from realtor.com...
When you are ready to sell your home you are probably focused on your potential profits, particularly if you plan to buy another home with the proceeds from the sale.
While REALTOR® commissions and other closing costs will impact how much you keep from the transaction, fortunately, if you’re like most sellers, you won’t have to pay a capital gains tax on your federal income tax return on profits up to $250,000 or $500,000 depending on how you file your taxes.
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 made it easier for more sellers to qualify for the capital gains tax exclusion. Prior to that date, the exclusion was limited to a once-in-a-lifetime benefit and only to sellers over age 55.
There are a few requirements you must meet to avoid capital gains taxes on your home sale, including:
◾The capital gains tax exclusion is limited to $250,000 of the profits from the sale of your home if you file taxes as a single person and to $500,000 of the profits if you file taxes jointly.
◾You must have lived in your home for at least two of the previous five years. The time that you live in the home doesn’t have to be within the past two years and doesn’t have to be altogether in one solid block, either. You can live there in two different years within the past five years and have that count. You don’t have to be living there when the house is listed for sale, either.
◾If you have used your home as a rental property and want to sell it, make sure you have lived in the home yourself for two of the past five years. In other words, if you lived in it for two years and want to sell it, make sure you sell it before you have rented it for more than three years.
◾Your home must be your principal residence rather than a vacation home or second home to qualify for the tax break.
◾You can invest the profits in anything you want. Before 1997, IRS rules said that you had to reinvest your profits from the sale of one home into another within two years to avoid paying taxes. Since 1997, taxpayers are not required to buy another home.
◾If you are married, you and your spouse cannot have used the capital gains exclusion within two years prior to your transaction.
Partial Exclusion
Even if you don’t qualify for the full capital gains tax exclusion, you may qualify for an exception to the two-year residency rule. Some examples of reasons you could be exempt from the two-year rule include an early move due to:
◾A change in your employment location
◾A health concern that forces you to move
◾Deployment for the military or foreign service
◾Divorce or separation
◾“Unforeseen circumstances,” such as an act of war or terrorism, or multiple births from one pregnancy.
Medicare Tax
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 imposed an additional potential tax on the sale of real estate, but this tax impacts only high-income individuals who earn $200,000 or $250,000 for a couple. This tax, designated to supplement Medicare expenses, imposes a 3.8% tax only on the amount of profit above the exclusion for capital gains taxes.
The only sellers who must pay this tax are those who have an income above the threshold and who also sell a house with profits above the capital gains exclusion. The tax is imposed only on the difference between your profit and the excluded amount, not the full profit.
Consult IRS Publication 523, “Selling your Home,” or consult a tax advisor to make sure you are following the correct rules related to the individual circumstances of your home sale.
Monday, June 23, 2014
House hunting? 8 things to ask about the neighborhood
interesting recent article from the Denver Post...
Take it from someone as transient as a tumbleweed: What surrounds your home has a greater impact on your health and happiness than what's in it.
You can have an amazing house, with fabulous features, finishes and furnishings, but if your surroundings are a toxic waste site, a cow pasture, a freeway and no neighbors, you've missed the point.
As I look back at my past homes, what I remember more than the wood floors, the upgraded appliances, or the lake or mountain views, was how easy — or not — it was to live my life: to get to work, the store, the kids' school; to run out the door for my morning jog; to know my neighbors.
So for those of you in the market, or who just want to know how your neighborhood stacks up, I've created a quiz. If nothing else, I hope it makes you pause when choosing between a home with fancy kitchen counters and one with friendly sidewalks.
Check all the statements that are true for you.
1. My house scores high on the walkability scale. To find your home's walkability score, go to walkscore.com and type in your address. Any score over 70 is very walkable. Give yourself credit for any address that gets a score over 50. Whether members of your household can walk to at least one, if not many of their daily activities, such as work, school, church, or the market, plays a big role in how much unintentional exercise they get, according to a walkability report from Smart Growth America that ranks America's 30 largest metros.
2. My neighborhood has sidewalks, a park, bike lanes, or bike or jogging trails. Those who live in communities that support walking, cycling and outdoor recreation are far more likely to be physically active, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national nonprofit that works to improve the health of Americans.
3. I live within a mile of a supermarket that sells fresh produce. Having a fresh-food supermarket nearby is associated with a lower rate of obesity, while living close to a convenience store, which usually doesn't sell fresh produce, has been linked to higher rates of obesity.
4. My town has a weekly farmer's market that I can get to in five minutes. Studies show that communities that support a farmer's market, which also provides easy access to healthy produce, are healthier.
5. The number of sit-down restaurants within a five-mile radius of my home either equals or exceeds the number of fast-food restaurants.
6. The environment around my home is relatively free of air and water pollution. To find out the quality of the air and water around your neighborhood, go to scorecard.goodguide.com. Enter your zip code and click "Get Report." You will find links to information concerning toxic chemicals released by area factories, lead hazards and other air pollutants, as well as how your drinking water compares to national averages.
7. I live within 30 minutes of a major medical center, and my family's primary health-care providers. Though you hope you never need it, how close you live to high-quality health care can have a considerable bearing on your quality of life. Residents who live near good health providers are more likely to receive the care they need to stay healthy, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
8. I feel close to my neighbors. Residents of close-knit neighborhoods are more likely to work together to keep their neighborhoods safe and look out for one another, creating a healthy social environment, than those who live in disconnected communities, according to the foundation.
Score
0-2: Remoteness could mean low 'hood health.
3-5: Semi-connected. Your neighborhood's health is pretty good.
6-8: Clean and connected. Your 'hood has what it takes for healthy living.
Take it from someone as transient as a tumbleweed: What surrounds your home has a greater impact on your health and happiness than what's in it.
You can have an amazing house, with fabulous features, finishes and furnishings, but if your surroundings are a toxic waste site, a cow pasture, a freeway and no neighbors, you've missed the point.
As I look back at my past homes, what I remember more than the wood floors, the upgraded appliances, or the lake or mountain views, was how easy — or not — it was to live my life: to get to work, the store, the kids' school; to run out the door for my morning jog; to know my neighbors.
So for those of you in the market, or who just want to know how your neighborhood stacks up, I've created a quiz. If nothing else, I hope it makes you pause when choosing between a home with fancy kitchen counters and one with friendly sidewalks.
Check all the statements that are true for you.
1. My house scores high on the walkability scale. To find your home's walkability score, go to walkscore.com and type in your address. Any score over 70 is very walkable. Give yourself credit for any address that gets a score over 50. Whether members of your household can walk to at least one, if not many of their daily activities, such as work, school, church, or the market, plays a big role in how much unintentional exercise they get, according to a walkability report from Smart Growth America that ranks America's 30 largest metros.
2. My neighborhood has sidewalks, a park, bike lanes, or bike or jogging trails. Those who live in communities that support walking, cycling and outdoor recreation are far more likely to be physically active, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national nonprofit that works to improve the health of Americans.
3. I live within a mile of a supermarket that sells fresh produce. Having a fresh-food supermarket nearby is associated with a lower rate of obesity, while living close to a convenience store, which usually doesn't sell fresh produce, has been linked to higher rates of obesity.
4. My town has a weekly farmer's market that I can get to in five minutes. Studies show that communities that support a farmer's market, which also provides easy access to healthy produce, are healthier.
5. The number of sit-down restaurants within a five-mile radius of my home either equals or exceeds the number of fast-food restaurants.
6. The environment around my home is relatively free of air and water pollution. To find out the quality of the air and water around your neighborhood, go to scorecard.goodguide.com. Enter your zip code and click "Get Report." You will find links to information concerning toxic chemicals released by area factories, lead hazards and other air pollutants, as well as how your drinking water compares to national averages.
7. I live within 30 minutes of a major medical center, and my family's primary health-care providers. Though you hope you never need it, how close you live to high-quality health care can have a considerable bearing on your quality of life. Residents who live near good health providers are more likely to receive the care they need to stay healthy, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
8. I feel close to my neighbors. Residents of close-knit neighborhoods are more likely to work together to keep their neighborhoods safe and look out for one another, creating a healthy social environment, than those who live in disconnected communities, according to the foundation.
Score
0-2: Remoteness could mean low 'hood health.
3-5: Semi-connected. Your neighborhood's health is pretty good.
6-8: Clean and connected. Your 'hood has what it takes for healthy living.
Reasons You Should Not Move to Denver
Reasons You Should Not Move to Denver from bwbacongroup.com blog...funny stuff...
1.300 days of sunshine requires constant squinting or investment in sunglasses AND sunscreen.
2.We are only the second best football team in the country. (Probably best for you to move to Seattle?)
3.Being one of the happiest cities in the country gets truly annoying.
4.Lazy folks get easily irritated living in one of the most active cities in the U.S.
5.You will need to adjust your baking recipes due to the altitude.
6.It is a non-stop battle of: ski or snowboard? Hike or mountain bike? Camp or luxury hotel? Art scene or music scene? Work at an amazing start-up or an
established big brand?
7.Will need to add body lotion as a line item in your monthly budget due to very dry air. (Think of what else you could be spending that $$ on??!)
8.We only have two buffalo herds. (Think of how many Wyoming has??)
9.Constantly feel like an underachiever due to an inability to hike all our trails, ski all our runs, visit all our towns and eat all our Mexican food.
10.A fox might try to have your kitten for dinner.
11.No pitbulls allowed.
12.I-70, I-70, I-70 and I-70 (Oh, and I-25 too.)
13.Wait to eat at Sushi Den can be up to 3 hours.
14.Too many available jobs to sort through – becomes a huge hassle.
15.We elected a governor that made beer.
16.We are the #1 most popular city in the country to move to – DON’T BE A FOLLOWER.
17.Walking and biking everywhere will make your car feel neglected and unloved – which is pretty rude.
18.So many different neighborhoods to choose from – you will certainly go mad in selecting one. (Might kill your real estate agent in the process. Could get ugly.
Best stay where you are.)
19.Mountains are too close and block the view.
20.Once a week in the summer 1000s of bike riders take to the street (in costumes!!) and muck traffic all up.
21.You realize the Gold Rush is over, right?
22.We make more beer than any city in the nation and have thinner air to get you drunker – faster. Think of what that could cause!
23.An average of 300 inches of snow in the mountains every year? That is a LOT of shoveling.
24.Remember all of our many rivers are really just melted snow. Brrrrrrrr.
25.Too many national, state and city parks. You will probably never want to leave, which will make out-of-state friends and family seriously PO’d at you.
26.Number haters nightmare: 53 mountains over 14,000 feet, 7 sports teams, 205 city parks, 850 miles of bike trails, 2nd biggest theatre district in the U.S., a start-up opens their doors here every 72 hours, #1 outdoor amphitheatre in the country, way too many distilleries to count and the X Games.
27.Skiing one day, golfing the next? Priceless BUT also pricey.
28.It is the top city for singles and those over 60, but if you don’t fall in one of those categories, is this really your place? Think about it.
29.The whole place is stoned. (Legally)
1.300 days of sunshine requires constant squinting or investment in sunglasses AND sunscreen.
2.We are only the second best football team in the country. (Probably best for you to move to Seattle?)
3.Being one of the happiest cities in the country gets truly annoying.
4.Lazy folks get easily irritated living in one of the most active cities in the U.S.
5.You will need to adjust your baking recipes due to the altitude.
6.It is a non-stop battle of: ski or snowboard? Hike or mountain bike? Camp or luxury hotel? Art scene or music scene? Work at an amazing start-up or an
established big brand?
7.Will need to add body lotion as a line item in your monthly budget due to very dry air. (Think of what else you could be spending that $$ on??!)
8.We only have two buffalo herds. (Think of how many Wyoming has??)
9.Constantly feel like an underachiever due to an inability to hike all our trails, ski all our runs, visit all our towns and eat all our Mexican food.
10.A fox might try to have your kitten for dinner.
11.No pitbulls allowed.
12.I-70, I-70, I-70 and I-70 (Oh, and I-25 too.)
13.Wait to eat at Sushi Den can be up to 3 hours.
14.Too many available jobs to sort through – becomes a huge hassle.
15.We elected a governor that made beer.
16.We are the #1 most popular city in the country to move to – DON’T BE A FOLLOWER.
17.Walking and biking everywhere will make your car feel neglected and unloved – which is pretty rude.
18.So many different neighborhoods to choose from – you will certainly go mad in selecting one. (Might kill your real estate agent in the process. Could get ugly.
Best stay where you are.)
19.Mountains are too close and block the view.
20.Once a week in the summer 1000s of bike riders take to the street (in costumes!!) and muck traffic all up.
21.You realize the Gold Rush is over, right?
22.We make more beer than any city in the nation and have thinner air to get you drunker – faster. Think of what that could cause!
23.An average of 300 inches of snow in the mountains every year? That is a LOT of shoveling.
24.Remember all of our many rivers are really just melted snow. Brrrrrrrr.
25.Too many national, state and city parks. You will probably never want to leave, which will make out-of-state friends and family seriously PO’d at you.
26.Number haters nightmare: 53 mountains over 14,000 feet, 7 sports teams, 205 city parks, 850 miles of bike trails, 2nd biggest theatre district in the U.S., a start-up opens their doors here every 72 hours, #1 outdoor amphitheatre in the country, way too many distilleries to count and the X Games.
27.Skiing one day, golfing the next? Priceless BUT also pricey.
28.It is the top city for singles and those over 60, but if you don’t fall in one of those categories, is this really your place? Think about it.
29.The whole place is stoned. (Legally)
Outrageous Homes Built From Straw
from realestate.msn.com
Outrageous Homes Built From Straw...
In the classic story of the Three Little Pigs‚ a naive piglet decides to build his home out of straw, which soon gets the huff-and-puff treatment by a big bad wolf. But straw homes do exist, and are a lot safer and sturdier than their mythical counterparts — not to mention beautiful and stylish.
Many may wonder why a person would want to build a home of straw, but apart from providing a place to hide from the big bad wolf, they have some substantial benefits. They are undeniably green‚ as straw packed tightly in the walls helps to keep a home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, minimizing the home's carbon footprint. Straw is also a sustainable material; it is the leftover stalks from grain that would otherwise be burned. Straw homes can also be beautiful structures that are constructed to reflect the thick, curved walls of a primal era.
Read on to discover just how right that first little pig was to build his home out of straw.
Straw-bale home, Virginia
This grand straw home is the brainchild of Bob Hanson, who owns the company Green BEES, an acronym for Green Building for Economic and Environmental Sustainability. The home uses only an astonishing $20 of electricity per month. The basic structure is a timber frame filled with straw bales and covered with lime plaster. Like many straw homes, the structure also has solar-heated water, a roof with rainwater harvesting, composting toilets and a nutrient recycling system. Deciduous trees were planted in strategic locations to provide shade in the summer and shielding from cold in the winter. The owner says living in a straw home is very comfortable
Straw-bale home in Oakland, Calif.
This unique, beautiful straw-bale home in Oakland recently carried a $1.1 million price tag. According to the home's agent, Brett Weinstein, the home didn't sell, and the owners are renting it. "It wasn't due to any fault of the house," Weinstein said; the housing market has been brutal in the Golden State. The straw used in the home's walls insulates the property and gives it a thick, strong appearance reminiscent of homes of a bygone era. The straw bales inside the walls absorb the sun’s rays during the day and radiate heat at night, giving the home a steady temperature and resulting in low energy costs. The straw is sandwiched between layers of plaster, blocking out noise and providing the owner with a unique, tranquil haven in a big city.
Burtt/Sowle straw home, Santa Ynez Valley, Calif.
This 1,532-square-foot dwelling was designed by Roderick Taylor as an artist's studio and a sanctuary away from the sweltering heat of Santa Ynez Valley. The roof is made of structural insulated panels and is covered by a standing-seam metal roof. The supporting knee braces were made from a fallen black walnut tree. The contractor on the project, Allen Associates, said they had to use some traditional wood framing (they used certified sustainable timber), "since straw bales are not an approved structural building material in California." Despite this, straw-bale homes are growing in popularity in the Golden State. This example is flooded with light, which escapes from the high French doors. The home is completed with book and display cases made from the same fallen black walnut tree. The home also features low- and no-VOC paints, low-wattage lighting, a composting toilet, gray-water recycling for landscaping, water-saving fixtures and a tankless water heater.
Outrageous Homes Built From Straw...
In the classic story of the Three Little Pigs‚ a naive piglet decides to build his home out of straw, which soon gets the huff-and-puff treatment by a big bad wolf. But straw homes do exist, and are a lot safer and sturdier than their mythical counterparts — not to mention beautiful and stylish.
Many may wonder why a person would want to build a home of straw, but apart from providing a place to hide from the big bad wolf, they have some substantial benefits. They are undeniably green‚ as straw packed tightly in the walls helps to keep a home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, minimizing the home's carbon footprint. Straw is also a sustainable material; it is the leftover stalks from grain that would otherwise be burned. Straw homes can also be beautiful structures that are constructed to reflect the thick, curved walls of a primal era.
Read on to discover just how right that first little pig was to build his home out of straw.
Straw-bale home, Virginia
This grand straw home is the brainchild of Bob Hanson, who owns the company Green BEES, an acronym for Green Building for Economic and Environmental Sustainability. The home uses only an astonishing $20 of electricity per month. The basic structure is a timber frame filled with straw bales and covered with lime plaster. Like many straw homes, the structure also has solar-heated water, a roof with rainwater harvesting, composting toilets and a nutrient recycling system. Deciduous trees were planted in strategic locations to provide shade in the summer and shielding from cold in the winter. The owner says living in a straw home is very comfortable
Straw-bale home in Oakland, Calif.
This unique, beautiful straw-bale home in Oakland recently carried a $1.1 million price tag. According to the home's agent, Brett Weinstein, the home didn't sell, and the owners are renting it. "It wasn't due to any fault of the house," Weinstein said; the housing market has been brutal in the Golden State. The straw used in the home's walls insulates the property and gives it a thick, strong appearance reminiscent of homes of a bygone era. The straw bales inside the walls absorb the sun’s rays during the day and radiate heat at night, giving the home a steady temperature and resulting in low energy costs. The straw is sandwiched between layers of plaster, blocking out noise and providing the owner with a unique, tranquil haven in a big city.
Burtt/Sowle straw home, Santa Ynez Valley, Calif.
This 1,532-square-foot dwelling was designed by Roderick Taylor as an artist's studio and a sanctuary away from the sweltering heat of Santa Ynez Valley. The roof is made of structural insulated panels and is covered by a standing-seam metal roof. The supporting knee braces were made from a fallen black walnut tree. The contractor on the project, Allen Associates, said they had to use some traditional wood framing (they used certified sustainable timber), "since straw bales are not an approved structural building material in California." Despite this, straw-bale homes are growing in popularity in the Golden State. This example is flooded with light, which escapes from the high French doors. The home is completed with book and display cases made from the same fallen black walnut tree. The home also features low- and no-VOC paints, low-wattage lighting, a composting toilet, gray-water recycling for landscaping, water-saving fixtures and a tankless water heater.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
7 things home buyers love but sellers don't list
Tara-Nicholle Nelson , The Motley Fool
If your home has commercial-grade European appliances, sits on acres of land, or is in the most prestigious neighborhood in town, it's pretty easy to know what to lead with in your marketing when selling your home. But if you have a normal house in a normal neighborhood, there could very well be things you take for granted which a first-time or relocating buyer might be magnetically drawn to if you mention it in the listing.
Below are 7 things buyers love and seller's fail to mention.
1. Storage. When aiming to avoid undermarketing, keep this in mind: showcasing your home in its best light is not just about what you love about it. You might already have outgrown the place, and started to see its flaws more than its finer points: that's why you're moving. But the goal of good marketing is to highlight the things that will allow your home to shine in the eyes of your target buyers and against the competition.
So, it's important to know what buyers care about and how your home offers a more comfortable lifestyle than the competition. First-time buyers, for example, are not simply comparing your home to other homes, they are also comparing it to the lifestyle of being a renter and to every bad rental property that inspired them to move forward with becoming a homeowner. One very common beef of renters is that rental homes lack storage, which leads to belonging overflow and a cluttered life. The vision of having a place for storing everything is a big motivator for many first-time home buyers. So, if your home has been tricked out with extra closets, pantries or other built-in storage amenities that you plan to leave, make sure your agent boasts about that in your home's marketing materials.
2. Organizing systems. In the same vein, if you have made the investment in upgrading your home with customized or built-in closet, kitchen or garage organizer systems, desks or bookshelves make sure buyers see and know this from your home's online listing. From the first-timer craving to have a clutter-free existence to buyers who are moving up into a family home and want each family member's space to have at least the possibility of order, built-in organizers can represent value and appeal to a wide range of prospective buyers.
3. Proximity. You might be thinking the right buyers for your home will be finding it online precisely because of where it's located, so it's silly to call out the property's proximity to amenities and attractions. Not so fast. First, some buyers simply might not know to search for your zip code, or might not be aware that your hidden gem of a neighborhood also happens to be tucked within a half mile of a subway station, entrances to 3 freeways and 2 regional parks. Second, buyers' proximity wishes might be different than the location requirements of their online search. They might be looking at all homes in town in their price range, but the fact that yours is walking distance to a major employer or university could push yours to the top of the list.
Finally, relocating buyers might not have the core knowledge of the area that would allow them to connect the dots about the property based on location basics you are assuming everyone in the market for a home like yours will know. Don't assume: if your home is particularly well-located vis-a-vis major employers, universities, recreational amenities or walkable shopping and dining districts, talk with your agent about showcasing this in your home's marketing.
4. Senior-friendly features. Boomers are not necessarily looking for homes with built-in disability features, but they are often looking for homes they could live in for the rest of their lives, 'aging in-place,' without necessarily being located in senior-only communities. That means homes with level-in entrances (no stairs to the front door), single story layouts and low-maintenance landscaping have a massive new audience attracted to these features which would otherwise not warrant a mention in a home's marketing, especially if homes near yours tend to have loads of stairs or other features that are difficult for people to navigate as they age.
Similarly, the movement toward aging-in-place has caused many more families to move aging relatives in with them, versus moving them out to retirement homes. These extended families often are looking for homes with a very well-appointed 'mother-in-law' or 'outlaw' units or a second master suite located on the home's ground floor. If your home has multiple bedrooms with bathrooms en suite or completely independent living quarters, marketing these features to extended families is a must.
5. Energy. If your home runs entirely off-the-grid or on graywater, chances are good you'll be mentioning that. But even buyers who don't identify as hunting for a 'green' home can be attracted to the budget-friendliness of energy-efficient features of the less extreme sort. So, if your home is a pretty no-frills property but has a tankless water heater, dual-paned windows and new insulation, mention it! If you've managed to get your energy bills down way below what's normal in your area, this could be a selling point you don't want to overlook; your agent can help you navigate how to broadcast this message to buyers.
6. 'Light' green lifestyle features. That said, if you have configured your home to allow inhabitants to live a greener life, beyond just the energy bills, these might warrant a mention in your marketing. You might think things like your little organic kitchen garden, backyard compost bin or that $50 recycling center you installed are so low in cash value they don't rate a line in your listing materials. But there are loads of buyers out there who are attracted to these sorts of features already being in place in a home, so calling them out (especially if you're in a market with tons of competition) can call your home to their attention.
7. Natural, chemical-free and hypoallergenic home maintenance. In a similar vein, if you have a hypoallergenic HVAC system or have only used non-chemical cleaning products for the last few years, you might want to call these sorts of things out, as well. Marketers say today's consumers are careful about not just what they put into their bodies, but also what they put on and around their bodies. Your home and the cleaning and maintenance products you've used may implicate both 'on' and 'around,' so if you've taken care to create a home that works well for people with physical or philosophical sensitivities to common household chemicals, make sure light-green buyers know it!
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