Deeds and Leases

I realize that brokers are eternal optimists; we have to be or we would end up in insane asylums, especially after the past couple of years. However I sense a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Not only have the past couple of years have been extremely challenging, but in the near term this past [...]

Can you believe it? With all the recent bad press about how Con Ed has been ripping down trees in WestchesterCounty under the guise of protecting their power lines, you would think that the City of Yonkers would smarten up? Well they have not. At least the powers that be at the Yonkers Fire Department [...]

Do not get me started. They are plenty dumb. I have always found it amusing that an under trained underwriter in Kansas will rip apart an appraisal performed by a professional in NY, when they have never been here, and know absolutely nothing about NY. That’s bad, but this story is far worse. I read [...]

The stringent rules on refinancing is not so different from those on obtaining a new home loan. banks are still gun shy, and tend to overcompensate when underwriting new deals. Too loose when times are good, too tight when times are not so good. It has always been this way, and ultimately we have to [...]

What is going on with the Yonkers BOE? Their behavior is indefensible. The City Council gives them roughly HALF A BILLION DOLLARS a year for educating our children, but when the Council wants to exercise its rights to have the BOE books audited, they are shut out. Look, the money comes from the pockets of [...]

 Earlier this week I came across DSNews.com. What a fantastic resource. I have included a link to the right –>.  If you are interested in the goings on in the distressed real estate market (and who isn’t, even if it is just a perverse voyeuristic interest), it is definitely worth checking out. I have commented [...]

I had wanted to re-post this article earlier for Veterans Day but never had the chance. Still, it is important and while off subject to this blog, I fell it is important that people read it. Many Americans still have never head of the Navajo Code Talkers, and how incredibly important they were in winning [...]

Okay okay, is this the case of a government agency expanding itself? For once, NO! This may be a case of acronyms gone wild, but it is vitally important in the expansion of rights for all people to obtain housing without fear of discrimination. Today the New York Times reported that The Federal Housing Administration [...]

After much debate and wrangling in Washington, President Obama has signed the $8,000 Tax Credit extension into law. While this is welcome news to buyers (and Realtors as well!), it is much more than an extension. Some of the highlights include: * Extension of the program through April 30, 2010. You must be in contract [...]

The impending reversion of the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loan limits back to the old $417,000 conforming loan limit at the end of the year has been postponed to December 2010! In January 2009 the loan limit had been increased in Westchester (considered a ‘high cost’ area) to $729,750. Above this level are [...]