So far this winter it has only snowed once – and that was waaaay back in October before winter even officially started! Good winter weather means it’s easier to get out and enjoy some of the events and things going on in the area. There are so many things to do year round in the Hudson Valley, here is a very small sampling of January (2012) activities, including contact information and website links:

• This Friday and Saturday night, comedic actor Steve Kramer performs at the Bananas Comedy Club in Poughkeepsie, New York.  You may recognize Steve from Spike TV’s “Hype." Bananas is conveniently located in the Clarion Hotel-make an evening or night of it by adding the dinner and or overnight package. Call 845-462-3333 for reservations. I heard he is hilarious!
  
  
  
• Monday is Martin Luther King holiday and there is no school. Scenic Hudson offers a “School’s Out Winter Fun Day” from 12-4 at Long Dock Park in Beacon. Their website encourages us to visit for an educational free and fun expernience with birds of prey courtesy of Bill Streeter, the director of the Delaware Valley Raptor Center.  For more information call 845-473-4440. If I didn’t have to work, I would definitely go!
• Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award–winner Mavis Staples graces the Bardavon 1869 Opera House stage on Friday, January 20^th at 8 p.m. The legendary vocalist invites you to join her for  “An Evening with Mavis Staples” at this historic Poughkeepsie venue with tickets priced at $45.00 for non-members. For information call (845) 473-2072 or call the Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.  Who doesn’t love Mavis??!!
• If you are just looking for a fun family outing, take ride to Hyde Park’s Roller Magic for Crazy Hat Night on Saturday, January 28^th from 7:30 to 1030 p.m. Not only is it great exercise, you can enter the hat contest for a chance to win a gift certificate.  Rollerkating or Rollerblading, is good, affordable family fun! For more information call 845-229-6666. It’s far less expensive than the movies!!

Go ahead and get out if you want. The weather is great.  These events and more can be found on the Dutchess County Tourism website.

Happy January… only 69 days until Spring!!

Kim Simms is a full-time licensed real estate salesperson and residential real estate consultant with Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate of East Fishkill, New York. She can be reached at ksimms@houlihanlawrence.com.

Posted by:  Kim Simms

What to do...This a phrase that can be statement or question. If it is a question- well, you may be in a quandry-a crossroad that has you perhaps talking to yourself, thinking through the next step. If it is a statement, that's even better! It means you have a plan in place. Most of us get to that point by making a to-do list-an evil neccesity. But if it gives you a gameplan, and peace of mind, then so be it.

However, try not to lose focus of what gives you pleasure in life-in other words, don't let the to-do list run your life-integrate it into the activities and projects that you look forward to doing. Sounds simple, but it does require attitude adjustment; so instead of saying "hmmm...what to do?" just do it!

Posted by:  Lisa Sanker

There was a song from the 50's or 60's where that very word was sung out with great energy. It almost made you want to run out and take that vacation... something too few of us do today. It is, after all, a part of our culture. But it is very easy to put a vacation on the back burner! It has been proven through actual studies that we need to take vacations for our physical and emotional well-being. And who can argue with the euphoria that follows a walk on a beach, drifting on a lake in a canoe, watching your kids romping through Disneyworld? And when you (and your family) decide on where to go-try to leave the laptops and iPads behind-talk to each other, go play games together-reconnect and reenergize!

Posted by:  Lisa Sanker

You’ve found your new home and the price was surprisingly lower than you anticipated.  You have some money left over for furniture and accessories.  If you’ve shopped for new furniture lately you probably have sticker shock.  There is another way:  consignment shop shopping.  Can you imagine a really spectacular sofa in fabulous condition, in a designer fabric for under $1,000?  Chairs for far less than you can imagine?  Accessories like mirrors and the like for under $100.00?  You can save a bundle!

The Hudson Valley has its share of consignment, antique, and resale shops.  There is one that I’ve experienced that is as good as any I’ve seen anywhere.  The name of the shop is Simplicity.  They have furniture, accessories, upscale clothing, shoes, handbags, costume jewelry and more.  I’ve bought and sold.  Not only is this a terrific way to find “finds,” but it is a great way to find new homes for those items you no longer want or need.  You can even make money.  Take a look at their website and join me in the fun of a unique and maybe profitable shopping experience.  And as an added bonus – if you’re preparing your house for sale and you need to find a new home for some furniture items, clothing, accessories, or the like, this may be the answer.

Please call me if you have questions about Simplicity or any other antique or consignment shop.

Roberta Lorio is an Associate Broker at the East Fishkill office of Houlihan Lawrence located at 1989 Route 52 in East Fishkill, NY 12533.  Her mobile phone is 917 453-2168 and she is available to go shopping.

Posted by:  Roberta Lorio

As you know I am a big supporter of granular research in discovering whether or not an area is a good match for your next home purchase.

Last week we talked about attending school events that are open to the public as a way to gather area school information.

This week I am encouraging you to eat your way into your new area…Hudson Valley Restaurant week is March 14-27. Yes, I know that is technically more than a week, but it does give you more time eat… errr…um… I mean, more time to conduct your research.

Perhaps influenced by our good fortune of being home to the Culinary Institute of America, the Hudson Valley is filled with great places to eat!

Recently promoted by Zagat, last year over 200,000 diners took advantage of this limited time of discounted three course lunch and/or dinner meals around the Hudson Valley.

I, for certain, will be visiting the Red Devon in Bangall, New York, to sample their Local Seasonal Favorites menu.

Click here to make your reservations now, and don’t forget to post a comment letting us know where you will be dining. You may even decide you love the restaurant so much you have to buy a house within walking distance! Yum!

Posted by:  Tina Vaitkus

Last week I mentioned I would tell you all about the Dutchess County Music Educators Association Jazz Festival that was held on February 12 at Arlington High School. You might ask what this has to do with real estate. Well, often looking for a house means looking for a school district.

Just like when an employer is checking references for a potential employee, you call the references given, but you also do a little further investigation and contact others that perhaps know the employee. This helps the employer gain a well rounded insight into the potential employee’s work history, performance and merit.

Well, the same holds true for school districts. You can call the principal, meet with him or her, tour the school, meet some of the faculty and gain a pretty good understanding of the school.

However, you can attend a free public event to gain further insight. Often, schools host free events for the public like the Jazz Festival this past weekend. If your child is a musically-inclined one, this type of public event is a great way to gather information about a school’s music program. If your child is sports-minded, attend a school athletic event.

At this County Jazz Festival, seven different schools were represented, so it was like one-stop shopping.

The next time you are wondering about a school district, check the online reports and also check the school calendar to see if you may be able to fit one of these free community events into your schedule. That coupled with visits with the school administration and faculty can help you make an informed decision about the school that best meets your family’s needs.

Posted by:  Tina Vaitkus

“Loving is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction.”  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Well… kind of. Many couples, while head over heels for each other, are not necessarily looking in the same direction when it comes to choices of home. When searching for a home, style preferences often become stumbling blocks for couples. 

I love contemporary modern architecture. In fact, I recently received the architecture series Lego structure of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. I had great fun while spending a snowy afternoon putting that awesome, sleek, heart-stirring wonder together.

My husband on the other hand is a classic Victorian architecture enthusiast. We often drive through the quaint villages of Pawling and Millbrook. He will “ooh” and “ahh” over the Victorian homes there– especially if it has a turret and a wraparound porch. We have to park the car and stare at it awhile!

Here is a fun quiz from our friends at Frontdoor.com that helps define your house style preference.

So, on this Valentine’s Day what is a differing architectural style couple to do? Enter your suggestions in the comments section below to be entered into a drawing for dinner for two at McKinney and Doyle. This restaurant is located on Charles Coleman Blvd in Pawling, New York, just a stone’s throw from some of those Victorian beauties!

Posted by:  Tina Vaitkus

Web TV has been a hot topic in real estate lately. In fact, our company Houlihan Lawrence neighborhood web videos were highlighted by Property Ad Guru. These neighborhood videos are a terrific way for buyers to get a feel for an area they are interested in.

In addition to high quality neighborhood videos, Hudson Valley Web TV is another great home buyer resource. It helps you track down local entertainment, community events and regional attractions. This animated view helps buyers gain a keen sense of upstate area offerings. Check it out and then let me know what activities you are going to try this weekend.

As for me, I will be attending the Dutchess County Music Educators Association Jazz Festival. I will let you know how it was, unless of course I see you there!

Posted by:  Tina Vaitkus

You test drive a car before you purchase, try on clothes and shoes before you take them home. Heck, you can even try out the iphone–yes, I have my sights on the new iphone now that it is coming to Verizon!

Why then would you not take the same approach in making one of the most expensive purchases in your life?

Try the house on…

We all fall in love with vacation spots and weekend getaway retreats. However, when we are deciding between staying a weekend or purchasing the home so we can stay there EVERY weekend and long weekends it is important to really know the house, neighborhood and local area before taking that big step.

I have sellers that have opened their minds and their homes to this very concept. They have let prospective buyers stay overnight in their homes as a way to help them make an informed decision. Check out this example of a house where the seller has opened to potential buyers overnight.

If you are visiting the house on a weekday afternoon, you may not know that at 6am every morning the neighbor’s dog provides a friendly wake up call–or perhaps to you that’s an unfriendly wake up call.

Alternatively, I had one client that shared this insight “After spending the night at one property, we woke up in the morning and looked out the window to see a small, lanky brown mammal scurrying through the snowy forest – a mink! We realized the area beyond the pool was much more natural than we’d thought, and came to appreciate the structure of the house, which had several large windows looking out on the forest. The experience reinforced a hunch that we’d be happier in the long run with a house that was more about the location and view. It proved a big help in our decision-making process. (p.s. I hope I identified the right animal – it certainly wasn’t a raccoon…but I admit my knowledge of upstate fauna is very limited. For now!)”

The Wall Street Journal suggests that weekend and 2nd home purchases are thriving, but the next time you find yourself just shy of making a decision, ask your REALTOR_® if the sellers would consider letting you stay overnight. You will sleep better at night knowing you have tried on your selection to make sure it fits before making a very expensive purchase that is not easily returned.

Have you had an experience sleeping over at a house you were considering purchasing? Let me hear about it.

Posted by:  Tina Vaitkus

Welcome to the unveiling of “Weekend-ease,” the Hudson Valley’s premier blog for the weekend and 2nd home market and a few other surprises as well.

Join me tomorrow to discover how to find the best fit by “trying on” a house before you purchase.

Posted by:  Tina Vaitkus