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Bedford Corners Luxury Homes

Home prices close in on housing bubble peak | Bedford Corners Homes

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Nationwide, home prices are now just 14 percent off of their bubble era peak, according to real estate data and technology firm Lender Processing Services.

LPS’ U.S. Home Price Index came in at $231,000 in August, up 9 percent year over year and a slight 0.4 percent from July. The index peaked at $270,000 in June 2006.

Texas, in particular, is booming. The state’s HPI hit a new peak of $185,000 in August, as did Texas metros Austin ($240,000), Dallas ($184,000), Houston ($185,000) and San Antonio ($172,000).

 

 

Source: LPS

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/home-prices-close-in-on-housing-bubble-peak/#sthash.3AZ7TiWq.dpuf

‘Quintessential,’ Yet Curious, Palm Beach Manse Asks $30M | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Location: Palm Beach, Fla. Price: $30,000,000 The Skinny: The details surrounding this “quintessential Palm Beach” mansion are sparse. It was built in 1926 by Marion Syms Wyeth, a favored architect of Palm Springs’ gilded age. After that, there’s a pretty big gap in its history until 2004, when it was purchased for $8.8M by an LLC-shielded buyer. The new owner restored the 17,000-square-foot palace and just yesterday put it back on the market for $30M. And that’s about it. There are only five listing photos, which surely don’t tell the whole story, but the story that they do tell is ridiculous: the house looks like the kind of place that a fictional drug lord would have lived in in the ’80s (especially with the enormous privacy hedges). C’mon, there are at least four winged lion statues.

What’s LEED All About, Anyway? | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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How can you tell the difference between houses that look environmentally friendly and ones that actually are? Home certifications can help. Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is just one certification that helps all sectors of the home-building industry use some of the best methods of sustainable design and construction.
Your first two questions about certification are likely going to be, “What’s in it for me? and “How much is this going to cost?” Let’s look at some of the basics.

modern by Butler Armsden Architects

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Benefits of LEED Certification
The benefits touch everyone involved. For the homeowner a voluntary certification like LEED for homes increases accountability for quality checks on the construction site, therefore decreasing the frequency of costly mistakes. Plus, according to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED-certified homes use on average 20 to 30 percent less energy and water, with some homes reporting up to 60 percent less energy use than a home built to meet code minimums.
In addition to the decrease in monthly utility bills, many states and cities have tax breaks and incentives for environmentally friendly construction. While the LEED rating itself doesn’t address individual incentives, the requirements often overlap. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy has a searchable Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. You and your project team can look up federal and state incentives to give your budget a little boost.
Finally, if you ever need to sell your home, you can ask for a higher price for a LEED home than similar houses on the market. One study in California, for example, showed an 8 to 9 percent increase in the market value of green-certified homes.
Meanwhile, any builders wanting to set themselves apart should consider learning how to build according to LEED requirements. Most agree that there is a steep learning curve, but with more than 100,000 home units certified in the U.S. (and many more in the pipeline), it could set an experienced business even further apart from the crowd or help a new business leap ahead. The same goes for designers who want to show clients that they can be creative even within environmental parameters.
Costs of LEED Certification It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact percentage increase in construction costs that you are likely to see with a LEED home. It depends on what you are comparing it to. In an apples-to-apples comparison with a high-quality, uncertified construction that follows best-practice guidelines, the cost difference is hardly noticeable: maybe 2 to 5 percent higher).
In a comparison with the average home on the market that just meets the minimum building codes (apples to oranges in this little fruit metaphor), the percentage would be much higher: maybe 20 percent.
contemporary exterior by Shades Of Green Landscape Architecture

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By earning points in eight categories, the finished house can achieve one of these ratings:

  • Platinum (90 to 136 points)
  • Gold (75 to 89 points)
  • Silver (60 to 74 points)
  • Certified (45 to 59 points)

Whether you are in the market for a LEED home or looking to build one yourself, understanding what goes into these scoring categories can help you formulate your questions for your real estate agent or home builder.
1. Innovation and Design Process (ID)
Points available: 11
Points earned for: Making sure that the home is sustainable, durable and cost efficient, with a well-rounded approach to the design.
Things to keep in mind: This category of credits is meant to see if you really mean it — if you really want to build a sustainable home or if you’re just looking for a quick certification. The lesson: Plan early and plan often. You need to get your project team on the same page as soon as possible and make sure that every professional involved is willing to use the best methods, rather than the easiest methods.
The design of your home should be integrated with the selection of your team. It should take into consideration the path of the sun and the use of solar heat to reduce consumption. The home should also be durable and high quality, not only to last you through the years, but also to provide a good base for whatever the future of building technology may hold.
2. Location and Linkages (LL)
Points available: 10
Points earned for: Selecting a sustainable location for your home. To be truly green, you must try to use an existing infrastructure.

Westchester Opens Commuter Parking Lots For New Haven Line Riders | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Four temporary parking areas will be set up to provide people who normally ride Metro-North’s New Haven Line access to trains on the Harlem Line and to the subway, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announced Sunday.

Service on the New Haven Line in Fairfield County has been substantially reduced due to a power outage that arose Wednesday. Repairs are currently underway by Con Edison.

Connecticut riders looking for an alternate route to New York City can try out the four park-and-ride lots. The lots are free and offer a total of 8,600 additional parking spaces along with access to trains and the subway. Here are the locations:

  • The garage at 8 E. 153rd St. near Yankee Stadium will have 1,500 parking space and allow walking access to Yankees-East 153rd Street Station on the Hudson Line Service.
  • Orchard Beach at Pelham Bridge Road/Shore Road and Orchard Beach Road will offer 5,000 parking spaces and a free shuttle to Pelham Bay Park’s #6 Subway.
  • Rye Playland will offer 1,500 parking spots and a bus to the White Plains Station on the Harlem Line. The free bus trip is about 10 miles.
  • Kensico Dam at Park Drive West in Valhalla  will offer 600 parking places and a bus to the North White Plains Station for Harlem Line Service. The bus trip is about a mile.

The parking areas will be open at 4:30 a.m. daily and shuttle buses will start running at 5 a.m. Shuttle bus service will continue throughout the day, the county said. The focus will be on the morning and evening commute, and the schedule will be assessed daily, Astorino said.

“The disruption of service on the New Haven line has caused tremendous inconvenience to thousands of commuters,” Astorino said. “Westchester County government immediately reached out to Metro-North to offer our assistance in making additional parking, buses and other resources available to help get New Haven line commuters to work as quickly and easily as possible.”

The parking lot at Playland, where the amusement park has closed for the season, has spaces for 1,500 cars.  At Kensico Dam Park, parking can be established for up to 600 cars by using the grass field.

The county will be reimbursed by Metro-North for its costs, Astorino said.

Mortgage applications shoot up 11.2% | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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Mortgage applications shifted gears, increasing 11.2% from a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said this week.

Meanwhile, the refinance index grew 18% from the prior week, while the purchase index rose 3%.

As a whole, the refinance share of mortgage activity inched back up to 61% of total applications, up from 57% a week earlier.

The average contract interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan limit dropped to 4.75% from 4.80%.

Furthermore, the 30-year, FRM jumbo edged down to 4.83% from 4.84%.

The average 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA fell to 4.50% from 4.56%, and the 15-year, FRM declined to 3.81% from 3.83%.

Meanwhile, the 5/1 ARM plummeted to 3.54% from 3.59% a week earlier.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/26891-mortgage-applications-shoot-up-112

How to Wash Your House | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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If you want to give your home more curb appeal, one great way to start is by giving the exterior a thorough cleaning. An exterior that sparkles in the sun can make a world of difference. But if you’re about to reach for a pressure washer, stop right there. Not all surfaces can handle the intense spray of a pressure washer; some, like brick, can be damaged by the wrong tools. Here you’ll find out which method is best for your home, along with more know-how you’ll need to get the job done right.

traditional exterior by Vinyl Siding Institute

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When to pressure wash. Vinyl or wood siding, or a hybrid material, is typically strong enough to withstand pressure washing. But before you head to the home improvement store, consider just how dirty your house is. It’s best to start with the lightest, gentlest cleaning method that is effective and work your way up from there.
Don’t reach for the pressure washer unless you have some serious grime to contend with — a light layer of dirt and road dust can be easily cleaned using a plain old garden hose. If your home has sturdy siding and needs more power than a garden hose can muster, a pressure washer can be heaven sent.
rustic exterior by Cathy Schwabe Architecture

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Get prepared to pressure wash. If you own your home and plan to use a pressure washer at least once each year, it could be worth it to buy your own. They are not cheap … but they are not cheap to rent, either. If you cannot reach the upper floors of your home on a ladder, consider hiring a pro to do the job. If you are doing it yourself, follow these steps:

  1. Soap or no soap? Water alone is enough to get most exteriors clean. If you have mold or mildew, use a specialty house cleaner designed to kill mildew in the pressure washer’s detergent compartment.
  2. Choose the right nozzle. Pressure washer nozzles are measured in degrees — those that shoot water in a very narrow area have the strongest spray (zero is the strongest) and should be used very cautiously. For most homes a nozzle with a 40-degree spray should suffice, so start there and work your way down to a 25-degree nozzle if necessary.
  3. Secure windows, doors and pets. Make sure dogs (who could be curious about the spray) and children are inside, and close all the windows and doors before getting started. Also put on a pair of safety goggles to protect your eyes from dirt and debris.
Pressure washing safety. Treat your pressure washer with respect and common sense, the same as you would any other power tool — because it is potentially just as dangerous. The spray that comes out of the tip of the power washer is so concentrated, it can slice through skin, so keep children and pets away while you are working, and never direct the pressure washer at a person.
Also avoid spraying windows, as the spray could break the glass, especially in older homes with single-pane windows.
How to pressure wash your house:

  • Spray at a downward angle. Siding is designed to protect your home from weather … and weather comes from above, not from below. Work with your home’s protective features and direct your sprayer downward. Never spray into seams or cracks in siding where water can become trapped and damage your house.

 

 

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/17268616/

 

13 natural remedies for the ant invasion | Bedford Corners Homes

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Little tiny ants have been spotted in our new home, and many people are suffering the same fate across the country. As much as I love spring, I don’t like bugs — especially bugs that can infest a house. Last week I asked for some advice in how to deal with ants naturally as I didn’t have time to research it myself since I just moved this weekend. I got such good advice, I had to share it with the readers here at MNN as well.
Some of these measures are deterrents. That is, they deter the ants from coming in your house. This seems to work well for those with a mild problem. Others found that they needed to use a method that kills the whole colony of ants. I’ve compiled the comments and suggestions by category, allowing you to compare the different methods a little more easily.
1. Lemon juice
Teresa: We just spray around the openings with pure lemon juice … and it always works for us … something about the acid messes up their sense of tracking…
2. Cinnamon
Shayla: We use ground cinnamon around where there are coming it. It works really well.
Peggy: We spray cinnamon essential oil all around the doors, windowsills, floors, etc. keeps them from coming in. I put the sugar water and borax OUTSIDE!
Letia: Another vote for ground cinnamon. Easy to clean up afterwards and worked great for us!!!
Jean: Cinnamon and cloves. Makes your house smell nice and the ants just hate it sprinkled right in their path.
Patricia: We also use cinnamon oil. We draw borders around everything with a Q-tip dipped in it. They won’t cross it.
3. Peppermint
Heather: My mother-in-law has success with peppermint essential oil around windows and doors (any entries). Plus her house then smells awesome.
Julie: Dr. Bonner’s liquid soap in the mint aroma. Mix 1 to 1 with water in a spray bottle. Spray on the ant invasion and watch them suffer.
4. Borax, water and sugar
Kristi: We use borax, sugar, water and a touch of peanut butter. It takes a couple of weeks but really works. We used it last year in our old house and are implementing it again this spring in our new house. Pesky ants! Here is the site where I found the recipe:http://naturalantkiller.blogspot.com/
Christy: I second Diana’s comment about borax and sugar. I’ve made a thin paste before with water, sugar and borax, then spread it on little pieces of thin cardboard or stiff cardstock and placed them near where it seems they are coming into the house. They’ll eat it and take it back to their colony (just like the Terro liquid you can buy). The paste will dry up in a couple days, so you’ll have to make more. But I think I only had to do it twice before they were gone.
Chookie: What worked for us was a mixture of borax and sugar in water. Several years ago, we lived in a house where there was an ants nest in the walls. Removing it would have meant virtually demolishing the entire front wall of the house (not practical!), so instead, after a year or two of having flying ants swarm into our bedroom every year we decided to go on an ant killing spree. Conventional ant killers didn’t work. Borax and powdered sugar didn’t work. But adding water to the borax and sugar mix to make a thick sugary borax-y syrup DID work…. the worker ants took it back into the nest and it positioned the queen – result = no more flying ants. OK, so borax does need to be kept away from pets and small children, but it is relatively safe beyond that as it is only toxic if you eat it. my solution was to put it somewhere where the kids and the cats would not reach it but the ants could.
BeverlyC: We live in China and had a HORRIBLE ant problem in our house. Tried cinnamon, black pepper, vinegar, etc. etc. We were concerned about the borax because we have guests in and out regularly and the little children are often, well, naughty and undisciplined. When someone suggested Terro liquid ant bait and we found it was just Borax and sugar, we asked someone to bring us some. We could pick the traps up and put them away when company came and put them back out after they left. They worked wonders!!

Bedford Begins Process To Fill School Board Vacancy | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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The Bedford Central School District has begun the process of filling the vacancy on the school board.

The board is filling the vacancy left by Lee Goldstein, who resigned because her family is moving to Connecticut. The school board said applications are due Sept. 13.

There will be a special election for the seat May 20. Goldstein was elected to the school board in 2012; her three-year term expires June 30, 2015.

The board will conduct interviews at Fox Lane Middle School Sept. 18. The meeting will be open to the public and televised on BCSD-TV. The district said they are asking community members to submit questions or topics by Sept. 13

The board is expected to make an appointment Sept. 25. To be eligible for the position, an individual must be a qualified voter of the district  and have lived in the school district for at least one continuous year. At a minimum, service on the board requires preparation for and attendance at bi-monthly meetings. In addition, board members serve on at least one board subcommittee, which meets monthly.

Interested individuals may obtain an application on the district’s website www.bcsdny.org or may contact Carole LaColla, district clerk at 914-241-6011 or via email at clacolla1777@bcsdny.org.

Susan Wollin, president of the school board, said she is confident the process will choose a worthy candidate. This is the third time the board has filled a vacancy during Wollin’s tenure.

“It’s very similar to the process we’ve used in the past,” Wollin said. “We hope to appoint somebody based on the outcome of the meetings.”

The board last filled a vacancy in 2011 when Mark Chernis resigned to avoid a conflict of interest with his employer and the district.

The Bedford Central School District is comprised of the towns of Bedford, Pound Ridge and Mount Kisco.

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/bedford-begins-process-fill-school-board-vacancy

 

Home Depot piggybacks off housing recovery | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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According to CNBC, Home Depot (HD) experienced a booming second quarter, with its net earnings surging to $1.8 billion, or $1.24 a share, in the second quarter, from $1.53 billion, or $1.01 a share, a year earlier.

“I know there’s been a debate lately about the strength of the housing market,” Brian Nagel, senior equity research analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., told CNBC’s Squawk Box. “I think the housing market is recovering quite well here. And I think Home Depot is capitalizing quite well.”

                    Source: CNBC