What does $168,000 buy in White Plains these days? That will get a very nice 900 square foot unit at the Gaylord cooperative in White Plains, such as the one we just closed this past week. This apartment  is a very spacious Junior 4 with brand new kitchen, granite breakfast area & windows. The Gaylord is a luxury doorman building with beautiful deck courtyard. The bathroom has separate tub & stall shower. The apartment has hardwood floors & many closets. Another great plus is that the modern laundry in house! As with most Junior 4’s, the dining area can also be used as office or extra bedroom. Another wonderful thing is the building’s close proximity to downtown White Plains- walking distance! Talk about convenience! This one is gone, but we’ll have others. 

2 Overlook Road, S-1, Sold by J. Philip Real Estate

Effective tomorrow, October 25, 2010, the Westchester-Putnam MLS will officially be known as the Empire Access MLS. Nothing else changes but the name. The entity, leadership, rules, members, phone numbers, staff and service will remain unchanged. The intention of the name change is to better reflect our serving 4 counties (Bronx, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess) and not just the two in our old name. 

As it is, most brokerages based in the Bronx have already joined the system, and the vast majority of listed properties in the Bronx are in our MLS. We have extensive involvement in Dutchess County as well. It took almost 2 years to decide on a name that resonated with the commonality of our different counties, and we took our name from the Empire State of New York. 

I am very proud to have the EAMLS as my home MLS, and prouder still to serve as an officer. 

While I do not actively recruit (too busy), the company has experienced organic, solid growth since its inception and our team has grown bigger and better with each passing year in spite of the economy. I am sure there are agents out there that are considering changing scenery, and J. Philip Real Estate might be a good fit. We can offer different things to different people. Many agents require autonomy and work well independently. Others need more support in a variety of ways. We can do both.  

If you want to improve your income and professional acumen, we might be a match. If you seek

• More Income 
• Growth
• Administrative support

I recall about 10 years ago that Warren Buffet was asked why he did not own more than a token amount of stock in Microsoft. His answer: I don’t know that business well enough to invest in it. Buffet knew insurance, soda, candy, razors, and other blue chips, but didn’t pretend to know software. My understanding is that he owns more stock in Microsoft now, but the lesson is that good investors put their money in a vehicle they know and understand. 

I work with some real estate investors who might be considered to have deep pockets; it is all a matter of perspective, however, because real estate is not a penny stock. Real estate is expensive, and is considered high risk/high reward. An investor’s fund for procuring and rehabbing properties might be enough for some to retire on to be sure, but it depends on your point of view. 

Sometimes, I am approached by people who figure out that if I know people who can write a six figure check for property that they would be great sources of capital for a great idea they have. I have been approached about water springs, sports complexes, stocks, and probably dozens of ideas for businesses that the person pitching thought my investors would be great partners for. 

They aren’t. Real estate investors often take a long time to build their funds, and they can lose it quickly if they go off the reservation into an expensive project they don’t understand. They know this, and they seldom stray off their path. We’ve even lost money on projects we were certain would have a healthy margin, and take it from me, real estate mistakes are expensive-really expensive. 

I have seen investors lose huge money firsthand in some properties that sounded good, but did not pan out. There is a joke my brother told me a while back that goes something like “Anyone can have a million bucks running their own restaurant. Just start out with two million.” And so it goes. 

So to those whom I have had to politely decline, I just want you to understand. It isn’t that I would prohibit anyone from running an idea past me or the investors I represent, but I do want you to know why we can’t say yes at this time. We have to be stewards of resources that we cannot gamble with. Risk- yes, gamble- no. 

Recently, a listing brokerage instructed one of my agents to include a HUD-1 as part of our client’s offer on that brokerage’s short sale listing. To say that it was a peculiar request is an understatement; The HUD-1, which is a mandatory form in any transaction involving a mortgage financing, itemizes and documents all expenses for both buyer and seller. In New York, especially Westchester and the Metropolitan area, it is prepared by the seller’s attorney in a short sale, with approval from the bank approving the short sale, the  buyer’s attorney, their bank attorney, and the title company. Aside from the real estate commission line item, there is no involvement of the real estate agent. 

While the request was for a “preliminary” HUD-1 and not the final form, the instruction for us to provide one was ill advised and questionable to my thinking. A I said, the form includes the seller’s expenses as well. How can the buyer’s agent possibly know the seller’s mortgage amount, mortgage payoff, back taxes, back payments, or other liens and expenses? The answer is that they can’t, unless the seller provides it. Why the seller would provide such information to the other side in a transaction is beyond me. They have their own fiduciary in their listing agent and attorney. 

Maybe they had a great, innovative point; if so, I didn’t glean it from their Kramdenesque stutter when I inquired. We had an offer. They needed to present it and crunch the numbers on behalf of their client. 

Upon occassion, I am contacted by “short sale investors” who promise my full commission, will buy my listing for cash, and re-list the house with me after they close. Tantalizing, huh? Oh, just one little thing: They want to negotiate the short sale themselves. In other words, they want to be an authorized third party designated by my seller client to deal with my seller’s bank. 

No deal. You know who deals with my seller’s lender? Myself and the seller’s attorney as their fiduciary advocates. The bank won’t even talk to us for reasons of confidentiality without a signature authorization from the client. For a seller to authorize the purchaser to negotiate on their behalf with the bank for the short sale is antithetical to any agency rule on a listed home I have ever known. 

As I said, it is the seller’s broker and lawyer who negotiate a short sale in New York. There are some outside companies who are paid by the seller to do so for a fee, but I do not hire them. I refer my short sale clients to an attorney who can do short sales in their sleep. 

The point here is that everyone needs to play their position in a short sale transaction, and that our fiduciary responsibilities and duties to be an advocate don’t go out the window when a short sale is involved. 

Who negotiates for the seller? It should be the people the sellers hire, preferably their agent and attorney, not the people they sell to. 

For happy reasons, the company has joined the Staten Island Multiple Listing Service. Thankfully, my brokerage is growing, and with that we see an expansion in our service area. I had to go there today to inspect and take photographs of several properties, and while in the area I thought it best to kill two birds with one stone and apply for MLS membership in person rather than via fax and mail. 

So, in my jeans and flannel shirt I arrived at the Staten Island Board of REALTORS office and was treated as if I were wearing a tux and tails. After filling out my application and providing my letter of good standing from Westchester, I was walked through the procedures and rules by Linda in membership. She was very helpful. As a matter of fact, given that is was a Friday afternoon and they had a retreat next week, I was humbled at how much she cared. 

SI MLS does a number if things I like. For one, they have a token system for MLS log ins which is run almost exactly like a supra lockbox system: You are provided with a token which sincs with the MLS and issues a unique code to verify the log in every time you sign in. No token and update code, no log in. 

And that way, NO ONE can give MLS access to a non-member. It is brilliant security. 

Another high standard is a minimum of three (3) photos of the property are mandatory for all listings. Since some of the areas I work have listings with no photos for the entire time the home is listed, that is great. Obviously, more photos are better, and my average listing has over 20 photos, but not all brokers do that. And thee photos as a minimum is the highest set bar I have seen in 2 states and 8 MLS systems.

Lastly for this post (but certainly not for the SI MLS), all members have automatic accounts with Centralized Showing Services as part of the MLS-wide appointment system. Everyone uses CSS. No exceptions. I use CSS in Westchester, but I pay for it separately. We had a vote on making them an MLS-wide service like Staten Island, but the measure didn’t pass. They got it done on Staten Island, and that ensures better cooperation and management of showings. 

I mentioned to Linda that I am a Vice president in my home MLS, and she introduced me to their President and CEO, who were both in today. The president is actually an Active Rain member, Kathleen O’Leary. Mr. Kreuger, the CEO, had a very nice talk with me about how the MLS systems of the outer boroughs could work together better, and I will remain in touch with him on that front. 

I love professionals, and I love well run organizations. I will love doing business on Staten Island. 

Not long ago, a client requested that I run a print ad on a listing that had not yet sold. I was resistant at first because of the disappointing results my print advertising had garnered since 2005 or so, but the seller really believed it would work. My client believed that there was a demographic out there that flew under the radar of my considerable online-based marketing, and based on that theory, I contacted the paper. 

I have to say: I write a pretty good ad (pats self on back). I don’t know if it is my English degree, learning to truncate big messages into small spaces like Twitter, blogging, or my 22 years in sales and marketing. Maybe it all factors in. At any rate, my representative at Gannett was absolutely delighted to hear from me. He asked me how business, was, how my family is, and if this was a one-time ad or if I wanted it to be for several editions. It was really nice catching up with him. 

After crafting a strong advert with a URL pointing at the  property link in addition to my personal mobile phone, the advertisement ran in the weekend real estate section. 

And boy howdy, did I get calls. Over half a dozen inquiries. 

1. Inquiry Number One was a sales representative at the Pennysaver, who called on the ad posing as an interested buyer so I’d call him back. I then got a sales pitch to advertise in the Pennysaver. 
2. Inquiry Number Two was a sales representative at a New York tabloid, offering me a great deal in her paper. 
3. Inquiry Number Three was from an ethnic newspaper, promising me lots of buyers from that specific demographic if I advertise in their paper. 
4. Inquiry Number Four was another Pennysaver that serves the Bronx and lower Westchester. They think I’d sell a ton of homes were I to give them a shot. Their real estate section seems to shrink every time I check. 
5. Inquiry Number Five is a small community newspaper offering me another great deal. 
6. Inquiry Number Six was a supermarket picture booklet that also seems to have gotten a touch of anorexia since I last paid them $500 for no results. 
7. Inquiry Number Seven was a guy I met with 6 months ago who tried to sell me on advertising on supermarket shopping carts. He was curious to know if I had changed marketing philosophies. 

What can you buy in Rhinebeck for $373,000? We just listed and sold this classic 1837 colonial in the heart of the village. It is just under 1600 square feet on a third of an acre with a garage, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a rocking chair porch. It was restored in such a way as to preserve the original character, with an original claw tub in the main bath, an updated kitchen, and a fist floor laundry. Rhinebeck is a beautiful village, so just walking around the neighborhood is a treat. 

Listed and sold by J Philip Real Estate with special thanks to Broker Associate Tiffany Pratt. Just 110 days on market to contract. 

What Can You Buy in Cortlandt Manor for $255,000?

Well, how about a 2700 square foot contemporary with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on almost an acre and a half in the Croton Colony Community? This home closed last Wednesday, October 13. It has a fireplace, large eat in kitchen, sliding doors to the deck, dining room, and a bright airy feeling thanks to the skylights. It is in the Lakeland school district. The homeowners association membership includes a swimming pool and clubhouse. It was on the market only 22 days before going under contract and closed in 98 days. Clearly, the dollar buys more these days in Cortlandt Manor than even a year ago. 

The home was listed by Vivian Morales-Guerrero and sold by Ellise DiRoma, both of J. Philip Real Estate. .  

I am going to bang a drum I have been banging since the sub prime crisis in 2007 began to erode the equity of so many people, and it is simple: if the housing market is going to recover, we have to have to do better than a 20th century solution to our 21st century problem. We are facing the largest liquidation of property in the history of the republic, yet banks are doing nothing differently to dispense with their toxic assets than they were in the 1930’s, which is to foreclose, repossess, and dump. 

I would strongly assert, having worked with default properties a chunk of my career, that short sales are the answer to restoring the market to equilibrium and recovery, and yet lenders still have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the closing table when they ironically net far less after far longer on the REO side, where they are suddenly in a ridiculous hurry. 

The advantages are enormous:

• In a short sale, the bank doesn’t have to take 1-2 years to repossess the home. They avoid having a non-performing asset any longer than they have to. They get their money faster.
• In a short sale, there are no legal fees associated with a foreclosure. They save money. 
• In a short sale, the bank does not have to manage the property, put the utilities in their name, or winterize the property except in rare cases. No preservation company expenses, property management overhead, winterizations or utility costs. They save carrying costs.  
• No evictions. Short sales are seldom boarded up, vandalized, or vacant. They therefore net the lender more money.
• No sheriffs deeds, no right of redemptions headaches.
• No title ambiguities, which is a big concern in the wake of the foreclosure moratorium. 

The short sales help the borrowers as well, because they are able to dispense with the property with dignity, avoid the credit catastrophe of a foreclosure, and re-enter the pool of buyers far sooner and with less shell shock and trauma the rest of their lives.  

Sadly, the architecture of lenders is still that of 15, 25 and 50 years ago: None of the brighter bulbs work in liquidation or loss mitigation, and the staff on the REO side is the only part of their workforce motivated to sell and close. That is fine when foreclosures and distress are rare and relegated to deadbeats, but the USA didn’t become a nation of deadbeats in the last 18 months, we had our bank accounts raided. We lost our jobs. We lost our equity. And folks deserve better than hourly grunts who lose faxes, watch clocks, and treat red tape like a badge of honor.

Moreover, the American people deserve executives who can show a modicum of remorse or contrition for their royal screw up, are willing to change their corporate culture to adapt to the need for more short sales in a shorter time frame, and, maybe, just maybe, stop referring to the property in abstract terms like “assets” when they should instead understand that these are their lifeblood customers, and the “asset” is that lifeblood’s home. 

It is a shame that there is no political will on either side of the isle to hold lenders feet to the fire to affect meaningful change, and defaulted homeowners must contend with a mad race to work a miracle with an uncaring, unresponsive monolithic entity before that monster forecloses, repossesses their home, wrecks their credit and crushes their dreams. This is not progress.