OPEN HOUSE ALERT! 2 Green Street

OPEN SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25th

1:00 to 3:00

$134,900

 

 

A picture (or four) is worth a thousand words!  These photos of 2 Green Street in the Village of Camillus are from the previous owner's residency.  The bushes have been taken down by the front door, a beautiful wrought iron fence was installed to fence the back yard, and there is minimal furniture in the house now.  But it is still a gem!  And oh yes - the old and crumbling Verizon building across the street has been reduced to rubble, soon to be carted away...thanks to the neighbors requesting and receiving a visit from Senator Schumer.

Hopefully this gives you a sense of the house and what it could be again.  Pictures - whether actual photos or descriptions - help to make it real, but seeing the home is always better.  Please come!  ML#S338420

A Quick Primer on Taxes

As I wrote the last "Twenty" I realized that I haven't gone over why I put Village or Town in the notations, at least for quite a while.  As an extension of that, what does it even mean to a buyer or seller?  Certainly it affects the value of the house.  So a quick primer is in order:

All listings that I use are in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  That does not mean that all are in Skaneateles...Town or Village.  Skaneateles is quite well-known while Spafford or Sennett or Niles are not.  Waterfront homes are on Skaneateles Lake - so searching for a lakefront property it is natural to look under Skaneateles.  The Skaneateles School District extends into Spafford, Niles and Sennett....again, searches make more sense to look under Skaneateles.

Taxes and amenities differ.  The Village has a Village tax....but it also has really low electrical rates, sewers, and public water.  Places in the Town have public water, but not too far away from the Village.  There are no sewer connections outside of the Village (maybe a house or two right on the edge on Onondaga..)  No sewers in Spafford or Niles, either.  Skaneateles Falls (zip code 13153) has public water, but some homes are in the Jordan-Elbridge School District.

Taxes.  Over the last few days for some reason I realize I have been talking a lot about taxes to prospective buyers, most of whom are from out-of-state but not all.  Skaneateles has the lowest taxes in all of Onondaga County.  That's Skaneateles schools and town/county taxes.  The rate hovers around a total of 2.2%.  It also has the highest prices of homes.  You can be in Skaneateles but have J-E schools and therefore much higher taxes.  Our rate, by comparison, for Town of Elbridge and Jordan-Elbridge Schools is around 3.8%.   Of course our house would be assessed higher if it were a few miles down the road.

Does it come out even in the end?  Not really.  So many people are looking for homes in which to retire. They want to pay off their homes and only pay taxes.  A $300,000 home in Elbridge would require at the present rate upwards of $12,000 per year while a Skaneateles home would only mean paying $6,600....a huge difference.  The argument can be what you get for that 300K... and on and on, which is why the discussion continues always.

Remember this:  Skaneateles has the lowest tax RATE in Onondaga County.  And by the way, this is thanks to WelchAllyn and all those waterfront properties that create the base to allow for the low rate.

Another point of interest.....The Town of Sennett has the lowest RATE in Cayuga County!  Thank you Wal-Mart, Panera Bread, Staples.....and all those Grant Ave stores.

Taxes do matter.  Think of the young people who buy $100,000 starter homes (and you still can in Skaneateles.)  $2200 vs. $3800 per year translates into a difference of about $125 per month in their payments.

Looks like I had a lot to say, after all....so much for "Quick"!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Fourth Twenty

What a busy, busy summer it was!  These homes were closed between August 1st and September 2nd....usually 20 homes close over a period of at least a couple months.  You can see why we are on a record pace this year.

5 Kane Avenue       Village of Skaneateles      $975,000

1797 Russells Ldg   Town of Skanateles         $535,000

105 Orchard Rd      Village of Skaneateles      $460,000

31 State Street         Village of Skaneateles      $436,175

52 Leitch Ave          Village of Skaneateles      $440,000

1691 Buffs Bluff       Town of Skaneateles        $354,000

1562 Heifer Rd        Town of Skaneateles        $273,000

135 E. Genesee        Village of Skaneateles      $290,000

20 Griffin                  Village of Skaneateles      $289,000

3989 Highland Ave   Town of Skaneateles       $237,500

1969 Amnaste Lane  Town of Skaneateles       $209,000

3853 State St. Rd.     Town of Skaneateles       $132,900

2524 Wave Way       Town of Skaneateles       $356,500

60 Jordan Street         Village of Skaneateles    $375,950

61 State Street            Village of Skaneateles    $325,000

3838 East Street          Town of Skaneateles     $321,000

3350 County Line        Town of Skaneateles     $340,000

3949 East Street          Town of Skaneateles     $280,000

718 School Street        Skaneateles Falls           $111,600

3762 Fisher Road        Town of Skaneateles      $95,000

Skaneateles Real Estate - October's Bright Blue Update

What a gorgeous month to live in Central New York!  Last weekend the boys and Alex and Rachel came up (aka ARLO) for a whirlwind 48 hours.  We started at Tim's Pumpkin Patch as we had last year - a slightly shorter drive (they made it in 4 hours!) and a very active, much-needed break.  Liam and Papa went on the hayride out into the fields; Ollie and I checked out the goats.  Both boys played in the barn with other kids. The rest of the weekend Bob and I took them as much as possible into our woods and out into the cornfields behind.  We also apple-picked with good friend Robin.  A glorious weekend!  Much thanks to Gary at Rosalie's for helping Alex and Rachel to celebrate her birthday Sunday night, too!

But what is happening in Skaneateles?  Currently there are only 82 single family listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 28 are in the Village and 11 (only!) are considered waterfront. As mentioned last time, this is a disparity rarely seen.  Certainly at this time of year more waterfront should have appeared, and fewer Village homes should still be available.

Ten are new listings (actually only one of these is a re-list).  Five are in the Village and one is waterfront. There are 35 properties waiting to close or at least under contract.  Fifteen of these are new since my last update of September 20th.  Three are Village and one is waterfront.  (I love it when the numbers are consistent and form a consistent pattern!)

And for the grand news:  There are 100 sold and closed single family homes so far this year.  As of the 15th, when I compiled these stats, that was the number.  How much fun is that!  Should all the under contract homes close by the end of the year - and that's a reasonable assumption even with the new mortgage rules and regs - it will have been a record year for Skaneateles.  But hey - there's still time to add another home! May I suggest 24 State Street?  You could be in by Dickens!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Third Twenty (or Thereabouts)

Playing catch-up here.....These are the sales that occurred between May 21st and July 31st.  Because the end of the month is always busy, there were three sales on the 31st.  I am reporting 21 sales here.

1700 Albring Road     Town of Skaneateles    $315,000

1981 Amnaste Lane    Town of Skaneateles    $230,000

3044 County Line       Town of Skaneateles    $62,500

49 East Street             Village of Skaneateles   $264,000

9 E Elizabeth St.        Village of Skaneateles    $225,000

89 W Elizabeth St.       Village of Skaneateles  $199,900

6 Gayle Road               Village of Skaneateles  $416,000

54 W Genesee St.        Village of Skaneateles  $425,000

9 Heather Woods         Village of Skaneateles  $323,000

4205 Jordan Road        Town of Skaneateles   $212,000

4378 Jordan Road        Town of Skaneateles   $129,000

4521 Jordan Road        Town of Skaneateles   $115,000

4162 Jordan Road        Town of Skaneateles   $115,000

3325 Kane Ave            Village of Skaneateles  $265,000

2025 W Lake Rd           Town of Skaneateles    $865,000

20 Lakeview Circle       Village of Skaneateles  $344,740

1348 Laxton Lane         Town of Skaneateles   $460,000

3740 Lucinda Lane        Town of Skaneateles  $235,000

1669 Old Seneca Tpke  Town of Skaneateles  $100,700

1853 Pork Street            Town of Skaneateles  $279,000

1057 The Lane               Town of Skaneateles  $380,000

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Summer Months Update

I started out yesterday to write this update, but quickly became too immersed in looking back over my own summer.  But now that that's all cleared out, please read - and hopefully enjoy - this HUGE update.

24 State Street - one of the new Village listings that came on over the summer. 

 $279,000 - ML#S338894

Since June 15th there have been 47 new (or re-listed) homes brought onto the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Currently there are 91 listings; 31 are in the Village and only 12 are considered waterfront.  If you have been following this blog you know that usually the numbers of Village homes and waterfront properties are similar.  Not this year!  Waterfront is at a premium.

The range of prices is astounding.  The lowest listing is $72,500 and the highest is $10,000,000.  The median price is $379,000.

There are 34 homes under contract.  Nine are in the Village and 6 are waterfront.

And now we come to the fun part.  When I wrote the last update, there were 44 homes sold and closed.  I also added the Second Twenty list of sales.  Well!

There are now 84 single family properties in the Skaneateles area that have closed to date.  The median price is $289,000.  In 2014 there were only 66 at this time; in 2013 there were 78.  Of these 84 closed to date, 16 are in the Village.

A record year is blossoming.  Has blossomed and is BLOOMING!  No wonder we've all been busy!

The Summer Summary

Quick, before Autumn arrives in a couple days!  It was an incredibly busy summer, as my lack of blogs should attest.  Since starting these blogs in 2007 (I think it was) I have rarely missed a few weeks.  A few months - never!  But it was that type of summer.

I was busy - everyone was busy.  We went places this summer, at least in the beginning.  We saw the Stones in Buffalo - and then I slept all the way home and got up and did an open house the next day.  We went to New York a couple times and had the kids up here.  We celebrated Liam's fourth birthday and Ollie's second.  We took in ball games - once to the Chiefs with our baseball buddies, the Andersens, and once at the Doubledays, again with them!  Socializing we rarely did.  I tried to have lunch with my old friend Gloria as we do each year at the Sherwood when she's in town and it took several tries to find a date I could go. Well worth the wait - always good to see friends who have been there forever...and will be.

I spent time at the lake.  After Jazz Fest, Charlie (our aging King Charles Cavalier with only two teeth) passed away.  We missed him terribly, and decided the house was too much of a reminder.  We went to the lake...no desk for him to situate himself under while I typed, no place to take a really long walk down the road, no memories of him there, really.  Boo came with us and returned to being a camp dog, although now with a lead.  He loved lying on the deck or in the open doorway, occasionally barking at "The Peskies" as we called them, our neighbors' little dogs.

Last week it was his turn.  He "just wasn't right" and I took him to Weedsport Animal Hospital after he ignored a huge cat fight.  A mass on his spleen....just like Sheba.  But this time Dr. Hopp was able to save him.  The operation went on for a couple hours and I paced outside while Bob sat.  He's not out of the woods yet...but still with us.

I took one trip - to Bethany Beach for a day with the boys and Alex and Rachel.  Bob had committed to a couple jobs and we had little notice.  One day at the ocean, a couple long walks with Liam, and I roared home again.  Sixteen hours of driving alone to sort things out.  I enjoy that actually.

And in-between all this was real estate, the actual focus of the summer.  I put miles on the Fiat, had the top down most of the time.  I watched tennis and more tennis.  And now fall is almost here.  I'm not ready to give up the lake quite yet, but I feel the pull to stack wood, get in shape, go to the Adirondacks.

We live in the most beautiful and one of the safest parts of the country.  We have vistas that take your breath away, gorgeous lakes that are accessible...go paddling in the Village!  We can stroll through lovely towns, admire homes that are (for the most part) not homes only a millionaire could afford.  And about 6 months out of the year the weather is perfect, the lawns are green, the streams run with pure water.  This summer I made a point of starting early and appreciating all of it.  It was grand, a summer to remember always.