Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Tax Time: Take Advantage of the $8,000 Housing Credit

http://www.aplustaxservice.net/Tax_Day.gif

While many people know about the Federal Housing Tax Credit for First Time homebuyers, what many people don't know is that you can capture that credit for this year's tax filing. Buyers who complete their home purchase prior to April 15, 2009 can claim the purchase on their 2008 income tax return, as filed on or before April 15. Buyers can also file for an income tax filing extension for tax year 2008, so that home purchases completed in the months after April 15 can also be claimed on the 2008 return.

This is great news for anyone who is buying or looking to buy a new home in the immediate future, because it means that you don't have to wait a year to reclaim the $8,000 credit.

The tax credit may be claimed by buyers who have not owned a home in the previous three years prior to the purchase. The credit amount is equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000. The credit is refundable — it can be claimed even if the home buyer has less than $8,000 in tax liability, and it is a true tax credit.Qualifying home purchases must occur on or after Jan. 1, 2009 and before Dec. 1, 2009. The program is subject to income phaseouts, which begin at $150,000 modified adjusted gross income for married couples and $75,000 for single taxpayers.

Interested homebuyers should look to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com for more information and to this article from which the information was originally drawn.

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Allowing Bankruptcy Judges To Modify Mortgages

The Mortgage Modification Bill that was recently passed by the House of Representatives and is still waiting approval by the Senate is a controversial topic that is constantly discussed . The bill would let judges reduce the value of a loan, extend the terms of the loan, lower the interest rate, delay the effective date of an adjustable rate increase and make other similar changes to a mortgage in order to save a persons home from foreclosure. This bill certainly alleviates a substantial amount of stress on the foreclosure market, but unfortunately this incentive is not available to any homeowners that can afford to repay their mortgages. Do you think it's fair to deny homeowners that ensure their mortgages are paid on time the opportunity to benefit from a modified mortgage that would help make their payments more affordable? This is definitely food for thought and is something I hear come up in conversation very often. What is your take on this?

Plan to Let Judges Alter Loans Stalls [WSJ]
Senate Democrats seeking support for mortgage cramdown legislation [Bubble Meter Blog]

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Friday, March 27, 2009

Americans spending more



Amazing as it sounds, people are spending more after months of tightening their belts. The Commerce Department told CNN that "Consumer spending rose in February, rebounding for the second month in row after falling for 6 straight months" which is great news for retailers, but also an important indicator that consumer confidence is on the rebound as well.

All of that means that the writing is on the wall: great home deals are here now (especially given that the Spring season has arrived), and as consumer confidence rises so will home buying, and the great deals you see today will start disappearing. Combined with the 52 year low mortgage rates, you'll be considered a genius in a few years when you are sitting in a greatly appreciated home!

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Mortgage rates at 52 YEAR low



Home mortgage rates dropped to a 52 year low this week, to 5.19% for an average 30-year fixed mortgage according to national survey, as reported over at CNN. The last time rates dipped lower than 5.19% was in 1956.

To put the plunge in mortgage rates into perspective, 30-year fixed home mortgage rates averaged 6.77% in late October. That means that a $500,000 home loan would now cost you $507 a month less at the current rates compared to in late October or $6,000 a savings a year and $182,581 over the life of the mortgage.

That's a pretty amazing rate, and it seems a good bet that there isn't much room for much more of a drop.

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Our Guest Blogger Jon Salmon says You're a GENIUS


Jon Salmon, his father Egon and his brother Henry photographed by the SI Advance

Before we get into today's post, I want to say how pleased we are to have Jon Salmon of Salmon Real Estate be a guest blogger here on SIREN. Mr. Salmon has been an active member of the Staten Island community, and one of the Island's leading businessmen, so we like to think of it as a little bit of a coup to get him share his thoughts with use here on our little corner of the internet! We asked Mr. Salmon to share his thoughts on what advice he would give to people about real estate, right now. This is what he had to say.

Of the many lessons I have learned in the real estate business over the last 30 years, one of them at the top of the list is that recession or a down market in real estate, provides buying opportunities. Put another way, when everyone decides to sell, that’s the time to buy.

In the classic film Caddy Shack, there is a scene where Rodney Dangerfield, on the golf course, calls his stock broker on a cell phone yelling "Buy, buy, buy!" He then pauses and says "Everyone is buying? Then sell, sell, sell!" Who would ever think that one of the greatest lessons of investing would come from such a slap stick movie?

Real Estate prices have dropped, in some cases, to levels not seen in several decades. If you have ever considered buying a vacation or retirement home in Florida, for example, and you have the means then you would be foolish not to buy now. Can prices go lower? Sure. But if it’s your intention to hold this home for the foreseeable future, does it really matter if the prices go down a little more before they start their inevitable march higher? The same would hold true for your primary residence, no matter where it is.

On Staten Island, residential opportunities, whether they are new homes or resales, abound. Current homeowners anxious to sell as well as builders needing to unload inventory, are willing to “talk Turkey.” For first time home buyers, this is a “no brainer.” If you want to “move up,” keep in mind that while your current home may have dropped in value, the “move up” home, as a percentage of value, has dropped even more. Couple this with historically low interest rates, now projected to go as low as 4%, and this creates a perfect storm of opportunity, if you act NOW!

And there are commercial and investment properties that actually make sense now, too. This assessment is based on income, rather than speculation which was what had been driving the market before the economy dipped. In other words, they make sense based on what they are worth not on what you can flip the property for.

We all know people who bought stocks at their low during the Gulf War in the early nineties. I can guarantee with absolute certainty that sometime in the near future, you will meet some “savvy” real estate investor that tells you they bought their “bargain” property during the down market of 2008/2009.

So my friends, the best advice I can give and perhaps the best investment advice you will ever get, is: Buy Real Estate NOW and within 10 years, they will call you a GENIUS!

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

New Home Sales up 4.7%



The Wall Street Journal is reporting that sales of "new homes nationwide rose 4.7% last month" due to falling prices and low mortgage rates are helping to stir buying activity, along with the $8,000 Federal Housing Tax credit.

This may well be the market turning the corner, like we have been talking about and for many of the reasons that we have been hot on here for a while!

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Oriental Plaza Review: Old Faces, New Location



Let’s face it; Staten Islanders love their Chinese and Japanese food. This is pretty apparent by the presence of a Chinese restaurant or take-out in every shopping center and on almost every block, and a Japanese and sushi restaurant in every other shopping center and block. Many of these restaurants offer the same kind of food, with little or no differentiation between them and most of the time you already know what you want without even having to look at a menu. For many years, there was one restaurant that not only offered quality Chinese food, but also capitalized on Staten Island’s love of Japanese cuisine. Oriental Plaza was a favorite of many residents because of the consistently good food, above average sized portions, upscale atmosphere, exceptionally friendly service and the idea that you could enjoy your favorite Chinese dish while your family and friends ordered sushi and other Japanese favorites.


Unfortunately, Oriental Plaza left the Marsh Ave. shopping plaza behind the mall and hadn’t been heard from until a few months ago when they returned to a new location at 1845 Richmond Ave. The building is newer, more modern and much larger, but thankfully the food tastes just as good and the service is as friendly as it ever was. Although this two story building looks like it would best be served as a bank or office building, Oriental Plaza clearly needed both levels because on a Saturday or Sunday, families from across the island flock to this restaurant. And during the week, they have a pretty large lunch crowd that comes in to take advantage of the $3.98 and up lunch specials.

Oriental Plaza had established an unusually strong and loyal customer base when they opened behind the mall all those years ago, and I’m glad to see that their customers had not let their loyalties wander while Oriental Plaza was transitioning. I’m a proud supporter and long- time patron of Oriental Plaza since they originally opened on Marsh Ave., and I wish them nothing but the best of luck and success in their new location.

Oriental Plaza back in business [SILIVE]
Yelp Review!

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Monday, March 23, 2009

House Hunters: Staten Island Edition

A couple searches for a home in the Rosebank area of Staten Island before their wedding day. What a nice wedding gift!

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Culture on Staten Island: The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art

One of the most exquisite spots on Staten Island, hands down, is the The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art. Check out this video that guides you through the wonders of this magnificent cultural museum on Staten Island.

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Portobello Café Review: Quantity and Quality in Excessive Amounts



Do you ever find yourself some days just craving that perfect bowl of pasta, one that’s been smothered with a homemade marinara sauce and grated cheese? Or maybe you’re a Chicken Parmagiana kind of person who just can’t say no to a dinner plate sized chicken breast, breaded to perfection, and absolutely dripping with delicious melted fresh mozzarella cheese. Either way, Portobello CafĂ© located at 4221 Hylan Blvd. has your Italian meal of choice.

Portobello CafĂ© is an average sized restaurant, with a comfortable and inviting environment. The staff is very attentive and ensures you get exactly what you want, although I did encounter an isolated incident where our waitress was unaware that she had our table that evening. I had to call the maitre d’ over in order to get someone to take our order. But he was incredibly helpful and we got our drinks right away. Portobello Cafe offers a just right sized menu with a long list of deliciously detailed appetizers and a perfect amount of entrĂ©e selections. While the menu isn’t especially long, you will have trouble deciding because everything on the menu sounds so delicious, and I can attest, it is all as good as it sounds. You have all of your basics covered in this little Italian hotspot. Pastas dishes, chicken dishes, fish dishes and various meat dishes are all here to satisfy your palette’s Italian desires. Suspiciously absent however, was an Eggplant Parmagiana entrĂ©e, much to my girlfriend’s disappointment.


Now, here’s where it gets good, you definitely want to pay attention to this. Portobello CafĂ©, for years now, has run a mid week special on their entrees and never more so than now has this special been more welcomed, given the current economic climate. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening from 4pm until 10pm, Portobello CafĂ© offers buy one entrĂ©e and get the 2nd for FREE. That’s right BOGO (buy one, get one) on sensationally delicious, incredibly high quality Italian food on Staten Island. Where else can you get that at a top quality restaurant? Oh and did I mention that the portions are absolutely HUGE. Make sure you bring your appetite when you go, because just because it’s BOGO, Portobello CafĂ© doesn’t skip on quality or quantity, both are present in excessively welcomed amounts.


While entrees are appropriately priced at $15.95-$21.95 a piece, a couple on a budget could easily enjoy a top quality Italian meal with leftovers for around $25. Not too shabby for what you are getting. So bring your date, definitely bring your appetite and leave your credit cards at home, because Portobello CafĂ© doesn’t accept credit cards for their weekday specials. And make sure you arrive early, because as you can imagine, this place gets jam-packed during the week. With the economy dragging down people’s spirits and bank accounts, Portobello CafĂ© offers the kind of food that lifts those spirits at prices that won’t hurt your wallets.

Active Diner Review!
Yelp Review!

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

What a Relief!


Photo by Quint Cobb on Flickr.

The Foreclosure Relief Plan perfectly pin-pointed the most affected market. Within the past couple of years, mortgage rates were at their highest. The fact that this plan is aimed at owners who owe at least 80% on their homes, but no more than 105%, makes it clear that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are interested in helping the economy and homeowners land back on their feet. Here's why. Recent homebuyers, and by recent we mean within the past two years, took out mortgages when interest rates peaked. Most paid a downpayment, at the very least, of 10%. Therefore, assuming they didn't refinance right away, which they most likely didn't because interest rates continued to increase, they would fall into this category of homeowners (owing between 80% and 105%) that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are looking to assist. You may have your doubts, and realize that you are only allowed one modification on your loan, and would rather wait it out. My advice, cut your losses and take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts, because you never know where the economy will end up. Staten Island's foreclosures have been decreasing, and I would push family/friends to refinance in order to continue this positive decline. If this peaks your interest, which it should, you can get more details about the program at NAHB.

- By special guest blogger Ariel Joudai, CPA

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

$8,000 Tax Credit Goes Viral on Facebook and Youtube

Social Networking has become a term that is universal throughout the globe, and is one of the most cost effective and efficient ways to disseminate information to the public.

NAHB is utilizing two of the most popular social networking sites, Facebook and Youtube, to educate first-time home buyers about the new $8,000 tax credit. To coincide with what I've been blogging about, I recommend you check out NAHB's Facebook and Youtube pages, which has access to the latest information and resources on the tax credit, including a consumer-focused Q&A video and television public service announcement. There is a lot of valuable information to get consumers off of the fence and into their first home.

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Obama’s Housing Plan


Photo by DJ XAVIOR on Flickr.

The economy is in shambles, the housing market has took a nosedive, the stock market decided to skydive from 14,000 feet, the retail sector is collapsing, people are losing their jobs to the tune of 600,000 per month, retirement accounts have tanked by 40% or more, ensuring people will have to work much longer than they ever intended to and oh yeah, we’re still fighting two wars on the other side of the world.

Given the current state of the union, I have to commend president Obama for marching into office and hitting the ground running. Within a matter of weeks, he had an economic stimulus bill waiting for his signature and now he’s taken a second approach by offering a housing plan that could help to stabilize the housing market, which is the biggest contributor to the economy becoming Swiss cheese.

There are a wide variety of options for troubled homeowners in the housing plan. While it doesn’t address every single scenario, the main point to extract is that if you are a homeowner in good standing with your mortgage lender and you are having problems paying your monthly payment, due to a shrunken income or to increased monthly payment due to a rate reset, then the federal government will work with the lender to modify your loan. The loan modification will work to adjust your monthly payment to a maximum of 31% of your gross monthly income. There are, however, many rules and restrictions to the housing plan. For instance, you must prove that you will be able to pay the new monthly payment, given your current salary. And if you have unfortunately recently lost your job, there isn’t a whole lot in this plan to help you. You also must live in the residence in question; this bill is not intended to help investors. Additionally, your mortgage can not exceed Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan limits, which are $417,000 in most areas and up to $729,750 in higher cost areas, like New York and California. So be sure to read the details carefully and if you still have questions about whether or not you are qualified to take advantage of the housing plan, then you could always contact your mortgage provider.

Obama Housing Plan: What You Need to Know [NY Times]
Q. and A.: Obama’s Housing Rescue Plan and You [NY Times]

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Friday, March 13, 2009

SIREN Exploration: Staten Island Rock Sculptures

Every Friday, Doug Schwartz creates rock sculptures on the shore of Mount Loretto State Park on the southern tip of Staten Island. He's been making them for over a decade. Check out this video...pretty artsy.

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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Mitoushi Sushi Review-Half the Price Without Compromising Quality



Do you enjoy eating sushi, but can’t afford to stomach the prices nowadays? You’re not alone. These days, most people are tightening their belts and cutting back on non-necessities, which include dining out. However, for that spicy salmon lover out there, there’s a little bit of hope in a little shopping center called Akron Plaza. It’s right off of Richmond Ave., across the street from Chilli’s on Akron St. In that shopping center resides a Japanese restaurant called Mitoushi Sushi. While Japanese restaurants are everywhere, this one has a slight competitive advantage over many of the others. While this recession has brought down the prices of homes and the prices of cars, Mitoushi Sushi has even brought down the price of sushi, by half. Welcome to the wonderful world of half price sushi that’s not half the quality.



Mitoushi Sushi offers all of your favorite rolls, including some very interesting specialty rolls. Their specialty rolls are good, but are regular price. But you’re not coming here for their specialty rolls. The real bargain lies in your everyday rolls. All of your basic rolls (i.e salmon, tuna, spicy salmon and tuna, eel avocado, etc.) are all $2.95, all day, everyday. I repeat, all day everyday. These aren’t weekday lunch specials. And the individual pieces of sushi are only $1.25 a piece all day every day as well. There are many restaurants on Staten Island that offer extravagant specialty rolls, with extravagant prices. And if that’s what you’re looking for, then I recommend going to Fushimi or even Sapporo. However, if you’re in the mood for a quick Sushi lunch or dinner, and don’t mind sticking to the basics, then you can’t go wrong with Mitoushi Sushi. Mitoushi Sushi offers good quality sushi at a price we could all swallow.

Yelp Review!

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Housing Affordability at Record High's


Photo by on ~Bradford~ Flickr.

If everyone is talking about something, then there must be some truth to it...right or wrong? Not too long ago the media mostly spoke about how home prices were still too high, but now that home prices have fallen far enough, at least in many areas, housing affordability are at levels that haven't been seen in the past 40 years. That's not something to snarl at or take lightly! We might have a big debt problem, but we certainly don't have a problem with finding affordable homes these days. If you are someone who does not have the burden of swimming in a pool of debt, then you are a prime candidate for the smorgasbord of desirably priced homes that are available.

Back in 2005 personal incomes did not meet the requirements for buying a home at affordable means, which is what put us in this mess in the first place. According to a NY Times article, now that incomes are up and home prices are down substantially; if you want to buy a home today, act quickly, because the incentives available today I'm sure will be gone in the future. And no one can foresee when in the future that may be, so do you choose to gamble, or not is the question?


Housing Market’s Upside: Affordability [NY Times]

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Golden Nuggets of Opportunities in Foreclosures

Foreclosure is a real estate term that has been heard more often over the past year and a half due to the current recession. Unfortunately one person's misfortune, can be another person's gain, but for consumers that are looking to buy a home for 50 to 60 percent below their peak values, can find golden nuggets of opportunities in foreclosed and distressed properties. Via a CNN article there was a foreclosure auction at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City this past Sunday that drew around 2,000 potential buyers looking to find great bargains in the 375 foreclosed properties that were available for bidding. This shows me that consumers have finally acknowledged that there are great deals in the market and they are being proactive in the homebuying process. As more people attend these auctions, inventories in foreclosures will decrease, which will reduce the banks non-performing assets and will create more liquidity for these banks so they can start lending again. Staten Island has already started to see a recovery in the foreclosure market and I am confident that coupled with Obama's foreclosure plan we will see further reductions in foreclosures. Check out the video below highlighting a family's dream to buying a desirably priced home at the foreclosure auction in NYC.

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Monday, March 9, 2009

Monday Fun Day Video: Crusin Staten Island in 1966

This video was shot in 1984, trying to replicate what teenagers on Staten Island did for fun in the 60's. If you grew up listening to ska music, cruised Hylan Boulevard in your cool convertible, wore tacky sunglasses and thought smoking cigarettes made you cool, then you might enjoy this video :)

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Friday, March 6, 2009

Learning more about Great Kills

A recent article in the NY Times, tells us about the Great Kills neighborhood. The article says that while people typically leave southern Brooklyn and move to Staten Island then to New Jersey, when Great Kills is the place they move to many never leave because the family-friendly atmosphere is the kind of place where people end up settling down.

About 26,000 middle and upper-middle class people live in the roughly two square miles that makes up Great Kills where there are restaurants and stores along Amboy Road, and Great Kills Harbor, "a boat-studded cove sheltered on one side by a federally protected park."

"Yacht clubs, marinas and large new homes fill the area nearest to the water. Along Tennyson Drive and the aptly named Mansion Avenue in particular, grandiose new homes, many of them brick colonials, overlook the water. But there is still a sprinkling of single-story bungalows, some built before World War II.

The housing quickly becomes more uniform and modest traveling north, past Amboy Road and the Staten Island Railroad tracks. The streets there are lined with single- and two-family colonials and high ranches, most of them built in the 1970s and 1980s, when Staten Island’s population increased significantly."

The article also mentions that Great Kills has plenty to offer in terms of recreation from the 580-acre Great Kills Park, which fly includes a dedicated model airplane field, to Seaside Wildlife Nature Park, and Crescent Beach. Great Kills is also home to that perennial favorite seaside restaurant, the Marina cafe.

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Housing Affordability Surges in Fourth Quarter of 2008

According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released on Feb 19, housing affordability surged nationally at the end of 2008 to its highest level in at least five years.

The HOI indicated that 62.4% of all new and existing homes sold in the final quarter of 2008 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $61,500, up considerably from 56.1% in the previous quarter and 46.6% in the same quarter a year earlier.

The surge is good news looking for those getting into a new home, and is attributed to falling home prices and very favorable mortgage rates. Read more about it at the NAHB website.

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Thursday, March 5, 2009

Slow Economy, Great Opportunity



I came across an interesting article in Crains, an influential New York business newspaper. Not often do you get too much about Staten Island in there, but what I found today echoes what I have been saying about how opportunities abound in bad markets.

The article focuses on the infamous Teleport buildings in the Bloomfield section of Staten Island. The buildings were built in the late 1980s, and were occupied by AT&T until they abandoned the property in favor of a location in New Jersey in 2002.



For the last seven years the property has been vacant. Silverstein Properties, of World Trade Center fame has owned the property until local developer Richard Nicotra bought it from him last December. For $25 Million. That's not all; Mr. Nicotra is spending up to $15 Million to renovate the sprawling property into Class "A" office space.

So what does this mean to you and I, the average Joe, and residential real estate?

I think there are a couple of things think about from this article. The first is that wee should be proud that Staten Island isn't nearly the backwater that the other boroughs often portray us as. After all, if Mr. World Trade Center Larry Silverstein thought enough of Staten Island to buy up a giant multi-million dollar chunk of it, then there must be something alluring about Staten Island, some hidden opportunity.

The second thing that I take from this reflects what I have been saying recently -- that the down economy is a great time to buy because there are great opportunities to be had. Mr. Nicotra opened his successful Hilton Hotel just days after 9/11 and suffered through some of the worst years for the hotel industry. He is someone that realizes that despite the hard times we are in now, time marches on, things change and that now is the time to get in on the ground floor. In times like these, $40 million dollars is a helluva lot of money to spend, but it is also a vote of confidence for Staten Island's future, and probably a great investment.

Looking at the residential market, New York City has been growing at amazing rates over the last decade, and every year there is a demand for up to 60,000 units of housing. We build only 20,000 or so every year. Even if that demand were halved, we would still not be building enough housing in the five boroughs to satisfy the need for housing. As people get pushed out of the other boroughs because of cost, whether "native" Staten Islanders like it or not, homes will still be a hot commodity. I think someone unsure about getting a home should think hard about taking a page out of Mr. Nicotra's book, and get in on the ground floor.

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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

A Tour of Staten Island

From the Borough President's office:

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At Home in Staten Island



"Ah, well!" my true love said and smiled,
"There's shade to every glory ;
There's no true paradise on earth
Except in song or story.

The place is fair, and while thou'rt here,
Thy land shall still be my land,
And all the Eden earth affords
Be ours in Staten Island."

There isn't a whole lot of poetry that surrounds Staten Island. The above is an excerpt from Charles McKay's poem, At Home in Staten Island, which you can read in full at the New york Public Library's post.

The poem, published in the weekly London periodical All The Year Round in April 11, 1869, still describes the Staten Island's natural beauty wonderfully. Also interesting is that the publication was edited by Charles Dickens (yes, THAT Charles Dickens, above) whose family has had more than a glancing relationship to our fair isle, all of which is described in the NYPL post above.

McKay was a Civil War correspondent for the London Times that lived in Staten Island and was a Southern sympathizer, though he opposed slavery. It appears that McKay chose to live on Staten Island during that time because of the community of Southerners centered around the Pavilion Hotel in New Brighton, Staten Island.


Many of this community were Southerners were stranded for the duration of the War and included former First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler, the widow of President John Tyler.

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Obama Foreclosure Plan to Help Resolve Housing Crisis

Today, a $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan designed to help seven to nine million “responsible” home owners remain in their homes with affordable mortgage payments starts rolling out. This is the helping hand that the housing sector has been promised by the White House and has three main components:

  • A refinancing program for borrowers of mortgages held or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who are current on their mortgage payments but who have been unable to refinance because the value of their home has declined

  • A mortgage modification program for borrowers in default, or at imminent risk of default, that builds on the model established by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation by expanding eligibility and establishing incentives for borrowers, mortgage holders and servicers

  • Actions to bolster the financial stability and mortgage support capacity of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
I think that this is a positive step in stabilizing the housing market, but it is also a good indicator that the great deals on foreclosures will start drying up. That means that those who are serious about trying to get themselves into a great property by investing in opportunities caused by foreclosures need to start thinking about making their move!

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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

It's in the can!



No, I'm not talking about the economy. I'm talking about an exciting new development here at SIREN! Last Sunday we got raw footage in the can for our very first SIREN show which will be aired on Staten Island CTV in a few weeks. We are also going to add segments from what we hope will be a monthly show onto our posts.

We were very fortunate to be able to get a stellar panel of guests from SI Board of Realtors, Equity Valuation Associates and Victory State Bank to come talk to us about the Staten Island real estate market and why it is a good time to purchase a home now.

Keep your eyes peeled for some great content coming up here on SIREN!

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Staten Island Leads the Way



I just came across an article from the National Association of Homebuilder's announcing that Toll Brother's now has a Mortgage Protection Plan. Essentially, the plan aims to reassure prospective buyers who are unsettled by the current economic downturn and rising unemployment by providing its home buyers with greater financial security by paying their mortgage in the event of a job loss. The program is provided at no cost to Toll Brothers’ home buyers provided that they finance their new home through Toll Brothers' mortgage company and covers up to $2,500 in monthly mortgage payments for six months if the new home owner suffers a job loss within the first two years after closing on their home.

However, what I found interesting was the fact that while we think of Staten Island as a borough that just follows national trends and ideas, this is an instance where Staten Island beat the big boys to the punch. The program that Toll Brothers is offering has already been in place here on Staten Island at The Estates at Opal Ridge at least a week if not more before Toll Brother's launched their program.

I called up the sales center, and the guy who picked up the phone told me to come in to learn more about the program. While I didn't have time to do that, I did manage to get out of him that they have had a great response to the program, that they have actually expanded the coverage to up to $5,000 and that unlike Toll they don't require you get a mortgage from their own company.

I think it is pretty awesome to see Staten Island leading the way in real estate, rather than just going with the flow. Admittedly, this was not a huge scoop, but still it is encouraging that this kind of innovative thinking is happening here. I think its the kind of thing that the market needs to convince people that its safe to buy a home.

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Tip of the Day: A Tax Write Off With a "Handyman Special"


Photo by Yo Spiff on Flickr.

Another plus to investing in real estate as soon as possible.... People are saying it's impossible to sell and rent in this market. However, with all the foreclosures out there, it is definitely a smart move to buy a "handyman's special," for more than one reason. Although it is extremely difficult to flip a house in this economy, there are still investors that are buying newly constructed homes. The up side to this is that you can buy cheap, fix cheap, and sell it for well below market and still profit!! Additionally, in the event that you have to hold on to your newly renovated rental property, you are able to report a loss on your Schedule E for all improvements, taxes, insurance, and can even depreciate the property. In the worst scenario, you are able to get a major refund on all the taxes that were withdrawn from your hard earned paychecks! And if you are successful in selling, you clearly put your money into a 1030 exchange and keep playing the real estate game.... Does that sound enticing to you?

- By special guest blogger Ariel Joudai, CPA

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