Illegal extension, no permits, no problem, no sale. Have you ever wondered about something and said to your self "something just doesn't seem right"?  Well I did while showing a beautiful listing to my buyer.  After the showing, house was beautiful by the way, neat, clean and roomy, my client wanted to make an offer, right on the spot.  I just didn't feel right about it so I asked for them to talk it over for a few minutes while I contacted the listing agent.  It seems that there was an extra room added where it should not have been.  I asked about the code for the place where this room was and no, no permits were taken and if it were, it would not have been approved because there was not enough distance to the property line. I then asked my buyer if they bought the unit and received a ... 11/02/2013

Local Park Open, Seaside wildlife nature Park While some National Parks are closed during the shutdown, our local park, Seaside Wildlife Nature Park is open.  This is a great local park in Great Kills, Staten Island, located at the foot of Nelson Ave.  Children and adults love it.  There is something for everyone.  A little beach area, sand to make sand castles, baby swings, and  a pirate ship to explore, a walking path at the waters edge where you will see little baby fish swimming,  and much much more.  Just one of the reasons why I live and work in Eltingville.  check out my High Definition Virtual Tour below.  If your interested in buying a house in this area, please give me a call, at 917-696-0275 Pirate ship at Seaside Wildlife Nature Park And coming soon, the old landfill is maki... 10/09/2013

I'm a pretty even keeled guy.  The Marine Corp taught me discipline....balance.  Today, being a father of two boys ages 10 and 14, I can honestly say that it takes a lot to get me angry.  I'm usually unaffected by ignorance. But I can't seem to shake this one. It gets to me when I walk into a FSBO listing appointment and the seller tells me that other agents spoke negatively about me or my company.  I work hard to preserve my reputation.  As anyone in sales will attest...your reputation is everything.  It takes a lifetime to build and a few minutes to destroy.  So I hold it sacred. Don't get me wrong.  I've been blessed to work with some fantastic agents and brokers from competing companies over the years.  After all, this is one of the only businesses in the world where we, as competi... 09/26/2013

Market Watch for Eltingville Staten Island New York You can get an in-depth report every week on an area in Staten Island that you either live in or want to buy in.  All you need to do is log-in to my website, Eltingvillehomesforsale.com and request the report. If you need help just give me a call, 917-696-0275. There is a lot more in the full report.   Property Search   Property Watch   Address/MLS# Search   Open Houses  Tip: You may update the report radius to widen or narrow your market area by clicking and dragging the radius handle SCHEDULE WEEKLY UPDATESCHANGE LOCATION Market Watch Snapshot : Zip 10312 - Staten Island     Current09/05/13 Change Since08/29/1308/08/13   Last Week08/29/13   Last Month08/08/13 Homes For Sale 146 -1%  -15%    147   168 Average List Price $501,065 — 2% ... 09/13/2013

Are you applying for a mortgage on your Staten Island home? Keep in mind that a mortgage is a major financial decision and choosing one will have a significant impact on the rest of your life. Many people go into this decision without understanding all of the essential mortgage information they need to know, which means that they are likely to make poor choices that will result in paying much more than they need to. If you want to save yourself from throwing away your hard earned money, here are a few common mistakes to avoid: Trying to Bottom Out the Market Many people will wait too long to make a decision to lock in their mortgage rate, trying to wait until they think that the rates have hit bottom. However, unfortunately most of the time this leads them to wait too long and end up w... 09/02/2013

Local Church Feast of Saint Clare Family Festival Located in Great Kills, St. Clare's church is hosting a "Feast" today, Saturday 10 August 2013 from 11 AM to 5 PM Free admission, bring the whole family.  Outdoor Dunk tank, traditional crafts and food, games for the kids, raffle table, play station and Apple ipad, Coach Bag and Lenox items for the raffle.  Photo below is of the gym in the Cardinal Cooke Center, with all the raffle baskets.   08/09/2013

I explain this to sellers as soon as I take a listing. You never know where the buyer for your home is going to come from.  So please DO NOT turn down any showing requests. I love when sellers tell me how bad they need to sell and then never show their home! "I really need to sell my house but...." "....we're going away this weekend." "....we're going to Disney Land that week." (I especially love this one when it's a short sale) "....we'll be at my daughter's dance recital that day." "....my son has back to back soccer games that day." "...I'm getting my hair done that night." If you declined a showing because of any of the above reasons....then you don't really NEED to sell.  You WANT to sell.  There's a difference.  Here's an idea...if you want to sell your home, you actually have to... 08/05/2013

Went went wrong? I didn't get the listing. Last summer I went on a listing presentation via a referral from a very satisfied client.  We had a good session.  I showed the comparable sold properties and suggested touch up work to maximize sale price.  We kept in touch while the touch ups were being taken care of.  Then last week I see that they listed with another agent. What went wrong? I doubled checked the comps, I'm right on the money.  I look again at the listing price.  It's $590,000, $80,000 over my estimate.  So, they overpriced the property.   Now I feel better, I did nothing wrong.  This prompted me to write a post on pricing the property right.   Now I'll print this for my next newsletter, so when you have lemons, make lemon-aid. 08/03/2013

Smart sellers pricing it right.   Did you know that overpricing a home can backfire on a seller? Here’s why.  Most buyers tell their agent what they can afford and not to show them anything over a certain price. They don’t even look at an overpriced home thinking the sellers will never come down in price. Some buyers may look at an overpriced home but will likely use it as a comparison for other homes.  Then folks by-pass the overpriced unit and buy the correctly priced home. So the unit just sits on the market and goes stale.   When the listing for the home expires, the next agent has a harder time selling it even if it is now priced right.  Folks will ask, “What’s wrong with this house?” knowing only that it’s been on the market for some time and did not sell.  Since it was out of the... 08/02/2013

Instant Comprehensive Tenant Screening Services Available At Appleseed Homes 718-698-9797 Why take a chance and rent to someone without a comprehensive tenant screening service?  We at Appleseed Homes believe,  you the landlord deserve the same comprehensive, detailed customer service that we provide our homeowners when they are selling their homes.  Our screening service offers the following. Credit Reports (Experian/Equifax/TransUnion) State Criminal Check State Eviction Reports Income Verifications Employment Verification Previous Landlord Verification Experian Business Credit Reports And many More Screening Resources For more information about these services available give us a call today!  718-698-9797 07/29/2013

When do you put the "SOLD" sign up? Do you wait till the new owners get the keys, sign the contract or put in the accepted offer?   Some will say that if you put the sold sign up too quickly, you will not get more sign calls. But what will the neighbors think?  Wow, that house sold quickly, That's the Realtor to hire when I sell my house. That's the reaction I want, that's the reaction I get. What about you?  When do you put the "SOLD" sign up? 07/25/2013

Who wants to see clutter? Among other things, like toilet seat up, blurry pictures, furniture, dishes on the counter, etc?  Why do folks even take pictures like this?  To me it says; 1- Agent really doesn't care about giving best service to their client. 2- Agent too busy or too lazy to make unit look it's best. 3- Agent doesn't know how to take pictures or uses old cell phone to take them. 4- If were looking for an agent to sell my place, as a consumer, I would not even call them. Pictures are so important, bad pictures and customers click on the next unit.  How can you sell a place with lousy photos?   Suggestions;  Come back after the cleaning crew has finished cleaning, take photos of the yard after the lawn is cut, look at the sun, if it's in your face when you take the photo of th... 07/12/2013

Many Staten Island home buyers wonder whether they really need to have their own buyer agent rather than just work through the listing agent.  What buyers are not understanding is that the listing agent is hired by the seller to protect them and their interests.  The listing agent, also know as the seller agent, owes loyalty, obedience, disclosure, confidentiality, diligence, and accounting to the seller. But what about the buyer?  Who's protecting your interests? Nobody. Unless you get yourself a buyer agent.  A buyer agent is a broker who specifically looks out for the best interests of the buyer.  What does that really mean for the buyer?    Let me give you an example. Loyalty.  Obedience.  Disclosure.  Confidentiality.  Diligence.  Accounting. Buyer agents must tell their buyers ev... 07/11/2013

Vacation Watering tip #1 Going on vacation?  Have a problem with some potted plants?  Do they need water every other day?  Why not use my simple drip water method? Simply save a few gallon water jugs, poke a pin hole on the bottom side, fill with water and replace the cap.  Replacing the cap makes the drip last longer.  Now water your plants generously, place the gallon jug on top and you're good for 4 or 5 days.  Any longer, just give me a call and I'll come over to water for you. See mine below. 07/06/2013

Check Road Conditions Before You Travel A handy little app for your cell phone, or on your home computer, Sigalert,  tells you what to expect when you travel.  Just click on you area, anywhere in the USA, and you can see what the conditions are.  You may want to leave a little later, if traffic is very heavy, or take a different route.  Check out the site, there is much more information you can use.  Sample page below. 07/05/2013

Market Watch for Staten Island, N.Y, 10312 zip code How long are houses on the market before they sell? How big are they? What are the listing prices? How many beds, baths, etc? How many units are listed in a certain price range? These are all great questions for both home sellers and buyers.  Both need to know about the competition so they can be savvy players in this very complex field of Real Estate. Take a look at the sample report below, and if you're in the market for a Staten Island property, please visit my website and take advantage of the information I have for you.  You can always call me if you need any help with the market watch report. Call 917-696-0275 Market Watch Snapshot : Zip 10312 - Staten Island     Current06/20/13 Change Since06/13/1305/23/13   Last Week06/13/13   ... 06/26/2013

Fireworks on Staten Island 4th of July Update: Friday June 28th.  The fireworks on June 29th have been moved to Midland Beach, Turtle Circle. Rain date June 30th. See my video of past years fireworks.   Always a crowd pleas-er, the fireworks at Wolfe's Pond Park this year, 2013 will be on Saturday June 29th, with a rain date scheduled for the next day June 30th.  It is recommended that you get there early, parking can be a problem, because when it gets dark at 9 PM the fireworks will start.  If the past years are any indication of the attendance, there will be plenty of people.  You can bring blankets or chairs, the park has been restored after Hurricane Sandy.  Past years had a band playing music before the fireworks go off.  Usually a good nature d crowd mostly families attend.  You c... 06/17/2013

Widow Makers Sometimes a lumberjack will cut down a tree in the forest and a branch will hang up on an adjacent tree.  It will come down, and when it does, it can kill.  That's why they call them "widow makers". Now is a good time to check the trees on your property and see if you have any dead branches, or widow makers.  If the branch doesn't have any leaves on it, it's a good chance it's dead.  Take a look at the photo below to see what I'm talking about. 06/07/2013

Estimated Taxes are due June 17th, 2013 Normally due on the 15th, but this year June 15th is on a Saturday and so we have 2 extra days to pay our Estimated taxes. Let me keep this post positive, if I didn't have taxable income, I wouldn't have to pay any taxes, so I'm thankful for the income.  Now it's time to share. You can download the Federal forms for the year, 1040-ES vouchers, here; or you can click on the link http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf for the PDF forms. Scroll down to pages 10 & 11 for the forms. BTW, a very good way to get the most for your money is to own a 2 family house, you will get a lot of tax benefits from this, not only from the real estate taxes but also from the interest on your mortgage. See a beautiful unit, 116 Highland Road, in the Dent Road area ... 06/07/2013

Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general. Please click on this link to view the Housing Trends MAY - 2013 Newsletter http://deborahbracco.housingtrendsenewsletter.com The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau, Realtor.org reports and other sources. Housing Trends eNewsletter is filled with local and national real estate sales and price activity provided by MLSs and the National Association of Realtors, U.S. Census Bureau key market indicators, con... 06/05/2013