ny: Another Milestone.... - 07/15/08 02:35 PM
50,000 AR Points Today, after 3 months of regular blogging, comments, localism posts and inviting people to blog. I hit 50,000 points with Active Rain. I have learned a lot, I hope I have taught some and enjoyed meeting a lot of people, professionals from all over the country. I really love it here on AR, I can say that I thought 5000 points was huge after a few weeks here. For you newbies, stay regular with it do a little every day, make it a priority and you find yourself inching up a little in your area, county and state. … (40 comments)

ny: Some Real Estate Negotiating tips... - 07/14/08 04:50 AM
Negotiating tips for buying Real Estate! As a 25 year veteran of this business I have had buyers teach me a lot about negotiating. When I take buyers out, I want them to get the best deal possible, but more importantly I want them to actually get the house that they want. If a buyer totally falls in love with a home they lose their negotiating power. I had a hospital administrator as a buyer a few years ago. He decided to bid on two houses, intending to buy one of them. In our area, we do not do the contracts … (13 comments)

ny: White Plains, NY Real Estate Statistics. The first half of 2008. - 07/05/08 08:51 AM
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ny: Open houses, do they work? - 06/25/08 02:24 PM
They have for me!
A few minutes ago I was answering that blog question and I felt my answer was informational enough to post.
 I  sold 2 houses last year  at my own open houses.  One of them, was a lovely home and the seller called 10 min before I was leaving and we had had no lookers. Five minutes later she was knocking at the back door.  I didn't answer so she banged louder. I excused myself from the people looking at the house and let her in and told her I had a customer there.They bought the house.
 I had … (17 comments)

ny: Hire a local Realtor. - 06/19/08 11:02 AM
It has never been more important to have a real estate professional represent you than in today's difficult market. I was driving in White Plains today and saw a few homes listed by out of town agents. They were for the most part not correctly priced, and they will sit on the market until the price is corrected. A local Realtor will usually price homes more accurately than an out of town agent. A Realtor is a part of a National, State and local association of Realtors who have all agreed to abide by a code of ethics.Part of that code … (11 comments)

ny: Did you give away a car today? - 06/03/08 07:01 AM

When you price a home, you should try your best to price it correctly from the outset!
When we ask someone for a price reduction very often we think of it as a percentage of the sale. A $20,000 reduction is only 5% off the selling price of a home for $400,000.
BUT, $20,000 is the price of a modest new car today! 
Just be aware, when you are negotiating that it's not just 5% to a real estate seller, it is real money.
I am not saying that you don't sometimes have to recommend price reductions in listings and in negotiations, … (15 comments)

ny: What do you like to read in a blog? - 06/02/08 06:09 AM
I try to read at least 15-20 blogs a day. It is always interesting to me all the different subjects that come up and very often I will get INSPIRATION for my own blog. Sometimes there are questions that I can help answer, sometimes there are blogs that stir up emotion and some are just fun. I try to keep my blogs upbeat and informative. (That can be tough these days.) My favorite blogs are those that are informative, but give you a little insight into the person who is writing them. You can see some of the bloggers just want … (18 comments)

ny: Did you stop to smell the roses today? - 05/28/08 07:47 AM
I noticed on my way to the office today that the irises were in bloom.

 
I also noticed the first roses in my garden.
 

Today is a BEAUTIFUL DAY in White Plains, NY.   The temperature is about 68 degrees farenheight,
The sky is blue with no clouds and there is almost no humidity in the air.
You don't get much nicer days anywhere.
It is a great day to be alive.  Thank your God or higher power for today.
So the real estate business is a little slow, things are tougher. 
That doesn't mean you shouldn't be … (14 comments)

ny: How I wasted a lot of money on the first house I ever sold! - 05/25/08 06:58 AM
Many years ago, when I sold the first house I ever sold in Hartsdale,NY, after getting licensed in Real Estate, I made a very costly mistake. Newly licensed and being a fairly logical and fairly intelligent person, I thought it wouldn't be a terrible idea to comment on something outside my area of expertise. We had gone through the house with the engineer and my buyers had gotten the report. The market was pretty fast, even though the interest rates were really high (around 17%) The engineer said the boiler was on its last DAYS. My buyers asked me what I … (17 comments)

ny: Memorial Day - 05/23/08 01:43 PM
According to Wikipedia...
This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country.
It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. 
It was originally known as Decoration Day. 
PLEASE....
DURING YOUR HOLIDAY WEEKEND, TALK TO YOUR KIDS AND FAMILIES, AT LEAST MENTION THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOUGHT & DIED FOR OUR COUNTRY. 
THEY MATTER.  If you know a vet thank him.  If you know family members of a vet … (3 comments)

ny: What is a Good Home Inspector? - 05/22/08 12:59 PM
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ny: Follow the market...or sell! - 05/21/08 06:19 AM
The people  who say a house is worth what someone will pay for it are really clued in to the market.The newspapers, the internet, TV, all the media have been beating up Real Estate for the past year or two.The prices went too far, too fast. There is a nationwide price correction going on.Some say Realtors want to make a fast buck.
The truth is Realtors would like you to sell your house and have nice things to say about them and buy and sell through them again and refer people to them because they were good.One of the biggest parts … (8 comments)

ny: Open Houses - A new idea for an old standby. - 05/15/08 04:51 AM
 
My recent post on open houses got a huge response, thank you all.

As I read the responses I was seeing that in some areas they are really effective and some areas they don't seem to be.
An idea came to me that might help your business in terms of open houses in a different way.
Try doing the open house as a social function.
Do all the things you would ordinarily do for an open house.  Signs, Newspaper ads, internet ads etc.
Then do something a little different.
Invite 10 neighbors to the Open house for lemonade and … (12 comments)

ny: Are you New in the Real Estate Business in this Tough Market. - 05/14/08 01:15 PM
This is my second time using a response to someone else's (Ken Tracy's) Blog as my own post.

If you can make it now you'll make it any time!
It is much harder to start in an easy market and go into a difficult market,                                        than to start in a hard market and go into an easy market.
I opened my office in October of 1987, twelve days after the stockmarket crash and the year many disadvantageous tax law changes came into effect.
It was TOUGH! but I was new, ignorant and enthusiastic.  Looking back, I learned a tremendous amount … (19 comments)

ny: Is this your first Mother's Day without your Mom? - 05/11/08 06:42 PM
If it was, my heart goes out to you. 
I lost one of my best friends, my mom 16 years ago, she died the end of May in 1992.
She was one of the first people I would call when something good or bad happened to me.
A lot of water under the bridge in 16 years.  I would hope that she would be proud of me.
I learned a lot from my mom. Not just the everyday stuff.  She knew people well.
She was kind, knew how to talk to anyone.  She had a great sense of humor. She had … (7 comments)

ny: Back to the basics? - 05/09/08 09:18 AM
If you are a little slower than you would like to be in real estate it may be time to go back to the basics.
1)  Send out poscards.  Just listed, just sold. Happy holiday, change your clock                                       (Cheap easy get your name out there.)
I hate to tell you this, but if you aren't going to send them at least 8-10 times a year they probably won't work unless you get very lucky.
2)  Spend a day calling all your friends and relatives, see how they are, mention a new listing in your area that you like so you can gently … (11 comments)

ny: Tips for Sellers - Cheap-Easy ways for Sellers to Help Their house look better and sell more easily. - 05/03/08 06:47 AM
1)   Light & Bright.
Open or Remove the Drapes.  Higher wattage lightbulbs. All the lights on when the house is being shown.
In 25 years I have only had 3-4 people ask that the lights be turned off to see the natural light.
2)  Get rid of the clutter.
This one makes the house look better and helps prepare the seller for theo move.
3) Put everything you aren't using now in boxes.
Even the Off season clothes, (Makes your closets look bigger)
Have a tag sale or Donate the useful things you don't want anymore.
Store them in the attic or the garage or the basement. … (16 comments)

ny: Valhalla, NY Home of the Kensico Dam. - 04/29/08 08:31 AM
The name Valhalla comes from Norse Mythology.  It means The Hall of the Chosen or Slain Warriors.
A Heaven-like place.  Valhalla NY enjoys a beautiful topograpy with lovely hills and wonderful homes. Quite appropriately there are 2 beautiful cemeteries in Valhalla, Kensico Cemetery with Sharon Gardens and Gate of Heaven Cemetery. 
The hamlet of Valhalla is about 28 Miles North of Times Square in Manhattan. There is a train station so it is about 35 Min. from Grand Central Station in NYC in the town of Mount Pleasant. The population is about 5,500.
Kensico Dam is one of the most famous features in … (0 comments)

ny: Do It yourself or Want to? - 04/24/08 09:03 AM
As I was signing on to AOL today I came across Eric Stromer's do it yourself videos.
I am not the most handy guy in the world, but I watched a few of the Videos.
Looking at a few of them the information was presented that made it look easy to follow and not scary.
If you are  interested cut and paste  the link.
home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer
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ny: Hartsdale, NY - 04/21/08 06:52 AM
Hartsdale is a wonderful little Hamlet in the town of Greenburgh, NY with a population of about 10,000.
The first house I ever sold was in Hartsdale, and I have always enjoyed the Hamlet.  The commute to Grand Central Station in NYC is about half an hour and the train station is on the Scarsdale border, so the trains in this moderately priced community are shared by Scarsdale residents.
The things that I love about Hartsdale are numerous.
The convenience as a bedroom community of NYCThe village feeling in the area around the train station.The Saturday morning farmer's market.The condos and co-ops along E. … (9 comments)