Annie Hart Cool, Cape Cod Real Estate Specialist

Sellers Costs:

Barnstable County Costs to Selling your HOME!

Taxes: The State, County and Town take a total $5.70 per $1,000.00 /sale price

Legal Fees: $500- $1,000 Depending on the nature of the transaction.

Deed prep and recording, discharging of the mortgage, paying any betterments on the property.

Smoke Detector Test: Each Town charges a different amount. Between $35-50 dollars plus a penalty if the smoke detectors do not work at the time of inspection.

Septic Inspection/ Repair: New Title V regulations require that the seller have the septic tank approved by Title V standards prior to transferring ownership. The inspection can cost between $250-$350. The repair can cost $250-$30,000.

If you must repair or replace your septic, the State offers a tax credit for a percentage of the cost of repair.

U.S. Postage Rate Increase

I know this has been posted before... but just in case you missed it!

Did you hear.... Rates are going up May 11th on postage!

Click for: New Postal Rates

This is a sign of the times... with every one using on line billing and payment...the USPS has lost money. Stamps are becoming a thing of the past ...but employees still need to be paid.

Here's a heads up!

Women Celebrate... Mother's Day is your day to rule... Here are some priceless quotes about women and mothers... Celebrate... this sunday is your day!

The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. ~Honoré de Balzac

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." -Washington Irving

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. ~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

"If you build it, they will come" reminds me of the baseball movie, Field of Dreams. I use that way of thinking when I work with buyers and sellers.... "if you want it, we will close".

I believe in attracting closings. Closing is my state of mind. From closing on negotiating with my husband over which restaurant to eat at or on which house to buy... I am a closer. I like it. I like being decisive. I get a thrill out of the narrowing down process. I lose myself in the discovery. I attract people who aren't so good at it... and need my help.

I find myself at the pharmacy helping perfect strangers decide on the lipstick color...or in the dressing room at TJMax decide on the jeans they love but look awful on them... ooops... I really like closing.

This week I have 3 closings in Real Estate. This week I have 3 really psyched and energized clients who are so grateful to be packing and dreaming about the keys to their new home. Today I spoke with everyone and today I heard how valuable my services are.

It's true. Closing is a state of mind. Be there and be helpful. Be closing and help someone's dreams come true. Recognize this as a gift... and just close already...

On Cape Cod there is very little town sewer. Most properties have private septics which need to be pumped, repaired or in the case of Title 5 rules, replaced. In the State of Massachusetts, you must have a title 5 compliance for the transfer of ownership or an agreement to hold funds to replace the septic in two years after a failure. This is pretty straight forward. Some cash sales can get away with replacing their septic until the 2 years is up...then the town will step in and require an upgrade. All septic tests are filed with the Health Department...

My husband and I have enjoyed our home for 15 years... Our septic has been a functioning part of our home for 30... 10 years longer than most....

I was not surprised when the snow melted and the flowers started to emerge that my husband delivered the news of a soft and soggy back yard. He was puzzeled? I said ...let's have the septic pumped and see if that is the issue. To his surprise... the leach field needs replacing... !

We are not intending to sell. We did not have a test so the town will never know .... We could band aid this septic for a long time. Afterall, the kids don't live here anymore. The showers and washing is just for my husband and I... We have guests but never for more than a week at a time... We could be septic cautious...

And save $10,000 dollars during this economic crunch... We could.

But in my head... I am thinking that it will be the time I have a fund raiser in the gardens on a hot July day that the smell of the septic will gurgle up from the garden's and make my life a living hell. It will be the time that the Theater company is visiting from NEw YORk and they are entertaining on the deck that their eyes will water from the odor not unlike that which comes from the City sewer.

No... We are not risking it. We are investing in a new Septic. My husband ever frugal, didn't like this plan. Until I reminded him... that having the back yard dug up in the spring is far better than the fall... because the grass will grow and we won't live in mud for months on end...

Sadly, we just sold our house in New Hampshire and invested in a new septic there too.... We are becoming quite savy as to septic installs.

Now when we sell in 5 years... we won't have to worry about the septic ... It's a good thing.