Tag Archives: Armonk Real Estate

Armonk Real Estate

Quick Tip: What Not to Include in Your Facebook Personal Profile | Armonk NY Real Estate

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There is a lot of advice out there about what to include in your Facebook personal profile, but how about what NOT to include? There are a number of things, but the most important thing is not to include any other words in your name. You should not include your company name or title. Too often, I see a personal profile that says something like: “Jane Smith, Realtor.”

Facebook personal profile – do not include any other words in your name

There are two reasons not to do this:

1. It is against Facebook’s terms of service to have your name on your personal profile be anything other than your name — this includes titles.

2. It is also against Facebook’s terms of service to use a personal profile primarily for business.

If you want to primarily promote your business on Facebook, you should start a Facebook business page . This is the perfect place to showcase listings, market reports, client success stories and everything related to your business.

However, you can smartly talk about your business on your personal profile by sharing exciting moments — like when a first-time homebuyer closes on her first home ever, or the moment you give a homeowner the keys to her new home. These moments are some of the reasons you love being a real estate agent and are perfectly appropriate to share on your personal profile alongside personal interests.

via next.inman.com

Making Your Next Move Easier on the Kids | Armonk NY Homes

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Moving can be a stressful for adults, and that stress level can skyrocket if the whole family isn’t on board. How do you get buy-in from kids who are being forced to leave their schools, sports teams, friends and family? Chances are, there will be tears along the way, but these tips may help ease the shock and make the experience a positive one for the whole gang:

Share the news in a timely fashion

The more time they have to think about and prepare for the move, the easier it will be for them. Plus, the absolute worst thing that could happen is to have your children inadvertently hear about the move from a teacher or a friend’s parent. When you first talk about the move, make sure you allow plenty of time for the conversation: It’s likely your children will have lots of questions.

Provide accurate information

Do your homework ahead of time so you can tell your children as much as possible about the city or area to which you’re moving. Have photos ready to show them, know everything you can about the schools they’ll be attending (if your son lives to play football, for example, you better know the record of his new team). The more information you can provide — in a positive manner — the less anxious your children will feel about the move.

Listen

Your kids may be excited about the move, or they may feel sad. Either way, you need to hear them out and help them work through their feelings.

Involve them

If at all possible, sit down together and create a family wish list for your new home. Teens may want a game room. A young child may want to live near a park. Don’t make promises but, rather, let family members know their desires will be considered as you search for a new home. Becoming part of the search may help turn anxiety into excitement.

Don’t share too much

This is especially true if you need to move because of financial hardship. Knowing too many details about the family’s finances could just add to a child’s anxiety.

Get them excited about the move

Older kids may be able to help with online searches for information about houses, schools, nearby dog parks and more. Ask the kids to pack and label their own boxes. Empower them to make decisions about how their new bedrooms will be decorated.

Propose stay-in-touch strategies

Social media, email and letters are all good ways for children to stay connected with friends after the move. Help your children gather contact information for school friends and team mates. Don’t promise trips back to visit if you really don’t plan to facilitate them.

Don’t downplay good-byes

Talk with your children about how they’d like to say good-bye to their closest friends. Do they want to invite a bunch of friends to a party? Would they rather host one last sleepover with a best friend? Would they like to create a scrapbook their friends can sign? Let your children know that you appreciate the impact this move will have on them and you want their good-byes to be meaningful.

Make time for post-move adventures

Yes, there will be boxes to unpack and pictures to hang, but it’s important for your family to investigate and explore your new neighborhood and city together. Make it a goal to discover at least one fun, interesting thing to do each week.

via zillow.com

Seth’s Blog: The no-problem problem | Armonk NY Real Estate

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An organization that’s run on emergencies and reaction to incoming doesn’t know what to do when there are no problems.

Instead of seeking out new ways to delight, they run around looking for new emergencies, and if they look hard enough, of course they’ll find them.

(Two reasons for this: emergencies concentrate the mind and allow things to get done, and history).

via sethgodin.typepad.com

High Prices Still Lock Middle Class out of Top Cities | Armonk NY Real Estate

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A median-income household can only afford a median-priced home in 14 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to research released today by Interest.com, a Bankrate company. Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis are the most affordable metropolitan areas and San Diego, New York and San Francisco are the least affordable.

A median-income household can only afford a median-priced home in 14 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to research released today by Interest.com. Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis are the most affordable metropolitan areas and San Diego, New York and San Francisco are the least affordable.

“Despite all of the talk about how homes are more affordable than they have been in decades, buying a home is still a big challenge for many American households,” said Mike Sante, managing editor of Interest.com. “Dealing with rising expenses and stagnant wages is a struggle. Even after years of declining home prices and record-low mortgage rates, median-income households are unable to afford a median-priced home in nearly half of the metropolitan areas that we looked at.”

Most Affordable Metropolitan Areas*

1. Detroit (+45.32%)

2. Atlanta (+40.00%)

3. Minneapolis (+32.20%)

4. Phoenix (+23.67%)

5. St. Louis (+23.49%)

Least Affordable Metropolitan Areas*

21. Los Angeles (-12.52%)

22. Miami (-12.59%)

23. San Diego (-25.90%)

24. New York (-29.71%)

25. San Francisco (-32.76%)

*Percentage reflects how much the median household income in a metropolitan area exceeds or falls short of the income required to purchase a median-priced home in that area

To determine each rating, Interest.com gathered the median home prices in the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan areas and calculated how much financing would be required for a buyer with a 20% down payment. They entered that amount and city-specific data on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates, median household income, median property taxes, average homeowners insurance costs and average household debt into the “Required Income Calculator” on Interest.com. Finally, they divided the median household income for each city by the income required to finance the median-priced home.

Median Home Price Source: National Association of Realtors, Q2 2012 study of existing single-family homes [Note: Pittsburgh was not included in that study, so September 2012 data from Real STATS was substituted]

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Rate Source: Bankrate.com, weekly national survey from September 19, 2012 [Note: City-specific data was not available for Portland (Ore.), Sacramento and San Antonio, so the national average was used for those three cities]

Median Household Income Source: U. S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey, median household incomes by Metropolitan Statistical Area

Median Property Taxes Source: U. S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey, median real estate taxes by Metropolitan Statistical Area

Average Homeowners Insurance Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2009 average premiums by state [Note: average 2009 premiums for Texas cities were obtained from the Texas Department of Insurance]

Average Household Debt Source: Experian’s 2012 State of Credit Study [Notes: did not include mortgage debt; Interest.com calculated monthly debt payments using an 8% interest rate amortized over 60 months]

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Inventories Have Fallen for 27 Months | Armonk NY Realtor

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Month-to-month inventories have now fallen for 27 consecutive months, according to the monthly RE/MAX National Housing Report. Inventory was 29.1 percent below September 2011 and may have contributed to the drop in sales from August.

The inventory of homes-for-sale in September fell 5.3 percent from August and 29.1 percdent from inventory levels seen in September 2011. Month-to-month inventories have now fallen for 27 consecutive months. While a shrinking inventory is certainly causing home prices to rise, there’s also a concern that it may also be limiting sales. Given the rate of sales in September, the average Months Supply was 5.5, about two months lower than the 7.7 average seen in September 2011. Very low Months Supply continues to be seen in San Francisco, CA 1.3, Los Angeles, CA 1.7, Orlando, FL 2.6, Denver, CO 2.6, Washington, DC 2.8, Detroit, MI 3.0, San Diego, CA 3.2, Seattle, WA 3.2 and Miami, FL 3.3.

In September, the average Days on Market for sold homes was 81. This is unchanged from August, but represents a drop of 13 days from the 94 day average in September 2011. September represents the fourth month in the last 12 months with a Days on Market average below 90, and the lowest average since June 2010. The Days on Market average continues to fall in many markets due to very low inventory. Days on Market is the number of days between first being listed in an MLS and when a sales contract is signed.

While shrinking inventories are is certainly causing home prices to rise, there’s also a concern that it may also be limiting sales and creating bidding wars in some markets, RE/MAX said. September home sales fell 17.5 percent from August, but remained 0.5 percent higher than sales in September 2011. September is the fifteenth consecutive month with sales higher than the same month in the previous year. Of the 52 metro areas surveyed this month, only 29 saw higher sales than one year ago and just 6 saw double digit increases including: Albuquerque, NM +40.9 percent, Chicago, IL +24.1 percent, Raleigh-Durham, NC +22.1 percent, Providence, RI +22.1 percent, Nashville, TN +21.0 percent and Denver, CO +11.4 percent .

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Installing a Home Wine Cellar | Armonk NY Homes

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If you have expensive bottles of wine cluttering your home, it may be time to find storage for your wine. By using a self-storage finder, you can locate a facility that specializes in wine storage, or you can opt to build a wine cellar in your home. Although it is a considerable expense, wine cellars are excellent investments, as not only do they ensure that your wine is protected, but they also increase the value of your home.

Location

When choosing the location for your wine cellar, you should focus on windowless areas that don’t get frequented often. Basements, attics and garages are usually good choices. It’s very important that the space is windowless because sunlight will raise the temperature in the room and spoil the wine. You also want to ensure that your location has adequate ventilation and receives very little in the way of vibration.

Temperature

Generally speaking, you want to maintain a temperature of 55-58 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity of 50-75 percent. Homes usually average a temperature of 70 degrees and a humidity of 20-30 percent, so you’re going to have to make some renovations.

Renovations


Floor: With the humidity set at 50 percent or higher, carpet is sure to harvest mold and mildew, so if there is any carpet in the room, you will need to replace it with hardwood, granite tiles or porcelain tiles.

Walls: If the room is already finished, you should place foam insulation on the walls. If unfinished, you can use standard insulation and then hang drywall over it. Even though the cooling unit will go in later, you will want to run your electrical and drain lines during the construction process.

Door: In order to maintain stable temperature and humidity levels, you should replace the door with an insulated, weather-stripped door.

Odors

Be wary of any locations in the home that are in close proximity to aromas. For example, you do not want your wine cellar located next to your kitchen, as the odors can infiltrate the wine corks and spoil the wine.

Lighting

Use dimmable, recessed lighting in the ceiling. Even though it is arguably less harmful than sunlight, artificial lighting can also ruin wine.

Maintenance

Unlike most significant home renovations, wine cellars require very little maintenance. In fact, other than ensuring that the climate stays controlled, you can pretty much leave your cellar alone.

Organization

The trick to maintaining an effective wine cellar is organization. Once you have all your wine racks assembled, there is a litany of ways to organize your collection— by region, vineyard, vintage, year or grape variety, to name a few. The key is to be consistent.

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John Donegan is a writer at SpareFoot, the online marketplace where you can find and reserve a self-storage unit with comparison shopping tools that show real-time availability and exclusive deals. John lives in Austin, TX and occasionally directs videos for rap artists.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

via zillow.com

Armonk NY Real Estate Up 29% – Prices Down 22% | RobReportBlog

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Armonk NY real estate sales up 29% – Prices down 22% | Armonk Realtor | RobReportBlog

Posted Under: Home Buying in Armonk, Home Selling in Armonk, Property Q&A in Armonk |  September 16, 2012 8:32 AM  |  253 views  |  No comments
Armonk NY Real Estate Report   –    RobReportBlog   –   Sept 2012Sales over the past six months

2012

57   homes sold

$850,000   median price

2011

44  homes sold

$1,092,000  median price

Homes sales jumped 29% as the median sales price fell 22%.

via trulia.com