Date Archives: August 2020

Our REALTORS® can tell you that properly staged homes frequently end up on must-see lists and spend substantially less time on the market. Sometimes, the real estate industry has a perception paradox that a neutral minimalist home provides the perfect space for potential buyers to envision themselves living there.

While home staging is all about de-personalizing the space, using eye-catching artwork can help your buyers create an emotional connection with your home. The imagery found in pictures and paintings adds another layer of meaning to your staging efforts. Here's how to use staging artwork.

• Identify Your Target Audience
  While you may never know the particular tastes of prospective homebuyers, it's wise to err on the side of caution when staging your home. Steer away from images of people, family photographs, religious and political artwork, and inappropriate artwork. Your main goal is to help potential buyers envision themselves living in your house. If they see images of people or religious and politically-charged artwork, they will be reminded that they are strangers in the home. To appeal to a wider set of buyers, choose nature images, abstract artwork, figurative renderings, geometric shape, still life subjects, or figurative silhouettes.
  
  
• Complement the Overall Style of Your Home
  You're not just selling your property, you're also selling the lifestyle that comes with it. A complete mishmash of décor can be very off-putting to potential buyers. Consider the mood for each room when hanging your artwork. Is it a bright and busy kitchen or an inviting and relaxed living area? Color is very important in artwork and home staging, with neutrals being the most popular option. But why not add pops of brightness to a room by complementing colors found around your rooms in accessories and pillows?
  
  
• Fit the Scale of the Space
  The shape and size of the art should be scaled to the height and width of your walls. We can agree that the bigger a room looks the more appealing it is to homebuyers. So, putting a large piece of art in a small room is going to make it feel cramped. On the other hand, large rooms can appear uninviting and cavernous if they have blank walls. As such, you might consider using a large scenic piece or clustering several pieces together to make the room cozier.
  
  
• Avoid Art That is Too Busy or Eye-Catching
  What emotions do you want to evoke with your artwork? While buyers will be evaluating many aspects of your home, it's likely that a particular subset of buyers will be more interested. Want to show off a classic wine cellar? An abstract artwork pointing to it will let the eye travel to the adjacent beautiful space. Have an outdoor infinity pool that you want to draw attention to? Complement it with pale blue pieces or art in the rooms leading up to it or with striking outdoor sculpture. Just make sure your art won't distract buyers from focusing on the home itself.
  
  
• Create Balance
  Have you ever walked into a living room with pieces of art or pictures that were hung too far apart from each other, in no particular pattern, or with mismatched colors, styles, and frames? This is a common staging problem, especially with art that was received as a gift or bought without giving a thought to its color or size. In some cases, homeowners with high ceilings will place the art halfway up the wall, which can mean people pass right by it because it was placed higher than their heads. You want to make sure your wall art is hung correctly and the room is balanced. If you're hanging art over furniture, it should be at about 25% the width of the furniture.

Feeling overwhelmed at the thought your home stand out from other Nassau County homes for sale or Suffolk County homes for sale? Our realtors can help you choose the best art, highlight your home's best features, and create an inviting vibe that will appeal to the right buyers. Contact us to learn more.

August is National Golf Month, and if you're anything like the rest of us, then you've probably been itching to get out and hit the links all summer. Well, it's finally time. 

Golf is a fun way to enjoy some time in the great outdoors while still maintaining social distancing. Our REALTORS® are excited to enjoy National Golf Month to its fullest, so we thought we'd share some of our favorite places to tee up around Long Island!

• Bay Park Golf Course - 1 1st Ave., East Rockaway, NY 11518
  Bounded on two sides by the East Rockaway Channel and Hewlett Bay, Bay Park Golf Course is nestled among the rolling terrain of 96-acre Bay Park. It's a splendid executive-level 9-hole, par-30 golf course, just minutes from many Nassau County homes for sale. The facilities are clean and well-kept and great for a quick afternoon game.
  
  
• Timber Point Golf Course - 398 Great River Rd., Great River, NY 11739
  Some new rules are in effect at Timber Point Golf Course (golf is by reservation only, masks must be worn when sharing a golf cart) but the links are open, and that's the important thing! Choose between 9- and 18-hole courses, both of which are picturesque and, at times, challenging. Discounted tee times are available to Suffolk County residents, so keep that in mind as you're browsing Suffolk County homes for sale!
  
  
• Harbor Links Golf Course - 1 W. Fairway Dr., Port Washington, NY 11050
  With an 18-hole course, a 9-hole course, practice area, driving range and mini-golf, Harbor Links Golf Course is a perfect destination for golfers of every age and skill level. A stone's throw from countless beautiful Port Washington homes for sale, Harbor Links currently requiring golfers to pay for their group over the phone by credit card no less than 20 minutes prior to tee time. Face masks are required in areas where social distancing is not possible. 
  
  
• Crab Meadow Golf Course - 220 Waterside Rd., Northport, NY 11768
  Few golf courses can match the impressive scenery at Crab Meadow Golf Course. Practically every shot on the 18-hole course offers a sweeping view of Long Island Sound. Located a short drive from these Northport homes for sale, Crab Meadow Golf Course is currently offering golf carts on a first-come, first-served basis due to the pandemic, and you'll find the newly updated rules for claiming and returning your cart on their website. 
  
  
• Rockville Links Club - 600 N. Long Beach Rd., Rockville Centre, NY 11570
  Rockville Links Club offers one of Nassau County's most lovely golf courses, with meandering, beautifully manicured fairways lined by magnificent mature trees. The 18-hole course is just minutes from these Rockville Centre homes for sale, and always provides a perfect place to play a relaxing round of golf in a beautiful setting. 
  
  
• Smithtown Landing Golf Course - 495 Landing Ave., Smithtown, NY 11787
  With an 18-hole municipal course that is open to the public, Smithtown Landing Country Club also offers a pro shop, driving range, and two practice greens. Golfers are asked to keep 6 feet apart and refrain from shaking hands to help stop the spread of coronavirus, but Smithtown Landing is still one of the most fun, relaxing courses near Smithtown homes for sale. 

Whether you're looking to enjoy a round of golf, or you're just ready to finally get outside and enjoy the fresh air, Long Island is a great place to be. Contact us today to learn more about life in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and talk to our team about finding your Long Island dream home. 

Did you know gardening is a great way to relieve stress? This is one of the reasons why it's becoming extremely popular. In fact, many potential homebuyers tell our REALTORS® that a yard large enough for a garden is one of the features they really want in their new home. 

If you're not ready to plant a large backyard garden just yet, consider starting with a simple herb garden. You can easily grow herbs either outdoors or indoors in pots. If you've been considering buying a new home, starting a container garden is a great idea. This way, you can start now and take it with you when you move. 

To get your herb garden started, follow these simple tips.

Choose the Perfect Location

The most important part of starting an herb garden is choosing the right location. Most herbs do well in an area that gets full sun. Before you plant your herbs, watch the area for a few days to ensure that it gets at least 4hours of full sun each day.

If you're going to plant your herbs outdoors, make sure you leave enough distance between the plants so they have room to grow. Generally, you'll need 1 to 4 feet of space between each plant depending on the type of herb you're growing.

For a container garden, you'll want to choose large pots and place them in a warm spot that gets at least 4 hours of full sun each day. A deck, patio, or a corner of your yard are all great options, as long as they get enough sun. 

Prepare the Soil

If you're planting your herbs in the yard, you'll want to remove the grass, turn the soil, and use a large garden fork to loosen it up. This is an important step because loose dirt is better able to drain water and will make it easier for the plant's roots to grow. You should also consider adding compost to the soil. This will help with water drainage and act as a fertilizer. 

To start your container garden, you'll need a high-quality potting soil and fertilizer. Once you've added both to the pot, simply add some water until the soil feels moist and you're ready to plant your herbs. 

Choose Your Herbs

The last step is to choose which herbs you want to grow. Think about the types of foods you enjoy cooking and the herbs that will compliment them the best. 

Some of the best herbs for beginner gardeners include:

• Sage
• Parsley
• Oregano
• Mint
• Corriander
• Basil
• Chives

Make sure you choose plants that look strong and healthy. Then simply plant them in the dirt and wait for them to grow. 

Water and Maintain

You'll want to keep an eye on your herb garden and water it whenever the dirt a few inches below the plant feels dry. Make sure you actually check the soil before you water because over-watering can cause the plants to rot.

When the plants grow to about 6 to 8 inches, you can start to harvest them. Don't cut more than 1/3 of the branches and try to cut them close to a leaf intersection. This will help the plant grow back faster. 

It's a Great Time to Make a Move! 

Are you thinking about buying or selling a home? Now is a great time to make a move! There are many beautiful Suffolk County homes for sale and amazing properties in other nearby areas. We would love to show you around and help you find the perfect home. Contact us today to get started. 

The vinyl renaissance has been in full swing for a decade now, and music lovers love to browse local record shops in hopes of snapping up coveted limited-release albums. 

Whether you're a dedicated vinyl aficionado, or just want to see what all the fuss is about, our REALTORS® are excited to recommend some of our favorite Long Island record stores, just in time for National Vinyl Record Day on Aug. 12th!

1. Record Reserve - 698 NY-25A, Northport, NY 11768
   One of the top destinations for new and used records on the North Shore, Record Reserve is always a fun place to browse, with bins filled with records in every conceivable genre (check their website for a listing of the newest arrivals). They've also got a great selection of CDs, t-shirts, and tapes. Check them out in the heart of downtown Northport, just around the corner from some of the most beautiful Northport homes for sale.
   
   
2. Infinity Records - 510 Park Blvd., Massapequa Park, NY 11762
   Offering everything from records and CDs to turntables and musical instruments, Infinity Records is a true Long Island music lover's paradise. If vinyl is what you're after, you'll find a huge variety of new releases and reissues, along with a deep selection of vintage LPs and 45s spanning every era and genre. They've been in business for more than 30 years and have the selection to back it up. Infinity Records is a perfect place to find something rare or unusual near Nassau County homes for sale.
   
   
3. Mr. Cheapo CD and Record Exchange - 2020 Jericho Turnpike #46, Commack, NY 11725
   For more than 35 years, Mr. Cheapo CD and Record Exchange has been one of the top spots on Long Island to turn your old CDs and vinyl into cash. As a result, they're also one of the best places to find old records, with tens of thousands on file and more rolling in every day. You could easily get lost browsing through their vast collection of vinyl records (and CDs, DVDs, cassettes, laserdiscs, and just about every other media) near these Commack homes for sale. 
   
   
4. Needle & Groove Records - 73 Atlantic Ave., Lynbrook, NY 11563
   With a focus on rare and hard-to-find classic rock LPs in near-mint condition, there's always treasure waiting to be found at Needle & Groove Records. Their hand-picked collection also includes a lot of great blues, jazz, R&B, pop and funk records, as well as new, sealed reissues.
   
   
5. Record Stop - 30 Railroad Ave., Patchogue, NY 11772
   Established in 1974, Record Stop has always been one of Long Island's great family-owned record stores. Anyone looking for the latest vinyl releases near Suffolk County Homes for Sale would do well to make this their first stop, but they also have a great selection of vintage vinyl, along with top of the line turntables and accessories.

Indie record stores are still alive and well on Long Island! Contact us today to learn more about life in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and talk to our team about finding your Long Island dream home.