Real Estate Blog - real estate

NEW LISTING--ONE FAMILY SEMI-ATTACHED HOME - ANNADALE

Check out my new listing in Annadale—162 McArthur Avenue!

This immaculate, well-kept one-family semi-attached 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on a quiet street in Annadale, features an eat-in kitchen with granite countertops, hardwood floors throughout, recessed lighting, Andersen windows, with sliding glass door leading to an enclosed all-season room off of the kitchen, gas line with grill, new rain sensor sprinkler system, pull down stairs to attic for storage. Great for entertaining!                           

The First level is the foyer with a few steps up to a Living Room, Dining Room combination, Eat-In Kitchen, leading to an all- season room with gas line grill outside with egress to the beautifully manicured huge yard.

2078 Views, 0 Comments

Market Updates: The Difference An Hour Makes

Today in our Market Updates series, our friends at KCM (KeepingCurrentMatters.com) have provided us with a wonderful infographic about the difference only an hour can make when talking about the housing market.

According to the graph, about 550 homes sell, the median home values go up $1.34, and prices rise approximately .0007% every hour in the United States. This only goes to show that every hour makes a huge difference when buying or selling a home!  

Thanks to our friends at KCM, for more from KCM, visit http://www.KeepingCurrentMatters.com or check out our other KCM articles here!

1464 Views, 0 Comments

New Projects on Staten Island Put Us Back On The Map!

Move over Brooklyn and Manhattan, word on the street is that Staten Island is becoming "the next frontier!"  

According to this months issue of Staten Island Business Trends, all of the "exciting, large-scale projects on the horizon for all parts of the island" are putting Staten Island back on the map! Not only are these projects going to relive us of our unfortunate nickname as "The Forgotten Borough," but they're going to bring economic prosperity to our little island in the form of millions.

This photo was taken directly from the NewYorkWheel.org website. It shows what the wheel (and it surroundings) will look like when the project is completed.

The first, and probably most talked about, is The New York Wheel/Empire Outlets project. For…

1742 Views, 0 Comments

Home Buyers: Now is the Time!

KCM, or Keeping Current Matters, is a service which collects national real estate and housing information so that real estate agents may stay up-to-date on market trends. The responsibility now falls on us, as a brokerage, to keep all of our clients informed!

The first major reason why prospective home buyers should seize this moment is: there has been a steady rise in mortgage credit availability. Since November of 2013, banks and lenders have been more and more willing to issue mortgage credit to buyers. 

Another strong motivation to buy now is the decrease in average FICO score needed to obtain a Federal Housing Administration Purchase Loan. Currently, the average acceptable FICO credit score for obtaining an FHA Loan has dropped to 682,…

1623 Views, 0 Comments

Big Developments Planned For the North Shore

BFC Partners, the developers of the upcoming Empire Outlets complex in St. George, are planning yet another big project in Stapleton.

[Photo source: dnainfo.com]

The new building will be located at 475 Bay Street, a few short blocks away from the Stapleton train station. Of the proposed eight floors, the first will contain almost 9,000 square feet of retail space, and floors 2 through 8 will contain 214 residential units. The building will also have its own enclosed parking lot. Permit applications were filed Monday morning, along with zoning change requests. The current zone codes do not allow the space to be used for residential purposes, but only for light manufacturing and commercial use.

[Photo source: dnainfo.com]

The planning of Empire…

1675 Views, 0 Comments

A HOUSE WITH A PAST

Did you ever wonder who lived in your house before you, or maybe before the last owner or 5 or 10 owners before that?  Was it merely a house or was it a home?  Did they have many children, were they educated in a one-room school house or taught by a tutor at home?  Were they rich, poor?  Did they have servants?  Did they have a farm, horses, chickens, cows?  What kind of "real estate" was trendy and sought after in those days of yore?

I own a home on the North Shore of Staten Island where three generations of my own family have lived, died, been born, had Thanksgiving dinners, opened gifts under the Christmas tree, laughed, cried--all in these very rooms.  The fourth generation was born and a sibling on the way, and I cannot wait to share the…

2538 Views, 0 Comments

BAY STREET THRIFT

In late 2008, I leased a corner storefront on Bay Street.  It was one of the best real estate deals I have ever made and not because of the commission.  On that day, I met and became acquainted with a group of people who have touched my heart.

The Bay Street Thrift came to life at 1090 Bay Street, in the Rosebank section of Staten Island and is sponsored by Baltic Street AEH Inc. whose mission is--Advocacy, Housing and Education for people with mental illnesses.   

The Bay Street Thrift offers training in retail sales, stock work and maintenance to consumers of mental health services who are then prepared to work jobs in competitive employment. 

 Shortly after the Thrift opened, I popped my head in to see how they were doing.  The…

2585 Views, 0 Comments

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT - "WICKED STITCHES"

I recently had the pleasure of meeting the proprietors of the “Wicked Stitches” at a Realtor trade show.  While having my nails done recently on Castleton Ave., I noticed “Wicked Stitches” was directly across the street.  I walked in and was thrilled at what beheld me.  A beautiful store front, artful displays of a variety of personalized embroidered gifts for simply every occasion and a counter with two comfortable chairs to leisurely look at everything these two terrific women have to offer. 

Nancy Nix and Carolyn Buckheit, the co-owners of “Wicked Stitches” and native Staten Islanders, welcomed me into their store as if I was a friend or a sister--I felt like I have known them forever.  They custom embroider anything you can imagine—gifts for…

2674 Views, 0 Comments

KEEP YOUR HEAD WHILE SHOPPING FOR THE PERFECT HOME

Years ago, when I worked in Corporate Real Estate, I would take Branch Managers on site selections in their geographic area.  In the smaller cities, one of the manager’s main requirements would be how many traffic lights it would take to get to work!  The New York City team (who commuted one to two hours a day to work) would quietly shake their heads in disbelief.   Sometimes these folks had occupied an office for a number of years, had outdated furniture, no lunch room, a neighborhood with limited shopping.  When shown updated office space with sharp-looking systems furniture and great vistas and malls nearby, they frequently could not resist expressing their enthusiasm.  I reminded them that the more excited they acted, the less meat I could negotiate…

2311 Views, 0 Comments

CURB APPEAL

If you are in the real estate business or if you are buying or selling a home, you know exactly what “curb appeal” is.   If you are not any of the aforementioned type of folks, the expression is self-explanatory.   

When you drive through your neighborhood, some properties are adorned with shrubbery, trees, plants, flowers, hedges, chain link fences, white PVC fences, American flags, gnomes, all year round wreaths on the door, pavers, brick or stone walls.  As real estate professionals, we advise our clients, when listing their property, what should be looked at by a “different set of eyes” inside and outside of their homes.   

One of the first things I do after the contract signing is ask the client if they have any questions or concerns…

2365 Views, 0 Comments