HOW TO BUY NEAR WATER WITHOUT SPENDING $140,000,000.... PLUS COULD YOU GET CREDIT FOR THAT AMOUNT?

$140,00,000 and there is NO neighborhood block party?!

In the unlikely case your cocktail conversations have been focusing on such trivial matters such as terrorism, global warming or even Donald Trump.. instead of Hamptons real estate,  you might not have heard the  interesting news.   Entrepreneur Chris Whittle has put his East Hampton home on the market for a bargain price of $140 Million dollars.   While I'm not sure if the house comes furnished at that price or if he's leaving the toaster oven, there are some who'd rather write a check with a few less zeros for their Hamptons home by the water.    So if you love the smell of salt air in the morning, where do you go without spending a fortune?   Luckily, Hamptons Chatter is here to guide you with a proverbial divining rod for some homes near water that won't break the bank.  Because I'd rather spend my extra $140 million dollars on something more sensible like an I-tunes gift card, I've explored other options with slightly less intimidating price tags.


Amagansett Dunes - It's like the nicest parts of the Jersey Shore and it's not in New Jersey.  Causual summer living (think flip flops and t-shirts 24/7) and a quick stroll, skip or even levitation to beautiful ocean beaches is the real draw here.  While the lots can be small and not everyone has a pool, this is all about the beach.  Look to spend about 1.1 to 1.5 million for a comfortable home in the area.

Amagansett Dunes: Elliman.com H34948

Waterside Communities (Pine Neck, Whalebone Landing, Southampton Shores, Northampton Colony) -  Located about 10 minutes outside of Sag Harbor village off of Noyac Rd., these areas are all about community.    Community bay beaches, community docks and community club houses are a few of the features that attract buyers to this area.   The sunsets on Noyac bay are also spectacular and the icing on the cake.  Yet, for some folks the neighborly feel might seem a bit intrusive or suburban.   Look to spend about $1.0 million to get into the neighborhood and as much as $10,000,000 for one of the current waterfront listings.


Shinnecock Hills - Spectacular views and the fact it's nestled between the villages of Southampton and Hampton Bays is only part of the big draw in this community.    One of the biggest draws for the growing popularity of this area is the time saving factor during those crazy weekends when Route 27 looks like a parking lot.     Considering you can get a waterfront with view for around $2.5... that's a savings of $137,500,000 if you were thinking about that "other" waterfront.


A few more areas you might find worth visiting are the Redwood section of Sag Harbor, close to the village and with views and great water for the boater.    There is also Lions Head and Clearwater Beach areas of East Hampton.   Community beaches, views of the sound and some deep water docking are the big draw for this area located outside the village of East Hampton.    It also has several of the best waterfront dining spots in all of the Hamptons including Bay Kitchen and Harbor Bistro right in the hood.    Yes, I know there are other areas that are certainly worth mentioning but these few are the ones that I think are a good bang for the buck.   I'm only one guy without an editor and this ain't my full time gig, so don't get your panties in a bunch folks.   If you want another neighborhood mentioned in a blog, feel free to go write it!  I mean that in the nicest way possible! Sort of.

Meanwhile, it doesn't matter if you're buying a big ticket house or a little cottage, if you want to get financing from a bank... you better have good credit.  So how do you know if you have good credit?   Luckily credit expert Andrea Kent took some time out of her day to give Hamptons Chatter a quick tutorial on understanding your credit.



If you would like to contact Andrea for more information or about credit repair... you can e mail her at akent@primenationalny.com

UPDATE:  Sorry last weeks finalist for the $500 holiday gift certificate goes to the staff at Baron's Cove who submitted their holiday tree for the Hamptons Chatter holiday contest.  If you want to enter the contest, send your photos to Hamptonsholiday15@gmail.com.  Finalist will be anoounced each week with the grand price being announced on December 1st.    And no, you can't send me a picture of someone else's tree!

The tree at Baron's Cove - Sag Harbor!

!! YES!!! I USE TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!! BUT I'M TALKING WINE,PUPPIES AND WHAT TOWN IS FOR YOU!!!

For the party animals in us all!

It's not the dog days of summer yet but its time for some doggone fun!   UGH.  Even I know that is a really bad pun!  First a little advertisement for a REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD CAUSE!   The Southampton Animal Shelter holds it's Fourth Annual Unconditional Love Gala this Saturday.   The shelter was originally operated by the town but due to budget cuts, the town shut the shelter.   A group of concerned locals got together to save the shelter and formed the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation!  Ok, I'm a total sucker for animal charities.   I give to the ASPCA, ARF and I bought a ticket to this event.   I know my stigmata wounds are already acting up... I'm a saint!   It's a great cause.... a really fun benefit and you can help out some of the cutest Hamptonites around!  You know the cute friendly ones who don't cut you off, text and drive, brag about their decorator or flash their Panerai!  Bella and Russell can't go but I know are giving their full support to the benefit.   Thanks to my friends Sarah Alvarez and Molly Molly for telling me about this event!  If you want to purchase tickets and help out... CLICK HERE!

So often I get asked as a real estate agent, "which town is best?"    You know, that's a really hard question to answer.   I really think every town has some very unique benefits and it's own pluses and minuses.     So I developed a little quiz here to help you find the town that's right for you.... it's fun...
it's silly... and eerily accurate;  So here we go.

1)   On Saturday afternoons your footwear of choice during the summer is ...
       a) Barefoot

Where should you go???

       b) Gucci or Prada
       c) Teva's
       d) Custom Monogrammed slippers

2)    While driving a convertible around town, Paula Abdul comes on the radio.  Do you...
        a) Remark "she was a singer? or "Who TF."
        b) Remark "I wish they were playing "Straight-up."
        c) Reduce the volume and hope nobody hears you listening.
        d) You would never play the radio while your top was down!

3)    My idea of a memorable evening is.....
        a) Not remembering how I got home.
        b) Sitting next to Gwyneth and Jerry at The Grill.
        c) Getting an invite for sailing and sunset cocktails.
        d) Hosting an awesome dinner party and getting some great hostess gifts!

4)     My favorite drink before dinner is...
         a) Red Bull and Vodka.
         b) A nice Rose or Sancerre.
         c) An awesome margarita with
         d) A martini... shaken not stirred.

Wolffer Kitchen is open!

Well here are the results... if you answered "a" to more than three of the questions, you need to hang in Montauk baby.   More than 3 "b" answers you should try East Hampton to Water Mill.... "c" It's Sag Harbor or Amagansett or Hampton Bays.... and "d" it's Southampton or Quogue.   If you answered less than 3, leave me alone.  I don't have all day to write this damn blog.

Finally, what's the latest buzz in Sag Harbor?  Well the Cuddy has set sail and Wolffer Kitchen has arrived in port.   The soft opening was last night and tonight they'll be serving food and hopefully lots of Wolffer Rose to keep that Summer Buzz going.   They'll be unlocking the doors tonight at 5.  I'll ty to stop by or at the very least get the early reviews to you asap.   If you're curious about the complete menu... click here.




     

What's New in the Hamptons Hood '14... or What Happened While You Spent The Winter with People!

It has nothing to do with Nixon or Kung Fu pandadiplomacy.com

While the folks over at Curbed Hamptons talk about all the new restaurants this year, I decided to go a different direction and talk about all the other stuff!     Which calls to mind, I once had a very successful client in my car some time back talking about all things Hamptons.  As we drove by the East Hampton movie theatre he asked me, "Kung Fu Panda', what's that about?"   Really?  He wasn't kidding. Isn't it obvious that its a morality tale about a poor tailor and his struggle with alcoholism set in pre war Europe! UH... Kidding!  It's a frigging cartoon about a Panda that knows Kung Fu!   So, that being said, I wonder what they're going to think when they drive by Panda Diplomacy in Water Mill!   website.  It' looks pretty cool and I have no doubt it's what everyone will be wearing at The American Hotel this summer!  Ok, well maybe not there.  The wax museum has it's own separate dress code.  Well, for those of you that don't know it's a surfing apparel, boards and accessories store.   Located at 760 Montauk Highway in Water Mill, better known as the shopping center where there used to be Blockbuster-Citarella-Water Mill Cupcake-Avanti-Subway-Foodies and the soon to be opened West Elm Shopping Center.    If you want more info on surfing pandas, check out the

Citarella has hit Southampton!   While it's not a "full fledged" supermarket according to sources.   It is no doubt a welcome addition to a town that has the second worst supermarket in the Hamptons Walbaum's which only comes after Walbaum's in East Hampton.  The store got approved earlier this
month by the Southampton Village Planning board and quickly settled into their Hampton Street location.   While some locals have voiced their concern over the potential parking problems let me accentuate the positive, THEY HAVE FRESH FOOD!

Another newcomer is located on Main St. in Bridgehampton and it's called BLOW.  No, it's not that kind of place!  Get your minds out of the gutter people... this isn't Nevada!  It's a hair salon that's specializing in blow outs for ladies and the occasional puffy haired gentleman about to kick up their heels at the given Hamptons benefit!    If you want more information on getting glamours you can check out their website here!    If you want the other kind you need to get on a plane and head to Vegas or perhaps Amsterdam (ohhhh Amsterdam... more on that later... apparently the Dutch love the Hamptons).

If you're like me one of the greatest things about living out east is not the surf, the beaches, world class boating, golf or even the lack of good cell phone reception.   It's the fact we have some of the best damn food anywhere.  One of those that has a reputation of being the best of the best is Tate's Bakery and now they're selling their White Chocolate Macadamia cookies among other masterpieces
out of the Red Horse Market in East Hampton.  But if you're worried about your waistline  don't fret, the cookies are sugar, fat, calorie and dairy free.... NOT... if you have to read the calorie label, move on!   I have not doubt there is like 12 pounds of butter in each cookie but damn, they're awesome!   They make great chipwiches too... just in case you need more calories!

www.barrysbootcamp.com

But if you're worried about calories and such silliness, fear not Barry's Bootcamp is opening a new outlet in Amagansett this summer.    Yes, the home of sadistic (IMHO) workouts that burn tons of calories!  According to Racked.com  the location will feature healthy to go meals from Hu Kitchen.      Great news but I'll pass on the meals, there's a coconut cupcake (from Mary's) with my name on it!  The gym is located at 199 Montauk Highway, right behind Mary's Marvelous!   Did I mention Mary's coconut cupcake?  It's another Hamptons masterpiece and makes a great reward for just doing one of their  before I do one of their infamous 1000 calorie burning classes. UGH!

Finally one more thing new in the Hamptons this summer!  A deadly new tick born disease!  Goody!  I'm not going to bore or kill the mood by writing about it.  If you're curious let the kill joys at CBS News do it for you here.    In the meantime, i'm going to get some new panda surf clothes and eat my cookies and cupcakes in peace!

A Year After Sandy Generator Sales Still Soar.... and Fall Images of the Hamptons!!!

Ok, this year was a lot prettier than last year.  Hurricane Sandy ripped through the East End a little more than a year ago,  leaving much of the region without power for as long as 3 weeks.  Yes, I was one of them.    Since then homeowners have been exploring their options to prevent their milk from souring and the Internet from going down.    One of the most popular solutions has been purchasing a home generator.    From the simple gasoline lawn mower engine variety to the more complex, heres a quick intro some of the basic facts from the folks at East Hampton Energy Solutions!

Sure, the pools are closed and the beach is a little bit nippy.  But if you've ever had a doubt that the Hamptons are spectacular in the fall then look no further.   Here are some of my favorite sites in and around the East End.

Scarecrows line Main St. Amagansett, thanks to the kids from the local elementary school!  

North Haven foliage or as a news anchor I once worked with called it... Foil-age!

Mill Hill Lane, East Hampton Village. 

EH Village Fringe, near Buckskill Rd. 

The center of Sag Harbor Village!

The prettiest tree in the Hamptons, seriously!  Look at the Shape!  Brick Kiln and Scuttle Hole Rds.

A Brouhaha at the Beaches in Amagansett and a Cure for Round Swamp Farm's Cinnamon Buns... well sort of!

VERBOTTEN!

Those oft over-the top folks in "Amagainsit" are at it again.  Fearing that the guest of a guest, share house, booze-swilling Saturday afternoon fedora crowd would drift east from Indian Wells due to parking lot restrictions and an increased police presence, the Beach Hampton homeowners association sent out an early summer warning to members.

That beach access would be restricted to members in good standing with the Dunes home owner's association (i.e. residents and their tenants ).

OK. We're good so far.  While we won't consult our Hamptons Chatter legal department just yet about their legal right to restrict access they have begun stationing "monitors" at various beach access points.  (although when we googled "lawsuit beach public access" it appears the folks in Amagansett are walking a very shaky and fine line). 

This summer, clipboard carrying Studio 54 type bouncers have been checking to make sure not only if beach goers are from the right part of town, they're also making sure everyone is ponied up with his or her Homeowners Association Dues.    But what if you landlord has paid the dues... you want to go to beach but the bouncer says "no you didn't."   Well that's exactly what has been happening.  Apparently this is becoming more and more of a problem with rental tenants lugging their wares to the beach only to be turned back!!! I don't know the whole deal here but I'm just predicting this is going to blow up before the end of the summer.   

Meanwhile here in the Hamptons we've got more than our fair share of famous culinary and home making genius'.      There's of course Martha Stewart.... there's Ina Garten (who I like even though she and Jeffrey have yet to invite me  over) ... and now there's ANKE.   In keeping with the  summer of healthy eating I want to tell you Anke's Fit Bakery and her stuff is awesome.   I've also been discussing this around town, and I'm hearing similar stories from other agents whose summer tenants are being subjected to random shakedowns in The Dunes.    Perhaps this is just all a bunch of misunderstandings but bouncers on the beach?!!!   Stay tuned.  

Shunning refined flour for her baked goods, Anke uses spelt flour, whole oats and other organic ingredients because, "Ingestion of refined flours elevates the potential for heart disease, stroke, cancer and obesity.  The health risks can be reduced by using whole grain flours instead of refined flours."  My personal favorite is Anke's Chocolate Loaf cake make with coco and a bunch of good stuff.   But you would never know it, I would swear it's Entenmann's!    Marie Claire, Tracy Anderson, the East Hampton Star and a bunch of other publications will attest to the fact I speak the truth.   So check out the website or go visit Anke at the Sag Harbor Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.  You and your gut wont' regret it!!!  Now, back to the treadmill! 

Noise pollution will hit a new high in the Hamptons! Mistuh Sheffieeeeeld!!! Plus, playboy bunnies at the Beachhouse?!!

This Sunday, comedienne and actress Fran Dresher will be screeching in East Hampton for a good cause. The Father's Day Family Fun event will benefit Fran's cancer prevention organization, Cancer Schmancer, while also celebrating her new TV show and Cancer Schmancer's WE THE FUTURE youth program. Featuring live music, food, viewing of the US Open, video games, a castle bounce and many more fun activities for both parents and children, this event offers the perfect outlet for Father's Day fun. Tickets can be purchased on their website! The event will be honoring local businessman and Enclave Inn owner Michael Wudyka as "Father of the Year."

Also this weekend the Beachhouse (how do I spell this anyway) will be launching their Saturday Tea Dance. You know I've been talking a lot

about the Beachhouse because it's close to my house and it's a great space. I know the gang over there have been negotiating with DJ Lady Bunny to host the event. Yes, the same DJ Bunny who hosted my friends Bill and Sue's wedding where his Palm Beach Mother remarked "that woman is wearing too much make up." I JUST FOUND OUT SHE WON'T BE THERE THIS WEEKEND... BUT WHO KNOWS ABOUT NEXT. Featuring drink specials and I think a custom bar menu it should be a blast. So what's the space like? I went over there the other day and spoke to manager Rory Boothby and videotaped a quick tour. I'm still learning how to do this editing thing but take a look and tell me what you think!?
BY THE WAY TEA DANCE STARTS AT 4PM No, not about my editing about the space. You're a critical bunch.


Quote of the week. A friend of mine had a customer who asked about a property on Mulford Lane in Amagansett. When his customers asked about the neighborhood he quickly responded "go to google earth and zoom in real close. You see the roof in the middle of the water, someone bought that as a waterfront a few years ago." They have an appointment to see the house on Saturday. Now that's a waterfront!!!

Hello sweeties!!!

So I've been in the Hamptons full time now for about 6 years and I'm still sane. While there are some things I don't miss at all about NYC, the noise, the traffic and Time Warner Cable ("we'll be there sometime between 8am and 6pm"). One thing I do miss is a good cupcake. I used to live down the street from SOUTINE bakery on W.70th and every now and then would stop by for one of their buttery creamy treats. While they were good, my favorites were always CRUMBS and CUPCAKE CAFE.

Now, I know there is a debate raging about MAGNOLIA BAKERY vs. CUPCAKE CAFE but to me it's no contest. I prefer buttery over super sugary sweet and CUPCAKE CAFE is the winner. Now, my dilemma... there is no debate over cupcakes going on in the Hamptons there are only two choices. Citarella and Mary's Marvelous. Yes, there are some from CRUMBS in the city available at Scoop Du Jour but only on weekends and I'm a full-time purist folks!!! But let's not get off track here!!!

Citarella's aren't bad, they're actually pretty good but they're not in the same league as the ones from MARY'S MARVELOUS in Amagansett!!! Mary's cupcakes are the best in town now.... this because Ina Garten shuttered the BAREFOOT CONTESSA a few years ago! But you know Mary's hold their own. Her coconut cupcakes are my favorite and just as good as Ina's were back in the day! Now I know Ina now sells here mixes at the grocery store but these confections are always awful! but that's not Ina's fault, I cant cook even with a mix!

In short Mary's cupcakes are indeed MARVELOUS!!! So are her Scones and most everything else in the shop as well. So why am I thinking about cupcakes? Because I'm trying to cut out the carbs and cupcakes are all I can think of! Oh and my cousin Eileen's home made sticky buns!!! Hello Jenny Craig!

Hola! Some new cuisine from South of the border!!

Posted via web from pjmhamptons's posterous

Ok, let's be real here! The East Hampton Independent just published their review of the new "latin cuisine" restaurant D'Canela in Amagansett. I love the Indy as it's affectionatly called on the east end ... they're kind of the rogue paper on the East End and they never hesitate to ruffle feathers but I've yet to really see a negative review on ANY restaurant. BUT I DIGRESS! Let's get back to the issue at hand... D'CANELA.

It's located at 195 Main St., Amagansett the home of the old Main Street Cafe. The decor as you can see from my lousy Iphone picture (but I do love my Iphone, more on that later) is sleek but a little cold. Who knew liquor bottles could ad so much warmth to the decor!? The round neon "open" sign didn't help much either, I felt like I was dining somewhere in Asbury Park. Even though I felt south of the Jersey border instead of in Mexico, I can tell you the interior was clean and the service was prompt and friendly. I'm sure in time, they'll get more liquor bottles, warm up the place and have a license to serve booze but in the meantime BYOB and save some dinero!!!!

So how was the food? We started with a mixed green salads and some chips and guacamole. They all got a B+. The salads were fresh and tasty as was the guacamole and the chips were crisp, thick and NOT greasy. So far... So good... they're already about 10 steps ahead of the inedible BLUE PARROT! Now when it came time for the entrees things went downhill a bit. We weren't exactly an adventourous crowd. Two chicken and one beef fajita and a mole chicken were the entrees. The fajitas weren't bad... but they weren't really good either. First off they came with melted cheese and my friends who are more health concious were NOT happy. Luckily our waitress did her best and got two new ones sans cheese asap! The beef fajita like the chicken was basically meat and onions with sides of salsa, sour and tortillas. The peppers; green, red and jalapeno were all missing. The mole chicken was the best choice. It was moist, tasty and tender (An A-).

All in all, better than Blue Parrot but far lacking anything close to the level of say Rosa's Mexicana. But it is the Hamptons afterall and it's January. I think D'Canela will improve in time, let's just hope they can hang in there during this looooong and so far snowy winter!!!