Money Monday - Tax Breaks from your home

If you are like me and haven't started your taxes yet for 2013, make sure to read this list!  If you are a homeowner, or you are a renter that uses your home for business purposes, there are tax breaks that you can take advantage of.  Here are a few to make sure you are taking advantage of.

1. Mortgage Interest Deduction - In most cases you can deduct all of your mortgage interest paid over the course of the year.  How much you can deduct depends on when you purchased your home, how much the mortgage is for, and how you use the property (if you happen to have 2nd, 3rd, or more homes, there are rules for these too!).  Your bank should send you a statement at the beginning of the year telling you exactly what you paid the following year.    
2. Deduction of Points - If you purchased a home in 2013, or refinanced your home, and had to pay points, these fees are deductible.  The fees on a refinance are deductible over the course of the mortgage, so check with your tax professional on what you are able to deduct.  
3. Exclusion on Sale Gains - If you sold your home in 2013, you may be able to deduct up to $250,000 for a single filer, or $500,000 for a married couple of the net sales gain on your home.  The net sale gain is your selling price minus your purchase price plus exclusions.  You had to have lived in your home for at least two of the past five years to use this deduction.  
4. Deduction of Property Taxes - You can deduct the state and local property taxes paid on your property as long as they are based on assessed value.  If you pay these taxes out of pocket, you will need to find your bills to find out how much you paid.  If your taxes are paid by your mortgage company (this is common) that money is held in escrow, and you can not deduct these taxes until they are actually taken out of escrow.  Your lender should provide you with this information as well.  
5. Mortgage Insurance Deduction - If your home was purchased with a VA loan, you paid a funding fee.  If you used a USDA loan, it is called a guarantee fee.  Each of these fees can either be paid in full at closing or over the life of the mortgage - either way, you can claim the full amount on your 2013 taxes.  If you pay PMI (common on FHA loans), you are out of luck.  This amount cannot be deducted on your taxes unless you meet special criteria.  Check with your tax professional on this one!
6. Home Office Deduction - Here is where you can benefit, even as a renter!  If you work from home and have a space that is your primary place of business, you can get a tax break.  In the past, this involved calculating many different things, but starting in 2013, they have simplified the process, and you are able to deduct $5 per square foot of the home used for business, up to 300 square feet.  
7. Energy Savings Deductions - If you did a good thing for the environment last year when you made your home improvements, you may qualify for a tax break on 30% of the cost of installation.  Improvements include things like a geothermal heat pump, small wind turbines or a solar energy system.  This applies to existing homes and new construction, but not rentals.  
8. Clergy and Military Housing Allowance - Clergy and members of the military who receive a non-taxable allowance for housing are able to claim their real estate taxes and home mortgage.  

As always, you want to talk about any of these things with a tax professional (or TurboTax), and take advantage of the savings you can get for being a homeowner!  I am sure that your home takes enough of your money as it is!

NAR Existing Home Sales and Prices

The National Association of Realtors recently came out with their Existing Home Sales and Price Report for the 4th quarter of 2013.  My friends over at KCM did their usual great work with an infographic that I can share here without having those kinds of skills.

It is looking pretty good in the Midwest!  Prices are up (good for sellers, good for showing normalization in the market) and sales are up.  Now, in my local area, all we need is more inventory!  I am starting to see a rise, but we need more houses.  The buyers are out there.

Know anyone who is thinking about selling?  I would be happy to help!

Have a great weekend!

Men, Women Lust Over Homes Differently

This was supposed to be my Valentine's day post, but like many in my area of the country, life, family and lots of snow have been messing up my schedule!

As an agent who works with a lot of buyers, I found this article to be very true.  If you watch House Hunters (and yes, I do too, even though it is so unrealistic!) you have seen this too.

People often get a home crush.  This is the house that you keep coming back to, even though maybe there is something wrong with it.  According to the data from this survey, more women than men get a crush on a home that is out of their price range.  More men have a tendency to change their minds about this crush on a weekly basis.

Something else that was funny to me. . .they listed some of the top features men and women looked for in their home.  Both listed outdoor space as a top attribute, but then women focused on open floor plans, great curb appeal and appliances and fixtures, while men were focused on good garage space, curb appeal and open floor plans.

Men, Women Lust Over Homes Differently

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Looking for a reason to buy?

With interest rates climbing, home prices going up, and "deals" starting to disappear from the market, the experts seem to agree that now is the time to buy!  

Here are 5 Financial Reasons to buy - everyone has personal reasons as well, I know, but let's look at this from a financial standpoint.

Let me know if you are ready to get started!  

Want to spy on your neighbors?

Did I catch your attention?  I really couldn't think of a better way to introduce a service I offer - free Market Watch Emails.

I am sure you have plenty of junk mail that comes to your email on a daily basis, but I can offer you one that provides you good information and a chance to spy on your neighbors.  Curious?

Market Watch is an email tool where you can set up a city, area, neighborhood or school district to "watch".  Once a month you will receive an email with information on all properties listed, anything that sold, any open houses for the neighborhood, and graphs showing market trends for price and inventory.  It is a great way to keep current on what is happening in your neighborhood - whether you are thinking of selling or not!

If you are interested in this tool, you can follow the link below, or find it on my website, http://www.jennifersmiller.com.

Market Watch Email Sign-up


I promise not to sell your information (I don't know how), and you will not get flooded with emails.  This is just a great tool that I wanted to share!

 

Money Monday: Property Taxes

In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes - Benjamin Franklin

For my first post back to the blogging world of real estate in 2014, I wanted to focus on Property Taxes.  This is the time of year where people get to see their tax bill - and frankly, people are often surprised by what they see!  

For New Home Owners

First of all, if you purchased a home in 2013, you will get a tax bill at the beginning of 2014.  There is a good chance you don't need to pull out your checkbook.  Typically, if you finance a home, your mortgage company will hold aside funds from your monthly payment and put it into an escrow account to pay the taxes when they come due.  You may never see a bill, just a statement from the bank showing how these funds were handled and if there is any difference in that amount.  When you get your first tax bill, call your lender.  Or call your Realtor.  They will be able to tell you what you might owe, and what to do.  

There is a reason this is confusing- did you know that taxes are paid in arrears?  This means that when your Tax Bill comes in January of 2014, you are actually paying for the first half of 2013.  Usually this is the point where buyers protest - "Wait, I didn't even live there yet!"

On your settlement statement for your house, you would have been given a credit from the seller for taxes during the time they still owned the house and you didn't live there.  This credit is essentially money they give to you - but it gets held by the bank.

Your taxes should be assessed by your purchase price - that essentially becomes the value of the property in a normal transaction.  If you paid significantly less for your house than what the last owner did, you might be able to lower your real estate taxes.  If you live in Summit County, look for the links below that tells you where to find the information and how to appeal it.  

Experienced Homeowners

Did you know that you may be paying more in property taxes than you need to?  

Depending on where you live, your home will be assessed for property taxes every 1-8 years.  If you think about the real estate market over the past few years, home values have changed!  You can find out how often your area does the re-assessment by calling your county assessor.  If it has been awhile since your home was assessed and you think it's value has decreased, give them a call!  You may be able to lower your property taxes.  

Non-Legal Advice:  If you think your property value has gone UP, it might be best not to make that call just yet.  You would be amazed at how many times I find things in homes that have gone unnoticed by the property tax assessor.  They will figure it out eventually!  

Summit County Information

If you live in Summit County Ohio, here are the links you need.

To find your current tax information:

http://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net/index.php/property-tax-search

Awesome detailed description of the parts of your bill 

http://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net/index.php/tbe

Information on how to file a dispute (must be done by April 2 for this tax year):

http://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net/index.php/tbe



I hope this information was helpful.  My full disclaimer is that I am not an attorney, an accountant, a fiscal officer, or even someone who is great at math.  But, as always, what I like to do as part of my job is to help make this field of real estate a little clearer - and to educate my clients!  When I find good information, I am happy to pass it on!