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3 Annoying Social-Media Mistakes Businesses Need to Avoid | Bedford NY Realtor

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Are your social-media  marketing habits attracting people to your brand or scaring them off? If you  litter your Twitter feed, Facebook page and Pinterest boards with blatantly  self-centered, hard sales posts — or even insensitive, potentially offensive  posts — you could be guilty of sending your followers packing, right along with  their spending cash.

Here’s a short list of notorious social-media  mistakes business owners should remember to avoid and why:

1. Only talking about your products and services. By  now, this one should be a no-brainer. Don’t be that guy at the party who only  talks about himself. Posting status updates, tweets and pins that  narcissistically revolve around your brand only is tantamount to social-media  suicide. You’ll quickly come off as too corporate, self-serving and disconnected  from your customers and their needs. An exodus of followers is sure to, well,  follow.

Small-business expert Steven D. Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible (Wiley, 2012)  suggests following the 80-20 rule to establish a meaningful connection with  customers via social media. That is to say that 80 percent of the content you  post should address your customers’ problems and only 20 percent should be about  your company and what you do.

2. Not playing (sharing) well with others. Instead of  tweeting repeated promotional messages about your products and services, make an  effort to retweet, share and pin your followers’ content often. Also exchange  friendly, conversational tweets with your followers, particularly those who are  significant influencers within your industry. Doing so can encourage a sense of  community within your social networks, boost your brand exposure and help you  earn your followers’ trust.

Share like a champ on Facebook and Pinterest as well by sharing follower  posts and pins that are relevant to topics your target market cares about. For  example, if you sell children’s toys, consider sharing follower and influencer  posts and pins that are of value to parents of young children, like toymaker Melissa and Doug often  does on its  Facebook page. These often include family arts and crafts ideas, fun  playdate themes and printable coloring pages.
3. Posting  insensitive content about sensitive subjects. One of the fastest  ways to get people trash-talking your brand over social media is to post  poorly-timed, offensive remarks about sensitive topics, especially those that  are political in nature and inspire strong emotions.

Fashion designer Kenneth Cole has been guilty of this more than once. Most  recently, the designer and self-described “frustrated activist” published a  tweet that made light of the “boots on the ground” comment U.S. President Barack  Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry used in reference to potentially  deploying ground troops in Syria. The crass remark instantly ignited a firestorm  of angry backlash reply tweets that continue to pile up.

 

 

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228574#ixzz2i53yLJkA

Mixing It Up in a Century-Old Edwardian | Bedford NY Real Estate

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e get to see the results of designers’ hard work for their clients here on Houzz, but we don’t often get to peek into their own homes. For interior designer Shirley Meisels, her house is a reflection of her family’s lifestyle and collections, and it also serves as a design laboratory where she can experiment with ideas and test products and materials.
“Over the years I have had the opportunity to collect various objects and furnishings that I love — since this has happened over time, my home has an eclectic, almost ‘accidental,’ feeling,” she says. In her work she strives to give her clients’ homes that same casual yet pulled-together, collected-over-time look.
Meisels and her blended family moved into this hundred-year-old Edwardian house in Toronto in early 2013. They chose it because it was the right size, it was structurally sound and it had a nice flow. It only needed a facelift, which she pushed hard to complete in six weeks. Here’s how this self-confessed “clutter nut” has chicly organized and designed the house for family life.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Shirley Meisels and her blended family: her husband and his two kids, ages 9 and 11, and her daughter, 10. Location: Midtown Toronto Size: 2,850 square feet; 4 bedrooms plus office, 4 bathrooms
Photography by Stephani Buchman

contemporary entry by Shirley Meisels

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“We love the flow of the house and that it has the perfect amount of space when we are all together, enough to feel spacious but not vast. I hate the idea of heating rooms that no one uses,” Meisels says.
She makes the space work by having a place for everything. In the entryway she insists upon a designated place to drop bags, keys, mail, coats and shoes. A custom wardrobe by Mhouse serves as a coat closet.
“At the same time I like some kind of dramatic design detail that will wow guests as they first enter — in this case the oversized mirror really has impact,” she says. A Sputnik chandelier foreshadows more retro style moves in the rest of the house.
Console table: Ikea; rug: Elte

traditional HT: Shirley Meisels2

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The home originally had transitional style, with yellow walls  and oak trim. Meisels painted everything with Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, using washable flat on the walls and satin finish on the trim.
In addition to all of that painting, renovations included replacing all the flooring, cutting a window and sidelights into the front door, adding air conditioning, renovating the powder room, replacing radiators, completing a master bathroom that had been roughed in, working on the kitchen (more on that later), adding built-ins and reconfiguring closets. Later on the couple dug down and finished the basement, which took another six weeks.
contemporary staircase by Shirley Meisels

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AFTER: Through the entryway a glimpse of a wall mural by Lulie Wallace draws you into the house. “I thought that would be a fun corner to add a pop of color and pattern without overwhelming the hallway,” Meisels says.

traditional HT: Shirley Meisels2

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Just off the entryway, the living room features a beautiful bay window and fireplace. This is the old furniture and rug setup.

Undervalued Investment Markets Won’t Last Long | Bedford NY Real Estate

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That’s how Ingo Winzer, president and founder of Local Market Monitor, sees the future of rental markets for investors, but “investing in rental properties will be an attractive proposition for many years because of the increasing numbers of people who can’t afford to be homeowners.”

LMM’s third quarter ranking of best 300 rental markets, co-sponsored by HomeVestors, also known as the “We Buy Ugly Houses®” company, found that the best opportunities are in the South, where five markets made the ranking’s top ten: n the Top 10, including Atlanta (number three), Fort Worth, Texas (number five), Little Rock (number six), Orlando (number eight), Jacksonville, Florida (number nine) and Baton Rouge (number 10).

Other top 10 markets are Las Vegas (number one), Columbus, Ohio (number two), Indianapolis (number four), and Stockton, California (number seven).

“The markets in the Top 10 listing all had strong job growth during the past year, and in many cases, strong home price appreciation, too, but are still undervalued by at least 15 percent,” said Winzer. “Even Las Vegas, where prices jumped as high as18 percent, remains 31 percent undervalued.”

David Hicks, HomeVestors co-president, noted that risk of investing in all markets across the country has decreased sharply.  “Only six of the markets in the top 100 list are ranked as “speculative,” down from 13 during the last quarter.  The others are ranked as either “low risk” or “medium risk”, since there are many different types of investment out there. Looking for the top Canadian Stocks to invest in for a winning portfolio? Most successful investors website is https://www.stocktrades.ca/. If you have a smaller account, you can find stocks under $1 to invest in.

The “speculative” markets include Los Angles, Gary, Providence, Buffalo, Toledo and Cleveland.  “Most of these markets have higher than average unemployment rates, but have other factors such as undervalued home prices that make them attractive, albeit more risky,  investments,” Hicks said.

“Even though most local real estate markets have rounded the corner, opportunities for investment remain plentiful because home values in many markets are well below the level that local incomes can support,” Winzer added. “In these undervalued markets, both rents and home values will be increasing rapidly as the local economy improves and demand for housing runs up against the fact that there has been very little new construction in recent years.”

Hicks said that the pace of growth the company is experiencing reflects the strong housing market.  “Our housing purchases have steadily increased over the past eight months and are on track to grow 60 percent over 2012. The interest in the housing market is also reflected in franchise sales – where we’re on track to add more new franchises than any year in our history.”

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/09/undervalued-investment-markets-won%e2%80%99t-last-long/

Mortgage rates drop for 3rd straight week amid shutdown fears | Bedford Real Estate

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The government shutdown — which the CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association said today is stoking “confusion and fear” among borrowers — helped drive down mortgage rates to their lowest level in more than three months, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.22 percent with an average point of 0.7 for the week ending Oct. 3, down from 4.32 percent last week but up from 3.36 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac reported.

“With the onset of the federal government shutdown and declining consumer confidence, fixed mortgage rates fell for the third consecutive week,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Consumer sentiment fell for the second month in a row in September to its lowest reading since April, according to the University of Michigan.”

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages and five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans also decreased, while rates on one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs stayed flat.

 

 

Source: Freddie Mac

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/mortgage-rates-drop-for-3rd-straight-week-amid-shutdown-fears/#sthash.c2iOUc4v.dpuf

Fewer Americans are moving | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Some say there is no spark in today’s economy. Others claim we’ve hit a speed bump. Nonetheless, everyone will agree the housing market is light years ahead of where it stood a year ago. But has the recovery cooled?

Back in my younger days — about six months ago — when my husband and I were looking to buy our first house, the market was pure insanity. I’m talking about ten-offers-in-one-day insanity. It was undeniably a seller’s market. Homes were flying off the market in hours and any offer below list price was laughable.

We were even forced to throw in a picture of our pup to help persuade the sellers to chose us.

Nolan

But it seems that the market has slowed considerably since then. In fact, this year the number of people moving to a new home fell dangerously close to the record lows set in 2011 after rising in 2012, according to data from Trulia (TRLA).

“Last year the Census reported an increase in mobility in 2012 to 12.0%, led by an increase in longer-distance moves.  However, new 2013 data suggest that the mobility rebound we saw in 2012 might have been short-lived,” said Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko.

We can only assume rising interest rates coupled with an increase in home prices is the culprit behind this. Historically, rates are still very low at 4.62%. (My father-in-law’s first house was financed at 14% or something equally ridiculous.) But compared to the 3.5% I was able to get six months ago, this seems high to a lot of people.

And after all… isn’t my generation, the Millennials, a big weight holding housing down? We are drowning in student debt, unable to find high-paying jobs and are scared to death of an interest rate above 4.0%.

Heck… the fear of closing with an interest rate above 3.5% motivated me to put in an offer above list price just so I could sneak into the house I bought six months ago before rates rose any further.

So what is the solution here? How can we get the momentum back?

Well, it doesn’t appear feasible for my generation to even put together a downpayment on a home, let alone finance a mortgage with the amount of student debt we are facing. What we need is move-up buyers, and we need them fast.

 

 

 

 

Westchester Magazine Weekend Update | Bedford NY Homes

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October 4
If you’re in the mood for some smooth pop-vocal styling, get to Tarrytown Music Hall to see pop-song writer, singer, and opera composer Rufus Wainwright as he plays from his seventh studio… More
You probably never thought you’d get to (safely) sleep with wolves, did you? Well, now the chance is here. Bring a tent and camp out under the stars with the 22 wolves that call the Wolf Conservation Center… More
October 5
Bring your bookworms to the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival to meet 65 authors of books like Ella Enchanted andThe Magic School Bus Series. Along with author readings and … More
Well, it’s time once again to scare the bejeezus out of ourselves, Westchester. For the fourth year, Philipsburg Manor becomes Horseman’s Hollow, a haunted attraction based on the scariest… More
 

Pick and pickle fresh carrots, dosey doe your partner, hop on a hayride, and show off your farmer skills at the Farm Olympics-all while supporting Stone Barns’… More 

It’s pumpkin season, and that means it’s time for the annual Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor. More than 5,000 individually hand-carved jack o’lanterns will light up your…More
Head to the 2nd Annual Hudson Hop and Harvest at the Riverfront Green Park, which will be the only place you can enjoy craft beer, farm-to-table-made food, and indie music-all in the same place…More
After the Hudson Hop and Harvest, continue the fun with Brew Blues at Paramount Hudson Valley. You can sip even more brews while listening to some great blues music provided by the…More

Study Finds Bedford’s 500-Year-Old Oak Tree In Good Health | Bedford NY Homes

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A high-tech study conducted on Bedford’s most famous tree, a 500-year-old white oak at the intersection of Route 22 and The Hook Road, has found it to be in “overall good health” and should live for many more years to come with proper care.

After a limb recently fell off, SavATree took an in-depth look into the tree using visual observation and radar to assess its health.

The scan inspected a 27-inch section of limb that had previously been cut and stands 20-feet above the ground. Radar was also used to explore the trunk and the roots at different points.

The scan found very early stages of saprot in both the branch and a part of the tree, but the study says there is “no cause for alarm.”

“There is no treatment or cure to stop decay in the tree, but optimizing tree health can delay the process and maximize tree longevity,” according to the study.

The study recommends trimming the “crown” area of the branches by 10-percent this winter and another 10-percent over the following three years depending on the tree’s response. This is expected to help bring the weight of the branches closer to the trunk, lowering the chance of a branch breaking off and falling.

It also recommends to include ArborBalance in the tree’s regimen, replace the current turf near the roots with composited mulch and place benches and paths outside of the zone where visitors could potentially get hit by a falling branch.

It is estimated to cost the town $5,650 over the next three years to maintain the tree.

The oak is more than 30 feet thick at its biggest girth and its branches spread more than 120 feet from tip to tip.

The land the oak sits on has been owned by the town since 1977.

See the full SavATree study here.

 

 

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/lifestyle/study-finds-bedfords-500-year-old-oak-tree-good-health

Younger Buyers Dominate Luxury Market | Bedford Real Estate

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A new survey by Coldwell Banker Previews International® and the Luxury Institute finds that wealthy younger buyers are driving the luxury real estate market, and they are willing to pay more than similar wealthy buyers age 55 and older.

According to the survey of Americans age 21 or older with a minimum gross annual household income of $250,000, 43 percent of younger wealthy consumers are considering the purchase of residential property in the next 12 months, compared to 21 percent of those age 55 and older. On average these younger wealthy consumers spent more than $2.1 million on their most recent purchase of residential property, approximately twice the average amount spent by older and similarly wealthy luxury buyers, which was $1.1 million.

“This trend towards younger luxury buyers is leading a change in desired home amenities,” said Betty Graham, president, Coldwell Banker Previews International NRT. “Whether these younger buyers have young families or are single without children, they are looking for homes that fit their active and unique lifestyle.”

So what are they buying? The survey found:

  • Younger buyers are significantly more likely than wealthy buyers age 55 and older to want homes with amenities such as a pool, outdoor kitchen, home gym, home theater, wine cellar and four or more garages.
  • Wealthy consumers under age 55 are more than twice as likely (23 percent) to value Green or LEED certified residential properties than their older counterparts (11 percent).
  • Open floor plans and a fully automated and “wired” home environment are the top features wealthy consumers, regardless of age, say have become important to them in the last three years. Less importance is placed on staff quarters, tennis/sports courts and separate catering kitchens.
  • “Luxury homes are for more than successful and retired empty nesters,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. “Today’s luxury buyer is both dynamic and diverse, and it’s reflected in the homes and products they’re buying.”

For majority of luxury buyers, location is the most important factor when considering the purchase of residential property.  Seventy (70) percent of wealthy consumers identified location as the most important factor in their last residential purchase. Other elements included the condition of the property — brand new with no work required, as opposed to needing major renovations (10 percent), price (8 percent), home amenities (6 percent) and view (6 percent). The most commonly cited reason for wealthy consumers not considering the purchase of a residential property was the desire to keep assets liquid (24 percent).

 

 

 

Bedford NY dealing with federal government shutdown | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Westchester residents must now deal with a federal government shutdown and its ramifications for the first time in 17 years Tuesday morning after Congress failed to agree on a spending plan.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a spending bill that denies funding for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which will start Tuesday. Oct. 1 also marks the first day of the Fiscal Year, which lasts through Sept. 30, 2014. The Democratic-controlled Senate then voted to kill that House legislation last night, creating the impasse that has led to the shutdown.

Since 1977, there have been 18 government shutdowns. None lasted more than three days.

While much is unknown about the latest, including how long it will last and its economic effects, one thing is certain. Millions of Americans, and thousands of Westchester residents, will be missing services.

Here is what will occur as long as long as the shutdown is in effect:

* Approximately 800,000 Federal workers deemed “non-essential” will be placed on furlough, resulting in an approximate loss of $1 billion a week in wages to Federal workers.

* National Parks will be closed first thing this morning. This includes such iconic sites as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in Manhattan and the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In Westchester, the lone facility impacted will be St. Paul’s Church in Mount Vernon.

* Permits for guns, alcohol and tobacco will not be processed.

* Social Security checks will continue to be issued.

* The Postal Service, which functions as an independent business unit, will remain open.

* Medicare will continue to operate as is.

* Affordable Care enrollment will still begin as scheduled today, Oct. 1, with health-care coverage starting in January, 2014.

* There is funding for food stamps to last another full year thanks to the 2009 Recovery Act.

* Armed forces, fire, police, public safety, medical and air traffic services will continue.

* There is no telling how long passports will be available during the shutdown. It depends on the undisclosed amount of money the State Department has to appropriate  beyond the amount allocated by Congress.

* Most food safety inspections will continue.

* Veterans’ Affairs services will be closed, but Veterans’ hospitals will remain open

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/westchester-dealing-first-government-shutdown-17-years