Esquire Realty Ciaramella & Co.

Digestible Real Estate

  • ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด. ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜€.

    Price it right. Keep it accessible. Respond quickly when I need you to. If those three things stay intact, the deal has a better chance of moving forward favorably.

    My job is not to take sides (although I will sit and listen if you need to vent!). My job is to keep things moving, keep things organized, and make sure the decisions that actually impact the outcome donโ€™t get lost in everything else.

    Decisions still need to be made, and they need to be made clearly. Price changes, offer responses, repairs, closing timelines. If those get delayed or inconsistent, buyers feel it immediately and start to pull back.

    Itโ€™s not uncommon to have two separate or a neutral third party closing attorney. I can help guide that process and connect you with people who deal with these situations regularly so things stay clean and focused.I also act as a buffer. Not everything needs to be a direct conversation.

    I can coordinate showings, manage access, keep communication structured, and make sure nothing stalls out over avoidable friction.

    Getting the property ready has to be straightforward. Cleaning, staging, small repairs. If that turns into a point of conflict, it delays everything and shows in how the property presents.

    ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜†. ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜‚๐—ฝ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ป๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚’๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜†.

    ๐—œ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป.

  • If you’re living in the home, the showings can feel invasive, and then on top of that, people are rude. Last minute requests, time changes, cancellations, and even no shows. Sometimes I get people with smelly feet, show up juggling ten coffees and a chihuahua in a bag, or have their loudmouth uncle with them who hates your wallpaper. They all might buy your house, so let’s just get through it together.

    Vacant homes are easier to show and sell but there are plenty of annoying elements as well. Lights get left on, heat or AC gets adjusted, and despite signs, notes, and instructions everywhere, not everyone follows my rules. Is it an inconvenience? Yes. Is it preventable? Not entirely. Itโ€™s just part of the process.

    Every showing is an opportunity, and the more access you allow, and the more you say #namaste ๐Ÿง˜๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ and just relax, the more opportunities you create. Thatโ€™s what actually gets homes sold. Limiting access because itโ€™s annoying might make your day easier, but it usually makes your sale harder.

    Weโ€™re trading a little inconvenience now for a successful sale. And that trade is always worth it!

  • Open houses can go one of two ways. Smooth and controlled, or chaotic and uncomfortable for everyone involved. The difference usually comes down to planning and knowing how to read the room before the first buyer even walks in.

    ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—œ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ, ๐—œ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—บ๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜€. I look at how many people have viewed and saved the property, and I pay attention to how many agents are opening my promotional emails. That data tells me what kind of traffic I am realistically preparing for.

    Two weeks ago, I had a property with extremely high interest. I knew it was going to be busy, so I staffed it accordingly. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ, ๐—ฝ๐—น๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€. In situations like that, I actually prefer keeping agents stationary in key allowing buyers to walk through more freely. It keeps things flowing and avoids bottlenecks.But not every open house is a crowd.

    ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ผ.The property was large, four full floors of living space, but the interest level did not suggest a heavy turnout. That creates a different kind of challenge.๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ. So I adjusted.

    ๐—œ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—œ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—œ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป. It created a natural pause point, allowed me to stay in control of the showing, and made sure every group got proper attention without others roaming the house. It is a small move, but it makes a big difference.

    ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ.This can matter even more when a property is tenant occupied. Tenants already feel like their privacy is being interrupted. The last thing you want is strangers walking through their space without any structure or supervision.

    ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต. ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜†, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ. ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ. ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—น ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„, ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฟ.

  • Letโ€™s clear something up.

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with hiring a real estate agent who is competitively priced. You should be thoughtful about fees. This is a business decision.

    But thereโ€™s a big difference between competitive and Bargain Bin Bobby.

    ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜, ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด- ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜.

    The truth is, the difference between a great agent and a cheap one is rarely the fee. Itโ€™s what you net and whether you actually make it to the closing table.

    ๐—” ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐˜€, ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€.๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ “๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—นโ€ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—”๐—Ÿ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜.

    So yes, be smart. Interview agents. Understand their fee structure. Make sure it makes sense. But if your entire selection process is โ€œwhoโ€™s cheapest,โ€ youโ€™re not being savvy at all.

    Shop for experience. Shop for strategy. Shop for someone who can actually get you to the closing table with the strongest possible outcome.

    ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†, ๐—ถ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜. ๐—œ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ธ ๐—ฎ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต.

  • Thereโ€™s a pattern right now. Homes hit the market, sit with no real interest, and quickly go stale.

    Some agents miss the details that actually drive value. And in this market, those details matter.

    Not all properties trade the same just because they share a location. Pricing them like theyโ€™re interchangeable is a mistake.

    Thereโ€™s also no such thing as a legal โ€œmother-daughterโ€ designation in NYC. Many homes are legally one-family, and if you donโ€™t understand the Certificate of Occupancy, youโ€™re pricing wrong from day one.

    Flood zones and elevation matter. A buyer factoring in thousands per year in insurance is looking at your price very differently.

    Lot size matters too. Even on the same block, the difference can be significant, and that directly impacts value.

    And one of the biggest mistakes: pricing based on whatโ€™s listed instead of whatโ€™s sold. A group of overpriced listings doesnโ€™t support your price. It shows what isnโ€™t selling.

    You get one real window when your home hits the market. That first wave of attention is everything.

    Local knowledge isnโ€™t a buzzword. Itโ€™s the difference between selling and sitting.

  • A property isnโ€™t truly โ€œvacantโ€ just because you plan for it to be. If thereโ€™s a tenant in place, your sale comes with an extra layer of risk.

    Not every tenant needs to be served notice immediately. Some are cooperative and helpful. But you have to be realistic. A tenantโ€™s behavior can change quickly once photos are taken, showings begin, and the reality of moving sets in.

    As agents, we are not working against tenants. In many cases, we can actually help them transition, whether that means finding a new rental, negotiating a lease that works for them, or even guiding them through a purchase of their own. When handled properly, this process can be a shift, not just a disruption. However-

    ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ด๐˜€ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ. Resistance to photography. Delayed responses about access. Making showings difficult. These are small signs that often turn into bigger problems.

    ๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—น๐˜†. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ. ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ.

    Serving notice starts the clock. If you wait until you have a buyer ready to close, you are already behind. What could have been handled months earlier can turn into significant delays and even lost buyers.Even if your tenant is being polite and cooperative, serving notice can still be the right move. It can be explained as part of the process when a property is being sold.

    ๐—œ๐—ณ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜†, ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜, ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ธ. ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ.

  • Your sale price is the starting point. Your net is whatโ€™s left after everything comes off the top. And those numbers add up quickly.

    ๐™๐™ž๐™ง๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ช๐™จ๐™ช๐™–๐™ก๐™ก๐™ฎ ๐™ก๐™–๐™ง๐™œ๐™š๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™จ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™ข๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™œ๐™–๐™œ๐™š/ ๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š ๐™ค๐™› ๐™˜๐™ง๐™š๐™™๐™ž๐™ฉ ๐™ฅ๐™–๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™›๐™›. If you have a loan, it gets paid in full at closing including your balance, interest through the day of closing, and any bank fees. For most sellers, this is the biggest deduction.

    ๐™‰๐™š๐™ญ๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™จ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ข๐™ข๐™ž๐™จ๐™จ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ. You will pay your listing agent based on your agreement, and depending on how the deal is structured, you will likely also be paying a buyerโ€™s agent. This is negotiable, but cutting corners here can cost you far more than it saves. The way your property is marketed, exposed, and negotiated will directly impact your bottom line.

    ๐™๐™๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ข๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™–๐™ฃ๐™จ๐™›๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ญ๐™š๐™จ. State tax is 0.4 percent, and in NYC it ranges from 1 percent to 1.425 percent depending on the price. These are standard closing costs that come straight off the top.

    ๐˜ผ๐™›๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™–๐™ง๐™š ๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™š๐™ฎ ๐™›๐™š๐™š๐™จ. New York is an attorney state, and your attorney is responsible for the contract, clearing title issues, and getting you to closing. This is a protective role, not an optional one.

    ๐™”๐™ค๐™ช ๐™ข๐™–๐™ฎ ๐™–๐™ก๐™จ๐™ค ๐™๐™–๐™ซ๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ก๐™š ๐™˜๐™ก๐™š๐™–๐™ง๐™–๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™š ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข๐™จ that need to be resolved before you get paid. That can include satisfaction fees, old liens, or judgments. Some properties are clean. Others take work.

    ๐™๐™๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง๐™š ๐™–๐™ง๐™š ๐™–๐™™๐™Ÿ๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ข๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™จ.Property taxes, water, and sometimes fuel are prorated as of the day of closing. You may also see ๐™˜๐™ง๐™š๐™™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™จ ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐™ฃ๐™š๐™œ๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™–๐™ฉ๐™š๐™™ ๐™ง๐™š๐™ฅ๐™–๐™ž๐™ง๐™จ ๐™ค๐™ง ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ก๐™ -๐™ฉ๐™๐™ง๐™ค๐™ช๐™œ๐™ ๐™ž๐™จ๐™จ๐™ช๐™š๐™จ ๐™–๐™จ ๐™ฌ๐™š๐™ก๐™ก ๐™–๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™ฎ ๐™ง๐™š๐™ก๐™–๐™ฉ๐™š๐™™ ๐™–๐™™๐™Ÿ๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ข๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™จ ๐™จ๐™ช๐™˜๐™ ๐™–๐™จ ๐™ง๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™˜๐™ง๐™š๐™™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™จ ๐™ค๐™ง ๐™จ๐™š๐™˜๐™ช๐™ง๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฎ ๐™™๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™–๐™ฃ๐™จ๐™›๐™š๐™ง๐™จ. Smaller fees are involved for preparation and recording of your transfer documents indeed, as well as paying the title closer at the table.

    ๐˜ผ๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™›๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™–๐™ก๐™ก๐™ฎ, ๐™š๐™จ๐™˜๐™ง๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™จ. It is common for attorneys to hold money back for items like a final water bill or minor unresolved issues. That money is not handed to you at closing. It is released later once everything is cleared.At the end of the day, two properties can sell for the same price and result in very different net proceeds depending on how these numbers stack up.

    If you are thinking about selling, you should know your net before you list, not when you are sitting at the closing table.

    ๐™ƒ๐™–๐™ซ๐™š ๐™ฆ๐™ช๐™š๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™จ? ๐™’๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ง๐™ช๐™ฃ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™ง๐™ค๐™ช๐™œ๐™ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™ž๐™จ ๐™ฌ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ ๐™”๐™Š๐™๐™ ๐™จ๐™ฅ๐™š๐™˜๐™ž๐™›๐™ž๐™˜ ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™ฅ๐™š๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™ฎ ๐™™๐™š๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ž๐™ก๐™จ? ๐™๐™š๐™–๐™˜๐™ ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ.

    ๐Ÿ“ฑ917-257-1584

  • One of the biggest misconceptions I see when pricing homes is the belief that every dollar spent on renovations automatically increases the value of the property. It doesn’t work that way.

    Some improvements consistently help resale value. Others were wonderful for your own enjoyment but do very little for the market. But here’s the truth-

    ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ.

    If you installed something very specific because it made you happy, that is perfectly fine. Homes are meant to be lived in and enjoyed. Just think of those choices as lifestyle upgrades, not necessarily financial investments.

    ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ข๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ฑ๐—ฑ ๐—ฉ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฒ

    ๐Ÿ”ธKitchen updates

    ๐Ÿ”ธBathroom renovations

    ๐Ÿ”ธRefinished hardwood floors

    ๐Ÿ”ธFresh neutral paint

    ๐Ÿ”ธLandscaping and curb appeal

    Many of these projects recover roughly 60 to 90 percent of their cost.

    ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ข๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ฑ๐—ฑ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฉ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฒ

    ๐Ÿ”นPools in many areas

    ๐Ÿ”นHighly customized kitchens

    ๐Ÿ”นLuxury upgrades beyond neighborhood standards

    ๐Ÿ”นVery personalized design choices

    These projects often return 30 to 50 percent of their cost.

    ๐—•๐—ผ๐˜๐˜๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ: ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ป๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€. ๐—๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜.

  • One of the easiest ways for a realtor to win a listing is to promise the highest price.Sometimes I simply refuse to do that.

    There have been many appointments where I sat down with a seller, reviewed the numbers, and told them something they did not want to hear. Occasionally that means I lose the listing. But I would rather lose the listing than price a home in a way that makes no sense for the market.

    When a home is dramatically overpriced, the result is usually the same. The seller becomes frustrated, the agent spends months working on something that cannot realistically sell, and the property eventually ends up selling for less than it might have if it had been priced correctly from the start.

    That is not good for you and it is not good for my reputation as someone who understands this market.When I prepare a pricing analysis, I always ask sellers to look carefully at the comparables I bring. Not just the homes that are for sale, but the homes that have actually sold. Active listings show what people hope to get. Sold properties show what buyers were actually willing to pay.

    There are situations where pricing slightly higher can make sense. When I represent a fiduciary such as an Executor or Trustee, there can be a responsibility to demonstrate that the property was properly exposed to the market to capture full value. In those cases a slightly higher starting price can sometimes be appropriate. But even then, the pricing still has to live in the realm of reality.

    My job is not to tell you what you want to hear.

    My job is to help you price your home in a way that gives it the best chance to sell well.

  • I see properties mispriced all the time, and very often theyโ€™re listed by agents who donโ€™t actually live and work in this area.

    There are real distinctions between Hamilton Beach, Old Howard Beach, New Howard Beach, and Lindenwood. When those differences are missed, pricing and marketing are off from day one.

    Iโ€™ve seen open houses scheduled in Hamilton Beach during high tide. Iโ€™ve seen houses advertised with the wrong zoned schools listed. Buyers notice these kinds of things immediately.

    You also need an agent that’s regularly available to show the property. I recently took over a listing that had been with an agent who lives nearly an hour away. Showings were scheduled around her availability instead of buyer demand. How do you think that works out?

    Local knowledge isnโ€™t just comps and contracts- itโ€™s living and breathing the neighborhood, down to the slice.