Home Buying Seminar - Wednesday, June 24, 6 to 7:30 pm

I've not done a home buyer Seminar in a couple of years but there is so much good stuff going on right now with the $8000 first time home buyer credit that the timing just seems right. So mark your calendar or tell a friend. Wednesday, June 24, 6 to 7:30 pm at 2024 W. Henrietta Road, Suite 2A; which is the home office of First Rochester Mortgage Corp. I'm real proud of the impressive panel of

Cash for Buying a House

For the past two weeks or so, there have been rumors galore that first time home buyers will be able to borrow their federal tax credit in order to use that money for closing costs and down payment towards the purchase of a home. The details have not yet been worked out but I think this is going to happen. There are some technicalities that have to be worked out because basically you are not

The Purpose of the Home Inspection

Okay, I'm getting grumpy! I'm tired and have not had a day off in a while. With that being said, let me get this off my chest!




The purpose of the home inspection is NOT to renegotiate the terms of the sale. If you put in a purchase offer on a house with a tarp over the garage roof, don't expect $5000 concession because the inspector says the garage is a piece of crap.

The purpose of the

The Seach for the Ugly House

Some of my clients think I'm a little crazy when I advocate for buying ugly houses. Now I'm not talking butt-ugly. I'm talking about the type of ugly that a coat of paint or perhaps new carpet will fix. And I advocate for that type of house because that is where the best deals are.Houses with "Pottery Barn Decor" are fun to look at but you will "ohh and ahh" all the way to the bank if you

Buyer Beware!

With all the media attention on the sub-prime mortgage situation, it seems that hardly a day passes when some buyer doesn't ask me about foreclosures. It seems that everybody thinks that is the best way to get the best deal in Rochester real estate. Today was no exception. I was working with a buyer looking for a multi-family investment property in the city of Rochester. He was pretty excited

Carbon Monoxide - Avoid and Prevent!

While inspecting a Wyoming County home recently, I encountered another carbon monoxide concern. This is a good time of year to consider the potential hazards associated with Carbon monoxide.Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas produced by the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, oil, wood, and propane in devices such as furnaces, water heaters, and stoves. Harmful interior

Curl up by the fire

____________________________________RELAXATION TIME GET MORE OUT OF LIFE!_____________________________________I have noticed that homebuyers often get excited about the presence of a fireplace in their prospective home. I can see their plans to make Christmas memories, they might be thinking of self sufficiency during power outages, or just a romantic evening in the cold winter season. Fireplaces

Best Money Spent

One of the most misunderstood concepts of purchasing a home is the contingency for a home inspection. Homes don't pass or fail inspection. Instead, inspectors simply document the conditions found at a home and then a buyer must decide if they can tolerate the findings of the inspection.In most cases, purchase contracts are written so that a buyer cannot cancel a contract based on the findings of

Sprung a Leak

We almost didn't do a final walk through. These buyers were suppose to get possession of the house they were buying 5 days in advance of closing. That would have allowed them to move at a leisurely pace and then a day of cleaning up for the new owners of their house. At the last minute the seller reneged! And in the panic of fast paced packing, the sellers almost declined the opportunity to walk