Overheard

One of my clients today told me that he had heard from a colleague that the Syracuse area was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the hottest in the country, and the one most likely to show exceptional profit for investors over the next five years.

I went to Forbes and couldn't find the reference, but I did find what they listed as hot markets. Reading through them I saw growth in the neighborhood of 6% to 7%.

So I checked the Syracuse area. Skaneateles' average price of a home in the past 12 months is $476,000. Last year at this time it was $437,000. More homes were sold last year than this - 40 vs. only 30.

By comparison the city homes are hovering around the $100,000 mark. Or less, much less, in certain areas. Dayton, Ohio, considered a hot market, has homes averaging in the mid-70s.

But we are talking about growth and profit for investors. As I look at my waterfront clients and realize what they bought their homes for within the last five years there is a great deal of profit to be made. And always, always, we said at the time - "I can't believe it sold for that much!" Yet with an eye to the future my clients have been proven right.

Transformation

Real estate can be a transforming experience. Today was one of those days that demonstrated this principle.

It is often heard in the business that one of the five most stressful events in a person's life is buying or selling a home. This, of course, comes about usually because of one of the other four stressors - marriage/divorce, death, relocation, family expansion/change.

My first appointment was with a man who, at the age of 50, decided to re-envision his life and create, in this case, homes. He put away his identity as an owner of leased property and is in the process of reinventing himself. The process feels right to him and I am there to help.

Another couple is spinning the wheel of fortune, selling off properties and letting that determine their lifestyle. Chance - fate - easier by far than trying to work out what is best in the unknowable future.

The last family is saying good-bye to an old way of life and embracing Skaneateles. They will arrive with open arms, eager to set aside the past and plunge into the future. The unknown...but what a lovely place to do it in!

In each case real estate is key. Will home-building transform his life, will the couple be content with what fate brings, will the family be happy a year from now? How wonderful to be part of these processes!

Busy

This past Memorial Day weekend was the busiest time I think I have ever had. I started out at 8:00 (or before!) every day and returned home every night late (10:30 once). And every minute was dedicated to real estate.

What brought this on? The market is hot now in the Finger Lakes. I'm not alone. Every agent I spoke with seemed highly incredulous, and several mentioned that they were extremely busy without my saying anything myself.

Over the weekend I had one multiple offer, several showings - some were return visits to homes - and two listing appointments. I wrote one offer that was accepted, another that lost in the multiple offer, and I am expecting a third offer to come as a result of the weekend, if not a fourth, this week.

People literally walked in off the street, which happens a great deal in Skaneateles. We have such a lovely town that when people visit they want to know if it's possible to live here. Some complain about the high prices ("$600,000 for that small place?"), some are unused to New York State taxes, but it seems as if all are curious. We ran out of free brochures by Saturday night.

So when the nation is having a slowdown in real estate, we are not. Our lake prices compared to the rest of the country are very good, our homes in this unique village are not outrageously priced.

Our Realtors, however, are tired!

Waterfront Pricing

Sixty years ago waterfront on Skaneateles Lake was sold for $5.00 a foot. Farmers sold it off because they really didn't want it. It served no purpose for their cattle or crops. If anything, it was a detriment for their land values.

Some of the value for the various properties is, of course, dependent on what is built on the lots. A huge home, newly built by one of the local builders, David Lee, or designed by an architect, Andy Ramsgard or Bob Eggleston or Steve Busa, can easily reach into the millions, almost (but not quite) regardless of the shoreline. Smaller "camps," as we call them here in the Finger Lakes, take their value from the waterfront but more importantly their footprint.

The towns have begun to limit structures, so the concept of footprint becomes essential. In Skaneateles, you may use the existing structure but not exceed its imprint. There is also a limit on non-permeable surfaces - no more than 10% of the ground may be covered. This means an acre lot at 42,000 sf may only be covered by 4,200 sf. While it sounds like a lot, decrease the lot size to half an acre and remember that driveways and paths are non-permeable and the house will shrink, too.

So waterfront pricing is a formula: land plus structure (real and potential) plus length of shoreline = price. Simple, really. No.

The price of all waterfront (and all homes, but especially waterfront) is what the seller will let it go for. My camp? Priceless!

Trees in Manhattan

The trees make the City (capital C). The leaves had just come out at home when I went down and therefore were still a novelty to me. And since it's always windy I noticed them even more.

Beautiful trees. Fully developed, mature trees. Growing where they had no right to grow, through the pavement and the iron grills.

So here we are in the country and developers go through and knock down the trees for economic reasons. Some require their new buyers to plant a tree or purchase a landscaping package, to replace the trees they've taken down. Then the listings show the "to be built" home surrounded by lovely trees, when in reality it won't look like that for years and years.

We need to learn from Manhattan. Much is forgiven when there's a tree nearby.

Manhattan

Usually I have an idea floating around that sweeps me up around blogging time. Not today. I've been swept up though by a mini-vacation to "The City That Never Sleeps."

I visited my son who lives in Manhattan over a long weekend. Ostensibly I was there to help a friend who was starting a line of greeting cards and exhibiting at the stationery show in the Javits Center. While I helped her - see www.annasoltyk.com - I got to see my Alex who also works for a greeting card company, Patience Brewster Cards (www.patiencebrewster.com.)

There's a Skaneateles connection here: we all worked, lived, owned property, or went to school there and now this diverse crew found itself in the Javits Center. Small world, yes, but that's what New York is all about somehow.

When I lived in Seattle I'd go down to the market on Saturdays and always, always, run into someone I knew. When I returned to the Finger Lakes where I grew up I would go weeks without seeing someone from the old days. I couldn't understand this.

But after a few days in Manhattan I might have a clue. I think it's about being out there. We walked and walked - East Village, West Village, Union Square, west side, upper East side, walking and talking and eating out. I moved constantly, and with that movement there was the chance of meeting people.

I flew home and went to work today, driving to the village, parking and walking the two blocks from a free lot to the office. I saw a few houses on brokers' open, talked to some Realtors, but the opportunity to meet and greet hundreds, thousands of people as I had on the train or on the streets wasn't there. And that's okay - certainly less exhausting - but different.

To be continued.....

Client Base

Early on I learned that having a solid base of clients was preferential to making cold calls. Who wants to call strangers and ask if they want to list their home? I've done it, but it makes me uncomfortable. If salespeople call me, I politely decline and hang up on them. I have to admit no one hung up on me, amazingly, and I did get some listings. Still, never having to call is better.

I met a young couple and their premature baby when they first came to Skaneateles, looking for a home or a rental. They were squeezed into a small apartment while they looked, the baby only a few weeks old and cared for by the mother, grandmother, and a teen-age foster child.

We worked together to find a home, finally building one in Camillus in a new development. They moved into it in the fall, earlier than they had expected. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Through the process we became friends. I became protective of the young mother and we spent extra time together. She wasn't from here, and the challenge of her baby and the new life away from family and friends was difficult. On Christmas they would come calling on us, and in the summer join us for our July 3rd (more on this later) celebration.

I wasn't surprised when they announced in 2005 they were planning to move south, back home. I helped them sell their home and sent them on their way, but we stayed in touch.

On Monday they surprised me with a visit. I saw the baby, now a very active 4 year old, climb up the steps to the office. I was speechless with pleasure.

Last night they came over to the house for dinner and a walk on our property. The little boy ran and yelled, picked flowers and let our dogs lick his face while he giggled. He had had open heart surgery since we last saw him and the change was dramatic.

Client base? I wouldn't call it that. For some people it is a business transaction with boundaries. Others have become my extended family, and for that I am most grateful.

Coming Home

I heard an interesting fact today. Cayuga County has 48 of the 50 states represented in the summer on the lake.

Skaneateles Lake is divided principally by two counties: Onondaga (think Syracuse) and Cayuga (Auburn). The northern end is in Onondaga and the southwestern part is in Cayuga. Several towns have lake frontage: Skaneateles (village and town), Spafford, and Niles are the largest. The Skaneateles School District runs about 13 miles down the east side and 11 miles on the west, right into Cayuga County.

So the people who live in Niles represent the states, and I would also wonder about different countries. I know of a family (having sold the house) who come from Uganda every year to spend a month on the lake. They come as the others do, I am sure, for family and tradition.

I spent the afternoon with people who live now in Tennessee. They have retired there, if owning a cattle ranch is actually retirement. They come for the children who remain here and just because. Because it is summer on the lake, because the hummingbirds expect their red flowers, because if you look out from their cliff you can look down on ducks and crows flying below, see wind whipping across the water, watch new homes being built and remember old friends. Besides, the cats like to spread out on the railings in the sun, the landscaping long dreamt about over the winter needs reworking, a new set of French doors could replace the picture window and give that lower room a new purpose. Because it's summer on the lake.

The Views

I grew up in the Finger Lakes and always thought that every state had wonderful lakes like Central New York. When I went away to college I discovered differently. I seemed to end up where there were lakes, anyway - the Lake District in England, Seattle, Saratoga.

Now as a Realtor part of my job is to show people the area, and of course that means Skaneateles Lake. Today was a prime example, and I traveled down the west side and then through the village to the east side.

My companion called the views mesmerising and I concurred, as usual marveling at the idea that I never get tired of the scenery. I appreciate it no matter how many times I see the same vista across the lake, the farmers' fields newly plowed, the sun sparkling off a distant pond, the tiny cars curving up hillsides. My home.

After I left him I went off on a listing appointment. For land with a view, no less. I stood speaking with the owners in the late afternoon and found myself mesmerised by the view. I simply could not take my eyes off it, even missing a few words because I was lost in the landscape.

I hope I get the listing - I want to share that view with others, watch others lose themselves in it, and eventually see new owners building a home that will always be remarkable for the view.
Mesmerised.

Mothers' Day

As I pulled my open house signs this afternoon an old friend shouted to me from his bike. We met years ago when he was looking for a home that would be conducive for him and his wife as well as his mother-in-law. They were cramped and everyone needed privacy.

I had such a space for my own mother, and knew what he was looking for. Unfortunately his wife's mother passed away before they found anything.

The house I had open today also had in-law potential, as they say; living areas upstairs for the primary family and a first floor bedroom, sitting room, full bath and possible kitchen all on a large private lot only a mile from the village of Marcellus. A couple saw it and realized that it would work well for their situation and brought the wife's mother over to see it. She was thrilled.

Deal? Not yet, but hopeful.

As I run into this situation more and more, I wonder what makes people wait. The comfort of family warmth, safety and privacy as our lives become more tenuous and our abilities wane is priceless. The families that make that leap and take on the remaining years of a loved one's life are to be congratulated for their compassion and courage.

It's not an easy decision, but such a good one to be made on Mother's Day!

The Multiple Offer

Multiple offers - you either love them or hate them. When I first started my business, it seemed as if that was all I had and so I learned how to frame my offers early.

Multiple offers arise for several reasons. Usually a property comes on the market that everyone wants, whether for price, condition or location. Agents scurry around and try to get their buyers to see it quickly, knowing it won't last. After a day or two offers come in, and then it is up to the listing agent to sort things out. Another reason for mulitple offers is harder to explain: after months of a property sitting out there suddenly it's discovered and two or more offers come in within 24 hours of each other.

The general rule for multiple offers is "highest and best." The sellers will take the highest price with the cleanest ("best") deal. The fewer the contingencies, the cleaner the offer. Cash beats a mortgage, no home inspection beats waiting for a home inspector to come through and possible negotiations.

Today I presented in a multiple offer situation. My clients saw the home three days after it was listed, but already nine other agents had brought their clients. An offer was in, another was expected, two other showings were scheduled. We had to be fast and high, clean as a whistle.

We found a good number above the asking price, cash, 30 days to close, and absolutely no contingencies except the mandatory attorney approval on both sides. I handed the pen to the seller and he signed on the spot. My clients own their first home!

Hopefully the offer survives the attorney approval phase here in New York. He/she can simply nullify the offer and might if something so much better comes in. This is rarely done, but...stay tuned.

Technology

A few years ago I met a Realtor in Alabama who told me about the old days. Listings were not shared and were the sole property of the brokerage. If you took a listing the photo was displayed in the window of your office and you controlled the information and access. I suppose Polaroids would have been considered the new technology. (The agents also earned 10% commissions, with emphasis on the "earned," I presume.)

After spending a couple days wrestling with my new smartphone I was reminded time and again that the technology is only as good as the people who use it or interpret it. I am not literate in the ways of computers, being dragged kicking and scratching into the 1990's. Once there, I'm fine - writing on computers gave me my "voice," as I've often said, because I could type as quickly as I thought. It was also more legible. Now here's the smartphone, ready to free me from the confines of the office so I can work anywhere, but I'm still trapped by the human element, primarily me.

But I made it through the gates, I think! This afternoon I drove out to some land and took a photo with my phone which I sent to my client, who e-mailed me to thank me. I checked the listings after a cell phone call and will show property my clients called in to see tomorrow. I'll be able to get into the house with the same phone, and the agent will see that I went there and read my review.

And while I was in technology hell, as I call it, aka the installation process, our administrative assistant stood by me with helpful ideas, another agent yelled "Call for support!" until I did and they found the glitsch.

We will always need people - to invent and screw up and repair and use what they invented.

Loyalty

Last night I was considering the concept of loyalty. I am loyal to my clients. Once they buy or sell with me, I stay with them and honor their wishes and promote them.

Yesterday I went the extra mile, literally, for a client and felt quite good about it. As I was thinking how it felt to make the extra effort, a voicemail was left for me. A woman whose house I had viewed years ago called to say she was finally ready to list it and would only list with me. She told me she had promised me those many years ago because I took time with her.

I was overwhelmed with gratitude and a sense of wonder. It made my day, my week....and acts like that make my career incredibly rewarding.

So if you want excellent lake rights and a gorgeous flowered and treed lot with a house that has almost new everything mechanical, you'll have to wait a couple weeks to see it (not ready for showtime!), but it just might be worth the wait. This experience was worth the wait for me.

The Athenaeum of Skaneateles

Yesterday I went through this grand home built in 1850. A huge Victorian, it's within easy walking distance of the village center and commands a view of the lake over rooftops.

It was on the market a couple years ago and I spent a few hours in it with clients and a home inspector. It needed a lot of work, but the hardwood floors, turrets, nooks and crannies as well as a long history in the village had charmed my buyers as well as me. Unfortunately we were unable to complete the sale and the Peregrine Health Management Company purchased it.

They have created what they term the "Premier Living Concept for Seniors on the East Coast," a classy name for a senior residence. Those nooks and crannies made interesting bedrooms, the turrets are sitting rooms and meeting rooms, the hardwoods are polished. Each bright room will be luxuriously furnished, each bathroom large and handicapped accessible. A salon is on the lowest floor, a chef is in the kitchen, an elevator glides up the four floors.

I met some people from town there and we checked it out together. We kept stopping at the windows with views of the street or views of the lake. We agreed basically that when we needed space like this, it could be charming with the views and the village. It would be a gentler way of life.

To see pictures and learn more: www.the-athenaeum-of-skaneateles.com

My own thoughts - I wish it could have stayed a 9,000 square foot single family home. I wish the doors could have been thrown open for summer balls, winter sleighing parties, family reunions. I wish extended family were able to be made at home and comfortable. I know it's unrealistic, and I am very grateful that the home was preserved, but I can still hear the music.

Brokers' Open

On Tuesdays in Skaneateles and the communities west of Syracuse (Marcellus, Camillus and Elbridge) Realtors open their new listings for other Realtors to see. The more people who come in, it's assumed, the greater the chance of selling the property.

Note: Agents still are the primary reason homes sell! The internet is ready to overtake them, but it's still necessary to see a house. Newsprint ads and other marketing tools lag far behind these main categories.

Since it was a gloriously warm and sunny day, everyone went to see the listings. The Athenaeum, a new concept in care, was open from 10:00 until 12:00 (more about this tomorrow) and it drew out the crowds, both agents and townspeople. I went next to a cottage - an adorable cottage, I might add - on Genesee Street, the main thoroughfare also known as Route 20. Then off down the west side of the lake to see a home that had lost a jacuzzi but gained a den. The view was still spectacular!

My aim was to see some waterfront homes in the area in which I sold last year, about 10 miles down the lake. The first was open - the agent served a barbecue picnic on the deck. Then I picked up an old friend and we saw a lovely retreat on 18 acres, high above the water. After that was a tiny cabin on 100 feet of waterfront (think cliff down this end of the lake.) The outhouse was still there, but the setting was private.

Skaneateles on a day like this - in my convertible - there is no place better!

The Beginning

I came to Skaneateles in 1990, fresh from Saratoga and Seattle. I had owned a house in Seattle with my then-husband, but as a single parent I couldn't afford anything but rent.

Skaneateles made me a home-owner in my own right. Unbelievably I was able to purchase a small cottage on two acres a mile from the village. I felt I had arrived!

Since then I've changed careers, attempted to start my own school, and found a home in real estate, in the town I've grown to love. I want to share that village and my experiences with readers through this blog.

To that end:

• I promise you "News and Views" of real estate in and around Skaneateles on a mostly daily basis.
• I promise you information you might not find elsewhere, certainly my own opinions.
• I promise short blogs and pithy comments.
• I promise a 90% focus on the topic, but I ask you to recognize that I am a real person as well and Life interferes sometimes with focus.
• I promise I will always be grateful to you for reading my blog.