How Much More Are You Willing To Pay To Get Cancer? The cost of cigarettes will go up $1.60. On Long Island you are looking at $10.00 a pack. In Manhattan you will easily pay $12.00+ a pack. How Much More Are You Willing To Pay To Get Cancer? What will it take to get you to quit smoking? Are you waiting for the Doctor to tell you? When that happens you will be handed a death sentence. How Much More Are You Willing To Pay To Get Cancer? Look at the chart to the right. Look at all the chemicals that are in cigarettes and what they are normally used for. Don't even say it's only a little amount of each. These chemicals will KILL you. How Much More Are You Willing To Pay To Get Cancer? Do you truly think you will not get a smoking related disease? Think again. Think about your family, your... 06/22/2010

REO For Sale Suffolk County As Of 6/20/10 Every week I will be posting REO properties that are newly listed.   Cash is King when purchasing REO & Bank Owned properties. And submitting your offer at asking price increases your chances of getting that property. You will find being outbid over and over again is what happens so don't be surprised.   When you find an REO property that you want to purchase, you or your Realtor have to verify the property taxes and CO's. You also have to pay the transfer tax which is: $2.00 per every $500.00 Also, get a home inspection. If you do not, and discover you have to bulldoze the house and start fresh, we are talking $20 -30k for that alone. A home inspection is money worth spent!Loading... 06/22/2010

55 And Over Retirement Communities Suffolk County Real Estate Market Report For W/E 6-20-2010 Every week I'll be posting 55 and over Condos for sale, under contract and sold for the previous week in Suffolk County. The chart below represents 4 Newly Listed Condos for 55 and over last week in Suffolk County:   There we no 55 and over Condos under contract last week.   The chart below represents 2 Condos Sold for 55 and over Condos last week in Suffolk County:   55 & Over Real Estate Market Report For W/E 6/13/10 If you are looking to sell your home and want a competitive market analysis, which of course is free, call me anytime at: (631) 703-0201 or Email me.  Loading... 06/21/2010

Lindenhurst Real Estate Market Report For W/E 6-20-2010 Every week I'll be posting Lindenhurst homes for sale, under contract and sold for the previous week. The chart below represents 10 newly listed homes in Lindenhurst last week. There was only 1 short sale. It seems like short sales are starting to decrease in Lindenhurst. We will see about that as the year progresses.   The chart below represents homes Under Contract in Lindenhurst.   The chart below represents homes that Sold/Closed in Lindenhurst. Take notice of the List Price and Sold Price. Not a large gap between them. That is also a good sign but again, we will see how the year progresses. Also, the short sale closed quickly. A little over a month between the Contract Date and the Title Date. Not bad at all!   Lindenhurst Rea... 06/21/2010

This Is NOT An Activerain Success Story..... But it's still a success story! I wrote this post on 5/26/10 titled: Buying A Co-op On Long Island. I'm happy to report that we had a successful closing on it yesterday! This purchase was problematic every time you turned around. It wasn't major things but little ones that could drive anyone batty! My clients were never at fault. Anytime they had to do something they did it without hesitation because they knew if they didn't it would hold things up. Within the first 5 minutes after sitting down at the closing table there was a problem. My client turned to look at me and I could see she wanted to cry. I motioned to her that everything will be ok. To keep it private I cannot go into details but a document was needed and no one told us it would ... 06/19/2010

55 And Over Retirement Communities Suffolk County Real Estate Market Report For W/E 6-13-2010 Every week I'll be posting 55 and over homes for sale, under contract and sold for the previous week in Suffolk County. The chart below represents 12 Newly Listed Condos for 55 and over last week in Suffolk County:   The chart below represents 2 Condos Under Contract for 55 and over last week in Suffolk County:   The chart below represents 2 Condos Sold for 55 and over Condos last week in Suffolk County:   If you are looking to sell your home and want a market analysis, which of course is free, call me anytime at: (631) 703-0201 or email me.Loading... 06/15/2010

Lindenhurst Real Estate Market Report For W/E 6-13-2010 Every week I'll be posting Lindenhurst homes for sale, under contract and sold for the previous week. The chart below represents 10 newly listed homes in Lindenhurst last week. These are all regular resales. There are no short sales or foreclosures in this list. The chart below represents homes Under Contract in Lindenhurst. There are no short sales or foreclosure homes in the chart. That is because there weren't any that went under contract last week. The chart below represents homes that Sold/Closed in Lindenhurst. There are no short sales or foreclosure homes in the chart. That is because there weren't any that went to closing last week. If you are looking to sell your home and want a competitive market analysis, which of course... 06/14/2010

Jones Beach Saturday Yesterday we decided to go to Jones Beach to see the Humpback Whale that washed up on shore Thursday. We get to the toll booth and hubby handed the clerk $10 for parking. As she took the money she informed us that the whale was removed. Ok, so now we need to put that $10 to good use. Only took a few pics since my batteries died. We still had fun and hubby looks like he's wanting to go to the "other side" The only thing on the "other side" was the beach. We still had a good time even without the whale being there. 06/13/2010

REO Properties Lindenhurst As Of 6/11/10 There are 5 REO properties for sale in West Babylon. When you find an REO property that you want to purchase, you or your Realtor have to verify the property taxes and CO's. You also have to pay the transfer tax which is: $2.00 per $500.00 Also, get a home inspection. If you do not, and discover you have to bulldoze the house and start fresh, we are talking $20 -30k for that alone. A home inspection is money worth spent! Recent REO Blogs: REO Properties In West BabylonLoading... 06/12/2010

Friday Photos: It Has To Be Illegal.... to be this cute! A friend of mine sent me this photo. We were trying to figure out what type of birds they are. We decided on Punk Rock Chicks. I feel a musical coming on. Anyone who knows the breed of these birds, it would be very much appreciated. I didn't have a lot of time last night or this morning to Google the chicks.   06/11/2010

Customer Service Blunder: Don't Talk To The Customers! My favorite store to shop in is Marshalls. The customer service employees are very nice and helpful every time I'm there. The other day I brought my purchases up to the register and the woman helping me asked me how I'm doing and I her. As we are chatting, she's ringing up my order. Then her "Supervisor" whispered to her, "DON'T TALK TO THE CUSTOMERS" What?!?!? She was serious folks. The woman explained to me that the District Managers are coming to the store and maybe she is nervous about it. Pfffffft! So what? It's good customer service to chat with the customers as long as you keep the lines moving. How many times do we encounter unfriendly staff on a daily basis? I do not have enough fingers and toes. So, of course, I took adva... 06/08/2010

Free Skin Cancer Screenings In New York and Connecticut Jones Beach Boardwalk, Central Mall - June 24th, 2010 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Call (516) 352-4227 for details. Penfield Beach, Fairfield, CT - June 25, 2010 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Call (203) 854-9911 for details. Jones Beach Boardwalk, Central Mall - July 14th, 2010 from 10-2 p.m. Call (516) 352-4227 for details. Penfield Beach, Fairfield CT - July 16, 2010 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Call (203) 854-9911 for details. Greenburgh Pool, Greenburgh, NY - July 22nd, 2010 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Call (203) 854-9911 for details. Penfield Beach, Fairfiled, CT - August 6, 2010 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Call (203) 854-9911 for details. Be Sun Smart Self monthly body exam. Moles changing. Anything new on your skin. Reason to see a Dermatologist immediately. Tanned sk... 06/07/2010

Piping Plover Needs Your Help! They raise their babies in the same areas we play in. They are not easily seen because of their unique ability to blend in with the sand. This makes it difficult for predators to see them. The Piping Plover is an endangered species. If they die, we will never see them again. When you are at the beaches and parks you can help them by: Respecting all areas fenced or posted for the protection of plover and other wildlife. Not approaching or lingering near their nests. Not leaving or burying trash or food scraps on the beach. Any garbage will attract their predators. Beach-goers and kites approaching the nests seem like predators to the Piping Plover. So please, stay away from their nesting areas. There is plenty of room for all of us! 06/06/2010

It's a little slow going at first, but stick with it because he's really good! 06/06/2010

Jones Beach Rescue Volunteer Organization Jones Beach Rescue is a volunteer organization that believes Jones Beach can be the world class public beach it once was. They are committed to the restoration and enhancement of the park's historic and natural resources, and will work with the Regional Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation to support work that improves the user experience. To learn more about Jones Beach Rescue, receive more information about events or to get involved, please email Jones Beach Rescue at: jonesbeachrescue@gmail.com Or you may contact Alexandra Parsons Wolfe - Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities at: (631) 692-4664 06/06/2010

Preparing To Sell Your Lindenhurst NY Home Checklist I created this checklist for myself when I view a seller's home and what I feel they may need to prepare their home before placing it on the market. If you feel I can add to it, I appreciate it if you let me know! I also see the checkboxes are out of alignmemt. If you want, email me and I will forward it to you in MS Word.Curb Appeal Checklist 06/06/2010

Animals Can Have Fears Just Like Humans We got our dog Kyra as a rescue puppy at 10 weeks old. She and 2 of her siblings were abandoned at a feral cat colony in the middle of December of 2008. They were 6 weeks old when they were found by Last Hope Animal Rescue. At that time, the temps were in the teens. They could have frozen to death. I started to notice how fearful Kyra is. She is scared of traffic noise and public buses. You know the sound the buses make when they stop. It's like a piston noise and that is enough to make her poop on the spot. I had figured out that the feral cat colony is located on a busy street and is a main artery for the public buses. Made sense as to why she is fearful of these two things. I tried to work with her to help her get over these fears. We live nea... 06/06/2010

BP CEO Tony Hayward: Genuine Or Not? You Decide. They are not allowing embedding on YouTube so here is the link: BP CEO Tony Hayward He seems genuine and not scripted. I really hope so. This spill is the worst we have ever seen. The Gulf is home to so many people and provides employment for the fishing and shrimping industry. Exxon paid pennies on the dollar to workers for lost wages during that spill. I hope BP will be a lot more generous. 06/05/2010

For most of us Realtors, the weekend is the start of our work week. So, I want to start our week with laughs courtesy of the Blue Collar Team! For the rest of you who have weekends off, enjoy it! 06/04/2010

Being Professional Is Not My Job!We are getting all of our windows replaced since they are 14+ years old. It's time.I like to do things in three's when it comes to getting prices and measuring quality. For the windows we only interviewed two window companies. I used to be in the window and door industry years ago but I still know what I'm looking at and understand the lingo.The first contractor came in and did his spiel. He demonstrated the heat factor for double glass and for triple glass. He took a heat lamp and had us place our hand in front of the double glass. He started 6" away and we felt the heat instantly. We did the same for the triple glass. We started to feel the heat when the lamp was on top of the glass. Pretty impressive. He gave us a price and left. He was very nice and... 06/04/2010