Rose Cottage Ltd

Great news this week that Sgt. Tahmooressi was released after his ridiculous 214 days in a Mexican prison. The irony that we have some 12 million illegals in this country – predominantly Mexican, doesn’t escape most of us. If you missed the interview Greta Van Susteren did with him Thursday, look for replays this weekend on Fox News.

Now on with some real estate news for the week…

++ The Most Expensive Home in America

++ 9 Red Flags – When Picking a Real Estate Agent

++ 6 Best Home Fixes For the Money

++ Energy-Saving Home Remodeling: The Inside Game

++ 59 of 350 U.S. Housing Markets Recovered…

~~ Which means 291 have NOT.

++ Bigger isn’t always better: The standout small homes of 2014

~~ And for any who are looking to relocate for that perfect job…

++ Sotheby’s to sell luxury real estate in Poland

++ Five Costly Homeowner’s Insurance Mistakes

++ 3 Fundamental Tips for Real Estate Investing Newbies

++ Bathroom remodeling should start at the studs

++ The 13 hottest real estate markets in America

Keep in mind that “better” doesn’t always have to mean “bigger.”

++ 4 things you need to know before trading up to a better home

If you’ve been here more than once, you know how I feel about property taxes…

++ Really rich real estate: San Francisco’s five most expensive property tax bills

Here’s one that ramps up this time of year, be warned…

++ Consumer Fraud Task Force Warns Consumers About Air Duct Cleaners’ Practices

Ridiculous title on this next one, but it’s the content that counts!

++ A not-so-sexy home-improvement project with real benefits

Happy Weekend!

I’m like so many others in the US at the moment…there are a LOT of very worrying things going on.

I had a thought first thing this morning that my “mental” real estate is not in a good place. I have a feeling I am not alone.

Even as far as real estate, (meaning the roof over our heads) is concerned, the world is so topsy-turvy, decisions for many of us are getting harder to make. Do we hold with what we have? Is our income or job secure? Are interest rates about to rise over these artificial and record lows? Are we going to have to re-locate in order to get work? Is the DOW going to ruin all our investment and retirement planning?

I refuse to even mention the “E” word or the “I” word that have been topping the news lately. You’ll guess what they are, but what are these news stories hiding that is actually more threatening right now to me personally?

If I am lucky today I will not become infected with “E.” And hopefully, “I” invaders will not come knocking at my door. What I do need to remember is a country nearly $18 TRILLION in debt and still spending like there is no tomorrow.

Despite the economic news the administration spins, our economy is stagnant. Some estimated 20 MILLION American citizens either can’t find work, can’t find work in their area of expertise, or are under-employed – or working part-time. Even if we ignore 75% of the “sky is falling” news, many of us do not feel as secure – financially OR personally, as we have in the past. The constant noise of “bad and worse” makes it hard to focus on things that may negatively impact us today or next week.

I’m calling it “circle the wagons” time. I’m not a national security expert nor do I know anything about infectious diseases. All I know is my life and last I checked, I am still in charge of my mental real estate. I can’t allow myself to be so distracted by national and international problems that I lose track that I am responsible for and answerable to me first.

There are plenty of people out there mismanaging the world. Sort of like someone who has always lived in a small apartment buying a 50 acre farm and expecting it to be a automatic success. My real estate is what I own and what I am responsible for and for now, I’m circling the wagons a bit and continuing to be responsible for my little plot of the world.

No regular real estate “news” this week because I want to take a moment to ask, “Do we really OWN anything?”

Some readers may have already guessed where I’m going with this and yes, it’s property taxes. Here’s a bit of history regarding US property taxes:

Property taxes in the United States originated during colonial times.[60] By 1796, state and local governments in fourteen of the fifteen states taxed land, but only four taxed inventory (stock in trade). Delaware did not tax property, but rather the income from it. In some states, “all property, with a few exceptions, was taxed; in others, specific objects were named. Land was taxed in one state according to quantity, in another according to quality, and in a third not at all. Responsibility for the assessment and collection of taxes in some cases attached to the state itself; in others, to the counties or townships.” Vermont and North Carolina taxed land based on quantity, while New York and Rhode Island taxed land based on value. Connecticut taxed land based on type of use. Procedures varied widely.[61]

During the period from 1796 until the Civil War, a unifying principle developed: “the taxation of all property, movable and immovable, visible and invisible, or real and personal, as we say in America, at one uniform rate.”[62] During this period, property taxes came to be assessed based on value. This was introduced as a requirement in many state constitutions.

Full article: Wikipedia

I won’t link to the thousands of available stories of people who have long ago paid their mortgage but due to increased cost-of-living and the flatlining of social security, have lost their lifelong residences to – the tax man. By the time you get into real estate tax trouble, and have had so many additional fines and sometimes daily penalties added – a $500 back-tax bill can turn into thousands of dollars now owed.

And where does all this tax money go? We who pay have no control and often no knowledge of how the money is spent. Quite frequently it is applied to things we are in disagreement with. Although I have no children, part of my property taxes each year for nearly 40 years have been applied to “education.” Okay. Whether I have kids or not, I want children in my district to have nice schools and the books, teachers, and materials they need. What I do NOT want to fund is a special school for illegal alien children who can’t speak English. This is happening in my local area RIGHT NOW.

Can I refuse to pay in protest? Oh hell no! Between the mortgage company and the local taxing authority, my property is proven to not be my own. And even if I had NO remaining mortgage, the town and/or state will slap tax liens on my property and eventually move to take it from me if I do not wish to fund programs to which I am in direct opposition. The same goes for my car – which IS paid for. That falls in the “property tax” column as well. Since I pay off my cars and tend to keep them for long periods, I might eventually pay more in taxes than I did for the car!

And this tax business is only taking a larger and larger bite out of our lives. I think we’ve moved well into the month of April as the time we begin “working for ourselves” – meaning the first 3+ months of the year, we are working to pay taxes.

So to answer the question “Do we really own anything?” From a tax standpoint the answer is “No.” Our lives are increasingly “liened” to a government that consistently wastes our money and spends it on things – often in foreign countries – that we do not support.

Try not to think about this when you clock in to work on Monday morning…

This makes me sick – and it’s being done to suit private individuals to use Federal lands:

++ Wild Horse Removal

This next one is very important if you want to sell your home. Get rid of clutter and if you have to, rent a temporary storage unit to store some of your belongings. People want to see space, not clutter.

++ Five Tenets of Home Staging For DIY

And another “bad” regarding fracking. The process uses a LOT of ground water so, why are they doing it in areas of drought or potential drought? Even if your well isn’t full of fracking chemicals, it might just run dry…

++ Water allocation an issue at fracking locations across US and globally

I LOVE Naples, Florida. If I were looking at a move south, this would be my primary target. Looks like I need to save some coin first though…

++ Survey says: Naples luxury home market among tops in the U.S.

Interesting news – but not likely to impact most of us!

++ London Has Mansion-Tax Lesson for New York

These are always subject to individual interpretation as to what is “best” about a city, but I find them interesting to view. This one has a nice slideshow of potential choices if you’re contemplating a relocation.

++ The 10 best U.S. cities to live in

++ Best towns for fall colors

And a quick reminder from Cato that October is “Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog” month…

Tragic news followup to a story I linked to here this past Saturday:

“Missing Realtor Discovered in Shallow Grave”

The Arkansas man who faces capital murder charges in the death of a real estate broker whose body was found early Tuesday in a shallow grave told reporters she was chosen because “she was a woman that worked alone—a rich broker.”

I’m going out on a limb here to say that realtors, who are often perceived as “wealthy,” and who often are women working alone – and as this one was – in a relatively rural location, should carry a weapon. If you don’t, you are obviously putting your safety at risk.

I don’t write this lightly or just in response to this most current and tragic loss of yet another innocent person’s life. But looking at instability in the world as a mass, and this country – with its seeming unwillingness to put the safety of US citizens as high priority, it’s time to take protecting yourself and your family in your own hands.

Realtors are at high risk in my opinion. Often women, often meeting strangers alone, and as this one, in a rural location. No matter what happened, she obviously had NO MEANS to protect herself. I’m not talking about buying a can of pepper spray either. I’m talking buying a gun, taking a class, and getting a permit to carry.

The biggest problem people seem have against making this kind of decision is that they cannot think as criminals do. “I’m a nice, law-abiding person so everyone else must be too.” In a word, NO! They aren’t. In fact, since the DOJ keeps massaging the prison rules, more and more repeat offenders (as was this suspected murderer) are being let out EARLY – meaning they don’t even serve the full time for a prior crime.

This realtor was near my age of 57 which means she grew up in a United States that was a whole lot different than the US of 2014. Criminals see what they want and are willing to take it from you. If they kill you to get it – so what? Throw in those who are in some drug-induced state-of-mind and killing you barely slows them down. Twenty+ million illegal aliens have broken US laws to get here and are usually holding two or three forms of different identification – all with different names. Think they are worried about getting caught if they rob and kill you? No. They’ll high-tail it back across the border and the crime against you will likely never even be solved.

I’m not suggesting mass-panic but I am suggesting each individual think about their living, work, and travel environments. A realtor is abducted and murdered showing a property. A women working what she thought was a normal work day was murdered and beheaded AT WORK. A second person was stabbed and probably only saved from beheading because one of her employers owned a permitted weapon.

Most people who buy a gun for protection hope they never have to use it outside a range. And they don’t buy it with the purposeful intent of doing anything else – no matter what the anti-gun crowd would have you believe. But I can almost guarantee you that if that realtor had had a weapon strapped to her hip and a carry permit, she’d be alive today. And if the executive at Vaughan Foods had not had a permitted weapon, the second stabbing victim in Oklahoma – and maybe several more employees, would have been killed.

Food for thought…

++ Startups Racing to Renovate the Home

This is a bit of a “one-off” but I thought it was good info to know…

++ How long is too long to keep food in the fridge?

++ Ark. real estate agent disappears while showing home

++ Investing In Luxury Real Estate

Now here are two headlines that show how closely you need to pay attention to the news, and what it’s really telling you:

++ U.S. New-Home Sales Surge 18% in August

Versus:

++ US existing home sales fall, investors pulling back

So if any news source makes a blanket statement about what the “real estate market” is doing, be very suspicious!

++ Norway jumps to second-biggest foreign buyer of U.S. real estate

I don’t know why it bothers me, but I am concerned about how many foreign interests are buying up huge chunks of America. Some foreign investors are buying REITs or real estate investment trusts – which means they can potentially own major stakes in many US commercial buildings, rural property, or single-family communities.

My worry comes from what I know to be true in single-family properties. Who takes the best care in and has the most pride of property ownership? One who lives in what they own. Absentee landlords? Not so much.

++ This House Was Inspired By “Star Wars”

++ 3 Trends Could Affect These Real Estate Investments

This next one tells me a lot. If you’ve lived long enough to see past interest rates in the double digits and then you see how long they’ve hovered in the 4 to 5% range, you’ll wonder at all this talk of “economic recovery.” One would think with a lending rate of interest at less than 4.5%, buyers would be hopping on properties fast and furious. But they aren’t.

++ Mortgage rates rise to 4.23%

++ Shop heirloom seeds and plants at monticelloshop.org

Okay, I do like the idea of tiny house living and how it can be accomplished, but I think the one linked below goes a bit too far – and for over $350,000 US dollars? Must be “location, location, location.”

++ ‘Smallest house in the world’ on sale for £275k in north London

++ Top 10 international places to invest in real estate

Happy weekend. First day of Fall 2014 is Tuesday!!!

Raining here today in North Carolina and there is so much bad going on in the world, I am having a hard time focusing on just real estate this morning. So with the holidays fast approaching, let’s look at a few best-selling books available for those interested in the subjects of real estate, DIY, design, and real estate investing.

This book equips owners with the information and strategies needed to turn their vision into a home or renovation project that can be executed on time and within budget. Chapters give detailed coverage of critical topics: design options, selecting and supervising the architect and contractor, cost estimates, budgets, plan specifications, contracts, dealing with town officials and keeping track of everything along the way. For each stage of the project there is detailed information on common pitfalls and how to avoid them, as well as insiders’ tips which reveal what most contractors can’t tell you.

The world’s top designers and leading decor experts including Kelly Wearstler, Amy Butler, Jonathan Adler, and many others come together to share over 1,000 professional tips, ideas, and solutions for every room and every budget. Written and compiled by Holly Becker, founder of the hugely popular design blog Decor8, and Joanna Copestick, acclaimed lifestyle writer, this intensive home decor program combines beautiful inspiration with nuts-and-bolts how-to for stunning results. More than 500 gorgeous color photographs.

Demystify the process of evaluating, acquiring, and managing rental property and becoming a landlord with Landlord Academy founder Bryan Chavis’s clear, step-by-step plan to make your dream of owning a multi-family property a reality.

With interest rates at historic lows, there’s never been a better time to buy rental property—and to hang on to it for long-term wealth building.

Landscaping Ideas That Work is the most comprehensive resource of inspired design ideas and practical solutions for creating landscaping and outdoor living spaces that are comfortable, attractive, and usable. With professional design advice as well as over 350 innovative ideas and photographs, this is the only sourcebook you’ll ever need for smart design, buying, and installation decisions for your outdoor digs.

With over 2,000 gorgeous, crystal-clear illustrations, your DIY home repairs have never been more straightforward. And now, in an updated compact size, there’s no job site this book can’t handle.

I had a book similar to this I’d used as reference for decades. And then I let someone borrow it. It was never returned. It might be time for a replacement.

Some of these offerings have Kindle and/or download capability…great for you, and great ideas for holiday gifts.

Credit: Tiny House Blog

If you’re spending any time at all contemplating downsizing your living space, you might be wondering if it is actually feasible for you, personally. Yeah, it sounds good to only have to fund, heat, clean, and cool a space less than 1000 square feet, but could you do it?

What is the first word you think of when looking at the image above? Is it “cozy” or is it “cramped?” I think “cozy” and well-organized but claustrophobics among us may not.

There is also the issue of appliances and other “necessaries” for day-to-day living. Notice the smaller refrigerator and more narrow stove. Is this okay with you or might it create a problem?

Most of this depends on the size of your particular family unit. Obviously a family with 4 active kids would likely not survive in this tight environment. But for those just starting out or for us older – but still intrepid – lifestyle hunters, might a smaller space be plenty? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at properties with a nice home – but too large for me, on a squat, quarter-acre of land. 99% of the time I am much more concerned about my privacy and peace and quiet, than in a mansion-style home. Give me 1000 square feet of living space on 5 acres and I will be happy.

Want to see a few more products made just for tiny home spaces? I found this great site on Pinterest

Even if you aren’t looking at gear for a tiny home, you might find some of the design ideas pretty innovative! Also visit Tiny House Blog for more pictures of the great job they’ve done with their small space property.