Southampton New York...a beautiful place to Invest, Live and Visit! This post was inspired by a number of things and I wanted to get right on it so I would not lose valuable insight that I gained from my post yesterday--"BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN SOUTHAMPTON NEW YORK....." This was written after I found a blog page on the front page of Google saying it was too expensive to live in Southampton! I wanted to counter any negative information with all the positive that I could bring up. So, here is another post inspired by Ellen Caruso from a comment on that post....the tag line is hers and I want to credit her for it! The population of Southampton has grown about 50% since 2001--the young families who felt terribly insecure in the aftermath of 9/11 left Dad in the City and moved here to their ... 11/15/2010

I was taken a-back by a post I just read on some obscure website that was coming up on the front page of Google. The crux of the story was not to inform but to malign living in Southampton New York....The main idea on that site is to say that you should NEVER think of living in Southampton New York because it is too expensive!!! That is outrageous in it's simplistic idea that no one can afford to live here--so you should never move here!...and that was the total message and it was getting top-billing on Google!!!So, I have decided to set things straight, and below I have listed:  "BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN SOUTHAMPTON NEW YORK" Southampton New York  is not only a beautiful New England town, it is the place where our ancestors first came ashore to settle Long Island. It is also the location... 11/14/2010

NEVER, EVER FORGET WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU CAME FROM!!!  I have to write this post because of something that  just  happened to me. I was talking to this young man who is coming into the real estate business and he was asking me all kinds of questions about the business and how I managed to reach "top producer" in my company. He made me stop and think!I had not thought of this stuff for a very long time and when I stopped to REALLY think about my background, I was amazed at what I remembered. I was amazed because when I sat down to talk to him, I didn't think I was going to be able to shed any light on the topic for him....but I always like to try to help the Newbies that come my way!!!  I went way back to my earliest job; a position that I had asked for at a specialty store in Flint ... 11/14/2010

The air is crisp and the trees are golden!....Come see the Hampton's colors at their finest! If you have heard of the Hamptons and have never been here, now is the time to make that trip---come for the holidays and the perfect weather--we get the most beautiful Indian summers here, and the weather doesn't change for another month or two. Even though we had snow the other morning, that is a rarity and it lasted about 15 seconds and then it was gone! Take a walk down to the ocean and see the fall colors of the water and the sky! You will find gray clouds moving quickly across the sky and the gunmetal gray of the still ocean a most peaceful place to be!.           It's not just the leaves that change color; the ocean itself becomes a deeper blue and gray. It looks so cold and uninviting co... 11/09/2010

"I need a vacation"....Are things more difficult to get done....or is it just me??? That's how I felt the other morning, Friday to be exact. I have been busier than ever, closing 5 deals in 2 months...all of which were complex and problematic beyond anything I have ever experienced before! My business is strong and I have become a zombie from the work. I am certainly not complaining...I love real estate and all the work involved with doing it. I just have been driving the train at breakneck speed, not wanting it to crash but knowing that at the next turn, the next crossing I could do just that. I have been the one doing the heavy lifting and it has not been recognized nor has it been easy. I do know that this is the thing about real estate that I have grown to love; I love challenges an... 11/01/2010

" I don't really feel comfortable!"....How do you identify "Buyers Remorse"?  Buyers don't ever say"I don't feel comfortable buying this house." or "I have a bad case of Buyers Remorse!" NO, this is something we as professionals need to identify. I have found that there are subtle signs early in the process---usually right after an offer is accepted; maybe even AFTER a contract is signed. How you deal with this phenomenon is crucial to having a satisfied customer and resulting referrals. Giving a buyer a "Comfort Level" is not easy if you don't know everything about the area and the property. Are you satisfied with your approach? Do you have a reputation for informing your buyers, or do you find that many of your buyers walk away from the buying process??? I have found that the most dif... 10/29/2010

"You don't know what you are doing!!"....Heard that lately?  A friend and fellow agent, (a new, younger real estate agent as a matter of fact), was told that several months back, when she was working with a customer. This customer was someone who was looking for a house that she just couldn't find! She wanted a new house with all the bells and whistles and she wanted it for 1/2 of what the houses were priced at! She was driving this new agent like a dog--making her do things that are not important like calculate the square footage and dollar per square foot costs on houses that sold recently. She was wearing her down and wearing her out! Even though this buyer was well qualified and ready to buy, she was hard headed and not realistic about the market---The agent came to me because I had... 10/24/2010

THE THINGS WE DO!!--FOR OUR CLIENTS, OUR CUSTOMERS... I am really not complaining; I know that the job of a real estate professional is hard. Even though the public seems to think we make a lot of money for very little effort, WE know what our jobs entail, especially if we produce more than the average agent. I, personally have found that the more effort I put into a listing the better the chances it will sell faster than one that comes on the market and sits there waiting for agents to become aware of it and to show it...just like the saying: "The squeaky wheel gets the oil", a house will sell faster if the listing agent does the following without fail: Price it as close to the real selling price as possible. keep the property in the public eye through open houses, advertising, Interne... 10/20/2010

WHY DO WE NEED TITLE INSURANCE???--does that question ever come up for you ??? I had a sale here in Southampton Village recently where my buyer was insisting upon not buying title insurance. He felt that it was just another expense that he could choose NOT to buy...I was at my wits end trying to explain, as did his lawyer, why he NEEDED to have title insurance. We finally prevailed and he did get title insurance after all. BUT, I AM STILL LEFT WITH THE FEELING THAT WE DO NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND THE FULL IMPORTANCE OF TITLE INSURANCE.... I am not a lawyer, so I have always left the explaination of this one to the real estate attorney---then I got a call from the owner of a listing that I have, just North of the Village that has gone to contract and is expected to close on the 22nd of this ... 10/16/2010

DOWNSIZING AMERICA: Proximity is key; Mini-estates are being created, right here in Southampton!!! Builders are building them and buyers are buying them---where is it heading? I think we may have a trend here! No more 10,000 Square foot houses--no more multiple acres of land to manage and no more cookie cutter designs for this "New Home" buyer! No! They want the new and  special, custom-home on a 1/3 to 1/2 acre, near everything including the ocean and the center of town---at least here they do!!! THE NEW, "NEW HOME" BUYER What is it that buyers like about a brand new house??? I have asked and I have seen the numbers of people who like the idea of living in a house that no one else has ever lived in. Some don't mind creatng that kind of a house and they go for a complete renovation befo... 10/11/2010

This is a post that I wrote a couple of weeks ago and I just now found out that the comments were blocked for some reason...have any of you heard about this happening?? I was spurred to go to my old posts to see if any if any of my older posts were comment-disabled because of a post I just read  "You Disabled Your Comments..... Why?????? " by Stacey Smith. Low and behold, the one post that I wrote and got NO COMMENTS on was this one...it had been re-blogged 3 times and the comments on those re-blogs were: "I couldn't comment because Paula disabled her comments on this post"..."What?..Why did She do that?" "I don't know but her comments were disabled" and on and on.... So, I am giving it another chance here....No matter the reason it was comment-disabled the first go-around, now you can ... 10/06/2010

What "comfort level"??? Where is it? What is it? Where can I find it? Finding a "comfort level" for your buyer.....How do you do it?   Are you satisfied with your approach? Do you have a reputation for informing your buyers, or do you find that many of your buyers walk away from the buying process??? I have found that the most difficult thing to accomplish when working with a buyer, is to give them a level of comfort for the process of making a deal.  Usually, the first thing a buyer will do is decide to "think about it" for a day or so when they have found something they like. During this critical time of thinking it over, they get fearful and question the idea of buying a home. They may even decide not to do it at this time!...giving them too much time without talking to them or commu... 10/02/2010

DOES "PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT" MEAN ANYTHING IN RESIDENTIAL SALES? I had a buyer contact me  last week and I referred her to a new member of my team while I was on vacation. She has taken a stance on the idea that we were not doing our job. Why? Because we do  NOT evaluate a property for her by price per square foot. Emails were flying back and forth between the buyer and the agent and when I saw the last one, where the buyer called the agent on the fact that "square footage DOES matter in both New york City and the Hamptons", I stepped in. As I was reading these emails between the buyer and the agent, I could see a familiar situation taking place: buyers who come from the financial world want to crunch numbers like they do in their billion dollar deals....they don't see that the price pe... 10/02/2010

PARALLEL WORLDS???....Two leading indicators follow similar paths!!! I was reading a terrific, thought provoking post by Ann Sabbagh this evening: "Is Spring Coming To Real Estate?"....and in my comment to her I mentioned a conversation I had with one of my associates this afternoon: This agent said to me:"I feel like it is Spring or something--doesn't it feel like Spring selling right now?? " The real estate market is going through a major adjustment here; it seems to be settling back into the normal  Spring and Fall markets....we had lost sight of these key selling periods during the massive upswing in sales and prices during the '06-'07 markets and then the complete collapse in '08-'09! As a new agent, starting last year, this agent has not experienced "normalcy" in the real estate ... 09/21/2010

ARE YOU OPENING DOORS?....Do YOU feel comfortable "Farming" your neighborhood??? In the past 10 years or so, I have been living in a part of Southampton that has become "THE" place for young families to live. They buy the 1930's bungalows, fix them up and settle in for the long term. The close proximity to schools, parks, the ocean and the heart of the village make this neighborhood prime and extremely popular. After 9/11/2001, I saw a big increase in year round residents in this immediate area; most just moved out of New York City and settled into their second homes here. Many are young families looking for a safer existence and a place for their children to feel more secure. The trauma of what happened that day left scars and created a fear that had never been there before--people cha... 09/18/2010

10 reasons to buy a home now...a perfect time according to SOME experts! I agree with that theorem for the following reasons: Prices are lower than they have been for 5 years. Rates are at record lows. With a plan to live in the house, you can rely on equity growth. Owning vs Renting is to your advantage since rental fees go to someone else's income.  mortgage payments add to the equity in your home. Ownership builds your stature in your community. There are tax benefits to owning vs renting. You can change the way the house looks if you want, unlike when you are renting. Buying now vs waiting can give you a head-start on the future; it is unlikely that prices will go much lower. If you buy now with a 30 year fixed rate under 4%, you will be in a position to be less apt to move, thus sa... 09/17/2010

Here's what I do when I write a blog post---how about you??? I have put off writing this post for some time because I almost felt that I was giving away trade secrets..:) But as I go forward in my blogging experience (since '07) I see the value in sharing with my fellow mates here on AR and so I will now give you what it is that I do when I write my blog posts and maybe some of you will have things to share also!! First, Let me say that until I incorporated the use of the Draft mechanism I was spinning my wheels as far as writing anything of merit. This was not because I couldn't come up with ideas, it was because it was so inefficient to make notes to myself--make sure I was "into" what I was writing about on the spur of a moment and when I had time, and to be focused so that I wrote q... 09/15/2010

Ever have a  friend ask you to rent them something?...One word: DON"T!!! I did and I am still suffering the consequences.  After you read this, I have a question that I really want to get answer on: WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE??? First of all-This man is not a close friend--more a business rather than a close friend and I have seen him infrequently over the 20 years that we have known each other, BUT, We have many mutual friends and I did not want to risk my reputation by making any mistakes! I heard from him a month ago when he asked me to find a house for him to rent for the 2 weeks around Labor Day--he needed a tennis court too! He asked me to please find a great house for him and he would rent it sight unseen--he said he totally trusted my taste! He also asked me to find him a personal... 09/12/2010

Feeling the "shake-out" yet?...the "shake-out" that is taking place, here in the Hamptons at least, is a direct result of the slower housing market and the complete stalling of high-end real estate in general. More and More agents are leaving real estate for greener pastures; this follows the storm that hit most markets, leaving the housing market in shambles! In Southampton in particular, there are agents leaving this market to go to another nearby area looking for the illusive sale and listing that they can't find here anymore...Established local agents have taken back the territory, so to speak!   Agents that I had rarely seen during the boom years of '05-'07 are appearing back on the streets here. The "Newbies" have left and there is room once more for the established agents to come... 09/09/2010

DO YOU FEEL SUCCESSFUL???  Are You happy with your business?...If not, READ ON! I have had numerous requests for all 5 articles from "5 Keys To Success In The Real Estate Business".  I wrote 5 posts recently that were read by numerous members; however, many missed a couple of them, so I decided to offer up all of them again in the same post.  It is always open for discussion, this "ways to be successful" stuff, but I want to share with all of you what is successful in my business...this and the use of some techniques that I studied years ago... and maybe by doing that, we can improve the whole profession and in the meantime grow our businesses as well!!! So, please be my guest and also make as many comments as you want using your own ideas---I am open to any and all opinions---not ever... 09/09/2010