Is it a smarter financial move to remodel your current home or sell and buy a larger home? Remodeling a home can add to it's value when you are ready to sell. A home equity loan could help pay for the home improvement and be paid off quickly.
What should you do with the proceeds of a rental property sale? You can buy another investment property and defer taxes if you do a 1031 tax-free exchange. But to do a 1031 exchange you have to be very conscious of the timeline of your real estate purchases, otherwise you'll owe hefty taxes.
When couples start out they may need help from a parent in affording a home. What happens if you later decide to divorce but you'd never removed the parent who helped you out from the mortgage? Does that parent have an ownership interest in the home that's become a question in divorce? What really affects this divorce situation is whether the parent's name is on the title to the home.
Generally, the payment of real estate taxes alone is never sufficient to give the tax payer ownership rights to a property. Most, if not all, states have statutes that provide that an occupant or user of real estate can obtain ownership rights to the property if they satisfy various requirements for up to 21 years. These requirements might include the payment of real estate taxes, but would also require the occupant to use the property in a way that excludes the real owner from using the property.
Many older people worry about their home being sold to pay for nursing care or Medicaid. To protect a home from being subject to the Medicaid lookback period, a family should do estate planning ahead of time and perhaps set up a life estate. A life estate will allow an elderly parent to live in a home prior to passing it on to his or her family and protect the home from being sold to pay for elder care costs.
Paying off your mortgage early can save you money, especially when you refinance to a mortgage loan with a shorter duration and lower interest rate. Many homeowners dream of an early mortgage payoff. What's the best way to find a good deal on a mortgage refinance for an early mortgage payoff? Should you consult multiple mortgage brokers or lenders for the mortgage refinance that will enable you to do an early mortgage payoff?
He inherited a piece of land from his father. The property is landlocked from the road, but there was a written easement with one neighbor to gain access to the road. A driveway was built on another neighbor's property line, with only a verbal agreement. There was a falling out between neighbors before his father died , and now he wants to know how to reclaim the easement of the shared driveway and move it onto his property.
As you make estate planning and inheritances decisions, try to find ways to lower the taxes the state and federal government can take from those you leave behind. Your estate must hit a value of 1.5 million dollars before the federal government can start taxing your loved ones' inheritance. Proper estate planning with an estate attorney or accountant can help you preserve your loved ones' inheritance and lower the taxes the government can take out of your estate.
If you're a first time home buyer or other home buyer you may be able to take a tax credit of $7,500 to $15,000 on your home purchase, if you live there for at least two years. The original $7,500 tax credit required buyers to repay the government over 15 years, but the new one no longer requires that. Learn about how the new $15,000 tax credit for buying a home may work.
If you bought a home and now your home is worth less than your purchase price you may be kicking yourself, especially if you're paying a high mortgage. While buying high end real estate is a risk, every home buyer who does so chooses to take on that responsibility. In a situation like this it may be worthwhile to check whether the FHA can offer you a new home loan.
