Westchester Real Estate News

Most of my blog articles are written to a seasoned landlord audience, but I know that there are folks out there who are considering purchasing a residential rental property for the first time. This week, I want to spend a few minutes addressing the most important questions people have when they are considering becoming a…

When is the last time you watched a movie and saw a landlord depicted as a caring, helpful person who not only provided a roof over someone’s head at a reasonable price but also made sure the rental house or apartment was properly maintained? Hard to find those characters in film or on TV. Instead,…

When you’re talking with potential tenants, it’s good to keep in mind why it makes sense for many people to rent vs. buy. Understanding your customer’s pain points and motivations are important. Benefit #1 Unexpected expenses. One of the biggest deterrents to home ownership is having to be responsible for unforeseen expenses. As landlords, we…

I don’t know about you, but I need to stop and catch my breath. The Presidential election appears to be behind us but, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” The COVID pandemic is roaring back with a vengeance. Our cities’ streets are quiet for the moment, but we…

Most of us, myself included, will be thrilled to put 2020 in our rearview mirror. A year ago, who could have predicted the COVID pandemic, social unrest, and the economic turmoil we’ve all had to endure over the past twelve months? Instability has become the new normal. Ben Franklin’s old adage, “Nothing is certain except…

As we move into the last two months of what has been, to put it mildly, a crazy year, independent landlords face unprecedented challenges. The economy is still recovering from a flash, COVID lockdown induced recession in March and April. COVID hasn’t gone away; unfortunately, cases are on the rise again in New York state…

One of the most important decisions to make as a real estate investor is whether or not you should hire a property manager to handle your rental properties. Can you effectively manage your properties on your own? Some people do so quite effectively. That said, most landlords are better off hiring a professional property manager.…

Several years ago, I ran into the father of one of my son’s friends in the grocery store. Lee Spiegel and I had known each other for a while, but at that point we were casual acquaintances. We both live in the same town in Westchester County. Lee and I struck up a conversation about…

Perhaps as many as 46% of all New York State renters may be unable to pay rent in October and moving forward, according to the global advisory firm Stout Risius Ross, LLC. Nationwide, one in six renters were behind on their payments in September. October looks to be more of the same. For landlords, the…