The Super Bowl yesterday was one of the best games that I've seen in a long time. The title of this post is inspired by The Who's half time performance. Unfortunately, it was the only inspiration that I got from The Who. Of course, my expectations might have been a little high considering that they were my first concert in October of 1982 at Shea Stadium. It was billed as The Who's Farewell Tour. Little did I know that they would still be performing nearly 28 years after they said "goodbye." But I digress.
I have not been writing about real estate at all, which is why I haven't been posting much on Active Rain. However, I have gotten feedback from Rainers letting me know that they are interested in reading my blog. This weekend, I posted two stories about my kids on my new blog www.Waldo2010.wordpress.com. Here are the links to the two posts:
1991, Tom Cochrane sang “Life is a highway…I want to ride it all night long.”Life in general may be a highway, but for those in sales, life tends to be more of a “long and winding road,” full of twists and turns.The life of a salesperson can be exciting one moment, and harrowing the next.When things are good, living on commission can be exhilarating.When things are slow, the thought of a regular paycheck suddenly becomes very appealing. Unfortunately, we can’t have the best of both worlds.
Life seems to be about creating routines.Sometimes we choose our routines consciously, sometimes unconsciously, and sometimes they are chosen for us.Every morning for the past couple of weeks or so, after my daughter and I drop my son off at school, I help her out of her car seat, get her feet on the ground, and she takes off running towards the front door.Usually when she is about half-way there, she’ll shout out “On your mark…get set…GO!”Gotta love a kid that knows how to give herself an edge!
Even with her head start, I still have the speed to win if I really wanted to, although I suspect that the time is coming sooner than I think where I will no longer be letting my kids beat me in a race.She is always excited when she gets to the door first and claims her victory.This is one race that I hope to lose for a long time to come.At some point, my little one will start to grow up, and most likely lose her enthusiasm for winning a fixed race.But for now, it is something that I look forward to.It starts the day off on a high note.
However, some days, I feel like I truly can’t get out of the starting blocks against an opponent that is not nearly as cute – the grind of life.As much as I have done to make improvements in my life, I am not immune to life’s disappointments and frustrations.Anyone who has ever worked in sales knows how frustrating it can be at times.There are some days when things are clicking on all cylinders and you feel like you are invincible.But there are also days where you feel like you can’t get out of your own way to get the job done.Yesterday was one of those days.
It seemed like every call that I made was met with some sort of road block or unnecessary negativity from the person on the other end.The temptation was there to just pack it in and call it a day before things got any worse.However, I set a goal to make a certain amount of calls, and I was going to make those calls even if every person piled on to an already challenging day.
As I reached the final call, I was relieved that the day was coming to an end.With the way that things were going, I had very little expectation of a positive outcome, but I made the call anyway.Success!The person on the other end of the line was very happy to hear from me.At that moment, I was very glad that I willed myself to keep going in the face of what seemed like endless defeats.Had I quit early, the day would have felt like a failure on two accounts.Striking out for the day is one thing, but quitting before reaching my self-imposed goal would have made the day feel like a total failure.
When I got done with the call, I checked my voicemail and actually got a return call from someone else that was ready to do business.We had a great conversation, and a few laughs as we shook our heads in disbelief at the problems that he was dealing with due to the robots that work in government.If I had given up on the day, I never would have made this connection.
Ultimately, a day that looked like it was going to be totally unproductive became a good day after all.If not for my renewed focus on self-improvement, I may very well have allowed the early results of the day to dictate my actions – rather than my focus on meeting my goals.Even though I already know this, I’m glad that a life lesson was reinforced yesterday…
I can only control my actions.I cannot control the actions or reactions of others, only how I respond to them.
On December 11, 2009, at 8:16pm, Olivia Grace Armand passed away (10 days before her 5th birthday). Olivia had a very rare metabolic storage disorder called I-Cell. When her mother, Trish (my good friend my high school), sent me the text letting me know that “Cookie” was gone, my heart sank. We spoke on the phone while Trish was still in the room with Olivia. Words cannot describe the sheer anguish that we both felt. To make matters worse, Trish’s other child, an adorable little boy named Mikey, suffers from the same rare disorder that took his sister’s life.
To read the rest of the post, and see how you can help make a difference with almost no effort, please click on the link below:
I recently started a new blog on Wordpress that is not real estate related. The theme of the blog is my pursuit of health, wealth and "happyness." A number of Active Rainers that are on Facebook have suggested that I post the content on Active Rain in addition to Wordpress.
I didn't feel that many of the posts were a good fit on AR. However, I did put one out today that I do find relevant. If you're interested in checking it out, please click on the link below:
When I was in grade school, we started each day with the pledge of allegiance. As is the case with most kids, it was more about routine than trying to gather any meaning from the words that I uttered each day. As I grew up, I could appreciate the significance of the pledge, but it still wasn't something that I contemplated much. This all changed in 2001 on 9/11, when I finally understood why the pledge of allegiance was so important. For the first time, I felt truly connected to every word, and to my fellow Americans.
There is no doubt that 9/11 was one of the worst days in American history. Having witnessed it up close and personal, I can say that I never thought that any positives would ever come of that day. I didn't realize it at the time, but one very big positive did come out of 9/11, although it seems that it was short-lived. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but in New York, there was a feeling in the air that we were all in this together. Patriotism was at an all-time high, and differences were put aside as we were united as one.
For those of you that read my blog, you may have noticed that I haven't been posting much lately. Initially, it was because I was dealing with some health issues that have since been resolved. During this time, I spent a lot of time watching CNBC, and following the financial crisis to see how it would affect me on both a personal and professional level. There was a brief time when I felt that sense that we were all going to come together again as our country was in crisis. Unfortunately, it didn't last, and a solid foundation began to fracture, until yesterday, when the fracture evolved into an abyss.
In an election year, there is bound to be political posturing, but I had hoped that politicians would come together for the good of the country in a time of crisis. They did NOT! Like petulant children that want to take their ball and go home if things don't go their way, our "leaders" turned an important piece of legislation aimed at saving our financial system, and quite frankly, our way of life, into a game of "he said, she said." Following the failing of the financial rescue bill to pass yesterday, the stock market plummeted by its largest margin ever (777 points). This sell-off was worse than the one that occurred after 9/11 and the stock market crash of 1987.
You would think that after yesterday's events, the politicians would have realized that they needed to come together to do their part to help remedy this financial crisis that is threatening a global meltdown. Instead, the ones that were interviewed immediately started the partisan finger-pointing that has become all too commonplace in recent times. The sad part is that the people that are going to suffer from the politician's actions are not just the Wall Street "fat cats" that seem to be bearing the brunt of the blame. Quite the contrary!
We are all going to suffer if this crisis is not addressed with swift action. This is not merely about a stock market sell-off. While a declining stock market is harmful to a lot of people, it is not nearly as dire as the frozen credit markets that now exist. It's obvious that frozen credit markets can hurt those that are looking for a mortgage, a car loan or a loan for a college education, but this runs much deeper than that. Businesses, both large and small, rely upon credit lines to keep their business operating. If this crisis persists, businesses will close, jobs will be lost, unemployment will rise, people will lose their homes, retirement accounts will be greatly diminished, and we may very well get to see what it is like to live through a depression.
Whether you are a Democrat or Republican right now is of little consequence. It doesn't matter if you support Obama, McCain or a third-party candidate in this year's election. This financial rescue plan is necessary to fix a broken system. Is any taxpayer happy about being a part of a $700 billion "bailout?" NO! But that doesn't mean that it isn't necessary. None of us like paying exorbitant medical bills, but we would do so if it were vital to our survival. Furthermore, there is a very good chance that this plan will cost far less than the $700 billion that has people up in arms.
Any money that is being invested in mortgage backed securities has the potential to not only be recouped, but it may also generate profits that will be returned to the taxpayers. This money is going to be used to purchase assets at a discount rate. As REALTORS®, we work with people all of the time that are looking for a "deal" on real estate, but "fire sale" bargains are rarely ever found by the small investor because they don't have the leverage to make it happen. Our government has more leverage than any other entity in the world. The problem is that its ego-driven gatekeepers must work as a team to allow the leverage to be used.
Perhaps it would be best to have the members of congress recite the pledge of allegiance over and over again until they fully understand the meaning behind it...
I pledge allegiance
To the flag
Of the United States of America
And to the republic
For which it stands
ONE NATION
Under God
INDIVISIBLE
With liberty and justice for all
It's time for the rhetoric to stop, and for action to start. For the good of the country that they serve, the members of congress need to stop campaigning and start doing the job that they were hired to do. Nothing less is expected of each of us in our respective careers.
Over the course of this series, we have explored many aspects of buyer representation. If you've missed any of the earlier segments, and would like to get caught up, you will find links at the bottom of the page to each previous post. In the last post, the various methods of compensating buyer agents were discussed. As important as it is to understand the compensation methods, it is equally as important to understand the role that each person plays during the course of the home buying process.
A successful transaction will occur when the buyer agent and the buyer clients work together as a team to achieve a common goal. The home search should be a proactive process by everyone involved, which makes communication essential. The more information that a homebuyer provides to a buyer agent, the more likely the homebuyer will be in finding the right home at the right price in the shortest amount of time. In today's day and age, homebuyers have the ability to help guide the home search by spending time looking at homes online, and also by driving around neighborhoods of interest.
While it is the duty of the buyer agent to provide buyer clients with a list of homes that fit the homebuyer's criteria, it is quite possible that the homebuyer will discover homes of interest on their own. It is important for homebuyers to remember to pass along any pertinent information to their buyer agent so that the buyer agent is given the opportunity to do the job that they were hired to do. If a homebuyer with a buyer's agent does decide to view homes on their own, there are some simple rules that should be followed:
[1] DISCLOSE YOUR REPRESENTATION - As a homebuyer, it is possible for you to walk into an open house that is being held by another agent, or even a "For Sale By Owner." If you are represented by a buyer's agent, you should let the person holding the open house know that you have representation, and provide them with your buyer agent's business card. At this point, they may or may not allow you to tour the home. Even if you are allowed to tour the home, it is likely that you will need to return to the home with your buyer's agent before making any offers.
[2] DO NOT DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION - Any agent holding an open house will have a fiduciary responsibility to the seller. Agents are trained to ask leading questions to gather information, but you are not required to give any information that could hurt you in negotiations. Seemingly harmless conversation can result in the agent learning information about the homebuyer that must be disclosed to the seller. In the case of a "For Sale By Owner," homebuyers should also avoid providing any information that could be used against them in negotiations.
[3] CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM - This is the title to a clever TV show, but it also sound advice for all homebuyer, especially those that are viewing homes without their buyer agent present. Aside from keeping personal information close to the vest, homebuyers should also keep an even keel when viewing homes. If the agent representing the seller or the "For Sale By Owner" sees a great deal of enthusiasm about the home, they are likely to use this information when it comes time to negotiate.
[4] GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE - Once a homebuyer has disclosed that they are working with a buyer's agent, and the person holding the open house has allowed the homebuyer to tour the home, the homebuyer is well within their rights to try and gather information that can help themselves in negotiations. The key question is finding out the motivation of the seller. A savvy listing agent will not disclose this information, nor will a savvy "For Sale By Owner," but there are a number of each out there that will offer up helpful information. Any information learned should be passed along to the buyer agent.
At times, a proactive homebuyer will feel that they are doing the work of the buyer's agent, which may lead to questions as to why they even bothered to hire the buyer's agent in the first place. In the next post in the series, homebuyers will learn that that most of the work that the buyer agent does takes place after a home is found.
There are 525,600 minutes in an average year. Being that this year was a leap year, there were an additional 1440 minutes added to that total. For the majority of these minutes, we all go about our lives without taking time to reflect. Life is too busy for most people to do so. However, we should never be too busy to observe a moment of silence at least once each year on the anniversary of 9/11.
In a post that I wrote earlier this week, entitled The Other 9/11 Victims, I spoke about the victims of 9/11 that do not have their names read in a ceremony because they died as a result of the aftermath of 9/11 years later. In this post, I introduced Mike Ryan, a Hauppauge resident, beloved family man and football coach. Coach Mike passed away in November. Cancer caused by his heroic efforts took his life way too soon. This was the first 9/11 that Mike's children were in school since their father's passing.
When my son came home from school on 9/11, I asked him what they did in school to honor those that have lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks. His answer made me angry, sad and disappointed all at once. The school did nothing, aside from flying the flag at half mast. There was no moment of silence observed, not at 9:59am, when the first tower fell or at 10:29am, when the second tower fell.
Tonight, there was a dedication made to Coach Mike Ryan at the HYO Complex in Hauppauge. The details of this event will be a separate post during the week. I got the chance to speak to Mike's wife at length after the dedication ceremony. She and I discussed many things, including the lack of an observation of 9/11 in the middle school with a moment of silence. The middle school starts their day even earlier, so they had the opportunity to have a moment of silence at 8:46am, when the first plane hit the Twin Towers, and at 9:03am, when the second plane hit.
Mike Ryan's wife complained to the middle school, and was given a very poor excuse as to why there was no observation, even though there was one in all of the schools last year. The reason was that "it is too hard on the kids." What a disgrace! Mike Ryan's children deserved better. All of the children of Hauppauge deserved better.
The media spends a good portion of the day remembering those that lost their lives. Any child that sees the news on 9/11 is exposed to the coverage. I am all for protecting our children from the evil in the world, and sheltering them as much as possible from the bad in this world. However, there is no reason for them not to spend a moment in silence on 9/11. This is not about going into graphic details of the events of 9/11. It's about paying their respect to those whose lives were tragically cut short because of the events.
Thankfully, many families were a part of the ceremony to honor Mike Ryan tonight, so our children got the chance to pay their respect to Mike and his family. Many more families were not in attendance tonight, so their children did not get the opportunity to have their moment of silence.
My hope is that the Hauppauge School District will see the error of their ways and rectify this situation for next year and beyond. We owe it to the Mike Ryan's of the world to take one minute out of the 525,600 minutes that are in a year, to have a moment of silence.
The following is a Long Island Real Estate Market Trend Report featuring statistical trends from six school districts in Suffolk County and six school districts in Nassau County.
The market reports provide a year-over-year comparison (2007 vs. 2008) of August home sales, July statistics, in addition to year-over-year comparisons of the first quarter and second quarter statistics. Broken down by school district, the market trend reports provide information about listing price, sales price and average days on market.
It should be noted that some of the luxury markets have less transactions, and wider price fluctuations, so the trend is not always as clear as those markets with more activity and a narrower price range.
In addition to the market trend reports for the 12 school districts across Nassau and Suffolk County, this report also tracks the trends of Waterfront homes, New Construction and Bank Owned Homes on Long Island.
Below, you will find links to each of the 12 mid-year market reports, followed by the niche market reports.
For the purpose of this report, new construction is defined as homes that were built within the current and last calendar years (2007 & 2008).
It was discussed in the original post that there is not a lot of new construction on Long Island by way of comparison to homes that are being resold. However, there is a wide variety of new construction across Long Island in various price ranges and towns. Although there are very few large developments being built on Long Island, there is a growing inventory of new construction homes to choose from.
By studying the trends in new construction, you will be able to track the inventory of new homes on the market, in addition to the new homes that have sold. The information provided in this month's report includes the number of new homes that came on the market, and the number of new homes that closed during the month of August, in addition to the first and second quarters and July of 2007 and 2008. Average listing prices and sales prices are also be provided, along with a trend analysis.
If you have any questions about new construction on Long Island, please feel free to contact me directly. If you would like to stay current with the new construction market on Long Island, you can either check back for regular updates, or send me an e-mail requesting to be put onto an e-mail list with the updates. My contact information is listed at the bottom of the page.
The following is the market data for the month of August. The reports are broken down by homes that are priced under $1 million, homes between $1,000,000 - $1,999,999, and homes priced at $2 million and higher.
LONG ISLAND NEW CONSTRUCTION HOMES - UNDER $1 MILLION
TREND ANALYSIS: Inventory numbers are still high, but they have started to increase at a slower pace over the last two months. The average list price and average sales price was the lowest of the year so far, but still slightly higher than 2007. The ratio between the average sales price and list price remained fairly steady, and the number of days on market improved since July.
There is still plenty of inventory available for those that are looking to purchase a new home. The declining rate of new inventory is likely the result of less housing starts and more closings due to price reductions.
Homebuyers should keep in mind that the prices may begin to rise again as inventory declines. This is an excellent buying opportunity for those that are in the market for a new home for under $1 million.
LONG ISLAND NEW CONSTRUCTION HOMES - $1,000,000 - $1,999,999
TREND ANALYSIS: The amount data in this price range is so small to accurately determine the market trends, especially when you factor in the wide price range. However, inventory has really started to slow down, so it is possible that the prices will be on the rise once the inventory starts to be depleted. The lower ratio of sold price to list price indicates that builders may be becoming more flexible with their pricing to reduce their inventory. The average days on market improved during August.
There are still a number of good opportunities for homebuyers looking for a new home in this price range.
LONG ISLAND NEW CONSTRUCTION HOMES - $2 MILLION AND OVER
TREND ANALYSIS: There is even less data to work with in the $2M and up range than the $1-2M range. Due to the limited amount of activity, it is not possible to determine a market trend with any accuracy. Even the average days on market information is skewed by the fact that one home sold in 2007 was on the market for around 5 years!
Homebuyers looking in this price range may very well find some opportunities that were unavailable during the height of the seller's market. Inventory of new homes in this price range is on the rise, but still relatively limited in comparison to other parts of the country.
Long Island Real Estate and Relocation Specialist. Please read my blog for tips on how to sell your home for the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time, general real estate advice and consultation on out-of-state relocations.
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Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
1991, Tom Cochrane sang “Life is a highway…I want to ride it all night long.”
In an election year, there is bound to be political posturing, but I had hoped that politicians would come together for the good of the country in a time of crisis. They did 
Over the course of this series, we have explored many aspects of buyer representation. If you've missed any of the earlier segments, and would like to get caught up, you will find links at the bottom of the page to each previous post. In the last post, the various methods of compensating buyer agents were discussed. As important as it is to understand the compensation methods, it is equally as important to understand the role that each person plays during the course of the home buying process.
[1] DISCLOSE YOUR REPRESENTATION - As a homebuyer, it is possible for you to walk into an open house that is being held by another agent, or even a "For Sale By Owner." If you are represented by a buyer's agent, you should let the person holding the open house know that you have representation, and provide them with your buyer agent's business card. At this point, they may or may not allow you to tour the home. Even if you are allowed to tour the home, it is likely that you will need to return to the home with your buyer's agent before making any offers.
[2] DO NOT DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION - Any agent holding an open house will have a fiduciary responsibility to the seller. Agents are trained to ask leading questions to gather information, but you are not required to give any information that could hurt you in negotiations. Seemingly harmless conversation can result in the agent learning information about the homebuyer that must be disclosed to the seller. In the case of a "For Sale By Owner," homebuyers should also avoid providing any information that could be used against them in negotiations.
[3] CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM - This is the title to a clever TV show, but it also sound advice for all homebuyer, especially those that are viewing homes without their buyer agent present. Aside from keeping personal information close to the vest, homebuyers should also keep an even keel when viewing homes. If the agent representing the seller or the "For Sale By Owner" sees a great deal of enthusiasm about the home, they are likely to use this information when it comes time to negotiate.
[4] GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE - Once a homebuyer has disclosed that they are working with a buyer's agent, and the person holding the open house has allowed the homebuyer to tour the home, the homebuyer is well within their rights to try and gather information that can help themselves in negotiations. The key question is finding out the motivation of the seller. A savvy listing agent will not disclose this information, nor will a savvy "For Sale By Owner," but there are a number of each out there that will offer up helpful information. Any information learned should be passed along to the buyer agent.
The following is a Long Island Real Estate Market Trend Report featuring statistical trends from six school districts in Suffolk County and six school districts in Nassau County. 
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