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Chappaqua NY Estate Sale Tips | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

In some cases, I suppose the family of the deceased may be able to handle the estate sale in a garage sale manner but for the greatest amount of profit, a true estate sale is the key. This is especially true if you are dealing with an enormous amount of sellable items.

The first thing you want to do is NOT throw anything that could be sold. Old rotten clothes or broken glass items are one thing that you may do away with but there are so many other things most people consider trash but others find as a treasure. Some of these are old matchbook covers, business ballpoint pens, children’s games (even if missing some pieces), books with ratty covers, any age magazine (even the National Enquirer types), costume jewelry (the gaudier the better), fake flowers in ugly flower pots, lighters, family photos, old shoes, hats and even underwear. For everything your family member held onto, there is someone else in the world that will be willing to buy it. The price on the item may only be twenty-five cents but that is a quarter more than you had before.

The second thing you will want to do is decide if you want to do the sale yourself or hire a professional. The advantage to doing the sale yourself is you don’t have to pay a percentage of the money to someone else. The true professional give you a large number of other advantages IF you pick a good one.

Check into the person before signing any contract. Find out if the person does estate sales on a regular basis or only when the notion (or a desperate person) strikes. Check with your local Better Business Bureau. They may have comments on the person you are using. These comments may even be good ones. Avoid the fly by nighter that isn’t knowledgeable in all the various item possibilities. A professional will come with a virtual library of reference books, the amateur tries to bluff their way through and stick any price on something.

The next step in a profitable estate sale is advertising. I am sure most people have seen the homemade, garage or estate sale signs tacked up to fence posts or telephone poles with writing that is too small or simply illegible. In most cases the only thing you can do is hope there are arrows on each sign and that they are facing in the correct direction.

Most professionals will have signs printed up with the address, directions and some of the top merchandise (dolls, antiques, depression glass and tools) listed. In fact they may even have two different sets of signs created. The only difference being one will say Estate Sale while the other said Garage Sale. About three days before the big event post the signs in about a five-mile radius of the house. Remember signs aren’t all the advertising possibilities.

For the entire week before the sale ads should be placed in all the major (and minor) newspapers. This may cost $50 to $60 but in the long run will pay off. Make sure the ads give exact directions from the closest freeways or major roads as well as greater detail than the signs as to what all is offered. There are people that check for these types of sales on a regular basis. Not all of them are going to be antique dealers either. That is why you want to list as much as you can to catch the eye of readers.

Estate sales take time. Depending on the volume of merchandise, the sale can take from a week to several weeks to get ready. Garage sale mentality will be to slap everything on the floor or on a table as is. When having an estate sale, take the extra time to clean the better pieces like glassware, pottery, porcelain and nice pieces of furniture. People are more likely to not only buy but to pay more for something that looks good and not covered in greasy dust or dirt.

You may also want to group like items together. If you have sixteen complete sets of carnival glass, each with their own punch bowls, compote, candy dishes, pitchers and egg dishes, have an area set aside for the carnival glass lovers. If you have fine china, Depression glass, stem wear, Waterford crystal and such, display them so their beauty can be seen. You could even set the items up as if for a dinner party so buyers could see the pieces “in action.”

If you have a large volume of knick-knacks put up additional shelving to spread the items out. By placing thirty or so items on a small table, you have a greater chance of someone’s clumsiness getting something broken. Most buyers don’t worry about being careful since it isn’t their stuff they are dealing with. Nor is it their money.

Money is an issue in itself. A professional will usually make sure there is only one person handling it and only one person who can mark the price down on an item to make a sale. A great deal of money can be lost if you have five friends helping you and each one is knocking fifty cents to a dollar of each item sold. The best rule of thumb is to not mark anything down during the first part of the sale. If it is a three-day sale, wait until that third day to mark things down. Also go through before the sale several times and check prices on items to get them firmly planted in your mind. Buyers switching prices on a $70 1959 Barbie with a fifty-cent McDonalds toy isn’t at all uncommon. Security is always an issue.

If you are going to have possibly large amount of money exchanging hands, hiring a security guard or off duty policeman is often a good idea. Other precautions include making sure there is only one way into and out of the house, anyone coming in with large purses or coats are watched continuously and station a person in each room of the house. These will greatly reduce the theft rate. You will also want to make sure you do not keep any large sums of money. Make repeated trips to the bank if necessary. This may be difficult if you are running the sale yourself.

If you decide on a professional estate seller you should check them out thoroughly. Get references from previous clients. Make sure you get a written contract spelling out exactly what you get for your twenty-five to thirty-percent. Find out how often they do estate sales. Do they stay busy and if not, why? Go to one of their sales as a buyer before signing the contract. This is an excellent way to develop a true impression of how the person will run the sale. Research, advertising and professionalism are the keys to a successful estate sale. If the customer looks and sees a poorly run, cheap type of set up, they are more likely to pay only garage sale prices. If the customer sees a professionally run outfit that has taken the time to display, clean and mark each item, they are much more likely to not only pay better prices but also return on the following days.

One last thought on having a true professional do your estate sale. They have an established clientele that follow them to the various sales. If you plan on selling the real estate property where the estate sale is being held, let them know. Many times the professional can sell the house by letting the word out to anyone who asks and the best thing is you don’t have to pay a commission for the sale unless you want to as a thank you. A professional can relieve so much of the headache and heartache that goes with an estate sale but you must make the final decision of which way you want to do the sale. Regardless of the way, remember the difference between the estate sale and garage sale mentalities as far as display, advertising, security and pricing.

Happy Festivus !!

“Happy Festivus” is the traditional greeting of Festivus a holiday featured in “The Strike” episode of Seinfeld. The episode first aired on December 18, 1997. Since then many people have been inspired by the goodness of the Seinfeld holiday and they now celebrate Festivus as any other holiday.

According to the Seinfeld model, Festivus is celebrated each year on December 23rd. However many people celebrate it other times in December and even at other times throughout the year.

The original slogan of Festivus is “A Festivus for the rest of us!” Instead of a tree an unadorned aluminum pole is used, in contrast to normal holiday materialism. Those attending Festivus may also participate in the “Airing of Grievances” which is an opportunity to tell others how they have disappointed you in the past year, followed by a Festivus dinner, and then completed by the “Feats of Strength” where the head of the household must be pinned. All of these traditions are based upon the events in the Seinfeld episode.

Chappaqua NY Needs Less Roommates For Real Estate To Expand | Chappaqua NY Real EState

What does the American economy need to get back on its feet? The key may lie in housing, which remains in the doldrums. Recent data does show existing home sales are rising, but increasing mortgage rates won’t aid recovery. What would help tremendously would be fewer roommates.

While it’s true that stalled construction and population growth are gradually taking a bite from the country’s glut of vacant homes, hard times mean more people are shacking up together and fewer immigrants are climbing the fence. When this trend reverses, better times for everyone — from cable operators and builders to Home Depot — will follow.

As an investment theme, “household formation” may sound wonky. In fact, it’s a key factor in how the economy will perform in the coming year. The measure basically calculates how many healthy cells there are in the U.S. real estate body. When foreigners move in and buy a home, or the kids move out and into an apartment, the number of households increases. That, in turn, creates an economic ripple effect.

A small rise in household formation has a beneficial effect on large swaths of the economy, and with it on earnings and the stock market more broadly. Most obviously, sales of new homes and the materials needed to build or refurbish them increase. Homeowners buy appliances from General Electric, speakers from Best Buy and Sherwin Williams paint. Cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner sign up new customers, and utilities turn on more light bulbs. Allstate writes more homeowner policies.

The trouble is, despite robust demographic numbers, this figure has been growing sluggishly in recent years. The government estimates that fewer than 400,000 households were formed in each of the past two years ending in March. The average should be around 1.4 million per year, based on how people behaved prior to the financial panic.

Indeed, it’s a big reason for the continuing overcapacity in the housing market. Fewer than 800,000 new housing units were erected in 2009 and the number should be roughly the same this year. That’s the slowest pace by far in four decades. The real estate glut should largely be history given such a glacial pace of construction. Yet rental and homeowner vacancies remain at elevated levels.

So why is household formation down? Difficult economic times have forced people to try to save money — and the biggest cost to cut is habitation. People are more likely to shack up and share apartments, and homeowners take on renters to help with the mortgage. The footprints in the data are easily spotted. The percentage of 25-to-34 year-olds living at home is at a three-decade high, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Even divorce rates are down. Arguing, it seems, is cheaper than paying two mortgages.

Hard times also mean America isn’t as attractive a destination to jobseekers. The number of legal immigrants living in the United States fell in 2009. Moreover, illegal immigration appears to have fallen sharply, based on border interdictions.

Some of these changes should unwind over time. Checking accounts fill, mortgages amortize, and thirty-somethings realize how hard it is to meet prospective mates when living at home. Eventually, people strike out or decide that having a tenant in the basement is not financially worth the noise and invasion of privacy.

Moreover, real estate prices have fallen by about a third from their peak in most cities, according to the Case-Shiller index. This makes it easier to afford rent or a down payment. Rental vacancies peaked last fall, and home vacancies in late 2008.

Yet higher rates of employment, and more certainty over jobs, would be a greater spur, as they are strongly linked to household formation. People are reluctant to move out or buy a home if they aren’t working, or think mass firings are imminent.

Therein lies the chicken and egg enigma. Construction is typically one of the first sectors to recover from a recession. The continuing property glut means employment is about 2 million below its 2006 peak, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since it hasn’t revived, the United States is attracting fewer immigrants and people aren’t forming households.

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Chappaqua NY Housing Market in 2011 | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicted the housing market would improve by the end of 2010. In September 2010, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said that he expected the housing recovery to be “slow and gradual because of lingering economic uncertainty.”

The 2010 housing market has been characterized by lower sales volume than a year ago. However, the median price increased 0.08 percent in August from a year ago. The number of homes sold nationally in August increased 7.6 percent from July, 19 percent below the August 2009 level.

August closings reflect sales made in April when the homebuyer tax credit was still available. We could see lower sales volume and median sale prices moving forward. This will vary from one area to the next.

Real estate is a localized business. In California, home sales for 2010 are predicted to rise 2 percent from the 2009 level. The median sale price is expected to increase 11.5 percent from a year ago to $306,500 and another 2 percent in 2011, according to the California Association of Realtors. The state’s median sale price was $522,700 in 2005.

Research by First American CoreLogic indicates that 24 percent, or more than 11.3 million homeowners, have negative equity. Negative equity occurs when the unpaid mortgage balance exceeds the market value of the property. According to CoreLogic, homeowners with negative equity are unlikely to reach positive equity until 2015 or early 2016.

Foreclosures are one of the factors putting brakes on a housing market recovery. According to NAR, distressed sales accounted for 34 percent of homes sold in August, up from 32 percent in July and 31 percent in August 2009. Foreclosures will continue to impact the housing market in 2011.

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Chappaqua NY Buy of the Week | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

Prudential Holmes and Kennedy buy of the week in Chappaqua NY.

Asking $659,000. Will sell in the $500s because it needs updates. Over 1 acre of land.

Neighbors are Million dollar homes. I have heard buying the cheapest home in the neighborood is a good thing.

This is it.

Tax Breaks for Finishing Your Basement in Chappaqua NY | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

It’s no secret that finishing your basement will increase your home’s value. What you may not know is the money you spend on this type of so-called capital improvement could also help lower your tax bill when you sell your house.

Tax rules let you add capital improvement expenses to the cost basis of your home. Why is that a big deal? Because a higher cost basis lowers the total profit—capital gain, in IRS-speak—you’re required to pay taxes on.

The tax break doesn’t come into play for everyone. Most homeowners are exempted from paying taxes on the first $250,000 of profit for single filers ($500,000 for joint filers). If you move frequently, maybe it’s not worth the effort to track capital improvement expenses. But if you plan to live in your house a long time or make lots of upgrades, saving receipts is a smart move.

What counts as a capital improvement?

While you may consider all the work you do to your home an improvement, the IRS looks at things differently. A rule of thumb: A capital improvement increases your home’s value, while a non-eligible repair just returns something to its original condition. According to the IRS, capital improvements have to last for more than one year and add value to your home, prolong its life, or adapt it to new uses.

Capital improvements can include everything from a new bathroom or deck to a new water heater or furnace. Page 9 of IRS Publication 523 has a list of eligible improvements. There are limitations. The improvements must still be evident when you sell. So if you put in wall-to-wall carpeting 10 years ago and then replaced it with hardwood floors five years ago, you can’t count the carpeting as a capital improvement. Repairs, like painting your house or fixing sagging gutters, don’t count. The IRS describes repairs as things that are done to maintain a home’s good condition without adding value or prolonging its life.

There can be a fine line between a capital improvement and a repair, says Erik Lammert, tax research specialist at the National Association of Tax Professionals. For instance, if you replace a few shingles on your roof, it’s a repair. If you replace the entire roof, it’s a capital improvement. Same goes for windows. If you replace a broken window pane, repair. Put in a new window, capital improvement. One exception: If your home is damaged in a fire or natural disaster, everything you do to restore your home to its pre-loss condition counts as a capital improvement.

Buying A Foreclosure Home in Chappaqua NY | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

Tara-Nicholle Nelson on Trulia

Four years into the housing crisis, myths about foreclosure still litter the minds of even the smartest of real estate consumers. When it comes to matters as high stakes as your home, confusion can cost you thousands – or even your home. Whether you’re a buyer looking at foreclosures, a homeowner struggling to keep your home or a seller concerned making sure your home can compete with the foreclosed homes on your block, these foreclosure myths are prime for the busting, with no further ado.

Myth #1: Foreclosure happens fast. With unemployment and underemployment still affecting nearly 1 in every 4 Americans, no one is immune from fears that a pink slip might quickly turn into a foreclosure notice. According to NeighborWorks America, nearly 60 percent of families seeking foreclosure counseling cited a lost job or cut wages as the reason they were facing foreclosure.

While the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Programs haven’t been nearly as effective as predicted in actually preventing foreclosures, they have had the effect of extending the foreclosure process for many families. Even though the legal process of foreclosure can happen in as few as 6 months in most states, it is currently taking much longer for the average foreclosure to get to completion. Recently, JP Morgan Chase revealed that their average borrower who loses a home to foreclosure has not made any payments in 14 months nationwide; 22 months in FLorida and 26 months in New York.

To be sure, some see this as a good, others view it as unnecessarily dragging out the overall market’s recovery. Many insiders will point out that these delays in foreclosure may be calculated to save the banks the costs of owning and maintaining foreclosed homes, not to help homeowners. In any event, the fact that foreclosure does not happen nearly as fast, in many cases, as expected does give families who are temporarily down on their luck some extra time to try to get back on their feet and save their homes.

Myth #2: Buyers can’t get clear title or title insurance on foreclosed homes. When the foreclosure robo-signing scandal first hit, there was widespread concern that buyers would not be able to get clear title on foreclosed homes, because the former foreclosed owners might be able to come get their homes back when the improprieties in the bank’s foreclosure documentation processes came fully to light. At the same time, several of the country’s largest title insurance companies publicly balked at issuing policies on bank-owned homes until the issue was resolved. At this point, the banks claim they have revamped their processes, and all banks have stated that they have found not a single borrower whose home was repossessed without them having missed the requisite number of mortgage payments. Nevertheless, a number of governmental investigations are still in progress.

The fact is, buyers of bank-owned properties in nearly every jurisdiction are protected from later title attacks by foreclosed homeowners by the bona fide purchaser rule, under which courts would prefer to simply award cash damages to be paid by the culpable bank to a wrongfully foreclosed-on homeowner, rather than reversing the sale or ownership to the new, innocent buyer. Additionally, the title insurers have now changed their tune and restarted issuing insurance policies on bank-owned homes which protect buyers’ interests, after working with the banks for them to take responsibility in the event a former homeowner prevails in a wrongful foreclosure suit.

While there are still many intricacies of title to be resolved for foreclosure buyers who purchase homes at trustee sales and auctions, or for cash buyers who often went without title insurance in the past, on the average, Trulia-listed, bank-owned property purchased with an average mortgage and title insurance, the chances a buyer’s title will later be successfully challenged by the foreclosed homeowner on the basis of robo-signing? Exceedingly slim.

Myth #3: Buyers should wait for the shadow inventory to be released. Many a buyer, discouraged with the homes they see on the the form in their price range, has decided to sit still and wait for the banks to release for sale what is called their “shadow inventory” – rumored to be anywhere from 4 to nearly 6 million homes that have already been foreclosed, but not listed for sale, or will be foreclosed in the near future. The fact is, to the extent that the banks have acknowledged the existence of a pool of homes they own but are not selling, they have expressed that their reasoning for holding the homes off the market is to avoid flooding the market and driving home values down any further. For that reason, buyers should not expect to see a massive influx of these shadow homes onto the market anytime soon – if ever.

The banks’ current modus operandi is that as they sell a home, the replace it with another home in that market – if they sell 50 homes in a town that month, they’ll put another 50 on the next. So, don’t hold your breath waiting for a fabulous new flood of homes. Instead, set up a Trulia alert to notify you when homes that fit your search criteria come on the market, and be ready to call your agent and go visit any and every one that looks like it might be a good fit.

Myth #4: If you’re looking for a deal, you’re looking for a foreclosure. Despite what they may say, no buyer’s heart’s fondest desire is to buy a foreclosure. But almost every buyer dreams of buying a great home – and getting a great deal on it. Many people think that to get a great value on their home on today’s market, it means they must buy a foreclosure. As a result, the value and other advantages of buying an individually-owned home on today’s market are frequently overlooked. Individual sellers with homes on the market right now are generally quite motivated, and understand that their homes are competing with discounted short sales and foreclosed homes. Many of these sellers are slashing prices in an effort to get them sold – the most recent Trulia Price Reduction Report revealed that 27 percent of homes on the market across the country have had at least one price reduction. Now that’s what I call a sale!

Further, individual owners are often much more negotiable on a wide range of contract terms than a bank which owns a foreclosed home. You can work with non-bank owners on things like repairs, closing dates, choice of escrow provider, closing costs and even included personal property much more flexibly than you can when the bank is on the other side of the bargaining table. On top of that, many individually-owned homes are in pristine, move-in condition; that is much rarer with foreclosures. So, don’t underestimate the value of the deal you might be able to get on a non-foreclosed home. Just get clear on what you can afford and look at all the homes that are available in that price range, without discriminating against non-foreclosures.

Myth #5: Having a foreclosure on your credit history means it’ll take years and years before you can buy again. One of the most Frequently Asked Questions in the Trulia Voices Community by homeowners who are facing or have just lost a home through foreclosure is how long it will take before they’ll be able to buy again. Until recently, the standard wisdom was that 5 years, minimum, would have to have elapsed between the foreclosure and the new home purchase. Now, though, borrowers can obtain an FHA loan with the low, 3.5 minimum down payment requirement as soon as 3 years following a foreclosure. To do so, though, all your other ducks must be in a row.

Chappaqua Foreclosures

History of Chappaqua NY | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

Chappaqua Historical Society

The Mahicanni (Mahicans) dominated the area on the east bank of the Mahicanituck (Hudson River) in 1609 when Henry Hudson arrived. The Wappinger Confederacy was part of the Mahicanni (Mahican) nation and occupied Westchester and Putnam counties, the Bronx and Manhattan, the majority of Dutchess county and parts of Connecticut. Nathaniel Turner purchased parts of New Castle in 1640 from Ponas Sagamore, ruling chief of the Siwanoy. In 1661 John Richbell purchased a large tract of land including New Castle from Wappaquewam, who is rumored to be a Siwanoy, and in 1696 Caleb Heathcote purchased the same land again from Richbell’s widow and the Sachems Wabetuck and Cohawney, who were supposedly Siwanoys.

In New Castle the Sint Sinks were located in the western part of the town, and the Tankiteke, in the eastern part, especially between the middle and towards the end of the 18th century. By the late 18th century their numbers had dwindled and they were completely gone from the area by 1791. Indian villages or sites include Chappaqua hill (between Quaker St and the railroad), the Sutton Reynolds farm, Wolf Hill Road, Roaring Brook, New Castle Corners, the Old VanTassel farm, “Coyemong” at Byram Lake, Wampus Lake, and near the Ossining border.

On April 5, 1791, New Castle held its first town meeting. Until then, it had been part of the Town of North Castle. The area had been settled earlier by Anglicans and Quakers. The Quakers came to “Shapequa” from Purchase and in 1753 built the Meeting House, which is the oldest documented building in New Castle and stands today. In 1776, following the Revolutionary War Battle of White Plains, the Meeting House provided shelter for some of General Washington’s wounded. Residents from colonial times until the middle of the 19th century were largely self-sufficient farmers, part-time millers and craftsmen.

When the railroad came to Chappaqua in 1848 and to Millwood in 1869, the farms began to grow and ship “cash crops.” To package and ship the cider, vinegar, apples, milk and other products, residents built cider mills, a pickle factory and a barrel factory. The two hamlets of Chappaqua and Millwood developed freight stations, livery stables, general stores and hotels. Later, 19th century industries included the Spencer Optical Works, near Mount Kisco, and the Bischoff Shoe Company in Chappaqua. Nevertheless, the Town remained a very small town, with 1,800 people in 1850 and less than 2,500 at the end of the century.

Gradually, the local industries lost their vitality, but the beauty of the land and the relative ease of transportation provided by the railroad remained and began to attract people who had accumulated wealth in New York City. Among these was Horace Greeley, who first bought land in Chappaqua in 1853, later owned the current “Horace Greeley House” and a large part of central Chappaqua.. Greeley was America’s foremost newspaper editor, and an unsuccessful Presidential candidate, loosing to Grant in 1872. The wealthiest of the residents was probably banker Moses Taylor, whose estate included the land where the Mt. Kisco Country Club currently stands.

In 1902 the current Chappaqua railroad station (at left) was built. Millwood’s first station was built in 1888 at a cost of $1,800. It burned soon after. For several years, the station was a baggage car. The present station was brought by flat car from Briarcliff Manor when Henry Law built and gave the Briarcliff station to the railroad in 1910.

In 1904, the Town’s worst disaster, a tornado, swept down Quaker Street, stopping just short of the Quaker Meeting House. In 1912, Chappaqua put in a central water system.

Following the World Wars, population of the town grew greatly. In the 1920’s realtors promoted “the high pure air belt of Chappaqua.” The Saw Mill River Parkway reached the Town in 1934 and in the late 30s and 40s lasting real estate developments took root. The most dramatic population increase came in the years following World War II. From 1950 to 1960 the number of people in New Castle rose by 60% to more than 14,000. A major factor in this increase was the acknowledged excellence of the Chappaqua school system. New Castle has been fortunate to retain much of its early charm – partly because of its vigorous terrain, and partly through the care given by owners, residents, and Town government to its historic building and areas.

Chappaqua Tree Lighting December 4th at Greely House | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

During the holidays, the inclination is often to
search out the biggest, the best, the most
spectacular places and events in order to make a
memory, whether it’s a tree lighting, a performance
of “The Nutcracker,” or a chance to learn more about
the meaning of Hanukkah .

And while you might think that creating holiday
traditions like these involves a trip out of town,
chances are you can find everything you’re looking
for right in your own backyard.

So this season, plan a trip to a local landmark
you’ve never visited, or book tickets to a holiday
show or concert in town.

We’ve rounded up lots of options that will let you
spend a happy holiday at home, starting with the
annual tree lighting at Chappaqua’s Horace Greeley
House, an occasion that includes a concert, and
then, a parade, of all things.

If you’re in the mood for some old-fashioned
Christmas cheer, don’t miss the annual holiday tree
lighting Dec. 4 at the Horace Greeley House in
Chappaqua.

There’s singing, crafts, period decorations — even a
parade of sorts.

The annual event draws a crowd, says Betsy Towl,
the executive director of the New Castle Historical
Society.

“This is such a long standing tradition in
Chappaqua; it really brings the community together.
We have children of all ages, who come for the open
house, but the tree lighting is the big event,” Towl
said.

The New Castle Historical Society, which uses the
house as its headquarters, has organized a full
afternoon of festivities, starting at 1 p.m. with an
Old-Fashioned Craft Workshop (for children) and
Open House.

Docents will be on hand to lead tours of the fully
decorated historic house, which was Greeley’s
weekend and summer home from 1864 until his
death in 1872.

At 3:30 p.m., the Chappaqua Orchestra will host the
annual New Castle Community Sing, a combination
variety show-singalong, at the nearby Robert E. Bell
Middle School.

Then everyone walks over to the Greeley House for a
few more songs by the Madrigal Singers, a coed
choral group at Horace Greeley High School.

The switch to light the 35-foot-tall Colorado spruce
gets flipped at 4:30 p.m., followed by a visit from
Santa.

Then everyone heads across the street to the New
Castle Community Center for homemade cookies and
hot chocolate, courtesy of the New Castle Teen
Alliance.

And when you’re finished ogling the tree, head back
inside.

The Horace Greeley House has a charming little gift
shop with holiday gifts and ornaments.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? And it’s all free and open
to the public.

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