the lender, try as we may in some cases, because the lender will not consider an incomplete package.

Without a buyer, there is no scope for a decision or progress report. I appreciate the buyer agent wanting to feel things out for their buyer, but the status of the bank’s decision does not exist until their buyer signs a contract. 

Just over a year ago, Westchester County settled a lawsuit with the government that called for it to build 750 affordable housing units in mostly white part of the county. The background of the case is lengthy and the local discussion of the matter has been heated in some quarters. The bottom line was a promise from the county to put over $50 million toward the housing. 

Earlier this month, plans were announced to build a 51-unit complex in Larchmont, replacing a project which would only have 5 of the 51 units be deemed “affordable”. Larchmont is small, just over a square mile, and has a population of 7,000. There is a concern about development and environmental impact among residents, but I doubt that the project will not go forward. Other towns have plans for expanding affordable housing as a result of the settlement as well, and while you can’t fight city hall, city hall can’t beat Uncle Sam. 

There will be more on this as the remaining 699 units get planned and developed.