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Rib Eye – Your “Go-To” Steak

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Backyard barbeque: A great reason to buy a house!

We’ve all done it: We’ve wandered down the meat case at the supermarket, looked at every steak there, and bought something that looked good but didn’t know if it’s what we “should” be buying. I’m here to tell you that MY house steak, the steak that NEVER lets me down is the Rib Eye.

A Rib Eye steak is PACKED with that meaty flavor you crave. You really can’t screw it up when you’re cooking it because it has plenty of marbling so that it’s juicy even if you prefer it well done.

Grades of meat

Meat is classified or “graded” based on how much marbling is found throughout the cut. Marbling is the thin lines of fat lacing the muscle. It’s what makes meat tender and is much sought after.

Prime
You can usually only find Prime grades of meat served at high class restaurants served by a high-class waiter holding a high-class check for the meal.

Choice
You’ll find this at the butcher shop. If you go to a “better” supermarket that has a butcher’s counter AND a meat aisle, what’s in the aisle will be Select. Make sure you go to the butcher’s counter and ask for Choice.

Select
It’s supermarket quality and perfectly fine but if you want to treat yourself to something special, step up to Choice or, on that special occasion, dine out and order a bottle of wine and a good Prime cut of meat. If you’re buying Select, just make sure it’s never been frozen and buy the youngest date with the most marbling. You won’t go wrong! Trim any fat that you don’t want AFTER cooking, not before.

Standard
If it doesn’t have a Grade marked on the label, it’s probably Standard. Most inexperienced cooks snap this up because it looks lean, red, and juicy but they end up disappointed by a dry and chewy steak. You should cook this in a stew.

Pan-Seared Rib Eye

Ingredients

  • 1 boneless Rib Eye steak, 1 1/2-inch thick
  • Canola oil to coat
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Directions
Place 10 to 12-inch cast iron skillet in oven and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring steak(s) to room temperature.

When oven reaches temperature, remove pan and place on range over high heat. Coat steak lightly with oil and season both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper to taste.

Immediately place steak in the middle of hot, dry pan. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes. Flip steak and cook for another 2 minutes. (This time is for medium rare steaks. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.)

Remove steak from pan, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 2 minutes. Serve whole or slice thin and fan onto plate.

Basic Mustard BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 cup prepared yellow mustard
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne

Directions
Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low for at least thirty minutes. This is great for a southern style barbecue.

Sure, it’s a great time to buy a house because of low rates and a fantastic inventory at affordable prices. But if you ask me, being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life in your own backyard is the BEST reason to own your own home.

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Posted in Buyers, Garden | Your Thoughts? (0) »



God Will Provide

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Grab a helping hand when you see it

Right in mid-sentence, a customer abruptly hung up on one of my colleagues at the office. Dejected, my colleague turned to me and asked why people are so mean when all she’s trying to do is help them find a house. It’s the dog-days of summer and everyone’s on vacation. Business gets a little slow. My colleague said that she’s not worried because, “God will provide.”

This reminded me of a little joke my late Daddy, Al, told me. It’s really a story of how we sometimes don’t recognize a helping hand when it’s being extended to us.

There was a raging flood one year and the water was VERY high. The water was rising over the rooftops of all the houses in town. On one such rooftop stood a man, waist-deep in water. Looking up at the sky, he was praying, “Oh, God, oh, God, please save me from this terrible flood!”

He stopped praying, blinked, and looked around in anticipation. Nothing happened!

It was still raining buckets and the water was rising fast when a man in a rowboat pulled up and said, “Mister, this is some kind of flood. You better get in this boat quick! I’ll row you to dry land.”

The man on the roof said, “No thank you. You row on and save someone else. I’ve prayed very hard and know that God will save me.”

As you can imagine, the rain kept coming and coming and soon, the water was CHEST-HIGH! The man on the roof was getting a little worried. At just about this time, a man in a motorboat speeding around the neighborhood stopped and said, “Sir, this rain isn’t going to stop soon. You better climb aboard before things get real bad.”

The man on the roof shouted over the storm and said, “Thank you, thank you. You’re very kind but God will save me. I’m sure of this because I’ve prayed very hard. Please go and save other less fortunate people.”

The motorboat sped off and the storm continued to rage.

It wasn’t too long before the man on the roof was up to his NECK and barely able to keep his head above water. It was so bad that a Coast Guard helicopter was sent to rescue the man. As he hovered overhead, a Guardsman shouted down, “Sir, this is your last chance! Climb up the rope ladder and save yourself! We’ll bring you to shore high and dry!”

The man on the roof shouted back, “I’m going to be OK! Thank you! God will save me very soon!”

The helicopter buzzed away, the water washed over the man, and he drowned.

He was angry when he came to the Pearly Gates of Heaven. Meeting God, he asked, “Why didn’t You save me? I prayed and prayed and You did nothing for me! Where were You when I needed you most?!?”

Puzzled, God looked at the soggy man and said, “Son, what more could I do? I sent you TWO boats and a helicopter!”

That’s how it is in real estate sometimes. Realtors® try very hard to help people find the homes of their dreams but often their efforts fall on deaf ears. I think it’s a failure of the Realtor®. It’s not the customer’s fault.

The customer is always right.

A good Realtor® will take the time to explain the value and services they’ll provide. Only God can get away with skipping the explaining part.

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Beware Craigslist Scam

Friday, July 2, 2010

A Realtor® is Your Best Defense

Listing information, including photos, is gathered from an agent’s or brokerage firm’s Web site and a fake Craigslist ad is created advertising the property for rent – typically at a bargain rental. The ad is accompanied by contact information, which includes an email address and a phone number, which may be the agent’s or the owner’s phone number. Email inquiries receive replies with an elaborate story concerning the “owner’s” necessity of renting very quickly. Of course, the scammer then makes off with the deposit for the “rental.”

Precautions for Sellers
  • Check Craigslist and other similar Web sites immediately if you receive inquiries concerning your property for rent when it’s really listed for sale.
  • Refer all inquiries concerning your property – whether for lease or sale – to your Realtor®.

Precautions for Buyers
  • Check public records for landlord’s name and verify info against landlord’s picture ID.
  • Do not buy or rent property by Mail Order or online only. Enlist the services of an experienced Realtor®.

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Five Trends to Watch in Real Estate

Friday, June 4, 2010

Home sales are surging. Don’t be left behind.

As a buyer, there are five trends you want to watch as you shop for your new home. The last one, though, is personal.

  1. Prices
  2. Sales
  3. Interest Rates
  4. Jobs
  5. Showings

Prices

In the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire, home prices have stabilized and are even ticking up. New homes are coming on the market all the time and they’re being priced more aggressively. The buyers, however, aren’t biting at the aggressively priced homes.

The buy side of the market is still of the mindset that foreclosures or other “distressed” properties are a bargain. As new buyers enter the market and face the reality of homes that require “too much work,” they’re starting to move up-market and considering more realistically-priced homes.

Buyers who are looking for a “deal” on real estate will find them harder to come by going into the Fall selling season.

Sales

Single-family home sales are brisk in this area. Not counting condos and multi-families, 34 single-family homes closed in the month of May in Methuen alone. Andover had 24 closings, North Andover had 19, Haverhill had 34, Lawrence saw 22, and Lowell recorded 39. North of the border in New Hampshire, Salem saw 14 closings of single-families, Portsmouth had 22 sales, and Nashua enjoyed an incredible 47 sales.

Across the nation, Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Assoc. of Realtors® (Bio) says that in the short-term, sales will decline as the effect of the home-buyer tax credit wears off but over the long-term, sales should increase as the market returns to a more normal equilibrium.

There is no question that the real estate market in the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire is alive and well. To see so many single-family homes change hands in a one-month period should encourage buyers and sellers alike to take advantage of this traffic.

Interest Rates

The market anticipated rates moving higher as the government wrapped up its purchases of bonds at the end of the first quarter. This buying program was part of the economic stimulus package that was designed to keep interest rates low. As luck would have it, the European economies ran into difficulty. The trouble in Europe has sent bond buyers scurrying to the safety of U.S. bonds.

Yields (or rates) move inversely to the price of bonds. As bond prices rise, yields go down. Uncle Sam was driving demand for bonds as part of its stimulus program. That demand kept prices high, and yields low. When the Treasury stopped buying, European investors stepped in to fill the void.

Interest rates are expected to stay low for as long as there is weakness in the European economies.

Jobs

According to The Boston Globe (Business Updates), the unemployment rate in Massachusetts moved lower to 9.2% in April from 9.3 percent in March and 9.5 percent in February. While still on the high side, the trend towards lower unemployment is becoming clear.

More people with jobs – and money in their pockets – means higher demand for everything from washers and dryers to cars and real estate. Clearly, the economy is on the mend: 90% of the people in Massachusetts alone have a job and the means to buy a home if that’s what’s important to them.

More jobs means more competition for buyers in the real estate market. Buyers should be on the lookout for bidding wars on the more realistically-priced homes on the market and be prepared to offer their highest and best bids on the home of their dreams.

Showings

If you’re working with a good Realtor® and they’ve shown you 6-10 homes that meet your requirements and you’re still not satisfied, you might be in danger of being priced out of the market (Is it Really a Seller’s Market?). There’s not a single buyer out there that doesn’t want to “fall in love” with a home. But, if you’re not feeling the love in the price range that you’re comfortable with, you might find yourself having to stretch a bit.

Don’t be afraid of stretching today in order to live the life you love for the next 10-20 years or more! Today’s investment in real estate can bring years of pleasure in the future.

Buyers will do well to consider that they’re locking in a lifestyle at today’s dollars and interest rates that will seem trivial only five years from now (How to Take the Risk Out of Buying a Home).

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Posted in Buyers, Economy, Investment | Your Thoughts? (0) »



Is it REALLY a Seller’s Market?

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

How to tell if you’re being priced out of the market

You’ve been sitting on the fence about buying a home. You’ve been looking and looking but nothing really strikes your fancy. There’s a good reason for that! You’re being priced out of the market. And it’s only going to get worse from here.

Your Price Range is Getting Tight

You don’t see it coming – it happens that slowly – but one day you wake up and decide that now is not the time for you to buy a home. You just got priced out of the market.

It’s a shame, too: There are so many good homes just begging to be bought but you keep waiting for new inventory. And it never comes. That’s because new inventory is being priced more aggressively with each passing day. The new, GOOD stuff is not hitting your universe and you don’t know it because you’re “looking for homes between X and Y.”

Here’s the scenario: You buy your home based on your monthly payment. You HAVE to. It’s an economic reality. So, you set your Internet search criteria for homes in your price range. You can’t move higher than that because you can’t afford it. It’s normal. Only Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have the luxury of buying any darned thing they want. The rest of us have to live with the universe of homes in our search criteria’s price range. That’s YOUR universe. Read Fantastic Inventory.

The Mortgage Calculator Brings Bad News

You start to notice that the new stuff that hits your radar isn’t quite what you were looking for. Each day, you get more frustrated. You start playing with numbers with the mortgage calculator to see if you can afford more. You check the interest rates and notice that they’re ticking up. When you plug the new number in, your dreams are dashed!

The next shoe to drop is the disappearing tax credit. Current homeowners are eligible for $6,500 bucks, first-timers could score $8,000 grand. You have to sign a purchase and sale agreement by April 30 and close on the deal by June 30. Short sales and bank-owned properties disappear from the radar since they probably won’t close in time. After April 30, everything gets $6,500-$8,000 more expensive.

The numbers start looking worse for you. How about tax rates? Someone has to pay for free health care, “cash for clunkers,” tax credits for homebuyers, and all that other stimulus. You’ll see that person in the mirror. Property assessments start to rise, tax rates are hiked. The new reality that comes from the mortgage calculator is not pretty when you plug in higher taxes.

Jobs: Good News, Bad News

The good news on the jobs front is that jobs are coming back. Hooray! The bad news for homebuyers is that jobs are coming back. Boooooo… More people with more money in their pockets means increased competition. More demand means higher home prices.

Not too many folks are worried about mass layoffs anymore. Indeed, the latest reports from the National Association of Realtors and MLS Property Information Network, the local Multiple Listing Service, is that Essex and Middlesex counties have fallen into Seller’s Market territory. The main driver of this new phenomenon is jobs.

The most recent report is the 4th Quarter 2009 Economic and Market Watch. It shows that on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being a full-blown Seller’s Market, Essex and Middlesex counties are at a 4. The prior two quarters were at a neutral 3. You can see all these reports on the MLS Web site.

What’s Past is Prologue

Shakespeare said it best, “What’s past is prologue.” The fourth quarter of 2009 is old news. You and your Realtor® are making fresh news TODAY. Don’t let the headline read, “Seller’s Market Leaves Would-Be Buyers in the Cold.”

How to Save Yourself

Folks on the fence about buying a home are spending WAY too much time in front of a computer screen and not enough time inside of houses. The Internet is a sword that cuts two ways: It makes searching for homes so much easier but it also feeds your indecision. You’re overloaded with information but the information you’re getting is not helping you make a decision.

Pretty pictures on the Internet don’t tell you anything about the layout of a house. The pretty pictures are silent on the location or neighborhood. If you’re SERIOUS about buying a home, you absolutely MUST work with a Realtor® who can help you line up financing, set up private viewings on YOUR schedule, and coordinate the closing and final move into your new home.

A Realtor® will help you decide what’s best for you and your family. The Internet will show you pretty pictures of a Seller’s Market while you get priced out of the market.

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Posted in Buyers, Economy, Uncategorized | Your Thoughts? (1) »



Why You Should Watch the Jobs Numbers

Sunday, March 28, 2010

People aren’t afraid of losing their jobs

You’re a buyer and you’re looking for a new home. You’re hoping you can get a tax credit but you know that in the bigger scheme of things, $8,000 bucks for a first-timer or $6,500 bucks for a current homeowner isn’t that big of a deal (Tax Credit). You KNOW you’re worried about interest rates creeping up (CBS News: How High Will Morgage Rates Go?) but you PRAY that home prices stay affordable. Watch the labor market and unemployment report for clues to what the future holds.

The Recession is Easing

We’re already seeing the effects of the recession easing. People aren’t so afraid of losing their jobs. Consumers are coming back into the stores and opening their wallets. Retailers are stocking their shelves and that means that manufacturers are ramping up production. This renewed economic activity lifts people’s spirits and spells J-O-B-S. Jobs!

According to the Economic and Market Watch Report for the 4th Quarter, 2009, the National Association of Realtors® says that 1,036 jobs were added in Essex County. There were 2,732 new jobs added to the payroll in Middlesex County. That’s the fourth quarter of last year. That’s old news. (Late News Cycle).

Realtors® are Busy

It just keeps getting better! If you’ve just come back from reading (Late News Cycle, you’ll know that what’s happening TODAY is more relevant. This author has been working flat-out seven days a week since the beginning of February. He’s been in someone’s house almost every night up to 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 p.m.! And he’s wearing a silly grin.

Over the past few years, Realtors® haven’t had to worry about setting appointments. They’ve had a lot of free time on their hands. TODAY, Realtors® live on a strict schedule set in an appointment book. And all of this is because people have more confidence in the economy, more money in their pockets, and no more worries about the next wave of layoffs.

Unemployment Report is Due Friday

On Friday, the government will release its monthly employment report. Most economists expect that it will be the first ray of sunshine since 2007. If the news breaks as expected, SELLERS will begin gaining pricing power. Pent-up demand for homes from serious buyers will be unleashed. Serious buyers are like your Mom and Dad. They want a homestead. Home, Sweet, Home. They’re turning away from beaten-up foreclosures and looking for something to raise a family in.

You’re a buyer and you’re looking for a new home. You’re also looking at increased competition from other buyers with more confidence in the economy, more money in their pockets, and no more worries about the next wave of layoffs. AND, you’re facing SELLERS with increasing pricing power.

Good Inventory is Needed

Currently, this author reports that the hardest task he’s facing is getting enough inventory. It’s selling as quickly as it comes on the market — if it’s in decent shape. This means that buyers are facing bidding wars for the good stuff while the foreclosures just plod through the bank bureaucracy.

Watch the jobs report on Friday. Watch the interest rates. Notice how new inventory is coming on the market priced more aggressively. And, be careful that you don’t find yourself priced out of the market or having to settle for second best. If you’re a buyer, acting sooner rather than later is in your best interest.

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Will You Have a Place When the Music Stops?

Monday, March 1, 2010

You Know the Tune

The downturn of the housing industry has been music to a buyer’s ears. You know the tune: Low interest rates, a first-time homebuyer tax credit, falling home prices, a vast selection of foreclosed properties… The problem is, buyers have enjoyed the party so long that they think the music will never stop. But it will. All good things must come to an end and in this case, the end will come sooner rather than later. As a buyer, you have to ask yourself, “Will I have a place when the music stops?” You will, if you’re informed and you’re prepared.

Low Interest Rates

Interest rates are being kept at artificially low levels by government stimulus efforts. In a nutshell, the Treasury has committed to buying $1.25 trillion dollar’s worth of bonds. This artificial demand has kept the price of bonds up. Since yields move opposite to the price, a high bond price means a low yield. Low yield, low interest rates.

When the demand drops, the price drops. It’s the old supply and demand thing. When the price drops, yields go up. High yield, high interest rates.

The important thing to know is that the bond-buying program ends at the end of the first quarter: March 31. Many economists believe that rates could climb by a half point to as much as a full percentage point higher. You could see rates as high as 6.00% by mid-April. (More background at CBS News: How High Will Mortgage Rates Go?)

A one-time feel-good tax credit is wonderful but it masks the single biggest concern that SHOULD be on a buyer’s mind: Interest rates. Nothing cuts into buying power like a higher interest rate. (Read Great Rates)

Remember, you make money when you BUY not when you sell. YOU control the buy side, the sell side will always be an uncertainty. When you lock in a low rate, you’re locking in a better profit down the road.

First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit

Speaking of FREE money… how about $8,000 bucks? No matter who you are, $8,000 dollars still buys a lot of sandwiches.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the news, if you sign an agreement to buy your first home by April 30 and close on the deal by June 30, you probably qualify for a FREE $8,000 dollars courtesy of government stimulus efforts. The music stops on April 30. (Realtor.org: Tax Credit)

Short sales and other kinds of distressed properties take 3-4 months to close. This means that all those great deals that buyers have been dreaming about no longer make as much sense in just a few weeks from now.

Falling Home Prices

Ask an experienced Realtor® and they’ll tell you that in Northeastern Massachusetts, home prices are NOT falling. They’ve stabilized and are on the upswing. That’s great news for sellers, not so much for buyers. Again, it’s a supply and demand thing.

The fact of the matter is, there are a whole lot more buyers out there than there are sellers. Inventory around these parts is tight. If they can help it, sellers avoid putting their homes on the market during the holidays. And then they wait out the cold months of January and February. And then they wait until prices firm up. And they wait… and wait… and this puts pressure on buyers and guess what? Home prices go up!

Today. Right now. In Essex and Middlesex counties, inventory is being snapped up like it’s going out of style. There are multiple offers and bidding wars. Buyers are losing properties by offering too little, too late. And then they have to settle for second best.

The “Falling Home Prices” music has already stopped. What you read in the news is for national AVERAGES that take into account some seriously hurting parts of the country like Florida, Nevada, Michigan, et al. In the Merrimack Valley, getting enough inventory is the hard part.

Foreclosed Properties

There’s no doubt that foreclosures are out there but they’re subject to the same laws of supply and demand that all the other houses are. There are bidding wars and multiple offers on these, too. Plus, they have the added burden of taking 3-4 months to close, the generally poor condition they’re in, and the lack of certainty that your offer will actually be the one that the bank finally decides to accept once they get around to sifting through the pile of offers on their desks.

Foreclosures are for investors, not for primary homeowners. Investors flip a house in such a short amount of time that interest rates don’t have time to fluctuate so much that it’s a major concern to them. They’re looking for a bottom-line profit and they generally don’t qualify for a tax credit. Competing against investors in a market that’s starting to heat up doesn’t make much sense if you’re looking for a place to call your own. (How to Flip a House Like an Investor)

A Sense of Urgency

It’s hard to imagine that there are still folks on the sidelines about buying a home but Realtors® see it all the time. They give buyers a list of possibilities, suggest and show them the best of the bunch, and still, the buyer keeps looking. If they knew the kind of hangover that’s in store for them when the party’s over, they’ll want to act sooner, rather than later.

Can you imagine? Higher rates at the end of March, no more tax credit, foreclosures not being the sweet deals that they used to be, and home prices heading up with each passing day!

If you’re a buyer and you need help finding a home, please write to Brian X. Murphy. If you’re a seller, the inventory is desperately needed. Please CALL (978) 852-6006 TODAY!

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