Dave & Mary
The bridge that crosses the Keuka Outlet located on State Route 14A has been closed since September 12th, 2011, and is planned to be rebuilt and reopened in June of 2012 according to New York State Dept of Transportation.
The bridge that crosses the Keuka Outlet located on State Route 14A has been closed since September 12th, 2011, and is planned to be rebuilt and reopened in June of 2012 according to New York State Dept of Transportation. Traffic has been detoured around the bridge and unfortunately is causing some delays through the downtown Penn Yan area. On a positive note, traffic is down during this part of the year, being that the summer vacationers are not around. Weekend drivers however can still find it troublesome to get over the outlet with increased traffic to the wineries and to the Windmill Farm and Craft Market that is still open.
Bunk room in the loft area of the garage
When it comes to creativity, you see it everywhere. And that extends to folks looking at new ways to house family and guests at their lakefront and get-a-way homes. One of the decorating and rehab ideas that always intrigues me, are the various bunk houses that I have come across in my real estate career.
Bunk houses allow the owners to accommodate more guests. Basically the owners take an unused space such as a boat house, large shed or garage to creat sleeping quarters. Just like being in college, the most efficient way is through the use of bunks. These bunk houses do not have to be boring at all, and sometimes they are the most interesting places of the property.
Wasted space turned in to usable and delightful space
Most folks think of the bunk houses as being utilized just for the kids, but take a look – many of these places allow the greatest in creature comforts for a person of any age. With the addition of half baths and sitting areas, they become the go to places. They do not have to be elaborate, but just another place for a bunk and maybe a futon as in the pictures below.
Below you will see one photo that shows the exterior of a simple building originally designed as a shed. The Keuka Lake owners turned the space into a place where the kids could camp out. They even included what is now considered an old-fashioned wall phone.
Keuka Lake Bunk House Exterior
Keuka Lake Bunk House Interior
As you can see in the interior shot, this bunk house is very simple but allows for three additional sleeping quarters. It has a phone, a television, of course electric and a small water closet in the rear. I know my boys would have loved to be able to hang out in a separate place like this and would probably elect the basic style shown or over the more styled rooms in the above photos and the one below.
So the next time you are out looking at your vacation home and become concerned about the space of the home, be creative – you may actually have more space than you think !
Bunk room in the loft
I save all types of design ideas for my clients just so they can see, they do have other options. Call me if you are looking for a creative realtor to work with for your vacation home purchase and design ideas.
Why is now a great time to buy your vacation home in the Finger Lakes ?
Interest rates are still at record lows for those not purchasing with cash. Many buyers also utilize home equity loans against their primary residence to leverage as cash for their purchases. Rates started to climb upwards this summer and then reverted back into record lows. How long will this trend last? The crystal ball is not saying. I am assuming it can not last forever. Because this is a buyers market, buyers have a huge advantage on price negotiations for their lake front property purchase. With the summer season winding down, sellers are more anxious than ever to turn the keys over. Many sellers pull their listings off the market during the slow winter months. Homes are harder to sell when everything has been winterized, the heat turned off and the decks pulled up onto the lawns. It just seems to lose so much curb appeal during this time period. So take advantage of the sellers situation when you can. There are many projects in the works that could cause an uptick in prices on the Finger Lakes. For example: 1. The City of Canandaigua and some major developers are working on a project that will attract International attention. The process has started already with the removal of old buildings and mobile homes. The ground has been cleared. Artistic renderings have been submitted and financing is being worked out. This will take place at the North end of Canandaigua Lake by Kershaw Park. 2. On Keuka Lake, plans are in the works to construct The Finger Lakes Museum. It is a multi million dollar plan that will house both indoor and outdoor displays showcasing local vegetation and wildlife as well as the cultural aspects that have helped to create this unique and beautiful pocket of diversity.
Check out this news release from October 2009 outlining a program outlining how home owners might rent back a home they are losing in foreclosure.
http://www.fanniemae.com/newsreleases/2009/4844.jhtml
The obvious question is "have you heard of anyone actually doing this?" If this program has existed for almost two years, you would think that the regional real estate community would become aware of someone that has been able to use the program.
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/08/10/seven-questions-on-foreclosure-to-rental-conversions/
You can see from the article above, there are serious discussions about doing large bulk sales or create new large scale programs with major property managers overseeing government owned homes being rented.
I am hoping that someone will fill us in on a success story somewhere! The examples of this from the past were not pretty and anything but considered successful. Please let us know what you know. Thanks.
I like the theme of this Wall Street Journal article on the increased interest in Vacation Homes this year.
It makes sense for a lot of reasons, but the most important is a key to owning a Vacation Home anytime or anywhere. That is to enjoy a special place, create strong and wonderful memories for families and children. And to use a place of retreat as a way to renew, revitalize and recharge our facalties for however we spend our time back in our primary and world of work. We are especially blessed in that Vacation Homes in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State means world class natural beauty along with world class wine and wineries.
We still have a very good selection of waterfront homes in the Finger Lakes. Prices are remaining stable (not rapidly appreciating as earlier in the decade.) There also are lake view homes or homes with plenty of land to enjoy. If you want more information about the area, call. If you know more about what you might want to own in the Finger Lakes Region just let us know.
Real Estate in the Finger Lakes Region has proven to be a very compelling investment over the years. However, the most important dividend has always been the "experience." Check us out. Test it for yourself. You will not regret it!
OK. Read the link below about the fact that there are fewer listings on the market now than a year ago.
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/07/19/in-june-fewer-for-sale-signs-on-homes/
So, why is this a good thing? Well, first of all, for all those home owners that have been hearing about all the foreclosures and competing low priced inventory - you have a window of opportunity!
Yes, if you have followed the business news (or even our blogs) you know about the many problems that the largest banks and bank servicing agencies have had processing the huge volume of foreclosed properties around the country. Well, the bank's pain is the curent Sellers's gain! Fewer bank-owned properties on the market benefits all other Sellers.
The fact that interest rates remain relatively low and the inventory is free of the "glut" of foreclosures that we know could be on the current market - creates a more positive market condition for home owners that might want to sell now at higher prices.
The old saying "timing is everything" really applies to this period in the real estate market. We truly do not know what the future holds as to market value for real estate. Will home prices continue to go down? Or will the long term trend return to real estate markets; that is that real estate always appreciates over time!
With this uncertainty or big questions even being asked now about trends in real estate pricing, we advise that people who (for whatever reason) want or need to sell their homes - do it now! We do not know the future either! But markets that have fewer sellers will generally do better than when the inventory of homes to sell is at record high levels. And that seems to be the situation right now. Measure the need to sell verses the current market conditions. Then call us. We think this is a very good time to list with us or any other good real estate broker to list your property for sale. But don't wait too long....that "shadow inventory" of bank owned properties will hit the market eventually. We suggest that you act today.
A look at the aftermath of the mortgage meltdownis still not pretty and not likely to get better soon. You would think that in these years that have followed there would be improvement and/or a start towards recovery. Far from it! The depth and extent of the problems are just coming to light and still being sorted out. And like saugage making, it certainly is not pretty.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43801546/ns/business-personal_finance/
At the heart of the issue is the supposed good thing intended to free up capital from local, regional and larger banks in order to make more loans; securitization. They made more loans OK, but many of them were not "good" ones. That in a nut shell led to the crisis; too may defaults. However, securitization is continuing to be a the center of the foreclosure boon doggle. The true ownership of these mortgages and the right to foreclose is being challenged in courts all around the country. This has been in the background throughout, but is now becoming central in many large scale legal battles.
Once things within the securitized mortgages began to unravel in 2007 and 2008, the pure large scale and scope of the problem began to create more nightmarish conditions. With 4-5% of mortgages held in the US in default, there was no system in place to handle this quantity of transactions. Servicing companies, large attorneys and banks created divisions and whole businesses to handle the onslaught. This size and number of foreclosures brought on both mistakes and fraud. In the fall of 2010 the "robo-signing" scandal began to come to the public's eye.
It has been suggested that the mess is so bad that there is no real fix to it. Therefore one of the things that you will begin to hear in the news in the months ahead is the US Congress passing legislation that will forgive the messes that have been made and that appear will never be resolved within the current laws.
Even though the reduced cap on Jumbo loans does not take effect until October, many banks will begin the stop offering the higher amounts with concerns of gettiing the loans closed before the deadline.
Finger Lakes waterfront homes buyers may want to take this into account while relative rates for Jumbo's are so low but before the lower cap on loan amounts are imposed!
There are two major restraints right now for our real estate market; one is the lending standards are more stringent than they have been and second, consumer sentiment is negative. Both probably will improve, but when?
From an objective point of view, we have a very good inventory of homes at affordable prices with interest rates very low. Even for investors, this article about rising rents should be a great backdrop to investing in residential real estate.
We stand ready to guide and assist. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
There are many great things to do in the Finger Lakes. Our own Mary St. George has published this quick video for your viewing. Its summer time at Keuka Lake and all the Finger Lakes…don’t miss out!!
Find out more about The Finger Lakes or some of our Featured Properties!!
This information brought to you by Dave Reeve, Owner/Broker at Wine Trail Properties.
