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Raw Materials Revealed: Brick, Block and Stone Help Homes Last | Katonah NY Homes

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he basic building materials that fall under the heading of masonry have been used since people started building protective structures. Some of those first buildings are still standing, a testament to the longevity of brick, block and stone. In this time of increased attention to green building, it’s important to remember that one of the greenest things you can do is build something that will last.
Below you’ll learn more about these building essentials and how they can improve the look and durability of your home.

traditional exterior by Burns and Beyerl Architects

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Everyone plays with blocks as a child, but not everyone is cut out to become a mason. It takes great skill to construct walls from brick, block and stone.
The materials are heavy and difficult to cut and shape. Though each piece is laid by hand and walls go up slowly (especially compared to a wall framed with wood), the wall must be perfectly plumb at the end, because there is no way to shim, trim or shift a masonry wall the way you can do with a frame wall covered in siding.
modern exterior by Kariouk Associates

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Concrete Masonry Unit
CMU is the most common building block masons use these days. CMU stands for concrete masonry unit, and is usually referred to as CMU on architectural plans.
Laypeople tend to refer to CMU as cinder block, concrete block or just block. Regardless of what you call it, this material is frequently used thanks to its large sizes (8 by 8 by 16 inches is common), which help a structural wall go up quickly.
Browse designs built with CMUs
farmhouse family room by Paul Rice Architecture

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Brick
There are many variations, but in general, a brick is made of clay rather than the concrete in a CMU. Bricks are also generally smaller (about 3 by 8 by 2 inches) and red, though as you can see in this photo, bricks come in all the earthen colors, including black. Though brick looks impenetrable, a brick wall should have gaps in the mortar at the bottom to let moisture out. I also recommend avoiding paint on exterior brick to allow the bricks to breathe.

A Revolutionary Renovation in Connecticut | Katonah NY Real Estate

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year before the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, a man named Joseph Wheadon built a modest, one-room house in New Milford, Connecticut. Wheadon cut the lumber by hand and scavenged foundation stones from the surrounding property. After his premature death, a Greek Revival wing was built, followed by other less-distinctive additions.
More than 235 years after Wheadon first wielded his ax, a Greenwich woman discovered the property while searching for a weekend retreat. By this time, the house was dated and neglected, with systems that had outlived their usefulness. “It was my duty to the community to maintain and uphold the architectural history of the house,” says the homeowner, a former student of historic preservation, now earning a doctorate in environmental policy. “However, on the backside of the house, I wanted to bring nature in and to connect the house to its surroundings.”
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here:The home is a getaway for a local family of five Location: New Milford, Connecticut Size:  2,700 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms That’s interesting: The old foundation stones were used to build a labyrinth behind the house.

farmhouse exterior by Blansfield Builders, Inc.

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Working with Mark Goodwin of Beinfield Architecture, and Jim Blansfield of Blansfield Builders, the owner remodeled and expanded the house, opening the interior spaces to each other and the view.
The new column-lined entryway across from the garage pays homage to the 19th-century Greek Revival facade in front. The wing to the right was newly built, and the whole house was covered in standing-seam metal roofing, which is both easy to maintain and environmentally responsible — a consideration that drove much of the project.
farmhouse living room by Blansfield Builders, Inc.

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“You venture into a different world when you venture inside,” observes Goodwin, who heeded the owner’s request to reduce every element to its simplest components.
The living-dining area is dominated by an original fireplace, now covered in reclaimed wood that’s been treated to a charcoal gray finish. “We tried to reuse as much of the wood as we could,” says Goodwin, who left some of the hand-hewn beams exposed and used one to create a sublimely understated mantel.
contemporary living room Circa 1700 in NY

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While the home feels like a radical departure from its Revolutionary past, the owner doesn’t see the two as incompatible. “If you look at the interiors, they’re contemporary in terms of being minimal,” she says. “But actually, those are the same materials that would have been used by the original builders. Instead of making it a relic of the past, we revived it and gave it a whole new identity.”
The living room sectional was custom crafted from Northern white pine, while the Andrianna Shamaris coffee table was fashioned from a tree stump. The engineered-wood floors (Castle Combe’s Worcester pattern) are made from oak, textured and treated to look like ancient reclaimed wood.
farmhouse living room by Blansfield Builders, Inc.

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The neutral decor defers to the view. The garden room is visible through the doorway at rear.

contemporary Circa 1700 in NY

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When the owner bought the house, the kitchen had barely been updated since the 1950s and still sported its vintage metal cabinets.

Identify hot buying behavior | Katonah NY Real Estate

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There’s nothing worse than working day and night chasing leads that never seem to amount to anything. Working manually through the process only exasperates the frustration, especially when it seems like leads are slipping right through your fingers. Below are thoughts to help you identify hot buyers and reach out effectively.

However, the tips assume you have already handled the following three items: (1) You have an automated marketing tool in place; (2) You are already capturing the name and email of browsers; and (3) You have property search and detail pages to monitor online behavior. For more information on why these assumptions are important, take a moment to read the previous Digital Mind Shift articles: part one | part two | part three.

Monitor hot behavior Think of your property search and detail pages as a stocked pond. Drive as much traffic to your pond as possible because that’s the best place to catch fish. This is where you can discover the hot buying behavior of browsers. Look for a combination of the following behaviors to determine how and when to reach out. Saved or preferred properties: Give your users the opportunity to favorite or save properties that most interest them. In doing so, you provide a value-added online benefit and know precisely the type of properties the user wants. Length of time browsing on site: Pay attention to browsers who are spending considerable lengths of time searching for properties.

This is a key indicator they are serious about finding the right home to buy. Expense level of properties: Buyers who are interested in more expensive properties should raise an eyebrow and warrant your attention. Just sayin’.Frequency of returns to the site: Buyers who are visiting your site frequently and searching for properties are demonstrating clear signs of hot buying behavior.

Frequency of returns to a particular property: When a browser keeps checking out the same property repeatedly over the course of a few weeks, you might want to take notice. Communicate like a human, not a machine It’s important you don’t scare customers away or annoy them with messages that look and feel like spam. Yes, you should set up automated campaigns to reach the maximum amount of people, but you can do it with a personalized and human approach. Here’s how: Let the customer know you’re paying attention by putting the property address she has shown interest in directly in the note.

This can be done automatically with most marketing tools. Give the impression the email is from a real person by always signing off with a name and contact information. Also, be sure to craft the messages like you would in any normal email correspondence. Be positive, personable and try to generate a dialogue.

Show yourself as helpful and friendly by offering to answer any questions about the property. Every customer who responds to an email should immediately be contacted by a real person (even though they think the note came from a real person to begin with). Start building your campaigns around hot buying behavior and personalized messaging techniques. Happy fishing!

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/identify-hot-buying-behavior/#sthash.Ucbg1gup.dpuf

September foreclosure activity falls 27% | Katonah NY Homes

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Foreclosure filings in the U.S. dropped 27% year-over-year in September, RealtyTrac reported in its latest foreclosure update.

The report shows 131,232 U.S. homes facing either a default notice, auction sale or bank repossession in September, down 27% from last year and 2% from the previous update.

In fact, the month of September marked 36 months of annual declines in foreclosure activity, with third-quarter foreclosure activity falling to its lowest quarterly level since 2Q 2007, RealtyTrac noted.

As a whole, the data and research firm recorded 376,931 properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter, down 7% from the previous quarter and a 29% drop from last year.

“The September and third-quarter foreclosure numbers show a housing market that is haltingly returning to health,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. “In a healthy housing market foreclosures are rare but streamlined while still protecting the rights of the homeowner.”

“While foreclosures are clearly becoming fewer and farther between in most markets, the increasing time it takes to foreclose is holding back a more robust and sustainable recovery,” Blomquist added.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/27345-september-foreclosure-activity-falls-27

Why Aren’t More Bloggers Claiming Ownership of Their Content? | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Why aren't more bloggers claiming ownership of their content

Working  in the world of digital marketing, I read a lot of blogs every day. When I login  to my email every morning I find my inbox full of new articles. All sorts of  blogs are talking about everything and anything to do with digital marketing and  beyond.

One  thing I know is that Google+ is still a hot topic.

Those  of us who advocate this social platform talk about it as the future of social  media and content marketing. We discuss the benefits of using it for business,  about claiming authorship markup and publisher markup and how it has a great  impact on search rankings and click through rates.

Then  there are the sceptics who say it’s boring. Some say it’s a bad version of  Facebook. Others say it’s not user friendly and it’s just another tool created  by Google in its quest to monopolise all things internet  related.

What is Google+ about?

Most people in the digital marketing industry agree that Google+ has become  an essential part of social media marketing. But it still surprises me when I  speak to people (in my industry) who are still not using Google+, still not sure  what it’s all about. Many see it as not  being a useful marketing tool for  their business.

What is eye opening is when I research things in the digital industry I am  presented with a Google SERP (search engine result page) in which only a handful  of results have a Google+ cover photo next to it! If we’re in the digital  industry, and blogging extensively, aren’t we all supposed to be using Google+  and claiming authorship?

Why Google+ authorship is important

Surely, we all know what Authorship Markup is by now? Could  it be that many blog authors dismiss it as not important or not relevant? It’s  not exactly a lengthy process to claim authorship, but perhaps many bloggers are  not active on Google+? There could be numerous reasons why adoption rates appear  low, but to me it’s a no brainer. So why aren’t more bloggers claiming ownership  of their content?

If you’re doing it right then you should see the following.

  • An increase in search rankings
  • Improvement in CTR (click through rate)
  • More people with access to your other work

So why wouldn’t you adopt this practice?

Judging from what I’ve read, Google is planning to develop this further and  elaborate on author rank, where influential authors appear higher in SERPs, even  if their post is published on a lower ranking website. All this seems very  exciting. So the earlier we start claiming authorship and using Google+ to  establish a reputation, the sooner we will reap the benefits.

 

 

 

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/10/01/why-arent-more-bloggers-claiming-ownership-of-their-content/#IgqfHGDspqHHzRwO.99

Mapping the Changes Coming to Harlem’s 125th Street | Katonah Real Estate

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The Harlem Shake has come and gone, but Harlem is still slowly being shaken up by new construction projects. Just take a look at 125th Street, where the changes are as large as Columbia’s Manhattanville expansion and as small as retailers and restaurants opening next to the Apollo Theater. Curbed intern David Stein took a stroll along 125th Street to map the changes for the latest installment in our Microhood Maps series. Know of a project we’ve missed, or have an update on one listed below? Please let us know.

Manhattanville Campus
609 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027

Map DataMap data ©2013 Google, Sanborn
Map Data
Map data ©2013 Google, Sanborn
Map data ©2013 Google, Sanborn
125th Street Microhood Map
Harlem M/E/C Center
The Harlem Media / Entertainment / Cultural Center was a 1.6 million square foot mega-project expected to occupy almost all of the lots between 125th and 127th Streets, and Second and Third Avenues. Beyond its pretty impressive program—including an office, hotel, cultural center, and 840,000 square foot residential complex—the project had the backing of some well-known groups, including General Growth Partners, Archstone and Monadnock Construction. Unfortunately, the project was announced in October 2008, and General Growth went into bankruptcy just five months later. While Metro125, the residential building at 125th Street and Third Avenue was still completed in 2009 by MEC partner The Richman Group, the rest of the project appears to have timed-out.
2305 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10035
40.803766-73.93543899999997
Manhattanville Campus
Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus is already underway and drastically larger than any other project currently in development on 125th Street. Yet the most visible sign of progress—a $200 million “Jerome L. Greene Science Center”—is merely the tip of Colubmia’s iceberg. Twelve more buildings totaling 6.8 million square feet are destined for the blocks between 125th and 133rd Streets, and though Columbia claims the campus will be “pedestrian” in scale and widely accessible to the public, the renderings do look intimidating. (Maybe that’s why they keep them small?)
609 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8162413-73.95858340000001
Create @ Harlem Green
The 126th Street entrance to the former Tastee Bakery factory—a mere calculator toss from the Manhattanville campus—reveals a building still in significant need of repair and improvements. Developers Janus Partners and Monadnock Construction won the project from the NYCEDC after it was re-zoned in 2011 and have since planned to create nearly 250,000 square feet of manufacturing, office, and other commercial space, including tech-friendly areas. So far, however, the most notable tenant expected to move in will be the Harlem Brewing Company. Local residents are skeptical that the project will happen altogether: apparently a few “big ass” trees are growing inside.
439 West 126th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.813203-73.95469300000002
301 W 125th St Shopping Complex
The Adjimis and Aurora Capital are wrapping up a 100,000 square foot retail project at the corner of 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Joe’s Crab Shack and Party City are already up-and-running, and DSW Shoes and Blink Fitness are bound to open their doors any day now. If those sound like good neighbors, a sizeable chunk of ground floor space still looks to be available.
301 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8105464-73.95143300000001
Red Lobster (And More)
No longer will Times Square wield an iron claw when it comes to Manhattan’s chain-scale seafood fans: theater-goers might now be tempted to 125th Street, where Red Lobster is about to open directly next to the Apollo Theater, along with a couple retailers or another, smaller restaurant (to be determined). The project is being developed by Gotham and Grid Properties, the same groups responsible for the nearby Harlem USA center.
269 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8100025-73.9507226
Mart 125
Mart 125, a former “indoor market place for African vendors,” lies directly across the street from the Apollo and Victoria Theaters, which might explain why the NYCEDC has been trying to re-vitalize the property since the late 1990’s. Although the space was apparently decrepit even while still in use as a market, Mart 125 remains dark and closed. The EDC is seeking a community-minded developer to fix everything and incorporate a 15,000 square foot National Jazz Museum and visitor center.
260 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.80943800000001-73.95056399999998
Victoria Theater
If it happens, the Victoria Theater project could shake-up central Harlem big-time. Danforth Development Partners and Exact Capital are planning a pretty sizeable mixed-use project: a cultural arts center, a 210-room Cambria Suites hotel, and 230 apartments (although we’ve heard as many as 299 units). The two-towered project will cost $143 million, which is why the whole thing is a big “if”: most other recent projects on 125th Street have been limited to about $15 to $30 million in costs. That being said, there’s a big need for hotels in Harlem.
237 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8096035-73.94976689999998
National Urban League HQ
Harlem’s other big project is just starting to get off the ground: a 400,000 square foot, $225 million office building, retail and conference center, parking garage, and affordable housing complex. The developer, Hudson Companies, generally specializes in residential-only projects but appears to have earned the city’s trust, as well as a strong relationship with the National Urban League, which will occupy most of the complex’s office space once everything is finished. Big-name architecture firm HOK is the designer.
121 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8080202-73.94599920000001
Whole Foods Site
Despite DOB filing activity as recently as May, the Whole Foods / Burlington Coat Factory / American Eagle Outfitters project bound for the corner of 125th Street and Malcom X Boulevard remains an empty and lot. The lot is also sizeable, and yet Whole Foods itself is expected to occupy only 39,000 square feet, which means there’s likely to be room for even bigger ideas (Hotel? Rentals?). The developer is Jeff Sutton, who was once profiled in the Observer as the “King of New York Retail.” So maybe Whole Foods is the whole truth after all…
100 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8078086-73.94557350000002
Hotel (or Retail) Project
The last time we heard anything about this site, it was… confusing. At one point, renderings from Curtis + Ginsberg Architects suggested a 200,000 square foot office building was on its way. In 2010 we learned of a new plan from The Real Deal, where the office building was ditched in favor of a luxury hotel, which was shortly therefater ditched in favor of a Hilton Garden Inn. The lot has since sold to RCG Longview, an affiliate of Estreich & Company, who appears to be partnering with the Feil Organization to build a 125,000 square foot retail and office complex. However, DOB filings show plans for a 14-story building, rather than the “five-story” building described by Feil. The confusion continues!
15 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8068638-73.94325529999997
Corn Exchange Building
Work is moving ahead on a gut renovation of one of Harlem’s most distinct landmarks, the Corn Exchange Building. It was originally built in 1883 and served as headquarters for a couple major banks until bad times arrived in the form of a poor economy in the 1970’s and a fire in the 1990’s. After being partially demolished, a developer is spending $17 million to re-create 22,000 square feet of office space and 9,000 square feet of retail. It’s located right next to the Metro North stop at 125th Street and Park Avenue.
121 East 125th Street, New York, NY 10035
40.8047081-73.93814600000002
Harlem M/E/C Center
The Harlem Media / Entertainment / Cultural Center was a 1.6 million square foot mega-project expected to occupy almost all of the lots between 125th and 127th Streets, and Second and Third Avenues. Beyond its pretty impressive program—including an office, hotel, cultural center, and 840,000 square foot residential complex—the project had the backing of some well-known groups, including General Growth Partners, Archstone and Monadnock Construction. Unfortunately, the project was announced in October 2008, and General Growth went into bankruptcy just five months later. While Metro125, the residential building at 125th Street and Third Avenue was still completed in 2009 by MEC partner The Richman Group, the rest of the project appears to have timed-out.
2305 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10035
40.803766-73.93543899999997
Manhattanville Campus
Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus is already underway and drastically larger than any other project currently in development on 125th Street. Yet the most visible sign of progress—a $200 million “Jerome L. Greene Science Center”—is merely the tip of Colubmia’s iceberg. Twelve more buildings totaling 6.8 million square feet are destined for the blocks between 125th and 133rd Streets, and though Columbia claims the campus will be “pedestrian” in scale and widely accessible to the public, the renderings do look intimidating. (Maybe that’s why they keep them small?)
609 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8162413-73.95858340000001
Manhattanville Campus
Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus is already underway and drastically larger than any other project currently in development on 125th Street. Yet the most visible sign of progress—a $200 million “Jerome L. Greene Science Center”—is merely the tip of Colubmia’s iceberg. Twelve more buildings totaling 6.8 million square feet are destined for the blocks between 125th and 133rd Streets, and though Columbia claims the campus will be “pedestrian” in scale and widely accessible to the public, the renderings do look intimidating. (Maybe that’s why they keep them small?)
609 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8162413-73.95858340000001
Create @ Harlem Green
The 126th Street entrance to the former Tastee Bakery factory—a mere calculator toss from the Manhattanville campus—reveals a building still in significant need of repair and improvements. Developers Janus Partners and Monadnock Construction won the project from the NYCEDC after it was re-zoned in 2011 and have since planned to create nearly 250,000 square feet of manufacturing, office, and other commercial space, including tech-friendly areas. So far, however, the most notable tenant expected to move in will be the Harlem Brewing Company. Local residents are skeptical that the project will happen altogether: apparently a few “big ass” trees are growing inside.
439 West 126th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.813203-73.95469300000002
301 W 125th St Shopping Complex
The Adjimis and Aurora Capital are wrapping up a 100,000 square foot retail project at the corner of 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Joe’s Crab Shack and Party City are already up-and-running, and DSW Shoes and Blink Fitness are bound to open their doors any day now. If those sound like good neighbors, a sizeable chunk of ground floor space still looks to be available.
301 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8105464-73.95143300000001
Red Lobster (And More)
No longer will Times Square wield an iron claw when it comes to Manhattan’s chain-scale seafood fans: theater-goers might now be tempted to 125th Street, where Red Lobster is about to open directly next to the Apollo Theater, along with a couple retailers or another, smaller restaurant (to be determined). The project is being developed by Gotham and Grid Properties, the same groups responsible for the nearby Harlem USA center.
269 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8100025-73.9507226
Mart 125
Mart 125, a former “indoor market place for African vendors,” lies directly across the street from the Apollo and Victoria Theaters, which might explain why the NYCEDC has been trying to re-vitalize the property since the late 1990’s. Although the space was apparently decrepit even while still in use as a market, Mart 125 remains dark and closed. The EDC is seeking a community-minded developer to fix everything and incorporate a 15,000 square foot National Jazz Museum and visitor center.
260 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.80943800000001-73.95056399999998
Victoria Theater
If it happens, the Victoria Theater project could shake-up central Harlem big-time. Danforth Development Partners and Exact Capital are planning a pretty sizeable mixed-use project: a cultural arts center, a 210-room Cambria Suites hotel, and 230 apartments (although we’ve heard as many as 299 units). The two-towered project will cost $143 million, which is why the whole thing is a big “if”: most other recent projects on 125th Street have been limited to about $15 to $30 million in costs. That being said, there’s a big need for hotels in Harlem.
237 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8096035-73.94976689999998
National Urban League HQ
Harlem’s other big project is just starting to get off the ground: a 400,000 square foot, $225 million office building, retail and conference center, parking garage, and affordable housing complex. The developer, Hudson Companies, generally specializes in residential-only projects but appears to have earned the city’s trust, as well as a strong relationship with the National Urban League, which will occupy most of the complex’s office space once everything is finished. Big-name architecture firm HOK is the designer.
121 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8080202-73.94599920000001
Whole Foods Site
Despite DOB filing activity as recently as May, the Whole Foods / Burlington Coat Factory / American Eagle Outfitters project bound for the corner of 125th Street and Malcom X Boulevard remains an empty and lot. The lot is also sizeable, and yet Whole Foods itself is expected to occupy only 39,000 square feet, which means there’s likely to be room for even bigger ideas (Hotel? Rentals?). The developer is Jeff Sutton, who was once profiled in the Observer as the “King of New York Retail.” So maybe Whole Foods is the whole truth after all…
100 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8078086-73.94557350000002
Hotel (or Retail) Project
The last time we heard anything about this site, it was… confusing. At one point, renderings from Curtis + Ginsberg Architects suggested a 200,000 square foot office building was on its way. In 2010 we learned of a new plan from The Real Deal, where the office building was ditched in favor of a luxury hotel, which was shortly therefater ditched in favor of a Hilton Garden Inn. The lot has since sold to RCG Longview, an affiliate of Estreich & Company, who appears to be partnering with the Feil Organization to build a 125,000 square foot retail and office complex. However, DOB filings show plans for a 14-story building, rather than the “five-story” building described by Feil. The confusion continues!
15 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
40.8068638-73.94325529999997
Corn Exchange Building
Work is moving ahead on a gut renovation of one of Harlem’s most distinct landmarks, the Corn Exchange Building. It was originally built in 1883 and served as headquarters for a couple major banks until bad times arrived in the form of a poor economy in the 1970’s and a fire in the 1990’s. After being partially demolished, a developer is spending $17 million to re-create 22,000 square feet of office space and 9,000 square feet of retail. It’s located right next to the Metro North stop at 125th Street and Park Avenue.
121 East 125th Street, New York, NY 10035
40.8047081-73.93814600000002
Harlem M/E/C Center
The Harlem Media / Entertainment / Cultural Center was a 1.6 million square foot mega-project expected to occupy almost all of the lots between 125th and 127th Streets, and Second and Third Avenues. Beyond its pretty impressive program—including an office, hotel, cultural center, and 840,000 square foot residential complex—

Short Sale Coding Correction on Credit Will Take Effect November 2013. | Katonah Real Estate

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SHORT SALE CODING CORRECTION ON CREDIT WILL TAKE EFFECT NOVEMBER 2013.

   

For some time now, many short sellers were treated the same as homeowners that foreclosed when applying for a mortgage.  Due to a credit coding issue that lumped short sellers into the same category as a foreclosure, the waiting period for loan approval was extended substantially.  This forced millions to put their dream of participating in homeownership again off to the distant future.  With interest rates climbing, and the real estate market improving, the increased future cost for purchasing would seem more of an obstacle down the road.

But new policy changes could bring more options starting in November.  After Sen. Bill Nelson focused on bringing this coding error to the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Board, things started to change.

“This is the nature of the evolution of this business,” says Fannie Mae spokeswoman Keosha Burns. The agency will input the new software into its computer system on Nov. 16. After that, if a short sale is marked as a foreclosure, the new code will allow the loan servicers to bypass it, correct it and move forward with the loan. Short sellers should speak with their bankers about the new options for homeownership, what the qualifications will be, and whether the state of their credit needs improvement.

PLEASE CALL TRACY BECKER:

North Shore Advisory, Inc. offers credit repair, restoration, credit log in site, and education services. We’ve been providing credit education and credit improvement for almost 25 years. For bankers and realtors we can review your clients credit reports and scores to see if we can improve them.

 

We can help you with your business credit needs as well as any personal credit scores.

 

Contact Us:

How to Grow Your Business Network With Social Media | Katonah NY Realtor

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Is your business or company struggling to find new customers?

Do you know how to build your business network on social media?

Before you can sell, you have to create a trusted relationship with your future customer.

In this article, you’ll discover four ways to use social media to find and establish relationships with new prospects and leads for your business.

#1: Join a Conversation on Twitter

Tweet chats are great for person-to-person networking on Twitter and they can act as one of the single best lead generation tools in social media.

You can consult a number of lists to quickly locate chats that are relevant to you. These lists include hashtags and other key information like date, time and the name of the host or owner of the chat.

A tweet chat example.

The best thing about tweet chats is that while almost everyone starts out a stranger, over time the participants begin to know one another and develop relationships that extend beyond the regularly scheduled chat.

During the chat, you’ll find people who ask questions you can answer. Your replies will be limited to 140 characters, so they’ll need to be as concise as possible. Use the opportunity to let participants know you’re open to accepting a follow and a direct message from them and carrying the conversation further by phone or on another platform.

#2: Participate in LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn groups hold a lot of opportunity for networking with people who fit your prospect profile.

There’s an easy way to find the groups you are interested in. Hover on Interests in the header navigation and click on Groups. From here, click on More>> in the Groups You May Like box.

From here, use keywords specific to your industry to search for and find groups relevant to your business. You can filter your search results by Relationship, Categories and Languages.

Use the search function to identify the right groups for you to join.

Next, check out each of those groups and join one or two that are made up of people who could be interested in what you offer.

This isn’t a place to sell. Be nice, be helpful and focus on providing service to the other members. Answer questions, give advice and share your knowledge.

Pay attention to who likes your posts and comments. Similar to Facebook, you can click on the Like button to see a list of people who have liked your comment.

Follow the people who like your comments.

Visit the profiles of those folks and see if any of them fit your prospect profile. Follow them on LinkedIn to get to know them better and when the opportunity arises, ask them to connect with you.

Use tags to sort your new contacts into one of two groups—prospects and strategic partners who can refer prospects. The tags will make it easier for you to keep track of the relationships as they evolve.

If there’s not an existing group that fits your needs, create one to network with your current prospects and attract new ones.

#3: Share Insights From an Event

When you attend trade shows or conferences, share the highlights and notes with people who can’t attend and you’ll attract people interested in the same niche.

On Twitter, share your notes in real time with your followers. Use the official event hashtag in your tweets so they are included in the larger conversation, and they’ll be visible to people who don’t follow you. Make sure you pay attention to new follows during this time, as they could well be new prospects for you.

You can accomplish the same goal with your company’s website. A tool such as Storify will help you consolidate your notes into a blog post with a rundown of all of the most important points made during the conference.

This event recap blog post was created using Storify.

Pay attention to the folks who follow along, comment or retweet your information. This is a simple way to surface invisible prospects that you might otherwise miss. Connect with each person on the platform or network that makes the most sense, and when the time is right, reach out and offer your help.

 

 

 

 

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/build-your-business-network/

 

 

 

9 Little-Known Facts About Stephen Ross and Hudson Yards | Katonah NY Real Estate

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In its latest issue, Fortune magazine spends more than 4,300 words on the nation’s biggest megaproject: Hudson Yards. Related Companies’ 72-year-old chairman Stephen Ross gave author Shawn Tully a behind-the-scenes look at how he runs his empire and why Hudson Yards is the crown jewel of his long career. The article, titled “America’s Biggest Real Estate Project…Ever”, highlights some lesser-known pieces of the Hudson Yards saga, while shedding light on the way Ross works and what he wants to see (hint: a giant sculpture that will “will be to this city what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris”). The magazine hits newsstands Monday, but the article can be found online (for subscribers only, sadly) today. The whole thing is worth a read, but we pulled nine of the most interesting and little-known factoids for your perusal.

9) The colossal size of Hudson Yards, 26 acres and 18 million square feet of buildings, makes it the largest private real estate project in the history of the United States, hence the article’s title. And Related is making it even bigger by purchasing adjacent parcels (some of which pretty much begged to be a part of the megaproject).

8) Ross graduated from the University of Michigan and is a diehard Wolverines fan. His office is covered with paraphernalia, and his ringtone is the school’s fight song, The Victors.

7) His dad invented vending machines and fuel additives.

6) Because Related bought the railyards from the city, the developer’s land costs are “locked in,” which means that Hudson Yards can become a veritable gold mine for the developer. Tully explains that Related cut deals with the construction unions that lowered building costs, and allowed the company to offer lower prices to early tenants like Coach and (probably) Time Warner. Ross says they’re “breaking even, at best” on current leases, but “the big money is in retail and residential” and residential constitutes half of Hudson Yards. And everyone knows that rentals and condos are way more profitable than office space. Jeff Blau, described by Fortune as Related’s “ace deal maker,” says, “When residential prices rise, so do land costs, which takes away most of the profit. But we’ve locked in our land costs over many years. They can’t be bid up.”

5) Ross briefly worked for Bear Stearns in the ’70s, but got fired for telling his partner to go to hell. His mom lent him $10,000 to pay for his rent and food while he tried to make headway in the development world.

F09.16.2013.Promo%255b1%255d.jpg4) He was a really big crybaby about losing the original Hudson Yards bid in Mach 2008 to Tishman Speyer. Tully writes, “Ross was disconsolate. Within days he was telling anyone who would listen that he shouldn’t have been so cautious and rational and should have stayed in the race, even without an anchor tenant. ‘When Stephen lost the first time, he went through an unspeakable litany,’ says Marty Edelman, a real estate attorney with Paul Hastings and a longtime friend of Ross’s. “He kicked everybody and anybody for everything. No one escaped except the doorman—until he finally settled on blaming himself.'”

3) Related’s $20 billion portfolio consists mostly of retail and apartments. In NYC, Related owns and manages 5,000 high-end rental units, and the company has another 1,000 outside of New York. But affordable housing, where Ross got his start in real estate, makes up the bulk of Related’s residential portfolio: 45,000 below-market-rate apartments in 19 states. “Though Related declines to disclose its free cash flow, Fortune estimates that it’s several hundred million dollars a year. That big, recurring income stream gives Related a stability rare in the development world.”

2) The aforementioned financial stability is what made Related such an attractive developer for the Bloomberg administration. Former deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff, now CEO of Bloomberg LP, told Fortune: “We were accused of being too close to Ross, but Ross was the only developer willing to step up on projects like the Hudson Yards. He was also the best at mixed use. Ross shared Bloomberg’s vision of New York more than any other developer.”

1) Ross really truly does want the public plaza’s sculpture to be the centerpiece attraction of the new neighborhood. He previously told New York magazine, he wanted it to be “a modern-day Trevi Fountain” and that idea has only intensified: “He’s holding an epic sculpt-off, auditioning the works not of one great sculptor, but six. The contest is rumored to pit such legends as Anish Kapoor, Jeff Koons, Thomas Heatherwick, and Richard Serra, or others in their class, against one another. According to his staff, Ross is telling the famous contestants to ‘raise their games,’ to create something totally unlike anything they’ve done before. The colossal work will be many stories high and could cost upwards of $100 million. ‘This sculpture will be the greatest tourist attraction in New York,'” Ross immodestly predicts. ‘It will be more than the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, but 365 days a year. It will be to this city what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.”

 

 

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/08/29/9_littleknown_facts_about_stephen_ross_and_hudson_yards.php

Andy Warhol’s Old UES Townhouse Sells for $5.5 Million | Katonah NY Real Estate

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8 images

Before all the Andy Warhol interest decamps for the Lower East Side’s future Andy Warhol museum, one more moment (or 15) for the Warhol house at 1342 Lexington Avenue. Warhol used to own the house and lived there between 1959 and 1974, with his mother, 25 cats, and a number of the objects (yep, we’re talking about Campbell’s Soup cans, among other things) he included in some of his most famous paintings. The townhouse’s current owners listed it in April for $5.795 million. The place has sold for $5.5 million, the Daily News reports.

The sellers purchased the house for $3.5 million in 2011 and spent another $1 million on the home’s renovation—a far cry from the $60,000 Warhol spent on the place back in 1959.

Here’s the current floorplan:

WarholTownhouseFloorplan.jpg

· Andy Warhol’s Upper East Side townhouse sells for $5.5M [NYDN] · 1342 Lexington Avenue coverage [Curbed]