Sure, you have plenty of family and friends who have renovated their places, so you’re pretty sure you know the drill, but what’s a little plaster dust, if it gets you the home of your dreams, right? Well, maybe.

To make the right decision, now’s the time when you need to start to qualify that maybe. Are you basically looking for a 50K kitchen remodel? A new bath with a Jacuzzi? Or will rearranging the space you have give you what you want and need? These are all very different questions with very different lived realities during the renovation itself. Can the work be done while you’re away? Or are you looking at months when you’ll need to make a mad dash up the street to Bareburger when you need to use a bathroom?

If you’re focused on the building you’re in, the next question to ask is whether even the most costly renovation will give you your wish list? Or, would a renovation only be an interim compromise that will leave you apartment hunting a couple of years up the road? Finally, figure out what the smartest move would be for you on a strictly financial basis. If you’re flush with cash and have good credit, this may be a great time to move, but then again, even if you’re under water and have to write a check to the bank to move, interest rates are only going one way right now and that’s up, so you may want to consider whether taking the hit now, but finding an apartment better suited to your needs while rates are low isn’t the wisest move. Then too, with wildly attractive mortgage options out there and the approximately 20% market correction, this may be your last chance to score an apartment you normally wouldn’t be able to touch.

You’re sitting around relaxing after dinner and suddenly you realize you’re at the point of no return in the renovate or relocate conversation and it’s time to make a decision…You know you want more space, or a brand new kitchen…possibly another bath and you think if you just reworked the space you have a renovation of your apartment might well give you what you want. But then again, there are certainly other apartments out there that might give you your wish list without all the hassles of reconstruction. Sure, you can survive plaster dust seeping into the wood grain of your furniture, but do you want to? So, how do you get off the see-saw of the renovate or relocate discussion and begin to move forward? It may help to consider some of the following issues.
Location
The first question to ask yourself in the famous renovate or relocate debate is whether location is the most important issue for you? Are you, in fact, wedded to your building for life? Or could you see yourself giving up that chic residence near the U.N. for a Sutton Place bargain? Every neighborhood and every building in it have their respective issues, so ask yourself honestly whether you absolutely have to stay where you are or whether it isn’t time to start doing some apartment hunting.

June is JAZZY

 

Join Jazz lovers for the annual Blue Note Jazz Festival. Enjoy concerts in the cozy Blue Note Jazz Club at 131 E. 3rd St in the Village or in larger venues across the city.

See the entire line up of artists and get tickets at http://www.bluenotejazzfestival.com
Summer Flicks

The Annual HBO Bryant Park Film Series kicks off on Monday June 16th and runs through August. The success of these free outdoor films has spawned a lengthy list of similar programs throughout the city. From piers to parks, rooftops to the Intrepid–click here to see the different film lineups throughout the summer in every borough for every taste.

 

Great Performances

Summer is never boring in the city that never sleeps. In fact, it could be these live performances that gave birth to that description of New York!

Shakespeare in the Park
Begins June 3rd and runs through July 6th with “Much Ado About Nothing” at Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Free. Wait in line or join the online ticket lottery here.

SummerStage
Enjoy music, comedy, theater, dance, lectures, and movies during the City Parks Department’s annual programming. Free concerts are popular, so arrive early. The entire lineup of acts is here.

Celebrate Brooklyn!
Join in the fun at the Prospect Park Bandshell for free music, theatre, dance and film performances from June to August. See the complete line up for the summer by clicking here.

River to River Festival
Free events that take place in public plazas, parks and some unusual sites as well. It includes series such as the Hudson River Festival, which features free musical performances in and around the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden, and the Evening Stars Music and Dance Festival, which features free outdoor performances by leading dance companies and music ensembles. For more information click here.

Pride Week
Events start June 24th and run through the end of the month with the annual Pride March at noon going down Fifth Avenue. Following the parade there will be the PrideFest street fair, and the celebration ends with the Dance on the Pier. Get more information here.

American Crafts Festival
380 juried artists, entertainment, and craft demonstrations in tents outside Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on June 14th and 15th. Get more information here.
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Did You Know…

James Joyce Day is on
June 16th

Bloomsday commemorates and celebrates the life of Irish writer James Joyce during which the events of his novel Ulysses (which is set on June 16th 1904) are relived. Joyce chose the date as it was the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle (incidentally, they walked to the Dublin suburb of Ringsend). The name is derived from the protagonist in Ulysses, Leopold Bloom.

Symphony Space’s 33rd annual ode to the language, life, and love in James Joyce’s work centers on his short story collection, Dubliners, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The event will feature readings by Cynthia Nixon, Malachy McCourt, Marin Ireland, National Book Award-winning author Colum McCann, and others of several of the book’s stellar stories, including the beloved final story “The Dead.” Between readings, songs from the stories will be performed by soprano Lisa Flanagan with introductions by Irish writer Belinda McKeon.

 

Summer Eating

 

Sample 150 US craft beers and taste food from local restaurants at the NYC Craft Beer Festival June 20th-21st. Get tickets here.

The NY Botanical Gardens is hosting The Big Backyard BBQ and Music Festival takes place on Daffodil Hill at the NYBG June 14th-15th, get tickets here.

 

 

7. If you are not taking your pets with you on your vacation, by all means make arrangements for them to stay elsewhere. Litter boxes, pet food or the presence of an animal wandering around are all big no no’s when it comes to making a sale. Remember too, that many people are allergic and much as we love Fido and Fifi, bear in mind that not everyone will! Alternatively, a live-in pet sitter can make it possible for your pet to remain at home, but be sure that any animal is in a crate during showings, preferably outside the main living areas of your home;

8. Fresh flowers, strategically placed, add a feeling of elegance, but only use them if you can make arrangements with either your cleaning help or a concierge, etc., to change them out frequently enough to prevent them from spoiling;

9. Make sure that you leave your apartment at a comfortable temperature. If this means leaving the air conditioning running on low, do it. You don’t want buyers oppressed by an overheated or stuffy space; And,

10. Leave your keys with your real estate agent and prepare to have a great vacation while he or she does all of the work. Arrange to have a back up set of keys available to your agent, or, if you’re apartment will be on a lock box, make sure that someone close by–a neighbor, concierge or building maintenance personnel know how to deal with any sticky issues getting in, such as a security system if you have one.