Preview
FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 07/14/2018 08:37 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 30 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/14/2018
FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 07/14/2018 - 08:37 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018
7/14/2018 Extra Services Give Realtors an Edge The New York Times
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 30 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/14/2018
Ely New gork Eimes https://nyti.ms/298fbG8
ARCHIVES 1995
Extra Services Give Realtors an Edge
By PENNY SINGER
SUCH dismal occurrences as declining numbers of first-time
home buyers and a recent drop in house sales would hardly seem the stuff of
successful residential real-estate ventures. Yet, two real-estate-related concerns -- Siderow Associates in Chappaqua and More Than a
Mortgage in Katonah -- have been able to increase business substantially by adding special services.
To wit: Last November, when Sheila Siderow started Siderow Associates in Chappaqua, the question she was most often asked was,
firm?"
"Why does Chappaqua need yet another real-estate
firm.' I'
Ms. Siderow said: "My stock answer was that 'we are not another real-estate firm but a different real-estate I've been a broker
for 16 years. Most recently I was manager and vice president of Houlihan Lawrence's office in Chappaqua. I loved the job, but I finally
decided to go out on my own in order to try out the ideas that I had been contemplating over the years. I know I was taking a risk, but I
felt I had to give my creative impulses free rein. I obviously couldn'tdo that working for someone else. I believed I saw a niche in the
me."
market that wasn't really being filled. And I thought it was an opportunity for
Deciding on the rifle approach, Ms. Siderow targeted Chappaqua as her primary market, with occasional forays into Pleasantville,
Armonk and Briarcliff Manor.
firms,"
"I didn't presume that I'd be able to compete all over the map with the large established she said. "Instead, I decided to take
best."
an in-depth approach, mining the segment of the market I knew
Her in-depth approach, she said, meant her office could give clients more varied services than they were likely to get elsewhere.
clients,"
"Of course, other real-estate firms provide services to she said. "But as the new kid on the block I knew in order to get a
foothold I had to offer clients more and service with some original features, and I had to also offer them services they couldn't get
anywhere else, not gimmicky things but really things of value that would appeal to today's home buyers, and that's how I would get their
business."
First-time home buyers of the 90's, she emphasized, are a different breed from their predecessors.
different,"
"When I look back to when I started in the real-estate field, it was so she said. "When I began, it was the wife, usually with
a baby in her arms and accompanied by her mother, who contacted me and made the preliminary house search. The husband came into
the picture much later, just before the final decision was to be made. And it was all done more leisurely. Now, with two-income couples
needs."
making up most of the first-time home-buying market, we have to gear up to respond to their very different
Today's home buyer, as described by Ms. Siderow, is likely to be a high-powered working couple, strangers to Westchester, with little
time and inclination to shop for anything, a house. "It is with that prototype in mind that I developed what I think are real-
including
clients,"
estate firsts, which we supply free of charge to our she said. "Ten brokers in our office have all been trained to follow the same
formula with our clients. First, what we do is comb the multiple-listing service with them, get a complete printout on houses that we think
might meet their requirements. This is after an interview of what they want. And if the house is one of our own listings, we can go much
CyberSales."
further with
CyberSales, Ms. Siderow said, is a process she has developed and trademarked. It allows clients, using a laptop computer, to preview
room," " door?'
houses in their living rooms. "We literally can walk them right through any house, room by she said. 'What's behind that a
door."
customer will often ask and is always surprised when the next photo on the screen shows them exactly what's behind that
Ms. Siderow's company will also offer on-site mortgage broker services, including pre-contract mortgage approvals and innovating
financing arrangements, which she said is an unusual feature. "We are among the first, if not the first, real-estate firm in Westchester's
broker."
that's able to obtain pre-commitments for clients through a mortgage
Other services include a referral to service contractors and a free consultation with an interior designer and one with an architect.
But new listings are the lifeblood of real-estate brokerage firms, and Ms. Siderow said that in order to get new listings in a slow
market, "I really had to rack my brain and think creatively, because there's just not enough inventory out there. What is happening is that
They'
first-time home buyers are staying in their starter homes for longer periods of time today. re probably worried about their jobs or
the economy, whatever. In the 80's, five years in the first house and they were gone back in the market for a bigger, more expensive
house."
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/02/nyregion/extra-services-give-realtors-an-edge.html 1/2
FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 07/14/2018 - 08:37 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018
7/14/2018 Extra Services Give Realtors an Edge The New York Times
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 30 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/14/2018
Ms. Siderow said she has been able to obtain some choice properties in the million-plus range, and in order to woo the seller she said,
we'
"I meet with every potential seller myself and go through the steps about how we will help them sell their house. For instance, we'll send
we' we'
in a cleaning service for five hours. It's free of charge. And we'll arrange for things like oil tank inspections, and then we'll also pay for the
expect."
warranty. The bottom line is that we give sellers more than they
"more"
The has paid off. Ms. Siderow, who said she used her own capital to get into business, also said her projection for her
company was to become profitable in the second year of operations.
black."
She said, "However, to my delight, we clicked almost immediately, and six months after we were in business, we were in the
In Katonah, Donald H. McGuire, a mortgage banker, has also formed a company that is geared to increase Mr. McGuire's business by
gaining first-timehome buyers. The company, More Than a Mortgage, he said, gives new home buyers something of added value.
years'
Mr. McGuire, who has had more than 30 experience as a corporate relocation consultant and an independent mortgage
banker, said: "In a slow market, giving home buyers more than they expect has stimulated business. The company is set up to assist in
pre-move issues such as how to chose a real-estate broker, and then we go through all the steps leading to the purchase of a house, such as
appraiser."
negotiations with the seller and
He continued: "But at the heart of any home-buying process is the financing. We work with so many loan sources that we can find a
deal."
client the absolute best possible
More Than a Mortgage, he said, is structured to provide the same kind of discount services for its clients who are moving that large
corporations routinely provide to their employees.
"For instance, we can get a client discounts down the line, a discount from the moving company, from the lawyer at the closing and
dealer,"
from the appraiser and even a discount from the fuel he said. "From a network of contacts we can, for example, arrange that a
client meet a lawyer for the closing who normally charges a flat fee of $975, but for our client at the closing, he will charge our client $750.
We have also made arrangements with fuel oil dealers to let our clients have 100 gallons of fuel free. Appraisers we use also charge our
less."
clients
Mr. McGuire's compensation comes not from the client but from the lending institution at the closing. He gets a fractional
percentage of the mortgage.
increased,"
"Yes, my business has he said in answer to a question. "People today are very conscious of getting full value for the dollar,
you' well."
and if you can provide it, you'll do
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We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to
archive-feedback@nytimes.com.
A versionof this articleappearsin printon July 2, 1995,on PageWC13of the Nationaleditionwith the headline:ExtraServicesGive Realtorsan Edge.
© 2018The NewYorkTimes Company
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/02/nyregion/extra-services-give-realtors-an-edge.html 2/2
Preview
FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 07/14/2018 08:37 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 30 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/14/2018 FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 07/14/2018 - 08:37 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018 7/14/2018 Extra Services Give Realtors an Edge The New York Times NYSCEF DOC. NO. 30 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/14/2018 Ely New gork Eimes https://nyti.ms/298fbG8 ARCHIVES 1995 Extra Services Give Realtors an Edge By PENNY SINGER SUCH dismal occurrences as declining numbers of first-time home buyers and a recent drop in house sales would hardly seem the stuff of successful residential real-estate ventures. Yet, two real-estate-related concerns -- Siderow Associates in Chappaqua and More Than a Mortgage in Katonah -- have been able to increase business substantially by adding special services. To wit: Last November, when Sheila Siderow started Siderow Associates in Chappaqua, the question she was most often asked was, firm?" "Why does Chappaqua need yet another real-estate firm.' I' Ms. Siderow said: "My stock answer was that 'we are not another real-estate firm but a different real-estate I've been a broker for 16 years. Most recently I was manager and vice president of Houlihan Lawrence's office in Chappaqua. I loved the job, but I finally decided to go out on my own in order to try out the ideas that I had been contemplating over the years. I know I was taking a risk, but I felt I had to give my creative impulses free rein. I obviously couldn'tdo that working for someone else. I believed I saw a niche in the me." market that wasn't really being filled. And I thought it was an opportunity for Deciding on the rifle approach, Ms. Siderow targeted Chappaqua as her primary market, with occasional forays into Pleasantville, Armonk and Briarcliff Manor. firms," "I didn't presume that I'd be able to compete all over the map with the large established she said. "Instead, I decided to take best." an in-depth approach, mining the segment of the market I knew Her in-depth approach, she said, meant her office could give clients more varied services than they were likely to get elsewhere. clients," "Of course, other real-estate firms provide services to she said. "But as the new kid on the block I knew in order to get a foothold I had to offer clients more and service with some original features, and I had to also offer them services they couldn't get anywhere else, not gimmicky things but really things of value that would appeal to today's home buyers, and that's how I would get their business." First-time home buyers of the 90's, she emphasized, are a different breed from their predecessors. different," "When I look back to when I started in the real-estate field, it was so she said. "When I began, it was the wife, usually with a baby in her arms and accompanied by her mother, who contacted me and made the preliminary house search. The husband came into the picture much later, just before the final decision was to be made. And it was all done more leisurely. Now, with two-income couples needs." making up most of the first-time home-buying market, we have to gear up to respond to their very different Today's home buyer, as described by Ms. Siderow, is likely to be a high-powered working couple, strangers to Westchester, with little time and inclination to shop for anything, a house. "It is with that prototype in mind that I developed what I think are real- including clients," estate firsts, which we supply free of charge to our she said. "Ten brokers in our office have all been trained to follow the same formula with our clients. First, what we do is comb the multiple-listing service with them, get a complete printout on houses that we think might meet their requirements. This is after an interview of what they want. And if the house is one of our own listings, we can go much CyberSales." further with CyberSales, Ms. Siderow said, is a process she has developed and trademarked. It allows clients, using a laptop computer, to preview room," " door?' houses in their living rooms. "We literally can walk them right through any house, room by she said. 'What's behind that a door." customer will often ask and is always surprised when the next photo on the screen shows them exactly what's behind that Ms. Siderow's company will also offer on-site mortgage broker services, including pre-contract mortgage approvals and innovating financing arrangements, which she said is an unusual feature. "We are among the first, if not the first, real-estate firm in Westchester's broker." that's able to obtain pre-commitments for clients through a mortgage Other services include a referral to service contractors and a free consultation with an interior designer and one with an architect. But new listings are the lifeblood of real-estate brokerage firms, and Ms. Siderow said that in order to get new listings in a slow market, "I really had to rack my brain and think creatively, because there's just not enough inventory out there. What is happening is that They' first-time home buyers are staying in their starter homes for longer periods of time today. re probably worried about their jobs or the economy, whatever. In the 80's, five years in the first house and they were gone back in the market for a bigger, more expensive house." https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/02/nyregion/extra-services-give-realtors-an-edge.html 1/2 FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 07/14/2018 - 08:37 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018 7/14/2018 Extra Services Give Realtors an Edge The New York Times NYSCEF DOC. NO. 30 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 07/14/2018 Ms. Siderow said she has been able to obtain some choice properties in the million-plus range, and in order to woo the seller she said, we' "I meet with every potential seller myself and go through the steps about how we will help them sell their house. For instance, we'll send we' we' in a cleaning service for five hours. It's free of charge. And we'll arrange for things like oil tank inspections, and then we'll also pay for the expect." warranty. The bottom line is that we give sellers more than they "more" The has paid off. Ms. Siderow, who said she used her own capital to get into business, also said her projection for her company was to become profitable in the second year of operations. black." She said, "However, to my delight, we clicked almost immediately, and six months after we were in business, we were in the In Katonah, Donald H. McGuire, a mortgage banker, has also formed a company that is geared to increase Mr. McGuire's business by gaining first-timehome buyers. The company, More Than a Mortgage, he said, gives new home buyers something of added value. years' Mr. McGuire, who has had more than 30 experience as a corporate relocation consultant and an independent mortgage banker, said: "In a slow market, giving home buyers more than they expect has stimulated business. The company is set up to assist in pre-move issues such as how to chose a real-estate broker, and then we go through all the steps leading to the purchase of a house, such as appraiser." negotiations with the seller and He continued: "But at the heart of any home-buying process is the financing. We work with so many loan sources that we can find a deal." client the absolute best possible More Than a Mortgage, he said, is structured to provide the same kind of discount services for its clients who are moving that large corporations routinely provide to their employees. "For instance, we can get a client discounts down the line, a discount from the moving company, from the lawyer at the closing and dealer," from the appraiser and even a discount from the fuel he said. "From a network of contacts we can, for example, arrange that a client meet a lawyer for the closing who normally charges a flat fee of $975, but for our client at the closing, he will charge our client $750. We have also made arrangements with fuel oil dealers to let our clients have 100 gallons of fuel free. Appraisers we use also charge our less." clients Mr. McGuire's compensation comes not from the client but from the lending institution at the closing. He gets a fractional percentage of the mortgage. increased," "Yes, my business has he said in answer to a question. "People today are very conscious of getting full value for the dollar, you' well." and if you can provide it, you'll do The TimesMachine archive viewer is a subscriber-only feature. We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archive-feedback@nytimes.com. A versionof this articleappearsin printon July 2, 1995,on PageWC13of the Nationaleditionwith the headline:ExtraServicesGive Realtorsan Edge. © 2018The NewYorkTimes Company https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/02/nyregion/extra-services-give-realtors-an-edge.html 2/2