The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It was widely seen as a terrific opportunity for Americans who might never otherwise have the money for a down payment to get into their own homes. Unfortunately, the first-time home buyer tax credit program quickly became [...]
With property prices down, many armchair investors are thinking about getting up and making an offer. Whether you’re investing in residential real estate, a small strip shopping center, a commercial office building, a warehouse property, or raw land, the first thing you need to do is figure out how to value the property. Only then [...]
Have you ever made some irresistible impulse buy and had buyer’s remorse? I’ll bet there have been times you’ve felt that way after filing your tax return! The feeling gets more intense with every new tax tip article you read and every conversation you overhear in which someone brags about their big refund-which you didn’t [...]
I’m often asked how to find a great real estate agent. The answer couldn’t be simpler: Use the six steps I outline below and you’re sure to a great real estate agent to assist you with buying or selling your next property. But let me first explain why I think every home buyer and most [...]
It’s hard to imagine that something so good for us can wreak so much havoc. But water, in the form of floods, has caused extensive, and expensive, damage across the country. Insurers used to believe that you needed flood insurance only if you were in a flood zone. But flood zones have been expanded in [...]
Sometimes you feel like a hoarder, watching piles of records, documents, tax returns and receipts grow precariously higher, higher, higher, until suddenly, whoosh! The whole thing collapses, burying you underneath. No! That’s just your recurring nightmare. Or is it? Actually, that was the Bones season finale! But when it comes to tax paperwork, taxpayers are [...]
There’s no question that the home buyer tax credits spurred a rejuvenation of the real estate industry: Building permits in April fell 11.5 percent from March, but that number was still nearly 16 percent higher than in April 2009. Housing starts, or when builders actually put a shovel in the earth and start building a [...]
Summer is coming, and you’re not looking forward to your electrical bills – especially after all the cash you shelled out this past winter. There are some new home tech toys that will save you money – but you’ve got to do your homework. You have to choose the right home technology, learn how to [...]
You took the plunge and bought a house to fulfill your own version of the American Dream. Well, the fun has just begun. You’re going to need homeowner’s insurance coverage to protect your investment. The problem with insurance, in most cases, is you have to get it when you don’t need it because when you [...]
My brother David has two tall, gorgeous, smart sons. They’re both away at college. When David told me the cost of their tuitions, I nearly choked. Their college education costs more than twice what I paid for my home! Whew! Raising children is an expensive proposition. The Tax Code provides some help. I’ve compiled a [...]
