This is the month of Halloween and thinking of scary things – even in real estate. Maybe watching Lovecraft on HBO made me wonder what real estate agents and sellers have to reveal about “unfortunate” circumstances that have occurred in a house. Is it haunted? Was there an ax murder? Did someone die from a […]
Residential real estate sales transactions, dollar volumes, and prices raced upward in July surpassing levels recorded during the great real estate bubble which preceded the Great Recession in our area. At the same time, New York City’s real estate market is at a standstill with people leaving the city for Westchester, the Hamptons, the Catskills, […]
Recently I reviewed an inspection report for a client that included a check “yes” by washer and dryer where none existed. It made me wonder how carefully the client had looked at this document. Inspection reports are usually a necessary part of the selling and purchasing process, but what do they really tell you? How can […]
This year especially, the place to enjoy eating or hanging out with friends is outside your own home on a deck or patio with plenty of social distance. Do decks and patios add value to your home when you rent or sell? How much do they cost? What’s their history? What should you think about […]
As I write this article in mid May, restrictions on real estate agents in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to physically show properties to potential buyers remain in force. Residents are still under distancing, masking and quarantine orders, busy village streets are empty, bars are closed, groceries are delivered. Everyone is wondering how long this […]
Rail lines have been ripped up and […]
For every month’s real estate feature I try to find a topic that I want to learn more about whether it’s flood maps, taxes, or real estate markets. This month’s inspiration came from my experience as a real estate agent when a buyer was advised to have a 100-year-old maple tree removed before buying a […]
Reflecting on a subject for an article dealing with real estate and animals, I realized that the same considerations humans have when selecting a home are also true in the avian world – security, construction, location, room layout, finishes, etc. The realtors’ view that there is always the right client for a house applies to […]
Hasn’t everyone thought of running a countryside inn or a bed & breakfast? How you would transform a historic building with your own chic style, visit with interesting guests, and serve elegant breakfasts? I wondered if this was ever more than a fleeting daydream and whether it could make economic sense. I decided to investigate […]
What should a buyer look for in terms of return on investment? Is there any kind of multiplier that you aware of – like x times revenue, x times some measure of income?
While a prescribed return on a business, calculated on a desirable CAP Rate based on the Net Operating Income,is optimal – in my opinion, […]