"FACEBOOK, TWITTER"...The "new" Monkey on our backs?...You be the judge! This is a post inspired by Mario Jannatpour today when he wrote his post:  Are Facebook and Twitter killing America?   My response to his post was:     "I think I see your post as an analogy of what is happening in this country--and I agree. Symbolically, the Twitter, Facebook crowd are looking at life entirely through the lens of "social" networking, not through the lens of hard work, including manual labor. The trend to be a part of the Internet realm without having to participate in the physical act of creating goods and products or even offering services that may mean income for the average American, has made us all a little less aware of the real hard work that it takes to stay afloat. We are losing out to the... 02/19/2011

"HAMPTON'S HIDEAWAYS"...Great Places To Go When You Don't Want To Be "Seen". The Hamptons is located on the Eastern End of Long Island and includes the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, New York. Most people do not think of the Hamptons when they want to just go away to relax and not be "seen" by a lot of other vacationers. We are all in search of total privacy at times and it can be very hard to find it---especially in the most popular vacation spot in America! Short of having a home here where you can literally vegetate for a long weekend, the Hamptons is not known for being a very relaxing place where you can "disappear" for a while to be alone or to be with the one you love. There are places here, however that could fit the bill if you know about them--I, myself, have "gone awa... 02/16/2011

Things don't always turn out the way you think !!!.... Ever had a seller or a buyer do or say something that you could never have anticpated? Ever had the idea that something was going to happen and then got totally blown away by the way it turned out???  DON'T LET YOUR MIND PLAY TRICKS ON YOU!!!...ESPECIALLY  IN BUSINESS!!! Do I have a story to tell you: It happened to me the other day. I was working away on getting a friends house ready for renting it. It was not a huge job but I volunteered my time to help out a good friend who really needed to spruce up his house before he put it on the Summer rental market. I thought "staging" it would make a big difference in getting it rented. I was moving at a great speed and getting this done was foremost in my mind. Since I was doing it for hi... 02/04/2011

Part III of a series about the real use of Facebook Apparently the struggles FB has been having with privacy complaints is quickly changing the "face" of Facebook. I may be off base here but it is beginning to look more and more like use of FB has taken a radical turn... The dialog about this huge website is turning defensive and I believe that the challenges in other countries right now, with the uprisings in Egypt and surrounding countries make this a more timely subject matter. The use of social networks has created a delicate balance between people--while these sites are used without any fear of harm by most, there are those who are concerned about their privacy and their personal safety.  Are there other objectives for this site? Is the "social" aspect of Facebook now an internatio... 01/29/2011

Part II of a series of articles about the real use of Facebook. Apparently the struggles FB has been having with privacy complaints is quickly changing the "face" of Facebook. The dialog about this huge website is turning defensive right now, on the part of this massive network. Yet there are huge numbers of members that participate without concern for their privacy or safety.  OK, so I did go back on Facebook and give it another try; after getting another comment on my other Facebook post of months ago:  http://actvra.in/44s, I decided to take the risk of going back and making another good old college try at the most popular Social Website in history!!! Tni made some points in her comment on my post that I really needed to test on my own; thus the step back into the FB web.  But I must... 01/29/2011

I awoke at 3:00 this morning; I didn't even know where I was!!! My dog, Yogi, was sound asleep in his bed below my desk and he didn't stir as I raised my head from my computer....my computer! I turned my head and looked into a mirror just above my file cabinet on my left---there were numerous little squares all over my left cheek!!....I was in a fog but it was clear to me what had happened. It has happened before where I spent hours on the AciveRain website...I have never fallen asleep ON my computer though! That's when I knew it; that's when it became totally clear to me that I am a junkie--the worst kind of junkie!!! I MUST tell you how I tried to get rid of those deeply embedded little squares though. It took me so long to make my face normal, but I had to meet a customer and I had t... 01/20/2011

Southampton, New York has been a very busy place for real estate this year! The only problem I see is that the housing inventory is dwindling and very few houses are coming on the market for our projected  "hot" selling season--1st quarter of 2011. We now have the phenomenon of the vanishing house..."Where did all the houses go?" Fast paced sales and no inventory--not a good place to be!!!  Some may even say it's worse than a boat-load of inventory and very few buyers! I don't know if I would say that but I will tell you each and every deal that comes together now is tense and scary--lots of high emotions with a frightened buyer and a very anxious seller in almost every single one! The scarcity of properties is making it even more treacherous for everyone involved!     Maybe that is jus... 01/18/2011

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR 10 BEST ACTIVERAIN POSTS WERE IN 2010?.... You Too Can find out how you came out!!! Thanks to David Popoff, and his post: What were your 10 Best ActiveRain Post in 2010? , I took his suggestion and reviewed what I had written in 2010 and took a look at the views and clicks for the top posts during that time.....I had an awful lot of posts featured but many reached just under 2000 views so those do not count. All of those listed got at least 2564 views and the top posts got 6000 to 7000 views!!! I included the clicks too because they really do matter to the results! This will make you feel really good--especially if you got featured in 2010---If you didn't, read on and see if you can tell how to write a blog post that registers in the Statistics  as one of the highl... 01/02/2011

HOW DO YOU PREDICT HOUSING SALES FOR 2011???... I See A Major Trend In Custom "New Builds" According to the latest news, modest increases in new home sales gives one the hope that this is the new beginning that we have been waiting for! National news is sounding very grim for the housing market going forward, but I am getting the calls that I have been waiting for from builders. Now, there are not enough "tear-downs" to satisfy the needs! The builders who took the chance in '09 have houses sold or in contract right now. One new construction on a relatively modest street has just sold here in Southampton Village and that has started a run on the smaller houses on that street! I will have a new listing after I sell the smaller house at the end of the street---another "New Build" that is e... 01/01/2011

2011, SOMETHING TO REALLY CELEBRATE!!!....I have plans for New Years Eve: Relax, quietly at home, without a single thing to do but think about the New Year. No, I don't have any big plans thank goodness! I can't wait to watch the ball drop on TV--without all the fuss and mess of a "Bash"! I just want to absorb what has happened to me in 2010---It has been one of THOSE years, where I just pulled out all the stops and went for the business that was out there. Difficult, harder than ever to close but this has been one of my best years and I love it!!! No more big New Years Eve bashes, big sprawling parties that mean nothing in the end except a bad hang-over!!! No, this year I am going to enjoy the quiet of my home, with a fire burning and a glass of champagne and my little Yogi at my side:... 12/31/2010

FUN TIME-TRAVEL FOR 2011 AND BEYOND..... Do you know what is coming? Just put your "out-of-the-box thinking" to work and see what happens! In case you missed the chance to make your predictions before--here is another one! Thinking outside-the-box is necessary in today's world. It is becoming more and more reasonable that un-reasonable things will happen in the near future: What would happen if the Wiki-Leaks leaks told us that a government other than ours has taken control of our entire Nuclear Stock Pile? What would happen if the real estate profession decided to HIRE their agents rather than sponsor them and decided on a non-commission income for them? What would happen if Big Banks suddenly took the "Value Adjustment" method to home mortgages and began adjusting existing mortgage am... 12/31/2010

WHAT'S HAPPENED??? I HAVE 4 DEALS GOING AND IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME IN THE HAMPTONS!!! Never have I had customers during the Holidays---especially at Hannuka or Christmas time. Yet, here I am at 3:00 in the afternoon waiting for an architect, to meet him at a house that I just may get an offer on. This is the 3rd deal in the last 2 weeks and there are more in the pipeline....I don't want to stop! I have been waiting for this moment for 3 years and now it appears we have hit the bottom and are slowly but surely beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. The Hamptons is notoriously empty at the Holiday time--especially the real estate offices! This is the time to travel for many agents. I remain here, hard at work and there are buyers out there! Since September 18, 2008, I have been w... 12/21/2010

Ever been "Around Robin hood's Barn"???....and other forgotten  places! "Around Robin hood's Barn" by the way, is the long way around...as when we were coming home from school...late! My memory of these old sayings is rather dim but I wonder how many we can come up with from the good old days. These sayings really were our earliest Americana---usually brought into the current times by our favorite Aunt or Uncle, or Grandmother or Grandfather--or even our parents  I remember my mother saying things like: "Oh Piffle!" when she was skeptical of someone's story or for their excuse for not being where they should have been. And there were other sayings like: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch!"and waiting "til the cows come home!"..... another one: "whatever floats your boat"      ... 12/16/2010

NICHE MARKETING...WHAT ARE THE DANGERS? I am writing this post to open up an in-depth discussion of the responsibility of selling and listing in a Niche Market---your Niche Market to be exact! I had a very interesting question asked on one of my older posts and I want to address this issue since some people feel it COULD possibly present a problem for any agent if they are too focused on selling in a certain "niche" area. The concerns: If you are selling properties in one area such as in a Niche market, are you "steering" buyers to buy in that area? If your buyer asks to see houses in another area outside your Niche market, are you miss-representing your skills and knowledge of the area? How do you handle a seller who contacts you and wants you to list their home as an exclusive when is... 12/14/2010

WHERE DO YOU PLAN ON GOING TO RETIRE???  Ever heard of Tuckahoe??? I know you probably have not thought of just where you will go if and when you retire; we are all too young to be thinking about that sort of thing!!!  But, the reason I ask is because if you have ever entertained the idea of finding a place to go when you want to really relax, or maybe even a place to go to retire, I have found a little known place here in the Hamptons that is ideal for those who want to go to fish, swim, take in the wildlife sights and just vegetate for a good long time! The area is called Tuckahoe...located just North of the Village of Southampton and stretches up to the wonderful waterfront neighborhoods near the golf courses. There are not many places like this anyhwere...yet, in just 5 minutes you ... 12/10/2010

What we need now is a new "Gizmo"...I am tired of the game "Catch Me If You Can"!! We need something that puts us in the same place with our clients or customers so that we can actually connect---Something happens when a person is looking for information and all they have to communicate with is a huge company website that demands that they register before they can connect with a human being-- something that is quite negative, and it does not work!  We already know that does not work from the run-around of the recorded voices and the hold buttons that corporations have been using unsuccessfully for years now! First, you have to hope someone will call you back to connect...after you have made the attempt to reach someone! All of this is SO not consumer friendly!!!...to say nothing of the ... 12/04/2010

Thanking My Mentor,  a Motivational Marvel!!!  Do you have a person in your past business life that you would like to thank for having been there when you were "developing" your real estate career? I do, and I think it is a good time to do just that! I have a number of people in my past business life who have provided the insight and the path to business "enlightenment" for me. The one person who comes to mind when I think of these things is a man by the name of Steven James. He was my Sales Manager in New York City, when I was brand new to real estate and I had a desk in the upper East side office of Douglas Elliman( pre-Prudential). Steven James appeared in my life at a very important point of my business career...He was the one who got me to see the reasons behind how and why I was g... 11/22/2010

"Time wasters"... How do YOU identify them??? In our profession, we have a lot of things that need to be done that are nebulous...in other words the results are indistinct or vague. So it is really hard to understand those things that are real "Time wasters". This post will attempt to let you know what I identify as "Time Wasters" and what I do to avoid them. I would love to hear from all of you what you see as the biggest "Time Wasters" for you. Some "Time Wasters" may appear to be time well spent and some "Time Wasters" may be staring you right in the face, letting you know immediately that they are there to drain you of your vital energy! "TIME WASTERS" and how to avoid them: Talking to people who you know to be draining to spend time with. These are the people who come to you for "a... 11/18/2010

PRODUCTIVITY #101....or: WHY DO SOME PEOPLE SUCCEED AND OTHERS DON'T?  This is the way to success, I have found....and I have seen others in the same frame of mind. Maybe it's the attitude; maybe it's the energy generated that gives one the desire to keep on going at the fast pace that is needed. You all know the feeling: You are exhausted and you HAVE to get more done before you can even sit down at the computer to finish looking for comps for a new client....the list of things to do never ends! This is my motto and I keep it on my blackboard in my kitchen...just to remind myself every day:THE MORE PRODUCTIVE I AM, THE MORE PRODUCTIVE I AM!!! I just started a new website, http://www.hathawayhamptonhomes.com and have been uploading all kinds of data to it... I have also been blogging m... 11/18/2010

Today I am dealing with a familiar feeling; that old familiar feeling that all real estate agents who have been in the business for a length of time get. It is the startling effect of what you hear from your very "loyal" buyer: that he saw the listing you sent to him and "I wanted to take a look so I called the other broker"...........I had been working with this buyer since March of this year and he was getting very close to buying something.           Now, this was Easter week and I had gone to New Hampshire for the long weekend. On Easter, I was having a great family get-together and my cell phone rang: "I really want to see that house you sent to me a couple of weeks ago and I will be in The Hamptons on Monday---can you show it to me?" I told him where I was but that I was coming ba... 11/16/2010