The kitchen features custom knotty pine cabinets with 7″ dental moldings and fretwork, granite counters, tumbled limestone back splash, large island with bar seating, built-in baking and coffee pantries, pasta drawers, recycling center and a desk organization center.  Appliances: 6-burner Wolf range, Sub-Zero refrigerator, stainless steel dishwasher and microwave, icemaker and built-in wine cooler. The kitchen opens to the gathering room featuring a Texas Rubble Rock stone and brick fireplace overlooking the patio and backyard from a wall of windows. Butler’s pantry is accented with cherry wood cabinetry, dental molding and leaded glass inserts. The dining room has wainscoting, wide dental moldings and a large window. The great room features a cathedral ceiling, extra wide dental molding and a Fond du lac stone fireplace. The library has knotty pine cabinetry, built-in file cabinets, paneled walls, shelving, 12″ moldings and fireplace with reclaimed brick and extra wide knotty pine dental molding mantle.  The master bedroom suite overlooks the backyard, and has his and her closets, honed limestone counter, flooring and shower with multiple shower heads, Jacuzzi tub and custom cabinetry.

3 additional bedrooms upstairs feature walk-in closets with organizers, a Jack and Jill bathroom with double sinks and a shower, and a bedroom-bathroom suite. The 9′ high ceiling, walk-out lower level is premium finished with an additional bedroom and bathroom, large family room, game room, built-in book shelves and cherry cabinetry with a sink, dishwasher and refrigerator. The lower level is light-filled with a River Stone natural fireplace in the spacious family room which opens to the patio and backyard. Features of the home include a Lifetime dimensional shingle roof. It is wired for sound, cable, internet and phone and has 2generators which will run the entire house.
This is a beautiful Franklin Village home that lives comfortably in style and quality.

Wing Lake frontage on almost 1 acre lot. Spectacular private setting with lower level walk out to pool and gorgeous views. Great opportunity to renovate, add on or build. Home is well maintained. Located amidst more expensive homes with close access to Birmingham, Franklin Village and freeways. Swim or sail from your private dock. Wing Lake has a sandy bottom.

Gorgeous newer construction colonial. Open floor plan with 2 story foyer, wide plank wood floors and custom details throughout. Custom maple kitchen with granite counters, island, stainless steel appliances opens to family room with fireplace.

It’s generally a good time for a mortgage refinance when:

• Mortgage rates drop at least 1% below your current rate.
• You’re planning to stay in your house long enough to justify the closing costs.

No. 2 above requires some calculation on your part. To figure it out, you’ll need to know:

• The closing costs for a new loan. Ask potential lenders—costs usually run 3% to 6% of the loan amount. Lenders may finance these costs (that is, fold them into your loan amount), so you don’t actually have to write a check, but you’re still paying for it.
• Your current mortgage payment.
• Your potential new payment. Again, your lender can give you this.
• The length of time you plan to keep your home.

To simplify these calculations, do a quick search online for various free mortgage refinance calculators, which can be found on many bank sites. Find your breakeven point.
Here’s an example of how a mortgage refinance might play out with a typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage:

Amount refinanced – $200,000
Closing costs for new loan - 4%, or $8,000
Current mortgage - 6%, or $1,199 per month
New mortgage – 5%, or $1,074 per month
Monthly savings - $125

But even though you start paying the lower rate right away, you’ve shelled out $8,000 in closing costs, and you aren’t ahead of the game on your mortgage refinance until you’ve paid that off. At $125 in monthly savings you have to stay in your home 64 months—more than five years—to make it worth it ($125 x 64 months = $8,000). Move before then, and you’ve lost on the deal.  However, if you remain for 10 years, for example, you’ll have saved $7,000.
It gets better: Although 1% is the rule-of-thumb minimum for a mortgage refinance, lower rates can make refinancing even more attractive, as the breakeven period becomes shorter.

Consider the above mortgage refinance scenario if you could shave another half-point:

Amount refinanced - $200,000
Closing costs for new loan - 4%, or $8,000
Current mortgage - 6%, or $1,199 per month
New mortgage - 4.5%, or $1,013 per month
Monthly savings - $186

You now reach the breakeven point in just over 3.5 years.

Two additional factors can make a mortgage refinance an even better option:

• Your credit rating has improved since your last mortgage. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com to monitor improvements.
• You’ve started earning more money.

Both these factors make you a more desirable candidate in lenders eyes’ for a mortgage refinance, possibly allowing you to negotiate lower interest rates or lower closing costs, further shortening your breakeven period.

The bottom line is that you shouldn’t seek out a mortgage refinance just because “everyone is doing it.” It needs to make financial sense for you.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/mortgage-refinance-you-have-think-long-term/#ixzz1NOx1D2EX