Cash For Candy on Long Island - Parents, Dentists Are Challenging You! Ready for a "scary" thought? How about paying your kids $1 per pound for them to hand over their Halloween candy? A few dentists on Long Island are challenging you parents to pay your kids to donate their Halloween candy. They are trying to drive home the fact that too much sugar for the kids are not good for their teeth and their overall health.The dentists are donating the candy to our U.S. Troops who are serving overseas. Participating dentists will be giving your children brand new toothbrushes, oral hygenic supplies and a variety of non-candy treats.The Long Island Ducks are also collecting candy donations at Bethpage Ballpark on Carleton Avenue in Central Islip through November 10th, 2011.All candy must be uno... 10/31/2011

Restaurant Week on Long Island Starts November 6th, 2011 Long Island Restaurant Week starts this Sunday, November 6th, 2011 to Sunday, November 13th, 2011. All participating Long Island restaurants are offering $24.95 for a three-course Prix Fixe meal all night except for Saturday, November 5th where it will be offered until 7:00 p.m. After 7:00 p.m. you will pay regular price for your meal. Where to Dine?Suffolk County Participating RestaurantsNassau County Participating RestaurantsEast End of Long Island Participating Restaurants You will notice next to some of the restaurants there is a Make A Reservation icon. I suggest using it because if you do not reserve for Long Island Restaurant Week, you may lose out since these a lot of these restaurants will be booked solid! Some of the re... 10/31/2011

Lindenhurst NY Buyer Financing Profiles - Which Mortgage Product Is The Winner? People are surprised when I talk with them about the Lindenhurst NY real estate market. I tell them it's good. Homes are selling and buyers are buying. I have yet to come across a buyer that cannot get a mortgage. You are watching national news about real estate on tv. Real estate is local. If you have good income, great credit score and longevity at your job, you can get a mortgage. Always consult with your mortgage broker. They are your best source and will help you decide what mortgage product(s) are best for you. Below is a chart for buyer financing and what type of mortgages buyers qualified for in 2009:106 buyers received conventional mortgages to buy their Lindenhurst NY homes. 31 buyers received FHA ... 10/24/2011

Lindenhurst NY Short Sales - Three Little Words That Pack A Punch Communication, communication, communication. I can't stress enough how important communication is from the listing agent to the buyer's agent. From the buyer's agent to their buyers. From the buyers to their attorney. Lack of or no communication will kill a Lindenhurst NY short sale deal. The buyers will run like the wind and find another home to purchase. It's that simple and who can blame them? I can't tell you how many times I hear an agent saying that their buyers walked from a Lindenhurst NY short sale because the listing agent didn't communicate back to the buyer's agent. Even if there is nothing to report back, it is essential that the listing agent contact the buyer's agent every week to let them know they have n... 10/23/2011

Daylight Savings Time Sunday November 6th, 2011   It's that time of year again my lovely readers! U.S. Daylight Savings Time for "fall back" starts on Sunday November 6th, 2011It takes me about 2 weeks to adjust to the time change when we fall back and it's only an hour difference.History of U.S. Daylight Savings TimePresident Nixon signed into law the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973. From 1945 to 1966 there was no federal law for Daylight Savings Time. States and local cities could choose to adopt the Daylight Savings Time. Of course this didn't work. Business like airlines, trains and buses were confused which makes sense. Radio and TV stations had to publish new schedules every time a city/state began or ended Daylight Savings Time. Imagine trying to k... 10/18/2011

Pumpkin Picking on Long Island & Halloween Activities 2011It's that time of year again! Pumpkin picking, corn mazes, candy apples and hayrides!Here is a list of pumpkin picking across Long Island as well as other fall activities for everyone and I've picked the best of the best!Brightwaters Farms Fall Harvest - Bay Shore, NY1624 Manatuck Blvd. Phone: (631) 665-5411Their Fall Harvest is awesome! Admission is $5.00 for adult or child. You can purchase their POP for $20.00 per child. Visit their website for more information.Schmitt's Family Farm - Melville, NY26 Pinelawn RoadPhone: (631) 271-3276Schmitt's Family Farm has a seven acre corn maze, children's haunted mansion walk-through, pumpkin patch playground, pony rides, free hay rides and so much more! Visit their website for more infor... 10/17/2011

Sacrificing Battered Women To Save Money It has taken many, many years for battered women to be taken seriously. Women have died and continue to die because of domestic violence. Years ago, the police would do nothing about it. Now, Topeka, Kansas wants to not prosecute domestic violence cases in order to save money. Isn't that beyond shameful? As of this writing, they have repealed it. Why was it even brought up to begin with? Something like this is a travesty. Battered women are demeaned as it is. Why make it worse by thinking about not prosecuting domestic violence cases? Our founding sisters didn't burn their bras for nothing. How about the women who fought to give us the right to vote? Women have fought for themselves for hundreds of years and to even think about doing something li... 10/12/2011

Lindenhurst Village NY Housing Market - Median Sold Prices for 3rd Quarter 2011 The 3rd quarter numbers for the Lindenhurst Village NY housing market went up slightly compared to the end of the 2nd quarter. 69 Lindenhurst NY homes sold during the 3rd quarter. Sold prices range from $120,000 to $560,000 The home that sold for $560,000 was a 5 bedroom, 9 room Colonial and new construction. It is in the Shore Gables section of Lindenhurst NY and on the market for 32 days. Originally listed for $599,00011 out of the 69 homes sold were short sales. The median sold price is $255,000 with an average of 245 days on the market. Lindenhurst Village NY is not a stable market right now. Median sold prices are fluctuating too much and more homes are staying on the market than going off the market. B... 10/11/2011

Lindenhurst NY Open House - 9 Venetian Blvd - 10/9/11 - 1 pm to 4 pm Come see this fabulous, diamond condition, five bedroom Expanded Cape! Minutes away from shopping, parks and the Venetian Shores Beach & the Beach Hut Water Park. Quality workmanship shines through this recently renovated home. Special Features: 2011 Chef's Kitchen complete with new refrigerator, stove and dishwasher. Maintenance-free vinyl siding. New economical 2-zone gas heating system. Separate water heater. New carpeting, new floors, freshly painted interior and hi-hat lighting. Full, unfinished basement with entrance to rear yard and some plumbing for a future bathroom. Circular driveway, great curb appeal and 60 x 100 property size. Floor Plan: First Floor - Living room, dining room with sliders to deck, custom ... 10/07/2011

New Construction Homes in Suffolk County There are 27 new construction homes in suffolk county that came onto the market since 10/1/11. Prices range from $395,000 to $1.2 million. Most of them are Colonial styles homes. When buying a new construction home in Suffolk County, you still need to do a home inspection. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's perfect. No home is perfect. Builders generally use sub-contractors for drywall, electric, heating and cooling, carpentry, etc. A home inspection could pick up flaws that were made during the construction. Below are the 27 Suffolk County new construction homes: Bay Shore NY New Construction Home Center Moriches NY New Construction Home Centereach NY New Construction Home Dix Hills NY New Construction Home Farmingville NY New Construction ... 10/06/2011

Long Island Distressed Properties - The Invisible Seller When you buy an REO/distressed property, there is still a seller involved. It is not the person that defaulted on the mortgage. It is the bank/Asset Manager. When you make an offer on a Long Island distressed property, that offer goes to the Asset Manager via the listing agent. Then it goes to their Manager. If your offer is accepted, you do the home inspection. If the inspection report is acceptable to you, you move forward and sign the contract. Then you start the mortgage process as normal. Here is where buyers get a little confused. Since there is no one living in the home and the offer is accepted, buyers truly feel the home is theirs. It is not. It will be yours when you sign all the closing documents. The seller is the bank... 10/05/2011

Lindenhurst NY Short Sale  Activity - Month Ending September, 2011 Seven Lindenhurst NY short sale homes were listed in September 2011 bringing that total to 60 for the year. Three short sale homes sold in September bringing to total sold for 2011 to 24 up from 21 in August. View Lindenhurst NY Short SalesCurrently, there are 247 homes for sale in Lindenhurst NY. 60 of them are short sales. 24% of the homes on the market in Lindenhurst NY are short sales. In August it was at 21% so the Lindenhurst NY short sale activity has increased by 3% in one months time. Lindenhurst NY Short Sale Statistics24 Sold Homes:Median Sold Price - $250,000Median Listing Price - $255,000List Price to Sold Price Ratio - 6.7%Average Property Taxes - $8,400Average Days on the Market - 191We have the last quar... 10/05/2011

Lindenhurst NY Oktoberfest 2011 Photos Century 21 AA has a booth every year at the Oktoberfest in Lindenhurst NY. A few of us agents volunteer to work it. I was there all day since I had Sunday free for a change. As always, there were a ton of food vendors. I ate so much junk but isn't that the fun part of the Oktoberfest?!?!? Gotta love those funnel cakes! We also had raffles for people to win Mums. We deliver them to the winners and I have 7 to deliver today. Woohoo! All in all we had a great time! One thing that really surprised me is that people were amazed that the Lindenhurst NY real estate market isn't "bad". This is because they are watching the news and seeing national real estate figures. I just told everyone that real estate is local and always will be. Below are some photos... 10/04/2011

Lindenhurst NY Distressed Properties - Giving Buyers More Choices Back in June 2011, I met with a new first time home buyer. He was looking to purchase a coop in West Babylon. We looked at a few and made an offer on one but it already had an accepted offer. Onward and forward. At our first meeting, I presented information about foreclosures in Lindenhurst NY and West Babylon just in case a coop would not work out. I'm glad I did. We saw a few and most needed work. He wasn't afraid to do work as long as the house was structurally sound. Didn't take long and we made an offer on a really great house. After a couple of days I find out the bank accepted another offer and we were a back-up offer. He was disappointed but we continued our search. Didn't find much after that but since he got a ... 10/03/2011

Lindenhurst NY Short Sale Market Activity - Month Ending August, 2011 Six Lindenhurst NY short sale homes were listed in August 2011 bringing that total to 53 for the year. Four short sale homes sold in August bringing to total sold for 2011 to 21 up from 17 in July. View Lindenhurst NY Short Sales here.Currently, there are 257 homes for sale in Lindenhurst NY. 53 of them are short sales. 21% of the homes on the market in Lindenhurst NY are short sales. In July, it was at 23% so it has come down 2% in one months time. Lindenhurst NY Short Sale Statistics21 Sold Homes:Median Sold Price - $221,000Median Listing Price - $229,000List Price to Sold Price Ratio - 8.1%Average Property Taxes - $8,475Average Days on the Market - 187We have the last quarter of 2011 to see where the Lindenhurst N... 09/01/2011

Lindenhurst NY Varsity Football Schedule For 2011       In the Lindenhurst NY Sports Schedule chart below, you can click on the map to get directions to the schools. You can also get the sports physical and permission forms here: Sports Physical & Permission Forms  To keep informed about the Lindenhurst NY Sports Schedule for other sports: Sports Schedule Date Time Away Team / Home Team Level / Sport NL/S Map 8/31/2011 8:00 AM Lindenhurst @ East Islip V FOOTBALL S 9/3/2011 10:00 AM Islip @ Lindenhurst (MIDDLE SCHOOL) V FOOTBALL S 9/10/2011 2:00 PM Lindenhurst @ William Floyd (LINCOLN AVE COMPLEX) V FOOTBALL - 9/16/2011 6:00 PM Lindenhurst @ Patchogue-Medford V FOOTBALL - 9/23/2011 6:00 PM Brentwood @ Lindenhurst (MIDDLE SCHOOL) V FOOTBALL - 10/1/2011 2:00 PM Central Islip @ Lindenhurst ... 08/29/2011

Mayor Bloomberg, You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself! I am disgusted, appalled, disappointed, and most of all, angry at you Mayor Bloomberg! Mayor Bloomberg is not inviting the first responder's to the upcoming ceremony on 9/11/2011. Why you ask? Space constraints. The families of the victims will and should be there. But, two Presidents and many other politicians will be there. Why should they be? Once again a 9/11 memorial is being used as a political photo-op arena which is self-serving. The first responders risked their lives to help others and many died as well. Where were all the politicians then?  Many of the first responders have even fallen sick since then. A lot of them are fighting for their lives and now not invited to this years memorial service? That is appalling. Mind you, ... 08/27/2011

Could Hurricane Irene Bring Families Together? Let's face it, we all have busy lives. A lot of families do not even eat dinner together on a daily basis. Then we have distractions like texting, email, video games and facebook. Since Hurricane Irene is making her way up the Eastern seaboard, we will most likely lose power for a few days. We may not have cell phones either for that time. That remains to be seen. We all know if the kids can't play their video games there will be hell to pay. My solution? Whip out and dust off those board and card games! This will help to take the hurricane off the minds of the younger kids. Sit and talk with each other. Even play shadow games on the wall with your flashlights. I betcha this will be a big hit with the little ones. Take out the photo albums ... 08/27/2011

Hurricane Irene Update for Long Island 8/31/11: UPDATE: LIPA says that as of 8 a.m. power has been restored to 330,000 customers. There are now 190,000 customers still without power. 8/29/11: As of today, LIPA has stated that it will have 90% of the power restored to Long Island by Friday, September 2nd. According to the Weather Channel on Cablevision, Hurricane Irene could pack 85MPH winds by the time she hits the Western part of Long Island. 85 MPH is nothing to sneeze at. We could lose power, we may not. Don't gamble. I am seeing reports online that Hurricane Irene has weakened. Yes she has. She is down to 105 MPH. Still, that doesn't mean she will weaken more. Hurricanes are like tornadoes. They go wherever they want when they want. They could weaken, or get stronger. They can turn... 08/26/2011

Hurricane History For Long IslandI've been doing research on the Hurricane history for Long Island. Since I was born in 1965, I only remember the hurricanes from 1976 and forward. Hurricane History for Long Island from 1893 to Present: 1893 August 24th - 85mph hits N.Y city from the south causing heavy damage. It was traveling 30-36mph as it passed along this portion of the coast. 30ft waves pushed boats well inland winds 80 to 90mph. Extensive damage on Coney Island. 1894 Oct 10th - 75mph from the SSW weakening to a tropical storm. 1904 Sept 15th - Hurricane becomes extra-tropical with 75mph winds while moving ENE 1916 July 21st, - 85mph to the East clips Eastern L.I from the SSW 1924 Sept 30th - Extra-tropical hurricane hits from the SSW with 75mph winds 1936 September 19th  - Just S... 08/25/2011