Westchester View

Home buyers are often  surprised to find that their real estate agent is less  than enthusiastic when they insist  on an endless series of showings  before they will entertain any decisions.  They  think that its our job  to show them as many homes as they could ever want to see – even if that takes 6 months of Saturdays.  This has always been a major issue for agents, but the problem has reached epidemic proportions in a market where buyers have no urgency and think nothing of taking their agent on a 700 mile wild goose chase even when they are not committed to a purchase.

However, there are signs of push-back.  Buyers who are “working the system” by insisting on seeing literally every home under the sun are finding that they are wearing out their welcome as their agents are no longer enabling their addiction to to an endless  search.

Of course some agents will not fire a client directly…If your agent has made themselves scarce or is inexplicably  unavailable because they they are suddenly having root canal every day  for the next three weeks – you may have been dumped.  Here are some reasons why you may have been given your walking papers.

1. You told your agent that  you were “in no hurry to buy”.

Some buyers think this “motivates” their agent to work harder.   Freely translated this says  “I’m going to be very demanding, I’m going to take tons of your time, I’m totally unmotivated, but someday – 3-5 years from now I might buy…and if you jump through all my hoops – you might be lucky enough to close with me.”  Please explain to me what is “motivating” about that?

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First some bad news – rents in our area are headed north – in a big way:

In recent years, renting has become the new thing to do.  Sort of a post-modern version of “shabby chic”  that was so popular in the 80s  that I remember in high school and college.    Since the beginning of the recession in 2008, rents have been low which has been a wonderful  gift to  former home owners who had sold their homes by doing the unthinkable….bringing money to the closing table.  They needed a break – and ironically, just about the only break this terrible recession gave anyone was in the form cheap rent.
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The Time:  Wednesday August 3rd – 6:30-8:30 PM

The Place:  Keller Williams NY Realty -  120 Bloomingdale Rd.  Suite #101 – White Plains NY 

The Topic:  Facing Foreclosure?  You have options!

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Recently, I’ve posted several posts on the issue of the French American School of New York and their  purchase of the Ridgeway Golf Club.   Previously many of the home owners in Gedney Farms enjoyed the wonderful vista of golf course views from their back yards.  Most bought their homes with the understanding that should the golf club disappear, the local zoning was for very low-density housing . Now FASNY wants to build a major campus for 1200 students on the grounds.
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This post is inspired by Tni LeBlanc  who wrote about getting a steal of a deal  in real estate today   In her post she suggested that HGTV might want to take this one up….

So I have a proposal for HGTV – Let’s create  a show entitled “The Real Estate For Robber Barons Challenge“   By turning it into a competition we can create criteria for the best Robber Baron.  Think competition like Design Star with the ruthless cut-throat edge of The Apprentice.

Each week contestants need to find a distressed seller who is willing to sell their home for a fraction of its actual value.  The ability to achieve this is based on  the contestant’s capacity to con  the seller to ignoring  the basic principles of mathematics,  common sense  and their own best interests.  The contestant  then creates almost instant profits  via the the slum Lord route or by flipping for an obscene profit. This is all done with minimal seed money that the contestants saved in a cookie jar over a period of six months.

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People often ask me that question – albeit without the profanity – though in the back of my mind they are just trying to be polite…but that’s what they are thinking!

There has recently been a “round robin” of postings on Active Rain about compensation for agents, rebates and the (fading) rebate market.

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Crystal Hawkins Syska

The Time:  Wednesday July 6 – 6:30-8:30 PM

The Place:  Keller Williams NY Realty -  120 Bloomingdale Rd.  Suite #101 – White Plains NY 

The Topic:  Short Sale and Foreclosure Alternatives:

The Syska Group at Keller Williams – headed by the amazing Crystal Hawkins Syska is there to help Westchester NY home owners navigate the short sale maze and avoid foreclosure.  Tomorrow she and her group are holding a seminar called  Short Sale and Foreclosure Alternatives.  This is a free seminar and is something that distressed sellers should not miss.  Among the topics being discussed is the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program.  This program offered by HUD can provide up to $50,000 or 24 consecutive months of mortgage payments  to qualified homeowners.

Crystal discusses the issues confronting distressed home owners head on in a transparent and upfront way.  She is a wealth of information and has helped many families through short sales allowing them to avoid foreclosure.  If you need help – attending this meeting would be one of the best things you can do for yourself!

For more information

The Syska Group

Phone: 914-309-2851

Email: [email protected]

© 2011 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All rights reserved.

Zoning – Schomning!  That’s what a lot of developers and buyers with deep pockets are saying these days….

In a world increasingly divided between the have mores and the have nots, and municipalities struggling to make ends meet – those with deep pockets feel that minor incidentals such as “zoning” and a “city planning”  are small obstacles to be pushed aside with relative ease.   All they have to do is purchase a property – zoning not withstanding – plant their flag and impose their “vision” for the future of the land on the community.

1. Zoning – Who cares? We’ll just threaten litigation if the city refuses us.
2. Declining Property Values? Change is inevitable -  so if a few people get “hurt” in the name of progress – that’s life.
3. City Planning? – We bought the land – the city will just have to change its “plans!”

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When home buyers engage an agent they often expect us to be the repository of any and all neighborhood information.  They often don’t see the need to do their own research because they can just pick the brains of their buyers agent.   But the truth is far more complicated than that.   Steering Laws prevent me from divulging anything about following:

• Demographics – for example – I can not answer a questions like “Does this neighborhood have a lot of young families?”
• Schools - for example – I can not address whether a school district is good, bad or anything in between.
• Crime Stats – I can’t answer your questions about whether or not an area is “safe.”  In truth you could be walking into a neighborhood rife with gang warfare – but I’m not allowed to discuss it.

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A few days ago I “stole” some time to indulge in a walk and photo-session at the Rockefeller Preserve.  Fortunately, I brought my telephoto lens…and as luck would have it – I was able to capture several shots of this  new mom and her brood of ducklings.  Seriously,  I could  almost just see her “smiling” with pride!  The ducklings were all over the place floating around on the water like tiny corks.  They were bobbing their heads in the water – with their tail feathers in the air – as Mom looked on watchfully.

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