Foreclosures Are Getting Too Close To Home October 3, 2008
Posted by Geri in family, foreclosures, Long Island, New York, Real Estate, Real Estate Market.Tags: foreclosures, loans, long island homes, mortgages, Real Estate, Real Estate Market
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Wanna Be On TV — Apply Here November 22, 2006
Posted by Geri in family, feelings, HGTV, Home, love, Real Estate, Selling Your Home, television show, TV, wedding.add a comment
After having a hearty laugh over at Marlow Harris’ blog, I felt compelled to bring it on over here. There’s no limit to what some people will do for their 15 minutes of fame. Recruiting now, HGTV is looking for a young couple just about to tie the knot, but without a plan for the wedding’s execution. Seems a little short sighted to me since the show proposes to have three designers vie for the chance to create the perfect backdrop for this lucky couple this winter. Designers’ Challenge happens to be one of my favorite shows but . . . So, if you’re thinking of popping the question, now might be a good time –that is if you have friends and family in or near Los Angeles to share your big day.
On a more practical note, if you have a house on the market in Los Angeles or Chicago that could use a facelift, you might want to contact HGTV to have the Designed To Sell team work their magic and turn your property into a showplace. Now if they’d only come to Long Island.
To apply online, visit www.pietown.tv
Just In Time For A Christmas Miracle November 17, 2006
Posted by Geri in Dogs, family, feelings, General, Home, In The News, Long Island, News, Pets, Uncategorized.3 comments
There had to be divine intervention for two miracle pups rescued by Little Shelter on Long Island. Magic and Merlin, three week old mixed breed puppies born with severely cleft palates would have had no chance at survival without the intervention of the caring people at Little Shelter, one of the island’s oldest no kill facilities.
As so often happens when good samaritans hear about the plight of others, there was an outpouring of offers of assistance. They came from far and wide and included Plastic Surgeons, Veterinarians and the public at large. Reported in Newsday, they’re waiting for the dogs to be old enough for the first of multiple surgeries to set them on the path of hopefully long and happy lives. They will remain in my prayers.
It’s A Dog’s Life October 25, 2006
Posted by Geri in Dogs, family, General, Home, Pets, Real Estate, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
We all know that the real estate market is in the doldrums in much of the country. With houses stagnating in a constipated market, some real estate agents are beginning to wonder where their next sale will come from. Suggesting an interesting alternative, Glenn Roberts Jr. of Inman News exposes us to the world of Doggie Mansions.
In true consumer oriented fashion, Donald Gorbach, a veteran real estate broker in Palm Beach, Florida offers a wide range of custom homes for those princely pooches. Not to overlook the preferences of Fido’s owners, they’ve created a meditteranean Palm Beach style, a New England beach house and Casa Colonial, just a few of the many choices.
For all the dog lovers out there, it’s worth a look at this innovative site. If you’re thinking of buying a special home for your four legged friend and you don’t want your kids to be jealous, you might want to consider the 80 square foot mini-mansion.
Snowbirds — What You Need To Know! October 22, 2006
Posted by Geri in Buying a Home, family, General, Home, Long Island, New York, Real Estate, Selling Your Home, Uncategorized.add a comment
For many Long Islanders, especially as they grow older, winter and 
cold weather is something they’d just as soon avoid. In growing numbers they head south for the season, many to their second homes in Florida. It seemed the ideal solution when they purchased, offering the opportunity to remain near family and friends in the north for the greater part of the year and to enjoy “paradise” while we shiver, and where nobody’s heard of a snow shovel.
Because of the inequity in Florida’s tax structure, these snowbirds aren’t entitled to the homestead exemption, resulting in property taxes totally out of whack with year round residents who just might be their next door neighbors. Unless Florida does something to accommodate their winter population, they’re likely to lose revenue to other states in the sunbelt.
Chartwell & The Bristal, It’s All About Seniors October 19, 2006
Posted by Geri in Assisted Living, family, General, In The News, Long Island, New York, Senior Housing.2 comments
Chartwell Senior Housing REIT, with it’s announced transactions today having a total value of approximately $850 million when completed would make it Canada’s number one operator of senior housing facilities.
What makes this significant to Long Islanders is the proposed acquisition of the five properties under The Bristal umbrella. These upscale senior assisted living facilities, opened between 2001 to 2006, attend to the physical needs of an aging population while celebrating their independence of spirit. Each of the communities from the north to the south shores of Nassau County have their own personality and style.
Everybody’s A Doctor, But Find Yourself A Good Plumber October 15, 2006
Posted by Geri in Buying a Home, family, feelings, General, Home, Real Estate, Uncategorized.add a comment
I’m always amazed when buyers, especially first time buyers, are ready to make an offer on a listing only to get “expert” advice from . . . everyone. It can be incredibly confusing in a frightening enough transaction involving enormous amounts of money when you get conflicting advice. I’m reminded of a statement my allergist made many years ago when we couldn’t figure out just what was causing my problem. This brilliant and talented man was putting me through a battery of tests to determine what allergen was creating havoc in my body. In surprising numbers almost everyone I met had a theory and a cure. When I called the doctor to ask about some of these possibilities, he said “everybody’s a doctor, but find yourself a good plumber.” That statement has remained with me all these years. It’s so true, everyone is an expert. Well meaning friends and family are all to willing to offer advice but their experience, if they have any might be so dated as to be worthless or worse, it could be a premise built on shifting sand.
If you’re in the market to buy a home, find yourself a competent professional and feel free to ask as many questions as you need to in order to feel comfortable with the process. Then rely on their expertise to point you in the right direction. Your goal, as is theirs, is to get you into a home that will serve your needs and hopefully bring you a lot of happiness.
A Saintly Visit October 10, 2006
Posted by Geri in family, feelings, General, Home, Long Island, New York, Religion, Uncategorized.add a comment
In an unprecedented move, the heart of an unassuming parish priest, known as the “Cure of Ars,” who was later to become St. John Vianney (Jean-Marie Baptiste), was brought to an 80 year old church named after him in Merrick in its first visit to the United States. Attracting as many believers in death as he did in life, thousands of people waited in long lines for their chance to pray before the relic, many of them expecting a miracle. They arrived by bus, by car and on foot for this once in a lifetime opportunity to witness the intact heart of a man who died in 1859.
The son of a poor farmer, St. John Vianney was ordained at the age of 30 after twice failing the examinations required. Though he had trouble learning Latin he was said to have the gift of healing and of reading the hearts of those who came to him. He lived so in the service of others that he started hearing confessions in the earliest hours of the morning, spending up to 13 to 17 hours in the limited confines of the confessional.
When his body was exhumed in 1904 due to pending beatification, miraculously his body was found intact. Both his heart and his body have remained, encased separately in glass in France for over a hundred years.
This gift of faith comes at a time when the church can certainly benefit from a healing of its own. As the patron saints of priests, I would say he’s still doing his job.
Dorothy & Toto Had Nothing On Me October 10, 2006
Posted by Geri in Entertainment, family, feelings, General, Long Island, Long Island Fair, Restoration Village, Uncategorized.add a comment
Probably in keeping with the celebration of the Columbus Day holiday weekend, I had the incredible good fortune to steal a few hours away with my favorite fella and take a wonderful trip back in time. An early morning phone call started the chain of events that brought me and my five year old date to the 164th annual Long Island Fair at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration.
My buyer unexpectedly had to work and needed to reschedule our appointment for late morning. Because there were quite a few houses to show him I chose not to bring anyone else in later in the day. Serendipitously, just as he called, I was thumbing through the paper and happened on the ad for the fair. I’d been thinking a lot lately about my grandson and how the birth of his little brother last month appeared to make him feel just a little bit displaced. We needed to spend some quality time, just the two of us.
Convinced he’d have a great time, I called his dad. It’s not often that I get “time off” on a weekend so this would be a treat for us both. The ride out to the village was filled with lively chatter about the happenings in his world and his plans for the immediate future. I worried that the weather, threatening all morning, wouldn’t hold out and we’d be rained out. But luck was with us.
Standing in the vast expanse of grass that became a makeshift parking lot, I realized this was going to be quite a trek to reach the fair grounds and the attractions ahead. I girded my loins and began the journey, wishing I’d opted for sensible shoes rather than the heels I sported. After a quick stop to buy our tickets we left, map in hand to enter another world and another time. Though there was no tornado and thankfully no witch to flatten, I felt a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, when she first stepped out into that foreign land.
The Village Restoration is a collection of structures restored, transported and sometimes replicated to represent life as it was in a Long Island community of the mid 1800s. There are homes, stores, a one room school house, a church and a working farm among the many buildings that make up this quaint village. My grandson’s favorite aspect of the tour by far was discovering that homes of this era had no indoor plumbing. When told they used outhouses, his response, other than a wide eyed stare was “I guess they didn’t go to the bathroom in the winter.”
We walked past pony and camel rides, a horse and buggy tour around a wide track and all sorts of animals grazing in what appeared to be some sort of center ring. Tempted by none of it we continued our walk around the grounds and finally back out to a staging area where, to my great relief, there were waiting shuttle buses to take us back to the distant parking lot.
What a fun way to spend the day. Now I have to figure out a way to go back for the Halloween celebration on October 28th and 29th. Where there’s a will, they tell me, there’s a way.
All About Long Island 