Guilderland New Construction   53 Gipp Rd. Albany, NY 12203 First Floor: 2 Car Garage, Dining Room, Kitchen, 1/2 Bath, Full Basement, Living Room, Wood... More Info   Owning a home is nearly everyone's dream and realizing that dream is anything but easy. For starters, the entire home buying process is enormously complex. If that weren't enough, real estate agents have traditionally represented sellers, not buyers. I offer buyer representation - looking out for your needs - while walking you through every step of the home buying maze. A Realtor® who works for you. Provide daily updates on new listings and homes of special interest Prepare, present and negotiate purchase offers for you Provide information on home inspectors, lenders, attorneys and other professionals Guide you through the... 05/11/2009

Guilderland New Construction - Lot 3 Westlyn Lot 3 Westlyn Guilderland, NY 12203 New Construction Homes to be built in excellent Guilderland Location, close proximity to... More Info   Owning a home is nearly everyone's dream and realizing that dream is anything but easy. For starters, the entire home buying process is enormously complex. If that weren't enough, real estate agents have traditionally represented sellers, not buyers. I offer buyer representation - looking out for your needs - while walking you through every step of the home buying maze. A Realtor® who works for you. Provide daily updates on new listings and homes of special interest Prepare, present and negotiate purchase offers for you Provide information on home inspectors, lenders, attorneys and other professionals Gu... 05/11/2009

Thursday, June 4, 2009  –  Thursday, August 13, 2009 Albany's free outdoor summer concert series celebrates 20 years! Albany Riverfront Park at the Corning Preserve Thursdays, 5pm-8pm. 05/04/2009

Saturday, May 9, 2009  –  Sunday, May 10, 2009 This highly anticipated spring festival celebrates its 61st year in 2009 as over 200,000 tulip bulbs blossom into a sea of colors just in time for Mother's Day. Historic events take place annually during this three day festival including the street scrubbing on State Street and the Tulip Queen Coronation. 05/04/2009

The IDA Directory allows you to search for IDA programs using multiple criteria. http://www.cfed.org/ida/directory/ 05/04/2009

John Kennedy said, "We must use time as a tool, not a crutch."...But he never told us how to do it... I was driving home today from New Jersey and I was thinking about everything that I had to do when I got home...It was then that I started to get overwhelmed...I paused for a moment and thought to myself...Why do I feel the way that I do right now?? The answer to my question hit me...I am poor at TIME MANAGEMENT...I need to learn how to manage my day better...Do I time block...Yes, but is it effective...Obviously not!!! So I came home and Googled "the key to successful time management" I figured that was an appropriate term... I came across this GREAT article by Bobby L. Butler, in the intro there was a quote that hit me smack dab in-between the eyes..."Time is what we want most, but wh... 04/30/2009

The bill provides an additional $500 million to existing USDA Rural Housing programs.  The RHS provides both a guaranteed loan program and a direct housing loan program for those meeting the program’s eligibility criteria. The direct loan program will receive $270 million while $230 million will be allocated for unsubsidized guaranteed loans. It has been reported that this level of funding would provide for an additional 192,000 homeowners. 04/07/2009

Division A, Title XII of the bill provides $2,000,000,000 in additional funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).  The NSP was created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–289) to provide grants through the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) to states and localities to address the problems that can be created when whole neighborhoods are decimated by foreclosures. The funds can be used to purchase, manage, repair and resell foreclosed and abandoned properties. In addition, the funds can also be used by states and localities to establish financing methods for the purchase and redevelopment of foreclosed properties.  After purchase the homes must be used to assist individuals and families with incomes at or below 120% of area media... 04/07/2009

The bill reinstates last year's 2008 loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae loans.  These limits were equal to the greater of 125% of the 2008 local area median home price or $271,050 for FHA and $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie, with an overall maximum cap of  $729,750.  For the few areas where the 2009 limits were higher, the higher limits will apply.  In addition, the bill includes language providing the HUD Secretary with the discretion, if warranted, to increase the loan limit for any “sub-area”, i.e.an area smaller than a county. The Secretary's discretion is again limited by the $729,750 cap. These 2009 limits will expire December 31, 2009. The inclusion of these loan limit provisions in the final bill is a victory for homeowners, buyers and Realtors.  While these new l... 04/07/2009

The homebuyer tax credit is one of 10 key provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama into law on Feb. 17, 2009. The bill provides for a $8,000 tax credit that would be available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. The credit does not require repayment. Most of the mechanics of the credit will be the same as under the 2008 rules: the credit will be claimed on a tax return to reduce the purchaser's income tax liability. If any credit amount remains unused, then the unused amount will be refunded as a check to the purchaser. 04/07/2009

I was recently introduced to the President of iZoca, a new networking site located convienently at www.iZoca.com.  We all probably use numerous networking sites all established for different purposes.  But with the busy schedules that most of us keep its extremely hard to keep up with them all.  So I am sure that signing up for another networking site is not high on your April To-Do list.  But I have to say that after speaking with Jeff the iZoca president there is real promise in functionality of iZoca.  I currently use AR, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook as my primary online networking resources.  But what I have found lacking in all four is the "real world" use of each.  I think they all have excellent online use, AR and LinkedIn being my favorites. iZoca gives real world groups a for... 04/06/2009

I love Albany NY Student housing. While it can be tough on  properties renting to college students can be a very profitable side of the rental property business. However, as a student rental landlord you need to have a general knowledge of Albany codes. One in particular is the Grouper law that does not allow more then three unrelated people to live in the same unit. If the residents are members of a traditional family then more then three people can occupy a unit.  Here is the  section of the code that applies.  Section 375-7 of the zoning ordinance FAMILY Shall mean one, two, or three persons occupying a dwelling unit or four or more persons occupying a dwelling unit and living as a traditional family or the functional equivalent of a traditional family It shall be presumptive evidenc... 04/03/2009

Take a look: http://www.albany-ny-homes.com/listing-split-level-briar-ave.-campus-area-4.html   03/30/2009

I met with a couple of downstate investors today who said they were fed up with the inexperienced real estate"kids" they had spoken to about purchasing investment property. It made me remember what I have always told buyers. Don't ask your agent how many homes they have sold. Ask them how many homes or buildings they have owned themselves.  I work with investors all the time and I am active in the market myself. Here is a home I purchased this week. No I didn't have any inside line on this. I purchased it straight out of the Multiple Listing Service just like any buyer could have. It illustrates there is still money to be made in Albany NY Real Estate. These are actual numbers in a student rental section of Albany. Purchase price $110,000 Taxes-$4586 (property is assessed at $158,000 so... 03/19/2009

If you don't already have plans in place, there is no time to delay. The time to get ready is now. Clear the clutter. Go through each room. Decide what should stay and what can go. If you haven't used it in two years, it is time to find it a new home. Throw it away, sell it or give it away, but get it out of your way. When getting ready to sell your house, less is more. Rent a Dumpster. Call Big Brothers/Big Sisters for a donation pick up. Hire an organizer. They can help you detach from the material things in your life that are holding you back. Do what you can to reduce what you have. Set up an area in your home - or even in each room - where you can start packing. You're moving. Start the packing now. If you have a box in the corner of a room, you can effortlessly add a few things ea... 03/19/2009

What should come first: Affording a home goes beyond being able to pay the mortgage. You have to have enough money set aside for a down payment, closing costs, moving costs, and the initial costs of living in the home (e.g. new furniture and paint). So before you do anything, "take a hard look at your finances and figure out what you can afford," said John M. Robbins, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. As a general guideline, it's best not to spend more than 2-1/2 times your income on a home. Your total housing payments should not exceed 28% of your gross income. Total debt payments, meanwhile, should come in under 36%. That means payments on all loans, including your mortgage loan, school loans, auto loans and credit card debt. Next, shop around for pre-approval: Approach at... 03/19/2009

There's been a lot of talk lately about loan modifications for homeowners facing foreclosure, a discussion that reached a crescendo on Wednesday when the White House announced details of its "Making Home Affordable" plans. A woman I'll call Mags (we're preserving her anonymity) had heard the talk too. The suburban Virginia woman in her 60s is homebound, recovering from ankle surgery. Her husband has recently declared bankruptcy. Three months ago, she started contacting her lender to ask for help. She ran into a wall of busy signals and vague answers. So when she heard about a private company that said it could help work with her bank to modify her loan and save her home, she began to investigate. That's how she landed in my inbox. "How can we tell that this company is legitimate, will d... 03/11/2009

First-time purchasers get a tax credit windfall if they buy before December. There's a nice windfall for some homebuyers in the economic stimulus bill awaiting President Obama's signature on Tuesday. First-time buyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 - or 10% of the home's value, whichever is less - on their 2008 or 2009 taxes. A big plus is that the credit is refundable, meaning tax filers see a refund of the full $8,000 even if their total tax bill - the amount of witholding they paid during the year plus anything extra they had to pony up when they filed their returns - was less than that amount. But there has been a lot of confusion over this provision. Adam Billings of Knoxville, Tenn. wrote to CNNMoney.com asking: "I will qualify as a first-time home buyer, and I am currently set t... 03/11/2009

For idea number two let's stay on business cards.  Business cards, even the most jazzed up business cards are very inexpensive.  There is so much competition between business card producers that you can always find a deal.  To that extent, many professionals do not take the importance of business cards seriously.  I recently met a young woman who sells real estate for Re/Max.  When she handed me her card I immediately felt texture on the back of the card.  Intrigued I flipped the card over and found a profoundly simple, yet incredibly memorable gold and silver embossed sticker that read "Don't Forget, I Always Appreciate Your Referrals!"  Simple and effective I knew two things about this woman: one she is dedicated, because she had spent the money and taken the time to "Trick Out" her b... 02/17/2009

I am always looking for ways to stay top of mind with my current clients.  A member of my BNI chapter, Crossroads Connections in Delmar, NY, mentioned something he does with every client.  This gentleman buys business card magnets from Office Max or Staples, attaches his business card and places a magnet on the refrigerator of everyone of his clients. Buying the magnets and "assembling" them yourself is much cheaper than buying Business Card magnets pre-made.  The assembly process is extremely easy and the idea is effective genius.  Many of you associated with a large real estate company may already have this tool at your disposal and for those of you that use Business Card magnets, good for you.  For those of you who have never heard of this idea or have thought they are too expensive ... 02/16/2009