Episodes

  • Tips For Searching For Properties ONLINE...

    Tips For Searching For Properties ONLINE...
    Jan 16 2026
    Well good afternoon everybody. This is Chris Berger and yes it’s time for a Berger Point.

    You know I wanted to tell you a little bit about as a buyer… you go on Realtor.com or Zillow.com and you type in your email address what happens after that…

    Well, chances are is that that email address will be passed on to an agent and who may be a buyer’s agent or actually the listing agent.

    Either way, always remember you’re not tied into that agent.You can still look.You can still get information.It does not obligate you to that particular agent.

    The listing agent who may have contacted you, they’re always tied to the seller because they have a signed contract.But you, as a buyer, you’re still free and clear, so don’t be intimidated.

    Go online, put in your information.

    Feel good about it. Learn about the house so you can go to the next step.And that’s my point.

    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
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    1 min
  • Negotiating The Offer & Acceptance of A Real Estate Deal

    Negotiating The Offer & Acceptance of A Real Estate Deal
    Jan 16 2026
    Well, good afternoon, everybody. This is Chris Berger, and yes, it’s time for a Berger Point.

    You know, one of the most challenging times in the whole real estate transaction is really the offer and acceptance and how we negotiate that.

    And myself personally, when the listing agent is selling a house for $500,000 and I do represent the buyer and the buyer comes in and makes an offer of $480,000.

    Now it’s key because I want to see how much the listing agent or the seller is going to come down and how close he’s going to get to our offer, which was 480.

    So we’re $20,000 apart.

    So I look for two things.Does he come down $10,000 or does he come down $1,000?

    Because that makes a difference because if he is coming down that $10,000, he’s indeed willing to negotiate a little bit further. So I go back and prepare my buyer to that scenario.

    However, if he’s talking about coming down $1,000, I’ll go back to my buyer and say, listen, if you want this house, you’re going to have to go after it and get closer to his price.

    So this way I’m justifying to my buyer the reality of the real price in order to get that home.Because ultimately my job is to make sure that my buyer gets that house.

    And if he winds up paying a couple thousand dollars more, well, over the next 20 or 30 years, it doesn’t matter because my buyer will have his dream house. And that’s the goal.




    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
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    2 mins
  • A Short Talk on Reverse Mortgages

    A Short Talk on Reverse Mortgages
    Jan 16 2026
    Hey, good afternoon, everybody.This is Chris Berger, and it’s time for a Berger Point.

    You know, I was speaking with an elderly group of senior citizens, and they were talking about selling their home and how difficult that is.So anyway,

    I wanted to speak to reverse mortgages a little bit.And this is actually good for younger people whose parents are in that position.

    The first rule is that you have to be over 62.And the second rule is that you should have 50% of the equity paid off in your home.

    Now, if you want to stay in your house, now is the best time (2024) to do it because appraising the home is going to be high.

    Whereas even three years ago, you just made so much money on your home that it’s really a good thing to do.

    So I would invite you to speak to a mortgage person who is reputable on reverse mortgages and at least get a sense of what he can do for you.

    Because again, once you ascertain a reverse mortgage, you have options.

    You don’t have to take money each month.You can just live off your own income, but the mortgage that you had is gone.

    And basically what you’re responsible for is the upkeep of the home, your homeowner insurance, and your taxes.

    And if you want to live like that for the next 10 years, then go for it.

    And conversely, anytime during those 10 years, say you wanted to reown your home, you go back to the mortgage company that’s holding your reverse mortgage and you pay off what you owe.

    And that can get a little tricky.And yes, there are ins and outs.But again, speak to your mortgage person and get the right deal for you.Keep your home.

    That’s my point.

    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
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    2 mins
  • DIY - Fixing A Leaking Roof

    DIY - Fixing A Leaking Roof
    Jan 16 2026
    Chris Berger give you a great tip on how to fix your leaky roof.

    Transcript below...

    Here I am on top of my daughter’s sunroom, the roof, and she has a persistent leak.

    So in the past, I’ve used a spray to sort of stop it and for the most part, it really worked well.

    So anyway, I just wanted to show you this, you know, not to get overwhelmed by patching a roof because you can do a neat job. with something called Flex Paste.

    It’s white in color and the whole thing will probably take me about five minutes.

    She has a couple more that I’ll attack and stop the rain from falling into the sunroomand we’ll give you a glimpse of that later. So far so good.

    I just wanted to show you what it would look like after about 15 or 20 minutes when it dries.And so far the rain has held off and we’re good to go.

    Just as a note, it took me again about maybe 10 minutes to do this.

    But in the long run,if you can’t climb a ladder onto the roof, you certainly could pay somebody $25 or so just to do a quick job.So if you have a leak, try to fix it this way first and go from there.

    So have a good day and talk to you soon.I did want to give you a sense of the sunroom and if near as I could tell,

    it’s leaking through the roof into this beam and then dropping down here.

    So patching holes, you know, three or four above, I know we got the leak because today it’s dry as a bone.

    https://bergerpoints.com

    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
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    2 mins
  • Mortgage Assistance For 1st Time Home Buyers

    Mortgage Assistance For 1st Time Home Buyers
    Jan 15 2026
    Well, good afternoon, everybody. This is Chris Berger.And yes, it’s time for a Berger Point.You know, I wanted to gear this to the first-time home buyers because as November approaches, we’re really going into the lowest or the lower part of the year where sales take place because of holidays and the change of the new year and, of course, all the uncertainty with the mortgage rates and things going on.

    However, if you’re determined to buy a home for the first time buyer, now’s a good time to go because sellers are also aware of these obstacles and they’re going to entertain your looking and your offers a lot more than they would have six months ago.

    So don’t be so stressed out that you think you have to put down 20% to get a conventional mortgage because actually the average is less than 10% that people put down to get a mortgage.

    So be comfortable with that.Shop around.Also too, go to your county offices, make a phone call, and ask them if they have mortgage assistance programs or where you could go to find one.

    Also, too, with the mortgage broker, ask them the same thing.It’s a mortgage assistant program.

    And these programs, if you qualify, will actually help you put down money for a down payment or for the closing costs. Very valuable.

    But this way, instead of paying rent every month, you have a great opportunity today to go look at a house and buy a house.Good luck on the shopping and have fun.

    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
    Show More Show Less
    2 mins
  • Why Appraisals Are Essential to Real Estate Deals

    Why Appraisals Are Essential to Real Estate Deals
    Jan 15 2026
    Chris Berger - 40+ years experience as a realtor and more -- tells you why appraisals and bankers are so important to real estate deals.


    TRANSCRIPT

    Hey! Good afternoon everybody. This is Chris Berger and yes, it’s time for a BergerPoint.

    You know being a real estate agent here in the Hudson Valley region as wellas, in the Fort Myers Florida area, one of the things that I discovered is that it’salmost like the misconception of an appraisal of a home.

    People are under misconceptions about that because they don’t know exactly what it means or why it’s so important.

    Well, the bottom line is that if you’re buying a house for $500,000 and you put 20% down, so you’re just putting $100,000 down, and now your balance is $400,000, but the total package of the house is $500,000.

    So it’s very important because when the bank comes in to inspect the property thatit actually has to be appraised for what the bank thinks the selling price of thehouse should be.

    Because should you default it doesn’t matter you paid the hundred thousand dollars for a deposit, but should you default they want to make sure that they can resell that house for that five hundred thousand mark.

    And that’s why the appraisal is so important.Now, sometimes when a house does not meet those expectations, say it only appraised out at four hundred and eighty thousand.

    Well again, I’ve had the experience when I went back to the seller and said,look, my buyer cannot get a mortgage because the house does not appraise out.

    So they thought about it for a few days, realized what they had to do.

    They came down to twenty thousand.We completed our deal.

    My buyer was happy.In reality, the seller did get what he wanted.So that’s why the appraisal is so important.

    https://bergerpoints.com



    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
    Show More Show Less
    2 mins
  • The Incredible Value of a Hard Money Lender

    The Incredible Value of a Hard Money Lender
    Jan 14 2026
    Well, good afternoon, everybody.My name is Chris Berger and it’s time for a Berger Point.

    You know, recently I worked with a client who was looking at a million dollar home and very excited about to buy it.

    However, suddenly it appeared that seller wanted all cash and that’s the only way they were going to sell it.So my buyer was deeply disappointed.

    However, we talked about it and I said, you know, there are people today, companies that offer quick cash and it’s called a hard money lender.

    And usually the interest rates are reasonable.And so she researched it and found out that, yes, indeed, she would qualify for hard money lender.Now, how do you qualify?


    Well, basically good credit.You have to have good credit anyway if you’re going to get a mortgage.

    The most important thing is that with a hard money lender, they can close within 30 days.

    What’s nice too is that you can go and after reading the fine print, and of course have your attorney look it over, you can convert that to a conventional mortgage, usually within a year or two.

    So it’s nothing but a win-win situation.My client was happy because they were able to buy the house, whereas previously they thought they couldn’t.

    And that’s my point.


    Well, today I’m wearing my man in black hat, Johnny Cash.And I only wish I got to see him in person before he passed away.

    However, his daughter, Roseanne Cash, continues to perform herself, and she has a magnificent voice.

    Have a great day, everybody.

    https://bergerpoints.com


    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
    Show More Show Less
    2 mins
  • A 1% Concession Brings Buyers Running!

    A 1% Concession Brings Buyers Running!
    Jan 10 2026
    Well, good afternoon, everybody. My name is Chris Berger, and yes, it’s time for a Berger Point.You know, it’s brought to my attention sometimes when the seller is sitting with their home and they want to sell it quicker.What can they do?Well, actually, they can offer a 1% concession to the buyer.And this could be printed in the MLS so that the buyer is aware of it.And this will attract a boatload of buyers to your home.So what’s the downside?Well, okay.For example, home is going to cost $500,000.The seller is going to offer a 1% concession.So 1% of $500,000 is $5,000.So now at the closing, the buyer can then use that concession.$5,000 towards their closing.It’s a win-win situation.The seller sells his home much quicker.The buyer is thrilled because they have to pay less closing costs.It works and it makes everybody happy.And that’s my point.***Today I’m wearing my Star Trek hat and being part of the whole Star Trek generation, one of the greatest lines ever uttered is “Live long and prosper.”And that’s a great point for all of us.Have a great day.

    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bergerpoints.substack.com

    Welcome to Berger Points! Chris Berger - Real Estate Agent - Home Renovator & Property Manager sharing my 40+ years experience.

    Licensed in NY, FL & CT. -- Yankees fan. Concert goer. Dog lover. Grandfather.

    bergerpoints.com
    Show More Show Less
    2 mins