Tag Archives: Westchester Homes

Westchester Homes

Planting the seeds of brand perception | Bedford NY Real Estate

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I hear this sentence all the time: “I don’t know what a brand is, but I don’t think I need one.” I decided to take this opportunity to try to define the concept of branding to explain why you need a brand.

In a way, it’s like explaining why we need air. So, please hang in there with me, and let me know if what follows makes sense.

How can you recognize a brand? AstonMartin275Raise your hand if you recognize the car in the photo to the left. If you didn’t raise your hand, you know that it’s a sporty-looking car. Just looking at the car, for all you know, it could be a hybrid with a top speed of 60 miles an hour. That could be your perception just from looking at the photo.

If you did raise your hand, you know that you’re looking at an Aston Martin. A 2010 DB9 Volante, to be exact. And, now that the rest of you know it’s an Aston Martin, you probably have quite a different perception of the vehicle.

What do you know about Aston Martins? If you’re a car buff at all, you know that James Bond was fond of Aston Martins. So, does that fact make you feel differently about the car than when you thought it might be a hybrid? Indeed. Why?

Because you now perceive the car to be a hot sports car, capable of making beautiful women swoon, achieving high rates of speed, completing very sharp turns, and, in the hands of  “Q,” launching rockets. And that perception is reinforced by other things you may know if you are a car buff.

 

 

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/planting-the-seeds-of-brand-perception-agents-must-be-the-aston-martins-of-real-estate/#sthash.LBy4fAih.dpuf

New Building Codes Passed After Lessons From Hurricane Sandy | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Acting on the recommendations of a task force convened after Hurricane Sandy, the City Council on Thursday approved new requirements that were expected to make buildings more sustaining during emergencies and prevent some of the hardships that New Yorkers endured after the storm last year.

One change requires residential buildings five stories or higher to add faucets in common areas like laundry rooms so that residents on higher floors have some access to water for drinking, flushing toilets and other uses. Upper floors lose water when electric pumps stop working during blackouts, a problem that worsened conditions and forced many people out of their buildings after the hurricane.

The requirement applies immediately to new residential construction, while existing buildings have eight years to add the fixtures.

“It will make it much more possible to stay in a large building for an extended period without power,” said Russell Unger, chairman of the task force of more than 200 building experts, property owners and city officials that proposed the changes.

Another piece of legislation requires new and existing hospitals and nursing homes in flood zones to install hookups that would enable quick connection to temporary generators and boilers so that such facilities can maintain electricity and heating when the power is out. The law requiring the hookups is effective immediately for new buildings, but gives existing buildings 20 years to comply.

Another new law makes it easier to install backup generators and generators that run on natural gas, which is considered a cleaner and more reliable source of power than diesel fuel. And a fourth law allows temporary flood barriers on sidewalks.

Despite the costs to comply with the new requirements — a 20-story co-op could spend $16,000 for the required one-common-area faucet per 100 residents — property owners have been generally supportive because of the losses suffered during the storm.

“It’d help get buildings up and running faster,” Angela Pinsky, a senior vice president for the Real Estate Board of New York, said of some of the measures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/nyregion/new-building-codes-passed-after-lessons-from-hurricane-sandy.html?_r=0

DIY Garden Lights | Mount Kisco Homes

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Reuse plastic bottles to make these easy, elegant DIY garden lights that cost  almost nothing.

After you’ve gathered the materials and tools, it takes only about 10 minutes  to put together this garden light for your property.

Step 1: What You Need

Materials and tools you’ll need to make one DIY garden light:

  • One plastic bottle (A translucent bottle works well; you can reuse plastic  bottles that originally held laundry detergent or fabric softener.)
  • One old bicycle inner tube, or at least 6 rings cut from an inner  tube
  • One broomstick, as long as you prefer
  • Pair of scissors
  • Small hacksaw
  • Tea light (small candle in an aluminum container)

Step 2: Sawing

Use the hacksaw to cut off the bottom of the plastic bottle as well as a thin  slice off the top of the cap.

Step 3: Quarters

Make four long cuts with the scissors along the corners of the plastic  bottle.

Step 4: Petals

Shape the four parts from Step 3 into leaves by trimming off the rounded  corners.

Step 5: Cap Adjustment

Unscrew the cap from the plastic bottle. If there’s an inner ring on the  bottom of the cap, remove it with the hacksaw. The goal is to make the cap flat —  and open — on the underside.

Step 6: Big Match

Cut six rings from the bicycle inner tube. Pull the rubber rings over the end  of the broomstick, one at a time, so that they cover each other and form a  layered gasket. Make sure the broomstick’s end has been built up with enough  rubber layers so that the bottle cap can be pushed on only with some effort. You  may need to cut more rubber rings if the seal is too loose.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/plastic-bottle-garden-lights-zboz1309ztri.aspx#ixzz2kiv0ie9F

Miami’s “Most Expensive Non-Waterfront” Listing Comes Complete with Gold Marble Bathtub | Bedford Real Estate

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A manse with a hand-painted Trompe l’oiel, stained-glass windows and more than a half-acre of land on La Gorce Island has hit the market for $7.9 million, according to listing agents Danny Hertzberg, his mom Jill Hertzberg and Jill Eber, all of Coldwell Banker. The six-bedroom property at 6650 Roxbury Lane was built in 2002 and also features gold marble baths and TVs embedded in mirrors. (Sadly, there are no photos of the golden tubs.) The listing is described in brokerbabble as Miami’s “most expensive non-waterfront” property, which is an inventive superlative but not one that provides any information on why it’s priced the way it is. Sigh.

· 6650 Roxbury Ln [Trulia]

 

 

 

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2013/11/11/miamis-priciest-listing-boasts-gold-baths.php

Metro Detroit Real Estate Market Stays Red Hot | Waccabuc Real Estate

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When it comes to housing in metro Detroit, it’s once again a seller’s market.

New figures from the Farmington Hills real estate data firm Realcomp II Ltd. show home prices skyrocketed 40 percent in October from a year earlier. Sales were up only slightly, though, at an 0.7 percent increase.

The median sale price in the 10-county area surveyed by Realcomp was $124,800, up from $89,000 a year earlier. A total of 6,345 homes changed hands in the month, up from 6,298 in October 2012.

Big price increases were reported in Macomb County (up 46 percent) and Wayne County (up 44 percent). Prices in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights were up 41 percent. Areas reporting relatively modest price increases were Livingston County (up 14.5 percent) and Lapeer County (up 6.1 percent). Average prices actually fell in only one county, 2.2 percent in St. Clair.

The number of homes sold actually fell in some parts of the region — down 20.1 percent in St. Clair County, down 10.2 percent in Lapeer County, down 9.6 percent in Detroit and the cities of Hamtramck, Highland Park and Harper Woods.

That could actually be because of a lack of inventory — the number of homes on the market fell almost 11 percent from a year ago, to 22,309 homes listed for sale in the region, down from 25,035 a year earlier. Another sign of a hot market: The number of days a home stayed on the market before selling plunged 22 days from a eyar earlier, to 56 days, from 78. (During the depths of the recession it took over 100 days to sell a home.)

 

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/11/12/metro-detroit-real-estate-market-stays-red-hot/

Is Your Kitchen Ready for the Holidays? | Bedford NY Real Estate

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1. Upgrade Your Appliances

You’re probably familiar with the concept of the work triangle (where the legs are the distances from the fridge, sink, and cooking surface). The theory goes that a properly laid out work triangle allows each cook to work more efficiently. Ideally, each cook has his or her own work triangle. Too bad that’s not always possible. One of the ways to work around a lack of space is to buy appliances that make the most efficient use of the space you do have. In-wall double ovens are a great idea if you frequently cook for a crowd, while countertop-cooking surfaces are perfect for those who need extra cabinet space. Of course, when you cook for a crowd you have to clean up for them. If you’ve got the space, think about adding an extra dishwasher. If that’s not an option, you could go with the alternative and replace your current dishwasher with an energy efficient, large capacity model.

Upgrade Your Appliances2. Check Your Plumbing

Chances are you only have one sink in your kitchen. How great would it be to have two? If you’ve got a nice sized kitchen island, you might want to talk to a plumber to see what it’d take to add a prep sink to your island. If that’s not an option, adding a pot filler faucet behind your stove is a great way to improve your kitchen’s flow without spending an arm and a leg. One final tip: Now’s the time to make sure your garbage disposal is cleaned and ready for the extra workload. If it’s been sounding rough, we recommend calling a plumber or handyman to come out and take a look at it.

Find Pros3. Maximize Your Storage

Outside of completely remodeling your kitchen, there’s no better way to improve your kitchen’s functionality than by upgrading your cabinets to make the most of your space. Retractable trashcans, lazy Susans, pullout shelving, and drawer and cabinet dividers all make smart additions to your existing cabinets. If you’ve got the budget to install new cabinets, a great way to boost your storage options is to go with base cabinets with drawers rather than doors and to extend your upper cabinets to the ceiling.

Maximize Your Storage4. Remodel Your Space

Few projects spark the imagination like a kitchen remodel. It’s the one project that a homeowner starts daydreaming about as soon as they move into their house. Perhaps it’s the one project you’ve been daydreaming about, too. Whether you want to open things up and create a more expansive space that’s perfect for entertaining, or add more room to accommodate multiple cooks in the kitchen, a remodel is the way to go if you want to create the ultimate cooking and entertaining environment.

Remodel Your Space

 

 

 

 

http://welcome.homeadvisor.com/is-your-kitchen-ready-for-the-holidays?m=homesense&entry_point_id=27010020

 

Craigslist axes enhanced listings, forcing agents to up their real estate marketing game | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Here’s what we know As of today, in all areas as far as we’ve been able to see, Craigslist has removed all embedded images and all links.

Ads can still be posted, and images can still be browsed for and uploaded, but all hyperlinks are turned into non-active text links.

This means that when the consumer clicks the link, it doesn’t go anywhere. They stay on Craigslist. Wouldn’t you think that’s what Craigslist would have wanted in the first place? Here’s what we don’t know Are links coming back?

Will they come back with a pay-per-link or pay-per-ad feature? We think so. This year, we started paying $25 an ad for employment ads. At The Ballen Group Las Vegas Real Estate Team, we run four to eight of these a week and quickly adapted to paying. We saw value, and made the change.

We did not panic. We have to figure there are a lot of businesses who did like we did. Craigslist watches, learns and is probably already on the path to charging for housing ads as well.

It would just make sense. For everyone who was using Craigslist as a main source for website traffic, this hurts. For those of us who saw this coming, not so much. We have stood on a soapbox more than once and yelled, “Do other things besides Craigslist, it will change!”

When you work the Web strategically through great website content, blogging, video, press releases, other ad sites and social media, you have cast a wide net. And when one thing changes, you don’t feel damaged.

 

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/craigslist-axes-enhanced-listings-forcing-agents-to-up-their-real-estate-marketing-game/#sthash.6gBTdeCV.dpuf