real estate tips: 3 Trends that Could Impact Real Estate Investors - 11/05/18 06:10 AM
 
1 - Less new construction of homes at lower price points Home builders across the country are reporting that the high-costs of lumber, and the increasing costs of getting building permits approved, have lowered their profit margins and reduced their incentive to build starter houses at lower price points. This means that first-time homebuyers have less inventory to choose from when it comes to buying their first home. Less supply means higher prices, and this could be a good thing for real estate investors who jump into the market now.

  2 - Investors are less likely to rebuild after … (2 comments)

real estate tips: How to Get the Primary Residence Capital Gains Tax Exclusion - 10/23/18 07:30 AM
 
In order to understand capital gain, we first need to understand tax basis. Your tax basis is the cost of buying, building or improving a property. Assume you pay $200,000 for a property. You incur $5,000 in closing costs. Then you spend $45,000 on home improvements. In that case, your tax basis would be $250,000. That’s what it cost you to buy and improve the property.
Assume you later sell the property for $500,000. You incur $50,000 in sales commissions, transfer taxes, and other sales expenses. You then subtract your $250,000 basis. Your capital gain would be $200,000.
Once you … (2 comments)

real estate tips: Why You Don't Need to Give Out Three Business Cards - 07/30/18 07:48 AM
   
Some real estate agents believe that they must give out three different names when referring a mortgage lender.  This is not true.  Here's why:

No RESPA Violation There was an old rule in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) that allowed real estate agents to earn a separate fee from the buyer if they help the buyer "evaluate financing options".  Most real estate agents didn't charge this extra fee to buyers and therefore had nothing to be concerned with in this area.  However, the agents who did charge this fee to the buyer were required to help the … (2 comments)