Curb AppealAccording to the 2013 National Association of Realtors, seventy-one percent of homebuyers consider curb appeal while looking for a home. Curb Appeal is the way the outside of your home looks, e.g. the landscaping. If you are looking to sell your home or even just make it look nicer to you yourself, here are some great tips as to how you can gain better curb appeal.

  • Maintenance is key: By maintaining your lawn, trees, gardens, patios, walkways, and other items that are visible from the curb of your house it makes it easier to keep your landscaping up to par. Some items to look for while maintaining your yard are dead branches, weeds, broken objects, leveled walkways, sturdy and clean looking railings for steps, dead plants, overgrown shrubbery, as well…

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Small RoomWhile looking for a place to live, a small room is not something most people want but you may not have a choice in the matter. If you live in a dorm room or a small apartment that is your only option and you will have to make it work in your best interest. Here are some tips as to how you can help make your small room look bigger.

  • Add a mirror to the room. When you place the mirror on a wall it can actually help make the room seem bigger due to the reflection it gives off. Make sure you check all walls before hanging it, to see what place will help enlarge the room.
  • Bring attention to the ceiling. If you place a bookshelf that extends from the floor to the ceiling it will help make the room seem higher than it actually is. Bookshelves are not only…

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When you have a home you want to make sure it is safe, especially if you have children. Here on Staten Island the crime rate has been going down with each passing year; in 2012 there were approximately 740 reports of burglary, according to the NYPD CompStat report. Home safety is not something to take lightly, but you may not have enough money to spend on an expensive security system so here are some cheap effective ways to protect your home.

Home SecuritySince most burglaries happen during the day here are some good tips to go by.

  • The most obvious way to help protect your home is to make sure all doors, windows, and garages are closed and locked when you leave the house. Make sure your home’s locking systems are sturdy, also. The locks on your windows and doors…

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As it continues to get colder outside, your energy bills will continue to rise. What many homeowners are unaware of, though, is that your house could actually be costing you more than it should. Besides replacing products with energy-efficient ones, there are some other steps you need to take to make sure your home is saving as much as it possibly can on your energy bill.

Winter Home EnergyDid you know that your roof, walls, windows, and even doors could be letting that heat escape? Well, here are some steps to take to make sure this is not the case and to reduce your energy bill by almost twenty percent.

  • Insulation is key! Make sure you have at least 9 inches of insulation, anything less could be leaking air out and anything more is most likely unnecessary. You…

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Camera-Ready HomeWhen selling your home one of the first thing buyers see are the pictures of the house, which could make or break if they want to go look at it. With these eight ideas, you can create a great looking house ready for those pictures to be taken.

  1. Remove clutter: If items aren’t needed or intended to be in the room, or on a table per say, then remove them. If you have some sort of collection—e.g. figurines—make sure you have a nice display area for them and that they are not just placed around.
  2. Make sure to have the right lighting: Lighting is important for many rooms, if you don’t have enough the room could be too dark and look small and if you have too much it may overpower the room. To obtain a good balance of light you would want an equal amount of…

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In the neighborhood of Richmondtown, you can find a nice, quiet area that pulls you back in time.  This would be Historic Richmond Town, an area that has preserved Staten Island’s past for its present and future residents.  RandomToday, Historic Richmond Town is operated by both the Staten Island Historical Society and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.  It has many historically-significant homes, stores, shops, ad objects from the past.  Of these historically-significant buildings, some of them had been originally built here, while others had been moved here to preserve them.  A good amount of these homes are New York City Landmarks, as well. 

Before 1898, which is when the City of New York came about, Cocclestown—or what is today known as…

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Heating source inside homeAs it starts to get colder out and winter moves in, your home heating and energy bills will be increasing. We have some good news for you, though. On Friday, November 15th, Senator Andrew Lanza announced that Staten Island residents will have the opportunity to apply for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).  This is a federally-funded program that was set in place to help out households that have a low income with their energy costs.

With fuel costs increasing lately, this could be very beneficial to those who need assistance. Not only does this program help out with energy bills, it also has emergency assistance and helps make repairs to heating equipment. To learn more about the benefits you can obtain from this program and the income level…

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Before jumping back into the home search, there are six things you will need to know first.

  1. There is a waiting period: After you lose your home to foreclosure, you always must wait a certain period before being able to get a new mortgage. This waiting period only starts, though, once the foreclosure is officially completed by the bank. The type of new mortgage loan you will be looking into getting will decide on how long you have to wait.  FHA loans have about a three-year waiting period; Portfolio loans could have a shorter wait period, since lenders keep those loans; and Conforming or Conventional loans could have a longer wait period, since lenders sell those loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
  2. Make sure your credit is okay: Once you have your…

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Basket Makers HouseHistoric Richmond Town was the first area on Staten Island to be used for a civic and county government center, being that it is right in the middle of Staten Island. It had its own courthouse, clerk’s office, stores, churches, hotel, residences, and more. Once Staten Island became a part of the City of New York in 1898, it’s civic and county center had moved to the North Shore of the borough, in St. George, to be closer to Manhattan. The courthouse, clerk’s office, and other county offices had been moved to St. George, since it was no longer a county-run government and it turned into a city-run government.

Historic Richmondtown is the place to go see Staten Island’s past come alive. Being dually operated by the Staten Island Historical Society and the…

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Edgewater Hall Staten IslandBefore the City of New York was formed in 1898, Staten Island had been comprised of five townships: Northfield, Southfield, Westfield, Castleton, and Middletown.  By 1866, however, some areas of Staten Island became their own incorporated villages, one of which was Edgewater.  These new incorporated villages were no longer a part of the townships and had created their own local governments.  The village of Edgewater was comprised of today’s Tompkinsville, Stapleton, and Clifton neighborhoods.

With Edgewater being an incorporated village, it needed a village hall.  In 1867, a small plot of land was purchased to be used as a public space.  This is where the Edgewater Village Hall had been constructed.  By 1889, the Edgewater Village Hall finally opened. …

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