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

The Waiting Game

Last Monday I wrote an offer on a property in the city of Rochester owned by a bank. We made the "life of the offer" as Wednesday at noon. When I talked to the listing office on Tuesday, they advised me it would probably take the bank 48 hours to give a response. After 36 hours, I started calling.



My client simply wants to know if his offer was accepted. Fortunately, this is an investment property. He has a very nice home ten or twelve miles outside the city. Often, I write an offer on a foreclosed property for young, first-time home buyers that are looking for the most economical way to purchase their first home. Sometimes they really NEED to know if they succeeded in purchasing the next place they will call home or do they need to hit the pavement again to find another property.



I don't really dislike writing offers for foreclosed property but I do dislike how much more stressful the process is for my clients. The people at the bank work Monday through Friday and to them, the purchase offer is just another file on their desk that they will get to when they can. Me? I work with real people that simply want to know if their offer was accepted, even if it is a Sunday afternoon.

Something to Be Thankful For!

It's been a tough, tough real estate market this spring. Buyers are indecisive, sellers are defensive and most real estate agents are just plain grumpy. In previous years, I've sold as many as five houses in a week during the spring and as many as 7 during the month of March. This year, I've only put together a total of five transactions in first 15 weeks of the year.

So I was feeling a bit blue this morning when I pulled up to the gas pump. Fortunately, I glanced up and notice the person at the pump before me paid $72.83 to fill up. And suddenly the $39.42 to fill up my not-so-fancy Pontiac Vibe seemed like a pure blessing.

Last Chance for 2008 City Living Sundays

City Living Sunday Part 3 will take place this Sunday, April 13, 2008 at Aquinas Institute, located at 1127 Dewey Ave. Festivities will run from noon to 4 and feature affordability counseling, loan details and how to buy seminars plus approximately 50 open houses in the Northwest quadrant. Click here to see a list of open houses scheduled for Sunday: Open House Report

Buyer Beware!

With all the media attention on the sub-prime mortgage situation, it seems that hardly a day passes when some buyer doesn't ask me about foreclosures. It seems that everybody thinks that is the best way to get the best deal in Rochester real estate.

Today was no exception. I was working with a buyer looking for a multi-family investment property in the city of Rochester. He was pretty excited about a new listing and could tell that it was a foreclosure by all the tape and winterizing stickers in the bathroom photo. The price was right and the description claimed it was a good property in average condition.

I made the appointment and met the buyer on site. Our first impression was the property was better than average condition. The kitchens and baths were dated but functional. One of the apartments had nice gum-wood trim that had not been painted. Each unit had three bedrooms of respectable size. The roof was older but still functioning.

We were both excited about "the find" as we headed back down into the basement. Suddenly my client realized that there was no plumbing in the basement. Someone had gone through and cut the pipes and harvested all the copper! Only in real estate can a house without plumbing be described as in average condition!!!

I often discourage young, first time home buyers from even looking at foreclosures. In most cases, the water, electric and gas have been turned off which makes even major defects obscure, unless you pay several hundred dollars for an inspection. So if you think buying a foreclosure is right for you, remember the old adage, "buyer beware!"

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.

Spring Market Has Hit!

The interesting thing about a real estate blog is that when the market is slow, it is difficult to find things to blog about but when it's hot, it is difficult to find time to write.

Since returning from my mini-Easter vacation, my phone has been ringing off the hook and I've had appointments, usually more than one, each and every day. I've had three listing presentations, worked with 4 new buyers, showed property to 2 long time buyers and participated in four inspections. Throw in City Living Sunday and a couple of committee meetings and whew! No wonder I'm tired.

Property is selling in Rochester. But there are some unusual circumstances going on with mortgage lenders. Mortgage rates are fluctuating almost as much as the spring temperatures! For example, Monday 30 year conventional mortgages were going for 5.62 percent interest but on Tuesday, they were up to 6.125. So for a mortgage of $130,000 that is a swing of approximately $42.00 a month or more than $15,000 over the life of the loan. It is very difficult for a buyer to know how much of a house they qualify for when interest rates swing from day to day.

The other big news is that mortgages are taking much more time to close. Just last year, it was not unheard of for a house to close in four weeks. It is now taking that long in some cases just to get mortgage commitment. Some banks will give quicker turnaround but it seems they are charging premium prices. Several brokers are suggesting that we write contracts with 60 days till closing to avoid blown deadlines.

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.

Should I Refinance?

This is a question I get a lot, especially lately with rates as low as they are right now. Today, we will take look at what it takes to wisely move forward on refinancing your home. There are many things to consider before you incur the cost of a new first mortgage. Cost is a good place to start this discussion. A lot of people don't realize that there are closing costs (bank fees, see previous blog) associated with a refinance. Most of the time these closing costs are rolled into the new loan amount, and the fact that you will skip a mortgage payment makes it a little easier to swallow.



The rule of thumb on rate reduction to justify those closing costs, is about 1.250% when staying within the same term. On a loan amount of $100,000, that's a savings of about $80 a month. The savings associated with that rate drop will still take about one and a half years to recoup the cost of the refinance. If you are looking to shorten the term, for example, going from a 30 year to a 15 year, then the rate reduction is not as critical. Those that have the ability to reduce their terms are the big winners with savings of potentially 10s of thousands of dollars.


What are your plans as to how long you plan on staying in the home? If your thinking of selling and buying something new, refinancing might not be of any benefit to. In essence, rolling in your closing costs will eat up some of your equity, which could hurt you if your selling in the recent future.


If you are considering refinancing, I highly suggest you speak with a mortgage professional that you trust. You want to make sure that refinancing is right for you. Any questions on this topic, please feel free to contact me directly at 585-427-9200 x138.

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.

Greetings From Vegas

The 2008 ReMax International Convention is in Las Vegas this week and I decided to attend. It's been a long, long time since I've visited sin city. Not much has really changed. It's a bit flashier and I'm truly on sensory overload and this city has gotten really expensive. Our $200 a night room is nice but they want an additional $12.99 a day for Internet and $25 a day for a pass to the workout room. There is no coffee pot in the room nor free coffee in the lobby. Maybe this is what everybody was referring to when they said I would leave the convention really inspired to do more real estate!

I'm learning a lot. Not just when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. I've attended lots of conventions in my lifetime, all for other industries, but I was very impressed with the ReMax Opening Session. We were not allowed to photograph any of it, but the stage was impressive. There were many inspirational speeches from the ReMax Royalty, an unveiling of 2008 TV commercials and excellent entertainment, including singers and dancers. It was a fabulous 3 and a half hour program.

The rest of the week is filled with educational classes. I'll be learning how to better price property, how to use the latest technology and lots of other things to make me a better agent. This afternoon I will have my picture taken with the ReMax Founders with my 2007 Award. In the ReMax World, it's a piddly little award, but to me it's a big deal and I'm honored that the founders will give their time to have a picture taken with me.

And we're enjoying the weather. Another sunny day in the desert while Rochester is once again digging out from ice and snow. Be safe readers! We'll be home on Friday.

How Did You Spend Your Extra Day?

I worked! Several meetings, showed a piece of property for the third time and just kind of scrambled to try to accomplish a few things before I turned over another page on the calendar.

My neighbors, however, were much smarter than me. Heck, with 366 days on the calendar this year they used the extra day to have some fun.

We woke up this morning to find a huge igloo across the street. If you are in the vicinity of Highland Ave between Mt Hope and South Ave, check it out!

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?

A Good Picture's Worth Thousands of Dollars

Yesterday, I wrote about some very bad photos in the Rochester MLS. Today, I'd like to provide a few tips to get your home ready to be photographed to put on the market.

Looks are everything in today's real estate market. The current public watches tons of HG-TV and their expectations are often unrealistic. A colleague recently described the current Rochester market as a beauty contest. And just as a fashion model spends hours primping before a photo shoot, plan to invest plenty of time and effort preparing your home to look its best.

The first step is to do some serious cleaning, starting with windows. The more natural light that comes in your house, the better it will photograph. Yes, dust will show up in photos. It's also important that appliances and plumbing fixtures sparkle. Take extra time in making beds and hanging towels. Little details need big attention when prepping for photos.

The next step in preparing your home is to eliminate clutter. Clear kitchen counters of everything smaller than a football and even pack up the cute refrigerator magnet collection. Old newspapers and magazines should be banished. Organize bookshelves and nick-knacks and collectibles should be packed away. If necessary, remove excess furniture to make rooms look bigger. If you need some pointers, look at pictures in furniture catalogs or ads in home-improvement magazines.

Finally, give some thought to curb-appeal. The front view of the house is often the key photo to get a buyer's attention! Depending on the season, make sure the lawn is cut, the bushes pruned or the sidewalk is shoveled on picture day. If needed, paint the front door or replace the storm door. Keep entrance decorations minimal and tasteful. Hide trashcans, kid's toys and other outside clutter. Close the garage door and remove all cars from the driveway before pressing the shutter button.

It's estimated that 80 percent of home buyers start their home search on the Internet and so you want to make sure your home looks its very best in front of the camera. If that's not something you are good at, I can recommend several Rochester area staggers with experience and expertise to help prepare your home so that it will likely sell for a higher price in less time.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

A client I'm currently working with suggested that I put together a course to teach fellow Realtors how to photograph houses. The first thing that went through my mind was that he felt I need to supplement my income. After all, things are pretty slow. But this afternoon I took a hard look at some of the stuff that's in the MLS and they are just to funny not to share.

This first gem is from a really expensive house. Really expensive. Like well over $500,000. Can't you tell from the light fixture?

The next photo was taken by an agent that works lots and lots of hours. That must be why he (or she) had to take it after dark.

I'm sure a lot of thought went into this photo. Let's see. How can we illustrate how convenient this home is to the road?

I'm pretty sure the next house comes with a couch. That must be why they featured this photo.

www.RochesterScoop.com

Every once in a while some one will ask me the web address for my real estate blog. I'd blush, say, "it's something like www .Rochester real estate.blog spot or something or other.com" and then make a joke about being very blond. Well, no more!

No, I didn't dye my hair. I finally bought a domain name. It's easy to remember. http://www.RochesterScoop.com/! It's easy to tell your friends. http://www.RochesterScoop.com/ and it's easy to come back to day after day.

WWW.RochesterScoop.com

Ready to Write An Offer - 8 Big Questions To Answer

I've been working with a first-time home buyer for a couple of weeks now. We've been out 3 or 4 times to look at property and yesterday we went back to look at one a second time. He's really thinking that this might be the one.

Choosing which property to purchase is a big decision. BUT, it is only ONE of many important decisions that come with buying a property. That is why I like to begin the home buying process with a review of a purchase contract before we begin to look at homes. That way, buyers can have some time to think through the decisions before their emotions are tied up into a particular property.

In general, these are the questions that need to be answered as we sit down to structure your purchase offer:

• What price are you thinking of offering?
• Will you be getting a mortgage? And if so, how much do you plan to put down?
• Will your offer be contingent on inspections (engineer, radon, chimney, pest, other)?
• Do you have a house to sell? Will your offer be contingent on selling that house?
• What personal property do you plan to ask for (appliances, window treatments other)?
• When would you like to close on the property? Are there any special possession requirements (early possession, rent back to seller, etc)?
• How much of a good faith deposit do you plan to put into escrow? (Generally due in 48 hours)
• What attorney would you like to represent you at closing?

If you are thinking about buying a house in the near future, invest an hour or so to become familiar with the process and paperwork before you start your search. No, it's not as much fun as looking at houses, but it will go a long way to make the process smoother when you find 'the one'.

Why Start With Pre-Qualifying!

When I start working with new buyers I always encourage them to start the home search by calling the bank and get prequalified. The usual response is grumbling about how they know they have good credit. For some reason, most people just hate to start their search with a call to the bank.

Today, I had my credit pulled to do a refinance of our home and boy did I have a big surprise. The loan officer asked me about my American Express bill. Well, I don't have an American Express Card. But according to my credit report, I have an outstanding balance of $57,025 along with a perfect history of making my payments on time. Thus started one of the most frustrating hours of my life.

I called American Express and when I gave them the account number on the credit report, they said they needed the number on my credit card. Well, I don't have a credit card. Finally, by giving them my social security number, they could find the account but for privacy reasons, I had to give them the name of the primary card holder. Good question. After a few guessing games, we finally figured out it was my ex-husband. She promptly removed my name from the account, and while she was not authorized to give me anything in writing to document me coming off the account, she encouraged me to call the American Express Credit Department to have this removed from my credit report.

Here is where the story gets interesting. The credit department could find no record of me ever being on the account much less being removed. They refused to verify whose name was on the account or the balance. And until I insisted that they search for me by my social security number did they even take my call serious. It seems that this account is in my ex-husbands name but my social security number and the only way they will do anything about it is if I bring formal fraud charges against him. And since this account has been open since 1981, I'm willing to bet that it's an American Express clerical error and not a case of fraud. Hopefully, together, we can get this resolved.

The moral of the story is that when I suggest you start your search for a new home with a call to a mortgage loan officer, it has nothing to do with whether or not I think you pay your bills on time. It has to do with the current mortgage lending policies and wanting to avoid the heartbreak of finding the perfect home and then learning there is a horible mistake on your credit report.