Articles Tagged "Huntington NY"
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5 Benefits of Adding Solar Panels
Thinking of how you might save a little money in 2023? How about cutting some energy costs? In our region, where the heating season can be rather long, we must cut back on electricity, gas, or heating oil use to realize cost savings. Although it's not easy to save when the weather is cold, there are various means to reduce energy bills. Surprisingly, one of the best ways to cut down on electricity use is by adding solar panels.
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Up Your Dinner Game With These Cooking Classes
"Learn a new skill" and "eat healthy" are among the top ten most common New Year's resolutions. Our real estate agents plan to cross both off their lists with cooking classes at these convenient locations around Long Island.
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Long Island: Where to Celebrate National Bacon Day
According to Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, bacon is special because it appeals to all of our senses. All our real estate agents know is that it tastes amazing. Celebrate Bacon Day on Friday, December 30 with a tasty meal at one of these great Long Island restaurants.
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Tips for a Cozier House This Winter
When the wind is howling, and snow is drifting on the driveway, nothing seems more inviting than snuggling up on the couch with our loved ones. To keep your home comfortable through the coldest New York winters, our real estate agents want to offer you a few helpful hints.
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Easy Recipes for Holiday Cookie Baking
Most of us don't need a reason to bake up a yummy batch of cookies, but National Bake Cookies Day gives us a perfect reason to indulge. Since Bake Cookies Day happens during the Christmas holidays on December 18th, our real estate agents think it's a great way to celebrate your sweet tooth and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.
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5 Long Island Candy Shops to Fill Your Stockings
There's nothing quite like a classic New York candy shop. From the fun interior to the wide selection of treats and nostalgic candy, visiting your local shop can be fun for both kids and adults. Plus, with the holidays coming up, a trip to the candy store is a great way to stock up on Christmas treats. Our real estate agents recommend visiting one of these Long Island candy shops.
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5 Tips to Ensure Your Home's Showing Is a Success
The purpose of showing your home is to hook a buyer. You want the buyers to come through your house and be impressed - so impressed in fact, that they're ready to make an offer! You'll have one chance to make a great first impression on the potential buyers, so make sure to follow these five helpful tips to really make it count!
- Focus on the outside. Make sure that you don't neglect the outside of your home. Curb appeal can make or break the odds of someone even bothering to get out of the car to come in. If they pull up and see a home with a lawn that obviously needs edging and has an unkempt flower bed, they're going to wonder what else hasn't been cared for properly. You want the outside of your home to be spotless. Clean the siding, the windows, and the doors. Make sure there are no dirt smudges, no cobwebs and that anything that needs painting has been spiffed up.
- Take yourself out of the house. That means that you want to take out all the personal stuff. Remove the family photos from the wall or tables. You want the home to look neutral so that the potential buyers can look at your house and picture it as themselves living there. Everything should be as neutral as possible in terms of personal items.
- Remove all the extra clutter you see at first glance. If you look around, it'll amaze you at how much stuff you've accumulated over the years. Some of it might very well be important, but that doesn't mean that your potential buyers should see it. When you have a lot of clutter, it shrinks the living space of the house. It makes it look and feel cramped and smaller. Many homeowners get something called house blindness. They've lived in the home for so long with the same clutter that they don't even really see it anymore. But a stranger will always notice. So clean out your house and make the space as big as possible.
- If you have a pet, no one that walks through your house should be able to notice it exists. That means no cat litter box, no dog to jump on anyone, no food sitting around in a dish. Your home should not have any pet odors. Having a clean house that's odor free is a big selling point. You don't want to lose a possible deal just because they can smell your pet's presence or your pet makes a bad impression.
- Stage your home! You can hire a professional or you can do it yourself. Stage your living areas in a way that shows off your home. You can rent furniture to make your home furnishings look good if you don't use a stager. Someone who knows how to stage a house knows how to play up the best features of your home and knows what to bring in or get rid of to make the entire house appeal to a buyer.
First impressions are HUGE when showing you home to potential buyers, but by following the simple tips above you will be well on your way to making a great impression and, hopefully, receiving multiple offers! (And if you are at all anxious about this important step, just reach out to a trusted real estate agent in your area who can help guide you through this process!)
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Visit the Past at These Long Island Destinations
Long Island is rich with history, with several sites that make ideal destinations for trips that are fun and educational. Theodore Roosevelt, as well as the Guggenheim and Vanderbilt families are part of the area's history, so you'll be able to visit their former homes as well as other interesting locations.
Our real estate agents suggest making a trip to visit the past at these historic Long Island destinations and making sure of any restricted hours due to COVID-19 before your visit:
- Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium – 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, NY 11721
Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium is located near Centerport homes for sale and is on a 43-acre estate, the centerpiece of which is a spectacular Spanish-Revival mansion of William Vanderbilt II. Take a tour of the mansion's living quarters and then visit its Marine Museum to see wild-animal habitat, dioramas, and more. Then head to the planetarium to watch a show, complete with a full-dome view and surround sound. Finally, finish your visit at the observatory, where you can look at the evening sky through telescopes that provide amazingly detailed views.
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Visit These Walk-Worthy Parks Around Long Island
With a unique blend of natural scenery, history, art, and recreation, the parks of Long Island offer endless entertainment for local residents. The many walk-worthy parks of Long Island are ideal for enjoying some natural beauty as winter turns to spring and learning about the history of local communities in the process. From inspiring one of the most popular novels in history to hosting major golf tournaments, Long Island's parks have done it all. Our real estate agents have the exciting details on five of the best walk-worthy parks to explore around Long Island.
Where to Go for a Walk Around Long Island
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Sands Point Preserve Conservancy – 127 Middle Neck Rd., Sands Point, NY 11050
Ever wonder what it would be like to live in the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel The Great Gatsby? Then a walk at Sands Point Preserve Conservancy, located on Long Island's Gold Coast near Sands Point homes for sale, is sure to get the imagination flowing. Experience a walk on any of six marked hiking trails that stretch over 200 acres, amble through a rose garden that features more than 1,500 roses, and stick around to enjoy a sunset with stunning waterfront views.
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Long Island: Perfect Places for Breakfast
If there's one thing our real estate agents can all agree on, it's that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you're on Long Island, and you need something to get your day going, stop off for a hot meal and a cup of joe at one of these classic breakfast joints.
- Maureen's Kitchen - 108 Terry Rd., Smithtown, NY 11787
Maureen's Kitchen has such a reputation for great breakfast food that you need to get there early because if you don't, the line might be around the block. Located a stone's throw from these Smithtown homes for sale, Maureen's serves breakfast all day in their unpretentious cow-adorned space, dishing out specialties like croissant French toast and a new omelet special every day of the week.
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Valentine's Day Carryout Around Long Island
Valentine's Day is one of our favorite holidays of the year because it's a great opportunity to show your love for the special person in your life. We know that planning a Valentine's Day date is going to be a little bit more complicated this year due to health and safety restrictions. However, a nice date night in your own dining room can be just as romantic as a night out on the town. With so many fantastic local restaurants, it's easy to enjoy your favorite dinner at home. Our real estate agents compiled a list of some of our favorite Long Island restaurants offering takeout this Valentine's Day.
- Vespa Italian Kitchen - 282 Main St., Farmingdale, NY 11735
This classy restaurant has a modern flair and always makes for a great Valentine's Day date night spot. This year, you can order online and enjoy Vespa Italian Kitchen's authentic Italian cuisine from home. The large menu features pasta, sandwiches, and stone-fired pizzas, so you'll be sure to find something you enjoy. Best of all, this restaurant is just a few minutes away from these Farmingdale homes for sale.
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Fill Your House With Music in 2021
Music may not make the world go round, but it sure does round out your world. Whether you're working from home or resting after a long day at the office, setting your home up for sound is a great way to enjoy the day. Day in and day out, our real estate agents will tell you that an increasing number of homes in the area incorporate systems that make it easy to enjoy music while taking a bath, working in the kitchen, or relaxing on the patio.
- Create a Foundation You Can Build Upon
Smart home systems create a solid foundation that you can use to create a connection between your favorite music in every room in the house. Google and Amazon are the leaders in smart home systems that allow you to connect every speaker in your home through one centralized system. You can install these devices in every room and set your system to operate these speakers individually or as part of a whole-home group.
At the heart of your home, make sure that you install solid and reliable WiFi. The stronger the signal, the better. If you plan to connect other smart home devices to your system, make sure your system has enough bandwidth to support all of your devices; otherwise, you can end up with a less than desirable sound quality and reliability.
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Fuel Your Morning at These Long Island Coffee Shops
It's no secret that New York City runs on coffee, but you don't need to go to Manhattan to get a great cup of joe. There are hundreds of cafes around Long Island that will get you fueled up and ready to go! Our real estate agents encourage you to celebrate National Espresso Day on Monday, November 23rd, at one of these local coffee shops around Long Island.
- Flux Coffee – 211 Main St., Farmingdale, NY 11735
Roasted, bagged, and brewed around the corner from the coziest Farmingdale homes for sale, Flux Coffee relocated from the West Coast to bring the East Coast a transparent coffee experience. Visit to learn more about their ethical sourcing and manual brewing to create their amazing blends. Bring home a bag of beans from Burundi, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, or Peru so you can continue enjoying National Espresso Day at home.
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Go Vegan for the Day at These 5 Restaurants
World Vegan Day may have been Nov. 1, but our real estate agents are still celebrating with a hearty, wholesome vegan dish this week. The annual event highlights the dietary and environmental benefits of veganism. No matter if you're strictly vegetarian, pescatarian, or someone who likes a good meal with or without meat, you'll love the offerings at these Long Island vegan restaurants.
- 3 Brothers of Rockville Centre – 285 Merrick Rd., Rockville Centre, NY 11570
3 Brothers of Rockville Centre is the home of quality vegan and traditional pizza. Every item on their menu has a vegan alternative. For example, you could get a sausage pizza with two cheeses or its vegan partner, made with cashew mozzarella, cashew parmesan, and house-made seitan sausage. 3 Brothers of RVC is a perfect place to stop by a vegan slice after you've finished touring Rockville Centre homes for sale.
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Hector Gavilla Joins Laffey Real Estate
Laffey Real Estate Welcomes Gavilla to Huntington Office
Greenvale, NY – Laffey Real Estate recently announced the hiring of veteran real estate broker, Hector Gavilla to the position of Branch Manager of the Huntington Office, Laffey Real Estate's easternmost location. Gavilla is a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker. He is responsible for the office's recruitment, productivity, and daily management of agent success and staff workload.
Gavilla comes to the firm with an extensive background in real estate. As a training instructor and realtor, Hector brings a valuable combination of mentor and agent into his management skill set. His hands-on coaching style and experience in the field has already produced results in the office he leads.
Upon introducing Gavilla to the management team, Donnamarie Chaimanis, President offered this about the appointment, "Hector is a great find and perfect fit for the team in Huntington. His almost two decades of real estate experience, local knowledge and marketing savvy is the trifecta of traits we are looking for in our branch leaders." She added, "We know Hector will be a valuable part of our team."
Gavilla owned and managed his own brokerage for nine years until selling to a competitor in 2019, where he stayed until making the leap to head up the Huntington Branch for Laffey Real Estate.
A resident of Huntington, Gavilla is active in Huntington politics. He serves on the Town of Huntington Affordable Housing Advisory Board, a committee of non-paid Huntington Residents appointed by the Huntington Town Board to make recommendations with respect to the administration of the Affordable Housing Trust and Agency Fund.
