Category Archives: Bedford Corners NY

Be the best needle in the haystack | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Real estate brokers and agents who want more buyers and sellers to discover them on the Internet — and to be impressed by what they find —  can start by putting themselves in the shoes of their would-be clients.

If your market is Atlanta, Google “best Realtors Atlanta” or “best places to live Atlanta.” Are you in the results? Where?

Try Googling your own name or your brokerage’s name, and see what comes up — your website, or sites over which you have little or no control?

If you Google your name and “reviews,” what are people saying about you?

This little exercise is one example of what Patrick Grandinetti, head of industry across the real estate vertical at Google, calls finding the “pulse” of online consumer behavior.

Once you’ve found the consumer pulse, he said, respond  — either by creating content that will draw “organic” (unpaid) traffic from search engines, or by buying keywords and paying for a set amount of “clicks” (traffic to your website).

Google has an arsenal of tools dedicated to helping you not only create effective content and keywords, but measure the results on your website. Grandinetti made sure to touch on as many of them as he could in a presentation to a room full of Realtors Sunday.

Speaking at the National Association of Realtors’ annual Conference and Expo, Grandinetti seemed intent on winning over any skeptics in the room who might still be spending a significant portion of their marketing and advertising budget offline.

For converts, he also provided detailed insight into how to use a number of Google tools — many free — to grow their business (Grandinetti’s Google real estate team posts updates on Twitter using the handle @GoogleRE — a Web page is in the works).

Having spent nearly a decade in advertising at some big-name firms like Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, and McCann Erickson before making the move to Google in 2007, Grandinetti understands how traditional advertising works — and how the wealth of information available to consumers on the Internet has undermined its effectiveness.

In the old days, companies with household brand names like Procter & Gamble operated on the premise that there were two “moments of truth” that could make or break sales of their products, he said.

The first moment of truth came when a consumer was, say, standing in front of a shelf of products at a supermarket, with only a few seconds to decide which one to buy.

Consumers had to make a spot decision based on price, their previous knowledge about each product and brand, and whatever additional information its packaging managed to convey.

The second moment of truth was the experience they had when they actually used the product — say toothpaste — for the first time. If they liked it, chances were they’d keep buying it.

“Procter & Gamble says if you can win at the first and second moments of truth, you have a high likelihood of retaining that customer for life,” Grandinetti said.

Google’s ‘zero moment of truth’

But today, consumers can obtain detailed information about virtually any product with a few taps on a smartphone’s touch screen. Advertising may only serve as the impetus for a consumer to launch their own online investigation.

Google calls the decision that results from this online research the “zero moment of truth,” or ZMOT.

Grandinetti told a story about his father purchasing a Canon digital camera after seeing a TV ad featuring Ashton Kutcher.

“I said Dad, he advertised for Nikon,” Grandinetti recalled. After seeing the ad, his father had gone online to research cameras. “He saw an ad for Nikon, but Canon won in that zero moment of truth,” Grandinetti said.

Thanks to online reviews, one consumer’s experience using a product — their “second moment of truth” — can become another consumer’s zero moment of truth.

Consumers have been always been willing do some homework on big purchases like a car or a home. But the rise of consumer rating sites and other sources of online information — and the ease of accessing it via mobile devices — means that the “zero moment” comes into play even with more modest purchases.

Google is so enamored with the concept — which dovetails nicely with the company’s business model — that it’s published an e-book, “Winning the Zero Moment of Truth.”

“Over the past couple of years, online research is changing the nature of the game,” Grandinetti said.

From January 2009 through June 2012, searches related to automobiles were up 262 percent, as were searches related to travel (up 211 percent) and real estate (253 percent), he said.

Applying ZMOT to real estate

Think of real estate brokers and agents as products that consumers research, and it’s not hard to understand how the “zero moment” would apply to them.

Brokers and agents not only need to be discovered, they need people to discover things about them that will differentiate them from the competition.

Finding the pulse of online consumer behavior makes it easier to create relevant website content and keywords.

The process doesn’t have to be rigorous or complex. Grandinetti noted that a quick way to get a feel for what consumers are searching for is to start entering a search term, and see what suggestions Google Instant displays as you type.

As you begin typing “best real estate,” for example, Google Instant may suggest search terms like “best real estate websites,” “best real estate apps,” or even “best real estate companies to work for,” because that’s how most users complete that phrase.

Showing up in a search of “best real estate companies to work for” in your market might not seem like an obvious way to connect with buyers and sellers.

But, Grandinetti asked, “Wouldn’t your customers want to use the company that’s best to work for?”

Google Trends is a free tool that provides more insight, allowing users to type in up to five search terms, and see indexed query growth over time. Users can see results at the global, national, state or local level, choosing the time period that they want to view.

A chart generated using Google Trends shows search volume for “foreclosures” has declined in the Orlando area in the last month, but still outnumbers “vacation homes,” “investment property,” “short sales,” and “rental properties.”

To make sure that Google’s spiders find the unique content you create for your site, Grandinetti recommended Google Webmaster Tools for optimizing websites for crawling.

Grandinetti also recommended another free tool, Google Reader, for staying on top of news about what’s happening in your real estate market and what people are saying about rival companies.

Better to lead than follow?

Many brokers and agents may find that time-tested, proven methods like advertising in newspapers are still working for them today. But Grandinetti suggested that those who haven’t given much thought about how to “win the zero moment,” should feel some urgency to do so.

“Be nimble — experiment,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to innovate.”

There’s often an advantage to being the first to stake out new territory online, he said, citing the example of a “little recipe gadget” Betty Crocker launched that captured the eye of 81,800 users after six months. When Kraft launched what Grandinetti described as a much more sophisticated app, it had only 9,900 users after six months. Betty Crocker won eight times more users because they were first, he said.

Grandinetti encouraged brokers and agents to at least experiment with AdWords, the pay-per-click ad campaigns built around keywords.

“See how many leads you get from spending $50 or $100 day,” he said. “Play around in Google AdWords, it’s an amazing tool.”

To boost your rankings in organic (unpaid) search results, create content that answers questions that your would-be clients are asking.

“Homebuyers have so many questions,” Grandinetti said. “You know how to help them. Position yourself as the expert.”

YouTube videos are a good way to demonstrate your expertise. Choose specific topics that are relevant and useful to your target audience.

“Tips for first time home buyers in Bay Area California,” is a great example of a specific subject that will attract potential clients, he said.

“Don’t be afraid to make a homegrown video of yourself,” he said, citing the YouTube video above as an example.

YouTube — a Google company — is the second-largest search site in the world, he said.

You can build up your customer base by signing up subscribers to your YouTube videos. Create a YouTube channel, and put its URL on your business card.

Research commissioned by Google shows people take three months to one year from the time they begin researching a home purchase until closing (33 percent take three to six months, and 27 percent take 6 months to a year, he said).

Keeping a steady stream of information to those people as they do their research can help you win the zero moment, he said.

Google’s social media offering, Google+, allows users to organize and communicate with their customer networks via circles, targeting specific messages only to first-time homebuyers, or second-home buyers,  for example.

“I send one message to one group, another message to another group,” Grandinetti said.

Like Facebook, Google+ also offers the option of creating a business page that’s geared for building a large audience and marketing to it.

Adding a +1 button to your website allows visitors to recommend the content they find there to other Google search users, and share it on Google+.

Google’s “enterprise class” web analytics tool, Google Analytics, is also free because, Grandinetti said, “we believe, if you have better understanding of the data, you’re going to be a better customer for us.”

Grandinetti’s final piece of advice for brokers was to “make plans to win at ZMOT (zero moment of truth). The No. 1 thing you can do is put someone in charge in the ZMOT. If you don’t put someone in charge, it’s not going to happen.”

via inman.com

Downpayments Fall to Three Year Low | Armonk NY Realtor

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The median downpayment made by all homebuyers in 2012 was 9 percent, ranging from 4 percent for first-time buyers to 13 percent for repeat buyers.  The median down payment was the lowest since 2009 but still far above the levels during the housing boom, when nearly half of first-time buyers made no downpayment at all.

First-time buyers who financed their purchase used a variety of resources for the downpayment:  76 percent tapped into savings; 24 percent received a gift from a friend or relative, typically from their parents; and 6 percent received a loan from a relative or friend.  Eleven percent tapped into a 401(k) fund, and 6 percent sold stocks or bonds.  Ninety-three percent of entry-level buyers chose a fixed-rate mortgage, reported the National Association of Realtors.

Forty-six percent of first-time buyers financed with a low-downpayment FHA mortgage, and 10 percent used the VA loan program with no downpayment requirements.  Forty-two percent cut spending on luxury items to buy their first home, 35 percent cut spending on entertainment and 27 percent cut spending on clothes.

In 2005, the median first-time home buyer scraped together a down payment of only 2 percent to buy a $150,000 home .  Two years later, in 2007, the median downpayment by first-time buyers was still only 2 percent and 45 percent purchased with no money down – the same as in 2006. That year 43 percent of first-time home buyers purchased their homes with no-money-down loans.

After lenders tightened standards in the wake of the housing crash, the median downpayment soared , reaching 11 percent in 2010-2011. First time buyers put about 5 percent down in 2011. Repeat buyers, pooling equity with savings, typically put down about 15 percent.  Investment and vacation-home buyers have been paying higher down payments than those buying a primary residence. The median down payment for both was 27 percent, according to NAR’s 2011 Profile of Investment and Vacation Buyers.

“First-time buyers historically make small downpayments, but repeat buyers like to put down 20 percent if they can to avoid paying mortgage insurance,” NAR’s Paul Bishop said.  “The general loss in home value since the peak of the housing boom means many repeat buyers in recent years had to make smaller downpayments.  Fortunately, prices have turned up this year and are showing sustained increases, so we’re on the road to a recovery in home equity.”

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Video Advertising Sees Massive Growth in UK, Agencies Need Guidance | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Brightroll did some research over in the UK to see how video advertising is getting on there and it seems that stiff upper lip mentality is working for them as things are really picking up. The second annual survey and report, the 2012 UK Video Advertising Report, gathers insight from more than 100 top decision makers and media buyers at leading UK advertising agencies and shares their unique perspective of the UK video advertising landscape.

As with all Brightroll surveys, things should be weighed carefully before making any decisions. After all, it’s a survey and included a small fraction of the industry as a whole. With that said, let’s get onto the numbers.

Video Advertising Reach Rises in the UK

Around 63% of the UK population watches a video online each month. That’s a pretty good reach. Meanwhile, about 65% of that audience sees video ads monthly which is around 28.6 million people who are seeing a billion ads a month (comScore).

Part of why those numbers are all on the rise is because more advertisers and agencies believe in its efficacy. 87% surveyed believe it more effective than display and 52% believe it better than TV. Brightroll attributes some lower numbers to a confusion as to what digital video is. Maybe more ReelSEO reading is necessary?

Some of these beliefs could be attributed to the often made assumption that VOD (video on demand) and digital video are one in the same. However, digital video encompasses more than just VOD and includes in-app, user-generated content, gaming, or anywhere video can run.

UK effectiveness trend e1352397015777 Digital Video Advertising Sees Massive Growth in UK, But Ad Agencies Need More Guidance [Study]

When it comes to digital video advertising, many UK advertisers may spend their budgets specifically on VOD, working directly with broadcasters. In fact, when asked who they are most inclined to buy video inventory from, 41 percent of respondents indicate they are most likely to buy video inventory from a broadcaster with 22 percent who are most likely to buy from an ad network.

Where Are UK Video Advertisers Placing Inventory?

A lot of those UK companies are advertising outside of the country. A good amount of ad networks are placing ads in the US and Canada, while publishers are looking to Germany and the US for their main purchasing areas. Broadcasters are the ones doing the most buying in the UK itself followed by ad networks.

UK ad placement 606x173 Digital Video Advertising Sees Massive Growth in UK, But Ad Agencies Need More Guidance [Study]

Click for larger image.

Considering that a lot in the UK think of digital video in terms of VOD it’s not all that surprising that the broadcasters are leading the ad buys there right now. It must be them trying to lure the online video viewers away from the short-form online content they’re watching because the average time spent with a video is 5 minutes and only 5% of videos online are from the UK broadcasters. Clearly they might feel threatened.

What Matters to UK Video Advertisers?

When looking at the how and why of ad placement, targeting tops the requirements with over 50% saying that’s most valuable. Reach was just around 37% and then everything else was minimal, including price versus TV.

Meanwhile, ad spend is usually based on cost-per-view (CPV) with CPM (cost-per-impression) second and engagement third.

UK ad spending Digital Video Advertising Sees Massive Growth in UK, But Ad Agencies Need More Guidance [Study]

It seems that if you’re offering video ad placement and hoping to reach UK advertisers you’ve now got a pretty clear picture of what to offer them and pique their interest. CPV with excellent targeting would be the ideal one-two punch of features for them.

In fact, demographic targeting is the most often desired form of targeting at 35% while behavior is used by 25% and contextual is around 20%. Data and geographic were lower at 15% and 5% roughly.

Measuring the Success of Video Advertising

Determining the success of an online video advertising campaign is usually campaign or company specific. In the survey they found that for the most part it’s views (30%) that are the measurement. Hovering near the 15% point are conversion, brand uplift and CTR with Sales impact at about 10%.

GRP isn’t all that popular there which is telling since most of the ads seem to be placed by TV broadcasters. I suppose that goes hand-in-hand with that targeting over reach from the previous graph.

UK Taking Shots in the Dark? Need Guidance

The odd thing is that it seems like the UK online video ad industry is groping blindly to figure out what works best. 90% of respondents said research is vital to success, but 70% stated they had done no research. To me it almost seems like throwing money down a hole and are simply following the trend without bothering to figure out how to do it right.

The crazy thing is that when talking about barriers to online video advertising, the cost of video is the largest one for them. Just over a third cited that as the most limiting factor. Clearly, they didn’t do any research because they would have found great video ad creation platforms like ViddyAd (in beta) and places like PopTent for crowdsourced video creation, just to name a few alternative options to production company made video content.

There are far more insights in the full 2012 UK Video Advertising Report which you can pull from the Brightroll Industry Report page.

via reelseo.com

NAR economist Lawrence Yun’s forecast: Higher inflation, higher home prices now | Real Estate in Bedford Hills NY

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ORLANDO — NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun is speaking at the National Association of Realtors convention here right now.

He is taking about inflation, which has been relatively low for two decades. He says it will stay at about 2 percent next year.

But he says we should anticpiate higher inflation by 2015. “No threatening inflation next year, 2 percent. Eventually we may reach something much higher, 4, 5, 6 percent by 2013. Well above the Federal Reserve’s preferred rate of 2 percent.” The pressure on inflation will come from the large budget deficit.

“Rents are rising. Inflation pressure will be building in the rental market. Vacancies are falling and rents are rising.

The Fed has an “ultra-loose monetary policy, 0 percent, an unprecedented low rate. You cannot borrow at this rate but Mark Vinter and Wells Fargo can.”

The mortgage interest deduction will be discussed as a way to increase revenue and decrease the public debt. But Yun says it will not happen because of the efforts of his audience, the Realtors, to pressure the government to keep it in place.

Higher inflation means that the home mortgage interest rates will trend up.

Yun is forecasting “meaningfully higher home prices, which went up 4 to 5 percent in 2012.

“Home price growht ckoud slow or accelerate depending on housing starts.” Yun ecpects a 15 percent cumulative growth in home prices over the next three years. The rise in prices are not showing any signs of slowing down.” Arizona has already seen a 30 percent increase since the bust.

“Rises in prices will bring more underwater homeowners above water and then they can participate in the market.”

Her prdicts the price will rise from $176,000 to $195,ooo. “The train has left the station, but it is still a great time to buy, because if you wait, the train will be farther from the station and you will miss the chance for wealth creation.”

Realtors are seeing more traffic, and showings are consistently strong. Pending home sales are trending up.

Home sales will be 4.6 million units this year and 5.05 million units in 2013, says Yun.

Employment is a key to home purchasing. While the unemployment rate is falling, Yun looks at the “employment rate.” About 62 percent of adults have jobs. This number is not increasing. Only enough jobs are being created to soak up the new graduates. But there is plenty of room for improvement, he says. “We need 250,000 new jobs every month for the next eight years to get back to a normal job market. It is trending up, but it could trend up faster.”

Builder inventory is at a 50-year low. Builder activity is rising, but only from a very low level and housing starts are at less than half of the 50-year average of 1.5 million units per year.

Good new for all segments of housing, he said, is that the “shadow inventory” of distressed properties is shrinking. Foreclosures are clogged in judicial states and flowing freely in non-judicial states such as Arizona. Whiel home prices are up 7 percent in Miami, they are up 19 percent in Arizona.

Yun forecasts a more unqual distribution of wealth. “That is something we need to monitor.”

He is putting a lot of pressure on the builders: If they don’t build enough new homes, it will rise prices, which would be good for existing homeowners but will cut into home affordability for all those renters who want to become homeowners. What we are seeing now is that wealthy investors play a strong role in the market and are keeping some “end-user” buyers out. This is evident in Sarasota, where all-cash investors are outbidding buyers who would live in a house they would buy with a mortgage.

Renting is up strongly and homeownership is off a bit. Normally, homeowners are 66 percent of the market. And the household formation increase has been more in the rental market rather than home purchases.

Hurricane Sandy’s property destruction will provide building permit impetus in New Jersey, boosting the market there in a few months.

Florida: Yun points out that Florida’s job growth, weak or falling recently, since 1939 has boomed, and if that overall growth trend resumes, the state could run out of prime real estate development land, particularly as Chinese and Brazilian buyers come to the state.

His applause line: “The financial institutions are flush with cash. Why are they not lending?”

He closes with this: Keep the mortgage interest deduction. Taking it away will be a huge hit to the housing industry.

Wells Fargo economist Mark Vinter comes back on stage and says, “Our bank is lending. It is that other bank.”

Chase? Bank of America? I will have to ask him that later.

In case you did not know: Yun is pronounced Yoon.

via realestatetoday.blogs.heraldtribune.com

Power Outages: New Jersey, New York Slowly See Lights Back On After Hurricane Sandy | Bedford NY Real Estate

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NEW YORK — Even as the lights came on for many who lost power in New York and New Jersey during the superstorm and a later nor’easter, hundreds of residents protested Saturday outside a Long Island utility, frustrated by its slow response to outages.

Power restoration has been slower there than in other areas hit by Superstorm Sandy, sparking criticism of the Long Island Power Authority. Some of the 130,000 blacked out homes and businesses the utility serves may not have power restored until the end of Tuesday, according to LIPA.

In the rest of the region hardest hit by the storm, most service was expected to be restored by the end of the weekend, though that doesn’t include tens of thousands of homes too damaged to juice up.

“We are sitting in a cold house. No one comes by,” said John Mangin of Levittown, N.Y. “There should be criminal charges against the CEO and the executive board of LIPA for failure to do their jobs.”

He was among about 300 people staging a rally in front of LIPA’s office in Hicksville, N.Y. Not all were without power, but some who have power said they were there to protest LIPA’s lack of communication.

LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael Hervey said the utility was aware that customers haven’t gotten the information they’ve needed from it, partly because of an outdated information technology system it’s in the process of updating.

“I certainly feel the frustration of customers whose power remains out. Our hearts go out to them,” Hervey said.

But he said workers are repairing unprecedented storm damage as fast as they can. About 6,400 linemen and 3,700 tree trimmers are at work, compared with 200 linemen on a normal day.

In Suffolk County, where about 28,000 customers remain without power, County Executive Steven Bellone announced he was cutting ties with LIPA and would deal directly with substation coordinators.

Hervey said he would not comment on that directly, but added that an ad hoc takeover of the system would lead to anarchy.

“The utility is the best suited to restore power and manage that,” he said. “We can’t have people step in and take over.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for an investigation of the region’s utilities, criticizing them as unprepared and badly managed. On Friday, two congressmen from Long Island called for the federal government to help LIPA restore electricity.

“It’s a totally disorganized effort, and LIPA unfortunately seems to have lost control of the situation and that’s why you see so many people becoming so angry,” Rep. Peter King said Saturday.

In New York City and neighboring suburban Westchester County, utility Con Edison said about 11,400 customers remained powerless, down from a peak of more than 1 million. The number of remaining outages doesn’t include about 30,000 Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island homes and businesses that the utility says are too damaged to receive power for now.

In New Jersey, fewer than 85,000 customers were without power Saturday, most along the coast. That was down from 2.7 million at the height of the storm. Most were expected to have power by the end of the weekend.

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  • Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy

    LONG BEACH, NY – NOVEMBER 09: A man walks past a destroyed section of the boardwalk at the base of Lincoln Boulevard as Long Islanders continue their clean up efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Long Beach, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and business caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • Storm-Damaged Communities On East Coast Hit By Nor’Easter

    NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 08: Alex Vila, 2, carries a box of cereal after visiting an aid station for people affected by Superstorm Sandy on November 8, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Household supplies and groceries were distributed to Red Hook neighborhood residents by Catholic Charities at the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary church. Meanwhile a nor’easter storm plunged temperatures to below freezing, bringing more misery to many Red Hook residents still without power, heat nor running water in their public housing apartments. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

  • US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY

    Boats and docks damaged by Hurricane Sandy are seen at the Mansion Marinia on the shores of the Great Kills community November 7, 2012 on Staten Island, New York. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced a limited evacuation of some neighborhoods ahead of harsh weather barreling toward a city still recovering from superstorm Sandy. The national weather service forecast heavy rain and likely snow on Wednesday and Thursday, accompanied by gale force winds gusting as high as 43 mph (69 kmh). Though barely half the strength of Sandy, the autumn storm will lash already damaged buildings and bring lower temperatures for tens of thousands of people still struggling without electricity. Bloomberg told a news conference that parks and beaches would close. The worst-hit patches of waterfront neighborhoods, including Rockaways in the Queens borough, and in Staten Island, were being asked to evacuate again. AFP PHOTO/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

  • Storm-Damaged Communities On East Coast Hit By Nor’Easter

    LONG BRANCH, NJ – NOVEMBER 08: Debris from Superstorm Sandy is seen on a beach November 8, 2012 in Long Branch, New Jersey. Meanwhile a nor’easter storm plunged temperatures to below freezing, bringing more misery to many residents throughout New York and New Jersey still without power. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

  • Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy

    OCEANSIDE, NY – NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) James Vouloukos and William Ferris sort through donated clothes at a site maintained by the Town of Hempstead in cooperation with FEMA at Oceanside Park during in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Oceanside, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and businesses caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • Funeral Held in Brooklyn For Two Young Brothers Killed During Superstorm Sandy

    NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 09: New York sanitation department workers watch as a hearse arrives with a casket carrying the bodies of two brothers killed during Superstorm Sandy for a funeral at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic church on November 9, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Brandon Moore, 2, and Connor Moore, 4, were swept away from the arms of their mother Glenda Moore as she fled Superstorm Sandy floodwaters in New York’s Staten Island borough to seek safety with family in Brooklyn. She is married to New York Sanitation worker Damian Moore, and dozens of workers and officials from the sanitation department attended the funeral ceremony. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

  • Long Island Residents, Many Still Without Power, Continue To Clean Up After Superstorm Sandy

    ISLAND PARK, NY – NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) Residents Paul and Donald Zezulinski and their dog ‘Plywood’ of Island Park show their appreciation to first responders during their clean up efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on November 9, 2012 in Island Park, New York. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said that the economic loss and damage to homes and business caused by Sandy could total $33 billion in New York, according to published reports. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • FILE – In this Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, people stand next to a house collapsed from Superstorm Sandy in East Haven, Conn. While Connecticut was spared the destruction seen in New York and New Jersey, many communities along the shoreline, including some of the wealthiest towns in America, were struggling with one of the most severe storms in generations. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
  • Meg Dolan holds her dog “Nellie” during Sunday mass at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Breezy Point, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. With overnight temperatures sinking into the 30s and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses still without electricity six days after Sandy howled through, people piled on layers of clothes, and New York City officials handed out blankets and urged victims to go to overnight shelters or daytime warming centers. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
  • A representative of the Salvation Army walks past homes destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in Breezy Point, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. The beachfront neighborhood heavy populated by firefighters and police officers was devastated during the storm when a fire pushed by Sandy’s raging winds destroyed 100 or more homes and buildings. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
  • Ginny Flanagan, right, and her sister go through photographs and mementos that were recovered from Flanagan’s flooded bungalow in Breezy Point, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. The beachfront enclave heavy populated by firefighters and police officers was devastated during the storm when a fire pushed by Sandy’s raging winds destroyed 100 or more homes and buildings. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

  • US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY-MARATHON

    Runner Jonathan who would have run the ING New York City Marathon, spend the afternoon volunteering by unloading and organizing emergency supplies near Midland Beach as New York recovers from Hurricane Sandy on November 4, 2012 in Staten Island, New York. AFP PHOTO / Mehdi Taamallah (Photo credit should read MEHDI TAAMALLAH/AFP/Getty Images)

  • A woman with her groceries passes a group of National Guardsmen as they march up 1st Avenue towards the 69th Regiment Armory, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in New York. National Guardsmen remain in Manhattan as the city begins to move towards normalcy following Superstorm Sandy earlier in the week. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)
  • Patrons on foot carrying gas canisters line up for gasoline at a Hess station in the New Dorp section of the Staten Island borough of New York, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Those on foot reported waits up to 40 minutes while motorists lined up for two hours as Staten Islanders fueled up to run their generators and automobiles in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Eileen AJ Connelly)
  • Girls hold hands during Sunday mass at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Breezy Point, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in New York. With overnight temperatures sinking into the 30s and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses still without electricity six days after Sandy howled through, people piled on layers of clothes, and New York City officials handed out blankets and urged victims to go to overnight shelters or daytime warming centers. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
  • Many streets in the Silver Lake section of Belmar, N.J., remain underwater Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, Neighbors and volunteers clean out homes Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in Belmar, N.J., five days after the storm surge by superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Ben Nukols)
  • Water from superstorm Sandy is pumped from a flooded basement of an office building near New York’s Battery Park, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. The massive storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, killing at least 96 people in the United States. The cost of the storm could exceed $18 billion in New York alone. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
  • Cars that were uprighted and submerged by Superstorm Sandy remain at the entrance of a subterranean parking garage in New York’s Financial District, as the water is pumped out, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. . The cost of the storm could exceed $18 billion in New York alone. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

  • National Guard in Lower Manhattan

    The National Guard 827th Engineer Company helps hand out MREs to Lower Manhattan residents at the Alfred Smith Playground on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • National Guard in Lower Manhattan

    The National Guard 827th Engineer Company helps hand out MREs to Lower Manhattan residents at the Alfred Smith Playground on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • Grand Central Terminal, New York City

    People walk through Grand Central Terminal as the sun rises during a subdued morning rush on Nov. 1, 2012 in New York City. Some trains are back up and running into Grand Central following shutdowns in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Subway train service in the city is back in a limited capacity, but with much of lower Manhattan still with out power, trains are not running there and busses are replacing them.

  • Seaside Heights, N.J.

    A roller coaster sits in the Atlantic Ocean after the Fun Town pier it sat on was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy on Nov. 1, 2012 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.

  • National Guard in Lower Manhattan

    The National Guard 827th Engineer Company helps hand out MREs to Lower Manhattan residents at the Alfred Smith Playground on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • Charging Station Provided By AT&T

    Phillip Melly charges the phones of Hurricane Sandy victims at Kimlau Square in Lower Manhattan on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. The generators used were brought in by AT&T to help out the residents of Lower Manhattan in New York City who currently have no power. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • Stocking Up On Ice

    United City Ice Cube Company workers who refer to themselves as “Icemen” take in a shipment of ice into their 45th and 10th ave. store on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. The workers who asked not to be identified by name said there had been a run on ice purchases due to Hurricane Sandy and they were stocking up in anticipation of more demand in the coming days. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • Car Crash Due To Power Outage

    The power outage in Lower Manhattan due to Hurricane Sandy has created a gauntlet of dangerous street intersections as can be seen by this car accident at the Houston and Varick Street crossing on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • Car Crash Due To Power Outage

    The power outage in Lower Manhattan due to Hurricane Sandy has created a gauntlet of dangerous street intersections as can be seen by this car accident at the Houston and Varick Street crossing on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • Clean Drinking Water

    Pedestrians fill up on water at a drinking station that had been setup at the corner of Centre and Canal Streets in Chinatown on Friday Nov. 2, 2012. The stations use water from fire hydrants and have been erected due to the blackout caused by Hurricane Sandy in Lower Manhattan. (Damon Dahlen, AOL)

  • Trash Picking In Chinatown

    A pedestrian looks through discarded food near a supermarket located at Henry and Market Streets in Chinatown New York on Friday Nov. 2, 2012.

  • Fort Lee, N.J.

    People wait in line for fuel at a Shell Oil station on Nov. 1, 2012 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The US death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose to at least 85 as New York reported a major jump in fatalities caused by Monday’s storm. Fuel shortages led to long lines of cars at gasoline stations in many states and the country faced a storm bill of tens of billions of dollars.

  • New York City

    Commuters ride the F train Nov. 1, 2012 in New York City. Limited public transit has returned to New York. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.

  • Toms River, N.J.

    A gas station displays a “No Gas” sign on November 1, 2012 in Toms River, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.

  • Fort Lee, N.J.

    Cars wait in line for fuel at a Gulf gas station on Nov.1, 2012 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The US death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose to at least 85 as New York reported a major jump in fatalities caused by Monday’s storm. Fuel shortages led to long lines of cars at gasoline stations in many states and the country faced a storm bill of tens of billions of dollars.

  • Brooklyn, N.Y.

    New Yorkers wait in traffic as they head into Manhattan from Brooklyn as the city continues to recover from superstorm Sandy on Nov.1, 2012, in New York, United States. Limited public transit has returned to New York and most major bridges have reopened but will require three occupants in the vehicle to pass. With the death toll currently over 70 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by superstorm Sandy.

  • Hoboken, N.J.

    Mud and debris liiter a street on Nov.1, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Hurricane victims continue to recover from Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall along the New Jersey shore, and left parts of the state and the surrounding area flooded and without power.

  • Washington, D.C.

    Firefighters shoot water into a building in the 1200 block of 4th St., NE, near the recently opened Union Market, after responding to a blaze that broke out around 9pm Wednesday night.

  • Seaside Heights, N.J.

    Debris lies on the boardwalk in front of the Casino Pier, which was partially destroyed by Superstorm Sandy on Nov.1, 2012 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy.

  • Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, N.Y.

    A New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer looks over flood waters at the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery tunnel in New York, U.S., on Nov. 1, 2012. The New York region is replacing a rail network built over a century with a patchwork constructed day-by-day to move its 8 million people again as it struggles back to life after Hurricane Sandy.

  • New York City

    Residents charge their cell phones and computers on the East River esplanade in New York, U.S., on Nov. 1, 2012. The New York region is replacing a rail network built over a century with a patchwork constructed day-by-day to move its 8 million people again as it struggles back to life after Hurricane Sandy.

  • Toms River, N.J.

    An American flag flies in front of a home damaged by Hurricane Sandy on Nov. 1, 2012 in Toms River, New Jersey. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by superstorm Sandy.

  • Lower Manhattan

    Water is pumped on to the street in lower Manhattan in New York, U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. The New York region is replacing a rail network built over a century with a patchwork constructed day-by-day to move its 8 million people again as it struggles back to life after Hurricane Sandy.

  • North Bergen, New Jersey

    A woman leaves an Exxon gas station which was out of gas on Nov. 1, 2012 in North Bergen, New Jersey. The US death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose to at least 85 as New York reported a major jump in fatalities caused by Monday’s storm. Fuel shortages led to long lines of cars at gasoline stations in many states and the country faced a storm bill of tens of billions of dollars.

  • Manhattan from Hoboken, N.J.

    People board the NY Waterways ferry with the Manhattan skyline in the background Nov.1, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall along the New Jersey shore, left parts of the state and the surrounding area without power including much of lower Manhattan south of 34th Street.

  • South Ferry 1 Train Station, New York City

    Joseph Leader, Metropolitan Tranportation Authority Vice President and Chief Maintenance Officer, shines a flashlight on standing water inside the South Ferry 1 train station in New York, N.Y., Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the wake of superstorm Sandy. The floodwaters that poured into New York’s deepest subway tunnels may pose the biggest obstacle to the city’s recovery from the worst natural disaster in the transit system’s 108-year history.

  • Seaside Heights, N.J.

    John Okeefe walks on the beach as a rollercoaster that once sat on the Funtown Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., rests in the ocean on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012 after the pier was washed away by superstorm Sandy which made landfall Monday evening.

  • Grand Central Terminal, New York City

    People exit a Metro-North train arriving in Grand Central Terminal during the morning rush on Nov. 1, 2012 in New York City. Some trains are back up and running into Grand Central following shutdowns in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Subway train service in the city is back in a limited capacity, but with much of lower Manhattan still with out power, trains are not running there and busses are replacing them.

  • Brooklyn, N.Y.

    Pedestrians look over a fence at a pile of boats flooded inland at the Varuna Boat Club on Oct. 31, 2012, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.

  • Queens, N.Y.

    People walk by a destroyed section of the Rockaway boardwalk in the heavily damaged Rockaway section of Queens after the historic boardwalk was washed away during Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 31, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. With the death toll currently at 55 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the affects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Hurricane Sandy. JFK airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey expect to resume flights on Wednesday morning and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days.

  • Queens, N.Y.

    Damage is viewed in the Rockaway neighborhood where the historic boardwalk was washed away during Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 31, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. With the death toll currently at 55 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the affects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Hurricane Sandy. JFK airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey expect to resume flights on Wednesday morning and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days.

  • Atlantic City, N.J.

    A damaged car is shown in the wake of superstorm Sandy, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in Atlantic City, N.J. Sandy was being blamed for at least six deaths across the state plus power outages that at their peak Monday affected 2.7 million residential and commercial customers.

  • Brooklyn, N.Y.

    A worker picks up debris outside of the damaged Tatiana Grill on the Brighton Beach boardwalk, on Oct. 31, 2012, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.

via huffingtonpost.com

New short-sale program offers relief for underwater homeowners | Armonk NY Real Estate

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WASHINGTON — Though there are still some snares and drawbacks for participants, one of the federal government’s most important financial relief efforts for underwater homeowners started operating Nov. 1.

It’s a new short-sale program that targets the walking wounded among borrowers emerging from the housing downturn — owners who owe far more on their mortgages than their current home value but have stuck it out for years, resisted the temptation to strategically default and never fell seriously behind on their monthly payments.

Industry estimates put the number of underwater owners across the country at just under 11 million, or 22% of all homes with a mortgage. Of these, about 4.6 million have loans that are owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Eighty percent of these Fannie-Freddie borrowers, in turn, are current on their mortgage payments and meet the baseline eligibility test for the new short-sale effort.

via latimes.com