Your Principal Residence

The Federal Tax Code allows married taxpayers to exclude from capital gains taxes up to $500,000 in profits from selling a home (singles can exclude $250,000). In order to qualify for this exemption, you must prove that that the home has been your principal residence for at least two out of the last five years. The establishment of the home as a principal residence depends on the facts of each homeowner’s circumstance. Here are two cases to consider.

Homeowner A has lived at 25 Pine Drive for 12 years. Although he stays at his vacation cottage in another town for up to three months out of each year (sometimes more), 25 Pine Drive is his principal residence, where he lives most of the time. When he sells the home, Homeowner A (filing as a single individual) can keep up to $250,000 in tax-free profit.

Homeowner B buys 108 Maple Street, intending to live there. He rents it out while waiting to sell his current home, where he has lived for six years. His principal residence sells at the end of two years. Homeowner B moves into his new house, lives there for three months, and then decides to travel. After a six-month trip, he regrets buying 108 Maple Street and sells it. Even though he has owned the house on Maple Street for over two years, it won’t qualify as “owner-occupied”, because he only lived in it for a few months. Thus Homeowner B is not eligible to claim the tax exemption when he sells the house on Maple Street.

Consult your tax advisor for advice about your particular circumstance.

Your Investment

Real estate transactions are very complex, and difficulties can arise. One common form of interference can come in the innocent guise of helpful advice from family and friends.

When you buy your first home, you want the best advice you can get. You want to show the house to friends and relatives before you commit. They will probably tell you about all of the things that went wrong during their own transactions so you can avoid the same mistakes. These people all have good intentions, but too much advice can put you into a state of high anxiety.

If you are buying your home with the help of a professional real estate agent, your agent will know how to make sure that any minor upsets do not turn into major problems. A real estate agent’s expertise is based on formal training and experience in many real estate transactions. Their reputation is on the line with each sale, so they are highly motivated to make your purchase or sale go as smoothly as possible. When you are dealing with a professional real estate agent, you can worry about what might go wrong if you wish, but you don’t have to!

When Is the Time to Buy?

Real estate transactions are very complex, and difficulties can arise. One common form of interference can come in the innocent guise of helpful advice from family and friends.

When you buy your first home, you want the best advice you can get. You want to show the house to friends and relatives before you commit. They will probably tell you about all of the things that went wrong during their own transactions so you can avoid the same mistakes. These people all have good intentions, but too much advice can put you into a state of high anxiety.

If you are buying your home with the help of a professional real estate agent, your agent will know how to make sure that any minor upsets do not turn into major problems. A real estate agent’s expertise is based on formal training and experience in many real estate transactions. Their reputation is on the line with each sale, so they are highly motivated to make your purchase or sale go as smoothly as possible. When you are dealing with a professional real estate agent, you can worry about what might go wrong if you wish, but you don’t have to!

What Can Go Wrong

Real estate transactions are very complex, and difficulties can arise. One common form of interference can come in the innocent guise of helpful advice from family and friends.

When you buy your first home, you want the best advice you can get. You want to show the house to friends and relatives before you commit. They will probably tell you about all of the things that went wrong during their own transactions so you can avoid the same mistakes. These people all have good intentions, but too much advice can put you into a state of high anxiety.

If you are buying your home with the help of a professional real estate agent, your agent will know how to make sure that any minor upsets do not turn into major problems. A real estate agent’s expertise is based on formal training and experience in many real estate transactions. Their reputation is on the line with each sale, so they are highly motivated to make your purchase or sale go as smoothly as possible. When you are dealing with a professional real estate agent, you can worry about what might go wrong if you wish, but you don’t have to!

Too Many Experts

It can be difficult to make an informed homebuying decision when confronted by advice from too many “experts.” If you have just found the house you want to buy, you are probably feeling completely thrilled and confused at the same time. You trust the agent who helped you and feel that the advice you received is solid. But you also want to get opinions about the house from your best friend, your parents, and your Uncle Chuck, who has an inactive real estate license.

If you get input from too many sources, you could find yourself even more confused than you already are. Your best friend can provide moral support, but might not know the market in your area. Your parents may go into shock because they feel that they got so much more house for their money 30 years ago–and it cost them a fraction of the price you are going to pay.

Even though Uncle Chuck passed the real estate exam, his insights won’t be as relevant as those of a professional who is currently working the market. It’s not that you shouldn’t consult your family and friends–just don’t go overboard. Rely on the advice of professionals you trust–a structural inspector, loan officer, and a good real estate agent, so that you can feel comfortable about having made an informed decision.

The Seller May Pay

The costs of buying a home may be daunting. For example, you may have finally saved enough for a down payment on your first home, with a little left over to buy the furniture you will need. Then you hear about having to pay closing costs you weren’t anticipating, and this may seem like a real setback.

One way to cover such a shortage is to make the sellers an offer that calls for them to credit you for some of the closing costs. As a rule, the sellers may pay a maximum of 3 percent of the sales price if the buyer is putting five percent down. If the buyer is making a down payment of 10 percent or more, the seller can contribute up to 6 percent of the sales price to cover the buyer’s closing costs. Some items, such as prepaid taxes and the first month’s mortgage payment, must be paid by the buyers. Sellers may also contribute to paying the appraisal, points, title insurance, settlement attorney fees, state or local transfer taxes and similar items.

Keep in mind that if the credit is included in the price of the house, the appraiser will have to justify the amount, based on sales prices of similar homes in the neighborhood.

The Rewards of Home Ownership

People buy a home for a lot of different reasons. They may want to put down roots in a community and create a sense of stability in their lives. Then there are the financial considerations and the “forced” savings that builds up in the form of equity. In addition, the monthly cost of owning a house is usually much more stable and predictable than renting.

If you are considering the possibility of purchasing a home, contact a knowledgeable real estate agent in your community. An important part of our job is to educate prospective buyers about the potential benefits and responsibilities of renting versus owning a home. We can help you determine your purchasing power and show you the best homes in your price range. We can also give you a side-by-side comparison of the costs of owning a home compared with what you pay for rent. When you fix up your home to suit your needs and taste, you benefit from the added value of the improvements instead of the landlord!

The Real Bottom Line

An important part of buying a house is sitting down with your real estate agent or a mortgage lender to get a clear idea of how much you can afford. They will add up all of your monthly expenses, the mortgage payment, insurance, real estate taxes, homeowners or condo association fees–and the grand total can throw you into shock!

The important thing to remember is that the grand total isn’t really the bottom line. When you add your tax savings to the equation, you may be pleasantly surprised. During the early years of your loan, almost all of the mortgage can be deducted from your state and federal income tax. The same is true of your real estate taxes. If you use part of your house as a home office, you may be able to qualify for additional tax savings. In some areas, homes with ground floor apartments are popular for offsetting part of the mortgage and offering even more tax savings.

When you make calculations about the monthly costs that include the tax savings, you may find that owning your own home is less expensive than renting a house or apartment of comparable size.

The Perfect House

Home buyers must often deal with deferred maintenance or repairs. For example, you may have found a terrific house and like many competent home buyers, you included a structural inspection contingency in your purchase agreement. What happens when you find out that your “perfect” house needs some work? Do you ask the sellers to pay for the repairs? Before you answer “yes”, there are some important considerations.

Some contracts require that all of the home’s systems, such as plumbing, heating, electrical and central air conditioning, be in working order. In this case, the sellers may be obligated to repair any problems with these systems. Leaky roofs, damp basements, or other structural problems may not be covered, however. If you ask the sellers to make these types of repairs, you may void the contract by doing so. The sellers might prefer to negotiate the repairs to keep from losing the sale. If there are other buyers waiting in the wings with back-up contracts, you run the risk of losing the home.