NY Houses 4 Sale

Foreclosure Help Hotline...

New York City's finance chief, William C. Thompson has set up a helpline for people at risk of losing their homes.  View the pamphlet here.

"New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. unveils plans to assist New Yorkers confronted with escalating mortgage payments at a news conference on April 26, 2007. Photo Credit: Marla S. Maritzer"

Foreclosure Prevention Hotline:  (212) 669-4600

Related Articles:

The Time Is Now To Act On Foreclosure Crisis - Queens Chronicle

Boro focuses on homes lost to sub-prime loans -  Times Ledger 

Spike In Foreclosures Raises Alarms  - Queens Chronicle

Is it.. Craigslist? Is it...AdPost? No - Its...

A new enhanced real estate classified site has finally (deep breath) launched. 

"We’re grassroots, so it will take some time to grow, but the seeds have been planted and the framework is in place." The founders of the site said.

I went over to the site and I think it will do great.  It is a new site so there is currently not alot of classifieds right now, but give it some time (like a week) and I bet there will be a plethora of information. 

Looking for Real Estate?

Or maybe you are looking for a  Broker/Agent Directory??

Looking for a Job? 

Looking for a Trust Deed Investors Wanted?!?!

It is all there ..

To find out more about posting a classified.

Congratulations to the Founders - I wish you guys all the best!

Bayside.. Are you Less Trendy?

TimeOut.com has named Bayside, NY a less trendy hood to live in.  So if you are a "lactating lemmings" you don't have to schlep all the way to Park Slope to move into a kid friendly, weed wacking neighborhood - just move on out to Bayside NY. 

There were a few links for a properties for sale - Click on the last one (2BR, Bayside, Queens, $239,900).  Yup, its ours.    You can also check out this co-op, or this one, oh and this one too.  Let me know if you want to see any of them!

Sportmanship..

Blue:  "Hey Great hit!"

Red: (my son) "I can't shake your hand, I want to beat you".

At last week game, I had to explain to my son again - its not about who wins or loses its about having fun... 

He does not buy it, he still wants to win!

11358 - High and Low..

HIGHO! 

I got curious today. 

11358 - LOWEST priced home: $469,000  Two bedroom attached Colonial home which has: a living room, dining room, eat in kitchen, one full bath.  There is also a partial basement/garage area that houses the laundry room.  This house is also so close to St. Mel's School (160th and 26th ave.), taxes $2495.00

This to me a great starter home for anyone.  Looking to downsize?  Need Low Maintenance? 

Highest??

11358 - HIGHEST priced home: $1,690,000 This is a four bedroom One family NEW construction home in the heart of Flushing North.  This Colonial features alot of stuff - but I am not even going to begin to describe it.  I feel that this home is way over priced for a one family home - new or not.  It is only sitting on a property of 60x100.  Taxes are unverified.

Sometimes I just shake my head...  What are they thinking? 

"Do as I say... Not as I do..."

Oh Man, I think this should be tagged "the World of Oh MY Gawd"  - Seriously.   Rules are made but  the makers are abolished from their own rules. 

In Queens NY, there is a rule that clearly states:  an above ground pool in a residential backyard needs to sit at least 5 feet from the lot line of either side. But, if you were Councilman Tony Avella - you can have the pool 2 feet away from the lot line.  No really, you can - he does. 

Today, the New York Times had an article entitled "Poolside, Ripples of Discontent" about Queens, City Councilman Tony Avella's pool and how "...the placement of the pool violates the city’s zoning rules, specifically a “quality of life” requirement ..." 

Mr. Avella states that the pool has sat there for over fifteen years and he really does not even know why that rule (must be at least five feet from the lot line) is in existence.  But the funny this is - Mr. Avella is the chairman of the Council’s zoning committee and he is most certainly one of the loudest foes of the Department of Buildings. 

Anyhow, the rule was made in the 1960's and has been followed ever since (unless you are Avella, then you don't have to follow).  The rule was made so other neighbors can enjoy their own yards without all the splashing from either neighbors yards.  Kinda makes sense.. no? 

This anonymous complaint was said to be issued sometime in November 2005 and the hearing kept getting pushed back (notice, I never said he removed the pool) until April  2007.  I would have to think that Mr. Avella was trying to speak to people to try to resolve the issue - his way.

After the hearing, Mr Avella held a press conference in his backyard and stated that he suspects that he will lose the hearing but if that happens "he will most likely sue the city to draw more attention to the rule and get it changed or abolished, an action that would require approval from the City Planning Commission."

He also said that for  now the pool will remain right where it is and its about the issue - Mr. Avella said, “and not just going along.” 

- There you have it folks, this will be our man who will be running for Mayor in 2009! 

also read Times Ledger - City issues Avella ticket on pool

Realtor gets insight..

I strive to understand a persons outlook and  I want to understand why people do things that they do.  I try to listen and add my opinion about, ohh just about everything!  Some people might say that I am pig headed, bullish and perhaps stubborn.  Yeah, maybe.   I have my convictions but I can also see both sides (let me say I TRY), before I come to my own opinions. 

When a homeowner is looking to buy or sell one of the first things that they should do is Google their area.  This is a great tool to see who is active on the internet and who is not.  I have written many posts about how a person should hire an agent.  If you don't see your Aunt Sally's friends daughter coming up on any internet search then my first suggestion is to stay away from that agent.  If the agent can not take time to get your listing onto the internet other than Realtor.Com then they are doing a huge disservice to the seller!

I came across a consumer blog which is documenting the sale of his own home and I find that it is very enlightening.  He is not bashing Realtors even though he has had a "nightmare" experience.  The blog HomeSellerExperience.com  is a must read for anyone who is looking to buy or sell their home.  This would be a great example of consumers educating themselves.  The gentleman even joined the Active Rain Blog to read what other Realtors were talking about.    When he first joined Active Rain, he felt that this would be equivalent to the "My Space" for Realtors, which he might be sort of right.  His blog is very informative and he even has his home for sale on his blog (Nice Touch!).  All in all, his last post on Active Rain was show stopping and I give him kudos for educating himself!

Mr. HomeSellerExperience.com has great articles like:

Does For Sale Buy Owner Work?

Blogs a Success For Realtors.

Home Selling and Technology.

Sell First or Buy First?

When the Unexpected Happens.

Are there any other Fsbo Sites that I have missed? 

Stocks Vs. Real Estate?

There is always two sides to each coin.  Perhaps some people will insist that stocks are a better investment and maybe some people will fight tooth and nail to say that Real Estate is a better bang for your buck.  In an article today on CnnMoney, there is a breakdown with these five main points.  Use your judgment and you decide, which is better? 

Round 1.  Performance.  Cnn States that over the long run, stocks are hard to beat.   

Round 2. Leverage.  Round two for Real Estate.  The article states that the leverage that alot of homeowner acquired is unbeatable.

Round 3. Costs.  Ok, I would have to bet that the cost of buying a home as opposed to stocks gets beat hands down.  Stocks win 2 rounds.

Round 4.  Taxes - Round goes to Real Estate.  Can you say write offs?

Round 5.  Transparency.  Eeek a draw!  "An easy round for stocks? Think about Enron, Tyco and WorldCom. "

Round 6.  Effort.  Again, hands down would beat Real Estate. 

Round 7. Volatility.  Real Estate wins.  Even though there can be depreciation in your home, it won't or I should say, it most likely won't happen within hours, days or a week. 

Round 8.  Diversification.  Stocks have it!  It is alot easier to build a stock portfolio than a real estate investment portfolio.  You don't think so?  Have you ever heard of Casey Serin? 

Round 9.  Decision.  Check out the Cnn article to see.

Rally..

I was asked to post information about a rally that will be taking place this Saturday in front of 69-57 185 Street, Fresh Meadows, NY 11365. 

Ok, normally I would not become involved in something of this sort, but when I pulled up the building information, I discovered that there is currently 32 undisputed complaints.  Granted some of the complaints (32 of them) are frivolous, but some are valid and there have been violations (6) that have been issued.  What the neighbors are most upset at is that there was a stop work order issued and guess what?  The work has not stopped!    

"CALLER STATE THAT THERE IS A DOOR AT THIS CONSTRUCTION SITEIS A DANGER TO THOSE WHO PASS BY DUE TO THE WIND ROCKING DOOR ONTOSIDEWALK PLEASE INVESTIGATE" - 04/04/2007 - - I2 - NO ACTION NECESSARY BASED UPON PHYSICAL OBSERVATION

"CALLER STS THAT THERE ARE NO POSTED SIGNS THAT LET YOU KNOWWHERE TO CALL IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT"  - 04/04/2007 - - I2 - NO ACTION NECESSARY BASED UPON PHYSICAL OBSERVATION-

"CLR STS CONSTRUCTION WORK IS BEING DONE OUTSIDE OF THEIRPERMIT"- 04/04/2007 - - A9 - ECB & DOB VIOLATIONS SERVED-

"CALLER STATES THERE WAS A STOP WORK ORDER POSTED AT THIS LOCATION...CALLER STATES THE CONSTRUCTION CREW IS AT THS SITE RIGHT NOW WORKING ON THE BUILDING"   11/08/2006 - - A1 - VIOLATION SERVED

And many many more... (like I said there were 32 violations in total to date).

Ya think there are some upset neighbors? 

Real Estate Blogging

"Blogging is certainly nothing new...by now, you've probably read a few blogs on different topics yourself. Real Estate agents are now getting in on this fast growing trend. They're doing it to not only generate more business, but also to educate home buyers and sellers about the market conditions...and what they're seeing first hand. Beejal takes a look at the growing trend." One of Sellsius' top ten female bloggers, Fran Bailey speaks to a Chicago Reporter about blogging.  What is so interesting is that more and more bloggers are becoming picked because of their local input and not really because of their national input.  With Technorati spiking at about 72 million blogs I find that it is important to keep my information local based and while I do tend to speak about some national companies on occassion, my ultimate goal is to keep it real, keep it simple and keep it close to home.  Congratulations Fran!  (btw, how did this affect your visitor stats?)