Tax rules that let you escape paying federal income tax after a short sale expire this year. Read
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Copyright 2012 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
To successfully appeal your property tax bill, you first need to do a bit of sleuthing into your real estate assessment. Read
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Guide to Paint Sheens: Oooo, Shiny!You think choosing the right color for your paint job is hard? Try picking the right sheen. HouseLogic will help you tell your semi-gloss from your satin finish. Read |
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The tax deductions you’re eligible to take for mortgage interest and property taxes greatly increase the financial benefits of homeownership. Here’s how it works.
Assume:
$9,877 = Mortgage interest paid (a loan of $150,000 for 30 years, at 7 percent, using year-five interest)
$2,700 = Property taxes (at 1.5 percent on $180,000 assessed value)
______
$12,577 = Total deduction
Then, multiply your total deduction by your tax rate.
For example, at a 28 percent tax rate: 12,577 x 0.28 = $3,521.56
$3,521.56 = Amount you have lowered your federal income tax (at 28 percent tax rate)
Note: Mortgage interest may not be deductible on loans over $1.1 million. In addition, deductions are decreased when total income reaches a certain level.
These days, especially, everyone I talk to is looking for a deal. With the housing market a shambles can you blame them? But what buyers and investors need to know is this:
A house in good condition will not go unnoticed. Other buyers see them and jump at the chance to own them. Multiple offers will come into play. Then you have the buyers in a bidding war. When this happens, the “highest and best offer” is what gets the lender a certain net price. That price may or may not be the balance of the outstanding mortgage but you can bet your bottom dollar that they want to make money on the deal if they can. Lenders get appraisals so they know the value of the house for which they are negotiating Typically, they wait for more than one offer to make a decision and execute a contract. Hence, a buyer can sometimes wait for months to get a response to their offer this is true for foreclosures, REOs (real estate owned by the lender) and short sales. . I heard of one instance where the lender waited seven months to respond!
Houses that are in poor condition will cost the buyer money to repair. An inspection is high priority for all homes being purchased and this is especially true for foreclosed houses – they must be inspected. Most of the time, the lender will not take responsibility for fixing up the property but a home inspection will give some indication of what the buyer is taking on. To reiterate, a home inspection is a must when buying foreclosed property. You want to know what to expect. Most of the time, you will have more immediate out of pocket costs in addition to the new mortgage. When you know this, you have the opportunity to reject the contract or accept the property with the known issues. under some conditions, 203k loans will help if the mortgage is an FHA mortgage.
Sometimes, it is better to get a house that is not foreclosed. If your housing needs are immediate, distressed property may not be the way to go. It is all relative. Some buyers prefer not to wait. Some buyers can afford to wait it out. When you understand the process, it may or may not be worth it to look for a “deal”. On the other hand, sometimes the waiting game may pay off.
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Apple innovator Steve Jobs embraced small-is-better kitchens ahead of his time. Read
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Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®