Tag Archives: Mt Kisco NY Homes

The cure to zombie foreclosures | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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From 2008 to 2010, 8.7% of foreclosures filed in Cook County, Illinois, were zombie foreclosures, accruing to more than 5,800 zombie properties in the city of Chicago. But this is just the beginning.

According to a recent report from the Woodstock Institute, if the trend continues, there will be an additional 7,200 zombie properties in Cook County, including nearly 3,200 in the city of Chicago, by 2015.

“Zombie properties will make it harder for Cook County to recover fully from the housing crisis, especially in the neighborhoods where they are concentrated,” Spencer Cowan, vice president of Woodstock Institute, said.

“Zombies introduce an element of uncertainty that poses barriers to returning homes to productive use or finding creative ways to deal with blighted properties,” Cowan said.

When the foreclosure crisis hit Cook County, it reported 217,035 foreclosure filings and 89,327 properties sold at auction between 2008 and 2012.

And the county felt each one.

Since a zombie property is a foreclosure that has not been resolved for more than three years, usually because neither the borrower nor servicer has a strong incentive to assume responsibility, the houses are likely to be poorly maintained or blighted, which in turn threatens the stability of surrounding communities.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28743-the-cure-to-zombie-foreclosures

For Sale: Mid-Century Homes With Modern Upgrades | Mt Kisco NY Real Estate

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Mid-century modern homes are just as popular as ever: furniture stores are lined with sleek, retro pieces, and designers are showing off their “Mad Men” flair on Zillow Digs. But shopping for an architectural gem doesn’t mean you have to forgo contemporary amenities. Here’s a look at a few homes currently on the market combining classic mid-century style with tasteful upgrades.

Phoenix, AZ

4832 E Virginia Ave, Phoenix, AZ For sale: $269,900

Phoenix, AZPhoenix, AZ - 2

Built in 1957, this Phoenix mid-century residence has been completely remodeled with a new kitchen layout, maple cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, modern bath fixtures and an indoor-outdoor entertaining space separated by a glass garage door. The home first hit the market in September 2013; its list price was dropped by $1,000 in December.

 

 

http://www.zillow.com/blog/2014-01-23/mid-century-homes-modern-upgrades/

Colorado agent launches marijuana-friendly marketing campaign | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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On Jan. 1, Bob Costello, an agent with the Brokers Guild brokerage in Denver, launched his “420 Friendly Realty Broker” campaign to capitalize on Colorado’s new 2014 law that allows adults over the age of 21 to purchase recreational marijuana legally in the state.

“I’ve had about 30 calls about this, and for a real estate broker, it’s great — you want a lot of leads,” Costello told the Huffington Post.

Costello offers prospective clients who might want to grow pot insight into what type of homes they should be looking for.

“First of all, you want to be in a marijuana-friendly city like Denver, Edgewater, Wheat Ridge or Pueblo,” Costello told the Post. “You probably also want to get a house that’s not too close to a school, maybe not too close to something controversial.”

Source: Huffington Post

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/colorado-agents-2014-marijuana-friendly-marketing-campaign-seeing-early-returns/?utm_source=20140110&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.CVrTCTBy.dpuf

Dubai property prices show annual rise of 22.4% | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Property prices in Dubai have risen by more than 22 percent so far this year, according to the REIDIN.com Sales Price Indices.

The index, which aims to measure the average change in house prices in certain districts and communities in Dubai, showed real estate values in Dubai rose 2.44 percent in November compared to the previous month.

On an annual basis, REIDIN said prices have increased 22.4 percent.

Apartment sales prices registered an increase in November of 2.90 percent month-on-month and were up by 24.5 percent on an annual basis, the index showed.

 

 

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-property-prices-show-annual-rise-of-22-4–532866.html

Why today’s homebuyer needs a real estate agent more than ever | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Last summer I got an email from a local real estate attorney who wanted to buy a house. He’d just gotten engaged and wanted to save some money by representing himself.

This attorney wanted to do all the work an agent would do to find and buy his first home, and get paid a commission for his work. I explained to him that the commission is payable to the listing agent who agrees to pay a portion of it to the Realtor representing a buyer.

Usually, if there’s no buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent gets the entire commission. Some agents will accept a reduced commission for representing both parties.

The seller saves some money that way. Sometimes the savings get passed along to the buyer. I get several emails each year from homebuyers, usually first-timers, who want to know how they can get a real estate license so they can save money on the purchase of a home.

They find me through my blog, and apparently decide that I am too scary to work with, but not so scary that they can’t ask me a question or two. I always let them know that they do not need a license to buy a home, and that they do not need a real estate agent.

After I explain to them how to get a license — and that they have to work through a broker, who generally gets a percentage of each commission — they start to let go of their dream of being paid to find their own home. The buyers who want to do this are usually planning on buying a home that costs $300,000 or more — higher than average for a first-time homebuyer in this market — and planning on saving at least $9,000 by doing the work themselves.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/12/12/why-todays-homebuyer-needs-a-real-estate-agent-more-than-ever/?utm_source=20131212&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.GuPAbDvB.dpuf

South Salem, Mt Kisco Have Lowest Ask Price | #RobReportBlog

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South   Salem, Mt Kisco Have Lowest Ask Price | #RobReportBlog
Katonah$359,000.00
Pound   Ridge$285,000.00
South   Salem$205,000.00
Mt Kisco$225,000.00
Chappaqua$380,000.00
North   Salem$235,000.00
Armonk$499,000.00
Bedford$415,000.00
Bedford   Hills$289,000.00
Bedford   Corners$495,000.00

Breathing Room for a California Family | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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San Francisco Bay Area couple raised their children in this home, which worked well enough during that time. But when the kids moved away to start their own families, the couple redid their kitchen as an open concept, creating a more comfortable place for the growing family to spend time together.
The once-confined kitchen needed to be open and inviting for their throngs of friends too, and function like a dream regardless of how many bodies were in it at any given time. And just as important, it needed to have storage to spare. “In all of our 42 years of marriage,” says one of the clients, “I’ve never had room to have all of my accumulated kitchen stuff in my actual kitchen until now.”
Kitchen at a Glance Who lives here: A couple with grown children Location: San Francisco Bay Area Size: 400 square feet

“The project started with the desire to make the kitchen the heart of the house,” says project architect Eugene H. Sakai of Studio S Squared Architecture. “And it is, both functionally and in its location: It’s smack dab in the middle of the house’s floor plan.”
Bar stools: Lamps Plus
Sakai removed walls from the original kitchen to open it up to the dining room. Additional space came from an adjacent bedroom, which was in turn relocated to another part of the house. “Though there was now plenty of space to work with,” says Sakai, “the challenge was to make it easy to pass through in order to get to the living room and backyard.”
Generous walkways offer ample room for large crowds to flow in every direction. These wide clearances are perfect for the couple’s current social and cooking needs but are also designed for accessibility, should someone in the household ever use a wheelchair.
The kitchen centers on the 5- by 7-foot island with special functions on all four sides. “One of the problems with an open floor plan is that there is limited wall space,” says Sakai.
The island solves this by housing a GE oven on one side, a garbage and recycling station and a Sharp microwave drawer on another, and a three-drawer system for everyday needs on a third side. Even the bar seating area offers hidden storage.
Sakai credits the owners for working out the details of the room. “They were very thoughtful with their vision of how they wanted to use the space now and down the line.”
Range hood: Zephyr
The perimeter of the kitchen is just as functional. Matching drawer systems flank the 36-inch Thermador range, while cabinets with ¼-inch beaded glass border the 36-inch Venezia hood to provide the couple with everything they need to prep and plate food.

We vent attics for four reasons | Mt Kisco Homes

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Most homeowners and builders believe that attics should be vented. If you walk down to your local lumberyard and lean on the counter, the employees and nearby customers will offer a variety of opinions about why attics need to be vented. Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely that the statements you hear will be true.

Here are the four most common reasons people suggest to explain the practice of venting attics:

  • To reduce the chance of moisture build-up in the attic or condensation on the underside of the roof sheathing.
  • To make roofing shingles last longer.
  • To lower cooling bills during the summer.
  • To reduce the chance of ice dams.

Although attic ventilation is sometimes able to contribute in a very small way to addressing the problems on this list, there are much better solutions to all four problems than ventilation.

What does the code require?

If you plan to install insulation on your attic floor, then most building codes require that your house be equipped with soffit vents.

The standard code formula requires 1 square foot of net free ventilation area for every 300 square feet of attic floor area, assuming that half of the ventilation openings are located in the soffit, and half along the ridge. If a roof has only soffit vents and no ridge vents, most codes require 1 square foot of net free ventilation area for every 150 square feet of attic floor area.

Newly Re-Elected Legislator Harckham Looks To Control Taxes, Spending | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Peter Harckham, who will continue for another term representing District 2 in the Westchester County Board of Legislatures, spent part of Wednesday looking ahead to his new term.

With 86 percent of precincts reporting, Harckham is leading challenger Andrea Rendo, 53 percent to 47 percent, though Rendo has conceded defeat.

Harckham, the minority leader, said his re-election was gratifying.

“We have a good team and we executed our plan,” Harckham said. “I look forward to working with the people of Northeast Westchester for two years.”

Harckham said he will try to keep taxes and spending down, and work on a pilot program with the Department of Environmental Protection to have alternative septics in the watershed. He also plans to work on legislation to require cell towers to have generators, and work on eviction and foreclosure prevention.

Harckham said County Executive Robert Astorino’s re-election means the people of Westchester want divided government.

“It’s tough to be an incumbent,” Harckham said. “He ran an aggressive race. People want checks and balances. It’s up to us to work together in a bipartisan fashion.”

 

 

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/news/newly-re-elected-legislator-harckham-looks-control-taxes-spending