Tag Archives: Armonk NY Luxury Homes

Armonk NY Luxury Homes

Westchester Travel Remains Slow, Hazardous As Winter Storm Passes | Armonk NY Homes

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Westchester County motorists and other commuters are finding the going slow, frigid and hazardous Friday morning as a fast-moving snowstorm swept offshore, leaving blowing and drifting snow and dangerous sub-zero wind chills behind.

The New York State Thruway (I-87), closed to all traffic by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Thursday at midnight, reopened to passenger cars at 5 a.m. but was not opened to commercial traffic until 8 a.m.

Interstate 84 remained closed to all traffic until 8 a.m. before reopening.

Kenneth Jung, who works at Hastings Stationary in Hastings-on-Hudson, traveled from Ridgewood, N.J., to open the store.

“It took 2 1/2 hours to get here,” Jung said. “New Jersey was OK, but the New York Thruway was slow even though there were no trucks. The roads through Hastings and Dobbs Ferry were pretty good.”

Westchester parkways were opened but traffic moved slowly in the morning commute. Many local and secondary were cleared but surfaces remained slippery as temperatures dropped below 10 degrees in most Westchester communities.

State police reported an accident at Exit 15 of I-95 with two lanes closed just before 8 a.m. Two lanes were blocked as emergency vehicles responded.

Westchester County Police reported no significant accidents or incidents but warned motorists to avoid driving if possible.

“Conditions are still very slick and dangerous on the parkways,” County Police spokesperson Kieran O’Leary said on Friday morning. “We are urging people not to drive if they don’t have to do so. We do suggest that motorists monitor the media to stay up to date on any reports of road closings,”

Metro-North commuters were inconvenienced a bit as the train service was on Saturday schedule with fewer trains running than the normal weekday schedule.

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/westchester-travel-remains-slow-hazardous-winter-storm-passes

Couple has been living under a rock, literally | Armonk NY Homes

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For many people, the idea of living under a rock might seem like the punchline of a joke. But for one Mexican couple, a hut wedged below a 130-foot boulder in Coahuila, Mexico, has been home for the past 30 years.

A reporter recently visited the couple, Benito Hernandez and Santa Martha de la Cruz Villarreal, in their primitive desert home 50 miles south of Texas. Hernandez is a farmer who plants and collects the Candelilla plant used in making Candelilla wax.

He first saw this boulder 55 years ago, when he was 8, and decided to make it a home one day. Twenty years later he was able to secure rights to the land.

“I started coming here when I was 8 years old to visit the Candelilla (harvesting) fields, and I liked it here. I liked it and then I continued visiting every three to four months. I wasn’t married and I didn’t have a family yet, but I liked it and I had to keep coming to put my foot in (on the property) because lands here are won through claiming them,” Hernandez told Reuters.

The home, made of sun-dried bricks and cement, has a dirt floor, a wood stove, and no plumbing. Electrical service is said to be unreliable. A nearby stream supplies fresh drinking water. In winter, though, the water source freezes over.

“It gets very cold here and we struggle to get food. We have to work hard here on the Candelilla (fields). That’s the only job we have. That’s what we live from,” said Hernandez.

The couple have seven children, six of whom are married and live nearby.

 

 

 

http://homes.yahoo.com/blogs/spaces/couple-living-under-rock-quite-literally-230218154.html

Home building surges | Armonk NY Homes

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Builders rushed to start homes in November, with that key measure of the housing recovery enjoying a huge one-month jump.

Housing starts grew at an annual pace of 1.09 million, up nearly 30% from a year ago. The issuance of building permits was also strong, up 7%.

Still the pace of housing starts was less than half of the peak levels during the housing boom in the middle of last decade, and was even 25% below the monthly average over the course of the last 50 years.

“Because of this, the impressive acceleration in residential investment which has occurred in 2013 should extend through 2014,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, in a note Wednesday.

A survey by the National Association of Home Builders released Tuesday showed builders reporting the best sales conditions for single family homes in eight years.

 

 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/18/news/economy/home-building/

As a general rule, leave the leaves | Armonk Real Estate

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If you had driven past my house in recent days, you might have thought you were watching a movie in reverse. There I was, opening trash bags, dumping out leaves and spreading them over the ground.

These were bags left curbside for me by neighbors near and far.

It does seem crazy, doesn’t it, gathering up all these bags and dumping out all those leaves? But dried, dead leaves contain stored energy, the sun’s energy. Put them on or in the soil, as I have been doing, and they release their energy to support the growth and activity of fungi, earthworms and other soil organisms. Mostly, these are friendly creatures, and nurturing them allows them to thwart unfriendly organisms, such as those causing some plant diseases.

Besides disease prevention, when leaves are gobbled up by soil organisms, the nutrients in them are being released. Think of all those minerals taken in by a tree’s wide, spreading and deep roots. Just falling to the ground all around you, leaves are, pound for pound, about as rich in minerals as is manure.

NOT FOR EVERYWHERE

Of course, spreading leaves over the ground or just leaving them there in the first place is not an option for every site.

I have spread leaves over a hayfield in which I’ve planted chestnut trees. In coming years, these trees will shade out the grass; I’m just helping the ground become the leaf-blanketed forest floor that it will eventually turn into.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/general-rule-leave-leaves-144622286.html

 

Modern Desert Oasis in Scottsdale Asks $10K a Month | Armonk Real Estate

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Location: Scottsdale, Ariz. Price: $10,000 a month The Skinny: There are two ways to approach winter vacations: embrace the cold and snow with a ski trip or guilt-induced journey home for the holidays, or extend bathing suit season by heading south in search of warmer weather and outdoor activities that don’t involve snow boots or ice fishing saws. For fans of the second approach, this furnished rental in Scottsdale, Ariz., offers easy access to all the outdoor things that don’t require frozen water, starting with swimming in the backyard pool and widening out to hiking in adjacent Tonto National Forest. With city and desert views, telescoping glass walls that open the living area out to the courtyard, and a fire pit, this gated golf community home is the perfect backdrop for pool-side selfies blasted out to shivering, sweater-clad friends and family back home. For those cold Arizona nights, the three-bedroom, four-bathroom Desert Modern also has indoor activities covered with a media room and indoor/outdoor wet bar. The owners are asking $10K a month (which does not include access to the development’s five Jack Nicklaus-branded golf courses) with a six-week window of availability. —Scott Garner

7 Things to Do Before You Move Into a New House | Armonk NY Homes

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Our son and daughter-in-law just purchased their first home.  It’s in a location that allows an easy commute into Boston, where our son works, and is just a few towns away from where his wife works.  The house is in a older suburb adjacent to Boston, and is itself older and in need of some TLC.  So rather than move in right away, the new homeowners will stay in their apartment until the lease is up.  They’ll spend just about every free moment of the few months getting their house ready to live in.

Of course, we didn’t let them do all of this alone.  Uncle Ralph and I traveled to Boston to spend a week helping them clean, paint and otherwise get the house ready.  One of the things that we really helped with is how to prioritize tasks.  Since it’s getting close to winter, we stressed the importance of getting only the most basic outside things done.  Fixing up the yard, cleaning the siding, touching up the paint etc. can all wait for the spring.  What really needed to be done is the inside, not only so they can move in but so they can live there comfortably through the approaching winter.

With that in mind, here’s a list of tasks that needed doing.  It’d be great to hear from you what your list of tasks would be.

traditional exterior by Sapia Builders Corp.
Sapia Builders Corp.
1.  Change the locks on the exterior doors. As soon as the closing is over and you’ve gotten the keys to your house, either buy and install new lock sets or call locksmith service to come to the house to switch them out.  Let’s face it, the previous owners, Realtors, maintenance folks and who knows who else are all likely to have keys to your place.  For some peace of mind and as a necessary step in making this house yours, get new locks installed immediately. The locksmith walnut creek ca provide locksmith services such as: lock & key cutting, lost car keys replacement, re key and unlock door assistance. Locksmiths of today go beyond just audits and installation, they offer services to maintain and upgrade these systems installed by them. Brisbane locksmith come to offer services as a package of tasks that include auditing a space that requires security, upgrading existing systems, installing new security systems, installation of sophisticated security and vigilance equipment such as sensors, radars, security cameras and CCTV recording systems.
2.  Get the house cleaned up. While many folks will leave the house clean for you, some won’t.  Even if they do, you’ll want to clean everything for yourself.  You can hire a service to do a deep house cleaning, something I heartily recommend if time is tight, or you can do it yourself.  If you do it yourself, set up an area with all of the supplies and tools you’ll need to get the job done: buckets, brooms, mops, a vacuum, cleaners for each type of surface etc.  By hiring professional removal companies, like reliable removalist in Sydney, you’ll be able to clear out your rooms better in order to clean it up more thoroughly. Washing down cabinets, counters and plumbing fixtures and cleaning the carpeting etc. will make you feel good about the house. And don’t forget a healthy supply of rubber gloves. There are many good Carpet Cleaning Company who are always ready to clean house.
3. Paint all the walls and ceilings. This can be really time consuming, so you’ll probably want to hire professionals if you can. There’s no point in just slapping up a coat of paint if the walls and ceilings are damaged — if they have cracks, holes and other defects. Prepping these surfaces can be a real chore. So unless you have a relative or two who can help, save yourself a lot of time and just hire someone.
Also, if you’re short on time and the house is in dire straits and every surface needs painting, consider one neutral color for every room. This will just make it easier and limit the number of decisions you’ll have to make now. You can always go back and repaint rooms the colors you want as time permits.
4.  Get some organizers.  Many older houses suffer from closets that have a simple pole and shelf (if that).  Look at where you’ll store what and get the closets outfitted to accommodate everything, to make moving in less stressful and your life in the new house more enjoyable.
And don’t just look at the closets.  Think about where you’ll put everything, from winter boots to laundry detergent.  A well-placed extra shelf, coat hook etc. will go a long way toward making the house that much easier to live in.

Purchase Loans Fell 19.8 Percent in Q3 | Armonk Real Estate

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Rising rates caused residential loan originations took a hit in the third quarter, and fourth quarter volume is poised for a further decline. But the top three lenders and servicers maintained their standings.

Mortgage Daily’s estimate of total U.S. originations from all lenders during the third quarter is $441 billion. Business was down around 19.8% from the second quarter thanks to increasing rates that drove down refinances. Compared to the third-quarter 2012, originations subsided around 21.1%.

The estimates were based on data collected by Mortgage Daily. In addition to a quarterly lender survey, the numbers were obtained from earnings reports, public filings and announcements.

With a third-quarter market share of around 18.1%, Wells Fargo maintained its standing as the biggest residential lender during the third quarter.

The second-biggest lender was JPMorgan Chase, where market share was around 9.3 percent.

Originations By Lender (in billions)

Wells Fargo$80
Chase$41
BofA$24
U.S. Bank$22
Quicken$17

Compared to the second quarter, business was up 20.4% at Walter Investment Management — more than any other company.

Nationstar Mortgage followed with a 12.7% gain in the third quarter.

Stonegate Mortgage had the third-biggest increase: 12.2%. In addition, thanks to its planned acquisition of Nationstar’s wholesale division, Stonegate is about the only lender that is poised for further short-term growth.

With a 62.3% decline between the second and third quarters, Provident Funding had the biggest drop.

Among lenders to report third-quarter 2012 originations, Nationstar’s 344.4% increase was the largest year-over-year gain.

 

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/11/purchase-loans-down-198-percent-in-q3/

House Prices and the One-Armed Policymaker’s Dilemma | Armonk Homes

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I just got back from London, where I ran into a senior British official I hadn’t seen in some time. I asked him what was going on. “Another housing bubble,” he said, only half-jokingly. After being depressed for a few years, house prices in the English capital are rising at an annual rate of about ten per cent, and in some trendy areas the rate of increase is much higher than that. In the British media, there is already talk of the Bank of England raising interest rates sometime soon to head off another boom-bust cycle.

At least we don’t have that problem in the United States, I thought to myself. Or do we? At breakfast this morning, my wife informed me that our home, which we purchased a decade ago, in a gentrifying section of Brooklyn, has risen in value by another hundred thousand dollars. Over the past twelve months or so, prices on our once-modest street have jumped by about a third. And it’s not just brownstone Brooklyn. Listening to the radio the other day, I heard that in parts of Hoboken, across the Hudson in New Jersey, prices have jumped by forty per cent in a year.

Of course, the Brooklyn bubble—if that’s what it is—is a very localized phenomenon, and it’s partly a product of demographic shifts: sections of Brooklyn are turning into extensions of Manhattan. The further you go into the borough, though, the fewer signs you see of froth. In Bay Ridge and East New York, prices are rising at an annual rate of about five to ten per cent, according to the real-estate “heat map” on trulia.com. In Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach, and several other outlying neighborhoods, prices are falling. And for the New York metropolitan area as a whole, according to the widely watched S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indices, prices are rising at an annualized rate of less than five per cent.

Still, the fact is that real-estate inflation has returned to many parts of the country. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller index for twenty major cities, home prices rose by about thirteen per cent this year to August, which is a very rapid rate of increase, and one somewhat reminiscent of the bubble years—as the chart below shows. But, as in New York, there is wide variation. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, prices are rising at an annual rate of more than twenty per cent. In places like Boston, Charlotte, and Washington, the rate of appreciation is still below ten per cent.

 

 

 

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/11/house-prices-and-the-one-armed-policymakers-dilemma.html

Dodgers Ex-Co-Owner Jamie McCourt Buys In Napa for $11.25M | Armonk Real Estate

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Jamie McCourt, former CEO and co-owner of the Dodgers with ex-husband Frank McCourt, spent $11.25 million on the sweeping Napa Valley estate at 40 Auberge Road. Situated on over 21 acres next to the Auberge du Soleil resort, the property boasts a 4 acre working vineyard that yields between 6.6 to 10 tons per year, a 3,500-square-foot 2-bedroom main house, an architecturally renowned 2-bedroom guest house, and a show-stopping lap pool.

The main house was designed by Scott Johnson of Johnson Fain Partners. It contains two bedrooms, an office, a gym, and views of both the valley and the property’s outdoor space, which was designed by Roger Warner and Jack Chandler. The guest house, designed by Stanley Saitowitz, won an AIA Award for design.

The property’s former owner was attorney Robert Lieff, founder of the law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. He reportedly purchased the land in 1998 for $805K, and built the house and guest house over the next three years. He used the vineyard to produce a highly-regarded private-label Cabernet Sauvignon. He listed the property in April 2012 for $17 million, and then reduced the price to just under $15 million.

McCourt’s broker in the purchase was Ginger Martin, who has the current record for closing the sale on the most expensive Sonoma County property on record ($35 million). Martin was at one point the broker for the seller of 40 Auberge Road, and it’s not clear if she represented both sides of this transaction. Regardless, McCourt got the property for well under the original asking price, and now plans to split her time between LA and Napa. · Former Dodgers CEO Pays $11.25 Million for Napa Vineyard Estate [WSJ] · A Glass House In Napa Wine Country [WSJ] · 40 Auberge Road [Ginger Martin & Co.]