Properties For Horses was designed exclusively for horse owners, real estate agents, and equestrian property specialists. If you are in the market for buying horse properties, you’ve come to the right place.

We are horsemen helping other horse owners.

Our site is simple and easy to navigate. We don’t brag about our services because we don’t have to. The results generated for both buyers and sellers speak for themselves.

We wish you luck in finding the equestrian home, those horse facilities you’ve always wanted, country estate, or horse ranch of your dreams.

Check out their site at: http://www.propertiesforhorses.com/

Bob Martins, Principal Broker of R.T. Martins Associates, brings with him over 20 years of real estate experience beginning with his association with the Frasier Agency as a Sales Agent, Broker and Manager before buying the firm to become R.T. Martins Associates. He is a former State Director and Past President for the Southwestern Vermont Board of Realtors. He worked as the State Chairperson for the VAR Professional Standards Committee as well as being involved with the VAR Grievance and Arbitration panels statewide. Bob was also named Realtor® of the Year – twice!

Originally from Fall River, Massachusetts, Bob worked for over twenty years in the steel industry and was the owner of Delta Design for four years designing, drafting & consulting for the steel industry. Bob and his wife of 46 years Claudette, have four children, seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. They also have owned and operated the Valhalla Motel in Arlington since 1989.

Bob, with assistance from his associates, will continue to service both Buyers and Sellers in Residential, Land and Commercial properties in Bennington County. Please join us in welcoming R.T. Martins Associates to the RE/MAX Brokerage team.

RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty is owned by Kathy Sollien and Troy Richardson since 2008. Their offices are located at 203 Northside Drive in Bennington. 802-447-3210.

The following article comes from The Bennington Banner, April 12, 2011  The Bennington date in the article stated that collection would take place on May 30, but it is actually April 30.

BENNINGTON — Vermont towns are mandated to hold two hazardous waste collection days per year. Generally they are held in the spring and fall, usually May and October.

Lissa Stark, special projects manager for the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) said most towns pool their efforts in order to save costs, but one way or another residents of all towns have a chance to get rid of hazardous waste materials such as paint, solvents, batteries, light bulbs, and aerosol cans, just to name a few.

For residents of Bennington and Woodford, the transfer station on Houghton Lane will be collecting hazardous waste on April 30 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Those living in Arlington, Dorset, Manchester, Rupert, Sandgate, and Sunderland, will be able to drop off their hazardous materials on April 30 between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. at the Fisher Elementary School on East Arlington Road in Arlington.

For residents of Shaftsbury, Stamford, and Pownal, a collection day has been scheduled for May 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. as well as October 1 for those same hours at the Shaftsbury Solid Waste Facility on North Road in Shaftsbury.

Shaftsbury residents alone will also be able to bring rimless tires, limit four per household.

Fall dates for the other collection sites have not been scheduled.

Stark said the BCRC oversees the collections for the Arlington area, and it’s not uncommon for an event to see between 100 and 200 cars turn up.

Many of the items are electronic, but paint, batteries, and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are also common.

She said many people will bring latex paint thinking it’s hazardous, but that’s only true when it’s a liquid. By mixing it with cat litter or similar material, it can be dried quickly and disposed of normally.

In October the Fisher collection day netted 10,500 pounds of electronics, 13 items containing Freon — freezers, air conditioners, refrigerators — one 55-gallon drum of pesticides, one five-gallon drum of batteries, 50 pounds of CFLs, and three 55-gallon drums of solvents were collected, in addition to other items, Stark said.

The six towns share the cost based on the number of households, while the towns served by Shaftsbury pay a lump sum. The total cost of the one in Arlington is about $14,000, but a little less than half is covered by a state grant, she said. The May event serving Shaftsbury, Pownal, and Stamford cost $5,600 total.

Stark said a number of flyers are sent out publicizing the collection days and specific information can generally be found at respective Town Offices.

Contact Keith Whitcomb at kwhitcomb@benningtonbanner.com.

Remodeling kitchen trends are creating stylish kitchens with cleaner lines, built-in dining, and pops of color, according to a recent article in RISMedia.

Here are some recent trends in kitchens across the country.

1. Built-in dining areas. Eat-in kitchens are in high demand as more remodelers are opting for extensions in counters that resemble a table, either in lower or higher height to the countertop. The counter extension is different than bar seating because diners can sit around the edge and face one another, and not just sit in a row. The counter extension saves space, offers an extra buffet service, and more kitchen storage, says Deanna Carleton of Kitchen Design Group.

2. Dressing up the kitchen with lighting. An affordable way to upgrade a kitchen is just by switching out the lights, designers say. For example, hand-blown glass shades on pendant lights, contemporary drum shades, and chandeliers can quickly update a kitchen. Layers of light continue to be popular, such as with a ceiling lighting fixture combined with under-counter lighting as well as ambient lights behind a glass-front door, designers say. LED under-counter lighting and LED recessed ceiling lights are also popular.

3. Pops of color. Neutral colors in the kitchen is the safe preference, but more kitchens are adding bolder pops of color–such as in persimmon or pomegranate–to spice up the kitchen. Colored knobs, kitchen accessories, and even appliances are bringing in these pops of color. Designers say pops of color can also be brought in by the fabric choice in kitchen window seats, the upholstered seats, or window valances.

4. Striving for simplistic luxury. Clean lines and transitional designs are “in” while ornate Tuscan and French country kitchen styles are falling out of favor in the kitchen. Betty Nairn of Cabinet-S-Top in Granger Township, Ohio, says “simplistic luxury” is the kitchen trend nowadays.

Wells Fargo & Co., the nation’s largest mortgage lender, has asked U.S. regulators to set a new down-payment standard of 30 percent on mortgages. If approved, banks would have to retain 5 percent of the loan if it is securitized for any borrower who came with a down payment below 30 percent in order to meet a risk retention requirement. The new requirement is aimed at preventing lenders from facing big losses in case the loans goes into default.
While banks would still make loans to borrowers with down payments lower than 30 percent, those loans would be more costly to banks because of the risk retention requirement. Analysts say that lenders will likely pass that cost on to borrowers via higher interest rates.

Much of the housing industry opposes the Wells Fargo proposal, saying that a 30 percent down payment standard is too high.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, along with the Mortgage Bankers Association and other groups, sent a letter to regulators warning that an “inordinately narrow” mortgage definition “would mean that millions of creditworthy borrowers would be deemed, by regulatory action, to be higher risk borrowers.”

If the 30 percent requirement does stand, some in the mortgage industry say it will drive more of the lending business from the private sector to the government. The Federal Housing Administration is exempt from the risk retention rules and offers loans with down payments as low as 3.5 percent.

Wells Fargo says it suggested the 30 percent requirement because about half of all mortgages already have that big of down payment.

Source: “Banking Law Hung Up on Down Payments,” The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 13, 2011)

Forecasters predict mortgage rates to hover in the 5-6 percent range in 2011.

Yet, some industry experts say the rise in mortgage rates may stimulate a sluggish housing market.

The rising rates create an urgency for potential buyers. They’ll have more incentive to buy soon before mortgage rates go any higher.

After all, higher interest rates mean buyers will pay more for their mortgages. Greg McBride, chief economist at Bankrate.com, told CNNMoney.com that when rates rise 4.25 percent to 5 percent, it takes away 9 percent of the purchasing power of buyers.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®, doesn’t foresee a moderate hike in mortgage rates as a negative for the industry. Instead, he says the real mortgage challenge is getting lenders to approve creditworthy buyers for a loan.

“It’s less about rates than it is about underwriting standards … If lenders return to more normal, safe underwriting standards for creditworthy buyers, there would be a bigger boost to the housing market and spillover benefits for the broader economy,” Yun said.

Source: “Kiss 4% Mortgage Rates Goodbye,” CNNMoney.com (Dec. 30, 2010)

Here in the Bennington VT real estate market, we have already seen local banks with increased rates from what they were in late 2010.  It’s pretty safe to say that these rates will only continue to inch up over time.  With these historic lows, it’s a great time to buy a house.

Before you plug in and light up for the holidays, run your decorations through this quick safety check.

Lights, inside and out, are a beautiful part of the holiday season. But as with all electrical devices, you need to take special precautions. Before you deck the halls, run through this checklist to keep your holidays merry and bright.

Inspect light strings. Discard any that are damaged. Frayed or cracked electrical cords or broken sockets are leading fire hazards.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for connecting multiple strings. The general limit is three strings. Light strings with stacked plugs can usually accommodate greater lengths than end-to-end connections.

Replace burned-out bulbs promptly. Empty sockets can cause the entire string to overheat.

Make sure outdoor lighting is UL-rated for exterior use. Exterior lights, unlike those used inside the house, need to be weather-resistant. The same goes for any extension cords used outdoors.

Don’t use outdoor lights indoors. They’re too hot for interior use. For the coolest bulbs and greatest energy efficiency, try LED lights, which come in a wide range of styles and colors.

Don’t attach light strings with nails or staples. They can cut through the wire insulation and create a fire hazard. Only use UL-approved hangers.

Take exterior lights down within 90 days. The longer they stay up, the more likely they are to suffer damage from weather and critters chewing on them.

Store lights safely. Tangled lights can lead to damaged cords and broken sockets. After the holidays, coil each string loosely around a stiff piece of cardboard, wrap it in paper or fabric to protect the bulbs, and store in a sturdy container until next year.

Pat Curry is a former senior editor at BUILDER, the official magazine of the National Association of Home Builders, and a frequent contributor to real estate and home-building publications.

Article From HouseLogic.com, By: Pat Curry, Published: November 18, 2009