Texas Real Estate

Monday, May 30, 2016

The Obvious Alternative Investment

Rental homes can be a natural alternative investment choice for homeowners because they are already familiar with houses. Maintenance on a rental is not that much different than on your personal home. The same plumbers, painters and other workmen can be used to make repairs.

Single family homes offer an investor high loan-to-value mortgages at fixed interest rates for long terms on appreciating assets with defined tax advantages and more control than other investments.

High loan-to-value mortgages – most investments require that you pay cash but rental properties can be purchased with 20% down payment.
Fixed interest rates – most commercial loans are based on a floating rate such as prime interest plus one or two percent compared to real estate loans as fixed rates for the term.
Long terms – commercial loans are generally short-term such as six months or a year with the possibility of being renewed for another six months or a year unlike real estate where a 30-year mortgage is commonplace.
Appreciating assets – real estate has a long-term history of going up in value.
Defined tax advantages – many investments are taxed as ordinary income but rental real estate enjoys a non-cash deduction called cost recovery, the profits from sale are taxed at lower long-term capital gains rates or may be eligible for a tax-deferred exchange.
Control – rental homes don’t require partners and afford the investor more options than investing in mutual funds and other traditional investments.

The demand for good rentals is strong and the rents continue to go up in most markets. There are people who choose not to buy or cannot buy a home who would prefer to live in a single family home rather than an apartment.

Wendy Huang, MBA,SRS, GRI, CRS, IRES, e-pro, ASP, ALHS, SFR, RFC, RE/MAX Premier Group, RE/MAX Hall of Fame,

RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement ; Over 20 years' experience!

Helping Over 1000 Families Meet Their Real Estate Needs !!!

Direct: 972-365-7888

Has your home value gone up in the past 6 months? Click here for a Free INSTANT Report ! '
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Your Tenants Will Send Your Kids to College

Parents, with children getting closer and closer to entering college, may also be feeling stress because they haven’t saved enough for tuition and other expenses. It’s estimated that the average cost for the 2015-16 school year is $32,405 for private colleges, $9,410 for state residents of public colleges and $23,893 for out-of-state residents.

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If you started saving the year your child was born, you’d have to save $4,608 per year for 18 years at 5% to accumulate $129,620. If you waited until they were 10 years old, you’d have to save $13,574 per year to have the right amount.

Saving enough can be difficult if you have a lot of time but if you only have a short time to meet your goals, it can seem impossible.
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Student debt is one way to handle the tuition but many parents are reluctant to saddle their children with the obligation. Currently, there is more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt to 40 million borrowers with an average balance of $29,000. Some economists suggest that this debt is delaying would-be buyers from making their first home purchases.

There is another way to pay for the education by making an investment in a rental property. Rents are continuing to rise, homes in owner-occupied neighborhoods are appreciating and the leverage due to borrowed funds can be a huge help in building the equity to pay the tuition.

Rent the home and maintain its condition over the years. As the loan amortizes and the value increases, the equity will grow. When your student is ready to start college, you'll actually have several options.

You can sell the property; pay the tax on the gain at the reduced capital gains rate and fund the education. Another option would be to refinance and take the proceeds to pay for the tuition. This would allow you to continue to own the asset but would free your equity. Under current tax laws, it is a non-taxable event.

In effect, your tenants are paying to send your kids to college.

Wendy Huang, MBA,SRS, GRI, CRS, IRES, e-pro, ASP, ALHS, SFR, RFC, RE/MAX Premier Group, RE/MAX Hall of Fame,

RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement ; Over 20 years' experience!

Helping Over 1000 Families Meet Their Real Estate Needs !!!

Direct: 972-365-7888

Monday, May 9, 2016

You may never stop paying for some improvements

You've saved the money and are ready to pay cash to build a new pool for your home. However, that's just the beginning of your soon to be increased expenses which will include maintenance, higher utilities and higher taxes.

Homeowners obviously benefit by a larger equity when their home increases in value due to appreciation. A not-so-obvious effect that will also more than likely take place is that their property taxes will increase. In most cases, a property's assessed value is generally tied to market value to calculate the property taxes based on the tax rate for that year.

Similarly, a homeowner can affect the value of their home by making capital improvements. Some small items may never be recognized by the taxing authority but items that require a permit, certainly are brought to their attention. Items such as a fence, roof, remodeling, windows, new rooms or swimming pools can easily increase the assessed value of a property.

Most states have an established time frame in which to challenge the current tax assessment for that year. The process is relatively simple and doesn't require professional representation. It generally involves showing that there is an error which has overstated the value or that current comparable sales indicate a lower value.

If you'd like more information or need the comparable sales data, please let us know. We would be happy to help you investigate the possibility of lowering your property taxes.

Wendy Huang, MBA,SRS, GRI, CRS, IRES, e-pro, ASP, ALHS, SFR, RFC, RE/MAX Premier Group, RE/MAX Hall of Fame,

RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement ; Over 20 years' experience!

Helping Over 1000 Families Meet Their Real Estate Needs !!!

Direct: 972-365-7888

Thursday, May 5, 2016

10 ways to boost your home's resale value

10 Ways to Boost Your Home's Resale Value

Wendy Huang, MBA,SRS, GRI, CRS, IRES, e-pro, ASP, ALHS, SFR, RFC, RE/MAX Premier Group, RE/MAX Hall of Fame,

RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement ; Over 20 years' experience!

Helping Over 1000 Families Meet Their Real Estate Needs !!!

Direct: 972-365-7888

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Your home may be worth a lot more than you think

Real estate lost a lot of value during the recession but most areas have rebounded considerably. In some cases, the homes are worth more than they were before the housing bubble burst.

The dynamics are classic for this type of market: inventories are low, mortgage rates are low and demand is high. All price ranges are on the rise with some at an even higher rate because the short supply is causing competition among buyers.

Another reason many homeowners' may have more equity is simply not staying current with what is going on in the market.

In a recent FNMA study, it indicates that 23% of owners believe they have negative equity in their home when actually, it is 9%. 37% believe they have greater than 20% equity in their home when actually 69% of homeowners do.

Even if you're not planning to sell your home, knowing the value helps you understand your financial position better.

Home equity debt up to a $100,000 limit is tax deductible and can be used for any purpose. Owner's commonly refinance to eliminate mortgage insurance, consolidate mortgages, pay off higher interest rate debt like credit cards or student loans or to buy out an ex-spouse's equity.

Be aware that an automated value model like Zillow Zestimates uses algorithms to determine a price and while it might be in the ballpark, AVM results may only be accurate about 20% of the time. A comparable marketing analysis or broker's price opinion will be more accurate due the subjective approach that will be used by an agent with personal experience in the area. An agent will consider factors like condition, floorplan, marketability and demand.

Wendy Huang, MBA,SRS, GRI, CRS, IRES, e-pro, ASP, ALHS, SFR, RFC, RE/MAX Premier Group, RE/MAX Hall of Fame,

RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement ; Over 20 years' experience!

Helping Over 1000 Families Meet Their Real Estate Needs !!!

Direct: 972-365-7888

Monday, April 25, 2016

Temporary Buy Down

There is an infrequently-used mortgage program available that could be the solution to a buyer's or seller's problem.

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A temporary buydown is fixed rate mortgage that the seller has prepaid interest at closing to lower the payments for a number of years. The borrower must qualify at the note rate but gets the benefit of lower payments for the early years.

A 2/1 is a common buydown that the first year's payment is calculated at 2% lower than the note rate and the second year's payment is calculated at 1% lower than the note rate. The third through thirtieth years' payments are the note rate.

Let's set the scene. A buyer is using their available cash for down payment and closing costs to get into the home. They'd like to put their own touches on the home when they move in but may not be able to for a year or two since most of their cash was used.

In this example, a $250,000 home is purchased with a 3.5% down payment and a 4% mortgage for 30-years. Normally, the principal and interest payment would be $1,151.76 for the full 30-year term. If the seller will pay the lender $4,736 at closing, it can be applied to pre-pay part of the interest for the first two years.

The first year, the buyer's P&I payment will be $891.71 for 12 months based on a 2% interest rate or 2% lower than the 4% note rate. It is $260.06 lower per month in the first year. The second year, the buyer's P&I payment will be $1,017.12 for the next 12 months based on a 3% interest rate or 1% lower than the 4% note rate. It is $134.64 lower per month in the second year.

A bonus for the buyer will be that the cost of the buydown paid at closing by the seller becomes prepaid interest that is deductible by the buyer in the year of purchase. The buyer gets lower than normal payments for the first two years and a sizable tax deduction.

This type of program can be very beneficial to a seller who wants to offer terms to improve the marketability of their home rather than lower the price. The challenge will be explaining it to not only potential buyers but even agents who are not familiar with this program.

Wendy Huang, MBA,SRS, GRI, CRS, IRES, e-pro, ASP, ALHS, SFR, RFC, RE/MAX Premier Group, RE/MAX Hall of Fame,

RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement ; Over 20 years' experience!

Helping Over 1000 Families Meet Their Real Estate Needs !!!

Direct: 972-365-7888