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Community Corner

This Week in Real Estate: Sellers Dive Into Upgrades

To ensure that homes are not on the market too long, many sellers are adding to the value of their house with upgraded kitchens and bathrooms.

For a three-bedroom home for under $300,000, take a look at this ranch for sale in South Setauket.

This three-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch at 2 Dycke Street comes with many updates for a low price. The previous owner put in a new central air conditioning system, and also updated the kitchen and bath with modern additions, such as the sink seen in the third photo. The roof is a newer 30-year architectural roof, and the siding was also recently replaced. There is a formal dining room and a patio with a nice sized yard for entertaining, as well as for recreational activities for the kids.

Stop by the open house this Saturday between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to receive the grand tour from Marcia Smoller and Joanne Blum from Little Bay Realty of Wading River.

Find out what's happening in Three Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here are some more open houses in and around Three Village this weekend:

Saturday, Sept, 10

Find out what's happening in Three Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: 1 Bancroft Street, Setauket, $399,000. Three-bedroom, three-bathroom ranch with hardwood floors, an architectural roof, new windows, central air conditioning, and a full finished basement with a game room, office, den, and full bathroom. Contact Mary Lynch at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty of Stony Brook.

Sunday, September 11

  • 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.: 76 Strathmore Villa Drive, South Setauket, $379,900.  Three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom colonial with two-year-old windows and siding, a new hot water heater, large and bright rooms throughout, a formal dining room, wall-to-wall carpet, and a rear deck.  Contact Margaret Tsoukaris and Jose Sola at RE/MAX Integrity Leaders of Centereach.
  • 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.: 338 Old Town Road, East Setauket, $399,000.  Four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom colonial with new siding, roof, windows, and front porch, freshly painted interior, full finished basement with wall-to-wall carpeting, and a deck and above-ground pool. Contact Robert Ceroni at Coldwell Banker Residential of East Setauket.
  • 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.: 15 Conscience Bay Road, Setauket, $1,290,000. Five-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom colonial with designer tile, deep molding throughout, high-end kitchen, open floor plan, library, private office over three-car garage, and waterviews. Contact Judith Buckridge at Century 21 North End Realty of Saint James.
  • 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.: 10 Tinker Bluff Court, Setauket, $3,999,999.  Eight-bedroom, 5.55-bathroom post modern home on Port Jefferson Harbor with wraparound decking, a huge eat-in kitchen with a gas stove and sub-zero refrigerator, surround sound, 16 camera surveillance system, five fireplaces, in-ground pool with waterfall, a custom built outdoor bar, deep water mooring, and beach rights.  Contact Brian Hickey at Hickey and Smith Realtors of Stony Brook.
  • 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: 4 Hessian Court, South Setauket, $649,000.  Four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom colonial on a cul-de-sac with an open floor plan, granite surfaces, wood floors, fenced and landscaped yard, and a wraparound front porch. Contact Frances Gates at Virginia A O'Dwyer Real Estate of Stony Brook.
  • 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: 12 Cedar Drive, Stony Brook, $499,900 - $529,900.  Two-bedroom, three-bathroom farm ranch with eat-in kitchen with new stainless steel appliances, living room with fireplace, master bedroom suite, potential in-law apartment with kitchen and laundry, central air conditioning, and a 2.5-car garage.  Contact Judith Buckridge at Century 21 North End Realty of Saint James.

SOLD!

125 Blair Road in East Setauket closed on September 8 with a price tag of $480,000. This two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom condominium in an over-55 community included an eat-in kitchen with cherry cabinets, granite counters, and stainless steel appliances, as well as a living room with a gas fireplace, and doors onto the deck overlooking the lake and tennis court. This property was sold by Kristin Bodkin of Coach Realtors of Stony Brook.

Sound Bites

“As our area recovers from the recent storm, residents also benefit from having discovered the weak spots in their home's infrastructure.  Areas of poor grading became obvious with water accumulation, loose siding took flight, and clogged gutters resembled rivers overflowing their banks.  If water accumulated in areas of the basement, this is a great time to trace the cause; seepage where the floor meets the foundation wall can result from poor sealing of the outer surface of the wall, but more likely is ground water from the inadequate grading mentioned above. Water always seems to find its way in; its will is inexorable.

Now may be a great time to think about an emergency generator, especially if you've had a prior history of power outages. This can be as simple as a portable gasoline-fueled 4-or-5000 watt system from one of the local 'big box' retailers, suitable for basically low-load intermittent duty and costing under a thousand dollars, or it can be a more sophisticated "whole house" system delivering 17-25 kilowatts or more, which can power most of an average size home, and comes on automatically. Unfortunately, natural gas is the preferred fuel for this equipment, with propane as an option that will need to be monitored and refilled as needed. These systems come with a "transfer switch" toggling from street power to generator as needed without your intervention. All generator systems are designed for outdoor installations only, and away from windows as well; the carbon monoxide hazard is serious.

"Have trees been damaged? Are more roots exposed? Dealing with this now can prevent real grief later.

"The repairs which may have become unavoidable from the storm offer opportunities for upgrading the roof, siding materials, windows and doors, but beware of contractor 'scams' which may leave you in a worse place than you started. Take the time to research your craftsmen-candidates, and try to resist the obvious pressure you'll feel to get the work done quickly.

"Also, remember that 'emergency bag' everyone seems to talk about and nobody has?  Assemble it!”

Vic Amoroso, Branch Manager of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty of Stony Brook and Licensed Associate Broker

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