Summer camp started June 27 and it was a perfect summer day! 82 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, hot and humid, just like summer is supposed to be.

A previous post about summer camps outlined of some of the activities at the camp and now that camp has started you can see the fun in the sun at Bedford Memorial Park. This is the first day of summer camp at Bedford Memorial Park:

Posted by:  Sonja Lovas

You found the perfect house, have an agreed deal and now the home inspection. The American Society of Home Inspections trains and informs their members of changes in individual state regulations. NACHI defines the home inspections as,

“a visual assessment of a home’s structure and systems.” And, it “should extend beyond the visual to the operations.”

A home inspection is an important part of the home buying process because it gives you an opportunity to get to know the systems of the home. And it also discloses problems that are not apparent or visible to you, the buyer. The National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI) provides its Code of Ethics to the public.

Recommendations from your attorney or friends that had a good experience with an inspector should be pursued. Here in Westchester County, I give a service providers list to my clients that contains the names of New York State licensed inspectors but I do not recommend an individual inspector. The Inspection should cover the following: the structures and systems, exterior, roofing, plumbing, electrical, heating and air-conditioning, home interior, ventilation, appliances, fireplaces, additional systems (e.g. generator, etc.). Separate, but equally important, inspections for termites, radon, septic, oil tanks and water need to be added to complete a through process.

New York State requires that,

“any one to four family home, in New York State, for sale must submit a Property Condition Disclosure to the buyer prior to the signing of a binding contract of sale. The Disclosure will be attached to the contract. If the buyer does not receive the disclosure they are entitled to a $500 credit at closing. Whether the seller provides the disclosure or not, the seller is still liable for any undisclosed defects. The Disclosure form will be provided to you by your listing agent. You will be advised to consult your attorney in regards to the disclosure. Your agent can not give you advice as to whether to complete or ignore the disclosure.”

In today’s real estate market, homeowners may want to correct defects but are not obligated to do so.

Get what you pay for - be present during the home inspection and walk along with the inspector as he completes his work. Ask questions and take notes. Your inspector will issue a written report.

Of course, there will be things that are not up to par but prioritize the important issues. The homeowner is not obligated to correct conditions but they might want to do so if they want to sell their home.

Posted By: Renee Stengel

A favorite weekend evening outing here is a night at both The Meetinghouse Restaurant in Bedford Village for cocktails plus dinner and then a movie right smack next door at The Bedford Playhouse Cinema.

Well, I mixed it up a bit this weekend and on Sunday I went to Brunch at The Meetinghouse Restaurant (Brunch 11-3) and then to a matinee next door at the Bedford Playhouse.

After the movie -“State of Play” (or was it “State of Confusion”?), I then did some browsing at one of my favorite shops - “Small Joys” where Bedford buys those perfect for the season, the day, the moment and the hour Caspari paper cocktail napkins, plus the perfect Shower, Wedding and then Baby Gift (I am old fashioned) and more.

Then onto The Bedford Presbyterian Church for “The Master Singers of Westchester” in their annual performance. Vivaldi’s Magnificat, Haydn’s Missa Brevis in F, a Magnificat from Zelenka - a Czech Baroque composer and contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach actually told his son, Wilhelm, to copy one of his works. The afternoon ended with six of Bach’s cantatas. Master Singers of Westchester: “Ordinary People Making Extraordinary Music”

I then topped that off by fulfilling my Sunday Obligation at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church right on the Village Green. Quite joyously I may add!

Posted By: Karen Benvin Ransom

Contrast! Compare!

That was the booming voice of the Art History Professor to the darkened lecture hall during an exam. Slides of art lit up the front of the classroom. In the dark we had to write madly until the next set of slides would appear.

Compare! Contrast!

Once again with the sharp staccato of a Ballet Master’s staff.

These are the voices I hear as I go through the installation of the new Lichtenstein Show at The Katonah Museum of Art, “Lichtenstein in Process.” March 29th to June 28th, 2009.

The first two things I have to compare are the differences between the two institutions of art that I lead docent tours of within the Hamlet of Katonah in the Town Of Bedford, New York.

The first is The Rosen House at Caramoor. The permanent beautiful vast collections of Renaissance and Oriental Art plus whole rooms dismantled from convents and castles throughout Europe are retrofitted into the living space created for them. www.caramoor.org. There the collection remains the same and we have the job to help people feel their love of collecting and how it was their home and their daily life. We may decide to study pieces in depth. There are also small shows within the home. “The Art of Majolica” was the last one and “The Female Deities of Chinese Art” will be opening in May. There is a lecture given on each show in advance.

The Katonah Museum of Art - www.katonahmuseum.org - on the other hand has changing shows of many periods and mediums of art several times a year! You really have to be quick on your feet (and in your mind) in order to learn the new material in time. They prepare you by holding lectures on the subject held in the Pound Ridge Library and once the show is hung or displayed you are to tour it at least once again with a Curator and fellow docents to learn it “in situ”. This happens within a day or two of the grand opening.

Then as for Lichtenstein ( pronounced “lick-ten-styne” just as in the Country) we go through his process - view his inspiration, see his sketch and then see his collage phase of the process - basically his “on canvas” workshop. Here he transferred his ideas from the sketch by drawing, painting, covering changes with pieces of paper, using strips of tape, pieces of foil to define his bold outlines and plan the execution of the final piece. The work is done in half scale of the final work. It was then photographed using a 35mm camera and then a slide was made and projected onto a fresh canvas. The final work is then painted. Also there is the use of his famous “Benday Dots” in not only his comic paintings but in his ethereal landscapes.

We are comparing and contrasting his inspiration - the work of Matisse, Picasso, Klein, ancient Chinese scrolls, illustrations from the yellow pages, cheap novellas and even Disney to his interpretation of it. Sign of the times - most asked question - was he ever sued by the Families, Foundations or Companies? He was never sued for interpreting their works.

The Katonah Museum is open Tuesday - Saturday 10-5. Sunday 12-5. Docent led tours are at 2:30 each day. There are also things for the children to do plus a Family Day will be on Sunday May the 3rd 1-4.

Posted By: Karen Benvin Ransom

Thursdays are busy days for Real Estate Agent in Katonah, Pound Ridge, Bedford, South Salem, and North Salem. That’s because agents scurry from house to house as quickly as they can to see as many new listings on the market as possible. The Seller’s agent hosts the Open House to make it easy for all agents to preview the houses and hopefully, take their clients back.

So, in the span of 3 hours I previewed 9 houses, snacking and grazing on food offered by the seller’s agents offer to lure agents in. Out of the nine houses I went to there was only one I thought was prepared for sale and properly priced. It is located in Pound Ridge and the asking price is $779,000. This house is so tastefully updated throughout and fits the description of what everyone looking for a house asks for. It is clean, updated, move in ready, private setting on flat level property, has a beautiful kitchen, 4 bedrooms and 2 baths.

As for the other eight, well, their owners will learn the painful lesson of what happens when a house isn’t staged, cleaned up, presented as a product for sale, and priced appropriately. You see what sellers don’t know is that not only do the real estate agents really know what a house is worth, but by the time the buyers are ready to make an offer, they do too!

Upon returning to the office other agents’ comments validated my opinions. I doubt any seller would like to be a fly on the wall in the real estate office Thursday afternoons.

Check back next week for a hot new pick or call Sonja at: 914-552-0242

Posted By: Sonja Lovas