Feb. 27, 2008 - Changes in Tompkins County Valuations and Assessments

If I haven't communicated this to you yet via snail mail, I'm blogging to help you understand the recent change in home valuations and assessments in Tompkins County. For the past year tax assessments have been based on an eighty five percent valuation of market value for tax assessment purposes. As of July 1, 2008 when the assessment database goes into effect homes assessed valuation will be one hundred percent of the full market valuation.

If a home's full market value in 2007 was $200,000, it would have been taxed at 85% of that times the tax rate. For example, in the Village of Cayuga Heights (including county and school) the taxes were calculated as:

$200,000 x 0.85 x (32.991367 divided by $1,000) so your taxes were $5608.58 minus the Star Exemption.

Now in 2008 your tax assessment will be full market value or 100 percent.

$200,000 x (32.991367 divided by $1,000) so your taxes will be $6598.2734 minus the Star Exemption if tax rates stay the same. The tax rates for town, county and school will not be determined until July 1st.

It appears that some of the full market valuations increased and some of them decreased. Even if your full market valuation decreased in many instances the taxes may go up as the assessed value increased by fifteen percent (from 85% to percent of market value).

To find out more about your tax rates go to the Tompkins County Assessment site. 

Find information here on your home valuation.

If you need more information on your home value and assessed value please feel free to call me.

Nov. 21, 2007 - Thank You

I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I was emailing a client back and forth today, and I mentioned to her (as I often tell my business partner, Beth Ganem) that I have the best clients in the world. They are a pleasure to do business with and I enjoy each and every one of them (you).

Often when a transaction is completed and I have either sold a client's house or closed on their new home, it's a bit of an empty feeling not corresponding with them regularly. If you're a former client, stay in touch and let me know how you are doing!

Blessings to you all, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Sep. 12, 2007 - Being Green

Green Building and Green Houses (not the garden variety) are terms that we are hearing more and more about these days. Green houses are basically designed to be eco-friendly from the insulation, flooring and paint materials to appliances and landscaping.

Washers and dryers are energy saving (or hang your wet clothes on the line to dry) and faucets are low flow. In flooring, I was surprised to find that bamboo is the environmental hardwood of choice as it is technically not a wood, but a grass yet is a very hard surface and easily replenished. Linoleum is actually made from linen and other natural fibers.

Manufacturers are checking into the viability of milk-based paints as opposed to the paints with carcinogenic chemicals. Kitchen and bath tiles are being made with recycled glass.

And although solar energy conversion is a large initial investment, you will realize the savings each month in lower energy bills.

According to Wikipedia.com, Xeriscaping refers to refers to landscaping in ways that do not require supplemental irrigation and using plants that are appropriate to the area.  The word Xeriscaping was coined by combining xeros (Greek for "dry") with landscape.

I have not come across many truly green houses in the Ithaca area, but do know of a few that have been remodeled as such. I'm sure we'll hear more about this concept in the future.

Sep. 10, 2007 - What Sold, Take Two

Sep. 10, 2007 - What Ithaca Real Estate Sold Last Week?

I thought I'd start your Monday with a few interesting tidbits regarding real estate and home decorating.

Interested in seeing what residential properties sold in Ithaca and surrrounding areas last week, where they were, and for how much they sold?

Ever have trouble visualizing what an interior room in your home would look painted a different color? My daughter found the color visualizer page at glidden.com to be a great help. You choose the room and furniture that best matches your own, click on your paint color of choice, and you instantly see how well (or not) it will look.

Enjoy your week!

Aug. 16, 2007 - Feng Shui in Real Estate

If someone were to ask you, in relation to selling, buying or even redecorating you home, if you know Feng Shui, and your response is, "Who?" this article may be for you! Here is a dictionary definition:

feng shui (fŭng' shwâ') n. The Chinese art or practice of positioning objects based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects.

The purpose of the art in home decoration is to create a harmonious environment and enhance the flow of positive spiritual energy, or chi. Whether or not you subscribe to these beliefs, some of the ideas behind feng shui just make good decorating sense.

You'll find a good example of this art in Feng Shui Your Bedroom at hgtv.com.

Aug. 11, 2007 - Home Maintenance Classes Offered

As mentioned in my last blog article, Ithaca area residents are fortunate to have a variety of services available to us so we can make informed and educated decisions when buying a home and then maintaining it.

If you're thinking of purchasing a home that may need some fixing up, or live in one that could use a bit of repair, Better Housing for Tompkins County is offering a series of maintenance classes that are hands-on. They suggest you come prepared to get dirty! The cost for each class is $5 and the facility is located at 950 Danby Road. All classes begin at 6:30 p.m. Here are their offerings:

Electrical	August 30, 2007
Window Replacement	September 20, 2007
Drywall Repair	October 28, 2007
Plumbing	November 13, 2007
Tools	December 13, 2007

These sound like extremely useful classes to me! My father alway said to have a healthy respect for electricity. Maybe I should attend that class to learn what I should NOT do. And who hasn't pounded a big nail in the wall to hang a picture, tried to spackle it in preparation for repainting, only to make it look worse? And have you ever stumbled across a tool made for a specific task that you sure wish you'd known about last spring when you were trying to make that repair?

Call 273-2187 to reserve your spot. Also, visit their website for additional information on buying and maintaining your home and  to find out about the other services provided by Better Housing for Tompkins County.

Feb. 16, 2007 - Wikipedia and other Useful Sites for Homeowners