Are You Over-Paying On Your Property Taxes?

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You might be able to save about $1,640 on your 2012 real estate taxes — read on for details.

You’d be surprised at how many homeowners I meet in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale who are not aware of the Residential Real Estate Tax Exemption available (since 1983!) to all citizens of Boston who occupy their primary residence.  Unfortunately for some of my clients, they only find out when they’re getting ready to sell their home and I ask them to drag out their property tax bills, or if I notice that the public records available at the Assessor’s Office show that they have been paying the full tax amount since they purchased.  This can happen when you’re buying a home that has NOT been the previous owner’s primary residence, or because of a simple loophole (imagine!) in record keeping by the City of Boston.

In any case, it’s a good idea to take a look at your 3rd quarter tax bill — the one you got in late December —  second line down on the right.  If the “residential exemption” line is blank, you’ve probably been paying taxes on your entire assessed value, and need to apply for the exemption pronto!

Application forms are available online, at the Assessing Department, Room 301, City Hall, or at the Taxpayer Referral & Assistance Center (TRAC), Room M5, City Hall. The TRAC is open Monday through Friday from 9am – 5pm.  Or call them at (617) 635-4287.

If you were living in your current primary residence in Roslindale, Jamaica Plain or anywhere else in Boston on January 1, 2011, you have until March 30 to apply for your FY 2012 Residential Exemption. Take a look at the specifics and how the residential exemption is calculated on the City of Boston website.

Other ways to save hundreds of dollars in 2012?

1. Refinance if you can — 30-year fixed rates are now as low as 3.88%.  Turn to Freddie Mac,  and the trusted mortgage professionals listed on my site, for quotes and honest advice.

2. Have your auto and homeowner insurance policies reviewed by a new agency.  If you’re like me, you’ve had your policies with the same neighborhood agency for ages.  Sit down with your insurance person.  Go over your policies one line at a time, and see where you can pare down or, in some cases, plump up your coverage to reflect your needs today, as compared to 2000 when you first started working with these folks.  Any agent worth her or his salt will be glad to do this for you.  If they’re not, talk with friends and relations and pay a visit to their agents.  I revamped my policies last year and ended up saving about $500 overall and actually increased the quality of my coverage!

If you’d like to be put in touch with my local insurance agent, just send me an email.  I would love to hear your cost-trimming plans for 2012 — feel free to send them along, and thanks!

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
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Mars Needs Women…and WE NEED LISTINGS!

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I don’t need to tell you: January with mild temps and hardly a flake of snow is freakishly unusual for Roslindale and Jamaica Plain.  I feel that it’s great for retailers, and of course for real estate, with future home owners who have clearly decided to start their “spring search” a little early this year.

32 Robinwood Ave in Jamaica Plain

While this is theoretically a great time for buyers to grab a fabulous new home in  Roslindale or Jamaica Plain, the Catch-22 is that there are relatively   few fresh properties to show. Are you listening, home sellers? This is a prime time to beat the forsythia-and-tulips rush and generate some excitement. With so few properties for sale in Roslindale and Jamaica Plain, new listings are getting a lot of attention.  Case in point:  I sold a house right before Christmas to the first people who saw it, three days before the scheduled open house (and at the full asking price, I might add!).

Interest rates are still incredibly low. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.93% in New England last week. Compared to a national average of 4.77% at this time last year, we’re at an incredible moment. Also, owners who’ve had their homes on the market for a while are, if their brokers are advising them correctly,  motivated to get them sold before the competition of the spring market, so home buyers might have more negotiating power in that respect, too.

According to MLS, there are only 76 single family homes currently on the market in Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury combined, and 92 condos in those same zip codes!  At my open house this past Sunday at 32 Robinwood Ave., I had over 20 buyer parties, and very few of them were “tire-kickers.”

Buyers are out there in force in Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury. Call me and let’s give them some great inventory to buy!

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
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My New Year’s Wish

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Happy New Year!  I thought I’d share a few ideas with those of you who have resolved to make a difference in your community this year.

First of all, a good and not-so-good effect of no snow this winter (at least not at this writing). While this is great for the retail world  — esp. our neighborhood businesses — and the Boston real estate market, the streets aren’t looking their best without any plant life or snow to disguise the litter. This leads me to my first painless suggestion toward improving the Roslindale and Jamaica Plain communities:  I encourage you to pick up at least one piece of street trash each day and put it in a nearby receptacle or, if necessary, take it home. You’re probably thinking this won’t make a difference, but multiply your action by those of many like-minded citizens, and before you know it the streets will be in such good shape for the City’s annual “Boston Shines” cleaning day that we won’t even need all those funds and they can be directed to more needy programs.

If you want to jump on my bandwagon to help Roslindale look its best this winter, stay tuned for more information on my plan to organize at least one cleaning day — a Saturday in the near future —  for Washington Street outside of Roslindale Village. If you’re new to Roslindale, this will be a great chance to meet some neighbors and for longer-term Roslindalians, a chance to catch up with old friends.

To get involved with an established pro-environment group in Roslindale, look into  Roslindale Green & Clean. The members of this team of community “beautifiers” share a passion for gardening and landscaping and focus on creating and maintaining public green spaces in and around Roslindale Village.  Check their website for designated Tuesday evenings from May through September to volunteer for their “flash-mob” style maintenance projects.

GreeningRozzie is another team of locals who strive to keep Roslindale, well, green!  GreeningRozzie has a series of ongoing projects whose goal is to make Roslindale a more sustainable and cohesive community. Not only do they offer volunteer opportunities, they also provide useful information and resources for making environmentally-positive decisions in your everyday life. Break the ice and break bread with fellow community members by attending their Roslindale Community Kitchen event this Saturday afternoon, January 7th at the Community Center.  Folks will be preparing delicious vegetarian dishes together and will then divide up the meals for everyone to take home.  Stay well, stay involved, and see you out there!

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2012!

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
Search Boston Homes
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