What Is Your Ludlow VT Home Built On?
Many of us may just think of it as the dirt and grass that our home is sitting on, but the makeup and quality of the soil upon which your home is built is extremely complex and varies from area to area. Investigating the soil on your property can tell you a great deal about the history and future of not only your home, but also about the land you have invested in.
But wait – does this mean we need to put on our ecologist hats and go digging in our yard with test tubes and Petri dishes? Of course not! The nice folks at the US Department of Agriculture’s have already done the “dirty” work for us and put together an extremely comprehensive Web Soil Survey website that contains digital maps and unbelievable amounts of digital soil data that has been methodically collected. Just type in your address and then explore almost anything you ever wanted to know about the soil upon which your home is sitting including chemical properties, erosion factors and likelihood, and its drainage class.
This is valuable information if you are considering building an addition to your existing home or just want to feel confident that the soil upon which your family treads every day is safe.
Please click here to request a complimentary e-book filled with information about selling your home and moving with kids and/or pets. Or feel free to visit my website or email me if you would like to learn more about Okemo Mountain VT real estate. I’m here to help!
Investors prowling around
Over at http://highlands-ranch-real-estate.blogspot.com/2007/09/investors-prowling-around-denver.html I just posted a note about investors.
I would love your comments and what you think of this report and how FSBOs should be prepared for them.
Southeastern Michigan Real Estate
Here in southeastern Michigan, as in many areas across the country, we continue to have a swollen inventory of homes for sale. It started with overbuilding and overly inflated home prices. Eventually the market had to re-adjust, and when it did so, foreclosures added to our already large inventory of homes for sale.
Now with money getting tighter, which means less buying power, there are fewer home sales. Mortgage rates have been increasing. And every time the mortgage rates go up, even a quarter of a percent, a large number of potential buyers are disqualified from the marketplace. Additionally, a number of mortgage companies are going out of business, with American Home Mortgage Company – the tenth largest in the country – as the latest to close their doors. In recent years mortgage companies granted mortgages to just about anyone, including those who couldn’t or wouldn’t prove their income, those with no down payment and even those with very poor credit. But today, with foreclosures climbing steadily, almost all mortgage companies have re-enacted the tight lending restrictions that were common decades ago. The result of all this is that there are fewer buyers now to purchase those homes on the market so the inventory continues to be swollen.
Statistics from First American Real Estate Solution show if one house forecloses in a neighborhood, the average house in that neighborhood loses five percent of its value. If eight percent of the houses in the neighborhood foreclose, the value in that neighborhood goes down twenty percent.
Recently President Bush has been exhorting the lenders to try to help out those who are facing foreclosures. Just what can be done is yet to be seen, but some lenders are more willing than others to try to work with a homeowner who is in financial trouble. If you or a family member are having trouble making your mortgage payments, it is advisable to discuss your situation with your lender now. Or, if you have a very experienced Realtor who has seen good and bad markets over time, you might want to discuss your situation with that person before going to the lender.
How To Finance Your Okemo Mountain VT Vacation Home
Today’s mortgage market is uncertain, to say the least. Because of this, many investors and second-home buyers are jumping to the conclusion that paying cash is always the best way to finance their investment home.Real Estate Journal. Read her response and remember that an experienced Realtor is your best resource to help you find a lender who will give you sound, unbiased advice on the best way to finance the purchase of your dream home.click here to begin searching the Ludlow VT MLS. You may also visit my website or email me to learn more about Okemo Mountain real estate. I would love to help you invest in your dream vacation home!
Paying cash certainly eliminates the risk that comes with rising interest rates and the growing rate of foreclosure. But does it limit the tax benefits of homeownership? And can you really afford to have that much money invested in one asset?
This is the question that was recently posed to columnist June Fletcher in the
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How Walk-able is Your Ludlow VT Neighborhood?
Get great free widgets at Widgetbox! This week I came across a website that is just so neat, I had to share it. www.WalkScore.com allows you to type in any address, and it will rate the “walk-ability” of that property by calculating its distance to things like the nearest grocery store, movie theater, library, school, park, and pharmacy.10,000 steps per day to reap the many benefits of walking. Why not consider the walk-ability of a neighborhood if you are in the market for a new home or a vacation home in Ludlow? Or, if you have recently purchased a vacation home in Vermont, check out the walk-ability to various destinations in your new “neighborhood away from home.”website or call me today at 802-353-1983. I would love to help you find a new neighborhood to explore on foot!
We all know that walking is important for our health and, with all of the hype over “going green” lately, we know that walking instead of driving when possible is one way that we can all help to save the environment. In fact, it is recommended that adults tread
To learn more about Okemo Mountain real estate and neighborhoods, please visit my
Irene Earns Quality Service Certified Recognition!
I am pleased to announce that I have recently completed the requirements to earn Quality Service Certified professional recognition. What does this mean for you? Well, in a nutshell it guarantees that the service you receive from me will be consistent, reliable, responsive and exceptionally satisfying. It also means:
- I participate in a service process that results in the best real estate experience possible for you. To earn the Quality Service Certified designation I have met training and performance standards, and I maintain those standards on an on-going basis.
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My services are spelled out in the Quality Service Guarantee that shows you exactly what to expect—from an initial counseling session to after-sale service follow-up.
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I will remain accountable to you throughout the home finding or selling experience to do everything I promise. That includes giving you the opportunity to evaluate my service through a Quality Service Assurance Survey © conducted by an independent research firm.
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If you are contemplating buying or selling a home, you have a lot to think about, and the last thing you want is confusion and uncertainty. You can have greater confidence and peace of mind knowing that I will be with you every step of the way.
To experience the Quality Service Guarantee for yourself, or to find out more about Ludlow VT real estate, please visit ISellVermontRealEstate.com or give me a call at 800-659-1819, ext. 103. I’d love to show you what true quality service is all about!
60 Minutes Attack On Realtors
I have always enjoyed 60 Minutes and thought they provided fair and unbiased reporting. But that changed Sunday night with Leslie Stahl’s segment, Chipping Away At Realtors Six Percent.
The report focused on an Internet based company, Redfin, whose business model is based on rebating commissions to buyers. The company uses the very commissions Redfin criticizes Realtors for collecting to its advantage. From what I could tell, without these commissions Redfin has nothing to offer the consumer.
Much of the information presented in the segment was incorrect and the National Association of Realtors was not interviewed to give another viewpoint, even though they offered more than once.
NAR’s response to 60 Minutes can be read here.
Irene Gaffigan Earns Quality Service Certification (QSC)
For the first time a standard of service and accountability is being offered to consumers in the area of the quality of real estate service delivery. Irene Gaffigan of United Country Farm Town Realty, Proctorsville office, has just completed the requirements to earn Quality Service Certified® professional recognition. Holding the Quality Service Certification® requires a sales agent to follow a well-defined and prescribed process of service, to present that process in writing to every customer and client, and to guarantee its delivery.
According to Larry D. Romito, President, CEO of Quality Service Certification, Inc., “ Irene Gaffigan has joined a growing number of real estate professionals nationwide who are committing to the delivery of a defined service process and a higher standard of accountability in service delivery and customer satisfaction. This is an industry breakthrough in the establishment of a measurable standard of care and service.” An integral part of the sales agent’s ability to maintain Quality Service Certified® status, rests with service evaluation feedback from every buyer and seller served. Following the closing of each home purchase or home sale, an independent research company sends the consumer a Quality Service Assurance Survey? asking tough questions about the details and overall satisfaction of service provided by the sales agent and broker.
“Sales associates and brokers are highly motivated to protect their Quality Service Certified® status by delivering better service satisfaction, more service value and higher accountability. The Quality Service Certified® total service system offers a predictable, accountable, reliable, and consistent service outcome.” Romito added, “The era of real estate service ‘improv’ is coming to a close. The purchase or sale of what for most of us is our most valuable asset deserves the serious attention and accountability of a defined, written and communicated service process with measurable standards and that’s exactly what a Quality Service Certified® professional must deliver.”
Quality Service Certification, Inc. of San Juan Capistrano, California is the leading firm in service process delivery and measurable quality control in the real estate industry. Company spokesperson can be contacted at (949) 481-4438 or http://www.qualitycertified.org/.
How To Sell Your Vermont Home Fast!
The number of Vermont homes for sale has increased dramatically in the last year, causing homes to stay on the market for longer periods of time. If you are selling a home and want it to sell FAST, you’ll be interested in my FREE e-Book, ‘450 Ideas To Sell Your Home Faster’. Here you will learn tips and tricks to make your home sell faster and for more money.
Get your copy today and give me, Irene Gaffigan, a call at 800-659-1819 #103 with any questions you might have or to get a current market valuation on your Vermont home.
VT To Address Housing Affordability
67 percent of Vermont residents cannot afford to buy the average priced home in Vermont according to a reort released by the Vermont Housing Council and the Vermont Housing Awareness Campaign along with several other agencies and groups.
The average price of a home has risen 97 percent since 1996 to $197,000. An income of $66,000 is needed to purchase a home at this price, which is out of reach for 33 percent of Vermont residents. Home prices rose only 8 percent last year, but have risen 97 percent since 1996.
Additionally, the report reveals the cost of new housing has increased by 15 percent to $282,000, meaning that a Vermont family would need an annual income of $93,000 to afford to build a new home.
The Governor and the Legislature are both promising to address the rising cost of housing with several bills being introduced to bring relief to the affordability crisis. Let’s hope this not not too little too late. Read the full story here.
If you are thinking of buying home, visit my website to view all Ludlow real estate listings or give me a call, 800-659-1819 #103. I have a network of lenders that can help you buy the Vermont home of your dreams.