Tag Archives: Mount Kisco

Do little fixes boost home sales? | Mount Kisco Real Estate

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In some parts of the country, handyman services made up nearly half of all home-improvement projects undertaken in the six-month period before a home sold, according to real estate website Porch.

Real estate agents and sellers prioritize repairs and aesthetic improvements that prospective buyers are likely to notice, such as upgrades to flooring, cabinets, fences and doors, says Matt Ehrlichman, chief executive of Porch, which tracks home-improvement projects.

The Wall Street JournalFor the analysis, details of 675,000 home-improvement projects that had been submitted to Porch by homeowners, architects, builders, real estate agents and others were compared with home listings and sales data from realtor.com, which partners with Porch. The findings: Home sellers in the Northeast and Midwest were most likely to hire a handyman for minor repairs in the six-month period before the home sale. Homeowners in the West were most likely to hire a general contractor for larger improvements. In the South, home sellers were most likely to pay for electrical upgrades and repairs.

“Just doing these minor things will help your house sell quicker and typically for more money,” says Brad Carlson, a real estate agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene in The Woodlands, Texas.

Carlson once had the listing for a three-bedroom home with dated brass fixtures throughout. The house sat on the market for over two months with no offers until the seller finally agreed to swap the fixtures for more modern ones. Two days and $800 in new fixtures later, the home sold close to its listing price at $214,900

 

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http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/post–do-little-fixes-boost-home-sales

Award-Winning Modern Country Estate In Dallas Asks $9M | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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18 images


Click here to view the full photogallery.

Location: Dallas, Texas
Price: $8,975,000
The Skinny: This striking modern home outside Dallas opens itself up to the spectacular surrounding scenery with 23-foot walls and windows that wrap around the living room and his and hers offices. The attention to the home’s relation to the outdoors continues with its siting, which maximizes sunlight and theoretically keeps the home evenly illuminated with natural light throughout the day. The design by Dallas firm Oglebsy-Greene—which won a 2010 AIA Interior Architecture Design Award—also includes a dramatic four-story stair tower that extends from the first floor to the rooftop terrace, Douglas fir and Lueders stone finishes throughout, and an open kitchen with gold granite countertops and Gaggenau cooking surfaces. The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom manse has 11,000 square feet of living space and sits on an acre of wooded land with creek and waterfall views. It’s asking $8.975M.

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/05/08/award-winning-modern-country-estate-in-dallas-asks-9m.php

Home Advisor Cost Guide: Roofing | Mount Kisco Real Estate

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Cost Guide: Roofing

When installing a new roof, the biggest decision you’re going to have to make, outside of choosing which roofing pro to hire, is what material to use. If you’re replacing an existing roof this will likely be an easier decision, as there’s a good chance you’ll go with the same material you’re replacing. The decision gets a bit more complicated if you’re building a new home. However, before jumping into the pros and cons of each material, let’s take a look at the two factors that will affect your budget independent of the material you choose.

Not surprisingly, the size of your roof plays a big role in determining the project cost. And if you’re going to be talking to a roofer, it helps to know some of their lingo – specifically, the term they use to measure the size of your roof. While many contractors base their estimates on square footage, roofing pros go by squares, where each square is 100 square feet. So if your roof is 2,000 square feet it will be 20 squares. The more squares, the more the project will cost (most of the time).

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http://welcome.homeadvisor.com/costguide_roofing?m=homesense&entry_point_id=27783150

Home values in 20 percent of US housing markets headed for record highs within a year | Mount Kisco Real Estate

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Home values in almost 20 percent of all U.S. metros will surpass their housing boom peaks over the next year, and affordability problems that have begun to affect a fraction of markets may spread to others over the next few years, Zillow reported.

“The lows of the housing recession are becoming an increasingly distant memory as home values reach new highs and homes become more expensive than ever in many areas,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries in a statement. “This is a remarkable milestone coming only two and a half years after the end of the worst housing recession since the Great Depression.”

Home values nationwide were up 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, and were up 5.7 percent from the same time a year ago, according to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Report.

Over the next year, Zillow forecasts that national home prices will appreciate by an additional 3.3 percent.

Price gains have already pushed values close to or above their housing boom peak in about 12 percent of the 8,700 markets tracked by Zillow.

Among the more than 300 metros tracked by Zillow, home values in nearly 20 percent of them have already passed or are expected to pass their prerecession peaks over the next year. Those fully or almost fully recovered metros include Dallas, Houston, Denver, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Texas, San Jose, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/22/home-values-in-20-percent-of-u-s-housing-markets-will-be-more-expensive-than-ever-within-a-year/?utm_source=20140422&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.lzVRtVwk.dpuf

IRS will let quite a bit slide past April 15 | Mount Kisco Real Estate

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As you probably know, your income taxes are due on April 15. However, this is not really the final date to file your 2013 return. You can get a six-month extension to file, meaning that your return won’t be due until Oct. 15, 2014. Filing for an extension couldn’t be easier.

All you have to do is file Form 4868, Application For Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Tax Return. You can do this electronically or by postal mail. For filing details, see my article “Need more time for taxes? File an extension.

”You might be thinking: “This sounds too easy. What’s the catch?”There is one catch. Extending your time to file your return does not extend your time to pay your income and self-employment taxes. These taxes remain due in full on April 15.

So, if you do owe the IRS money, you’ll need to estimate out how much and pay the amount before April 15. If you pay late, you’ll be charged a late payment penalty on the outstanding balance of 0.5 percent per month and interest at a rate of 3 percent per year.

Although filing an extension doesn’t increase the time you have to pay your taxes, it does give you — and your tax pro, if you hire one — ample extra time to ensure that you file a complete and accurate tax return.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/14/irs-will-let-quite-a-bit-slide-past-april-15/?utm_source=20140414&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.qXXn7Lzx.dpuf

Mortgage Rates Reletively Flat | Mt Kisco NY Homes

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates relatively unchanged from last week.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.41 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 3, 2014, up from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.54 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.47 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.42 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.74 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.12 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.10 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.65 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.45 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.44 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.63 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates were little changed amid a week of light economic reports. Of the few releases, real GDP was revised up slightly to 2.6 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2013. The private sector added an estimated 191,000 jobs in March, which followed an upward revision of 39,000 jobs in February according to the ADP Research Institute. Also, the Institute for Supply Management reported the manufacturing industry rebounded from a soft February but was still below market consensus.”

This Nazi resort never opened, but it will be a luxury vacation spot | Mt Kisco NY Real Estate

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On the picturesque beaches of the northern German island of Rügen, along the Baltic Sea, sits an empty 20,000-person resort. The buildings stretch nearly three miles down the coast, with all 10,000 rooms facing the beautiful bay just 500 feet from the water’s edge. Yet, no one ever used the rooms, movie theater or planned swimming pools.

Prora, known by locals as The Colossus, was built from 1936-1939 as part of the Nazi program of “Strength Through Joy.” The plan was to house workers in eight identical six-story buildings, feed them catered meals in scheduled seatings, and prepare them through propaganda and social activities to do their part in Hitler’s plan for Germany. It was also one of the largest architectural projects of the time, with 9,000 workers. The design, done in a Bauhaus style, won a Grand Prix award at the 1937 Paris World Exposition.

But the Nazi resort plans never came to fruition. The outbreak of World War II meant the project was never finished as construction workers headed to the weapons factories instead.

But finally, some plans are moving forward to turn some of the buildings into luxury apartments and vacation rentals.

 

http://travel.yahoo.com/blogs/compass/nazi-resort-never-opened-luxury-vacation-spot-224346831.html