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Ossining, NY Real Estate News

By Phyllis Lerner call 914.438.7556, Corcoran Legends Realty
(Corcoran Legends Realty)
A two-acre refuge within the greater Teatown preserve, this unique sanctuary is home to over 230 native and endangered species of wildflowers. Experienced guides lead visitors along a wondrous journey, describing the unique features of the Island’s wildflowers, most of which are native to our area. We invite you to take a tour of Wildflower Island and enjoy the beauty of our natural heritage. Tours available on Saturdays at 10:30am and 1:30pm and Sundays at 1:30pm through September 30. Access to the Island is by guided tour only for guests ages 12 and over. Admission is $4pp for members and $6pp for nonmembers. Private tours for 8 or more are available on weekdays. Call 914-762-2912 x110 to make a reservation. Location : Teatown Lake Reservation, 1600 Spring Valley Road, Ossining, NY 1...
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By Phyllis Lerner call 914.438.7556, Corcoran Legends Realty
(Corcoran Legends Realty)
Friday, May 11, 4:00pm-7:00 pm and Saturday, May 12, 9am-2pm Celebrate the coming of spring planting weather at Teatown’s Annual Plant Sale... a gardener’s paradise featuring the unusual, the new and the tried and true. This 2-day event opens with a First Pick Sale... your chance to get your favorite plants before they sell out! A rich abundance of annuals, native wildflowers, perennials, hanging baskets, vegetables and herbs await. And Teatown’s dedicated staff and volunteers are ready to help you pick the right plants for your yard and give you expert advice on how to care for them. On Saturday from 10:30am-1:30pm, you can also enjoy tours of Wildflower Island, a two-acre sanctuary with over 230 native and endangered species of wildflowers. Friday night First Pick Sale: $10 admission...
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By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
Selecting carpet for your home in Ossining NY has never been easier...now, you can Shop at Home for your carpeting in Westchester NY. Have you ever gone to a carpet store and just felt lost and overwhelmed?  Sometimes, there are so many options that you don't even know where to start.  Sometimes, you may go into a store and find so many choices that you leave more confused than you felt when you entered?  How do you know what's the best type of carpet for your home in Ossining NY?  What's the right one for your budget?  And, what's the right color? We make shopping for carpeting fun and easy. Everything starts with the area you are looking to carpet.  Is it for a bedroom or a lviing room or a family room or basement or the step?  Different rooms require different types of carpeting.  We...
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By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
Are you looking to sand and refinish hardwood floors in Ossining NY?   It's amazing what a difference refinishing your hardwood flooring can make.  Your floors will look brand new and you even have the option to change the color.  You can go light, dark, mid tones, or red tones. It can really give your home (or room) a whole new look.   If you have hardwood underneath your carpets, we can restore the beauty of the hardwood underneath. It's amazing what a big difference this can make in your home.  And, believe it or not, it is usually less expensive to refinish your floors than to recarpet.  Refinishing your wood floors will also improve your home's value and it will be easier to clean and maintain.   At Floor Coverings International, we are a shop at home service.  We will bring the "s...
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By Women of Westchester Working Together, Women helping Women get ahead
(Women of Westchester Working Together)
Helping your Aging Parents in Ossining NY 10562 Westchester County "Crickett Care Inc.  A Tradition in Home Care Since 1978" It's a fact everyone ages.  Some more gracefully than others, but we age none-the-less. Some call us the "Sandwich" generation.  Not only are we taking care of our children, but are now beginning to take care of our aging parents as well.  Depending on their physical and/or mental status, taking care of our parents can be as simple as making a phone call to see how they are doing.  Sometimes it is not as simple.  It can also be more demanding on us physically, emotionally and financially. Now is the time to talk with our parents.  What are their wishes? Discussion about their needs should include: DNR, living will, Insurance (Life, Long term Care etc) go to a faci...
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By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Prices are down, but volume is up according to the data for single family homes in the Ossining school district for November 1-30 2011. All information is taken from the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service.  This past November, 11 homes closed at a median sale price of $332,000. In November of 2010, 8 homes closed at a median sale price of $367,500.  It is consistent that lower prices would yield a higher volume of closings. With the winter and end of the year coming, more sellers might be willing to discount their price for expediency. I counted several homes that sold considerably below asking price by percentage, with 7 selling below 90% of asking. Buyers did very well last month.  30 homes are currently under contract or pending sale, down from 37 last month.This is normal, as ac...
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By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
Green Flooring Trends - Westchester County - Fall 2011 It's nice to see the customers going for green options. There are many ways to go green (or even greenish) with your flooring, but here are the top 3 trends. 1.  Bamboo flooring.  This has been on the rise, the last 3-4 yrs.  Not only are customers proactively asking about bamboo flooing, but they are also getting more sophisticated in their taste and knowledge.  Many customers now ask me about strand bamboo which is much harder and more durable than the typical bamboo.  Besides the fact that bamboo looks nice and tends to be less expensive than your typical hardwood, one of the other great benefits of bamboo is that it provides flexibility for installation - it can be nailed, glued or floated.  It is the only solid product that can...
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By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
Please welcome Mark Aakjar to Active Rain.  He is a local Westchester Home Inspector.  Mark is wonderful at what he does, and I know tons of real estate agents that just love working with him. Of course, he "knows his stuff."  Any home inspector should.  What makes him so great, though, is his personality and communication skills. He is honest and upfront and he helps put things in perspective for the homeowner.  He sorts through what is critical vs. what is okay. His business is rapidly growing and I think he is in the top 5 for Home Inspectors in the county (he may be even be #3 now - not sure). I have also had the pleasure of taking care of many of Mark's customers.  And, they universally love him and also recommend them to their friends. If you are an agent here in Westchester, i hi...
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By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
The October real estate closing statistics in the Ossining School district indicate a drop from October of the prior year.  In October 2011, 7 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $410,000.  In the same period last year, 11 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $535,000.  Obviously, this is a precipitous drop in both volume and median price. However, there is an explanation: The number of homes under contract ballooned from 19 last month to a whopping 37 this month. Buyers are indeed signing contracts; they just aren't closing yet. This could be due to delays on the lender side, which is something I am seeing more frequently in this environment. The pending transactions could also be short sales, which take much longer to close than typical deals (we often say...
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By Anthony Stokes-Pereira, Realtor
(Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty)
Hudson Valley Fall Events Guide   Every season, Anthony Stokes Pereira, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty collects information about community events throughout Westchester and the Hudson Valley, so visit us often for updates on events in your area.     October 29, 2011 / 7-8:30 PM, Ossining. Ny - Boo! Who? Whoot-ingly fun program for families with children over age 7. Free for members; $5 per child for non-members. Teatown Lake Reservation, 1600 Spring Valley Rd. Contact Mary Haley, (914) 762-2912, Ext. 100 to make a reservation. www.teatown.org This community event is provided as a service. As event information is provided by organizers and can change without notice, we advise you to contact organizers directly to confirm all details. Every effort is made to provide information tha...
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By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
Yes, believe it or not someone asked me for Orange Shag carpet last week.  One of my networking friends who does a lot of organizing/decluttering, stopped m before the beginning of our meeting and said, "I need to talk to you about Orange Shag carpets." Naturally, I assumed this was for a client staging her home and needed to get rid of her orange shag carpet and replace it with someting neutral. But, no, I was soooo wrong.  She said, no, "She loves her orange shag carpet from 20+ years ago and wants another."  I could barely contain myself and was speechless. I then caught my breath and said, "I'm not sure if they even make them anymore."  I asked her to email me a picture so I can see what I can do.  Styles and colors change over the years....this one will be interesting.  
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By Mark Aakjar
(Mark's Inspections)
REALTORS...RPAC needs your help! http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/rpac/about-rpac/frequently-asked-questions.html#whycontribute When REALTORS® join together, they have a very powerful voice that is heard loud and clear. The REALTORS® Political Action Committee exists solely to further issues important to REALTORS®. It’s the only political action committee in the country that is organized by REALTORS® to promote and protect the dream of homeownership in America. RPAC works every day on behalf of REALTORS® so that you can practice real estate with the assurance that someone is fighting for you and the real estate industry.
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What is a Pre-listing Inspection? Westchester Home Inspections A Pre-listing inspection is an evaluation of the home before the home gets ready to go on the market. It gives the seller and seller's agent the best opportunity to find pptential problems before home goes on the market and gets final inspection.  This can be helpful as you identify and address any major issues and avoid losing any potential buyers.  To learn more about Pre-listing inspections and to see an example of one, check out this video.  Pre-listing Home Inspection - Westchester NY View Larger Map What is a Pre-listing Inspection? Westchester Home Inspections
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By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
The numbers are in for September real estate closings in the Ossining School district, and they show a significant improvement over the prior September. All information is for single family homes and is sourced by the Empire Access MLS, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors.  In September 2011, 17 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $395,000.  In the same period last year, 9 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $345,000.  That is almost a 90% jump in transaction totals and a 14% rise in median sale price. It is also the best September transaction total enjoyed by the Ossining market since 2006. Median price is still down almost 20% off the peak of 2005, however, and we are a long way from a full recovery off the high wat...
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By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
Local Home Inspector - Westchester County - Mark's Inspections Mark Aakjar, the owner of Mark's Inspections is a top notch home inspector in Westchester County. I've known him for 3 yrs and he is one of the top inspectors in the whole county of Westchester.  He is super knowledgeable and an excellent communicator with his customers.  I've known many real estate agents that exclusively recommend him, and now I know many customers that have raved about him. He is a member of Active Rain...and, I'm looking forward to his next blog post. Check out Mark Aakjar in this video interview.   If you live in Westchester and are looking for a reputable and reliable Home Inspector, give Mark Aakjar a call at (914) 774-5025.  He does home inspections for new home owners as well as pre-inspections for ...
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By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Growing up in Ossining, even though I went to Catholic schools after 1st grade, I always got the connection between the local history and the high school mascot, the Ossining Indian. We were told of the Sint Sinck heritage, stone on stone, and how the high school teams were emblematic of that history. That changed in 2002, when social and political pressure convinced the district to retire the Indian mascot. OHS grad Dana Goldstein, quite an accomplished scholar herself, has written a complex commentary on the change and aftermath. Of course, the community is now a decade into mascot limbo, and with all due respect for the folks with the Ossining Indians Forever bumper stickers, I see less of an issue with the loss of the Indian as the lack of a suitable replacement.  They have tried an...
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By Anthony Stokes-Pereira, Realtor
(Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty)
Hudson Valley Summer Events Guide   Every season, Anthony Stokes Pereira, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty collects information about community events throughout Westchester and the Hudson Valley, so visit us often for updates on events in your area.     September 17, 9 AM, Ossining: Join the Ossining Matters Education Foundation in their 9th Annual 5k Run/2 mile Walk fundraising event. Participants of all ages welcome. Pre-register to receive a t-shirt while supplies last. Check-in 7:30 am-8:30 am. (914) 510-9320. www.ossiningmatters.org   This community event is provided as a service. As event information is provided by organizers and can change without notice, we advise you to contact organizers directly to confirm all details. Every effort is made to provide information that is ...
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By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
What can you get in Ossining for $741,000?  If you acted fast, you could have gotten a gorgeous 2002-built colonial in Waterview Estates. Here's what it had under the hood: a level half acre lot backing up to wilderness (General Electric-owned reservoir), exquisite landscaping, a lawn sprinkler system, a wrap around porch and a 2-car garage to start, and we havn't even walked inside.  Inside: 3600 square feet of living space, 4500 if you included the walkout finished basement. 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, with a master suite to die for; a granite and stainless steel gourmet kitchen with an island; a family room with a classic wood burning fireplace and sliding doors to the rear deck; lots of architectural detail and contractor-owner upgrades; plenty of massive walk in closets; cathedral ceili...
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By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
This is the market report for Ossining, NY for August 2011. It covers single family homes in the Ossining School District. All data is from the Empire Acess MLS.  In August 2011, Ossining had 15 closings at a median sale price of $420,000. In August 2010, Ossining had 15 closings at a median sale price of $436,000. Both volume and price are holding steady, and this is a fairly siginificant departure from the downward trend of previous periods this year. August of 2010 was in the the stimulus period, so the results this August, which are unaffected by any outside forces or inducements, are organic and describe some strength. That is good news for sellers, finally.  Currently, there are 33 homes under contract at a median asking price of $409,222. This shows that pending prices are are al...
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