That gorgeous day I wrote about yesterday turned into a wonderful - if breezy - night! I tried to park for the 7:30 program on Genesee Street at West Lake, but there were too many cars (for the first time, I might add!) I parked around the corner, across from Tops and followed Bob Eggleston in to the Creamery.
The presenter was Lynn Pascale from Farmer Street Pantry by way of the Onondaga Historical Society. She started by saying how rich our area is in history - the Erie Canal, the lakes, various communities - and then told us about the Nonesuch company which made mincemeat in Syracuse for many, many years (1885-1981). I had always used it without knowing it was local. Just last week I sent in a mincemeat pie to my mother-in-law. (That one I didn't make - Heart & Hand did.)
On to granola, and its relationship with the Glen Haven hydrotherapy approach. It was famous for helping people to get well or at least get healthy. The lake, being sooooo cold, was the perfect place for it to be located. The hills behind the buildings were perfect for walking. A typical day for residents/patients was breakfast, a bath in 72-80 degree water, a walk, lunch, another bath, another walk, and rest. People came and stayed for months sometimes. A room could be had for $5 a week, or $10 if you wanted a fireplace.
The owners were a man who was a known abolitionist, prominent in the movement. His wife was one of the first female doctors in New York State. Together with another female doctor they ran the Cure, opening it in 1847.
The food was not rich - just healthy and minimal. They depended a lot on graham flour, which was ground at New Hope Mills just up the road. To make it easier to prepare, they would add milk the night before and it would turn into something else by the morning - our first granula/granola or cereal. Eventually a Mr. Kellogg came for a stay in their second "spa" in Dansville, NY, and then went back to his home in Battle Creek, Michigan.....the rest is history.
A side note I enjoyed was the description of the clothing the women wore. Corsets were not going to make it on the regimented hikes up the hill, so they adopted bloomers that could be worn outdoors as virtual pants. They also wanted the women to be able to breathe, so gone were the tight-fitting bodices, replaced by an over-blouse to match the pants. The "American Costume" was born. (My grandmother was chastised for wearing pants in the early 1900s, so apparently it was not fully adopted by the fashion world.)
This was a marvelous 45-minute program and then we were served samples of mincemeat and applesauce from the Farmer Street Pantry. (http://farmerstreetpantry.com)
For more information about upcoming events at the Creamery at 28 Hannum Street in Skaneateles go to skaneateleshistoricalsociety.org
There are several holiday programs, the Creamery is festive anyway, and it's an excellent place to buy presents. I am planning to take high tea with the Queen and friends on December 17th!
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Skaneateles Real Estate - The Post-Thanksgiving Update
What a gorgeous day it is here! I am in the office, the streets are quiet because it's a weekday and the Dickens people are elsewhere, but the lake is wild, the "surf" pounding. We are experiencing one of those late fall anomalies we get on occasion....blue skies, brilliant sunshine, decent temperatures (50s). Tomorrow it may snow, but for now it is lovely.
Unbelievably, there are currently ONLY 29 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. (A first!) Of these, 4 are in the Village and 8 are considered waterfront. They range in price from $49,000 to over 5 million.
In the Skaneateles School District there are 37 homes, encompassing towns like Marcellus, Spafford and Sennett, as well as Skaneateles. My marvelous listing, 29 Calemad in Parcell Woods, is an example - but it just closed.
Waiting to close are 16 properties in the Town of Skaneateles. They range in price from $39,000 to the mid-$500,000s.
To date there are 109 single family homes sold and closed. Nine of these are new. If the under contract homes all close before the end of the year, then it will be a great year - not record-setting, but a great year.
Unbelievably, there are currently ONLY 29 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. (A first!) Of these, 4 are in the Village and 8 are considered waterfront. They range in price from $49,000 to over 5 million.
In the Skaneateles School District there are 37 homes, encompassing towns like Marcellus, Spafford and Sennett, as well as Skaneateles. My marvelous listing, 29 Calemad in Parcell Woods, is an example - but it just closed.
Waiting to close are 16 properties in the Town of Skaneateles. They range in price from $39,000 to the mid-$500,000s.
To date there are 109 single family homes sold and closed. Nine of these are new. If the under contract homes all close before the end of the year, then it will be a great year - not record-setting, but a great year.
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Taxes, Service Animals, and Letters to Sellers
I'm not really going to take these issues on because I am in no way an expert in these fields. As a Realtor and home-owner, I am impacted though.
This past Monday we had a company-wide meeting of Berkshire Hathaway CNY agents, held at the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors building on Taft Road in North Syracuse. The room was packed, with people coming from Utica and Oswego, and Skaneateles representing the far western boundaries.
Anthony Gatto, Director of Legal Services for the NYS Association of Realtors, spoke on legal matters. The two topics were personal letters and service animals. Many buyers will want to include letters with their purchase offer, trying to convince sellers to choose them over another group of buyers. This can lead to discrimination and the perception of discrimination. Fair housing laws are strong, and the letters, drafted with all good intentions, can be lethal.
Service animals are becoming more common these days. In rental situations they can be problematic because landlords may prohibit pets. As we learned, service animals are not pets. They should be considered as necessary "props" for the person with the disability who requires them. His example was perfect - you would not disallow a wheelchair in a rental unit, so consider the pet to be as essential as a wheelchair. (Or a wheelchair!) Very helpful concept!
At the close of the meeting Dan Hartnett, our broker/owner extraordinaire, talked about taxes. He and another agent had approached Representative Katko to voice their opposition to the proposed tax legislation. A basic outline:
Property tax exemptions will be capped at $10,000. This means, according to the National Association of Realtors, that the average cost to taxpayers who pay over that will be $815 per year. We are a high-taxed state. It will certainly impact us, as Realtors and homeowners, greatly.
Because of this, the value of homes over $300,000 will drop 10%.
A third issue was capital gains. Currently you must live in a house for 2 of the 5 years you own it to not pay capital gains on its sale. Dan says the new proposal is 5 of the 8 years. Since the average length of time people stay in a home is 6 years, this is problematic.
As I say - I took notes and got as much down as I could. To find out more, go to the National Association of Realtors website - there are articles there about these tax issues. And stay informed - call your representative - listen to the news. It's a complex issue and once the reform is in place it may be there for years and years to come.
This past Monday we had a company-wide meeting of Berkshire Hathaway CNY agents, held at the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors building on Taft Road in North Syracuse. The room was packed, with people coming from Utica and Oswego, and Skaneateles representing the far western boundaries.
Anthony Gatto, Director of Legal Services for the NYS Association of Realtors, spoke on legal matters. The two topics were personal letters and service animals. Many buyers will want to include letters with their purchase offer, trying to convince sellers to choose them over another group of buyers. This can lead to discrimination and the perception of discrimination. Fair housing laws are strong, and the letters, drafted with all good intentions, can be lethal.
Service animals are becoming more common these days. In rental situations they can be problematic because landlords may prohibit pets. As we learned, service animals are not pets. They should be considered as necessary "props" for the person with the disability who requires them. His example was perfect - you would not disallow a wheelchair in a rental unit, so consider the pet to be as essential as a wheelchair. (Or a wheelchair!) Very helpful concept!
At the close of the meeting Dan Hartnett, our broker/owner extraordinaire, talked about taxes. He and another agent had approached Representative Katko to voice their opposition to the proposed tax legislation. A basic outline:
Property tax exemptions will be capped at $10,000. This means, according to the National Association of Realtors, that the average cost to taxpayers who pay over that will be $815 per year. We are a high-taxed state. It will certainly impact us, as Realtors and homeowners, greatly.
Because of this, the value of homes over $300,000 will drop 10%.
A third issue was capital gains. Currently you must live in a house for 2 of the 5 years you own it to not pay capital gains on its sale. Dan says the new proposal is 5 of the 8 years. Since the average length of time people stay in a home is 6 years, this is problematic.
As I say - I took notes and got as much down as I could. To find out more, go to the National Association of Realtors website - there are articles there about these tax issues. And stay informed - call your representative - listen to the news. It's a complex issue and once the reform is in place it may be there for years and years to come.
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