J. Philip's Westchester Real Estate Blog: New York: Cortlandt Manor

Route 6 West approaching the Bear Mountain Bridge has to be the most twisty, serpentine windy road I've ever been on, and to top it off, it is on the edge of a mountain cliff overlooking the Hudson River. Locals have dubbed it the "Goat Trail."

The Goat Trail starts northwest of Peekskill, NY and culminates at the Bear Mountain Bridge, which joins the far northwest corner of Westchester to southeast Orange County. The mountain it is carved into has been known since colonial times as "Anthony's Nose." The road itself is over 400 feet above the river.

How twisty is this road? Click on the video. This is not for people with vertigo.   

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
• Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 
• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission

10 McDougal Lane in Cortlandt Manor closed Friday, December 4. I listed it September 5, we had 2 offers by mid October, and it went under contract  10/31. The buyers went FHA, so it was a little bit of a wait from there. This is not to pat myself on the back, but rather to pat the seller on the back. 

Every so often, a seller "gets it." They are eager to know what I know, and they follow my recommendations as best they can, often to the letter. And guess what? They get what they want. Case in point: There was a home very similar to our listing that was priced in the low 300's for quite a while. It looked like the same house on a nearby street and the builder and architect were probably the same guys.  After some time, that other listing cancelled at $309,000. 

My view was that if we priced at 299,000, we'd get more and better eyeballs on our place. And even though the economy was crummy and the autumn was less than ideal, we averaged a showing every 2.5 days until we got our accepted offer and the thing got put to bed in early December. Price points matter, and my client saw what I saw. We collaborated well as a team, handled the negotiations and inspection issues like soldiers and now the guy can have a Christmas without the old house to worry about. My hat is off to him. 

It goes without saying that there are dozens of homes in that zip code that were for sale when John's house went up for sale that remain unsold. The moral of the story? Find the right broker (like, for instance, ME), take their coaching, and be a team. 

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
• Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 
• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission