Reggie Nicolay

At my New Jersey home, I recently had a paver patio installed. The contractor did a great job and I am very happy with the results. Recognizing a job well done Not only did the contractor put incredible craftsmanship into the project, but he put in a lot of extra work, cleaning out our gutters (which were blocked, causing water to pour onto the patio area and slow down construction), adding caps that our builder neglected to install on our downspouts and carrying away some brush and twigs in my yard that I never got around to clearing. He did dig up our side yard, however, with his construction equipment, but he has smoothed it out, seeded it and even mulched our front garden bed for us. (Which he temporarily dug up to get his equipment in.) No tip needed? So, I thought a tip would be in order at the end of the project. I had no idea how much would be appropriate, so I consulted with friends and checked websites like Angies List and Yelp. I read on those sites that while some people... - Reggie Nicolay

If you're new to Cyberhomes, you are probably familiar with the "Classic" Cyberhomes start page, which includes links to the blog, news and real estate advice. The page also spotlights noteworthy housing-market trends, like neighborhoods with the highest annual appreciation in home value, and most frequently viewed real estate listings on Cyberhomes.com. (At last look yesterday, the Elizabethtown, Pa., home of reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus Eight" was the top-viewed listing, with about 550 views.) But did you know that you can customize the start page to create a one-stop spot to meet all of your real estate data needs? If you are looking to sell your home, you may want to customize your Cyberhomes start page with a widget showing home sales and values in your current neighborhood. If you are planning to buy a home, you could add widgets for sales, foreclosures and schools in neighborhoods you are targeting for your upcoming move. You can swap widgets... - Reggie Nicolay

You've heard about staging your home when selling, but have you ever heard of staging your photos? Nearly everyone has heard of staging -- artfully decorating and arranging the décor and arrangement of your home and landscape to most appeal to buyers. It seems, however, that not everyone has heard of staging the photos of their home -- making sure a home is picture worthy before snapping a shot for use in listings of homes for sale. For instance, take a look at the photos of the home of reality TV stars Jon and Kate, of TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus Eight." While the divorcing Gosselin couple may be worth as much as $10 million, the couple didn't take the time to stage their photos for their real estate listing for 2190 Andrew Avenue in Elizabethtown, Pa., on on Cyberhomes. In their listing's photos you can see a forgotten takeout coffee cup on the kitchen counter and a bathroom mirror covered with Post-It notes (not to mention an open toilet seat). Unmade beds, dirty dishes In listings,... - Reggie Nicolay

A handy printable HTML 5 Cheat Sheet that lists all currently supported tags, their descriptions, their attributes and their support in HTML 4. - Reggie Nicolay

Are you looking to move this summer? If you are, try not to move more stuff than you need into your new home. Take it from me -- if you do, you'll come to regret it. Rushed packing Nearly seven years ago, my husband and I moved into our first home. Friends helped us with the move, helping cart all our boxes of books, mementos and old belongings to our basement. We ran out of time packing up our apartment, so instead of sorting through everything and making sure we were only taking what we needed, we threw everything into boxes and moved it all. We'd have time to go through those boxes once we were settled in our new home, we figured. During that move, one of our friends commented that he moved the very same heavy boxes -- which had never been opened -- from our previous apartment the year before. With a pregnancy about two months after moving into our new home, and the birth of our twins, we haven't looked at those boxes -- which take up about half of our basement -- for more than... - Reggie Nicolay

Are you new to Cyberhomes and need a little guidance on how to use our site? Then check out the Cyberhomes video tours that our social media editor, Reggie Nicolay, has put together. There are three parts to the video tour, and they provide step-by-step instructions and visuals to guide you in the use of our real estate data, home value tools and the editorial offerings of this blog and our Good Reading section. In Part 1, Cyberhomes General Manager Marty Frame explains the maps on Cyberhomes and how you can use them to draw out information to research home values, your neighborhood, or a neighborhood to which you are looking to relocate. In Part 2, Frame describes the Cyberhomes refine value tool, which allows you to add in updated information on your home -- such as an addition or remodel -- to get a more accurate picture of your home's value. If you are considering a major addition -- such as adding on a bedroom -- the refine value tool can provide you with an estimate of how the... - Reggie Nicolay

Michael Jackson's rented Holmby Hills estate is already becoming an iconic part of the former pop star's history, despite the fact that moving vans have already taken away much of the entertainer's belongings. The home, at 100 N. Carolwood Drive in Los Angeles, has swiftly become a featured stop on the Hollywood Tragical History Tour, a bus tour offered by (aptly named) tour bus company, Dearly Departed, the Los Angeles Times reports. Jackson began renting the seven-bedroom, 13-bathroom estate in January for $100,000 a month, reportedly after the home's owner was unable to sell the Jackson estate, which was once listed for $38 million. Built in 2002, the Holmby Hills mansion was purchased in 2004 by its owner, Roxanne Guez, for $18.5 million. One would think that so much attention would make it easier for its owner to someday sell the estate, but the L.A. Times reports that the opposite is true -- the property may become "stigmatized" and difficult to sell because of the allegations... - Reggie Nicolay

Americans are looking to drive less and walk more these days. Because so many people are interested in using eco-friendly forms of transportation (than hopping into a gas-guzzling car) that means how "green" your neighborhood is may play into your home's desirability with potential homebuyers. One measure of this is how walkable your community is whether homeowners can walk to schools, shops, restaurants, schools and places of worship. If your community is a walkable one, it's likely that it'll have appeal to a broader segment of homebuyers than neighborhoods that are not. My husband and I chose our home in part because of its community. Our home is located in a small New Jersey town, and is only a few walkable blocks to downtown with its stores, restaurants, parks, a library, etc. We chose our home over a similar one located in the outskirts of town, in an area that's off a busy, two-lane, rural local highway and not very accessible to town by foot. It turns out that my town ranks... - Reggie Nicolay

Last week, I wrote about the hidden costs of buying a new home -- from the added expense of improving the landscaping, to having to spend on new decks and patios, or possibly, finishing the basement. But, there are also pluses to buying a new home that homebuyers may not realize. If you buy into a development of similar newly built houses, you most likely will join a community of homebuyers with similar likes and needs as yours. Good Neighbors That happened when my husband and decided to buy a home in a mini-new-home community of 10 houses being built on an old nursery site in the center of an established Central New Jersey town. With the exception of one couple whose children are now grown and out of college, most of the people who own the new homes on our cul-de-sac are within the same age range, plus or minus 10 years. What most of us share is that upon moving in, we started building our families, with six little ones being born to five families within the same year. Now, we get... - Reggie Nicolay

Perched high above Los Angeles, the Ennis House, built by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright and featured in movies like "Blade Runner," "House on Haunted Hill" and "Grand Canyon" has been put up for sale for $15 million, much to the dismay of some public supporters. “The Ennis House was the last of four homes my grandfather designed in this style,” says Eric Lloyd Wright. “The home is a culmination of sorts, imbued with his ambition and confidence.” The home has been under the care of the nonprofit Ennis House Foundation, which has spent an estimated $6.5 million repairing the 6,000-square-foot home, which was built to ressemble Mayan ruins in Uxmal, Mexico. An aerial view of the home and the surrounding neighborhood can be seen at this link on Cyberhomes.com. It seems that the organization no longer has the funds to sustain the home. "This decision stems primarily from the fact that the house needs more stewardship at this point than a small nonprofit can sustain," says the Ennis... - Reggie Nicolay

Entertainer Michael Jackson, 50, who passed away yesterday from cardiac arrest, left an indelible mark on the world of pop music. Undoubtedly, his passing will be forever tied to the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles -- where he was living up to his death -- and to his rented home, which was once on the market for an astonishing $38 million. The sales history of Jackson's N. Carolwood Drive residence, plus tax info, home facts and aerial and overhead views of the approximately 1-acre property, can be seen at this property page on Cyberhomes.com. (Interior shots of the home can be found at this link.) Six-figure rent Jackson began renting the gated French chateau-style mansion for a whopping $100,000 a month in January, says the Los Angeles Times. Quite lavish, the residence was built in 2002 and purchased in 2004 by its owner, Roxanne Guez, for $18.5 million. Its approximately 16,000 square feet include a lucky seven bedrooms and an unlucky 13 bathrooms. The home, which is said to... - Reggie Nicolay

Earlier, I blogged about how my husband and I chose to purchase a new home, thinking we'd save on maintenance costs and avoid having to pay for redecorating to undo previous homeowners' design decisions. But now, I am learning that there are hidden costs to buying a new home, expenses one might not think of when purchasing a brand-new house. When you buy a newly built home, of course everything is brand new, but if you are getting a non-custom home in a standard housing development, you are likely to find that unlike existing homes that owners have already upgraded on their own over the years, your new home will lack: Landscaping. Sure, the builder might plant a small bush or tree here or there, but the plantings are unlikely to be extensive, and you'll most likely want to upgrade your yard over the years. A deck or patio. If the new home is like mine, it will only come with a small slab of cement that they call a "patio." Privacy trees or fencing. Outdoor lighting -- the single light... - Reggie Nicolay

Singer and movie star Cherilyn Sarkisian , better known as Cher, has been making news lately, now that her son (and former daughter), Chaz, formerly known as Chastity Bono, has undergone a sex change to become a man. But also making news is Cher's fabulous Malibu, Calif., home, which has been on the market for quite some time, since August, for $45 million. Hilton & Hyland has the listing. The lavish 13,126- square-foot Italian Renaissance-Style residence boasts Pacific ocean views, six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a pool, a theater, a tennis court and a gym. The home, at 25142 Pacific Coast Highway, was built in 1999, according to Cyberhomes data. (Click on this Cyberhomes link for aerial view and overhead shots of Cher's estate.) In fact, the property is so spectacular that it made OceanHomeMag.com's April list of the top 25 oceanfront properties for sale. These homes are "the grand, the opulent, and the most impressive oceanfront homes money can buy," says the website. For a look at... - Reggie Nicolay

In the spirit of Twitter, we wanted to have a little fun this coming week and give away some free Market Forecast reports in a Q&A contest. The questions will relate to Cyberhomes in one way or another. You’ll be able to research the questions in real time. The first tweet directed to @Cyberhomes with the correct answer will win a free Market Forecast report! ($9.99 value) Here are the full contest details: Visit Twitter.com and follow @Cyberhomes, if you're not already. @Cyberhomes will tweet a question at 9am PST and again at 1pm PST every day this week (6/22-6/26). The first person to tweet the correct answer as a public reply to @Cyberhomes will win a free Market Forecast full report for an address of their choosing. Winners will be contacted directly in real-time by @Cyberhomes. Daily questions with correct answers, as well as the winners (twitter usernames) will be posted on the CyberhomesBlog.com. A total of 10 questions will be tweeted throughout the week (at 9am PST & 1pm PST... - Reggie Nicolay

TLC reality TV stars Jon and Kate of Jon & Kate Plus Eight may be revealing tonight that they plan to file for divorce. At odds with each other, it seems that struggling reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin aren't getting along with their neighbors, either. The pair -- parents of twins and sextuplets and known for their television show, "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" on TLC -- don't seem to be making many friends in their new hometown of Wernersville, Pa., according to at least one published report. Made popular by their televised portrayal of their supposedly happy family -- which includes eight little ones all under the age of nine -- the two have been making headlines with their marital discord and rumored affairs. The family relocated to a Wernersville $1.3 million estate last fall and are still trying to sell their modest Cape Cod house in Elizabethtown, Pa. (Click here to see Jon and Kate's for sale listing on Cyberhomes.com.) The Gosselin children may be happy with their new house... - Reggie Nicolay

The new kid on the block picked up some cred over the weekend. Cyberhomes attended the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Washington, D.C., last week and left with a first prize, Best Real Estate Website, in NAREE’s annual journalism awards — not too shabby for a first-time entrant. The competition, 59 years running, is judged by journalism faculty of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Judges’ criteria included overall graphics presentation, clarity of writing, objectivity, originality and depth of reporting. For the record, the precise category Cyberhomes won (it’s a mouthful): Best Web Site Solely Devoted to Residential or Commercial Real Estate and/or Home Design. “This site has excellent consumer coverage for buyers and sellers about every aspect of the home sale process,” said Holden Lewis, NAREE president and Bankrate.com senior reporter. “Moreover, it is well written, well designed and easy to navigate. If you’re looking for a... - Reggie Nicolay

Extremely handy set of extensions for your Firebug in FireFox - Reggie Nicolay

Simple tool to make any word look like the Twitter logo. - Reggie Nicolay

Finding the perfect gift for Father's Day can be tough -- that is, if you're on a budget. (But if money is no object, what Dad wouldn't love a sporty new car, a new gas grill or a large, flat screen TV?) But, let's be honest here. Most of us are on a budget. So, Cyberhomes has picked out a few affordable gifts that will help make Dad's home his castle this Sunday: Cut Dad a break Get Dad a manual lawn mower and provide him with some peace and quiet and an escape from his weekly lawn-mowing duties. An added bonus: The extra exercise may help you get back in shape for summer. This manual mower from Scotts has gotten good reviews and retails for less than $100. Provide some zzz's What Dad wouldn't want a nice nap in the shade (or sun, depending on his preference) on Father's Day? You could pick up a cotton rope hammock for less than $100 at L.L. Bean and string it between two trees for a much-needed siesta. Or, if your backyard lacks trees, you can also pick up a hammock stand for under... - Reggie Nicolay

By at least one indication, the real estate market is starting to look up -- construction of new homes (as measured by housing starts) rose for the third straight month in May, by 17.2 percent. Some say this increase is a sign that the housing market is indeed beginning to bottom out. However, the pace of new-home construction is still low, down 45.2 percent from May 2008, and home prices are likely to stay down considering the glut of homes on the market, WSJ.com notes. But if you take a look at local markets, you will find that home sales, and in some cases, home prices, are starting to pick up. Below are three markets that are improving: Buffalo, N.Y. Home sales in the Buffalo Niagara region rose 3.3 percent in May from May 2008; the increase was the first yearly increase in about a year. Home prices also got a boost, with the median price rising to $110,000, up 4 percent from May 2008. Orlando, Fla. In April, Orlando home sales were up 38 percent from April 2008. However, the... - Reggie Nicolay

Earlier this week, both on this blog and across the Web, it was reported that actor Stephen Baldwin's home in Rockland County, N.Y., was going to put on the block next week in a foreclosure auction. However, his rep, Brad Taylor, says that's not the case. (Check our previous post for more information on Baldwin's home.) "Stephen is presently going through a legal situation regarding his mortgage and that situation is still in process. No auction will be happening and all things related to this matter are being handled by his legal representation," People.com quotes Taylor. Baldwin may be delinquent on his mortgage, but perhaps he has found some sort of workout with his lender to avert foreclosure. Baldwin 43, has starred in "The Celebrity Apprentice" and "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here." Word of Baldwin's plight was first reported by a local paper, and then spread swiftly across the Web. Foreclosure a confusing process If the auction of Baldwin's home was reported incorrectly,... - Reggie Nicolay

Work began yesterday on the paver patio and stairs that my husband and I are having installed in our backyard this summer. Our permit in place, the contractor arrived today. He removed the rickety wooden stairs that came with the house, as well as the unlevel slab of concrete that was beneath the stairs. The unexpected always happens during home improvement projects -- to get his truck in, the contractor completely dug up one of our front yard's planting beds, including one tree and two bushes (to be replaced later). But I figure it gives me the chance to add more topsoil to what was a weedy and somewhat neglected planting bed. The contractor also discovered that there's more slope to our backyard than he realized. (To the naked eye, the yard appears to be relatively flat.) Which means that without a fix, there would be a substantial drop from the pavers to the grass at the foot of the patio. (Even with the grading he's adding to keep the patio water free.) To remedy it, our... - Reggie Nicolay

If you've always wanted to live like a celebrity, this might be your chance. The foreclosed Rockland County, N.Y., home of actor Stephen Baldwin is set to be auctioned off next week, on June 24, People magazine reports. Baldwin 43, has starred in "The Celebrity Apprentice" and "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here." The auction will reportedly be held at the Rockland County Court. The actor unsuccessfully tried to sell his house, located on Old Mountain Road in Upper Grandview, N.Y., for $3.4 million in 2006, the New York Post reports. (Check out this link at LoHud.com to see a photo of the residence.) The home is at 71 Old Mountain Road, according to celebrityaddressaerial.com. Baldwin's hometown, a suburb of Manhattan, is perched high above the Hudson River on its west bank and offers spectacular river and mountain views. The home has an estimated value of $895,870, and has seen its value drop by $69,791 in the past month, according to Cyberhomes. The median home value in the... - Reggie Nicolay

Now that the weather is getting warmer, many of us are gearing up our backyards for entertaining and good times, adding summer tools of the trade like gas grills, swing sets, trampolines and swimming pools. (In my case, the pool will be the kiddie variety, which I can fill up with the garden hose.) That's all well and good, but if any of these items are on your summer shopping lists, be sure to check and update your home insurance policies before the fun begins. These summer staples can be sources of good, clean fun, but they are also responsible for many an accident and could cost a homeowner who is underinsured dearly. Fire up the grill, not your house For example, on average for each year between 2003 and 2006, grills, hibachis or barbecues caused 7,900 home fires, 10 civilian deaths, 120 reported injuries and $80 million in direct property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association. (It's fine to barbecue like celebrity chef Bobby Flay this summer, but I'd put... - Reggie Nicolay

If you are thinking of boosting the energy efficiency of your home, this is the year to do it. The federal government is offering rebates for energy-saving home improvements like solar panels, insulation, energy-efficient windows and insulation. And now, with President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package, local and state governments are stepping up to make such home improvements even more affordable for homeowners, writes Cyberhomes contributor Stephanie Pearson. For instance, Berkeley, Calif., has an innovative program in which the city will finance installation of home solar energy systems by city-approved installers -- homeowners will then pay off the installation through a property-tax assessment over 20 years, she says. Other cities are likely to follow Berkeley's lead. Savings on windows, insulation Perhaps it's time to tackle some energy improvements for my own home. I've been told that the cheap windows in my 7-year-old house in Central New Jersey will need to be... - Reggie Nicolay

If you open the pages of any tabloid these days, you'll find headlines screaming about the marital woes of Jon and Kate Gosselin, of the wildly popular reality show, "Jon & Kate Plus Eight." It seems paparazzi and rumors of extramarital affairs aren't the only problems the duo -- parents of twins and sextuplets -- face. The two have been unable to sell their Cape Cod home of nearly 3,000 square feet in Elizabethtown, Pa., since moving to a $1.3 million estate in Wernersville, Pa. The pair purchased the Elizabethtown Cape Cod at 2190 Andrew Avenue for $280,000 in 2006, Cyberhomes data shows. Their former home -- listed at $325,000 -- has been on the market for about 88 days, according to its listing on Cyberhomes.com. The listing includes several images of the house -- including one that shows the swing set out back that Jon put together, and a Microsoft Virtual Earth image of the home that appears to show the family's mega-sized van parked in the driveway. Why it isn't selling Looking... - Reggie Nicolay

If you need an icon set for your next design, this article is a must read. - Reggie Nicolay

We often talk about the U.S. housing market as a whole, but as we all know, real estate is local. Here's a look at home sales reports from across the U.S. -- prices and sales are actually up in some locales: Dallas For the first five months of this year, existing-home sales are 24 percent below last year for the same period. Prices have fallen 4 percent to $139,500. Manhattan Prices are said to be down about 30 percent below levels from a year ago, but brokers are reporting an uptick in buyer interest and activity. Buyers are now "willing to step up to the plate," the New York Times quoted one broker. Phoenix The median sale price rose 3 percent in April from May to $130,000, while sales rose from 8,690 to 8,156. The existing-home median price remained steady at $120,000, while the median price of a new home rose from approximately $205,000 to $216,000 -- area homebuilders have been offering aggressive incentives --as much as $200,000 off home prices in some cases -- to lure... - Reggie Nicolay

This summer, I plan to have a paver patio (made of EP Henry Old Towne Cobble pavers in pewter) installed in my backyard. I've vetted a few contractors, and have chosen one, mostly based on the quality of similar jobs that he has performed for nearby homes. While searching for contractors, I was told by some that I wouldn't need a permit. But I checked it out with my town's construction/zoning office, and discovered that I would indeed need one. I visited the construction office on Friday, and am told that my permit should be approved either today or tomorrow. Why get a permit When remodeling or improving your home, it's best to determine whether your local municipality requires a permit for the type of work you plan to do, and if one is required, to get such a permit. It is in your best interest to do so. For instance, while visiting the construction/zoning office in my town, I learned that the town requires that no more than 30 percent of a residential property be covered with... - Reggie Nicolay