Westchester Real Estate Talk

By Deborah Ball, RE/MAX Times Associate Editor

CONSUMERS, BEWARE: Bogus ads touting advance fee loans like this one have appeared in some local U.S. newspapers from a fake company called "Remax Financial." It is not affiliated with RE/MAX International or RE/MAX brokerages.

A fake company is using the RE/MAX name to scam consumers for loans - and RE/MAX International asks you to be on the alert for suspicious activity.

The purported company,"Remax Financial," has been advertising advance fee loans in local newspapers in Illinois, Iowa, Georgia and other states since December.

RE/MAX International sued "Remax Financial," which is not in any way affiliated with RE/MAX International or any of its real estate brokerages, for trademark infringement and dilution, unfair competition and cybersquatting, in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in February.

In its ads, "Remax Financial" directed borrowers to a toll-free phone number, (866) 398-3670. After RE/MAX International contacted the company responsible for leasing the number, it was briefly disconnected, but has since been reactivated. No one answers the line, but a voice message thanks callers for contacting RE/MAX and requests that they leave a message.

"Remax Financial" also operated a Web site - remaxf.com - to advertise its illegal loan services.

To read the full story, please click here.

Breeding season for the hoofed mammals runs roughly from October through December, and with their minds on mating, apparently they get a little loopy and careless about cars"

Throughout Westchester County you can see deer on the roadsides.  Even as far south as Ardsley and Yonkers.  Driving at night can be dangerous during deer mating season as they dash onto the roadways without warning.

Excerpted from the New York Times:

"October, November and December are the peak months for vehicle collisions with deer. The high point is in mid-November, the peak of the rutting season. "They are breeding, and many of these deer have other things on their minds," Compounding the problem will be the start of hunting season. Westchester does not have a firearms season, but long-bow hunting is permitted from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. While hunters are in the woods, deer may be driven from their natural habitat into more developed areas, including major roadways. (Longbow hunting is prohibited within 500 feet of a dwelling, so it is unlikely that any archers will be taking aim along the Saw Mill River or the Taconic State Parkways.)"

From our local newspapers, the Journal News, here.

What's new is that now you can get the driving directions you have always been able to get but in addition now you can get public transporation times and routes when you enter in an address, either train or bus, and you can get walking routes as well.  Very cool to help getting around. Check out this short video and then visit Google Maps, here.

Real Estate agents have all kinds of ways of going from beginning to end in a Real Estate transaction.  Some agents put in an offer, communicate attorney information and then disappear into some large black hole never communicating the progress of the deal.  Others agents will return an email or phone call when asked, others don't stay on top of their deals and don't know how to respond.

This is what happened to me on a recent transaction. The other agent is rather new in the business and her client was a relative.  This agent thought it would be okay to pick which information she would divulge and would not permit the listing agent to properly do their job.  Even in the climate we find ourselves with the banks, where listing agents in order to do their job property need to properly scrutinize a buyer this is how she proceeded.  Other than understanding that this is the job her perception was that the listing agent was unnecessarily giving her a hard time by questioning the ability of her buyer to get a mortgage.

I personnally love it when an agent informs me along the way as to the status of transaction.  A call that says, my buyer has submitted his application to the bank, my buyer has gotten a provisional approval, the appraisor will be coming next week, my buyer has submitted their application to the the co-op board, my buyer is going to be interviewed on such and such, etc.  I find these calls invaluable for an owner.  I always approach my transactions this way and keep a listing agent and seller informed.  It helps a seller plan their next step.

Buyer's need to understand that properly analyzing a buyers ability to purchase a property helps a seller make a favorable decision as to whether to accept a buyer' offer.  Seller's need to feel comfortable that a buyer is qualfiied.  It is no longer enough to just present a bank pre-approval.  Listing agents may require further information, may call the mortgage broker or bank the buyer went to and ask some tough questions.  Be prepared.

Below is a link to the article that appeared in the local newspaper in Westchester County, The Journal News.  According to the Westchester Putman MLS 3rd Quarter Report:

1.  Home owners in Westchester County it would seem that a greater ability to hold their properties off the market and wait for some calming or reversal in the market;

2.  The foreclosure problems devastating other real estate market throughout the country are not as dire here even though the number of foreclosures have increased and what is going on in the financial markets will effect us because of our proximity to Wall Street;

3.  The unemployment rate has edged up;

4.  The number of sales has slowed dramatically but some buyers can still buy and are finding the pricing to be good, it is a buyer's market overall in this county with the number of months of inventory at 9.6;

From the Journal News here.

I think there are misunderstandings between buyers, sellers, agents because expectations aren't expressed or clearly understood.  So some rules of the road.

1. If you fill out a form on a website it is possible that an agent will contact you.  We are people too. If you would prefer to not have a conversation with an agent it is okay to be polite.  It is okay to say No, thank you.  You do not have to slam the phone down.
2. If you bring the kids to view properties that's great.  Please hold their hands when you go through a house, please leave cookies and food in the car.
3. If you are going to be late, please call.  Most likely we have made a bunch of appointments and there may be homeowners waiting for you, or a homeowner has gone out and will return after you view their home, not calling is not fair.
4. If you respect us we will respect you.  We are all licensed by our states and there are certain things we need to tell you, we must.  It is the law.
5. If you call after 5pm real estate offices are closed and we can't make appointments to show you properties, we need to make appointments, schedule showings and will not drop everything to run all over with you, please plan ahead.
6. We are not a free service.  We are hard working individuals, we make our living selling real estate, we are educated, trained, experienced, some respect please.
7. We reserve the right to not be yelled at, be taken advantage of, treated badly, kept waiting every time we make an appointment with you (it's not okay).
8. If we show you a property we expect that you buy that property with us, that's only fair.
9. Commmon sense works.  Ask questions about how it works, what's okay and what isn't we can talk about it.

Thank you.

After several years of discussion New York State granted the Town of Greeburgh $43,000 to build a dog park.  This dog park officially opened this week and is a state of the art dog park.  There is an area for small dogs and there is an area for large dogs.  There are trails that dogs will love.  This dog park is located in E. Runsbrook Park which is a Town Park and will be maintained by the Town.  Private donations are being requested from dog lovers and pet owners.

There is proper etiquette for dogs and dog owners going to a dog park.  Dogs need to interact and bully dogs are not welcome.  To read what to look for, Dog Park Safety.

This park is located off of Dobbs Ferry Road.  Taking the Sprain Brook Parkway South taking the Greenburgh/Ardsley Exit.  Right at the Stop Sign (Dobbs Ferry Road) and then another immediate right.

Cab Calloway lived in Greenburgh, New York on Knollwood Road. His daughter and family are trying to repurchase the familyhome and turn it into a museum. In case you don't know who Cab Calloway is here is a segment from Wikipedia and a You Tube clip of him performing. From the Journal News today:

"The family sold the Greenburgh home after Calloway died in 1994 and has since begun a fundraising campaign to reacquire and renovate it. Calloway's daughter, Ceceila Lael Calloway, will hold a small gathering for friends and family with live music there Sunday to raise money for the Cab Calloway Music, Arts, and Cultural Preservation Foundation"

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was a famous American jazz singer and bandleader. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's Orchestra featured performers that included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.

During the first two weeks of July hundreds of short films were submitted for considersation in a contest sponsored by local corporations. Out of these hundreds are 15 finalists that you can view and vote for your favorites, here.  To see all of the videos, here. 

If you are thinking of selling your home you will have a discussion with your Agent about how to provide access for showings.  The easier you make it for buyer's to see your home the more showings you will get.

In Westchester County our Multiple Listing Service uses the Sentrilock System.  Each member of the MLS has a card that is about the size of a credit card.  We have to "renew" this card every three days through a card reader.  The showings are recorded on this card which is encoded and when we renew it on the interenet it records which properties we have accessed.

You and your agent wil know at all times who has been in your house, it is recorded.  Appointments need to be made prior to showings.  There are some agents who belong to our MLS and may be from another area so they don't have a "Sentricard".  These agents have to call the listing agent for special instructions on how to access the property.  At all times we need to verify that the individuals calling for access are indeed licensed with the New York Department of State.

There Sentrilock boxes hang on fences, front doors and I have even seen them hanging up a tree because a homeowner felt more comfortable that this box not be in plain view from the street.

When I call to make an appointment at a property the last thing I want to hear is that there is no lockbox and I need to pick up a key.  I know that for some homeowners the thought of a lockbox is uncomfortable but truthfully when there is no lockbox I can't always show the house.  Sometimes my buyer is pressed for time and I can't make it to your listing agents office to pick up a key and return it after the showing - too time consuming. 

Easy access equals more showings which in turn equals more offers.

Copyright © by Miriam Bernstein, All Rights Reserved*Allowing Brokers Access to Show Your Home*