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

The 24 Tiniest Homes on Earth | Mt Kisco NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Mount Kisco Tax Bills Are Due On Dec. 31 | Mt Kisco Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Paul McCartney Eyes $13M 4BR Condo On Fifth Avenue | Mt Kisco NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Mount Kisco Holiday Free Parking Begins Monday | The Mt. Kisco Realtor | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Manhattan is set to get its first residential building that measures up to passive house standards, a set of green guidelines that aim to cut heating costs by 90% through the use of solar energy, better insulation and other measures. A big step in that direction took place Wednesday morning when the development arm of Synapse Capital closed on the purchase of a 9,900 square-foot lot in Harlem. "We've discovered a process by which we can build a building we think will cost the same, consume less energy and create a better quality of life for the people inside," said Al Picallo, managing partner at Synapse. The vacant site at 542 W. 153rd St. between Broadway and Amsterdam avenues and across the street from a cemetery was used as a parking lot by the seller, Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who parted with the lot for an undisclosed sum. In its place, Synapse plans to build a roughly 40-unit, market-rate rental building over the next 27 months that will use a f...

The bill she was talking about was a "toll by plate" bill for $7.50. In some parts of Florida tollbooths have disappeared and drivers either pay using a Sunpass or get a bill like I did when a picture of their license plate is captured on one of these roads. To be fair, I had tried to pay online shortly after I received the invoice, but ran into a glitch. It was a weekend, so I set it aside, intending to call and resolve the problem by phone, but then I got busy and forgot about it. The day after my daughter pointed out my oversight, I waited on hold for someone to help me resolve the problems I was having paying online. As I did, I read the ominous warning printed on the front of the invoice: Please pay the total amount due by the due date listed to prevent incurring additional fees, potential citations, or assignment of such transactions to a collection agent. Past due transactions from a previous document may be sent to a collections agent prior to the due d...

bankrate.com Average rates in New York Metro, NY Loan Type Today Change Last Week 30 yr fixed 4.28% 4.17% 15 yr fixed 3.36% 3.25% 30 yr fixed refi 4.28% 4.17% 15 yr fixed refi 3.35% 3.24% 30 yr jumbo 4.45% 4.38% 5/1 ARM refi 3.59% 3.45%

Mt Kisco NY Weekly Real Estate Report   11/6/2013 Homes for sale 47 Median Ask Price $575,000.00 Low Price $225,000.00 High Price $3,950,000.00 Average Size 2788 Average Price/foot $322.00 Average DOM 133 Average Ask Price $972,195.00

Waves of colorful sea creatures and mermaids flooded the Coney Island Boardwalk in Brooklyn, N.Y., this summer for the annual Mermaid Parade. Just months earlier, in the very same spot, Hurricane Sandy with her massive waves stormed ashore but not in such a festive mood. After the storm retreated, leaving the beach a mess, it seemed the parade - which draws thousands of costumed participants each year - would not return. But the mermaids did and showed tremendous community support in an event that’s ironically a celebration of the sea. One of the mermaids, who is also a Brooklyn resident, said during the parade there was talk of how Coney Island has bounced back even stronger and the resilience and heart of the community is incredible. The same could be said about the Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, which is overseeing a 60 project, $3 billion initiative to develop long and short term risk reduction strategies for coastal communities. Hurricane Sandy On Oct. 29...

The Village of Mount Kisco unanimously approved the purchase of close to seven acres of land from the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester for $600,000, according to an article in The Examiner News . The village plans on keeping most of the land as open space and possibly constructing an athletic field on the land. The Boys and Girls Club would retain “preferential use” to allow it to operate a summer day camp on the site. During the remainder of the year, the club is allowed to use the property 20 percent of the time on weekdays, according to The Examiner News. Money for the transaction will come from the open space reserve fund, The Examiner News reported.   http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/business/mount-kisco-purchase-boys-girls-club-land-600k

Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Mt. Kisco’s Rocky Hills Garden Open For Viewing | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Rising home values helped some 2.5 million homeowners return to a state of positive equity, but under-equitied mortgages-those with less than 20 percent equity– still account for one out of five, or 21.1 percent, of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide in the second quarter of 2013, according to the latest CoreLogic report. The total number of mortgaged residential properties with equity currently stands at 41.5 million but some 7.1 million homes, or 14.5 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage, were still in negative equity at the end of the second quarter of 2013. This total is down from 9.6 million homes, or 19.7 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage, at the end of the first quarter of 2013. Negative equity, often referred to as “underwater” or “upside down,” means that borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Negative equity can occur because of a decline in value, an increase in mortgage debt or a combinati...

Reading the signs a couple of years ago it was easy to assume that the art of blogging was set to die a painful death at the hands of social networks like Facebook and Twitter and others. While social has changed how we communicate online, blogging remains a core part of things. In fact, the truth is that there’s never been a better time to blog. Social networks help build audiences and deliver content to readers, and more established blogs and websites often link to or aggregate smaller sites, sending swarms of viewers to read articles —  The Daily Mail aside . So, whether you’re a blogger returning from a break, seeking a new home or are looking to write online for the first time, here’s our guide to what blogging platforms are out there. WordPress:  WordPress.com  and  WordPress.org WordPress has two options: a freemium hosted service that provides .wordpress.com domains — e.g. jonrussell.wordpress.com (but you can still pay to use your own domain) — an...

The much talked-about recovery of the housing market, which has buoyed home sales up from recession lows, has come about through intervention from the Federal Reserve, record low interest rates, and higher home prices that have helped borrowers across the nation improve their financial standing. Both low interest rates and higher home prices have played a role in the housing recovery changes, but as mortgage rates begin to tick upward, housing affordability will decrease, which in turn could cause a pause in the  recovery’s progression . Evidence of an upcoming bump in the road is not yet evident in the numbers. The most recent figures all pointed to a surging recovery: The Department of Commerce reported that sales of new homes rose in May to the highest annual rate since July 2008, while Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index of property values showed home prices posted the highest annual gain in more than seven years in April. But mortgage rates are now rising higher an...

Q: Our apartment was recently burglarized. The landlord hasn't done anything to make my roommates and me feel safer, and we fear out apartment will be burglarized again. We would like to move out, but still have six months left on our lease. Do you have any suggestions? A: Your landlord is responsible for providing a functional apartment, which includes working doors and windows and any and all locks or safety devices as required by state and local codes. But your landlord is not the guarantor of your possessions, and you are responsible for acting reasonably and responsibly to protect your own property. The first goal should be to work with your landlord to minimize the chance that there will be any further criminal acts at your rental property. You may want to also contact your local law enforcement and ask them for any tips or suggestions that they might have to deter crime. You will need to make sure that you are committed to any suggestions such as timers on ligh...

Higher home sales and growing optimism on the jobs front are further signs of a stabilizing real estate market, Fannie Mae concluded Thursday.  "Concerns about job loss are waning as payrolls are growing – a trend that may give potential homebuyers more confidence that they can meet the financial obligation of homeownership," said Doug Duncan, chief economist for Fannie Mae.  The government-sponsored enterprise released the results of its January 2013 National Housing Survey. After polling just over 1,000 Americans, Fannie Mae concluded more survey respondents believe now is a good time to sell a home, with 23% responding favorably to that question, up from 11% last year. Expectations around personal finances remain flat, while projections for consumer home prices and rental and ownership properties are at their highest levels in two-and-a-half years. About 41% of respondents believe prices will rise in the next 12 months, down 2 percentage points from December’s s...

We are buying a house. The home inspection is scheduled for next week, but we're not sure what to do once we get the report. Is the inspection report just for our information or can we use it to negotiate with the sellers? Can we walk away from the deal if we don't like the report or are we obligated to go ahead with the purchase? What can you tell us about this? --Alan DEAR ALAN: A home inspection empowers you with essential options as a buyer, but with some limitations. In the majority of home sales, the deal is contingent upon the buyers' acceptance of the home inspection report. This means that you, as buyer, have a specified number of days to accept or decline the property in "as is" condition. If you decline acceptance, you have four basic choices: 1) Ask the sellers to make a few repairs. 2) Ask the sellers to make many repairs. 2) Ask the sellers to reduce the sales price. 3) Decline to purchase the property. If you request repairs o...

via inman.com

Property investors who bought in the Dutch market have been hit with prices that have dropped for five straight years – and the decrease is accelerating, according to figures. Average house prices fell by 11.4% in real terms last year to make it the biggest drop in values for five years. The figure comes from the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents (NVM) which adds that the future is bleak for investors and warns that property prices will inevitably fall again in 2013. A spokesman said: “The country’s weak economy is not helping and we are seeing mortgage approvals fall and high interest rates which look like making any recovery in the near future impossible.” Permits for new builds are also at their lowest since 1953 with just 55,804 applications being made. Serious problems According to government figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) the price of homes fell slightly less at 9.1%, when adjusted for inflation, in the year to November. They say the biggest house ...

via inman.com