Archive for February, 2010

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Discover Your Inner Julia Child

0 Comments By Anthony Cutugno on February 3rd, 2010
Tags: , , , , , ,      Categories: Buying, Luxury Country Properties, Luxury market, Westchester

If you are like many of us, finding the time and inspiration to cook after a day of work can sometimes be difficult.  Yet there’s nothing quite as pleasurable as a home-cooked meal, especially on these cold winter nights.

Here are a few of  our favorite kitchens designed to take your next culinary creation to new heights.

Kitchen 150x150 Discover Your Inner Julia Child

The spectacular kitchen at Grande Folly in South Salem is both highly functional and beautiful. Ideal for family meals, the kitchen has also been used  for classes taught by a celebrity chef. The unique LaCanche stove is just one of many special attractions.

 

Kitchen1 150x150 Discover Your Inner Julia Child

Scaled for a feast, the kitchen at Purchase Manor in Purchase was designed by renowned designer Christopher Peacock who created the quintessential showcase kitchen equipped with every high-end amenity.

 

 

Stainless Kitchen 150x150 Discover Your Inner Julia Child

There’s something for every chef at Ashokan House in Woodstock , which features this commercial-caliber kitchen servicing a grand dining room as well as a more intimate family kitchen for informal occasions.

 

  

Kitchen2 150x150 Discover Your Inner Julia ChildThe perfect backdrop for a home-cooked meal, this sparkling  kitchen at West Wind Farm in North Salem blends antique architectural elements with  a host of state-of-the-art appliances.

 

 

 What’s your recipe for a great kitchen?  We’d love to hear from you on what special features you like best.

Diary of a Downsizer, Part 2

0 Comments By Gay Prizio on February 2nd, 2010
Tags: , , , ,      Categories: Buying, Downsizing, Market Area, Selling, Uncategorized, Westchester

As you may recall, Judi Smith, Houlihan Lawrence’s Larchmont Manager recently downsized and we are following her journey as a downsizer. 

Once Judi decided to sell her home and downsize, she created a “to-do” list to prepare her home for the market. She eliminated obvious buyer objections in order to maximize the number of potential of buyers. For example, she had an old bathroom which she knew would turn off buyers, and her house was filled to the brim and cluttered with 30 years of belongings.

“We took two months of working non-stop to prepare the house for sale.  This preparation included gutting and renovating a bathroom, and moving possessions into storage. The exterior had been painted in the spring, and we also did interior touch ups.  The windows were washed, the garden re-planted where needed, the house was cleaned to within a inch of its life!” said Judi. The house was ready for prime time!

Now came for the most important decision – pricing. She used the collective knowledge of the agents in her office and asked them for their professional pricing opinion. “The Houlihan Lawrence pricing committee had a wide variety of possible prices.  We chose the low end for our list price with the strategy of creating the largest number of potential buyers for the house”. 

Many sellers feel this is a risky strategy because they could potentially be leaving money on the table. But with instant dissemination of information – via email listing alerts and on-the-ball agents – Judis BackYard 150x150 Diary of a Downsizer, Part 2 informed buyers immediately know when a new listing hits the market and recognize value. “My house came on the market on a Wednesday” said Judi. “By Thursday morning we had 6 offers!  The house sold for significantly over asking price.”

The sale of Judi’s home was a case study in doing everything right – from getting the house in tip-top shape, to strategic market pricing that created multiple offers, and ultimately selling at over the asking price.

What do think of Judi’s pricing strategy?

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