Just sold, this spectacular 3456 Sqft Cape Cod in Northville Township’s Woods of Edenderry community is a builder’s custom home with upgrades throughout and lush landscaping. There’s 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, Deck with stairs to a Walk-out Lower Level Patio, a fully finished lower level, sound system in most rooms and even outdoors, fountains front and rear, 2 marble fireplaces, antique oak cabinetry, Master Bedroom balcony and more.
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New Listing in Northville Michigan: 16351 Winchester
Here’s a new listing in Northville we just launched. It’s a spacious 2795 sq ft Colonial with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The home is located in Northville Commons subdivision and backs onto the beautiful commons areas. Add Northville schools to the offering and you’ve got a fantastic home in an even better location. 16351 Winchester is listed for $319,000. Please call Carrie at 734-272-8375 if you would like to schedule a showing or would like more information. To see the virtual tour, click here.
Loft Living in Downtown Plymouth
With all the historic Victorians, Cape Cods, Craftsman Bungalows, and Colonial homes surrounding downtown Plymouth, you might be surprised to learn that Plymouth also offers modern, contemporary, loft living combining sophisticated stainless and granite kitchens with exposed duct work, plumbing and plenty of brick, concrete and galvanized steel. The Daisy complex shown above even offers heated underground parking. Call Carrie at 734-788-2398 or email at carrie@bobbake.com or call Patrick at 734-272-8375 or email at patrick@bobbake.com if you’re interested in learning more about these affordable condo units within walking distance to downtown.
Preparing Your Home for Sale
Here’s a list of items you may want to consider doing when selling your home. Obviously, the more you do to prepare your home for sale, the more and higher offers you will get. And even if you aren’t selling, some of these ideas will help you enjoy your home to the fullest. One of life’s biggest regrets is updating a bathroom, kitchen, or basement, just before you sell it and never enjoying that new kitchen or finished basement!
- Remove clutter from basements, closets, extra bedrooms, garages, decks, and everywhere. Get rid of the extra stuff through garage sales, charitable donations, or storage. Potential buyers should see vast open storage areas and closets when they go through your home – not shelves stuffed full of junk. You want buyers to notice how much storage your home offers vs. how much stuff you have.
- Use rooms for what they were designed for. Bedrooms should have beds in them and not extra computer or exercise equipment. Den’s should have desks and books in them and not be a play room for the kids. The more you can help buyers visualize how a space should be used – the better. For example, when there’s a pool in the backyard, buyers will have a hard time liking the size and privacy of the year. Instead, they will remember the pool and that can work for you or more likely, against you.
- Clean, paint, and refinish as required. Any cosmetic imperfections are easy eye-catchers and also easy to repair. Old and out-of-style wall paper should be removed and walls repainted a neutral color. Avoid bold colors unless you have a great sense for color. Often, a bold color will have buyers commenting about your color sense vs. the size and functionality of the room. Walls, door handles, light switches should all be cleaned. Floors, furniture, wall hangings, everything inside and out should be spotless. Make sure to clean all your light fixtures and light bulbs. You’ll be surprised how much brighter your rooms will look!
- Neutralize the decor by removing personal items such as family pictures. You want the potential buyer to see the home and picture themselves there. You want to paint a picture where they buyer can easily imagine living there and not spend time noticing your personal belongings or what your kids look like. Imagine a nice upscale hotel lobby or a great model home. It’s ok obviously to keep a few things out – enough to add warmth and comfort.
There’s plenty of more things that can be done of course. This list is just a start. When you list your home for sale, we’ll share more things you can do to really set your home apart from the competition. Contact Carrie at 734-788-2398 for more information.
Expanded Tax Break Available for 2009 First-Time Homebuyers
Here is the press release from the IRS. For more info, click here.
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that taxpayers who qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit and purchase a home this year before Dec. 1 have a special option available for claiming the tax credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.
Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing separately.
“For first-time homebuyers this year, this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting another year to claim the tax credit,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “This important change gives qualifying homebuyers cash they do not have to pay back.”
The IRS has posted a revised version of Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit, on IRS.gov. The revised form incorporates provisions from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The instructions to the revised Form 5405 provide additional information on who can and cannot claim the credit, income limitations and repayment of the credit.
This year, qualifying taxpayers who buy a home before Dec. 1, 2009, can claim the credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. They do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their main home for 36 months after the purchase date. They can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.
The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.
For purposes of the credit, you are considered to be a first-time homebuyer if you, and your spouse if you are married, did not own any other main home during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase.
The IRS also alerted taxpayers that the new law does not affect people who purchased a home after April 8, 2008, and on or before Dec. 31, 2008. For these taxpayers who are claiming the credit on their 2008 tax returns, the maximum credit remains 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $7,500, or $3,750 for married individuals filing separately. In addition, the credit for these 2008 purchases must be repaid in 15 equal installments over 15 years, beginning with the 2010 tax year.
Make Sure You Do This When Vacating Your House
Before leaving your house for an extended period of time, make sure you think about doing the following:
- Shut off the main water supply to the house. It’s the lever or screw valve in the basement coming out of the floor near your water meter. If you do have a plumbing problem (bursts, leaks, freezes, etc.), this will help lessen the risk. One time, I was in the basement turning off the water when I noticed a dripping sound. It turned out that a water line supplying the fridge ice maker has sprung a leak. The basement ceiling drywall was wet, sagging, and dripping water onto the carpet. I was very lucky to have caught this problem right away!
- Turn down the heat but keep it around 60 or so. If you turn it down too much, pipes in exterior walls might freeze depending on the winds.
- Turn down your hot water tank heater. Why spend energy and money keeping 40 or more gallons of water hot and ready when you aren’t going to use it?
- Do a complete inspection of the house to make sure all your doors and windows are locked, electrical appliances and power strips are off, lights are off (except maybe a couple of timers), there are no signs of water leakage, and you haven’t forgotten any important documents or medicines.
- Have someone pick up your mail and any leaflets or newspapers left at your door or on your driveway. You can also have the post office hold your mail or redirect it.
- If you have pets or plants in the house, makes sure someone is available to care for them while you are away. You may want to leave the temperature in the house the same as well.
- Close windows shades, curtains, shutters, etc. to help insulate the house while you are away.
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