The Year of the Mega Deal November 25, 2006
Posted by Geri in commercial real estate, General, In The News, Long Island, New York, News, Real Estate, Uncategorized.add a comment
With another huge real estate portfolio on the block, Morris Sosnow’s estate has offered up 400,000 square feet of commercial space, most of it in Long Island’s Nassau County. This was certainly the year of the mega deal in New York, with the $5.4 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village so recently consummated. Though hardly in the same class, this promises to be another interesting transaction. If I were to venture a guess, I’d bet the going price is higher than $80-100 million suggested for the commercial properties. Being sold also are close to 600 co-op units, most of them in Queens.
Some of the space to be sold is Birchwood Plaza North and South, sitting on the periphery of the affluent community of Birchwood Park East in Jericho. With a relatively new Whole Foods Market, having replaced an aging Waldbaums as an anchor store and a sizable Marshall’s occupying space at the other end, this is some prime real estate.
For more of the story, read Dawn Wotapka Hardesty’s article in Long Island Business News.
Just In Time For A Christmas Miracle November 17, 2006
Posted by Geri in Dogs, family, feelings, General, Home, In The News, Long Island, News, Pets, Uncategorized.3 comments
There had to be divine intervention for two miracle pups rescued by Little Shelter on Long Island. Magic and Merlin, three week old mixed breed puppies born with severely cleft palates would have had no chance at survival without the intervention of the caring people at Little Shelter, one of the island’s oldest no kill facilities.
As so often happens when good samaritans hear about the plight of others, there was an outpouring of offers of assistance. They came from far and wide and included Plastic Surgeons, Veterinarians and the public at large. Reported in Newsday, they’re waiting for the dogs to be old enough for the first of multiple surgeries to set them on the path of hopefully long and happy lives. They will remain in my prayers.
How EZ Is It? Ask Eppraisal or Zillow October 31, 2006
Posted by Geri in General, Internet, News, Real Estate, Selling Your Home, Uncategorized.4 comments
With Zillow sitting in water hot enough to reach a rolling boil, another online appraisal service breaks the surface of the market in its beta stage. If one of Zillow’s problems was offering a finite price in their determination of value, Eppraisal with its huge range could be just as problematic. Zestimates were found to be so far off in many cases as to be worthless to a naive public. Eppraisal, on the other hand, based upon some observations on a very local level, is indeed in the ballpark when it comes to suggested valuations, but the ballpark is Yankee Stadium. It’s a little like trying to buy clothing for a woman, being told she’s somewhere in the range of 6 to 16. What size would you buy?
One of the big differences I see is Eppraisal’s offer of some information with an orientation of connecting the consumer with real estate professionals should a real life transaction loom somewhere in the foreseeable future. I’m interested to see where their business model takes them — and us.
I Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself October 28, 2006
Posted by Geri in blog, Bloggers, Blogging, General, Marketing, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling Your Home, Uncategorized.3 comments
Under the category “I couldn’t have said it better myself . . .” is this post from Seth Godin. I sat down to share it two days ago but sheer exhaustion forced me to temporarily put it on the back burner. I’ve been spending weeks unexpectedly acting as a general contractor, getting a home ready to market, and shopping for the necessary accoutrements to stage it for sale. The house was stuck in a time warp, with flocked wallpaper heralding your arrival into it’s archaic past. This project is in addition to a full load of other business in various stages of development. However, in our stagnant market in order to really serve our clients, we have to be very creative in our approach to selling their property.
But I digress . . . Seth’s very straightforward comments about how we interact with our clients and the impact it has on both them and our business reminds me of a technique we used many years ago when I was vice president of a sales and marketing company. We ran seminars all over the country and Canada, showing CEOs how to maximize their marketing dollars. Before these meetings we would phone their companies incognito and record the conversations to demonstrate how important the person answering the phone was to the financial well being of that company.
Grown men sat, head in hands, listening to the most appalling dialogues between their employees and us, or worse . . . they sat shifting in their chairs as time ticked slowly away while we were put on hold. Astoundingly these pregnant pauses sometimes lasted for four or five minutes. Bill, my boss, would then take out a crisp one hundred dollar bill and dramatically set it on fire as they reached out in horror trying to put out the blaze. When the room was once again still he would quietly tell them, “this is what you’re doing to your advertising dollars if you don’t train your people.
That challenge was made at least twenty-five years ago and nothing’s changed. If we’re trying to generate business but haven’t figured out how to nurture it once we have it, we defeat everyone in the process. The old adage “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” certainly applies.
It’s A Dog’s Life October 25, 2006
Posted by Geri in Dogs, family, General, Home, Pets, Real Estate, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
We all know that the real estate market is in the doldrums in much of the country. With houses stagnating in a constipated market, some real estate agents are beginning to wonder where their next sale will come from. Suggesting an interesting alternative, Glenn Roberts Jr. of Inman News exposes us to the world of Doggie Mansions.
In true consumer oriented fashion, Donald Gorbach, a veteran real estate broker in Palm Beach, Florida offers a wide range of custom homes for those princely pooches. Not to overlook the preferences of Fido’s owners, they’ve created a meditteranean Palm Beach style, a New England beach house and Casa Colonial, just a few of the many choices.
For all the dog lovers out there, it’s worth a look at this innovative site. If you’re thinking of buying a special home for your four legged friend and you don’t want your kids to be jealous, you might want to consider the 80 square foot mini-mansion.
Chartwell & The Bristal, It’s All About Seniors October 19, 2006
Posted by Geri in Assisted Living, family, General, In The News, Long Island, New York, Senior Housing.2 comments
Chartwell Senior Housing REIT, with it’s announced transactions today having a total value of approximately $850 million when completed would make it Canada’s number one operator of senior housing facilities.
What makes this significant to Long Islanders is the proposed acquisition of the five properties under The Bristal umbrella. These upscale senior assisted living facilities, opened between 2001 to 2006, attend to the physical needs of an aging population while celebrating their independence of spirit. Each of the communities from the north to the south shores of Nassau County have their own personality and style.