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Your REALTORS:
The Mackinac Properties Team
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Where you'll always find a friendly and
courteous team to assist your real estate needs
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Copyright © 2009 Realty Times
All Rights Reserved.
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Vital Information For
First-Time Buyers
The first-time homebuyer Federal tax credit for $8000, record-low interest rates, and nationwide median home prices dropping to the lowest point in five years, makes this an enticing time to consider buying a home. By the way, that tax incentive isn't truly just for first-time buyers -- it's defined as those not having owned a home in the last three years. Research and knowing your options are critical. Check with your tax accountant for more details. It’s increasingly likely that Congress will extend and expand the popular home buyer tax credit, which will expire at the end of this month.
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According to an article in August in the Raleigh News & Observer, 10.8 percent of buyers are motivated to buy due to Federal and state tax incentives. So far only 1.14 million buyers have filed
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Relieving the Stress of Packing
Packing can be stressful time for every member of the family. To ensure that your move goes as smoothly as possible, try the following tips!
Pack a "Red Box"
Since one in five American families moves every year, that means 22 million families may be searching for their TV remote controls!
One of the pitfalls of packing for a move is you can't always anticipate what you'll need when you arrive at your new home, and movers typically list only the obvious such as dishes, glasses, bedding, etc. The miscellaneous items you need in the first few hours invariably wind up on the bottom of a random box.
To start, you may want to create your own "red box" as some moving companies ("Removers") do in Great Britain. This is the last box loaded and the first one off the truck. The one universal item in the red box is the tea kettle (perhaps this would be the coffee maker in the U.S.). This is also the place
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Making Your Home Age Appropriate Creates Appeal
All of us have something in common with our homes. Sure, style, design, and location are at the top of the list, but how about age? As we age, buyers, especially the baby boomer generation, are looking to transform their homes into a place that they can stay in for as long as possible or they're hoping to find one that's already equipped for them to age-in-place.
So how old your home and you are, are reason to give some thought to if your home needs age-appropriate adaptation in order for you to be most comfortable. And, in doing so, you may actually make your home more valuable to a wider audience of buyers, should you ever sell it.
According to the National Homebuilders Association, making a home suitable for the golden years is economicaly sound. The baby boomer generation (77 million people) makes up 28 percent of the U.S. population. Assisted living for this generation can cost more than $60-thousand per year, not counting moving expenses.
That's pretty pricey. So, if you've taken some steps to make your home an age-in-place sanctuary, then make sure you highlight those renovations if you ever
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Mackinac Properties Blog By: Cheryl
Big Mac celebrates it's 52nd birthday on November 1 and to celebrate, the crossing will be free that day, both ways. Fall color is great and many fall activities are still in full force. It's a great time to get out and hike some area trails and wander uncrowded shorelines and discover all adventures we have to discover here in the U.P. The Festivals and Fireworks campaign wrapped up Labor Day weekend with a bang, filling a beautiful calm bay with a season finale of lights and a town full of people preparing for the Labor Day Bridge Walk. People headed up for weekend festivals in groves and you wouldn't have guessed the economy was depressed in this region, people strolling the streets and bays at night waiting for the weekly burst of Saturday night fireworks or local entertainment. Lots of people, LOTS OF INQUIREES about the area and housing industry but a little bit of a summer slump in the sales department. Fall housing activity is robust to say the least and we are expecting that to continue into December.
Rates jusbumped up a nudge but still historically low, one more reason to take advantage of them before they nudge back up in 2010. The $8,000 home buyer tax credit is still available with the industry trying to get it expanded beyond that November 30th date but nothing is guaranteed so why wait.These are great reasons to buy now. The home credit applies to first time home buyers OR buyers who haven't owned in the previous 3 years and the time restriction is it must close by November 30th, 2009. We're looking for some good activity this fall when people are more serious about buying. There are a few foreclosures out there but nothing like many other areas of Michigan. Their is a great selection of homes on the market and home prices have dropped a little since the earlier part of the year. The new hospital is being built and slated to open May, 2010. This certainly will be another reason that the area will begin a new growth period. The Mackinac Region is a great place to live, work and play, now is the time. If you have any questions regarding the market, where it's been, where we think it's going, please don't hesitate to contact us.
The Mackinac Properties team is comprised of local hometown people, all licensed REALTORS that live, work and participate in this and surrounding communities. Our goal is to make you glad you live here too. We're proud of our town and are very concerned with things that affect us. It's more than selling your home or finding you that beachfront paradise. It's a way of life. Our high standards of practice assure quality, long-term business relationships with our customers, clients, and other agents. We inspire a high level of trust by doing the right thing for our customers, treating them with openness, cooperation and commitment. We care, and it does matter. We hope that our team can assist you and make the whole experience a pleasant one while creating a long lasting relationship with our company.
Cheryl Schlehuber, REALTOR,
BrokerOwner, GRI, ABR, ePRO,
Our properties are all featured on our company website which is maintained by Mackinac Properties so any changes will be immediate. We also feature our properties on Realtor.Com as well as a network of hundreds of cooperating multiple listing service offices.
WWW.MACKINACPROPERTIES.COM
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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