Real Estate Information

FROM its menu of pre-Prohibition-era tipples concocted with house-made syrups to its setting in a painstakingly restored 1880s sewing machine factory, the year-and-a-half-old Stockade Tavern is the epitome of cocktail chic. But you won’t find it in downtown Manhattan or across the river in Brooklyn; instead, head about two hours north to Kingston, a modest-size city in the Hudson Valley of New York.



Although home to some of the state’s most beautiful and historic architecture, Kingston has been a mostly sleepy spot since I.B.M. closed its plant there in the mid-1990s. But that’s changing, thanks to a fresh crop of bars and restaurants inspired by the city’s old-time charms, as well as its growing population of young artists and its farm-rich location.

“We just felt like country people could use a decent drink, too,” said Giovanna Vis, who owns Stockade Tavern (313 Fair Street; 845-514-2649); with her husband, Paul Maloney, and their business partner, Don Johnson. The bar is named for the Stockade District, also called uptown, which dates back to the mid-17th century.

Another recent addition is Boitson’s (47 North Front Street; 845-339-2333), a stylish American bistro with leather banquettes and marble-topped tables, which opened uptown in June 2010. Maria Philippis, the owner, named it for its benefactor, her former Brooklyn landlord, who died in 2007 and left Ms. Philippis money to pursue her dream of opening a restaurant.

“Mr. Boitson was a sailor in World War II, and I wanted the restaurant to look like the kind of place he would have hung out in,” she said. It offers comfort foods like fried chicken and steak frites, and has an all-New York State beer list and a wide selection of American wines.
A 1927 diner in midtown is home to the recently revamped Old Trolley Kitchen (336 East Chester Street; 845-340-0797). Sylvan Perez, the chef and an owner, with Joy Roman, sees a connection between the building and his culinary mission. “We really respect the idea of local food,” he said. “When the diner first opened, the food would have tended toward the seasonal and fresh because there wasn’t any other choice back then.” (Dinner is served only a few nights a week, so it’s best to call ahead.)

Then there’s Elephant (310 Wall Street; 845-339-9310), a wine and tapas bar around the corner from the Stockade in Kingston’s uptown, and a pioneer of sorts: it opened five years ago in the former recording studio of the cult-indie band Mercury Rev. When the space became available, the landlords, Joe Concra and Denise Orzo, a couple (both are artists), called their friend Rich Reeve, a chef. At the time, it seemed like “the middle of nowhere,” recalled Mr. Reeve, who now runs the business with his wife, Maya Karrol. But the rent was low, so they took a risk. “We just decided we would do what we wanted, and play punk rock and serve beef-heart tacos and pig tails,” Ms. Karrol said.

The restaurant is kept in offal by Fleisher’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats (307 Wall Street; 845-338-6666), the locavore butcher across the street, which opened a second shop in Brooklyn last month and plans to open a burger place in Kingston called Grass next spring.
On a Saturday night last spring, Jesse Van Note, a local musician, was enjoying a drink at Elephant after a local band had finished its set. “We’re in a tapas bar where you can hear surf rock,” he said. “Where else are you going to find that?”
 

The mortgage market is in a state of tumult these days. Rates are bizarrely low, but many homes are worth much less than the mortgage balances they secure. People are still losing their homes left and right, but millions of mortgage applications of creditworthy borrowers are being rejected every year.

Against this backdrop, it's really no wonder that would-be buyers and homeowners alike are in a state of confusion about which end is up in the mortgage marketplace.

To shed some light into this darkness, here are three very common mortgage mistakes that you might be making as we speak -- and some strategies for avoiding or correcting them.

1. Failing to try to refinance because you're upside-down. At last count, nearly 11 million Americans were upside-down on their homes -- meaning they owe more in mortgage(s) than the home is worth -- and that's about 23 percent of all American homes. With interest rates having dropped to historic low after historic low, more than 10 million Americans have refinanced their mortgages since 2009.

But most homeowners with negative equity feel like they are trapped in their 6, 7 or even 8 percent interest mortgages, unable to save the hundreds of dollars every month of a mortgage at today's sub-4 percent rates, because no lender will refinance them.

The fact is, multiple options abound for lowering your interest rate and monthly payment if you're upside down on your home loan. Banks are increasingly amenable to simply modify existing mortgages to render them less prone to default and foreclosure -- especially when the homeowner is trying to recover from a financial hardship like interrupted income due to job loss or illness, and especially with upside-down loans (which are particularly liable to strategic default, without modification).

Also, many banks offer refis on mortgages as much as 25 percent underwater (so long as no payments have been missed) through the Obama administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program and the less widely adopted Federal Housing Administration Short Refinance Program.

Contact your own mortgage bank's loss mitigation division about a loan modification or a refi under HARP, or reach out to any mortgage broker that offers FHA loans to apply for the Short Refi Program.


2. Walking into the bank branch to get a mortgage. Not to jump on the anti-bank bandwagon, but unless your bank happens to be a neighborhood credit union or one of the few large banks that ranks highly in customer satisfaction (e.g., USAA), you'll likely not be satisfied with the speed, customer service or assertiveness of a mortgage banker you meet just walking into the branch.
If you work with a mortgage broker or a private mortgage banker you meet by referrals from your circle of friends and relatives, chances are good you'll get someone who understands that the long-term health of their business depends on you and clients like you getting a deal closed in a timely manner.

Specifically, you should request referrals from folks you know who have bought or refinanced homes relatively recently, as the mortgage pros who are still in business and closing deals successfully these days are necessarily skilled at navigating a very tricky and restrictive mortgage market.

Also, if you work with a mortgage broker whose company also has its own bank, you get the best of both worlds: a professional who will shop lots of banks' offerings to find the best options for you, and someone who can coordinate your transaction via a small pool of local, experienced appraisers. Many large banks select appraisers who don't know the area, which can kill your deal in the long run.

3. Thinking you're stuck with it for 30 years. I've heard people say they didn't want to buy a home because they were depressed by the thought of a debt that would last 30 years. I've heard others regret that they couldn't afford the payment on a 15-year mortgage and instead were stuck with a 30-year loan.

The fact is, you control when you pay your mortgage off, and it doesn't take a lottery or inheritance windfall to pay yours off sooner than later.

Some people pay half their mortgage payment every two weeks, which results in a full extra payment every year and can pay your mortgage off as much as five years early. Others just pay an extra $100 or so as often as they can, and ask their loan servicer to apply the overage to principal.

Some do much more, applying paycheck raises over the years or amounts they once paid to extinguish credit card debt toward their mortgage balances in an effort to pay them off early.
The theme is that, as a borrower, you may have much more power than you thought, from exploring little-known options for getting your upside-down mortgage's payment lowered to being aggressive about paying your home off sooner rather than later. So get clear on your personal goals for your mortgage, get educated about your options and get assertive about making them happen -- now.

Every year, the elite competitive equestrian circuit makes its way around the country, from Ocala, Fla., to Culpeper, Va., to Thermal, Calif. These traveling troupes of privilege and skill also take with them small armies — of trainers, grooms, farriers, veterinarians, even equine acupuncturists and masseuses.

And for the last eight years, this band of competitors and assorted adjuncts have added a somewhat surprising destination to their junket: Saugerties, N.Y., a blue-collar town on the Hudson River about 110 miles north of New York City.


Eight years ago, HITS Incorporated, a company that produces equestrian competitions, built a $15 million showground here; the riders came. More than 3,000 horses and 2,200 competitive equestrians and their entourages descend on this village every summer. And the influx of a moneyed demographic and their free-flowing cash has played a part in transforming the town.

“I feel like Saugerties has won the lottery,” says Daisy Bolle who owns Dig, a high-end clothing shop on Partition Street in the village, which has 3,971 residents, according to the 2010 United States Census.

“When we first came to town, there were a lot of empty stores,” she says. “And now it feels really vibrant. It’s like having the Hamptons in your backyard.”

The Saugerties stage of the circuit has about 300 competitive heats, or classes, at various levels for riders to compete or show in per week, and it runs in three three-week bursts, beginning May 25 and ending Sunday. Olympians like Peter Leone, Nona Garson and Anne Kursinski, as well as top amateurs like Georgina Bloomberg, the daughter of New York City’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, have been regular competitors. Thomas G. Struzzieri, 52, the president and chief executive of HITS, has lived in Saugerties for 13 years and brought the state-of-the-art show grounds here, with its 12 giant barns equipped to hold 1,200 horses on 240 acres, five minutes from town.

“It had a charm I thought my customers might like,” he said of the town. Not to mention that it was also personally convenient. “When you run horse shows around the country, it’s nice to sleep in your own bed once in a while,” he said.

But unlike places like Culpeper, Saugerties is not traditionally horse country.

“It’s a blue-collar community for sure,” Struzzieri said, “but they’ve been really accepting of the horse clients, and they look at it as a great resource.”

But figuring out just how to roll out the welcome mat for the horse set has taken some trial and error.

At Inquiring Minds Bookstore and Cafe, Cheryl Rice, the store’s manager, set up a prominent display of books and manuals on all things equine in May. As of August, few had sold. “Maybe they didn’t have such a need for horse knowledge in book form,” she said, “because they’re already in the business.” Next year she may try horse novels.

At Dig, Bolle filled the shelves with horse-themed jewelry and equestrian print clothes her first year open. None sold, she says. “I think they don’t need the horsey stuff because they have horses,” she said. “What’s better than that?”

What did work was extending her store hours late into the night, a move followed by many other businesses, after realizing the riders’ competition schedules left little room for daytime shopping. On a particularly bustling Saturday night, she says, she has made up to an additional $10,000 from 6 to 11 p.m. “You have to make hay while the sun shines,” she said with a laugh.

The gingerbread ponies with white manes of royal icing flew off the shelves at Hudson Valley Dessert Company on Main Street at twice the rate of cookies shaped like the rest of the barnyard, Constance Bailey, the owner, said. Bailey goes through 150 of the $1 cookies on a horse show weekend, “which doesn’t exactly make us rich, but it makes us friends,” she said.
The influx of athletes, many with citified low-fat and low-carbohydrate tastes, has led her to change her menu. Bailey serves a salad with lime juice instead of dressing and whips up a cream-free soup specifically for when the riders are in town. On show weeks, she orders 300 extra pounds of flour, 45 dozen more eggs and 10 gallons of extra syrup from Breezy Maples Farms.

The riders’ presence accounts for $3,000 in extra business a week, Bailey says.
Down the street at Flanigans Cleaners, decals on the window spell out We Groom the Rider, a slogan the owner, Michael Flanigan, adopted after he realized that he too had a corner to grab in the riding market: the equestrian uniform, a dark jacket with a cotton blouse with a collar called a rat catcher, needs to be always sparkling. He dry cleans more than 2,000 of the shirts alone, at $4.50 apiece, every summer.

It would be difficult to find a business owner in town who does not sing the praises of the summer horse invasion, Flanigan said, but he acknowledged that conflicts had arisen.

Hulking pickup trucks hauling horse trailers caused knots of traffic in the early years and sparked local complaints until places like the hardware store took it upon themselves to hand out maps to the newcomers.

There are also less tangible tensions. The median per capita income in Saugerties is a little more than $20,000, and equestrian competitions are famously the sport of kings.

On a personal level, there can arise the same types of resentments that crop up between working-class residents of the Hamptons and the deep-pocketed set that goes there to play.
In October, Struzzieri plans to open Diamond Mills Hotel and Tavern, a boutique hotel and conference center overlooking the Esopus Creek waterfall, which cost $12 million to $14 million to build and will charge guests up to $400 a night.

“Do I believe that the horse show changed the town? I think it’s worked well in this town,” he said, pointing to economic blows the area has weathered like the shutting in 1994 of the I.B.M. plant in nearby Kingston, N.Y., which employed around 1,500 people. “I think the horse show has been a part of this community finding its way.”

On a Saturday night this summer, clumps of women and girls in pastel polo shirts, tall polished black boots and tan britches with suede patches jammed Stella’s Station, an ice cream parlor on Partition Street. On the opposite side of the counter, a team of young female employees scooped frozen treats, sweating. In the parking lot of the fully-booked Comfort Inn on Route 32 North, off-duty grooms smoked and traded horse stories in Spanish.

Around 10 p.m. two customers lingered at Emiliani Ristorante on Ulster Avenue, huddled close over a plate of linguine, discussing the merits of a chestnut-colored mare. “People will say, Ugh, the restaurants are so crowded when they’re here,” said Bolle, the owner of Dig. “But I say, Yes, but we get to have that restaurant all year round. And if they weren’t here, I don’t know if we would or not.”

When fall is in the air, it's time to put spring in the ground. Autumn is the time for planting the bulbs that will burst into bloom come spring. Sure, it's delayed gratification, but the cheery appearance of crocuses and daffodils at the end of a bleak winter will be worth the wait.

And here's the best part: Planting spring bulbs doesn't take a lot of effort. You dig a hole, you drop in the bulb, and you cover it with soil.


That's the message Dutch bulb growers are trying to get out with their new campaign, Dig.Drop.Done.

"They're so easy to plant. They come with everything they need for the first growing season," said Amy Dube, a flower bulb expert with the Dig.Drop.Done Foundation, an educational effort being backed by members of Holland's Royal Trade Association for Nursery Stock and Flower Bulbs. "You really can't go wrong."

Flower bulbs contain all the nutrients the plant will need to grow and bloom the first year, so there's no need to fertilize newly planted bulbs, Dube said. And because rain is usually plentiful in fall, you probably won't even need to water, other than giving the bulbs a good drink when you first plant them.

Bulb experts usually recommend planting bulbs when nighttime temperatures drop into the low 50s or 40s for two weeks. There's no real need to monitor the weather, though. When it's sweater weather, it's time to plant, said Sally Ferguson, director of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center.

 Ideally you want to plant once the soil cools but before the first hard frost, although you can even plant in December as long as you can still dig, she said.

Even if you're not ready to plant, McCulloh recommended buying bulbs as early as you can. If you wait too long, your favorites might be gone, she said. Look for bulbs that are firm, and keep them in a cool, dark place until you put them in the ground.

Don't fret if the papery skin is broken or missing, Ferguson said. It won't affect the bulb's survival.

Choose a planting spot where the soil drains well, since bulbs might rot in conditions that are too wet. Spring-flowering bulbs like sun, but you can plant under trees or shrubs that will still be bare of leaves when the flowers bloom, Dube said.

Some people like to scatter early bloomers such as crocuses on a lawn and just plant them where they drop, knowing they'll bloom well before the grass needs cutting.

The rule of thumb is the planting hole should be about three times the length of the bulb, but it's best to follow the instructions on the packaging, Dube said. You can dig individual holes for each bulb, or dig a wider hole or trench that can hold a number of bulbs.

The bulb should be planted pointy side up, but that's not crucial. The emerging shoot will find its way up and out of the soil, even if you plant the bulb upside down, Dube said.

Mulch is a good idea, but Ferguson recommended waiting until the ground gets cold before adding it. Otherwise, "you're just creating a warm bed for little voles and mice," which might snack on your bulbs, she said.

McCulloh thinks bulbs look best planted in drifts or masses rather than in lines. Plant at least 25, if you have the room, she said.

Ferguson likes to plant in a diamond shape, with the point toward the viewing area. That gives an illusion of abundance, she said.

But stay away from patterns that are too strictly geometric, McCulloh cautioned. "Guaranteed one won't come up, and it'll ruin the whole design," she said.

Consider planting with perennials that share similar growing requirements and will leaf out as the bulbs' foliage dies back, McCulloh and Dube suggested. The perennials will hide the fading leaves, which need to be left in place until they've yellowed. That allows the plants to use the sun's energy to recharge the bulbs with nutrients for the next year.

Some bulbs, such as daffodils and crocuses, can be counted on to reappear and spread year after year. Others, including most kinds of tulips, are better treated as annuals, since they get smaller with each reappearance.

Which bulbs should you plant?
Whatever flowers and colors you like, the experts say.

McCulloh, for instance, is partial to glory-of-the-show, a charming flower the blooms early and comes in pink, white and a vibrant blue she loves. Dube plan to combine pink and orange this year, but she also likes the striking combination of white and black - well, really a very dark purple.

It just depends on what says renewal to you.
Think joy. Think freshness. Think spring.


HOW TO PROTECT SPRING BULBS FROM ANIMALS
Keeping critters from digging up your bulbs or munching on your spring flowers can be a challenge. Here are some strategies for discouraging squirrels, deer and other marauders:

-Plant flowers the animals don't like. A few suggestions are daffodils, fritillaries, alliums, scilla, chionodoxa, leucojum and galanthus.

-Wear gloves when you plant. Squirrels have come to associate the scent of humans with food.

-Clean up planting debris, such as the bulbs' papery skin. The scent of that debris can attract squirrels.

-Lay an old screen, some chicken wire or some other kind of mesh over the places where you've planted to make it hard for animals to dig there. Remove it once the ground has settled or frozen. You can even lay a sheet of chicken wire right on top of the bulbs in the ground, before you cover them with soil. The shoots will grow through the wire.

-Deer love tulips. If you must grow them, plant them close to the house, where deer are less likely to feed. However, know that some deer won't be easily deterred.

For many homeowners, a shiny new car is as integral a part of the home as the roof and the door—and it’s often right next to both. That’s because many people go to great lengths to protect the beloved car from the elements, chief of which is garaging it rather than leaving it out in the driveway.

Garaging a car keeps it safe and snug—but, if the garage is attached to the home, some risks ensue. One major risk is fire. Most folks have plenty of combustible material in their garages, from gas and oil cans to cleaning products. Combine this with all the fuel and oil in your car, and one errant leak can ignite a devastating fire.

A less obvious, but just as dangerous, concern is carbon monoxide, which is potentially deadly. (In fact, now is the perfect time to check and make sure you have a CO2 alarm in your home and that it’s working). What makes carbon monoxide so scary is that it’s invisible—odorless, colorless, and tasteless—and it’s in your car’s exhaust. Always keep not only the exterior garage door open, but keep your car door open as well, when starting the car—the goal is to have as much ventilation directly to the outdoors as possible. Also, don’t idle the car in the garage; pull the car out of the garage as quickly as possible after starting the car. It sounds basic, but it’s easy to make mistakes and get distracted as soon as you get in the car.

Luckily, there’s no need to panic over these risks—you can minimize them. Just use common sense, and rest assured that you have a whole bunch of codes on your side. Those codes, and the builders who put them into practice, can help to greatly minimize the risk. Here’s a rundown of U.S. national fire codes for attached garages in single-family homes:

-Half-inch gypsum board is required on the garage side of any walls that the garage and house share, as well as any walls that support a ceiling in the garage that is connected to the house. This gypsum board helps prevent fire from igniting wall studs and quickly spreading to the house.

-Any garage ceilings common to the house must contain fire-resistant 5/8 Type X gypsum board.

-The door from the garage into the house must be fire-resistant; it must either have a 20-minute burn rating or, if not rated, must be solid and 1 3/8 inches thick. Lastly, this door must not open onto a room used for sleeping.

-The garage floor must be non-combustible.

-No supply or return air registers or ducts may be in the garage, under any circumstance. Any duct-work that passes through the garage with no openings (the only kind, as no openings are allowed) must be sealed with fire-stop caulking. The ducting material must be 26-gauge steel.

Note that these are national codes; many local codes, which usurp national codes where applicable, are even more stringent. And if you are worried about remembering the above when buying or selling a home, don’t worry—you don’t have to. Just choose a good home inspector, who will know all the rules regarding garage safety. Your only other job, besides exercising common sense, is to drive carefully and enjoy your new wheels.

By Charles Furlough  RISMEDIA

Getting a mortgage can be tough these days -- even people with near-perfect credit have been rejected for loans. But for some lucky borrowers, things aren't as bad as the doom-and-gloom crowd says.

At a recent press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said lending standards for mortgages have tightened so considerably that "the bottom third of people who might have qualified for a prime mortgage in terms of, say, FICO scores a few years ago -- cannot qualify today."

Indeed, roughly one-in-four mortgage applicants was denied in 2010, up from about 18% in 2003, according to data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. And those are just the ones that apply -- many discouraged potential borrowers don't even bother to apply anymore.

Yet, there is money to lend. Bob Ryan, the acting commissioner for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, recently said that mortgage money "is flowing, it's stable, it's tightened from the boom years, but it's there."

And many of those potential home buyers sitting on the sidelines may just have a shot at it -- as long as they take a few crucial steps.

"The belief is that you can't get a mortgage at all -- but you can," Keith Gumbinger, of the mortgage information provider HSH Associates.

What you need for traditional mortgages:
Most of the major mortgage underwriters have only returned to the more prudent standards of the days before the housing bubble. Now, according to Tuck Bradford, a branch manager with lender Mortgage Master, borrowers usually must meet four criteria in order to get a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the two government-run mortgage giants:

• The ability to make a 20% down payment, plus closing costs.
• A good credit score. Borrowers usually need a minimum credit score of 620.
• Enough income to afford payments. The general rule of thumb: no more than 28% of your gross income should go toward housing costs.

• A loan-to-value ratio of 80%. Lenders want the home value to far exceed the mortgage balance because if a borrower defaults, the bank sells the home to recoup the loss.
In today's market, however, even having all four of these factors in place doesn't always guarantee that you will get a loan.

Steve Habetz, a loan officer in Westport, Conn. had a client who was seeking to refinance but he had a single blemish scarring an otherwise spotless credit report. The client had a couple million dollars in assets, high income, ample home equity -- and a strong credit score of 700.
"This guy was a Boy Scout when it came to paying debts," said Habetz. "He had never been late."

Yet, Habetz couldn't get him a mortgage. The problem: an investment property the client had owned and tried to unload but couldn't (thanks to the housing bust). He eventually resorted to a short sale -- a deal in which the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to pay the amount owed on the mortgage and the bank agrees to forgive the losses.

Not only did the short sale lop 100 points or so off his credit score, but it also resulted in an automatic rejection of his refinance application.

"It's maddening," said Habetz. "Other than that one detail, he's very low risk. Because he had the short sale, he's out of the box for two years."

But, for every client like Habertz's who gets rejected, there are those who have been much luckier at landing mortgage loans. And typically, they have turned to the Federal Housing Administration for help.

"The FHA is just about as free and easy as it was in the go-go days," said Gumbinger.

Standards for these loans, insured by the FHA and issued by regular mortgage lenders, are flexible and aimed at making mortgage borrowing easier, especially for working-class Americans.

For years, the FHA had no minimum credit score requirement at all. Now though, it requires a minimum of 580 to qualify for a 3.5%-down loan and 500 for a 10%-down mortgage.

In practice, however, some banks will impose higher standards, according to Scott Sheldon, a loan officer with First California Mortgage in Sonoma County, Calif.

"We FHA lenders have to protect ourselves and we've been going with a 640 minimum for a 3.5% mortgage," he said.

How one high-risk borrower got lucky:
Sheldon had one client who seemed like an impossible case. The client was buying a home in Healdsburg, California, the heart of Sonoma's wine country. His credit score was just over 600, he was paying alimony and child support and he only had enough money for a small down payment. And there was one additional tiny problem: He had just emerged from bankruptcy in April 2009.

In other ways, he was low-risk borrower. He grossed $10,000 a month, ample enough to satisfy debt-to-income guidelines on the $315,000 home he was buying, and he was able to document a stable work history.

The client knew he had to raise his credit score above the 600 level in order to improve his chances. So he paid a credit repair service, Lexington Law, about $500 to find and correct errors in his records. That helped boost his score above 640.

The client got the loan and closed on a home a couple weeks ago. The bankruptcy made it tough -- but not impossible.

As Melanie Roussell, a spokeswoman for the FHA explained, the agency is willing to overlook a blemish on a credit report -- even a big one -- if other factors are favorable.
In today's unforgiving housing market, that's music to a borrower's ears.

We all need a little sun sometimes. Even though a sunroom isn’t the major consideration in buying a home, it’s often the cherry on top that encourages you to write the down payment check. What makes these rooms so irresistible is obvious: Read a book in a sunroom in the winter, and automatically it becomes summer again. Sunrooms range in scope and drama—the term can describe anything from a room with oversize windows, all the way up to glass-enclosed wonders. But unfortunately, not all sunrooms are as well-built as they are nice to look at. Whether you’re having a new sunroom built, or perhaps you’ve just bought a home that has an older sunroom, here are some common sunroom issues to look out for:

1. Water leakage: Overall, this is the biggest sunroom problem, and it can be due to several factors. Most commonly, the joints and connecting materials between panels are one of the most vulnerable areas for leakage, especially in older sunrooms. Present-day sunrooms have much more air-tight connectors; if you have inherited an older sunroom and find any caulking at the joints, that’s the sign of a problem. Another area that is particularly susceptible to leaks is the point where the roof joins the house; this is one of the most difficult connection points for installers, and inexperienced installers do not complete the job tightly enough. If your sunroom’s roof is leaking at the point where it connects to the house, it must be rebuilt to remedy the problem; caulking won’t do the trick for long.

2. Condensation: A sunroom with a lot of glass can encounter condensation quite easily, either on the exterior during hot weather, or, more seriously, indoors in cold-weather months—which can lead to mold. Especially if you live in an area with extreme temperatures, choose an installer or restorer who knows which materials to choose to reduce or eliminate the risk of condensation.

3. Safety glass: You might let a leak go, but safety is not an option. It is essential that all glass, especially any overhead glass, be tempered safety glass that adheres to the most recent codes. Some areas even require laminated glass (which has a plastic film holding it together, for an extra layer of protection when it breaks).

4. Beware the converted deck/porch: A lot of people think that simply enclosing an existing terrace, deck or porch can create a sunroom—but these conversions are much more susceptible to problems than sunrooms that are built specifically as such. Converted porches may suffer from a sloped, wavy floor—an exterior flooring surface is not built to the same standards as an interior one, meaning that floors in converted porches often leave something to be desired. A converted deck may have even more significant structural problems. A deck is generally safe, as there’s nothing above it; but often, it’s not an adequate structure to support something built on top of it; in the most serious cases, this can result in total structural failure.

5. Call in the experts: If you’re building a sunroom, don’t even think of having someone start a job without asking for references. And if you’re buying a home with a sunroom, get a home inspector’s opinion on its safety and integrity, and make the repairs as soon as possible to avoid potentially more expensive repairs later.

The situation: You want to make some improvements to your house, but don’t want to spend money you don’t have. Nor do you want to waste the money you do have by buying something inappropriate for your needs.

A tall order, for sure, and a situation many homeowners find themselves in as the economy totters toward a recovery that always seems just shy of a sure thing.

The Internet has made finding the best price for a product easier than it was 10 years ago, says developer Carl Dranoff, who has written the checks for more than a few renovations at his buildings over the years.

“The Internet has driven down the prices of just about everything,” he says, “so there is little variation” from, for example, one manufacturer’s refrigerator to the next.

Need replacement windows? A modest federal tax credit—up to $1,500—is available until Dec. 31.

Energy-efficient windows will cut utility bills 7 percent to 15 percent, government data shows. But the cost of complete window replacement for the average home is $7,500 to $10,000, according to the folks at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program.

They advise this: When you’re interviewing contractors, ask them to break down the price quote by labor and materials, keeping in mind that although energy-efficient windows cost more, the labor costs for installation should be the same for all kinds of windows.

In general, experienced buyers recommend that you shop carefully and know exactly what you want before you hand over your credit card or write a check to a supplier.

“A dozen years ago, you might have to go to specialty stores to find the really groovy items,” said Center City real estate agent Mark Wade, who also buys and renovates condos for resale. “Today, it is as simple as hitting Lowe’s, Target, or Home Depot.”

Stores don’t stock everything they offer, though. “Go online and see their entire product line,” he suggests.

Durability is what developer Liz Solms looks for when she shops for products.

Solms is using sustainable or “green” materials to renovate apartments at Touraine in Philadelphia, one of the buildings she co-owns around the country. She said she measured the value of these products by how long they would last.

“Time is money, right?” she says.

Jay Cipriani, president of Cipriani Builders, a Woodbury, N.J., remodeling contractor, thinks so.

“Features to consider other than price might include durability, as well as whether the product will result in a healthier or safer environment” in your home, he says.

Another question to consider, Cipriani says: “Does it add value to the home?” He suggested looking for lesser-known names to get a good product and warranty. Look into how to buy directly from the manufacturer “rather than through big-box store or distributor,” he says.

Sometimes, immediate need compels us to buy something without considering all the factors.

It’s hot, and you need a window air conditioner. You find a website that lets you calculate the size you need—say, a 7,500-Btu unit. Several retailers are selling them for about $300, so finding the lowest price isn’t the overwhelming issue. What else do you need to think about before you buy?

“Sales tax is one,” Dranoff says. “Can you pick it up yourself, or do you need to have it delivered? Can you install it yourself, or do you need someone to do it for you?”

Not to mention these pertinent details: Can it make it through the doorway? Is the window too small or too big? How can you adjust the window opening so it will fit?

How close is the outlet? Is the outlet grounded? Will you need an electrician to install the proper outlet? How will the unit drain?

What about the warranty? Who will repair it if the unit breaks down? How easy is it to obtain parts?

If you plan to install something yourself, Cipriani says, “think about the hidden risks of self-installation, such as technical obstacles—plumbing or electrical, for example—or whether or not you need a permit before installation.”

Dranoff favors American-made products because of the availability of parts and people who know how to repair them if they break. He prefers established products to new ones.

“New is not necessarily better,” he says. “Consumer Reports suggests waiting a year on any product before you buy so that it will go through a cycle of consumer testing.”

Of course, the goal is to do it right the first time, and that requires planning and common sense. Measuring helps, too.

How many times have you heard of people buying mattresses that won’t fit up their stairs? Or granite countertops too heavy for their cabinets? Or refrigerators with ice-makers for spaces where there are no water lines? Or gas dryers where there is no gas connection?

“It is as easy,” Dranoff says, “as asking if that washer you want to buy can make it down the basement stairs.”

The following statistics were taken from the Ulster County Multiple Listing Service (MLS). These statistics include all single family homes sold in Ulster County that were listed on the Ulster County MLS. We will be comparing statistics for the first half of 2011 with the first half of 2010.

You will see that there were major changes in the Ulster County real estate market when you compare the first half of 2010 with the first half of 2011. After two years of stable prices, there has been a noticeable drop in the median price of single family homes during the first six months of 2011. In addition, the number of homes sold has decreased significantly, single family homes are on the market longer, and they are selling for a lower sale price to list price ratio.

The median sold price for single family homes decreased by about 9% when comparing the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011, from $214,000 to $195,000.

The number of single family homes sold in the first half of 2011 decreased by about 28% when comparing the first half of 2010, from 509 to 369. You may remember that during the first half of 2010, there was an 8% tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expired at the end of May 2010. During the first half of this year, there was no tax credit, which reduced the urgency to buy.

The sale price to list price ratio decreased by about 2% when comparing the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011, from 93.89 to 92.07%. That means that in 2011 the average single family home sold for about 8% less than the final listing price for that home.

The number of days a sold house was on the market from the time it was listed until the closing date, increased by 14 days (about 8%) when comparing the first half of the first half of 2010 to 2011, from 180 to 194.

The number of single family homes listed in the first half of 2011 decreased by about 5% when comparing the first half of 2010, from 1,656 to 1,579.

The average sold price for single family homes increased by about 12% when comparing the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011, from $234,563 to $261,861. The main reason for the increase in average price is the greater number of homes sold for over $500,000. In the first half of 2010, ten homes sold for $500,000, and in the first half of 2011, 23 homes sold for over $500,000.