Taxi - Strike 2 in New York City

October 22nd, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Taxi………

If you tried to find one on the streets of Manhattan today, you might have had a little bit of difficulty. Not as bad as the first strike, but nonetheless an inconvenience for those who can afford to take cabs. Drivers on the other hand, gained some more room on the road - not a bad thing.

Is having a GPS such a bad thing? Not if it works. And that’s the key. It has to work. My GPS has a tough time acquiring a signal in Manhattan. Not very user friendly if I do say so myself. Cabbies however are concerned big brother will be watching their every move. They are also concerned about the use of credit cards because of the fees associated with them. Traditionally, it’s been an all cash business. This has left lot’s of room for under-reporting to uncle Sam. I guess some people’s mattresses will become less fluffy now.

What about what’s best for the consumer eh?

The “Taxi” statue was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. - Commissioned by The Chemical Bank - 1983

More on the Story:

Engadget - NYC Taxi Drives Launch Second GPS -Related Strike

NewYorkology.com - Minimal Impact from Today’s 24-hour NY Taxi Strike

Technorati Tags: Taxi, Manhattan Taxi, NYC Taxi

Posted by Rudolph D. Bachraty III | Filed Under Manhattan

Harriman State Park - Seasons Change in Upstate New York

October 21st, 2007 | Leave a Comment

This weekend, my family and I took a quick drive from Manhattan to Harriman State Park in Upstate New York. In less than an hour, we were walking in the woods and enjoying nature. As an avid outdoorsmen, just being in the woods is a joy. The park is abundant with walking trails, camp grounds and lakes. If you ever just feel the need to getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city, this close treasure is surely worth exploring.

Are you a seasonal person? Yeah, me too. This crazy weather has really thrown a monkey wrench into my fall clock. How many more 70 and 80 degree days can we have? It just doesn’t feel right. The climate effects many peoples mental health and emotional well-being - pro and con. I wonder if this prolonged heat wave will have a positive or negative effect on people. Maybe Al Gore was on to something with An Inconvenient Truth.

Posted by Rudolph D. Bachraty III | Filed Under Harriman State Park

Home Loans On Sale Now At Walden Federal in Woodbury New York

October 20th, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I snapped the Home Loans on Sale picture at Walden Federal located in a Super Walmart in Woodbury New York. Hurry while they’re hot.

Posted by Rudolph D. Bachraty III | Filed Under Home Loans

ResidentialNYC Goes Offline - Markets Itself To Consumers as The Ultimate Home Page

October 18th, 2007 | Leave a Comment

ResidentialNYC has started their offline advertising campaign in New York City. I found the ad in today’s Real Estate Guide in the New York Post. The ad is great, but is it accurate? Not entirely.

Although the idea behind ResidentialNYC is ideal, the reality is that it isn’t there - yet. Consumers and real estate brokers would love to able to search all of the active real estate listings in New York City in one central location. But politics always seem to get in the way.

REBNY, the real estate trade organization behind ResidentialNYC, has done something fantastic which I haven’t seen any other consumer facing real estate web portal do - place ads offline where real people can actual learn about them. That’s the good part. The bad part is without the support of the entire local real estate brokerage community - an incomplete inventory doesn’t satisfy the consumers need. The need to easily find a home in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. I won’t hold my breath.

As a side note - Can you imagine if sites like Zillow, Redfin, StreetEasy or Trulia took their online advertising efforts offline?

I really love the ad though. Kudos to Posner Advertising for sending a clear and concise message - although not a reality yet.

It was important for the portals name to say exactly what the service provides to the consumer, and we are confident that ResidentialNYC.com achieves that objective for our client, said Win Peniston, Vice President, Strategy and Development, Posner Advertising. Given that more than 80% of new home searches begin online and that consumers are frustrated by not being able to find them in one place, we believe that this centralized information portal will become the new go-to site for home-seeking prospects, Penniston continued.

Technorati Tags: ResidentialNYC, Rebny, Listings, Real Estate Listings

Posted by Rudolph D. Bachraty III | Filed Under New York City Real Estate

Priced to Sit - I Mean Priced To Sell

October 18th, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Priced to sell? Nah, this home is priced to sit on the market for months on end. The seller refuses to believe it is worth any less. Take it or leave it. The real estate broker just wants the listing and doesn’t care if it’s overpriced. Worse yet, they may not even know how to price a home. But it’s a really great deal - it’s priced to sell baby!

Come and view our lovely 2 bedroom 2 bath home. We haven’t bothered to clean it up or De-clutter at all. It just seems more realistic this way. We wouldn’t want to trick you into buying our home. We believe in Au natural. Now accepting highest and best offers.

Have you ever wondered why a home would be marketed as Priced To Sell? Join the club. Like the for sale sign wasn’t obvious enough. Does a consumer really have to be told that the home is being priced to sell? Of course not. It makes no sense. If anything, it’s a sign of desperation.

When I was a newbie, many moons ago, I was encouraged to use this terminology in some of my real estate advertising. Never did it dawn on me that those three words could be a disservice to my seller client. A savvy buyer could easily sense the desperation in that phrase. And, if my memory serves me correctly, that’s exactly what happened to me. On a few occasions, buyers would swoop in and offer low ball offers just waiting to get a desperate seller to counter. Luckily, my sellers stood their ground but what a learning experience it was. It’s not easy being green.

On top of the Priced to Sell advertising lingo, isn’t it amazing how many of these priced to sell homes are really messy? Dirty windows, cluttered rooms, messy kitchen etc… First impressions mean everything. If your seller client won’t tidy up, hire someone to do it - or just do it yourself.

Overpricing your home and not cleaning it up is a recipe for disaster. If your home is priced realistically from the beginning, you will never have to use those three dreaded words again - Priced to Sell.