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Weekender: High Falls, NY

Weekender: High Falls, NY published on 5 Comments on Weekender: High Falls, NY

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The Most Awesomest Teeny Tiny Hamlet!

High Falls is small. You need a magnifying glass to find it. But this little town is bursting at the seams with fine foods, arts and history.

Some of the best restaurants in the Hudson Valley (according to me and a few of my buddies, like the NY Times) are located in High Falls, including the 4 star Depuy Canal House, eclectic Egg’s Nest and delectable Northern Spy.

PROS

  • The restaurants are to die for!
  • This itsy bitsy town even has a Sunday flea market (May-Oct) and a food coop.
  • It’s less than 2 hours from city.

CONS

  • The entire town is walkable, but you need a car to get there.
  • Apart from the restaurants (Did I mention them?), you can do the town in a couple of hours.

Getaway the Hudson

New York House

Canal Museum

Affordable NYC: Parkchester, The Bronx

Affordable NYC: Parkchester, The Bronx published on 3 Comments on Affordable NYC: Parkchester, The Bronx

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I don’t know much about The Bronx, but I do like what I’ve seen. Last year, a friend of mine bought an investment condo in Parkchester and dragged me there to show me his acquisition and to try to entice me into splitting another unit with him. I couldn’t afford it, but if I had a few dollars to scrape together, I just might have.

1 Bedrooms in the complex start at about $115k and 2 bedrooms are as low as $165k. Rents are approximately $900-$1300 and maintenance is a bit over $600 on the 2 BR units, under $500 for 1BRs.

Parkchester is a village unto itself, kinda like Starrett City, only cooler and less smelly. You’ve got your Starbucks, Macy’s, diners, dry cleaners, etc. It’s serviced by the 6 train, which will get you into midtown in about 40 minutes.

There’s nothing overly exciting about Parkchester, but it’s convenient, safe and clean, which makes it a good bang for the buck.

Wiki Parkchester
Parkchester.com
Parkchester Info
2003 Village Voice Article

Reclaimed Flooring

Reclaimed Flooring published on 5 Comments on Reclaimed Flooring

5 years ago, we paid around $6000 for reclaimed wide plank pine for a 600 square foot room (installed and finished). And that was the best price. Maybe we had more money to throw around back then, but we would never dream of paying that much for a single floor now.

Reclaimed wide plank is still pricey, but many companies run internet specials. There are also smaller local mills that may charge less.

The least expensive option, if it exists in your home, is to carefully pull up the existing subfloor/planks and scrape them down, then reinstall. Tons of work, but saving all that dough…..priceless.

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$6000 Floor, Marbletown, NY

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Original Planks, Bed Stuy Home

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Scraped and Installed Ourselves: $0

Companies Offering Internet Specials

Aged Woods

Antique and Vintage Woods

Craftmark

Douglas Fir Floors

Old Wood Workshop

The Woods

Vintage Timber

Whiskey Wood

Staging Your House To Sell

Staging Your House To Sell published on 1 Comment on Staging Your House To Sell


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As an ole’ house buying pro, I can walk into any wreck and visualize it’s potential. Not everyone looking to buy a home has such foresight. In fact, some people are completely imagination impaired. If the home is a bit dirty or has the wrong color paint, they may just walk out. Staging is important if you want to get your price!

First, clear away the clutter! Remove family photos, dusty tschotskes, piles of laundry and anything that doesn’t belong.

Clean! No dirty dishes, smelly cat litter or unmade beds. Wipe down dirty walls, switch plates and cabinets. Paint, if necessary.

Curb Appeal. Make sure the house looks good from the front. Tidy garbage, sweep, mow or weed.

Light Makes Right! Open window shades. Turn on lights for showings. Change burnt out bulbs. Clean windows. Nobody likes a dark house unless they have photophobia.

Delight All Senses. You’ve made it visually stimulating, but how does it smell? Fresh flowers or natural scents are always more pleasing than artificial deodorizers. When showing, turn on calming background music. Classical is always suitable. Make sure the room temperature is at a comfortable level. Offer some refreshments to buyers schlepping around all day.

These are the no cost basics. You’ll probably want to take it up a notch if it’s a high priced property. Other items to consider: whole house paint job, take up carpeting, finish wood floors, rent proper furniture.

NY Staging
Home Staging Quiz
Archive: NY Times article

Mission Statement

Mission Statement published on 3 Comments on Mission Statement

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LAUNCHING SEPTEMBER 12th!

We here at Reclaimed Home intend to focus our attention on 4 different subjects:

1. Affordable Real Estate in the Tri-State Area
2. DIY Renovations
3. Green Building
4. Old Home Preservation and Restoration

Obviously, not every restoration can be green and not every real estate porn property is affordable, but we’ll aim to stay on track. It’s all about presenting options and ideas. Since we split our time between Bed Stuy, Brooklyn and Beacon, NY, you’ll probably see lots of posts on these areas.

The site will have 5 sections:

1. The Blog: We’re the life of the party
2. The Forum: You’re the life of the party
3. The Store: Sustainable items for your home
4. The Listings: Our FSBO listing service includes individual web pages.
5. About Page: All about us. The life of the party.

We’re working on it!

We’re working on it! published on 1 Comment on We’re working on it!

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Reclaimed Home will officially launch on September 12th. We’ll be concentrating on affordable real estate in the Tri-state area, old home restoration and green renovation.

Please notify us if you would like to be put on our mailing list. We’ll send you an invite to our virtual opening bash.

You can visit our booth at Brownstoner’s Salvage Fest on September 8th at PS 11 in Clinton Hill. That’s Washington between Greene and Gates.

info@reclaimedhome.com

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