Understanding Home Tax Benefits
 |
As MSN reports, tax breaks are frequently cited as motivation for moving from renting to owning, and there are many ways a home can cut your tax bill. But, as is often the case with the U.S. tax code, homeownership tax benefits are not always clear cut. That frequently leads to some bad information floating around. While myths, half-truths and misconceptions may abound, we’ve narrowed it down to five which, if you buy into them, could cost you. |
search for : homeownership tax benefits
Here is a Method That Will Help Insure Successful Real Estate Investing
| Using your pension to invest is hot. Like most other popular investing trends, there are pitfalls for the inexperienced when using your pension for real estate investing. Consider UDFI (unrelated debt-financed income) and UDFI Tax, for example. Not everyone has enough cash in their plan to buy a property or business outright. Not everyone wants to sink all of their pension money into a single project, either. UDFI happens when your pension fund borrows money to make up the difference. |  |
search for : real estate investing, unrelated debt-financed income, UDFI Tax
Understanding Why Sellers should always get a home inspection
 |
Home inspections have come to be regarded as a reasonable and routine procedure when buying a home. In fact, most real estate purchase contracts specify inspections as a buyer’s option, thereby obligating sellers to accommodate this normal disclosure process. If your father were to refuse a home inspection of his property, he would not only violate that contractual provision but would foster an air of suspicion in the minds of most buyers. Even if he had nothing to hide, his position would appear suspect. |
search for : Home inspections
The Perfect Weekend Tourist Destination
Although only two miles long by five miles wide, the Tennessee mountain town of Gatlinburg is a thriving tourist community of over 3,500 permanent residents. Nearly surrounding Gatlinburg is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which last year hosted nine million visitors. Years ago, the park transformed Gatlinburg into a mountain resort destination. Gatlinburg is packed with dozens of up-scale and economy lodgings, fast-food and fine dining and dozens of attractions from miniature golf to theme parks. During all but the coldest of days, families enjoy one of many campgrounds in the area.
Gatlinburg TN is known as the wedding chapel of western Tennessee by hosting tens of thousands of romantic weddings every year. The majesty of the mountainous location makes a perfect backdrop for the wedding ceremony. Couples can get married in a quiet mountain chapel in downtown Gatlinburg, deep within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, or even in the privacy of their own rental cottage.
Gatlinburg has recently become a perfect showroom for buyers and dealers. With 67,000 feet of floor space for 350 booths in the Great Hall and room for 1000 more booths within the same building, Gatlinburg has the facilities to host many major trade shows each year. Thus, businesses can make their convention or trade show a leisurely buying trip for clients with the added attraction of allowing the clients’ family to enjoy the mountains and Gatlinburg attractions.
The best ways to attract fixer-upper buyers
| Don’t let a prospective buyer look at your home until it has been prepared for sale. Buyers remember what they see, not what you tell them the house will look like when you’re done with the prep work. You could lose a good prospect by showing your home before it is ready. Circumstances may not permit you to do much to a fixer property before you put it on the market. You might be short of funds or have a pressing deadline. In this case, the best approach can be to take advantage of the fact that the property you’re selling is a fixer-upper. In other words, market it as a fixer. | 
|
Understanding the 5 steps to a profitable home purchase
 |
Once you find a house or condo, before making a purchase offer, ask your buyer’s agent, “How much did the seller pay for this home?” Most buyers don’t ask this vital question. Your buyer’s agent might be shocked. Just explain the reason you need to know is to discover how much negotiation room the seller has so you can buy the property. Your agent will be thrilled to learn you plan to make a purchase offer. For example, if you learn the seller paid $100,000 for the property many years ago, and the comparable home sales prices in the vicinity indicate it is worth $300,000 today, that seller has lots of negotiation room. |
search for : comparable home sales prices
Who Else Wants To Make room for mom?
| According to CNN Money an increasing number of adults - 11 million in all, according to recent estimates - are taking care of an older person in their home. And that number will likely rise sharply over the next few decades as the population ages. Certainly the emotional and financial advantages of opening your home to a parent can be great. You won’t have to stress about whether they are taking proper care of themselves - you’ll be able to see for yourself and help as needed. And if your mom or dad becomes frail or chronically ill, neither one of you will have to pay the $30,000 or so a year that the average assisted-living facility costs. |  |
search for : taking care of an older person, assisted-living facility
Little Known Ways To Successful Investing In Real Estate ETFs
 |
After beating the broad market for seven years, REITs got clobbered in the first two months of 2007. Investors, fearful that problems in the residential mortgage industry would spill over to commercial real estate, sold off the industry group by 15%. That put REITs in correction territory. It’s easy now to buy REITs without digging through each company’s financial statements and driving around to visit their properties. There are several REIT index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that buy baskets of REITs. That’s a great deal because it reduces your risk of picking the wrong REIT and it also diversifies you geographically, giving you exposure to commercial property across the nation. |
search for : REIT, REIT index mutual fund, exchange-traded fund, ETF
Understanding the true costs of owning a home
| The temptation to buy a house can be strong, especially if you’ve been renting for a while, have gotten married or are ready to start a family. To help you estimate your own cost of home ownership and come up with a realistic housing budget, I offer my experience as an example. Below, I itemize the expenses Alex and I have paid over the past four years, complete with dollar amounts. Your own costs will vary depending on the size, condition and location of the house, but this should help you anticipate what you’re getting into. Homeownership comes with a bevy of benefits, but you’ll want to make sure it’s the right move for you at this point in your life before making that long-term commitment. |  |
search for : buy a house, cost of home ownership