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Town of Bedford News | Bedford Real Estate
December 19, 2014
Merry Christmas to all of those who celebrate in the Town of Bedford
Merry Christmas! Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, an event that shaped the Christian faith. For many, Christmas involves gifts under the tree, stockings hanging in the living room, lights in the window, time spent with family and friends, and, for good boys and girls, a visit from Santa Claus. To all in Bedford who celebrate, we wish you peace and good will this Christmas.
Reminder ~~ Town Offices will be closed December 25 and 26 in Observance of the Christmas holiday
DID YOU KNOW?
That you can see our Work Sessions and Town Board meetings past and live on the day/time of the meeting on our webcasts by clicking here.
For the 2015 Adopted Budget – adopted at the December 2, 2014 Town Board meeting – click here
Community Events: Click here for the Community Calendar events page for Friday, December 19 through December 27, 2014. Please let us know of any events by emailing Supervisor Chris Burdick at Supervisor@BedfordNY.gov Thank you!
School Tax Reminder
Second half of school taxes are due by February 2, 2015 without penalty. Click here for more information.
For December and January meetings, click here
Town of Bedford Recreation News | Bedford Real Estate
Town of Bedford Recreation News Upcoming December Events & Programs |
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Picking a real estate agent | Bedford Real Estate
The proliferation of online real estate information makes it easier than ever to be an informed consumer when buying or selling a home. Yet the digital revolution has done little to lessen the importance of choosing the right real estate agent to work with you.
The right agent can help you buy your dream house or sell your existing home quickly. The wrong agent can botch the transaction, leaving you with egg on your face and nowhere to call home.
Despite the high stakes, many buyers and sellers give little thought to choosing an agent, whether they’re buying or selling.
It takes a lot of commitment and a great deal of energy to keep up with the offerings from Innisfil real estate agents, but they do have a wealth of offerings. A few areas they really love to serve are Fordsbridge, Orpington, Cambridge, Oakbury, Belmont, Fairfield Village, North Cambridge, Sudbury, West Springfield, and more. So if you need a little bit of proof that there’s life after real estate, check out the many offerings from Innisfil and see what they can offer you! You won’t be disappointed.
“They get dazzled by these great listing presentations,” says Michael Soon Lee, regional manager of Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate in Walnut Creek, California, who likens the relationship to dating. “It’s a longtime, intimate, trusting relationship. If it doesn’t start out feeling good at the beginning, it’s probably not going to get any better.”
Get recommendations from friends and relatives, and see which agents are buying and selling the most homes in your neighborhood. Read online reviews, but realize they don’t tell the whole story, since most clients, satisfied or dissatisfied, don’t write reviews. Interview three or four real estate agents to find the one who is the best fit for you.
[ Ready to shop for a home loan? Click to compare interest rates from lenders now.]
Most real estate agents are independent contractors who are paid a commission based on the number of homes they sell. The commission, paid from the sales proceeds, is usually split equally between the listing agent and the selling agent. Once the deal is closed, each of those agents usually has to pay a share to the broker who owns the office where he or she is affiliated.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions about how many listings the real estate agent has, how many homes she has sold in your area, how often she will communicate with you — and in what format — and who she will represent in the transaction.
If you’re a seller, ask how the agent will market your home, who the target buyer is and how he will get your home in front of those preferred buyers.
If you’re a buyer, ask how often the agent will send you listings and whether he has worked with other buyers in your situation. A transaction involving a Federal Housing Association or VA loan, for example, includes some steps that aren’t required for a conventional loan. Some buyers may want to sign a buyer-broker agreement, agreeing to pay a share of the commission if the agent shows them homes where the seller won’t pay a commission, such as for-sale-by-owner houses or new construction properties.
read more…
https://homes.yahoo.com/news/9-red-flags-to-watch-for-when-picking-a-real-estate-agent-003857033.html
Flippers Flop Back Five Years | Bedford Real Estate
Flipping has flopped to its lowest level since the second quarter of 2009, accounting for only 4 percent of all sales in the third quarter.
Only 26,947 single family homes were flipped nationwide in the third quarter of 2014 representing 4 percent of all U.S. single family home sales, down from 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014 and down from 5.6 percent in the third quarter of 2013. Flipping, defined as purchasing a home is purchased and subsequently selling it again within 12 months –has reached its lowest level in four years.
However, investors’ profit margins soared this year. Investors averaged a gross profit of $75,990 per flip on homes flipped in the third quarter of 2014, a 36 percent gross return on the initial investment — not including rehab costs and other expenses. The average gross return was up from 35 percent in the second quarter but down from 37 percent a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.
“Flipping returned to its historic norm of 4 percent in the third quarter as home price appreciation cooled in many of the hot flipping markets across the country,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Meanwhile, the record-high average profits per flip in the quarter demonstrate that flippers are still filling an important niche in an aging housing market with historically low levels of new homes being built. The most successful flippers are buying older, outdated homes in established neighborhoods and rehabbing them extensively to appeal to modern tastes.
“The markets with an increase in flipping tend to be those with older, distressed, inventory still available that flippers can often buy at a discount and add value to,” Blomquist continued. “Those discounted distressed properties have become harder to find, but a recent jump in scheduled foreclosure auctions could provide more fodder for flippers in the next three to six months.”
Other high-level findings in the report:
Metro areas with the most flips in the third quarter were Miami (1,190 flips), Los Angeles (1,170 flips), Phoenix (1,147 flips), New York (1,070 flips) and Tampa (789 flips). Among these top five, Tampa was the only to post an increase in the share of home flips compared to a year ago.
read more….
http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/11/flippers-flop-back-five-years/
Edwardian cottage gets a radical renovation | Bedford Real Estate
A desire for family togetherness drove the design of this award-winning addition, which has transformed a traditional Edwardian house into a relaxing home for the owners that contrasts old and new with finesse. Cleaning these houses may be pain, but when cleaning dust from the air, an air purifier is the best option for you to keep the air in your house fresh. “They liked the Edwardian house but wanted the additions to feel distinctly modern and spacious, but not open plan,” says Dig Design architect Lindsay Douglas. “Introspective spaces of the existing home were to transform into light-filled spaces at the rear.”
Who lives here: A couple and their young daughter and son
Location: Brighton, Melbourne
Size: 2,400 square feet (223 square meters); 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
All the Possibilities: 4 Homes at the Edge of the Earth
At Least Historic 22 Star’s Replacement Isn’t A White Box | Bedford Real Estate
The proposed replacement for the remains of the Mediterranean Revival yacht club at 22 Star Island Drive have surfaced, with a much larger structure than the current building, designed by DOMO Architecture + Design for Lennar CEO Stuart Miller. Although it could mean the loss of a prized architectural treasure, on the upside the proposed design is at least more subtle (and likely more pleasing), despite its size, than what will be erected at nearby 42 Star Island.
Based on renderings released by The Next Miami, the gently curving forms of the two-story “mansion” (definitely an understatement) offer a more organic translation of typical tropical modern architecture. The choice of materials – glass, polished concrete, and Brazilian “Ipe” wood – create an illusion of transparency through the site while still providing privacy, and a series of outdoor courts and roof gardens help the building blend into a new, more lush landscape. In general, the house reads more “zen retreat” than showy McMansion, but everyone needs a little glitz right? In addition to a nine-space underground parking garage, Miller’s new home will consist of one massive master suite, 4 additional bedrooms, 2 guest cottages, staff quarters, a home theater, and a ridiculously large leisure pool that hugs the curves of the house and eventually turns into a lap pool. How convenient, Mr. Miller is building himself a moat.
read more….
http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/30/22-star-island-drive-replacement-design.php
This is why California is in the middle of another housing crisis | Bedford Real Estate
Decades from now, when history writes the story of the Millennials, they may well be remembered as the first generation for whom using smartphones and social media was as natural as taking a breath. Yet unless things change, there’s a good possibility they’ll also be known as the generation that couldn’t afford to buy or rent a home.
It’s ironic that when the first Millennials were born, their Baby Boomer parents couldn’t afford a home either. Looking back to October 1981, interest rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage exceeded 18%. It wasn’t until rates fell below 10% in 1986, and to the 7% range in the early 2000s, that affordability ceased to be a major impediment to homeownership.
Today, California’s housing affordability problem is back – only this time it is fueled by rising home prices and lack of access to capital rather than double-digit interest rates.
On Nov. 14, the California Association of Realtors will convene economists, policymakers, and practitioners for “The Real Estate Summit: Partnering for Change in California.” The summit will explore the issue of housing affordability, as well as California’s infrastructure, foreign investment, consumer trends, housing finance, and policy implications.
So how serious is the problem?
CAR’s Housing Affordability Index – which tracks the percentage of households that can afford a median-priced, single-family detached home assuming current interest rates and 20% down – fell from 33% in the first quarter of 2014 to 30% in the second quarter, a 26% decline from a peak of 56% in early 2012. While home buyers needed to earn an annual income of $56,320 to purchase the median-priced house two years ago, today they need an additional $37,270, or $93,590 total annually, to qualify.
The reasons behind the decline in affordability are many: slower-than-expected economic growth, incomes that haven’t kept pace with rising home prices or rents, pent-up demand, lack of supply, tighter lending criteria in response to new mortgage regulations from Congress, and indecision about the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to name a few.
What the numbers don’t reveal is the impact the problem is having on individuals and families. Nationally, more than half of adults surveyed say they’ve taken a second job, postponed retirement contributions, run up credit cards, or moved to a cheaper neighborhood in order to cover their rent or mortgage over the past three years, according to the MacArthur Foundation. Another study reports that 45% of college-educated Millennials have moved back in with their parents because they can’t find a job or the one they have doesn’t cover student loans and a place to live.
A lack of new home construction is likely to cause further affordability issues unless housing starts increase in line with local job gains, according to the National Association of Realtors. Its analysis found that too few homes are being constructed in relation to local job market conditions, and that lack of construction has “hamstrung” supply and slowed home sales.
Here in California, it has been estimated that the post-recovery real estate market could easily absorb 250,000 new units of owner-occupied or rental housing – a need that isn’t even close to being fulfilled.
What’s the key reason?
Many small builders continue to experience limited access to credit and rising construction costs. Despite strong demand, the number of single-family housing permits issued in August 2014 declined by nearly 21% from the same month in 2013, while the number of multifamily permits was down almost 24% year over year.
read more…
http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/31866-this-is-why-california-is-in-the-middle-of-another-housing-crisis
Tiger Woods’ Very Well Moneyed Ex Moves in to New Mansion | Bedford Real Estate
[Photos via Splash News/Jose Lambiet’s Gossip Extra]
Two-timing Tiger Woods‘ ex-wife (girl made a $100 million killing in the divorce) Elin Nordegren has moved into her new $20 million beachfront estate and… as Jose Lambiet points out, it’s got golf! The putting green, complete with two bunkers are likely for Nordegren’s son Charlie who “dabbles in golf”. The very large house, which replaces a smaller historic house that it looked somewhat similar to, includes a rooftop terrace, home theater with stadium seating, 70-40 foot pool, 1,000 square foot master bedroom suite, and 1,102 square foot gym.
read more….
http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/20/tiger-woods-very-succesful-ex-moves-in-to-new-mansion.php