Monthly Archives: January 2018

What We Stand For

During the holidays we all get invited to parties and appreciation events. We normally end up meeting people we have dealt with in the past, new faces, and hanging out with our favorite groups. Sometimes we accidentally eavesdrop in conversations. It is all fun! It’s the holidays.

Well, this time we didn’t need to eavesdrop. The conversation took place right in front of us as we were sipping cocktails. This overly animated agent was describing how working for this top notch Real Estate company has made her so successful. She can hardly find enough time to breath. She gestures and gasps for air as she disparages that her buyers all come from “the city”. They don’t know anything about the market but they, desperately need to get in a particular school district. She then describes how she refers out all the business outside of her little community because she just can’t be bothered. She goes on saying that her co-league goes around town knocking on doors asking home owners to list their properties with him…and they do, she adds! In the euphoria of the conversation the guy next to me jumps in and states that he does the same thing and he just managed to land a listing in the millions, that he will probably have to refer out because he has a busy life. He adds: “I tell all my clients upfront that I am a family man, I have kids and elderly relatives, I don’t work Saturday or Sunday”. He is not done, “If my buyers don’t purchase a house after I show them 6 properties I fire them”! Me and my associate look at each other and walk away. We heard enough!

Photo taken from the HuffPost: How To Become A Real Estate Agent

Here is where I have to include our mantra. GioHomes Real Estate is a local real estate company founded in 2006 based on a philosophy of customer satisfaction. We believe that success in real estate only comes from understanding the client’s needs and satisfying them. We abandoned the corporate premise of quantity and embraced the concept of quality.

Long gone are the days when the information was in the hands of few. The internet and social media now opens the door to the endless possibilities for buyers and sellers. It has empowered small businesses like GioHomes to step out of the old structure and create a more transparent and efficient market.

Yes, we believe that our clients are well informed buyers and our job is to help them achieve their goals of home ownership. And, our sellers are smart competent home owners with busy lives that require the assistance of a real estate professional to handle the sale of their houses.

Now, you probably have a better understanding of why we are a boutique real estate company. We are always here for you!

Westchester Real Estate and the New Tax Law

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The real estate market in Westchester County, home to one of the country’s largest property-tax
burden, has been on a roll. The approval of the tax reform will more likely have an impact on the market since it punishes
residents with even higher costs. The big question is: can the market continue thriving?

Cracks are already forming. The number of closed sales dropped, the second straight quarter. Purchase contracts are down as well. Those might be the first signs that buyers are wavering,
and that prices may need to adjust to reflect the now-higher
costs of owning a home in the well-to-do suburbs.

Right now everyone’s calling their accountant….. yes, we did it too. We found no answers because the IRS has not been able to create the guidelines to implement the new law. The situation gets more complicated when we include the Co-op corporations since they have very large underlying mortgages, and nobody seems to know how those will be treated when it comes to taxes and the pass-through effect that will end up affecting the home owner’s pockets.

We would be surprised if this doesn’t apply some downward pressure on the higher side of the
market. We could see a period of indecision on both the sellers and buyer’s side. Buyers will be looking for a formula that allows them to afford their home.

In real estate one amenity is king….. LOCATION. Those of us who love this wonderful county of ours, those who enjoy the proximity to NYC and all the wonderful amenities Westchester County has to offer are going to need to grab our calculators and make sure we run our numbers properly. At the end of the day a change in the tax code is not likely to discourage people from making decisions that are basically lifestyle decisions. People need to live somewhere and more likely we are going to live close to our jobs and send our children to the wonderful school districts we have. There are going to be adjustments in the market but we don’t know the real impact yet.

At GioHomes we are here to help. To us what really matter is what our client’s needs. How can we maximize their earnings and/minimize their loss? How can we help them transition in a seamless manner.

At GioHomes we make your goal our goal