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Teatown Lake Reservation News | Chappaqua Real Estate
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Daily Archives: October 17, 2013
called “Ecology,” for those interested in working in environmental science is being offered by Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES and is being held at Teatown. In this course, learn and participate in hands-on exploration of several ecosystems including lake, stream and forest. The course will build students’ knowledge of science research and give them an opportunity to explore and learn about the field of ecology. 
Thursday, October 24, 7:30pm
exploring the Hudson River and its shores with wonder, shared discovery and creative expression time. In this Nature, Art and Science program, children are encouraged to develop observation skills, create art with natural materials, and learn about native
Climbing interest rate slows refinance boom | North Salem Real Estate
The mortgage refinance boom is ending on Long Island as in the nation, a change that will take some wind out of the sails of a modest economic recovery.
Since early May, the interest rate on a typical 30-year mortgage rate has risen almost one percentage point, to 4.32 percent, according to mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac.
That rise has choked off banks’ refinancing business by reducing the money homeowners save by paying off their old mortgage with a new, lower-rate deal.
What that means, in turn, is that fewer homeowners have a boost in discretionary income that they might spend on things like home improvements, gasoline, college costs or paying down debt.
While it’s hard to calculate how much of a boost such refinancing gave to Long Island, it appears considerable.
At Bethpage Federal Credit Union, one of the Island’s largest mortgage lenders, president and chief executive Kirk Kordeleski estimates that his refinance customers saved a total of about $56 million in interest from 2009 through 2012.
Add that to the savings won by refinancing customers of others lenders such as Wells Fargo and Chase, he said, and “a lot of money went into people’s pockets to help the Long Island economy during that time.”
Lower payments
Bill consolidation and lower monthly mortgage payments were key drivers of the refinance boom.
Dan and Lisa Donoghu, of Fort Salonga, accomplished both when they refinanced in May through Lynx Mortgage Bank LLC in Westbury. Their interest rate went down from about 3.88 percent to 3.5 percent, they lengthened their term from 15 years to 20 and took cash out.
“My two boys are in college and my daughter got married in August, so I had some big bills I wanted to take care of,” said Dan, 51, a New York City Fire Department deputy chief in Manhattan and a registered nurse at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Patchogue.
The couple — Lisa is also a nurse — bought their house in June 2001 with a 30-year mortgage at about 7 percent and had refinanced twice before, Dan said. They got lower rates and shortened the term to 15 years. “After my younger son gets out of college in three years, then we’ll have the option of prepaying to get us back to where we’re hoping to be — retiring without a mortgage,” he said.
Nationally, the Mortgage Bankers Association trade group in Washington says refinancing nationwide fell 18 percent from $388 billion in the fourth quarter of last year to $316 billion in this year’s second quarter and is forecast to fall by another 40 percent from the second quarter to the current, third, quarter.
The boom was great while it lasted.
http://www.newsday.com/business/climbing-interest-rate-slows-refinance-boom-1.6155561
All Together Now: Tackle Home Projects With a DIY Co-op | Mt Kisco Real Estate
y sister Torey just moved. She and her husband are completely renovating their new house. They have accomplished so much in just a couple months, but the remaining to-do list is long. The underlying disorder is sending my Naturally Organized sister into a tailspin. My house is only a couple of years old, but I’m still working to make it home, so I have a list of things to do too.
Last week Torey mentioned she really needed to paint her front door. I intended to paint my back doors as soon as the weather cleared. “We should work together!” she said. And just like that, our DIY co-op was born. We’ve been in business a week, and both of us have crossed a task we were dreading off our list — and we’re looking forward to crossing off more.
Does this sound like a dream come true? Setting up your own DIY co-op may not be as simple as a quick phone call to your sister, but it may be easier than you think. When considering a possible DIY co-op partner, ask yourself a few things.
Is the candidate:
• Committed? You need someone who is going to show up when she says she will. Many of us have at least one of those friends — we love her to death — but our plans with her always have an imaginary asterisk beside them. If your friend isn’t reliable, no matter how wonderful and talented she is, forget about it. No flaky friends allowed.
• Fun to be with? When you are tackling arduous projects, it’s incredibly draining. Being able to laugh with another person can be a lifesaver. Lacking a sense of humor may not be a deal breaker for you, but it is for me.
Does the candidate:
Have projects? Obviously a co-op needs to be mutually beneficial. If you have a friend who’s rude enough to have her home perfectly up-to-date and beautifully in order, don’t bother asking her to be your DIY co-op partner.
Have equal or complementary skills, goals and energy levels? This simply means you want and are capable of achieving the same things. Torey and I aren’t DIY wonders, but we can paint and organize and clean. She’s Naturally Organized and I am not, and we each have areas where we shine and those where the fetal position seems our only option. As far as our goals go, we both want to have clean and organized homes that are havens for our family and friends. We want to create lovely environments where you feel good just walking through the door. Our differences bring more to the table, and our similarities keep us there. And our energy levels are close enough that we’re able to work together.
Once you’ve found your DIY co-op partner, you need to schedule work times. Be sure to limit them to one house a day. Because of the flexibility in our schedules, Torey and I have settled on Monday mornings at her house and Wednesday mornings at mine. If you work at a job full time, you may want to work in the evenings or on weekends, and only one DIY day a week may be best. You can decide what works for you.
Have projects? Obviously a co-op needs to be mutually beneficial. If you have a friend who’s rude enough to have her home perfectly up-to-date and beautifully in order, don’t bother asking her to be your DIY co-op partner.
Have equal or complementary skills, goals and energy levels? This simply means you want and are capable of achieving the same things. Torey and I aren’t DIY wonders, but we can paint and organize and clean. She’s Naturally Organized and I am not, and we each have areas where we shine and those where the fetal position seems our only option. As far as our goals go, we both want to have clean and organized homes that are havens for our family and friends. We want to create lovely environments where you feel good just walking through the door. Our differences bring more to the table, and our similarities keep us there. And our energy levels are close enough that we’re able to work together.
Once you’ve found your DIY co-op partner, you need to schedule work times. Be sure to limit them to one house a day. Because of the flexibility in our schedules, Torey and I have settled on Monday mornings at her house and Wednesday mornings at mine. If you work at a job full time, you may want to work in the evenings or on weekends, and only one DIY day a week may be best. You can decide what works for you.
Establish the Ground Rules
These may evolve, but talk a few things through in the beginning, and as with your schedule, adjust as you go. This is what Torey and I have agreed to:
1. The helper hauls the junk away. A big project will be tiring for both of you, but when it’s your house, the exhaustion is on a whole ‘nother level, and dealing with a pile of trash bags or Goodwill boxes may be the final straw. And out of sight is out of mind.
On our first workday, we sorted through the many boxes of Torey and David’s books. David decided to go digital with everything except art books. We sorted box by box into “keep,” “donate” and “sell” piles. I bagged everything up and loaded it all into my van. That evening David remembered an expensive philosophy book he wanted to hold on to, but that was it.
These may evolve, but talk a few things through in the beginning, and as with your schedule, adjust as you go. This is what Torey and I have agreed to:
1. The helper hauls the junk away. A big project will be tiring for both of you, but when it’s your house, the exhaustion is on a whole ‘nother level, and dealing with a pile of trash bags or Goodwill boxes may be the final straw. And out of sight is out of mind.
On our first workday, we sorted through the many boxes of Torey and David’s books. David decided to go digital with everything except art books. We sorted box by box into “keep,” “donate” and “sell” piles. I bagged everything up and loaded it all into my van. That evening David remembered an expensive philosophy book he wanted to hold on to, but that was it.
September Regional Reports: Prices, Sales Drop Sharply | Cross River Real Estate
Fall came faster than expected to Western and Midwestern markets in two new September market reports from online brokerages.
For the month ended Sept. 15, median list prices in 24 metropolitan areas were 14 percent above pries a year ago but down from a nearly 16 percent annual gain in August. Median price increases shrank in 19 out of 24 markets. The median sale price of about $272,000 in mid-September was also about 2% lower than in mid-August 2013, according to Lanny Baker, CEO and President of ZipRealty.
“Further moderation in trends was evident in sold-to-list price ratios, new listings volume, pending sales volume, and days on market data for mid-September,” said Baker. “The median number of days on market inched up from 28 in mid-August to 30 in mid-September, though houses are still selling faster this year than last year in every city except Phoenix.”
In September, home sales, prices, and inventory all dropped from August, according to Redfin’s analysis of 19 largely West Coast markets. Prices had their third consecutive month-over-month drop, falling 2.2 percent. Home sales dropped 18.8 percent from August, and inventory fell 3.4 percent. Year over year, prices are up 15.9 percent and home sales up 8.1 percent.
| September 2013 | Month-Over- Month Change | Year-Over-Year Change | |
| Median Sale Price | $330,470.00 | -2.20% | 15.90% |
| Total Homes Sold | 73,781 | -18.80% | 8.10% |
| Total Homes For Sale | 234,670 | -3.40% | -17.50% |
Redfin reported that
- Eighteen of the 19 cities measured saw home prices increase year over year; eight saw month-over-month increases.
- Las Vegas led the price gains with a 30.3% year-over-year increase. Philadelphia was the only market without a year-over-year gain; prices were flat at 0.0 percent.
- Chicago saw the biggest sales gains, with home sales up 25.9% from September 2012.
- Sacramento’s sales volumes took the hardest hit with a 8.9% drop from a year earlier.
- Inventory came in at 234,670 total listings across the 19 metro areas studied.
- Las Vegas had the largest inventory drop at 46.6%. The only market with a yearly increase in homes for sale was Phoenix, with a 1.7% bump.
According to ZipRealty, the top 10 markets based on percentage median price growth as of Sept. 15 were:
| Metro | Year-Over-Year Price Growth | |
| 1) | Sacramento | 33% |
| 2) | Las Vegas | 31% |
| 3) | Los Angeles | 26% |
| 4) | San Francisco Bay Area | 25% |
| 5) | Phoenix | 23% |
| 6) | Orlando | 21% |
| 7) | San Diego | 21% |
| 8) | Orange County | 20% |
| 9) | Portland | 15% |
| 10) | Chicago | 15% |
The 10 ZipRealty markets with the greatest number new listings as of Sept. 15 were:
| Metro | YOY Increase in New Listings | |
| 1) | Denver | 19% |
| 2) | Tucson & Orange County | 15% |
| 3) | Baltimore | 14% |
| 4) | Washington, DC/Northern Virginia & Richmond, Va. | 11% |
| 5) | San Diego & Seattle | 10% |
| 6) | Raleigh | 9% |
| 7) | Dallas | 8% |
| 8) | Chicago & Orlando | 7% |
| 9) | Houston & Sacramento | 6% |
| 10) | Los Angeles | 5% |
http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/10/september-regional-reports-prices-sales-drop-sharply/
Foreclosure Starts Rise in 11 States | Waccabuc Real Estate
Thought foreclosures were dead? Not quite. Hallowe’en must be coming because foreclosure filings rose 2 percent in September and new foreclosures are rising from the grave in 11 states.
In the third quarter foreclosure filings were reported on 131,232 U.S. properties in September, a 2 percent increase from the previous month but a 27 percent decrease from a year ago.
September was the 36th consecutive month with an annual decrease in U.S. foreclosure activity, a downward trend that started in October 2010 when lenders and servicers were accused of improperly signing off on foreclosure documents with a practice dubbed robo-signing.
September numbers helped drop third quarter foreclosure activity to the lowest quarterly level since the second quarter of 2007. There were a total of 376,931 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter of 2013, down 7 percent from the previous quarter and down 29 percent from the third quarter of 2012 – the biggest annual decrease since the second quarter of 2011. One in every 348 housing units had a foreclosure filing during the quarter.
High-level findings from the report:
- U.S. foreclosure starts in the third quarter were at a seven-year low. A total of 174,366 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process for the first time during the quarter, down 13 percent from the previous quarter and down 39 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2006.
- Third quarter foreclosure starts decreased from a year ago in 38 states including Colorado (down 71 percent), Arizona (down 63 percent), California (down 59 percent), Illinois (down 56 percent), and Florida (down 52 percent).
- Third quarter foreclosure starts increased from a year ago in 11 states, including Maryland (up 259 percent), Oregon (up 252 percent), New Jersey (up 53 percent), Connecticut(up 52 percent), Nevada (up 36 percent), and New York (up 25 percent).
- Third quarter bank repossessions (REO) decreased 24 percent from a year ago but were up 7 percent from the previous quarter. A total of 119,485 U.S. properties were repossessed by lenders in the third quarter, putting the nation on pace for close to half a million total bank repossessions for the year.
- The quarterly increase in REOs nationwide was driven by quarterly increases in 26 states, including New York (up 65 percent), New Jersey (up 64 percent), Illinois (up 44 percent), Virginia (up 36 percent), Connecticut (up 34 percent), Indiana (up 30 percent), Nevada (up 29 percent), and California (up 19 percent).
7 Content Marketing Tips: Your Audience Attention Cheat Sheet | South Salem NY Realtor
I won’t lie: content marketing is hard. But most of us make it harder than it needs to be. We pour energy and resources into minute gains, instead of focusing our attention on the simple changes that make a huge difference.
Today, I’d like to talk about 7 content marketing tips that will get you so much more with so much less. It’s about working smarter, not harder.
Let’s get going.
#1. Start with the headline
Most content marketers and bloggers start with a post idea, write it up, and then try to come up with a viral headline that will blow people away. This is all backward.
Think about it:
- People don’t read blog posts because they know the blog post is going to be good. They read blog posts because the title catches their attention.
- Blog posts don’t go viral, headlines do. It’s the headline that people share on Facebook. It’s the headline that people talk about at the water cooler. Complex ideas do not go viral. Viral ideas are simple, yet impactful.
- Headlines set the expectation for the rest of the article. If you put the blog post first, only to realize that the idea can’t be summed up into a viral headline, you either settle for a crummy headline, or you write up a misleading one.
The secret to writing headlines
What’s the secret to writing headlines that people just can’t ignore? Well, there are two ways to approach this:
- Copy headline structures that work
- Use the basic principles of viral attention
I would advise doing both.
That first one can mess people up, so let me explain. How many times have you seen a title that went something like: “[X] Things Your [Trusted Person] Will Never Tell You” or “[X] [Subject] Mistakes You Never Realized You Were Making?”
Those look familiar, don’t they?
Headline hacks
Well, pick up a copy of Jon Morrow’s Headline Hacks (it’s free) and prepare to be amazed. Pretty much every viral headline you’ve seen has been in circulation for at least half a century, with a little bit of updated language and a healthy dose of mad libs to keep things current.
I strongly advise you to take a look at the most viral headlines on the web. Just copy the headline, and swap out a few words to make it relevant to your industry. If there is only one thing you do to improve your headlines, (not to mention your entire content marketing strategy) do this.
Trust me, those very headlines have been written thousands of times before. Nobody is going to care.
6 principles of content that goes viral
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I’d like to address a few basic principles of viral attention that are going to keep coming up throughout this post. First, Dr. Jonah Berger’s 6 principles of viral sharing:
- Social Currency – People only share things because it helps them improve or maintain their social standing. It doesn’t matter how much we love a piece of content. We won’t share it if doing so doesn’t help our relationships or help us define who we are to other people.
- Triggers – Context and associations shape how likely we are to share something. Votes held in churches are more likely to be for conservative politicians. Think of peanut butter and you’ll probably think of jelly. Play French music in a grocery store and people will be more likely to buy French wine.
- Emotions – Intense emotions like fear, anger, humor, and awe beg to be shared. Disaffecting emotions, like sadness, do not. Of all emotions, awe is the most powerful. When we learn something new, or learn to see it in a different way, we are compelled to share the experience more than anything else. Humor takes the silver medal, which is of course closely related to surprise, which is closely related to awe.
- Public – This is about our inherent trust in the wisdom of the crowd. If others have taken an action, we are more likely to follow them, especially if it seems to be a crowd of like-minded people. In other words, it takes a seed of sharing activity for something to go viral.
- Practical – Content marketers already know this one. Actionable content begs to be shared.
- Stories – Humans are hard-wired to listen to and tell stories. Stories are about facing struggles and solving problems. They are purposeful, not merely descriptive. There is a reason why most people will say “what was the point?” to a Cohen brothers’ film. When we listen to stories, we expect people to struggle with problems and either succeed or fail tragically. We don’t expect a series of purposeless events.
Westchester County ‘Fortress of Solitude’ Asks $1.575M | Katonah Real Estate
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Location: Harrison, N.Y. Price: $1,575,000 The Skinny: In 1998, a cosmetics executive paid $625K for a 1960s house on more than an acre of land in Harrison, N.Y., a small, verdant town some 25 miles north of Manhattan. Coming as close to a teardown as possible without actually tearing it down, she spent seven years renovating the place so it would fit the only type of home she had had ever known—a high-rise apartment—giving the quiet suburban property the “feel of a high-end Manhattan loft in the middle of Central Park,” the owners explain by email. The spiky, geometric exterior (actually “the original home’s cedar siding covered with a malleable material that could be molded to create sharp angles,” according to a 2011 Wall Street Journal piece) and confident use of glass were also inspired by Superman’s Fortress of Solitude from the comic series she read as a kid. Inside the 4,247-square-foot contemporary are three bedrooms (including a bi-level master suite with a home office), Volga blue granite floors, remote-controlled skylights, and a Snaidero kitchen with a wood-burning pizza oven. Outside, there’s an 1,800-square-foot deck (with ramps for accessibility), a sculptural waterfall, and “plenty of space for a swimming pool and tennis court,” according to the brokerbabble. Though it’s been on and off the market for a few years, the Fortress of Solitude is currently awaiting for a superhero to pay $1.575M.
http://curbed.com/archives/2013/10/16/westchester-county-fortress-of-solitude-asks-1575m.php