Category Archives: Bedford Corners NY

How to Improve Your Facebook Engagement Using Controlled Experiments | Bedford Corners Realtor

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Are you wondering what type of Facebook post works best?

Are you struggling with getting engagement or reach on your Facebook posts?

You may have heard that you need to post more photos or more questions or more photos with questions…

But what really works best for your audience?

In this article, you’ll learn how to find out which types of Facebook posts work best for your page.

Why Experiments?

Running controlled experiments from time to time will help you discover what works on your page so you won’t have to take someone elses word for it.

It’s also a great way to help you come up with a posting structure that may help you streamline your content creation in the future.

#1: View Insights for Ideas

In your Insights section, you do have some data on your best post types (under Posts), but that can be a function of what types of content you have been posting lately. So you may not get the whole picture if you haven’t been posting many links recently. But it’s a good place to start your investigation.

best post types

Take a look at the best post types for your page.

 

Another good place to start is to look at the Posts section and click on one of the posts. You will get a lot of information on your individual posts. The example shown here is a photo tip, which typically does very well on my page.

post level data

Clicking on a post will give you a lot of information.

What I wanted to see is how posts did in a more controlled experiment. If I posted similar information with a link or a text post, would it do as well? Here’s an idea of how you can set up an experiment on your own page to do a little investigation.

 

 

 

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-test-your-facebook-posts/

Bedford Corners Real Estate Weekly Report | #RobReportBlog

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Bedford   Corners NY Weekly Real Estate Report11/25/2013
Homes for sale39
Median Ask Price$1,465,000.00
Low Price$495,000.00
High Price$12,000,000.00
Average Size5059
Average Price/foot$467.00
Average DOM194
Average Ask Price$2,614,154.00

Genworth Mortgage Insurance will offer discounts on ‘green’ homes | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Mortgage insurers have statistical evidence that people who buy homes with energy-saving components present a lower risk of default, and Genworth Mortgage Insurance is determined to reward those homeowners by incorporating that knowledge into its underwriting procedures, syndicated housing columnist Ken Harney reports.

Genworth already offers Canadian buyers a 10 percent “energy-efficient refund” on their premiums, and more leeway on debt-to-income ratio calculations used in underwriting.

On a $300,000 mortgage with a 5 percent down payment, Canadian homeowners can qualify for an $825 refund, and have savings on heating bills factored into debt service ratios. Source: courant.com.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/genworth-mortgage-insurance-will-offer-discounts-to-owners-of-green-homes/#sthash.6DOcnD4E.dpuf

Mortgage Delinquencies Dropped Nearly 25 Percent Since Last Year | Bedford Corners Homes

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The rate of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgages dropped 23.3% in the past year, ending Q3 2013 at 4.09% from5.33% in Q3 2012of all homeowners with a mortgage according to Transunion, one of the nation’s top three credit bureaus.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia experienced a decline in their mortgage delinquency rates between Q3 2012 and Q3 2013. Five states — California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah — experienced 30%+ declines in their mortgage delinquency rate. Three states — California, Florida and Nevada — had double-digit percentage drops in the last quarter. Nationally the mortgage delinquency rate also dropped on a quarterly basis, down 5.3% from 4.32% in Q2 2013, the seventh straight quarterly decline.

The data provided are gathered from TransUnion’s proprietary Industry Insights Report, a quarterly overview summarizing data, trends and perspectives on the U.S. consumer lending industry. The report is based on anonymized credit data from virtually every credit-active consumer in the United States.

“This isn’t a sample data set,” said Tim Martin, group vice president of U.S Housing for TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “We looked at all 52 million installment-based mortgages in the U.S. and the trend is clear — the percentage of borrowers willing and able to make their mortgage payments continues to improve. The overall delinquency rate is still high relative to ‘normal,’ but a 23% year over year improvement is great news for homeowners and their lenders.”

TransUnion recorded 52.31 million mortgage accounts as of Q3 2013, down from 54.23 million in Q3 2012. This variable was as high as 63.14 million in Q3 2008 prior to the housing crisis.

Viewed one quarter in arrears (to ensure all accounts are included in the data), new account originations increased to 2.34 million in Q2 2013, up from 2.09 million in Q2 2012. This is a major increase from just two years ago when there were 1.32 million new account originations in Q2 2010.

“New mortgage originations showed good growth through the second quarter of this year, largely the result of increased refinance transactions driven by low rates and increasing home prices,” said Martin. “However, mortgage rates started to increase right around Memorial Day, and when the data come out next quarter, we expect it to show that new originations are decreasing as a result.”

 

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/11/mortgage-delinquencies-dropped-nearly-25-percent-since-last-year/

Viber, Splitwise among cross-platform apps that provide structure to real estate partnerships | Bedford Corners Homes

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Although we are similar in many ways, my business partner and I tend to disagree when it comes to technology. I’m an Apple gal to my core (no pun intended), and Kate is an Android fan.

Earlier this year when we were both looking at buying new phones, I fought for her to get an iPhone, as I thought collaboration between the two of us would be easier if we both used the iOS system.

But being as stubborn as we both are, she ended up with a Samsung Galaxy S4 and I upgraded to the iPhone 5. After some research we found there are actually many apps and programs that work extremely well cross-platform.

Here are some of the ones we use to help us stay synced and always up-to-date with our business: Contact management: Ixact Contact We tried other contact management programs, but this is by far the most simple, yet powerful, one that we’ve tried.

At $34.95 per month, it’s not cheap, but it’s a huge time-saver.

We are able to easily sync contacts, reminders and appointments from our Android and iOS devices to Ixact. If Kate books an appointment with a client, on her phone or through the Ixact dashboard, it is automatically synced to my phone and vice versa.

 

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/viber-splitwise-among-cross-platform-apps-that-provide-structure-to-real-estate-partnerships/#sthash.858Iag78.dpuf

4 Reasons to Buy a Home During the Holiday Season | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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If you’re house hunting over the holidays, you’re likely a serious buyer with an immediate need.  Perhaps you have to relocate for a new job opportunity, or there’s been a change in your personal life? Regardless, while you may assume it’s not an ideal time to be looking — namely because there isn’t much to look at — there are some advantages to buying this time of year.

Less competition

Let’s start with the obvious one: less competition. This lowers the chances of multiple offers and bidding wars (something we saw a lot of last spring/summer), and should translate into a bigger discount for you. Know your market! This is where sites like Zillow come in handy. Start your research here for comps in your area and to see what homes are selling for.

Serious home sellers

Why would sellers pick such an inconvenient time — while everyone is busy entertaining family and friends and enjoying the spirit of the holidays  — to list their properties? Probably because they need to sell and may feel compelled to do so before the end of the year for tax purposes. What this means for you: less hassle when it comes to negotiating; a greater willingness, on the part of the seller, to agree to concessions; less chance of the seller waffling; and greater respect for your offer, even if it’s a little lower than the seller was perhaps expecting.

Faster mortgage approval

Lenders aren’t as busy this time of year, and less volume could mean faster approval. Some lenders might even be willing to reduce fees during the off-peak season in hopes of gaining your business. Regardless, don’t just go with the first lender who comes along. It pays to shop around. Get multiple quotes and check out lender reviews on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.

 

 

 

 

Pattern-Happy Personality in Los Angeles | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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thousand square feet of blank space might feel intimidating to some, but this apartment’s empty walls and cookie-cutter materials turned out to be a dream come true for Ariane Bartosh. The Los Angeles designer and painter used the space as a blank canvas on which to showcase her love of color, pattern and texture. Now hand-drawn patterns and vintage wallpaper adorn the walls and colorful, quirky furniture fills the apartment with unmistakable personality.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Ariane Bartosh Location: Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles Size: 1,200 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom Budget: $35,000, including labor, furniture and materials

Bartosh had just started on her own as a designer when she found this apartment, so she used it as an opportunity to show off her personal style, painting ready-made white curtains with fabric paint and filling the living room with pink, salmon and orange hues. A 1960s German light fixture — one of several in the house — adds glam to the white ceiling.
Rug: Flokati.com; wall paint: Petal Bloom, Pratt & Lambert
Most of the furniture is a result of Bartosh’s passion for vintage. The armchairs are Italian Techno chairs from the 1980s, reupholstered in a plush salmon corduroy. She found the vintage Milo Baughman sofa for a steal ($1,000!) on eBay and upholstered it in orange fabric from Osborne & Little. “I’ll find things I like on 1stdibs. And obviously I can’t afford it,” Bartosh says. “So I’ll hunt eBay until I find exactly what I’m looking for.”

13 Things to Never Do to a Rental, Courtesy of Arch Digest | Bedford Corners Homes

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Architectural Digest has long been a shiny toy filled with beautiful things, from eclectic Hamptons “farm” houses and slick fashion-y penthouses to Spanish villas overhauled by presidential decorators and Italian castles overhauled by, well, Martyn Lawrence Bullard. All exemplary interior design jobs, all rich people’s renovations projects. For the rest of us, though, the magazine features can very well be read like a primer in how to get sued by one’s landlord—unless, of course, one’s landlord is cool with “tearing down that bitch of a bearing wall” or “completely reconstructing every wall.” Below, a lesson in what not to do with a rental home, courtesy of Arch Digest:

item2.rendition.slideshowWideHorizontal.juul-hansen-06-manhattan-living-room-after.jpgPhoto by Thomas Loof/Architectural Digest

13. ↑ “In the face of runaway extravagance, she addresses her designer’s concern over a blocked view with an imperious directive: ‘Tear down that bitch of a bearing wall and put a window where it ought to be!’ [Link]

12. Despite the potential nightmare of redistributing the column’s load, his response was categorical: Take it down.” [Link]

11. “Sheltered beneath a vibrantly gabled slate roof, the home has the same footprint as the original, but the amount of living space was dramatically expanded after the interior was reconfigured.” [Link]

10. “Ceilings were raised to ten and a half feet, as Candice requested, revealing awkwardly placed structural beams that Reger cleverly blended into handsomely configured coffers. Doors were heightened and aligned with windows, so natural light could flow deep into the rooms.” [Link]

9. “She jettisoned the living room’s 18th-century-style marble mantel in favor of a custom-made limestone replacement with an Art Moderne profile.” [Link]

8. “Len handled all of the architecture, completely reconstructing every wall and customizing every surface. Most dramatically, he dismantled the exterior walls and inserted a series of nine pairs of steel-framed glass doors that reveal the sweeping skyline and bring a metropolitan immediacy into the apartment.” [Link]

7. “By relocating the openings between rooms, circulation was enhanced.” [Link]

cn_image.size.francis-sultana-01-drawing-room-h670.jpgPhoto by Luke White/Architectural Digest

6. ↑ “The designers brightened this once-gloomy space by ripping out dark paneling, painting the walls white, and installing a splendid light fixture that runs the length of the room.” [Link]

5. “Upstairs, Sultana and Croft had the task of converting two palatial salons into snug bedrooms. Their solution was to construct enclosed chambers inside each space—rooms within rooms. In the master suite, they broke up the wide expanse by building a capsule containing a bathroom in the area behind the bed.” [Link]

cn_image.size.steven-harris-02-living-room-h670.jpgPhoto by Scott Frances/Architectural Digest

4. ↑ “One segment of the glass wall is an immense 18 feet long by 9.5 feet tall. ‘It arrived from Canada on the last possible day we could close the street and hoist it into place with a crane,’ Harris recalls. And of course, he adds, ‘it ended up being the windiest day of the year.'” [Link]

3. “The only solution was a radical one—demolish the interiors and rebuild them from scratch, adding a level for extra space.” [Link]

2. “Fulfilling an important client directive, she combined three poky cooking and pantry areas into a single expansive kitchen. It now features two islands, green-painted cabinets (some with copper-mesh fronts), and a fluted hood. To accentuate the Spanish character, she incorporated dark-stained Douglas-fir ceiling beams, a strategy also employed in the main hallway.” [Link]

1. “Working within the existing footprint, the designer reconfigured the master suite to provide separate his-and-her studies—the latter embellished with a trellis mural by Valle.” [Link]

· All Architectural Digest coverage [Curbed National] · All Renters Week 2013 posts [Curbed National]