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

The fact that “Generation Rent” — 25- to 34-year-olds in the U.S. — isn’t getting off the fence when it comes to buying homes has been well documented. Even with near record-low interest rates, just 38% of this cohort — also known as millennials — owned homes in 2012, according to CoreLogic, compared with nearly 52% of the same age group in 1980, when mortgage rates were in the double digits. So, what’s one more survey, right? Except this one is a little different. Carrington Mortgage Services, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based mortgage lender and servicer, surveyed millennials about home ownership and then did something unique: it sorted the responses by category, and then broke them out by region in the United States. What they discovered should make real estate agents and loan officers pay attention, because what’s keeping millennials from buying a home in one part of the country isn’t true in another. In the 12 western-most states (ranging from Montana down to New Mexico and Wash...

Enjoy the great outdoors in the comfort of your own backyard by rustling up this weekend project for a DIY fire pit with optional grill. A backyard fire pit can be your family’s favorite spot for conversation, relaxation and cooking — and you don’t have to limit the menu to marshmallows and hot dogs, because the pivoting, adjustable grate will make your outdoor cooking options endless. Or, if you’d prefer to create an evening gathering spot, you can build only the fire ring without the cooking grate. DIY Fire Pit 1. Go shopping. Follow the Meat Smoker Materials List. Buy a metal fire-ring insert at a home center, farm supply store or garden center, or create your own by cutting down a culvert or a 55-gallon drum. Select trapezoid-shaped retaining-wall blocks for the surround. To make certain they’ll create a tight circle around your fire-ring insert, check the manufacturer’s literature or lay out some blocks in the store. If you’re building the metal cooking grate assembly, note tha...

Consumers ages 18-29 with a student loan in repayment generally are able to gain access to new loans and perform as well or better on those new loans as similarly aged consumers without student loans, according to a new study by TransUnion.  . Furthermore, the study found that in only three to six years, student-loan consumers in their 20s have been observed to pass similarly aged consumers without a student loan in overall loan participation rates on mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. “Going to school impacts young consumers’ access to credit; while in school, students may be less likely to have a job and generate the income necessary for loan approval. However, most catch up once they leave school-and their ability to catch up has not changed over the past decade,” said Steve Chaouki, executive vice president and the head of TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “Our study demonstrates that consumers in their 20s with student loans in repayment-that is, once they...

When you inquire about home insurance, one of the first questions an agent will ask is, “Is this for your primary residence?” It might seem like an odd question, but they ask because policies differ greatly when they’re for second homes — particularly for those in vacation spots. In many cases, you could pay more to insure your second home than your primary residence. There are at least three reasons for this: A second home in a traditional vacation spot — for example, at the beach, in the mountains or near a lake or river — can come with additional risks. By its very nature, a vacation home can stand vacant much of the year, which is a sore spot for insurers. If it’s not vacant, that could mean it doubles as a rental — another potential red flag for providers. Let’s look at why each point matters to providers, and how you can deal with each issue. Your second home is in a vacation spot Obviously, a home on the coast or along a lake or river faces a gre...

The estate that Al Pacino’s violent Tony Montana called home in “Scarface” has just been deeply discounted to $17.9 million. That’s 49 percent below the $35-million asking price when it hit the market one year ago. The  10-plus acre property  is in Santa Barbara, not in Tony Montana’s decadent — and fictional — corner of Miami. The remodeled 1906 home measures 9,816 square feet and has 4 bedrooms, 5 full baths and 4 partial baths. The home is classically designed, with ornate moldings and gold-leaf ceiling details. Many rooms open to the outdoors, including onto patios, balconies and decks. The grounds are as elaborate as the interior, with lush landscaping and multiple pools and fountains. read more... http://www.zillow.com/blog/

U.S. home building surged in April to the highest level since before the recession officially began, a sign of thaw in the housing market during the crucial spring selling season. U.S. housing starts rose 20.2% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.135 million in April, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was the highest reading since November 2007, and the biggest percentage increase since February 1991. New applications for building permits, a bellwether for construction in coming months, increased 10.1%. Home-construction figures are volatile and often revised, and housing data have been mixed over the past several months. But economists have been cautiously optimistic despite the uneven readings and many said Tuesday's report offered reassurance the housing market is rebounding after a dismal first quarter. "It is hard to know where the underlying trends in the starts and permits data are because of the recent big changes in the...

All photos by  Philippe Ruault  via  ArchDaily It was pretty impressive to see a  warm, expensive-looking Texas house  come together for just $175K, but it's also remarkable to take in the total nonchalance of this house in western France, completed for a tight  $128K  and proud of it. Tasked with completing a "big" home (it clocks in at  1,593 square feet ) with a relatively low budget, the designers at  Fouquet Architecture Urbanisme  served up pure utilitarianism: the wood-framed home wears a layer of polycarbonate panels and include wide openings and sliding doors leading out to the garden. Though the striking voids might  look  like some floors still need to be filled in, they're actually intentional: The empty spaces serve as a garage and interior terraces. It's hard to imagine that the greenhouse-like home will stay comfortable throughout the seasons, but the architects insist it will. The rooms are heated with a...