By Bill Primavera When my wife and I bought our first home in the ‘burbs, we were so naïve that I, as a licensed realtor today, am embarrassed to admit it now: We eschewed any need for a home inspection.

By Bill Primavera  Never have I been, nor could I be, a noisy person. Or could I be? I’ll always remember the surprise of once driving onto my property where I was to meet my trusty painter to discuss the

By Bill Primavera When I first moved to “the country,” as I called Yorktown Heights in those early days, compared with my former neighborhood in Brooklyn Heights, it was to take a job as the public relations director at The

By Bill Primavera When we lived in a single-family home in Brooklyn Heights, my wife awoke one morning and told me she had a dream that there was a man in our room looking down at us in bed. As

By Bill Primavera Buyers and sellers who seem perfectly nice and normal throughout the sales transaction process can suddenly lose their cool when the seller asks at the last minute that a modest chandelier be excluded among the fixtures included

By Bill Primavera Sometimes I’m asked where I get the ideas for my articles, and it’s easy to answer: I just write about what I live. Just today, when I flushed the toilet, then turned on the sink in my

By Bill Primavera When I first moved to New York City – or more specifically, Brooklyn Heights – I rented my first apartment, a studio, in a newly-constructed building. I was delighted with everything about it – the neighborhood, its

By Bill Primavera At the beginning of this month, most citizens start looking for the fun and relaxation of vacation time. But if you’re like me, vacation time has always come with the stress of wondering whether everything is okay

By Bill Primavera Many times, I’ve been reminded by bosses, office managers and consultants that the best way to increase business is to better manage my time. It is usually suggested that I make lists of all my responsibilities and

By Bill Primavera It’s not the most pleasant way to wake up, with a blood-curdling scream from my wife as she discovered that our trusty cat Mitsey had captured and killed a mouse and proudly deposited her victim on my