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Sunday, December 23, 2007
Defining A Real Estate Investor Rather Than A Real Estate Agent
For tax purposes, the IRS classifies those who invest, or work in real estate into four distinct and separate classifications. The tax laws for real estate investors won’t work for dealers, developers, or agents. The same tax laws that for other professionals do not always work for those that look to profit from real estate transactions. Investors need to know where to maximize tax savings and minimize tax liabilities.
According to the IRS, a real estate investor is someone who passively invests in real estate for long-term periods; that is, longer than one year. Any type of real estate investment can occur, single family homes, condos, industrial parks, undeveloped land and many other types. There can be properties involved in rent-to-own programs. The properties can have a sitting tenant and/or there can be an ongoing purchase option.
To be categorized as a real estate professional, there needs to be 5% or more ownership of a real estate business, or a minimum of 750 hours per year working exclusively on real estate activities, or more time on real estate activities spent than anything else while still meeting the 750 hours per year rule.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
According to the IRS, a real estate investor is someone who passively invests in real estate for long-term periods; that is, longer than one year. Any type of real estate investment can occur, single family homes, condos, industrial parks, undeveloped land and many other types. There can be properties involved in rent-to-own programs. The properties can have a sitting tenant and/or there can be an ongoing purchase option.
To be categorized as a real estate professional, there needs to be 5% or more ownership of a real estate business, or a minimum of 750 hours per year working exclusively on real estate activities, or more time on real estate activities spent than anything else while still meeting the 750 hours per year rule.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
Promised Everglades Restoration Project Goes Unfunded
Restoration of the Everglades has come to a near standstill and the government can no longer estimate how much it will cost or how long it will take. The top federal official in charge of construction says it’s in part because Congress has failed to come through with the promised money. As a result many tasks have fallen years behind schedule.
The project was signed into law by President Clinton with bipartisan support. It called for the construction of reservoirs, back-filling of canals and rerouting of water to rescue the fast-shrinking Everglades and preserve the remarkable variety of plants and wildlife that inhabit it, including egrets, rare orchids, alligators and panthers.
The Everglades once covered 4 million acres of swampland but has shrunk to half its size over the past 150 years because of the building of dikes, dams and homes in booming Florida and the effects of the sugar cane fields and other farms on its fringes. The swampland that remains is in ecological distress because of pollution from urban runoff and farm fertilizers.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
The project was signed into law by President Clinton with bipartisan support. It called for the construction of reservoirs, back-filling of canals and rerouting of water to rescue the fast-shrinking Everglades and preserve the remarkable variety of plants and wildlife that inhabit it, including egrets, rare orchids, alligators and panthers.
The Everglades once covered 4 million acres of swampland but has shrunk to half its size over the past 150 years because of the building of dikes, dams and homes in booming Florida and the effects of the sugar cane fields and other farms on its fringes. The swampland that remains is in ecological distress because of pollution from urban runoff and farm fertilizers.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
Pre-sale Inspections Gaining Favor In Today’s Soft Real Estate Marketplace
In today’s soft real estate marketplace, more and more savvy agents are promoting the idea for sellers to conduct presale inspections before they put their home on the market. Some sellers do pre-inspections to make sure that they completely disclose defects that may affect the value of the property. Others inspect so defects that might detract a buyer can be repaired before the property goes on the market.
Presale inspection reports can help by making any bad news about the property known to a prospective buyer before he makes an offer. Precious marketing time can be lost if you take your home off the market for a buyer who then backs out after he sees a home inspection report. n addition to obtaining presale inspections, consider contacting reputable contractors to provide repair estimates for significant defects that are noted in your inspection.
Inexperienced Boca Raton home buyers often have no idea how much it will cost to replace a roof or remove asbestos from the heating system. Fear of the unknown is intimidating. A reasonable repair estimate may assuage the buyer’s concern. A buyer whose experience with home maintenance is limited is more likely to estimate on the high side to be safe. Often actual repair costs are less than a buyer might imagine. Asbestos abatement is a good example.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
Presale inspection reports can help by making any bad news about the property known to a prospective buyer before he makes an offer. Precious marketing time can be lost if you take your home off the market for a buyer who then backs out after he sees a home inspection report. n addition to obtaining presale inspections, consider contacting reputable contractors to provide repair estimates for significant defects that are noted in your inspection.
Inexperienced Boca Raton home buyers often have no idea how much it will cost to replace a roof or remove asbestos from the heating system. Fear of the unknown is intimidating. A reasonable repair estimate may assuage the buyer’s concern. A buyer whose experience with home maintenance is limited is more likely to estimate on the high side to be safe. Often actual repair costs are less than a buyer might imagine. Asbestos abatement is a good example.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
Southeastern Florida Communities Suffer From “The Prospect Of Prosperity”
Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Palm Beach County suffer from what some call “the problem of prosperity”. Yes, Palm Beach County is a great place to live. But the folks who do something other than clip coupons, or who are otherwise not saddled with work can no longer afford to live here. The problem is the meteoric rises in both land and home costs. There is virtually no place left for those who must actually work for a living, to live.
Teachers, fire fighters, policeman and health care workers are among many others who are finding it less attractive to live and work in Palm Beach County because of the expense. Those people are leaving the county in significant numbers. In Florida as a whole the net migration continues to be positive. About 1,900 people a day are moving in, while about 970 a day move out. And that’s through the end of 2006. Despite the devastating 2004-05 hurricane season, Florida should exhibit a similar trend in 2007.
Affordable housing of any kind is no longer merely a rhetorical question. If such housing is not provided, and provided both systematically and in large quantities in the next 20 years, then Palm Beach County is going to suffer lower and lower quality public and private services, because less and less qualified people will be willing to undergo long, daily commutes.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
Teachers, fire fighters, policeman and health care workers are among many others who are finding it less attractive to live and work in Palm Beach County because of the expense. Those people are leaving the county in significant numbers. In Florida as a whole the net migration continues to be positive. About 1,900 people a day are moving in, while about 970 a day move out. And that’s through the end of 2006. Despite the devastating 2004-05 hurricane season, Florida should exhibit a similar trend in 2007.
Affordable housing of any kind is no longer merely a rhetorical question. If such housing is not provided, and provided both systematically and in large quantities in the next 20 years, then Palm Beach County is going to suffer lower and lower quality public and private services, because less and less qualified people will be willing to undergo long, daily commutes.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
Tips For Making A Home More Saleable
It takes more than the smell of fresh baked cookies to sell a home in this soft market. The MSN Real Estate message board is full of take-home tips for home sellers from the folks who replied to a request for advice on making a house stand out.
The number one suggestion having been expressed in many variations is “clean every square inch of your property and keep it clean until closing.” More than 200 respondents started at the curb and didn’t stop until the back fence as they posted suggestions to help attract buyers. “Curb appeal” literally begins and starts with the curb. Does it need to have leaves, cigarette butts or other debris cleaned up? It’s amazing at how other things in the yard start taking on a much more attractive look.
Another topic centers around making the property have as much “online appeal” as possible. The finest looking home doesn’t have a chance with poor photography A huge portion of Internet listings are the first impression of your home for many buyers. With so many listings posted in some areas, trying to make out details in dark, blurry photos when there are a lot of other listings to look at could have a very negative effect.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
The number one suggestion having been expressed in many variations is “clean every square inch of your property and keep it clean until closing.” More than 200 respondents started at the curb and didn’t stop until the back fence as they posted suggestions to help attract buyers. “Curb appeal” literally begins and starts with the curb. Does it need to have leaves, cigarette butts or other debris cleaned up? It’s amazing at how other things in the yard start taking on a much more attractive look.
Another topic centers around making the property have as much “online appeal” as possible. The finest looking home doesn’t have a chance with poor photography A huge portion of Internet listings are the first impression of your home for many buyers. With so many listings posted in some areas, trying to make out details in dark, blurry photos when there are a lot of other listings to look at could have a very negative effect.
source: sundaymorningtalk.com
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