Daily Archives: October 19, 2012

Mixed Home Sales Data Extends Stock Slump; Builders Rise | Cross River Realtor

Existing home sales fell by 1.7% in September to an adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million, just below analysts’ expectations for 4.8 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. But inventory fell by 3.3% to 2.3 million homes, or about 5.9 months worth of supply. It was the first time that inventory fell below 6 months of supply since March 2006, and the decline could put more upward pressure on housing prices. Prices in September were up 11.3% year over year.

“The shrinkage in housing supply is supporting ongoing price growth, a pattern that could accelerate unless home builders robustly ramp up production,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.

That news may be why homebuilders are on the rise after the report, even though the broader market has extended its slump. The Dow was recently off about 110 points.

KB Home (KBH) rose 2.3%; DR Horton (DHI) and Lennar (LEN) were up 1%.

“Despite occasional month-to-month setbacks, we’re experiencing a genuine recovery,” Yun said. “More people are attempting to buy homes than are able to qualify for mortgages, and recent price increases are not deterring buyer interest. Rather, inventory shortages are limiting sales, notably in parts of the West.”

Existing home sales fall 1.7% in September | Waccabuc NY Realtor

home for sale

Story Highlights

  • Dip in sales rate matches some economists’ expectations
  • Median home prices rises 11.3% from year ago
  • Supply of homes for sale continues to tighten

Existing home sales declined in September from August, falling 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday.

That compares with an upwardly revised August pace of 4.83 million sales. Many economists had forecast sales would be flat or down slightly in September.

However, median prices rose 11.3% year-over-year — to $183,900 last month — while the inventory of existing homes for sale fell 20% from a year ago.

“Despite occasional month-to-month setbacks, we’re experiencing a genuine recovery,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Other recent data have signaled the housing industry is steadily gaining ground, though still far from the high levels that preceded the housing bust.

A report Wednesday showed builders started construction on homes at the fastest rate since July 2008. Applications for building permits — a sign of plans for future construction — also hit their highest rate since July 2008.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s purchases of mortgage bonds are keeping mortgage rates near historic lows.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 3.37% this week, from 3.39% a week ago and just a hair above the record low of 3.36%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. For a 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, the average rate is 2.66%. That is down from 2.7% a week ago.

Tips for Handling Negative Comments and Trolls on Social Media | Bedford Hills NY Realtor

Some of us are more sensitive than others. Make a negative comment and some people will break into tears. Some will take it on board and modify their behavior. Others will turn into an attack dog and bite right back.Tips for Handling Negative Comments and Trolls on Social Media

If you are a business then that approach is maybe not optimal if your brand is the target of the negative comment.

In the past, customers could only complain in a fairly private manner, either via phone call, within the storefront, or by letters.

Today, many businesses have second thoughts about joining the social media world because they are afraid of the potential for negative comments. Instead of missing out on one of the best marketing tools available, businesses can be prepared to handle the negativity that is likely to come their way.

The fact is, the negativity is likely already happening, but without a presence on social media sites, these companies have no way to combat it.

Taking a proactive presence on social media will allow you to respond and have a better chance of controlling your brand image online.

4 Social Media  Monitoring and Management Tips

Before you engage in any responses to complaints, consider the following general policies as a guidelines to how you monitor and manage your handling of negative comments and complaints.

  1. Track all complaints (this can be done internally or externally by a “community manager”)
  2. Respond quickly in public
  3. Stay positive publicly
  4. Deal with details privately

This will assist you in stopping minor issues becoming a major public relations disaster.

Valid Complaints and Trolls

Negative comments come in two main types: Valid complaints and Trolls. Real complaints are problems that customers are having with your products or services that you need to address.

Valid Complaints

When a valid customer complaint shows up on one of your social media sites, take action quickly.

  1. First, document the comment in case it ends up being deleted so that you can keep track of the conversation.
  2. Take some time to think through a response. Don’t take the comment personally. The customer has had a frustrating experience with your product and is seeking you out, giving you a second chance.
  3. Handle the issue with tact and respect

If you take this assertive and positive approach you will most likely gain your customer’s trust and continued loyalty and they will become a a raving fan.

Trolls

Trolls are a type of public spam that is usually illicit and unrelated to your business. Their language is strong and emotive and it is designed to get you to react. If you respond they win.

They are hunting for attention and gain their energy by eliciting a response on a public forum that they don’t deserve. Usually they don’t have a large social network audience of their own but are relying on your social networks to leverage and amplify the message.

So, don’t give them oxygen , don’t let them use your social media channels to use as a pulpit to scream from and delete them immediately.

Responding

When you respond, use a respectful and even playful tone to keep the mood light and friendly. Admit that you messed up. Use your customer service policy here: the customer is always right (unless it is a completely unfounded complaint). Publicly send an apology on the social media site because you are dealing with more than just that one customer. Privately contact the customer who complained and fix the specific problem by giving a discount or some benefit that fits the problem.

Next, share how your business plans to fix the problem in the future. Explain with the appropriate amount of detail what went wrong and what you have done to fix the problem for all of your customers. The more transparent you are here, the more trust you will gain from your customers.

Although every situation will be different, if you learn how to respond appropriately and effectively to negative comments on social media sites, your customers will be happy to support you even more.

What About You?

Have do you handle negative comments or complaints? Have you had a troll turn up on your social networks?

How have you handled it.

I look forward to hearing your stories in the comments below.

Guest Author: Tara Hornor has a degree in English and has found her niche writing about marketing and web related topics. She writes for PrintPlace.com and other companies.

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Mike Wallace’s Central Park Apt. Listed for $20M | Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

Source: theblogismine.com

Mike Wallace was far more than a newsman. One look at his Manhattan apartment reveals the original “60 Minutes” star’s place in the lofty firmament of the celebrity media.

Courtesy of an exclusive from The New York Times, Wallace’s home at 730 Park Ave, New York, NY 10021 has been put up for sale. The price is an even $20 million, which will deliver a 12-room duplex in one of the city’s most grand prewar buildings.

Wallace died earlier this year at age 93, and his wife, Mary Yates, lived at the apartment until her death in September at age 83. According to NY Times writer Robin Finn, the Wallaces opted to meticulously keep the apartment to its original standards instead of gutting the place:

Graciously appointed, No. 15-16A was carved from a 12-room apartment and retains ample architectural detail and charm: the ceilings are high, the grand staircase is curving, French doors connect the library and the master bedroom to terraces on both levels, and elaborate variegated plaster moldings and wood floors accentuate all the principal rooms except the eat-in kitchen, which is floored in vintage cork.

Unlike some other grand spaces at this address, the apartment has seen preservation take precedence over renovation. Modernization has largely been limited to the four and a half baths and the installation of air-conditioning. The monthly maintenance fee is $8,822.”

In addition to the Upper East Side apartment, Wallace was a famous part-time resident of Martha’s Vineyard. A year ago, his waterfront home at 48 Hatch Rd, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 was sold for $7 million.

It pays to accommodate tenants in property sale | Mount Kisco NY Real Estate

Q: We’re going to be selling our building, which will involve brokers and interested buyers looking at our apartments. Several tenants think we should give them many days’ notice and consult them when scheduling visits. Do our tenants have the legal right to make these demands?

A: Putting up with rental applicants evaluating a home’s potential or dealing with buyers eyeing the property during a sale are hassles every tenant encounters eventually. But most states give tenants some protections — more than half have laws that specify how much notice a landlord must give before entering a tenant’s apartment. Common periods are two days or 24 hours. Some state laws are less useful, requiring “reasonable notice,” whatever that means. Notice requirements don’t apply to common areas such as the lobby, hallways and recreation areas. In these places, owners are free to bring visitors at any time and without notice.

So the first thing you need to do is to find out what your state law has to say about showing rentals to prospective buyers and tenants. But aside from your legal obligations to give adequate notice, let’s think about how you might accommodate your tenants in other ways, too. Don’t forget that uncooperative residents can have a real effect on how nicely your property shows — you don’t want grumbling residents pointing out deferred maintenance, do you?

Consider asking to meet with a delegation from the tenants’ group to discuss how this transition time can be made easier for them. Think ahead of reasonable requests that won’t seriously affect your ability to market the property, such as being willing to show the property at specified times and days. You might also consider modest rent reductions to compensate tenants for the disruption caused by the sale.

A savvy owner will make these concessions, realizing that cooperation by building residents is essential to marketing efforts and eventual sale — no seller wants to try to navigate a sea of resentful, gloomy residents, and no buyer wants to inherit a building full of angry people.

Q: I have been asked to sign a clause in a residential lease that states that the tenant agrees not to make any claims against the landlord for any loss or damage caused by “any accidents beyond the reasonable control of Landlord.” Is this legal? –Davey R.

A: Your landlord is attempting to avoid lawsuits brought by tenants who have suffered economic losses or injuries on the rental property. These claims often arise. For example, suppose your landlord fails to maintain a set of lobby stairs, and you fall and are injured. You might decide to sue for medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.

Fear not. In virtually every state, the clause in your lease would not bar such a suit. That’s because the clause shields the landlord only from claims that result from situations beyond his reasonable control. In our example, the monitoring and repair of the lobby stairs are obviously his responsibility, not yours, and not anyone else’s.

It might strike you as odd that landlords think it necessary to tell tenants that they won’t be held responsible for accidents that are beyond their reasonable control. After all, it stands to reason that we would make people responsible only for the mistakes that they could have avoided. But that common-sense conclusion will not stop some tenants from making a claim or suing, who think that any accident on the landlord’s property is the fault of the landlord.

For example, suppose the tenant parks in his assigned parking spot, but during the night a branch from a tree planted on the street breaks off and smashes his car. Thinking that because the damage happened while his car was parked on the rental property, the tenant demands compensation from the landlord or the landlord’s insurance company. In such a situation, unless the tenant can prove that the landlord somehow could have avoided the accident (Did the landlord know of the tree’s frailty and fail to warn tenants? Was the landlord legally obliged to monitor the tree and trim it?), the tenant won’t collect. But in the meantime, the landlord will have spent time and effort defeating the claim.

The clause in your lease is placed there to remind tenants that the landlord’s ability to avoid accidents is limited to those situations in which he has control. But don’t assume that the “control or not” question is always black and white.

In California some years back, a landlord was held liable when a tenant slipped and fell on a broken concrete pathway that led from the rental property to an adjacent street. Even though the landlord did not own the land under the path and could not have repaired it on his own, he was aware that his tenants regularly used it as a shortcut and failed to warn them of the path’s dangerousness. That was enough to make him at least responsible.

In the end, signing off on this clause will not defeat a valid claim brought by a tenant who claims to have been injured or economically damaged by the landlord’s carelessness. If the claim is bogus (suing the landlord for an act of God, for example), it will get tossed out of court. If the question is close, the court will resolve it, regardless of what the lease does or does not say.

Janet Portman is an attorney and managing editor at Nolo. She specializes in landlord/tenant law and is co-author of “Every Landlord’s Legal Guide” and “Every Tenant’s Legal Guide.” She can be reached at janet@inman.com.