The beautifully renovated house offers bright rooms, vaulted ceilings with skylights, hardwood floors, wood burning stove, new kitchen with stainless steel appliances and new tile baths. The wrap around deck is perfect for entertaining. The finished basement has a full bath and sliders to the backyard.

I wish my home buyers a happy future in their new home.

This one is sold, but if you would like to find another home in Croton-on-Hudson, NY or anywhere else in Westchester, get yourself a free listingbook account or contact me at stephanie@jphilip.com or 914-645-2433.

This 3 bedroom, 2 bath Jefferson model condo is over 1600 square feet! The bright and sunny no-step end unit has an eat in kitchen as well as a dining area that opens to the living room. Sliding doors off the living room and dining room offer an oversize deck with private view.

Heritage Hills offers many amenities such as pool, tennis, golf, club house, fitness facilities and shuttle to the Metro-North train station.

This one is sold, but if you would like to buy another home in Heritage Hills or anywhere else in Westchester, search here or contact me at stephanie@jphilip.com 914-645-2433.

Philipsburg Manor- Participate on hands on activities and demonstrations of how life was like back in the 18th century. This is also the site of Horseman’s Hollow during Halloween.

Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground- The supposed haunt of the Headless Horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. They offer guided and self-guided tours. At Irving’s Legend, hear Jonathan Kruk, a master storyteller, tell The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Union Church of Pocantico Hills- This church is best known for its beautiful stained glass windows. They offer guided or self-guided tours.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery- See the final resting place of Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, Elizabeth Arden, and many other notable people. They offer guided tours during the day as well as at night by lantern. You can even step inside the 112 year old underground receiving vault.

Kykuit- Tour the Rockefeller Estate and grounds.

Lyndhurst- A historic site of the National Trust includes a gothic revival style mansion and 67 acre park open for tours.

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside- Tour the home of Washington Irving who is best known for writingThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

For more Halloween events in Sleepy Hollow: http://www.visitsleepyhollow.com/halloween-in-sleepy-hollow

If you would like to search for homes in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown or anywhere else in Westchester get yourself a free Listingbook account.

When: Saturday, August 11th from 11am-6pm and Sunday, August 12th from noon-5pm

Where: Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park (201 Gypsy Trail Road, Carmel, NY)

There will be a variety of vendors from wineries, a beer garden, food, arts and crafts, live music, cooking demonstrations, fresh produce at the farmers market and a children’s activity area.

A ticket includes admission, parking, wine tasting, wine glass, program and gift bag. A portion of the proceeds goes to Feed the Children “Americans Feeding Americans” campaign, and other local charities.

For ticket information: http://www.putnamcountywinefest.com/index.html

P.S. There is a Living Social deal for $12

In case you have been living under a rock for the past few years, real estate sales as a whole have been sluggish. There is a bit of a silver lining though- The rental market is quite healthy.

Just recently I listed a house for rent in Montrose, NY. I put the house on the market on Sunday and I had an accepted offer by Friday. Our brokerage has awesome internet exposure and marketing for our clients. Our listings get in front of as many eyes as possible. The house had numerous showings the first week even though it was a holiday. I had back up offers two deep and had to tell others it was too late.

If you are looking for a rental with specific requirements like size, certain price, condition, pet-friendly, etc. you must be ready to jump because they don’t last long. If the place looks like it is in good condition and priced right I can bet you are not the only one interested in it.

Two important things you can do to be prepared when you are looking for a rental:

1) Get A Credit Report. I cannot stress this enough.  Every landlord wants their tenant to pay the rent. Although nothing is 100% certain, past credit history will give the landlord an idea if someone is likely to pay or not to pay the rent. (If you would like me to recommend a quick and easy way to get your credit score, let me know)

2) Provide A Rental Application. Landlords and owners want to know who they are renting to. The application will include your name, current address, how long you have lived there, past landlords, employer information, income, references, pets, occupants. Rentals are gone quick. It’s best to have this form filled out before you visit any homes.

Be aware of rental scams. If you want to be sure you are dealing with an available rental, one of the easiest ways to do this is to use a Real Estate Agent. They will represent you much in the same way a Buyer’s Agent does when you are purchasing a home.

If you are looking for a rental visit www.stephanie.jphilip.com and set up a free account. You can even set up listing alerts so you know the day your dream rental hits the market.

$313,500 buys a condo in sought after Heritage Hills like the one I just closed on.

This 1 bedroom, 1 and a half bath condo with attached  garage is over 1200 square feet! The open floor plan of this rare no-step Wharton model has a large eat in kitchen and walk in master bedroom closet. Out through the sliders of the living room or door from the kitchen is a private patio and backyard.

Heritage Hills offers many amenities such as pool, tennis, golf, club house, fitness facilities and shuttle to the Metro-North train station.

This one is gone, but if you would like to buy another home in Heritage Hills or anywhere else in Westchester, search here or contact me at stephanie@jphilip.com 914-645-2433.

If you want to hear some live music on 3 stages and get cultured, head out to Pleasantville’s Parkway Field off Marble Avenue. The festival takes place from 11:30am to 8:30pm. Click here for a full lineup of performers.

There will be local vendors with food, beverages, crafts, public service information as well as a kids area with face painting and games. Prospero Winery of Pleasantville and Captain Lawrence Brewery, formerly of Pleasantville (now in Elmsford) will also be in the Festival Garden.

There is no public parking at the Festival. They will provide free parking at Pace University Entrance #3. A free bus will bring you to and from Parkway Field. A free shuttle will also pick-up and return patrons from the Pleasantville Metro-North station throughout the day up until a 45-minutes after the end of the show.

If you would like to read my other blog posts about Pleasantville, click here.

The grounds are ideal for walking, jogging, cross-country skiing, bird watching, hiking, and photography. Permits are also available for horse-back riding. Fishing with a license in the 24 acre Swan Lake is also permitted.

There is also an awesome panoramic view of the Hudson River from an area of the preserve closer to Phelps Hospital. There is a separate parking lot there.

The preserve is open year-round from sunrise to sunset and there is a vehicle entry fee of $6.

Click here for maps of the preserve: http://nysparks.com/parks/59/maps.aspx

Here’s a picture I took with my phone from this past weekend of Swan Lake:

The preserve is only 30 miles from Manhattan and within minutes of nearby metro-north train stations in Pleasantville or Tarrytown or Philipse Manor.

If you are looking for a home in Pocantico Hills or anywhere else in Westchester sign up for a FREE Listingbook account here or call me at 914-645-2433 or email stephanie@jphilip.com

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This well cared for home has hardwood floors and classic appointments. It has an eat in kitchen, seperate dining room, and formal living room with fireplace. It has a full finished basement with rec room. It also has a great sun porch overlooking the wood patio and pool. It has a newer roof, well manicured lawn with sprinkler system and a 1 car detached garage. The home is a short walk to Pelham schools, downtown shopping and Metro-North train.

The home has an excellent layout and the pride of long-time ownership show.

I wish my home sellers nothing but the best in the future.

Other blog post about Pelham here.

This one is sold, but if you would like to find another home in Pelham, NY or anywhere else in Westchester or Putnam counties, create a free account at http://stephanielsolano.listingbook.com/ or contact me at stephanie@jphilip.com or 914-645-2433.

Rising Star: Stephanie Solano

There are some things you can’t teach.

One of our newer agents, Stephanie Solano, who is still in her first year with the firm, has closed another home. It is her 4th transaction in the past 6 months was not without obstacles. This comes on the tail of two successful January closings, and a virtuoso debut in a November closing. Stephanie showed her true colors in the first transaction, choosing to disclose information she heard on the grapevine to her buyer clients and risk losing the sale, which she felt was better than losing her good name if she kept mum. Her clients were impressed with her forthright advocacy, and elected to go forward, appreciative that their agent was committed to watching their back and being completely  transparent. The details are secondary; she put honor above the wallet. We love that around here.

Her latest transaction was another challenge. There was a “lightly seasoned” agent on the other side, and in many ways she did the work of two agents on the deal. She had a knack for asking me for help at the right times (not often) and managing things well on her own the rest of the time with excellent judgement.

Judgement and honor are two things I can’t teach. You either have them or you don’t. So what we have in Stephanie is the real estate version of a 5-tool baseball player: she can do it all. She produces results, and she conducts herself as a good professional should, with high standards. That is what everyone in the public should seek when they get representation.

We are very proud of everything Stephanie has accomplished and how she has gone about her work. She’s the kind of agent you want.

You can connect with her at stephanie@jphilip.com or call her cell at (914) 645-2433.