Hempstead, NY

Recently I got a phone call from a client that I did an inspection for in September. Highly upset he stated that he and his family just moved in their house and cannot use the water from the sinks and bathtub. "My water is brown and has a low flow." As I was looking up his report he continued saying his plumber ran water from the water heater and this is what the inspector should have done, if he did he would have caught this. The problem is you need a new water heater. Convinced that I gave him a faulty inspection, he demanded that I pay for a new water heater.

Read Your Inspection Report

Going over the report with him, I asked him to read the plumbing section carefully. It boldly and clearly states: Note that the inspector does not operate water supply or shut-off valves due to the possibility of valves leaking or breaking when operated. This includes water heaters and toilets. Because these valves are not used daily, operating them could cause damage that inspectors are not prepared to repair.

Take a look At The Picture

I asked him to look closely at the picture taken. As anyone can plainly see the water is clear, no rust and there is a good water flow. In addition to this, there was plenty of hot water, which as stated in the report was around 115 degrees. Also he was with me during the entire inspection and there were no water issues.

With the rage in his voice significantly reduced he asked, "why is the water brown and my flow is so low?" That's a very good question. I called the Realtor and he told me what I suspected was the problem. The day after the inspection the town turn off all the utilities. They were turned on after the buyer put them in his name, three months later. The low flow was the result of clogged aerators (pictured on the bottom) that needed to be cleaned from rust deposits. Whenever the water supply is turned off from the street side, rust can build up in the system. Running the water for several minutes and draining the water heater often will clear it up.

In every report I recommend as part of the maintenance plan, the water tank should be drained regularly to remove sediment and rust. Doing this can add service life to the water heater. The plumber tried to take advantage of a situation, he blamed the inspector simply to get work for himself.

Contractors and other professionals are not home inspectors. They do not know the scope or the limitations of what we inspect. Often they are the reasons buyers especially should have a home inspection. The next time a contractor or other professional says ' your inspector should have caught this' ask him if he is a licensed home inspector. At any rate, talk with your inspector first should problems arise, because things are not always what they appear to be!

Many of my friends from other parts of the country appear to on the verge of having a stroke when they hear how much real estate taxes are on Long Island. Many of my friends live in very nice suburban areas outside of New York and cannot fathom how taxes could have gotten so high where I live and work. They have great schools, excellent services, and real estate taxes of generally less than $3,000 per year. In Nassau County, there are more than a small handful of houses where taxes exceed that amount per month.

For example, in Nassau County, a small Cape Cod-style house recently sold in Hempstead for $80,000. This would make it among the least expensive houses in the entire county. What were the real estate taxes? How about $14,262? Yes, the annual real estate taxes equal almost 18% of the value of the house! At a rate of increase of about 6% per year, which is conservative, the homeowner will have had to pay more in taxes by 2015 than they paid for the house and their real estate taxes will have totaled approximately $100,000 for the owners’ by 2016. For those unaware of Hempstead, it could be expected that the real estate taxes would produce fantastic schools. How else could taxes be equal to 18% of the value of the house? Well, let's shine a light on the school district.

In the 2009-10 School Year, Hempstead had 246 High School Graduates. In the same year, they had 157 students that didn’t complete High School. A graduation rate of 61% and a straight drop-out rate of 33% wouldn’t seem to jive with the taxes being paid. (Hempstead doesn't consider former students moving on to other educational facilities without graduating to be drop-outs). In 2008-2009, the total expenditures per pupil were an astounding $23,427, well above the cost of New York State Colleges for in-state students. (Sorry, I am learning as I am writing and I am more astounded than I thought I would be.) Over 45 district employees were earning over $100,000 (back in 2008!) and the Superintendent of Schools was reported to have a salary of $253,332. The average teacher salary was just $50 short of $75,000 per year. This is insane! The school district had a $150,000,000 budget in 2008/09. Well, one easy explanation is that a total of 705 people showed up to cast a vote for the budget. Can you imagine the voter outrage when 705 people vote, yet there are 6,384 students in the district? This is sick.

Well, at least if the taxes are obscenely high, they are probably fair, right? Well, no, it doesn’t appear that’s the case either. Another house sold this year in Hempstead for $415,000 and had taxes of $21,000. So, the tax bill is only 47% higher than the first house mentioned, but the house sold for more than 5X the first house mentioned. Same town – same school district – what gives? Some real estate appraisers or brokers would say, “That’s why you need someone local to explain these things.” The reality is, it is inexplicable.

There are over 125 school districts in Nassau County. Each has its own superintendent, assistant superintendent, secretarial staff, etc. There are 1.4 million residents in Nassau County. New York City has almost 10 times the population of Nassau County and has, yes, ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND ONE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS! If, on average, the typical Nassau County District Super earns $250,000, there would be $31,750,000 in salaries. If we multiplied it out for the City of New York at, say, 8X the size of Nassau County, the Superintendent of the New York City Board of Education should be paid $254,000,000 per year. That is just one job being done over 125 times in Nassau County, but able to be handled by one person within the City of New York. One could complain that the New York City Schools are not solid, but, do you find Hempstead’s statistics compelling? Would you rather pay $20,000 in taxes each year to have your child in failing schools, or $3,000, nearer the NYC average real estate taxes and the US Average.

Simply considering the real estate tax issues, how could any voter re-elect any politician in Nassau County? Remember, this Blog discussed only the money being wasted in schools. The balance is being wasted by our politicians. Now that we are in the midst of what might be looked back upon as the Second Great Depression, can we really continue to allow outrages along these lines?

August 1st 2011 Information about voting for the Nassau Coliseum project on Long Island NY, if you choose to do so

A huge project could be underway depending on which direction voters choose to go. Due to tough financial times, the Nassau Coliseum project has been under scrutiny because with obvious foresight, as home owners know taxes will go up. There are still so many questions unanswered but, Laura Cerrano of Feng Shui Long Island and Manhattan is trying to shine the positive light at the end of the tunnel on this project.

Having friends who can potentially have a much needed job in this economy and her having to pay for some of this project as a tax payer she is blessed with both sides to this story.

Pro's and Con's of the Nassau Coliseum Project that was provided to Laura

Pro's:

• steady jobs for about 3 years (estimated for this project to be completed)
• A brand new home for the New York Islanders with shopping centers to increase interest to Long Island and create positive revenue
• about 4500 brand new jobs for residents will be provided to make sure the new Nassau Coliseum facility is up and running
• brand new affordable housing will also be included into the project

Con's

• Taxes go up, how much? Laura Cerrano was informed by another source, taxes can increase between $13.88 or $60.00 a year. Nassau county pays the most expensive property taxes in America already, so residents can either have the fore site of this being a positive project or see it as a burden
• Many are concerned about more traffic in the area, but if you think about it, Long Island is already maxed out with traffic these days
• Another thought, what if the Islanders choose to leave? All projects can be risky so, that is something residents have to be willing to take
• People want to hear more details about this project before voting. If this is the case, you can visit http://www.newyorkislanders.com/voteyes for more information and to vote

In Laura Cerrano's point of view, it could be a win win situation. Both sides will have jobs, during and after the project is completed. Yes taxes will go up but only $13.88 to $60.00 a year, that is not bad, but being a tax payer times are tough.

Long Island it's up to you to choose. Happy voting Day :)

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*Carole Provenzale has been a Certified Feng Shui Consultant since graduating from the Country's very first School for Feng Shui Studies that was licensed and accredited in 1997. Carole provides on site Feng Shui Consultations Long Island NY, Queens New York and New York City -Hamptons NY.

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New York Feng Shui Manhattan New York City Manhattan NYC Consultant Laura Cerrano is a Second Generation Certified Feng Shui Consultant who has trained with Feng Shui Long Island and Masters from across the Country including Shamans to incorporate Native American beliefs and Space Clearings into her Feng Shui Consulting Firm, Feng Shui Manhattan New York City NY. After co-consulting on site for many years Laura began her own business in 2000 and has a strong client base in New York City, New York, Long Island NY, Queens, Brooklyn, New Jersey and the rest of the New York Tri-State area.

Copyright © 2011 Feng Shui LI and Feng Shui Manhattan, All Rights Reserved

Hempstead, New York Real Estate Trends-First Quarter Report March 31, 2011

Hempstead, New York Real Estate

Hempstead, New York 11550

The Hempstead, New York Real Estate Trends-First Quarter Report March 31, 2011 covers Hempstead, New York Real Estate market activity, year to year, for the 4 year period ended March 31, 2011.

The report focuses on the number of Hempstead, New York Real Estate homes sold, the median sales price and median days on market with particular attention to foreclosure and short sale data. For the years indicated the periods covered are as indicated in the following table. 

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011
Period Covered	4/1/2007-3/31/2008	4/1/2008-3/31/2009	4/1/2009-3/31/2010	4/1/2010-3/31/2011

The Village of Hempstead is located in the Town of Hempstead. It is referred to as Hempstead Village to distinguish it from the Town of Hempstead.  In addition to being the seat of government for the Town of Hempstead, the Village of Hempstead is also the most populous in the state of New York.

 

 

 

Hempstead, New York Real Estate Number of Homes Sold

The total number of Hempstead, New York Real Estate homes sold for the four year period ended March 31, 2011 increased from 191 in 2008 to 192 in 2011. The volume of Hempstead , New York Real Estate sales realized its biggest drop from 2008, when it was 191, to 2009, when it was 137. The home sales volume decreased from 2010 thru 2011.

 

 

A closer look at the type of sales over the four year period reveals an increase in the number of Hempstead, New York Real Estate foreclosures and Hempstead, New York Real Estate short sales. The number of foreclosures increased from 17 in 2008 to 71 in 2011. The number of short sales increased from zero in 2008 to 30 in 2011.

  

With total Hempstead, New York Real Estate sales of 192 for 2011, the 71 Hempstead, New York Real Estate foreclosure sale represents 37 % of total sales and the 30 Hempstead, New York Real Estate short sales represents 15.6 % of total sales. 

Hempstead, New York Real Estate Median Sales Price Overview

The median sales price of Hempstead, New York Homes over the 4 year period ended March 31, 2011 declined from $375,000 in 2008 to $207,875 in 2011 for a decrease of 44.6 %. The median sales price has been decreasing year to year from 2008 to 2010. There was an increase in median sales price from 2010 to 2011.

  

 

The growth in volume of Hempstead, New York Real Estate foreclosures, short sales and the economic downturn have been elements in declining median sales prices. The median sales price of Hempstead, New York Real Estate foreclosures decreased from $280, 111 in 2008 to $130,000 in 2011. The first Hempstead, New York Real Estate short sale sold data was available in 2009. The Hempstead, New York Real Estate short sale median sales price decreased from $220,940 in 2009 to $203,000 in 2011.

 

Hempstead, New York Real Estate Days on Market Overview

The Hempstead, New York Real Estate days on market decreased from 90 days in 2008 to 79 days in 2011. The days on market remained the same from 79 in 2010 to 79 in 2011.

 

 

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After a long, cold and wet winter spring is finally here. With longer daylight hours, spring is the perfect time to look around the house and make repairs where necessary, especially if you plan to sell your house. Maintaining and repairing your house before putting it on the market is the best way to sell your home faster. So where should you begin? Well sellers should think like buyers. Buyers are mostly concerned with the condition of the roof since it could be the most costly to repair or replace, so let's begin there.

Roof Covering

If you could safely do so, inspect the roof covering. If you find problems such as leaks, worn sections, missing shingle parts, damaged or deteriorated flashing, bowed or cupped shingles, replacing your roof may be a better idea than trying to repair it. Home inspectors, when inspecting the roof, will look for these defects and report on the potential problems they could cause. Let's take a Closer Look at a few of these problems.

The main causes of leaks on roofs that have shingles are damaged or deteriorated shingles. In the picture below you can see that these shingles are damaged. As you look at the picture closely, you can also see they have deteriorated; you can tell because the granules that give the shingle surface its roughness is not as tight and compact as new shingles. When you look in the gutters, that's where you will likely find the granules because over time rain, snow and the sun's rays will eventually cause the granules to loosen and the rain will wash them into the gutters. Also the gaps that separate the shingles are wide indicating they are at the end of its useful life. Add to this, popped nails shown in the picture on the right, and this is a leak waiting to happen (if the roof is not leaking already).

Flashing is also important in keeping the roof in good shape. Make sure the flashing is doing its job in keeping water from entering roof penetrations such as plumbing vents and chimneys. Damaged or deteriorated flashing usually occurs as a result of extensive weathering and oxidation. Detached or loose flashing often can be replaced or reattached by cleaning out the old caulk or roof cement and replacing it with fresh cement or caulk. When changing the roof, however, new flashing should be installed.

When identifying roofing problems take the time to examine the chimney crown. In the picture below notice the crown is sloped so that rain water can drain properly. However, notice there are cracks in the crown and no sealant between the crown and the flue. This will allow rain water to enter and leak into the interior and cause damage to the chimney stack. So repair the crown if it looks like this.

Remember, inspect the roof only if it's safe to do so. If you are not comfortable on the roof, hire a pro. A home inspector has no financial interest whether the roof is good or bad.

Identifying roofing problems and correcting them has three advantages:

1. Helps sell your home faster

2. Adds value to your home

3. Keeps your belongings safe & dry