What are buyers looking for? From mundane to gadgets.

November 20, 2008

Just today I came across an ad for a garage lift (Garage Lift) showing how you can park two cars in a single car garage with the help of a nifty lift that tucks one car away in the basement. Supposedly saves you money from building an additional garage…Knowing my luck, I’d crush the car on top trying to get mine out from the basement! I can see where it might be a valuable addition to homes with a tight footprint in high cost areas, but for most of us with the luxury of ample lot space, a double car garage is the much more easy alternative!

Kitchens and baths are still extremely important. Kitchens that can double as a living space are incredibly popular. It’s difficult to cram party goers into an 8x8 foot space while you finish up cooking the appetizers. Updated appliances make cooking easy and fast. I built a new home a few years ago and I wouldn’t trade my Advantium microwave/halogen oven for anything – same goes for my induction cook top. Having set fire to my previous kitchen I appreciate the fact that nothing will burn on the cook top! However, guests who bring over a ceramic saucepan with their potluck are a little bemused as to why my stove doesn’t work for them but it works for me – “Magic!” I say.

Buyers are looking for bright, inviting kitchens, with plenty of space for all the gadgets they’ve accumulated over the years. Many cooks drool over walk in pantries and space for a matching fridge and freezer. Solid surface counters are still one of the most desirable features, but now there are other options such as composite granite, cork, stainless steel to choose from. Islands are starting to look like furniture and freezer, refrigerator and warming drawers still remain popular, and are even migrating out of the kitchen into other areas of the house. I wish I’d gone with a warming drawer instead of a heated towel rack in my bathroom – the rack only warms the section of the towel it touches. Hardly worth turning on in the morning. And talking of bathrooms - over 50% of Japenese now have some kind of water washing toilets. Charmin beware. You can find these nifty toilet seats on Amazon for less than $500 - it's worth watching the promotional videos! (Toto Washlet)

Many buyers appreciate good lighting – from well designed artificial light to energy efficient windows that let in sun and open the home to views. Other improvements are integrated sound, ipod docks and of course, home theaters. With motorized screens, projector lifts and darkening shades, it is possible to combine a living space with a home theater with a flip of a button. During the day, a formal living room – by night a ground shaking cinema showing the latest Indiana Jones movie!

As of 11/22/09 the Stuart Krams RePage is ranked at 3,722 with 55 points.
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Local Information for Hopewell Junction, NY

Latitude: 41.700093 -- Longitude: -73.922905

Other Area Cities: Poughkeepsie Arlington Beacon

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Poughkeepsie (pronounced /p?'k?p.si/) is a city in New York, USA and serves as the county seat of Dutchess County, located in the Hudson River Valley roughly midway between New York City and Albany. The name derives from a Native American word (roughly U-puku-ipi-sing), meaning "reed hut by the water" or "campsite by small water," referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River. Poughkeepsie is known as "The Queen City of the Hudson." Poughkeepsie was founded in 1687. The community was set off from the Town of Poughkeepsie when it became an incorporated village in 1799. The City of Poughkeepsie was chartered in 1854. The city was the capital of New York for a brief period in 1777, and was the site of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by New York in 1788. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

New York 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Poughkeepsie	New York	United States
Population	29,871	18,976,457	281,421,906
Median age	32.7	35.9	35.3
Median age for Male	30.7	34.5	34
Median age for Female	34.7	37.2	36.5
Households	12,014	7,056,860	105,480,101
Household population	28,886	18,395,996	273,643,273
Average household size	2.4	2.61	2.59
Families	6,557	4,639,387	71,787,347
Average family size	3.15	3.22	3.14
Housing units	13,153	7,679,307	115,904,641
Occupied units	12,014	7,056,860	105,480,101
Vacant units	1,139	622,447	10,424,540

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