Summertime!

The solstice has come and gone - summer is here!

We had the door wide open in the office today despite the 63 degree temperature. People wandered in and out; as Realtors, we are expected to know what is happening in the village. Our office is on a side street, but next to Doug's Fish Fry which has lines down the street and past the office every Friday night. Personally, I prefer his salmon, available only Tuesday through Thursday.

There are odd requests, sometimes. After the usual - "Where can we eat?" to "Is there a public restroom?" and the always present "Are there lakefront rentals?" we have encountered less easily answered questions. Last evening a woman looked for pet care for her two 13-year-old chihuahuas. I knew someone and hopefully helped her a bit. Today a woman wanted a garden center, which actually Skaneateles proper doesn't have, but neighboring towns do. She had come from Rochester for her one day of vacation and was headed home.

The streets were filled today despite the breezy, cool weather. The office is on a corner, so we watch merging traffic and listen to sirens when the fire department is called. The fire department will move up to West Lake Road (Kane Avenue) and Route 20 (West Genesee Street) soon, but I've heard the siren will remain in the center of the village. Our corner, however, will not be treated to the sight of fire engines screaming through gridlocked traffic much longer.

I took a break and went to a clothing store to buy a pair of pants I'd admired earlier in the week. The talk was about all the homes for sale, a seemingly inordinate amount. There are more signs than usual, but I also remember as a child being driven along East Lake Road and marveling at the for sale signs.

I'm doing my part to dismiss them. Two listings sold this week and two buyers buying. And the weekend promises more good news.

The Art of the Deal

My husband, having listened to my recounting of yesterday's blog, reminded me that when I started real estate he had found me reading The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump. He thought this was strange, that Realtors wouldn't generally have that much to do with a sale: people listed houses, people bought houses. The Realtor was the facilitator of the transaction, and that was all.

He has learned differently. Last night an agent and I put together a deal, and we both acknowledged that we were instrumental in the actual sale. It wasn't what we did, but how we brought the parties together so they could come to their own terms. No one lied, no one used coercion, no one exasperated anyone. We simply couched the offer and counter-offer in a manner that brought everyone to a common understanding. The owner sold, the buyer bought.

We did this, I believe, by listening carefully to our respective clients. We found a way for them to explain their positions and move through their objections. We knew their goals - not necessarily monetary - and helped them to reach it.

All this sounds a bit high-falutin' and self-congratulatory - but it's rare that the issues are so clear and the path so certain on both sides. We're not done yet - there's still a home inspection, radon test, financing, and other trials to ride out and work through. But I'm pleased that we could help this happen for everyone.

To Buy or Not to Buy, That is the Question

I have clients who are looking for the perfect home for their young family. The specifics aren't important, the fact that after months and months of searches they have come close but were never able to finalize a deal. The over-riding factor in all cases was money. What they wanted existed, but not without an added $35,000 from the place they wanted to be - either for cosmetics or to be competitive with another offer.

So here we are. Their year's lease on a house is up and they must move out. They have found another home they like, but again it needs that 35K adjustment.

I did the math. If they rent for another year, they will certainly pay more than last year for comparable housing: approximately $12,000. That money goes away, right into the pocket of their landlord. They build no equity, and yet again they must search for a home.

In a rental, they must take what they get for mechanicals: electric hot water heater, perhaps, less efficient furnace, poorer grade insulation.....the bills may (or may not) mount. They have no real power to change them.

The tax benefits are nil. Interest and real estate taxes come off gross income - if they bought a house in their price range this could be about a $25,000 adjustment.

But beyond the money, their children are growing. The neighborhood children they play with this year will not be the ones they play with the next, or the year after that. In their quest for the perfect formula, their family is put on hold. The question is.....what is the real price of waiting?

Granny Flats

Years ago I applauded the concept: put up temporary housing on your property for "Granny" so she can have some independence but still be close by. Use hook-ups to sewer and water lines and she can stay until it's time to move on, then the "flat" permit expires too.

Our Granny flat turned out to be an in-law apartment for my mother. Totally handicapped accessible, she had a large sitting room, bathroom (the shower alone was 6 ft by 8 ft) and bedroom. She had access to the deck and we could keep an eye on her, but she was as independent as she could be.


Now the concept has a new twist, in part thanks to Katrina. The June 16, 2007 issue of the New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/garden/14park.html] lauds the park model in the article entitled "A Resort Cottage to Go." It is truly a little house on wheels, but not the trailer we know or the larger mobile home. Think cute little beach house, or Adirondack rustic motel, or English cottage. These are priced within reach - $20,000 to $80,000 - and are not taxed as homes, but as vehicles.


As a Boomer, I can see it now - the hillsides dotted with these miniature homes, the owners once again sharing a communal life as they might have during the 60s. Mobile, but stylish. Let the children pay for the 3600 sf house with huge utility bills and taxes. Granny's on the go!

The Paper Crunch

I'm embarrassed to see that it's been so long since I wrote. A sign of the times, I'm afraid!

I am sitting in the office (it's 7:20 pm), having spent the day writing an offer, presenting it, and now waiting for the response. I wish they were all this easily decided and written.

I also worked on paperwork, making sure that everything is as up to date as possible before new listings come on hopefully later this week. There is so much paperwork - forms upon forms, most resulting from some litigation. The latest is a "Theft" form - new buyers state whether they will occupy the property as their primary residences. If not, then the seller needs to be aware of this so as not to be coerced into the contract to ward off foreclosure.

Some are important, not to say this one isn't. Property disclosures require the seller to sign his name to the condition of the house. I had a friend who bought a house years ago and was never told there had been a fire in it - a huge fire! The agent (who always worked for the seller then)was cautioned to say nothing, the inspector didn't catch it, and it wasn't until the welcoming party when he was told "Nice job they did on the house since the fire!" We now have disclosure laws, and agents MUST disclose all material defects. (In court my friend ultimately lost - he should have contacted the local fire department, he was told by the last judge who heard the case.)

So I do paperwork, on a warm night in a beautiful village with the door open wide. There are worse things to do, worse places to be.

A True Story

My clients bought a camp on the lake last fall. They rebuilt it and moved in this spring. For several reasons they decided to establish a land line phone. However, when they called the phone company they were told they would not be allowed to do so.

After much discussion, the answer emerged: there was already phone service established to the residence. This was difficult to believe - the outhouse had left over two years ago, the cottage itself carted away. But still the phone company insisted that the bills were all paid in full and had been for years.

Further investigation: the owner of this well-paid phone service hadn't lived there for years; in fact, he had been in a nursing home for over a decade. Still the company insisted it wasn't their problem - the bills were paid, the service delivered. To where? To the address on the lake, of course.

As it stands now, the new owners can't have a phone until the other is terminated.

While I worked our phones to try to clear this up, a woman came into the office and we told her this rather fantastic story. She believed it totally - she was currently embroiled in a similar situation with her new home! The previous owners left eight months ago and never rescinded their service.

It will all be worked out, with the questions anwered tomorrow, I hope, but in the meantime - when you leave your home, stop the phone please!

How to Choose an Agent

Recently a friend who lives across the state called to ask how she should choose an agent. She knew two women, one who had worked for her in another field and a second who came highly recommended.

She had invited both of them in to see the house and give an estimate on price and explain their marketing.

The acquaintance came in about $50,000 in price over the other Realtor, and my friend was puzzled. While she wanted to believe in the higher estimate, she was leary of it. The second woman explained her pricing: "I would love to tell you that the house was worth more, but the comparables just don't support it. I want to sell your house, not just list it.

The acquaintance suggested that they could "start at the higher price, and if nothing happened they could always reduce it. It was taking 6 to 9 months in the area for a house to sell anyway."

While pricing is one indication of which Realtor to choose, it speaks volumes about motivation. The first woman wanted to please her clients, the second one wanted to get the job done, and therefore please the clients.

A while back in Skaneateles I went up against every broker in town, it seemed, for a comparably priced house. I came in low, actually the lowest. The owner chose me to list his house because he had read somewhere that the agent who prices the home the lowest (reasonably) actually wants to sell it. This was exactly what played out here with my friend.

Unfortunately, the "buying" of a listing happens very frequently. Just to have a house listed, especially in a higher price range, is perceived as a good thing for a Realtor's career and prestige. The owners want to believe the inflated price and the Realtor is complicit in this desire. The result is usually that the house sits and sits, then sells for less than it would have if priced according to the market.

My friend's home is listed now - I'll add a footnote when it sells.