What Is a ‘Gentleman’s Farm’? A Gardener’s Paradise, With One Catch

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“Gentleman’s farm,” which crops up in real estate listings, describes property where people farm just for fun rather than to make a living.

The term dates back to the 19th century, when retired sea captains and shipping agents returned to Nantucket and started their own farms and dairies,” explains Mark Quindoy, a real estate agent with eXp Realty, in San Diego. “It’s merely a gentleman who farms for pleasure, not for profit or survival.”

Pull up an episode of the 1960s TV show “Green Acres,” starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, and you’ll get the picture of this agricultural pursuit portrayed as a merry pastime, rather than a make-or-break grind where you battle locust swarms, blight, and other problems. Farming can be a good time!

Tax implications

Gentleman’s farms are often lumped together with hobby farms—pleasure farms that aren’t necessarily on a big piece of property, but may literally be in your backyard. It’s often part of a larger estate, notes Christy Murdock Edgar, a real estate agent in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC.

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Home price declines leave 450,000 borrowers underwater

Six out of 10 borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth bought or refinanced their homes in 2022, according to the latest Black Knight Mortgage Monitor.

Coastal Carolina Inn From ‘Nights in Rodanthe’ Romances the Market for $1.7M

Realtor.com

If you’ve ever wanted to own a piece of movie history, now is your chance.

The restored beachfront inn featured in “Nights in Rodanthe” has once again surfaced on the market; and it could be yours, if you’re willing to splash out $1,699,000—a price drop of $100,000 from its initial listing in October.

Located in Rodanthe, NC, the six-bedroom inn is the setting for the 2008 Richard Gere and Diane Lane film.

Based on Nicholas Sparks‘ 2002 novel, the romance tells the story of Adrienne Willis (played by Lane), who is tasked with watching over her friend’s inn for a weekend. The only guest is Dr. Paul Flanner (played by Gere). The two spark as they sort out the complexities in their lives.







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What Is a Loft Apartment? What to Know About Homes With Space to Spare

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If you’re looking to rent or buy a spacious apartment with few walls closing you in, loft living can be your ticket to happiness. As its “lofty” description suggests, these studio apartment buildings are characterized by their soaring ceilings, concrete or hardwood floors, and open, all-one-room floor plans.

Characteristics of a loft apartment

Loft apartments are typically converted factories or other industrial buildings, and often highlight this architectural history by leaving many of their raw features intact. These apartments often have exposed brick walls, high ceilings, visible piping and support beams, and wood or concrete floors. These features are actually a large part of the apartments’ charm.

“Converted loft apartments have more of a cool factor than a typical condo does,” says David Kean, a Realtor® in Beverly Hills who lived in a Los Angeles loft for seven years.

A brief history of loft apartments

Although there’s debate about when loft apartments originated—some say urban homesteaders converted industrial spaces to lofts as early as the 1940s—these wide-open studio apartments began finding their groove in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the SoHo district of New York City, at the time a wasteland of abandoned sweatshops and retired factories.

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$2.7 Million Homes in California

A Mediterranean-style house in Altadena, a three-bedroom retreat in Palm Springs and a Spanish-style home in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Woman claims free speech violated following mobile home crackdown

Chasidy Decker was forced out of her Meridian, Idaho, mobile home because it was parked in a residential neighborhood, which violated city codes. Now she's suing the city because its action left her unhoused.

Erin and Ben Napier of ‘Home Town’ Are Back—This Time, They’re Renovating Their Own House

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Erin and Ben Napier have returned for Season 7 of their hit show, “Home Town“—and in the premiere episode, they renovate a house very near and dear to their hearts: their own!

In “The Country House,” Erin and Ben head just outside of Laurel, MS, to work on the property that they plan to use as a country getaway.

“To us, vacation is really just being away from technology and work,” Erin explains.

“So we bought a place in the country,” Ben says.

kitchen
updated kitchen
large bedroom
bedroom library
lighting
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kids' room
whimsical wallpaper
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Broker Connect at ICNY: Attack your biggest threats, create your brightest future

Broker Connect at Inman Connect New York offers two in-depth hours of education on how best to position your company in this constantly-changing industry by learning from experts in the field.

WATCH: Boomers, Gen X and millennials championing inclusion in real estate leadership

In this video, the historic 2022 president of the Atlanta Realtors Association, Karen Hatcher, shares just some of the organizations and individuals that have shaped her.

Slowdown in apartment rent expected to continue, CoStar says

Rent dropped for a fourth straight month in November, with all but six of the nation's top 40 markets reporting flat or declining month-over-month rent.

Housing affordability hits record low, with cities in South hit hardest

Cities in the Southeast once considered affordable are becoming more and more expensive as housing affordability reaches its lowest levels.

‘It impacts everyone:’ Redfin adds zoning and land use data to listings

Redfin launched its latest listing data update on Monday, which provides zoning and land use data for more than 70 million listings in the U.S. and Canada. The feature will be available on iOS and Android by Q1 2023.

Family of Colin Powell Sells McLean, VA, Home for $2.8M

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Colin Powell was not only a four-star general who served for decades in the Army, but also a trailblazer who held three of the highest positions in the U.S. government.

Powell served as the first Black national security adviser under Ronald Reagan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush, and secretary of state under George W. Bush.

Powell died in October 2021 at the age of 84.

And now, his former home in McLean, VA, just 10 miles outside the nation’s capital, has changed hands.


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6 Things Recent Homebuyers Can’t Stand About Their Bathroom

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Buyer’s remorse comes in many forms. In the aftermath of the most recent real estate rush, many homebuyers who were willing to compromise their priorities are now wishing they hadn’t been so lax about things like their down payment budget or paying way over the asking price.

And a recent study found that 1 in 4 first-time homebuyers who purchased a home in 2021 and 2022 regrets buying a property that needs too much maintenance.

As it turns out, underlying maintenance problems can manifest quite quickly in the bathroom. It’s a room that gets a lot of use.

So after enough time, red flags that were simply overlooked during the buying process—or viewed as minor fixes—eventually become major annoyances or problems.







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What Is a Lazy Susan? How a Traditional Turntable Can Help You Tidy Up

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In its simplest form, a Lazy Susan is a spinning tray that sits atop a table or shelf. Add compartments, and it becomes a brilliant storage solution that makes everything from ketchup bottles to cotton swabs easier to reach. Lazy Susans are available in just about any material: wood, bamboo, glass, or acrylic.

Wondering how well a Lazy Susan would fit into your home? You can spin the concept a multitude of ways in just about every room. Here’s how.

Lazy Susan for dining and entertaining

Photo by Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc

You may have grown up with a Lazy Susan on the kitchen table. It probably made passing the salt or the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter buttery spread easier for everyone. But tabletop turntables aren’t just for “Brady Bunch”–size families. A Lazy Susan made of dark wood or marble ($99.95, crateandbarrel.com) can be a chic, convenient solution for a formal dining table.


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What Goes Up Must Come Down: The Pandemic Era’s Hottest Markets Are Leading the U.S. in Price Reductions

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For those looking to sell their home, many have been forced to face the fact that they won’t get the price they’d dreamed of receiving anytime soon.

To close sales, more sellers are dropping asking prices than at any point in the past few years. The portion of homes on the market with at least one markdown is now outpacing even pre-pandemic years. Buyers simply can’t afford these high price tags now that mortgage interest rates have shot up.

In some parts of the country, as many as half of the homes on the market have had their price cut, making up, at least partly, for the higher monthly payment resulting from the currently hiked interest rates.

So where can buyers find the most discounted homes? And where do sellers need to be more realistic with their asking prices?

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Opendoor faces ‘existential’ crisis as iBuying fights for survival

The company recently reported a nearly billion-dollar loss and has now dramatically rearranged its executive lineup as the cash-buying sector contends with a slowing market.

She Found Serenity Again in Brooklyn, and a Place to Build a New Life

Christina Blacken was smitten with her old neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn. But when the pandemic struck, things began to fall apart.

Sending holiday cards? 5 tips for giving the warm and fuzzies on a budget

Yes, you can still send out your cards, even if your marketing budget is running out. Christy Murdock offers simple strategies to connect with your SOI before the year’s out.

Stand out online with a new website ending in .realtor and .realestate

For REALTORS®, there is no reason not to get a .realtortm web address. You’ll be leveraging one of the most powerful and trusted names in real estate to build trust, own your brand, and elevate your status in the market

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