What $139,000 gets you in Cortlandt Manor, NY

I recently closed on this short sale property on Wharton Drive in Cortlandt Manor. In my opinion, this was a “steal”. As you may know, there really aren’t many decent houses to choose from in this price range. In fact, this was a multiple offer situation. My buyers actually purchased the house for $6,000 above list price.

This 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house sits on .33 acres and is 1400 square feet. However, that square footage doesn’t include a full finished basement. The backyard is huge and leads to a beautiful brook. The property also comes with lake rights, playground, beach and access to the clubhouse. The community is known as Continental Village. This is part of the Lakeland Central School District.

Please Beware of this Real Estate Scam!

We all know how greatly the internet has improved the real estate business. I couldn’t imagine being a real estate agent before the use of modern technology. Unfortunately, along with these advances comes the opportunity for a con artist to take advantage of an unsuspecting victim.

I’ve only heard on these types of scams, but luckily I’ve never encountered one; until the other day. I received an online lead through my website. A potential buyer was requesting information on a house in Riverdale, NY. At first, I was rather excited when I discovered that this was a $1.3 million property. I called this gentleman up and it turned out he was interested in renting the house. That was disappointing. Typically, I don’t do rentals. In almost all cases I explain to the renter that rentals are not an area I cover and that they would get much better service from one of our other agents in the office. But this gentleman was extremely pleasant so I decided to look up the property to see if I can help him. Well, I searched the MLS several times and couldn’t find a rental listing for this property anywhere. I called the man back and asked for more details. He said that it was advertised for $1,500 on Trulia.com. This raised a MAJOR red flag. Remember, we’re talking about a 4,000 square foot mansion in Riverdale, NY that is listed at $1.3 million. This house wouldn’t rent for less than $5,000 per month. He admitted that it didn’t sound right, but figured he would look into it. He told me he talked to a guy that said he was the listing agent. That didn’t check out as the listing agent was a woman. He said that this man asked him to FedEx the first month’s rent of $1,500 to him and then he would mail back the key. At this point it was clear that this was a scam. I tried to call the man to confront him; it was an Alabama phone number. Of course, I got his voicemail. I advised the gentleman to file a complaint. I’m sure that won’t accomplish much but I figured it was at least worth an attempt to try to protect others from the same scam.

Please believe me that I’m not trying to use this event as a reason to promote my business. That would be tacky and unprofessional. However, this is one of the many reasons you should seek professional representation when selling, or searching, for a new home.

Why pricing your house is like microwaving popcorn…

One might think I’m crazy for making such a comparison. How can selling the biggest investment of your life be similar to microwaving food? The answer is simple. No, I’m not referring to the fact that if done correctly they both produce a rather delightful outcome. While this is true, I’m talking about the discipline and precision timing that is needed for optimal results.

When I first microwaved popcorn, I made the crucial mistake of setting my own time and hitting the start button. I had the movie ready to start and was waiting impatiently with my empty bowl. When the buzzer went off, I opened the bag and dumped it all out. What the heck?! The popcorn was black and it smelled awful. Don’t tell me this has never happened to you! At this point I was disgusted and quickly learned that you can’t just make up a time and walk away. You have to pay close attention and listen for the ferocious popping to slow down. Once you hear it slow down to a pop every three seconds or so, it’s ready! Take it out and enjoy the buttery snack with your favorite movie.

You should use the same technique when pricing your home. As a home seller, it’s never easy being told that you have to drop your price. However, it’s very easy to calculate when a price drop is critical. If you are getting several showings a week and multiple showings on weekends, you’re in good shape. When you start seeing a decline in showings, get ready to hit the button. Once you go a couple weekends without a showing, especially after you’ve been getting many, it’s time!

Like the popcorn, if you wait too long, you will get burned. While it is tempting to make sure you get every kernel out of your bag, and every dollar out of your home, trying to get the extra little bit can cost you the entire bag, or sale. Also, in the buyer’s mind, if your house is still on the market months later at the same price they will either assume that something is wrong with the house, or that you aren’t motivated to sell. Your listing will become stale.

Don’t believe what you see and hear on TV. This is not the buyer’s market you think it is!!!

I’ve been working with quite a few buyers who are becoming more and more frustrated while searching for a new home. They have this misconception about our current market, and I believe the media is a major reason why. Most people have this notion that banks aren’t lending, people aren’t buying and buyers who can get a loan can bully sellers around and get whatever they want. Well, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Not here in Westchester.

Here’s the truth about our current market conditions. We’ve hit rock bottom as far as pricing is concerned, which has created some competition among buyers. I placed four offers last week on four separate houses, all different buyers. Three of the four turned out to be multiple offer situations. When buyers send me listings to schedule appointments, it’s been a common occurrence that approximately half of them already have an accepted offer. For some reason, many buyers expect to be able to get 10% off, or more, on any house on the market. They are shocked and confused when they are told that there are multiple offers or that it’s going to take close to asking price to get the house. By no means am I saying that it’s a seller’s market, it clearly is not. However, the days of bullying sellers around are dwindling.

The truth is, most sellers have accepted the fact that their house isn’t going to sell for what the neighbors did a few years ago. You can’t expect to slash prices any further, they’ve already dropped drastically. As for the banks, I’ve seen no problem with my buyers being able to secure financing. If you have good credit and a good job, you’ll get a loan. I don’t understand where all of this news is coming from that people can’t get loans. If you’re working with a reputable loan officer you shouldn’t have a problem.

With this little swing in the market, I’m seeing a trend that makes our job very difficult. I’m finding that it’s difficult to get buyers to present an offer that is fair. I’m talking about my own buyers that I’m representing. We’ve hit a point were sellers will now hold out a little longer because they see the increase in positive activity. The nice houses in good school districts are not staying on the market very long. It’s tough as a buyer’s agent to tell your client that they should increase their offer when they don’t want to come up any higher.

Last point to all buyers out there.  Remember, it's about putting a fair deal together that is a win-win for both sides.  The goal is to get a fair deal on a house that you will call your home for the next couple decades.