This is a Colonial style home and features 9 total rooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, 3 bedrooms, 2.44 Acres, and is currently available for $379,000.

For complete details click here.

Track your neighborhood values
Find out what homes similar to yours are selling for in your neighborhood so you will have a good idea what your home is worth.

Buyer or seller market
You need to judge whether it’s a sellers’ market or a buyers’ market in your neighborhood. Remember that all real estate is local. You will want to research things like interest rates, home inventory, job forecasts, and even time of year.

Research inventory
How many homes are for sale? If you live in a desirable neighborhood and there aren’t many homes for sale, you will have a clear edge here. However, if you see lots of homes on the market and they’re not selling very quickly, you might have to reduce the price you had in mind.

Know the average days on the market
Review the homes in your neighborhood and their days on market sometimes referred to as DOM. Look at trends for the past year and assess whether homes were appreciating or depreciating.

Monitor the job market
Is a big company relocating workers to your area? Or are they moving out and shutting the doors? The job market has a lot to do with the real estate market.

Attend nearby open houses
Observe how other properties are showing and compare them to your home. At an open house you can often feel the “mood” of potential buyers.

Get a professional opinion
A real estate professional will be able to help you gather all of the above information and come up with a CMA or comparable market analysis to determine the best price range for you home.

1. Now is a good time to pounce
In many second-home hot spots, prices are still close to their five-year lows. According to Fiserv, single-home prices in Napa, Calif., for example, are down 47% from their 2006 peak; the average house in Ocean City, N.J., costs 24% less than it did in 2006. And though a few hard-hit markets like Las Vegas, Tucson, and Miami could fall a bit further, most economists believe the biggest declines are behind us.

Meanwhile, sales in places such as Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Palm Beach saw double-digit increases last year. “Now prices are starting to move up,” says Myrtle Beach broker Rod Smith.

2. A home is a better deal if it’s rentable
You may think you’ll keep the retreat all to yourself, but it’s still smart to shop as if you’re going to rent the place out. That’s because a home’s rental potential can affect its resale value, says Fredericksburg, Texas, agent Catherine Jeffrey.

Before you bid on a house, make sure the homeowners association or township allows short-term rentals (many do not). And keep in mind that renters prefer homes with at least one bathroom for every bedroom, says Jeffrey.

3. Don’t count on rental income to pay your bills
The typical property rents out just 17 weeks a year, says Christine Karpinski of vacation-rental site HomeAway.com. Plus, you’ll need to pay for cleaning, maintenance, insurance, and maybe management fees (at least 15% of income).

Sales of doomsday bunkers up 1,000%
To get a handle on a property’s income potential, ask a management company for a history of rental dates and rates for homes comparable to the one you’re considering. If your monthly loan payment is less than or equal to one peak week of rent, you’re likely to break even, says Karpinski.

4. Your loan rate depends on how you use the house
Lenders have raised standards across the board, but they’re giving extra scrutiny to vacation homes. Use the property primarily as a second home and you’ll pay about the same mortgage rate as you would on a primary residence, says HSH Associates vice president Keith Gumbinger. If you need rental income to qualify for the loan, however, the house is treated as investment property — so you’ll have to fork over as much as 25% for the down payment and pay up to one percentage point more in interest.

5. Tax benefits can be sweet
Rent the house out for two weeks or less and you won’t have to report a cent of income to the IRS — and you can still deduct property taxes and mortgage interest.

Stay there for less than two weeks or 10% of rental days, whichever is greater, and you can deduct operating costs — everything from cleaning fees and maintenance to linens and repairs — in addition to interest and property tax. Use and rent a lot? You’ll have to allocate the write-offs between personal and rental use, which gets tricky, says Rick Shapiro, a CPA in West Hartford, Conn. So talk to your tax guy before you buy.

This is a Colonial style home and features 9 total rooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, 3 bedrooms, 2.44 Acres, and is currently available for $379,000.

For complete details click here.

Risks that raise rates
While most people buy home insurance to protect property from damage, liabilities from accidents on your property are often what drive up your insurance rate. “Legal liability can be more costly to home insurers than property damage,” says Loretta Worters, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute. “People sue for millions of dollars for minor injuries. Companies are not going to walk away from the business because you have a dog or pool, but they’ll charge you more.” Unforeseen or overlooked risks can drive up premiums or even lead to a rejection. Here are some of the biggest rate-boosters.

Beware of dog
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4.7 million people a year are bitten by dogs. More than 50% of dog bites occur on the dog owner’s property, and they account for one-third of all homeowners-insurance liability claims. Consequently, some insurers don’t like aggressive breeds of dogs and may reject clients or charge more if they own pit bulls and Rottweilers. Others will insist on policies that exclude dog-bite coverage. If your dog has a history of violence, expect higher premiums. One potential way to reduce rates: Get Rex some obedience training.

Guarding the pool
Drowning is the leading cause of fatal injury for children ages 1 to 4. Insurers will cover homes with pools, but often at higher rates and with limited liability on their end. They will want to make sure the pool complies with local regulations and safety standards. “We require fences for homeowners with pools,” says Holly Anderson, a State Farm spokeswoman. The CDC estimates that more than half of drowning deaths involving young children could have been prevented by fencing that securely separates the pool from the house and yard. Homeowners can be liable for injuries that occur to strangers who use their pool without their permission.

Trampolines
Trampolines cause more than 100,000 emergency-room visits a year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Because the devices have become such a headache, insurers sometimes refuse to cover properties that have them or place specific “trampoline exclusion clauses” in policies to address liability. To get coverage for that liability, you will pay more. The insurer may require you to take safety measures such as covering trampoline springs with padding and placing the trampoline at a distance from trees and buildings.

Treehouses
According to the National Safety Council, falls account for 26% of all accidental injuries and deaths in the home. Every day, approximately 8,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries; that totals nearly 2.8 million children each year. Treehouses can be primary culprits because of their height. Some insurers have treehouse exclusion clauses or reject applicants if they consider a treehouse too high or poorly maintained. Expect to pay more to cover one for any liabilities.

Guns
Living in a home that contains guns increases the risk of homicide by more than 40%, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Insurers will generally cover gun owners, with caveats. Whether you have used a weapon in self-defense, with criminal intent or by accident will obviously play a big role in how much liability an insurer will assume. Insurers want to know that guns are properly secured, have safety locks and are kept out of reach of children. Failure to disclose that you have a firearm could lead to an insurer trying to deny your claims in the event of an accident.

Big-ticket jewelry
“Standard homeowners and renters insurance policies include coverage for personal items such as jewelry and other valuables,” Worters says. “However, many policies limit the dollar amount for the theft of valuable personal possessions such as jewelry, furs and precious stones to $1,000 to $2,000.” That wouldn’t match the cost of most engagement rings today. Covering your most valuable jewelry for theft and loss will increase your home-insurance premiums and require both an appraisal of the property and policy riders detailing both the value and nature of the jewelry you want covered.

Home businesses
The typical homeowners insurance policy covers a maximum of $2,500 for business equipment in the home, according to the Insurance Information Institute. It usually doesn’t cover business-related liability if a customer or supplier is injured on your property. “To cover a home business definitely adds to the premium, due to the increased chance of loss, both from a property and liability point of view,” Anderson says. “In many cases, we recommend such a policy through our business lines, which provides much broader coverage than a basic homeowners policy.” If you don’t notify your insurer of your business’s existence and an accident occurs, chances are you won’t be covered.

Heating fires
More than one-third of Americans use wood-burning stoves, fireplaces and other fuel-fired appliances as primary sources of home heat, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Heating fires account for 36% of residential home fires in rural areas every year. Before installing a wood stove or fireplace, notify your insurer. Some insurers may require proof of certification indicating that a stove or fireplace was installed properly. Without that, premiums can increase. Stoves must also comply with local building codes. Failure to notify your insurer of the installation could lead to a voided policy should a fire occur.

Sewer backup
The nation’s 500,000-plus miles of sewer lines are, on average, more than 30 years old. The Civil Engineering Research Foundation reports that the number of backed-up sewers is increasing at a rate of about 3% annually. Unfortunately, sewage backups — just like floods — are not covered by standard homeowners insurance policies, although the damage from one can amount to thousands of dollars. Coverage will increase your premiums.

Zip lines
Backyard zip lines — cables suspended in midair for people to slide across — have become increasingly popular and can be purchased for as little as $150. These are not the zip lines you find at resorts, but smaller ones that typically run from 100 feet to 400 feet. Injuries from one can be life-threatening if it has been strung high enough from the ground. As with treehouses, insurers look askance at zip lines because of the risk that someone will be injured; they want you to disclose if you have one and may then exclude it from your policy.

Exotic pets
According to the Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition, more than 10,000 big cats, 8.8 million reptiles and 3,000 apes are in private hands in the U.S. Whether you have a chimp in your garage or a fondness for tarantulas, chances are that your insurer will want nothing to do with it. Expect exclusions that don’t cover the creature in the house and a separate policy to cover potential liabilities. You may be able to buy a separate exotic-pet insurance policy.

This is a Colonial style home and features 9 total rooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, 3 bedrooms, 2.44 Acres, and is currently available for $379,000.

For complete details click here.

This is a Colonial/ W/Addition style home and features 7 total rooms, 1 full bath, 2 half baths, 3 bedrooms, 0.38 Acres, and is currently available for $239,900.

For complete details click here.

When it comes to painting, it really does depend on whether you have some experience and know-how, and how much you enjoy doing it. For some people, painting can be extremely therapeutic. They will gladly paint every room in their home without any fuss. For others, painting a wall can seem like an extremely messy job, and in most cases, it will be a job badly done. In a situation like this, you are better off using a professional painter.

One of the best ways to find a good quality home repair service is by going on the internet, as this allows you to quickly find a specialized repair service within your area with just a few clicks of your mouse. In addition, you are also able to do a little research on the repair service beforehand.

If you would like a local referral I keep a list of professionals. Please call or email me for more information.

This is a Colonial/ W/Addition style home and features 7 total rooms, 1 full bath, 2 half baths, 3 bedrooms, 0.38 Acres, and is currently available for $239,900.

For complete details click here.