Renters: Grab A Stack Of 1099 Forms. Come January 1st You'll Be Needing Them

"Honestly, it's an outrageous burden for rental owners."

That's from Tom Schatz, president of the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste. This is the second thing he said after hearing about this burdensome requirement that really sticks it to home renters in The Small Business Lending Fund Act, which passed last September 18th. It stipulates that rental property owners must issue 1099 forms to any work done on their homes over $600. What was the first thing Tom Schatz said? "You've got to be kidding me!" No, we aren't kidding. It takes effect on January 1, 2011.


So, if you are a renter and need a plumber to fix a sink at your rental property,  Get ready to deal with more than plumber prices - get ready to deal with the Internal Revenue Service.


To read about this in-depth, go to Lake Conroe Realty Now with Lauri Kent Financial News where we have the whole article regarding this issue.

Capital Gains Double-Whammy On the Horizon

As if we weren't already exercising ultra-caution in the manner and timing of our property purchases and sales, Uncle Sam has put out another taxation land mine to avoid. Even though it's nothing but bad news, as usual, being forewarned is being forearmed, so here is a brief primer on the new Patient Protection Affordable Care Care Act, and how it may be funded in part by the sale of your home.

From Sandy Botkin, CPA:

There is a BIG nasty surprise awaiting a number of people starting in 2013 that has NOT been mentioned by the media. Under the new Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA), single taxpayers who earn over $200,000 of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) or married taxpayers filing joint returns who earn over $250,000 get hit with a major surprise. They will have to pay a new 3.8% Medicare surcharge on all interest, dividends, royalties etc. This seems to be covered by the media. What has NOT been mentioned is that this Medicare tax also applies to capital gains. Thus, it applies to stock and bond sales, mutual fund gains and sales etc. In addition, it could even apply to the sale of your principal residence on all appreciation beyond the first $500,000 of gain.

Example: John and his wife earn $275,000 a year. John sells his home for a $1,000,000 profit. He can avoid tax on the first $500,000 of gain. John not only pays capital gains tax on the remaining $500,000 but also pays an additional 3.8% surcharge.  If John were selling his second home, there is no exclusion. Thus, he pays this tax on all gain.
 
This is a major bomb for those of you with substantially appreciated real estate. You might want to consider selling your home or second home before 2013.

See this and more on Lake Conroe Realty Now with Lauri Kent Financial News.

Home Sellers Need To Know Home Buyers

Are you  in the market to sell your home? If you want to be  quick and successful about it, it is best to know the traits of today's home buyer. Especially if you live in a neighborhood that has a lot of homes that have not moved, doing a little extra research may give you the edge over comparables in the area.

A good real estate agent will be able to help you in that process. Or home sellers in the Houston, Spring, The Woodlands, Conroe/Lake Conroe Texas market areas, get a free evaluation of your home so you know what you have to work with. Start by completing our free form for initiating a free evaluation.

Ready for a little character sketch of that buyer? Here you go...

5 Traits of Today's Home Buyers

A survey by American Lives, a consumer research firm in California, conducted a study for the trade magazine Builder to answer that question. Here are their conclusions:

· They are young. Most are under 45. Half said they had annual household incomes of $75,000 or less. Two-thirds are married.
· They are frugal. They consistently told surveyors they were eager to live a simple lifestyle.
· They are concerned about their financial future. About 70 percent said the economy is “not so good” with 27 percent saying it was getting worse and 27 percent saying it was getting better, and two-thirds saying it would get better in a year. Some 55 percent said they were concerned that they might lose their jobs.
· They see themselves as energy efficient but not necessarily “green.” About 32 percent said they’d pay extra for energy-efficient features but only 16 percent said they’d pay extra for recycled or renewable construction materials.
· Neighborhood is important. Ninety-five percent said they thought the community was as important as the home itself. Seventy-nine percent wanted the most square footage they could afford, but 69 percent said they’d consider a smaller home in the right neighborhood.

Source: Inman News, Mary Umberger (10/27/2010)

This is just a short list, and does not include all the concerns that may come into play in your area. Here in the Houston  and The Woodlands, it is important to evaluate your school system. I have been finding that most of the buyers out there right now in the Houston area are young and first time buyers.  For home buyers in Spring, The Woodlands, and Lake Conroe markets, I have noticed that the average home buyer's age is around 25-27 years old, and they are looking for a newer home around 1800+ Sq ft. Their typical price range is 120,000-170,000

So how do you translate this information into how you can most successfully sell your Woodlands home or Lake Conroe-area home ? Give me a call and we can evaluate it. Also check out my website for some of the homes and properties of my clients. For higher end properties check out my Lauri's Featured Properties page. For properties that fit nicely into this market's Home Buyers' range, check out my listings on my website called Lauri's Super Affordable Real Estate Finds. No matter what your property type, there is someone out there who will be the perfect owner for it. Let me help you to put you together!

Don't look now, but do I see the housing market stabilizing?

Whether or not you are currently in need of buying or selling a home, it will be a welcome wind that blows stability back into the housing market. Since the housing market brought about the downfall of our national economy a couple of years ago, we have all suffered the consequences of it. The consequences, in turn, resulted in immediate reform of lending practices, and from then to now we have drudged through the valley of darkness, waiting for the redemption of our real estate investments. Waiting for the first glimmer of light to reach our eyes and reveal that a healthy real estate market is in our future.  At long last, is that a light I see up ahead? Let's take a look!

U.S. Commerce Department: Housing Starts Are Up

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, single-family housing starts edged up 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units in September.

“Builders are cautiously responding to the small improvement they are seeing in interest among potential home buyers,” noted Bob Jones, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “However, as consumer demand for new homes rises, a major limiting factor for a housing recovery continues to be builders’ inability to access credit for new construction.”

“Today’s numbers are in line with our latest builder surveys, which indicate that stability is slowly returning to the new-homes market following the declines we saw upon expiration of the home buyer tax credits and the slowing of economic growth this summer,” added NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Builders are receiving more inquiries from potential customers and are carefully responding to renewed consumer interest, although their limited access to credit for new housing production is definitely hampering this process.”

All of the increase in housing production in September was due to improvement on the single-family side, which posted a 4.4% gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 452,000 units—the strongest level since May of this year. Multifamily starts, which tend to exhibit greater volatility on a month-to-month basis, recorded a 9.7% decline to a 158,000-unit rate following a big increase in August.

On a regional basis, starts activity was mixed, with two regions posting gains and two posting declines for September. The Northeast and South registered gains of 2.9% and 4.8%, respectively, while the Midwest and West registered declines of 8.2% and 3.6%, respectively.

Permit issuance, which can be an indicator of future building activity, declined 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000 units in September. This dip was due entirely to a 20.2% decline to a 134,000-unit rate on the more volatile multifamily side, while single-family permits remained virtually unchanged, edging up 0.5% to a 405,000-unit rate.

Regionally, permits fell across the board in September, with the Northeast posting a 1.5% decline, the Midwest a 4.3% decline, the South a 4.7% decline, and the West a 10.6% decline.

by RISMEDIA, October 27, 2010

I like this video: 5 Tips for a Successful Home Inspection

A good real estate agent works with a professional and reliable home inspector. If you are in need of a home inspection for any home in the North Houston, Spring, The Woodlands, or Lake Conroe area, and would like a reference, please call us and we will direct you to an inspector you can trust. Call 936.447.6000 or contact us through our website the Lake Conroe Realty Now Contact Form.

"If only this room were bigger..."

When sizing up the spaces in our home, which one do you have that needs to be bigger? Most of us can answer that question immediately. There is that one room - that difficult space - where things do not quite fit. If only there were just a few more inches this way or that way... that would make all the difference in its usability, its comfort level, its wow factor!

Before you spend the big bucks knocking down walls, to create more room, consider that the space might not need those added inches after all, with the help of some inexpensive fixes. Get more room in your room, AND increase the value of your home, by first reviewing these ten considerations on how to cure the case of your cramped room.

10 Ways to Make a Small Room Look Larger

 
RISMEDIA, October 25, 2010--Most people have one: that room in the house that they wish was just a little larger. What many don't realize is that with a little work and some TLC, they could have exactly what they're looking for.

Here, Lowe's offers 10 designer tricks to help you make any room look larger:

1. For the illusion of a larger room, use a color scheme that is light rather than bright or dark. Pastels, neutrals and white are all color possibilities.

2. Use a monochromatic color scheme on the furniture, rugs and walls. Select different shades and textures of your single color.

3. Lighting is a key element in opening up a space. Recessed spot lighting is visually appealing and is perfect for a small space. A torchiere light is great for bouncing light off of the ceiling and back down on the room.Skylights and solar tubes are natural alternatives for adding light to a room.

4. Limit the number of accessories to avoid the cluttered feeling.

5. The floor and the ceiling are the fifth and sixth walls of every room. A light-colored flooring such as light oak or a light-colored carpet will make the room appear brighter and more open. The same applies to the ceiling—use a light color or white to "open up" the space above.

6. Increase the appearance of the size of the room by adding wall mirrors. They not only reflect images, they reflect light and color. Be a little daring! Use mirror tiles to mirror an entire wall. Your room will appear to double in size.

7. Don't place too many pieces of furniture in a small space. A love seat may work better than a full-size sofa depending on the size and shape of the room. Add two medium-sized chairs or two small wood chairs. Place the chairs closer to the wall and then pull them into the area when additional seating is needed.

8. Add paintings or prints to the walls. One large painting works better than a group of small paintings.

9. The visual balance of a room is also important. A large, brightly colored element can overwhelm a room and decrease the appearance of space.

10. A glass table, whether it is a dining, coffee or end table, will keep the appearance of an open and free space.

Try out these pointers, and see your difficult space be transformed to a more useful and more appealing area of your home. Certainly, if your motivation for altering your "problem room" is because you are putting your home on the market and want to make the space more appealing to potential buyers  then be sure to have a real estate agent that works with an efficient and professional home stager so that all of your rooms can be evaluated. Call the Lauri Kent real estate team at 936.447.6000 for professional and reliable assistance. Also visit our website for information on this and much more at LakeConroeRealtyNow.com.