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

While driving up Broadway in Yonkers yesterday I spotted some deer grazing on the lawn of the Richmond Children's Center. I thought I'd stop to take a quick snapshot, when I realized that this wasn't a deer or two that wandered, it was SEVEN of them, grazing quite brazenly, in an area that is virtually miles from woods and is densely developed. I was not alone; others stopped to see this rare sight.  

Yet again, Yonkers surprises me. 

My parents met and married while living in Yonkers- I have deep roots there. I am working on a deal not far from the neighborhood. Yesterday was a hectic day, but this incredible sight was food for the soul in the midst of the chaos. The lady across the street at the end of the video lives right nearby and she said this was the first time she had ever seen that many deer in the area. They would have had to cross a bridge just to get there, unless they just walked down Broadway.

Incidentally, this is THE Broadway, the continuation of Broadway in Manhattan, which goes all the way to Albany. 

Perhaps they were on their way to an audition and were taking a break. They sure didn't have stage fright. 

Astonishing.

• 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

It was a bizarre phone call this afternoon. The lady on the phone swore that her home had just come off the market with another broker, but I couldn't find it on the MLS. I changed statuses, spellings of the address (1st? First?), and anything else I could think of. Nothing. The home is in Yonkers, so I asked if it could be on a corner and have another address. Nope, middle of the block. 

I asked who the broker was, and she didn't know. Her brother and co-owner was handling that. Then, she finally gave me the clue I needed. The broker was in Queens. After a quick check, I had my answer.

The broker listed her Yonkers home on the Long Island MLS. Yonkers is not in the Long Island area. It belongs on the Westchester-Putnam MLS. 

No wonder there were no calls. No wonder there were no showings. The house was, for all intents and purposes, not listed, at least not on the local market. It might as well have been on the California MLS.

So, if you are selling your home, I guess you need to add to track record, references and other advisable queries, if the agent will actually put the property on the correct MLS. Not that you want the local brokers and buyers to be aware of it. I mean, if you did that, it might actually sell.

Oh, and here's another little detail. The house doesn't expire on the Long Island MLS until August, 2010!

Next! 

• 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

"Luck is when Opportunity meets Preparedness"

-Branch Rickey

After one of my more difficult meetings with a seller today, I had an appointment at a Yonkers condominium that had expired previously with another broker. Not long into out interview, the lady's cell phone rang and she informed me that she was not actually the owner.

Strike one.

The real owner was her brother, who was on the phone just then. He asked to speak with me, and I was happy to speak with him. It is always better to speak with the principal, you know? Initially, he wondered who I was and what I was doing over there.

Strike two.

I can't say that I blame him. If I were in his shoes I'd want to know who is trying to list my home with my sister who doesn't own it. I told him that very same thing. I asked, now that I'd seen the unit, if he and I could get together to speak about how I could help. He had more questions for me, and I guess I said the right things. He said he'd be over in 10 minutes. "Prepare the paperwork, we need to sell this thing."

Boom. It is high, it is far, it is gone.

10 minutes later, he was over, we hit it off as well in person as we did on the phone, and the condo was listed at a $25,000 price reduction. Pretty lucky, given other possible outcomes. But things like this don't happen unless you are out there and prepared for curve balls. He got that I wanted to do business, he meant business too, and we clicked. Just like that. Sometimes you get lucky.

Stay tuned.

* Branch Rickey was the GM of the Brooklyn Dodgers who signed Jackie Robinson and broke baseball's color barrier. Also the inventor of the minor league farm system, he is considered one of the most innovative baseball executives ever. Moreover, he changed the world.

• 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

I recall reading a letter from my father written in August of 1945 to his parents on the news that the Second World War was over. He said that the feeling among the men was not one of celebration or joy, but weary relief. My Dad was in the Signal Corps on Leyti Island in the Pacific Theater. He, like many Americans, bowed his head in thanks when the Japanese officially surrendered on the USS Missouri.

On the Missouri that day of the surrender was a young marine who would move back to the USA and live in Yonkers, NY, just a few miles from where my father and mother raised my brothers and myself. Our families would be a few zip codes apart. My Dad never met this Marine. I met him just shy of a year ago.

Once a Marine, always a Marine, and this Marine, now this dignified octogenarian was in, to use his own words, a pickle. He was in the car business for many years, raised a son and a daughter with his beloved wife, and by the time they were retired, their home was paid for. However, she became terminally ill a few years ago, and the Marine did everything he could to get her better. He borrowed every cent he could on the house to pay for a cure, but a remedy, as many of God's answers are to our ears, not the one he sought. Then, when the rate adjusted up and the economy shifted down, he found himself drowning in debt.

I will never forget our first meeting. Walking through that house and hearing his story and how he got where he was struck me as the ultimate irony. I remember thinking that this guy right here is a HERO, and he deserves better than this. Each room had a story. Even his workshop, where he made model planes, gave me a tangible awareness of his family's 50 years of happiness there. As bad as the circumstances were, he wasn't a victim. He just wanted to know a plan to make things right. The only way out would be a short sale, and I promised him my best. 

I will tell you now that this has been one of the hardest files I have ever worked on, and it has taken me and his attorney a full year and two buyers to get this short sale approved. It has been so hard that I am even reticent to write this post for fear of jinxing the good news, but I can't be silent. I took this file extremely personally, because this is how I would want someone to treat my father. This is also one of the very few times I had a client who had every reason to be high maintenance and difficult who instead always spoke to me like I was a boxer returning to his corner. We were on the same team.

Moreover, I feel that I owe my client a debt of enormous gratitude. As hard as this was, and as beleaguered as I feel right now, I know this my experience is NOTHING compared to what this Marine has been through. My Dad and my client had a far better reason to be weary in August of 1945.

• 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