One of the primary problems facing the real estate industry right now is that anyone who needs loan has to have squeaky clean credit in order to qualify. The number of Westchester homes for sale – that overhang of inventory – won’t go away until more buyers have access to credit. During the boom, anyone with a pulse could get a home loan. Today the pendulum has swung too far to the in the other direction. Credit requirements are bordering on the absurd. Lately I’ve been waiting for lenders to demand DNA samples and FBI background checks for prospective borrowers.
It is true that in the past Americans have taken on a ton of debt. With wages stagnant, unemployment high and families up against the wall – credit created the elasticity that kept many families living check to check afloat. But the banks have been very mecurial - loving those who keep revolving credit balances and penalizing them at the same time. The system has been set up with what Elizabeth Warren referred to as “tricks and traps.” The result has been a mess where banks jack up rates almost on a whim, change due dates, include non-usage fees and do anything else you can think of to wring more money out of the consumer.
Some of these new regulations regarding credit are designed to plug some of the holes. Of course the system is still full of holes you could drive a truck through. Jon Stewart had a wonderful take on all of this.
Here is the video – hilarious – particularly the second half.
This was simply something I had to show people. I studied music in college. Sort of a family tradition – there are several professional musicians in my family (I am not one of them though!) In any case, when I was in school I took music theory where the underlying structure of the music was explored in depth. We would even compose music in the style of certain composers – for example I wrote a three-part fugue in the style of Bach. In any case, being able to visualize the structure can be challenging. This video really shows the underlying structure of Bach’s Tocatta and Fugue in d minor. Now the performance itself is not especially mesmorizing, but they way it shows – very simply – the underlying structure of the fugue in particular is just great…The process makes it look so simple and transparent. I have to thank Victoria again for sending me this.
This is a message to all the real esate agents that I know and love who haven’t changed the photo on their business card and other materials for 20 or more years!
Sure, I’d love to look the way I did 20 years ago. Well…not quite. I’d love to look as YOUNG as I did 20 years ago and still have an updated look that says 2010 – not 1990. One of the reasons I don’t have a photo on my business card or web site is because agent photos have gotten so ridiculous. I’m firmly convinced that if I put my 45-year-old mug on a card, people would automatically think I was 80 years of age. After all, having a photo that is dated to about half of our actual age seems to be the industry standard.
So here are 10 signs that the photo on your card and other publicity might be a tad — ahem— dated.
1. You have a child the same age you were when that photo was actually taken.
2. Your eyeglasses cover your entire face.
3. Your hair is bigger than the eyeglasses that cover your entire face.
4. The padded shoulders on your power suit make you look like a football player.
5. Your kids laugh hysterically when they see the photo and ask “did you really look like that once?”
6. Your hair, clothing, and makeup make you look like you are dressed for a costume party with a vintage theme.
7. NO ONE recognizes you from your photo.
8. You have a full head of hair and sideburns in the photo – even though you have been bald for years.
9. You lapels and tie are so wide they cover your entire chest.
10. Your new client runs away in fear because they think the strange older person approaching them is impersonating the young hot agent they contacted.
Sometimes I post something that has nothing at all to do with real estate. Not too many people know this about me, but years ago I studied piano quite seriously. I was actually a music major during my college days and my B.A. is indeed in musicology.
I have very short fingers and my former organ teacher from those days apparently remembered and emailed me the link to this hilarious video. Now I know that music purists will argue that this particular piece is not that tough to play. Still, I thought it was hilarious because most Romantic works required me to roll many of the chords…
Over the past couple of months, I have written some scathing blogs about the big banks (Big Box Bankmarts) and their inability to fund loans in a sane, reasonable and timely manner. I’ve had loans stalled, delayed and otherwise mired in underwriting for months on end for no apparent good reason.
Just the other day Chris Berg created a “movie” using XtraNormal about Big banks and foreclosure sales. If you want a good laugh – you should take a look. This inspired me to try my hand at an XtraNormal video creating my own diatribe on the big banks regarding plain vanilla 30-year loans. I admit that my dialogue can not match Chris Berg’s but the sentiment is the same.
This is the FINAL ANSWER to that burning question: How do you stop a telemarketer dead in their tracks?
I have a confession to make: I hate telemarketers. I really do. It’s one reason why I rarely call clients until they appear to be “ready” to act. There is nothing worse than finding yourself on the phone with someone who is trying to sell you something you don’t want.
Seriously though, agents are generally being stalked by telemarketers. Agents are independent contractors – we run our own businesses under the banner of our brokerages. That makes us ripe for harassment because the DNC (do not call) list does not apply to us. New agents are stuned to find themselves under seige by telemarketers offering ever more fancy (read expensive) solutions for generating new business contacts. When I first got licensed several years back – I felt like someone had put a sign on my forehead “SUCKER HERE!” For the most part, what they offer is sheer junk. After all, if it were any good, they wouldn’t need to hawk it on the phone so aggressively. Once a telemarketer gets you on the phone, it is almost impossible to get them OFF without hanging up on them.
Another reason for this post: Well, let’s face it, since real estate agents rank up there with used car salesman – I do get perverse pleasure in making fun of vocation that is held in lower regard than my own!
But I digress! A friend of mine sent me this link. This is the ultimate in answer to annoying telemarketing calls! Absolutely HILARIOUS! I want to thank Karn for sending this to me. The Ultimate Telemarketer Nightmare.
This has nothing to do with real estate and nothing to do with Westchester. However, a friend of mine sent me a link to this video and I thought it was absolutely remarkable. Perptuum Jazzile is a an a capella choral group from Slovenia. They took an 80s hit and reinvented it. At the beginning of the video they imitate rain with their fingers and hands. The effect is nothing short of spectacular. Having spent enough time in choral groups – I can tell you that the effects that they obtain are amazing and highly imaginative. If they every tour the New York area – they are a must-see…. Enjoy the video! And I want to thank Victoria for sending this to me!
This Freaky Friday is really being penned on Saturday, but I hope most people won’t mind.
Below is a very funny clip from one of my favorite shows – “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. In this clip Stewart talks about how many republicans are outraged by the Obama administration and its policies. ” A road to tyranny” and ” Facism is coming.” were used to describe the new Administration’s policies. Stewart points out in his own way that its all about your point of view and reminds viewers that many democrats felt the same way about the previous 8 years.
I see the same thing when working with buyers and sellers. Some see the people on the other side of the closing table as the enemy . In this buyer’s market many sellers are made to feel that the process was entirely unfair to them. Just a couple of years ago, it was the other way around. There are winners and losers in real estate, but in a buyer’s market, it always seems as though the seller is on the short end.
My advice to sellers is that if you need to sell, don’t bemoan the injustice of it all – but keep a positive attitude – remember, your home looks very different to a buyer than it does to you. To you it is your home and hearth and of course you want top dollar. To the buyer it is one of many properties that they are going to see. And in this tough market, buyers fear overpaying more than anything else. So, don’t take low-ball offers personally and remember that an overpriced house is going to sit, not sell. If you are realistic, your home will sell – lowball offers notwithstanding.
Why do listing agents continually try to put lipstick on pigs? We are forever trying to put our listings in their best possible light. That’s our job. But what would happen if we were brutally honest about a property?
Here is some brutally honest copy that will never see the light of day on a real listing:
Heart healthy living! Five story walk-up with no nearby parking.
This home comes complete with a state-of-the-art security system. The perfect amenity for this high crime neighborhood.
Everything in this lovely home is vintage – including the electrical and plumbing which dates back to 1925.
Your brand new “green” home has state-of-the-art plastic plumbing and low-flow toilets that tend to clog.
Be prepared to be blown away by the marvelous cathedral ceiling that graces the living area. You will also be knocked off your feet by the heating and cooling bills that go with it.
A state-of-the art drainage system has been newly installed in this beautiful home located in a flood zone.
This low maintenance yard is the size of a postage stamp.
Never worry about getting snowed in. This home has a bus stop right by your front door.
Voyeur’s special: you can look into every room of your neighbor’s house without ever leaving the comfort of your own home.
Thanks to an unusually active hurricane season, this beautiful home is now situated on a newly created beach-front.
Note that Krys Jaronski and Julie Moslow contributed substantively to this blog. Thanks for the input and I hope you approve of the end result.
Let’s face it, one segment of the population has fared very well during this financial crisis….comedians have been given plenty of fodder for skits and there is no end in sight. When Barack Obama won the election , I was foolishly concerned for the welfare of the comics. I figured that many comedians would be polishing their resumes and looking for day jobs. Let’s face it, whatever you think of Obama – its obvious that he doesn’t offer anything close to the amount of canon fodder that George Bush regularly and generously provided. But the financial crisis has provided a wealth of new material to exploit and most have taken the ball and run with it.
What’s particularly interesting is the contrast between the Americans and the Brits. Their humor is so different. Here are two clips – one hilariously sarcastic diatribe by Stephen Colbert and the other featuring the rather clipped and understated humor from two British comics know as the “Long Johns” – two British comics who have a signature style that’s all their own.
