The following is from the Sheepshead Bay-Plumb Beach Civic Association:
The post Saturday: Honor Fallen Heroes And Veterans During Memorial Parade Along Emmons appeared first on Sheepshead Bites.
Search Our Site
-
Recent Posts
Categories
Calendar
Saturday: Honor Fallen Heroes And Veterans During Memorial Parade Along Emmons
Posted in armed forces, Events, memorial day, memorial day parade, parade, parades, sheepshead bay plumb beach civic, sheepshead bay plumb beach civic association, sheepshead bay plumb beach veterans memorial, Sheepshead Bay Real Estate News, veterans
Tagged Civic Association, Emmons, Fallen Heroes, Memorial Parade, Sheepshead, Sheepshead Bay, Veterans Memorial
Comments Off
For Brooklyn Property Owners Awaiting Those Refund
Remember playing Monopoly? After another player had put up a hotel on a pricey property like Boardwalk or Park Place, remember that feeling of relief every time you got past without landing on them? Whew!
That’s the way many of us feel now that Tax Week is over. If you’re one of the millions who will soon be checking the mail for your refund check, you’re are probably also pondering the best use to put it to.
Especially if you’re thinking of selling your Brooklyn property any time this year, you might do something that’s less than obvious: put some of that check to good use by making one or more simple property improvements. After all, your Brooklyn property is your biggest investment — and the payoff when you take good care of it won’t be in play money.
If yours is an average refund (most are somewhere north of $2,500), it can be pretty painless to direct a modest chunk of it to your property. I’ve come across some simple ideas that should also reserve most of the refund for other purposes.
One idea that few people act upon is to order a professional energy audit. This can cost between $400 and $600 for a full diagnostic inspection. By revealing gaps (even small ones) around doors, windows, and recessed lights, it can reveal energy-wasters that ultimately lower utility bills year-round.
An even less expensive utility bill-saver is available in the form of the latest sophisticated low-flow showerheads. They are simple to install, and can save up to 50% of the water used by even some of the newer showerheads. The best ones feel nearly as if you are showering with the same amount of water.
One of the last things likely to leap to mind once your refund check arrives is insurance. Basic homeowners insurance isn’t fully comprehensive, yet for a small additional amount — generally about $300 — you can buy a million dollars’ worth of added liability coverage with an ‘umbrella’ policy that also covers your cars.
It will feel like getting past Park Place and Boardwalk all year long!
Posted in brooklyn real estate, Home Staging, Seller
Tagged Boardwalk, Brooklyn, Chunk, Doors Windows, Flow Showerheads, Gaps, Homeowners Insurance, Liability Coverage, Low Flow, Lower Utility Bills, Mail Check, Million Dollars, Monopoly, One Of The Millions, Park Place, Play Money, Professional Energy Audit, Property Improvements, Property Owners, Umbrella Policy
Leave a comment
Brooklyn Housing Market Not Really Yoked to Wall Street
Even though the Brooklyn housing market looks as certain to rise as the spring shoots, behind that optimism is the perenniel question about whether another “dip” is coming – a lot of which has to do with Wall Street. Remembering how 2008’s economic downturn saw the housing market and stock market take blows pretty much simultaneously, it’s not far-fetched to assume that the two markets always move together. And while some folks are emboldened as stocks soar to record-level heights, for others, the same phenomenon causes altitude sickness. What goes up must…well, you know the rest!
Historically, the housing market and stock market are hardly inextricably joined. Nor should that be a surprise. On the one hand, the housing market reflects a real good (as ‘real’ as it gets!) — something that carries intrinsic utility. That won’t change until people figure out a way to exist without shelter.
Stocks, on the other hand, represent participation in ownership of a venture, and a share of financial gain (or loss) from its success. Both markets are influenced by some of the same factors (employment, inflation, etc.), but to different degrees. It’s widely agreed that the direct influence of one on the other waxes and wanes.
So when anyone thinks about whether a dip is coming in the stock market, and whether that should influence their real estate thinking, I’m pretty certain that the answers are less important than the more measurable effects that buying or selling a home will have on their day-to-day living experience. With positive housing market data continuing to arrive (like the recent rise in land values – up 13% last year; the first annual gain in eight years), it’s hard not to agree with the majority of economists that the positive housing market trend is likely to keep going for a good while longer.
If you are considering selling your home and want to explore the housing market in Brooklyn this Spring, give me a call. Regardless of what each market is doing at any given time, I keepe the latest up-to-date statistical and Brooklyn neighborhood information available for my clients.
Posted in brooklyn real estate, selling a home
Tagged Altitude Sickness, Brooklyn, Economic Downturn, Economists, Financial Gain, Housing Market, Inflation, Land Values, Market Trend, Measurable Effects, Optimism, Participation, Phenomenon, selling a home, Selling Your Home, Stock Market, Stocks, Surprise, Wall Street, Waxes
Leave a comment
Brooklyn Mortgage Rates Are Not the Whole Story.
Good Faith Estimates — anyone actively comparing mortgage rates in Brooklyn receives them. Yet GFEs seem full of the kind of fine print that we don’t necessarily spend time worrying over: a glance at the bottom line would seem to suffice. Sort of like the kind of golf rule (26-1) that just cost Tiger Woods his shot at a 5th green coat.
Like Mr. Woods, even if we do everything else right, not paying close attention to the fine details can cost us. But quite unlike Rule 26-1, the details in GFEs aren’t there to limit our options — they’re there to point the way cutting our costs!
To get that readout, you need only provide the standard details required by all lenders. Once that’s done, they are obligated to send you a GFE quickly: within three days. Mortgages are all about your obligation to the lender: so this puts the shoe on the other foot.
The key to GFEs’ value lies in their uniformity. The line-by-line detail makes them ideal vehicles for cross-comparing what your mortgage costs from each lender will be — and where discrepancies lie.
Some of the costs (like taxes and government fees) should be the same for every lender, but others will be different. You are entitled to know what third party fees you will incur, what loan charges are applied by your lender, and any other costs associated with your loan. Beyond the mortgage rates being quoted, such comparisons will be sufficient to show you who is offering the best deal.
Another nice thing is that you do not have to pay outsized fees for a GFE; at the most, your prospective lender can ask you to cover the costs of your credit check.
Today, mortgage rates in Brooklyn remain at the historically low levels we have been pointing to for a while. If for no other reason than the virtual certainty that they won’t stay there forever, now continues to be an unusually opportune time for buying or selling. If you agree, contact me for an up-to-the-minute market assessment anytime.
Posted in brooklyn real estate, buyer’s agent, selling a home
Tagged Brooklyn Mortgage, Comparing Mortgage Rates, Credit Check, Discrepancies, Fine Details, Gfe, Golf Rule, Good Faith, Government Fees, Line Detail, Loan Charges, Market Assessment, Mortgage Costs, Nice Thing, Opportune Time, Prospective Lender, Shoe On The Other Foot, Tiger Woods, Uniformity, Virtual Certainty
Leave a comment