<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
    <channel>
        <atom:link href="https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/2018-08/rss/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
        <title>Huntsville, Al Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/2018-08/</link>
        <description></description>
<item>
    <guid>https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/does-a-pool-add-value-to-the-resale-of-a-home.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/does-a-pool-add-value-to-the-resale-of-a-home.html</link>
        <author>leadrouter@mattcurtisrealestate.com (Matt Curtis)</author>
        <title>Does a pool add value to the resale of a home?</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
Thinking a family pool is the perfect way to spend your summer and wondering how it will affect the value of your home?


The average cost to install, equip, and maintain a pool has an initial cost of around $30,000. Throughout the swimming season, you may spend upwards of $500-$600 on chemicals to chlorinate and keep the pool at the appropriate levels. Fences around pools are also required in the state of Alabama, so if your backyard isn’t fenced in - this would be another cost associated with installing a pool.





While considering these costs, you may be asking yourself, “So will adding a pool to our home, increase the resale value of the home?” This is a great question that a lot of homeowners have when considering the installation of a pool. The answer isn’t always straight forward.


A hidden cost of installing pools would be in your tax rate, so while there is no definite “yes” or “no” as to whether the resale value of your home would increase, you can expect a slight increase in taxes due to the tax assessment of your home going up. This assessment could increase at the time you request the permit to put the pool in as well, so this hidden cost of pool ownership should be checked to see how exactly it would affect your taxes based on your municipality.


Home resale can be a completely different story all together. Under the right circumstances, a pool could increase your home resale value over 5, but there are many conditions that affect whether this will hold true in your particular situation.






Not all potential homeowners want the responsibility and liability of a pool, so by adding a pool you may be actually limiting your pool of buyers.






Pools are often sought after in “warm states”, so in the state of Alabama you may see a higher draw from a pool than a northern state where the pool could be used for a lower amount of time throughout the year.






The pool needs to match the style and aesthetics of your neighborhood.






The pool should be well maintained, even buyers in the market for a pool will be dissuaded from a pool that looks like it needs major maintenance.






Space available in the backyard is a consideration that will vary from buyer to buyer, but if a pool takes up 90 of the usable space in the backyard area with little green space leftover - this could also become a negative point for buyers.






Different styles of pools


After you’ve decided that a pool is for you, then you have the decision of what type of pool to install. There are a variety of types of pools and sizes available, and a pool store can walk you through what specifications would be best for your allotted space.


There are two main types of water and filtration systems for your pool, chlorinated and saltwater. Although a salt water system converts the salt into chlorine, so both types will have chlorine in the water. Chlorinated pools are the most common, although saltwater pools have been gaining in popularity. The advantage of a saltwater pool is the lower amount of overall chlorination in the water.





There are three main types of inground pools: concrete (also called gunite), fiberglass, and vinyl liner. There are many pros and cons to each style:


Concrete:


Pros: Very customizable


Cons: Most expensive, frequent maintenance required, incompatible with salt


Fiberglass:


Pros: Low maintenance, quick to install, can be used with salt systems, low cost of lifetime ownership


Cons: Initial cost higher than vinyl liners, pool shape/sizes not customizable so they won’t work for all spaces


Vinyl Liner:


Pros: Lowest initial cost, shape can be customized


Cons: Liner must be replaced every 7-10 years, liner costs can make overall pool cost more expensive than fiberglass





How to service a pool


Keeping a pool in service can maintain its lifespan and overall just make owning the pool more enjoyable. No one wants to walk out to the pool to dive in on a Saturday morning, and find a green pool


Checking the chemical levels daily can help ward off any issues before they become a big problem. Keeping supplies on hand like extra chlorine, ph up, ph down, baking soda, and algaecide makes it handy to be able to alter slight chemical imbalances. Skimming the pool multiple times a week up to daily may be needed depending on how many trees and foliage are in the surrounding pool area.


Pool service technicians can be hired to help you maintain the pool weekly, monthly, or even once a year to help with big tasks like opening or closing the pool.


All of the information above will help you to make an informed decision about whether a pool is right for your family or not. The bottom line is that a pool should be a good fit for your family first and foremost, as it may not necessarily have a positive effect on your home’s resale value.


 
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Wed, 29 Aug 2018 08:22:00 -0500</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
    <guid>https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/how-does-homestead-exemption-work-in-madison-county.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/how-does-homestead-exemption-work-in-madison-county.html</link>
        <author>leadrouter@mattcurtisrealestate.com (Matt Curtis)</author>
        <title>How does Homestead Exemption work in Madison County?</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
How Does Homestead Exemption Work in Madison County?


Homestead Exemption is a “tax break” offered by the state of Alabama to property owners. Property owners are entitled to homestead exemption if they own a single-family residence and occupy it as their primary residence. In Alabama, owners must live in the residence prior to October 1st of the tax year of which the property owner is applying. 





Receiving a homestead exemption is important, because it can greatly reduce your tax liability. The deadline to apply is December 31st of the tax year in which you would like to receive the homestead exemption.


To apply for a homestead exemption, you need to bring proper documentation to your local courthouse and apply for the tax exemption.


Proper documentation includes:






Copy of Deed with correct address, legal description, and names.






Address of your driver’s license must match the property address.






If you address on your license does not match, you can file for a second home status that gives you a 10 rate until you can complete the homestead exemption






Filing for a homestead exemption is important because it lowers your tax rate significantly. This tax rate is for owners living in the home only and occupying it as their primary residence. Owners of investment properties are subject to a higher tax rate.


After you apply for the homestead exemption, you will receive a letter in the mail confirming that you have received the exemption. You only need to apply once after moving into the residence to receive homestead, it is not a yearly requirement.


Moving into Alabama from Out of State


If you are coming from out of state and moving into the state of Alabama, out of state licenses must transfer at one of five Department of Public Safety offices in either Huntsville, Scottsboro, Guntersville, Decatur, or Athens. Satellite offices cannot change over an out of state license. If you are wanting to change your out of state license and apply for homestead at the same time, you need to make sure you have all licensing requirements with you, in addition to the deed of the property and requirements for homestead.


After receiving your new Alabama license, you can use your temporary Alabama license to then apply for homestead.


The closing team at Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc can walk you through any questions you have about Homestead Exemption when you close on your new home.





 


Research before you buy


You can find information on tax rates in each county online at their respective tax assessor’s online website:


Madison County, Alabama: https://www.deltacomputersystems.com/al/al47/index_assessor.html


Limestone County, Alabama: https://www.limestonerevenue.net/CAPortal_MainPage.aspx


Morgan County, Alabama: https://www.morgancountyrevenue.com/property-search


You will want to check prospective properties online before putting in an offer on them to check their homestead exemption status. Properties that do not currently have a homestead exemption are subject to a higher tax rate until the homestead exemption is filed, and this higher tax rate would have the potential to affect the amount you are eligible to finance on a home. Since a higher tax rate would create a higher monthly payment. Although this rate could be changed after you purchased the property, if the amount made a great enough difference in your financing options, it could create an issue getting financing on the home.


To search on the property tax websites above, you’ll need to know either a property address or a parcel ID. Look for an exemption code of “H1” on the information page for the property. This exemption code indicates that a homestead exemption is already in place on the home and you will just need to file after purchasing the home to keep the homestead exemption.


Madison County has a great online tool you can use to estimate approximate tax rates and to see how they could affect your monthly payment. The took breaks down tax rates for each potential city. You can use this form online at: https://www.madisoncountyal.gov/departments/tax-collector/frequently-asked-questions


Below is a sample form that you can fill out at the Madison County government website. Current tax rates as of the time of this article are:





Madison County tax rate form available at: https://www.madisoncountyal.gov/departments/tax-collector/frequently-asked-questions


A Matt Curtis Real Estate agent can assist you in navigating all of the questions that come up during the home buying process.


Call 256-333-MOVE to be connected with a MCRE Agent today



v
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Mon, 27 Aug 2018 11:05:00 -0500</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
    <guid>https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/matt-curtis-real-estate-inc-receives-2018-huntsville-chamber-of-commerce-small-business-award.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/HuntsvilleAlRealEstateBlog/matt-curtis-real-estate-inc-receives-2018-huntsville-chamber-of-commerce-small-business-award.html</link>
        <author>leadrouter@mattcurtisrealestate.com (Matt Curtis)</author>
        <title>Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc. Receives 2018 Huntsville Chamber of Commerce Small Business Award</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 



 


Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce recently held their Small Business Awards night on August 14, 2018. Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc. received the honor of being awarded Service Business of the Year out of a field of ten finalists. The company received the award based on the exceptional service given to their clients in northern Alabama, and volunteerism service of building a home in Nicaragua for every 100 homes sold here in the Tennessee Valley.


The Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce serves to foster economic growth in our local community and offers a number of programs to serve local entrepreneurs. This year was the 33rd Annual Small Business Awards and companies throughout northern Alabama took part. There were 13 categories that businesses could be nominated to be contenders for awards.


2018 was the first year that Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc. was awarded Service Business of the Year. The company is the most reviewed real estate company in Alabama, and prides itself on giving their clients exceptional service worth leaving a review about. The team at Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc. is made up of specialists in their field, which leads to a more specialized service for clients.





Pictured: JR Smith, Gena Sharpe, Sahara Embry, Melissa Hotz, Kristal Sanders, Matt Curtis, Courtney Curtis, and Jeff York.


Matt Curtis was ecstatic to be sharing the award with his team. “We are honored to represent Huntsville with this prestigious award as the 2018 Service Business of the year As a previous winner of Madison’s Best Overall Business, Home and Living Business of the Year, and the Leadership and Service Award, we are honored to have won the top business awards in the two major cities we serve - Huntsville and Madison.”, said Curtis after receiving the award.


He went on to say, “With our continued growth of 252 over the past 3 years (ranked 1791 on the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies list), we look forward to expanding our company into adjacent cities and offering these cities the same high level of service that Huntsville and Madison has come to expect from Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc. A big thank you goes out to our clients for providing us the opportunity to serve you and join the Matt Curtis Real Estate Family. Thank you also to our clients for making us the 1 Reviewed Real Estate company in the state of Alabama”


Matt Curtis became a real estate agent in 2006 and started out in new home sales. In 2010, he opened the doors to Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc. and brought on his first team member in 2012. Since that time, his business has seen tremendous growth and the company growth has exploded to over 50 each year for the past 3 years. The Madison business now has a team of 53, and is continuing to grow in size.


Matt Curtis Real Estate, Inc. looks forward to continuing to serve their clients in the future and represent northern Alabama as a national leader in real estate.


More information on the 2018 Small Business Award Winners can be found at: https://hsvchamber.org/congratulations-to-our-2018-small-business-awards-winners/ 


 


 
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Thu, 16 Aug 2018 15:33:00 -0500</pubDate>
</item>
    </channel>
</rss>