Porches can help sell homes.  This year I had several homes with impressive porches to photograph.  I see a lot of agents attempting to photograph porches and they almost always try to capture the porch from the street level as part of the money shot of the house, with perhaps a close-up closer to the front door.  And that's great as far as it goes.  And its very important to photograph that porch so that buyers can see the full potential of this amenity. However, beyond the porch itself, is the view from the porch.  If the view is a good one, you need to show it in all its glory....After all, if you've got it, flaunt it!   Now, it doesn't matter if the porch reveals cityscape suburbia or countryside.  After all, some buyers are really into the new urbanization and would be thrilled wit... 10/04/2013

Curb appeal is not a trivial issue.  Buyers often decide within seconds whether they have any interest in your home at all, and be it rational or not, that’s the reality. Let’s face it, between photographing homes and selling them, I spend a great deal of time looking at homes.  I spend a great deal of time with buyers who are looking at homes.  After a while you get a feel for what rocks and what flops.  Sometimes less is more and often it just takes a few extra touches here and there to make a home really “pop” in the eyes of a buyer. Here are a couple of homes that I photographed recently in Gedney Farms.  I didn’t take photos of the entire facade.  I took them to show how some plantings or even simple hanging baskets can add a welcoming feel to a home and really change that first im... 06/02/2012

One of the greatest things about the spring and fall seasons is that the blossoms and foliage create a vivid color display.  On a bright sunny day, they sight is amazing…but sometimes storm clouds create a contrast that makes the seasonal  colors appear more vivid.  This is particularly true when the sun is peeking through heavy cloud cover – just as it was today.  This photo was taken in White Plains near the Gedney Farms neighborhood.  I actually pulled the car over to capture the moment.  I’ll admit that the composition isn’t what it could be, but really, its more a color display than anything else. © 2012 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All rights reserved.   Fotos on the fly: Spring Blossoms & Storm Clouds…. 04/12/2012

In spring of 2007 when I saw an article in the local paper, the story of a furniture bank that just opened in Westchester. Wasn't quite sure what a furniture bank was, but it sounded interesting. Turns out there were several stories: what a furniture bank was, how it's long-planned grand opening coincided with the income-tax day nor'easter which flooded a lot of the Sound Shore area. Then, how 65 families in need were furnished , for free, in the 10 days after the storm. The article ended with what was still needed, and going forward, how people could donate to Furniture Sharehouse. Still in retail at the time, it was a great referral. Clients buying new furniture were always asking me if I knew who could use what they no longer needed, or wanted. Up to that point, best suggestions I h... 11/09/2011

  Over the past few months I have written several times about the now infamous  Gedney Farms  vs. FASNY issue.    For those not in the know – the private French American School  (FASNY) is seeking a special permit to build a 1200 student K-12 campus in the Gedney neighborhood.  I have been on record as being against the project. I have written a couple of posts to this effect outlining my concerns for the neighborhood and the implications for the future building prospects on other large tracts of land that have yet to be developed. Over time, circumstances change and neighborhoods often have to change with them. This is very true and can not be denied.  Change is the only constant in life. Nothing stays the same  Neighborhoods who are not open to any change will be left behind going int... 09/30/2011

Zoning – Schomning!  That’s what a lot of developers and buyers with deep pockets are saying these days…. In a world increasingly divided between the have mores and the have nots, and municipalities struggling to make ends meet – those with deep pockets feel that minor incidentals such as “zoning” and a “city planning”  are small obstacles to be pushed aside with relative ease.   All they have to do is purchase a property – zoning not withstanding – plant their flag and impose their “vision” for the future of the land on the community. Zoning – Who cares? We’ll just threaten litigation if the city refuses us. Declining Property Values? Change is inevitable -  so if a few people get “hurt” in the name of progress – that’s life. City Planning? – We bought the land – the city will just ha... 07/05/2011

The jet stream has created some particularly volatile weather in our region over the past several years.  Watching storm clouds gather has almost become a hobby.  This was taken about a week ago in the Gedney Farms neighborhood of White Plains NY.  It was in the wake of all of the dangerous tornadoes that hit the south.  There were some isolated tornado warnings in New Jersey – which is rare at any time – although we do get some in the summer around June.  The sky was ominous enough for me to question whether or not I should be out.  The eerie contrast between the bright spring colors and the dark gray sky prompted me to stop for a photo op!  The clouds hung so low that I could almost imagine a funnel cloud forming.  But I had things to do for my clients.  Perhaps I should have listene... 05/09/2011