Sullivan County NY Real Estate Archives

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.

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.

The Upper End of the Sullivan County Market

Sullivan County Real Estate I had conversations with two separate upper end sellers this week. One I currently have the listing and the other is contemplating listing with me. The latter had their property listed previously with no luck.

Both are frustrated with the lack of movement, (and lack of showings) that they received on their properties. On one of the homes, they had one person look in twelve months.

Normally when you get that kind of response, (or lack thereof) you would immediately point to pricing. However I think the issue is more the market than the price.

Right now there are eighty-one residential homes for sale over five hundred thousand dollars on the Sullivan County MLS. And only six have sold so far in 2014. Even if we generously assume that four more will sell before the end of the year, that is still only ten, making it a whopping eight years to clear inventory if no new homes were to come on the market.

The link to the sold homes in Sullivan County over 50K in 2014 is here.
And the link to all active listings over 500K is here.

With those kind of odds, no wonder upper end sellers are frustrated. In order to have your home sell, it needs to stand out. It needs that “it” factor. Although some may argue that the buyer’s market is shifting, there is no question that buyers with deep pockets are firmly in control.

They are rare enough that they can slowly and carefully pick over the inventory.

Firewood and Fireplaces in Sullivan County

Sullivan County Fireplace A fireplace is always pretty high up on the wish list for my clients when searching for a second home here in Sullivan County. As we all know, nothing beats a nice warm fire. The smoky smell, the crackling sound, the primeval ritual of building a fire to keep loved ones warm on a cold, snowy day. That is what gives real wood burning fireplaces their appeal.

Safety is always a concern with open, indoor fireplaces. However they are very safe, and as long as you are somewhat vigilant, and careful, there is no need for worry. Just following a few simple steps can allow you to enjoy the ambience of your fireplace with little worry.

The number one rule is keep your chimney clean. Chimney fires were the #1 cause of house fires across the country last year. And they are COMPLETLEY avoidable. Any creosote build-up over an eighth of an inch could potentially cause a fire. If you are feeling brave, you can buy a chimney sweep at any good hardware store, and do it yourself. If you are only using your fireplace on the weekends, or sparingly throughout the week, then once a year is fine. Do it when you clean the gutters in the late fall. While you are up there, check for possible cracks or general wear and tear on the chimney. Feel free to break into a line or two of Chim Chim Cher-ee, but keep the dance routine to a minimum. Remember you are on a roof.

If heights make you a bit squeamish, there are some good professional chimney cleaners in the area. Shoot me an email for a recommendation.

The type of wood you burn in the fireplace can make a big difference on the effect. If you are a serious wood burner, and order it by the cord here in Sullivan County, you are probably going to get a mix of oak, maple, with some birch and perhaps some pine as well. (The smaller bundles that you can buy at the grocery store is mostly oak or maple.) Make sure the wood as been seasoned for at least a year. Some sellers call there wood seasoned, but if it has been split this year, it won’t burn as well. Also do not store more than what you need indoors. The warmth will awake whatever little creepy crawlies were napping in the logs, and suddenly you’ll be killing a spider or two in the middle of January.

Again if you are simply going for ambience, then you can play around with the types of wood. A log or two of apple can really make your home smell great, and although pine or birch is not ideal for a woodstove, in a fireplace it gives off some nice flames, and a lot of pops and crackles from the sap.

This is a verse written sometime in the early 18th century , author unknown.

BEECHWOOD logs burn bright and clear, if the logs are kept a year.
CHESTNUT’s only good, they say If for long it’s laid away.
BIRCH and FIR logs burn too fast, blaze up bright and do not last.
ELM wood burns like a church yard mold, even the very flames are cold.
POPLAR gives a bitter smoke, fills your eyes and makes you choke.
APPLE wood will scent your room, with an incense like perfume.
OAK and MAPLE if dry and old, keep away the winter cold.
But ASH wood wet and ASH wood dry a king shall warm his slippers by.

So as we have the holidays fast approaching, now is the time to build a nice fire under the stockings, and curl up with loved ones. And since we’ve no place to go, let it snow.

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