Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY

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A long-running legal dispute in England apparently hasn't worked out in favor of a homeowner who lived in a house disguised as a hay barn in order to evade local planning laws. He got a permit to build a barn in an area restricted to agricultural use, then built the windowless, three-bedroom structure in Hertfordshire in 2001 (parking farm equipment in front of it), and moved his family in. Later, he applied for a "certificate of lawfulness" to make it a legal abode after a statute of limitations related to land-planning violations had expired. A legal fight ensued, and recently a court ruled against him: he might have to tear down the barn/house. The judge commented that the home/barn owner's efforts to deceive were so extensive that it deserved its own category in planning law, according to the Daily Telegraph of London . via inman.com

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  Is the frugal movement over?   This morning Sandy, whose very funny blog Yes, I Am Cheap chronicles her climb out of six-figure debt, asked that question. I’ve been thinking about it all day. Sandy says that Starbucks’ increasing sales this quarter are “the harbinger of doom.” Once people go back to buying $3.50 lattes, she predicts, they’ll drop all the other frugal habits they picked up when the world was melting down in 2008. “You’ll stop clipping coupons,” Sandy predicts. “You might hate the price of gas but you won’t be so conscientious about how much you’re really driving. Your savings rate will dip. Then you’ll start spending more on your credit cards.” Some folks, maybe. I don’t think frugality rises and falls like hemlines with the stock market, though. The financial crash forced a lot of people out of large homes that were beyond their means and put enough scare into Americans to stop the insane spending. It put a spotlight on simpler living as many turned away ...

Editor's note: This is the second part in a multipart series highlighting the history and current state of low-fee real estate brokerage models. If discount and limited-service real estate brokerages have yet to take off as spectacularly as their most enthusiastic boosters had anticipated, one reason could be that in some markets, the rules have been stacked against them, regulators say. One obstacle nontraditional brokers have had to overcome is full and equal access to multiple listing services. Sellers expect any broker they do business with will have the ability to place listings in the multiple listing service -- and that those listings will be seen not only by other brokers, but by consumers. Buyers are attracted to websites that offer them access to a comprehensive and rich set of listings data in their market -- a fact that technology-based brokerages like ZipRealty and Redfin have built their businesses around. Read Part 1 If traditional brokers are able to de...

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. If you’re in marketing, and you’re participating in a demand generation campaign, or your customer is, you’re likely trying to convert those clicks, downloads and visits to revenue. Some people get the joy of not having to worry about drive revenue, but for those of us that need to drive revenue, it’s important to learn early how to make the most of each of the leads that are coming in. Trying to close inbound leads in 1 step is a tall order, if we think in traditional terms and ideas. But it’s not that tall of an order if you think in the same way that sales people would. The step is; qualification. It’s a very simple thing to do, but even simpler to overlook, especially when all the activity generated by the prospect seems to portend so much interest. Having spent 6 years in hunter sales, I know how easy it is to assume that someone asking for a price, or a contract or a meeting can look like buying signals, but the reality all to often is that these prospects are just kicking ti...

You've got to be quick to snap up some of the treasures at the Chowder & Marching tag sale. And preferably, have manners. "If you see something being unloaded, you should say 'may I please see that?' to claim it," said Lori Lowell, of New Milford, CT. "But not everyone does." Lowell gestured to the group of onlookers standing at the spot where tag sale donors pull up in cars to unload new merchandise. Lowell should know. She's been coming with the same group of ladies to the Chowder & Marching tag sale at Crusher Yard in Bedford for years; they make a day of it, starting with breakfast. Her finds in recent years include antique flowerpots for under $20 that would have "easily gone for $125 a an antique shop," she said. This year, she had so far picked up a framed map of Somers dating back to 1867. Shoppers on Friday would also find board games, a jogging stroller, a glass-topped console table and a Pottery Barn cabine...

DEERPARK, ORANGE COUNTY --  Health care, taxes and Indian Point were the topics that dominated US. Rep Nan Hayworth’s  public forum at Deerpark town hall Thursday. About 50 people attended the meeting and vented their frustrations to Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, inside town hall, located approximately two hours north of New York City in the western portion of Orange County. Hayworth, who has served a little more than 100 days in office after defeating Democrat John Hall In November, patiently stood and answered a wide range of questions from the audience. The mood was cordial for the most part, but there were a few topics that caused the  atmosphere inside the small meeting hall to spike with excitement. Hayworth, a retired eye doctor, represents the 19th Congressional District district is made up of northern Westchester County—including Mount Kisco, Bedford and Yorktown—all of Putnam County, southern Dutchess County, most of Orange County and northern Rockland County. Dorothy Winners,...

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Source: S9.com It looks like sitcom series veteran and current “Cougar Town” star, Christa Miller , and producer hubby, Bill Lawrence, are itching to get out of the Los Angeles real estate market. So eager, in fact, they are listing their home at a loss. Miller’s Brentwood home is currently listed for $10,950,000. The Hollywood couple purchased the home from fellow TV star Victoria Principal back in 2007 for $12,600,000. According to Zillow’s Price History chart, this isn’t the first time Miller and Lawrence attempted to sell their 9,552-sq ft home. Records show the gated estate originally hit the market in June 2010 for $12,250,000. After five months with no buyers, the listing was taken off the market and re-listed at the current, 11.8 percent reduced asking price. The listing describes Lawrence and Miller’s Brentwood home as an “exceptional East Coast traditional estate” that sits on a 0.82-acre lot with “every imagina...

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via zillow.com

The National Association of Realtors next month will consider revising rules governing multiple listing services in order to explicitly permit brokers or agents to display Internet Data Exchange (IDX) listings on social networking sites and mobile devices. Some aspects of proposed changes to NAR's IDX policy -- particularly a recommendation to allow IDX listings to be distributed using Really Simple Syndication, or RSS -- have raised concerns by The Realty Alliance, a network of 60 real estate companies whose members include HomeServices of America Inc. Distribution of listings via RSS "allows anyone to obtain all data in an MLS area with no permission required and allows situations where another broker, who does not have a contract with the seller, (will) broadly publish another broker's listing data with no limitations," The Realty Alliance said in a letter to the chairman of NAR's Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee, Pat Callan. "This creat...

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Home vacancies and the nation's homeownership rate were roughly flat in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same quarter last year, according to U.S. Census data released this week. The rate of home vacancies, at 2.6 percent, was unchanged compared to first-quarter 2010, though was well above levels seen before the beginning of the housing downturn in 2005, when it hit 2 percent for the first time since before 1996. The U.S. homeownership rate, which government policies had helped boost to the brink of 70 percent by 2004, sat at 66.4 percent in the first quarter, down a slight and statistically insignificant 0.7 percent since the first quarter of 2010. The rental vacancy rate in principal cities -- the Census Bureau defines a principal city as the largest city in a given metropolitan or "micropolitan" area -- was 9.8 percent, in the suburbs it was 9.3 percent, and outside of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) it was 10 percent. The differences were not stati...

Technology has changed dramatically over the last 10 years and had a strong impact on the REALTOR® business. New forms of technology have enhanced mobility and improved efficiency, but they have also eliminated a level of control from the average real estate agent. Consumers and Technology Consumers have fully embraced the internet. According to the Bureau of the Census, in 1997 only 18.0 percent of Americans had internet at home; by 2009, that figure had jumped to 68.7 percent. The internet is no longer just a source of information and e-commerce, but a means of creating and expanding relationships, both personal and professional. Friendster gave way to MySpace, which gave way to the social media giant Facebook. The number of active members on Facebook jumped from just one million users in December of 2004 to more than 500 million by the end of 2010. Today blogs are common and for those for whom the speed and frequency of interaction on these sites are not enough, registered users ...

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  Pound Ridge NY Blogger 1. Value 2. Consistency 3. Authentic 4. Community 5. Engagement       Pound Ridge NY Homes

Digital media, as many a Mashable reader is aware, is evolving at a rapid pace. It’s three months in to 2011, and already we’re witnessing the realization of many of our predictions for news media , digital advertising and startups this year. Social tools, such as Facebook and Tumblr , are coming to play a new role in news reporting and distribution, while brands are taking on the role of the media by creating and publishing content themselves. Meanwhile, consumers are beginning to access digital content across more devices, often simultaneously, and content creators are responding by creating content for multiple platforms and selling access to them in new subscription offerings. Those are just a few of the trends we’re observing across digital media, which we explore in greater depth below. 1. New Tools for Reporting and Distribution Twitter , YouTube and RSS , among other platforms, have long been lauded for their roles in news reporting and distribution in the age of real-t...

There is a lot of interest in the iPad and in tablet computing in general, and when I write about it I get questions. There are not many practical articles about the iPad for Realtors because the device is still so new. Here are the most common questions I have encountered, and my answers: 1. Can I print from an iPad? Yes, you can print from the iPad. It uses wireless printing and only works with some printers. The details can be found on the Apple Web site . I have never had any need or desire to print from my iPad. In fact, for me part of the beauty of the device is that I use less paper. There are alternatives to printing from the iPad -- one is putting documents to be printed in Dropbox and printing them from a computer. 2. Can I access the multiple listing service from my iPad? I cannot answer that question for everyone, but I can access my MLS and I don't have to use the mobile version or an app. I can see the MLS and use it just like I would on my PC. The best way...

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