Donald Mituzas

Real estate is LOCAL! Different areas of the country are seeing different housing markets. I live in Putnam and most of my sales are Northern Westchester, Putnam and Southern Dutchess. Here's the year to date average price stats for Putnam County over the last 4 years. 1/1-6/16

2005 - $446,832
2006 - $467,764
2007 - $472,087
2008 - $475,508

Where's the bubble? These are actually statistics taken from the local MLS as of 1:23 this afternoon. Do you see any indication of a bubble anywhere in these prices? I don't. Needless to say, the statistics in Las Vegas, Southern CA, Florida and a host of other places will be quite different. The doom and gloomers don't differentiate between areas. I'm just getting a little tired hearing about how bad things are in real estate when it is NOT the case in my area. This is not from an NAR memo. Owning a home is still the American dream. Rent never ends, but a mortgage does.

Don

Sorry, I do not have hard stats for the late 80's market (starting around 87) and the downturn at that time. I bought a house in late 1988 and was looking for quite a while before purchasing. I never saw so many for sale signs in my life. Problem was, they were still asking crazy prices. From 83-86 prices seemed to triple. By late 86 inventory was through the roof. There is your bubble. Although prices appreciated at a rapid rate from 2002-2005, it was not nearly what it was in that earlier period. - Mon Jun 16 2008, 11:08

The market in the NY area was far worse from late 1986-1989. If people like Zach think this current bubble is unprecedented, he's wrong. Prices were going up 200-300% in a couple of years. Interest rates were "down" to around 10% and the far more important thing is that inventory was way above current levels. It took a long time to move much of this inventory from the market. Prices came down much more then they have currently.

Today's market is not nearly as bad as that period in the 80's. Sales volume is up over 30% in our office YTD. It's ALL about the price. In order to price a house correctly you basically have to throw the sold information out the window. Homes need to be priced competitively with their current competition. Buyers don't look at sold homes when shopping for a house. Homeowners need to know that. If they tell you the house down the street (which always is not as nice in their opinion) sold for a certain amount and they should get more, you have to educate them. Buyers are not going to look at that house down the street. It's gone. It's ancient history. It's a Realtor's responsibility to educate the homeowner as to market conditions. If someone really wants to sell their home it should be priced 2-5% below active comparable listings. Keep in mind those active listings haven't sold and may be priced to high. You need to be BELOW the other competition. The homeowner will end up with more money in their pocket if a home is priced correctly from the start.

The market is fine. All people have to do is stop watching television and reading the newspapers.

Don - Sun Jun 15 2008, 04:32

I happen to agree with Cindi's answer. Deann said Keller Williams was the top listing and selling agency in the area. I did a search for Antelope Valley real estate on Google and they didn't show up. At least not on the first page. I did a specific search for KW in Antelope Valley and did find them. It seems they have 346 agents in that office. You can sell a lot of real estate with 346 agents in one office. Question is, how productive are the individual agents?

I agree with Cindi, the Realtor is more important the the agency. As Cindi said, who has the more advanced interactive web sites? How are the marketing homes? How easy are they to find on the web when 85% of people start their search there. Interview 3 agents. Don't fall for a razzle dazzle. Let them show you how they really work and what they do. - Sun Jun 15 2008, 04:54

Seems if Alen is correct and "In the city and most parts of Brooklyn" the agents are not discussing agency law, they are in violation of state law. State law requires that you discuss agency disclosure at the first substantive contact with someone. It is never assumed that you work for anyone. See my original reply and click on the link to the NY DOS site to see what the state form looks like. If you are not presented something like that form or an exclusive right to represent agreement then that agent is not doing their job and could put their license in jeopardy.

As far as asking the other agent about what offers have come in and what price to offer, keep in mind that the listing agent has a fiduciary responsibility to their client and couldn't disclose anything that might put them at any disadvantage. Your agent can ask the other agent what price you need to offer to compete, but the other agent will only want you to pay as much as possible.

Donald A. Mituzas
Licensed Associate Broker
Vice President - Putnam County Association of Realtors
Instuctor - New agent orientation and Realtor Code of Ethics - Wed May 14 2008, 04:03

A Realtor is required to abide by the Realtor Code of Ethics. This requires them to deal honestly with all parties. All real estate agents are not Realtors, members of the National Association of Realtors. You probably won't be able to get any kind of confirmation form as the listing agent for the property has a fiduciary duty to the client and disclosing any kind of information about the offer may not be in the clients best interest.

I was surprised with your comment "The realtor represents the seller, no?" You should have signed an agency disclosure form the first time you met with an agent that discloses who they are working for. An agent can work for the buyer or seller. Did your agent explain this to you and did you sign a form? To see what the form looks like you can go to the NY DOS site at http://www.dos.state.ny.us/lcns/realestate/pdfs/1736.pdf and take a look.

Bottom line is if you like the property and want to purchase it, put in your offer. Many agents representing a seller, myself included, would go back to both potential buyers and ask them to submit their highest and best offer and make a decision. Also keep in mind the highest price is not always the best offer. Sometimes the terms can make a deal. If a seller wants to close right away or needs a few months it may be in your favor if you can be flexible. Typically higher down payments also make the offer look better because there is less chance a mortgage won't go through because of an appraisal. Talk to your agent and try and make the most attractive offer.

Good luck,
Don

http://www.nyhomeseller.com - Sun May 11 2008, 04:00

Wells are not a problem. You should have a water test done prior to purchasing a home. The test should test for E-Coli and Total Coliform. Some homes need water conditioners if the water is hard or acidic. In some cases and some areas you could encounter water with a high sulphur content that is easily detectable from the smell. In general, wells are fine. The great thing about a well is you don't get a water bill. Most times all you do is change your sediment filter periodically. This is NOT done on an annual basis, but rather as needed. My well has a lot of sediment and needs changing once a month. Some can go for 6 months. It's a cheap thing to do and takes 5 minutes. I've had wells in both my homes and do not need any kind of filtration system other then for sediment and the water is wonderful. FYI, well pumps usually last about 15 years. Replacement costs depend on the depth of the well. Deeper wells require larger pumps that cost more and the replacement is more difficult. Replacing a well pump could cost $1,000-2,000.

Septics are not an issue if properly maintained. You hire someone to pump them about once every two years at a cost of about $250-300. Contrary to what some would have you believe, you do not need to add any enzymes for them to work properly. Pumping out an old septic so it is "airated" is something I've never heard of. I would suggest having the current owner of a home you are considering have the septic pumped prior to closing. This way your starting out fresh.

FWIW, most of the homes in my area are on wells and septics. I don't usually encounter problems with them. If you're looking for a home in any specific area you might give a call to the county health department and ask if there are any known problems with wells or septics. Some neighborhoods may be known to have problems with either. You might also call the local well driller in the area and ask if a neighborhood your interested in has any problems with water quantity. An experienced Realtor may also have some knowledge. I knew there were some homes near one I was interested in had quantity problems, not enough output. I had my well tested for about $200 and found I had a flow of 10 gallons per minute, almost double what's required.

Bottom line, don't worry about wells and septics. There's gazillions of people all over the country that function with them just fine.

Don - Sat Apr 26 2008, 15:02

You don't have an obligation to a broker who rented to you 3 years ago, but if that broker was the procuring cause of you purchasing something today, they would be entitled to a commission. If you were to go to the listing agent in the first place, the contract between them and the seller would still have the seller paying the commission so you wouldn't have been able to lop that off. If the listing agreement says the seller pays 6% commission, then that's what they pay regardless of who your working with. Working with a buyer agent you have someone working on your behalf and that in itself could save you a whole lot more then 3%.

I can't quite figure out why someone gave Tammy who answered this question earlier a thumbs down. I think she gave a fine answer.

Don - Mon Apr 21 2008, 18:31