Updated home for sale in Somers NY

 

Lovely updated contemporary home in sought after cul-de-sac neighborhood in Somers with legal 1 bedroom accessory apartment; great for the extended family or mother/daughter or leave as is and use as single family. Features include 4 bed, 3 full bath, hardwood floors, cathedral ceilings, brand new bathrooms, large eat-in-kitchen, 2 fireplaces, recently painted interior, Anderson windows, new oil burner, new electric, new hot water heater. Lovely private yard with almost 1 acre. Taxes $10,559 after STAR. A must see. Asking $500,000

For more info and photos check out: 11 Franklin Drive Somers NY

 

Lovely townhouse with finished basement in the Willows in Somers NY

Wow lovely updated light and bright END UNIT 3 level townhouse in sought after Willows in Somers. Features include gleaming Mohawk hardwood floors, eat-in-kitchen, family room with fireplace, large deck overlooking private corner property. Large master bedroom suite with master bath. Large finished basement with family room and office/computer room, walkout basement to patio and yard. Upgrades include: new A/C unit, new hot water heater, new light fixtures, new roof, new carpet on 2nd floor. Asking $339,000.

To view more photos and details check out: 62 Krystal Drive Somers NY

To view all townhomes for sale click: The Willows in Somers NY

The Willows Townhouses in Somers

The Willows is a lovely single family town home development in Somers NY that consists of 120 attached units. The Willows is a very sought after townhouse complex and the community offers pool, tennis, playground and fishing. High interest in this development is due to the sought after Somers School District, low taxes and common charges, close proximity to schools, shopping, Metro North, and highways.

To view all townhouse for sale in this community check out: The Willows Townhouses in Somers NY

Twin Knolls in Somers

Twin Knolls located in Somers NY features fifty custom built homes set on 1.5-15 luxurious acres. Twin Knolls is located right off of Route 100 in southern Somers just north of Millwood. Some homes in Twin Knolls have a view of lovely Croton reservoir.  The development is known for its estate like homes with wonderful property and landscaping, one of the most sought after developments in northern Westchester County.

To view all homes for sale in this lovely development check out: Twin Knoll in Somers NY

 

 

Updated home for sale in somers

 

Lovely updated colonial, features include 4 bed plus den/bedroom, hardwood floors throughout. Recent addition with huge new granite kitchen with stainless steel appliances, large family room, central a/c, recessed lighting, office with fireplace. Large master suite plus 4 more bedrooms. Updated bathrooms, full basement w/media room, rec area and fitness area plus den/office and walkout. New windows, new driveway seasonal view of pond from backyard. Minutes to train and highway! A must see.

To view more photos and details check out: 2 Old Croton Falls Rd Somers NY, 10589

To view all homes for sale check out Somers NY Real Estate

Townhouse for sale in Guard Hill Manor

Guard Hill Manor – Updated sought after corner Coventry model overlooking pond! Largest model in Guard Hill Manor. Located in a cul-de-sac setting this home features 4 full bathrooms, 2 bedrooms plus 2 dens/offices easily used as bedrooms making this a potential 4 bedroom home! Hardwood floors, large living room w/fireplace, large updated kitchen with sliders to deck and year round view of pond. Finished basement with walkout overlooking pond, wet-bar, den/bed, computer room, full bath. A must see.

To view fill details and more photos check out:

To view all towhomes for sale in Guard Hill check out: Guard Hill Manor Mt Kisco NY

 

13 Hallocks Run Somers Chase

Lovely Madison model in Somers Chase.  Gorgeous brick colonial with 4 bed, 3.5 bath 4100+ sq. feet. Open floor plan w/two story entry & sweeping staircase. Hardwood floors, crown molding. Two story fam room w/fireplace. Huge eat-in kitchen w/center island & large dining area. Study w/cherry wood built-ins. Huge master suite w/sitting room, his/hers walk-in closets, large bonus room, bath w/whirlpool tub & separate shower. Finished storage area in basement, fitness area, rec room, bar. 3 car garage, large private backyard.  Located at 13 Hallocks Run in Somers.

To view more photos and details check out: 13 Hallocks Run Somers NY or a video visual tour at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WtgLeswb3I

To view all homes for sale in Somers Chase check out Somers Chase in Somers NY

 

Pelham Heights in Pelham NY

Pelham Heights is one of the most sought after neighborhoods in Westchester County. Located less then 20 miles to NYC with a train commute of just under 30 minutes. Pelham Heights is located within walking distance to the Pelham Train Station, Colonial Elementary School, Pelham Memorial High School and Middle School, shopping and restaurants.

As originally defined, Pelham Heights was bordered on the north by the train station, New Rochelle city line on the east, Colonial Ave to the south and the Hutchinson River Parkway to the west.

To view all homes for sale in Pelham Heights please visit PelhamHeights.com

Pricing your home right

Now more than ever pricing your home RIGHT is of utmost importance. With values falling up to 30% in Westchester County and Putnam County from the peak of the market 4-5 years ago, pricing your home competitively is the only way you will have a chance to stay a head of your competition; competition being other houses in the area comparable to yours. List too high and your home will sit on the market and may never sell or even worse sell for much less than you want it too. Let’s discuss one of the 1st things a prospective seller says in defense of pricing a home higher than their Realtor recommends.

“But we can always drop our price.”

 No you can’t. Well you “can” but most likely it will be too late. New listings get the most activity the first 3-4 weeks of the on the market, after that the interest in the house levels off dramatically. It no longer is considered a new listing on the Realtor “hot sheet” and the listing just finds its way with the rest of the over priced listings in your town. If you do not put your best foot forward (aggressive price) from the beginning then by the time you drop the price it will be too late and you will be chasing the market. If your Realtor says you need to be $50,000 less than what you want to list at but finally after 1-3 months you “give in” to his price recommendation it is actually too late. Now to be competitive with the other listings in the area you may need to be $75,000-$100,000 less than your current asking price.

Here is a recent example: I had a seller in Mahopac call me after 6 months on the market with another agent and the agent was not able to sell the house. The asking price was $500,000. I came in and told the owners the listing price can’t be a penny over $450,000. Of course they did not agree and thought I was crazy and refused to list it “that low”, the lowest they would allow me to list the home was at $475,000. After a few weeks on the market the activity was minimal and this was due to it being overpriced. I asked them every week to please let me drop the price.

After 3 months my sellers ‘gave in’ and let me drop the price but I told them $450,000 is now too high. Unfortunately they did not listen to reason this time either and they only let me drop it to $450,000 (which was 3 months agos price). I told them it is too high and to drop to maybe $419,000 and hope to get $400,000. Well at the $450,000 asking price I brought them 3 offers at $400,000 and none of the buyers were willing to go higher. My sellers told me there was no way they would “sell their house for that low”. I finally let the listing expire because my sellers were unrealistic and were more or less ensuring themselves to lose a lot of money.

They listed with another agent and 6 months later they sold… for… $375,000.

 “Buyers are always going to bid lower”

Yes and No. A competent buyer’s agent knows the market and when a house comes on the market at a very good price the agent educates their buyer on current listed and sold properties and more often than not the offers come in VERY close to asking price. I saw a house that was grossly over priced, about $150,000 over priced then one day the agent drops it $150,000 to $525,000. My buyer saw it and was impressed and felt it was worth every penny of the new asking price. The agent just dropped the price the day we saw it (I told my client about it as soon as I saw the new price), my buyer was unsure about what to offer and we discussed the comparable homes in the area and we offered asking price. Of course it was accepted and my buyers were more than happy.

Another reason why thinking you can “always lower the price” or “buyers are always going to bid lower” are wrong is that you push yourself out of the market with an over priced listing. SERIOUS buyers these days know that prices are down; they know sellers have dropped prices a lot; buyers are NOT searching for houses that are $50,000-$75,000 higher than a number they can afford or want to spend like they used to do years ago. Serious buyers looking for a $500,000 house are not searching much higher, maybe $515,000 or $525,000. So when you price your $500,000 house at say $540,000 or $550,000 you just made your home INVISIBLE to buyers because they do not know it exists when they search online for homes in their price range. Price it at say $515,000 and you expose your home to a large pool of buyers and your chances of getting a good bid on your home has drastically increased.

I had a seller in Somers NY who did not let me list his home at the price I told him, the price was $650,000 (down from $769,000 from his previous agent who was not able to sell it) and I said we need to be around $600,000-$610,000 and he only let me drop the price to $639,000. After 3 weeks my seller was fed up and I was even more fed up and pleaded with him to let me drop the price before it is too late. I asked him what is his bottom line and he said “$600,000 give or take a few thousand”.  Well we priced it at $600,000 on the dot. My seller was concerned about lowering the price and said “but people are going to bid lower, what if we get low ball bids?”, of course the uneducated buyer will bid low but not the educated and qualified buyer.

Within 24 hours we had three offers. One low ball offer of $500,000, one for $550,000 and one for $590,000 and we settled at $598,000! The buyer who bid the $590,000 knew the market and knew the price was good and she also said  “I never knew this house was even on the market until the price was lowered to $600,000 and I would have never seen it if you did not drop the price”.

Another example happened a few years ago when I went on a listing appointment and the price I gave the seller was $550,000. I stressed not a dollar higher is this unstable market. I did not get the listing and 2 weeks later I see his house listed at $750,000! To make this very long story short, the house is still listed and the seller  is now on his THIRD real estate agent 3 years later and his current price is $425,000.

 Agents do NOT waste their time showing overpriced houses.

When an agent sees a listing that is obviously overpriced they are not going to waste their time showing it especially when their buyer tells them it is just way too out of their price range. The agents also know that if the house is overpriced and does go into contract anywhere near the current asking price that the bank will never appraise it that high and the deal will be dead and the buyer will back out and legally can. An agent is also not going to show an overpriced listing and then lose creditably with their buyers and waste their buyers’ time driving around showing homes that are not what they are looking for. Buyers assume that sellers are aware of the down market and what home values are and assume you are pricing it based on the current market and are not that negotiable in the price. Many buyers do not think you will drop much off the asking price so if you are asking $50,000 more than you should or over what your bottom line is, the buyers do not think you will actually drop $50,000 off the price and will not bother looking at your home.

 The Old vs the New real estate market.

When the market was “hot” from around 2003-2005 agents would look at what sold and then list homes around 5-10% MORE than the most recent comparable sales. Now we look at what just sold and price it LESS than or at the price the most recent comparable’s sold for and hope to get as close as possible to those recent sale numbers. Any other way and a seller will chase the market and lose money like the seller above who listed at $750,000 and is now at $425,000.

The moral of the story is to listen to your Realtor’s price recommendation and price your home inline with the competition or even lower and NEVER ever choose your agent just based on the price they tell you. If that was the case then I would just go around telling sellers what they want to hear and not what they need to hear and give them all over priced values.

My job as a Realtor to my sellers is not to just sell your home but to sell your home for top dollar and in the shortest amount of time. More importantly my job is to make sure you do not get less than you should and an over priced listing is a perfect recipe for loss.  If a competent Realtor comes up with a value on your home and you want to list higher than they say because “people are always going to bid lower”, you probably just killed your chances of not only getting a bid near the value the Realtor came up with but any chance of selling your home at all.

Listen to this advice about pricing your home and will be on your way to a successful sale.

Selling your home during the holidays | Holiday home selling tips

Selling your home during the holiday season between November and January can be a very stressful time. Getting ready for parties or cleaning up from ones you hosted at your home make it difficult to keep your house in showing condition all the time. Some sellers take their home off the market for a few weeks during the holidays but some serious sellers will keep the house listed throughout the season and for very good reason.

Buyers who are looking during the holidays (and cold weather) tend to be very serious buyers that you do not want to miss out on. Your competition is limited as well since a lot of homeowners wait until after the holidays to put their home on the market. This is a prime time to try to catch a solid buyer and not have to worry about competing with all the new listings that come on the market after the New Year.

Now that you have committed to sell during the holidays here are some tips to keep your house in its best showing condition.

Price it right

No matter when you list your home, pricing it right is always the number 1 priority. Pricing it aggressive this time of the year is even more important because once the New Year hits so do the new listings. The majority of these listings will be priced reflecting the current market trends which unfortunately is still going down. Current sellers will now have to compete with a bunch of new listings possibly priced much more aggressive than their home making it a lot harder to find a buyer. Instead of making small incremental price drops this time of the year be sure to be aggressive with the pricing the first time around to avoid chasing the market once the new listings start popping up.

Don’t overdue the decorations

Though a home looks great when decorated for the holidays make sure you do not overdue it. Keep it simple with all the décor especially with all the figurines and elaborate holiday scenes. Tone down any extravagant displays ala Clark Griswold and opt for some simple string lighting around some of the nice trees in your front yard as well as some simple decorations on the inside. You want to keep the home as simple and neutral as possible in order to attract not turn off buyers.

Keep the driveway and walkway clean

Nothing is worse than trying to show a house and the seller has not shoveled the walkway and driveway. I have been to some houses where the buyers just gave up and did not want to continue walking in the snow to get to the house. If a buyer can’t get into your home easily then they may not want to come in at all. Be sure to keep the outside clean after it snows; be sure there is no ice after you shovel. If the house is vacant and you do not live close by then be sure to hire someone to clean up the snow for the winter. The last thing you want is someone getting hurt on your property.

Keep the house warm

Sellers like to keep the temperature down because of heat costs but buyers who are not comfortable in the house will not stay long. A cold houses also brings on a negative feel to buyers so you want to keep the house warm and cozy. If you are home and have a fireplace, be sure it has been on for a while before the buyers come over. If there is no fireplace then turn the heat up probably a little higher than normal. When you encourage buyers to spend more time in your home there is more time for them to look at the good features of your house.

Make the house smell nice

Nothing is nicer than a nice smelling house but don’t overdo it with the candles and air fresheners. Yankee Candle sells some excellent fragrances that just about everyone loves. Some of the most popular candles for the holiday include Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Cinnamon Roll and Christmas Cookie. Unless you like to bake cookies every time there is a showing these candles make a convenient alternative and make the home smell great.

Keep it light

Since the days get shorter during the winter, sellers need to make sure to keep the inside and the outside of the house well lit. If you are home during the showing, make sure to turn all the lights on in the house as well as the lights for the walkway. If you are not home during the showing and you do not want the lights on all day invest in a few timers to turn on a few lights when it gets dark. The last thing an agent wants to do is run around the house trying to turn all the lights on to make the house look inviting, that is your job.

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