home selling: 2 Questions to Ask Before You Turn Your Primary Home Into a Rental - 04/29/19 10:39 AM
 
How can I take advantage of tax-free capital gain? When you sell your property for more than what you paid for it, you have a "capital gain" that could be subject to the capital gains tax. The current tax rate for capital gains is anywhere from 0% to 20%, depending on your level of income. If you've lived in your house as your primary residence for two full years out of the past five years, you may be able to sell your house without paying any capital gains tax.  The primary residence capital gains tax exclusion is $250,000 for single … (1 comments)

home selling: How to Understand Your Home Appraisal ($200k) - 11/26/18 08:11 AM
 
A home appraisal is an estimate of your home's value.  It's simply a professional appraiser's opinion of what he/she thinks your home may be worth.

Why Do Appraisals Matter? Mortgage lenders base your loan amount on the LESSER of the appraised value or the purchase price. Here's an example:
You sign a contract for a $200,000 home with a $10,000 (5%) down payment.  Your loan amount, in this case, would be $190,000 (95% of the purchase price). The appraisal comes back at a value of $190,000 The mortgage lender is no longer willing to lend you $190,000 because that would … (2 comments)

home selling: 3 Signs it's Time to Sell Your House - 07/09/18 07:22 AM
Many homeowners don’t realize the impact of today’s seller’s market in housing.  Housing supply is running at 2-3 months in many parts of the country… especially in neighborhoods and areas with affordable price points.  This means that it may be a great time to consider selling your house.  Here are three signs that it may be time to sell:
1 – Lifestyle changes.  It may be a great time to sell if you’ve recently experienced any major life changes, or if you expect any major life changes in the near future.  Here are a few examples I’ve seen recently:

A new job … (1 comments)