Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 55

1 pk saaje EVEPWAlMk MUSt bo WALLS Ceilings FLOORS AMD tvvj MvJCH MORE' Shopping on Screen: Viewing Homes by Video By Kimberly Greer DEVELOPMENTS Former Farmhouse Gets a Real Facelift Time to redecorate? For most houses that means new wallpaper in one room a coat of paint in the kitchen new curtains to match maybe reupholstering the couch Unless of course the house getting the touch happens to be Gracie Mansion the former farmhouse that its current occupant calls "the second most famous house in the Built in 1799 by merchant shipper Archibald Gracie the mansion has been home to New mayors since 1942 Its current inhabitant Mayor Ed Koch remained in the house during renovations although his favorite room the library where he watches TV was off limits during construction For Gracie Mansion recently completed renovations carried a $55 million pricetag and included a new porch a new fence an expanded basement and a new passageway connecting a newer wing to the rest of the house Plus of course new paint wallpaper and a handmade leatherbound guest book Before beginning the job the Gracie Mansion Conservancy "learned everything about the people who had first lived says chairman Joan Davidson "We also analyzed the house we took paint samples and looked for relics of old Although none of the inside rooms look exactly as they did in day almost no records remain of his decorating tastes the first owner would certainly recognize his front door today: been repainted a that resembles its original shade says Davidson Digging Through Deeds For $100 a century you can trace the history of your land if so inclined the usual rate that Sea Cliff resident Donna Ottusch-Kianka charges to dig through Long Island deeds and other documents that reveal how old a house is what was on the property before the house and sometimes even how the property was acquired from the Indians "People are interested in validating the history of their homes and if an old Long Island family you might use deeds to get information about what the family was up to in the says Ottusch-Kianka who studies archaeology at New York University "You never know what dig out of the county The tracing procedure is fairly common to clear a property title title companies trace ownership records back a couple of owners when the land is sold But Ottusch-Kianka stresses that her work is done purely to satisfy curiosity it hold up in court Some history buffs and others may want to do the sleuthing on their own Huntington Town Historian Rufus Langhans says fairly easy to trace back to the turn of the century the succession of deeds on your property "You can save some money and do it he says To learn how to trace your history head to the library Or if you live in Huntington office provides some information on how to trace Billions in Borrowing Bigger and bigger go the borrowing figures Last year home buyers across the nation borrowed $2052 billion the most ever and more than double the amount in 1982 says the Department of Housing and Urban Development California lenders had the highest state total accounting for $438 billion The other states in the top six were New York Texas Florida Illinois and Virginia Those six accounted for almost half of the home loans in the nation last year Michelle Slatalla Cunningham Inc in Southampton said his firm started using video six weeks ago and has gotten 10 homes to sell as a direct result "You feel like you are walking through the he said "The response has been very Despite the scattered successes most brokers across the country are taking a wait-and-see attitude to the several dozen firms testing the new methods experts say The idea comes from traditional real estate roots For years brokers have agreed that a picture is worth a thousand words Black and white or color photos of homes are a long-standing staple in real estate offices Some firms such as Previews a Manhattan luxury real estate broker began using five-minute reel-to-reel movies to show its estates 51 years ago The updated techniques mix music narration and descriptive detail with an extensive array of photos of the home inside and out Video cameras scan rooms so clients feel as if they are walking through them Some firms show shots of the street or the neighborhood or the nearby shopping centers Shopping for a house by video has several advantages experts say The first and most obvious is convenience It eliminates time-consuming travel for both the broker and the buyer and gives buyers a chance to see more than would normally be feasible Says Joseph LaRosa president of Real Estate ideos Inc of Manhattan who started his firm last year: "I tell people they may as well look at everything I have in their price category if they like something I just fast forward to the next Although computerized listings are fairly common throughout the country a new variety offers pictures of the homes as well The Board of Realtors of Kalamazoo Mich recently signed up to be the first customer of such a system REALNET offers pictures of houses four to a screen as well as floor plans and maps of the area The complete system is leased annually to the board for $336000 individual brokers pay a monthly fee of $200 for black and white images $300 for color Comsell Inc an Atlanta-based firm has upgraded the video idea to laser discs Although similar to the video and computer systems images on lasers are clearer and can be randomly accessed more quickly The system which costs about $11000 to install has been tested by 11 brokers affiliated with the Hilton Head SC Board of Realtors for the past six weeks "People keep asking us why this been done before The response so far has been said Vicky Vaughan of John Gettys Smith Association "So much easier compared to putting someone in a car and dragging them from place to Some advocates say visual aids relax clients taking away the perception of a sales pitch people are used to relaxing in front of television screens But others say watching TV is one thing and looking for a home is another Marsh Crowley owner of Meadow Real Estate in Southampton tried videotaping the exteriors of homes five years ago "All the advantages are clear and he said "Except in short they did not like it To drive two hours to get here the last thing they wanted to do was sit in a conference room and watch nslq anneHo na ai ve iV1VvVi0n aru SHOPPING FOR a Southampton home last weekend Manhattan salon owner Richard Buccheri looked at more than 60 houses but he never left the city Sitting on a comfortable sofa in a slick plant-filled real estate office in Manhattan Buccheri had a guided tour of the exterior and interior of each home Rather than making the 180-mile round trip and walking through each house he looked at videotaped images displayed on a 19-inch color television monitor In all the process took about two hours less time than it would take to drive to the East End "It was a wonderful said Buccheri who selected five out of the 60 to visit in person "I had already spent two weekends looking and it was exhausting much rather watch television than walk in and out of every The process is part of a small but growing industry that pairs firms offering video and other electronic visual displays with real estate brokers to help market houses The systems also include computer pictures and images stored on laser discs While widespread use of such systems may hinge on technological improvements and lower costs advocates say it is the shape of things to come going to be a way of life in the very near said Duffy Lampasso of Loading Dock Ltd a Manhattan audio-visual firm "These are basically video brochures It seems to be what everyone Yet it may face some stiff opposition particularly in conservative markets "There is a lot of resistance to said Joseph Mottola executive director of the Multiple Listing Service of Lang Island Inc "The way we market homes here is still a very personal Driving around with clients is an important part of that he said And the cost for such products although dropping all the time can still be prohibitively high to many small realty firms A video of one or more houses for example produced by a professional company can cost from $3500 to $50000 Individual systems with images stored on computer or laser discs can cost as much as $15000 a big said Lorraine Morano owner of Realty World Hearth Realty Inc in Dix Hills not my idea of how to market a Adds Gerard Twombly executive vice president of the Long Island Board of Realtors: "A lot of people still prefer to do all the nuts and bolts work write all their listings out by hand and have it in a loose-leaf notebook on their desk like 30 years ago "People who afford such systems or access to them are going to have to work a little harder be a little more he said But costs can be lower Brokers can do the photography themselves for example A1 Marsiglia owner of Century 21 Cow Harbor Realty in Oyster Bay has taped his own videos for four years with an initial $5000 investment for the camera editing equipment and other hardware Agents at the office say it has helped sell houses and make the firm different from others Tpwl SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17 1984 Real EState3 ro.