OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY--51690 WETHERBEE--26 ACRES, OUTBUILDINGS, POOL

JUST REDUCED TO $359,000!  Country estate on 26 rolling acres just minutes south of Schoolcraft. Mostly wooded land with some pasture and field, great for hunting deer & turkey. Currently set up for horses, dogs & just about any other livestock you want to keep with 36x52 Morton building, fenced pasture and antique, restored windmill. Home is an extensively updated walkout Cape Cod with over 3000 s.f. of living space. Great open floor plan with granite kitchen and great views. New foam backed siding and 50 yr roof installed in 2010; main floor master suite and kitchen remodeled in 2001; new well pump and holding tank. Extras all over the place! Two additional barns (24x40 & 24x32), 24x24 garage w/ finished attic storage, log play house for the kids, screened gazebo and 16x32 in-ground pool, raised deck off the dining area & master BR. Morton building has 3 horse stalls with 1200 bale hayloft (with drop doors to stalls!) & large kennel area (had operated as dog boarding business w/ 22 kennels—heated tile floors and ERV system!).  Schools can be either Three Rivers or Schoolcraft--via School of Choice. Open 2-4 Sunday June 1.  Call Jared with any questions 269-488-0236.

DECK REMODELS--INEXPENSIVE!

Check out these ideas for sprucing up your deck from House Logic.  Also, great tips on cleaning your deck.  Click on the link below or the title above.

http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/decks/deck-makeover-ideas-under-300/?cid=eo_em_mkt_solo

PRAIRIE OAKS 2-STORY--PRICE REDUCED TO $389,900!

Beautiful new, ready-to-move-into 2-story in Prairie Oaks with double staircases, great natural lighting and a wonderful, family floor plan. Main level includes: 2-story atrium entrance with Travertine flooring and French doors to den; 2-story great room with fireplace—open to spacious kitchen with 2 pantries, center island and bay-alcove breakfast nook; large formal dining; powder room and dedicated mud room with built-in bench.  Great room, kitchen and formal dining flooring are Asian Teak.  All bedrooms are on the upper level and have private bath access--master, princess and Jack n Jill.  The luxurious master suite includes bay alcove sitting area and huge bath area featuring heated marble flooring, double vanity, whirlpool, tiled shower with pebble floor and bonus room usable as additional closet space, workout room or meditation/quiet area. This is a “Fine Building by Tiefenthal" showcase with incredible attention to detail. Impeccable trim work, granite countertops w/ full marble backsplash in the kitchen; deep tray ceilings in the Great Rm and master BR; TV wiring buried in 2 places in the Great Rm alcove; foam and cellulose insulation in the walls for energy efficiency and sound-proofing--notice how quiet it is! Lawn is seeded & includes underground sprinkling. Basement is plumbed for full bath, all walls are framed and insulated. 3 car, side load garage has insulated overhead doors and large storage closet. 

For more information or a private viewing, call Jared Arnold at 269-488-0236.

 

BRIGHTEN UP YOUR LIGHTING!

Spring time is a great time to get light into your home.  As tree's leaves begin to fill in, less natural light will make its way into your home.  So get the most out of your interior lighting by cleaning up!  Click on the title above to read a helpful article from House Logic.

26 ACRES, 3000 S.F. HOME, DOG KENNELS & HORSE STALLS

Charming country estate on 26 acres perfect for horses, dogs, hunting & enjoying the great out-of-doors. Set up for boarding dogs w/ 22 kennels in 36x52 Morton bldg that also has 3 horse stalls & 1200 bale hayloft--w/drop doors to the stalls. Kennel has heated tile floors, access to outdoor runs, waiting rm, office & grooming area--plus an ERV system! Open plan Cape Cod extensively updated 3 years ago w/ 50 year roof & foam-backed vinyl siding. Well pump & holding tank new. Kitchen remodeled in 2001 w/ gorgeous granite counters. Main floor master includes gas log fireplace & access to raised deck just off informal dining area. Great rm has vaulted ceiling finished in knotty pine. Upper level offers loft bedroom w/ private bath. Walkout level includes 2 bedrooms & full bath handy to 16x32 in-ground pool/screened gazebo area. 24x24 garage has stairway to finished attic storage. 2 additional pole barns, 24x40 & 24x32. Seller will consider short term land contract with large down payment.

GOT AN INTERIOR PAINTING PROJECT PLANNED?

Painting is one of those DIY projects that all of us, at one time or another, engage in.  It's something that any of us can do.  Personally, I have done a lot of painting AND I have hired professionals.  While I consider myself a pretty skilled and careful painter, I would have to say that I was very impressed the last time I hired professionals.  What amazed me most was the effort put into PREPARATION.  Cleaning, hole filling, sanding, touch up and even more CLEANING.  I was shocked to observe that a day and a half into my painting project, a crew of 4 painters, working full time, had not opened a single can of paint!

This experience has slowed me down considerably in the painting that I have done since. I take the time to make sure surfaces are ready for easy and lasting paint application. The other thing that I have begun to do is read paint can labels and check into paint reviews online.  The attached article from This Old House provides a pretty good introduction to paint selection. Either click on the headline above or copy and paste the following link into your browser.  Happy and safe painting to you!

If you'd like my recommendation for a professional painter, give me a call!

269-488-0236
jared@jaredarnold.com
www.jaredarnold.com

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20320493,00.html

READ THIS BEFORE YOU RE-DO YOUR BEDROOM CLOSET!

Check out this article from "This Old House" magazine.  Lots of great ideas for bringing order to chaos, making the best use of your space and making "getting ready for the day ahead" a snap.  Click on the title above or copy and paste the following link: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20771891,00.html?xid=hinewsletter-140204-bedroom-closet&TOH

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!

It seems the improvements in our local real estate market are not out of line with what is happening nationally.  As is often the case, the recovery here is behind the pace of the east and west coasts, but improvement is improvement!  Check out the statistics for residential real estate across the country by clicking on the title of this article or copy and paste the following link into your browser:

http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2014/01/december-existing-home-sales-rise-2013-strongest-in-seven-years?om_rid=AAEOjj&om_mid=_BS4qMbB83zBcge&om_ntype=NARWeekly

5407 Turkey Run Just Reduced to $399,900!

Beautiful new, ready-to-move-into 2-story in Prairie Oaks with double staircases, great natural lighting and a wonderful, family floor plan. Main level includes: 2-story atrium entrance with Travertine flooring and French doors to den; 2-story great room with fireplace—open to spacious kitchen with 2 pantries, center island and bay-alcove breakfast nook; large formal dining; powder room and dedicated mud room with built-in bench.  Great room, kitchen and formal dining flooring are Asian Teak.  All bedrooms are on the upper level and have private bath access--master, princess and Jack n Jill.  The luxurious master suite includes bay alcove sitting area and huge bath area featuring heated marble flooring, double vanity, whirlpool, tiled shower with pebble floor and bonus room usable as additional closet space, workout room or meditation/quiet area. This is a “Fine Building by Tiefenthal" showcase with incredible attention to detail. Impeccable trim work, granite countertops w/ full marble backsplash in the kitchen; deep tray ceilings in the Great Rm and master BR; TV wiring buried in 2 places in the Great Rm alcove; foam and cellulose insulation in the walls for energy efficiency and sound-proofing--notice how quiet it is! Lawn is seeded & includes underground sprinkling. Basement is plumbed for full bath, all walls are framed and insulated. 3 car, side load garage has insulated overhead doors and large storage closet. 

 

For more information, call Jared at 269-488-0236 or visit our web site at  http://jaredarnold.com/

OWNING VS. RENTING—Which is best for you?

Not always a simple question and answer, but here are some thinking points:

Life style:  Of utmost importance is your particular set of priorities.  If career mobility is high on your list, renting is difficult to argue against.  Usually, at most, you are committing yourself for no more than a year at a time and if job opportunities come up in far-away places, you are in a much better position to pick up and leave on short order than if you owned a home.

Also, if your interests are geared to travel or recreation rather than gardening and home projects, renting is probably better for you.  You can keep your time free to play rather than deal with home repairs and mowing the lawn.

If, on the other hand, you want to put down roots or have pets, owning is much more suited to you than renting.  If you own, you’re in a position to paint or remodel or garden or do lots of things you wouldn’t be able to do to a home or apartment you are renting.  And many people just like the feeling of coming home after work and knowing that this place where you reside is yours to love and nurture.  It’s a feeling of connectedness to place—hard to explain unless you feel it.

Interest Rates:  It’s pretty darned hard to beat today’s interest rates.  In the last 35 years 30 year fixed-rate mortgage rates have varied between 3.5% and 18%.  Yes, for those of you who don’t remember or weren’t around yet, 1981 and 1982 saw rates rise from 12% to 18%!  I was there and in my first year as a Realtor.

Even in the past 10 years, 30 year fixed rates have been as low as the mid 3’s and as high as the mid 8’s, so our current 4 ½% range is rather attractive, regardless of how far you go back for a comparison.  And the prospect for higher interest rates seems rather certain, given a recovering economy and a Fed less likely to keep rates artificially low.

If you want to get in on a very affordable mortgage interest rate, now is definitely the time.

Home Prices:  While prices are beginning to rise in our area, they haven’t come up very far yet, certainly not as high or as rapidly as the newspaper headlines would have you believe.  The problem with a statistical report that indicates that average prices have come up 20% in the last couple years is that it doesn’t necessarily tell you what went into the average.  3 years ago, a slew of foreclosed property sales in the $10,000 to $40,000 made up a large share of the overall market, producing a very low “average”.  Now, people are beginning to make local moves, buying homes that aren’t distressed and are in higher price ranges.  Consequently, the “average” has come up quite a bit—but it doesn’t indicate the rate of increase in actual home values.

This may not be the absolute bottom of the residential real estate market, but it’s pretty close.  Values are still well below 2006 levels and not much above the 2011 bottom.

Rental Rates:  The past 6 years has been a good period for landlords.  Rental homes have been hard to find as fewer people bought homes because they couldn’t, becoming tenants instead.  Consequently, renting has often been more expensive on a monthly basis than mortgage payments.  You don’t have the repair and maintenance costs of a home owner, but the monthly rent is still substantial—plus the money is just plain out the window, no equity gained in the process.

Forced Saving:  Paying the mortgage payment every month is one way of gradually building up equity.  To be certain, it is gradual, but eventually you are in a position where you have equity there that you wouldn’t if you were renting.  This can come in handy when applying for a loan for another reason—a boat or home improvements or a special vacation.  If you’ve got $50,000 in equity, getting a $20,000 loan will be much easier.

Tax Consequences:  For the time being, the deduction that you can take for mortgage interest paid is a definite advantage over renting.  The federal government is, to a real extent, subsidizing your choice to own, so why not take advantage of it?  Tax reformers are always bringing up this deduction as a possible tax provision for removal, so you can’t necessarily count on it forever . . . but it has been around a long time and will be a difficult one for American homeowners to let loose of.

In short, the decision to buy or rent depends mostly on you and your plans and priorities.  If you have further questions, please call or email.  Jared Arnold 269-488-0236, jared@jaredarnold.com. 

WINTER: The Season of ice dams . . .

We are now in the midst of that part of the year when ice dams can wreak havoc on our roofs, eaves and gutters.  The attached article from This Old House has good advice for preventing and--if it is too late for prevention--fixing ice dams on your house.  Check it out!  Click on the title of this article or copy the link below and paste it onto your browser.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20557572,00.html