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.

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 views 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.

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.

Here are some basic staging tips, more common sense than art, that sellers should use to better present their homes.

1. Remove front lawn debris, toys, trash cans, etc.
2. Remove and replace dead shrubbery
3. Paint or replace the front door; and replace its hardware
4. Paint or replace the mailbox
5. Replace the front porch light, door mat and house numbers
6. Wash the windows, inside and outside
7. Pack up contents of bookcases and knick-knack shelves
8. Remove all personal photos; patch nail holes in walls
9. Remove excess furniture to reduce clutter and improve traffic flow
10. Clean out your closets
11. Clean off the kitchen counter
12. Remove all refrigerator magnets and notes
13. Remove any pet blankets, dishes, litter boxes
14. Empty all garbage cans and waste baskets daily
15. Clean your house thoroughly including carpets and tops of door and window frames
16. Buy new kitchen cabinet pulls
17. Remove dust-collecting fake plants
18. Replace old faucets; fix all leaks
19. Repaint rooms a neutral color (beige, tan, cream, gray-green) — not bold or white.
20. Replace bath linens and shower curtains
21. Hide personal bath items in a drawer or cabinet
22. Remove stuff from floors
23. Remove heavy draperies; replace with budget bamboo, grass, shears or nothing
24. Max the wattage of light bulbs and turn them on
25. Ask a friend or neighbor to sniff for odors

We hope that these tips help, though for the art of staging and a thorough evaluation of the home, seek the advice of a professional stager.

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.