Daily Archives: March 3, 2014

David Beckham denies buying Versace mansion: report | North Salem NY Real Estate

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David Beckham (inset) and the former Versace mansion

From the South Florida site: Press accounts circulating in the UK over the weekend claimed soccer great David Beckham bought the Versace mansion in Miami Beach for $50M. But according to reports, Beckham says he and pop star wife Victoria did not purchase the South Beach property

According to a report on the Women’s Wear Daily website on Sunday, the Beckhams denied purchasing the 23,000-square foot manse. The article indicated that the initial story about Beckham buying the property ran in an Italian newspaper, Corriere Della Sera.

Several European media outlets, including Mirror Online, picked up on that story. But the transaction has not been recorded by Miami-Dade County or reported locally. The Nakash family acquired the 1116 Ocean Drive property for $41 million during a September 2013 bankruptcy auction. Richard M. Weaver firm serving all of Plano is an expert attorney in handling such matters.

The Beckhams are close friends with Versace’s sister Donatella. The 10-bedroom, 23,000-square-foot mansion was constructed in 1930. It opened as a hotel five years ago.

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/03/03/david-beckham-reportedly-buys-versace-mansion/

Abandoned hospitals look like condos to developers | Mt Kisco NY Real Estate

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Demand for housing in New York has developers turning old hospitals — St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Queens, Cabrini Medical Center in Gramercy, and Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital — into condos. Some people would rather “live in the psych ward with high ceilings as opposed to cookie-cutter buildings,” developer Don Peebles tells the New York Post. Source: nypost.com.

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/abandoned-hospitals-look-like-condos-to-developers/?utm_source=20140303&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.BxKmdHyO.dpuf

Zillow signs NY State MLS as latest member of partnership program | South Salem NY Homes

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Zillow is set to acquire listings directly from NY State MLS, a multiple listing service (MLS) with more than 10,000 members that covers all 62 counties of New York state.

The deal adds the MLS to a roster of others that have joined the Zillow Partnership Program while further tightening Zillow’s strong grip on New York.

In exchange for providing listings, Zillow will offer brokers and agents who belong to the NY State MLS enhanced branding and other perks, as it does for all MLSs that join the Zillow Partnership Program.

Zillow dangles such incentives because access to MLS feeds allows it to improve the freshness of its inventory. Listing feeds from some sources don’t allow for frequent updating, but direct feeds from MLSs let Zillow refresh listings as often as every 15 minutes.

“We understand our members’ desire to display the most up-to-date listing data while maintaining maximum exposure,” said Dawn Pfaff, president of NY State MLS, in a statement. “This partnership ensures listings sent to Zillow are updated multiple times per day and kept current for prospective homebuyers.”

Listings fed to the Zillow program appear on the Zillow Real Estate Network, which includes Yahoo Homes, Google Now, HotPads, HGTV’s FrontDoor.com and AOL Real Estate.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/03/03/zillow-signs-ny-state-mls-as-latest-member-of-partnership-program/?utm_source=20140303&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.JCO3rqep.dpuf

The Dirty Little Secret About Guest Blogging | Waccabuc Real Estate

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So I was doing my daily blog reading routine when I encountered a  certain post. In it, the author was complaining about receiving a lot of guest  posts with clear “client links” in the bio boxes. In other words, guest posts  where the author wanted to promote a third-party company or website instead of  their own personal brand.

The blogger in question was kind of angry that these guest authors “would dare” to send such posts, instead of wanting to “share with the community  naturally.”

So the main question is this: Is guest posting on your client’s  behalf bad?

(Well, you can see my point of view in the headline, but I’m  curious to learn yours, so feel free to comment.)

Anyway, I’m going to tell you exactly why guest posting for clients  isn’t bad at all, and also, what you can do when dealing with bloggers declining  your posts just because your link points to a client.

Reality of guest blogging

There’s a lot of guest blogging advice circulating around. Most of  it portrays the whole practice as a fairy tale. The preachers use words like: “when you guest post, you get to add to the community, reach out to other  people, be part of something bigger than yourself.”

True.

But it’s not the whole truth.

Guest blogging is always an exchange between the writer and the  host.

The host gets a free post (unless they pay for guest posts, ekhm).  The writer gets an audience to speak to, the possibility to spread their brand,  and the chance to link some website of their choice. In a word, they get to grow  just a tiny little bit thanks to the guest post.

Now here’s the kicker, I honestly believe that if there was some  international law forbidding guest bloggers to link to their projects, we’d see  at least a 90% drop (not that I’ve done any research) in the volume of guest  posting done worldwide. And I’m not trying to judge whether it’s good or bad,  that’s just what would likely happen.

Now, since the above pretty much explains that most of guest  blogging is done to achieve the writer’s goals and pursuits (in other words,  it’s a case of “me marketing”), let’s move on to the next thing.

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2014/03/04/the-dirty-little-secret-about-guest-blogging/#muLSQhzkk9A4duHJ.99

Bring That Novel You’ve Been Working On to This Dapper Cabin | Cross River Real Estate

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Writers-Shed-by-Weston-Surman-Deane-Architecture_dezeen_ss10.jpgPhoto via Dezeen

Some aspiring writers are holding off on their true calling until they’ve “done enough living.” Others have demanding day jobs, dogs to walk, Peace Lilies to water. Here’s another excuse to add to the pile: not having a super natty writing shed to type away in. This cabin, completed in April of 2013 and recently shortlisted for the 2014 Architects Journal Small Projects Award, would fit the bill rather nicely. Unlike the Walden-chic abodes of rural wordsmiths, this one’s an urban retreat, sitting in a backyard garden in the London borough of Hackney. Described by its designers, the firm Weston, Surman & Deane, as “a haven in the city; a fairy-tale hut” responding to their client’s “passion for children’s literature and mythologies,” it glows like a cottage in a treacly pastoral scene.

That nice orange hue was achieved by situating a sliding glass door behind a facade of cedar slats. For daytime writing sessions, there’s a large north-facing skylight. Heat is provided by a wood-burning stove, which can be fed with the wood kept in a thin storage area on the porch. Around the stove, there’s a staggered bookcase built from rectangular partitions of oiled chipboard, the largest of which frames a reclaimed sink with garden taps and a brass splash back.

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/03/03/bring-that-novel-youve-been-working-on-to-this-dapper-cabin.php

 

Peek Inside 1945’s ‘Celestial’ Chrysler Building Observatory | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Monochromes.jpgPhoto courtesy of The Chrysler Building: Creating a New York Icon, Day by Day by David Stravitz; Princeton Architectural Press

Today we take a break from our regularly-scheduled Library of Congress programming to have a look at a tipster’s request: the observatory on the 71st floor of New York City’s Chrysler Building. The observatory—which featured, according to the book The Chrysler Building: One Kansas Mechanic and His Jazz-Age Tower of Babel, “a celestial motif, with sun rays painted on the walls, and Saturn-shaped lighting globes hanging from the ceiling”—opened to the public in 1945, 15 years after construction halted on the tower. The book also says that the steeply-pitched gabled ceiling succeeded in creating a feel of “disorienting splendor,” a technique used by architect William Van Alen to “dramatize a state of mind.”

 

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/02/28/peek-inside-1945s-celestial-chrysler-building-observatory.php

Chappaqua School Budget Meetings Begin Monday | Chappaqua NY Homes

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The Chappaqua School District recently released an update on the 2014-15 budget process.

A PTA-sponsored Community Forum on the proposed school budget is set for 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 3, in Bell Middle School’s auditorium.

At each forum, Schools Superintendent Lyn McKay and Assistant Superintendent for Business John Chow will present a brief overview of the proposed budget, representatives said. The forums are intended to “provide an alternative venue for community members to ask questions, voice concerns and provide input before the board adopts its budget” on April 23.

The Board of Education will hold work sessions and meetings through the budget process.

The following is a listing of budget and school election dates, according to the district:

  • Wednesday, March 5, Board Work Session – Curriculum/Technology 7:30 p.m. – Horace Greeley High School (HGHS), Academic Commons
  • Wednesday, March 12, Board Meeting/Work Session – Special Education/Athletics 7:30 p.m. – HGHS, Academic Commons

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/schools/chappaqua-school-budget-meetings-begin-monday

Housing construction permits soared 71% | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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The number of residential unit construction permits issued by the city last year exceeded the previous year’s total by a whopping 71%. As good as that sounds, a New York Building Congress report released Monday noted the jump still puts permits at half the number set during the boom years that between 2005 and 2008.

The city Department of Buildings issued permits for 18,095 residential units in 1,383 buildings in 2013, a huge step up from the 10,599 units in 1,011 buildings seen the year before. And while high-profile luxury developments in Manhattan are making the headlines, the report noted that the increase came in all five boroughs—for the first time since 2008.

“This is encouraging,” Building Congress President Richard Anderson said. “Things continue to look very positive for the overall construction market in the city.”

Red-hot Brooklyn boasted the greatest number of permits, swamping Manhattan’s total by over 1,000 units. Meanwhile, in percentage terms Queens saw the biggest gain. Bolstered by two developments in the mammoth Hunter’s Point South project in Long Island City, permits soared 107% in the borough last year.

Citywide, 2013’s figure is still shy of the 20,000 units the congress estimates developers need to build annually simply to keep up with the growth of the number of households, to replace outdated buildings and to provide housing options for New Yorkers across the income spectrum. However, on average that needed level of construction was met over the last decade, the report noted, courtesy largely of the boom years between 2005 and 2008, when DOB issued an average of 30,000 permits annually.

And while last year’s hefty surge in residential permits bodes well for construction companies, for New York apartment dwellers, the news may not be quite as promising, as the increasing amount of foreign capital flowing into Manhattan’s skyline means that many of the newly built units will likely be snapped up by overseas buyers and renters, rather than lower income families dealing with record-low inventory

 

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140303/REAL_ESTATE/140309989/housing-construction-permits-soared-71#

Tax overhaul plan has something for everyone to hate | Pound Ridge NY Homes

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One of the two principal figures in charge of rewriting the nation’s income tax laws is Republican Dave Camp of Michigan, chairman of the all-powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Last week he released an extremely comprehensive tax code overhaul plan that has been three years in the making. The plan is designed to simplify the tax law and lower overall tax rates while remaining revenue-neutral. To call the plan bold is an understatement. Among many other things it: reduces the number of tax brackets from the current seven to just three, with tax rates of 10 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent. increases the standard deduction so that 95 percent of taxpayers would not have to itemize. taxes long-term capital gains and dividends as ordinary income — that is, at the 10 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent rates — but exempting 40 percent of such income from any tax. repeals the dreaded alternative minimum tax (AMT). reduces the top corporate income tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent, to be phased in over four years

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/03/03/tax-overhaul-plan-has-something-for-everyone-to-hate/?utm_source=20140303&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.0FUZHMXD.dpuf

Doggy marketing in real estate: Do’s and don’ts for agents | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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Do you volunteer at animal shelters or rescue organizations? Do you take your dog for regular walks or out for a run when you exercise? Is your dog pictured on any of your marketing materials? If so, make sure that you know the do’s and don’ts of “doggy marketing.”A couple of years ago I received an eight-page glossy color brochure from an Austin, Texas, real estate agent. It had multiple pictures of her enjoying the local lifestyle, sitting in her perfect living room, dining out with her husband, and, of course, one of her walking her dog. This particular piece was the most egregious example of “me-me-me” real estate marketing that I had ever seen. It’s hard to believe that she actually thought this narcissistic marketing piece would cause someone to hire her. Doggy no-no No. 1 If you have a picture of yourself and/or your dog on the home page of your website, get rid of it now. When today’s Web visitors see that your website appears to be about you rather than them, they immediately surf elsewhere. The appropriate place to include your photo is on the “about” page of your site, not the home page. Doggy no-no No. 2 This is a corollary of no-no No. 1. Take you and/or your dog’s picture off your marketing materials as well. Again, today’s consumer is focused on “What’s in it for me?” Moreover, using a picture of your pet to market real estate is visually confusing to the consumer: Are you selling dog-sitting services, grooming, vet services, or real estate?

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/03/03/doggy-marketing-in-real-estate-dos-and-donts-for-agents/?utm_source=20140303&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.FCxKwF6q.dpuf