Friday, April 25, 2014 / by William Culp
In a dream world, every interested homebuyer would qualify for a mortgage, and every seller would be able to sell their home in a timely, efficient and stress-free fashion. However, that is not always the case. The following article walks through two of the most popular alternative methods for buying and selling when a mortgage may not be available.
Seller Financing
Also known as a purchase money mortgage, seller financing is when the seller agrees to “lend” money to the buyer to purchase and close on the seller’s home. Usually sellers do this when money is tight, interest rates are high or when a buyer has difficulty qualifying for a conventional loan or meeting the purchase price.
Seller financing differs from a traditional loan because the seller does not actually give the buyer cash to complete the purchase, as does the lender. Instead, it involves issuing a credit against the purchase price of the home. The buyer executes a promissory note or trust dee. ...
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Friday, April 18, 2014 / by William Culp
Many of us have rooms we rarely use: dining rooms with tables too large for our family of four; a sitting room used once a year at holiday times. Often, these formal spaces feel stiff and empty. Below are several top tips—gleaned from years of home staging—to make your formal spaces feel more like your own.
Make use of color. Often, formal rooms stick to neutral color palettes, like beige. Jazz up your formal space with a pop of color. This can be as extreme as one brightly painted wall, or as subtle as a pair of purple throw pillows on the couch or a deep green table runner.
Pick a statement piece. There's no need to pick up completely new furniture, but keep an eye out for one unique piece to replace a more traditional item of furniture. A funky coffee table or even a bright piece of art will work.
Drape it right. An easy way to loosen up stiffness in a room is with fun curtains. If your furniture and color palette is basic, then pick a pattern you love for the drapes.. ...
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Friday, April 11, 2014 / by William Culp
For those who sold their home this year, it's important to understand how selling your home may impact your tax returns, now that tax season is drawing to a close. Below is a breakdown on how capital gains work for those who have recently sold a home.
Exclusions
If you sell your primary residence, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of gain – $500,000 for married couples – from your federal tax return. To claim the exclusion, the IRS says your home must have been owned by you and used as your main home for a period of at least two out of the five years prior to its sale.
Specifications
The are a few catches, however. You also must not have excluded gain on another home sold during the two years before the current sale. Additionally, special rules apply for members of the armed, uniformed and foreign services and their families in calculating the 5-year period.
If you do not meet the ownership and use tests, you may use a reduced maximum exclu. ...
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Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / by William Culp
While a house doesn't come with an owner's manual, there are several things you can do to stay on top of, and ahead of, your home. Knowing how to handle small maintenance fixes will save you stress and money. Save your dollars for when it's really time to call in a professional. In order to feel confident handling simple maintenance tasks, read through the following tips and tricks.:
1. Open the garage door when the power is out. Need to leave the house in a power outage? Pull on that red cord dangling from the ceiling-mounted operator. This disengages the chain drive, allowing you to manually slide the door up its track.
2. Remove the base of a broken light bulb. Accidentally break a lightbulb while it's still screwed into your lamp? No need to panic, as long as you have a potato in the pantry. Take a raw potato, cut it in half, and press the sliced end onto the jagged glass. Then, simply unscrew. This is also a great party trick.
3. Learn how to locate a stud. Trying to hang a hea. ...
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014 / by William Culp
As the market makes steady moves toward a solid recovery, more and more hopeful homeowners are entering the playing field. If you're looking to buy a new home this year, be it a downsize, vacation home, or your very first house purchase, follow these three tips.
Check into reality.
Instead of daydreaming your ideal home, make a list of what things are absolutely essential: a specific number of bedrooms, close proximity to work or your child's school, a decent-sized yard. Once you know what you need, but before you begin your actual house hunt, start looking at what sold in the last six months that fits your bill. See what the selling prices are looking like, and figure out if you can afford a similar price tag. If you can't, it might mean waiting a bit, or reassessing your needs.
Get pre-approved, not pre-qualified.
Many people get confused between “pre-approved” and “pre-qualified” when it comes to obtaining a loan. Getting pre-qualified mea. ...
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