"EXTENDED FAMILY" BUYERS....had any of those lately???  I am speaking of families who have other members of their extended family who must move in with them. It may be because of money concerns, it may be because the family enjoys being together; whatever the reason, there are many families now sharing their homes with grown children, their families and also elderly parents. I have even seen a divorced couple move into a compound just to be able to share custody of their children!  I believe we are witnessing a major shift in lifestyle happening right now! I don't know if it is happening out there in the "real" world of middle America. But "Extended Family" buyers are everywhere here in The Hamptons and they are making sure they are able to accommodate several additional people along wi... 02/27/2014

LUXURY HOMES ON SMALLER LOTS.... In 2011, I sold two small capes on small lots (.33 acre lots) and a developer bought them both through me. With my guidance and his builder's and Architect's acumen we created a whole new market for this historical Village of Southampton. Both of the new houses were top of the line luxury homes on 1/3 acre lots, between the heart of the Village and the Atlantic Ocean beaches. These two houses traded for one half as much as the original homes. This set a trend in place for buyers to buy any new construction in the same neighborhood, paying even more than the original two homes.  Builders and developers were lining up to buy the original ranches and capes on these small lots. They did this in order to be in the postion to capture those luxury home buyers w... 02/11/2014

"TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE"...A Necessary Clause or Just Another Legal Snafu? In my experience in the past, when a "Time is of The Essence" clause was put into a contract of sale it was a rare event. Usually there was a good legal reason for inserting it into a contract of sale and it was always very carefully handled: Pre-paid registered or certified letters were sent to all parties involved stating the fact that the clause is being inserted in the contract and the reasons why.  In my past experience it happened rarely and it was always done with both sides agreeing to the fact, if there were extenuating circumstances that required such a clause. Now, I have three deals that have the clause written into the contract and one deal has fallen apart because there is a refusal on the  part of ... 02/05/2014

HOW DO YOU ENTER CO-EXCLUSIVES ON TRULIA AND ZILLOW??? After all the troubles that agents report over the sites Trulia and Zillow, many of the agents here in the Hamptons have decided to get on board, in spite of all the hoopla. After I saw my former home and my listing appear as if the co-exclusive agent had an exclusive on it on Trulia, Zillow and Streeteasy, I decided that I needed to get on board as well--if nothing more than just to get the credit for what was my listing originally. So, I went on all three sites and uploaded my beautiful (and expensive!!!) photos, wrote correct ad copy with all the right key words for good SEO and waited to see how it all turned out! I was very excited and despite my past terrible experience with both Trulia and Zillow, I thought it was time to get... 01/20/2014

A SELLER WHO WILL NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE WHILE YOU SHOW IT...Is A Seller Who Does NOT Want To Sell!!! The time is now to clarify why it is totally unaceptable for the owner to remain on the premises while it is being shown for sale. Just a few months ago, I had a big disagreement with the man who owned the house I was marketing and trying to sell. It started out as a disagreement about the price of the house. I had taken the listing with the written agreement to drop the price in 30 days if we did not get immediate showings and interest from the public. We were well past the 30 days and he was still resisting the price drop--he was also telling me "I will be in residence" when I called to set up the few appointments that I was able to set up.Since it was the summer--he was more than happy ... 01/15/2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!!!...After A Year Of Loss, I Feel Like I Can Make It! Let me think; This is the year that wasn't for me! I was followed by a sense of loss all year and it has kept it's grip right up to the last few weeks of this year---I am glad to see 2013 go!   My best friend and loving Yogi left me last week to be with the angels--he left after 14 years of an ever present and huge personality that filled every room in my house and every chamber in my heart! He had 3 years of suffering and even though he was very sick at the end, he was destined to leave this year after seeing me through the most difficult of all the years of my life. I have never had anyone or anything in my life who made me feel so loved. I never thought I would ever say that about a dog but he was there for m... 12/31/2013

WHAT IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE AREA?...THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND!! Many agents think it does not matter if they are unfamiliar with an area that they are trying to sell in. But that is the one thing that buyers today require: An agent with Local Knowledge. It is critical for an agent to know local zoning laws, building code requirements and most of all,  the inventory! When buyers are totally dependent upon Their agent to guide them, it can be a huge disservice to try to guide them without that local knowlege--like the blind leading the blind! It also does not bode well for getting the respect and therefore more business from the buyer you have wronged. Think about what the buyer is thinking if you have sold them something on the water and you failed to tell them that they can't clear the... 12/20/2013

NEEDED: LUXURY CONDOS & TOWNHOUSES!  In my last post about the Luxury Condo and Townhouse business,"CONDO SALES/DEMOGRAPHIC DATA...AN UPDATE:" I told you all about the changing climate in this end of the home buying market here in the Hamptons, Southampton in particular. Where, in the past this consumer profile was identified as solely focused on the idea of living in a single family home with as much land as they could afford, the new buyer profile representing a considerable percentage of buyers right now is identified as looking to own a Luxury Condo or Luxury Townhouse. In addition, the large estate owner, the one who bought large 3 to 8 acre estates in the 80's and 90's are now ready to let go of the huge properties and to downsize into the Luxury Townhouses that are here--Problem ... 12/19/2013

"AGENT MATCH" IS OVER; WHAT BETTER WAY TO MATCH AGENTS THAN ACTIVERAIN?? I saw the letter that was written by the NAR official telling us why they are discontinuing the Agent Match website---I congratulate them for finally seeing the light!...NO one can possibly think that a website on a computer is capable of identifying an individuals business acumen through it's search engine!! Now NAR is looking for ways to improve the concept of matching agents and the buying and selling public....So, what about blogging? Why not use a proven method? An agent who blogs is revealing a lot about their knowledge of an area...or areas, and that includes revealing their business acumen! Local posts are truly the best way to tell the story about an area, they also reveal the sort of person who is telling... 12/19/2013

WHEN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS START MAKING DEMANDS...Just Try To Accommodate them! A fellow agent just emailed me asking for my guidance as she is attempting to advise a homeowner in how to get approval for renting out her new home in the Town of Southampton. I have not had the bad fortune yet in taking a rental listing in the Town, especially since I do most of my real estate business in the Village of Southampton and the law does not apply here----yet! It is mind boggling as to the requirements of the new law and most homeowners are stumped by the information, the required zoning and fire codes that they need to meet to make their homes rent able. EVEN MORE MIND-NUMBING to me is the idea that we as agents are obligated, by law to tell the homeowner what to do--how to fill out the 10 page app... 12/05/2013

 GETTING TO KNOW YOU...Don't Forget To Maximize This Blogging Benefit! The other day, I had someone respond to one of my posts about the importance of blogging...in that statement the buyer made, I found the key to blogging that most of us overlook in our daily attempts to get our posts out there.   This individual told me that she was so happy to finally meet someone whom she felt she knows so well. She has been readng my blog posts since 2010! Knowing this, I have begun to re-think much of what I write about here on ActiveRain. I need to really focus on the local information that most people look for on-line. I need to make sure the public is getting a full picture of what I know and how I work with buyers and sellers.   Getting to know you, the agent, is what buyers and sellers want ... 12/04/2013

DO YOU EVER TAKE A "FOR SALE BY COMMITTEE" LISTING?...IF SO READ ON...   FOR SALE BY COMMITTEE...Your Good guidance is crucial in a Trust or Estate real estate sale. After recently handling several listings of this sort, I figured I would share a little of what I have learned from those and give you all a heads up just in case you have not had this kind of experience:   WHEN YOU LIST A HOME that is part of an estate or is in a Trust, you need to know what this will mean in terms of your time and your efforts. There are so many ways that the listing that you agree to handle for a Trust or an Estate is so very different than a typical home sale listing. First of all, you need to establish what is required of you as the listing agent: Who do you report to? Who will be handling negotiations... 10/14/2013

  CONDOS: SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER.... I just watched as 22 units of a total of 50 Condos at Bishops Pond went to contract here in Southampton Village this past summer. This follows a sudden surge in sales at the Polo Club Condos where 6 units of 12  closed earlier this year after sitting only partially sold for 2011-2012. We all know that "Baby Boomers" or "War Babies"  (Born after the end of WWII) are still one of the largest demographics of the American Population. But : How much of an effect does that demographic really have on real estate sales? How much of this segment of the population is really prepared to buy a home/condo? I think that we need to make an educated guess and base it upon what we are observing in the real estate business as a whole: ~More main floor bedrooms; ~more s... 09/16/2013

DO YOU GIVE YOUR BUYERS A HOUSE WARMING GIFT?...Sometimes it is just not a wise thing to do! A PERFECT GIFT... I am always stumped as to what to  buy for a buyer who bought a house through me.  Do I buy them something personal? Do I take them out to dinner? Is it incumbent upon me to buy them anything? As I spend more and more time in this business I have found that there really is no protocol; it is totally up to what you think is right and in some cases it may be best to buy nothing...Just give them "Good Wishes" and a bottle of champagne and let them go on their way. I used to take the time to go and pick out something very special for all my buyers..then I had something happen that made me change my mind about the whole idea. A GRAND AFFAIR... I had a couple whom I had worked with o... 09/02/2013

This is another part of a series of 3 posts on blogging and how important it is to the real estate community, nationwide. Without this form of marketing, I would be just another bump on the face of the Hamptons real estate market. Real estate agents are a dime a dozen here in the Hamptons and there are now 15 agencies with a maximum number of desks in each--all filled. (there were 6 agencies in 2008) Now is the time to grab the opportunity to build a blogging platform if you haven't already. If not now, when? If not this, what? Blogging needs to be treated as a primary form of marketing for the real estate profession....    BLOGGING HELPS TO HUMANIZE THE REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL; it humanizes us better than any other form of marketing and we need that! Little known information that you ... 08/25/2013

  TELL ME A STORY ....A Story About Real Estate and Local Information…  Note: This is part of a series of posts about the importance of blogging to real estate agents and brokers--starting it, keeping it going and doing it with continuity. We are in the middle of a major shift in real estate brokerage; I feel as professionals we have an opportunity to lay claim to what we thought we had but we don't--our local real estate market. Trulia and Zillow and the like have taken the most valuable thing we have: Our listings and our content! Now we can reclaim them by becoming the informed as well as the informer in our niche areas! The buying and selling public NEEDS our local knowledge in order to make informed decisions! The Syndicates, the Trulia and Zillow’s of the world don’t have local kn... 08/23/2013

TIPS TO SELL YOUR SOUTHAMPTON VILLAGE HOME: A BRIEF MARKET SUMMARY:  In this customarily active real estate market here in Southampton Village, New York, we have seen a market shift from inactive in late 2008 into 2010, to very active in June-2011 up until now. Brand new construction sells at within 5%-10% of its asking price. Demand for new construction is up significantly from last year at this same time. In a review of the current Existing home inventory, we see a much different sort of activity. Houses that are not brand new sit for least 6 months and maybe even more if the house is in dis-repair. When they trade, it is between 15% to 20% off the asking price. I thought it could be very enlightening to see how Renovated homes sell too. I had to do the grunt research to find out whic... 07/15/2013

LIVING IN SOUTHAMPTON VILLAGE, NEW YORK... Restaurants, movie theaters, playgrounds, drugstores, Grocery stores, are all within a 1/2 mile radius within the Village limits here and that has been the driving force for homeownership in Southampton since it was founded in 1894. Small wonder then, that Southampton Village, New York is THE destination for home buyers! Buyers, looking to buy here in the Hamptons are looking for "proximity" more than anything else right now.   The fact is that Southampton Village and the other Hamlets that make up the "Hamptons" are all where they were since the very beginning for good reason, when there was no mass transportation; when even a buggy ride was a luxury! In the 1600's people walked every place they went. Farmers, carrying their bags of wheat and ... 07/13/2013

WHEN IS A LAW TOO MUCH LAW???....A look At A Village Gone Haywire With A New Zoning Law! You all know me well enough to know that  I love the Village I live in, right? I love it more than any other place I have ever been and I am always on board with the way it is run (since the 18th Century, even!) especially when you see the consistency that has been built into the architecture and the grounds of each residence in this lovely Village. The way Southampton Village flawlessly operates with the massive crowds that arrive every Memorial Day through Labor Day is a reflection of the deep and abiding respect that the Government Officials have for this historical Village, and in turn the respect  on the part of the public for the local laws that make it run so smoothly. A NEW ZONING LAW REGAR... 07/04/2013

  4TH OF JULY IN SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK...UNFORGETTABLE!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR PRECIOUS NATION! FLAGS ARE FLYING ALONG EVERY STREET--as Southampton Village prepares the streets for the July 4th parade and all the accompanying crowds. The parade begins at the train station and meanders Southward to Monument Square where the park awaits the crowds, the bands, the veterans who have survived so many battles. Not many know that during the Revolutionary War, Southampton was "occupied" by British Troops...At that time, according to early Southampton Town records, the village was literally abandoned by the local families when they left their homes and moved to Connecticut for the duration of the war. Upon return, they had to rebuild and "re-develop" their agricultural land and lay claim to the ... 07/01/2013