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Keeping Current Matters

National Association of Realtors

Monday, February 24, 2014

South Jersey real estate market not seeing feared baby boomer sell-off - Business - Press of Atlantic City

South Jersey real estate market not seeing feared baby boomer sell-off - Business - Press of Atlantic City




Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I'm just a phone call away. I love to talk Real Estate! My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!

https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate



Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Another Reason To Buy Real Estate Now in Stone Harbor or Avalon NJ!

Mortgage interest rates are projected to rise close to a full percentage point higher than current rates by this time next year. For example, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, The Mortgage Bankers’ Association and the National Association of Realtors have all recently projected rates to be between 5-5.4% at this time next year.

http://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/2014/02/11/buying-a-home-should-you-do-it-now-or-later/



Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I'm just a phone call away. I love to talk Real Estate!

My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!


https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate


Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate

Now Is The Time To Buy Real Estate In Stone Harbor & Avalon NJ!


 

Now Is The Time To Buy!

http://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/2014/02/17/more-americans-confident-about-buying



 Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I love to talk Real Estate! I'm just a phone call away.
My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!

https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate


Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Homes for Rent in Stone Harbor & Avalon NJ

 homes for sale in avalon NJ
View my current listings online with a virtual tour of each property below.
Stone Harbor & Avalon NJ Real Estate Listings - View Tour





Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I'm just a phone call away. I love to talk Real Estate! My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!

https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate




Thursday, February 6, 2014

What You Should Know About Your Home and Your 2013 Taxes

 
Excellent Article by Dona DeZube  for houselogic.com


These days few things start a fight on Capitol Hill faster than taxes. Despite the fact that three important tax benefits used by millions of American homeowners are days from expiring, Congress is unlikely to do anything to re-up them any time soon.

So if you’re eligible, tax year 2013 is possibly the last time to claim the private mortgage insurance (PMI) deduction, the energy tax credit, and debt forgiveness benefit, all of which all expire on Dec. 31, 2013.

At least there’s one piece of good news for homeowners: If you have a home office, there’s a new, simpler option for calculating the home office deduction for which you may qualify on your 2013 taxes.

Meanwhile, here’s what you need to know about those expiring benefits as you ready your taxes:

PMI Deduction

This tax rule lets you deduct the cost of private mortgage insurance, which is what you pay your lender each month if you put down less than 20% on a home. PMI protects the lender if you default on the home loan. Your deduction could amount to a couple hundred dollars depending on your tax bracket and other factors.

Find out if you qualify for and how to take the PMI deduction.

Energy-Efficiency Upgrades

This sweet little tax credit lets you offset what you owe the IRS dollar-for-dollar for up to 10% of the amount you spent on certain home energy-efficiency upgrades, from insulation to water heaters. On the downside, the credit is capped at $500 (less in some cases). But on the bright side, the right improvement could lower your utility bills indefinitely.

Related: Take back your energy bills with these high-ROI energy-efficiency practices.

Debt Forgiveness

When you go through a short sale, foreclosure, or deed-in-lieu, your lender typically lets you off the hook for some or all of what you owe on your mortgage.

That forgiven mortgage debt is income, on which you’d typically have to pay income tax.

Suppose you’re in financial distress and your lender agrees to let you short-sell your home, say for $50,000 less than you owe on the mortgage, and forgive you for the balance. Without the protection of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act, you’ll owe income tax on that $50,000.

It’s likely if you had the money to pay income tax on $50,000, you’d have used it to pay your mortgage in the first place.

New Simplified Option for the Home Office Deduction

This may be the last year for the benefits above, but a new one kicks in for the 2013 tax year. If you work from home, you may qualify to use a new, simplified option for claiming the
 home office deduction when you file your 2013 taxes.

How much simpler is it? It lets you claim $5 per sq. ft. for up to 300 sq. ft. instead of having to compute the actual expenses of your home office using a 43-line form. To calculate the square footage of your office, just multiply the length of two walls. For example, an 8-by-10-foot room is 80 sq. ft. And at $5 per, that’s $400.

Although using the simplified option is obviously easier, the basic requirements for claiming the home office deduction haven’t changed. Your home office still must be used for business purposes: Exclusively, and On a regular basis.
Related: Which Home Office Set-Ups Qualify for a Deduction?

Why Might the Tax Benefits Not Be Renewed?

Although the expiring tax benefits were renewed retroactively in past years, that may not happen in 2014 because many in Congress would like to see comprehensive tax reform rather than scattershot renewals of individual provisions. This could delay a decision on the homeownership tax benefits until the big picture budget and tax issues are resolved.

So if you can, enjoy them now!

/authors/Dona-DeZube/

Dona DeZube has been writing about real estate for more than two decades. She lives in a suburban Baltimore Midcentury modest home on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound.







 


Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I'm just a phone call away. I love to talk Real Estate! My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!

https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate





 

 
 


Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

House Hunting Tips

Check out this video, from HGTV’s Front Door, outlining the  7 biggest things to think about when you’re House Hunting.

How to Look Video | HGTV FrontDoor




Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I'm just a phone call away. I love to talk Real Estate! My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!

https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate




Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate

5 Reasons to Buy a Home Now Instead of Spring

5 Reasons to Buy a Home Now Instead of Spring


Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I'm just a phone call away. I love to talk Real Estate!


My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!
https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate




Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate

Monday, February 3, 2014

Curb Appeal is a Must!

Curb Appeal is a Must!
If your home has curb appeal, you'll be able to sell it quickly and for top dollar. That's why REALTORS® rate exterior home remodeling projects as the most valuable homeowners can make. Many homeowners are confused about which projects will provide the most return on investment as they prepare their homes for the market. The 2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, co-sponsored by the National Association of Realtors and Remodeling magazine, outlines the costs and resale returns on the most popular home improvement projects. Realtors know which home features are important to buyers in their area. Projects such as a new entry door, siding and window replacements can recoup homeowners more than 78 percent of costs upon resale. So why remodel anything if it's not going to give you back 100%? It's because the first impression a homebuyer gets is priceless. You want the buyer to choose your home, and quit looking for something better. If the buyer doesn't like what he sees, you won't get another chance to make any kind of impression. So which home improvement projects will net the most return? Eight of the top 10 most cost-effective projects are exterior projects. Replacing your front door with a steel entry will cost $1,100 on average, but you'll get nearly 97% of what you spent back in your pocket. The second most popular improvement is a wood deck addition, which will return over 87 percent of costs, similar to the return on fiber-cement siding. Vinyl siding returns a little over 78 percent of costs. A midrange garage door replacement returns nearly 84 percent while an upscale garage door replacement offers 82.9 percent of costs recouped. Wood window replacements recoup over 79% of costs and vinyl windows return nearly as much. Rounding the top 10 projects are an attic bedroom and minor kitchen remodel. These are important too, but you've got to pique buyers' interest first.
The good news is that the return for all projects is higher in the last two years. To find out what the best return on home improvements is in your area, talk with your REALTOR. 

From My February Newsletter
Written by Blanche Evans



Wondering What Your Home Is Worth? -- When properties are priced competitively, homes sell quickly - regardless of the market. I'm here to arm you with the facts, data and insights you need to list your home so that it sells! Contact me to find out how much your home is worth in today's market.
https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate

Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Tips for Effectively Staging Your Home for Sale


Tips for Effectively Staging Your Home for Sale
 


 

You've accepted the job offer, met with the REALTOR, and are starting to get bids from moving companies.

It's officialyou really are selling your home and moving away!

As anybody who has ever sold a home knows quite well, it takes a lot more than sticking a For Sale sign in the front yard and hoping that potential buyers will love it as much as you did. In order to get the best price for your home and pique the interest (and bidding power) of buyers, you need to take some time to stage your home so that it looks and smellsyes, smellsterrific, inviting, and worth every dollar of your asking price.

The following four tips can help home sellers effectively and attractively stage their home:

home:

1. Consider new window treatments

Take a look at the various window coverings in your home and ask yourself if they look new, clean, and in excellent condition. If the answer to any of these questions is an honest "no," then consider getting some new window treatments. Home window treatments are available in a variety of textures and colors, and can make a huge difference in the quality of light that enters a room.

2. Upgrade your tile with paint

As HGTV notes, bathrooms have been known to help sell a home, but old and shabby tile will definitely steer potential buyers away faster than you can say "avocado and almond tile." Because replacing tile can be on the costly side, sellers can repaint them. After coating the tiles with a primer (be sure you purchase one that is marked "high adhesion"), paint the tiles with a ceramic epoxy coating. This relatively easy and low-cost job can really help update the look of the bathroom without having to spend a ton of money on new tile.

3. Tone down an old fireplace

Sure, that brick fireplace in the living or family room looks great during the holidays when it's festooned with stockings and the various trimmings of the season, but the rest of the year it really doesn't do much for the look of the room. To lessen its visual impact, try adding a thin coat of paint to the bricks. In order to avoid the mortar, you do have to paint one brick at a time, which can be time-consuming. But the pay-off of painting your fireplace is well worth your patience when you have a new neutral focal point in your room. One additional tip: to make sure the fireplace blends in as much as possible, choose a color that closely matches the surrounding walls.


surrounding walls.

4. Simmer some apples
Nothing will turn off home buyers faster than a musty, moldy, smoky, and/or any other type of undesirable smell. Even the cleanest home can often benefit from the addition of a nice aroma. Shortly before your open house, place some sliced apples and cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan on the stove, and let them simmer. The delicious smell will be sure to tempt potential buyers to spend even more timeand hopefully moneyon your home.

From My Newslettter

Written by Realty Times Staff

 

Wondering What Your Home Is Worth? -- When properties are priced competitively, homes sell quickly - regardless of the market. I'm here to arm you with the facts, data and insights you need to list your home so that it sells! Contact me to find out how much your home is worth in today's market.


Buying or Selling a home in Stone Harbor or Avalon, or if you need a Summer Rental, it would be my pleasure to help you with your Real Estate needs. Have a question about a Stone Harbor or Avalon homes or want to talk about selling yours? You can reach me by e~mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com or Call me! I'm just a phone call away. I love to talk Real Estate!


My Business has been built on referrals which are always appreciated!
https://facebook.com/NancyMAlexanderRealEstate


Nancy M. Alexander Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate