Bill Primavera's (williamprimavera) Blog

When I was 13 years old, I got the urge to decorate my own room as my breakout effort to establish my own identity and, with my mother’s permission, I painted my room bright red.   There was nothing too odd about that, but convinced that the room looked too stark and needed some pattern, I dresse...

As we know from reports in the media or from our own experience, office workers many times clash about a temperature in which to work. But, what happens when people share the same household and can’t agree on a comfortable temperature either in the hottest or coldest seasons?   And what is the ac...

“There are certain plumbing issues that some buyers and their realtors should be aware of when they consider a home for sale,” my plumber Mark Merone said when visiting to repair a broken "el" pipe in my shower.  “You need to pay attention to the quality of materials that bring water into the hou...

In a way, as a realtor, you have to be all things to all people, from marketing expert and researcher to basic hand-holder. And if anyone is wondering what goes on in the mind of a realtor who likes to write under the moniker "The Home Guru," it's going to be a hodge-podge of subjects as varied a...

My friend Mike Piccirillo, an architect, says, "Nobody in the past 20 years has ever once asked me to design a split-level home, but a lot of people have asked me to re-design already-existing splits for a more contemporary look and more open space." While it offered hot sizzle among builders and...

For some years, I pretty much ignored recommending that my clients purchase a home warranty policy when buying or selling a home, but an associate of mine told me that she considers this a real service and it should always be suggested.  With this program, the seller is covered for the home's sys...

With a wildly rainy season capped off by a hurricane (or was it a tropical storm?), never have I heard the term French drain more frequently as we all grappled to deal with wet basements.  Basically a French drain is little more than a trench with gravel and a perforated PVC pipe, but it can do w...

Has anyone else noticed that the traditional front porch has all but disappeared from today's house plans?  There was a time (way before my time), especially during the 18th and 19th centuries where front porches were ubiquitous across our land.  They served a purpose for socialization. But, afte...

We've all heard a lot about buyer's remorse, but what about seller's remorse which can be more devastating actually, especially when the seller is forced to sell. Maybe it's a job transfer or a divorce that dictates a sale, but selling a home can be a stressor of major magnitude.  Read about the ...

Only recently did my town, the last holdout in my county, enact a tree ordinance into its code that protects against private destruction of trees like the unbridled actions of a certain utility company that likes to keep their lines free from falling branches. But there are those among us who wil...