10 tips for a smooth home sale

Putting your house out in the market can be exasperating. The entire process needs your time and energy for a good result – but almost always, when done the right way, the end result would more than satisfy you.

It is very important to surround yourself with experts who know the ins and outs of the business. They will guide you on how to effortlessly go through the entire process of getting yourself a buyer and achieving a smooth transaction.

Choose the right Real Estate professional

               If you are planning to sell your home 

              choose a Realtor who  is knowledgeable 

              about the current market situation and has

              the credentials to prove it. Your Realtor is  

              going to be your advocate and  

              represents your best interest. He must 

              be trustworthy and upfront in all your

              transactions.

Understand the process

Meet with your broker, lay your cards on the table. Keep on asking, a great Realtor won’t mind questions. Voice out your realistic expectations and have him walk you through the entire process from start to finish.

Choose a good attorney

Choosing an experienced, local real estate attorney is crucial. Ask your broker for recommendations. A good lawyer  can help you save time and energy.

Prepare your home to go on the market

The golden rule is “Less is more.” Walk systematically through your home with your broker to decide what needs to be done to make it ready.

Market your home

Your broker needs to be using print and Web advertising, social media, YouTube videos, individual domain sites, blogs, key words, etc., to reach today's buyer who is sophisticated, knowledgeable, and online.

Pricing is everything

If the price is right, a bidding war can happen. A realistically priced house obviously sells more quickly. Always remember that buyers are value-conscious, they always do research before they embark on this equally life-changing journey.

Host open houses

Making the effort to host regular open houses is important. Your broker should be available and excited about the opportunity.

Negotiate an offer

With our current market situation, offers usually start low. Don’t fret, it’s perfectly normal. Keep your emotions at bay, you never know where the offer will go so do not be afraid of countering. Working through the details in a calm manner always achieves the best results.

Deal with the inspection

Understanding the importance of the inspection is the first step to maintaining the emotion-free tone necessary during negotiations.

Move on

Your house is finally sold. It’s time to organize and move things out of the house. Your broker will disclose to you the local laws regarding smoke/carbon dioxide inspections, utility transfer etc. Now you can celebrate your successful sale and move forward to even greater things.  

 

Do you want to work with a Realtor who never fails to keep his clients updated about Real Estate trends?  Call me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the subdivisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda and Whitehall Condominium.

How to Deduct Your Mortgage Interest & Equity Loan Costs Read

Deducting mortgage interest is a great tax benefit that can make home ownership more affordable. Your first mortgage isn’t the only loan that qualifies, either. In many cases, you can also deduct interest on home equity loans, second mortgages, and home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs.

If you want to deduct all of your mortgage interest, there are limits on both how much money you can borrow and on what you do with the money you get. You also need to itemize your return to reap the benefits of these deductions. Calculations can be complicated, so consult a tax adviser.

Know your loan limits  

A good place to check out what you can deduct before you borrow is the chart on page 3 of IRS Publication 936. It’ll walk you through the requirements you must meet to deduct all of your home loan interest. It’s an hour well spent.

The first hurdle you’ll run into is the total amount of your loan or loans. In general, individuals and couples filing jointly can deduct the interest on up to $1 million ($500,000 if you’re married and filing separately) in combined home loans, as long as the money was used for acquisition costs, that is the cost to buy, build, or substantially improve a home. Any interest paid on loan amounts above the $1 million threshold isn’t deductible.

The same $1 million limit applies whether you have one home or two. Buying a vacation home doesn’t double your loan limits. And two homes is the max; you can’t deduct a mortgage for a third home. If you have a mortgage you took out before Oct. 13, 1987, you have fewer restrictions on claiming a full deduction. The calculations for “grandfathered debt” can get complex, so get help from a tax professional or refer to IRS Publication 936.

Whatever you do, don’t forget that you can also deduct the points and fees associated with a first or second mortgage when you initially buy your home. If you refinance the same house, you have to deduct those costs over the entire term of the loan. If you refinance again, you can deduct all the costs from the earlier refi in the year you take out the new loan.

Spend loan proceeds wisely
The other limitation on how much you can borrow and still get your deduction comes into play when you take out a home equity loan or HELOC that you don’t use to buy, build, or improve your home. In that case, you can deduct the interest you pay only on the first $100,000 ($50,000 if married filing separately). This loan limit also applies in a so-called cash-out refi, in which you refinance and take out part of the equity you’ve built up as cash.

That means if you decide to take out a $115,000 home equity loan to buy that Porsche, you can deduct the interest on the first $100,000 but not on the $15,000 that exceeds the limit. Use the same $115,000 to add a new bedroom, however, and the full amount is allowable under the $1 million cap. Keep in mind, though, that the $115,000 gets added into the pot of whatever else you owe on your other home loans. In many cases, points and loan origination costs for HELOCs are deductible.

Consider this simplified scenario: You borrow $250,000 against your home at 8% interest. That means you’ll pay $20,000 in interest the first year. Spend the $250,000 on home improvements, and all of the interest is deductible. Spend $150,000 on improvements and $100,000 on your kids’ college tuition, and all the interest is still deductible. But spend $100,000 on improvements and $150,000 on tuition, and the improvement outlays are deductible, though $50,000 of the tuition expense isn’t. That’ll cost you $4,000 in interest deductions. Preserve the $4,000 deduction by coming up with the extra money for tuition from another source, perhaps a low-interest student loan or by borrowing from a retirement plan. For someone in a 25% bracket, a $4,000 deduction lowers taxes by $1,000, plus applicable state income taxes.

Beware the dreaded AMT
Even if you’ve followed all the loan limit rules, you can still get stuck paying tax on mortgage interest. How come? It’s all thanks to the Alternative Minimum Tax. Congress created the AMT, which limits or eliminates many deductions, as a way to keep the wealthy from dodging their fair share of taxes.

Calculating the AMT can be complex, but if you make more than $75,000 and have several kids or other deductions, you might well be subject to it. Problem is, if you fall into the AMT group, you may not be able to deduct interest on a home equity loan, even if the loan falls within the $1 million/$100,000 limit. If you’re subject to the AMT and borrow money against the value of your home, you’ll have to use it to buy, build, or improve your place, or you may not have a chance to deduct the interest.

This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but shouldn’t be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction. Source: houselogic.com

Would you like to work with a Realtor who offers valuable information and provides the highest level of customer service to his clients? Call me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda, and Whitehall Condominium.

Free Veggies for All! Should We Follow the British Example?

Planting flowers in public spaces adds beauty to any area, but what if vegetables were planted there instead?

Have you noticed abandoned patches of land in your community suddenaly springing to life? It could be the work of an underground movement called guerrilla gardening — the practice of taking unused land and planting it with flowers and shrubs, just to beautify the area a bit.

Now, a group of British women are bringing the same concept to light — except their aim is not only to beautify, but to feed their neighborhood.

Pam Warhurst and Mary Clear of Todmorden, West Yorkshire, believe flowers are well and good, but planting vegetables in public spaces would benefit their town much more. Incredible Edible Todmorden replaces flowers in public gardens with vegetables, then invites local residents to help themselves to ripe veggies whenever they like, free of charge. This means food has to travel much fewer miles to get to hungry mouths, reducing impact on the environment.

Within 10 years, they aim to have their town producing their own fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products.

Norah Hamill, who runs a similar project in the nearby town of Huddersfield, encourages her neighbors to plant vegetables wherever possible — back yards, public gardens, schools, even cemeteries. Shopkeepers and café owners are invited to put container gardens outside their establishments, and passersby can pick at will.

Occasional acts of vandalism, or people taking more than their fair share, can be expected, but organizers still say the educational and environmental benefits outweigh this risk.

Incredible Edible Todmorden and Incredible Edible Huddersfield have already been inundated with donated seeds, tools, and volunteers. Other nearby towns, such as Wilmslow and Wakefield, are following suit with their own community agriculture.

Do you think Americans would be open to adopting this practice?

Source: www.houselogic.com

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD & VA areas. I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the subdivisions on Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda and Whitehall Condominium.