Posts made in April 2015

Could it happen here?

“European banks paying borrowers to buy homes”

 

Believe it or not… that was the title of a newsfeed article I just read.  Evidently, Eurpean central banks (their Federal Reserve Banks) have pushed interest rates so low that the inconceivable has happened.  Some European homeowners with variable rate mortgages are now being paid by their lenders each month.  Pretty wild!  Whodathunk?!

Could it happen here?  Idk.  But, check back to find out.

 

Taking down the IRS

Gosh, I truly hope you had better fortune with the IRS than I did this year.  (And no, I promise not to spend it all in one place… LOL)IRS refund 001

  • Seriously though, the tax advantages of owning real estate are many— and hidden in the tax code are many opportunities for seriously reducing what you have to pay the gubmint.   However, as in all things that have to do with gubmint paperwork, the devil is in the details.  Now, you can do yourself a BIG favor though, and take advantage of the IRS publications that discuss (in detail) just what these tax-saving opportunities are all about.  Give ’em a read (they’re free btw) and you may just be surprised at some of the items you might be able to take advantage of— and reduce the amount of money you have to give to the IRS!

Here’s a partial list that you can scope out at www.IRS.gov…

Publication Number

  • 504  Divorced or separated individuals
  • 527 Residential rental property
  • 530  Tax information for homeowners
  • 537  Installment sales
  • 544  Sales and other dispositions of assets
  • 547  Casualties, disasters, and thefts
  • 551  Basis of assets
  • 587  Business use of your home
  • 936  Home mortgage interest deduction
  • 4681  Cancelled debts, foreclosures, repossessions, and abandonments

Forms and Instuctions

  • Schedule A Itemized Deductions
  • Schedule D Capital Gains
  • 982 Reduction of tax attributes due to discharge of indebtedness
  • 4797 Sale of business property
  • 5405 Repayment of first time homebuyer credit
  • 6252 Installment sale income
  • 8828 Recapture of federal mortgage subsidy
  • 8949 Sales and other dispositions of capital assets

Invest a few minutes with a couple of these pamphlets and you just might not have to pay some of your hard earned money to the IRS.  Good luck!

 

Looking for a house to flip?

I just closed two house purchases for two successful fix n’ flip artists.  It got me to thinkin’ why these two particular individuals are so successful- while others seem to never get off the ground.

You know, I get a LOT of calls from people looking for “good deals” on houses to fix n’ flip.  For the most part, the callers fall into one of two categories.

1)  There are the guys n’ gals who talk to me on a regular basis, and then we select the properties with the best potential and we go look at them— inside and out, in bad weather and good, whenever.  Assuming they can do a decent job of estimating costs and getting the work done, they are the successful ones.

2)  Then there are the people who say, “when you find a good deal call me.”  Sorry, but like I said, I get a LOT of calls for these properties.  So why would I want to work with someone who doesn’t want to get off the couch and dig in and do the work necessary to be a successful fix n’ flipper?  (Btw, the people in this category are not usually the successful ones.)

‘Nuff said.  If you want to be a successful fix n’ flipper then you really need to put in the time so that you buy right.  It all starts there.  And btw, we’re a team.

Have questions about how to do successful fix n’ flips— call me!