Category Archives: Pound Ridge

Podcasting is a great content play | Pound Ridge Realtor | Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY

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Podcasting is making a comeback thanks to a growing consumer demand for content. If you’re not listening to podcasts, or better yet, producing your own audio content, you better reconsider.
podcast

photo credit: Bill Selak via photopin cc
I’ve been publishing the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast since 2005. I got into podcasting as a way to create content and unlock opportunities to get in front of leading authors and industry experts.
Back then, podcasting was new, iTunes had just burst onto the scene and an army of podcasters embraced this new RSS driven way to syndicate content. But then social media came along and things like Twitter and Facebook made podcasting seem so last decade. (Heck, people even starting suggesting that blogging was dead!)
But then, a funny thing happened on the way to the evolution of all things digital. People started to rediscover podcasting as a tremendous way to package and deliver content in a new and intimate way. All of a sudden, everyone had a podcast listening device in their pocket (otherwise known as a smartphone), and the new iPhone even came with the iTunes Podcast app preloaded. As a result to the easy access, podcast listening again began to surge.
Some people still shy away from the term “podcast” much like they did “blog.” Here’s the deal, just like a blog, forget what you call it, creating audio content is a great way to tap the fact that people want to listen to content on their most personal device – their phone – and why wouldn’t you work your tail off to get invited into that place.

How I podcast

There are dozens of ways to podcast and I am by no means an expert on every aspect of the technology, but I will share what seems to work for me.
Blue Yetti USB Mic – This a high quality microphone with lots of professional type settings and will set you back about $100, but the quality sound is worth it.
Skype – I do all of my interviews over Skype as my guests are from around the globe. I use a SkypeIn 9 didget phone number so my guests can call from a phone if they like but more and more people connect directly via Skype these days.
I also use a Skype add on called Call Recorder so I can record directly in Skype and it also lets me split the tracks so I can edit them independently.
Garage Band – I edit on a Mac and Garage Band does a great job. I level the sound, add music, and edit some things out before saving to iTunes.
Libsyn – I use Libsyn to host and stream my podcast. I pay about $10 a month for this and it keeps my podcast separate from my web hosting.
Blubrry PowerPress – This WordPress plugin creates a player for my blog and handles the RSS technical stuff including passing the podcast to iTunes. I run my podcast on my regular blog and use the category RSS feed to splice those posts off.
Rev.com – Sometimes I will transcribe my podcasts as a way to essentially take one form of content and make another. Rev.com is fast and very affordable.
If you want to learn more about the technical aspects of podcasting, check out Podcast Answer Man – Cliff Ravenscraft.

My personal listening list

2012 became the year that a number of very well-known content producers embraced the podcast format, producing and distributing audio content in a very big way.
The following podcasts have become very popular in iTunes and offer tremendous content for those inclined to consume their content while driving, working out or simply hanging out plugged into a pair of earbuds.
Seth Godin’s Startup School: Recently launched on the Earwolf network, the Startup School podcast features highlights from a workshop Godin conducted with 30 up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

 

 

Podcasting is a great content play | Pound Ridge Realtor | Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY.

ANTLER ALERT: THRUWAY AUTHORITY, STATE POLICE REMIND MOTORISTS OF DEER SEASON DANGERS | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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ANTLER ALERT: THRUWAY AUTHORITY, STATE POLICE REMIND MOTORISTS OF DEER SEASON DANGERS

The New York State Thruway Authority and New York State Police Troop T are reminding motorists of the dangers of deer season with the semi-annual “Antler Alert.”

Deer become more active and are more frequently present along the roadside in May and June. Most deer-vehicle collisions on the Thruway occur May through June and October through November, according to the Thruway Authority and the State Police Troop T.

The Thruway Authority maintains an excellent safety record and uses deer crossing signs at locations with a higher-than-average history of vehicle-deer collisions. Nevertheless more than 2,000 of these incidents occurred along the Thruway in 2012.

The Thruway Authority offers these safety tips for motorists:

  • Always wear your seatbelt; it’s the law.
  • Be more aware of deer throughout May and June.
  • Deer are more active during evening, dusk and dawn.
  • Scan shoulders of the roadside for deer eyes reflecting light.
  • Using high beams and sounding horn may help to repel deer, but won’t necessarily prevent a collision.
  • Slow down when approaching deer standing at the roadside, as they may run into oncoming traffic.
  • Deer often move in groups. Where there’s one, there may be more.
  • If you see a deer in your lane, brake firmly. The most serious vehicle-deer accidents occur when drivers veer at high speeds, and strike another vehicle or go off the road.
  • Never swerve to avoid hitting a deer. This can confuse deer and possibly cause them to go into the roadway.
  • If you are involved in a vehicle-deer collision, do not attempt to approach or touch the deer.

If a vehicle-deer accident occurs, motorists should make every attempt to drive their vehicle as far off the highway as possible, park on the right shoulder, activate their four-way hazard flashers, and stay in the vehicle and wait until help arrives.
Motorists traveling on the Thruway can report an accident by calling 911 or the Thruway Authority’s emergency number at 1-800-842-2233.

 

 

Press Release – New York State Thruway.

RealtyTrac: April foreclosure filings drop 23% | North Salem Real Estate

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U.S. foreclosure filings fell 5% from March to April with default slips, scheduled auction notices and bank repossessions targeting 144,790 properties last month, RealtyTrac said.

Compared to year ago levels, foreclosure filings declined 23% in April and total foreclosure activity reached a 74-month low, the real estate data firm added.

The study notes one out of every 905 U.S. housing units faced a foreclosure filing last month.

“The April numbers indicate that the pig is moving through the python when it comes to deferred foreclosures in judicial foreclosure states,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Foreclosure starts have been increasing for several months in many of the judicial states, and now that increased volume is showing up in the second stage of the process: the public foreclosure auction.”

The differences in judicial and non-judicial foreclosure states remained magnified with judicial foreclosure auctions increasing 22% from March to April and rising 31% from year ago levels to the highest point in over two years, RealtyTrac added.

 

RealtyTrac: April foreclosure filings drop 23% | HousingWire.

Florida’s Housing Market Showed Improvement in the First Quarter of 2013 | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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Florida’s housing market gained strength in first quarter 2013 with increased closed sales, more pending sales, higher median prices and a reduced supply of homes for sale compared to the same quarter in 2012, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.
“The first three months of 2013 demonstrate that Florida’s housing market is gaining momentum and continuing to bolster the state’s economy,” said 2013 Florida Realtors President Dean Asher , broker-owner with Don Asher & Associates Inc. in Orlando. “More people went back to work as more jobs were created in Florida during the first quarter, and our population is also growing –which provide a solid foundation for growth in the housing market. It’s taking less time to sell a home and, coupled with tight inventory, that shows buyers are eager to lock in historically low mortgage interest rates and take advantage of favorable, but rising prices.”
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 48,976 in 1Q 2013, up 10.2 percent compared to the year-ago figure, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
Meanwhile, pending sales – contracts that are signed but not yet completed or closed – for existing single-family homes rose 26.8 percent in the first quarter compared to the 1Q 2012 figure. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in 1Q 2013 was $153,000, up 13.4 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. Housing industry analysts note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Looking at Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of townhouse-condos, a total of 24,655 units sold statewide in the first quarter, up 3.2 percent from the first three months of 2012. Pending sales for townhouse-condos in 1Q 2013 increased 13.7 percent compared to a year ago, while the statewide median for townhouse-condo properties was $116,000, up 18.4 percent over the same quarter last year

 

Florida’s Housing Market Showed Improvement in the First Quarter of 2013 | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate | Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY.

Bedford NY Area Strong Markets | Weak Markets | RobReportBlog

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Bedford NY Area Strong Markets | Weak Markets  | RobReportBlog

Strong Markets

South Salem  up 26%
Armonk         up  85%
Chappaqua    up  15%
Bedford Corners up 25%
Bedford Hills     up 11%
North Salem     up 55%

Weak Markets

Pound Ridge    down 11%
Bedford Village   down  4%
Katonah            down 4.5%

Looking at sales over the last six months compared to the same period last year.

Hold Your Email Recipients Accountable | Pound Ridge Realtor

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Have you ever received an internet lead that only provided an email address?  You were diligent in responding quickly to this lead, and sent them a detailed emailed response

providing them with all the details they requested and a nice call to action to engage them.  Sometimes after you send that important follow up email, you mentally block that activity out of your mind and push it into the archives of your brain.  The problem is your leads can slip through the cracks without a gentle reminder, informing you if that person responded.

Yesware, a free(ish) email tool, just released a new update that will help you with all of your non-responders.  Draft an email, hit the reminder button and set a time.  It is that simple!

Watch the video below to get a quick 1 minute overview on how it works!

 

 

 

http://techsavvyagent.com

The 10 Commandments of Twitter- Jeff Bullas | North Salem Realtor

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When I stumbled upon Twitter 54 months ago I was bemused, flummoxed and even curious. What is this social network that keeps me to 140 characters, sounds like a bird and seemed…well…. pointless?10 Commandments of Twitter

I tweeted here and there and collected 31 followers in 90 days of meandering. Even followed people with large Twitter tribes on topics as diverse as food, photography and politics. Malcolm Turnbull, the local senator must have thought I was a Twitter groupie.

Luckily he didn’t report me for stalking.

My progress on Twitter was slow, confused but persistent. Despite this I continued to tweet, retweet and play. My curiosity was undiminished.

Obsession on Twitter is not unknown. Some people such as Jennifer Aniston’s boyfriend at the time tweeted so much that she decided that he loved Twitter more than her.

She moved onto boyfriend number twenty seven.

Twitter is more powerful than you think

Twitter’s sometimes chaotic nature does make management of the torrent of tweets seem like herding cats. It is essential that you plug your Twitter account into a management tools such as Hootsuite and Tweetdeck. This will help you manage your stream with lists of people and hashtags that categorise on topics.

The real power of Twitter is that you can build a follower base that allows you to share a focused stream of content that adds value to your followers daily lives.

There are no fancy Facebook “Edgerank” algorithms to throttle your tweets and choke your content distribution.

Its pure and wild. I like that.

So what are some fundamental principles that you should embrace if you want Twitter to work for you?

The 10 Commandments of Twitter

Here are 10 commandments that may guide you to the Twitter promised land of a large and loyal following.  That engages with you and shares your content with speed and velocity.

Thou shalt

Moses used this term so I thought that I couldn’t go wrong if I borrowed the term “Thou shalt”

1. Write a meaningful “bio” description

If you are using Twitter for purely personal reasons then go crazy and knock yourself out with a crazy and cute bio. If you are serious then make sure that when they read it they know in a heartbeat what you are about.

2. Have a link

I don’t know how many times I have looked for a link to take a deeper dive into a Tweeter to see what they do and where they have come from but get stymied. If you don’t have a blog then take them to your Linked account or Facebook page.

Let them discover the real you. The bio is just the start

3. Be focused

Build a tribe of Twitter followers who are passionate and interested in your topic of interest. That can be done with tools such as Tweepi or Twellow.

4. Automate where appropriate

This may seem evil to some but as you grow your follower base things like following back become time consuming and unmanageable. Automate the boring tasks such as content distribution and follow back but not the conversation and engagement
Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/05/08/the-10-commandments-of-twitter/#rCCZyAZAUwH7oUCG.99

Zillow survey: 5% home value growth expected in 2013 | South Salem NY Real Estate

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With more than 100 forecasters predicting Zillow’s Home Value Index could end the year up an average of 5.4% from last year, fears of a market bubble resurfaced.

According to the latest Zillow ($62.94 0%) Home Price Expectations Survey, the median U.S. home value is expected to rise to $165,280, on average by the end of 2013.

At the end of 2012, the U.S. Zillow Home Value Index stood at $156,800.

In the latest survey, conducted in late February, respondents reported they expected average home value growth of just 4.6% in 2013. In 2014, respondents predicted average home value appreciation of 4.4%, up from prior expectations of 4.2%.

While panelists were more skeptical on near-term value appreciation this year and into 2014, their expectations for nationwide home value growth in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were slightly more pessimistic than in prior surveys.

Panelists said on average they expect annual home value growth between 3.5% and 3.7% from 2015 through 2017. This is a modest drop from previously expressed expectations in the 3.6% to 3.8% range.

Cumulatively, respondents anticipate home values to rise 22.3% through 2017, on average.

“The panel’s expectations of near-term home value appreciation remaining above historic norms are consistent with a market struggling to satisfy strong demand from buyers attracted by rock-bottom interest rates and improving economic conditions,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries.

Humphries added, “But looking further out, that appreciation will have to moderate as interest rates rise, or else homes that seem affordable today – despite rapidly rising values – are going to look very expensive relative to people’s incomes as it gets more costly to finance a home. How the Federal Reserve handles the eventual winding down of its policy of quantitative easing will be critical in determining if the current period of rapid appreciation is a benign bounce off the bottom, or a more dangerous bubble being re-inflated.”

The more optimistic quartile of panelists predicted, on average, a 6.6% rise in home values in 2013. However, the pessimistic bunch expects an average increase of only 4.2%.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/fastnews

Elevated refi activity pushes mortgage applications higher | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Mortgage applications increased 7% for the week ending May 3 when compared to a week earlier, an industry trade group said Wednesday.

The steeper jump comes after only slight increases these past few weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The refinance index also soared 8%, reaching its highest level since December 2012.

“The gain in the refinance index was due to increases in both the conventional and government refinance indices of 8.8% and 5.7% respectively,” the MBA noted.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 2%, bringing it back to its highest level since May 2010.

Breaking a three-week trend, the refinance share of overall mortgage activity inched up to 76% of total applications compared to 75% last week.

Additionally, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased slightly and now accounts for 4% of all mortgage applications.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance continued to slip to 3.59%, the lowest level since December 2012, and down from 3.60% the previous week.

Meanwhile, the average 30-year, FRM with a jumbo loan balance dipped to 3.79% from 3.80% last week.

The average contract interest rate for the 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA ticked up to 3.35% compared to 3.34% the previous week.

Both the 5/1 ARM and the 15-year, FRM fell to the lowest rate in the history of the survey, tumbling to 2.53% and 2.81%, respectively.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/news

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Buy Country Spread Just Outside New York for $5.7 million | Pound Ridge Homes

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Ryan Reynolds and Blake Livelymore big

The happily-married hot celebrity couple, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively has reportedly dropped $5.7 million on a residence in the Westchester County town of Pound Ridge, New York. (Photo : Reuters)

The happily-married hot celebrity couple, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, has reportedly dropped $5.7 million on a residence in the Westchester County town of Pound Ridge, New York.

According to the Real Estalker, the couple had closed the deal on the property sometime back in November 2012, but kept it private just as they had kept their wedding in September.

“Blake was trying to decide between getting married in her new home in New York or in Charleston. She chose Charleston because we could keep it secret, quiet and a private affair for her,” Tara Guérard, their wedding planner told Life & Style at the Martha Stewart Weddings Annual Bridal Market Party. Apparently, they also used a lot of code names to do a lot of things, reports Life & Style Magazine.

The Real Estalker tried searching for some “meaty” property records but could only lay hands on some less interesting stuff. The couple bought the estate under a trust that Reynolds used to purchase his Bedford, New York and Los Angeles homes. Currently, the home is under renovation. However, the original colonial-style residence spans an area of 8892 square feet and  has 21 rooms including seven bedrooms seven/six bathrooms, all sitting on 12 large acres of land. A detached barn and a sweeping driveway are also a part of the property.

Currently, any active listing could not be found on the estate. An eyewitness reportedly saw the couple’s car moving in and out of the property many a times. The witness also saw trucks hauling loads of furniture to the residence.

Well! Nothing can be known until they want it to be known. Recently, Lively opened up about how she and Reynolds chose the Bedford home in an interview with Elle décor. The former “Gossip Girl” star said that the location of the home and the kitchen was why they liked the place a lot. Lively loves to cook and therefore having a comfy kitchen was one of the first things in her mind.

“Since my kitchen is the most important part of my home, I want to be creative and innovative, not only in its aesthetic, but also in the tools that I’m using to cook,” she explains in the interview.

 

 

http://www.realtytoday.com/articles