Clifton Park and Albany NY Homes for Sale: September 2008

I just read a post about a large national bank that is hurting because of the number of commercial construction loans that are going to affect their performance and this got me thinking that this under performing section will have to be offset by another division.  Well that "other" division is the consumer section which is you and me.  So, this got me thinking about where I bank.  I "bank" at a Credit Union here in the Capital District.  Now, many of you may not know much about Credit Unions so let me give you the basics:

1) Credit Unions are member-owned.  You may be required to maintain a small ($5 - $25) balance in a savings account.  This is considered your voting rights in the organization.  They do not have stock and they do not pay dividends.

2) Credit Unions are democratically controlled by a volunteer board of directors.  This means they are not paying their board members any kind of salary or stipend.  This saves the members money.

3) Credit Unions are not-for-profit.  Earnings are used to pay expenses and maintain reserves, but any excess is put back into the business through lower loan rates, higher dividend rates, lower fees, or better services.

4) Federal Credit Union (and many state chartered CUs) members deposits are Federally insured through the NCUSIF (National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund).  This is very similar to FDIC insurance that banks offer.

5) Credit Unions are monitored and reviewed to Federal Standards controlled by the NCUA.

So, as you can see, there are some real advantages to being a member of a CU.  Most of them are not "tied" to a specific employer like they were years ago.  Many have expanded their charter to allow most of the general public to Join.  Here in the Capital District, the State Employees Federal Credit Union (SEFCU) is the largest and you DON'T have to be a state employee to join.  I belong to a different CU here in the Capital District and listed below are a few of the benefits:

1) Overdraft fee is $25 vs $35-$45 at most banks.  Just for the record, I know this because my 17 year old son had two last month, not me!!!

2) They give youth members a small deposit in their account based on their grades on their report cards.  They do this to try and teach kids about how to save money.  They also pay kids for a summer reading program.

3) They consistently have the BEST CD rates in town.

4) I have three car loans (again, it's the kids!!) and when I was shopping, they had the best rates in town (outside of the manufacturer 0.9% stuff but we weren't;t buying new).

5) They have coin counters that do not charge a fee as along as you have an account.  My colleague just opened an account because he had a 5 gallon bucket of quarters.  It was $1,700 worth and her would have paid between 9% and 11% at the local banks.

These are just a few of the benefits, so if you are tired of your bank, ask your friends and family about the best CU in your town and go talk to them.  You may be very surprised what they have to offer.

Check out this link: http://www.bankerspank.com/

I could use some help............I have appointments with two clients, one today and one tomorrow.  To make a long story short, these are my first appointments with them but I have been talking to them (phone or email) for a couple months now and finally got them pinned down for showings.  Now, I personally don't like the Exclusive Buyer Agency form here in NY, because I really don't believe in forcing my clients to do business with me.  But, I believe I need to ask both of these folks to sign them.  I'm not sure they understand the whole process and I don't want to spend a lot of time and then find out that they bought from someone else.  So if you have a comment or any advice on how to ask them to sign it, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks, Lew

As I was reading through some blogs this morning when I came to really appreciate the content in here.  Now, I don't enjoy reading every single blog but that is the beauty of this place.  If you want to brush up on real estate matter, then great, if you need a quick laugh then that is great too, how about trying to make someone's day a little nicer by commenting on their story of tragedy or heartbreak?  And oh boy, if you want to talk about politics, go for it!!!  So, if you are new to the site, you are probably confused by all the non-real estate blogs posted here, well that is the beauty of the blog, you can have Neapolitan or vanilla.

Make it a great day!!! 

The Capital District of NY (Albany, NY) is a wonderful place to live, work, and play.  Whether you are looking for a urban, suburban, or rural setting we have it all and regardless of what you choose, everything else can be within 45 minutes of everything else.  The economy in this area is stable since it is the Capital of NY.  But it is also stabilized bya growing nano tech industry and several great colleges and universities.  We are also lucky to be less than a three hour drive to NYC, Boston, orMontreal.  Centrally located between the Adirondacks (visitadirondacks.com), the Berkshires, and the Catskills, there is plenty to do for those of you that enjoy outdoor activities.  And, don't forget about Lake George and Saratoga Springs Race Track.  So, come see all that the region has to offer regardless of the season.

I have been reviewing blogs this morning and read several comments to these blogs.  In a couple of instances people responded to a blog by saying "This blog is way too long..........".  Listen, the beautiful thing about blogging is that you don't have to read it.  For me, I don't like to read blogs about Bernanke's latest comments on the economy or about "Mary's newest puppy".  But this variety is why AR is such a great place.  It has a little bit of everything for anybody.  If you are concerned about getting blogs that you don't like, then start subscribing to the blogs of people you enjoy and only look at those.

Also, just because you are not a good writer and your blogs are only 51 words in length, doesn't mean everyone elses should be too....................

Now, get off your high horse and go get a listing!!!!!!!!!!!

If you need any help looking at, or buying, real estate in the Capital District please feel free to call me anytime.  If you are interested in music, then check out this weekend's Riverfront Jazz Festival.  Now, I'm no politician but I do think that Mayor Jennings has done a good job of trying to keep downtown Albany alive.  I used to be into soft Jazz before I had kids (and now the only thing on the radio is top 40!!!) and enjoyed music from David Sanborn, Acoustic Alchemy, The Benoit Freeman Project, Jazz Masters, Pat Metheny, David Benoit, and Lee Ritenour.  If you are interest in the festival, check out http://www.albanyevents.org/other_events/index.cfm

Hope to see you there!!!

My name is Lewis Beynon and if you need help looking for, or selling, real estate in the Capital District, please visit my Web site at http://lewisbeynon.capitaldistrictrealtor.com.  I am a "no pressure" professional that enjoys helping people.  That is my sole motivation for being in this business.  Not money, not "fancy homes", not "the flexible hours", just simply helping people.  I recently helped a couple move the Capital District from the south and it was my pleasure to run several "errands" for them here in the Capital District while they were down south waiting for their closing up here.

Throughout my entire career I have been taught and have been involved in delivering excellent customer service to my clients.  This is what I continue to do today in my real estate career.

So, if you need help, just drop me a line.

Lewis Beynon, Keller Williams Realty, (518) 281-3951, Lewisb@nycap.rr.com

My wife and I live in the Capital District (Albany, NY) and have 4 great kids; no trouble, great grades, part-time jobs, and sports.  Being the spoiled suburban kids that they are, they all have cell phones.  What we learned is that they won't pick up their phones when we call, but if you text, they answer right back (I will never understand this since you can talk faster than you can type).  Anyway, my wife and I have been forced to learn how to text. Worse yet, their grandfather has had to learn in order to "talk" to them.  He is a mere 68 years young.  Anyway, here is where the fountain of youth comes in, I use an Internet lead generation system that allows my to instant message my clients if they are on my system.  In order to do this, I have had to set up an account with AIM and need to leave it on while I am working.  So, now I have the privilege of not only texting my kids, but can now IM them.  This make me feel like a kid again!!!!!!  Ah, the fountain of youth.  Next thing you know, I'll be getting a tattoo or wait, maybe a piercing??????  What do you think?????

I was handed a small stack of leads (about 12) from one of my colleagues SEVERAL months ago and they said "if you want these you can have them."  My colleague tried them all once and then gave up.  Now most of them have never returned my calls or emails.  I continue to communicate to them about once a month.  If they tell me to stop I will, but until then........................  Any way, one of the leads would occasionally respond to my calls or emails.  I finally got him to commit to a time and day to go look at some Capital District listings!!!  So to all you newbies out there, until the lead tells you to stop: NEVER GIVE UP!!!