Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

It is the way the property is used that determines the type of property it is, not what it looks like.  Based on the intent of the owner, the property could be a principal residence, income property, investment property or dealer property. A principal residence is a home that a person lives in.  There can be only one declared principal residence.  It is afforded certain benefits like deducting the interest and property taxes on a taxpayers' itemized deductions, up to limits.  Up to $250,000 of gain for a single taxpayer and up to $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly can be excluded from income if the property is owned and used as a principal residence for two out of the previous five years. An income property is an improved property that is rented for more than 12 months.  The improvements can be depreciated based on a 27.5-year life for residential property or 39-years for commercial property.  This is a non-cash deduction that shelters income....

The least amount in a down payment is an attractive option when people are thinking of buying a home.  A common reason is to have cash available for furnishing the new home and  possible unexpected expenses. Some people don't have any options because they only have enough for a minimum down payment and the closing costs.  For those fortunate buyers who do have extra money available, let's look at why you'd want to do such a thing. Most loans in excess of 80% loan to value require mortgage insurance to protect the lenders for the upper portion of the loan if the home were to go into foreclosure.  FHA requires an up-front premium of 1.75% of the amount borrowed plus a monthly amount of .85% on the balance.  FHA mortgage insurance premium must be paid for the life of the loan. Mortgage insurance on conventional loans varies depending on the borrowers' credit and the amount of down payment being made.  Unlike FHA, when the unpaid balance reaches 78% of th...

How Pricing Your Home Right Makes a Big Difference Even though there’s a big buyer demand for homes in today’s low inventory market, it doesn’t mean you should price your home as high as the sky when you’re ready to sell. Here’s why making sure you price it right is key to driving the best price for the sale. If you’ve ever watched the show “The Price Is Right,”  you know the only way to win the game is to be the one to correctly guess the price of the item up for bid without going over. That means your guess must be just slightly under the retail price. When it comes to pricing your home, setting it at or slightly below market value will increase the visibility of your listing and drive more buyers your way. This strategy actually increases the number of buyers who will see your home in their search process. Why? When potential buyers look at your listing and see a great price for a fantastic home, they’re probably going to want to take a closer...

Does “Aging in Place” Make the Most Sense? A desire among many seniors is to “age in place.” According to the Senior Resource Guide , the term means, “…that you will be remaining in your own home for the later years of your life; not moving into a smaller home, assisted living, or a retirement community etcetera.” There is no doubt about it – there’s a comfort in staying in a home you’ve lived in for many years instead of moving to a totally new or unfamiliar environment. There is, however, new information that suggests this might not be the best option for everyone. The familiarity of your current home is the pro of aging in place, but the potential financial drawbacks to remodeling or renovating might actually be more costly than the long-term benefits. A recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) titled Housing America’s Older Adults explained, “Given their high homeownership rates, most older adults live ...

Home improvement loans provide a source of funds for owners to finance the improvements they want to make.   These are usually, personal installment loans that are not collateralized by the home itself.   Since there is more risk for the lender with this type of loan, the interest rate is higher than a normal mortgage loan. In today's market, the rates on home improvement loans could vary between 6% and 36%.   A borrower's credit score will determine the interest rate; the lower the score, the higher the rate and the higher the score, the lower the rate. Smaller loan amounts are under $40,000 with larger loan amounts over $40,000 based on the extent of the improvements to be made.   With all things being equal, a larger loan may have a lower interest rate. Besides the interest rate being higher than a regular mortgage, the term is shorter.   Similar to a car loan, the term can be between five and seven years.   A $50,000 home improvement loan for a bo...

Great News for Renters Who Want to Buy a Home Rents in the United States have been skyrocketing since 2012. This has caused many renters to face a tremendous burden when juggling their housing expenses and the desire to save for a down payment at the same time. The recent stabilization of rental prices provides a great opportunity for renters to save more of their current income to put toward the purchase of a home. Just last week the Joint Center of Housing Studies of Harvard University released the America's Rental Housing 2020 Report . The results explain the financial challenges renters are experiencing today, “Despite slowing demand and the continued strength of new construction, rental markets in the U.S. remain extremely tight. Vacancy rates are at decades-long lows, pushing up rents far faster than incomes. Both the number and share of cost-burdened renters are again on the rise, especially among middle-income households.” According to the mo...

How to Avoid a Gender Gap When Investing in the Housing Market When buying a home, we all want to feel like we’re making the right decision, paying a fair price , and making the best investment of our lives. According to a recent gender-based study, men and women can unknowingly walk away with very different financial outcomes when the deal closes. Thankfully, if you follow some simple ways to arm yourself with the information you need to prepare in advance, you’re more likely to feel like you’ve won when the keys to your new house are in your pocket. Kelly Shue and Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham of the Yale School of Management showed in their recent study The Gender Gap in Housing Returns , when single women invest in the housing market, they’re generally losing out compared to their male counterparts. The report explains, “We find that single men earn one percentage point higher unlevered returns per year on housing investment relative to single women...The g...

House-hacking refers to buying a multifamily property on an owner-occupied mortgage, living in one unit and renting the others.  If you're thinking about becoming a rental mogul, starting early is an advantage.  Not only will you have longer to accumulate a larger portfolio, you can increase the leverage on the first acquisitions if they are owner-occupied.  Leverage is the use of other people's money to finance an investment.  The higher the loan-to-value, the greater the leverage which can increase the yield. A $200,000 rental property with an 80% LTV at 4.5% for 30 years producing a 16.88% before-tax rate of return would increase to a 23% return on investment by increasing the mortgage to 90%.  A typical down payment on an investor property in today's market is 20-25% but, in some cases, a higher loan-to-value is possible. Owner-occupied, multi-unit properties, two to four units, allow a borrower to occupy one of the units and rent the others out. ...

Three Reasons Why Pre-Approval Is the First Step in the 2020 Homebuying Journey When the number of buyers in the housing market outnumbers  the number of homes for sale , it’s called a “seller’s market.” The advantage tips toward the seller as low inventory heats up the competition among those searching for a place to call their own. This can create multiple offer scenarios and bidding wars, making it tough for buyers to land their dream homes – unless they stand out from the crowd . Here are three reasons why pre-approval should be your first step in the homebuying process. 1. Gain a Competitive Advantage Low inventory , like we have today, means homebuyers need every advantage they can get to make a strong impression and close the deal. One of the best ways to get one step ahead of other buyers is to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you make an offer. For one, it shows the sellers you’re serious about buying a home, which is always a plus in your...

Strength of the Economy Is Surprising the Experts We’re currently in the longest economic recovery in U.S. history. That has caused some to ask experts to project when the next economic slowdown (recession) could occur. Two years ago, 67% of the economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) for the Economic Forecasting Survey predicted we would have a recession no later than the end of this year (2020). The same study done just three months ago showed more than one third of the economists still saw an economic slowdown right around the corner. The news caused concern among consumers. This is evidenced by a recent survey done by realtor.com that shows 53% of home purchasers (first-time and repeat buyers) currently in the market believe a recession will occur by the end of this year. Wait! It seems the experts are changing their minds…. Now, in an article earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) revealed only 14.3% of those economists ...