Westchester Real Estate Talk

Yesterday I showed a property in an area of mid Westchester County.  The listing agent was finishing up an Open House for Brokers on the property.  This listing agent doesn't know me.  For whatever reasons our paths have not crossed yet.  I had called her office to make an appointment to show the house to a buyer at the end of her broker open house.  When I called her office 6 people passed the phone around trying to find out what the showing instructions are. Seriously.  Six people told me that they didn't know how I could show this house.  When one didn't they would scream out into the office and ask if anyone else knew.  I called the listing agent, how do I show this house?  She got irate and told me to call her office.  I called her office again and again not one person knew the instructions.  I called the listing agent back and very strongly told her that her office didn't have a clue, how could I show this house. Finally, she told me that there would be Sentrilock on the house when she was finished with her Open House. Yikes.

Today I had an appointment to show a house and this time the Sentrilock asking for a code.  When I made the appointment the office involved did not mention that a security code might be needed.  Again three agents, one secretary and 20 minutes of bouncing around.  One individual got on the phone and said this is Stacey what can I do for you?  Who are you Stacy?  What can I do for you?  Yikes.

I wonder how many homeowners are wondering why their properties are not being shown.  I wonder how many agents simply give up and don't show a property.  A lot of real estate offices do not do this well.  Offices open at 9am but just try to make an appointment at 9am.  More likely the computer will be turned on and ready a 9:20 or so. Yikes.

Why is it okay to put just anyone on the phones to take care of inquiries or make appointments.  Someone who just answer the phones. Yikes.

This is the story of a very sad house.  This is a foreclosure.  This house is magnificent.  It is a brick colonial wiith with columns in the front.  It is symmetrical.  The lawn is overgrown, there is debris in the front and back lawns.  It is priced very low.  When you approach this house you think that the interior is wonderful and that with a little clean up you can restore this to it's previous glory.  You open the door....

The kitchen is gone and there are holes in the walls.  All of the bathroom fixtures, including the toilets are gone.  The layout is choppy.  Instead of a classic center hall that needs a little love you find a house destroyed with a layout that is choppy with several layers and steps leading here and there.

This house is very sad.  I am hoping somebody takes this project on and turns what is beautiful curb appeal into a wonderful interior as well.

The moral of the story, you can't judge a book by it's cover.  Driving by houses doesn't always tell the whole story. 

I am getting, as I am sure we all are, 2-3 calls per week that go along these lines.

I: Hi, I am working with Yahoo.  How are you today?  (this is soooo irritating)

M: I'm fine who is this?

I: My name is Irritation. I want to help improve your business.  I see that you are not on the 1st page of results for " Such and Such" search term on Yahoo.  I can guarantee, yes I said guarantee, you results within ten days.

M:  What makes you think I need help?

I:  How could you not?

M:  You are kidding right?

I:  No, I bought the rights for all of New York State and for only a one time set up fee of $179.00 and $79 /month I can guarantee you results.

M:  Really.  There are ten slots on the first page of results on Yahoo.  Will you stop soliciting after you get ten people to sign up?   Ten people to sign up for " Such and Such " search term?

I:  I don't like your attitude.  If you are going to take that attitude with me, I am not interested in working with you.  Click.

Can you imagine?  What morons!

Larchmont is a Village in the Town of Mamaroneck.  They both have separates sevices and pay taxes for them.  Larchmont is a small Village in lower Westchester County with under 7000 people and is about a square mile.  It is part of the Mamaroneck School District.  With soaring taxes in Westchester County it would make sense to consolidate some of the services offered.

Right now Larchmont shares a library, garbage collection, recycling and property assessment.  Larchmont is self governed.  Larchmont has it's own police and fire department, public works and courts.

One of the trustess of the Village of Larchmont, Jim Millstein, has run the numbers and believes a consolidation or some other form of merger would taxpayers from paying duplicate taxes.

There are other areas throughout Westchester County that if they are not thinking along these lines probably should.  With rising gas price, home heating costs any relief on taxes for our homeowners is a good thing.

Yesterday one of my buyers drove by a house that seemed to be of interest.  They said that they saw two signs on the front lawn, one for sale by owner, and one was an agent sign.  They were curious why there were two signs on the front lawn and so we drove over to the property.  I called the agent.  I said what is going on with this house and may I show it to my buyer.

The secretary said, just a moment please.  The agent got on the phone.  He said that the owner had bought the house at auction 9 months ago.  He had paid $1,210,000.  While he was deciding what to do with it he rented it out to a group of students for about $3000.00 a month.  The students stripped the house of everything.  The kitchen is gone, the bathrooms are gone, the floors are wrecked and the house is in total disrepair.

The market has deteriorated since he purchased this house and now he has to put quite a bit of money into it to restore it so he can sell it.  The agent said that the owner put the for sale by owner sign out because he is hoping against hope that someone will come along and pay him at least what he paid for it.

Unlikely in this market. 

For a while now I have had the Blackberry 8830 International Phone which I loved except that it doesn't have a camera.  I used to have a Treo 650 with a camera which I used all the time.  The Curve is now $150 with rebates from Verizon Wireless which is the only network in Westcheser County that works well.

I finally realized how much I miss my camera on the phone and yesterday went to Verizon and got the Curve.  It's great.  It has a camera, video, music player, video player, it is quicker to get onto the internet now.  It syncs seamlessly with Outlook.  The screen is great, it's light. I love this phone.

Making a decision about a phone is not so easy.  You are committed to one year at least or have to pay full price for a phone that you will want to trade up in a year because the technology changes so quickly.

I made my decision, I will have to live with it.  So far so good.

PS:  If anyone wants to buy my Blackberry 8830 (mint) let me know.

Last week I did a post about dual agency.  I outlined some of the issues I have with dual agency, explained that in my opinion it is fraught with problems. I also explained that when you agree to dual agency you are giving up loyalty and obedience.

So, I got emails.  Several emails from brokers who do dual agency and have no problem with it.  I had a conversation with one broker who says that if he is holding an open house and a first time buyer walks in the agent tells the buyer he is working for the seller and "he will be fair" to the buyer.

I questioned this agent.  But, did you explain to the buyer what "you'll be fair means".  Did you explain to this buyer that they are entitled to be represented and have their own agent and they chose not to be? 

No, this broker said I don't say that because this is a business and I am entitled to both sides of the deal.

Well that explains that, see the problem!

With natural gas and oil prices so high right now energy conservation on the roads and in homes is coming to the forefront.  Efficient bulbs, windows, insulation that are eco friendly are becoming more familiar to the public and the trend will continue.

"Ms. Meyer said their goal was to show that something energy-conscious "doesn't have to look as if you got it off the bottom shelf of a health-food store."

"It doesn't have to smell like hemp," she said.

Its rating was built into that price. LEED - an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the hot designer label, and platinum is the badge of honor - the top classification given by the U.S. Green Building Council. "There's kind of a green pride, like driving a Prius," said Brenden McEneaney, a green building adviser to the city of Santa Monica, adding, "It's spreading all over the place."

Small and efficient, here

There are many thoughts on how to deal with what is included and what is excluded with properties.  In my area for exlusions a lot of agents simply put "call l/a" to protect themselves or because they haven't taken the time to go over this with the seller or the seller wasn't sure about what they were leaving.  The problem with this is that when a buyer's agent is showing a property and trying to formulate an offer with a buyer they can't give a full picture.  If a buyer formulates an offer and then finds out that the ceiling fans are not included or the light fictures it can change what they want to offer.

It can be difficult for the buyer's agent to call the listing agent at that moment to get the list of exlusions if there is one.  The buyer's agent should be able to answer the buyer's questions as they go through the house so that the buyer can get a correct picture.  This might cut down on a lot of last minute changes in offers and buyers feeling that certain things because they are in the house and "attached" should be included.

Have you ever submitted an offer and after submitting it  been told that so and so is not included.  That buyer has included the cost of that item in their offer, no fair.  The buyer's say "okay I m willing to pay such and such because I don't have to pay for such and such, it is included" onl to find out that it isn't included.  That can sour a buyer on a property, create bad feelings and change an offer. As a buyer ask what is excluded and what is included before you make your offer!

Why can't listing agents just list what is not included on the lising to avoid  this issue?

In the real estate market we find ourselves in now with profits for sellers shrinking, there is the temptation for some to try to sell on their own.  Sunday's New York Times has an article about a couple in White Plains who are trying to sell on their own.  They are internet savvy, researched how to a sell a property and now believe they can do it themselves.  The article states that the owner is an Insurance Agent.  I am wondering what he would say if I, a professional realtor, needing insurance, would start to research buying insurance on the internet and then without the help of an agent went ahead and bought that insurance to save on the commission.  I bet he would say:

YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE HECK YOU ARE DOING!!!!

This gentlemen has his property on the market.  Has not receved any offers but will not list with an agent.

Gee, Why Not?  Because it Might Sell?

So, where is the logic.  He doesn't want to list the property because he wants to save the commission.  Yet he is not selling.  He doesn't know what sale price an agent might bring him, he isn't marketing it, he isn't a professional and he thinks he is saving something.  He doesn't know how to negotiate, he doesn't know the pitfalls of financing now, he doesn't know his way around marketing.

I am saving how much? How can I be saving anything if the property isn't on the market?  Where is the logic?

When you make your decision about your agent solely on commission, you get into trouble and get what you pay for...........

Cutting out the middle man, here.