real estate.

New Snack Food Coming to the Hamptons… Ore Ida and Totino’s must be nervous!

I don’t know if this ironic but as the tundra on the east end is finally melting,  there appeared a sign suggesting that my one of my favorite frozen foods is getting it’s due in the Hamptons.

The site of the establishment known as The Pizza Place in Bridgehampton is apparently becoming a Goldberg’s Bagels and Pizza.   Now, I don’t know if they’ll be selling pizza and bagels or pizza-bagels but I’ll tell you if it’s the latter, Ore Ida foods are going to be mad!   It’s not the oddest combination ever but it is a bit different.   Anyway, here’s a helpful hint for the owners of this establishment, make a drive through window in the front!!!  That would be awesome!

Bridge Cafe, Ziggy’s, M+M is now an office!
Meanwhile, the former site of Bridge Cafe, Ziggy’s and M+E Restaurant on Sag Harbor Turnpike will not be coming back as another restaurant anytime soon.   It’s been renovated and now is an office for a builder and contractor.  Is it me but is every builder now taking high profile locations for their offices?   Well, they say real estate is the best form of advertising and builders are the new Starbucks in the Hamptons!
Bissell Spot Clean… a life saver!
Finally, last week I wrote about the best housewarming gift in the Hamptons and it was quite popular.   So, I’m going to do it again and give Hamptons folks another must have item!  If you have guests and or pets who are sloppy and have bad bladders….   with me the dogs are fine it’s the guests that have the problem… you need to get a Bissell spot clean.   So, let me paint a picture for everyone.  You’re hosting a party and you’re serving … let’s say…. pizza-bagels and someone drops theirs on the floor sauce side down.   Well go grab the spot cleaner spray the area and vacuum the water up!   I’m telling you this machine is a life saver and can be used on both rugs and furniture.     Also, if you’re a tenant and you don’t want to get billed for damages because one of your guests couldn’t make it outside in time to go, voila!   These machine really works.  You can buy it online or at the local Kmart or hardware store for about $100.   Trust me you’ll thank me!
Don’t fear the pizza bagel!

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.

Million Dollar Listing …errr… Bankruptcy… and Fine Hamptons Dining on aBudget!

Call me wacky but I always find it hard to believe that someone who owns a pricey piece of property would ever allow it to go to auction.   Well maybe that’s why I’m just a humble Hamptons farmer… er… real estate agent.   Anyway, it’s happening two blocks from the beach in the most expensive zip code in the country on Sesascape Lane, in Sagaponack.   The home originally listed at (click for details) $5,995,000 in ’10, briefly went down to $4.9 only to go back up to $5.3 is now on the auction block with Maltz and Company of Central Islip.   The auction takes

Million dollar bankruptcy!  photo from TRULIA.COM

place this Thursday at the “auctioneer’s Gallery, 39 Windsor Place in Central Islip.”    In order to register to bid, all prospective bidders must “present a bank check in the amount of $260,000.”   Check Maltz’s website for all the details.  The property which is quite charming will no doubt be torn down by whoever buys it.  I guess when you have $11,000,000 properties in the hood and J-Lo around the corner, humble just won’t cut it with the neighbors.    Darn, I would have loved to try and sell this puppy.  It’s on a great block and an elegant and unpretentious home.    While it’s too late to take a tour of the house, it’s not too late for the auction so get your bids and your bank checks ready everyone!   I’m sure this is just great for property values!

UPDATE… according to my sources, the property went for $3.800,00!  Not bad!

Finally, a little something I didn’t know.  Apparently the local Hess is a gas station and a dining establishment!  If you don’t believe me, just look no further than the photo attached.  When I asked the attendant on duty about what other delicacies they feature he pointed out the hot dogs, the sandwiches and more!!!  So of course, since I’m more of a wine drinker than a beer drinker I asked the attendant if they charged a corking fee.   His response, after I explained what I meant, “no problem, we won’t charge you.”    He chuckled and obviously got where I was going once I took a pic of the sign.    So who said there is no inexpensive dining in the Hamptons!?  Kids we’re going to the Hess station!!!

Finally…..

CB
CB
LB
FW
BT
EM2
…. more to come.   Thx guys.

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.