Mamaroneck NY has been growing in leaps and bounds when it comes to boutiques, fine dining and specialty shops. Among some of the newcomers to the area is Chocolations – located on East Boston Post Rd in Mamaroneck. In fact they just had their first birthday this week!
Congratulations Chocolations and Maria Valente for having a successful first year! I had heard the “buzz” about Chocolations for months - filled with specialty chocolates – it is Westchester’s own chocolate factory. I admit to being more than a tad worried about venturing into such an establishment. We all have our weaknesses. For some its alcohol – for me its chocolate. So it seemed inconceivable that I would manage to leave without gaining at least 10 lbs!
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There is a lot of hype circulating in the real estate industry about local experts. A recent post about the topic was posted by an agent on Long Island…Paula Hathaway “Chaff….Schmaff! A bad attitude or just a better way of doing business.” With all due respect to the author – I felt that the emphasis on being a “local expert” implied that agents who were not already established in the area were merely chaff – while the established area agents were actually the “wheat.” We all start out as chaff – and chaff has no opportunity to become wheat if they aren’t given a chance. That appears to be a bit too convenient for the very local agents in any area. Because it implies that they are the only game in town…
Real Estate is Surprisingly Competitive:
There is a saying within our industry that you can’t swing a cat without hitting a real estate agent. It is also paired with “you can’t throw a rock without hitting a real estate agent”….Well you get the idea. There are a lot of agents out there. Many good, many not so good and separating the wheat from the chaff is a tough task for the average consumer. Many think we are all created equal and anyone who can stick a sign in the ground or unlock a door will do.
That is as far from the truth as it gets – but it gets to the heart of this blog – and that is that the real estate industry manufactures agents on a conveyor belt with little regard to quality. Its all about quantity. As a result – the confused public that is supposed to do the wheat vs. chaff determination is totally confused and disappointed in the quality of agent they encounter. Agents, for their part, try to separate themselves from the crowd by indicating that they are “special.”
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Ok – I like taking photos – I admit it…Any excuse to photograph towns and villages in the area will do.
One of the most picturesque towns in Westchester is Tarrytown NY. Many people fall in love with this town because of its central location and unique character. With respect to location, it doesn’t get any better than this! Located right on the Hudson River, an amazing sunset is served up every single night! Futher, Tarrytown is an express stop along the Hudson Line. Just 35 minute to Grand Central Station and you are in midtown Manhattan. With I-287, I-87 and the Tappan Zee Bridge – Tarrytown is situated for easy access to areas like White Plains and New Jersey making a commute either east or west and across the Hudson very easy to deal with. North to south there is the Saw Mill River Parkway, The Sprain Brook and the Taconic. So points north and south are also easy for commuters to access. When you live in a high density area, your lifestyle is ruled by your commute and it doesn’t get much easier than this.
The photos are from Tarrytown’s Main Street. It has a character and charm from a bygone era – yet is surprisingly New York with high-end restaurants, art galleries and entertainment. The town has a lot of unique boutiques, The Tarrytown Music Hall which has a constant stream of entertainment is pictured below. It is the oldest Music Hall in Westchester and has been largely restored to its former glory! Enjoy the photos – they were taken in the late summer and are a reflection of the character and charm of one of my favorite River Towns.
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Gotta admit – Fall is my favorite time of year. It is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. I look at the fourth quarter of the calendar year as the first quarter of the next year…and I think others feel the same way. About a week ago I was at Carlson’s Floral and Gift on route 100B on Dobbs Ferry Road in the White Plains PO. They are always ahead of the curve. The early signs of fall were there – but summer hadn’t quite left the building. The flowers below were of the late summer variety. The Mums weren’t quite blooming, the Halloween pumpkins hadn’t arrived – yet some of the trappings of fall – like our pumpkin friends in the photo on the right had made their appearance. Carlson’s is a great store for quality arrangements and the displays can be really uplifting after a long hard day. I took these photos with my iPhone and will go back to take some more photos as the fall season gets under way!
Westchester Homes have always been expensive. They are expensive to buy and expensive to maintain. Taxes are high here and any home that is less than an hour to midtown Manhattan by Metro-North is going to be expensive. As I say to buyers, who think the housing recession means that they can buy a palace for pennies – there is no free lunch. But for those would-be sellers who have been hunkering down – hoping that the housing recession would pass and the market would roar back to 2006 levels – it may be time to consider downsizing.
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a couple of prospective sellers come to me with the question – should I consider downsizing?
For Many the Westchester housing market has made quite a recovery:
If you are lucky enough to live in one the more affluent areas of our county – you may be very much in luck. Prices have been recouping much of their lost ground. We aren’t back to 2006 levels – but these markets are sturdy and very resistant to recession.
Meanwhile, while prices have recovered the cost of living in these communities is quite high. So for those for whom living on a fixed income or those whose job has been downsized or are unemployed, now might be a good time to consider a move. The condo and cooperative markets have seen a major adjustment over the past year. So, on the buying side you can get a great deal and on the selling side, you will still do well.
Other communities are flat or still trending down:
For those not fortunate enough to live in a community where prices are recouping lost ground, the issue is more complex. For people who want to downsize from a house to something more modest – you will find that your home is worth a whole lot less than you would like. You may need to make upgrades to your property in order for it to sell. So all of this has to be calculated against the cost of living and the lifestyle changes in order to come up with a solution that makes sense for you. On the bright side, the condo and coop market has gone down significantly over the past year, so if you are downsizing from a house to a condo you will do better this year than in previous years.
There is no right or wrong answer:
This is not a one-size-fits-all situation. The answers will be as different as each client’s lifestyle and tolerance for risk. I will say that if you are waking up in a cold sweat every night wondering how you will pay your bills, that the time has probably come to move on – no matter how painful the decision may be. If you have lost a job and it looks as though you will be unemployed for some time to come, then again, a move is likely to be in order. If you see your overhead soaring with no end in sight – it might be time to downsize before it gets beyond you. If things are going well, but you are worried about a falling knife – unless you are in one of those municipalities that is going up in value, I don’t know that downsizing makes sense. Prices appear to be bouncing a long the bottom in many communities – and prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next five years. But for those who have a high overhead – I’m not expecting the market to boom over that period – so selling and downsizing may well be the better decision.
Bottom Line – You need to crunch the numbers:
Look at where you might go after you sell and take a careful look at what the cost of living will be in your new home. Think mortgage, taxes, maintenance fees (if you are buying a condo) energy costs, parking fees, transportation to work. Put all the numbers together and compare it to what you’ve got now. Open your mind to several locations and homes and crunch the numbers for each of them. Different living situations can have dramatically different costs. Some homes may cost more but have a much lower overhead. Your real estate agent can help you think through the different scenarios.
If you want to talk about your options feel free to contact me by phone (914-374-5529) or email – ([email protected]) or you can simply fill out the form below – whichever method you prefer. Don’t worry – I do not sell, spam, or otherwise abuse your information!
© 2011 Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All rights reserved.
When I first poked my head into the Voracious Reader, it made me wish I was a child again. Being a book maven, this is a place I would have called my home away from home! Today when I look at thoughtfully laid out store like this with all its nooks and crannies – I can only smile and say there IS a viable anti-big-box book store model out there! The store even brought to mind “The Shop Around the Corner” that Meg Ryan ran in You’ve Got Mail.
They have first books for toddlers, books for new readers, and plenty of selection through the teen years. I noticed of a Star Wars corner – a nook with Winnie the Pooh and of course the Harry Potter series.
As if that wasn’t enough – the Voracious Reader has expanded to include a tea house (A Proper Cup) that serves a variety of teas, lemonade with mint and cold drip coffee – which is excellent. There are also cupcakes, cookies and pastries including a selection that is gluten-free.
This is one of the reason that Larchmont homes are so popular. The type of community that surrounds the area encourages small business with a unique perspective to flourish even in our big-box world which many think dominate suburbia.
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Although I often talk about merchants in Westchester NY, I don’t often discuss specific products found in these stores. But being a dog owner with two Siberian Huskies and a Siberain/Cattle Dog mix, I am in a good position to be judging the quality of dog beds. So I can say with total confidence that I found the best dog bed EVER at Bark & Meow in Tarrytown NY.
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Today I was reminded that nature sometimes clothes it creatures in the most remarkable ways. I was at the Dog Park at Kingsland Point Park and was admittedly on poop patrol – cleaning up after my dogs. While I was looking in the brown leaves on the ground…one of the leaves suddenly started hopping along the ground. There it was ….. a tiny frog….so well camouflaged that I would never have seen it if I hadn’t been really focused on the ground. I only had my phone camera – but here it is…can you even see my little amphibian friend?
© 2011 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All rights reserved.
Trump Tower White Plains NY – is one of the buildings that dominates the downtown White Plains skyline. It was the first of the high rise complexes to go up in the city and it was the tallest building in White Plains until the Ritz made its appearance at the end of 2007. As far as White Plains condos go, Trump ranks among the most luxurious. This is one complex people are always asking about. So I’m giving an update near the end of the 3rd quarter in response to all the questions about Trump and the Ritz. For more information, you might want to visit my web page for Trump Tower which has more information than will be presented here.
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This post was inspired by Inna Hardison of HA Media in her post “Do consumers think Real Estate is a Relationship business? – one consumer’s perspective….”
Quote from Inna’s Blog:
Dear Future Client….
Upon a successful closing, I will be sending you cards, making phone calls or otherwise contacting you about 33 times a year, as it is my hope to become your Agent for LIFE! I may also friend you on FB and follow you on Twitter, to keep in touch…
And please remember that I LOVE referrals.
Sincerely, Your Agent for LIFE!
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Mamaroneck NY has been growing in leaps and bounds when it comes to boutiques, fine dining and specialty shops. Among some of the newcomers to the area is Chocolations – located on East Boston Post Rd in Mamaroneck. In fact they just had their first birthday this week!
