Real LI
Buying and selling real estate in the communities of Long Island
Kristin Lavin Taveira
Kristin Lavin Taveira has been writing for Newsday since 2005. In addition to covering the real estate scene, she writes about home interior trends and advice, home improvement and green living.
Over the years she has also written Newsday articles on everything from mid-level medical professionals to Muppets. She’s had two weekly columns for the paper covering real estate and books. Prior to Newsday, Kristin was assistant managing editor/online for a business-to-business technology magazine, where she managed the online content and wrote daily news articles and bi-weekly features. She also wrote a weekly fitness column for cbs.com.
Kristin also has an extensive background in newspaper, magazine and web design and production in such roles as editorial design director, production manager and assistant art director.
Why you should buy their house in Huntington
Photo credit: Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan
Sellers. Frank and Norma Gaeta
Address. 3 Lilac Ct., Huntington
Asking price. $719,000
The competition. A three-bedroom, 2½-bath ranch on a 0.43 acre lot on Colonial Drive is listed for $589,000.
Recent sale in the area. A five-bedroom, five-bath Colonial next to the Cold Spring Country Club sold in September for $817,000.
Taxes. $17,152
Time on the market. On...
Read more »Solar community under way in Middle Island
Photo credit: Handout
While it’s not unusual to hear about the construction of an environmentally friendly house, Art Wilson, owner of AJW Home Consultants in Ridge says he is trying to take green to the next level.
The builder is developing what he believes is Long Island’s first solar community, says Brenden Burns of Shawn Elliott Luxury Homes & Estates, who will market the five-lot Middle Island subdivision.
Each...
Read more »Disaster-aid grants urged for for Sandy-damaged LI co-ops, condos
Photo credit: Steven Sunshine
Sen. Charles Schumer is pressing federal housing officials to give disaster-aid grants to co-op and condominium complexes, to help them rebuild after superstorm Sandy.
The complexes cannot get grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair common property such as boilers, due to “inflexible bureaucratic rules,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a news release Wednesday.
“Forcing...
Read more »Housing takes back seat in Obama's State of the Union
Photo credit: AP
Unlike in past years, when housing policy and the mortgage market were key issues in State of the Union addresses, the 2013 edition only mentioned them in passing and lacked any new proposals.
This year, President Barack Obama repeated his call to loosen mortgage lending standards, which many industry advocates say became too strict in the backlash against the easy credit that fueled...
Read more »News 12 clip: Romantic master bedroom suites
Photo credit: Handout
Newsday's LI Home editor Valerie Kellogg appeared on News 12 Long Island Tuesday, as she does every Tuesday around 7:15 p.m., to talk about three high-end homes on the market. Here's the clip, in case you missed it, with a list below of the agents representing each of the properties. To see past segments, click here.
RIVERHEAD HOUSE:
CeeCee Flanigan, Shawn Elliott Luxury Homes &...
Read more »LI home sales, prices rise in January
Photo credit: Randee Daddona
Long Island’s housing market got a boost last month, with sales and prices on the rise in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The median price of a home in Nassau County was $400,000, up 3.8 percent compared to the previous January, the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island reported Tuesday. The number of sales rose by 0.8 percent year-over-year, to 635.
In Suffolk County, the past month’s...
Read more »Rich Cribs: Water Mill home for $18.5M, and more
Photo credit: Handout
The newly listed Longview, on the market for $18.5 million, is on the highest point in Water Mill, says listing agent Peter Hallock of The Corcoran Group. It’s said that on a clear day, you can see 30 miles to Montauk Point and 10 miles to Mecox Bay and the Atlantic beyond, he says.
The 15,000-square-foot, eight-bedroom, 9.5-bath home features a home theater, an artist’s studio, a tennis court...
Read more »Why you should buy their house in Bellmore
Photo credit: Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan
Sellers. Michael and Emily Mills
Address. 3125 Shore Rd., Bellmore
Asking price. $619,000
The competition. A four-bedroom 1.5-bathroom high ranch on nearby Driftwood Lane is listed at $449,000.
Recent sale in the area. A four-bedroom, 2.5-bath splanch on Seaview Lane sold for $590,000 in late August.
Taxes. $14,004
Time on the market. One month
Listing agents....
Read more »FOX's Gerri Willis tackles Long Island housing market
Photo credit: Handout
Gerri Willis, host of “The Willis Report,” which airs 6 p.m. weeknights on Fox Business Network, is scheduled to host a real estate segment Friday that Long Islanders may want to catch.
“The Real Estate Story” will look at the country’s housing market and its prospects for the year ahead. Willis and a panel of experts, including estate mogul Barbara Corcoran and Zillow chief economist Stan...
Read more »Mill Neck house comes with historic surprises
Photo credit: Kevin J. Wohlers
While the splendor of this restored 1706 Mill Neck Colonial is nearly spilling out of its windows, it’s the playhouse in the backyard that will make you smile.
Originally housing for the well, a wood stove and a root cellar, the 18-by-18-foot semi-sublevel stone structure is now the delight of 6-year-old Micaela. “It was already a room, so we renovated it and made Micaela a playhouse for her...
Read more »
Search recent home sales on LI.