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Sullivan County NY Homebuyer Dream Program

Homebuyer Dream Program

Starting July 2019, eligible home buyers may receive up to $14,500 through participating financial institutions. Funds may be used for down payment and/or closing costs. Eligible participants:

Complete a homebuyer counseling program
Are first-time homebuyers
Meet household income guidelines based on where you purchase
Purchase a home in New York
Purchase an eligible property
1-4 family; or a manufactured home permanently affixed to a foundation
Be under contract to purchase a home at time of application
Show evidence of a minimum of $1,000 equity contribution
Own and occupy the home for 5 years.
You must earn less than 73,000 a year family income for a family of three.
Sullivan County NY income caps at 73K
This is a credit. The money is yours.
This can be used on an FHA, VA, USDA or Conventional loan.

Click Here to search for FHA eligible Sullivan County Homes

FHA loan is one of your options

FHA loans are issued by private lenders, including banks, credit unions and online lenders — but they’re guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency. That guarantee, which protects lenders against losses if you default, means borrowers who may not have great credit or who don’t have a big down payment have an easier time qualifying.

A lot of first-time homebuyers opt for FHA loans, but you don’t need to be a first-time buyer to get one. (However you do need to be a first time home buyer to receive the credit.) Any borrower can benefit from the easier qualifying process, as long as you’re buying a house or a multifamily residence where you’ll live most of the time. You need a credit score of at least 580, and you will need to put down 3.5%. Private mortgage insurance (PMI) will also be needed.

So if you have a credit score higher than 580, and make less than 73K a year, with interest rates at around 4%, and 15K in closing costs covered, it really has never been cheaper or easier to buy a house. Call me today for more info on how I can get you out the endless cycle of renting. You can buy a house with less money than what most landlords are asking for. (First month, last month and one month security) Click on the link on this page to search for houses in that FHA sweet spot in Sullivan County (110K to 250K) And then give me a call. I can help you with all the details.

43 Sold Properties Reported in the Sullivan County MLS

The market is undoubtedly heating up. It has been a busy summer, and now as we get into September, all those deals that were put together throughout the summer are heading to the closing table. In the last 10 days, there were 43 sold homes reported in the Sullivan County MLS. That is by far the most I have seen in a 10 day stretch since early 2008.

I suppose its fitting that I am writing this on the anniversary of Lehamn Brothers filing for Chapter 11 nine years ago. It has been a long slow climb, but now all the signs are pointing to a real estate market rebound. Prices here in Sullivan County have not started to go up yet, but interest and volume have, and with that prices are sure to follow. With interest rates low, right now is a good time to buy.

Click Here for the link to all the sold homes in the last 10 days in the Sullivan County MLS

Five Things to Never Say When Buying a House

Five Things to Never Say When Buying a House

Sullivan County Sellers

I do my best to make sure a seller is not at home when a buyer comes to look. In fact I insist that be the case when I list a house here in Sullivan County NY. When the owners are there, a prospective buyer feels like a guest. And it is difficult to imagine yourself "at home" in a property when you are busy feeling like a guest.

There have been many polls and studies done to corroborate this, but it seems that fairly often when I arrive with a prospective buyer, invariably the door is opened by a cheerful, smiling homeowner.

It is a delicate matter to traipse through someone's personal space. Taste is an individual concept, and many times a casual comment can hurt someone's feelings or reveal something that can hurt you in negotiations down the road.

So if you end up in the situation where you are viewing a home with the homeowner present, these are the five no-nos that if done, can put you at a disadvantage.

1) I can't wait to rearrange, move, rip out etc. A certain amount of renovation is expected, but you have to keep in mind that more often than not, the house you are looking at has a truckload of memories built up. That leopard print living room is where the Smith's had a decade of Holiday mornings and other special life moments. I have seen many sellers take a hard stance on price for personal reasons. You want the sellers to like you. For them to like you, you need them to think you like what they like.

2) Why are you selling? This one is a bigger one than you would think. And it is a very common question. I guess buyers feel it is a good ice breaker question, so it seems to be the fall back one. But often the reason they are selling is not necessarily a happy one. Change is hard for people. And selling the family homestead is often a big change. Many times the reasons are innocuous, like a job change or simply up or down sizing. But more often than not it is a hardship that necessitates the sale. Some sellers will bristle at the questions, and others will open up and pour out their issues. Either way, it can make for an uncomfortable moment.

3) This is my dream house! Or "Its perfect!" Or any variety that lets the sellers know how much you like the house. Look I'm not saying be dishonest or that there can't be open negations and everything has to be cloak and dagger, but why put yourself at a disadvantage. Every one hundred dollars borrowed in a mortgage is actually over three hundred over a thirty year mortgage. These negotiation tactics can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.

4) I am approved for X amount. Same principle as number three. Saying you are approved for more than your offer can put you at a disadvantage for obvious reasons, but playing the "I am only approved for X amount so that is all I can offer" can also put you at a disadvantage. It can make seller nervous if they think you are maxing out the amount you can borrow.

5) You have a lovely home, but it is not for us because.. Again this is an over sharing moment. In recent polls, it was determined that 90% of home buyers knew a house wasn't for them within the first five minutes of being in the home. But you never know. Perhaps seller will drop the price in a few months, and suddenly changing the green shag carpet is now in the budget. A pleasant good bye is all that is necessary.

That is why having a good real estate broker is important. They can shield you from pushy sellers, or seller's agents, and guide you through the tour. Small mistakes can cost you thousands of dollars.

Sullivan County Tax Auction Approaching

Sullivan County NY Real Estate Sullivan County NY Tax Auction is Wednesday June 12th at 10 AM at the Ramada Sullivan Hotel in Rock Hill NY. Auction begins at 10 AM. Sullivan County NY Tax Auction (Properties available for online vewing after May 1.)

It is spring in Sullivan County, with it comes the greening of the tees and lawns, and the different yellows of the daffodils and the forsythia. But there is a different yellow that also comes in May. It is the NYS Tax Auction signs. Every year our county takes possession of a few hundred properties via tax foreclosure. The owners did not pay their property tax for three years, and so the county takes ownership.

Tax liens take precedent over any other lien, and so a bank with a mortgage lien will have no control over the county, unless they pony up the back taxes. (And very often that happens. You will see ninth hour rushing around by banks to pay taxes on a property so they themselves can try to recoup some of their loses.) However once May 1st hits, owners are out of luck. While many states, (and some NY counties) allow owners to recoup their properties right up to auction day, Sullivan County has a cut off of the first of the month. After that the only way to get your property back is to bid at it like everyone else.

That is why the list of tax properties become avallable online on May 1st. A list of all Sullivan County NY tax auction properties can be found here. (As of May 1)

By law, the county can only recoup what is owed on the property, (plus fees and fines.) Anything more than that will go to the previous owner (or the secondary lien holder.). However the county has no vested interest in getting the highest and best for the property. It is a no minimum auction, so you can see some properties going for pennies on the dollar. But more times than not, if something is going for cheap, there is a reason. Many of these properties have sat empty for years. On some the banks have determined they are not worth paying the taxes on. It is very rare to get a property at a tax auction that doesn't have some pretty serious issues.

Tax auction bidding is not for the amateur. More times than not, the properties on the block will have some pretty big drawbacks, and a handful will be downright useless, "landlocked or swampy acreage, condemned houses with environmental issues, etc." A low price tag may come along with a pretty big headache. However you never know. There could be that one diamond in the rough property.

Click here for a list of all the properties that are up for auction here in Sullivan County. Auction day is Wed. June 12th. "Open houses" on the properties are on the 10th and 11th. This year there are just under 500 properties. That is down from the previous few years.

Click here for a video of a prior auction so you can get a feel for what to expect.

Two New Listings on Lake Loch Ada

Lake Loch Ada Lakehouse There have been two new lakefront listings that have come on the market on Lake Loch Ada in the last few weeks. They are both pretty fabulous houses right on the water. Having this kind of inventory pop up on this lake is quite rare.

Loch Ada is my favorite non-motorboat lake. (Tennanah Lake is my favorite motorboat.) It is because both have an Adirondack–1950's–"summer in the country" feel. It is a difficult feeling to describe, but Loch Ada has it in spades. There are only dirt roads around the lake, and all the homes are tucked in under big evergreens and oak trees. The lake is spring fed, making the water cool and crystal clear.

Both may seem a little pricey in the 400K range, but they are actually both priced pretty well in this market. I firmly believe that soon we will be back to the days of wishing for good lakefront inventory under the half a million mark. Here is my page on Lake Loch Ada with the new listings.

Things to do in June in Sullivan County

Callicoon tractor parade Step-by-Step Guide of things to do the first two weeks June in Sullivan County

Although summer does not start until the third week in June, the unofficial start of summer here in Sullivan County is Memorial Day, (although the weather hasn't really cooperated so far.) However I think warmer weather lies ahead, and June is when things really start happening in the Sullivan County Catskills.

So look no further than my comprehensive list of things to do in Sullivan County in June below of events and activities taking place in our region during the first two weeks June 2015. I have included my favorites, however a full calendar of events can be found here. I will follow up this post with things to do the last two weeks in June.

Here is a breakdown of what my list will cover:

a) All activities are in Sullivan County, NY.

b) Most are kid friendly, but for a few, it may be best find a babysitter for the evening.

c) They are a mix of indoor and outdoor, so even if the weather does not cooperate, you can still have some fun.

d) All are pretty inexpensive. You do not need to break the bank to have some fun in any of our towns.

e) I have also added a few nice spots to eat.

f) Farmers markets are every weekend throughout the summer in Callicoon, Jeffersonville, Livingston Manor, Rock Hill and Barryville. More information here.

June 4th

1) Exhibit at Delaware Valley Arts Alliance. Riverfest: 25 Years. Billed as a "retrospective exhibit of approximately 50 posters from 25 years of Riverfest. Riverfest is a weekend event in Narrowsburg, it is best described as a cross between a street and country fair–an art and environmental festival featuring artists & artisans, stuff to do for the kids, live poster auction, live music and great food. This year's event takes place on July 26th, but the exhibit runs all through June. The Delaware Valley Arts Alliance is located on Main Street in Narrowsburg, and is a must stop if you are in the area.

Livingston Manor Arnold House 2) Also on June 4th is Comedy Night at the Arnold House with headliner Joe Larson, and two other opening acts. For twenty bucks you can't go wrong. The Arnold House is another spot that you should absolutely check out if you are in the area.

June 5th

Farming with the kids at Apple Pond Farms 10-5 PM. This is a recurring event every Friday and Saturday until October. Kids do real farm chores, including milking goats, feeding chickens, collecting eggs, grooming horses, and harvesting from the garden. Other activities may include sheep shearing and information on renewable energy and how it relates to farming.

June 6th

Talk & Walk: Finger Lake Trail in the Catskills Rick Roberts, the Catskill Maintenance Coordinator for the Finger Lakes Trail will be leading the expedition. It is an intermediate hike.

June 7th

Sunday Brunch with Jazz: At the Dancing Cat. A delicious brunch beginning at 11:00 with a side of jazz featuring Barry Scheinfeld & Revolving Friends. Menu and more information here

June 8th

Moonlit Movie Mondays series–The Rocky Horror Picture Show! At Bethel Woods Stage. Bring a blanket and dance to a cult classic as it celebrates 50 years. The Moonlight Monday series runs throughout the summer.

June 13th

Trout Parade Livingston Manor–A street fair and parade along Livingston Manor's promenade. Activities include stilt-walkers, performers from Catskill Puppet Theater, face painting, art activities, and much more.

June 14th

Callicoon Tractor Parade–Tractors old and new, large and small, parade down Main Street at 12 noon. After the parade, stay for the chicken barbeque and entertainment at the Delaware Community Center. Prior to the parade, the Callicoon Fire Department hosts its annual pancake breakfast. If you aren't at the tractor parade, you are missing out.

Stay tuned for next week's post which will cover the second half of June!

Overpriced Listings on the Sullivan MLS

overpriced--Sullivan County As we wind our way into spring, inventory on the local Sullivan County MLS has increased by almost 25%.

Spring is historically a time when people put their homes on the market. Our area is driven by (or at least heavily influenced by) the second home buyer market. And the theory is that second home buyers look in the spring, in hopes to have a house to enjoy that summer. I am not certain that is the case. I deal with second home buyer clients throughout the year.

It seems I may get more calls on new inventory in the spring, but that is from buyers I have been working with for some time how are looking for the perfect house for them. I suppose it is the chicken or the egg argument; Does the spring inventory swell happen because of the buyers or the sellers? Who knows, at any rate spring is the time to browse the new listings.

And like any year, you get the overpriced listings–homes that come on the market that appear twenty percent or so above market. Some are real head scratchers. With the market being soft over the last six or seven years, there was a tendency to see less of that. Sellers became a bit resigned to what the market was, and I think were a bit more realistic on what their homes were worth.

Well that trend seems to be changing back to pre Lehman Brothers. Locally I think the specter of the arriving casino has made dollars signs dance in some sellers heads. At every single listing appointment I have been on the last six or so months, the seller has brought up the casino has a possible reason that their home may be worth more. I am a bit more skeptical. I honestly do not know what the casino will do to home prices here in Sullivan County, but I doubt it will make prices jump 20-30% twenty-five miles plus away from the site.

I “lost” three listings this spring when my opinion of value was not agreed with. I know I have talked about this before, but recommending a correct price point is the hardest (and most important) task that a real estate agent has in the selling process. It is an inexact science–that is what makes it so difficult.

It is inexact, but there is a process to try to narrow down what a home’s worth is. And I try to follow that process pretty closely to at least get a “neighborhood” or ballpark value.

Again I have said it before, but national studies have shown that on average, the majority home sellers think their home is worth about 10-15% more than market value. Why? I won’t can get into the whole psychology of “home” and what that entails, but the cliff notes are a home is a very personal thing–a feeling. Human nature dictates that mine may be a bit better than yours. And that thinking (even if it is a bit subconscious) along with a hope that the sale will actually put a few extra bucks in your pocket, is what drives some of this fantasy.

In the past I have relented, and listed a home for higher than what I knew it was worth. And in a few cases that has worked out for me. The home sat on the market for a year or so, and then we dropped the price and was able to sell it. However for the majority of those times it did not work out for me.

What ends up happening with an overpriced listing is after a few months the seller becomes a bit impatient. However the delusion of their homes worth doesn’t seem to waver. The issue becomes the broker, and what can he (or she) be doing more of to sell the home. Suddenly my marketing techniques are being questioned. Suggestions on spot advertising in various media outlets start pouring in. A sister or a friend had an agent who advertised in such and such magazine, and viola, they sold their house in weeks. The relationship slowly becomes frayed. The kiss of death is unreturned calls the last two months or so of the listing agreement. Being the first listing agent on an over-priced listing is a tough spot to be in. Expectations are rarely met.

Not even Big Tom Callahan can sell an overpriced listing. And we all know he can sell a ketchup popsicle to a women in white gloves.

There is an old real estate quote that says, “It’s best to be the first born, the second spouse and the third agent.” And although a little tongue and cheek, it’s true. Seller fatigue sometimes is a necessary component in the process. And expectations need to be tempered. In the last thirty days on the Sullivan County Multiple Listing Service, 43 homes sold, and 157 expired. And those numbers are right in line with 2014. Only one in three homes that are listed here in Sullivan County will sell.

So this year I was a bit more firm on my listing appointments. I showed up with hard evidence to support my recommended price point. All my comparable data was from Sullivan County, and most were from the same or a neighboring township. (I am not going to use a comp. that is in Fremont township for a subject property in Thompson.) Lenders generally request comparable properties be within a ten mile radius. However in a rural area like Sullivan County, that can be difficult. Therefore I relax some of the search criteria.

At any rate, in these three cases, my presentation and explanation was apparently not believed. However I am going up against cold hard cash–the money that these sellers REALLY want to make on their homes. That is a powerful opponent. I am sure the agent’s who got the listings did not need to be nearly as convincing as I.

So I will keep an eye on these listings over the summer and see if they sell. If they do I will be proven wrong, and will have to rethink my pricing strategy.

I did get a few new listing to add to my inventory however. I am excited about those and hopefully I will get them sold quickly. These are homes that I think are priced well in today’s market.

Gas Drilling Moratorium is not Force Majeure

Gas drilling in Sullivan County It has been almost eight years now since the gas lease rush really started here in upstate New York, and land owners fell over themselves to sign lucrative leases with various gas drilling companies for the mineral rights deep below their properties. (Some of these leases were ten years, but the majority that I have seen and heard about were five, with an “option” for more.)

But then New York State stepped in and declared a moratorium which stopped all gas drilling dead in its tracks. Many landowners thought that they had basically been paid for doing nothing, and the clock on the wall was counting down the length of the lease.

However people do not like to lose money, especially people who own big companies with lots of attorneys on retainer.

They had thought of a scenario such as this.

Most of the lease contracts have a Force Majeure” clause. Force Majeure means “unavoidable occurrence outside the control of both parties”. The gas companies argued that the moratorium should trigger the Force Majeure clause and essentially freeze the contracts at that point in time until the suspension has been lifted.

I ran across a gas lease issue during a deal where the buyer was attempting to purchase a house via an FHA loan with a gas lease attached. FHA’s setbacks and guidelines are stricter than the lease stipulated. The lease’s minimum setbacks were 150 feet from the dwelling, while FHA requires at least 200 feet.

It may seem like a bizarre stumbling block. A 50 foot differential on an obscure FHA rule about a potential gas well despite a statewide indefinite ban on drilling? Real estate deals fall through every day for just such ridiculousness. Ask any real estate agent. They would love to regal you with tales of lost deals over asinine and incompressible reasons. All of us have these battle scars. Common sense takes a back seat to procedure way to often in the mortgage/bank business.

Well what saved this deal? Actually it was an FHA underwriter with a bit of commons sense, but what persuaded him was a recent ruling from the Northern District Court. On two separate cases they have ruled that the NYS halt on fracking does not fall under Force Majeure. The clock really is still ticking, and on many of these leases, time is already up.

The lease on the property I was selling is up in Aug. 2015. After seeing the big picture, the underwriter determined that the chance of a gas well drilled within that 50 foot radius in the next four months was remote enough not to kill the deal. We closed last week.

Monticello Gets The Casino Nod

Casino Casino will be at the old Concord site

Empire Resorts has won the casino lottery. Its Montreign/Adelaar proposal was approved by Albany on December 17th. The site for the new casino will be the old Concord Resort site in Monticello. This was not the surprising news. (The general consensus was that this is where the site would be.) The real surprising news was that this is the only site approved in the Catskill/Hudson Valley region. No proposed sites in Ulster or more importantly Orange counties were approved.

Obviously this puts Sullivan County in a very strong position. One that it has not enjoyed in a very long time. Will this be the economic boom that this county has been searching for since the late seventies? We will see, but today was a huge step in that direction.

It will be interesting to see the surge of prospector money that floods the area over the next twelve to twenty-four months. Prices are sure to rise.

Below is a map search of the area surrounding the site. Right now it defaults to residential only listings, but click the “search criteria” tab to see commercial and land listings as well.

Expiring Tax Credits for 2014

Will The Senate extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act?

Currently we have 14 days left in 2014, and as of today, The US Senate has still not voted on whether this bill, which could cost tax-payers (who clearly do not have the money) millions.

Although short sales are down in 2014, there still were thousands of owners across the country who after struggling with underwater properties, decided to take the risk and negotiate a short sale and debt cancellation from their lenders. In a short sale, the lender allows a new purchaser to buy a house at a price below the mortgage amount owed by the seller. As part of the deal, the lender typically forgives the unpaid balance.

And the risk they still face is this. If the Senate and House do not pass an extension of the mortgage debt relief law here in the last few weeks of 2014, the full principal balance the lenders had written off on mortgages likely will be treated as ordinary income for 2014. Although the sellers never received a dollar of that “income” , the federal government views it as such, and a fairly large tax bill will greet these already down-trodden home sellers. Unfairness at its height.

For example if $200,000 is owed on the mortgage, but the negotiated short sale price is $150,000. Uncle Sam considers your W-2 to be 50K higher, and they expect taxes to be paid on the difference.

In late summer, it appeared that the bill was moving forward, but in typical partisan stupidity, it bogged down as both parties used it as a weapon to further other, less pressing agendas. As of right now most pundits believe that it will pass at the final hour, but that certainly is not written in stone.

Now if the tax bill is high enough, you can claim insolvency. ( Insolvency is where total debt exceeds total assets.) In that case, the taxes owed would be forgiven. That is really the only other way to avoid paying the taxes on this phantom income. Even bankruptcy does not necessarily wipe out a federal tax debt.

So as the hours tick down, we will see.

The other tax credit that will not be available to homeowners is the ability to write off private mortgage insurance. (PMI) Since 2007 the government has allowed anyone who did not have the necessary 20% down payment for a conventional loan to write off the mortgage premium they were paying–dollar for dollar. Well that also expired in 2013, and although there has been some talk of extending it, it does not look promising. It really is a shame too. Obviously anyone who has a mortgage with PMI is already paying a higher monthly sum, and is more likely to benefit the most from this sort of tax relief. But by all means, let’s do away with this tax break, while we continue to subsidize Exxon, and let BOA operate hundreds of tax free locations.

Homebuyer Dream Program

FHA loan is one of your options

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