sandy reid's (sandyreid) Blog

So we know what got us here. Where do we go now?????

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:19:05 -0800

We have all had enough time to be able to look back and really start to see what has gotten our country in the condition it is now. Greed, poor decisions, over spending on every ones part, heads in the sand mentality etc. etc. etc.There is a scientific principle that has held true that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. If that is true....................We need to start to think and dwell in that reaction. We can and we are capable of evolving and changing to meet the needs of today. Even in the way we conduct our real estate business. I suggest thinking outside the box on an everyday basis. The ideas may not come immediately, but they will come if this is where we put our energy. I see too many people, to include me, dwelling on what has gotten us to this point. The reality is that it was so huge, so incorrect, so devastating, that most of us are still in shock mode thinking "how the heck did all this transpire and where the heck did I fit into all this mess? It is a good thing to take a personal inventory and own what you need to own so that you can grow as a person --- I want to offer this to you---Lets start to think of all the ways we can positively, equally react to the actions and reality of today.I live in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York. Our area is starting to get very involved in the "Green" movement. Many companies are springing up here and I see many groups, think tanks evolving in our area. A Realtor that I know has just ventured out with a former client to open a "Green" home energy company to meet the needs of local home owners. He was open to grow and saw the opportunity in the new products and saw its relativity to our environment, our economy etc. and I am sure he could perceive his way of not only contributing to this world but adding a way for him to support his family. Another avenue of income. So in my opinion he evolved into someone who now is reacting to what has happened in a totally positive way.WHAT CAN WE DO???It is time to put our thinking caps on! Join or form think tanks, get involved in our community like we never have before. Think out of the box, in the box, around the box, in the vicinity of the box. Think, think, think. Then do, Look for the opportunity, it is there, it just might be in a form we don't yet realize.THE ACTION HAS HAPPENED ALREADY-WE ARE IN THE REACTION PHASE!Don't dwell in the past, the past is like a canceled check, don't fret about tomorrow, tomorrow is only a promissory note, stay in today, today is cash on hand, today is all we have, what can I do today to make this a positive reaction day!

NO ONE CARES HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, UNTIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:37:49 -0800

This great quote was, of course penned by Zig Zigler, I read him years ago and loved what he had to say. I think this saying is very profound. Short and to the point. I am sure you have listened to someone either trying to sell you something or convince to join some group, etc. etc.. I could listen and not be moved UNTIL i saw that component-----caring----. Once I saw how much they cared I could become more interested. I think if you come from a place of caring, of thinking of the other person, of wanting to listen to what they have to say, you, yourself will be heard. Applying this to our business is of the upmost importance. I believe human beings are hungering for this. Our world has become a self centered me world with less and less caring about our fellow human beings. So here is to caring and letting them know that you do!

Rural Ulster Preservation Company

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:56:08 -0800

I live in Ulster County in the hudson Valley section of upstate New York. I wanted to talk about a Not for profit organization in my neighborhood that is making a Diference in our area. This company helps first time home buyers, they help people into section eight housing, they council home owners that are facing foreclosure and help clients hold unto their homes and make their mortgage payments. They have also taken old dilapitated buildings and restored them and added to the beauty of the area. I have a good friend who is a Vietnam vet who bought a home about six years ago. Due to being exposed to agent orange he recently has gotten so ill he will have to go on kidney dialysis weekly and so has had to move closer to a VA hospital and his home was in jeopardy of foreclosing. This company not only counseled him and talked with the banks representatives but got him a lawyer PRO BONO who is helping him affect a short sale. This is just one of three situations that I know of recently that RUPCO has been involved in that has affected a positive result. I can only imagine the many others. What I really like about this organization is that they do not look for the lime light. They humbly go about their business doing great things for their community and the people in that community. I just wanted to take some time and put to pen my deep appreciation for this organization and the people that are a part of it. MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU RUPCO. I am glad you are in my neighborhood.

EVERYONE EATS OFF A HOUSE

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:03:14 -0800

When a house sells there are many many people who benefit from the sale of that house. From the Realtor and the bank and the respective attorneys to the electric company, gas company, grocery stores who are now supplying the food to the new homeowner to the insurance company who has written the policy for that home. I could go on and on but I think you understand what I am trying to convey. So this integral piece to the puzzle of our economy must be in place in order for the cycle to move. I was very glad and relieved to hear that our government has not only extended but has also expanded the tax credit to people who have owned their homes for at least five years as this helps the home owner who has owned a first home to put it up for sale and then buy up to his next house therefore allowing a new home buyer to buy his house and he will move on to buy another home. /This will feed a lot of people. We are all connected and affected by what we do. If everyone could just really get that and do the next right things, well could you imagine?

This Thanksgiving vs. last Thanksgiving

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:30:56 -0800

I hate to remember last November but I do remember last November. I was scared, worried, and completely quiet in the way of customers or clients. All the financial woes were rearing their ugly heads and nobody was certain where the economy or our country was going---- Today I feel hopeful and grateful that I made it through the year. My company has been very supportive of us through this period of time and has been constantly giving us food for thought to help our business. I am happy to say that I am getting new people from my web site, my companies web site and my warm market. This time of the year when it usually starts to slow down, it is not so slow I think in part to the extended and expanded first time home buyers credit. It definitely is different. I have observed , as in life, that the people who were able to adapt have done ok and the people who were unable or unwilling to adapt are gone. The lesson in the experience for me has been "when you get lemons make lemonade". "When you are not sure how to make lemonade, refer to the directions" I am very grateful this year to also be a member of Active Rain. I must say that a large part of my encouragement came from posts I have read that inspired me or comforted me or challenged me. Thank you Active Rain family for all your support

CAP RATE OF 8%

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:36:47 -0800

just saw a listing on our MLS with a cap rate of 8%. Now I am sure that pretty much everyone that might be reading this blog knows what they are getting for their money in cd's and t bonds etc. So why is this listing still on the market? If the owner is correct and this is truly giving a cap rate of 8% where are the investors. The thing with real estate is, everyone needs to live somewhere just like everyone produces garbage and everyone leaves this earth at sometime. That is why those respective businesses are usually good to get into. So why has this listing, in a great location not sold. You tell me!

To Buy Or Not To Buy, That Is The Question!

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:57:52 -0700

It's funny that several years ago when the feeding frenzy on real estate was with us and the prices were rising and rising you couldn't stop someone from buying real estate, fighting in bidding wars and now with prices down, rates at historical lows and a great $8,000 tax credit being given, people are sitting on the fence wondering what to do. Donald Trump said it on TV the other night. This is the best time to buy real estate! So what is everyone across our country experiencing? What price point is selling? What great tools are agents using in behalf of their clients. What is your experience with short sales and foreclosures. I would like to know. Sharing is everything.

Finally someone talking about a 4% mortgage rate

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:58:00 -0700

Finally someone talking about a four percent mortgage rate http://www.foxbusiness.com/video-search/m/21829995/4-5-mortgages-a-possibility.htm This is a link from Fox Business News. We need to get everyone included in this. Refinancing, new homes, homes in trouble. If we want to get a real stimulus going we need to do just what they are talking about in this video.We, as Realtors, need to talk about this to everyone we can talk to. The gentleman in this video , a banker is talking about how the banks are at capacity in the filings of refinancing. Sooooo maybe you will need to hire some more people to fill the need to respond to all these refinancings and new home purchases with a mortgage rate of 4%. Imagine giving jobs to people to help people move money. What a concept.What do you think?

OK, SO WHO'S RIGHT AND WHAT CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU READ

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:49:30 -0700

A couple of days ago I copied an articfle which I thought was not only interesting but positive for our industry. Now I see this article which I have copied also which leads me to this question: JUST WHO CAN WE BELIEVE WHEN IT COMES TO STATISTICS? The existing home sales data which was released to the market earlier was a "half empty, half full" set of data. The market seemed to take it as just full and left the empty part behind. Home resale rates rose 5.1% in February to an annual rate of 4.72 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. In the same breath, the organization said 45% of the activity was foreclosures or short sales. Because of the huge discount that most buyers get when they buy homes in foreclosure, the average price of a house fell 15.5% to $165,400. The increase in the rate of home sales was viewed by many as the beginning of a bottom in the housing market. The slide of nearly three years has been blamed for a great deal of the collapse in the banking and credit systems.But the rise in sales does not represent a bottom at all. It is more likely that any movement of buyers into the market will cause desperate sellers to offer homes at lower and lower prices rather than hold onto houses that they cannot afford and may not make money on even if they could hold them for another decade. Most data that the government and national business associations will put out over the next several quarters is likely to appear two-edged, at least at first. Housing prices cannot go to zero, so, at some point, the rate at which home values are dropping will slow. Resale rates may go up, but buying homes which have been in foreclosure for months is an incorporeal piece of information. If buyers start to purchase homes on the normal economic basis of being a transaction between private buyer and private seller then the market will have something to celebrate. The rise in the dual nature of data is where the analyst's ability to forecast gets more difficult. When unemployment, consumer confidence, GDP, manufacturing, and capital expenditures are all falling simultaneously, it is hard to find optimists, but they will grab even the slightest bit of ambiguous information and claim that the recovery is underway. In the next quarter, the rate at which people are losing their jobs may slow, but average wages will probably drop sharply at the same time. The effect of fewer people losing jobs while those who are working make less is no clear sign that the economic world is getting better. GDP numbers which are significantly influenced by dangerous trends in inventories like the Q4 2008 figure defy clear interpretation. Recently analysts covering the manufacturing sector said that so many factories are shut here and overseas that the businesses are eating through inventories. That is being interpreted as good news because once inventories move close to zero, factories will have to increase production to replace them. That analysis glosses over two possibilities. The first is that the economy is bad enough that inventories may not drop at expected rates. Low demand may cause them to decrease much more slowly. That could push back a renewal of manufacturing activity for months. It is also possible that some factories will simply be out of business and the sources of goods for replacing dwindling inventories will have gone away. The normal supply chain in some industries may be severely disrupted in a way that will take several quarters to repair. Retooling or replacing factories is unlikely to be a quick process. From the middle of last year until a month or so ago, the interpretation of almost all economic information was negative because the data was unidirectional. That is changing. There are sign posts which point in two directions. It is likely that neither road sign is entirely right. In many cases both are wrong and making predictions about how the recession is going actually becomes more difficult and not less.

Are we bottoming out?????

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:25:25 -0700

As per Ken Sweet of Fox News on Monday March 23, 2009: The number of existing homes sold in February unexpectedly rose last month, an industry trade organization said Monday, as distressed home sales continued to remain the dominant force in the nation's impaired housing market. According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of homes sold rose 5.1% to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 4.72 million units in February up from 4.49 million annualized units. The jump in sales was much better than what economists had predicted, who were expecting existing home sales to fall to 4.45 million units. The data helped boost stocks broadly, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 300 points. While the increased sale of homes is a welcome sign to Wall Street -- as many believe that the housing will eventually lead the nation's economy out of this recession -- the bulk of February's sales were distressed purchases. The average price for a home sold was $165,400, down 15.5% from a year ago. "Because entry level buyers are shopping for bargains, distressed sales accounted for 40% to 45% of the transactions in February," said NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. As it has been for the past couple months, existing home sales were stronger in the West than the rest of the nation -- primarily in the struggling housing market of California. Existing home sales in the region were up 2.6% from a month ago to 1.2 million annualized units, and are up 30.4% from a year ago. In the Northeast, sales rose 15.6% to an annualized rate of 740,000 units and are down 14.9% from a year ago. In the Midwest, sales were basically flat -- up 1% -- to 1.04 million units. In the struggling Southern market, existing home sales rose 6.1% to an annualized rate of 1.74 million units, according to the trade organization. I read posts of Realtors in California and several feel that their market is bottoming out. We are usually about three months behind California as per my oberservations so can that mean that we are bottoming out and on our way to leveling off? What do you think? This weekend our office's phone was busy and we had walk ins. A great sign.

The sure sign of spring!!!

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:26:47 -0700

I know Spring officially is here on March 20th. Other than the date I am so happy to be seeing true signs of spring. Our office calls have picked up and walk ins, those wonderful walk ins are back. People look for Robins, I look for walk ins. This has been an especially hard winter. Not just the snow and cold and ice and sleet. The economy has created a river none of us have walked into before. But I have hope, thanks to the walk ins. I would like to take some time to thank them and to tell them just what they do for this real estate person. Like the first crocus who push their cute faces out to the sun early walk ins are the adventurers of real estate. You know they have been thinking and planning this and they are as excited as I am for the adventure. They are ready with information, maps and a beautiful pre approval. They have driven up, or driven over tested the local B&B's, motels or campsites, have enjoyed an early breakfast and are "ready for the hunt". I am ready as well. I know my inventory. I have all the resouces to help my new clients to have a positive real estate experience and I am excited as I have gotten what the walk in and the Realtor wait for--- THE HOPE OF A NEW LISTING!!!!! A home that will match someone. A place that when you bring your new client/custiomer there you know it fits as they run their hand along the mantle of the fireplace or stand on the deck looking happily out at the landscape. There are not too many great feelings like the feeling of success when you have been the matchmaker of a person or persons to a home. Walk ins, call ins, web site newbies, I love them all. Welcome. You're right on time.

OUR ROLE AS STEWARDS FOR THE HOMES WE SELL

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:36:41 -0700

I had the privilege of being asked to come to do a listing presentation for a beautiful 1820 Le Fevre Farmhouse. Now I consider it a privilege whenever anyone trusts me with one of the biggest and most expensive and most personal things they own. I especially appreciate it when it has a long history to it. The wife and husband and I talked about all the aspects of putting their home on the market, we went over my CMA and what they could do to ready the home. I asked them if I was in competition with many other brokers and this is what made my day. They said they had one other real estate person over who they knew quite well and they they did not demonstrate an interest in their house like I did. THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON IN SELLING SOMEONES HOME. This precious commodity is someones life, their blood sweat and tears, the place all their family events happened. This home represents a lot of the time, all the money they have, their biggest investment. We are entrusted, as stewards to convey this property to another person/persons and that is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. Each home has its story. How the home owner found it. How they saved the money to buy it. I knew one homeowner who wanted to finish his basement. He was going to the racetrack for the first time and his wife told him to bet on a combo with horse number one. He was so flustered at the track that he bet on the wrong horse without knowing. The horse he thought he bet on ran dead last with the two other horses he had coming in the right order of second and third. His friend asked him who he bet on and looked at his ticket and lo and behold he had the right combo with the wrong horse bet to win enough money in that triple to well afford to finish his basement. Each home and each homeowner has their story to tell of their home. The 1800 farmhouse has a long history to convey. I will make it my business, as the steward for this home to convey all of the history and documents that these owners have entrusted me to convey. I will do all the things necessary to market this home appropriately to effect a sale. Someone will come along who falls in love with this home and its history. I get paid for doing this. Who's got it better than me?

Is that the sweet smell of Spring?????

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:06:17 -0800

Saturday was an insane day for me. It was my daughter's birthday and I had promised her we would spend time together and of course as soon as I said that everything broke loose. So, trying to find enough time in the day for clients and family, which is always a hard balancing act in this business, I ran and did and showed and ran and----wait, what is that smell in the air? Smells familiar. Some good thoughts from long ago permeate my brain. Could it---- is it---- Is that the sweet smell of Spring?????? And just as fast it was gone. But it was undeniable. It was Spring. How exciting. It has been a long winter. I really look forward to Spring and warmer weather. And that smell was wonderful. Dirt, fresh unfrozen dirt with flowers ready to pop out and trees ready to bloom and fishing season just around the corner. Yiiippeee! Hang in there girl! it's just around the corner.

Greater civilizations have fallen. What makes us think we won't

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:15:26 -0800

GREED! SELF CENTERED BEHAVIOR! SELF SERVING! Both sides are calling their kettles black. Want to know what I want to see. Less talk and more action. I don't want to hear a Republican talking about a democrat and vice versa. I want them to both take a voluntary pay cut and stop their living high off the hog. I want the people who took the equity out of their homes and ran down to Florida in the hey day and sold a contract on a condo that wasn't even built for double the money and then took that money and tried to parlay it into some scheme that would return 15% to stop crying and learn to live within their means. These are just examples of what I am sick and tired of hearing. When everything was jumping and all arrows where going up a number of people made a lot of money and a lot of them turned a deaf ear to the signs and symptoms. Well whoever and whatever. We can take forever arguing just who did what or we can CHANGE things little by slowly and it all starts at home. Instead of taking everyone elses inventory, take your own. How can I change and what can I do differently. I firmly believe, as a society, if we do not change, we will GO some way, some how. Get with the program. What was the lesson in the experience??????? This is not written to give you an answer. I search every day to find my own. I write about the quality of life in the Hudson Valley. I feel if we, as a people do not do some major changing, there will not be much more quality anything. I am writing this in the hope that we all think, think, think. I have a favorite story that I just recently saw, for the first time passed in email. I think it is very appropriate for todays times. I would like to share it with you. HEAVEN AND HELL>A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like." The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell".They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand." "It is simple," said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves." GROW OR GO WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?

3 Bedroom Value with Views!

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:48:09 -0800

Unbeatable value with views!!! 2985 ROUTE 209, Marbletown, NY 12484 View Map ENJOY THIS SWEET COUNTRY RANCH WITH SEPARATE TWO CAR GARAGE AND WORKSHOP. BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY WITH MOUNTAIN VIEWS. WOOD FLOORS & CERAMIC TILES THROUGHOUT. FAMILY ROOM IN BASEMENT WITH LOTS OF ROOM FOR OFFICE OR WORKSHOP. PRIVATE BACKYARD SETTING WITH BEAUTIFUL BLUE STONE PATIO & FIRE PIT PERFECT FOR ENTERTAINING. MINUTES FROM OLD HURLEY, KINGSTON AND STONE RIDGE! Details Asking Price: $239,000 MLS: 20084339 Sq. Feet: 1224 Lot Size: 1.80 Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 1 Garage Size: 2 Detached Year Built: 1969 Property Amenities - Range/Oven- Full Refrigerator- Dishwasher- Fireplace- Basement - Deck- Grass Lawn- Basketball Net- Tool Shed- Tile floor - Living room- Bonus/rec room- Dining Room- Laundry area - inside Contact InfoSandra Reid Licensed Salesperson, ABR, CRS Main 845-255-9400 x 113 Cell 845-417-1314 Email | Website

How about these wonderful people in Ulster County NY

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:43:37 -0800

For a lot of people this is a very hard holiday season. Many people have lost their jobs. Lots of people have lost their faith in human beings due to very dishonest people taking advantage and robbing people of their life savings in many different ways.It seems like every day there is more and more bad, sad news. I want to and need to speak of the wonderful things and the wonderful people I encounter in my travels to counteract all the negative that seems to dominate the scene these days. I invite anybody who is reading this to comment as well on any positve experiences or people you would like to share about this holiday season. So, now unto the wonderful people: I work with a great bunch of people but I want to talk about one such person. She is always there to help. We had our office holday party the other day and she not only offered her restaurant "The Would" for our party but attended to it like it was one of her "paid" parties. I sit across the way from her at the office and for that I am grateful. My 87 year old mother lives with me. Our area experiences a lot of outages and I was very worried about this seasons outages and a client suggested to me a person who installs generators. Well, this angel appeared as one Chris Peone, Master Electrician. From our first communication I knew I had an angel on my hands. Not only did he go out of his way to tell me everything I would ever want to know about generators, he was kind enough to offer to bring over one of his extra generators should I experience an outage and lack of heat, free of charge!!!!! My client(and now a good friend) Holli told me he was wonderful and special and now I am experiencing it first hand. So if you need a heating system or air conditioning system or anything electrical call Chris at The Rosendale Hardware Store 845-658-3142(he is the proprietor) and experience a class act of the highest caliber. THE HAMLET OF HIGH FALLS - I love to go to High Falls. Every store owner has such pride of ownership, the way they decorate their stores, their creativity, the personal attention. It's like all of the great shopping and eating in New York City with out the hassle of crowds and the insane prices. I mean, just look at Jeff and Larrys window at the High Falls Mercantile, need I say more? Trust me when I say you have to visit each and every store and restaurant in this sweet hamlet to experience the flavor of sweet perfection. Thank you to all of you for creating such delicousness. I want to praise my friend and manager of my website April Destefano. Not only is she one of my friends and angels, she loves the lord so much it has been so wonderful to be in her company. She also is totally of service to her clients. Happy Holiday to all and to all a good night. ~Sandy www.sandyreid.com

LOTS TO BE GRATEFUL FOR THIS THANKSGIVING

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:58:44 -0800

It is the night before the eve of Thanksgiving and I have come home from food shopping, grabbed a bite to eat and as I was reading some emails from various people I had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude come over me. Now please understand, I , like everyone else, have been affected by the state of our economy. That said I must go on to tell you how grateful I am to be right where I am. Gone are the days of doing what I really do not want to do, playing with people I don't like, saying yes when I mean no and vice versa. I have absolutely wonderful people in my life. I have and continue to get absolutely GREAT clients! I love what I do professionally. I love buying and selling antiques as well as my real estate. I am very grateful to be an American. I know that being an American is not the most popular thing to brag about right now in this world. I would like to tell you what I am proud of. It is very plain to see that our situation in this country is the result of much greed, self centeredness and a total lack of caring for other human beings. I do have every confidence though that our country and all its citizens will band together and work our way through this mess, learn our lessons and become better people for it. This is a result of a few, not the many. I love the citizens of the United States. I love our diversity. I love that we can be who we are even if others don't like or understand who we are. What I really love is that when the chips are down it has been proven and it will bear true again that we will band together and find a way out of the mess we are in and support each other in doing so. There are lessons to be learned from these times. Each of us can contibute greatly to effect change. This challenge we are facing will strenthen us and help us to become very grateful for everything we have. This is a time to support our newly elected president, whether we voted for him or not, as he has a long road ahead of him. Remember the total is as great as the sum of all its parts. Please take the time to look around you and see where you can help. It is sooo rewarding. Giving really feels much better than taking. Give a smile as it doesn't cost a cent and makes people feel like a million. I want to take the time to thank all my clients. You have enabled me to pay my mortgage, buy food for my family, you all are truly my angels. Many of you are my friends now and we break bread together. I am very grateful you came into my life. A WONDERFUL,SAFE, HAPPY HOLIDAY TO ALL! ~Sandy www.sandyreid.com

Enough with the car companies already!!!!!!

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:48:03 -0800

I am really getting sick of all this bail out baloney! So let me get this right. Your a company and you have all these grandiose ideas, spend lots of money creating this image so people feel the need to buy this product. Pay no attention to places like Europe and Japan who have been making products like yours that are much more efficient, better made etc. You pay your top guys ridiculous amounts of money and do not heed the warnings of many people to change and you want my tax dollars to reward you rather than have natural consequences for your actions BECAUSE NOW YOU ARE FAILING---- WRONG BOZO BREATH!!!!! If anything, we should be spending our tax dollars to help in placing the workers in other jobs helping them with unemployment money until they find other jobs, maybe retraining them. Lets not forget the working man. BUT THE BOZOS NEED TO HAVE NATURAL CONSEQUENCES NO BAIL OUTS! THAT IS WHAT BANKRUPTCY LAW IS ABOUT. I AM SICK OF REWARDING GREED! Of course we all can benefit from taking our own inventory and making changes to contribute to the change we need in our country to survive. But make no mistake we are not that great that we will survive this. Great civilizations have gone before us and fallen flat on their you know whats. Rome fell, Egypt fell. What makes us think we won't. I, myself am taking this opportunity to take my own inventory and see where I have contributed to this mess and CHANGE!!!I absolutely love my country and the people in it. I want to see it evolve and grow and live. Let's do our part, each of us in whatever small or large way . BUT DO NOT REWARD GREED!!!!!!! ~Sandy www.sandyreid.com

Hudson Valley Angels

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:57:32 -0800

Waking up in pain in the middle of the night is never any fun. I woke up two nights ago with horrible pain in my tooth. Of course that pain never comes at the right time which would be at 8:30am so you could call your dentist, jump in the car and be there in a few minutes for them to access your pain and do something to help you. It always comes in the middle of the night. So, many hours later I call my dentist, MaryAnn Salcetti, in Wappinger Falls(297-4236) and just like the angel that she and her staff are, they tell me to rush right over. I get in my car and cry all the way over there as I am sure I am never NOT going to have this pain(I am a terrible baby when it comes to pain). My dentist accesses my situation and determines I need a root canal done. She makes a phone call, gets off the phone and hands me an address. That easily????? I get back in my car and drive to the address and walk in to this lovely office with wonderful front desk staff. I wait for just minutes and am wisked to the back office where two dentists are working on patients. The dental asst assures me that the dentist will be done and will squeeze me in between her two patients. She takes an xray and goes out of her way to make me comfortable. Within a couple of minutes this sweetheart of a woman walks in and proceeds to explain what she will do and what I can expect. She and her assistant work together in perfect precision and before you know it I am done. Did I mention that they offered to cream my hands and have them rest in this heated bag and offered head phones to listen to relaxing music. I must tell you that as I write about the quality of life in our Hudson Valley, time must be taken to praise these wonderful women of the Assogna Endodontic Specialty Group @ 46 Fox Street in Poughkeepsie NY. 845-473-3636. You would have thought I had a long standing appt. and knew them for years with the wonderful way they treated me. I must also mention that if it were not for my dentist Maryann Salcetti I probably would have had to wait. I am blessed. I love our Hudson Valley and the wonderful people thereof. ~Sandy www.sandyreid.com

Comfortable 2 Family Home In New Paltz, NY

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:27:33 -0800

Comfortable 2 Family Home $295,000 New Paltz, NY This cape style 2 family offers a 4 bedroom, 1.5 bath main dwelling with eat in kitchen & formal dining room. Enjoy the cozy fireplace in the living room and the seasonal views of Mohonk Mountain. New roof & new gas fireplace. 1 bedroom rental apt will help pay the mortgage. All this & municipal water & sewer make this home a must see.

Veteran's Day Remembered

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:33:21 -0800

As I am a child of the 60's, Veterans Day is very special to me as many of my close friends that I grew up with, knew and loved went to Vietnam and many did not return. That war was very personal to me and taught me to respect the many men and women who came before that war and who fight for us today. I stopped at my office today to drop off papers to our support staff. For most of the day I had been thinking of the friends I lost and the family and friends who have served in the military and who currently serve in the military. The woman who helps all of us in our office as our support staff person was there and she came up to me to show me the card she sent to one of our co workers in the office who she had come to find out was a Vietnam vet. The card was wonderful and Cindy told me how emotional our co worker had gotten over receiving the card which simply and eloquently thanked him for fighting for us. I write this blog to specifically point out the quality of life here in the Hudson Valley. This beautiful gesture is just one part. I love where I live. I love where I work. I love the people of the Hudson Valley.

Views of the Walkill

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:19:45 -0700

$164,900

Ben Stein on what my brother emailed me about

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:41:34 -0700

I just saw this on Yahoo and thought it confirmed what I blogged about yesterday. So at least we know why we are in such lousy shape and a possible solution from Mr. Ben Stein. This doesn't say copyrighted so I think I am ok to reproduce it here with giving credit to Mr. Stein. Why I'm Still Buying by Ben Stein Email this Page IM this StoryBookmark this StoryAdd to your Del.icio.us accountDigg this StoryPrint this Story Very Good (1283 Ratings) 3.396718/5 <script type="text/javascript" src="http://l.yimg.com/us.js.yimg.com/i/us/fi/js/ysc_csc_fin_pf_b.js"></script> Posted on Friday, October 17, 2008, 12:00AM This is my most serious column yet. So let's get to it. I get a fair amount of mail about the economy. Lately, much of it asks the same questions: * What the heck happened to our economy so suddenly and powerfully that it caused the immense uproar and fear and stock market crashes we have had lately? * Why didn't I, Ben Stein, famous so-called braino, get what was happening and why did I remain optimistic so long? * What is the future going to bring? First of all, obviously, I don't know what the future will bring. If I knew the future, I would be the richest man on the planet very soon and I assure you I am very far from that. But I now see what has happened and I can explain that, and it might give a tiny bit of insight into what will happen in the future. Start around 1995. Groups involved with civil rights issues and activities for poor people began to complain that poor people and especially non-white poor people got mortgages much less often than white well to do people. Many economists, including me, explained that it was not at all surprising that poorer, less credit worthy people were often turned down for credit. That's how credit is supposed to work: you lend to people who will pay you back. But the advocates for poor and black people had immense political clout. Under President Bill Clinton, they passed legislation that called on banks to be required to lend to non credit worthy borrowers. The laws, including the Community Reinvestment Act, the CRA, required two large government sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to buy those lower quality mortgages from the banks, guarantee them, and sell them to the public. These were bundled into immense pools of subprime mortgages as they were called, and sold all over the world.Soon, the private sector got into the act in a vast way. They also went to banks and bought their subprime loans, packaged them, and sold them as Collateralized Mortgage Obligations all over the world. Supposedly, the subprime collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) were sliced up in such a way that buyers could have a very high likelihood that they would be repaid even if many of the mortgages in the portfolio defaulted. This assumption was based on a misunderstanding of poor quality credit that had been popularized during the era of the junk bond investment powerhouse, Drexel Burnham Lambert.As it happened, these low quality mortgage bonds were recognized as highly likely to have real problems very soon after they started to be issued by private banks in the billions. The people who recognized the high likelihood of defaults were able to profit from that likelihood: First, they could sell the mortgage securities short, a straightforward wager that has long been available.Second, they could buy credit default swaps (CDS) from financial entities. These were essentially a side bet that anyone could make about a certain mortgage bond (or any other kind of security). It paid off fantastically if the bond went into default or was close to default. The people who sold these CDS were banks and insurers, especially Merrill Lynch and A.I.G., that believed the mortgage bonds would not default and therefore charged very little to the other side, the counterparty, to make the bet.Things went along well for everyone on the long side for several years as the housing market boomed. Even if borrowers could not repay their mortgages, they could refinance the mortgages for more money than was owed on the original mortgage, pay off the first mortgage and live happily in their new home. The mortgage in question in the bond would - again-- be paid off and the bond would continue happily in its owners hands. Then, the housing market started to stabilize and soon fall, as housing prices do. They move in cycles, although around a rising mean, as we economists say.Now, when the subprime mortgage holder could not pay off his mortgage, he could not refinance. Instead, he had to default. When a lot of these mortgages defaulted, the bonds into which they had been lumped declined in value.So far, I, your humble servant, followed the deal just fine. It was extremely similar to the collapse of the Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond empire. This had caused barely a ripple in the national economy when it fell apart in the early 1990's. I assumed that the same would happen with junk mortgages. There would be some failed banks and insurers, but the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Treasury could make all of those losses good. The total amount of subprime mortgage bonds was large but not compared with bank capital or the regenerative powers of the Fed. So, I assumed, and wrote, things would be fine.Where I missed the boat was not realizing how large were the CDS based on the junk mortgage bonds. They were not only large, but absolutely staggeringly large. Where the junk mortgage bonds were in the hundreds of billions, the CDS were in the tens of TRILLIONS. If the sellers of the CDS had to pay off in large part, the liability greatly exceeded the total bank capital in the United States and maybe in the world. That is, the derivatives based upon the junk mortgage bonds could be - and were - not in any way limited to the size of the mortgage bonds themselves, and this I did not know until a few months ago. It is this liability that swamped the banks, investment banks, and insurers. It is the CDS liability that broke AIG and Lehman.When I realized the extent of this problem, I wrongly thought the federal government would step in and in some way rescue everyone who had sold CDS. They did, except they ‘forgot' to rescue Lehman. Lehman was so large that when it failed, it was like a torpedo striking an ocean liner below the water line. A gaping hole was left in the whole world finance system. Bankers panicked. If Lehman could fail, then anyone could fail. In that case, the banks that were still solvent figured they had better hoard their assets and stop making loans. This led to the ongoing credit freeze. This led to a rapidly gathering economic downturn and a drastic fall in prices of all kinds of securities, real estate and commodities. It also led to a severe credit squeeze on hedge funds, which saw credit dry up and their asset prices fall suddenly, and were forced to sell stocks and other assets on a dramatic scale, leading to still greater falls in securities prices, and the worldwide panic that it still unfolding. In turn, this led to huge infusions of liquidity into the banks of the world, the semi-nationalization of the banks of the United States and of many other nations to shore them up, thaw credit, and bolster world markets and economies. These were drastic steps for drastic times, all generated by derivatives. Warren Buffett had warned us against them, and he was dead right, as always. Now, these acts should help. But it might not do the job all by itself. Major lender solvency issues remain. If housing prices keep falling, more mortgage bonds will default and the liability attached to the credit default swaps based upon them will still be in the trillions or even tens of trillions.I might well be too alarmist here, but I think the only rational possibility is for the federal government or the New York State government (because most of the CDS were entered into in New York) to simply annul the credit default swaps as void as being against public policy. After all, there was no insurable interest in most cases, which tends to void insurance contracts, which is what a CDS is. Once that happens, the banks can breathe freely again, take risks, and the economy can revive. Or, perhaps the housing market will stabilize, mortgage based bonds will rally, and the CDS will be out of the money and will not be a threat to the lenders. But something has got to happen to defuse these deadly derivatives. In any event, we now know a lot we did not know before. Credit default swaps are way too dangerous. Derivatives generally are dangerous. There is much that Ben Stein does not know. I hope this explains some of how we got to this precarious place, I apologize for not seeing it sooner. But I am still optimistic that the government will save us from the CDS, and we will go on to renewed prosperity. In other words, I am still buying.

A note from my brother on the financial situation in our country

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:56:39 -0700

I am copying an email my brother sent me to try to explain in plain layman's terms what in his humble opinion and observation has happened in this financial crisis. I hope it serves you in some way. Sandy Let me explain to you what appears to have happened to cause this financial crisis in a way you can understand more fully. The first part many now know about. But the second and far worse part, most Americans and so-called financial advisers don't know or don't want to know. It's now well known that many mortgages were sub-prime (or what I call sub-crime) or exotic non-fixed 30 year and the people who sold them shouldn't have and the people who bought them now wish they didn't. This was bad enough and would have led to a downfall anyway but not anything remotely close to what the so called "brilliant" minds on Wall Street came up with. They first decided to package these sub-prime and exotic mortgages and sell them around the world to people seeking higher interest rate products than one couldn't find in money markets, regular bonds, etc. Nothing would be wrong with that providing the buyer realized the borrowers of these mortgages may not be able to pay it back. This risk was not highlighted to the buyer but even if they weren't, that's still not the big problem. The crisis was caused by what the Wall Street bandits, oh excuse me, professionals decided to do. They went to the buyers of these packaged mortgages and said how would you like to protect yourself from losses on these packages? We have what is called a "Credit Derivative Swap or CDS. They were told that the CDS was "like' insurance in that people who buy them are "insuring" you that they will pay you if the mortgages default. Not bad, right? WRONG!!!! The people who were suppose to stand behind these CDS's were mostly the investment houses and companies like AIG, who never ever sent up reserves to pay if they were called upon. Sandy, that's why Wall Street used the word swap and not insured or insurance because if they had done so, it would have fallen under regulations all insurance companies must follow. Your home, fire or auto insurance company must put aside a required amount of money to "insure" payment for claims. These folks knew this and instead created the swaps because they were unregulated. You hear about the leverage problem. Here's where the fun really starts. When they sold the CDS, they sold it at maybe 10 cents on the dollar. Translation- for every actual dollar being "insured" you only had to put up 10 cents and do so every year for maybe 5 or 10 before the mortgages are paid off or a good portion are. So, the seller of the CDS effectively sold one dollar coverage for 10 cents. So when these things started to fall apart (Bear Sterns was the first), it came known that there may be as much as $70 trillion (that's with a T) of CDS that only about one-tenth could be paid off. To understand $70 trillion, know that China has the largest cash reserves in the world- just one trillion. So the investment houses are guilty but two other parties have escaped public wrath so far. The first is the rating agencies like S & P and Moody's. They had the Gaul to rate these products triple AAA. You see Sandy, many of the institutions that bought these products couldn't have if they weren't rated triple AAA. These agencies had to know but turned a blind eye because of how much they depend on Wall Street for business. But the other party who should be exposed is certain members of Congress and the Senate. Ironically, John McCain introduced a bill to reign in Fannie Mae back in 2005 but Congressman Frank killed it saying the working class must be able to buy homes. It now appears that Fannies Mae was totally corrupted. A side note of interest- Barney Frank's partner had a very high position at Fannie Mae at the time. Senator Dodd received a sweetheart loan from fannie and it's now being reported that Fannie Mae paid $2 million to a lobby group to get certain Republicans to vote down Mccains proposal. So my sister, while most financial advisers choose not to speak out, your brother does every chance he gets. If you find me dead, ask Mr. _ where he was at the time-lol

Face book , localism etc. So much to choose---what to do.

sandy reid, period homes, second home market (Westwood Metes & Bounds) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:16:24 -0700

So I am not, how can I say this---well versed on the computer. My former profession did not require a lot of work on the computer and when I first entered back into real estate in 1999 it did not appear to be so imperative to have a web site and be on many other web sites. Now all I hear about is SEO and blog, blog blog and how I have to have a "presence" on the web or I will not be successful. I am an upstate New York Realtor. I work for a great company that has a good website which is lead capturing. I have been of service to other people in some capacity or another for most of my life and have a good background in marketing so my question is how much and of what do I need. I joined Active Rain as it appeared very interesting to me. I have started to enjoy many of the blogs and am now commenting on them. I love interacting with other people so that is easy, the hard part is staring at my computer and wondering how to get the SEO I need, where to place myself to get the exposure I need -----so which way do I go George, John, Mary???????? I would love to hear of other struggles of people my age(golden) who were as frustrated as I am and have overcome(yea!!!) Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated and support will be mutually returned. I am looking forward to making new computer friends and to one day claim dominance over this monster---er I mean computer LOL. I know someone out there understands.