What does a ‘Good Deal’ mean exactly?

What does a 'good deal' mean exactly

Often times I meet people who tell me they just want to get a good deal when buying or selling their home.  What does a ‘good deal’ mean exactly?  For a long time, I figured my clients just wanted to walk away with more money in their pockets.  However, after a recent trip to my hair salon, I realized that a good deal could mean different things to different people.

I told my hair stylist I wanted to remain blonde, but wanted to add golden and copper highlights for winter.  He said, “Okay.  What color is golden to you?”  I showed him a picture of a celebrity’s hair in a magazine that I thought would look nice and he said, “Honey, that’s not golden, that’s light brown with honey-colored highlights.”   I digress…

As I sat there with my head wrapped in foil, I couldn’t help but wonder how many times I was not clear on what was most important to my client’s needs when they said they wanted a good deal.

What does a good deal mean exactly?  Does it mean you want to buy a home for less money than it’s worth?  Does it mean you want more upgrades?  Does it mean you want more closing costs or a lower interest rate?  Or does it mean you want a colonial, not a ranch style house?  Would a good deal mean closing in two months versus two weeks because the kids will be on spring break?  I could go on and on.

Since my salon experience, I am determined to dissect and investigate what a good deal means to each of my clients.  If I were to ask you what a good deal means to you when buying or selling your home, could you answer me?  Is your idea of a good deal different from your spouses?  Because what is golden to me, could be light brown with honey-colored highlights to you.

Tax and Home Records Checklist: What to Keep and For How Long

By: Dona DeZube

Want to rest assured you have all the documents you need when you need them, but not be awash in paper? Read on.

Unless you’re living in the 123-room Spelling Manor, you probably don’t have space to store massive amounts of tax and insurance paperwork, warranties, and repair receipts related to your home. But you’ll definitely want your paperwork at hand if you have to prove you deserved a tax deduction, file an insurance claim, or figure out if your busted oven is still under warranty.

Except for tax paperwork, there’s no official guideline governing exactly how long you have to keep most home-related documents. Lucky for you, we considered the situations in which you might need documents and came up with a handy “How Long to Keep It” home records checklist.

First, a little background on IRS rules, which informed some of our charts:

  • The IRS says you should keep tax returns and the paperwork supporting them for at least three years after you file the return — the amount of time the IRS has to audit you. So that’s how long we advise in our charts.
  • Check with your state about state income tax, though. Some make you keep tax records a really long time: In Ohio, it’s 10 years.
  • The IRS can also ask for records up to six years after a filing if they suspect someone failed to report 25% or more of his gross income. And the agency never closes the door on an audit if it suspects fraud. Just sayin’.
HOME SALE RECORDS
Document How Long to Keep It
Home sale closing documents, including HUD-1 settlement sheet As long as you own the property + 3 years
Deed to the house As long as you own the property
Builder’s warranty or service contract for new home Until the warranty period ends
Community/condo association covenants, codes, restrictions (CC&Rs) As long as you own the property
Receipts for capital improvements As long as you own the property + 3 years
Section 1031 (like-kind exchange) sale records for both your old and new properties, including HUD-1 settlement sheet As long as you own the property + 3 years
Mortgage payoff statements (certificate of satisfaction or lien release) Forever, just in case a lender says, “Hey, you still owe money.”

Why you need these docs: You use home sale closing documents, receipts for capital improvements, and like-kind exchange records to calculate and document your profit (gain) when you sell your home. Your deed and mortgage payoff statements prove you own your home and have paid off your mortgage, respectively. Your builder’s warranty or contract is important if you file a claim. And sooner or later you’ll need to check the CC&R rules in your condo or community association.

ANNUAL TAX DEDUCTIONS
Document How Long to Keep It
Property tax payment (tax bill + canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed) 3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
Year-end mortgage statements 3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
PMI payment (monthly bills + canceled check or bank statements showing check was cashed) 3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
Residential energy tax credit* receipts 3 years after the due date of the return on which the credit is claimed (including carryforwards**)

Why you need these docs: To document you’re eligible for a deduction or tax credit.

*Energy tax credits for alternative energy sources; credit expires at the end of 2016.

**Tax credits that you carry forward from one year to a future year, such as when you don’t have enough tax liability to offset the entire amount of the credit. (You can’t deduct more than you earn.) Only certain tax credits can be carried forward. Check with your tax pro about your particular circumstances.

INSURANCE AND WARRANTIES
Document How Long to Keep It
Home repair receipts Until warranty expires
Inventory of household possessions Forever (Remember to make updates.)
Homeowners insurance policies Until you receive the next year’s policy
Service contracts and warranties As long as you have the item being warrantied

Why you need these docs: To file a claim or see what your policy or warranty covers.

INVESTMENT (LANDLORD) REAL ESTATE DEDUCTIONS
Document How Long to Keep It
Appraisal or valuation used to calculate depreciation As long as you own the property + 3 years
Receipts for capital expenses, such as an addition or improvements As long as you own the property + 3 years
Receipts for repairs and other expenses 3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
Landlord’s insurance payment receipt (canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed) 3 years after the due date showing the deduction
Landlord’s insurance policy Until you receive the next year’s policy
Partnership or LLC agreements for real estate investments As long as the partnership or LLC exists + 7 years
Landlord insurance receipts (canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed) 3 years after you deduct the expense

Why you need these docs: For the most part, to prove your eligibility to deduct the expense. You’ll also need receipts for capital expenditures to calculate your gain or loss when you sell the property. Landlord’s insurance and partnership agreements are important references.

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
Document How Long to Keep It
Wills and property trusts Until updated
Date-of-death home value record for inherited home, and any rules for heirs’ use of home As long as you own the home + 3 years
Original owners’ purchase documents (sales contract, deed) for home given to you as a gift As long as you own the home + 3 year
Divorce decree with home sale clause As long as you or spouse owns the home + 3 years
Employment records for live-in help (W-2s, W-4s, pay and benefits statements) 4 years after you make (or owe) payroll tax payments

Why you need these docs: Most are needed to calculate capital gains when you sell. Employment records help prove deductions.

Organizing Your Home Records

Because paper, such as receipts, fades with time and takes up space, consider scanning and storing your documents on a flash drive, an external hard drive, or a cloud-based remote server. Even better, save your documents to at least two of these places.

Digital copies are OK with the IRS as long as they’re identical to the originals and contain all the accurate information that was in the original receipts. You must be able to produce a hard copy if the IRS asks for one.

Tip: Tax season and year’s end are good times to purge files and toss what you no longer need; that’s often when the spirit of organization moves us.

When you do finally toss out your home-related paperwork, use a shredder. Throwing away intact documents with personal financial information puts you at risk for identity theft.

This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but isn’t intended to be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice.

Read more: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/how-long-to-keep-tax-records/preview/#ixzz3KkmcUInj

What Makes Your Home Hard to Show

What makes your home hard to sellSellers, here are some tips on what makes your home hard to show.  If you want to sell your home quickly, avoid these What Makes Your Home Hard to Show no-n0’s:

No-no #1)  Restricted showing hours.  Generally, buyers have a window of when they can go house shopping.  If you have restricted hours or need a lot of advanced notice, your home may drop off the list.  If a buyer’s agent cannot get access to your home, they cannot sell it.

No-no #2)  Combo lock boxes.  I hate combo lock boxes.  If a home has a combo lock box, it tells me several things.  One, the seller’s agent is not member of MLS or was too cheap to buy a real lock box.  Two, combo lock boxes are a royal pain in the you-know-what to get into.  And three, combo lock boxes get rusty and hard to get into over time.

No-no #3)  Smells.  Most buyers can get past messiness or some clutter.  No buyers can get past smells.  With cigarette and animal smells being the most obvious,  even good smells can be bad.  You could have the best floor plan in the neighborhood, but smells will make your home hard to show.  Get rid of the wall plug-ins and for goodness sake please no Febreze!

No-no #4)  Tell a story.  Why did you buy your home in the first place?  What is it about your home that you love so much?  Be sure to highlight those areas.  Buyers can’t see your awesome game room if there is laundry all over the pool table or can’t walk into the “walk-in closet”.

No-no#5)  Overall condition.  If your home needs many updates and a lot of TLC and has several large projects that are obviously waiting to be completed, there is a very good chance that your home will be hard to show, and ultimately sell.  Projects equal money and you could cost yourself more money off the sale price than the projects are worth.