Home values are bouncing back—is the trend strong enough to support your bid for a home equity loan?
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Author Archives: Joanne Y. Cleaver
- Managing Construction >
- Measure Twice, Borrow Once: Home Equity Loan Success
- Buying & Selling Homes >
- Suddenly, a Seller’s Market?
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That choking sound you hear is the echo of real estate deals not getting done, because suddenly, buyers can’t find houses they want. In markets where buyers are clamoring for properties, this spring may give sellers the rare opportunity to cut agents’ commissions, and in so doing, save a bigger slice of hard-won equity.
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- 3 Ways to Polish Your Online Real Estate Listing
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“Curb appeal” is real estate jargon referring to the first impression your home makes on prospective buyers. With about 90% of house hunters sifting through online listings to narrow the field of choices, curb appeal now takes place in the digital domain. Here are three ways to ensure that your online listing isn’t a drive-by:
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- Reading Between the Lines on Customer Review Sites
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Unhappy with the job your contractor did? Peeved at your local hardware store’s churlish service? Annoyed with the runaround you got from a real estate agent? Just use an online review site to gain a small measure of revenge and to satisfy yourself by warning others. Right?
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- Tax Tips for Home Sellers
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Selling a house can yield some unexpected tax benefits. Few of us buy or sell often enough to stay abreast of the latest turns of the tax screw, so here’s an update on a few policies that could ease the pain:
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- 2 Professionals Who Can Save You Thousands
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“Satisfaction goes up when you have concrete expectations,” says CA-based contractor Dan Fritschen. The unglamorous truth is that planning ahead saves money. In order to plan effectively, Fritschen recommends that homeowners seek assistance from two types of renovation consultants. Early in your project, each of these pros will ask different, equally important questions to help you translate a design vision into a built reality.
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- Managing Construction >
- Cost and Competition: Remodeling Heats Up
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If you are thinking that this is the year to tackle a bigger renovation project that you’ve been postponing, you’re not the only one. After several years of maintenance mode, homeowners are going to spend on actual improvements this year, predicts the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard.
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- What Your Contractor Won’t Tell You
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Licenses, bonding, and insurance: Every contractor is required by law to have these essential documents in order, but not all do. And the harsh reality is that, if your contractor flouts the law, it could end up costing you.
Adamina Fies, president of Synergy Design & Construction in Reston, VA, says that, as absurd as it may seem, homeowners need to triple-check that their contractors and subcontractors are complying with state and local laws. If your contractor doesn’t have the proper paperwork, then you, the client, could be pulled into lawsuits ranging from on-the-job injuries to unpaid subcontractors’ bills.
Here’s the checklist Fies uses when vetting contractors:
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- Energize Savings with a “Green” Tax Credit
In the midst of the budget crisis in Washington, home energy tax credits were retained for the 2012 tax year. That means you can claim a 10% credit for up to $5,000 worth of qualified energy-efficient improvements, including replacement windows and doors; Energy Star appliances; insulation; and installing more energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
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Be sure to review the specifics carefully via IRS Form 5695. And audit your receipts to verify that the materials and appliances you bought qualify. For maximum return, include these factors as you estimate the value of the credit:
- Buying & Selling Homes >
- Is Housing Really Back?
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Hyperventilation over the housing market recovery is reaching gale force. National news outlets are quoting some experts as saying that housing will lead economic growth this year.
Pass the paper bags. The truth is that a consistent rise in home values in 2012—of 5.9% according to Zillow, and 5.5% according to the Case-Shiller Index—falls far short of recapturing a 30% drop in values since 2006.
This year, several factors will keep home values in check: