Archive for February, 2011
The Nation’s Best Real Estate Market Is…
As of the 4th quarter 2010, the nation’s best real estate market is…The Washington DC Metro Area!! (according to the S & P and Case Shiller Home Indices). From the 4th quarter 2009 to the 4th quarter 2010, the DC Area rose by 4.1% while the national average was a decrease of 4.1%. See the [...]
News Digest – February 26
Is the time right for a second home? Read Full Story at CNN.com Maine court rules GMAC off the hook for robo-signers Read Full Story at HousingWire.com DC leads the nation in commercial real estate recovery Read Full Story at WashingtonPost.com
Poll: Should Lending Criteria be Eased?
Existing home sales rose 2.7% in January mirroring much of the economy’s expansion efforts. However, a closer look at the sales growth shows that a disproportionate amount of the sales were made in cash by real estate investors and not homeowners. Investors are taking advantage of the current market conditions and are getting properties below [...]
News Digest – February 19
Obama aims to cut mortgage interest tax dedeuction Read Full Story at HousingWire.com Foreclosures fall, but will it be permanent? Read Full Story at CNN.com A new list of best places to invest Read Full Story at SFGate.com Ugliest homes in America (I apologize if one is yours) Read Full Story at CNN.com
With Recovery Underway, Is It Time To Buy in South Florida? (Telephone Interview with Ross Milroy)
Here are some comments about the South Florida market: – the market’s terrible. – stay away ’cause there’s blood in the streets. – nobody’s buying. – prices are still dropping. – Oy (actually, that’s not a South Florida comment, that’s what my Mom says to her friends when they ask about me) These comments were [...]
News Digest – February 12
Commercial real estate recovery gains steam Real estate investors crucial to housing recovery (This means you) Slideshow: What must be given up to marry Demi Moore
(4 FREE Commercial Videos) Are Investors Overcrowding The Residential Real Estate Market?
I found a nice rehab in my area the other day listed at $289,000.00. I calculated the ARV at $425,000.00. It needs $70,000 +/- worth of rehab. I offered the bank $249,000.00. The agent told me they already had multiple offers and turned down a cash offer over $265,000.00. Without getting into a bunch of [...]
Interview with the “Pitbull” himself– Leonard Rosen
If you have been around hard money lending for any time at all, you probably know Leonard Rosen. And if you have thought about getting into hard money lending for yourself, you have most likely considered going to Leonard’s private lending training seminar in Las Vegas. In fact, that is exactly how Hard Money Bankers [...]
Depreciation….Whaaaat??
At its most basic, Basis is the cost of the item. With a simple item such as a vehicle the definition would stop there and this would be a really short post. However, Basis also includes the cost of acquisition and in real estate those line items can be significant expenses. Here’s a short-list of the most common:
News Digest – February 5
California court opens door for foreclosure suits Big lenders ease requirements Anti-flipping waiver extended for REOs Latest foreclosure hotspots
Look Out! Man Overboard! (Free Videos)
Do you get upset when someone un-friends you on Facebook? Maybe I’m too thin-skinned, but I actually feel dejected when someone “un-friends” me – even if I don’t know the person! I happened to check our HMB Facebook “like” tab and noticed that we lost one person last week. Someone who liked us now doesn’t [...]
All Real Estate Taxes are Deductible…
Well like all things tax code; not always. In fact, many tax professionals get this one wrong too. Further, the same mistake is pervasive on both personal residences and investment properties.
A thorough review of your real property tax bill will reveal the total is the combination of many different items and it is in those details that the answers are buried. Let’s use an example tax record to take a closer look. Our example property was randomly pulled from HUD foreclosure list.
Review of the tax section reveals that the total tax bill is $6,114. The $6,114 is the total of $3,068 State/County Tax, $2,515 City Tax, and $531 Special Tax. There is also a space for Refuse if the local jurisdiction includes that as part of the total.
The requirements to be able to deduct a real estate tax are:
