My Latest Foreclosure Sale I closed on another Foreclosure yesterday. Went into contract on February 7th and closed on March 14th. My Mortgage Guy (Rich Vicinanza at Homestead Funding) got this to close in 35 days. Most banks are taking between 60 and 90 days to close anything. If we used any one else we would have not met the closing date set by the bank that owned the home. My Latest Foreclosure Sale It also only to 3 days to have fully executed contracts, another plus thanks Tony Tripodi (Attorney) Together we seem to have the knack of getting difficult deals to close. Thank You Tony and Rich My Latest Foreclosure Sale   03/15/2013

FORECLOSURES-Can you get them to close? I just closed on my 32nd Foreclosure since I got into Real Estate. One of the reasons for this success is I have put together a great team. I use an Attorney who is not scared of the one way contract that the banks Attorneys through at the buyer. He understands that you can make it happen if you understand the rules. The other side of this team is the Mortgage Broker/Bank. My guy can get a 203K Mortgage if needed or if the home is in fair condition we can do a Normal FHA Loan. If the client is putting down a big enough deposit and his credit is good we do a Conventional Loan. And best of all we close very quickly. We closed on this one in 6 weeks. FORECLOSURES-Can you get them to close?   03/15/2013

  Marketing Tips 3, Westchester County Real Estate.   My next installment of easy marketing ideas to get you started.   7. E-mails, we all like to use them. They are fast and convenient, but they require constant monitoring. Put your e-mail address on everything you do and check your mailbox 2-3 times a day.   8. You should market yourself as the expert in your area. This requires constant direct mail contact with the information take keeps your potential clients up to date on what is going on in their neighborhood.   9. All your marketing should have a point you want to get across. Kept this in mind when selecting something to mail or E-mail.   Marketing Tips 3, Westchester County Real Estate. Check out the previous 2!!     Marketing Tips 2, Westchester County Real Estate   Marketing T... 03/15/2013

Marketing Tips 2, Westchester County Real Estate Another installment of easy marketing ideas to get you started. 4. Think of your large postcards as oversized business card with ten times the impact if done right. 5. Always find your target market and make sure you get the right message across. 6. Market yourself as who you are. You will appeal to people who want to work with someone like you. It will make for a better match with the subject. Marketing Tips 2, Westchester County Real Estate Check out the previous tip!!     Marketing Tips, Westchester County Real Estate 03/15/2013

Marketing Tips, Westchester County Real Estat These are just some of the things                      I do to get myself started;                      1. You should have your picture on everything you do.          I have people walk up to me all the time who know me          from my blogs and ads that have my picture in them.         Also you should update it at least          every 24 months if not more frequently. 2. Have your advertising materials done professionally. This will illustrate your success and if you are a new agent this will give you instant credibility. 3. Most successful businesses have some kind of brochure depicting their business. You should have one also describing yourself and your company. MORE TIPS TO FOLLOW!   Marketing Tips, Westchester County Real Estate 03/14/2013

Where are LAND SALES going for 2013? Last year we had 55 land sales in all of Westchester County. Right now there is 273 ACTIVE LAND LISTINGS in Westchester County.We have already had 9 SALES this year. There are 28 PARCELS in CONTRACT. Of these 6 are PENDING and almost ready to CLOSE. If they all close (and some won't) we should pass last years SOLDS by October or sooner. This could be a great year for LAND!!! Where are LAND SALES going for 2013? Call Tom At 845-590-5488   03/13/2013

Why Should You Hire a Professional Real Estate Agent? A well qualified, competent real estate agent will help you navigate the countless number of decisions that arise when buying and selling a home.An agent provides value to the homeowner in many ways:   They pay for all the marketing and advertising costs. They add experience and expertise in all aspects of the sales process including marketing, financing, negotiations and more.  They co-ordinate all of the showings that take place on your home. They bring a system of known and trusted real estate professionals. If your agent doesn't have the answer then he or she most likely knows someone who does. They always have your best interests in mind so you always have someone on your side. They can handle and advise you on all price and con... 03/13/2013

Ever sit in your office on up time and wonder why? AND THEN IT HAPPENS. Well every once in a while the phone rings and you get that buyer that wants to go out and see the house right then and there and actually buys the house you show them. I have seen this on and off for the past 17 years. I do a lot of up-time. I talk to some agents and the ones that have been in real estate for a long sometimes don't do up-time. And then I tell them that I sold another home to a customer that called in to see a house that day they start to wonder why they don't do up-time. Has anyone else had this kind of success with up-time? Ever sit in your office on up time and wonder why?   03/11/2013

Land sales making a come back in the town of Yorktown.Already this year we have closed on 2 Parcels and have 3 in contract. All 10 sides in these deals are with Coldwell Banker. And my office has 7 of themand I have 6 of them. Last year there was only 2 sales all year in Yorktown. This could be a 250% increase in sales. We presently have some nicely priced land on the market. Give me a call at 845-590-5488 Land sales making a come back in the town of Yorktown.   03/11/2013

My strategy for the Spring Market!! In years past mine has always been to get lots of listings. Sometimes as many 60. I think 30 to 35 is good now.But now I have the feeling that if I had a constant flow of BUYER LEADS I might be better off. When I have a lot of listing my cell phone use to ring off the wall. But lately even though I have listings it was not ringing. I believe that a better buyer pool is going to be the answer to maintaining my level of business in the future. One of the ways I am doing this is by doing Internet ads that do not advertise a particular property but more of a style and price range. Something like "Homes in Westchester County, 3Br's under $400,000.00" Since I have been doing this I get more Qualified Leads, and I am not looking at just showing them the home... 03/11/2013

Is it really time to turn back the clocks? I am so ready for turning back the clocks!! It means I can show homes after 5:00 and not have to only show clients homes on the weekend when they can come in the daylight. Now instead of showing homes to 4 or 5 different people a week I can show 8 or 9 people homes. This could mean an increase in production for the 5 months until we get hit with the summer time blues. I can't wait! Is it really time to turn back the clocks?   03/08/2013

Great way to start spring, SNOW and More SNOW!!!! I hope the snow has had its last Hurrah. Could have been two days of snow, but the weather guys were wrong again. THANK GOD!!!! Where else can you get a job where if you get it wrong 82% of the time, they promote you to the next biggest city and get a PROMOTION? Some day you they may even make anchor on the nightly news. But the day you loose your good looks they will kiss your but good bye. Good thing no matter how ugly use realtors get they NEVER let us go!!!!!  Great way to start spring, SNOW and More SNOW!!!! 03/08/2013

When can you buy another home after selling your home in a SHORT SALE?A lot of people are deciding, now that I sold my home in a short sale maybe I should buy one for a lot less than I paid for the one I sold. Well sounds like a good deal for you, but the banking industry has other thoughts. If you sold a home that was an FHA Mortgage, you will not most likely qualify for another FHA Mortgage. You would have to go Conventional. This means if you put down 10% but less than 20% you would not qualify for 4 Years from the sale date of your Short Sale. If you put down 20% or more you only need to wait 2 Years. If you were in default on your Conventional Mortgage when you sold your home, you cannot get an FHA Mortgage. So to sum it up, if you get your credit back on track and wait the prescri... 03/04/2013

Well it's Saturday, a little cold out but not raining. On Up Time (8:45), hoping for an Up Call. Oh, (9:22) got one, now what? Well, made an Appointment to show them the house they called on. Now, should I find more homes they might like based on the one they called on? Or should I wait and see if they like this one? But then if they don't like the one they called on, there won't be time to look for something else to show them today. I would have to make another appointment with them to meet me another day. Oh boy another Up Call (10:48). This one has a list of homes they want to see and are willing to come in the office to discuss them and any other ones I think might be good for them. Maybe I will give the first buyers a list of other homes so they can decide if they might want to see... 03/02/2013

We need large parcels of vacant land in Westchester County!!! I have a cash buyer for Vacant Land over 40 Acres in Westchester County. It needs to be buildable for 20 or more Single Family Homes or 30 Condos. We will get all approvals to prove buildabilty at our expense.  Please contact me at  845-590-5488Thomas Santore "Real Estate From The Ground Up"  We need large parcels of vacant land in Westchester County!!! 02/28/2013

  Things have really remained great-we have 30 (3-4br) homes on the market right now between $275,000 and $400,000.   If you are looking for a 3-4 bed room home in the Cortlandt Manor area now is the time to buy. There has not been this many 3-4 Br homes in this price in the Lakeland, Yorktown and Hendrick Hudson School Districts of Cortlandt Manor   Interest Rates are still fabulous right now (under 3.5%) and if things pick up in the spring these deals will no longer exist. Please call me to view these great priced homes in Cortlandt Manor, Westchester County New York 10567.   DON’T HESITATE!!!! CALL NOW!!!!   Tom Santore   845-590-5488   02/27/2013

JUMP OFF THAT FENCE! OR IT WILL HURT REALLY BAD!!!!!!! See the graphic below!!!Just when you thought it was going to get easier, FHA troughs a curve ball at you! PMI is going up making it harder to qualify. The duration of PMI is going up from an already crazy 5Years to I don't know what yet!!! But I will let you know. If you are waiting for things to get easier to finance a home, you can not wait any longer!!!     CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AT 845-590-5488 JUMP OFF THAT FENCE! OR IT WILL HURT REALLY BAD!!!!!!! 02/27/2013

I invited one of my colleagues to Active Rain just a little while ago. She immediately got some of her Profile done. Then she started writing her first blog. She is one of the more energetic agents I know. I am sure it will be a great blog!   I am on a mission to get as many of my colleagues to join because I think we need to get our stories and adventures out there. I think this is the best way I know to do that!!   02/23/2013

UPTIME--The UPS and DOWNS of Working with a Fellow Agent on Uptime Working with another Agent on Uptime can be the only thing that keeps you from being bored to death. But when the phones get very busy the only way you can keep up with the calls is to have another Agent help. Also when you get an up call and are on the phone for a few minutes the other person cal handle the calls to make appointments. Often we get a Walk-In and now you could be tied up for and hour or even more if they want to see something. Opps my three hours are up.Time to show my other Clients a few homes!   UPTIME--The UPS and DOWNS of Working with a Fellow Agent on Uptime 02/23/2013

Things have really remained great-we have 35 (3-4br) homes on the market right now between $275,000 and $400,000. If you are looking for a 3-4 bed room home in the Yorktown Heights area now is the time to buy. There has not been this many 3-4 Br homes in this price in the Yorktown & Lakeland School Districts of Yorktown Heights. Interest Rates are still fabulous right now (under 3.5%) and if things pick up in the spring these deals will no longer exist. Please call me to view these great priced homes in Yorktown Heights, Westchester County New York 10598. DON’T HESITATE!!!! CALL NOW!!!! Tom Santore 845-590-5488 02/22/2013