The Stoop: Real Estate Musing From a Park Slope Agent

Hello Park Slope Readers!  My name’s Lindsay Owen and I’m ridiculously delighted to introduce myself as your brand new columnist on all things real estate!

A long-time Park Slope resident, I moved here from the UK (yep, I’m a bone fide Brit) and made my home here with my young children some 10 years or so ago. I’m also a former midwife having spent a number of years delivering babies at St Thomas’s Hospital across the river from the houses of parliament in London.  Why I changed careers is a LONG story and only one I’m willing to tell over a cup of tea (we Brits literally survive on tea, obvs) but it turns out that it was the best thing ever. I LOVE my job – I get to meet the coolest people, see the most amazing properties and use all those helping skills I honed as a midwife to give my clients just the right dose of TLC at what might be one of the most stressful times of their lives (buying or selling a home can be intense!).  When people ask why I went from being a midwife to being a real estate agent I always say that the jobs are actually not that different.  Lots of cross over skills – being able to establish trust (trust is SO important, whether I’m delivering your baby or negotiating your deal), providing support, caring for people when they’re transitioning and vulnerable.  They’re both what I call ‘helping professions’, one of them just involves a few more bodily fluids!  Bet you can’t guess which…

After living here for a good while now, you may have seen my face around the hood – on the register in the Park Slope Food Coop (I never can do that last make up), picking my kids up from the Children’s School, or running the loop in Prospect Park (alright, that may have been a while ago, I’ve got to get back into that).  So!  If you see me around, say hello, or come see me at my office on second street just off 7^th ave, the former Two Boots (man, that was the PLACE to go with young kids back in the day).  I’m always here to help, no question is stupid, no inquiry too small,  think of me as your real estate resource, because honestly, this stuff can get COMPLICATED and I wish I had had someone to explain it all to me when I first moved to the US (it’s SO different back home in England).

Anyway, you can imagine my delight to be given the opportunity to share my musings with you. Starting in this issue I’m looking forward to bringing you what I hope you’ll find really useful advice on the property market and tips on how to navigate the process of buying or selling all sprinkled with a liberal dose of humor (real estate doesn’t have to be boring, y’all!).

So here we go… enjoy!

How a Strategic Summer Can Help You Get Ahead of The Fall Property Market

Summer!  What took you so long?  Is it me or did you take forever to get here this year?  Well, better late than never I suppose, but now you’re here you’ve brought with you a property market, that compared to the supercharged energy of the spring selling season, can only be described as …subdued.

You see it’s not only the increase in sun cream sales and our sudden need to take advantage of the free a/c in Barnes & Noble (the one on 7^th Ave is heaven when it’s boiling outside fyi) that heralds summer’s arrival but also the fact that parking spaces, at least in Park Slope are SO much easier to come by.  Why?  Simple.  Once the concrete jungle heats up and and school is out for the summer any Park Slopian with a smidge of common sense will do their damndest to get out of the city.

So, with less buyers pounding the streets to open houses  (and quite frankly who does want to pound the streets when it’s 90 degrees and super humid at 9am?), things. Slow.  Down.  And it’s not just this summer.  Every year we see the same thing. Summer is to the property market as I am to the hundred yard dash.

But!  Before you write off the summer market and put your plans to buy or sell a Park Slope pad on hold, hear me out on how with a little strategic planning,  summer can actually present opportunities you may not have even considered.

If you’re selling your place, summer presents the perfect time to prepare for the coming fall market, which traditionally sees an upswing in sales activity, around the second week of September.

While it’s always been the case that when listing your home for sale it should look as good as possible, it’s never been more true than in the current market. Having fresh cookies baking during your open house to evoke that perfect homey feel for buyers just ‘aint cutting it anymore, people.  Buyers are looking for one thing: perfection, and while there’s no such thing as a 100% perfect property in Park Slope or frankly anywhere in New York City, to sell your home these days you need to get as damn near to perfection as possible.

While Summer might not present the ideal time to buy or sell, using your summer smarts could put your home head and shoulders above the competition.

Summer presents an ideal opportunity to do that as if you start early enough, you’ll have plenty of time to do it right.  Getting your home ready for its close up generally involves decluttering and cleaning, possibly painting and repairs and even staging and landscaping.  When you’ve lived somewhere for a long time it’s easy to lose perspective on what your much-loved home might look like to buyers, so listen to your agent and have a frank conversation about what needs to be done. And don’t take it personally if they give you a laundry list of things you need to do to make you property show ready!  Seriously, you should see my apartment….

The great thing about doing all your prep in summer is that you can schedule most of the cosmetic work required while you’re on vacay (your broker can hold keys for you to give access and act as an informal project manager) or make the most of those summer Fridays to declutter – yeah, not so much fun as a day at the beach, granted, but you’ll be amazed how good a big clear out can feel, and it’ll save you money in moving costs when you finally do move.

It’s also important to remember to maximize your curb appeal and with so many great plants and flowers in bloom (Tarzian always has a great selection) it’s the perfect time to straighten up that front yard and add some color with potted plants to that stoop. If you’re going to be away a lot over the summer and can’t water plants regularly, there are some fabulous fake plants on the market now (try IKEA after a cool down at the Red Hook Pool), which may be a better option for you in case we’re so generously gifted one of those delightful NY heat waves…

One thing I’d also recommend if you think there might be some more major issues that need attending to, is getting a ‘pre-inspection’ inspection.  The majority of buyers will want an inspector to check out your home prior to signing a contract, and may want to negotiate a credit or a lower sales price if they find something that could be costly for them to repair.  If you’re selling an older building, there may well be things that need attention, and getting ahead of the game by having an inspection yourself and identifying an areas of concern gives you plenty of time to rectify them, reducing the chance for any ‘red flags’  and potentially spending less money on your fixes that you might have to credit your buyer at closing.

While you’re obviously going to want to discuss pricing your home with your agent too, I’d advise you not to be too rigid just yet.  It’s more important to reassess the market just before you list as you may find that plenty of similar homes that entered contract in the spring will close over the summer providing you with more ‘comps’ or comparable which will help you and your broker make a more informed decision about your own price point.

As summer gets into full swing however, if you’ve already had your home on the market for a while without having an accepted offer, unless you don’t HAVE to sell as soon as possible,  it’s time to talk to you agent and consider taking you home off the market until September.  With buyers and their agents easily able to see how long a property has been listed for, accruing more and more days on the market over summer without a bite just causes the listing to get stale and more importantly raise a red flag that effectively announces to the world ‘hey! I’ve been on the market for forEVAH and nobody wants to buy me!.’, which translates as – this property is either overpriced, has something wrong with it or both. Cue lowball offers from buyers and inevitable price reductions on your part in order to sell.

Taking your property off the market for a while stops the clock, gives you a well deserved breather from all the showing and open houses and allows for a relaunch a few months down the line. And if you avoided doing the kind of prep I’ve discussed earlier and are now thinking it’s something that in retrospect could have attracted more buyers, now’s the time to do it and if it really does make a huge difference, consider having new photos taken ready for you fabulous fall return.

Ok sellers, so you know what to do, right?

So, what does summer mean for buyers? 

Well just because it’s a softer market there are always going to be owners that HAVE to sell and if you’re willing to take yourself on a sweltering Sunday tour of open houses, you may well find yourself a bargain, especially with less competition (more parking spaces, remember?) and sellers who may be willing to take less if their listing has gone stale as we discussed previously.

Before you do anything, however, make sure you’re pre-approved for a mortgage (if you’re financing). Talk to a couple of banks and work out what you can really afford vs what you think you can afford and a monthly payment you can live with.  So many people aren’t aware of addition costs to buy a home: closing cost, post-closing liquidity requirements, home insurance.  You HAVE to factor all that stuff in and it’s really important to get to grips with that upfront.

If you don’t find the home of your dreams over the summer don’t let it get you down.

I also recommend, if you’re a couple, sitting down and working out what your individual deal breakers are – the things you can’t live without in a home and get on board with each other in what you’re both looking for.  Seriously, doing this upfront can avoid lots of unnecessary spats down the line.

If you don’t find the home of your dreams over the summer don’t let it get you down, it’s still a great time to get ahead of the fall market where more inventory will appear and you may be more likely to find a place you love.  

Ask your broker and friends for recommendations for an attorney and if you’re looking for a co-op, where you’re going to have to put together a board package as part of the purchase process, now’s the time to start getting your financial documents together – you likely to need to show, at a bare minimum,  at least 6 months (sometimes a year or more) of bank and brokerage statements, the last couple of years tax returns and personal and professional references for each purchaser (yep, it can be a headache).  These things can take a lot of time to get together so it’s time to start digging them out so you’re ready to go should you have an offer accepted, and don’t worry too much, your brokers job is to guide you through the process and put the package together for you.

So!  While summer might not present the ideal time to buy or sell, using your summer smarts could put your home head and shoulders above the competition or find you first out of the gate and super prepared when it comes to finding a property, once the fall market hits. Plus – YAY PARKING SPACES!!!!

In the meantime, it’s wonderful to meet you. Have a fantastic summer, and I’ll see you in the fall!