Pontotoc Homes April 2018

APRIL 2018

PONTOTOC HOMES Real Estate Guide to Pontotoc County & the surrounding area A Supplement of the Pontotoc Progress

FEATURING

Mossy Oak Properties Pontotoc Ridge Realty, INC page 10 SOUTHERN HILLS, REALTY & APPRAISAL PAGE 21

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 5 5 5 6 8 8 9 9 9

Patty Turk Properties, LLC Pickens Pest Control Washington Holcomb Tractor Company Distinctive Design Mossy Oak Properties Tips for first-time real estate investors First Choice Insurance Cherie Matthews Real Estate Washington Holcomb Tractor Company The Red Door

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Mossy Oak story

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Southern Hills Realty & Appraisal

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Preparing garden beds

Crye-Leike Realtors 3 ways to improve curb appeal Dennis Cox Transform bathrooms with technology Must-have kitchen remodel features Service Directory Simple ways to cut mortgage cost First Choice Bank

For Advertising Information:

Contact Angie Quarles at 662-489-3511 Published by Pontotoc Progress 13 Jefferson Street • P.O. Box 210 • Pontotoc, MS 38863

Designed by Chelsea Williams of the Pontotoc Progress

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Tips for first-time real estate investors

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eal estate can be a good investment that helps build wealth and secure a financial future. According to Investopedia, average 20-year returns in commercial real estate hover around 9.5 percent, while residential and diversified real estate average returns of 10.6 percent.

Such figures may seem too good to ignore for many prospective real estate investors.

But investing in real estate can be risky, and it’s important that first-time investors consider a host of factors before deciding to delve into the real estate market.

Current finances

Real estate can potentially yield big returns, but these may only materialize after in-

vestors spend ample amounts of money refurbishing or even maintaining their investment properties. Prospective investors without the capital on hand to finance repairs or rou-

tine maintenance may find it difficult to make their properties appealing to potential tenants, which can make it harder to meet mortgage payments.

Prospective investors who already have sizable debts, be it consumer debt or existing mortgage payments, may want to pay down those debts before investing in real estate.

Down payments

According to Wells Fargo, mortgage insurance does not cover investment property, and loans typically require a minimum down payment of 20 percent of the value of the property. So prospective investors cannot count on mortgage insurance to finance their investments in real estate. Investors should not just make sure they can meet that 20 percent requirement, but also ensure they have enough capital left after making their down payments to address any repairs that need to be made.

If not, they might have trouble attracting renters willing to pay enough in rent.

Interest rates

Prospective real estate investors may be surprised to

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learn that investment property loans are often subject to higher interest rates than those for home buyers borrowing to purchase a primary residence, says Quicken Loans. Investors should not count on getting the same or better interest rates for their investment properties that they did when buying the homes they currently live in.

Financial reserves

Some lenders may require that prospective investors have sizable financial reserves before they will lend them money to invest in real estate.

Some may require that borrowers have several months’ worth of reserves to finance both their personal lives and their investments. If a 20 percent down payment would make that impossible, then prospective investors may want to wait a little longer to invest and save more money until their financial reserves would prove more acceptable to lenders.

Investing in real estate can yield big returns. But firsttime investors should know that such investments are vastly different than investing in a home for oneself.

Let Our Experience Work For You! CHERIE MATTHEWS

Office: 662-234-3878 Cell: 662-816-0499 cmatthews@bellsouth.net

RHONDA RODGERS

Cell: 662-419-0948 Home: 662-489-5228 nanagnyc@gmail.com

Visit Us At Our Website For All Area Listings Visit us at: www.cmrehomes.com

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We work here • Live here • Play here.

We Are Your

Neighbors!

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Trust Mossy Oak® Properties at Pontotoc Ridge Realty to find your new home

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ometimes the decision to sell your home can be overwhelming and heart rending at the same time.

When it comes to a group of professionals that understand who you are and what you need, you can turn to the staff at Mossy Oak ® Properties who are housed in Pontotoc Ridge Realty, on Main Street in the city of Pontotoc.

A well established business in Pontotoc, Pontotoc Ridge Realty was created in 1987 by Jack Savely and Jimmy Bland.

Today the staff consists of Marilyn Sappington, David Anderson, Susie Chapman, Patti Stark, Alisha Galloway, Lena Chewe and Casey Conti.

Each of these brokers and associates bring a well rounded knowledge and enthusiasm to the business of selling properties and homes in Pontotoc.

The business franchised with Mossy Oak® Properties in 2003. “We were a successful business,” Marilyn Sappington said, “and we were invited to go to a Mossy Oak® meeting. Jack went to the meeting and came back all excited about it and said we

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needed to join.”

A former school teacher, Sappington taught children for 28 years but spent some 10 of those years selling real estate on the side before she went into the business full time.

David Anderson said the association with Mossy Oak® gives “us instant name recognition to the people. With

it we were able to branch out into rural properties as well as commercial properties, because they knew the Mossy Oak® name.”

Anderson came to the business with 14 years experience with the Tommy Morgan Realty, then spent several years working for Clarion Ledger in Jackson, before coming back

home in 2003 and joining the staff here.

Anderson said sometimes people want to sell their property on their own, and “at close find things that they didn’t know. It is our job to protect the buyer and the seller. Sometimes legal problems come up during the sale of a property and we are there to

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(standing l-r) Alisha Galloway, Lena Chewe, Casey Conti, David Anderson. (sitting l-r) Susie Chapman, Marilyn Sappington, and Patti Stark.

help you with those.

“We do charge a percent of the sale,” he noted. “But according to the Mississippi Realtors Association, the net result of that is usually higher than a person can get on their own because of what we are able to do to help the seller.”

The track record success of Mossy Oak® Properties Pontotoc Ridge Realty allows them to have any market they want, but they choose to keep their home base in Pontotoc.

“Pontotoc is a good place to live,” Sappington said.

“People here are genuine and friendly. It is a good place to do business.”

Anderson said that the market here “is our chief market.

This is the place we see peo-

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ple we go to church with, shop with at Piggly Wiggly and visit on the ball field. We get to see people face to face and they know us, and we know them.”

In fact all of the employees of the company take pride in the fact that they are all from Pontotoc.

“We don’t treat this as a secondary market,” Anderson said. “We are the premiere real estate company with our main office in Pontotoc. We are also the largest real estate firm in this county,” he noted.

And the fact that they enjoy their job is evident by the smiles on their faces. “I enjoy helping people,” Sappington said, “And the comradery we have here at the office.”

So lets say you decide to buy a house through Mossy Oak® Properties, did you know that they won’t just take your money and toss you out in the hills somewhere and hope you are doing okay?

There is follow-up care from these real estate brokers.

“When I call someone after several months and ask if they are okay and do they still enjoy their home,” Sappington said, “it gives me great pleasure to hear them say they love it.”

And it is those special friendships that they don’t take lightly and will alway enjoy in their hometown.

“We thank everyone for these years of faithfulness and friendship with our company,”

Sappington said. “We really appreciate the people who have trusted us with finding someone to continue sweet memories in their home; or those who are wanting a brand new place to forge a path of new memories.”

If you want a real estate agent you can count on, give Mossy Oak® Properties a call. “As our motto says, selecting the right real estate professional to work for you is the most important step in the process,” Anderson said.

“We have a vested interest in you and your family, because we do work here, live here and play here. We are your neighbors, and who better to turn to than people who know the market of this county?”

No one knows better who you are than the people who you work with each day.

If you want to know who you can turn to for your real estate needs, here are the reasons why. Below are comments about each of the people who work at Mossy Oak Properties from David Anderson and Marilyn Sappington.

David Anderson Dependable. Always looking after the office staff while taking care of his clients.

Marilyn Sappington

Susie Chapman

Dedicated. She is focused on what she does and wants to do what is right and to do it well.

Efficient. She takes care of all of our needs in the office and she gets out there and sells her own real estate.

Patti Stark

Lena Chewe

Experience. She knows the market and handles it well.

Enthusiastic. She is positive about everything. She brings optimism to the job.

Alisha Galloway

Casey Conti

Professional. She takes care of business in a warm and friendly manner.

Kind hearted. A hard worker and a fast learner. Competent in what he does.

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3 ways to use your lawn to improve curb appeal

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eturns on home improvement projects vary. In its annual Cost vs. Value Report, Remodeling magazine notes the projects that yield the best returns on investment in a given year. But a host of factors, including the type of market (buyers’ or sellers’) and the region where the home is being sold, ultimately combine to determine if homeowners’ investments in home improvement projects will provide the returns they were hoping for.

Though there’s no way of guaranteeing a home improvement project will yield a great return, real estate professionals often cite improving curb appeal as an excellent way to attract prospective buyers and potentially get the asking price or more when selling the home. Improving curb appeal makes even more sense in today’s real estate market, when many people do their own searching via real estate websites such as Trulia or Zillow.

When using such sites, buyers will likely be less inclined to click on a listing if exterior photos of the property are not eye-catching.

Various projects, including tending to lawns and gardens, can improve curb appeal. An added benefit to focusing on landscaping to improve curb appeal is it promotes spending time outdoors in spring and summer. In addition, many lawn- and garden-related home improvement projects need not require professional expertise.

Maintain a lush green lawn

Lawns that fall into disrepair may not give buyers a correct impression about how homeowners maintained their homes. Lawns with multiple

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dead spots and grass that appears more brown than green may lead many buyers to assume that the home’s interior was equally ill-cared for.

Maintaining lush green lawns is not as difficult as it may seem. Applying fertilizer and aerating at the appropriate times of year (this varies by region) can promote strong roots and healthy soil, making it easier for grass to survive harsh conditions like drought.

When watering in summer, do so in early morning or evening so as little water is lost to evaporation as possible.

Address brown patch

Even well-maintained lawns can fall victims to brown spots. According to the lawn care professionals at TruGreen, lawns in regions

with hot temperatures and high humidity can be infected with brown patch, a common lawn disease that is caused by fungus, which can produce circular areas of brown, dead grass surrounded by narrow, dark rings. Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences notes that removing dew that collects on grass leaves each morning, which can be accomplished by mowing or dragging a water hose across affected areas, can be an effective way to reduce brown patch. Homeowners without much lawn care experience can consult professional landscapers to address the issue.

But those looking to sell their properties should note that buyers often walk the grounds of homes they are considering buying. So addressing any is-

sues on the lawn should be a priority for sellers.

Confine dogs to certain areas

Dog owners may want to let their pets roam free in their yards. But homeowners about to put their properties up for sale may want to confine their four-legged friends to certain areas. That’s because dog urine can be high in nitrogen.

Nitrogen itself is not harmful to lawns, but in high concentrations it can contribute to yellow or brown spots. Also, highly acidic dog urine may even adversely affect pH levels in the soil.

Curb appeal can go a long way toward helping homeowners sell their homes, and a lush lawn can be used to catch the eye of prospective buyers.

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Transform bathrooms with technology

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echnology is infiltrating every room of the house. Many new home buyers are millennials, and this tech-savvy demographic covets technological innovations.

A recent survey by Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate indicates 77 percent of Generation X and Y home buyers want their homes equipped with the tech capabilities they have grown accustomed to. Many of these involve smart innovations, including those that can transform one of the most private rooms in the house — the bathroom.

Automated home theater rooms and Wi-Fi-enabled home security systems have become the norm, but what tech improvements are available to make the powder room more in touch with today’s dig-

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ital lifestyle? According to the home improvement resource The Spruce, bathrooms have the most potential of any rooms to be improved with technology. The following are just some of the bathroom gadgets and gizmos no one should resist before giving a try.

• Automatic faucets: Infrared sensors have been helping keep public restrooms more hygienic for years. The same technology can be used in home bathrooms to curtail water waste and keep faucets and sinks from becoming infested with germs. In addition, faucets with built-in timers can be programmed to set tasks for brushing teeth or washing your face.

• Musical shower: Instead of having to blast the volume on the portable speaker you use in the bathroom, a wireless speaker is built into some shower-

heads. This enables those who like to sing in the shower or listen to podcasts while washing up to enjoy this luxury effortlessly.

• Smarter weight management: Bathroom scales have gone high-tech as well, with various options enabling users to measure weight, BMI and body fat percentage before sending the data wirelessly to a phone, tablet or computer. This can put you in greater control of fitness goals.

• High-tech toilets: Borrowing ideas from bidets and trends around the world, modern toilets do not require hands or paper. These toilets have temperature-controlled water, spritzing wands and air dryers to clean and sanitize.

Self-cleaning toilets help busy professionals save time and are ideal for those who always

want their bowls as clean as possible. And if you desire extra comfort, toilet seat warmers are available, while LED lights can make nighttime restroom visits easier.

• Soaking tubs: As fast as stand-alone showers were introduced to the modern bathroom, tubless designs have been replaced with streamlined soaking tubs. Tubs come with different features, including chromatherapy, which employs colored lights to enhance mood. Air baths are controlled electronically and provide different levels of sensation for those who are skipping the hot tub.

Round out these innovations with automated lights, chilled medicine cabinets and aromatherapy, and your bathroom will indeed become a technological spa.

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Must-have kitchen remodel features

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omeowners looking to renovate often see room for improvement in their kitchens and bathrooms. The National Association of Home Builder’s Remodeling Market Index Survey, which measures conditions in the remodeling market, indicates that, in 2015, the two most common remodeling jobs were bathroom remodels (81 percent) and kitchen remodels (79 percent). According to HGTV and Statistics Brain, a new kitchen remodel for a kitchen measuring 12 by 12 feet may cost homeowners anywhere from $17,000 to $37,000.

Before investing so much into their remodeling projects, homeowners should think carefully about the features that will improve their time spent at home. When planning a kitchen renovation, homeowners may want to consider the following upgrades to make the room more enjoyable while improving its functionality.

Oversized sink

Although high-efficiency dishwashers are popular, deep sinks to soak soup pots or woks are still useful. Deep sinks may be preferable to double sinks, especially for homeowners who use lots of kitchen tools when preparing meals.

Soft-closing hinges

When replacing cabinets (or just the hardware), consider installing soft-closing hinges and slides on doors and drawers. These devices eliminate slamming and caught fingers, reducing noise and injuries in the kitchen.

Foot-pedal water operation

When outfitting a sink, think about foot controls, which are popular in doctors’ offices and hospitals. Turning on the water with the tap of a foot can reduce the transfer of pathogens to faucets from hands during food preparation. These pedals also free up hands for other tasks.

Bottom’s up

People likely spend more time raiding the refrigerator than the freezer on any given day. Rather than having to bend down to seek out that favorite flavor of Greek yogurt, choose a model with the

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fridge on top and freezer on the bottom, especially if anyone in the household has mobility issues. When shopping for refrigerators, French-door style units may offer even more access, making it easy for homeowners to slide fruit trays, sheet cakes and other large items into the fridge.

Extra lighting

A kitchen should be a balance of form and function. A combination of overhead lighting, decorative lighting and task lighting can illuminate all areas of the

space effectively.

Appliance garages

Architectural and design resource Houzz says that appliance garages are popular kitchen additions, too. Set at countertop level, these cabinets allow people to keep small appliances plugged in but tucked neatly behind closed doors.

Kitchen remodels are a sizable investment, and renovations can be customized to make the kitchen more hospitable for all in residence.

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Preparing garden beds for spring and beyond

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ardening enthusiasts may have been thinking about their landscape plans throughout the winter, eager to once again get their hands dirty with soil. Whether a home gardener is making preparations for edible crops or beautiful flowers, he or she must take time to make the soil amenable to planting. To establish hearty, durable plants, gardeners can focus on three main areas: addressing soil composition, cultivating and adding nutrients.

Soil composition

Many gardeners prefer growing a variety of plants in their gardens. Such an approach requires taking inventory of the type of soil in one’s garden and making the necessary modifications so that the types of vegetables, herbs, shrubs, or flowers that will be planted can grow in strongly.

In fact, according to the plant

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company Proven Winners, the most important step to developing good roots is preparing the soil.

Take a sample of the soil and examine it to see what is present. If the soil is too full of clay, too sandy, too dense, or too loose, that can lead to problems where plants cannot grow in strong. Work with a garden center to add the right soil amendments to make a rich soil. This may include organic compost or manure, which will also add nutrients to the soil.

Cultivation

Cultivating the soil can involve different steps. Removal of weeds, errant rocks, roots, and other items will help prepare the soil. Mother Earth News suggests working on garden soil when the soil is damp but never wet; otherwise, garden soil can become messy and clumpy. Use a dig-

ging fork or shovel to lightly turn the soil when it’s mostly dry. Gentle tillings also can open up the soil to incorporate the nutritional amendments and relieve compaction that likely occurred from freezing temps and snow pressure. Tilling also helps with drainage and oxygen delivery to roots.

The DIY Network suggests turning over soil at a depth of 12 inches to work the soil — about the length of a shovel spade. However, the resource Earth Easy says that existing garden beds have a complex soil ecosystem and simply top-dressing with compost or manure can be enough preparation for planting. Gardeners can experiment with the methods that work best for their gardens.

Nutrition

Testing the pH and the levels of certain nutrients in the soil, namely nitrogen, phos-

phorous and potassium, will give gardeners an idea of other soil additions that may be needed. Soils with a pH below 6.2 often can benefit from the addition of lime several weeks before planting. Soil tests will determine just how much fertilizer to add to the soil. Complete fertilizers will have equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Individual fertilizers can amend the soil with only these nutritional elements that are needed.

Top-dressing empty beds with a layer of mulch or compost can prevent weed growth and preserve moisture until it is time to plant. If existing shrubs or plants are in garden beds, use more care so as not to disturb roots or dig too deeply.

Preparing garden beds takes some effort initially, but can be well worth the work when plants flourish throughout the growing season.

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SERVICE DIRECTORY

Simple ways to cut mortgage costs

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onthly mortgage payments are the biggest single expense for many homeowners. So it’s understandable why plenty of homeowners would love to trim those costs.

A host of factors determine how much homeowners pay for their mortgages each month. The cost of the home, the amount of the initial down payment and property taxes, which are often folded into monthly payments, will factor heavily into the cost of home ownership. While homeowners may feel as though there’s little wiggle room to cut the costs of their mortgages, there are several ways to do just that and potentially trim years from the life of a home loan.

• Make bi-weekly payments. Making bi-weekly instead of once-a-month payments can save homeowners substantial amounts of money. A year’s worth of once-a-month payments equates to 12 payments per year. But homeowners who pay on a bi-weekly basis will make 26 half payments, or 13 full payments, per year. That extra annual payment can be applied directly to the principal, dramatically reducing how much homeowners pay in interest over the life of their loans.

• Stop paying PMI. Homeowners whose initial down payments are less than 20 percent of the sale price will have to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI. But once the balances on such mortgages falls below 80 percent, homeowners can cancel such insurance. Homeowners may also be able to stop paying PMI by having

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their homes reappraised.

• Refinance the loan. Refinancing a loan also can save homeowners substantial amounts of money each month.

Homeowners are typically eligible for lower interest rates when refinancing their loans, meaning they will pay less in interest each month. However, refinancing is not free, so homeowners should first check the going home interest rates and examine their credit scores to see if the interest rate they’re likely to get upon refinancing will save them money. The cost

of refinancing might be more than homeowners can save.

• Request a tax reassessment. Real estate values increase and decrease, and homeowners who feel their homes have decreased in value can request that their homes be reassessed. Homeowners whose homes are assessed at a value lower than the current value can expect to pay less each month in taxes.

Homeowners hoping to cut mortgage costs have various options at their disposal.