Which town in Westchester? Please help!! (Bedford, Tarrytown: condo, co-ops, lawyer)

[newroc]

Taxes for a $650 k house is around $15 to 18K

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by newroc

Taxes for a $650 k house is around $15 to 18K

That varies on the town and on the house. Newer houses tend to have much higher tax rates. My house is probably worth in the 900K to a million range and our taxes are $12K (before STAR reduction), whereas newer houses with the same square footage and property in my area have taxes of 18K to 25K. Fortunately, I love old houses!

[philm72]

Hi - If anyone on this thread is interested of a place on the water - may I suggest you check out Croton-on-Hudson. Specifically - townhomes in Half Moon Bay. This community is right on the Hudson, with a variety of townhomes. We've lived here for 1.5 yrs and love it. So much to do with nature, easy shopping, simple and enjoyable town center. Our neighbors are friendly and quiet. Low taxes (less than ~$5k with STAR reduction). 40min to NYC by train. Jitney from our community to train (3min).

We are having to move to do a job relocation - starting in Jan 08. You can review our townhome here: www.philipmoffett.com/p169156524/

In NY, all real estate transactions require a RE lawyer (who write up the actual contract btw buyer/seller). When, if you decide to buy, do consider to leave out an agent, this can allow you to purchase a home for less (since the seller could discount it) This is our current intention, since we need to get moving to California.

Best of luck in either case! philm72@yahoo.com

Philip

[westchester]

First off If you are buying a Home you are absolutely crazy not to hire a qualified "BUYERS AGENT "...They work directly for You and are paid for by the seller. You are making one of the biggest decisions of your life and your suggestion is to do it buy yourself..............Most first time buyers don't even know where in a house you would expect to find a Hot Water heater or a septic tank , or how to find out if a bath room in a basement is legal or not,or if an addition is legal, etc................. But Your great idea is to do it yourself.......... If a Seller has a contract with a Agent they have to pay a commission any way...............P.S. Since You think f.s.b.o. is such a great deal how are you doing selling your home by yourself................................

[brittlestar08]

I say go for it... DO the F.S.B.O why not... don't listen to the hype of biggest purchase ect. its a scare tactic. I've worked with buyers agents and although there is the occational ok realtor out there most are not informative at all and really all just want the sale ASAP. No one is looking outfor your best interest but YOU. if you are going to hire one you nay as well use a buyers agent. most don't know a thing about whats legal or not or what to look for as far a as septic is concerned. also don't EVER use the realtors recomended inspector. they usually but not always in with each other. it is beneficial for a realtor to have a home look good ona report and so there are inspectors out there that turn a blind eye or omit needed info. the thing to do is look for a good inspector and have three send you an example of one good and one failed home inspection. Just read it. if your not in construction and you understand it forget it. if its real technical and detailed and you have troubl understanding everything that usually the most inclusive inspection. but thats just a rule of thumb. best is to have a good installer look at the inspection and tell you an approx. cost and if an inspection is BS or what. go for it. and cut out the middle man. its really no big deal once you get into it all and just have a good lawyer. hell take care that your not getting into trouble. hope that helped.

[philm72]

I see your point - why not use a Buyer's agent? In NY, given the req for a lawyer to handle contracts, agents in-general aren't necessarily needed. I agree a Buyer's agent is advantageous, esp. if they lend information that new buyers need. However, exp Buyers realize they can purchase homes under market by 1-2% (of sales price, not listing) by choosing an FSBO. Also, go ahead with an Buyer's agent, they still can save $$ buying from an FSBO.

Statistically FSBO sales are very low, unless the seller/buyer know each other. Also, many FSBO's can inform all the REAL details of a particular home, rather than a conversation btw Buyer/Seller Agents. I'm more than happy to discuss all the benefits of said home, that most agents would never know about.

With just a simple posting on Craigslist and excellent pics on my website (see my previous post) - I've gotten 3 calls in a week. 1 of which checked out the place and praised it's staging. They are buyers looking for a deal, knowing w/o agents, they get under market value (ie. equity at closing). The days of realtors are numbered for the more technically savvy buyer.

btw - I'm actually a RE broker in Colorado

Hope that helps!

[westchester]

I have been doing Real Estate for myself for over 15 years, and I can tell you what the cost of a house should sell for usually within 50 - K without even going inside to look.....If you don't think that someone with knowledge in their field can help you, well than good luck.....So if you are not going to pay a Broker than why pay the lawyer. In New York you do not need a Lawyer as was stated earlier, so why bother, Oh yeah that was stated by the same person who said, you should buy f.s.b.o.....Just curious , since their are so many people who think that they can get such a great deal on f.s.b.o , where are these people coming up with all of their comps to justify what they are asking or better yet what you are willing to pay...............P.S> I went to look @ a house 4 months ago to purchase, and after some research found out that they had an illegal dormer on ND floor with a full bath, they told me that they bought house 3 years ago from a f.s.b.o...............well they had get the entire thing ripped out in order to get a C.of O........House lost K in value..........................plus expenses to remove dormer, and still no new offers................I am not saying every agent is good, you must interview a few till you find 1 that meets your criteria............

[MikeNY]

Originally Posted by westchester

I have been doing Real Estate for myself for over 15 years, and I can tell you what the cost of a house should sell for usually within 50 - K without even going inside to look.....If you don't think that someone with knowledge in their field can help you, well than good luck.....So if you are not going to pay a Broker than why pay the lawyer. In New York you do not need a Lawyer as was stated earlier, so why bother, Oh yeah that was stated by the same person who said, you should buy f.s.b.o.....Just curious , since their are so many people who think that they can get such a great deal on f.s.b.o , where are these people coming up with all of their comps to justify what they are asking or better yet what you are willing to pay...............P.S> I went to look @ a house 4 months ago to purchase, and after some research found out that they had an illegal dormer on ND floor with a full bath, they told me that they bought house 3 years ago from a f.s.b.o...............well they had get the entire thing ripped out in order to get a C.of O........House lost K in value..........................plus expenses to remove dormer, and still no new offers................I am not saying every agent is good, you must interview a few till you find 1 that meets your criteria............

I always look forward to the FSBO's calling me telling me their house is for sale, these are the same people that claim they don't need a Realtor... I would say the old 80% of FSBO's give up and use an agent has moved up to 95% in my market. I have no problem with someone trying to sell on their own and "hopefully" save money but that rarely happens. They just have to stop with this negative attitude as if they just "pulled one over" on agents and sold on their own where they ended up cutting off their nose to spite their face when they see how much they actually (didn't save).

I would say only 10-15% of the buyers out there look at FSBO's, the rest work with agents who never show them the FSBO and these buyers have no interest in looking at a FSBO.

I recall one FSBO told me about how they sold their house on their own, they got real close to asking, after they patted themselves on their backs I told them I sold a house smaller and on less land and 1 mile from them for $50,000 more. You should have seen the look on their face... they had no idea how to price their home and a buyer that had no agent took advantage of that poor FSBO, that is disgusting and why a FSBO needs to be careful.

No one "needs" a travel agent, even more so with all the web sites these days but I prefer to pay a little more to get the skill and knowledge of someone who has been in the travel business a while and will prevent me from going somewhere I may end up not liking or costing me way too much money.

In this current real estate market the need for Realtors has increased greatly and shocking to many people not in the know, commissions have also gone up.

I love helping my clients - my buyers and sellers, I enjoy it. They appreciate and see value in my service.

philm72 said: The days of realtors are numbered for the more technically savvy buyer.

How wrong you are... with the massive amount of information on the net, how come there are still libraries? with all the shopping on net? why are there a record number of malls, new malls, new stores? The net changes nothing but makes a good Realtor even better. Information helps you get better at what you do, not become something you are not.

[brittlestar08]

Originally Posted by westchester

I have been doing Real Estate for myself for over 15 years, and I can tell you what the cost of a house should sell for usually within 50 - K without even going inside to look.....

well there it is folks, let me get this straight. you can guestimate a homes value without going in? sounds like a Realtor to me. I think thats the point and you made it very well. Its not rocket science. If you want FSBO try it. It can't hurt. Just be realistic what your home would sell for. AND DO CHECK OUT THE INTERIOR SO YOU CAN MAKE AN EDUCATED ESTIMATE. NOT DOING SO IS JUST STUPID.

[brittlestar08]

Originally Posted by MikeNY

I recall one FSBO told me about how they sold their house on their own, they got real close to asking, after they patted themselves on their backs I told them I sold a house smaller and on less land and 1 mile from them for $50,000 more. You should have seen the look on their face... they had no idea how to price their home and a buyer that had no agent took advantage of that poor FSBO, that is disgusting and why a FSBO needs to be careful.

Hmmnnn... anyone catch this hypocrytical statement. You say that a buyer basically stole this home right from under this seller feet and you use DISGUSTING to discribe the buyers actions. However, in the SAME sentence with the SAME seller you say that you sold a smaller home on a smaller lot 1 mile down the road for $50,000 more. I ask you sir, which is more DISGUSTING? This means that the buyer in your example overpaid by 50K and got ripped.

I also find it surprising/amusing that you (a realtor) actually compare realtors to travel agents I guess you are right. a travel agent also takes a commission before you get to go on your trip and here too there is no refunds.

Here we go...!