Category Archives: Armonk

Tankless Water Heaters | Armonk Homes

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Several months after my husband and I and our two kids moved from the US to a space-efficient flat in London, I dragged our contractor into the back of one of our bathrooms to show him a strange, small silver box mounted on the wall and asked if he could remove it. “Not a good idea,” he said. “It’s your water heater.”

Long favored in Japan and Europe where square footage is at a premium, tankless water heaters provide hot water on demand when you need it. According to the EPA, residential electric water heaters are the second highest energy users in American households: “The energy consumed by your refrigerator, dishwasher, clothes washer, and dryer combined use less energy than your current standard water heater.” Tankless water heaters offer big savings in energy use and space. The question is: Can these little units cater to the water heating needs of larger homes? Read our primer to find out if a tankless water heater should be on your house remodeling or tank replacement short list.

Michaelis Boyd Architects Bathroom, Remodelista

Michaelis Boyd Architects Bathroom, Remodelista

Above: A London bathroom by Michaelis Boyd Architects.

With the help of a demure tankless water heater that barely took up any space in our London flat, four of us bathed, showered, washed clothes, and otherwise ran hot water without ever experiencing shortages or wars over water pressure.

What is a tankless water heater and how does is work?

Unlike standard water heaters that keep water hot and ready for use at all times in insulated 20- to 80-gallon tanks, tankless models don’t store hot water, they heat on demand. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water runs through a pipe into the unit where a flow sensor turns on a gas burner or an electric element to heat the water to the desired temperature. When the hot water tap is closed, the flow sensor turns off the burner.

Tankless Water Heater Diagram, Remodelista

Tankless Water Heater Diagram, Remodelista

Above: The inner workings of a gas-powered tankless water heater. Image via Better Water Heaters.

How are tankless water heaters powered?

Tankless water heaters can be fueled by gas (natural or propane) or electricity. Gas-powered units require venting (just like standard tank heaters). Most gas models also have electronic controls, so an electric outlet is needed. Full electric tankless heaters don’t need venting but have minimum voltage and AMP requirements—consult a professional to be sure your power is adequate.

Steibel Tempra Plus Electric Tankless Water Heater, Remodelista

Steibel Tempra Plus Electric Tankless Water Heater, Remodelista

Above: The Steibel Tempra Plus Whole-House Electric Tankless Water Heater doesn’t require venting, which allows for location flexibility.

Are there different types of tankless water heaters?

Two types of heaters are generally offered: whole house and point of use. Whole-house systems are powerful enough to generate hot water at flow rates to serve a household. Point-of-use units have low flow rates and are designed to supply hot water for a single appliance or location. These compact contraptions are typically installed directly adjacent to wherever they’re needed, such as under a sink; they’re most often used to augment a system when instant or additional hot water is needed.

How much hot water can a tankless heater generate?

Unlike standard water heaters, which draw on reserves, tankless water heaters provide a continuous supply of hot water. Sound too good to be true? Well, sort of. While the stream of hot water is unlimited, tankless models can only heat and deliver water at a certain flow rate. That output, or capacity, is measured in gallons per minute (gpm). So, while a tankless water heater won’t “run out” of hot water like a storage tank can, there may be an issue of not being able to pump out enough hot water for multiple uses at the same time. 

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https://homes.yahoo.com/news/remodeling-101-tankless-water-heaters-090000458.html

$3.5M Buys a Wright Student’s Spiky, ‘Zen-Like’ 1985 Design | Armonk Real Estate

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25 images

Location: Armonk, N.Y.
Price: $3,500,000
The Skinny: A 1985 home in Armonk, N.Y., by Frank Lloyd Wright student Roy Johnson has been on the market since June with a $3.5M asking price. “Paradise is found” there, suggests the listing, in its 6,093 square feet and the surrounding “zen-like” six-acre plot, which features a “fully stocked koi pond, relaxing waterfall, stone paths,” a “fully enclosed raised vegetable garden perfect for farm to table dining,” and a trellised pavilion whose emphatic, spikey silhouette mimics that of the house. Inside the dwelling, there’s an expansive double-height living room, a “renovated Bilotta kitchen” lit by large windows, and five bedrooms, filling out a circular plan around a central stone column.

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/10/29/roy-johnson-armonk-for-sale.php

 

Huge Downward Revision In August New Home Sales | Armonk Real Estate

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New home sales were flat in September after a big downward revision to August’s report.

New home sales rose 0.2% to an annualized pace of 467,000 in September, while August’s blowout number was revised down to a pace of 466,000 from a prior report of 504,000.

Expectations were for new home sales to fall 6.8% in September to an annualized selling rate of 470,000, down from August’s 18% increase to an annualized rate of 504,000.

According to the latest report from the Census, the median home sales price in September was $259,000 and the average was $313,200.

The report also showed that the current rate of sales represents 5.3 months supply at the current sales rate.

In a note to clients following the report, Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macro wrote, “I n one line: Revisions mean no clear breakout from the range yet.”

Shepherdson added, ”  Given the size and frequency of large revisions to the data, we wonder why the numbers are published so early; they’d be much more reliable if  they were released with a longer delay. Taking the revisions into account, we cannot now say with any conviction that sales have broken definitively above the 400-to-460K trend in place since late 2012, though the rebound in the NAHB survey over the summer suggests it is just a matter of time.”

 

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/comes-home-sales-133706795.html

See New York’s Stunningly Ornate Movie Palace-Turned-Church | Armonk Real Estate

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In the 1920s, Loew’s built five Wonder Theaters: movie palaces that were, quite literally, palaces, bedecked with ornate architecture meant to awe, instill hope, and provide an escape from the depressing world outside. That was the aim of Marcus Loew, of the eponymous chain and the founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. One of these cinemas, the historic Leow’s Valencia Theatre in Queens, exists to this day—it just doesn’t show films anymore. A Pentecostal church, the Tabernacle of Prayer For All People, bought the then-abandoned 3,500-seattheater on Jamaica Avenue. The congregation donated $200,000 (about $758,303 in 2013 dollars) to restore the eclectic Spanish-Mexican-Moroccan interior to its original splendor.

It has used the theater ever since, and continues to maintain elaborate-theater savant John Eberson’s ridiculously detailed ornamentation. Notice the gilded lion carvings scattered throughout the hall? “Because we are Pentecostal, we had all sorts of religious reasons for it,” says Sister Forbes, the church’s pastoral secretary. “It’s just that Eberson was a good employee. What’s the symbol for MGM? A roaring lion.”

 

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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/22/see_new_yorks_stunningly_ornate_movie_palaceturnedchurch.php

Bed-Stuy Brownstone Wants $1.425 Million, and More | Armonk Real Estate

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↑ First up is this three-story brownstone in Bed-Stuy. The home is laid out for two families and has five fireplaces, stained glass, and pocket doors. There are some nice period details too, including original hardwood floors, moldings, ceiling medallions, and shutters. It’s asking $1.425 million.

More listings in Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and more >>

↑ Up next is this gorgeous, five-story brownstone in Park Slope, which is asking an impressive $5.25 million. Built in 1899 by architect Patrick Sheridan, the house is massive and has lots of nice details, such as a pier mirror, bay windows, and a stained glass skylight. It was fully renovated in 2003.

↑ In Prospect Heights, this four-story brownstone is asking $3.75 million. The three-family building has been renovated and the owner’s duplex has around 3,000 square feet of space.

 

 

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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/19/bedstuy_brownstone_wants_1425_million_and_more.php

TransUnion: Youth, older both see loan growth | Armonk Real Estate

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A new TransUnion study found that the consumer loan wallet – the composition of loans that people typically carry – has materially changed for both the youngest and oldest segments of the population during the last decade.

The study found that student loans have left the greatest imprint on those consumers ages 20-29, with their share of the consumer wallet nearly tripling in the last nine years. In 2005, student loans made up 12.9% of the total loan balance share for this age group. This percentage increased to 21.1% in 2009 and surged to 36.8% in 2014. For the purposes of this study, all yearly data points reflect data as of March 31 of each year.

The consumer loan wallet is defined by breaking down the average total borrowing of consumers in different age tiers by the average percentage of that total balance in each loan type, including mortgage, auto, card, HELOC, student loan, and all other loan types.

“The mortgage crisis and recession had a profound impact on the country, with many consumers still feeling the effects today,” said Charlie Wise, vice president in TransUnion’s Innovative Solutions Group. “Interestingly, our study found that the recession has had a lasting impact on two disparate groups – those consumers in their 20s and those ages 60 or higher – though in very different ways. While these groups differ greatly in their borrowing levels and wallet share compositions, we also believe their borrowing and wallet shares were likely impacted by each other. With unemployment rates remaining high for a prolonged period during the last six years, 20-somethings likely looked to their parents, grandparents, and other more financially established family and friends for financial support.”

 

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/31651-debt-among-youngest-oldest-shifted-dramatically-in-past-decade

Open Discussion of the Ward System Referendum in North Castle | #Armonk Real Estate

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You are Cordially Invited To An

Open Discussion of the Ward System Referendum in North Castle

An  Expert Panel with Open Discussion Moderated By:

Joe Lombardi, Director of Media Initiatives and Managing Editor of Daily Voice

Monday, October 6th at 7:30 pm

 

At the American Legion Hall

35 Bedford Road, Armonk, NY 10504

 

A proposition for changing the Town Board from at-large councilpersons to councilpersons representing neighborhoods will be on the ballot in November. 

 

Come and meet your neighbors, enjoy some wine and cheese, and discuss the  proposal for Neighborhood Representation on the North Castle Town Board.

The Concerned Citizens of North Castle, Inc.*  was established in 2004 as a non-partisan, not for profit community organization. Its mission is to help North Castle residents learn about, and objectively discuss, all sides of critical issues impacting the Town.  

Housing is biggest expense for retirees | Armonk Real Estate

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It’s become fashionable these days for advisers to warn retirees and pre-retirees to set aside enough money to pay for health care in their golden years.

Folks might be better served if they were told to make sure they first have enough income and assets to pay for housing and home-related expenses after age 65.

That’s because those expenses — mortgages, property taxes, insurance, utilities, home maintenance, and the like — comprise the largest spending category for older Americans, according to a new report published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute based in Washington, D.C.

Yes, health-care expenses increase steadily with age, and remain a big cause of concern, but the cost of maintaining a home is typically the biggest expense for older people. EBRI said.

Women typically live longer than men, often have less saved for retirement and interact differently with financial planners, says Eve Kaplan of Kaplan Financial Advisors in Berkeley Heights, N.J.

To be fair, the dollar amount spent on housing and home-related expenses decreases with age. But the share of these costs in household budgets remain stable at between 40% to 45%, depending on age group, EBRI said in a release.

Consider: Households age 60-64 spent on average $18,720 or 43% of total expenses on housing in 2011, adjusted for 2013 dollars; households age 65-74 spent $14,732 or 42%; and households age 75-plus spent $13,111 or 44%. Or put another way: you’ll need roughly $250,000 set aside at age 65 to pay for 20 years of housing expenses.

To be fair, EBRI found in its analysis that health expenses increase steadily with age. In 2011, for instance, households with at least one member between ages 50‒64 spent 8% of their total budget (or $4,176) on health items, compared with 19% (or $6,603) for those age 85 or over. And health-related expenses do occupy the second-largest share of total expenditure for those over age 75, EBRI noted.

But housing is the cost no one is really talking about.

Of course, health care can be a budget buster, too. For instance, EBRI also found a large increase in spending at the 95th percentile for those age 90 or older, which can be attributed to very high health-care expenses.

But much of that expense is associated with end-of-life care. “For some, health-care expenses can be heavily skewed toward the end of life,” Sudipto Banerjee, EBRI research associate and author of the report, said in a release.

For example, Banerjee said, in 2011, the (midpoint, half above and half below) health-care expenditure for households with at least one member 85 and above was $2,814, while the average was much higher at $6,603.

And costs can be especially troublesome for households that fall in the 95th percentile, the worst-case folks. In that percentile, health-care expenses ranged from $13,918 for those households age 65-79 to $28,339 for those ages 90 and above. “If withdrawals are not well managed then by that time many (retirees) may have little left in their nest eggs,” said Banerjee.

 

 

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-is-biggest-expense-for-retirees-2014-09-30?siteid=yhoof2