It's a call I am starting to get all too often. A buyer will call on one of my listings that they then find isn't suitable for them for one reason or another after a brief phone conversation. They indicate they are not working with a Realtor and will only work with the listing agent on a property. I think someone somewhere must have written a book telling buyers they will get a better deal calling listing agents directly.  This is logic I don't comprehend. The listing agent has a duty to the seller and offering through the listing agent will create dual agency.Working only with listing agents means the buyer has a considerable amount of time and effort to call dozens of agents rather then building a fiduciary relationship with one buyer's agent. A buyer's agent serves a valuable purpose... 03/07/2008

Real Money Maker- 17 Western Ave  Albany NYcompletely renovated three unit income property located just one block off Albany's Washington Park.new elec, windows, baths, flooringperfect owner occ building let the tenant pay your mortgageSteven A. DearstyneKeller Williams Capital District 724-5917-oh by the way I'm NEVER too busy for your referrals! 03/06/2008

I am a numbers guy. I like numbers because generally they don't lie and can paint a pretty good picture of a market or investment. However, this week saw the release of what appears to be conflicting home data for Albany NY released. The Greater Capital Association of Realtors (GCAR) home sale data indicated a 20% drop in the volume of single family homes sale sold in January from a year ago. This would tend to indicate that demand for homes is dropping. GCAR Data indicated home prices were level or down in all of the Capital region counties for January except Saratoga which showed a 4% increase. On Tuesday, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO)released data indicating single family median home prices in the Albany market actually increased while on a national level... 02/27/2008

Ouch! The last four listing presentations I have done have been for sellers that are upside down and will need a short sale to sell their homes. In addition, on a recent Sunday 3 of 5 homes I showed in the $250,000 range in nice suburban areas were in or facing foreclosure. These are sellers that have refinanced in some cases multiple times taking cash out of their homes each time.  Now the only way to get out is to call the bank and negotiate a deal with them and try to convince them a small "hair cut" now is better then a big loss later at foreclosure.  The short sale negotiation process while still tedious, has become significantly easier in my opinion in the last six months. Even the relo companies are accepting offers on homes that they would have laughed at 6 months earlier.   Whi... 02/25/2008

The Dearstyne Team is proud to offer two lots in Albany112 Green St- 29K  80 X 74388-346 South Pearl St= 35K   107X62 Great lots in the capital city of Albany Call Maureen Dyer of the Dearstyne Team!  518-331-2201   02/18/2008

A  mother won some extra money for Christmas presents in the Georgia Linda Bishop, played the Georgia Lottery instant game Georgia's $500 Million Club a few days before the holiday and won a $1 million prize. The mother of four was out to lunch with her daughter when she purchased the lucky ticket at Hammond Crossing Fuel Stop on Keith Bridge Road in Cumming. She scratched it while the two were having lunch. "We were tickled over it," Bishop said. "I couldn't believe it. It hasn't sunk in yet." Bishop and her husband, James, added a few additional gifts under their tree this year. "It was my lucky day," she exclaimed. "Winning is great."  What great news!!  01/03/2008

Every now and then around the holidays, we hear a miraculous story of such profound goodness and virtue that it manages to warm even the cold, cold heart of a joy-loathing Grinch such as myself. And this year, my icy cynicism was melted by some lady named Priscilla Ceballos and her six year-old daughter, who collaborated to win Hannah Montana concert tickets by fabricating an essay about the child's father, claiming he was a soldier killed in Iraq. So pour a nice cup of hot cocoa and let this tale of American Beauty reaffirm your faith in fellow humanity:An essay that won a six-year-old girl tickets to a Hannah Montana concert has been exposed as a fake. The essay began with the line: "My daddy died this year in Iraq". A spokeswoman for the contest's sponsor said the girl's mother told ... 01/03/2008

I've run into a couple of people (that I know and trust)  who showed me how  I, or anyone, can get their finance in order to actually become a millionaire(over time) From what I can see its one of the most workable ways to actually get your credit scores up and get your income up and your debt down to zero.  I would like to have your feed back on this body of information.  See this at www.fdirep.com/beat    Thank You very much. 01/03/2008

When living in Upstate NY I rescued a horribly abused 3 month old Pit Bull. It was November 2000, she was left outside a building in Schenectady NY, her leash frozen to the ground when my ex found her. I told him to bring her home to me. When they arrived I had to carry her from the car. I didn't know what I was going to do with this 30lb bundle of frightened fur with big brown eyes, I just knew I had to get her help. She had scars on her face and forelegs that appeared to have come from another animals teeth. She would keep her head down at all times. She had been beaten emotionally and physically. It just so happened that very night that meteorologist Steve Caporizzo from WTEN News out of Albany who does Pet Connection was going to be in my village of Ballston Spa that very night with... 07/27/2007

Albany Real Estate Days On Market ReportThe chart below depicts the average days on market for Albany NY real estate.There is some good news reflected here.  It appears that the trend to quicker sales that started in Feb and Mar has continued for 4 months now. After peaking at over 90 days in the beginning of the year the Albany real estate market appears to be reaching a more balanced state.Don't assume however that we will return to the appreciation rates of the last few years. Properties still need to be priced appropriately in order to sell.  For more information on how to price your property for sale see my real estate asking price post.  07/20/2007

Unmasking Buyer Agency  As a productive Realtor I'm on the streets a lot, constantly looking at and showing properties, which puts me in touch with hundreds of Realtors monthly and it never ceases to amaze me how few of the Realtors in my market and markets across the country don't seem to understand the concept of buyer agency. This one fact may be the reason why it's so hard to sell our prospects on the concept! It seems to make many agents uncomfortable to ask for the listing when a buyer is looking for a home or maybe they don't feel they can explain it to there prospects comfortably, I represent everyone of my buyers as a client and when I list a property the next document that comes out is the Buyer Agency Listing agreement, no questions asked. My question to you folks out there i... 12/28/2006