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

Joel Weber said he's determined to incur less college debt by living in the tiny, 145-square-foot house he built, rather than struggling to pay higher rent in his college town of Austin, Texas. "I wanted a place to call home," Weber told ABC News. "I wanted it to be affordable so I could be debt-free and let it be an investment to give back to the community — not just dumped into rent that I wouldn't get any return on." Weber, who will begin his junior year at the University of Texas at Austin, said it can cost upwards of $800 a month to live in the area near his school. In a bid to save himself from further debt, the 25-year-old said it was summer 2014 when he decided that he'd build his own home, rather than stressing over higher costs for an apartment, or on-campus dormitories. The dwelling, Weber said, took one year to complete and cost an estimated $20,000. "I saved up quite a bit and what I didn’t have, family, friends,...

Family, a job and friends have always been a reason to relocate, but one reason is starting to take up a larger portion of the pie: housing affordability. Per The NewYork Times : Rising rents and the inabiilty to secure a mortgage has started to push people inland, the article explained. But of those who moved more than 500 miles, the share who said they were chiefly motivated by housing has risen to 18 percent in 2014, from 8 percent in 2007, the earliest year such data is available, according to the Census Bureau. The desire for a new, better or cheaper home and the opportunity to buy instead of rent were among the housing-related reasons people cited. Source: NYT

I should preface the story by explaining this happened back in 2008, when buyers were a hot commodity with a plethora of listings to consider. The buyer and seller negotiated back and forth until we were all cross-eyed with changes. Finally, the buyer accepted the seller’s counter … kinda, sorta. There was one small addition on what I had been told was a signed-off contract. The buyer suddenly decided she had to have the seller’s desk chair in the home office, a personal item that had not previously been mentioned anywhere in the contract. After peeling the sellers off the ceiling, I quickly realized their indignation wasn’t just about venting. They were seriously willing to kill the deal. They were that mad. Their anger was about to lose them a well-qualified buyer and a strong offer in a weak market. We all know the homebuying and selling experience is stressful and fraught with emotion; however, when those emotions run high, sometimes clients will make a decision that isn’t ...

Do you have an edible garden or farm animals? Do you live in a farmhouse or decorate as if you do? Whether you’ve got more raised beds than bedrooms, count barn animals as part of your family or have rescued a dilapidated barn, we’d love to see pictures of your home. Check out some of the unique farmhouses from around the world that have been featured on Houzz. Yours could be next! Share your farmhouse: Upload photos to the Comments section below and tell us about your home. Your space may end up as a My Houzz feature, covered by one of our editorial photographers. Corynne Pless Save to Ideabook Email Photo Fox Heart Farm. Mark and Kelley Ash of Horton, Alabama, built their family’s colorful shotgun-style farmhouse on a 9-acre property. Pictured here is their kitchen, built with salvaged wood from Kelley’s grandmother’s home and a restored washboard sink found on Craigslist. Their farm is host to a number of animals, including three horses, one donkey, five ...

Single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes sold at an estimated annual pace of 5,253,464 in March, an increase of 0.4% from February and up 8% from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac’s March and Q1 2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report. This report includes all sales, not just new home sales , which took a beating in March, dropping 14.5% for the month and 13.3% year-over-year. “The housing market showed signs of coming out of hibernation in March after a sluggish fall and winter,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Median home prices increased on a monthly basis following six consecutive months where they were flat or declining, and increased on an annual basis by the biggest percentage since hitting bottom in March 2012. The median sales price of U.S. residential properties — including both distressed and non-distressed sales — was $164,500 in March, up 1% from February and up 10% from March 2013. March was the 24th consecutive month wher...

  You could literally be washing soap (and money) down the drain. Suspicious that you've been using too much soap in your laundry? Follow these guidelines to get it right every time.   1. Choose the detergent that works with your machine. Today, many detergents are formulated for both regular and high-efficiency machines, but some brands, like Tide and Gain, still offer separate product lines. Pick the wrong one, and you may end up with too many suds in your clothes. 2. Make sure you're measuring. The instructions on your detergent's packaging are accurate guidelines -- it's when you ignore them that errors occur. "Don't pour in your detergent without measuring," says Carolyn Forte, the director of the Home Appliances and Cleaning Products department in the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. "Eyeballing the correct amount is more difficult than you think. You'll get it wrong." If measuring into your detergent'...

While the housing market is feeling some wobbles right now, leading economists say there is no cause for concern that, one, the market is in a bubble and, two, there is a chance of that bubble popping soon. The reason for this conclusion is primary due to doubts that there is even a bubble in the first place. More than 4 million residential property owners regained lost equity in 2013, primarily due to home price gains, but as a result, the market is starting to talk of a bubble, CoreLogic ( CLGX ) most recent MarketPulse report said. However, rising home prices are not the only angle to look at the housing market. “Because most homeowners use their income to pay for a home mortgage, there is an established relationship between income levels and home prices,” Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic, said. “In the long run, home price growth cannot be sustained above income growth because housing would become unaffordable, demand would decline and home price growth woul...

OK, nobody’s perfect. But seriously, you really need to start putting a new roll of toilet paper on the spindle when it’s out. And you definitely need to start closing the toilet lid, like, 10 years ago. Oh, and I’m pretty sure someone has been telling you to stop throwing your clothes on the floor — next to the hamper, no less! — since long before your hair turned gray. We asked Houzzers what their biggest bone of contention was with their significant other, and more than a hundred responses have painted a pretty clear picture: We love you, but you’re killing us! “I have been married over three decades. It’s easier to train a puppy,” says Houzz user okdokegal . Not sure what you’re doing wrong? No worries. We’re here to help. Start doing these 14 things now for your partner, and you’ll be on the road to redemption. Artistico Save to Ideabook Email Photo Learn where everything is and where everything goes. Oh, you don’t know where the sugar is? Well, I really don’t...

Real Housewives, Tour Boats Made Rosie O’Donnell Sell Her Star Island House | Katonah Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Housing Prices Rise at Brisk Pace in Britain | Katonah NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Recovery Remains Uneven as Cities Spared in Bust Soar, but Many Others Struggle | Katonah Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Combined Value of US Homes to Top $25 Trillion in 2013 | Katonah NY Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Since 1973 a significant number of crises have occurred across the globe – many of them related to the real estate market. The primary event for the first major global crisis that began in the spring of 1973, was the crash of the housing market . This crash affected banks, as well as state economies extensively. Local economies such as the city of New York - which technically went bankrupt in 1975 – barely managed to remain “above water”. The Japanese development boom of the 1980s ended with the collapse of both the stock market and real estate market. The excesses in the real estate market in the Nordic countries, created the 1992 crisis in their banking system. The 1997-1998 collapse in eastern and southeastern Asia was triggered by excess urban development. The latest and most serious crisis began in 2008 and was due to the subprime market collapse. This crisis threatened the global financial system with chaos . Market participants who a few years earlier seemed to be swimming in s...

Analysts at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) are pleased with the amount of growth in the real estate market in 2013, but many feel that the gains are not sustainable throughout 2014. NAR’s 2014 forecast states that homes should retain the gains that have been made over the past year, but that value increases are likely to slow. Another problem will be income as employment and wage growth continues to lag far behind real estate price increases. Economists note that the price will be what the market will bear, and dwindling affordability will play a role in next year’s home prices. For more on this continue reading the following article from TheStreet .    The real estate market is in full slumber, as usual during the holiday season, but 2014 is only weeks away. And next year, the housing market will see some fresh complications that could slow growth when it should be springing back, according to one leading economist. The National Association of Realtors' 2...

One place the housing market is booming is in San Francisco. The bidding wars are under way and the combatants are armed with cash. In Oakland, Calif., Sara Mertz and her real estate agent Patrick Leaper are finally on the verge of closing a deal. This is the ninth house she has tried to buy “Six months, nine offers,” Mertz said. Home prices rise most since 2006 How much do Fannie and Freddie still owe us? This first-time buyer is ready with a 20 percent down payment. But in today’s market, that is not always enough. “From our experience, there’s not a lot on the market, and so when there is a house that we’re excited about, so is everybody else,” Mentz said. It took Sara Mertz six months and nine offers before she was finally able to clinch a house. / CBS News And many of those “everybody else’s” has cash. “A lot of it,” Mentz said. “Cash buyers coming in with no contingencies at all are closing in 10 days,” Leaper said. He hasn’t seen this many cash buyers in 4...

Mortgage applications  posted  that the refinance share of overall mortgage activity slightly fell to 74% of total applications, the  Mortgage   Bankers   Association  said. Despite the small drop, the refinance share of mortgage applications has hovered around 75% for quite some time. But a quick look back in history paints a more intriguing story. Wade Betz, vice president of sales with  Guardian   Mortgage , has tracked his personal purchase application volumes versus refinancing activity since he started at the firm in 2006. Since Betz began, the refinance and purchase shares of mortgage activity have performed a 180. Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Refi, purchase apps switch places over the years | Katonah Real Estate

Next Previous Picture  1  of 20  | Toggle Source: IMDb If Sean Patrick Flanery comes to mind when picturing a crime-fighting vigilante or FBI agent, you’re not alone. The Louisiana-born film and TV actor, most well-known for his role in “The Boondock Saints,” has made appearances on “CSI,” “Numb3rs” and “Criminal Minds.” Set to play a new character in the upcoming season of “Dexter,” Flanery has decided his 2-bedroom at  6351 Bryn Mawr Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068  no longer suits him. According to the MLS, he recently sold the property for $910,000, after buying it for $759,000 in 2003. Compared to the  median Hollywood Hills home value  of $1.266 million, Flanery’s place sold for thousands less. But measuring 1,364 square feet, it’s also a lot smaller than the typical  celebrity real estate  in Los Angeles. The new owner likely isn’t going for maximum square footage, though. Built in 1970, the home has be...

AT 10 p.m. Friday, my wife, my dog and I will be  forced to evacuate  our home because the boom of a construction crane atop a luxury condominium tower going up next door might possibly destroy our building. It won’t be the first time: Last October, we had to evacuate for six days after  Hurricane Sandy  left the boom dangling precariously over West 57th Street, a situation that drew headlines worldwide. But this time, we’re being forced out merely because the city government wants to save the developer of the tower money and time. I’m not looking for sympathy. I live near Central Park in a landmark 1909 co-op, Alwyn Court, where apartments sell for as much as $2 million. And the developer of the tower has offered each household $1,500 to pay for hotel rooms for the 22 hours we’ll have to evacuate. But in the world of New York City real estate, money, power and influence are all relative. In the tower next door, known as One57, penthouses have reportedly been sol...

Housing Costs Rose for Working Families During Housing Bust | Katonah NY Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

The local CBS affiliate out of Minneapolis says a home is the new engagement ring. In fact, if you look at the behavior of more young American couples, their first step towards lifelong companionship is purchasing a home together, not a ring. Citing a Coldwell Banker study, CBS says a quarter of married couples in the 18-to-34 age range bought a home before getting married via housingwire.com