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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/

In the Bennington VT real estate market area, it is important to keep your home free from hazardous wastes, and the town does a great job sponsoring a free collection day,  so you have a safe and easy way to dispose of anything in your home that might be hazardous.

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.

As part of my public service, I will be speaking at the April 6 session of this seminar.  If you are a first time home buyer in the Bennington VT real estate market, this is a valuable series of speakers.

“Yes, You Can” is a 4-part workshop on financing and affording first-time home ownership through government programs as well as local lending institutions.

Eight different presenters will cover topics like, “Getting Out of Debt and On a Budget”, “Financing Through USDA Rural Development” and “The True Cost of Home Ownership”. Participants will gain valuable information from how to improve their credit score to properly filling out a loan application, and learn about low- and no-interest mortgages available through the USDA. A presentation of available housing stock, raw land and new construction possibilities also will be presented.

The first session will be presented by Ann Bloch, a financial motivational speaker who will present a primer of the necessary knowledge one needs to make home ownership a reality. Cleaning up your present financial clutter is an important first step in the process, and Ms. Bloch is able to explain in layman’s terms how to reduce personal debt, develop a realistic spending plan, and handle unexpected expenses. Participants will have an opportunity to submit questions either verbally or in writing.

The workshops take place on four consecutive Wednesday nights beginning March 23 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at the Pownal United Methodist Church on Route 346 and Church St. in Pownal. The series, sponsored by the Pownal Valley Affordable Housing Committee, is free and open to all. Call 802 823 9308 for more details.

The mortgage industry is divided over how much down payment a borrower should be required to have in order to be considered less risky. Regulators have until April to come up with a down payment requirement as part of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul legislation.

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)

Mortgage rates have been rising ever since November 2010, when lows of 4.42 percent were reported. Bankrate.com recently reported a rise to 5.02 percent in 30-year fixed rate loans, which is the second time in three weeks rates have crossed the 5 percent mark–many experts say signaling the end to the 4 percent mortgage rate era.

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.

Despite historic low interest rates and commercial real estate  prices, few small business owners are purchasing commercial real estate, citing liquidity  and loan qualification as key concerns. A recent study showed that many small business owners are unaware of the benefits provided through SBA loans, which offer small business owners more flexible repayment terms and easier loan qualification terms that can make purchasing a commercial property a more viable option. In the Bennington VT real estate market there are banks that can offer the SBA loan program.  Call Troy to find out who you should be talking to. See the following article from The Street for more on this.

Times are tough all over. You don’t have to remind small-business owners of that.

But with commercial real estate prices at historic lows, and low mortgage  rates right there beside them, entrepreneurs are missing a big chance to make a huge killing — and bolster their business in the process.

The CIT Small Business Commercial Real Estate Study, a report from CIT Group(CIT_), documents how small-business owners can capitalize on great commercial real estate deals, even though they apparently don’t want to.

According to CIT analysts, cheap commercial real estate is one of “the few upsides” for small-business owners trying to operate in a harsh economic climate.

But entrepreneurs aren’t taking advantage of the low prices. CIT says only 6% of small-business owners have bought one or more commercial properties, while a majority — 53% — say they “haven’t even thought about making a purchase.”

Overall, only a little over a quarter — 28% — of the 300 small-business owners interviewed for the survey say real estate is a “great” business opportunity.

The path to leveraging great commercial real estate opportunities goes through the U.S. Small Business Administration, the survey says.

“Today’s market conditions may offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to take their businesses to the next level,” says Chris Reilly, president of CIT Small Business Lending. “To achieve this, Small Business Administration loans, with their low cost and flexible terms, offer an excellent choice for small-business owners looking to refinance their existing real estate or to acquire a new property.”

Small-business owners have their reasons for not jumping into the real estate market. CIT reports that 36% of respondents say they may not be able to qualify for a loan, given the tight lending market.

Another problem is liquidity, since 19% of business owners say they can’t afford a down payment. CIT notes, though, that SBA loans can come with lower down payments, lower monthly payments and longer “pay-off” periods than regular bank loans, which can surely address some small-business owners’ liquidity problems.

The study shows that only a tiny minority of survey respondents are aware of those benefits. The recently enacted Small Business Jobs and Credit Act “sweetens SBA loan terms for both lenders and borrowers, eliminating borrowers’ fees, raising the loan guarantee to 90% from 75%, and increases loan limits.”

Sure, CIT has a horse in this race — it wants to make loans to small-business owners. But there’s no question there has rarely been a better time for a small-business owner to buy commercial property.

Since small businesses employ 59 million people (about half of all private sector jobs, CIT says), any investment in property that solidifies a small-business owner’s financial position is good for his or her business, employees and the economy.

But entrepreneurs don’t see it that way, and they’re the ones who control the purse strings, no matter how many great real estate deals are out there.

This article has been republished from The Street.

This time of year with all the holiday lights, it’s important to keep a few things in mind when decorating your home in the Bennington VT real estate market area.

Some electrical fire dangers are hidden inside the walls, but if you know the warning signs, you can keep an electrical fire from happening in your home.

Most homeowners know that overloading circuits and using frayed extension cords can lead to electrical fires. But there are other electrical fire dangers in your home that, while they may not be as obvious, are no less dangerous. According to the most recent data from the National Fire Protection Association, electrical failure or malfunction caused an estimated 52,500 fires in U.S. homes in 2006, resulting in 340 deaths, 1,400 injuries, and nearly $1.5 billion in property damage. Here are warning signs of four potential hazards that you may not know about. If any of them sound familiar, consider hiring a licensed electrician to conduct a wiring inspection ($200 to $300).

Hidden danger #1: Old wiring
The lifespan of an electrical system is 30 to 40 years. But more than 30% of the nation’s houses-some 30 million homes-are more than 50 years old. “Older homes with fuses were set up for about 30 amps of power; many homes now have 100, 150, even 200 amps of power,” says John Drengenberg, consumer safety director for Underwriters Laboratories (http://WWW.UL.COM), which conducted a study of aging residential wiring.
Warning signs of inadequate power include circuit breakers that trip or fuses that blow repeatedly, and an over-reliance on extension cords. “They’re meant to be temporary,” Drengenberg says. “If you have extension cords routed all over, it’s time to get an electrician out there. Your home would not comply with the National Electrical Code.”
Hidden danger #2: Aluminum wiring
Many houses built in the 1960s and early 1970s have aluminum wiring, which oxidizes and corrodes more easily than copper and has been linked by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (http://www.CPSC.GOV) to electrical fires. “It’s okay for a while, but it doesn’t have the life that copper does, particularly where wires terminate. The terminals and splices are known for overheating,” says Roger L. Boyell, a forensic engineer in Moorestown, N.J.
Short of a whole-house wiring upgrade (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/when-time-for-electrical-wiring-upgrade/), an electrician may be able to head off potential problems by installing copper connectors called pigtails at receptacles and breakers. “It’s time-consuming,” Boyell says, “but there’s no big equipment involved.”

Hidden danger #3: Arc faults
An arc fault-which occurs when electrical current veers off its intended path, often through a breach in wiring-is a leading cause of electrical fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association (http://www.nfpa.org). It doesn’t take much to cause an arc fault. You could damage wiring inside the wall when hanging a cabinet, a piece of furniture could cut through a cord, or there may be a loose connection in an outlet.

The resulting arc, capable of producing heat in excess of 10,000 degrees F, can be nearly impossible to detect. But arc faults are preventable. A device called an arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) senses these dangerous abnormalities in wiring or appliances and shuts down the circuit before it overheats. The Electrical Safety Foundation International (http://www.ESFI.ORG) estimates that the use of AFCIs could prevent 50% to 75% of fires caused by arc faults.

AFCIs are now required on circuits covering most general living areas in new houses. (Note: These are not the same as ground-fault circuit interrupters, or GFCIs, which are used in kitchens, baths, and other wet areas to prevent electrical shocks.) But they’re even more valuable in older houses, where connections may have degraded over the years. It’s an easy job for an electrician to upgrade standard circuit breakers, which don’t protect against arc faults, to AFCIs. At $30 to $50 per breaker, it could cost a few hundred dollars to retrofit every circuit. Still, weighed against the potential tragedy of a house fire, it’s money well spent.

Hidden danger #4: Counterfeit electrical products
If you’ve ever gone to a flea market and seen vendors hawking extension cords, power strips, night lights, batteries, even circuit breakers for ridiculously low prices, there’s a reason. They’re probably counterfeits, and they’re incredibly dangerous. “I’ve seen extension cords all over the country that have inferior copper in them-it’s speaker wire, and it literally melts in your hands,” says Brett Brenner, president of the Electrical Safety Foundation International (http://WWW.ESFI.ORG). “They’re putting a lot of people at risk.”
Your best bet is to buy electrical products only from reputable retailers who will take things back if they don’t work. And look for the Underwriters Laboratories (http://WWW.UL.COM) seal. On low-cost items that are ripe for counterfeits, UL puts its logo in a holographic label that’s much more difficult to reproduce.

If the worst happens: Extinguishing an electrical fire
Electrical fires are tricky to put out. If you douse them with water, you run the risk of electrocution, and not all chemical fire suppressants will extinguish them completely. To be safe, make sure your household fire extinguisher is rated A-B-C, which indicates that it is effective against fires involving ordinary combustible materials, flammable liquids, and electrical equipment.
Serial remodeler 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: August 28, 2009

Want to get top dollar for your rentals? Then a no-smoking policy may be your ticket to raising the rent.
Chicago Tobacco Prevention Project just conducted a renter survey and found a significant preference for nonsmoking units. In fact, nearly a third of all renters (32 percent) in Chicago would be willing to pay more rent to live in smoke-free buildings.

The survey also found that nearly half of all renters say they would be more likely to rent an apartment or unit in a completely smoke-free building where smoking is prohibited in indoor common areas and individual units (47 percent). By comparison, 31 percent say it would make no difference and only 20 percent would be less likely to rent on those terms.
(more…)

A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. reveals that the costs associated with buying a home are on the rise. Bankrate’s 2010 Closing Costs Survey reveals that the average origination and title fees on a $200,000 mortgage this year totaled $3,741, up from $2,732 in 2009. New York state was highest at $5,623; Vermont was 40th at $3,372.

In the study’s geographical breakdown, with New York leading the nation Texas, Utah, San Francisco, and Los Angeles roundg out the top five. Arkansas is the least expensive area with an average fee of $3,007, replacing Nevada, now number 34, at the bottom of the list.

One of the reasons for such a dramatic rise in the average estimated closing costs across the nation has to do with new regulations implemented in January of this year. When providing a potential borrower a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of costs, regulations now require lenders to provide a Title and Closing Fee estimate within 10 percent of what the final cost will be; in previous years, estimates could fall lower on the spectrum without penalty for the lender.

“The big rise in average closing costs may scare some homebuyers, but it’s important to keep things in perspective,” said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. “Increased regulation on lenders’ GFEs means more accurate estimates and less expenses popping up for consumers on the back end.”

For this study, Bankrate surveyed one area in 49 states, two areas in California (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and theDistrict of Columbia. Researchers picked a ZIP code in some of the largest cities in each state and requested information on the closing costs for at $200,000 loan. They requested fees on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for a borrower with a 20 percent down payment and good credit to buy a single-family house. Bankrate’s survey includes lenders’ origination fees and title and settlement fees, and not taxes or prepaid items.

NEW YORK, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The full results of the study can be seen here at www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/2010-closing-costs/.

Source:
http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/august/new-york-most-expensive-state-close-home-vermont-40th

In the Bennington VT real estate market, we encourage Buyers to visit local lenders who often have lower fees than internet or online sources.