Everything House & Home

16 West Ave. Hicksville NY 11801 is up on the block for sale.  This Extended and Dormered 5 bedroom 2 bath home also offers a BIG 2 car garage and a full basement with outside entry.  Entry foyer leads to Cozy Livingroom with fireplace and nicely finished oak floors. There is also a formal dining room and one of the most spacious cabinet lined kitchens you will ever see. The best part is the extension off the back which includes a breakfast room complete with sky light and this looks out over the sunny deck and nice yard.  There are two bedrooms down with a full bath, plus 3 bedrooms up - which are quite spacious and loaded with closets.  There's an additional full bath up and it also has a sunny skylite!  Open and brite, this home is located just minutes from 106 - Newbridge Road and Old Country Road!  To see more about this home link on to the Real Estate Show: http://www.realestateshows.com/229163

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEARCH FOR OTHER HOMES IN  HICKSVILLE, LEVITTOWN, BETHPAGE, EAST MEADOW, WESTBURY, CARLE PLACE OR OTHER TOWNS IN NASSAU, SUFFOLK OR QUEENS COUNTIES - JUST LOG ON HERE: http://www.donovanny.com/SearchAreaHomes

When it's time to sell your home, a little effort can mean a big pay-off. While I'm sure you've heard the term home staging, preparing your home for a sale doesn't have to be complicated. Sure, you can hire professionals to completely update and re-decorate your home. Market analysis is showing that the money invested comes back plus some in higher sale prices and faster sales. However, there's a lot you can do on your own to spruce up your home for sale, giving buyers an excellent first impression.

The outside is obviously what someone sees first about your home. If your exterior needs re-painting, it's worth doing it. A professional, tasteful paint-job on a nice home makes it so much more appealing than a faded and pealing one. Choose trendy colors, but don't go too crazy. Anything too bold or unique might not be to a buyer's taste. Sometimes a home just needs a little wash to brighten it up. Decide what your home needs and don't hesitate to do it.

After the house itself comes the yard. If you rented a power washer to clean your house, be sure to wash the driveway and walkways as well. These often get stained by water run-off and can accumulate moss and other living things. A good washing should make them look crisp and new.

How is your landscaping? Spring is around the corner, so get ready to do some pruning. If you aren't sure what to do, there are quite a few very informative web sites out there, or you can probably hire a professional for not too much money, depending on the size of your yard. Hedges are usually pretty straight forward to trim, as long as you've got a bit of a sense of balance and think you can maintain a straight line. If not, it might be better to pay a professional than end up with an awkwardly crooked hedge-height.

Flowers can really make a place look cheerful and beautiful. Bulbs are perennials, and a really low maintenance way to make your yard look good. If you are anticipating a spring or early summer sale, plant some bulbs in the fall. If it's too late for that - just buy an attractive, hardy plant to place by the front door or walk!

Once your yard has been beautified, turn your attention to the front door. Make sure it looks good and opens smoothly. In fact, this goes for all the doors in your home, including those on closets and cupboards. Squeaking or sticking doors signify a worn-out home and the need for an immediate repair. If a buyer sees immediate repairs are needed, they may not be as quick to appreciate all your home has to offer. Replace latches if necessary, grease hinges and be sure to wash dust off of the ridges in your doors and cupboards. I just did this the other day in my home and was surprised how much dust had collected on my doors.

This brings me to another important point: cleaning. Home selling is a time for doing those deep cleans that might not be a part of your weekly or even monthly cleaning routine. Clean every corner and crevice. Kitchens and bathrooms are especially important to buyers.

De-cluttering is also an important step. Buyers want to see the home, not all your decorations. Don't take everything away and make your home look sparse, but if you collect nick-knacks, or have crowded furniture, it might be a good idea to get an early start on your packing. And don't think you can stuff everything into a spare room or closet. A buyer is going to want to see those spaces too. If you really have a lot of stuff, consider renting storage space until your move is complete.

While some of this might seem like a lot of work, it is shown that nicer looking homes sell faster, and frequently sell for closer to, or even higher than, their asking price. So try to get the most out of your home. I'm sure you'll be glad you made the effort.

If you have major projects to tackle and you aren't sure if they'll pay you back - why not order our FREE Cost-Value report which gives you tips on what improvements reap the best return for your investment while making your home more appealing?  To order your FREE copy, just send me an email requesting your copy. (You can also click on the button above that says "FREE REPORT".  To order, or you can call at: 516-749-9100 to reach an agent directly).

Karen Donovan,  Your Neighborhood Realtor

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. This was the fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often?
When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. He would let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand.
Bob? Bob from Church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was worse than the coming ticket - a cop catching a guy from his own church. A guy who happened to be a little eager to get home after a long day at the office. A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow!
Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw every Sunday, a man he'd never seen in uniform.
"Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this." "Hello, Jack." (No smile.) "Guess you caught me red-handed in a rush to see my wife and kids."
"Yeah, I guess." - Bob seemed uncertain. Good. "I've seen some long days at the office lately. I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit - just this once."
Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement. "Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?" "I know what you mean. I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct " Ouch. This was not going in the right direction. Time to change tactics. "What'd you clock me at?" "Seventy. Would you sit back in your car please?"
"Now wait a minute here, Bob. I checked as soon as saw you. I was barely nudging 65." The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.
"Please, Jack, in the car"
Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard. He was in no rush to open the window. The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled away on the pad. Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license? Whatever the reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat near this cop again. A tap on the door jerked his head to the left. There was Bob, a folded paper in hand Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches, just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip. "Thanks." Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice.
Bob returned to his police car without a word. Jack watched his retreat in the mirror. Jack unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one going to cost? Wait a minute. What was this? Some kind of joke?
Certainly not a ticket Jack began to read:
"Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter. She was six when killed by a car. You guessed it - a speeding driver. A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free. Free to hug his daughters, all three of them. I only had one, and I'm going to have to wait until Heaven before I can ever hug her again. A thousand times I've tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now. Pray for me. And be careful, Jack, my son is all I have left."

"Bob"
Jack turned around in time to see Bob's car pull away and head down the road. Jack watched until it disappeared. A full 15 minutes later, he too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived….

Don't forget to drive safely!

Karen & Joe Donovan

P.S. Nassau County Police Department would like to remind Nassau County residents to be alert and drive extra carefully now that the new school year has begun. Help ensure the children’s safety by driving responsibly and obeying the rules of the road. It is mandatory that vehicles stop in both directions when a school bus with flashing red lights is stopped in the roadway. Failing to comply could result in fines of $250 to $400 and/or imprisonment up to 30 days for a first offense and fines of $600 to $750 and/or imprisonment up to 180 days for a second offense within three years. Speeding in a posted school zone during a school day, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. will result in fines from $90 to $300. Also, please obey the crossing guards who are assigned to cross the children. 

The Family Tree (From March Newsletter)

Have you ever had an interest in finding out about your heritage? I always knew that my dad’s family came from Holland, but that was really the extent of my knowledge of the family tree. Then one day it happened. I wanted to find out about a speaker with the same (uncommon) last name as my maiden name, who was to be speaking at a writer’s conference Joe would be attending. Could he really be a “long lost cousin”? Thus began my first “foray” into genealogical research!

With a wealth of info online, what would have probably taken months or years, took just a few hours of poking around on the internet. I started with a simple search on Google.com. First, I typed in my paternal grandfather’s name and amazingly, up came the careful research of one distant relative in the family who had traced the lineage all the way back to Winterswijk, NL (Holland). From what I could tell, my paternal grandfather’s family immigrated to Rochester, N.Y. in the early 1800’s. Wow! I didn’t know it would be that easy. I then traced forward and found mention of myself and my siblings plus my first, second and third cousins – including a branch of the family who had moved to California (where the long lost cousin in question was from.) A few phone calls and emails later and I was able to pin down this was indeed my third cousin. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk up to a total stranger and surprise him with the fact that we both descended from the same family tree?!!

Genealogy is reported as the fastest growing hobby in the country and the internet is usually the first and most logical stop for beginning family historians as well as experienced researchers. If you’re interested in finding out about your roots, what is the best way to begin? Please see below for some of my notes on interesting and helpful sites that I found when researching this topic.

Now back to the meeting with my newly found cousin. He is a well known author and expert in his field. (Yes, my family lineage certainly has talent!) John speaks and tours nationally and internationally and is a much sought after instructor at various writer’s conferences. He was definitely surprised to find out about the fact we were cousins and we were able to spend some time sharing pictures and family history, etc. That was really fun!

Now that I was “on a roll” in researching the family tree, I took a stab at seeing what I could find out about my mom’s side of the family. The genealogical research was quite professional. The site I located was officially called “The Sprague Project”. With a couple hours of research, I was able to trace my maternal great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather’s family back as having owned SUBSTANTIAL land holdings right here in Long Island, in the early 1600’s – something no one in my family even had a clue about!…. If only they hadn’t sold THAT!

If you have an interest in tracing your family heritage, a good place to start are such sites such as:

www.Ancestry.com (subscription about $29 per month but you can get access to lots of cool stuff like old newspaper clippings with info about your ancestors!)

Good FREE resources are:

www.CyndisList.com

www.USGenWeb.org

If you’re interested in finding out about your roots, what is the best way to begin?

Researchers advise to start with yourself & your immediate family: names, birth dates, place of birth, parents, husband or wife if married, date of marriage, place of marriage, children's complete names and their dates of birth & death. The easiest way to do this in a format that will be easily understood is to use a Family Group Sheet. This is merely a form with places for all of the important information.

You can download a nice Family Group Sheet from Ancestry.com - http://www.ancestry.com/save/charts/familysheet.htm.

(You will need an Adobe Acrobat reader to print out this form, but the page supplies a link to the download site for the reader if you don't already have it.) You will do a Family Group Sheet for each family in your line.

There are other sites where such materials are available and you can "shop around" until you find ones you like the best. Cyndi's List provides a comprehensive listing of places to get genealogical charts - http://www.CyndisList.com/supplies.htm

Let me know if YOU make any interesting discoveries in your family tree…. I just discovered by coincidence another distant cousin who lives only 5 miles from me and her name is also Karen - Small world! Now to tackle the Donovans….