The purpose of showing your home is to hook a buyer. You want the buyers to come through your house and be impressed - so impressed in fact, that they're ready to make an offer! You'll have one chance to make a great first impression on the potential buyers, so make sure to follow these five helpful tips to really make it count!

1. Focus on the outside. Make sure that you don't neglect the outside of your home. Curb appeal can make or break the odds of someone even bothering to get out of the car to come in. If they pull up and see a home with a lawn that obviously needs edging and has an unkempt flower bed, they're going to wonder what else hasn't been cared for properly. You want the outside of your home to be spotless. Clean the siding, the windows, and the doors. Make sure there are no dirt smudges, no cobwebs and that anything that needs painting has been spiffed up. 

1. Take yourself out of the house. That means that you want to take out all the personal stuff. Remove the family photos from the wall or tables. You want the home to look neutral so that the potential buyers can look at your house and picture it as themselves living there. Everything should be as neutral as possible in terms of personal items. 

1. Remove all the extra clutter you see at first glance. If you look around, it'll amaze you at how much stuff you've accumulated over the years. Some of it might very well be important, but that doesn't mean that your potential buyers should see it. When you have a lot of clutter, it shrinks the living space of the house. It makes it look and feel cramped and smaller. Many homeowners get something called house blindness. They've lived in the home for so long with the same clutter that they don't even really see it anymore. But a stranger will always notice. So clean out your house and make the space as big as possible.

1. If you have a pet, no one that walks through your house should be able to notice it exists. That means no cat litter box, no dog to jump on anyone, no food sitting around in a dish. Your home should not have any pet odors. Having a clean house that's odor free is a big selling point. You don't want to lose a possible deal just because they can smell your pet's presence or your pet makes a bad impression.

1. Stage your home! You can hire a professional or you can do it yourself. Stage your living areas in a way that shows off your home. You can rent furniture to make your home furnishings look good if you don't use a stager. Someone who knows how to stage a house knows how to play up the best features of your home and knows what to bring in or get rid of to make the entire house appeal to a buyer. 

First impressions are HUGE when showing you home to potential buyers, but by following the simple tips above you will be well on your way to making a great impression and, hopefully, receiving multiple offers!  (And if you are at all anxious about this important step, just reach out to a trusted real estate agent in your area who can help guide you through this process!)

Laffey Real Estate Welcomes Gavilla to Huntington Office

Greenvale, NY – Laffey Real Estate recently announced the hiring of veteran real estate broker, Hector Gavilla to the position of Branch Manager of the Huntington Office, Laffey Real Estate's easternmost location.  Gavilla is a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker.  He is responsible for the office's recruitment, productivity, and daily management of agent success and staff workload. 

Gavilla comes to the firm with an extensive background in real estate.  As a training instructor and realtor, Hector brings a valuable combination of mentor and agent into his management skill set.  His hands-on coaching style and experience in the field has already produced results in the office he leads. 

Upon introducing Gavilla to the management team, Donnamarie Chaimanis, President offered this about the appointment, "Hector is a great find and perfect fit for the team in Huntington.  His almost two decades of real estate experience, local knowledge and marketing savvy is the trifecta of traits we are looking for in our branch leaders."  She added, "We know Hector will be a valuable part of our team." 

Gavilla owned and managed his own brokerage for nine years until selling to a competitor in 2019, where he stayed until making the leap to head up the Huntington Branch for Laffey Real Estate.

A resident of Huntington, Gavilla is active in Huntington politics.  He serves on the Town of Huntington Affordable Housing Advisory Board, a committee of non-paid Huntington Residents appointed by the Huntington Town Board to make recommendations with respect to the administration of the Affordable Housing Trust and Agency Fund.

Laffey Real Estate, a leading residential real estate broker on Long Island, launched their Virtual Showing Platform in early April to much acclaim.  The demand for virtual viewings is still strong.  Visit Laffey.com/OpenHouse page to participate.  Interested buyers can find homes to preview every Wednesday from noon to 1:00 pm via Facebook Premier and Laffey.com. 

This is simple and safe home showings.  Go to Laffey.com/OpenHouse page.  Choose the property.  Click on the Facebook Live button under the listing address.  The open houses are scheduled in advance so the date and time is shown on the listing page as well.  Visitors will be notified when they are registered and will receive a notification that their Virtual Open House is beginning.  It is easy to explore open houses from a desktop, laptop and smart device.   

The market is very robust.  Nationwide, there was a 20.7 percent increase in existing-home sales — which includes single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops — between May and June of this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

On Long Island, the number of pending sales spiked by 60.6% in Nassau County and by 55.6% in Suffolk last month, compared with a year earlier, OneKey MLS, the multiple listing service that includes Long Island, reported Thursday.

Prices increased in both counties. In Nassau, closed sale prices ticked up 1.1% annually, to a median $551,250, and pending sale prices rose by 6.4%, to a median $580,000. Suffolk County median closed sale prices jumped by 5.8% to $439,000 and pending sale prices rose by 8.4% to $450,000, the listing service reported.

In July 2020, the median list price of single family homes in Queens County, NY was $750K, and media sale price was $650,000; condos median list price was $638,000 and media sold was $530,000. Homes in Queens County, NY sold for 3.5% below asking price on average in July 2020

Combined with record-low interest rates and high rents, City dwellers are adding another element to the frenzied pace of available home buyers. The average interest rate was 2.96% last week, down 0.64 percentage points from a year ago, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

"This method of engaging our customers have proven fruitful for everyone", explained Donnamarie Chaimanis, President Laffey Real Estate.  "With Zoom, WhatsApp, Google Meets live streaming and showing appointments, the overwhelming number of buyers coming to our website requesting virtual showings and meetings has been awe-inspiring." 

Since mid-April, during the height of the pandemic and beyond, Laffey Real Estate débuted more than 500 Virtual Open Houses reaching thousands of potential buyers across Laffey.com, Agent Websites and Facebook. 

Who Are Long Island's Top Realtors?

Laffey Real Estate's James Gavin!!!

Long Island Press recently named Manhasset's own James Gavin to the 2020 Top Realtors of Long Island.  We are proud to recognize James Gavin, a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, as a true professional in the Residential Real Estate industry.  He is a Luxury Home Marketing Expert with a very successful and impressive portfolio of representing notable and distinct North Shore homes.   

Gavin's accolades include being named "Rookie of the Year" at his Manhasset firm in 2015, earning the title of "Rising Star Residential Agent Of The Year" by Long Island Business News in 2017, and being named to Zillow's Best of the Best list in 2019. He sells homes all along the North Shore Corridor from Great Neck to Cutchogue with a specialty in the Manhasset-Port Washington-Sands Point Markets. 

To preview his historic legacy transactions and read more about his beginnings, visit his website Jamesgavin.laffey.com.  A lifelong resident of the North Shore, Jim resides with his wife and daughters in Manhasset.  

Laffey Real Estate congratulates all of the recipients named to the 2020 Long Island Press Top Realtors List. 

Iconic Melville Estate Rich in History and Design Excellence

Greenvale, NY – Laffey Real Estate is proud to represent the sellers of this mid-century modern masterpiece by the famed Architect of Rockefeller Center, the United Nations Headquarters, the master plan for Lincoln Center, the Perisphere and Trylon at the 1939 World's Fair and many other high profile historically significant structures in New York City. 

Located in Melville at a very desirable address, the Harrison House imbues architectural excellence.  This 3.6 acre private and masterfully restored estate is just as much a home as it is a work of art that celebrates form, material and the architect's penchant for circular spaces. 

Harrison House was the place for the lively social and artistic "who's who of the time" hosting everyone from Alvar Aalto and Marc Chagall to Robert Moses and French Painter Fernand Leger. 

In 1975 the house was sold to art dealer Harold Diamond and his wife. If the name doesn't spark a memory, the Diamonds are parents to Mike D of Beastie Boys fame.  During their ownership, the Diamonds were instrumental in getting the house designated on the National Register of Historic Places though it offered no protection from demolition. 

Fast forward, the current owners, while admittedly knowing very little about modernist architecture, recognized that the house was special and vowed to restore to its original luster.  Together with the guidance of Steve Schappacher and his partner Renee White, SchappacherWhite DPC and the new owners embarked on a 2-year odyssey to restore, rework and repair the once magnificent estate where it remains today as a testament to the memory of Harrison's remarkable vision. 

Three original circular rooms are the center design elements of this mid-century modern home. The circular living room with the original terrazzo/wood dance floor was the model for NYCs Rainbow Room. Grand rooms include the Gourmet kitchen with clerestory windows, upper and lower family rooms and library. Design features include 5 fireplaces, custom millwork and cabinetry throughout the house by Dune, walnut flooring and walls of glass which allows abundant light and landscaped grounds into the fabric of the home. An expanded lower level boats a multimedia theatre, wine cellar and gym and a convenient walkout to the rear grounds.

The grounds are a private resort with a stunning circular saltwater pool, new Turf Tek surface tennis court, slate patio, 8 hole mini-golf, waterfall and rolling hills of lush mature landscaping complete this architectural showcase.

Offered at $5,999,000 by Broker Owner Philip C. Laffey  516.359.1489 plaffey@laffeyre.com

About
Laffey Real Estate is one of the largest privately-held independent family-owned residential real estate firms on Long Island with a network of over 575 agents in 11 offices throughout Nassau, Western Suffolk and Queens Counties. Their global partnership with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^® and Luxury Portfolio^® extends their reach to more than 70 countries worldwide. 

The firm is a full-service provider offering expertise in sales, rentals, relocation, mortgage, new development marketing, mortgage and title insurance to the Long Island marketplace. Their pioneering sales management platforms, worldwide brand identity and industry-leading training curriculum embody best in class standards throughout the industry. Consumers trust in Laffey Real Estate name to represent their home buying and selling interests locally and globally. 

Consistently ranked by the two of the industry's leading consulting and research firms, REALTrends and T3 Sixty, Laffey Real Estate has an exceptional record of success proudly recognized in the largest independent brokers, total sales volume, largest brokers nationwide and network partner Leading RE affiliates. 

Laffey Real Estate announced the appointment of Donnamarie Chaimanis, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker, to the position of President of the brokerage effective immediately. 

In this newly created role, Chaimanis is tasked with maximizing branch productivity; supervise the daily sales operations, branch services, recruiting platforms and growth strategies in the markets served including Long Island and the five boroughs.  She will continue in the role of overseeing the team of branch managers and career leaders.

The announcement was made by Philip C. Laffey, Broker Owner via a senior management Zoom meeting.  "We are very pleased to have Donnamarie work alongside us.  Since joining the firm in 2005, she has been a proven leader, innovator and team player," explained Laffey.  "This offers both Mark and me the opportunity to continue to focus on more strategic initiatives while ensuring that our company is moving forward as we have envisioned." 

Chaimanis, a 15-year residential real estate veteran, has previously served in leadership positions including Branch Manager Brookville Office, Regional Vice President and Luxury Marketing Division Manager.  Before her promotion, she led the company's Luxury Marketing Division instituting training strategy, marketing initiatives and agent mentoring. 

Donnamarie has a real penchant for luxury real estate, as the market on the Gold Coast certainly warrants.  Overall, these legacy sales include the $36.5 Million Searingtown Road, Manhasset land; $20 Million Easton Estate, Muttontown; $19.88 Million Alan King Waterfront Estate, Kings Point; the $9.035 Million, Oyster Bay Cove Cassini residence and many other notable estates.  

In commenting on Donnamarie's appointment, Mark T. Laffey, Broker Owner added that "we've been grooming her for this position for a few years.  She stepped up naturally and efficiently. With her professionalism and knowledge, we are confident that Donnamarie will be an integral part of the strategic growth of Laffey Real Estate for years to come."

With her extensive experience and background in residential real estate, she will continue to work closely with the Broker Owners.  As the firm enters another chapter in their storied and well-regarded history, the vision for expansion will be well served under her guidance.