The Tax Cut and Jobs Act

Posted on February 28, 2018 by blogeditor

Buying a home is a big decision, and the tax laws in the past can weigh hard on that decision. In today’s economic climate buyers who worry about what might happen to the tax laws affecting home ownership should feel more confident about moving forward with their decision to buy. This is all thanks to The Tax Cut and Jobs Act. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act

The good news: The Tax Cut and Jobs Act continues to treat real estate as a favored investment. Whether it is for your home or a rental property, the tax laws are in place. The only thing that might still be concerning are mortgage rates which are expected to rise as well as prices. But don’t give up just yet. Your dream home can still be yours and sooner than you think.

Not only is the mortgage interest deduction intact for most taxpayers, the capital gain exclusion for principal residences up to $500,000 is also still in place. Taxpayers can annually elect to take a newly increased standard deduction or itemize deductions; the taxpayer will pick whichever will benefit them the most.

A house payment under the new laws, along with taxes and insurance, is most likely cheaper than to rent because rents will continue to rise in the future. Rental properties are still great investments because Section 1031 exchanges, capital gains and depreciation remain the same for rental properties.

Time Management

Posted on February 21, 2018 by blogeditor

Time management is very important but also very underrated. If you have a family or an active lifestyle, then you know how precious time can be. Your schedule fills up quick with more things to do than there are hours in the day. Do you have an appointment in the morning? The kids have lessons to get to? Do you still need to go shopping to fill the empty pantry?

Time is valuable and no one wants to waste it, most of all real estate agents. Agents know that you can’t put your life on-hold while you’re trying to buy or sell a home. Whether you have a family, a couple, or you are single, life continues and the time constraints of moving can become burdensome. Agents at Colorado Horse Property are committed to helping you save time while making the experience of buying or selling a home memorable. We know the process and the potential problem areas and can help you move through them. So to preserve your precious time, and your agents time and energy, here are a few things you can do.

Time Management

First and foremost, if for what ever reason you are no longer able to buy or sell depending on what you are trying to accomplish, always let your agent know as soon as possible. There’s nothing worse than an agent spending hours trying to find the perfect home for you and then find out later that you changed your mind the day before. Secondly, if you agent is on time for appointments than you should be.

Cancelling appointments with agents should be done with as much notice as you can possibly give. One of the biggest set backs in the buying process is not having all of your required documentation. So work with your loan professional by providing all requested documentation when it is needed. If you gather all the required documents on the same day for an appointment and store them in the same place, you can reduce the chance of forgetting anything.

Mortgage Rates Through The Ages

Posted on February 20, 2018 by blogeditor

Rates Through The Ages From 1968 to 1980

In 1968, the mortgage rates were 8.5% but they went down to 7% the following year. Homeowners could buy a home that was 15% to 20% larger home with the same mortgage if they could find someone to assume the payments. Federal Housing Administration and Veteran Affairs mortgages were very popular in certain price ranges and they allowed buyers to assume the mortgage regardless of the credit. Therefore, if you could get someone to take over your payments, you were free to qualify for another mortgage.

Rates From 1981 to 1999
In 1981, mortgage rates reached a whopping 18.63%. A quarter of a million dollars of mortgage had a monthly principal and interest payment of nearly four thousand dollars. As crazy as that rate sounds, people were still buying homes; they were good investments. Four years later, the rates were going down but they were still over 12%.

The monthly payment from our previous example would now be twenty-five hundred. Home owners happy to be paying only two thirds what they had to pay a few years earlier and that was a good thing. Fast forward to late 1991 when the rates went below 9%—that same payment was down to two thousand dollars a month.

Mortgage Rates in the 21st Century
Rates during this time were 8.15% and that made the payment of a quarter of a million dollars of mortgage less than two thousand dollars a month. Rates were even lower in 2008 at 6.04%. By 2009, mortgage rates had fallen below 5%. The lowest mortgage rate was 3.31% on November 2012 with a payment one thousand dollars via our previous example.

As you can see, rates fluctuate and most of the experts are expecting rates to be above 5% by the end of this year. Rates have been historically low for a long period but will probably continue to go up. Based on history, even 8% would be an excellent rate for home owners. Until it reaches that point again, everything lower is a bargain.

Negotiating and Home Buying

Posted on February 16, 2018 by blogeditor

Negotiating and home buying go hand in hand. Going into a transaction for buying a home can put the buyer under a lot of stress. Especially when it comes to getting what they want. If you are planning on buying a house and you are intimidated by the entire process, don’t fret. There are periods during the buying process in which you can list your demands. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Negotiating and Home Buying

The negotiation takes place when the contract terms are agreed upon, which include the price, closing, and possession. You could be done there, but if you have anything else to bring to the table—problems with financing, inspections or other things—then you will get another chance to bring them up. When you are in the transaction of getting a home, you will be expected to get the home inspected. This is for you to receive an objective evaluation of the property and its components to identify existing defects and potential problems. Inspections are not cheap.

The expense for inspections can be several hundred dollars and it’s reasonable for buyers to not want to spend the money before they find out if they can come to terms with the seller. There for it is reasonable for you to negotiate for the seller to pay for these inspections themselves. But be aware that the seller may have a different perspective; sellers want to know quickly if the buyer is going to reject the home due to the inspections. If the inspection comes back with problems that must be fixed, then you can also negotiate on the costs of repairing these issues.

Why Wait to Buy?

Posted on February 15, 2018 by blogeditor

Why Wait to Buy? Do you want to buy a new home? Don’t have enough money to put twenty percent down? Don’t give up just yet. Having the twenty percent is good because so you can avoid paying mortgage insurance. Continue reading for more information on this topic. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Why Wait to Buy Your First Home?

Except for VA loans, lenders require mortgage insurance when the loan-to-value ratio is greater than eighty percent. This is the ratio to how much the lender is giving you and how much the home is worth. The twenty percent down balances everything out. Therefore, if you are able to provide it then you will not be required to pay mortgage insurance. However, if you fear the costs of mortgage insurance, don’t give you just yet. Odds are you can still get the home of your dreams by finding the right balance between loan and mortgage insurance. Here’s how.

Imagine that you are purchasing your new home with a nine-five percent loan at the current low interest rates plus approximately eight-five dollars a month for mortgage insurance—this will greatly depend on your individual credit score. At the end of three years, the unpaid balance would be of a two hundred thousand dollar home would be about one hundred and seventy-nine thousand. Assuming the home will be worth the same two hundred thousand, the buyer’s equity would be almost forty thousand dollars. You might find that having a little bit of mortgage insurance to pay for is worth it in the long run to get the house you want now.

Homeowner Documents to Get Now

Posted on February 14, 2018 by blogeditor

Homeowner documents, like a living will, are important. If you have invested in property it is important to prepare for the future. What if something were to happen to you? What would happen to your investment? Are you married? Do you have children? Who will get the house when you pass away?

Homeowner Documents to Get Now

An estate plan is a collection of documents. Also, your lawyer carries out your wishes according to these homeowner documents when you die. They also help if you are no longer capable to make your own decisions. Every state is different and document requirements can vary. Therefore you should always get legal advice before filing any documents. If you need a current estimate of value of your home, then you can just get help from a licensed professional. For more advice, contact Colorado Horse Property.

Will & Living Will
A will specifies the way a person wants to manage and distribute his/her assets.
Durable Power of Attorney
This document is very important. It grants whomever you choose the authority to act on your behalf in legal affairs. Also, this would allow the attorney-in-fact to buy and sell property on your behalf.
Healthcare Proxy
If you are incapacitated a healthcare proxy is used. It determines who can legally make healthcare decisions on your behalf. This document should outline specific decision you want made when in specific situations.
Hippa Release
The law requires healthcare professionals to protect the privacy of your health information. Include the people you want the information shared with. The healthcare professionals can legally inform them.
Letter of Instruction
This document contains information about a person’s wishes upon death. It is intended to offer details on whom to contact. It says where to find important documents about financial matters.

Perfect Homes

Posted on February 12, 2018 by blogeditor

Perfect homes comes after finding the right agent. Colorado Horse Property has previously laid out a guideline of questions to ask your agent to make sure they are right for you. Expanding on that, a broad skill set is required to select the perfect real estate agent for you. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

The way the market used to work, many buyers did not have access to every home that was for sell. Nowadays with the advent of the internet and the sharing of information that has changed. The National Association of REALTORS® is America’s largest trade association. It represents 1.2 million members, including NAR’s institutes, societies, and councils. Also, these members are involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Perfect Homes

Right out of the National Association of Realtors (or the NAR) came a study called the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Indicated in that study was that least fifty-two percent of home buyers wanted help in finding the right home to buy. Nearly a quarter of buyers wanted help negotiating prices. As important as prices, negotiating the terms of sale is paramount. The negotiation takes place when the contract terms are agreed upon. These include the price, closing, and possession.

You could be done there. However, if you have anything else to bring to the table then you will get another chance to bring them up. This is because buyers do not want to pay more than what is absolutely necessary. This is completely understandable in today’s economic climate. Ask the agent representing you to specifically list the tools and talent they have available to address these areas. Ask about their financing and paperwork skills. You may have been through the process before, but if it was been several years then things have probably changed. Talk to you agent. A good agent knows how to deal with them.

Rental Investments

Posted on February 12, 2018 by blogeditor

Rental Investments: It is no secret that owning a rental property is a great investment. For one thing, they can offer a higher rate of return than other investments. This can be achieved without having to worry about the stock market. Colorado Horse Property has already compared rentals and mutual funds.

Some people’s main source of income comes from other forms of investment. Investments like certificates of deposit and from bonds at less than two percent. If you are one of them then you will probably be looking for an alternative. The answer is investing in rentals. Find out more about how rentals might complement your current investment plans. You cab contact your real estate professionals at Colorado Horse Property for help. Here are a few more reasons to invest in rentals.

Rental Investments: Reasons to Invest

Expenses
When managing a rental you will come across extra expenses. Your tenant may ring you up and inform you that a bulb has blown. Fixing these issues can cost you some time but not money. Income from the monthly rent contributes to paying these expenses. So, you don’t have to come up with any extra money. Rentals pay for themselves.
Economy
Today’s economy is in the perfect condition to benefit rental owners. Increased rents, and low, non-owner occupied mortgage rates amounts to more money in your pocket and very favorable rates of return.
Depreciation/Appreciation
We all know that values can go up and down and that goes for rental properties. If you stay on top of the expenses that your rentals accrue, appreciation will be achieved as the value of the property goes up.
Control
Rental owners have more control on their invest because of leverage. Leverage can increase the return on investment. They do this by using borrowed funds to control a larger asset.

Renting News

Posted on February 6, 2018 by blogeditor

Renting news can help you in the decision to rent or not to rent? To own or not to own? These are the questions that inhabit the minds of many young people who are making those first steps to setting down roots. It can be a scary decision whether to rent or buy. On one hand if something goes wrong the landlord can fix it for you, but owning your home gives you a great sense of accomplishment and security.

For some of you it may just come down to dollars and cents. Putting a down payment on a home is a lot more costly than a small deposit on an apartment. If you are on the fence about buying your first home, here is some news that might help you make the decision. For more help contact Colorado Horse Property.

Renting News

Interest rates in Colorado have been at an all-time low and show no sign of changing anytime soon. If you get a home now you can be locked-in at these great low rates for thirty years.
It is estimated that over ninety percent of taxpayers will elect to use the new standard deduction that is part of the new tax law. This new standard deduction of homeowners.
In many cases it is cheaper than ever to buy property. This reduction in the effective cost of housing is due to principal reductions and property appreciation.
In this day and age it is easier than ever to research the history of an area so that you can make more accurate predictions of how a home will go up in price due to appreciation.
Amortized loans and reduce the balance you owe on a home. The loan applies an amount of each payment you make on your property to the principal amount that you owe to retire the loan over time.What does this financing mumbo-jumbo mean? Think of it as a forced savings account—when you make your payment, the unpaid balance is reduced.

Finding Perfect Agents

Posted on January 26, 2018 by blogeditor

Finding perfect agents or companies to go with for getting you into your dream home is an important and difficult one. There are many agents out there no matter where you want to live, but not all agents weigh the same. Some companies lack experience, and some agents may be more worried about their commission then making you happy. One of the best ways to find out if a realtor is right for you, is by asking them the following questions. If you are looking for an agent, contact Colorado Horse Property, who work with some of the best agents in the entire state of Colorado, for expert help in finding the perfect agents for you.

Finding Perfect Agents

Why do you want to work with me?
This is a good question to start with because if an agent is really keen on getting you into your dream home then they will be able to articulate that without hesitation.
Who can you recommend for service providers like mortgage, inspections, repairs and maintenance? Experienced realtors will know people in these businesses. If an agent trying to get your business fumbles on this question then they might not be as experienced as you thought.
How many homes did you and your company sell last year? How long have you been selling homes and is this your full-time job? A straightforward question to learn how experienced an agent is or the company they work for. Many agents do not work full time—some realtors are summer-agents, in that they have another job during a specific time of the year (like a teacher for instance) and work as a realtor in their spare time.
What designations or other credentials do you have?
There are many different certifications out there and the more an agent or company has the better.