Monthly Archives: August 2013

Real estate agents get wise to superstitions | South Salem Homes

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Are you superstitious? What about your clients? While it may seem odd, honoring the cultural beliefs and superstitions that others hold not only builds connection, but it can also help you close more deals. A number of years ago I had some affluent clients from Thailand. We found a $1.3 million house in Santa Monica, Calif., that they wanted to purchase. Before writing the offer, however, they wanted their priest to look at the property. The “priest” turned out be a Buddhist monk who spoke no English and was dressed only in a scant orange robe and sandals. When my clients decided they wanted to stop for coffee, I was at a loss about what to do with the priest: Do I stay in the car, go in with my clients to buy coffee, bring him some bottled water or do nothing? I decided to wait in the car.

Needless to say, the whole situation seemed bizarre. When we arrived at the property, the monk walked it completely and then stood across from one of the trees in the front yard. An animated discussion followed in Thai between my clients and the monk. I learned later that the monk had advised them not to buy the property because there was an evil spirit in the tree in the front yard. My first question was how to get rid of the evil spirit. The monk had already advised my clients on that issue: It wasn’t possible. While this story may seem strange, have you ever bumped into any of the following with your clients? 1. In down markets, an agent who buries a statue of St. Joseph in the yard in order to sell the house more quickly?

 

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http://www.inman.com/2013/08/15/real-estate-agents-get-wise-to-superstitions/#sthash.JIAv8gXy.dpuf

It Will Be A Cloudy But Dry Weekend, Chappaqua | Chappaqua Real Estate

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The weekend weather forecast for White Plains and Southern Westchester isn’t perfect, but it could be worse, according to weather.com.

Saturday’s forecast is for mostly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 79 and lows in the mid-60s. Chance of precipitation, however, is low at only 10 percent. Humidity shouldn’t be too much of a burden at 62 percent.

Sunday will be cloudy with a high of 78, but things should stay dry. Chance of rain will remain at 10 percent.

 

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http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/it-will-be-cloudy-dry-weekend-white-plains

Richmond Mayor goes the extra mile for eminent domain | Cross River Real Estate

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Richmond, Calif., Mayor Gayle McLaughlin went the extra mile to express her frustrations with Wells Fargo (WF) this week. McLaughlin and more than 40 protesters were turned away from Wells Fargo’s corporate headquarters after demanding to speak with top executives about the city’s use of eminent domain. Per Contra Costa Times:

“For Wells Fargo to be suing us is outrageous,” McLaughlin said after marching down Montgomery Street with dozens of supporters. “We just want them to cooperate with our efforts to save our communities.”

http://markets.housingwire.com/housingwire/quote?Symbol=321:966021
                    Source: Contra Costa Times

American consumers no longer so confident | North Salem NY Real Estate

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Consumer confidence fell in August from a six-year high as Americans observed rising interest rates and fluctuating stocks caused by uncertainty surrounding the Fed’s plans for quantitative easing, Bloomberg reports

The publication studied the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment and released the following findings:

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment fell to 80 from 85.1 in July, which was the highest since July 2007. The median projection of 68 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for little change at 85.2. The decline this month was the biggest since December.

 

                    Source: Bloomberg News

Bedford Board of Education seeks applicant | Bedford NY Real Estate

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News from the Bedford Central School District on the Board of Education vacancy:

The Board of Education is seeking an individual to serve on the Board to fill the seat of Ms. Lee Goldstein, who will be resigning due to family relocation. The term of office will conclude on May 20, 2014, the date of the next school board election.  The Board of Education invites interested individuals to submit an application by September 13, 2013.  The Board will meet in Public Special Session in the Fox Lane Middle School Little Theater to conduct interviews of all candidates on September 18 at a time not earlier than 7 pm. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be televised on BCSD-TV and on the website via live video streaming.  To assist the Board in preparing questions and to gather community input, community members are asked to submit a topic or question for consideration at the public interviews to boe@bcsdny.org no later than September 13. Following the public interview of candidates, community members may also submit input to the Board from September 18 through September 23, 2013 by email at boe@bcsdny.org.

The Board is expected to make an appointment on or about September 25, 2013. The term of office will commence with the Board’s appointment and continue until the next school board election on May 20, 2014.

To be eligible for this position, an individual must be a qualified voter of the district and have lived in the school district for at least one continuous year.  At a minimum, service on the Board requires preparation for and attendance at bimonthly Board meetings.  In addition, School Board members serve on at least one Board subcommittee, which meets monthly.

 

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http://northernwestchester.lohudblogs.com/2013/08/14/bedford-board-of-education-seeks-applicant/

 

Realtor.com’s perspective on NAR board vote | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Three weeks ago in Chicago, members of the National Association of Realtors’ board of directors — 625 practicing Realtors from every state and territory — put their busy summers on pause to make decisions about their website, realtor.com. It was an extraordinary gathering, and it produced extraordinary outcomes. As president of realtor.com, I’d like to share my perspective on what these outcomes mean for the site, for the Realtor brand, consumers, and the real estate industry as a whole. For me, it is not possible to understand the decisions made in Chicago without a look at the broader strategic context — and a little bit of history. Here’s how I see it.

 

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http://www.inman.com/2013/08/16/realtor-coms-perspective-on-the-nar-board-of-directors-vote/#sthash.Nmpqnb5R.dpuf

South Salem NY Weekly Real Estate Report | South Salem Homes

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South   Salem NY Weekly Real Estate Report8/21/2013
Homes for sale85
Median Ask Price$629,000.00
Low Price$205,000.00
High Price$12,200,000.00
Average Size2863
Average Price/foot$332.00
Average DOM161
Average Ask Price$995,112.00

How to Improve Your Marketing With Facebook Apps | Katonah Realtor

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Want to grow your email list or drive more people to your business?

Are you looking for ways to connect Facebook to your business goals?

In this article, I’ll show you common goals of four different industries and how Facebook apps are helping meet those goals.

Why Facebook Apps?

What kinds of apps (also known as tabs) do you have on your Facebook page?

Are you using the right features on those tabs to support your business goals and Facebook strategy?

 

Goals can include having visitors sign up to receive emails, download a coupon or ebook, enter a promotion or make a purchase.

These actions need to be easy to complete. By making it possible for visitors to do this in tabs on your Facebook page, you can increase the rate of visitors successfully completing the desired action.

Using the right tab apps can increase your success!

Give visitors access on Facebook to key tools and information.

Below I reveal common goals of four different industries (restaurants, hotels and travel destinations, local retailers and professional service companies) and outline key tabs that these industry page managers should consider implementing on their Facebook pages.

As you’ll see, there are some commonalities of tab types that can and should be used to increase Facebook marketing success. So if your industry is not represented specifically, don’t fret—common threads do apply!

Broker-priest gives voice to disillusioned agents | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Just recently Barry Smith received a rather jarring voice mail.

“It is disgusting. It is almost like you are portraying the devil,” the caller said in a quavering voice, according to Smith, owner of Washington, D.C.-based Domus Realty. By Smith’s account, the caller later added: “You’re like the dark side, and the dark side does not see well.”

The message represents just one of many reactions to a colorful job ad that Smith, once a philosophy professor at Georgetown University, recently penned and fired off to what he said were about 10,000 email addresses.

Calling for an “agent-priest,” the job ad has struck a chord with some real estate professionals who say it has given voice to their disillusionment with broker culture. At the same time, some readers of the post, like the woman who seemed to view Smith as something of a Sith lord, have found its cynical tone deeply unnerving.

The second reaction may be understandable: Certain passages in the ad, titled “Domus Realty — From Agony to Ecstasy,” express approval of prospective agents who wish to hurl both gadgets and themselves out windows, “scorn happy faces” and may commit suicide if the world “does not soon remedy or cure its superficiality and shallow notion of freedom.”

But Smith, who once taught college classes with titles like “Nietzsche and Postmodernity” and “Freud and Philosophy,” argues that critics of the ad may not fully appreciate its tongue-and-cheek hyperbole, and also could be missing what he says is its ultimately redeeming message.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/08/19/broker-priest-gives-voice-to-disillusioned-agents/#sthash.9ptammcE.dpuf

Tide of New Foreclosures Soaks Judicial States and Floods Florida | Bedford Real Estate

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After months of decline, foreclosure activity increased in July, led by Florida and six other judicial states where legal procedures delay foreclosure processing.

The top six state foreclosure rates in July were in states with a judicial foreclosure process, although two of those top six states posted decreasing foreclosure activity from a year ago: Ohio (down 18 percent) and Illinois (down 44 percent).

RealtyTrac reported default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions on 130,888 U.S. properties in July, an increase of 2 percent from the 78-month low in June but still down 32 percent from July 2012. The report also shows one in every 1,001 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.

Foreclosure starts increased from the previous month in 26 states and were up from a year ago in 15 states, including Maryland (up 275 percent), Oregon (up 137 percent), New Jersey (up 89 percent), Connecticut (up 37 percent), and New York (up 27 percent).

Bank repossessions increased from the previous month in 29 states and were up from a year ago in 18 states, including Arkansas (up 266 percent), Oklahoma (up 126 percent), Maryland (up 101 percent), New York (up 100 percent), Connecticut (up 67 percent), New Jersey (up 40 percent), and Ohio (up 20 percent).

Among the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan statistical areas, 10 posted increasing foreclosure activity from the previous month and five posted increasing foreclosure activity from a year ago: Baltimore (up 182 percent), Miami (up 58 percent), New York (up 42 percent), Philadelphia (up 11 percent), and Washington, D.C. (up 5 percent).

Nine of the nation’s 10 highest metro foreclosure rates in July were in Florida cities, and five of those nine Florida cities posted increasing foreclosure activity from a year ago.  Florida also led the states in foreclosures for the third consecutive month.

 

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/08