Mary Shelsby

I wish I was talking about the weather heating up. It was cold today, never getting out of the teens. But it was pretty! The overnight snow really stuck to the tree and so I drove through Highland Park and grabbed a few shots.

Real estate does seem to be heating up. Two weeks ago I lost a deal to multiple offers. There were three offers, including ours. That hasn't happened in a while. I talked to an agent from my office yesterday. He wrote and offer for a client and had competition. Lucky for them, the seller decided to work with them.

Tomorrow I'm going out with a buyer. It's been tough getting appointments. One property that we were very anxious to see has only been on the market 3 days but it has two offers. There were a couple of others that we requested appointments for but they were already sold.

Is the pendulum switching back to a buyer's market? Or am I just having crummy luck right now?

I've been working with a first-time home buyer for a couple of weeks now. We've been out 3 or 4 times to look at property and yesterday we went back to look at one a second time. He's really thinking that this might be the one.

Choosing which property to purchase is a big decision. BUT, it is only ONE of many important decisions that come with buying a property. That is why I like to begin the home buying process with a review of a purchase contract before we begin to look at homes. That way, buyers can have some time to think through the decisions before their emotions are tied up into a particular property.

In general, these are the questions that need to be answered as we sit down to structure your purchase offer:

• What price are you thinking of offering?
• Will you be getting a mortgage? And if so, how much do you plan to put down?
• Will your offer be contingent on inspections (engineer, radon, chimney, pest, other)?
• Do you have a house to sell? Will your offer be contingent on selling that house?
• What personal property do you plan to ask for (appliances, window treatments other)?
• When would you like to close on the property? Are there any special possession requirements (early possession, rent back to seller, etc)?
• How much of a good faith deposit do you plan to put into escrow? (Generally due in 48 hours)
• What attorney would you like to represent you at closing?

The snow is blowing and the wind-chill is below zero tonight and so it's a good time to dream of living somewhere else. That is, until you look at the price of housing.

One of Rochester's most magnificent homes, the Charlotte Whitney Allen Home on Oliver Street is currently on the market. The 6000 sq foot museum-quality mansion complete with gardens designed by renowned landscape designer Fletcher Steele are being offered for a mere $975,000. photo tour and home details at: www.rochestersbesthomes.com/733670

By comparison, a similar mansion is being offered in San Francisco. It's a little larger, approximately 7,400 sq feet but is located on a lot less than half the size of the Rochester home. The Californian home does boast 7 full baths, compared to our local offering of 4 full and 2 half. The price tag? Well, are you sitting down? $14,950,000. But at this price, light fixtures and window treatments are excluded.

Of course, the New York home does come with property taxes in excess of $20,000 per year. And after 500 years or so, you would be better off if you purchased the west coast mansion.