Monday, April 28, 2008

Wagner College interns get education
in troubled housing market

By KAREN O’SHEA
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER

            STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — This spring, a small group of Wagner College students helped sell real estate, accompanying brokers on open houses and deal-making or -breaking meetings as part of their homework.

            Chris Fourman, a finance major, found the course — the first partnership between the Staten Island Board of Realtors and a local college — to be invaluable.

            “We are all going to have to rent or sign a mortgage, and with the subprime crisis and people getting into contracts that were not really good for their financial future, this is extremely valuable information,” said Fourman, who interned with Casandra Properties in Grasmere. “It’s along the same lines of teaching people about balancing their checkbook or establishing a savings account.”

            Wagner students learned about the business at a key moment — when the housing market is in a record slowdown.

            Professor Mary Lo Re said the subprime mortgage crisis got the attention of students at the private college on Grymes Hill.

            It was the student body president who first suggested hosting a real estate conference to discuss topics such as homebuying and investing, and the potential pitfalls and rewards.

            “That’s where the idea came up that we would offer a special-topic course to address these issues,” said Dr. Lo Re.

            And the Staten Island Board of Realtors (SIBOR) jumped at the chance to participate.

            “They are the adults of tomorrow and they need to understand what real estate is about, especially because of what we are going through now,” said SIBOR President Dawn Carpenter.

            “You learn more when the market is like this and the houses aren’t selling themselves,” said Jill Gannon of Cangiano Estates.

            Ms. Gannon and Traci Cangiano, broker owner of Cangiano Estates, took Alexandra Moskaluk, a 22-year-old Wagner College student, along on 25 open houses.

            At one South Shore mansion listed for $1.4 million, the brokers gave Miss Moskaluk the vital statistics on the house: Information about a wet bar, radiant heat and wood-burning stove.

            But she said it was the more complex building and zoning codes she had not considered.

            At another house, a broker questioned whether the pool was within the required distance of the adjacent yard.

            “It’s just a lot more intricate than I had assumed,” Miss Moskaluk said of the selling process.

            Theresa Peppio, a senior from Castleton Corners who has a job lined up next year at an accounting firm, spent her internship at Dynasty Real Estate.

            She said that’s where she felt like “a buyer in training” as she learned from brokers about the tax benefits of buying and to beware of potential for hidden mortgage fees.

            She also got a look at what it takes to qualify a buyer — reviews of tax returns, pay stubs and credit reports, all the more crucial in today’s tough credit market.

            At an end-of-semester reception last week, students made their presentations before Realtors and faculty.

            Ms. Carpenter promised SIBOR’s commitment to the program next spring.

            That was great news for Dr. Lo Re, who said she’d already secured a $3,000 grant for her students to do more research on the topic and attend a real estate conference later this year.