Student Housing in the White Coat Neighborhood

Last week it was 70 degrees out and today there is more than 2 feet of snow on the ground.  That is typical March in Rochester, NY.  And while the weather is not predictable, one thing you can count on..... a new crop of smart, young doctors canvassing the Rochester area looking for a place to live while they complete their residency at the Strong Medical Center.

Many of them end up in the Rochester's White Coat Village, which is named for the many medical professionals that choose to live there to be close enough to walk to the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Besides being close to the hospital, this neighborhood is bordered to the south by the Erie Canal that features a great walking and biking path and is less than a mile to City Gate, a brand new shopping and dining center.  To the west, there is the Genesee River that boast the River Walk Trail that offers a biking and walking trail to the north through downtown Rochester, past several gorgeous waterfalls and ends up at Lake Ontario.  Across the River is the Genesee Waterways Center that offers canoe and kayak rentals.  

Just north of the neighborhood is College Town, a mixed use district with loft apartments, fine dining, puts and shopping.  During the summer months, College Town provides free live concerts and outdoor movies.

Also close by are two beautiful parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.  To the west, Genesee Valley Park has two golf courses, soccer fields, baseball diamonds and picnic shelters.  Highland Park, located to the east, is home to more than 1,200 lilac bushes, plus Warner Castle with a sunken garden and Lamberton Conservatory.  

With so much to do, it is no wonder that the White Coat Neighborhood is a very popular place to live.  There is great demand on the local real estate market.  For more information about living in the White Coat Village, contact Mary Shelsby with ReMax Realty Group at 585-414-5513.

Seven Free (and Cool) Things to Do in Rochester

It's the time of the year to count blessings and give thanks.  I have a great family, wonderful friends, awesome clients, good health and much, much more to be thankful for.  I'm also thankful for my adoptive hometown, Rochester, NY, and all that it offers.  Following are a few of my favorite things to do within city limits that are perfectly free.  Free is good, right?

1.   Warner Castle & Sunken Garden.  It's pretty cool that Rochester has a  replica Scottish Castle right off Mt. Hope Avenue, that is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9 till 4, free of charge.  But even cooler, is the sunken garden located behind the castle that is available to view 7 days a week.   Somewhat of a hidden gem, it is not unusual to find yourself all alone in the garden.  (5 Castle Park, Rochester, NY  14620)

2.  Gardens at the George Eastman Museum.  While there is an admission fee to tour the museum that was the home of George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, much of the grounds and gardens are open to the public and they are gorgeous.   (900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY  14607)

3.  Turning Point Park.  While Rochester has many awesome parks, one of my favorites is Turning Point, mostly because it is so easy to forget that you are right smack in the middle of the city while you are there.  Located in the Charlotte neighborhood, it features 275 wooded acres along the Genesee River.  The boardwalk extends over the River and provides a great hiking and biking trail.  (260 Boxard Street, Rochester, NY  14612)

4.  Mount Hope Cemetery.  Yes, people are buried there but Mt Hope is so much more than a cemetery.  It features 196 acres of glacial hills and valleys, decorated with beautiful monuments and mausoleums.  It is thought of more as a peaceful park and it is not unusual to see people walking, bird-watching, biking or running along the trails.  Occasionally, there are even organized runs through the cemetery.   The cemetery is open 7 days a week, 7:30 am to sunset and visitors are asked to be respectful of services or individuals visiting loved ones.  (1133 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY  14620)

5.   Maplewood Rose Garden.  The rose garden features more than 3,000 rose bushes, and it is purely heaven to visit in the summer.  There are other flowers that bloom outside of the rose season, but nothing beats the blooming rose garden.  (Lake Avenue & Driving Park Avenue, Rochester, NY  14613)

6.  Charlotte Pier.  A perfect spot to catch a sunrise or sunset over Lake Ontario, the
Charlotte Pier is also great for a walk on a warm summer day.  In winter, it is often encased in ice and while beautiful, very dangerous to walk.  The pier is also popular for fisherman.  It is located in Ontario Beach Park, which has sandy beaches, beautiful gazebos and plenty of picnic tables.  (4650 Lake Ave, Rochester, NY  14612.)

7.  High Falls District.  Of course, the waterfall of High Falls is the main attraction but there is so much more to see in this historic part of the city.  The Pont De Rennes walking bridge provides gorgeous views of the falls.  The Center at High Falls is an interactive museum and welcome center that is open free of charge, June through August 11 am to 4 except Tuesdays and weekends in the spring and fall.  There are also factory ruins and remains from Rochester's milling past.  The area is lush with park benches and even picnic tables.  (60 Browns Race, Rochester, NY  14614.)

Did I forget to mention your favorite free thing to do in Rochester?  If so, please don't hesitate to share within a comment.  Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.

Highland Park Diner Named One of America's Best Diners!

Highland Park Diner, located at the intersection of S. Goodman and S. Clinton, was just named as one of America's Best Diners by Travel and Leisure Magazine.  It's a popular spot for locals and tourist alike.

Emphasizing freshness, the menu features homemade mashed potatoes, hamburgers, soups, freshly squeezed orange juice and an award-winning apple pie.  The diner seats fifty-five, 19 at the counter and 36 at the booths.

He's a link to the story:  http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-diners/21

Rochester's High-Tech Innovation

With Kodak in bankruptcy, the experts expected Rochester to crumble into urban decay.  Instead, it has thrived and this week was named one of the ten most unexpected cities of high tech innovation by Techie.com.    According to the article, there are 65,650 techies in the Rochester workforce, which rivals San Francisco and San Diego.  You can check out the article in its entirety here:  http://techie.com/techie-coms-ten-most-unexpected-cities-for-high-tech-innovation/

Rochester River Walk

I set a goal this year to walk the entire Riverwalk, a 15 mile urban trail that starts at the Port of Rochester and runs south along the Genesee River to Genesee Valley Park. I've done numerous mini trips and have yet to see the entire thing, but I got to tell you it is TREMENDOUS. The walk includes a lighthouse, three waterfalls, numerous historic districts, the Erie Canal aqueduct, many parks, sculptures and more. May favorite part has to be Turning Point Park.

The slide show below is a work in progress. Check back often as I will update the slides as I complete the trail.

Hot Areas! South Wedge & Highland Park Area

It was reminiscent of 2005!

I had an appointment to show a property at 8:30 last night in the Ellwanger Berry/Highland Park neighborhood and when I arrived, there were people lined up on the street to get in. It wasn't too big of a surprise since the last three properties I tried to show in this neighborhood sold before I could get in.

In a similar fashion, I put a "for rent" sign up on my South Wedge property Saturday and it took exactly 12 minutes before someone knocked on the door to see it. My phone has been ringing off the hook ever since and I have appointment to show it to 8 different tenants and I have one offer on the table to buy it.

I've written three purchase offers this week and it is only Wednesday at 8:15 am. At the moment, we are not having a housing slump in Rochester!

Real Estate is Local!

Every time I watch the news these days I have an anxiety attack. Price of Oil! Recession! Crime! Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac! Global Warming! Cancer! Depression (no, not the economy; me!) And just about the time that I'm convinced that times are too difficult to sell real estate, my phone starts ringing.

Fortunately, real estate is local and the Rochester market is not all doom and gloom. I did about a million in sales in June and the only reason July is off to a slow start is that I've been on vacation.

I'm not the only one effected by the daily news. When I'm out and about talking to people, they often start the conversation with a sigh, shake their head and ask in a hushed tone, "How's the market?" Perhaps the number one question I'm asked these days is how long does it take to sell a house in Rochester these days.

Of course, there is no definitive answer to that question. There are parts of our area that are still getting multiple offers first week on the market. It's not happening much, but it does still happen. And there are other areas that are not even getting showings, much less offers. But just as a glimpse of our market, I did a quick analysis of yesterday's pending transactions.

Yesterday was a typical Tuesday in the summer of 2008. All total, there were 52 single family homes that went pending. Approximately 20% of the homes were located in the city of Rochester which supports my theory about the price of gas driving people to move closer to where they work.

Two of the houses that went pending were sold their first day on the market and two additional properties sold in 7 days or less. The average number of days on the market was 51. The longest time on the market was 166 days for a $200,000 property in West Irondequoit.

The average asking price for the single family homes that went pending yesterday was $153,142 with six of the homes with asking prices of $300,000 or more. There were five city properties listed for less than $20,000 as well as one mobile home in Wayne County.

There! I feel better and hope you do as well. I think I will keep away from CNN and instead stay tuned to the MLS. And if you'd like specific information about our real estate market, don't hesitate to call.

A Day at the Zoo

I learned something pretty cool about the Seneca Park Zoo recently. If you take someone to the zoo that is in a wheel chair, the person pushing the chair gets in free. That is so cool!

And so if you know someone in a wheelchair, take them to the zoo today! The weather is just about perfect. For more information about our zoo, go to: http://www.senecaparkzoo.org/

A Hedge Against the Economy

Several weeks back CNN Money Magazine predicted Rochester's housing prices to increase 2.7%, ranking it second in the country for fastest growing markets. And while that is very good news for the Rochester real estate market, there are a few things to keep in mind. First off, this is only a prediction. Second, this is a cool off of the 4 to 6% appreciation we've been seeing in recent years.

As I work with buyers, especially first time buyers, I urge them to consider shorter term financing, even if it means purchasing a less expensive property. In my opinion, that is the greatest hedge against today's uncertain economy.

Case in point, consider 137 Boardman St (www.RochestersBestHomes.com/811190 ) listed at $96,500 with property taxes of $2,285 per year. Let's suppose we come to terms with a purchase price of $93,000 and we plan to put 5% down ($4,650) which means we are financing $88,350. Let's say our interest rate is 6.125%.

For a 30 year mortgage, consider the following:

Monthly principle & interest is $536.82 (Of course, that does not include taxes of $190.42 which would make the payment $727.85) After five years, the balance of your loan will be approximately $81,500. That means, of the nearly $35,000 you send to the mortgage company over the period of 5 years, only $6,850 is used to pay down your loan.

Now, let's look at a 15 year mortgage. Sometimes you can get a better interest rate on a shorter term loan but for the sake of comparison, let's stick with the 6.125% Monthly principle & interest is $751.52 and at the end of five years, you will have paid down your loan to nearly $65,000. Instead of having $7000 in equity, you will have approximately $23,000!

Most banks also offer 20 and 10 year mortgages. Often buyers will not even inquire about a shorter term mortgage because they assume they can't afford it. In my opinion, they can't afford not to! When shopping for a mortgage, ask your lender to also provide a good faith estimate for a 20 year and 15 year mortgage and go with the shortest term mortgage you can possibly afford.

4 Family Home on Rochester East Side

I recently listed a 4 Family Home located just two blocks from the new luxury condos (www.RochestersBestHomes.com/800254) on South Union. It's a great location, just a short walk to down town. The building includes two studio apartments and two one bedroom apartments but could easily be converted to a two or three family unit. It also features off-street parking on Canfield St, which is a dead-end road. Currently, this building is fully rented with $1830 a month gross income. Asking price for this property is $149,900. For details, go to www.RochestersBestHomes.com/812209 . For an appointment to see this property, call 585-414-5513 with a minimum of 48 hours notice.

U of R Employees Offered $9000 Incentive to buy City Homes!

The University of Rochester and the City of Rochester each are offering $3000 in assistance to full and part time employees of the University of Rochester that buy a home in select neighborhoods in the City of Rochester. In addition, Advantage Federal Credit Union and Canandaigua National Bank & Trust will provide an additional $3000 in assistance.

The targeted areas for the incentive program are the 19th Ward, Plymouth-Exchange on the west in Sector 4; while to the east, they include Highland Park, the South Wedge and other nearby communities in Sector 6. They are the neighborhoods that are closest to the campus. A win-win situation, this program should provide a nice boost for the Rochester real estate market.

These neighborhoods provide a wide variety of homes in a broad price range. At the upper end of the range is a beautiful 2000 sq foot Arts & Craft style home listed at $186,900 ( www.RochestersBestHomes.com/808603 ). The South Wedge Neighborhood is a popular neighborhood for young professionals and has several nice options. For example, a 5 bedroom home with lots of natural woodwork goes for $122,000 (www.RochestersBestHomes.com/812395 )

On the west side, there are approximately 100 current listings of single family homes, with prices between $20,000 (needs lots of work! to $145,000. A cute bungalow style home with three bedrooms and 1 and a half baths is listed at only $61,500 (www.RochestersBestHomes.com/805433 ) or a drop-dead gorgeous colonial with new kitchen and as well as recent new furnace, AC, roof for $119,500 (www.RochestersBestHomes.com/733325)

In addition, NeighborWorks Rochester will be providing participants with home ownership counseling. For additional information about this program and an updated list of eligible properties, and other information about Rochester real estate drop me an e-mail or give me a call.

Mary Shelsby

MShelsby@gmail.com

office: 585-756-7457 cell: 585-414-5513

Brainstorming about Rochester's Future

Last night I attended the Rochester Neighbors Building Neighborhoods Planning Meeting for Sector 6. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. (more info here: http://www.nbnsector6.org/)

We arrived, had a light supper and then were quickly broken into groups. As a group, we had six minutes to throw out our most creative ideas about improving Rochester on a given topic. We then changed topics and had six more minutes to brainstorm. Some of the topics covered included housing, public safety and our youth. The ideas were flying fast and furious so that our scribe had to work fast to keep up!

The next step was to prioritize to the ideas. Each participant was give five sticker dots and we were invited to view all the lists that all the groups put together and pick the five ideas that were most important to us. Wow! Tough job. The first thing I realized was that many of my neighbors are a lot smarter and more creative thinker than I.

Mayor Duffy dropped by to observe the process and gave us a few words of encouragement. It was nice to meet him in person and I was surprised to see how tall he is!

One of the most impressive aspects of the evening was the number of young people in attendance. There was a good mix of high school students, college students and young professionals. Even more impressive was how active they were in the process. The young people made a statement that they strongly desired a youth center in the neighborhood and then during the voting process, they actively lobbied us old folks to vote for a youth center. It was exciting to think that we were likely working with future leaders of our city.

Yesterday afternoon I was super tired and strongly considered not going to the brainstorm meeting. I left last night very energized and optimistic about our future.

Open houses on Mother's Day

I was very surprised to find more than 100 open houses today. After all, it is Mother's Day. With all the publicity this week that Rochester's real estate market ranks second in the country, it's no wonder. Here's the list: Open House Report

Me? I'm hanging out at the Lilac Festival!

Happy Earth Day

Every where you look these days there is a green message! And rightfully so. In my 50 plus years on Planet Earth, I've seen such changes to our environment. So last year when I was looking for a new real estate office to call home, I was impressed by the efforts at ReMax First to both be a progressive thinking real estate office but also have a social conscious, especially with environmental issues.

One of our offices are powered solely by wind power. At both offices, bins are set up and recycling is taken serious. And this year, our broker owner offered bonus bucks to any agent that purchases an environmentally friendly new car this year. "Green living" is not just a buzz word at our office, it is a way of life.

And so, in honor of Arbor Day, I'm pleased to announce that RE/MAX First will again donate a variety of trees to customers who purchased a home in the past year. Our goal is to see one tree planted for every house sold last year.

Trees cam be picked up Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27 at Gro-Moore Farms, 2811 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14467 or by special arrangement. Many of my clients have moved out of the area or have not responded to our post card mailing, so I'm opening up the offer to blog readers. To register for a tree, go to http://www.homesforrochester.com/trees/ . (Be sure to choose me as the agent so they know who to send the bill to!) For those who don’t have adequate space to plant a tree, REMAX First will donate those trees back to the community to local parks, town and village halls, nursing homes and schools. You better hurry, though, as there are only a few varieties of trees left.

Mary Shelsby

768-770 Grand Ave, Rochester - Open Sunday, 1 to 4

Come on by Sunday afternoon, 1 to 4 pm, to see this very nice 2-family located in Rochester's Culver-Winton neighborhood. Lots of charm remains with gum-wood trim and hardwood floors. Both kitchens and baths have been recently remodeled and the attic has been finished. Newer roof, plumbing and electric! Gas and electric are on separate meters for each unit.


Currently, both apartments are rented, with a monthly income of $1425, but the downstairs tenant has a month-to-month lease so this would make an awesome owner occupant home or investment property. Asking price: $99,500. For more details, click: www.RochestersBestHomes.com/808231

I hope to see you on Sunday!

City Living Sunday in NE Rochester

The city of Rochester is once again putting on educational workshops for home buyers this Sunday, April 6, 2008 at East High School, 1801 E. Main St, from noon till 4 pm. Mortgage lenders, Realtors and city officials will all be on hand to answer questions about purchasing real estate in the city of Rochester.

In addition, nearly 50 houses located in the Northeast quadrant will be open for touring during the hours of 1 till 4 pm. For a list of open houses, click here: Open House Report and to obtain details on any of these properties, go to http://www.rochestersbesthomes.com/. Maps showing the locations of many of the open houses can be picked up at East High School.

City Living Sundays

With gas prices hitting outrageous numbers, it seems more and more people are considering the convenience and economic feasibility of moving to the City of Rochester. If you fall in that category, I suggest you check out City Living Sundays during the next three weekends.

Each weekend will focus on a different section of the city. The festivities start each Saturday at 2 pm with a FREE Landmark Society Bus Tour of the featured neighborhood. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 585-546-7029 Ext. 10. Each tour starts at the Home Room at the Landmark Society of WNY, 133 S. Fitzhugh St.



Then on each Sunday there is a wide variety of educational programs on how to by a house and apply for financing. In addition, there will be city school and neighborhood information as well as a large number of houses currently on the market will be open for viewing. OF SPECIAL NOTE, FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS MAY QUALIFY FOR UP TO $3000 IN CLOSING COST GRANTS on homes that are open during these special weekends! City Living Sundays activies will run from noon till 4 pm each Sunday.

The South region of Rochester will be featured during the first week. The bus tour will be held Saturday, March 29th and the educational programs will be held the 30th at Wilson Foundation Academy, located at 200 Genesee St. (I'm scheduled to work this event, so if you attend, please look me up!) For a list of this weeks open houses, click here: Open House Report and to see photos and other details, go to http://www.rochestersbesthomes.com/ .

The Northeast region of the city will be the focus on April 6 with festivities being held at East High School, 1801 E. Main St. On April 13, the Northwest area will be highlighted with programs being held at Aquinas Institute, located at 1127 Dewey Ave.

Think Spring

Ahhh, it's warmer today than it been in a while. The snow and ice are melting. I've seen robins and heard geese flying overhead. Oh, I long for spring!

And so I spent the last hour or so going through some of my flower photos from Highland Park and decided to share them. Maybe if we all start thinking real hard about spring, it will come sooner than expected. Be sure to make a point of visiting Highland Park this spring and keep in mind that some of the best shows are the weeks before the lilacs bloom. I hope you enjoy the slide show.

A Temptation

It's bound to happen. I spend many of my days dashing in and out of homes, most staged to make a visitor fall in love, so it should come as no surprise that from time to time I get urge to move. Well it happened again. But when I mentioned it to my husband, he gave me one of those stern looks and said it's to close to golf season to even kid about moving.

I didn't have the nerve to tell him I wasn't kidding, so instead I spent my weekend implementing my marketing plan for my newest client. This 4 bedroom, 2 bath home is located in the Ellwanger-Barry neighborhood (a couple of blocks from Highland Hospital). I'm not disclosing the address yet, but I will tell you that it has been nicely maintained, has a one car garage and the back yard has been professionally landscaped. It will go on the market this Thursday morning with an asking price of $164,900.

The market is unusually slow for March and so I've planned an extensive campaign to try to maximize exposure. This house will be featured on the Rochester Real Estate Show next Sunday morning on channel 13, as well as Saturday's real estate section of the Democrat and Chronicle. I'll be putting the finishing touches on a virtual tour in the morning and a direct mail piece will go out on Tuesday. Wish me luck in getting this sold quickly and at a good price! And if you want to be the first to see it, give me a call or shoot me an e-mail.

Things are Heating Up

I wish I was talking about the weather heating up. It was cold today, never getting out of the teens. But it was pretty! The overnight snow really stuck to the tree and so I drove through Highland Park and grabbed a few shots.

Real estate does seem to be heating up. Two weeks ago I lost a deal to multiple offers. There were three offers, including ours. That hasn't happened in a while. I talked to an agent from my office yesterday. He wrote and offer for a client and had competition. Lucky for them, the seller decided to work with them.

Tomorrow I'm going out with a buyer. It's been tough getting appointments. One property that we were very anxious to see has only been on the market 3 days but it has two offers. There were a couple of others that we requested appointments for but they were already sold.

Is the pendulum switching back to a buyer's market? Or am I just having crummy luck right now?