There is yet another reason for first-time home buyers in Westchester NY to get off the fence. Rising rental rates. There has always been a yin/yang between buying vs renting a home. Before the crash of 2008, Westchester homes have been priced such that the pendulum had swung toward renting. For a while now that the pendulum was in the center making the decision a wash. Buying made sense if buyers were looking to stay put for at least 5 years. Now the pendulum is starting to swing in favor of buying.
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Last Saturday I was busy prepping a property for listing. The owner no is no longer local – so after supervising the sanding and refinishing of floors, painting and the rehab of a bathroom – I went in with a cleaning lady complete my vacuum cleaning and other cleaning supplies since the home is now empty. These are some of the activities that can and often are, associated with listing a home.
At some point during the process, I got a phone call. I was expecting a couple of calls and stupidly did not notice that it was an 800 number. It was a representative from what we refer to as a “third-party-site.” Such a site is basically a web site with a fairly good “mousetrap” that somehow convinces the unsuspecting public to logon and give up their name, email address and perhaps even their phone number. Very often the site promises to find the unsuspecting buyer or seller an agent that is an area “expert” who supposedly knows the location they are interested in the inside and out. What the prospective buyer or seller doesn’t realize is that most (but not all) of these sites are simply mills that collect buyer and seller information and “sell” the information for an agent willing or desperate enough to give up enough of their commission to satisfy what appears to be an insatiable appetite.
Real estate agents are middle men…
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Last night I decided to spend some quality time at Coffee Labs on Main Street in Tarrytown NY. after dinner. It is often a very nice place to relax, grab some bandwidth and enjoy the live music that is offered on Friday and Saturday nights. I arrived fairly late because I had gone out to dinner with friends, but the band was still playing. They were from the Lagond Music School located in Elmsford NY. The performers were all very young to my middle-aged eyes and the quality of the music was excellent.
The Lagond Music School is a not-for-profit school dedicated to music education and performance. They teach contemporary music with the same rigor that is generally ascribed to classical training. The focus is definitely contemporary with jazz, Latin, funk and rock listed as primary categories of study. I studied music when I was in college and my late mother was a professional cabaret singer who sang her way through 28 countries. I was very impressed by the performance. This was not your typical high school or even college group. It was polished in a manner that is rarely seen in contemporary groups. If you go to their website you can see their calendar with an impressive lineup of public performances for their students.
Also – remember Coffee labs for an amazing cup of coffee. They also have a wonderful assortment of teas and other drinks such as smoothies for the summer months ahead.
© 2011 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com- All rights reserved.
I’ve written extensively about the Broadlawn of White Plains in the past – and with good reason. It is one of the most desirable cooperative complexes in the area. Truly one of a kind in terms of charm and ambiance.
This open house is for a duplex 2 BR unit with a fireplace and balcony overlooking the formal gardens. Offered at $335,000 complete with modern kitchen and stainless steel appliances. For more details about the unit including links to more photos and cost of living information click on this link for the original post about this unit at the Broadlawn.
Save for a few Wall Street executives and the Big Banks just about everyone I know has been touched by this recession. Some very severely, some more lightly, others by association. At the very least, everyone knows someone who has been negatively impacted in some way. But sometimes you have to realize that it is always darkest before the dawn. Sometimes its just when things look like they will never get better – they just do. I’m not being a cockeyed optimist here – but I have seen this pattern before. Indeed – there are signs of just that in some sectors of the housing market.
In any case, there are times when you can either laugh or cry – and perhaps this is one of them. Right now – lets have a laugh. My friend Lisa, sent me this email. I sent it to some friends and it got a great response. So I am sharing it here with you. I wish I knew the author – but I don’t..
The Recession has affected everyone… Here are some prominent examples:
I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
Wives are sleeping with their husbands because they can’t afford batteries.
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It was a long, cold winter and very few buyers were out during the first quarter of 2011. If we weren’t having our weekly Noreaster – we were digging out of one. So Larchmont homes for sale tended to stay on the market longer than they did last year. The Larchmont NY housing market is a tale of two markets. Strangely some of the statistics are counter intuitive and I will explain why the raw numbers don’t tell the entire story. However, it is apparent that the single family home market in Larchmont NY continues to recover while the cooperative market is still languishing. Although the Larchmont PO does have condominiums – the sales volume was too low for me to draw conclusions from. Feel free to contact me for further information on condominiums.
Larchmont NY Single Family Homes:
The chart below shows a distinct decrease in median sales price over Q1 2010. However, this reflects more the size and condition of the homes sold. Prices appear to be inching up. Areas like Larchmont, Rye and Scarsdale have been among the first markets to recover and that recovery is continuing. The median sales price for the Larchmont PO was $829,000 down 12.7% from Q1 2010. However, more fixers were sold where last years buyer had the luxury of cherry picking the homes with the most upgrades. This the numbers run counter to the reality of this market. Sales volume was also down from Q1 2010 – but the terrible weather has a great deal to do with this. What is more significant is the current contracts and pendings which indicate a 4.5 month inventory overhang. That’s a bull market – not a bear.
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There are times when the light is just right and the blooms are at their peak. Sometimes you just get lucky. But then again – The Tarrytown NY Rivere walk provides me with a terrific subject. If I took bad pictures with all that going for me – I should just stop taking photos altogether. In any case, Jade, Tundra and I decided to take a walk along the River Walk around 6:00 PM about 10 days ago. People were out. There was plenty of activity – and who can blame them? Some areas just lend themselves to gatherings. This is one of them. Whether fishing, strolling, walking the dogs or reading on a bench – people can’t help but congregate in such a wonderful outdoor “room.” And if you live at Hudson Harbor – this is truly your back yard.
© 2011 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All rights reserved.
It seems as though every single day I hear another story about pets being put into shelters as a result of the sour economy. These may not even be foreclosures, but may be families forced to scale back from a single family home to a condo or coop. You guessed it – the condo or coop nixes the pet. This is particularly hard on our canine friends and I’m getting e-mails and pleas almost daily begging people to spare their beloved pet from the animal shelter. Most of the time it is to no avail and many of these wonderful companions are put to sleep.
In the meanwhile – I’m seeing condo after condo and coop after coop nixing dogs. Complexes that were once an oasis for those in need of a home that will take their beloved dog have put up MORE restrictions not less. The same holds for rental complexes.
Westchester Condos & Coops & Pets:
I’m going to be very blunt. Westchester condos and coops are about the MOST pet UN-FRIENDLY places imaginable. Manhattan, Riverdale, most of the Bronx, Queens and Fairfield county are ALL more flexible than Westchester are all more pet-friendly than Westchester. Personally, I’m sick to death of seeing – “no restrictions” chaining to “restricted weight” or “no dogs.” We already have a crisis I think it is unconscionable that complexes are making this matter worse.
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Being a long time resident of the south end of White Plains NY, I would be the first to admit that there is not a lot of commerce going on the area. One thing you won’t find at that end of town is Big-Box anything. However, residents of the area do have access to a variety of services and handful of stores. These are of the Mom & Pop variety where service is king.
Rosedale Pharmacy is near and dear to my heart. Why? Because they handled the often conflicting prescriptions that my father had to deal with during his three year battle with stage 4 cancer. The diagnosis had come as a shock – but even more shocking were the insurance issues – which were massive and all the medications he suddenly was dependent on. Every pharmacist there took great care to make sure there were no conflicts, they helped me by letting me know when he was about to fall into the dreaded “donut hole” and they worked out numerous conflicts with his insurance – a medicare HMO that had its own agenda. CVS and Walgreens is fine if you are not truly ill -but Rosedale went above and beyond, keeping tabs on things.
They also sell household items – even green cleaning items such as the popular “Method” products. They have a large variety of naturopathic items and vitamins and cosmetics. You can also stop by for some quick photocopies. The store is old-fashioned. Nothing slick, nothing fancy.
Hours: M-F 8 AM – 6 PM and Sat. 9 AM – 5 PM
Phone: 948-4818
Web: www.rosedalepharmacy.com
© 2011 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All rights reserved.
Each year around this time, people come from miles around to see the blooming of the Peonies at the Rockefeller preserve. Following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Yatsuka Cho, a town in Simane Prefecture, Japan offered a gift of over 500 peonies to the United States as a healing memorial. It was also a gesture of solidarity and support from a former enemy of the United States who less than 60 years ago were locked in combat with us during World War II. The peony is considered to Japan’s most noble of flowers and is the “signature flower” for the region. The Rockefeller Preserve accepted the gift and renovated the entrance to the Preserve in order to accommodate the peonies.
This year when we go to the Rockefeller Preserve to admire the monument and see the awe inspiring site of 500 peonies plants all in bloom at the same time, we should remember the ongoing tragedy of Japan as they recover from a devastating natural disaster.
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