Real Estate News - General

It's All About the Experience

What an amazing way to celebrate the birth of America.  Right here on Staten Island at Empire Outlets.  

After working on this transformative project for so many years, there is something special about each and every retail store opening.   This one, however, has been the best to date.  

We had the honor of opening Nordstrom Rack alongside BFC partners and Goldman Sachs yesterday, on the Fourth of July.  

Whether you came by Boat or Train, Car or Bus, The Staten Island Ferry delivered tens of thousands to Empire Outlets to shop till they dropped and party at New York City’s hottest block party.

We, here at Casandra Properties, saw this shift to the experiential retail market many years ago.  While so many others struggled to try and retain brand loyalty, we…

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Experienced House Painters Focus On Painting Preparation for Boulder Houses

Experienced House Painters Focus On Painting Preparation for Boulder Houses

If you are currently looking at your walls in disappear trying to work out what you’re going to do with the peeling paint, or trying to decide how to fix the lumps and bumps that only turn up at a certain time of day under certain light conditions, there is unfortunately only one thing you can really do. Start again.

These are problems that have often been caused by not having the walls prepared properly before they have been painted or painted when the weather was too cold. These are things that will often be caused by inexperienced homeowners who have done the job themselves, or careless painters who should’ve known better. 

Why Does The Weather Matter?

If you…

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Empire Outlets | How it Began w/ James Prendamano

Empire Outlets is NYC's first and only outlet mall located right at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in St George. James Prendamano, CEO of Casandra Properties, talks about his experience with this project from start to finish. Find out how long it took, where the idea came from, what challenges they faced, and more.

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Shockingly Low & High Residential Sales

Shockingly Low Sale

Legendary rapper 50 Cent purchased his sprawling Farmington, CT estate back in 2003 for $4.1 million, at the time, the most expensive home sale in Farmington, CT. This estate is truly like no other. This opulent 52-room estate in central Connecticut comes complete with 21 bedrooms, 19 full bathrooms, 16 half baths, and a laundry list of lavish amenities, with 50,000 square feet of living space. Aside from the standard living spaces, the home offers unique features like a board room, recording studio, multiple game rooms, a theater, a green screen room, and indoor basketball court, and a nightclub (yes, a nightclub), an indoor pool and hot tub, and a full gym. And that's just on the inside. The grand estate also offers lush…

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Fulfilling Demand in Midland Beach

Besides the proximity to the beach, public transportation, shopping, restaurants, ability to take a tranquil scroll along the boardwalk, Midland Beach's short distance to the Verrazano Bridge makes it a destination in demand with many former Brooklynites; many of whom still have close relatives, businesses, and maintain jobs in their former hometown. Even with all these positive traits and despite the property being located in a flood zone, Casandra Properties was able to secure a higher than average sales price for this large townhouse, selling it for top dollar in the high $570,000's. Whether you're seeking to buy or sell in a hot neighborhood or a latent one, Casandra Properties will make sure to complete the transaction at the highest level of…

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New Transfer Tax Regulations

James Thompson is a partner at Scamardella, Gervasi, Thomson & Kasegrande P.C and has shared his knowledge of the new Transfer Tax laws with us below.

In April 2019, New York State passed a budget that included substantial changes to the real estate transfer tax laws. A summary is below for your reference. The changes apply only to cities within New York State having a population of one million or more. Accordingly, practically speaking, these changes apply only to transfers of real property in New York City.

Generally, the new rates apply to any transaction closing on or after July 1, 2019. However, it is important to note that there is an exception for any transfers made pursuant to a Contract entered into on or before April 1, 2019 and…

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Staten Island Blue-Collar Population

As has always been the case, Staten Island takes pride in our blue-collar population.  Each morning, I leave for work in my other career as a Captain in the Police Department, I drive by the home of a fire chief.  Across the street from him lives a Port Authority officer, and next to him, a police detective.  My mother-in-law’s neighbor is a retired fire lieutenant with two sons, one in city sanitation and the other a fireman.  In all, roughly 30,000 Staten Island residents are employed by the city, with over 4,000 of them being uniformed police personnel. 

So what does this mean for real estate on Staten Island?   Let us begin with the most obvious, crime and safety on our island.  In 2018, Staten Island counted the fewest felony index crimes of all…

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Healthy Eats on the North Shore!

As summer approaches and some of us are looking to shed some of those pounds we gained from excessively eating during this long, brutal winter I thought it would be helpful to share some of my healthier go-to restaurants on the North Shore. Let’s face it: with such a busy schedule and always being on the move, it’s tough to make time to cook and grabbing a slice of pizza seems like the easiest thing to do.

However, here are some places I recommend and frequently go to on the North Shore to stay on the healthier side and get that summer “bod” ready to go.

Call it a Wrap -1198 Forest Ave

Healthier wraps, pizzas, power plates, smoothies, and much more. What else could you ask for?!

Eat Better -400 Forest Ave

With…

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Famous People From Staten Island

Although many people consider Staten Island the forgotten borough of New York City, the island has produced some of pop-cultures most famous across many industries.  Some of these famous people from Staten Island come from areas like the Park Hill Projects.   Read on to find out who these celebrities and famous musicians are.  

Wu-Tang Clan

This rap group assembled in the early 1990’s in Staten Island. They were considered a revolutionary rap group when they emerged on the scene. The group has gone on to become one the most well known rap groups in history. They coined the term Shaolin Island in reference to Staten Island.

David Johansen

Johansen’s career budded in the late 1960’s where he was the lead singer of a Staten Island band…

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What does Spring Training and Real Estate have in common?

Spring training not just for baseball it applies to real estate too! 

Baseball spring training and spring time home buying or selling have a lot in common.

It’s imperative to get your team or home and finances in shape for the new season.

In this blog I will focus on the buyers!

Tips for Competing in the Spring Home Buying Market

If you're like most people, and try to buy a home in April, you'll have to be ready to jump on the home you want. Don't be indecisive. Don't hesitate! When you find it, make an offer Here are other tips to help you to win that offer:

As I mentioned in my last blog; 

•       Getting pre-approved by a local lender is key
•       Focus on a home that meets your requirements, price, location etc.

…

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