THIS MONTH’S FEATURED REAL ESTATE ARTICLE

Location shooting, finding and transforming actual sites, as opposed to sound stage filming, has fascinated me since the day a location scout knocked on our door in Greenwich Village. For this article about using your real estate to generate extra income or a higher price when you plan to sell, I decided to update my personal urban experience by talking to people who have had a recent shoot on their property, locations scouts, and, especially, Laurent Rejto of The Hudson Valley Film Commission.

What do location […]

This is the month of Halloween and thinking of scary things – even in real estate. Maybe watching Lovecraft on HBO made me wonder what real estate agents and sellers have to reveal about “unfortunate” circumstances that have occurred in a house. Is it haunted? Was there an ax murder? Did someone die from a lethal disease like Ebola or commit suicide? As it turns out the legal answer is surprising and slightly different in every state. Buyers should know to ask and find out […]

Residential real estate sales transactions, dollar volumes, and prices raced upward in July surpassing levels recorded during the great real estate bubble which preceded the Great Recession in our area. At the same time, New York City’s real estate market is at a standstill with people leaving the city for Westchester, the Hamptons, the Catskills, and our region. Bloomberg reports that Manhattan apartment rents plunged in July by 10%, the biggest decrease in almost nine years with a vacancy rate at 4.33% and a supply […]

Recently I reviewed an inspection report for a client that included a check “yes” by washer and dryer where none existed. It made me wonder how carefully the client had looked at this document. Inspection reports are usually a necessary part of the selling and purchasing process, but what do they really tell you? How can you get your money’s worth?

You’re paying for this. A pre-sale inspection paid for by the seller will identify issues that should be addressed before putting a house on the […]

This year especially, the place to enjoy eating or hanging out with friends is outside your own home on a deck or patio with plenty of social distance. Do decks and patios add value to your home when you rent or sell? How much do they cost? What’s their history? What should you think about when adding a deck or patio to your home? Main Street investigates.

What’s the history of decks and patios?

You could think of decks and patios as porches without a roof, usually located […]