When it comes to selling your home, cleanliness is right next to the pen that signs the contract. Make sure you make these things sparkle before putting up that Maple Leaf Realty sign in the yard of your Bennington home:

• Stove – if you can’t replace it, shine it up. Scrub the oven, replace burners, and polish those well-used burner knobs.

• Bathtub – get rid of the ring, scour soap scum, and re-caulk the edges. Do the same for the bathroom sink – the rust spots can turn off a buyer.

• Wood floors and carpets – we often forget about the floor beneath the furniture. Remove furniture, clean and polish to a lovely sheen and replace – perhaps trying out a better traffic flow while you are at it.

• Windows – pull off the screens and wash with a scrub brush or take to a car wash. A simple vinegar and water solution can give the glass a new shine. The new owners will see themselves in the surface – and in their home!

The Internal Revenue Service has clarified which documentation taxpayers need to submit to claim the first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit.

While the IRS is still requiring the filing of Form 5405, it is not demanding that all parties’ signatures be on the HUD-1 settlement document in areas where requiring both the buyer and the seller to sign the document isn’t common.

The IRS clarification says: “In areas where signatures are not required on the settlement document, the IRS has clarified that it will accept a settlement statement if it is completed and valid according to local law. … The IRS encourages those buyers to sign the settlement statement prior to attaching it to the tax return.”

For repeat buyers, the IRS is seeking documentation that home buyers have lived in the previous property for a consecutive five of the past eight years. Proof can include property tax records, home owner insurance records, or mortgage interest statements.

Source: Washington Post (02/20/2010)

Bennington VT, First Time Buyers, Buying

According to the Chinese calendar, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger. But in real estate, 2010 may come to be known as the “Year of the First-Time Home Buyer.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, says there will be 1.84 million homes sold to first-time home buyers in 2010, compared with 1.73 million in 2009.

These buyers will invariably make some mistakes that they will come to regret a few years down the road, some experts say, including failing to use a real estate professional to help them manage the transaction.

Real estate professionals have the time and the knowledge to sift through thousands of listings, creating market analyses to judge pricing and other key features, points out Ray Boss Jr., a practitioner with RE/MAX Realty Group in Maryland.

“I would want someone who is going to look out for my interests first and foremost,” says Boss. “Someone who knows the contracts, who has experience negotiating, and who can walk me through the entire process smoothly — step by step — and make sure I get the house that’s right for me.”

Source: U.S. News & World Report, Kimberly Castro (02/18/2010)

In the Bennington VT Real Estate market, we have over 240 homes for sale.  Many of these homes are priced right for first time buyers.  Give Troy Richardson a call today at 802-447-3210 for information on these affordable homes.

Mortgage interest is deductible on your tax return. And you may be able to deduct the points you paid – check your 1098 statement from your lender for the amount. To be deductible, loan points must meet certain requirements, including but not limited to:

• The loan is for your main home
• The charge for points are within normal rates for your area.
• The amount is listed on the settlement statement as charged points.
• You report your income and deduct expenses in the year received or paid (cash accounting method).

For more information on deducting points from your tax return, go to www.irs.gov. For your Bennington, Vermont real estate needs, contact Troy Richardson at RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty!

RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty’s Commercial Division is pleased to have assisted Roads and Trails in finding their new space at 417 Main Street in Bennington VT.  Joe Cardamone worked with Dan and Faith Rhodes to find the perfect space for them to lease.

Bike Shop Riding Downtown

BENNINGTON — A longtime bike and winter gear shop on Benmont Avenue is heading to a downtown location later this month.

Dan Rhodes, who owns Roads & Trails with his wife, Faith, said the couple plans to open at 417 Main St., a site formerly occupied by Thyme Bee Mine gifts, on Feb. 23. They have owned and run their store for the past five years.

The Benmont Avenue site has hosted a bike and ski shop for much longer. Before the couple purchased the businesses, it was known as Eiger, and before that, as Up and Downhill.

But Rhodes said he sees a downtown location as a benefit to his business because it should attract more walk-in traffic. Rhodes said he ran a similar store in Connecticut that thrived in such an environment.

“Where I worked in Connecticut, we were on a Main Street, and I enjoyed the traffic flow,” Rhodes said Tuesday at the store’s current location. “Particularly, here, when I look on a Saturday what’s going on down here and then I look at the traffic flow downtown, it’s much busier. It’s more retail business.”

Rhodes said he has been in the business for about 20 years. His store offers road and mountain bikes, nordic skiing and snowboarding equipment, skateboards and apparel to accompany all of those sports.

The stock of skateboard equipment, shoes and clothing attracts children and families, he said, and has benefited from the construction of a skateboard park in North Bennington.

The new space affords a similar amount of retail space, according to Rhodes, but offers increased storage and repair space. The store will continue to do repairs, he said.

“We’re kind of like an old-fashioned bike shop. As long as it’s a bicycle we’ll work on it,” Rhodes said.

When the couple decided to search for a new location they focused the search on the downtown, Rhodes said. “I like the idea of being in more of the retail area. I like the way the town is trying to support downtown,” Rhodes said. “If there’s a section of town that they’re really working on, it’s the downtown area.”

They are holding a sale before the move, and will be stocking the new location with new 2010 products, according to Rhodes. The store should add to the downtown as much as it benefits, he said.

“We’re excited to be down there. We’re excited to be a part of downtown,” he said. “As much traffic as we get from downtown, I hope we add some, too.”

On the Web: www.roadsandtrailsvt.com

Contact Neal P. Goswami at ngoswami@benningtonbanner.com

Reprinted from The Bennington Banner with permission

RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty is pleased to have been able to assist Crazy Russian Girls Bakery in finding their new space at 415 Main Street in Bennington VT.  Joe Cardamone worked with Natasha Garder to find the space.  I’ve sampled their baked goods, and you cannot go wrong buying anything from Crazy Russian Girls!

Telly Halkias

From the time I was a young boy, I had a passion for freshly baked bread, much of it cultivated on bread-crazy European streets. So when local gal Natasha Garder announced she was partnering to open Crazy Russian Girl Bakery on Main Street in Bennington, I said a silent prayer that this time, the enterprise would stick.

There has been much public clamoring for a bakery since Krijnen’s closed several years ago. In a culture that relies on the supermarket for affordable and convenient ways to fill its subsistence needs, baking can be a tough sell — even though it’s difficult to find a person who doesn’t like the product.

Garder has been doing it that way for years, as witnessed by the popularity of her roadside stand, and her presence at Walloomsac Farmers Market. Last weekend, when I popped in her storefront to share well wishes, I noticed several things that bode well for her.

First, Garder partnered with experienced professional baker Matt Littrell of Lake George, N.Y., who has extensive commercial experience. Next, she is baking on the premises, something Sorrento’s, at the same location, didn’t try. Garder realizes that there are long hours ahead, so is branding her business as “local” as possible.

Finally, Garder has the right attitude and is going in eyes wide open. The daughter of immigrants, she is well attuned to the overseas tradition of the neighborhood bakery as a daily stop and

community magnet. Garder is also aware, however, that it takes time to build a regular following that can ensure the financial health of a bakery, especially with our small population base.

Yet historically, the activity of baking started small. Bakers first cropped up on the European continent in ancient Greece, where bread, garden vegetables, olive oil, and goat’s cheese were daily staples.

Always knowing a grand idea when they saw one, the Romans seized upon the notion of bread as vital to every meal. They also realized how profitable the profession could be; at the time of Christ, it’s believed that Rome had almost 300 bakers within its walls.

This tradition carried on through the Middle Ages, when the bakery was often a landlord’s realm, or a public place to bring one’s own dough for an artisan to bake. Depending on regions and demographics, customs from all the aforementioned eras have carried forth to the modern bakery. Today, technology continues to play a vital part in the craft’s development.

But so much of baking is an exercise in intimacy. When my family moved from New York to Greece, one of the first things we had to get used to was buying bread daily at the local bakery. Back then, only a few larger food markets carried processed sliced bread. Most of the latter was imported and cost a pretty penny as a result.

The first time my mother sent me out to pick up a loaf, we realized there was a problem. I had eaten more than half of it by the time I made the four-block walk back home. Standing in line waiting to place my order while watching apprentices kneading the fresh dough by hand, and flour dusting the air, was the sweet torture of youth.

Such was demand that the bread always was less than an hour out of the brick ovens, and its heat through the paper bag and aroma wafting up at me was too much to resist. Once I broke off the heel with a distinctive crunch, more followed.

Mom solved this by slipping me a few extra drachmae so I could get my own loaf, and that bad boy never made it home. If only I could inhale one of Natasha’s loaves today with such élan and no repercussions to my waistline.

Nevertheless, Crazy Russian Girl is a welcome downtown sight at a time when small businesses everywhere are struggling with the demands of our wobbly economy. How well Garder does is important; but probably not as vital as the fact that she is giving it a go in the first place.

And maybe one day soon, when I’m walking nearby, I’ll see a boy heading home with two loaves.

Telly Halkias is the owner of Now And Then Books and a freelance writer and editor. E-mail: tchalkias@aol.com

Reprinted from The Bennington Banner with permission

Home designers and builders speaking at the recent International Builders Show in Las Vegas say that buyers are seeking cost-effective features and rejecting things that don’t have lasting value.

“It’s all about family togetherness – casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces,” says Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio.

Paul Cardis, CEO of Avid Ratings, which conducts an annual survey of buyer preferences, identified these must-haves in new homes:

1. Large kitchens with islands
2. Energy efficiency, including energy-efficient appliances, super insulation, and high-efficiency windows.
3. Home offices
4. Main-floor master suite
5. Outdoor living space
6. Ceiling fans
7. Soaking tub in the master suite and/or an oversize shower with a seating area
8. Stone and brick exteriors rather than stucco or vinyl
9. Community walking paths and playgrounds
10. Two-car garages, but three-car garages are even more desirable

Source: MarketWatch, Steve Kerch (01/30/2010)

Equity is the difference between how much your Bennington, Vermont real estate is worth and how much you owe on that property. So if your property is currently appraised at $200,000, and you still owe $60,000, the property’s equity is $140,000.

A home equity loan is a line of credit based on that amount, using the equity as collateral (or tangible property to guarantee a loan).

Are you considering using a home equity loan to buy a second home? Contact Troy Richardson to help you find the right home and offer lists of local lenders or mortgage companies.