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This is the third post featuring my favorite 7th Street booger barn . Today's post is significant because, well, I'm becoming quite an accomplished fortune-teller. As a quick recap, this snot cottage started life on the MLS in February 2008 with a laughable asking price of $310,000. Six weeks later the price was slashed to $265,000. At the time I said: At $160,000 it might make sense as an investment property. It would have to be torn down (or maybe the Historical Society would come down on you for trying to level this 95 year-old dumpster) and rebuilt, so you have to factor in those costs as well. In mid-April, right on cue , the price was reduced another $40,000 (to $225,000). To their credit, they are one of the few Long Beach residents that saw the writing on the wall and priced aggressively. But it wasn't good enough. You see, just today I received notice that the price was reduced to $215,000. What do you want to wager that the $95,000 discount from the original ask

I'm trying to put myself in the mood of peace and calm, and I guess I hoped the title of this blog would set the tone. Not yet. Maybe by writing it out I'll get there, and I do want to get there. I tried walking with the dogs. We stormed the trails until they headed for home with a "Forget you!" wag of tails. I mowed the lawn until the rain came - that didn't help but it got the lawn mowed at least. I tried to pay the bills, but that's hardly a calming gesture. So I'm blogging. Writing has always been a solace to me. I've got a ton of journals hidden away in boxes somewhere. I've written short stories as inspiration attacks me, but they've begun to scare me a bit because years later they come true. That's another whole story. The novels came out of loneliness and a need to create, to try to change my own life and live in a writer's life. They were intense. One was written for my own compulsion, the other formulaic for publica

A few weeks ago I held an open house on Mother's Day. I'd always had good luck that day and I thought this particular house - 130 Raspberry in Camillus - was pefect for the day because it had a potential in-law apartment. I pictured people taking Sunday drives with "Mom" and stopping in to start the conversation about how she should move in and then maybe finish the conversation with an eventual offer. I am an optomist, but I visualized it all right down the line. Unfortunately, no one came. Bob and I discussed it going in to Syracuse later that day to his mother's house for the annual family gathering. I said that possibly people didn't take Sunday drives like they used to because of the gas prices (then about $3.65, I think) and he told me about life in the Czech Republic. There, the villages are closer together, people ride bikes, the amenities are not far. My friend Eva who is from Ehrlangen in Germany has always talked about the village life. So w

Address: 5585 E PCH #146, 90804 Asking Price: $259,900 Year Built: 1970 Size: 1 bed, 1 baths, 597 sq. ft. $/Sq. Ft.: $435 HOA Fine: $193 Purchase price: $276,000 Purchase date: 2/2006 MLS#: H07082024 On Redfin: 359 days Down Payment: $25,990 Monthly Payment: $2,000 Income Requirement: $65,000 Description: Fantanstic price and motivated seller. Great location towards the back of the complex. Sauna and Pool services are right there. Peaceful and pleasant complex and minutes from Cal State Long Beach, restaruants, beach, and shopping. Please see this property today. First of all, congratulations on making it to a full year on the market! We knew you could do it! I especially love the "Please see this property today" appeal at the end. Now that the Great Housing Scam is over and this property has gathered MLS Mildew for nearly 365 days, can’t you just hear the desperation in the realtor’s voice: “Plllleeeease see this property today! PLEASE! ” By the way, Realtard, if this is suc

Yesterday, intrepid Janet and I eagerly went to see the new listings. There were only a few because after a holiday some agents are still away, so it's better not to plan a broker's open for the following Tuesday. Our eagerness surrounded the Thibault home at the corner of Onondaga and East Street. It's the big brick mansion that presides over smaller, newer homes in the area. I had seen the sign on Saturday as I drove out to the lake and immediately pulled up the price on my palm: $989,000. How do you price these homes? We walked in the circular drive and felt a part of history. The name was "Teaselwood" and built in 1838 by a Mr. Snook who brought the teasel industry to Skaneateles. There's a barn-like structure not far down East Street that was sold as the teasel barn a few years ago - an amazing home and beautifully remodeled. But this home has not been renvated in the same way. The walls curve, and we especially liked winding our way through the

It's all in the numbers, I'm afraid. There are now 136 active listings in the Skaneateles area. Over the past week 5 new ones have come on the market. Two are re-lists of previous listings, two are new listings. One of them already has an offer on it - an offer contingent on the sale of another house, but it has an offer. The fifth one is also new, and the subject of "The House of the Week" blog coming up next. (Hint: the price is $989,000 and it's not on the water.) There are still 17 closings listed for the year-to-date; last year by this time there were 31 closings. Yikes! In bright spots, 2 homes were designated "contingent." One is listed in the mid-$300s and the other in the mid-$200s. Both came on the market last June, and while one took a break over the winter they each had original listings prices reduced. Of course, we won't know until they close what the selling price was. That number is totally concealed should anything happe

Yeah, I thought as much. Remember the $199,000 condo in the Lafayette that seemed too good to be true? It was a total scam. I assumed it was a ruse to start a frenzied bidding war (I mean, it was a good enough deal to get ME, the resident housing bear, out from hibernation and ready to tour it!) and I was right. Now that the place presumably garnered a great deal of interest, the price has magically been changed to Greed-Head status. Pretty clever...if it weren't so pathetically transparent. We now have an asking price of $319,000-- a full 60% more than yesterday's asking price! S C A M Remember, the original listing description went like so: GIGANTIC PRICE DROP!! Nearly $300,000k off original list price!! No question this is the best price per sq. foot in downtown Long Beach. This is NOT a SHORT or REO - although it's priced like one! This amazing one-of-a-kind unit in the historic Lafayette Building is loaded with history and a classic vintage feel. The property includes

Busy, busy day yesterday for broker's opens! I did two houses - pretty 204 South Street in Elbridge and then I ran over to 11 Onondaga for a 1:00 to 3:00 open. Thank goodness for Janet! She came over to open up for me and as I drove up there was a steady stream of agents from Gallinger going through the front door. Everyone who came in complained that there were too many opens and they were too spread out, even in Skaneateles. One agent even called and asked to see 11 Onondaga because she got stuck at the south end of the lake and couldn't make it back in time. We accommodated her, of course! But my house choice - despite the excitement and praise of 11 Onondaga - is actually South Street. As I spent the time - 11:00 to 12:30 - in the kitchen and speaking with agents, I realized what a truly great deal the home is. I mean, here you have a large 4 bedroom home, but with new mechanicals, new septic, and mostly new windows! The front porch (the wicker helps, of course!)

Address: 4723 E 3rd. St 90814 Asking Price: $790,000 Year Built: 1950 Size: 2 beds, 2 baths, 1044 sq. ft. $/Sq. Ft.: $757 Purchase price: $525,000 Purchase date: 2/2004 MLS#: I101516 On Redfin: 20 days Description: None Down Payment: $79,000 Monthly Payment: $5,000 Income Requirement: $197,500 No description after three weeks on the market? Really? Here, I will help the helpless and provide a killer description: WELL MAINTANED, VINTAGE estate perfect for 1ST time buyers!!!!!! No trendie granitt or stainless stell aplliances—just tile in the LITE N’ BRITE kitchen!!!!!! Rare brazilien bamboo flrs!!!1 ONE BATHROM UPGRATED: but other is “ALL ORIGINAL”! !!1! Start living the Belmont Hites life!!;! Wow, a hair shy of $800K . That's Orange County money. Last time I checked 3rd Street is not on the water, so how could this seller possibly justify asking $757 per square foot? Further, how could the realtor allow their client to embarrass themselves with this DUH-lusional wishing price? Hel

So there I was, sitting in my car at 4:30 after a long weekend of new listings and open houses. I had switched to jeans and warm clothes to wait for an agent and her investor client from NYC to see my multi-family on Otisco Valley Road. ( Really, it's a good deal - $164,900 for two houses containing 5 apartments plus 22 storage units...needs a bit of exterior work, that's why the price...) I had rushed over after my Elbridge open house but there I sat, waiting. I hadn't brought any reading material because I thought I would be the late one arriving, so I was left with my phone to entertain me. That and the goldfinches playing in the high grass, the contemplation of a busy week ahead, the satisfaction of a great weekend behind.... I love math so I started doing some of the numbers of the data available to me on my Palm, courtesy of having the MLS information updated daily along with my key. Results of interest (or so I thought as I waited): There are currently 3,104 age

I held my first Saturday open house today at 11 Onondaga Street. It won't be my last on a Saturday. Some background here. Saturdays were always the day that open houses were held in the Syracuse metropolitan area, I've been told. They are still the day in many other places; we noticed them particularly on the Cape. (We never go anywhere, so I have limited experiences...but that's okay.) But many years ago - probably in the 70s, Mary McNeill (our former broker/owner) who might have been with Eagan Real Estate then, began holding her open houses on Sundays. As the tale is told, the other agents had to fall in line because she was so successful. The current situation. The owners of 11 Onondaga asked if we could have the first open on a Saturday because Sundays were reserved for family days. I thought it over, and realized that I had at least one other house coming on that would require an open as quickly as possible, and so agreed. I knew that the house and the price

It's 6:30 on a very rainy, mostly chilly, Friday evening here in the village. Not exactly the place to find excitement, but it's been that sort of day. I got in before 10:00 this morning to work on my flyers and postcards for my two new listings. I've been having fun designing my own cards and feature sheets with the help of the RE/MAX design center and Karen. I'm really pleased with how they came out. Less pleased to find out that they must take two stamps because the postcard 27 cent stamps aren't out yet, so I'm putting on 24 and 3 cent-ers. The "common buck-eye" is on the 24 cent stamp - my guess is you don't know what a buck-eye is in this instance. I'd forgotten, although it wasn't so long ago that I used them for postcards. To return to excitement. So there I was sitting in the office in the front desk which I love, and a gentleman walked in after looking at the pictures in the window. He asked about my new listing at 11 Onon

In the "I wish I'd thought of that" category I have to tip my hat - large, straw, Panama-style - to Gerry Morrissey of our RE/MAX office. He had a huge ad in today's Skaneateles Journal ( www.skaneatelesjournal.com ) highlighting his properties in the area. One of the things he offers as an incentive is a free home inspection prior to listing. WOW! Now that should make him stand out and yes, he does have a ton of listings. I also urge people some of the time to have an inspection so they know what the problems are in the home. I think it's an invaluable tool - plus if it hasn't been done there may be safety issues that have been overlooked and should be addressed anyway, whether it's being listed or not. I like getting a very tough inspector both when I'm listing and when I'm selling. There are enough horror stories out there about issues that were ignored or just not seen. It's costly, and I hate to have anyone upset. I'd rather lo

In my crystal ball I see...yes...desperation...distress...and...it's getting foggy...ah, yes...I see a short sale in the future. Hopefully you'll recall this hideously-decorated Belmont Shore condo with the Smurf- tastic kitchen: Well, this seller just lopped a cool 15k off the asking price. But, I guess that's a mere drop in the bucket when your asking price is $415,000. Kind of like putting a carbon fiber gas cap on a lifted Hummer. This latest reduction provides a grand total of $90,000 in price reductions since it went on the market. It's still not moving. This means he'll have to do a lot better than 4%. This price slash smells like the reluctant, well-okay-I'll-do-it-because-my-realtor-said-it-would-start-a-bidding-war-but-I'm-not-going-any-lower-because-my-condo-is-special variety, and the tarot cards predict very bad things for this seller. But there's a reason the discounts have slowed to a trickle after a very aggressive cut in March: He'

What a lovely day in the village and on the lake! Now that the Governor has decreed that he wants those huge trucks to avoid the village at all costs - their costs - soon we will be the tranquil place we've never really been. I told Kay at Green Mountain that it seemed quieter already. Back to broker's opens.....I picked up my friend Janet and we combined talking and planning with seeing homes. She is looking at homes for a friend, I am just gathering information and comparing properties. We saw a couple homes that "were what they were" - a village home in need of work (the hole in the wall in the front hall was a dead giveaway) and a surprisingly light and bright home along soon to be quiet Route 321. But the one that knocked our socks off was a little camp in the true sense of the upstate New York word. Only 861 square feet, it promised evenings of playing Monopoly, bunking with the cousins, telling tales around the wood-burning stove, dealing with the tiny s

Interesting experience, today, looking at the numbers. I thought I had made a mistake because there are, once again, no properties listed as sold within the past week. I checked the past month - nothing there either. Not a good sign, I thought, knowing that I have a property coming on the market in the next couple days. Look further back - only 2 "k"ed in the multiple listing system. So I tried "P" for pending. This means the homes have had home inspections, checks with the code enforcement office for projects the new owners would like to do, repairs designated, etc., and now all they are doing is waiting for the bank to set up closing. "Pending" is a good thing, in other words. There are only 5 homes listed in the system under Skaneateles in this category: 2 waterfront, 1 large parcel, 1 being built, and 1 regular old house. But this week there are 127 properties for sale, with 6 new listings. Not surprisingly 3 of the 6 are re-lists ("Let&#

Wow. HOUSE WITH 3 BED 2 BATH, THE HOUSE HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO TWO SEPARATE LIVING SPACES, 2/1 BATH AND 1/1 BATH (GOOD FOR HELP YOURSELF IN THE MORTGAGE PAYMENT) LONG DRIVEWAY WITH CARPORT. CLOOSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. YOU MUST TO SEE TO APRECIATED. I think it's a little too "CLOOSE" to that elementary school because agents are apparently outsourcing their work to third-graders. AND THANK YOU FOR YELLING. YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION. I AM READY TO BUY NOW. First, do we even need to debate whether their little "TWO SEPARATE LIVING SPACES" construction project was permitted? There's about as much chance of that as gas prices dropping to 50 cents a gallon. Second, you know a house is severely overpriced when the realtor herself concedes renting out the Bob-Vila-on-a-two-week-meth-bender 1 Bed/1 Bath "apartment" is your only conceivable shot at swinging the mortgage payment. But the realtor told me it's GOOD FOR HELP MYSELF so perhaps I shouldn't be too

Here I am in the office, the third night in a row I've been here after 7:00 doing work. It's raining gently, the door is open and people are rushing by with their purchases from Doug's. The cars stopping at the sign on Fennel shine their headlights in the window, and the light shimmers on the wet pavement. As I signed in to blogger.com tonight I saw that I had published my 100th blog last night. it occurred to me that I had started this journey about this time last year. I looked back in the archives and sure enough - amazingly - my first blog was May 7th. I'm distracted by the number - 100 - that seems like so much. And yet that means on 266 (it's leap year) days I didn't write for one reason or another. My blogging mentor, Jill Hurst-Wahl, has chosen to blog every day and has succeeded for years. But that's okay - that's her choice and I am impressed, but I couldn't, or should I say, didn't. I did write 100 times though. Wow. And many o

Good luck with this one, pal. Address: 140 Linden Ave, #957 (how many units are in this place?!) 90802 Asking Price: $615,000 HOA Fine: $420 Year Built: 1928 Size: 2 beds, 2 baths, 1210 sq. ft. $/Sq. Ft.: $508 Purchase price: $76,000 Purchase date: 5/1999 MLS #: S518068 On Redfin : 112 days Down Payment: $61,500 Monthly Payment: $4,700 Income Requirement: $154,000 Description: ULTRA MODERN ART DECO LIVING! Rarely on the market, this large 2bed/ 2bath corner unit is located on the 9 th floor of The Historic Lafayette Building in the heart of the East Village Arts District. A designer home complete with: Australian Sandstone floors, a raised kitchen completely remodeled with Brazilian Mahogany wood Floors, Granite countertops , a glass backsplash , and a large elevated breakfast bar, dining area, and complimented with stainless steel appliance package . Finishing touches include recessed lighting, inset speakers, a walk in closet and computer area. The bathrooms maintain their original

Tuesdays are brokers' open days in Skaneateles. We all run around to see homes that are held open for two hours or so to familiarize ourselves with them and ask the agents questions. Generally the agents try to entice people to come by serving lunch or goodies. Last week there were 8 homes on brokers' open. I made it to 5 of them and then stayed at one so the agent could see some of the closer ones. In such a short time span it's almost impossible to make it to everything, but I do believe it's important to know what's out there firsthand. Starting today I want to use Tuesdays as "House of the Week" day. I like the idea because it makes me get out and see as much as possible, and also I need to think about what makes a home the chosen one. Seemed like a good idea this morning - but then I saw two houses and I had difficulty choosing. I am going to pass on the 2.75 million dollar home with 150 feet of prime waterfront, the koi pond, the yards of grani

Amazing! There are now 122 active listings in the Skaneateles area! Unbelievable! I remember when they averaged about 50, not that long ago. So these listings: 34 of them are legitimate waterfront (as in on Skaneateles Lake) listings. Several are more probably shared lakefront masquerading as waterfront. The price always tells the truth. The most expensive waterfront listing is $3,420,000 on West Lake Road. This is actually a "to be built" right on the water, with an artist's conception of over 4,000 square feet of fabulous living space. The lot alone is valued at 1M plus a good deal. The least expensive is at the south end of the lake, in the Glen Haven area. Only $279,000 - a virtual bargain! This past week a house sold, as evidenced by being marked contingent in the computer. It was a small place, listed and re-listed, over on Fennell Street near the commercial area. The last list price was $149,900. Still only 16 closings this year so far. I heard a very

Hard to believe a week has passed and I haven't entered a blog. My excuse is that I've been busy - but not that busy. I put in an offer this week for friends and I'm waiting here on a Sunday evening at the office for a response from the agent. She's called me to ask about progress in our negotiations, and I communicated her sense of urgency, but of course now I wait. It's usually that way - and yes, patience is a virtue! I did an open house this afternoon, thinking that the cool day and the annual Skaneateles Pet Walk would bring people into the village, they'd see my sign, walk in out of curiosity, and buy the house. Optimism was high. It didn't happen - but some good ideas came of the afternoon at least. I went to a different area yesterday with a client and we arrived late to an appointment at a house. I apologized profusely, and had called the agent to let her know we were running late, but the owner refused us admission to the house, claiming he

I would like to welcome the new readers of RE in the LBC --I'm glad you found the site. I appreciate all the activity in the comments section. A reader shares: "...Same crap is going on in the Lakewood area, where I live now. Absolutely delusional sellers. I know a local RE agent who handles REO stuff almost exclusively who tells me to just hold on. Very cool lady who says the bottom is going to drop out pretty soon. According to her the listing prices are fantasy and currently any offer within -25% is seriously considered. Even then she said most fail to qualify for a loan. Sanity & CASH while reign within the next two or three years. Thanks again for your great site. It's a blast." First, thanks for the on-the-scene information. Second, the commenter got me pondering the future of real estate agents now that their pivotal role in the Great Housing Ponzi Scheme has been exposed. I mean, just take a gander at some of the lazy, half-assed, sad sack listings featu