Own a Rental Property? Why Filing Your Taxes This Year Rules — Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®Finance – Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®

Leonardo Patrizi/iStockMy husband and I recently purchased our first rental property. Over the past few months, we’ve repaired and renovated the 1930s-era home, and are starting to look for tenants. And it turns out, our timing couldn’t be better: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made several changes for rental property owners that portend a…

Own a Rental Property? Why Filing Your Taxes This Year Rules — Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®Finance – Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®

Freedom to Display the American Flag Act

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Displaying the American flag on the front porch is a traditon for many.  Anyone considering a purchase in a community with an Homeowners Association or recorded covenants should review the documents carefully.  This will avoid any surprises after a purchase that may affect the enjoyment of your home.

The Freedom to display the American Flag Act of 2005  states “a condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association may not adopt or enforce any policy, or enter into any agreement, that would restrict or prevent an association member from displaying the U.S. flag on residential property within the association with respect to which such member has a separate ownership interest or a right to exclusive possession or use.”

With this law in place you still may have restrictions as to the place and time the flag may be displayed within reason.

Also, here’s a helpful link on how to properly display your flag : http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/faq2.htm

Happy homebuying 🙂

Alice

 

 

realtor.comYour zodiac sign can be telling about so many important things in life—your personality traits, your compatibility with a partner, your best hair days each month. So it only makes sense that the stars are also all-knowing when it comes to where you should spend your hard-earned vacation days. Whether you prefer seclusion in the…

via Your Ideal Vacation Home, According to Your Zodiac Sign — Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®Buy – Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®

If you’ve run out of space within your closets, why not look into cabinets in order to store things, You don’t need to redesign your home to get them installed, and you may have them custom made to fit your home’s style. 20 more words

via An Alternative To Closets — Closet Heavy

Lazy Acres

Lazy Acres, if you’re looking for a beachfront property this probably is not where you’ll find it. Street, avenues, lanes, and others have names that are part of the address to identify the location of a property. Urban areas have been assigning names since the 1800’s in the USA . Rural areas have converted the Rural Route box numbers to Street addresses, in recent years to work hand in hand with the implementation of enhanced 911 systems.

There are many reasons streets are given a name from acknowledging a local family to the name of a flower growing wild on the property.
In the real estate world, you wouldn’t think a name would matter to a purchaser as long as the area, price and terms were just what they are looking for. From time to time a person may feel squirmish about a street name just the same as they may feel about a house number or what direction the front door faces.

Some cities keep it simple by numbering the streets in sequence. Others, like Atlanta can totally turn you in circles with Peachtree North, south-east and west. Thank goodness for GPS.

Inquisitive buyers like to know the backstory behind a street name and if you dig around enough you can probably hear a good tale. Developers today often take their time to assign names to a new community.  Selecting a theme that has a connection to the land or landowner sets the pace for effective marketing.
The background story can then be shared for years to come.

One of my favorites is the simple story of Keylime Drive.
The Developer had a weekend getaway on Amelia Island Georgia. She thought it was so beautiful and had Keylime pie at dinner for dessert. There you have it, Amelia and Keylime Drives in the new neighborhood.

A few years ago I documented by video some of the communities that I worked on and assigned names.  As word got out about my street naming from time to time interesting stories would be told to me.  Here is one from a small city in the metro area of Savannah Georgia.

Happy home shopping…:)  I hope you find your Happy lane 🙂

Brighten things up on moving day

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Since the phasing out of less efficient light bulbs in 2012 more than just the bulbs have changed.

Lightbulbs are removable but sellers in the past looked at them like a “giveaway”.  Today, it is not unusual for sellers to take the bulbs because of the cost and years of use remaining on them.

To save extra work and time during the busy move a buyer can make a list of bulbs and lumens they use during an inspection period.  Or, to avoid complication be specific when negotiating with a seller the items that remain with the home.

You may also need a cheat sheet when shopping for bulbs if you are used to measuring the brightness by wattage.

Here is a link to help with wattage to lumens: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0164-shopping-light-bulbs

As for the high upfront cost, it should even out with the energy saved.

Happy home buying 🙂

Florida beach visitors and owners

Ever enjoy that cozy little beach spot behind a hotel you’re not staying at? That might be a thing of the past under a new Florida law… 16 more words

via New law makes it easier for Florida property owners to kick people off the beach — Orlando Weekly

‘Fixer Upper’ Spin-off ‘Woodwork’ To Bow On DIY Network — Deadline

Fans of the HGTV show Fixer Upper will soon have a Waco-style spin-off to enjoy. Chip and Joanna Gaines’s favorite woodworker is getting his own show on DIY Network. Clint Harp and his wife Kelly will be the stars of Woodwork, which will spotlight the couple making wood furniture and accessories at their shop Harp Design Co. in Waco, Texas. The show debuts May 9 at 10 ET/PT. Harp quit a six-figure sales job to pursue a woodworking career. It wasn’t instant success, as the…

via ‘Fixer Upper’ Spin-off ‘Woodwork’ To Bow On DIY Network — Deadline

1830’s coastal South Carolina community tops the list for relocation choices — The59Club

Something old something new, the town of Bluffton located in Beaufort County on the bluff of the May River. An short twelve miles west of Hilton Head and twenty miles northeast of Savannah Georgia, the “Old Town” area has become a popular tourist attraction. Offering visitors a casual feel of a true coastal community with […]

via 1830’s coastal South Carolina community tops the list for relocation choices — The59Club