One in a continuing series spotlighting real estate markets in the region's communities.
There's more than just one Berlin at the end of Haddonfield-Berlin Road in Camden County.
Today's destination is Berlin Township, also known as West Berlin, which refers to the unincorporated community where most residents live.
As confusing as it all is - especially when you toss in Berlin Borough, which was created from the township by referendum in 1927 - convenience is the word Realtor Val Nunnenkamp applies to this community of 5,362.
"Convenient location," Nunnenkamp says.
"It is between the borough and Voorhees," says Nunnenkamp, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors in Marlton, and "that means shopping and other amenities those two communities offer are convenient" - though the township has plenty to offer, as well.
"Most people don't realize you pay 8 percent to 12 percent less for houses in the township than you do in the borough, and 12 percent to 17 percent less than for homes in Voorhees," he says.
There is little home construction in Berlin Township, he says, except for the "very popular" over-55 community Montebello, being developed by J.S. Hovnanian & Sons, with homes starting at $299,000.
"I've sold 12 homes there," Nunnenkamp says. "With prices averaging $340,000 to $540,000, it is by far the most expensive neighborhood in Berlin Township."
Otherwise, there is not much land available for building, he notes - though that wasn't always the case.
The first major development built in Berlin Township was Berlin Estates, off Harker Avenue, which was opened in 1956.
"The houses were designed as entry-level homes for veterans, and were 870 square feet, with three bedrooms and one bath - five rooms being the standard model," Nunnenkamp says.
The houses were built on slabs, so there were no basements. The price: $10,000.
"Roses were grown on the property where the houses were built, so the builder called the entrance 'Rose Lane,' " Nunnenkamp says.
In the intervening 60 years, homeowners have added on, often an extra 500 or 600 square feet, and the average sale price is now $149,900 "if beautiful," he says.
That's an average of $1.30 a square foot, Nunnenkamp says, adding that "if you still own an original little 'box,' it is $1.15 to $1.20 a foot."
Pinecrest, off Franklin Avenue, came along next, in 1962, he says.
"These bi-levels, split-levels, ranchers, and two-story homes sold for $12,000 to $20,000 originally," Nunnenkamp says.
Homes in Pinecrest also have been updated and expanded - they did have basements - and now sell for $160,000 to $230,000, he says.
Centaurion Woods - bi-levels, ranchers and two-story homes - behind the Berlin Township Police Department building was built in 1973 with homes that originally sold for $48,000 to $65,000.
"It isn't as popular as some other locations," Nunnenkamp says, probably because of its closeness to busy Route 73 and the fact that the development was built among older bungalows.
Two active listings in Centaurion Woods are priced at $145,000 and $157,000, Trend Multiple Listing Service data show.
Other than at Montebello, prices typically fall into the $150,000 to $250,000 range, meaning that Berlin Township is a perfect address for the first-time buyer, Nunnenkamp says - "a nice little starter home for the money in a nice little town."
In the last six months, there were 49 sales here. Currently, 19 sales are pending, and there are 42 active listings. The average property tax bill in the township is $6,074, up 2.6 percent from 2014.
"Berlin has a little downtown along Haddonfield Road, Route 561, three ballparks and a playground, lots of stores and places to eat," Nunnenkamp says.
Most popular are Sundaes ice cream shop on Route 73 and Sprinklz on Haddon Avenue, which draw customers from 30 miles away, he says.
"Los Amigos and Oceanos Family Restaurant have been there for 40 years," he says. And then there's Jersey Joe's Hoagies and Deli on Haddon Avenue - before or after the homemade sea salt caramel water ice at Sprinklz.
Read more at http://www.philly.com
The Wall Street Journal
By Laura Saunders
March 5, 2016 1:00 a.m. ET
Working on your tax return? Put your records in order now to cope with a challenge from the Internal Revenue Service down the road.
To see the difference proper proof makes, consider the results of two Tax Court cases released in December. In the first one, the judge ruled that a business consultant owed more than $23,000 in taxes and penalties for 2010 and 2011 because he didn’t have convincing records of write-offs for wages, travel, meals and entertainment.
The same week, another judge ruled that a couple who owned a small business could deduct nearly $7,000 in mileage expenses for business travel in 2010—even though their records were handwritten on index cards, and some were missing.
“The better your records, the less agita you’ll have with the IRS,” says Ed Mendlowitz, a CPA with accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown who is based in New Brunswick, N.J.
The tax rules on record-keeping have a surprising history. In the 1920s, the entertainer George M. Cohan—who wrote the songs “(I’m a) Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “Give My Regards to Broadway”—deducted more than $50,000 for travel and entertainment related to his profession, including “entertaining” drama critics. Mr. Cohan didn’t have receipts for many of the expenses, so the IRS denied them.
In 1930, however, the celebrated jurist Learned Hand ruled that Mr. Cohan’s lack of records didn’t bar him from taking deductions, as long as they had a basis in fact and could reasonably be estimated. His pro-taxpayer decision became known as the Cohan Rule.
Congress has since whittled away Mr. Cohan’s tax legacy by enacting stiff standards for some deductions, especially ones subject to abuse. As for the IRS, its gold standard for write-offs without receipts, such as miles driven in one’s own car for business, is “contemporaneous records.” That means notes made when the expense was incurred, such as a log recording miles driven.
But IRS agents and judges also can accept good-faith estimates and other forms of proof for write-offs. Because the couple in the December case kept timely records on index cards, the judge allowed their testimony regarding some missing cards.
As you make your way to this year’s April deadline, here is record-keeping advice from experts.
Avoid charitable-donation pitfalls. Current law is both clear and rigid: taxpayers who make cash contributions need proper proof of the donation in hand before filing their returns in order to get a deduction. If the taxpayer gets the proof only after filing, the IRS could disallow it.
Proper proof of a cash donation typically consists of a letter from the charity giving its amount, date and the value of anything (such as a tote bag or dinner) received in return. That value must be subtracted from the deduction.
The rules for other types of donations, such as property, are also persnickety about proof. In a famous 2012 case, a California couple lost an $18.5 million deduction for property donated to charity because they didn’t have the correct records. The judge acknowledged that the decision was harsh, but said the law left him no choice. For more on substantiating charitable deductions, see IRS Publication 526.
Take care with T&E. Large deductions for travel, meals, and entertainment are often an audit magnet, so treat them carefully. Taxpayers are supposed to keep records showing who, what, when, where, and why; experts say the one people most frequently forget is the “business purpose” of the activity. Suggestion: when setting up a meeting that will include deductible expenses, record the business purpose at the same time.
For details on travel, meals and entertainment deductions, see IRS Publication 463.
Update records for your home. Did you add a room to your home this year, install new windows, or add a deck? Such investments can increase your “cost basis” in the home, which could lower the tax bill when it is sold.
For example, say a couple bought a home for $100,000 years ago in a high-growth area such as Seattle. If they sell it for $700,000, the law allows them to avoid tax on $500,000 of their $600,000 profit—so they would owe tax on $100,000. If, however, they invested $75,000 in improvements over the years, their cost basis rises by that amount and they would owe tax only on $25,000 of profit.
For more about what qualifies as an investment in a home, see IRS Publication 523.
Know when to toss. How long do you have to keep tax records? The law has various statutes of limitations, but Mr. Mendlowitz offers a rule of thumb: Keep tax returns (plus substantiation) for seven years. And for assets held outside tax-favored retirement plans, keep records of their cost until seven years after the asset is sold. That, of course, can be a very long time.
Source: http://www.wsj.com
