Curb Appeal: It Makes a Difference
July 17, 2010
You have done everything right in preparing your Rockland house for sale. You have packed away your Aunt Louise’s doll collection; repainted all the trim; replaced the dated Tiffany glass fixture over the kitchen table; removed the heavy living room drapes and washed the windows till they sparkle. Your room photos look great on the web. Your house is ready for a quick sale. Or is it?
If prospective buyers are turned off when they see your front yard, they may not even get out of their car to come inside. All your interior prep work is useless if your yard says “This house has not been well-maintained. Better go elsewhere.”
Here are some tips to help you make a good first impression when buyers drive up:
- Straighten the mailbox post, and repair/paint/replace the mailbox if it’s not in good shape.
- Keep the lawn mowed, and put away toys, bikes, old pots and other debris.
- Weed and mulch the garden beds, and replace any dead shrubs.
- Repair the cracks in your front walk, and use Roundup on weeds or grass coming up between bricks or stones.
Does it make a difference?
We were hired by the owner of a Rockland County house to remove barriers to sale without spending a fortune. It had been on the market for 3½ months and had neighborhood competition. The house sold in 12 days after we repainted the interior, installed new kitchen appliances, and cleaned up the front walk. The exterior cleanup, with its modest cost, boosted the curb appeal and made the most dramatic change of anything we did.
Before our cleanup, prospective buyers were not keen to look inside the house. Those who came in were already convinced that the house would disappoint them, so they were unable to see anything but faults. The large, bright rooms, fieldstone fireplace, and great views were not sufficient to erase the first, bad impression.
On the other hand, when the buyer gets a favorable first impression, he or she may excuse even obvious faults. “I can live with that.”
You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Harriman Park in Spring: 4-Mountain Loop
May 18, 2010
A popular Harriman hike is a four-mountain circular known as the Parker Cabin/Black Rock Mountain Loop. While moderately strenuous, it’s a bit less than 5 miles and boasts some excellent views from the hilltops. The loop is bisected by county route 106, with small parking areas at each of the two trail crossings. You can choose your starting point and then hike either clockwise or counter-clockwise.
On a fine day in May, with temperatures in the 70’s and a light westerly breeze to keep the black flies at bay, I parked at the Ramapo-Dunderberg (R-D) trail crossing just west of Little Long Pond and started my hike by climbing 1289-foot Tom Jones Mtn by heading southwest on the R-D (blazed with a red dot on white). There are views to the east from the summit.
I continued on the R-D as it descends the mountain to the west, crosses the Victory Trail and then climbs Parker Cabin Mtn, with its broad view
s to the southeast (a good spot for lunch or a water break). The descent southwest on the yellow-blazed Triangle trail wanders through a sea of mountain laurel, which will bloom spectacularly in June. I picked up the White Bar (blazed with a horizontal white bar), turning north through deep, dark woods as it descends into Parker Cabin Hollow and crosses a babbling brook on a wooden bridge. This easy jaunt was followed by a steep ascent of Carr Pond Mtn, which has excellent views across Sterling Forest to the west (see photo) from a rocky outcropping, another nice spot for lunch. I descended to a stream crossing and climbed another hill before descending to Route 106.
Across the road, the White Bar heads north into the woods and eventually intersects with the white-blazed Nurian trial. After crossing a stream, the Nurian climbs southeast to the highest of the four hills, 1382-foot Black Rock Mtn, a veritable massif. At and near the top, where the Nurian intersects the R-D, are excellent views in every direction.
The ecosystem of Black Rock is very different from the woodlands I hiked through earlier. Large expanses of bare rock, eroded by wind, are broken by scrub trees and grasses. Several hiking trails meander over the nearby rocky hills, offering vistas at every turn. A massive erratic, deposited by the last glacier
and dubbed the Ship Rock, hulks near one of these trails. An ancient Native American cliff-shelter hides well out of sight. Old iron mines cluster on the eastern and northern slopes.
I took the R-D heading south as it descends the mountain through rock, woods and expanses of ferns (see photo) and returned to the parking area on Route 106. If you go, you might want to pick up a map of the trails published by the NY-NJ Trail Conference, at any sporting goods store. Or join a local hiking club, like the North Jersey Ramapo Chapter of the Adirondack Mtn Club.
Fear of High Deficits Sending Mortgage Rates Up
April 17, 2010
Just after World War II, due to war spending and rebuilding Europe, our national public debt reached 108.6% of our gross domestic product (GDP), America’s total annual output of goods and services (according to the Office of Management and Budget). It declined steadily to 25% by the 1970’s as the economy boomed, and stood just under 40% in 2008. But the good times appear to be over. By the end of this year 2010 it will be about 67%, and by 2020 it is projected to reach 90%, as reported last month by the Congressional Budget Office,.near the record level reached in 1946, and not far from the level just reached by Greece (115%).
Our deficits have never been a serious problem, but…
For years our annual deficits have been financed by borrowing – by the Treasury’s issuing bonds. And for years a large percentage of bond buyers have been foreign governments attracted by our political stability, now especially China and Japan, which have amassed large quantities of dollars by selling us their goods.
Deficits were never a serious problem in the past because our entrepreneurs with new ideas were encouraged to start businesses that hired new workers and expand. Businesses and working people pay taxes, and economic growth and low unemployment have tended to keep the deficits and total debt manageable. Continuing economic growth and low unemployment, together with raising the retirement age, might have been sufficient to solve the long-term viability problems of Social Security and Medicare.
Americans in the business world and labor markets tend to be hard-working, self-reliant and optimistic. Why is this so? Several reasons:
* Our can-do attititude dating from colonial times leading to our rapid geographic expansion in the 19th century and the exploitation of our rich natural resources. Our frontier spirit and “manifest destiny” fueled the push to the Pacific coast;
* The expanding horizons of scientific inquiry in the 20th century (landing a man on the moon, among many other outstanding successes in chemistry, physics, biology and medicine);
* A steady flow of immigrants who brought inexpensive labor and new ideas, and assimilated American culture because they wanted the opportunity to work hard and give their families a better life; and
* The recognition — encapsulated in the Declaration of Independence – that equal opportunity is an essential human right (“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”)
Collectively, these factors represent or are largely responsible for American exceptionalism — which has made our 234-year-old nation the world’s most dynamic.
What is different now?
There are two problems with today’s high annual deficits: 1) They are higher than ever before and are projected to remain high. As our deficits accumulate, the US Treasury needs to sell more bonds, and foreign governments need a greater incentive to buy and hold them. And 2) at some point, we will have so many bonds outstanding that it may hurt our credit rating because the debt service will require a larger percentage of our annual output. A lower credit rating makes buyers feel less secure and demand higher interest rates to compensate for the higher risk of default. Higher interest rates mean a higher borrowing cost for the US Treasury, slow the economy, and cost us the business investment and new jobs we need to reduce the deficits.
Impact on mortgage rates
How does this impact mortgage rates? On March 25, the US Treasury auctioned off $118 billion in notes, and bidders were not enthusisastic about taking them. They wanted a higher interest rate to induce them to buy. “Treasuries fell, pushing 10-year note yields up the most since December, as lower-than-average demand at $118 billion in note auctions raised concern that investor interest is waning as the deficit climbs to a record.” (Bloomberg.com, March 26, 2010)
While the Fed is holding its discount rate low to stimulate the economy by making demand loans inexpensive, mortgages are not demand loans — they are long-term loans that issuers hedge with bonds. So when interest rates on bonds rise, as they did in late March, mortgage rates rise too, as they did in late March. This adversely impacts home buying.
The demand for higher interest rates by foreign bond buyers has just started, not coincidentally with the passage of the massively expensive health care law, and, with high deficits continuing for the foreseeable future and probably beyond, the growing expense of debt service will -become a serious problem. Printing money to pay debts will compound the problem as bond buyers demand higher bond interest to compensate them for loss of buying power as well as for higher risk.
Growth hurt, unemployment up, and our sovereign credit rating cut
We can expect further upward pressure on interest rates. Higher interest rates on growing debt will inevitably lead to lower economic growth and higher unemployment. Will the US go bankrupt as a result of the growing cost of servicing the national debt? Hopefully not, but there is a risk, and this risk is the reason that Moody’s rating service has warned that the US may lose its AAA bond rating. “The U.S. and the U.K. have moved “substantially” closer to losing their AAA credit ratings as the cost of servicing their debt rose, according to Moody’s Investors Service.” (Bloomberg.com, March 15, 2010) Through the auction results, the bond market is already pointing out the problem.
We can expect further upward pressure on interest rates. Higher interest rates on growing debt will inevitably lead to lower economic growth and higher unemployment. Will the US go bankrupt as a result of the growing cost of servicing the national debt? Hopefully not, but there is a risk, and this risk is the reason that Moody’s rating service has warned that the US may lose its AAA bond rating. “The U.S. and the U.K. have moved “substantially” closer to losing their AAA credit ratings as the cost of servicing their debt rose, according to Moody’s Investors Service.” (Bloomberg.com, March 15, 2010) Through the auction results, the bond market is already pointing out the problem.
It gets worse: Higher taxes
With a limited appetite of bondholders for more US debt, higher debt service will also lead to higher taxes (starting with “tax the rich” and then spreading to the middle class). As taxes rise, fewer entrepreneurs will want to start new businesses and hire new workers – the engine of America’s economic growth. Government revenues will be stunted over the long term, while expenditures will remain high to provide for the existing entitlements and the new healthcare regime, as well as welfare for large numbers of chronically unemployed, and to pay the rising debt service. A typical but ineffective government response would be to attempt to control the problem through increased regulation and broader, higher taxes.
The markets are the most democratic institution we have — everyone can participate. And broad-based markets don’t lie. This scenario, which is already playing out, is not good for our country’s future.
Harriman Park in Winter: The Nickel Mine
February 10, 2010
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…
Harriman Park is most every downstate hiker’s favorite place for solitude and keeping in shape. I like winter best for hiking because there is no vegetation to block the views, fewer people out, no snakes, and – if there is enough snow for snowshoeing – I can walk just about anywhere because the snow covers rocks and fallen logs.
The path that diverges to the left in the photo above is a remnant of the Rockhouse Mtn trail, unmarked and rarely used (not a footprint on it). The path to the right is the Beech trail, a popular route for hikers that follows a 200-year old farm road. It’s not at all disturbing that most everyone takes the road more travelled; on the contrary, I find it gratifying that there are so many of these choices to be made in Harriman Park.
On this early February day my destination was the Nickel Mine, one of many mines in the Ramapo Mountains. With some effort it can be reached from the north in spring, summer and fall on an unmarked and very wet old bottom road, then by climbing up the old mine road – but not in winter because the access road for cars, Tiorati Brook Road, is closed for the season. So I approached the mine from the south, bushwhacking 2½ miles from the Beech trail, picking my way along the edge of a swamp, crossing a long-abandoned mill sluice, edging uphill, and then hiking along ancient paths to the trailless ridge of Grape Swamp Mtn and then to the open mine. This route is not just less travelled but completely unknown to the casual hiker on the Beech trail.
Nickel ore was indeed mined from the Nickel Mine, which was operated for 10 years (1875-1884) by the Rockland Nickel Company, though the rock looks like it contains iron.
One can walk into the pit, protected from the blustery north wind. There were no tracks here, of course, except for those of the animals that make Harriman their home, especially deer, rabbits, foxes and voles.
After a quick lunch in the mine, I returned by a different route, partly on the Beech trail, so I could pass the Civil War era Jones family cemetery. This part of Harriman Park was settled by farmers, who eked out a subsistence from the rocky soil. Running through the dense woods are countless long stone walls, no longer marking fields or pastures, but evidence of both the toil of the farmers and the return to nature of the cleared land.
While the return to nature appears complete, some exotic plants that were planted by the farm families near their homesteads have taken over sections of the understory, especially prickly stands of barberry. Here on the Jones farm stood, until a few years ago, a majestic (and non-native) Norway spruce, a landmark that every hiker looked for. Its trunk snapped in a storm. Just behind the spruce’s broken trunk hides the entrance to a root cellar, facing east to catch the light of the rising sun.
Like the Hudson Valley itself, Harriman Park is rich in history, anthropology and geology. And it cries out to the hiker to take a path less travelled.
Photos by Jerry White of The Staging Prince. This article, like many posted here, highlights recreational activities for Hudson Valley residents. We invite you to sign up for our free monthly newsletter for Hudson Valley homeowners.
Castle of the Month: Bannerman’s Castle
February 6, 2010
Bannerman’s Castle
Sitting on a small island called Pollepel in the Hudson River between Cold Spring and Beacon, across from Storm King Mountain, are the impressive ruins of a castle, one of the very few ever built in the US.
The complex of buildings was constructed as an arsenal between 1900, when the island was purchased by military surplus dealer Frank Bannerman, and 1918, when Bannerman died. Bannerman had purchased most of the Army surplus materiel from the Spanish-American War, including tons of ammunition, and he needed a safe place to store it. In the eastern facade of its imposing superstructure (the Tower), Bannerman cast the legend: Bannerman’s Island Arsenal. A smaller castle was built on the western shore of the island as a residence.
In 1920, 200 tons of munitions exploded in one of the large buildings, causing significant damage to the complex. The island was essentially abandoned after 1950 with the sinking in a storm of the ferryboat Pollepel that had served the island. The island and its buildings were bought by New York State in 1967, and tours were conducted in 1968. The following year the roof and floors of the castle were destroyed in a fire, and no further visits were permitted until they were resumed recently by The Bannerman Castle Trust.
During Christmas week of 2009, a large section of the north and east Tower walls collapsed, and the Trust is seeking donations to stabilize the structure before it is totally lost.
A kayak is the ideal way to approach the castle over stonework obstacles in the shallows of the island. But the castle poses serious risks to visitors: the island boasts generous growths of poison ivy, and the structure itself is demonstrably insecure. Nevertheless, Bannerman’s has been a popular destination for kayakers. The European-type castle is fascinating, and, with due care (and some luck), the island can be a good spot to break for lunch.
Photo by Jerry White of The Staging Prince.
Sell Your Castle in Weeks not Months
The Story of Benmarl Vineyards
January 30, 2010
This continues our series highlighting activities for residents of New York’s rich and fascinating Hudson Valley, along with a measure of its history.
The Hudson River from Benmarl Vineyards
In the last 30 years we have become a country of wine consumers and are drinking increasing amounts of wine grown in our own native soils. This acceptance of our own wines has come about through the efforts of a few American winelovers who were determined to demonstrate that fine winemaking, both as an art and as a business was well within the capability of our nation’s climate, soils, and talents. Many stories can be told of the difficulties and rewards experienced by these dedicated people.
One such story concerns the Miller family, which began appropriately on a vineyard in the Hudson River valley, perhaps the oldest wine district in the United States. Wine has been made from the grapes of this region since the 17th century when the French Huguenots grew vines and made wine in nearby New Paltz.
Among the young farmers attracted to this burgeoning industry in the early 1800’s Andrew Jackson Caywood bought and planted a handsome piece of land high above the river in a Hudson region grape-growing community dating from 1772. When it incorporated as the Village of Marlborough in 1788, a cluster of grapes carved in its seal commemorated its major crop. Mr. Caywood became an outstanding viticulturist and leading authority in the development of new grape varieties.
When the Miller family, led by well-known artist-illustrator Mark Miller, bought the Caywood property in 1957 and re-named it Benmarl (meaning slate hill), it had outlived all its early contemporaries to become America’s oldest professional vineyard. The Millers rebuilt its steep terraces, replanting them with excellent European wine grapes, hybrid and vinifera, carrying on Caywood’s private experimentation at a time when New York’s wine industry was at a low ebb and long before New York State officially began experimental wine study.
To help them support their work, in the early 1970’s the Millers created the Societe des Vignerons, inviting friends interested in perpetuating the Valley’s viticultural traditions to become “vicarious vignerons” by taking on the annual support of two or more of Benmarl’s experimental grapevines and receiving in return their produce in the form of wine.
The Societe caught the imagination of serious wine lovers, and its work in the vineyard inspired many regional farmers to plant better wine vines. In just a few years the Societe saw its crusade to bring about a renaissance of our country’s first vineyard region evolve into a veritable fountain of astonishingly fine wine enhanced by a regional character which sets it apart from any others in the world. Benmarl’s Societe grew from a few friends to many hundreds all over the United States.
Benmarl’s wines were well received. In fact, there was perhaps no other American vineyard, during those early years, which received more attention from those who write about, think about, and enjoy good wine than this tiny vineyard in the Hudson Valley. Benmarl wines were featured at prominent New York restaurants, including Windows on the World, the Four Seasons and the Quilted Giraffe.
TIME Magazine, in a full-color feature, described Benmarl and its Eastern farm winery counterparts as “a new breed of winemakers, whose wines of fine quality and elegance are shaking California’s throne.” New York Times wine columnist Frank Prial became interested in Benmarl and its Societe when it sought his help in publicizing the need for legislative reform to encourage farm wineries in New York, and he described its wines as “remarkable examples of what dedication can produce.” Author and wine authority Alexis Lichine wrote in his Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits that “Benmarl promises to be among the finest vineyards in the nation”.
New York Governor Hugh Carey (a member of Benmarl’s Societe) signed the Farm Winery Act in 1976, permitting New York’s grape farmers to produce and sell wines directly to the public. As Mark Miller’s reward for helping to put the New York fine wine industry on the map, Benmarl was awarded NY State Farm Winery license #1. Benmarl was the inspiration, and Mark Miller the acknowledged parent, of the farm winery industry with its new wineries in New York State and throughout America.
Benmarl was gratified to have one of its wines voted the “Best US Red Wine” by the judges at the prestigious 2000 Atlanta Wine Summit International Competition.
The Miller family sold Benmarl to another wineloving family, the Spaccarellis, in 2006. They are replanting the old vineyards to make them more productive, renovating and restoring the old winery buildings, expanding the line of Benmarl’s fine wines, and winning more gold medals. You might wish to spend an afternoon at their Marlboro winery, now called Benmarl Winery at Slate Hill, 5 miles north of Newburgh in southern Ulster County, to taste for yourself what are certainly among the finest wines that New York offers. You won’t be disappointed with either the wines or the views over the river from “America’s Oldest Vineyard”. For directions, see their website, www.benmarl.com. Photos by Arlene Gould.
Hudson Valley’s Puddingstone Mountain
December 25, 2009
Different geologically from nearby mountain areas of the Hudson Highlands is Schunemunk, the puddingstone mountain.
At 1664 feet, the peak of Schunemunk is Orange County’s highest point. Located in Woodbury, Cornwall and Blooming Grove, the mountain provides a welcome respite from the pressures of suburbia. The northern part is a state park on land assembled by Star Expansion Industries, the Ogden Foundation, and the Storm King Art Center, purchased in 1996 by the Open Space Institute, and then acquired by New York State in 2004.
It’s a wonderful hiking destination. A very strenuous initial climb of 1500 feet rewards the hiker with miles of ridge walking with panoramic views. The mountain has 25 miles of hiking trails through varied woodland, with scrub pitch pines growing along a pair of ridges separated by a small valley. On the eastern ridge are the Megaliths, a group of huge blocks that have split off from the underlying rock, a good picnic spot.
Under your feet is the Devonian quartz-pebble conglomerate “puddingstone”, large nuggets of white quartz and pink sandstone embedded in a reddish matrix, formed from sedimentary deposits of rock and sand washed down the slopes of the ancient coastal Taconian mountains (whose nearby vestiges are the Ramapos) when they were “real mountains”, rising perhaps 20,000 feet above the ancient Silurian sea.
To get to Schunemunk, head north on Route 32 past Woodbury Common. After 7 miles (in the hamlet of Mountainville), take a left onto Pleasant Hill Road, then left on Taylor Road. After crossing the Thruway, you will see the trailhead parking area on the right. Three trails start just across the road. See a Trail Conference map for a loop hike of 9-10 miles (www.NYNJTC.org).
The Hudson Valley offers a multitude of outdoor activities to its residents. Photos by Jerry White of The Staging Prince.
Popolopen Paddle
November 15, 2009
The Hudson Valley provides many benefits to its residents, not the least of which is proximity to recreational hiking in Harriman Park , the Hudson Highlands and the Catskills, and sea kayaking on the Hudson River, seen in the banner image above at the Bear Mountain Bridge.
Recently I launched my kayak into an inlet of the river at Annsville Creek, just north of Peekskill. The kayak launch site, off Route 6, was built by New York State and sports a well-equipped kayak shop run by Atlantic Kayak Tours.
Paddle under the MetroNorth railroad bridge and you’re in Peekskill Bay, with Indian Point to the south, and Jones Point and Dunderburg Mountain across the river to the west. Paddling upriver that day was easy, riding the incoming tidal current and benefitting from a light breeze from the south. This is an attractive section of the river, where it runs through the Highlands.
Passing Iona Island National Estuarine Sanctuary, I remembered the first time I saw this part of the river – decades ago from a New York Central train. In fact it was the highlight of the train ride because this section was used to anchor a huge fleet of mothballed World War II naval and merchant ships, many of which had once carried troops from the Piermont Pier to Europe. Now, the overlooks on Route 6 are often filled with hawk and eagle watchers.
Coming up to the soaring structure of the Bear Mountain Bridge over the narrows between Bear Mountain and Anthony’s Nose, I peered around the bend to see if I could see West Point upriver (too far). There was a lot of boat traffic: sightseeing boats, motorboats, a few sailboats, and an occasional barge heading downriver. I crossed the channel to the west shore and paddled under the low railroad trestle into the quiet water of Popolopen Creek, leaving the churning river behind.
The Popolopen splits the promontory sites of Fort Clinton on its south bank and Fort Montgomery on its north, built in 1776-77. The Americans stretched a chain across the river from Fort Montgomery to Anthony’s Nose to block British ships from sailing upriver from Manhattan. In October 1777 the British landed 2100 troops at Stony Point to the south, marched them over 1000-foot Dunderberg Mountain on what is now the “1777 Trail”, and attacked the two forts’ 700 defenders from the rear, capturing the forts in one of the fiercest battles of the Revolution and dismantling the chain. Among the attackers of the forts were a company of “Loyal Americans” from the Hudson Valley. Thus, New Yorkers fought New Yorkers, and hundreds – mostly the outnumbered defenders — were killed or captured.
The Popolopen flows out to the river after cascading for 2 miles through a steep rocky gorge. Discovered a few years ago as a Class V whitewater kayaking run, the Popolopen is particularly unpredictable and dangerous.
After enjoying lunch in my boat at the base of the cascade (to avoid poison ivy lining the banks), I paddled back into the Hudson. Heading south, I did my best to overcome both the current and what was now a very stiff wind blowing upriver. Adding excitement was a significant chop resulting from the wind blowing across Haverstraw Bay to the south. While on this day it took twice as long as usual for the 4-mile return to Annsville Creek, it is always an interesting paddle. For those with a second car, the 11-mile paddle from Annsville to Cold Spring, past West Point and the Constitution Marsh, is also recommended.