NY Houses 4 Sale

Selling? What's IN ...

If you are selling or are thinking of selling here are some things that are "IN" -

Houses that are priced right. - No explanation needed on this.  Pricing is key and everything that is priced right - SELLS!

Savvy Buyers and Sellers.  - Companies like Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, Easy Street, Realtor.com and any other IDX feed website are the IN thing these days.  Buyers and sellers want to be in the "know"  - they don't want to rely on me to give them all the information - they will research and research until they KNOW what xyz sold for and what abc is asking.  Self educating on mortgages, home buying process and inspections.   

Upscale Garages. - If you are thinking about selling - then one suggestion that I can offer is deck out your garage.  Put up shelves, cabinets, heating extra electrical outlets and perhaps a mini fridge.  (I know MY husband would buy the house just for this.)

Home Office (Instead of fourth bedroom) - Ding Ding Ding.  Whenever I show a house that has three bedrooms and the fourth room as an office the buyers love it.  They love the idea that if they feel like working at home, they can, even if their boss won;t let them - they have that OPTION should it ever become available, because they have an office at home. 

Heated Patios, driveways and walkways. - SLAM DUNK!  Trust me.  Any house that I showed that had a heated driveway was a sold house!  The owner who installs radiant heat will never have to shovel snow again- Just flip a switch. 

Central Air (not forced hot air). -  Central air is a winner as well as the radiant driveway.  No air conditioner in the windows and the rooms stay at a constant temperature that you wish.  Very high on buyers wish list.

Finished basements. -  Everyone needs a place to put the kids and all their stuff.  Most buyers have this at the top of their wish list.  When finishing a basement, remember to make sure that your basement does not have any sort of water problems.  (I know, you would think people knew this already - but you would be surprised - trust me.)

Finished attics (could be used as  an office) - Remember this - any room that does not have heat (and most attics don't) is not considered or can be counted as a bedroom.  So, if you finished off an attic and there is no source of heat to the room, then it is not or can not be called a bedroom, BUT - you can call it an office!

Room with colors. - Let's put a guideline on this.  Some people out there do not love red - so be careful when picking out the colors.  Any room that has color on the walls is a warmer room than one that is just painted white. 

Creating an outdoor living space.  - Imagine moving into a house that has included the backyard in the decorating.  There is an outdoor BBQ space, paver's, and well manicured lawn.  This is an area that most homeowners don't take care of but when I see a home that has a drop dead backyard - the home can demand and will demand a higher selling price.  Utilize the yard! 

ON THIS MEMORIAL DAY..

ENOUGH SAID?

Avella's Ticket won't stay afloat.

I just read about the newly dismissed fine ($2,500) against Tony Avella  - I am keeping my opinions to myself for now but all I know is if that was ME - not only would I be forced to remove my pool AND  pay the fine but I would also be subjected to face local embarrassment!  Ugh, I need to go into politics.   

"In April, Avella fought a $2,500 fine issued by the Department of Buildings for having his pool 2 feet  instead of the required 5 feet  from his property line. The case was heard by the Environmental Control Board, which handed down its decision last week.

The board ruled that the buildings inspector failed to ascertain with accuracy the property line and the exact distance of the pool to it. According to testimony, the inspector guessed the distance and did not submit documentation or measurements."  (Queens Chronicle)

Say WHAT?  Did the inspector NOT measure or did the inspector measure wrong or is the original inspector just changing his story all together?  So if someone was to go RE Measure the pool would be at the correct 5' away from the property line and not the 2' like the violation stated?    Here is another question:  DID anyone go back to recheck and re measure??

"Following that report, Avella held a news conference in his back yard to rebut the charge. A Department of Buildings spokeswoman at the time that the rule was a quality-of-life provision intended to curb noise and splashing from pools that are too close to neighboring yards. It is part of the city's 1961 zoning resolution, and Avella said city officials should change the rule."  (Times Ledger)

Does Avella mean the city officials should change the rule because it does not suit him?  Or they should change the rule because it does not serve the Community, I am confused on that.

There is something or someone for everyone. Don't decide for them.

Have you ever heard the saying:  "There is someone for everyone in this world?"  I am sure you have. 

Well, there is a dream home out there for everyone as well.  It may not be what YOU like or what your parents think is the dream home would be.  But, everyone has an idea of what they want and what they don't want.  Right? 

Yesterday while I was talking to an agent in my office, he told me "this house will never sell". 

"NO? Why not?"

"Its so ugly, the house needs to be painted, its right next to an express bus stop and it really needs alot of work".

So my very next question to him was - "Oh, so what you are telling me is that you have decided for EVERY buyer out there that this home is not for them?"

After a few minutes of going through some bad points, I asked him to give me good points. 

• Location.
• Size of rooms.
• School District.
• Upgrades (if any).
• Roof, windows and boiler age (about).

Believe it or not, he was beginning to see the light.  The thing that most buyers look for is the location, size of house/rooms, school districts and so on. IF those are what meets the needs of a buyer, the cosmetics will come later. 

But, here is the thing.  The number one factor that will have a buyer ready, willing and able is the price.  Ta-DA! 

If you are an agent and are not getting offers on your listing or worse you are not even getting phone calls, think PRICE.  If you are a seller - trust me, the price tag will perk anyone's ears right up or send them away laughing.

I just can't retire.. yet!

Last year a dear friend of mine and my husband hired me to sell their home.  The couple decided that they were done with living in the Flushing  Queens area and they had a desire to move to their summer/rental home that they purchased a few years prior.  They were in a sense - retiring at a ripe age of 40. 

I almost found this infuriating.  How could they just stop the world and quit their jobs to go live in the mountains?  My brain tells me that there is money to be made still and if you slow down now, what do you do when its "time" to slow down? 

OK, so maybe it was part envy on my part.  Just think about it.  They sold their home for 6 times the amount that they paid for it 12 years ago.  They had their "summer home" almost paid for and they have no children that will bind them to a particular area so they have the luxury to sell everything and slow down.

And they did. 

We go to visit.  We go to play with them every few months, but they are retired and we are not.  I have calls to answer, people to still see and deals to be made.  My husband is right there with me.  Calling, talking, dealing and producing.  THIS is what we live for.  I actually almost freaked out when my phone died for lack of signal, it just shut off to "power save" , I found this very uncomfortable -   but I survived.

My point is - buying a home can help you get to your retirement.  If you buy a home when you are 30ish and pay the mortgage for the thirty years, you will be 60ish when the mortgage is paid off.  At this point, you have a home that is paid off and has secured your future. 

Just think about it..

Yep... I am still not feeling well...

Shhhh..

Times have changed?

Things are just different today.  Back in the early 90's when I got married, I knew that our $17.00 that we had left AFTER paying for our wedding would not be enough to use as a down payment on a home.  But a few months ago - it could have. 

"Back in the day" (Just take note: I am actually not that old - I just started REALLY Early).  when buying a house, a buyer had to show worthiness.  The buyer had to put up at least 20% of their own money and PROVE to the banks right and left that they could and would pay for the home. There was no such thing as "No Income/No Doc" loans.  It was hard to buy a home then I know, because at that time I think I had a better chance of seeing God than ever being able to buy a home.

So how or why was there a change in how much a bank would loan?  This I am not sure.  But what I do know is that these past 10 years alot of people were able to buy homes and they made alot of money in equity which allowed them to upgrade or refinance so they can knock down and re build.

Now I am beginning to think that the days of just borrowing a half a million to buy a home are over.  I do think  know that this time around buying a home will be harder.  Higher standards are being enforced, documents will be required as well as double checking to see if the borrower meets what the documents state and most likely I will be seeing more mortgages being issued with PMI Insurance rather than the 80/20's.   

Whatever the case, the days of impulse buying are over.  Welcome to reality!

 

My Landlord plans to sell the house - what rights do I have?

Last night I got this email:

Hi, I have been reading your blog and I want you to post a question on it so maybe you can help  me.  I live in a house with two other guys and I think that we are good, no we are great tenants.  We pay our rent, we are quiet (sometimes) no pets and we only smoke outside.  Today my ll (landlord) told us that he was planning on selling the house - we are screwed!  What rights do we have? 

- BoyVixen

Well - (should I call you Boy or Vixen?)

For some reason I am thinking that this is someone that I know who is just joking around with me .. but I am at a loss today on blogging ideas, so I am going to make a go of the question.    (Apologies in advance if this is a real question) .

Mr. Boy -

You did not tell me if you have a lease or not. 

If you do have a lease:  Then it is important to know when your lease expires. 

If you don't have a lease, then it is my guess that your landlord is giving you somewhat of a warning that he is selling or is thinking of selling.  Once he puts the home on the market, he will most likely ask you to be accommodating for showings if there should be an interested party.  If you opt not to cooperate, then he can and probably will give you a thirty day notice to vacate. 

My best advice:  Talk to your landlord.  Stay friendly with him and perhaps spruce up your place so any new buyers will be wanting you to remain with them. 

"Won't be in today, I think I am very sick"

"Yeah, Right"

See you Monday!!!

House Alarm

Breed: French Mastiff (Dogue de Bordeaux)

Weight: 160-170 lbs (head weighing about 40 lbs).

Temperament: Great!  Loves our family - not fond of outsiders.

Best Quality:  Will scare the crap out of anyone with one look.  Bark comes from the gut and rattles my dishes in the cupboard.

One thing I could do without?  DROOL.  Ohhh, its bad.  Really.  Think "Turner and Hooch". 

Would you mess with him??

When my husband and I bought our first house, we decided that we would need some sort of alarm system.  So I called an alarm company.  My husband called a breeder. 

When I first met our dog we drove 1.5 hours to Rhode Island and the breeder met us with 17 pups.  We were able to pick the pick of the liter if we wanted to.  While we were playing with the pups the breeder decided that I should meet the father and mother of the liter so I could better gauge my decision as to which pup would be a good fit for me. 

The breeder leaves and in an instant I saw a HUGE beast running right for me, his jowls were flapping in the wind and the paws were huge.  Not just huge but HUGE!  My face must have read something like "OH MY GAWD"  because everyone kept asking me if I was OK. 

OK?  Am I OK?  Are you guys crazy?  What does this thing eat?  Will my kids be safe?  Is this a joke? 

Looking at the cute fuzzy pups I had no idea that  THEY would turn into THIS!  I took  my oldest son by the arm and threatened him to "Pick the SMALLEST pup in the liter". 

Weeks and minutes this dog grew.  He grew and he still kept growing.  His drool was fierce and his protectiveness grew strong for our family.  He became my youngest sons "puller" and protector from his older brother, barking loudly and seriously when my oldest son taunts my younger son.   Just letting my oldest son know that he's watching.   

Door bells, strange noises and strangers puts my dog on high alert.  He is amazing! 

For the record he eats only finely cooked meals - Chicken and high residue dog food.  We cook for him every night.  He has quickly become king of the house and its a throne that I have allowed him to keep (OK, its not a throne its a couch, but do you blame me?).  People know what kind of alarm system I have - need I say more?