Grieving your tax assessment

We have been contacted recently by former clients who live in the Town of Guilderland. This isn’t surprising because Guilderland is going through a town-wide reassessment, which all communities do periodically and they have recently notified all property owners of their tentative new assessment. While it’s theoretically possible for a property’s new assessment to be LOWER than the old one, it’s more typical for it to be HIGHER, which can be cause for alarm. Hence the phone calls and emails from clients. Even if your community is not going through a reassessment right now, this is the time of year when the tax roll is being formalized so we figured it’s timely to review the process.

A primer on mold

In last month’s blog post on home issues that cause buyers concern, we mentioned mold and given what a common household problem it is, we thought the topic warranted its own post. Mold is a natural substance that is everywhere. It grows best in warm, damp, and humid environments and reproduces by making spores. Many of us are sensitive to mold and can experience mild allergic reactions (stuffy nose, wheezing, dry or red eyes) or more intense reactions when exposed to it. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend routine testing for mold, the logic being if you see it, remove it.

Home issues that cause buyers to hit the pause button

As important as knowing what you want in your next house (see last month’s blog musings) is learning about what should be cause for concern. Every house has limitations - shag carpeting, dated paint colors, older roof, overgrown landscaping are just a few examples; and many of these negatives can be relatively easily remedied. Some may even be desirable to a buyer looking to give an older house some TLC or hoping to score a deal on a fixer upper. If you are up for it, buying a solid house that needs updating is a great opportunity. What we want to discuss are issues that don’t always have easy fixes. We strive to ensure that the buyers we work with are aware of the following before they decide whether to proceed with a purchase:

What are you looking for in a house?

Whenever we are contacted by someone interested in buying a house, the first thing we do is schedule a time to meet. It’s important to us to not only tell prospective clients about the services we provide, but also to learn about what they are hoping to find.

Buying a house is so much more than buying a structure you will live in. It’s buying a lifestyle, a community, a home. It’s deciding whether you want to live in a walkable community where the houses are close together or in the country where you can’t see your neighbors. It’s figuring out if you are excited about home improvement projects or if you would rather just unpack and start inviting people over. It’s deciding where you will raise your family or spend your retirement years. It’s everything in between.

How we market our listings at McSharry and Associates

Last month we talked about the value of open houses and the month before the importance of good real estate photography; two aspects of the McSharry and Associates Marketing Plan. This month, let’s step back and look at the whole package of services we provide to our seller clients.

Open House?

Hosting an open house is a very common method of marketing a listing. They are easy to schedule, inexpensive to advertise and can bring traffic into a house. They have been standard industry practice for a long time, but are they effective?

A Picture is worth a 1,000 words

Google “bad real estate photos” and you will come up with 10+ pages with examples of hilariously terrible pictures that made it onto Multiple Listing Services across the country. Everyone pretty much knows a bad real estate photo when they see it, but what does a good picture look like and are they really that important? Let’s tackle the second question first...

To replace or not replace?

Windows are an important feature in every home. Walking through houses with buyers, I always point out the windows. Are they original or replacement? More importantly, are they in good shape? If they are in poor shape, should they be replaced or repaired?

What makes a community project successful?

This past spring, my friends Paul and Caroline came to me with an idea. They had seen the Philadelphia mural arts project and wanted to talk about ways we could bring public art to Bethlehem. It seemed like such a fun idea that I immediately said I’d love to be involved. The ART (Art on the Rail Trail) committee formed this past spring and in short order we selected the first site, started a public awareness campaign and kicked off our fundraising. We set an aggressive goal to have the first mural installed along the Albany County Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail this fall and last weekend we celebrated with an unveiling ceremony and reception. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s at 90 Adams St in Delmar and it’s pretty terrific. We are hoping this is the first of many art installations up and down the trail so keep your eye out for more!

A quick primer on heating systems

Around here, most homes have either a boiler or a furnace. It’s a bit surprising how often people will mix up the terms; they really are not interchangeable. While we don’t expect you to have an exhaustive knowledge, we do hope that after reading this you will be able to tell the difference between the two.