Tag: real estate
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I Inherited a Home. Should I Sell It, or Rent It Out?
Many heirs receive real estate because it’s a valuable asset — not necessarily because they need the homes to live in. So, for the heir who doesn’t want to live in the inherited home, what’s the best decision to make? Rent or sell the home? The answer is clear: It all depends! It’ll turn on…
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Reporting a Home Sale? What to Know About Capital Gains Tax (Even If You’re Exempt)
Hopeful buyers have struggled on and on with real estate price surges. Those who have managed to break into this market have watched their home values surge, too. When these homeowners decide to sell, the profits they accumulated in their homes are known to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as capital gains. People who sold…
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Can’t Wait to Move. (If Only We Could Pack Up Our Low Mortgage Rate and Take It With Us!)
Some people wish they could move, but hesitate to sell their current homes. They might be thinking: “I’d gladly sell my home right now, if only I could shift the remaining 25 years of my 4%-interest mortgage to the next house I buy! (Oh, well.)” “Giving up our 3% rate and getting a new mortgage…
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It’s Election Year. How Will This Affect Sellers and Buyers?
As we enter an election year the current administration points to how strong the economy is. But there’s a disconnect between these regular public assurances and people’s life experiences. So many are either locked into their current mortgages or just completely sidelined from the market. This is no joke: High mortgage rates. Wages lagging while…
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Real Property Basics: What Is a Clear Title?
A clear title. The term is commonly used to mean the deed holder can prove ownership, unquestionably. To verify that, a title company can conduct a title search. Other parties’ claims on the title are called title defects, or clouds on title. What do these claims look like? They might be mortgage liens, court judgments,…
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State of the Home Buyer: White House Promotes New Set of Tax Credits
Housing affordability remains out of reach for many in the U.S. population today. What’s the matter? Joe Biden’s March 2024 State of the Union address laid out the latest plan to help. Here’s an update on the issue, and how the administration intends to deal with it.
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Bitcoin Creating New Home Buyers? Why We’re Watching the Crypto Effect on Real Estate Markets
Bitcoin is now available from mainstream financial managers. Suddenly, it’s a significant part of U.S. investment and retirement portfolios. So, bitcoin is joining real estate as an asset class. At this point, the leading cryptocurrency can influence the costs of housing in some markets. Its rise even allows some people to buy their first homes.…
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Anti-Money Laundering: Federal Rule Coming to Track Real Estate Cash
The federal government wants all-cash home buyers to be easy to find. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is part of the U.S. Treasury Department. FinCEN has proposed a new reporting rule. It wants real estate professionals to submit forms with details about cash sales when homes are sold to legal entities — like LLCs and…
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Can We Record Deeds on the Blockchain?
Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrency, is a digital recording system, leading innovators to wonder if it could solve challenges in deed recording. The U.S. deed recording system is tried and true. At the same time, title defects and tangled titles are much too common. Additionally, deed fraud harms vulnerable homeowners.. What if our title…
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Behind the Scenes of a Home Purchase: What’s Your Title Company Doing?
You joyfully pick up the keys on closing day, and leave the office triumphant, a thick folder from the title company under your arm. The title company played a starring role in your day. At least it did if a mortgage is involved! Cash buyers need not hire experts to run a search on the…
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Blockchain for Real Estate: It’s Coming.
If you’ve ever bought a house, condo, or co-op, you’ll know it’s a major process. Many joyful buys took a good deal of trudging through weeks of stressful communication challenges. The journey was loaded with people, paperwork, and fees. Why do we put ourselves through it? Because getting into the market is a key wealth-building…
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You Can Quitclaim Your Home to a Loved One to Skip Probate Costs. Is It Worth It?
A quitclaim deed easily, quickly transfers your home’s title. You can use a quitclaim to give a home to someone else, with no expectation of a payment from the recipient. Some people use quitclaims to pass homes to their family members. So, is this a good way to carry out your wishes yourself — a…
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Capital Gains: Were Profits on Your 2023 Home Sale EXEMPT? Head Form 1099-S Off at the Pass.
People who sold their homes in 2023, after living in them for a while and enjoying their low mortgage rates, have seen big gains in their property values. Fortunately, most of these gains won’t be taxed. If you sold a home in 2023, your lender or broker may give you Form 1099-S. Federal law requires…
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Washington State’s Path to Fair Housing: The 2024 Recording Fee Increase and Covenant Homeownership Program
Beginning January 1, 2024, Washington State implemented a substantial revision to its recording fees, significantly affecting the real estate sector. This modification entailed a $100 increase in the recording fee for each document, aligning with the Covenant Homeownership Program assessment as outlined in RCW 36.22.185. This hike is applicable to a broad array of documents,…
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Owning a Home Just Got More Useful. AI Speeds Up HELOC Lending
At the year’s end, it’s fun to pick out the best innovations to appear during the past 12 months. What about the role of artificial intelligence in home lending? More people might take out home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to put their home equity to work — if only it weren’t such a drawn-out…
