Nick Riina

With winter upon us and the second major snow fall today, I think now is a good time to inspect your own home. Here are my top 5 ideas to stay warm and ahead of the winter cold:

1. Inspect Your Furnace
Your furnace should be inspected annually. Call your heating professional today to service your furnace or boiler. If you have a hot air furnace, make sure to replace your air filters every other month.

2. Do you have oil in your tank?
Don’t wait until the last minute to fill up your tank with oil. Get set up on an automatic delivery. The last thing that you want is an oil delivery when you are running on fumes with the possibility of a snow storm and the truck not being able to make a delivery.

3. Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
CO2 is one of the biggest killers during the winter months. You can not smell it, hear it, or see it. If you are feeling dizzy make sure to get outside immediately. Hardwired CO2 Detectors are the best, but a plug-in or battery-operated will work as well.

4. Prevent Frozen Pipes
Know where your water main is in the event you need to shut it off in emergency. Drain all garden hoses, insulate exposed plumbing pipes, and if you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

5. Check the Exterior Doors and Window
Use weather-stripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows. Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you do end up replacing the entire window, make sure to prime and paint exposed wood. If you have storm windows, now is the time to install them.

Should I put in granite counter tops?
How about new hardwood floors?
Should I turn my deck into a three season porch?
How about adding a garage onto my house?

At some point, each homeowner will debate whether they should or should not update certain aspects of their home. My advise to each homeowner can be broken down in three ways:
1. Will you enjoy the remodel while you live their?
2. Will the remodel be the difference between someone buying your house or your competitions?
3. Do you really need it?

Here are three good examples of what an average remodel will cost and the return you should expect:
1. Adding a sunroom addition will cost on average $71,064 and a resale value of about $41,289, roughly a 58% investment.
2. A garage addition will cost you $55,598 with a resale value of $37,067 and a 66.7% investment.
3. A minor kitchen repair will cost you $21,516 with a resale value of $18,507 and a 86% investment.

Part of my pledge in 2009 is to better educated people on home remodels and I do offer a free analysis of your home remodel prior to starting a new project. Each home remodel does vary dramatically as location, neighbors, recent sales, and current market listings do make a tremendous difference. Please call me or email me for a no obligation remodel analysis:

Nick Riina
Nick@VermontInvestments.com
802.846.9559
www.VermontInvestments.com

With a new President in our near future and extreme press about the entire economy, especially Real Estate, I think it is essential that everyone is kept up to date with what is going on in your local economy. Vermont Real Estate has not seen the highs nor have we seen the lows that other sections of the US have experienced.

In my opinion, what separates us from many other areas of the country are our Vermonters. We tend to live within our means and are typically down to earth people who will not make a dollar to spend two. This is reflected in Vermont ranking as one of lowest foreclosure rate states in the country.

Although many developers in the past would complain about ACT 250, we can all be grateful for it right now. Act 250, the state's development-control law, has "protected us" by making it more difficult to build massive housing developments. Unlike many other states we do not have entire developments either sitting vacant or with foreclosure signs.

After examining our Multiple Listing Service numbers from the past several years (see below for the actual numbers), there are some important facts to take away from these figures:

1. We are up 12.5% since 2004.
2. Although “Days on the Market” has increased from 43 to 83 days, things are still selling at a good rate.
3. Our average, sales price is only down 5% this year compared to last year. While other sections of the US are down over 20%.
4. Real Estate is LOCAL, not National.

*These numbers are from January 1^st, 2008 through September 30, 2008 and do not reflect a full years worth of data.

** All information is taken from MLS and not guaranteed.

The homeownership tax credit that the federal government created earlier this year is a hard-won tool to encourage buyers to jump off the fence and get into the home buying market.

When you combine the tax credit with today’s continuing low interest rates, large selection of for-sale inventory, and low home prices, many of the pieces are in place for buyers to buy now.

How the Tax Credit Works

The First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit was passed this year as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.R. 3221) on July 30 and targets any individual or household that hasn’t owned a home for at least three years. Taxpayers can take the credit on their 2008 tax return if they bought their house this year after April 9.

It’s worth up to $7,500 and can be taken in a single tax year. Authorization for the credit ends July 1, 2009, so if your customers wait to buy in the first half of 2009 they can take the credit on their 2009 tax return.

The actual credit amount is set as a percentage of the home purchase amount. That percentage amount is 10 percent, so your customers can get 10 percent of the home price credited against their tax liability, up to a maximum $7,500.

Income limits are $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for households. Individuals whose income exceeds the $75,000 limit but isn’t more than $95,000 can still take the credit but on a reduced basis. The same thing applies to households earning up to $170,000.

Any house is eligible as long as it’s a primary residence and is in the United States.

Buyers Have 15 Years to Pay Back

To help keep the program cost effective for taxpayers, the federal government requires the tax credit to be paid back in small, 6.67-percent increments over 15 years. For that reason, some analysts have likened the credit to a 15-year, interest-free loan to help make home buying affordable.

There’s one restriction on the type of financing that buyers can use if they plan to take the credit. That restriction is on tax-exempt mortgage financing. That only applies if your clients are using below-market interest-rate financing from a public agency or nonprofit that’s funding the loan using proceeds from a tax-exempt mortgage-revenue bond issue. For most buyers, this won’t be an issue. It’s mainly an issue for low-income buyers using special mortgage financing.