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

A seedy dirt lot is probably the last thing you think of when you’re hungry. But photographers Adam Voorhes and Robin Finlay envisioned a lush backyard full of edibles for their barren backyard.  They turned to landscape designer B. Jane for help. She got to work creating shade and an entertainment space and adding plenty of food-producing plants. The homeowners are now flush with tomatoes, okra and other vegetables, as well as pecans, citrus, wild olives, prickly pear cactus (which they grill or add to margaritas), eggs from three roaming chickens and honey — lots and lots of honey. Voorhes harvests about 3 gallons of honey a year from his nearly 30,000 backyard bees. Hungry yet? B. Jane Gardens B. Jane Gardens When Voorhes and Finlay bought the property, they replaced a chain-link fence with cedar planking. They also added an arbor and a water-catching system.  Jane did the pavers, metal edging, design and plantings.  “We wanted to mesh mid...

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...

[ George Clooney via wikipedia ] News came over the weekend via the  New York Post  that  Discovery Land Company , the firm developing the controversial Hills at Southampton project in East Quogue and planning to buy and raze the  Dune Deck  resort in Westhampton Beach, are backed by celebrities George Clooney, restaurateur Rande Gerber (husband of Cindy Crawford) and billionaire Ron Burkle. The chief executive of Discovery, Mike Meldman, owns Casamigos Tequila with Clooney and Gerber as well. The current plans for the Dune Deck are to  tear the structure down  and rebuild, possibly as a beach club for the Hills at Southampton, although Discovery has told the Westhampton Beach planning board that neither project is contingent on the other. Stay tuned. read more.... http://hamptons.curbed.com/archives/2015/03/09/is_george_clooney_an_investor_in_the_hills_at_southampton.php

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell for the third straight week, with the benchmark 30-year rate again marking its lowest level since May 2013. The average for a 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, dipped below 3 percent for the first time since then. The ongoing decline in rates lured a crop of prospective buyers, as applications for mortgages marked their biggest weekly gain last week in over six years. Applications jumped 49.1 percent, the biggest weekly increase since November 2008, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the nationwide average for a 30-year mortgage slid to 3.66 percent this week from 3.73 percent last week. The rate for the 15-year loan declined to 2.98 percent from 3.05 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year mortgage stood at 4.41 percent and the 15-year mortgage at 3.45 percent. Mortgage rates have remained low even though the Federal Reserve in October ended its mo...

The median price of a single-family home on Oahu fell last month, two months after hitting a new record price, as sales in August dropped by 12 percent when compared to last year, according to statistics released Sunday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors . The median price of a single-family home in August was $650,000, which was 2.3 percent below the median price of $665,000 in August 2013. The median price in June set at record at $700,000. Sales of single-family homes on Oahu fell 11.7 percent to 323 homes sold, from 366 homes sold in August 2013. Condominium sales in August declined by 3.5 percent to 444 units sold, from 460 units sold during the same month last year. The median price of a condo on Oahu was unchanged at $350,000. “August was an interesting month for the Oahu housing market, Julie Meier , president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “While on the surface it may look like this past August was not on par with last August for sales of single-f...

All of us who have a career in real estate sales or financing should be aware of common credit issues our clients face since our businesses usually depend on specific credit scores for loan approvals. By understanding and educating we may be able to avoid a potential failed transaction or higher pricing for our clients. Medical collections are one of the most popular causes of credit score drops that we see for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately they are also very misunderstood. A recent study by Trans Union revealed that 54% of insured individuals are confused about medical bills. Since collection agencies are usually small companies they save in expenses by only reporting delinquencies to two of the three major credit bureaus. Although they usually don't report to all three bureaus, the middle score can still drop dramatically and change pricing or approvals on a loan. Credit scores can drop hundreds of points from one collection, and most people do not understand h...

25 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/04/seven-homes-promising-the-hamptons-of-everywhere-else.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/538f32f5f92ea1509a00d3bf/27_6214620_0_1368086735.jpg" width="500" height="375"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/04/seven-homes-promising-the-hamptons-of-everywhere-else.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> When is the Hamptons most definitely not the Hamptons? When it's in Ventura, Calif., Delray Beach, Fla., or New Buffalo City, Mich. But concerns like "geographical location" sometimes must take a back seat when there's a house that needs hawking, as brokers have proven time and time again with their use of the phrase "the Hamptons of [som...

After rising at the end of 2013, for-sale inventory has fallen for four straight months to begin 2014. Inventory remains tight nationwide, with the number of homes listed for sale on Zillow down 0.4 percent annually in April and more than half of metros in the U.S. currently seeing a similar downward trend. In many metros, inventory is tightest in the lower-end of the market, which represents the homes most commonly sought by first-time home buyers. According to Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries this shortage of inventory is driven by a couple of factors, most notably by stubbornly high negative equity , particularly at the lower end of the market, which is preventing many sellers from listing their homes. National home values in April were also down 0.1 percent from March to a Zillow Home Value Index of $170,200, marking the first monthly decline in more than two years. Among the 35 largest metros covered by Zillow, home values in a dozen were down on a monthly basi...

Northern California’s Wine Country is heavily and magically populated with the most lovely array of tiny cottages. There are entire towns where every home sings a snug, cozy welcome, and they are omnipresent in the surrounding countryside. I’ll be driving down winding roads bordered by lush vineyards and I’ll pass a cottage so charming that I have to slam on my brakes, go into full reverse and jump out of the car to stare and covet. Honestly, I have made it clear to God that I want my home in heaven to be a cottage. With a red door. Or maybe sage green. While the term “cottage” has been used to describe everything from a contemporary faux chateau to the massive seaside sanctums of the uberrich, Merriam-Webster, quite pedantically, calls it “a usually small frame one-family house.” It is, however, so much more than that. Allison Ramsey Architects Save to Ideabook Email Photo If you were to peruse my ideabook titled “Becky’s faves,” this is the first picture you...

[The completed Carrier and Company room. Photos of finished rooms by Will Femia .] In 1987, the New York Times described being chosen for the Kips Bay Decorator Show House as the equivalent of "Harvard Medical School, the Pulitzer Prize, the Baseball Hall of Fame and the New York State Lottery rolled into one." Former Architectural Digest editor-in-chief Paige Rense compared the experience—an exhibition of interior designers' work that draws an estimated 15,000 people each year —to "doing your first show on Broadway." Thanks to digital coverage, the showhouse is the most visible one in the country, says designer, author, and past Kips Bay participant Charlotte Moss. For a young designer, it is, genuinely, an honor—and a guarantee of some career cred—just to be invited. But those who find themselves designing rooms next to the best in the profession—Kips Bay, in its 41 years, has shown off the work of people like Jeffrey Bilhuber, Mario Buatta, Jamie Dra...

11 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/27/san_remo_corner_apartment_wants_25_million.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/535bfcf4f92ea143ef0138ff/74713038.jpg" width="500" height="334"></a><br /><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/27/san_remo_corner_apartment_wants_25_million.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> This three-bedroom corner apartment in Emery Roth's San Remo just hit the market for the first time in 35 years, and it's asking an impressive $25 million . The views of Central Park and the Boat Pond from the wraparound terrace are pretty spectacular, and despite its modern furnishings, most of the original details have been preserved, including Roth-designed master baths, plaster walls with bas-relief insets,...

4 signs you should keep renting - MarketWatch

Generating local love — and real business results — from social media is within your reach! Get started with this four-step plan: 1. Shut down your Facebook business page Facebook business pages were once a great marketing tool for small businesses like real estate agents because it was a free way to reach closed and prospective clients. When you post something to your business page today, though, Facebook uses a complex algorithm to decide which of your fans will actually see your posts in their news feeds. In December 2013, Facebook made changes to that algorithm that is increasingly resulting in fewer of your business page fans seeing your posts in the Facebook news feed. The solution? According to an AdAge report, Facebook recommends paying for ads to get your content seen. I recommend considering a different approach. If you have fewer than 100 fans — or rarely receive likes/comments/shares of your Facebook posts, regardless of your fan count — consider retiring your page to f...

With the help of low interest rates and inventory levels, the rebound in home prices has attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years. In fact, the housing market is posting the best appreciation gains since the bubble years. However, some states are clearly witnessing more strength than others. In February, home prices across the nation surged 12.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest report from CoreLogic. That is the 24th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 0.8 percent in February compared to January, but remain 16.9 percent below their April 2006 peak.   “As the spring home-buying season kicks off, house price appreciation continues to be strong,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Although prices should remain strong in the near term due to a short supply of homes on the market, price increases should moderate over the next year as home equity rel...

Survivors Face Foreclosures After Reverse Mortgage Borrower’s Death | Waccabuc Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

10 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/03/20/thatll-be-515k-for-this-buckminster-fuller-dome-home.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/532b491cf92ea13f7901a03b/qyDxpszzujs8dKgOU0NQqu66wIk-Z-5vlTidZXGNa7xGH686615zow-LxB9r-T76g8IvVG7jyhLKbpwGiHtazQ.jpg" width="500" height="281"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/03/20/thatll-be-515k-for-this-buckminster-fuller-dome-home.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> Last time a geodesic dome designed by American architect, engineer, inventor, and all-around brainiac Buckminster Fuller found its way onto the Curbed radar, it practically reeked of a teardown, and the same can probably be said for other recent dome homes that take after his. Is a Buckster-designed dome that looks...

Sign up for automatic payments and receive a $100 credit. Sign up for automatic payments and never miss a payment again. Sign up for automatic payment and run the risk of no one knowing you died. Yes, direct debit is amazingly convenient, but think about getting to know your neighbors as well. A recent article in USA Today reported a contractor working on a foreclosed home discovered a mummified body — which was believed to be the remains of the homeowner, who had not been seen by neighbors for years — in the attached garage. The body of the woman, who was in her 40s, was tragically discovered Wednesday in the backseat of a Jeep in her garage, the article noted. She is believed to have been dead since 2008. However, since she had $54,000 in her account and her bills were being deducted, she was never suspected to be dead. It was not till the money ran out and the house went into foreclosure that her remains were finally found. For years, no one came and went at th...

One thing you should do before refinancing | Waccabuc NY Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

February Checklist for a Smooth-Running Home | Waccabuc Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

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