Open House Alert - 5935 Fikes Road

This may be your one chance to see this amazing property.  We have had a great deal of activity on it, and are expecting an offer.  But come and see it tomorrow, Sunday the 10th, from 1:00 until 3:00.

The MLS number is S285950, so you can look it up and see all the photos. There were so many photos to take!  The most difficult one was of the house and the barn/garage/outbuilding.  The two buildings stretch across the skyline.  Having them both contributes to this great place, but add in almost 11 acres of meadows and orchards...my, my!

Come and see it if you can.  Always I have refreshments of some kind and the day promises to be uncharacteristically warm.  Again those photos - the rare snowstorm came up!  It may not still be active in the spring, but it will certainly be even more beautiful.

The basics:  3 BR, 2 full baths, built in 1998 by Mark Harrington, just finished basement and new granite and tile in the kitchen.  $284,900

Fikes is off Route 5 before you get to Elbridge if you are coming from Syracuse (making it an easy hop onto 695...)  Less than a couple miles up Fikes, then up the hill to the house.

Please tell me you read this blog - I will love it!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Sometime Update (February 18th to March 5th)

Things are getting crazy out there!  Properties are being shown and sold!  Hooray!  The spring season has begun!

Currently there are only 73 single family properties listed as active in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing system.  Of these, 18 are in the Village and 16 are waterfront.

Two new houses came on the market within this time frame, while a few others were freshened with re-listing.  One of the new ones is in the Village and the other is in the Town (aka not in the Village).  Both are listed for almost the same price, under $300,000.

Only 16 homes are waiting to be closed.  Three were added to the list, two of them from the Village and the third from the Town.

We now have 10 sold and closed properties, year-to-date.  Trending like last year, the three new closings were all Village and ranged from the mid-$100,000s to almost a million.

I think we are going to have a fantastic year, if not in volume like last year, but in a return to the old
"if you snooze, you lose" way of doing business.  You can't afford to look at 10 different properties (if there even were 10 that meet your criteria!) and think about it.  Getting a pre-approval is even more important with this type of market (dare I say sellers' market?)  Knowing what you can buy and that you can buy, plus having that piece of paper from a qualified mortgage lender will get your offer accepted long before another offer.   Make the call today, then go online at REMAX.com and call your agent.  No time to waste!

The Open House at 115 Raspberry

It's been a while since I've done an open house, winter being what it was and the choice of my sellers NOT to have open houses during this season.  But I was pleasantly surprised at how many people came out today in really cold weather.

I always learn a lot about a house by holding it open to the public.  It's interesting to see what the buyers key in on...the agents wanted a family room instead of another eating area, and we provided that by changing the furniture around.  There were no comments today about it, except a few people who really liked the coziness of it.

The carpets had been steamed and stretched and looked wonderful.  I highly recommend doing that for all homes that have wall to wall carpeting.  They did look new!  So new in fact, that I found people teetering on the edge of the living room, not wanting to step on the pristine white carpeting!  Myself included!

I spent some of the time as people roamed around sitting by the fire in the family room, admiring the pretty white crown molding against the Cape Cod blue walls.  (Please see the photo below.)   Lo and behold a prospective buyer showed up almost in the same blue with Cape Cod on his sweatshirt!  Moments like that are fun...

The flow was great - people in and around and almost done and then another group would come.  Busy all the time.  The sellers left candies around with "welcome to our home" signs.  Very charming.

And the house was de-cluttered to the max!  People were impressed, and stated that.  While most in this price range - $319,000 - had homes to sell, they wondered if they could get their home as immaculate and well-organized.  I assured them they could, and that it was a process to be developed over time.

A good day!

Open House Alert!

Ready, set, go.......to 115 Raspberry in Scenic Meadows!  Come Sunday, March 3rd - I will be there from 12:00 to 2:00 showing off this lovely 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home high on the hill.  It has three levels of living space - the bedrooms up, the family, living and dining rooms on the first floor, and then another kids' play area as well as a bar and office in the basement.

Please tell me you saw this blog - it will make my day!  And let's hope we have gorgeous, sunny weather and blue skies so you can really take in the view.

From 690, take 695 (Route 5) towards Auburn.  When you get off, turn right at the light and an immediate right onto Scenic Drive.  Within half a mile you will come to Raspberry on the left.  Go up the hill - tour around the community - and return to #115.  Refreshments and a great home await!

Finances

Real estate, as I have said before, is my "encore career," a nice descriptive phrase I picked up from the paper today (see Syracuse.com for the article).  Although the reference cites many examples that have to do with finishing one career and then going into another for a less profitable, more altruistic motive, I still like the idea of "encore."  Except in my case, I think teaching and administration was more a prelude and real estate is my primary career!

When I worked in schools, I mostly received a paycheck every two weeks or bi-monthly.  It wasn't the greatest paycheck (my Waldorf School experience in Saratoga stands out) but it was a paycheck I could rely on for the most part.  Health insurance was paid for or partially paid by the district (except for again, the Waldorf School).  I think real estate is fairly far removed from my administrative days at Spring Hill, but I wouldn't have lost those two years for any amount of money.

So I live commission to commission, working out how to get through the slow times and what to do with the money during the affluent times.  Brian Buffini again, as mentor, has taught me how to do this.  When I first started I was caught up short by the taxes one year.  The last year I was ever caught short, I might add.  Suddenly my good amount of commission was held hostage by April 15th and I had to find that money somehow.  Which I did, thanks to a home equity loan.  But I was lucky to have that.

These days are different.  I still have to buy my own health insurance, but I have managed to find a program that works for me.  Forget dental or vision insurance for now.  The de-stressing I've been doing has helped to keep me from grinding my teeth at night - so it does pay off!  I have dues to the national Realtor board, the local board, and payments for the use of my lockbox key.  I buy my own signs and advertising, but I like that.  I make the choices.  And of course RE/MAX takes a part of each commission.

So when I do have a check, I parcel it out.  Currently 40% gets immediately thrown into savings off the top for taxes and a retirement account.  Another 20% goes into my separate business account to pay for advertising, signs, dues and gifts.  A second 20% goes into our joint account; that pays for our mortgage, household expenses and New York State property and school taxes.  Then 10% goes to that home equity I took out years ago to pay down.  The remaining 10% goes to my checking account, so I can pay for my cars, trips to Manhattan, SU games, health insurance and entertainment.

The tellers love to see me come in with everything sorted out...but nowadays I don't worry about where my tax money will come from in April.  I don't have six months put away for emergencies and I know I need to work on that, but I would rather pay down the HELOC and draw from that if need be.

Overall, I am much happier by far than when I got a regular paycheck and certainly much better off financially.

No More Vacant Homes - A Great Idea

This morning in the Sunday Post-Standard I read with great interest Stephen Kimatian's article in the Opinion section of the paper.  I had had this thought before, but he put it very succinctly and illustrated it with actual facts and a compelling story.

His thesis in "How one effort can help vacant homes, unemployment at the same time" is simple.  Syracuse has an overabundance of vacant houses, just sitting there waiting for help that won't come from the owners, previous or otherwise.  It also has a strong community which dislikes vacancy and works hard.  Combine the two, and you have dozens of "Marios," Kimatian's subject.

Mario bought a vacant house, fixed it up and rented it out.  That went so well he did it again - and again.  To date he has rehabilitated on his own ten houses.  These are now ten houses that not only produce rent for him, but also are on the tax rolls.  Not only that, they have filled a need for families who will round out our workforce in our rapidly developing city.

Mario is an entrepreneur.  He is unlike the entrepreneur who "rented" out the vacant house next to my in-laws.  This person took rent for months until the people found out he had no legal right to rent the house.  The tenants were out money and had to leave the house rapidly.  Not good for them, their kids, or the neighborhood.  So why not allow someone to develop the house?

Kimatian cites figures.  He suggests the houses would cost somewhere around $20,000 and then with money for renovations he projects still a good income for the rent.  Mario now brings in about $60,000 a year - not bad for working on your own, at your own pace, in your own time.  And if he is like investors I know he has learned that doing it right the first time will help to ensure no midnight phone calls from the tenants.

Wouldn't a city filled to capacity with willing and able tenants, houses with lights on inside at night, children going to school and taking advantage of the "Say Yes" program be worth a great deal?  So, Mr. Kimatian - how do we make this happen?

Agent as Tour Guide

When I first started doing real estate in 2001 I was told by a woman who owned a business in town that she used to do it.  She said she stopped because she felt she was a glorified tour guide.  Most of the time no one bought a house through her, but she spent hours showing people the area.

I just spent the last two afternoons being a tour guide - but in this case, a very happy tour guide.  A prospective client came from out-of-state to see Central New York and decide whether to accept a position that had been offered.  My job was to familiarize him with the communities within a few minutes commute and show him a few housing options.

We had a wonderful time, despite the snow (coming in February is tough!).  We wandered the first day from Auburn to Syracuse, took in Skaneateles, Marcellus and Camillus, and went up to the University and over to Destiny.  I saw the area through his eyes, which made it very instructive for me.  He saw new building, especially in Syracuse.  The buildings on campus and in Armory Square convinced him (as well it should) that Syracuse is a thriving and growing community.

On Thursday we saw homes:  a good rental in Auburn (unlisted), and then single families in Camillus.  He saw that the prices were excellent, compared to his current situation, and he had choices.  I got to see homes I wouldn't see on brokers' opens, and re-familiarize myself with the market.

So, yes, I was a tour guide - and I was my best client!