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Negative Equity Recedes in Third Quarter; Fewer than 30% of Homeowners with Mortgages Now Underwater | Waccabuc Real Estate
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Tag Archives: Waccabuc Homes for Sale
Other agents’ tired marketing pitches make it easy to stand out | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
The end of the year is a great time to spiff up your websites and marketing materials, because things can get very busy in the beginning of the year.
After taking inventory of my personal online marketing, I decided that it’s probably doing me more harm than good. Other than some minor tweaks, I have not really changed my personal marketing — “branding,” as some call it — since 2006. And it was not all that great to begin with.
I started by writing a list of ideas that I want to emphasize. When I finished, I got on the Internet and started looking at how other agents market their services. I was looking for inspiration and ideas.
Here is a gem I found on one agent’s website: “I have more local websites than any other agent to feature your home for sale.”
That agent has me beat. Does this agent really believe in her own marketing? Do sellers work with her because of this? Does featuring a home on any website — even one with a lot of traffic — sell it faster? No one really knows because there isn’t any data, just hyperbole.
Most agents offer a “FREE” comparative market analysis (CMA) on their website, but they do not define what that is. I searched everywhere and could not find an agent who charges for a CMA, which makes me kind of cynical about the word “FREE” in all caps, bold print and in bright red.
It’s hard for me to trust someone who offers something for free but nobody charges for it. There are agents who will give buyers a free list of homes that are for sale. Why would anyone pay for a list of homes for sale when they can get the information for free on a zillion websites? Would you even want to work with a buyer who was intrigued by an offer of a free list of homes for sale?
There are several agents who advertise that they are “the No. 1 agent” in a particular market. Sellers almost universally prefer listing with the “No. 1 agent.” The problem is that there can be only one “No. 1,” and it isn’t me.
Or maybe it is, if I look hard enough. How much credibility do we have when we say we are “No. 1?” If I say I am “No. 1,” will I ever have to prove it?
Here’s another common theme in agent marketing: stress reduction. “Sellers, call us for a less stressful transaction.”
The fact that they want to be called causes me stress. I don’t think we are helping when we warn people about how stressful buying and selling real estate can be. We might scare them into renting.
Agent advertising promises: “We promise to make it a smooth ride,” and “We take the stress out of selling.” I have had clients who get stressed out and obsess over problems that exist only in their own minds.
The best I can do for my clients is to be there when they need someone to talk to, and to take care that my actions minimize their stress. I can anticipate and educate, so that they are not caught off guard.
As agents we like to tell our clients that we can control everything and that we can fix everything, but we can’t. I cannot make one of the most stressful experiences in life stress free.
The typical marketing pitch to buyers is similar. We want to take the stress out of the homebuying process.
Generally the process goes fairly smoothly until the buyers make an offer on a home, and then the stress begins. The buyers do not know if the sellers will accept their offer, and neither do I. That alone can cause stress.
With so many agents offering a stress free and smooth experience, you would think homebuying would be stress-free. Yet it is still considered one of life’s biggest stressors.
There are websites that offer “one-stop shopping” for buyers. I am not sure what that means. I sure hope homebuyers do.
When I looked at the “about me” sections on brokerage websites I found different agents with identical biographies. Only the names were changed. Some have for-sale signs or balloons where their face should be.
It would be fairly easy for an agent to stand out on a brokerage website by personalizing the biography and having a current portrait. If 1995 keeps calling because it wants the photo of the agent talking on the phone back, now might be a good time to update that photo with a new headshot.
It wouldn’t be hard for an entire brokerage office to stand out by having each agent create a unique biography. I found a few brokerage and team websites that showed some personality. The agents’ biographies made them more real and likable.
Modern marketing for most industries uses the phrase “customer experience.” The phrase is overused and not well-defined. I am inclined to consider it meaningless, and will keep it out of my marketing materials even though I am an experience that defies description.
My own online personal marketing is a disaster, which means it won’t be hard to improve. It should be easy to distinguish myself in the overcrowded market of real estate agents who take the stress out of homebuying and selling, and who offer free CMAs and lists of homes for sale.
What does your online personal marketing say about you? Would you hire you?
via inman.com
Remarketing 101 – The Basics You Should Know | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
5 social media tips from a road warrior | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
Over the last two years or so, I have traveled over 150,000 miles speaking at real estate events. Needless to say, I feel like I have become somewhat of a ‘road warrior.’
I’ve learned the ins and outs of traveling; how to get through security efficiently, the best places to park at the airport and what to pack (more importantly, what not to pack.) On my last trip to this year to Agent Reboot Austin, I realized that a lot of what I’ve learned traveling can be related to a real estate professional trying to get their feet wet and navigate through the sometimes murky waters of social media.
Looking back, I laugh at some of my first few trips. I over packed, I had a bag that was way too big for overnight travel, I wore the wrong clothes to get through security, I didn’t know where I was going, and the list goes on and on.
Here are my 5 road warrior social media tips:
1. Don’t over pack. When travelling, the more you pack, the more have to carry. In social, don’t try to to pack too much into each and every social media post. If your post on Facebook for the day is about a video – let it be about the video, not about your open house, or another link to go to, or how they should call you. Statistically, the Facebook updates that get the most engagement are under 80 characters!
2. Dress simply at the airport. There is nothing worse than being behind the person at security with six inch heels that lace up, dripping in jewelry from head to toe, who is rifling through her bags to find all of her liquids. When you travel, dress simply and comfortably. In social, don’t over think it. Post once a day to your Facebook business page. If you can do that consistently, you will over time, see your likes and engagement grow. The reason why most people “fail” at social media is that they are not there simply and consistently.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Not sure where the taxi stand is at the airport? Ask someone! In social, if you aren’t sure how to do something – ask. Who in your world is doing a great job at social media? Take them out to coffee and ask them a few questions. Not sure who to ask? Peruse some of our articles here on InmanNext. Post a comment on our Facebook page, or feel free to message me directly and ask! We all were beginners at some point, so don’t be afraid to ask.
4. Be prepared. Travelling to Seattle? You may want to pack an umbrella. Travelling to Hawaii? Throw in some sunscreen. Be prepared when you travel. In social, be prepared by having a strategy. What are you trying to accomplish with social media? Brainstorm all the types of content you could share and where is it going to come from? Pinterest? Instagram? News links from Twitter? Google alerts? Take the time to be prepared with a simple social media strategy.
5. Be organized. When travelling, keep you email notifications from the airline in a place you can find easily, or use an app like TripIt to manage your travel itineraries. In social, be organized with your social strategy. Keep all of your passwords in an easy to locate place. Have a spreadsheet or a content grid that keeps track of the content you posted and what you want to post in the future. Keep track of your statistics monthly (or more often if possible.) Be organized with your social media strategy to make the most of it!
What are your most important social media tips you’ve learned along the way? Am I missing some? I’d love to hear from you – leave me a comment below!
via next.inman.com
What Every Agency Wants to Know—Feedback from the Other Side | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
Every month, our agency invites a guest speaker from other startups and agencies around town, typically offering related but different services. The goal is always to expand our knowledge base and develop deeper relationships for strategic partnerships. We do these in the form of a “brown bag” lunch session for a more casual lunch-and-learn type vibe. This month, however, we decided to switch it up and invite a past employee of ours that has since moved in-house.
We thought it would be insightful to get the perspective from someone who not only has been on both the agency and client side, but who knows the ins and outs of how we as an agency operate on a day-to-day basis. An insightful experience, indeed it was. I’ve highlighted a few of my favorite takeaways as they relate to both sales and account management.
Top Sales Takeaways
1. Getting budgets approved takes a lot of legwork.
Depending on the size of the company, there can be A LOT of red tape in getting the green light to sign off on new budgets. For starters, many companies may need to write an internal brief detailing the pros and cons of working with the new vendor, making the case for outsourcing versus tackling in-house, projecting ROI, and more.
So, what does this mean for us vendors as we wait for proposals to get pushed through? For starters, manage your own expectations and be patient. Getting approval may take some time, depending on the number of hoops the prospective client needs to jump through. In the meantime, while you are being patient however, be helpful. Provide case studies, testimonials, references, etc. Anything that can help to build the case for internal buy off.
2. Understand what level of priority your solutions are to the prospective client.
This is something I’ve never consciously sought during discovery meetings, but makes perfect sense. If your solutions are
Utilities make progress on NY storm blackouts | Waccabuc Real Estate
NEW YORK — Frustrated Long Island residents have staged a protest against the Long Island Power Authority even as utilities made progress in restoring power to customers whose lights went out during Superstorm Sandy and Wednesday’s nor’easter.
LIPA says nearly 140,000 homes and businesses still didn’t have power by mid-afternoon Saturday.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in front of LIPA’s Hicksville office Saturday to protest what they call unacceptable delays. The utility didn’t return a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Con Edison says it will restore power this weekend to all its New York City and Westchester County customers whose buildings are in good enough shape to turn electricity back on. About 11,400 of them remained without power Saturday evening.
Those figures don’t include about 30,000 homes and businesses too damaged to juice up.
via online.wsj.com
7 steps to retexturing drywall | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
It’s a pretty common scenario on the home improvement scene: You’ve removed some wallpaper or wainscoting, or you’ve relocated a door or a window, or maybe you’ve just repaired same drywall damage caused by one of life’s little mishaps. No matter the origin, you end up with some drywall that doesn’t have any texture on it. And now, you’re at a loss as to exactly how you’re going to get that flat, unadorned piece of drywall to blend in with the texture on the rest of the wall that’s surrounding it.
In truth, matching drywall texture is always a tricky process unless you’re experienced at it. Even the pros can have a tough time with it. You first have the issue of matching the existing texture for the main body of the patch, and then feathering the new texture out onto the old in ever-decreasing amounts so that the transition between new and old is seamless. It’s difficult to come up a perfect match, and the larger the area is and the more centered it is on the wall or ceiling, the more likely it is that you’re going to see it.
The other problem you’re likely to run into is what’s known as “flashing.” After the patch is done and painted, the new texture will tend to absorb paint differently than the old texture, due to differences in previous paint, materials and other factors. The result can be a difference in sheen that also contributes to the patched area standing out from the rest of the wall, even if the texture matches. And the more sheen the new paint has — satin or semigloss as opposed to flat, for example — the worse the problem can be.
Start fresh
For all those reasons, especially if you’re not an experienced drywall texture matcher, your best bet is to simply start over with a fresh, flat wall. That doesn’t mean that you need to tear off all the drywall and replace it. It just means that you want to get rid of the old texture.
Tarp the floor in front of the wall with plastic sheeting. Don’t use canvas painter’s tarps, as the dust is hard to get back out of them. Wear a respirator to prevent breathing in the dust from the sanding and scraping operations, and always wear eye protection.
Sand or scrape the old texture on the wall to remove the majority of it. You don’t need to get rid of all of it — in fact, you want to be careful not to sand too deep and cut into the paper cover on the drywall. What you’re looking to do is knock down all of the high spots. Brush the wall down with a dry paintbrush or soft broom to get the bulk of the dust off it. Roll up the plastic sheeting to contain all the dust and dispose of the plastic, then put down new sheeting for the next operation.
The next step is to apply a light skim coat of drywall joint compound over the entire wall. You can use all-purpose compound for this, but topping compound will go on smoother and sand easier. For best results, thin the joint compound with a little water first to give it a smoother, creamier consistency that will allow it to trowel on easier. Use a 12-inch or larger drywall knife, and spread it onto the wall in broad strokes. The goal is to apply a thin, uniform coat over the entire wall, with as few ridges from the trowel as possible. Some ridges are going to be inevitable, and don’t worry about them — they’ll sand off later. But the fewer the better, since that’ll save you some sanding labor.
Allow the compound to dry completely. It will become lighter as it dries — how long it takes depends on temperature, humidity, and the thickness of the coat — but be sure that the entire wall is completely dry before proceeding. Next, sand the wall again lightly to remove any ridges, and then check your work. Use additional compound to fill in any low spots or flaws, allow the additional compound to dry, then lightly sand again. Thoroughly brush the wall down again, and you now have a smooth, uniform surface to work with, eliminating the need to try to match textures.
You’ll now want to seal the wall, using a drywall sealer or other primer. This will help to prevent uneven absorption of the paint. After the primer is dry, apply the texture of your choice to the entire wall. When the texture is dry, prime everything a second time, which will seal the texture itself. This step is especially important if you’re using satin or semigloss paint. If you’ll be painting the wall with a dark color, have your paint store tint the primer for you, which will give you a more uniform finish color. Finally, paint the wall.
via inman.com
Right away, housing challenges for Obama | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
President Barack Obama image via barackobama.com.
Now that President Barack Obama has won re-election, there are several housing-related challenges staring the federal government square in the face. These are some of the decisions that will have to be made in the coming weeks:
1. The “fiscal cliff”: The fiscal cliff is a series of tax increases and spending cuts that will go into effect unless U.S. lawmakers come up with an alternative plan to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion as required by the Budget Control Act of 2011. The spending cuts, known as “sequestrations,” would automatically go into effect on Jan. 2 and be split evenly between defense spending and domestic spending.
The credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has said there’s a 20 to 25 percent chance the U.S. economy will go into a double-dip recession should Congress fail to reach an agreement avoiding the fiscal cliff. S&P’s deputy chief economist, Beth Ann Bovino, warned that such a scenario would cause home prices, currently at a bottom of 31 percent below their mid-2006 peak, to tumble to a record low of 40 percent below peak.
In a report released in September, the Obama administration called sequestration “bad policy” that “would be deeply destructive to national security, domestic investments, and core government functions.” The president has put forward two deficit reduction proposals that included both spending cuts and revenue increases, but has run into opposition from some members of Congress who oppose tax increases and want to reduce the deficit solely through spending cuts, the report said.
Given that Congress remains divided after the election — Republicans retained control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democrats retained control of the U.S. Senate — whether lawmakers can come to an agreement over the coming weeks remains a question.
2. The mortgage interest deduction (MID): Revamping the mortgage interest deduction is one of the solutions proposed to head off the fiscal cliff and could be part of a broader plan to streamline the tax code by eliminating some loopholes and deductions. Some experts have said the MID, which costs the government about $90 billion a year, is unlikely to survive in its present form, though what would take its place, if anything, is unclear.
Two years ago, a bipartisan deficit reduction commission recommended scaling back the MID, which is currently capped at mortgages worth up to $1 million for both principal and second homes and home equity debt up to $100,000. The deduction is available only to taxpayers who itemize.
The commission, often referred to as Simpson-Bowles, proposed turning the deduction into a 12 percent nonrefundable tax credit available to all taxpayers, capping eligibility to mortgages worth up to $500,000, and eliminating the deduction on interest from second homes and home equity debt.
The National Association of Realtors, which has consistently defended the mortgage interest deduction in its current form, was highly critical of the recommendation, claiming any changes to the MID could depreciate home prices by up to 15 percent, and promising to “remain vigilant in opposing any plan that modifies or excludes the deductibility of mortgage interest.”
3. Mortgage debt forgiveness: Another homeowner tax break may be on the table in fiscal negotiations: the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, which is set to expire at the end of this year. The law exempts up to $2 million in mortgage debt forgiven by a lender in a short sale, loan modification or foreclosure from federal taxation. The law applies only to mortgage debt incurred to fund the purchase or improvement of a principal residence.
Banks have relied heavily on short sales to meet their obligations under the terms of a $25 billion settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over so-called “robo-signing” practices. If the debt relief law lapses, however, homeowners would have less of an incentive to pursue short sales because forgiven mortgage debt could be considered taxable income.
4. Qualified mortgages: Now that we know the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is here to stay — presidential candidate Mitt Romney had vowed to repeal it — there are two controversial rules contained within the law that are waiting to be finalized: the qualified mortgage (QM) and the qualified residential mortgage (QRM).
QM would establish standards for borrowers’ “ability to pay” the mortgages they seek, while QRM would establish certain baseline standards for safe underwriting and require lenders to retain a 5 percent minimum ongoing stake in any loans they originate that don’t meet QRM requirements.
The regulations are under the aegis of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which postponed action on both rules in June after protests from Realtors, builders, banks, unions and consumer groups. Under Dodd-Frank, the CFPB is required to issue the qualified mortgage rule by Jan. 21, 2013.
via inman.com
How Frequently Should a Brand Tweet? | Waccabuc Real Estate
How Hurricane Sandy’s Aftermath Will Affect The Housing Market’s Recovery | Waccabuc Realtor
Hurricane Sandy pummeled the East Coast on Monday, leaving a trail of devastating destruction in its wake. Damages could run as high as $50 billion, according to Eqecat, and hundreds of thousands of homeowners are expected to file claims for flood and wind damage, according to the Consumer Federation of America. Roughly $88 billion worth of homes across eight states were put at risk by the storm’s surge, according to Corelogic.
Hurricane Sandy’s immediate impact on real estate in the hardest hit Northeastern neighborhoods is already painfully evident, from New Jersey shore houses completely swept away by the sea to entire neighborhoods like Queens’ Breezy Point tragically leveled to the ground. But this latest natural disaster won’t just affect certain ZIP codes, it will weigh on America’s housing market as a whole.
In many parts of the country housing has welcomed a nascent recovery. Nationally, home sales have been notably higher this year as compared to last. In September, existing home sales were up 11% year-over-year and pending sales up 14.5%, according to the National Association of Realtors. Prices have risen too, with the national median sales price $183,900, or about 11% higher than September of 2011. Inventory has fallen drastically in many parts of the country, fueling the uptick in prices. The rising numbers have helped housing become a bright spot in recent economic reports, with analysts projecting that residential investment will positively contribute to gross domestic product this year for the first time since 2005.
Now that rosy recovery will dampen. “This will certainly create a negative in the short term,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors. “The bottom line is we clearly anticipate a slowdown, but it will be temporary.”
Along the East Coast, expect home sales to trend downward in coming months, as sellers take their damaged digs off the market and buyers hold off on purchases. Pending sales will be delayed or in some cases collapse altogether as lenders insist upon new appraisals in areas battered by Sandy. Yun expects the regional drop in activity to log a “notable, measurable impact” large enough to pull the national sales statistics down for November onward. Home sales typically begin to slow due to seasonality at this time of the year; the storm’s lingering effects will ensure that slowdown manifests more dramatically.
Even so, that short term pain may actually evolve into a market boost four-to-six months from now. “With past natural disasters, home sales pause but what generally happens is in later months, as insurance money begins to flow in, the housing market gets elevated to higher levels than before the storm,” explains Yun.
Interestingly, data tied to comparable natural disasters suggest that home prices tend to be inversely affected. With inventory levels reduced, demand tends to outweigh the supply, causing prices to inch up. “Home prices tend to rise after hurricanes and other natural disasters because some homes are unfortunately lost and new construction is delayed so housing stock isn’t growing as fast as the population,” says Jed Kolko, chief economist of Trulia.com.
However, more drastic storms in areas more commonly associated with, say, flooding — like Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans — can have the opposite effect, pushing prices down in the long term as residents relocate to new areas altogether.
Hurricane Sandy will affect residential construction, which has modestly rebounded this year, in two ways. Remodeling activity will jump, as homeowners who sustained damage to their properties, particularly primary residences, hire contractors to make immediate fixes. “It’s bad news for homeowners, but it’s certainly an opportunity for workers who have survived a very down housing market to get back to work,” says Robert Denk, an assistant vice president of economics for the National Association of Home Builders. He notes that this dynamic played out after Hurricane Irene as well.
In the short-term the storm will stifle new housing starts. This will in part be due to seasonality, since new homebuilding tends to pause in the winter months in the Northeast, and in part be due to the fact that many of decimated coastal properties in places like the Jersey Shore tend to be vacation homes and as such, will not likely be considered immediate priorities in terms of repair. New home starts, like sales, will likely rebound in early spring to levels slightly higher than before the storm as owners start to finally rebuild those properties.
A subsection of the housing market now riddled with post-Sandy questions is distressed real estate. On Wednesday RealtyTrac reported that nearly 25,000 distressed properties valued at an estimated $7 billion sit in counties declared disaster areas. Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac, says the number is actually higher, though the California-based foreclosure site has yet to finalize and upwardly revised count.“I think there is potential for people in the foreclosure process to now have less incentive to fight foreclosure on a home if it has been damaged,” says Blomquist. In other words, some distressed homeowners may simply walk away from their preforeclosures altogether rather than try and work out a short sale or other such deal. With bank-owned homes, the question that arises is whether lenders will choose to pour money into renovations for damaged properties, especially since those REOs already represent non-performing assets.
New Jersey and New York have two of the slowest judicial foreclosure processes in the country. New Jersey has experienced 100%-plus increases in foreclosure activity this year, according to RealtyTrac, as lenders finally began processing foreclosures stalled by 2010′s robo-signing scandal. New York state has seen similar activity increases this year. RealtyTrac expects Sandy’s impact will cause a temporary pullback in the number of foreclosure documents filed in both of these states.
“This storm could slow down the foreclosure process and therefore the housing recovery,” warns Blomquist. “It will certainly slow down the pace at which the market will absorb these properties.”
via forbes.com