New Listing! 2415 Amidon Drive in the Town of Marcellus

When I first listed this house in 2002, I described it as a "House for All Seasons."  As a ranch, it is perfect for "boomers" and anyone who needs one floor living.  Not even a basement to mess with - but a good-sized crawl space exists under the main part of the house.  The previous owners had changed the garage into an apartment, sort of.  One bedroom with a full bath and large walk-in closet, plus a living room with gas fireplace overlooking a deck and yard. Private entrance, too!  They used it for an in-home beauty salon - could be any home office.

Because it has four bedrooms and two full and one half baths, a family could easily move in with several children.  Three of the bedrooms are on the west wing, as I called it then.  They share a deep family room, with a wood fireplace and lots of windows looking out on the yard and view.

I sold the house then to the present owners.  They upgraded appliances, removed the old and unworkable inground pool, painted and put in a new fan in the "radon contraption" as they call it - a very apt name!  (And yes, it already has radon mitigation...)

The house was built in 1965 but the garage was added more recently and is huge!  Plenty of room for a work area and it already has shelving and closets.

The land is what makes it so remarkable, though.  Just outside the Village of Marcellus (no village taxes but you do have public water) it sits above South Street on 2.6 acres of mostly wooded land.  It's encompasses the northern and eastern part of the cul-de-sac - huge pines line the road.  You have privacy, but access to the Village and all the amenities, as well as neighbors within reach.

The price is $199,900....the ML# is S302448....take a spin up there - you will love the land.  Then call me please!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Fifth Twenty

What a great year this has been!  We were all working hard during the summer and the closings show that.  The question remains - will it be a record year like last year with 129 closings or will we come close, and still have had a banner year....only time will tell, as they say.  for now, in no particular order, here are the closings of single family homes in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  These closed between October 1st and November 15th.

45 West Genesee Street - Village of Skaneateles - $440,000

1965 Pine Grove Road South - Town of Spafford - $585,000

4089 East Genesee Street Road - Town of Sennett - $185,000

1137 Hencoop Road - Town of Skaneateles - $432,000

34 Onondaga Street - Village of Skaneateles - $145,000

2008 East Lake Road - Town of Skaneateles - $1,700,000

28 East Austin Street - Village of Skaneateles - $291,500

20 Academy Street - Village of Skaneateles - $455,000

2210 West Lake Road - Town of Skaneateles - $202,000

1698 Amerman Road - Town of Skaneateles - $314,000

5 Hawthorne Woods Court - Village of Skaneateles - $319,000

60 East Elizabeth Street - Village of Skaneateles - $210,000

2405 Wave Way - Town of Skaneateles - $328,000

9 Sachem Drive - Village of Skaneateles - $280,000

5798 North Road - Town of Skaneateles - $375,000

28 Onondaga Street - Village of Skaneateles - $189,500

882 Franklin Street - Town of Skaneateles - $223,800

1264 Minnow Cove - Town of Skaneateles - $895,000

104 East Lake Road - Village of Skaneateles - $492,000

11 Orchard Road - Village of Skaneateles - $290,000

"The Days Grow Short" Real Estate Update - November 1st - 20th

November....a wild month always in Central New York!  I started the month sitting in the sun and actually getting a tan, waiting for the call from Alex announcing his new job - hooray!  He will be staying in the City and not taking a position with RE/MAX down there, as he was poised to do.  Still, if you want to do business there, please contact me and I can give you the name of a wonderful broker!

I visited a friend in Florida last week.  Just briefly, but I got a taste of "The Villages" which I had heard of and to which she and her husband have retired.  What a place!  As per usual, I brought an arctic cold front down with me - temperatures in the 50s with winds gusting to 30 mph...and as is not usual, nothing sold up here! But what a great few days of getaway time...

Currently there are ONLY 77 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, ONLY 11 are in the Village.  There are 23 waterfront properties - a disproportionate amount, because generally they are close to the same number as the Village listings.  Also, I would expect to find about a quarter are waterfront, not this high a percentage.  Just a bit askew, as it were...

Over the course of the last three weeks only two new listings came on, contributing to the low number.
Three others were re-listed.  There are 18 under contract, four of them new in November.  Two are within the Village boundaries and two are just outside.

This emphasis on the Village continues...9 closed since the last update!  Seven were in the Village, one was waterfront, and the last was in the town.  This brings to 101 the number of single family homes closed this year, making this another banner year!  Amazing...low rates, well-priced homes, pent-up need to buy and sell, an improving economy...and there's still room for more sales and closings before the end of the year.

So bring it on!

The Halloween Update - October 16th - October 31st

Spooky times here! The wind came up last night and swirled the leaves.  Our new door makes faint howling sounds, I've discovered.  Lovely, lovely evening!  I was reminded of other Halloweens when Alex was little - our famous Garfield costume and subsequent news item on the Albany local news when he was 7 in Saratoga.  Another warm night there, the last time he went trick or treating.  And last year when Super Storm Sandy hit, but the Upper East Side where he lives now was spared, and he could take Liam out in his own Garfield costume.

And the beat goes on....There are currently 82 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, only 13 are in the Village, and 24 are waterfront.  This is one of the lowest numbers we've had in a very long time, almost half as many as a few years ago!  Nothing new came on, just the re-listing of a very lovely waterfront property in the $600,000 range.

There are 22 houses in the contracted categories.  Six new ones came under contract - two each in my self-described three areas.

Gloriously, there are 92 sold and closed single family homes as of Halloween.  This shows that we have less than a year of inventory out there, so buy now!  Seven new ones closed in the two week period.  They spread out almost evenly - two Village, two waterfront, and three in the town.  Of these, 3 had been on the market for over a year.

As a side note, there are times when the "over a year" listing does not accurately reflect the process.  Some owners, recognizing that the market is either overly stocked with homes like theirs, or having the means to wait a bit, will rent out their homes and bring in enough money to pay the mortgage, insurance and taxes plus make a small profit.  Houses simply do not sell as well with a tenant in place.  Real listing time should be marked from when the home is ready to be sold and can be easily shown and quickly closed.

So as we move into November the time will change this weekend - fall back!  Showing times will decrease with this, and ease of movement (as in the arrival of snow).  Please come out to my open on Sunday at 149 North Main Street in Jordan - you might see the first flakes of the year falling into the creek!

Open House Alert! 149 North Main Street

Such a great place with such a good price....$239,000.  Think of it, well under 100 per square foot - can't build any more for that price.  And such a building!  Built to last centuries - and it will!

  OPEN SUNDAY  12:00 to 2:00 Village of Jordan - Main Street north to Route 31 - turn right.

And then there's the added attraction of Skaneateles Creek meandering through the five acres of property. The bridge has been rebuilt so the two or so acres on the other side are now accessible.  Go explore! Imagine having your own private - very private - campground over there.  Or the place where kids go to be Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer...or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy!

Inside the house is wonderful - a large enough kitchen with walk-in pantry, separate dining room for Thanksgiving and celebrations, a front parlor but also a living room with small office (or another bedroom) off it on the first floor.  There's also a new full bath on the same level.

Upstairs are the four very good-sized and interesting bedrooms.  I like nooks and crannies - and there are dormers and sloped ceilings.  And what I wish we had - an upstairs laundry!

I did have a walk-up attic while I was growing up in Syracuse.  We didn't use it except for storage, but there was a good feel about it.  This one can be used - the flooring is quite thick.  More square footage?  It has over 3,000 now!

So come and see it on Sunday, noon to 2:00.  ML#S296384 will show you more photos.  It's one of those houses people dream about owning.

Open Houses Alert! Saturday and Sunday

The time has come to do a few open houses, and since I have several listings some will be done on Saturdays - at least this Saturday!

Lovely 50 West Genesee will be open noon to 2:00 on Saturday, October 26th.  It's perfect for the rare Saturday open house - right down the street from the Sherwood Inn and on Route 20.  Visitors to the area who love Skaneateles or have just discovered it will be taken by this turn-of the-century home and its gorgeous woodwork.  The fact that it's been updated isn't readily apparent from the street.  That's why I want to draw people in, to see the granite in the kitchen and three full baths, the cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances.  They can pick up a copy of the the updates, then go shopping in the Village Center just a short block away.  Hopefully the weather will allow them to go on the pier, or sit by the water...Once they own the house, they can sit on their own porch!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.....

                                                        50 West Genesee - $400,000
                                                             4 Bedrooms, 3 Full Baths
                                                                    Over 3,000sf
                                                                   ML# S280791

On Sunday I will be out in Borodino holding that remarkable home at the corner of East Lake Road and Nunnery open for the first time.  It's taken so long because the owner insisted on putting in a brand new furnace as long as he already was putting in a brand new well!  All the big ticket items have been taken care of - the roof, the porch, the deck, paint and reconfiguring of the rooms, and of course the mechanicals.  It is lovely and unique, and worth several looks.  My favorite part is the dance hall on the second floor.  I can hear the music, imagine what it must have been like years ago in softer times.  Open Sunday, 1:00 to 3:00....and actually there will be other listings in Spafford held open as well!  For photos and more, please go to ML# S298847

Words with Friends - The Bigger Picture

When I started this blog years ago I said I would write about my life as a Realtor in Skaneateles.  As part of that life, I manage my time and make sure I am on-time for appointments.  A couple years ago I said I would never rush again (a New Year's resolution) which meant I would always leave early enough to allow some time for whatever came up.  Coincidentally Alex got me started on Words with Friends and I was hooked. Now I get places early to play if there are no e-mails or texts to write.

Generally I play with Alex and a couple local friends.  But over the course of time I have found - or they found me - a couple women who enjoy playing as I do.  In each case they thought I was someone else - Margaret Brooks being a very common name, it turns out.  The first woman, Kathy, lives in Manila!  The second, Lozza, is in Australia.

Over the course of about a year we've traded information on our areas.  She's told me about the Wyangala Waters where she vacationed in a caravan, and I have told her about the Finger Lakes.  She has spent more time in the states than I have in Australia (as in no time at all).

Yesterday as I pulled into the M&T branch in Elbridge I heard on NPR about the fires in Australia.  I knew she lived in New South Wales, but I never imagined that the fires were in her area.  To me, Australia is vast and the states huge.  Whenever I worry about my old friend in Colorado - floods, fires, blizzards - he tells me he is well out of the way.  But NPR said "The Blue Mountains" and my attention was assured.

I looked up our games, and there was a message from her.  Over 200 homes had already burned, but she felt they were safe.  Today I got this:

   There is an emergency alert out for the whole of the Blue Mountains area for tomorrow.  My
daughter-in-law and grandchildren are evacuating but my son will stay with their house.  My husband is working at the relief centre but I will try to stay with our house. We have a community fire box at the end of our street where the fire hose can be connected to the main.  They can use that to protect the houses from embers if that happens.  It is comforting to know that people all over the world are thinking and praying for us.

She sent that 12 hours ago - I wrote back this morning but have heard nothing.

We are so lucky here in Central New York.  Last year was SuperStorm Sandy that totally missed us.  No threat of fires will ever erupt here - and yes, there may be flooding in the Southern Tier (no small problem for those affected) or an ice storm or blizzard or two in the winter.  Yes, the Labor Day Storm of 1998 is still recent enough - but I can't imagine a circumstance where our homes would be totally destroyed, as well as our neighborhoods.  Maybe as the climate changes and the years go by we will have our own Super Storm - but for now I feel safe.  I certainly hope Lozza and her family get through this...

So as we go about our lives this week, please take a moment to think of her half a world away.  I will, of course, keep you posted through this blog, or write to me:  MBrooks@remax.net.