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

You’re in love. And, after careful consideration and heartfelt discussions, you and your significant other have decided to take a leap of faith and move in together. After all, your dogs already get along, and  the apartment you’re renting  is big enough for two and closer to your partner’s work. What could possibly go wrong? Sorry to burst your bubble, but the answer is: a lot. While deciding to cohabitate may seem like nothing more than making a little extra space in your sock drawer, there are serious considerations to discuss. Here are five reasons why ironing out the details beforehand and drafting a cohabitation agreement is the savviest way to protect you and your partner if things begin to unravel. 1. Avoid breaching your lease A  lease agreement  is a type of contract allowing either party the opportunity to seek damages (i.e., money) if its terms are not followed. If you are renting on your own, your lease agreement is between  you and your...

When the housing bubble popped, it trapped more than 16 million homeowners in homes worth less than the balance on their mortgage. Two years after the peak of that crisis, Zillow found that nearly half those people have escaped from negative equity. Nationally, the number of upside-down homeowners is down 40 percent since 2012, according to Zillow’s Q3 Negative Equity Report. To get out of negative equity, some homeowners went through foreclosure or a short sale. Others just hung on, making mortgage payments while property values improved. At any rate, millions of them are now free to sell their homes, offering energy to the recovering housing market. Across the country, the hardest-hit cities saw the greatest relief. Of homeowners with a mortgage in Atlanta, for example, 55 percent were upside down in early 2012. Now, only 23 percent are. Phoenix peaked with 58 percent of mortgaged homeowners in negative equity in 2011, but now, that number has dropped to less than 20 percent. ...

China's housing prices fell on a monthly basis for the seventh straight month in November, a survey showed Sunday, with the market yet to feel the full impact of an interest rate cut. The average price of a new home in China's 100 major cities was 10,589 yuan ($1,736) per square metre in November, down 0.38 percent from October, the independent China Index Academy said in a statement. The fall was a slight improvement from the 0.40 percent month-on-month drop in October, previous figures showed. "We expect the interest rate cut to kick in next year," Bai Yanjun, research director for the China Index Academy, told AFP. "We still believe the market is under downward pressure for the rest of 2014 because the current home inventory levels in first-tier and major second-tier cities are still high," he said. China cut both lending and deposit rates just over a week ago, and analysts said home mortgage buyers would be among the biggest beneficiaries. ...

Norwegian house prices rose more quickly than expected in October and growth will likely accelerate over the rest of the year, even as household debt levels remain among the highest in Europe, a real estate lobby group said on Wednesday. House prices rose by 5.3 percent year-on-year in October, up from 3.6 percent in September with seasonally adjusted prices up by 0.9 percent on the month, hitting all-time-highs in October, Real Estate Norway said. "We're somewhat surprised that we rise above the five percent level. We'll also see a further increase in November and maybe in December," Real Estate Norway Chief Executive Christian Dreyer said, adding it was "quite likely" growth would hit 6 percent. Norway's banking regulator, worried that strong house price growth will further boost household indebtedness and hurt the economy, has warned that banks may face new capital buffer requirements if the development continues. At the start of 2014, Real Es...

When we did our remodel, our contractor suggested a thousand things I had never really thought about. They weren't necessarily design considerations; they were more quality-of-life considerations — just little things you didn't know you were missing until you had them. Here are eight little touches I didn't know I couldn't live without until I lived with them. What are yours? ExpressDecor 1. A built-in dish soap dispenser . Because I don't care how nice the bottle is; it's just one more thing cluttering up your countertop. 2. Soft-close hinges. It is impossible to slam a drawer or cabinet in my kitchen. Each closes with a small whisper. It's calming somehow. Chang + Sylligardos Architects 3. Large kitchen drawers. Looking down into a well-lit space is much better than looking deep into a dark cabinet. In this kitchen large drawers have completely replaced cabinets. Just make sure they are all soft c...

27 images   <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/09/18/party-house-with-360-degree-rooftop-views-wants-3m-in-la.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/541a5f44f92ea12f51027068/14-785479_50_0.jpg" width="500" height="329"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/09/18/party-house-with-360-degree-rooftop-views-wants-3m-in-la.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> Location: Los Angeles, Calif. Price: $2,895,000 The Skinny: The 576-square-foot rooftop patio is the prime amenity of this new construction in L.A. Why? Largely because it boasts 360-degree views of the Hollywood Hills and the Miracle Mile skyline. ...

Here's a 15,000 square foot mansion that is sadly going a little Grey Gardens on the inside, which leaves the realtor writing the sales text in a tough spot. Positioning an over-priced dilapidated mess (the owner wants $800,000) is a real challenge. One might just freak out and decide to write a little fiction instead of deal with reality. Like this: Potentially THE best home in the city for entertaining. Oh dear God. Did they mean for entertaining mice? It looks like the dining room wasn't cleaned after the last party and the library has what looks like several inches of hastily pushed aside dust. The highest sales price in this neighborhood from the last several years was $485,000 for a 9,300 square foot mansion (bought by the President of Shinola). At 15,000 square feet this is a lot more house, but also a lot more mess. Whoever is it selling only paid $410,000 for the crazy estate in 2012, according to Zillow, which makes this one of the wildest attempted flips...

To be a successful real estate investor you have to keep your business growing. That means finding real estate to invest in and not just any real estate will do.We investors have to find real estate deals! We have to find properties where the numbers make sense, properties which will provide a decent return for our investment. Finding these deals however is not always easy. In fact, sometimes you really have to search for them. But that is just the way this business is. If this business was easy and deals were a dime a dozen, then everyone would be investing in real estate. What I am saying is that finding deals takes work and effort.It takes work and effort each and every day. As an investor, you need to be tuned into and looking at many various sources to find potential deals. Just one will never be enough! Here are some thoughts on where you might want to focus part of your daily efforts to find deals: 1. The Realtor’s Multiple Listing System (MLS) This is the databas...

In its 1Q14 'Mortgage Market Index - Ireland', Fitch Ratings says that Irish mortgage loans in arrears by more than three months continue to increase, reaching a new high of 18.4% of the current balance in 1Q14, up from 16.7% a year earlier. This has primarily been driven by portfolios with concentrations of buy-to-let loans. "There are signs that lenders are becoming more willing to consider taking properties into possession," says Andrew Currie, Managing Director at Fitch's Structured Finance team. "As the legal process becomes more certain, lenders have begun to selectively enforce their security over properties. However, it is clearly still the last resort as the number of cases remains extremely low, especially relative to the amount of distress in the market." Ireland has experienced significant home price increases over the past year, which has been driven primarily by demand for properties in Dublin. Home prices have risen ...

[Mr. Ponzi did sport a stylish boater.] Yesterday, Old Westbury investment advisor Brian Callahan pleaded guilty to securities and wire fraud in connection with Montauk's Panoramic View resort. Callahan, who purchased the Panoramic View with his brother-in-law in 2007, siphoned cash from funds he managed into the money-losing resort. US Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement, "Through lies and deceit . . . [Callahan] misled investors and stole investor funds, including investments from a local fire department, to support a lavish lifestyle and operate a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme ." The feds are moving to seize the resort . The other owner of the Panoramic View, Callahan's brother-in-law Adam Manson , pleaded not guilty and will appear in court next month. read more.... http://hamptons.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/30/one_panoramic_view_owner_pleads_guilty_to_fraud.php

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes tumbled to their lowest level in eight months in March, dealing a setback to the housing market recovery. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales dropped 14.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, declining for a second consecutive month. February's sales were revised up to a 449,000-unit pace from the previously reported 440,000-unit rate. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales at a 450,000-unit pace last month. Compared to March last year, sales were down 13.3 percent, the largest decline since April 2011. read more... http://www.cnbc.com/id/101605827

Photo via Home Adore Glittering like a real estate mirage, this insanely chic apartment in Paris, France was designed in collaboration between Israel-based Ando Studio and what must be one very fashionable client. Done up in an almost entirely monochrome palette—yet somehow dodging that austere look color-free homes tend to take on—the so-called Saint Germain Apartment pairs its classic moldings and marble floors with an eclectic mix of framed photography, gold accent pieces—including some cool, hanging light fixtures—and modern, neutral-hued furniture. While every room is pretty darn spectacular, the ridiculously lovely, high-ceilinged bathroom, with its sculptural chandelier and vibrant tiled floors, might just be the chicest of them all. By all means, get an eyeful of the photos below, then head over to Home Adore for the full gallery. http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/16/this-parisian-dream-apartment-looks-too-perfect-to-be-real.php

hen this couple and their two young children moved from California to Oregon, they carried north a love of relaxed California midcentury modern style. “This was a true collaboration with our clients, Paula and Mike, who had a very specific design aesthetic,” says interior designer Jenny Baines. Together, Baines, her colleague Lara White and the homeowners mixed comfortable new pieces with eclectic retro ones, laid soft textures atop rough and paired dark wood with white to create a room that’s light, comfy, beachy and infused with bursts of bold color and midcentury energy. Save to Ideabook Email Photo The room had great bones, but they were bare. “I think Mike and Paula had probably picked up this furniture after graduating from college,” Baines says. Jenny Baines, Jennifer Baines Interiors Save to Ideabook Email Photo AFTER: Baines and White set out to make things light, starting with neutral-colored base pieces like the rug and the sofas. Then they...

U.S. Housing Market Seeing Signs of a Spring Thaw | Pound Ridge Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Pound Ridge NY Weekly Real Estate Report 2/24/2014 Homes for sale 56 Median Ask Price $1,225,000.00 Low Price $285,000.00 High Price $5,700,000.00 Average Size 4242 Average Price/foot $345.00 Average DOM 141 Average Ask Price $1,450,728.00

Thirty Somethings Flip-Flopped on Homeownership | Pound Ridge Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Porch partners with Lowe’s just 3 months after official launch | Pound Ridge NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

With bigger banks dealing with legacy issues from the housing crisis, smaller lenders are emerging as formidable competitors, staking their reputation on customer service, the New York Times’ Lisa Prevost reports. Just five of 2006′s top 20 mortgage lenders are still in business today, a December report from Fannie Mae shows. In the first half of 2013, the top 10 mortgage lenders captured only 60 percent of the market, down from 80 percent in 2010. Up-and-coming newcomers include First Choice Loan Services, Loan Depot and Quicken Loans. Source: New York Times. - See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/smaller-lenders-want-bigger-piece-of-mortgage-market-pie/?utm_source=20131227&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.3yrlC6vM.dpuf

Average mortgage rates in the U.S. fell slightly in the past week, according to mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac, as markets looked ahead to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week for indications of whether the Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying program. "Mortgage rates were little changed amid a light week of economic data releases," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said in a statement Thursday. Of the economic data released, the November unemployment rate was down at 7 percent, and outstanding single-family mortgage debt was up for the first time since 2008, he added. For the week that ended Thursday, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.42 percent, compared with 4.46 percent a week earlier and 3.32 percent a year earlier. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.43 percent, compared with 3.47 percent the previous week and 2.66 percent a year earlier. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages o...

California Contemporary in Beverly Hills Asks $5.25M - House of the Day - Curbed National