Episode 231 - Lori Lambert and Steven Zellman

Discussing New Beginnings at Saunders

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Transcript

Andrew Doud 0:08

It is Thursday, everyone. I'm Andrew Dowd. It is time for the Happening in the Hamptons podcast, our weekly breakdown of the Hamptons market, new listings and events on the East End. We are sponsored by New York Title Abstract, the Hamptons leading title insurance firm. Visit NewYorkTitle.com. We are joined as always by Steve Glick, Dave Retiner, and today this is first time guests. Yep. I believe. Welcome in Lori Lambert and Steven Zellman. Am I saying that correctly? You are saying it's a good thing. Perfect. Um, new to Saunders, welcome.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Thank you.

Andrew Doud 0:37

Uh welcome to Saunders. Welcome to the podcast. Uh, this is great. So tell us a little bit about how things have been since making the move.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Well, first of all, we're happy to be here. Thank you so much for inviting us to this. I've been listening to it for a long time, so it's nice to be on the other side of the mic.

Andrew Doud 0:52

There you go. All right. You're like over 200 episodes, like like well over 200 episodes in. We've been doing this right now. So what number are we? What number are we at?

Steve Glick 1:00

That's a good question. So this is episode number 231. Wow. Okay, we have lottery. We'll play those numbers too.

Andrew Doud 1:08

That's it, yeah, exactly. 231. Um, so what's happening?

SPEAKER_00 1:12

So we're really happy to be here. I mean, it was a it was a transition we made at the top of the uh month of July, and it has been a glorious ride so far. We we love everybody here. The uh the presence that Saunders has in the Hamptons is unsurpassed. Um we're also really, really impressed with the way that you guys are so involved in the community. It's really good to be part of a local team that actually gets in and understands what it takes to really attract Hamptons buyers and sellers in a way that's really personal and it's not corporate, but it's really professional, and the team here is extraordinary. We are we are thrilled to be here.

Andrew Doud 1:53

That's so well said, and we didn't even like we didn't even get her to say that. I wasn't what a nice thing. We didn't tear up on that. That was great. Um so so thank you. Um and and you guys have a couple listings already. Yeah, we do. Uh so let's let's talk about that. What do we have on market? I guess we have one coming to market, we'll get to that. But what do we have currently available for you folks?

SPEAKER_03 2:13

10 Wagon Lane in East Hampton and 16 Hollyok in East Hampton.

Andrew Doud 2:18

And 10 wagon lane. Let me see if I can pull this up. Well, talk about those listings.

Steve Glick 2:22

I know you guys, before you even put these listings onto the market, there's a lot of work that goes into that, right? There's a lot of research. You're touring the home. Talk about the process before you put the listing live on the market.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

So, first of all, um, obviously we meet with the homeowner uh to determine what their ambition is. Um, but before we go in, we usually do quite a bit of uh research doing comparisons. Well, call comps, actually. Stephen's really good at that. And um we well, you do, you are. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 2:55

I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

And and you know, everyone thinks that doing a comp is just taking a house that's five bedrooms in the same neighborhood and comparing it to another house uh in the same neighborhood. It's not, right? There's so many variables that go into it. Variables, details, little things that can potentially make or break how you price a house. And you know, and and also, you know, deciding how you're gonna market it. I always say to homeowners, you know, we can do all the marketing in the world. The number one marketing tool is the price of the house. Yes. And um and also the way that we present it to the marketplace. So, you know, frequently we walk into a house and we see that it's it just a mess.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

And clutter everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Clutter or things that need to be fixed, or you know, just bad style things that would just turn people off when they first walk in the house. So what I usually like to do is I I I tell them in the beginning, listen, I might you might think I'm mean, but we're gonna get your house sold if you want, if that's the objective, I want you to trust us. And so, you know, we ask them to remove as much clutter as possible, but also things that you might not think about. Like I always have people, I say to people, go to Home Goods and buy white sheets. You know, there's ugly sheets all over these beds, or purple and pink and green. You want somebody to be able to walk into a house and envision their life there, right? Exactly. And there's nothing like a blank slate that does that. Right? So there's that, and and and occasionally, you know, I will actually go in and change sheets with the with the seller and you know, move things around. It's not just about getting a good photo shoot, but it's about making the house feel warm and lived in without having it have too much personal effects around.

Steve Glick 4:34

You talk about the photography, that's a really important factor because these photos don't just live on saunders.com, they go everywhere. They go, you know, once you put it online, those photos are thousands of places. Uh that's the first thing people see. Yeah, that's what's going to get someone to call and make an appointment. So you're really particular on the photography, and certainly with Ten Wagon, I know we photographed that a couple times. You wanted to get it right. Then we even have like evening shots on there to really set the move. So it's like all different types of angles and different types of day to really capture the true essence of the property. And you you really take a um a lot of attention and detail into the photography.

Dave Rattiner 5:12

Where does that come from? Does that come from your back? You have a background in marketing, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:16

I have a well, I have a background. Well, like my first job.

Dave Rattiner 5:19

Very noticeable, Lori.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

We see you a lot back here with what's your slogan, lighting. Thank you. What's your slogan? Oh, timing and lighting. Um, I used to be I was in the music, I was in the music business for many years. Before that, I was an album cover designer. And when I was in uh the music industry, I ran marketing departments for Sony and Universal for many years. And what's involved in that is really getting a product out to market in uh a way that each each project has to be dealt with differently. It's not the same. You know, you don't market one artist the same way you market another any more than you market one house the same way as you market another. Each thing has to have its own sort of personality, and and and you know, it's about finding the DNA of the house and finding a buyer who has that same it's about matchmaking, really.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

And it really showed the response last week and was overwhelming. We had over 24 people go through the house. Holy smoke. Or for an acceptance on the first day.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

And two backups. Actually, it could be more backups, but I'm I'm holding them off right now. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 6:18

So that was amazing. At 10 wagon lane.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

And you know, in the case of that, yes, the photography was a labor of love on my part for sure, but the house really is spectacular. I mean, it really you were there, Steve. You know, it it sells itself.

Steve Glick 6:30

Yeah, I mean, it's it the fact that it's on like that one level, it has the design elements, everything from the bathrooms to even the furniture to the lighting, everything was chosen with precise uh and particular for the space, and it and it flowed really well. It felt like this gigantic home, um, which it is pretty large. It was 4,300. 4,300 square feet, a five-bedroom home, and you guys priced it right at four four point five nine five. Right. And obviously, you just mentioned you're getting offers over over the asking price. Yes, and that's always a good thing to say.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

The goal was to sell it, you know, and and what we're finding out here in this market, and I'm sure a lot of other agents have said this previously on this podcast, is if it's priced right, it will sell. It's very simple, you know. It just you can't get greedy, and at the same time, you know, you have to keep the homeowner comfortable with that number. You know, they may think it's worth more, but the reality is you have to really, you know, say that do you want to sell this? Because if you want to sell it, trust us.

Steve Glick 7:29

Yeah, you know, and get ready. And get ready because as soon as we hit the button, you're gonna get the calls, the showings. Make sure that you're taking a couple days out of the house because we're gonna be doing a lot of open housing showings. Yeah. Goodbye, leave. And we're and it's good for the agents too, you guys, to be in town. Sometimes some agents they launch a listing and then they go away. That's crazy. You gotta be you gotta be here, right? You gotta make sure when you launch it, you're in town. The homeowners know that they have no plans to be in the house for the weekend because um if it's priced right, you're gonna get a lot of activity, which you did.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

And we want everybody to be happy. You know, we don't you don't really want to have any kind of contentious relationship with the seller. You want them to really understand what you're doing and keep them at your side. You know, it's like I I said to the seller in this particular case, I said, we are team wagon lane, you know, we're gonna get this sold. Absolutely. And we're we're at each other's side. And any, you know, we're there 24-7, crazy questions, freak out, panic attacks, you know, whatever. Part of this job is also being a bit of a, you know, a shrink, you know.

Steve Glick 8:29

Psychologists, yeah, we hear that a lot, that's for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

And and and hopefully they're gonna walk away with the number that they wanted, and we're gonna have a fantastic relationship. And please God, they're gonna tell all their friends to you know use us. Because we get a lot of referrals. I think Steven and I have built our business. Most of the people we've either sold homes for or to have become personal friends of ours. It's it's really a it's a proud moment for me because you know, I liked having those relationships. It's it's what it's all about.

Dave Rattiner 8:57

You know what I really like about you guys is your honesty. It sounds like you're brutally honest with some things. Like some I can em I can't.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

I'm brutally honest with you, Tate.

Dave Rattiner 9:09

Yeah, I always know when uh something's not tucked in or something. You know, you know, all you have is your reputation.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Sorry, not sorry.

Dave Rattiner 9:16

But you know, it's really nice because it's like you it comes from a place of wanting that person to succeed, wanting to help that person. It's not coming from a place of bullying that person and you know, oh, I don't like it because I don't like it. You know what I mean? You know, that bedroom is not gonna help you sell that house. No offense. You gotta change these sheets, get them out of here. And a lot of agents don't do that, they don't have the guts to do that. And you just have an honesty that uh is really appealing, really valuable in a marketplace like this.

Andrew Doud 9:46

And they're certainly happy once that price comes in, and they're like, you know, first day, multiple offers. Well, gosh, they're not gonna be a good one.

Dave Rattiner 9:56

This isn't like a giveaway listing what you guys did. You you're presenting this listing right, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 10:00

And I tortured Steve Glick in the process, which was fascinating.

Steve Glick 10:04

Oh, it's fine. Um, you guys also have another listing, 10 Holly Oak Avenue. 16, I'm sorry. It's okay. Jeez, I'm looking at it. Uh, 16 Holly Oak Avenue, East Hampton. Tell us about this one. It says turnkey elegance, all new, everything.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Yes, so this is a house in the springs. It is five bedrooms, five bedrooms, three baths. Um, the woman who owns it did a fabulous job renovating it from top to bottom. She bought it with her parents, and they are they did everything right. It's all nice and white and clean and moving ready. Turnkey.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

Room for a pool.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Room for a pool, nice little you know, spot there, and uh we think that one's gonna go fast. The house has beautiful light and uh some really nice size rooms, and she's she checked every box. Kitchen's brand new, the bathrooms are brand new, the floors are brand new. It's just it's lovely.

Steve Glick 10:54

It's a clean palette. It looks like you could just come right in and put your own slave. Yeah, finishing touches on it and make it your own home. Yeah, we priced that.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

We priced that up 1.5. I think it should go quickly. 1495. 1495. You got better. Should go quickly.

Andrew Doud 11:08

Yeah, that's great. So that's um that's I mean, that's great insight. Two fantastic listings, and congratulations on a great side.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

It's like top of the, you know, one's middle of the market, one's lower price point. But Steven and I, you know, we're happy doing any price point. We can make it work. You know, it's just a matter of getting getting again, marketing, pricing it right.

Andrew Doud 11:30

All right, to that point, that's a great transition. We're talking price points.

Steve Glick 11:34

Data.

Andrew Doud 11:34

Data overall market. I always like to look for like an eat like a good transition to the next thing. So here we go. What do we got?

Steve Glick 11:41

All right, 26 listings went into contract this past week from West Hampton to Montauk. Last year, there were 30 listings. That's a decrease of just 13%. But two years ago, there were 18 listings, so an increase there of 44%. The breakdown of the 26 transactions this week, there was one between 15 and 20 million, four between five and ten million, seven between three and five million, five between two and three million, and nine between one and two million. Dollar volume was 106 million dollars. Last year it was 120 million, so that's a decrease of 12%. Two years ago, the dollar volume was only$52 million. So we're looking at an increase there of 104%, but there were 47 new listings that came onto the market. 47, so it's a really big highest we've ever seen. I saw 53 a couple weeks ago, but 47 is coming in as a uh close second for new listings in one week. So that increases the inventory by 21 listings and the breakdown of the 47 new listings, two between 15 and 20 million, one between 10 and 15 million, nine between five and ten million, twelve between three and five million, five between two and three million, fifteen between one and two million, and just three under a million dollars. The inventory is at two thousand and fifty-seven total listings with about fifteen hundred and fifty-eight active and four hundred and ninety-nine in contract. So um a continuous flow of listings going into contract. 26 is pretty normal. Um, but 47 new listings coming on. That's that's good for everybody. That's good. Yeah, it's a this is a good balance. I think this is healthy. It's good to see new inventory, and it's good to see that there's still activity happening and listings going into contract. Um, so we're in it. You know, this is you know, we're coming towards the end of September. We're still in the um in the selling season as we come in into October. That month went quick. September flew by. Flew by. Oh, yeah. I mean it's unbelievable.

Andrew Doud 13:33

Summer always is like here and going, but September. I always love September. It's a great month out here. We're rounding out the third quarter.

Steve Glick 13:39

So like October 1st starts the fourth quarter.

Andrew Doud 13:42

Yeah.

Steve Glick 13:43

So the last layer. There we go.

Dave Rattiner 13:45

This is my favorite time of year. I like October, November, December. I love those months. And then I dislike January, February, March.

Andrew Doud 13:54

I think you're I think you're I think you're in a very popular group with that assessment. Um, so what are we so what are we doing this week? I mean, so tell us why you love those months with all the great events.

Dave Rattiner 14:02

I love those months. Well, mainly it's the weather. I just it's a lot easier to fall asleep in this weather. But let's talk about a passion of yours and yours. Yes. Uh, we're gonna talk about the uh 2025 Dog Walk Stroll to the Sea, which is run by ARF. You want to tell me about that? I got it right in front of you.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

I'm thrilled to tell you about it. So we've been participating in the ARF walk for 26 years now. Um basically, you know, ARF is the premier dog, and excuse me, not just dogs, cats, animal shelter out here in the Hamptons. It's a beautiful facility, and it's supported by generous people who participate in events like the Dog Walk, which is I think it's probably the premier event of the of the year for them outside of their big gala. Um it's for everybody, and it takes place on October 11th this year, and it's uh thousands of dogs.

SPEAKER_03 14:54

Thousands of people show up.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

You have to look at the video.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

I'll send you the video because including our two. Hour two dogs.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Hopefully, we like to think of them as the leaders of the pack. But um, yeah, hundreds and realistically, probably hundreds and hundreds of dogs gather, gather at Mulford Farm, and then they walk from Mulford Farm all the way to Main Beach and back. Um, it's just it's fantastic, and all the beautiful homes along Main Beach put water bowls out and big, big, giant bowls of treats for the dogs. You basically you sign up and then you get people to support you, which uh Stephen and I have done. Um so you go to ARF, you can find our page. If you want to make a donation, we would love it. But ARF is a really incredible, incredible facility, and we're happy to be involved.

Dave Rattiner 15:37

We're actually on the board of the walk this year, so there really is nothing bad about ARF. I mean, it's just such a pure cool. It's all love thing for East Hampton and the community.

SPEAKER_03 15:47

They have hot, fresh Dresden's donuts.

Dave Rattiner 15:49

Oh, they do? At the walk. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:51

Yeah, they have which I consume multiple.

Dave Rattiner 15:55

Well, I got a I got a cat from there. I got a cat from ARF. Oh, yeah. Good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

What a guy. Yeah.

Dave Rattiner 16:02

You have a cat? I have a cat. I didn't know that. I have a cat and a cat.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

What's the cat's name?

Dave Rattiner 16:06

Uh Timosha. That's nice. That's like a Timosha.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

That's great. So Arthur.

Andrew Doud 16:10

Oh, I asked, but I had no idea. Known you for like nine years old.

Dave Rattiner 16:15

It's the only other guy in my household. All right, so this weekend, what else is going on this weekend? So, Steve, I know you've heard of this author. I know you're a big reader. David David Sidaris. Ah, that one I don't know. So if you are in um in the book world, I mean, I have a real memory of um being in college in Northeastern, and there were all these people on uh elliptical machines reading David Sidar David Sidaris' books. He's a really, really funny author. Really, really funny.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Sort of a satirist, right?

Dave Rattiner 16:45

Yeah, it's like essays.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Yeah.

Dave Rattiner 16:47

And it's like a book of essays, but they're all like hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Yeah.

Dave Rattiner 16:50

So um he's gonna be at the West Hampton Beach Performing Arts Center September 27th from 8 p.m. to 9 30 p.m. You can get tickets uh just by going to their website, or you could just go to hands.com and get it there. That is that's a great that's a great thing to go to. You should go to that. Or um, if you want to do something that's free, uh September 25th to the 28th, pretty much running all day in Sag Harbor, the Sag Harbor American Music Festival. Um, and this is in its 15th year. Uh they will take over different venues in Sag Harbor, like Marine Park or Kids Squid or K Pasa, and there's just live music going. It's great. And it's like some local musicians, but some musicians come all the way from out of town, you know, from the city or whatever to be a gorgeous weekend. So yeah, so another reason to go to Sag Harbor, not that you that's just the best town. I love Sagan. There's always something to do. There's always something going on over the city.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

It's the most, you know, I have to say, in terms of the year-round community, it's number one, right?

Dave Rattiner 17:51

There's always something going on. Yeah. Um, and then if you got kids, uh, I recommend you go to Dodd. You might want to go to this. Go on. Big Truck Day. Ooh, I got a big truck. Yeah, you might want to go without where are we going? You might I could visualize you just go just showing up yourself, you know, just to look at the big truck. What do we what do we do? So it's Big Truck Day at the Children's Museum of the East End. They're hosting their uh, I'm gonna say again, their annual Big Truck Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. And tickets are five dollars for members, twenty-five dollars for non-members, and basically you just go there and they have you know a lot of big trucks, which include um, you know, bobcats and and cranes, and you know listen, I don't care how old you are. Yeah, that's cool. You know, go look at a dump truck. Maybe they got a dump truck. Sure. Keep on trucking. I don't think they have a dump truck there. But if you shut up with your truck, you never know. If you shut up with your truck, you know, people would be like, wow, truck.

Andrew Doud 18:52

Yeah, we've never seen that out east.

Dave Rattiner 18:53

Um you know, that would be a big event. I could see that the pickup truck day and they have those a lot of pickup trucks out here.

Andrew Doud 18:59

Here's the problem. Last time I was at CMA, I walked away with a dog.

Dave Rattiner 19:02

Yes. So if you would there you might walk walk away with one of those. That's not a problem. Like a giant excavator. No, I bought an excavator. Um so yeah, so then we'd like to ask our guests. So, Lori.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Yes.

Dave Rattiner 19:16

And I'm gonna put you on the spot. What is your favorite restaurant out here to go to? The first one could be right now. I love Nick and Tony.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

Stephen and I argue about this all the time. He has his favorite side.

Dave Rattiner 19:28

It's like shaking his head, like, oh, I don't know about that one.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

Well, because it hit the food is is Stephen's pretty much a basic eater.

SPEAKER_03 19:34

The French dip at the East Tanton Grill can't be beat. Okay. Oh, yeah, the East Tanton. That sounds good. Yeah, I'm happy.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

And I also I really this year we kind of started going to the highway a lot, which was really, really great Caesar salad. Really great Caesar salad. Yeah. It's two minutes from our house. Yeah, it's right around the corner. It's a great restaurant. Yeah, we like it a lot. And and Steven likes the grill, and then what else do we go? We go, I don't know, we go everywhere. But that's good. Nick and Jimmy. My kitchen is my favorite restaurant, basically. I you know I hear you on that. I like to cook. I like to cook. Oh, yeah, we like Il Cappuccino in the wintertime. It's a great restaurant in the winter. Yeah, it's just killer. Delish.

Dave Rattiner 20:10

But then you gotta get on the treadmill right afterwards.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

It's you are on your treadmill in your office.

Dave Rattiner 20:14

Well, that's true. That's true.

Andrew Doud 20:17

We we need to do a social media post about that. Like everybody's got the office treadmill.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

It's like a thing.

Dave Rattiner 20:22

It is funny.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

One more restaurant I want to talk about really fast. A lot of people don't know about the tavern downstairs under 1770 House.

Dave Rattiner 20:31

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Best burger down there. It was so good. It's such a vibe, too. It's it's it's such a vibe down there. It's great.

Dave Rattiner 20:39

It's like being in a European pub or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

And the low ceilings, the whole thing is just cozy and fireplace. It's like for this time of year.

Dave Rattiner 20:47

Yeah, normally we get kind of the same answer every year. These are different. Yeah, these are different.

Andrew Doud 20:51

We like different good.

Dave Rattiner 20:52

Oh, good.

Andrew Doud 20:53

That's what you're style. Anything else?

Dave Rattiner 20:56

That's well, I'm not gonna say it. Do you want to what do you want me to say?

Andrew Doud 20:59

That's how you would you no no no your sign-off.

Dave Rattiner 21:02

What is my sign-off?

Andrew Doud 21:03

Well, you got a plughamptons.com.

Dave Rattiner 21:05

Oh, well, and you can go to hampins.com, the greatest website ever, to look up events. There you go. It is.

Andrew Doud 21:10

Nice plug. That's perfect. Um, listen, thank you so much for joining us. That was great. Uh congrats on having us. Yeah. And the the hot start with the new firm. This is great. So welcome. Excited. We love it. And we will definitely have you on again. Um, until then, we'll call that a podcast. I'm Andrew Dabbett. Yes. Thanks, Andrew. That's what's happening in the Hamptons.