How to Garden and Co-Exist with Deer

As an avid gardener I understand the damage that deer can do to a season of hard work and dedication. Gardening comes in many forms. Most of us spend a great deal of time at this endeavor. Shrubbery can cost a great deal of money and require a certain amount of effort to maintain. So why let the deer come out at night and nourish themselves on your investment. Just one deer can do great damage to your front hedge in just one episode. Not very neighborly is it.

As a realtor, I stress the importance of curb appeal and visual balance. Buyers will sometimes walk away from a home if they don't like what they see. Forget about the fact that if a front hedge is unkept or eaten, I have had to do the old drive by and not even stop. Why? A well planned landscape design can cost more than $10,000 to purchase and install. That includes landscaping. Buyers generally avoid obvious costs going in. So how do we protect this integral part of our home investment?

I moved to Somers, NY in 1996 and I was going to do my own landscaping, lawn mowing and gardening. After 14 yeqars I have no regrets about it. But it did not take long to figure out that I lived in the middle of an established deer trail. That meant that my landscaping from time to time was fed upon. Now some people surround the shrubs with chicken wire fencing. This is just my opinion, but it looks terrible and does nothing for the curb appeal of a home. Electrified fences are good, but I can not opine to that way of thinking, especially that I only have an acre to protect. So I spent much time researching and have found that there are shrubs and plants that deer will not eat. This has been a particularly bad season for deer so I am getting serious now.

One thing to know is that deer dietary likes and dislikes run from neighborhood to neighborhood. Rhubarb is poisonous, but deer will eat it. Adding to the myth that deer (like sharks) will eat anything. So are there plants that they will not eat? Yes! Below is a list of plants that seem not to appeal to our friends. Remember, nothing is foolproof and deer if pressed will eat anything.

Annuals:

Oriental Poppy, Bee Balm, Peony, Jacobs Ladder, Lungwort, Sword Fern, Lavender, Gayflower, Lambsear, Russian Sage, Rose Campoin, Candytuft, Sweet Cicely, Marjoram, Spearmint, Maiden Grass, Obedient Grass, Trillium, Tansy, Speedwell, Yucca, Windflower, Columbine, Sea Pink, Goats Beard, Butterfly Weed, False Rockcress and Blackberry Lillies.

Shrubs:

Lilac, Tamarix, Spirea, Sumac, Eastern Red Cedar, Sweet Pepperbush, Barberry, Black Chokeberry, Butterfly Bush, Forsynthia, Mugho Pine, Smoke Tree, Cinquefoil, Bearberryand Serviceberry.

Keep in mind that there are many other species that are also available. Do your research and plan your landscaping and the rewards are far more than the effort. There is nothing that says more about your home than the love and work that you put into it. Another tip for avoiding deer is - DON'T FEED THEM! They will become accustomed to that and come back time and time again.

Happy Gardening!

Somers AYSO Soccer Teams Compete at the Nationals in Florida

Three Soccer Teams from our little town were invited to compete in the AYSO Soccer National Tournament in Florida last week. Aside from being an honor to be selected, it must be noted that it takes a tremendous effort to bring these young athletes to the event.

Parents and coaches coordinated numerous fundraising events leading up the day of departure, enabling the team including coaches to travel and provided room and board for them as well. These folks that have given their time and resources need to be recognized and given THANKS.

The opening ceremony took place at Palm Beach Central High School on July 6, 2010. The games were played at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida.

Our U-16 Boys Team named the Blazers competed and were coached by Ed Heller and Harold Aryee. Lou Chiraboga handled the training. The U-16 Boys played 3 teams from California out of Glendale, Valencia and Chino Hills and also a team from Phoenix Arizona. The Blazers goal Keeper Harold Aryee, Jr. was named Blazer Team MVP.

The Somers U-14 Boys team, Somers United played teams from Trinidad & Tobago, South Los Angeles, CA, Clearwater, Florida, Kansas and Flushing Michigan. Coaches for the Somers United are Said Reda and Bill Bennett.

The U-10 Girls Team, the Somers Tuskers also competed in the tournament. Unfortunately, our teams did not advance to the finals, but had a great sports experience and will be back in 2012 to compete again when the AYSO Nationals take place in Knoxville Tennesee.

Once again, THANKS to the coaches and parents who work very hard to make this all happen for these kids. Without their efforts it would be hard to see this all come together.

Home Improvements - Value & Cost

Home Remodeling:

Cost & Value

In today’s real estate market, whether you are a Buyer, Seller or Holder, the most valuable tool is information. And YES, you are one of those three or thinking about becoming one. In either case, the “Home Remodeling” question comes into play - Do I or Don’t I remodel this house and flip it for profit? Do I want to buy this house and put the work in myself, then live there? Do I want to build a new home? Do I want to remodel my existing home? We can go on and on about the questions alone.

Realtors deal with these vexing scenarios daily. Today’s economy has proved to be a challenge for the real estate market in a number of ways. Yes believe it or not, the prices of real estate have fallen significantly. If you are not aware of that, you are now. Each client possesses a unique scenario that applies to the sale or purchase of a property.

In this post we will be dealing with – Do I want to remodel my existing home?

Proper remodeling of an existing home in effect turns back the clock. My son Matthew has often said to me, “Dad don’t worry, 50 is the new 40”. Well, that didn’t really make me feel better, but I can equate that to remodeling an existing home. Updating a kitchen or bathroom can take years off a homes perceived value. In other words, homes with updated kitchens and bathrooms do garner a better market value than homes that have original fixtures in place. Naturally we are talking about homes that have some age on them. My home was built in 1967 and needs bathroom updating. In 1967 my brother Mitch had this really cool GTO (pictured above with me in July 1967). I bet that car was maintained and restored by someone, somewhere. I think Mitch sold that car in the early 80's. You see where I'm going with this. Right! Homes are the same way. Good maintenance and solid improvements add value to your home. First in the form of comfort and security while you live there and then in the form of $$$ when you decide to sell. How much $$$ is what we are exploring here.

The fact is that home remodeling is a huge part of the real estate industry and there are rankings given to each type of remodeling based on Cost vs. Value returned. I will attempt to give some examples keeping to our region, the Mid-Atlantic, and comparing to national averages. Our figures will come from an article by G.M. Filisko written for Realtor Magazine.

The three categories are Additions, Remodelings and Replacements. Our Region averages are used for job cost, resale value and value recouped upon sale. Our region is the Mid-Atlantic. Highlighted values represent highest value recouped in category.

Additions

Each lines shows the Job Cost, Resale Value & Recouped Value upon sale

Attic Bedroom $53,780, $39,292, 73.1%
Back-Up Gen. $15,290, $8,206, 53.7%
Bathroom $42,441, $22,272, 52.5%
Deck Comp. $15,890, $10,404, 65.5%
Deck Wooden $11,260, $7,917, 70.3%
Family Rm $88,704, $51,991, 58.6%
Garage $62,431, $34,847, 55.8%
Master Suite $111,857, $67,612, 60.4%
Sunroom $76,580, $38,661, 50.5%
2nd Story $165,708, $107,770, 65.0%


Remodeling

Each line shows Job Cost, Resale Value & Recouped value upon sale.

Basement $67,455, $41,127, 61.0%
Bathroom $17,383, $11,817, 68.0%
Home Office $29,525, $13,841, 46.9%
Major Kitchen $59,505, $39,860, 66.5%
Minor Kitchen $22,130, $15,973, 72.2%


Replacements

Each line shows Job Cost, Resale Value & Recouped value upon sale.

Entry Door $1,248, $1,217, 97.5%
Roofing $22,292, $14,508, 65.1%
Siding Vinyl $10,980, $8,920, 81.2%
Window Vinyl $11,408, $8,766, 76.8%
Window Wooden $12,410, $9,248, 74.5%


There are Up-scale values for some of the types of remodeling shown above. For instance, an upscale Bathroom addition can cost $81,266 and resale for $42,240 rendering a 52.0% recouped value. Whereas, an up-scale bathroom remodeling may cost $55,766 and resale for $31,862 and a recouped value of 57.1%.

These figures are regional averages and costs may differ in your particular area. Always get more than one quote for a job that you want done. Comparing price and job quality are important factors in any home remodeling. Check for references whenever you have work done on your home.

Get Outdoors - Westchester County Parks Provide Something For Everyone

With winter coming to an end, many people want or need to get outdoors. Westchester County has a wide variety of choices to suit just about anyone. Boating, horseback riding, bike riding, fishing, camping and so much more are easily accessible. Check this link to get a jump start on this years outdoor activities.
http://www.fcwc.org/directory/wcoppnc.htm

Somers Wrestling takes 3rd at Super 16 Tournament

Somers High School has a rich history in High School wrestling circles. The following is taken from the Coaches Notes....

•Somers takes 3rd at Super 16. 1st- Brian Realbuto-MOW, 2nd- Dylan Realbuto, Rino DeVita, 3rd- Kyle Turchick, Brett Emanuel, 5th- Josh Zimmerman, Ryan Englert. 6th- Jason DeBenedetto, Mark Lasar, Rich Radi

Check the following link for more information about the Wrestling Teams upcoming events. http://somerswrestling.vnsports.com/

SOMERS AYSO SOCCER GOING TO NATIONAL TOURNAMENT!

Three teams from our Somers AYSO Soccer league have been invited to compete in the AYSO National Tournament. It will take place this coming July in Florida. Somers AYSO participated in this tournament in July 2007 when it took place in Hawaii.

There will be many upcoming fund raising events that are run by the teams themselves and is strickly volunteer driven.

On Friday November 13th from 7:30 to 9:00pm there is a Wine Tasting Event taking place at Somers Discount Wines which is located in the Somerstown Center, Route 202/100. Somers Discount Wines will be donating 20% of all wines sales to the team. A generous gesture indeed. Tickets are $10.00 per person and are raffle tickets for a $300.00 prize.

This is a perfect opportunity to purchase your Holiday wine, etc. and to help a wonderful organization, which by the way is run by wonderful people who work very hard and volunteer so much of their own time for these kids (my 14 year old son being one of them). It makes me proud to live in Somers, NY.

Donations are tax deductible.

For more information about this years AYSO Fundraising efforts please email fwright@nwhc.net

Destination Imagination - Somers Students Compete Globally

I recently attended the Somers AYSO Soccer end of year barbeque and found out that 2 groups of students from the Somers Middle School and Somers Intermediate School had competed in the Global Destination Imagination competition held in Knoxville, Tennessee back in May. This event includes students from just about everywhere. Using imagination these students prepare a presentation and are graded on content and performance. The students from the Somers Middle School won the Project Outreach - Take Charge competition, besting all comers. The Somers Intermediate students placed 16th in a group of about 70. Congratulations to both squads for a job well done. You have made our Town of Somers, New York proud! One of the really fun things the students were able to participate in was PIN TRADING. I had the pleasure of seeing Lauren Chirabogas' awesome pin collection. There must have been 100 of them from everywhere. Naturally the one I liked the best was the Somers "CUTIE PI" (Get It?). For more information please go to http://globalfinals.org/about_knoxville.htm to view results and all of the other happenings at Global Destination Imagination.