MY HGTV PROFILE

MY HGTV PROFILE

Top reasons to sell home in winter

Aside from less competition, low borrowing costs give buyers incentive
By Dian Hymer
Inman News™

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We're getting close to the end of the year, which begs the question of whether it's worthwhile trying to sell your home now. FULL ARTICLE ......

RISMedia : Mortgage Rates Again Fall to Record Lows

Mortgage rates fell once again, to the lowest point on record, according
to mortgage rate research website, ForTheBestRate.com. Rates for a 30
year fixed rate.... Full Article Link

Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home

Real Estate Tax Talk
By Stephen Fishman
Inman News™

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From time to time the IRS releases tips designed to help people with their taxes. Some of these are quite useful.
Last week the agency released "Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home," (IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2011-15).
As a real estate agent or broker, it is not your job to give home sellers tax advice. Indeed, it is advisable not to, since you could end up getting sued if you give wrong advice.
Instead, refer sellers to this list of IRS tips. It's a good starting place for them to begin to understand this often complex area of tax law. You could even print it out and hand it to anyone who asks you about these issues.
Here are the IRS's top 10 tax tips for home sellers:
1. In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.

2. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).

3. You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.

4. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.

5. If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.

6. You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.

7. Worksheets are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude.

8. If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time.

9. If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year's tax return.

10. When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.
These tips can be found on the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/content/0,,id=104608,00.html.
Stephen Fishman is a tax expert, attorney and author who has published 18 books, including "Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Contractors, Freelancers and Consultants," "Deduct It," "Working as an Independent Contractor," and "Working with Independent Contractors." He welcomes your questions for this weekly column.

How Recent Changes in Reverse Mortgages Impact Older Homeowners

How Recent Changes in Reverse Mortgages Impact Older Homeowners. Full Article.....

10 Tips for a Cleaner, Safer Kitchen

By Kathleen Purvis

RISMEDIA, April 14, 2011—(MCT)—The first day of spring has come and gone. To get the cleaning season started right, we looked for the best advice on cleaning the busiest—and maybe dirtiest—room in the house: the kitchen.
Full Article

5 Real Estate and Mortgage Urban Legends

Entire feature films, websites and hour-long cable specials have been devoted to debunking urban legends, those modern fables that circulate at the speed of the internet. And real estate is not immune; modern-day myths of easy-peasy seller financing, distressed sellers practically throwing their properties at buyers, and cosmetic fixers that can be had for pennies are just that - fairy tales which, if believed, can result in some not-so-happy endings. FULL ARTICLE

Easy way to eradicate popcorn ceilings

Easy way to eradicate popcorn ceilings

5 factors that affect home values

5 factors that affect home values

Tips for Keeping Your Clients' Homes Healthy

Tips for Keeping Your Clients' Homes Healthy
By Stephanie Andre

RISMEDIA, January 18, 2011—It’s easy to overlook a small leak or slight draft. But these problems have the potential to get worse very quickly. To prevent a big problem from arising, energystar.gov recommends having a contractor perform annual check-ups—on the cooling system in the spring and the heating system in the fall. To remember, you might plan the check-ups around the time changes in the spring and fall.

Here are some things you should expect a contractor to handle:

• Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
• Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
• Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
• Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
• Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.

Cooling Specific
• Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
• Check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
• Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15 percent.

Heating Specific
• Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.

Actions You Can Do Yourself
• Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.
Source: energystar.gov

Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Jump Again

Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Jump Again

RISMEDIA, January 3, 2011—Mortgage rates climbed higher last week, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rising to 5.02 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.44 discount and origination points.

To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 4.39 percent and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate rose to 5.64 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages also went up, with the average 5-year ARM rising to 4 percent and the average 7-year ARM reaching 4.43 percent.

The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was Nov. 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 5.02 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,076.09, a savings of $166 per month for a homeowner refinancing now.

Survey Results
30-year fixed: 5.02% -- up from 4.96% last week (avg. points: 0.44)
15-year fixed: 4.39% -- up from 4.29% last week (avg. points: 0.4)
5/1 ARM: 4.00% -- up from 3.92% last week (avg. points: 0.45)

Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets.

For a full analysis of last week's move in mortgage rates, go to http://www.bankrate.com.