Daily Archives: November 1, 2013

Bedford Hills Stone Manse with Lots of Columns, Saltwater Pool Asks $3M | Bedford Hills Homes | Douglas Elliman Real Estate

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Location: Bedford Hills, N.Y. Price: $2,995,000 The Skinny: Many houses with extravagant exteriors—especially recently renovated ones—don’t follow through with equally extravagant interiors, in effect failing to live up to the promises of their façades. This stone mansion in Northern Westchester County is not one of those houses. Behind the four enormous columns that flank the entrance, there are 15,000 square feet of expansive rooms, intricate molding, fireplaces, herringbone floors, chandeliers, and many more columns. Sure, some of it is a little on the outlandish side—the bathtub underneath a skylight surrounded by four orange columns looks like a throne for an alien king—but at least the place is committed to, well, whatever this look is exactly. (Based on the brokerbabble, which begins “Scarlett is calling!” and goes on to describe the ballroom as “waiting for Gatsby,” the aesthetic could probably be most accurately described as Old Fictional Rich Person.) There’s also a saltwater pool. The house, originally built in 1905, was last purchased in 2003 for $2.8685M, and was listed this January for $3.295M. That didn’t work out, and the price has since been reduced to $2.995M.

What’s the best way to use leaves in the garden? | Cross River Real Estate

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What’s the best way to use leaves in the garden?

Leaves are one of the main ingredients of the dark, rich humus that covers  the forest floor — nature’s compost. A gardener can replicate that humus by  mixing carbon-rich leaves with nitrogen-rich manure or grass clippings to make  compost.

Maintaining an active compost pile in winter can be a challenge, however. An  easier alternative is to use leaves in the garden in fall, says Abigail Maynard,  associate agricultural scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment  Station, who has studied the use of leaves as a garden soil amendment for more  than 10 years.

If possible, shred your leaves first with a chipper-shredder or mower; the  smaller pieces will break down faster. Spread the chopped leaf mulch over your  garden soil, then incorporate it with a tiller or spade. “By spring, almost all  of the chopped leaves will be completely decomposed,” Maynard says.

Maynard’s research has shown that amending soil with maple or oak leaves  alone probably won’t boost yields the way adding finished compost does, but she  says using leaves in the garden does add organic matter to the soil. Organic  matter improves soil structure, holds nutrients and moisture that are released  slowly to plants, and provides food for beneficial soil organisms.

Maynard suggests adding a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, such as aged manure, in  spring. (Nitrogen added in fall could leach away by spring.)

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/print.aspx?id={152934F3-D318-4D8E-BF1C-9830C170F43A}#ixzz2jPEnYvbY

Greenwich Real Estate Sales Stay Strong In 3rd Quarter | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Real estate sales in Fairfield County continued their strong growth in the third quarter, with closed sales improving 28 percent from the same quarter in 2012 and under contract sales jumping 59 percent, according to a report published by William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.

“There’s nothing startling in the report,’’ said Brad Kimmelman, brokerage manager for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Southport. “We are absolutely moving in the right direction. We saw a huge improvement over last year. Overall, we are enjoying a revitalization of the real estate market in Fairfield County, and across the country.”

The William Pitt Sotheby’s International report showed strength across the board, with closed sales running 68 percent higher for the third quarter in Ridgefield, 50 percent higher in Redding, 45 percent higher in the town of Fairfield and 40 percent higher in Danbury.

The closed dollar volume rose 31 percent in the quarter over the same time frame last year, with Weston (up 57 percent), Ridgefield (up 56 percent) and Westport (up 39 percent) among the top communities in the county.

Median sales price rose 6 percent for single-family homes in Fairfield County for the third quarter, to $500,000, according to the report from William Pitt Sotheby’s. In Wilton and Ridgefield, median single family home prices rose 17 percent, while Westport prices jumped 12 percent. In the past year, the median price for single family homes in Fairfield County has jumped 7 percent.

“The 7 percent increase in the average sales price is great,’’ said Molly Lane, who works for William Raveis Homes in Westport. “The rest of the country is down about a half a percent, another indicator that the market is strong.”

Lane said the historically low interest rates continue to help the real estate market. “For someone who is putting 20 percent down with a good credit rating, they could get a 30-year fixed mortgage for about 4.125 percent. That’s even lower than it was a few months ago,’’ Lane said. “If the rates continue to remain at historic lows, that would be great. It’s a good harbinger for the spring market.”

Kimmelman said one of the most encouraging aspects of the market growth is the steady increase. “Consumer confidence is up, and I think we’re going to see the market hold steady but not increase dramatically,’’ he said. “We don’t want double-digit growth year after year. We want to see a nice, healthy progression.”

Typically, there is some seasonality in real estate and summer tends to be slower. That was not the case this year. “Closings are up in the third quarter for single-family homes in both Connecticut and Rhode Island, which is significant due to the fact that we have not experienced the seasonality in the market for the third quarter which generally tends to decline,” said Terence Beaty, director of new homes and land for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties.

High-end homes are also beginning to move a little more quickly in Fairfield County, Kimmelman said, and inventory levels continue to decline. The condominium market is also contributing to the gains.

Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties Third Quarter 2013 Market Report indicates that the luxury market, identified as those properties worth $2 million or more has been growing throughout the year. Sales of high-end single family homes rose 13.2 percent to 378 in Connecticut. Fairfield County closed most of the business. The strongest sales growth in this category was in Greenwich, Westport and Darien.

“This has been another upbeat quarter as far as real estate goes,” said Diane M. Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer of Halstead Property. “Though prices only increased modestly, it is still a positive trend overall.  We were pleased to see the huge upswing in sales in some of the markets and in the decline in days on the market in many of the towns that reported.”

“We are optimistic that the market has balanced.  Although pending sales went down slightly in September, interest rates remain historically low and prices remain stable,’’ said Candace Adams, president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties. “We anticipate there will be a balanced market through the end of the year.”

The Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties Report is attached as a PDF. The William Pitt Sotheby’s report and the Halstead Property report are online.

Attached: (bhhsnep-2013-q3-marketreport.pdf)

 

 

 

http://greenwich.dailyvoice.com/real-estate/fairfield-county-real-estate-stays-strong-3rd-quarter

Happy Birthday, Westchester! County Turns 330 Friday | Westchester Real Estate

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Friday marks the 330th anniversary of the founding of Westchester County, and at the Westchester County Historical Society in Elmsford, staffers Katie Hite and Patrick Raftery are dedicated to preserving the county’s rich historical significance.

The county was first formed on Nov. 1, 1683. With the British still in charge, the county government was established as a way of organizing the region. Most towns weren’t established until after the Revolutionary War. What is now the Bronx was originally part of Westchester before being annexed into New York City in the 1870s.

The major population centers of Westchester were Bedford and White Plains, where the two courthouses were located. There were some small towns, but most of the land was divided into manors, land bestowed upon wealthy individuals who let farmers work their land in an almost feudal society.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, Westchester played an important role, acting as a buffer zone between land owned by British and American forces.

“It was as much a civil war as the Civil War was,” Hite said. “People within families, within communities took different sides.”

Many historical sites still survive from the Revolution, such as the Bedford Courthouse and the Purdy House in White Plains, which served as Washington’s headquarters. The Odell House in Hartsdale was where Washington and Count de Rochambeau devised their strategy to attack the British in Yorktown, VA.

Many of the owners of the manors sided with the British, and were forced to give up their land after the war. The land was sold at affordable rates to the farmers who worked the land, and towns began to be established.

“Nowadays, people tend to think of the county as a suburb of New York City, and really the railroads made that possible,” Raftery said. “Someone could wake up, hop on a train and head into the city for work, where before they couldn’t do that.”

A lot of the population lived and worked in the county, operating stores, farming, working in manufacturing. Once the railroads came in, more people started moving out to Westchester.

“They began moving out for the fresh air,” Hite said. “They didn’t want to live in an overcrowding, teeming place. They wanted peace and quiet. And that trend accelerated when the care was invented and became something that everyone had.”

The Westchester Historical Society was first established in 1874 and is one of the oldest historical societies in the country. Located in the same building as the county’s records department, its library contains more than 100,000 private and public documents from the county.

The books, letters, photos, diaries and maps are carefully preserved in a temperature and humidity controlled vault. Visitors researching their family, home or other aspect of Westchester history can visit and receive help finding the records and information they need.

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/happy-birthday-westchester-county-turns-330-friday

 

Architectural wood panels, Viridian Reclaimed Wood | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Commercial design comes with its own set of challenges, and at 4’ by 8’, the dimensions of these engineered panels offer a handy solution for contract interiors, particularly in retail applications.

The premade three-ply architectural panels from Viridian Reclaimed Wood feature reclaimed wood faces, including the company’s Jakarta Market Blend and Rustic Old Growth Doug Fir.

The panels are available fire-rated, custom-stained, and pre-finished. Custom graphics and CNC milling can be applied to each panel. viridianwood.com

 

 

 

http://www.ecobuildingpulse.com/green-products/

Mayoral Candidate Pitches Aerial Gondolas To Cross The Bay | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Miami Beach Mayoral Candidate Steve Berke (who is also, by the way, a comedian, marijuana activist, and documentarian of said Mayoral run) has some grand ideas for solving Miami Beach’s transit woes. The first idea, a light rail system circling South Beach is very good but not new and already an aspect of the recently revived Baylink idea. The second idea is the real headline grabber: an epic aerial tramway zooming over Biscayne Bay to Miami, ski-slope gondola style, that at the least would be an absolutely wild ride.

As for the routes each system would take, well, Berke’s light rail zigzags all over the beach like a cat on crack. A whole loop goes to Belle Isle, because apparently walking from there to Sunset Harbor is just too far. Halfway up Alton, the train doglegs over to West Avenue and then, wouldn’t ya know it, doglegs back a few blocks later. It basically makes curlicues around the Bass Museum. Meanwhile, gondolas full of tourists will depart South Point Park and immediately have to ascend hundreds of feet vertically above the tallest cruise ships before zooming over PortMiami’s working post-panamax container port. Oh, and on the other side of the port, the gondolas will pass directly through PortMiami’s turning basin, getting in the way of the ships. Apparently, those cruise ships just gonna have to flip it in reverse and back their asses out. Beep, beep.

Curbed Miami does not endorse any candidate in the Miami Beach mayoral race, but to give credit where credit is due, it is extremely refreshing that the island city’s hellish transportation situation is being addressed as a serious issue in this election instead of being swept under the rug. On the other hand, we’re not transportation engineers, but neither Steve Berke, and boy is it obvious.

UPDATE: A previous version of this story claimed that Berke brought a mariachi band to the last Miami Beach Mayoral debate. There was a mariachi band present, but according to Berke it was not he who brought it.

 

 

 

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2013/10/07/

How to Finally Tackle Your Closet’s Critical Mess | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Ever the organizer, I was extolling the virtues of closet purging to a friend. She was feeling a little overwhelmed. Her possessions had been slowly encroaching due to nothing more insidious than the steady march of time and life. Honestly, my friend is an organized person. Things have their place. But lately, there are fewer and fewer places for things. Yet she remained staunchly purge-resistant, especially when it came to her clothes. Sound familiar? Keep reading to learn more about how making a little room in your closet can be an exercise in self-discovery.

Reaching “critical mess.” “I don’t have a problem getting my closet organized,” my friend said. “My problem is keeping it organized.” And this brings us to the crux of a problem shared by the organized and maybe-not-so-organized alike.
“As long as I have room for it,” the thinking goes, “I might as well keep it.” And that’s all fine until you have to dislodge a carefully constructed pile to fish for that pair of shorts. Or you pull out a blouse and three other things slip off their hangers with it in a wrinkled, crumpled mess. That’s when all of your efforts at tidying up go out the window. You’ve reached “critical mess,” and there’s no room for even one more thing. And yet folks still insist on holding on.
Editing boldly. While people often toss a few token items, they rarely edit boldly. Cleaning out your closet is a very personal thing and can highlight some complexities in our psyche. Sound dramatic? Maybe, but it’s true. We identify our possessions with ourselves — our accomplishments, joys and sorrows. Being told to let go of old or even not-so-old clothing can feel like we’re being told to get rid of parts of ourselves. And, in fact, that would be correct.
What no one tells you (but I will). When your closet (or your house) is full of things from your past, things that only remind you of who you were, you very literally have no room for who you are now and who you are becoming.
Granted, lots of people simply will not go down the philosophical road with me here: “Seriously? My closet is a mirror for what I think about myself? Yeah, right.”
So look at it this way: What is the point of spending money on new clothes if you lose them in a sea of stuff you don’t even wear? At least think of it as making room for all the new things you’re going to buy this season.
Does your closet make you feel bad about yourself? Now let’s take a clear-eyed look at items in your closet that may have unpleasant feelings associated with them. For example, do you have professional clothing from a job where you felt unappreciated? Are you keeping your “skinny clothes” as inspiration to lose weight?
Be honest about whether seeing them each day inspires you or just makes you feel bad about yourself again and again. Put them away. Or better yet, get rid of them. Because when you do lose that 20 pounds (or get a new job), chances are you’ll want a whole new wardrobe to celebrate your new self!
Put it in perspective. Having a hard time deciding what to get rid of? Try this simple exercise I did with one of my clients. Her closet was packed wall to wall, floor to ceiling, with old clothes she couldn’t let go of. However, it was clear to me that the old, boring, outdated clothes definitely didn’t reflect the style and personality of the woman who stood before me and, most likely, no longer fit her properly.
So, I tore a page from her favorite clothing catalog of a kicky little jacket that she wanted to buy — something that definitely expressed the stylish and confident person she is today. I taped it to the door. Then I pulled each item out of her closet, held it up to the picture and asked, “If you had to make room for one of these things, which would it be?” The juxtaposition was illuminating! Given the choice between a paisley corduroy pinafore dress (not kidding) and this little gem of a jacket, she finally saw what she’d been doing to herself. In the end, she donated about a quarter of her closet.
Feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of dredging through your past — I mean, your closet? Start with these baby steps.
Look at each item. Do you wear it? If not, ask yourself why you’re keeping it and listen to your answer.
Try things on. Have a trusted friend with you and honestly (honestly being the operative word) see if it fits and suits you — your body, personality, style and lifestyle. If it doesn’t, put it in a bag.
Do one drawer, one shelf, one row at a time, once a week. Put what you remove into a bag. Then find a charity, like a women’s shelter or a veterans’ job training program where you know those clothes will be appreciated, or the nondescript thrift store you pass on the way to work, and drop those bags off. You will feel good and get a tax deduction to boot.
Store the keepakes. Finally, if you really want to keep something you don’t currently wear, like your favorite boyfriend jeans from college, it doesn’t mean you have to keep it in your closet competing for space with stuff you wear frequently. Pack it up and store it elsewhere.
Do this and you’ll gain yourself a little breathing room. Your wardrobe will have plenty of room to grow, and maybe sprout a kicky little jacket or two.
More: Your Total Home Organizing and Decluttering Guide

FHA Lenders Operate Through the Federal Shutdown | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Federal direct and guaranteed housing loan programs funded by the Federal Housing Administration are operating at a level after the federal government closed its doors and the US Department of Agriculture housing programs have shut down altogether

Some 350 of the 9,300 employees at HUD remain on the job and the Office of Single Family Housing is  maintaining the minimum level of operations necessary to support FHA’s existing portfolio of loans, however most support services for the program, such as prequalification, approving lender applications and re-certifications, will cease.

Larger lenders who have been delegated authority to process FHA applications are unaffected by the shutdown, said Mike Copley, head of Retail Money-Out Products for TD Bank.  Hre said borrowers who are in process of getting a loan as well as those who are getting ready to apply should have no hold-up due to the government shutdown.   “Delegated lenders can make decisions and approve loans.  The only problem borrowers might have is if they are working with a smaller lender who has not been delegated authority by FHA.

Jumbo loans might face a greater problem, he said.  TD Bank requests a copy of applicants’ tax returns directly from the IRS to verify income.  “We will go as far as we can go with jumbo applications in hopes that by the time we need to verify income the government will be up and running again.” said Copley, noting that the last government shutdown lasted only 21 days.

 

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/09/federal-shutdown-to-cripple-fha-close-usda-housing-programs/

Most Beautiful House in Astoria Asks $1.25 Million | Chappaqua Homes

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Exemplifying the classic aesthetic that the Queens neighborhood is known for, this three-story house in Astoria, marketed by aptly-named brokerage Modern Spaces, just hit the market for $1.25 million. It includes many of the trademark Astoria features that have long inspired architecture lovers—falling-off weatherboard siding, half-assed graffiti, boarded-up windows, and more. Buy it today!

· Listing: 31-40 47th Street [Modern Spaces] · Astoria coverage [Curbed]

The 13 Most Haunted Buildings in New York City | Armonk NY Homes

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halloweenmap_10_13.jpg

New York has been called the most haunted city in the world, and with good reason. Every single street is steeped in history, and in the four-hundred-plus years of cycles of expansion, construction, destruction, and rejuvenation, you’re bound to hear more than a few legends and tales of the otherwordly. So, in the spirit of Halloween, we’re proud to present this map of the most haunted buildings in town, from the southernmost tip of Staten Island, all the way up to the hills of Washington Heights. We’ve got ethereal authors, pesky poltergeists, creepy colonials, phantom flappers, and even a mysterious mayor or two. And hey, if a skeptic you remain, a lot of these locales are open to the public, so by all means, check them out yourself if you think you ain’t afraid of no ghost. You might just learn something too!

Special thanks to The Bowery Boys and Forgotten NY.