Chilly Scenes of Winter… in The Hamptons!!!

 

Town Line Beach, Wainscottt

 

My favorite Hamptons Snow Bunnies!
Wainscott

 

Georgica Pond

 

The White House, East Hampton Village

 

East Hampton Village

 

Off the Pond, EH Village

 

East Hampton Library

 

Dune Alpin….. snowy horse fields!
Yeah, my dogs.  It’s my blog… so my dogs!

 

 

 

DOH! The Deer, the Female… and Male Deer! Plus, Don’t Turn Off Potential Buyers… It Has Nothing to do with Your Attitude!

Save Bambi Damnit!

Yeah, my computer has some cob webs on it.   The chatter hasn’t been very chatty lately but my muse is back from holiday vacation, so here I am.   Was that a run on sentence?  ANNNNNYYYYWAYYYYY…… So this past weekend PETA and a host of other animal rights activists descended on the east end to protest the upcoming deer culling.  In case you don’t know, cull is a euphemistic word for slaughter.    Granted there is a definite over population on the east end according to experts. But there are more humane ways of dealing with this problem, IMHO.

Anyway, the planned protest didn’t quite have the huge turn out I had hoped (there is an online petition that has about 11,000 signatures) Meanwhile,
as if almost to add insult to injury …for those of us who saw “Bambi” as
children… there was a mailer sent around offering home dinero to allow hunters to go Rambo on their properties.  Yikes!!  I really wish I
understood the sport in hunting.  While some people in the area, including one uninformed politician I really dislike claim health concerns and site the spread of Lyme disease, I’m suggesting they use another excuse.    There have been numerous studies suggesting the link between deer and the spread of the tick borne illness is greatly exaggerated.  So without that urgency, isn’t there a more humane way to handle this whole thing?  Please people remember Bambi and besides venison taste awful.

awwwwwwwwwwww

So, how is the market??? Well Douglas Elliman is releasing their Q4 market report later this week.  While I can’t tell you what it says ( I haven’t seen it) I can guess the news will be pretty positive.    In the past, the phones in Hamptons real estate offices are normally fairly quiet from Thanksgiving to Presidents Day Weekend but this season seems to be the exception.   Almost every broker I spoke to this past Martin Luther King holiday weekend was booked all weekend long!  In fact, holiday shopping was interrupted this year by east end agents actually having to work!!!  Oh the humanity!

Invitation to kill!?

I’ve heard more than a few theories about why it’s so busy.  Maybe it’s the wall street bonuses…. maybe it’s that the Hamptons is growing as a year round destination… or maybe it’s even the Russians (Yes, the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!!).    But personally, I think it’s the fact people have been sitting on the side lines for so long and now they’re reading.  Prices are starting to rise and interest rates are still low.  So, the question really is why haven’t you bought in the Hamptons already!?!  Call me!

from Amazon!

Finally, I’ve been showing like a mad man lately and I’m shocked I’m encountering expensive homes with a simple problem that’s a major turn off for buyers.    So what is it?  Damp and smelly basements believe it or not can turn a buyer off a potential dream home faster than you can say “it’s too much work for us.” Many buyers as they see it’s indicator of flooding or mold issues.  While that isn’t necessarily true, do your real estate agent a favor and spend the $200 bucks to buy a dehumidifier.   It’s not only going to give your home more appeal it might actually help you breathe a little easier as it comes time to sell.

Madison and Main gets ready to split… and The Foot Fetish in the Hamptons!

Times are apparently tough for many restaurants on the east end.   Depending on who you ask the off season crowds are not what they used to be and that could be why we recently saw the departure of

Foody’s says goodbye!

Foody’s in Water Mill and imminent change at Madison and Main.   The former shuttered it’s doors with a big blow out Sunday night.  While Madison and Main which seemed to be doing steady business is changing to what my sources claim will be a brick oven “pizza and pasta restaurant.”    The building on Sag Harbor’s main street was recently sold and the new landlord apparently got an even better deal with an “up island italian restaurant.”   I don’t know if these whispers are true but that’s the rumor heading around town.   So can rumors like this be trusted?  Well, someone once told me “if you walk and pass wind on one end of main street in Sag Harbor, it’s already being discussed at the opposite end of town before you get there.”  So true!

The new… what would you call this anyway?
In the meantime, what is the biggest trend in the Hamptons these days?  Is it a new designer?   Is it a hot new developer? No and no… it’s actually foot massage places.   The success of Happy Feet in Sag Harbor is apparently sprouting a cottage industry on the east end.    There’s already one in Southampton and now East Hampton is getting one across the street from Chase Bank on The Circle.    According to workmen in the location, the new… what would you call this anyway….. foot massage place will be opening sometime in the next month.    I guess it’s the $35 price tag for an hour of pampering that caused this place to be a hot ticket.    By the way, if you ever see me there run the other direction.  I have a tendency to pass out and snore when getting my happy feet!
Meanwhile, what’s going on at the former home of Well Nest?    The sign said, see you in the spring of ’13… then see you in the spring of ’14…. and now the sign says available for rent!?   I hope Well Nest comes back somewhere!  It was a great store and a cool concept.   Just please not another real estate office or bank in that location.

A Year After Sandy Generator Sales Still Soar…. and Fall Images of the Hamptons!!!

Ok, this year was a lot prettier than last year.  Hurricane Sandy ripped through the East End a little more than a year ago,  leaving much of the region without power for as long as 3 weeks.  Yes, I was one of them.    Since then homeowners have been exploring their options to prevent their milk from souring and the Internet from going down.    One of the most popular solutions has been purchasing a home generator.    From the simple gasoline lawn mower engine variety to the more complex, heres a quick intro some of the basic facts from the folks at East Hampton Energy Solutions!

Sure, the pools are closed and the beach is a little bit nippy.  But if you’ve ever had a doubt that the Hamptons are spectacular in the fall then look no further.   Here are some of my favorite sites in and around the East End.

Scarecrows line Main St. Amagansett, thanks to the kids from the local elementary school!
North Haven foliage or as a news anchor I once worked with called it… Foil-age!
Mill Hill Lane, East Hampton Village.

 

EH Village Fringe, near Buckskill Rd.

 

The center of Sag Harbor Village!

 

The prettiest tree in the Hamptons, seriously!  Look at the Shape!  Brick Kiln and Scuttle Hole Rds.