If you are a homeowner with a mortgage, you might have heard about your right to redemption. For those who have been struggling to make their house payments, this is one route that can be taken to avoid foreclosure. Â
What is the Right of Redemption?
If you own real estate, making mortgage payments can be hard, but foreclosure is something that most people want to avoid. The right of redemption is basically a last chance to reclaim your property in order to prevent a foreclosure from happening. If mortgagors can manage to pay off their back taxes or any liens on their property, they can save their property. Usually, real estate owners will have to pay the total amount that they owe plus any additional costs that may have accrued during the foreclosure process.Â
In some states, you can exercise your right to redemption after a foreclosure sale or auction on the property has already taken place, but it can end up being more expensive. If you wait until after the foreclosure sale, you will need to come up with the full amount that you already owe as well as the purchase price. Â
How the right of redemption works
In contrast to the right of redemption, exists the right of foreclosure, which is a lenderâs ability to legally possess a property when a mortgager defaults on their payments. Generally, when you are in the process of purchasing a home, the terms of agreement will discuss the circumstances in which a foreclosure may take place. The foreclosure process can mean something different depending on what state you are in, as state laws do regulate the right of foreclosure. Before taking ownership of the property through this process, lenders must notify real estate owner and go through a specific process.Â
Typically, they have to provide the homeowner with a default notice, letting them know that their mortgage loan is in default due to a lack of payments. At this point, the homeowner then has an amount of time, known as a redemption period, to try to get their home back. The homeowner may have reason to believe that the lender does not have the right to a foreclosure process, in which case they have a right to fight it.Â
The right of redemption can be carried out in two different ways:
You can redeem your home by paying off the full amount of the debt along with interest rates and costs related to the foreclosure before the foreclosure sale OR
You can reimburse the new owner of the property in the full amount of the purchase price if you are redeeming after the sale date.Â
No matter what state you live in, you always have the right to redemption before a foreclosure sale, however there are only certain states that allow a redemption period after a foreclosure sale has already taken place.Â
Redemption before the foreclosure saleÂ
Itâs easy to get behind on mortgage payments, so itâs a good thing that our government believes in second chances. All homeowners have redemption rights precluding a foreclosure sale. When you exercise your right of redemption before a foreclosure sale, you will have to come up with enough money to pay off the mortgage debt. Itâs important that you ask for a payoff statement from your loan servicer that will inform you of the exact amount you will need to pay in order save your property.Â
Redemption laws allow the debtor to redeem their property within the timeframe where the notice begins and the foreclosure sale ends. Redemption occurring before a foreclosure sale is rare, since itâs usually difficult for people to come up with such a large amount of money in such a short period of time.Â
The Statutory Right of Redemption after a foreclosure saleÂ
While all states have redemption rights that allow homeowners to buy back their home before a foreclosure sale, only some states allow you to get your home back following a foreclosure sale. Known as a âstatutoryâ right of redemption, this right as well as the amount of time given to exercise it, has come directly from statutes of individual states.Â
In the case of a statutory right of redemption, real estate owners have a certain amount of time following a foreclosure in which they are able to redeem their property. In order to do this, the former owner must pay the full amount of the foreclosure sale price or the full amount that is owed to the bank on top of additional charges. Statutory redemption laws allow for the homeowners to have more time to get their homes back.Â
Depending on what state you live in, the fees and costs of what it takes to exercise redemption may vary. In many cases during a foreclosure sale, real estate will actually sell for a price lower than the fair market value. When this happens, the former owner has a slightly higher chance of being able to redeem the home.Â
What You Should Know About the Right of Redemption is a post from Pocket Your Dollars.
Rumor had it that the NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal was dabbling in the art of home flipping, when he put his luxurious home in a gated equestrian community in Bell Canyon, CA, on the market for $2.5 million in late 2019.
The big man purchased the place in February 2018 for $1,815,000, and owned the home for only a little more than a year before he decided to sell.
However, if Shaq harbors dreams of an HGTV spinoff show, he’ll have to improve his return on investment. He recently let the home go for $1.85 million.
The five-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom, traditional-style home is on a fenced and gated acre lot, ideal for an owner who craves privacy.
Shaquille O’Neal’s SoCal spread
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Overhead view
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O’Neal perked up the 5,217-square-foot home with new carpeting, fresh paint, customized closets, and improved landscaping. The home was originally built in 1990, and its HVAC system, garage door, and some of the plumbing were also updated.
Living room
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There’s plenty of proof of the property’s provenance. O’Neal’s images, trophies, and mementos greet visitors the second they set foot in the grand black-and-white, two-story formal entry, with a large staircase and circular gallery.
Grand entry hall
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The home has a number of highlights: a wide-open floor plan, beamed ceilings, and hillside views. The kitchen, however, is the true showstopper, according to the listing agent, Emil Hartoonian of The Agency.
“Buyers loved the kitchen and its brightness. They also loved the open living space, with no shortage of natural light and flow,” he says.
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Watch: NBA’s Blake Griffin Nets Another Home In Los Angeles
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The kitchen has marble counters, a large center island, built-in stainless steel appliances, and designer cabinetry.
Kitchen
Other luxe features in the residence include a wine closet and wet bar in the great room, a media room with a convenient kitchenette, a screening room, and a spacious office with splendid views.
Home office
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Plush screening room
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The luxury spills into the outdoor spaces as well. Out back, there’s a rock-rimmed heated pool and spa, a fire pit, multiple seating areas, and manicured lawns.
Pool and spa
“We presented this property in the light it deserved, and helped buyers see the true value of a premier updated property behind guard-gates,” Hartoonian says.
He co-listed the property with Nicholas Siegfried, also of The Agency. Gary Keshishyan Pinnacle Properties represented the buyers.
But waitâthere’s more. O’Neal’s sale in Southern California isn’t his only recent real estate success.
The famous “Shaq-apulco” in Windermere, FL, which has been on and off the market at varying prices over the past couple of years, appears to have found a buyer.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Florida estate
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O’Neal first put the massive estate on the market in 2018, for $28 million. It was most recently listed at $16.5 million, and a sale is now pending on the 4-acre waterfront property, with its 31,000-square-foot mansion.
O’Neal, 48, is reportedly spending more time in Atlanta with his NBA on TNT gig. The Hall of Famer won four NBA titles during his 19-year NBA career.
The post Shaquille O’Neal Recruits a Buyer for a Luxury $1.85M Spread in SoCal appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
As part of his plan of leaving Los Angeles and moving his family to the Big Apple, Matt Damon has now listed his Pacific Palisades home for sale. And he’s hoping to cash in big from the sale, asking $21 million for the Zen-inspired contemporary home set in one of LA’s most desirable neighborhoods.
Recently listed with Eric Haskell, an agent with celebrity real estate brokerage The Agency, Matt Damon’s house is an architectural masterpiece with 7 bedrooms, 10 baths, tons of distinct design features and some pretty extraordinary amenities. The Academy Award-winning actor will be trading all this for a 6,000-square-foot penthouse in Brooklyn, New York, having broken records last year by paying $16.745 million for the top floor unit of a famous former hotel, The Standish.
Inside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis Adams
An architectural gem with striking features & Instagram-worthy interiors
Designed by award-winning architect Grant Kirkpatrick, founding partner of leading-edge design studio KAA Design Group, Matt Damon’s house is an extraordinary contemporary home that showcases masterful craftmanship throughout its 13,508-square-foot interiors.
With a modern-yet-timeless design, the house is anchored by a breathtaking atrium with 35-foot mahogany vaulted ceilings. The interiors are bathed in natural light and mix warm wood elements with natural stone, giving the whole space an inviting, relaxing vibe. Other striking features that deserve a shout-out: clerestory windows and glass walls that fuse the indoors with the outdoor areas.
Inside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis AdamsInside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis AdamsInside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis Adams
The family room opens to the magnificent chefâs kitchen with custom mahogany cabinetry, Bluestone countertops and stainless steel Viking, Wolf and Miele appliances. The kitchen then opens to the expansive backyard retreat (but more on that in a minute).
All in all, Matt Damon’s soon-to-be former Los Angeles abode packs 7 bedrooms and 10 baths across 13,508 square feet of space. The primary suite comes with its own private terrace, dual dressing rooms, massage room and a spa-style bath with soaking tub and expansive shower. Pretty much every room offers leafy property and treetop views, adding an extra note of serenity to this wonderfully Zen-inspired home.
Inside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis AdamsInside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis AdamsInside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis AdamsInside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis AdamsInside Matt Damon’s house in Los Angeles, now on the market for $21 million. Image credit: Alexis Adams
Amenities galore and a wonderful backyard retreat
Most celebrity homes tend to outdo themselves when it comes to amenities and bonus rooms and Matt Damon’s house is no exception. Interior amenities include a game room, bar, office, gym, plush media room, staff quarters and wine storage and tasting room. And that’s just what you’ll find inside the house.
Outside, the modern home has quite a few amenities that invite calm and relaxation (perfectly in tune with the rest of the house), including an expansive pool, spa, a cascading waterfall, koi pond and Hawaiian-inspired Lanai with a covered lounge and alfresco dining terrace. To appeal to the little ones — Damon is a father of four — there’s also a nice childrenâs play area.
Pool and outdoor area of Matt Damon’s Los Angeles home in Pacific Palisades. Image credit: Alexis AdamsPool and outdoor area of Matt Damon’s Los Angeles home in Pacific Palisades. Image credit: Alexis AdamsPlayground outside Matt Damon’s Los Angeles home in Pacific Palisades. Image credit: Alexis Adams
Matt Damon’s next home is vastly different from his Los Angeles digs
The Academy Award-winning actor, who is starring in the highly anticipated Ridley Scott-directed The Last Duel (to be released this year), will soon be leaving Los Angeles behind. The move has long been planned, with Damon and wife Luciana Bozán Barroso having purchased a Brooklyn Heights penthouse two years ago for a record-breaking price.
The couple paid $16.745 million for a 6-bedroom, 6,201-square-foot penthouse at The Standish — a historically significant converted building that was originally built in 1903 as a Beaux Arts hotel. At the time, Damon’s purchase set a new record for the borough, making him the owner of the most expensive property ever sold in Brooklyn.
Despite the fact that the penthouse consists of several units merged for extra space, the actor will be downsizing considerably. And the loss in square footage is matched by a significant downgrade in outdoor space — though it’s worth noting that Matt Damon’s new home does have an expansive terrace, a rarity for New York City. There’s no Zen backyard pool though, so we’re pretty sure the Good Will Hunting actor will, at times, miss his Pacific Palisades retreat.
More beautiful celebrity homes
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The post New to Market: Matt Damon’s Zen Los Angeles Home Asks $21 Million appeared first on Fancy Pants Homes.
Hotelier and real estate businessman, Stephen Wynn, is selling his Beverly Hills home for a hefty price. The 27,000-square-foot mansion is listed for $110 million.
The post Casino Mogul Stephen Wynn Lists Beverly Hills Home for $110 Million appeared first on Homes.com.
Imagine this: You’ve gone to collegeâeven grad schoolâto pursue a career path you always thought you wanted. But after a few years and many tuition dollars spent, it suddenly hits you: If you have to write one more press release, it might push you over the edge. If this is the case, it’s time to prepare for a career change.
Transitioning careers is not unusual. In fact, according to a survey conducted by the American Staffing Association, 38 percent of working adults say they are likely to change careers within the next year. The only problem is, if you are unsure of how to make a career change and whether it will be financially sound, you might be hesitant to make the leap.
âNo one wants to change careers without knowing the chances of success,” says Mark Anthony Dyson, host of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast, a show designed to help those in career transition. “Adequate preparation can make all the difference.”
âPreparation in every formâfrom updating job skills to financial planning and really taking time to think about what you desire in a fulfilling careerâwill be a huge factor in your career-change success.â
“How do I make a big career change with this adequate preparation,” you ask?
Learning how to prepare for a career change financially and finding out which skills you’ll need in your new career are great places to start. Take these steps to understand your career intentions, then determine the best financial strategies for achieving them:
Figure out if a career change is right for you
Before preparing for a career change, start by doing an honest self-assessment on whether or not a switch is right for you. This is important, says Dyson, because you’ll want to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of changing careers versus exploring a job transition within your current field. Doing the latter might make more sense for you if you aren’t quite ready to go through a full-blown career transition. Either way, taking the time for self-reflection will help you get to your desired career path sooner.
When you are thinking about how to make a career change and if it’s the right time for you, Dyson suggests asking yourself these questions:
What are the professional and financial impacts if I stay on my current career path? A quick list of pros and cons might help your analysis.
Are there other opportunities in my current field that I haven’t yet considered? Talk to a human resources professional or research online to understand the qualifications, salaries and opportunities for advancement within your area of expertise.
What does my ideal career look like?
Do I currently have the skills and experience that can transfer to a new career?
What are the possible financial and professional outcomes if my new career doesn’t work out?
Kelan Kline, a jail deputy turned personal finance blogger for The Savvy Couple, felt stifled by his previous job and the limitations it imposed on his time. He believed that in order to achieve career growth and increase his money-making potential, he would have to change careers. “I knew I was done working for others altogether,” Kline adds.
You may not think you have the skills and experience necessary to transition into a new career, but a tip to prepare for a career change is to consider the skills that have led to your career success thus far. That’s what 10-year human resources veteran Lisa Cassella did when she decided a new career direction was in order and wanted to follow her passion for real estate.
“As hiring and program manager for a senior living facility, I met face-to-face with with people everyday,” says Cassella, now a licensed real estate salesperson for the brokerage firm Compass. “Sometimes you have to have some difficult conversations,” she continues. “It’s the same in real estate. But for the most part, you are helping peopleâwhich is what I enjoy and a strong connection between both careers.”
Sasha Korobov, a career and success strategist, agrees that a tip for preparing for a career change is to use your current skills as a foundation for a new career. Having undergone a career change herself, she advises people to âreally think about what you want to do next, and see if you can start getting those skills and experience in the job you’re already in.”
Once you understand your motives and capabilities, you’ll have the groundwork for what needs to come next: smart ways to financially support yourself through the transition.
Prepare yourself financially for making the switch
One of the best things you can do when figuring out how to make a career change is to have a financial plan. Depending on how you approach your career change, the steps that you take to move to a new industry could impact your finances in various ways.
For example, when you start out in a new industry, you might be taking a lower level position than what you had in your previous career. This may come with a dip in income, for which you will need to adjust your budget as you progress in your new career.
If you plan to take any time off before you make the switch, you may experience a gap in income. “You have to think about how many months of income you need to save to get over that hump,” Cassella says. Cassella planned in advance so that she had at least six months of income in the bank before she made the switch to her new career.
Another consideration when you prepare for a career change is whether there is a cost investment required in moving to the new career you have chosen. For example, you might need to spend money on additional education, training, certifications and other measures before you can move into your new role. Your financial plan will have to consider dips in income that could occur if you need to reduce your hours or quit working in order to get the training and education your new career requires, Korobov says. Cassella had to get licensed before moving into real estate sales. She quit her job and took a two-week course, then immediately took the state test.
If your career change means starting your own business venture, you may have to prepare for all of the financial scenarios mentioned above. Your income might decrease as you establish your own business and gain traction, for instance. You might also have to pay for things that were once provided to you by an employer, such as supplies, computer equipment, software and health insurance.
Because of these potential challenges, having a savings plan is key when considering tips to prepare for a career change.
Fine-tune your savings to prepare for a career change
No matter which path you choose, preparing for a career change may present you with some financial risk. Therefore, it’s beneficial to have savings set aside to manage the transition. With just a few small lifestyle changes that will save you money, you can build the financial safety cushion you need to prepare for a career change, says finance blogger Kline.
Here are Kline’s tips to prepare for a career change and the areas he focused on most when he prepared for his professional move:
Reduce unnecessary expenses. As you work on how to make a career change, consider cutting back on discretionary spending such as eating out, entertainment and vacations, and set that money aside for your career change. Don’t already have a budget to track your expenses? Now is the perfect time to start one.
Pick the right type of savings account. You’ll want to put the money you save from reducing your expenses into the best type of account to support your career transition. A high-yield savings account, such as the Discover Online Savings Account, will help you grow your savings. For a long-term savings strategy, a Discover Certificate of Deposit might be a great fit.
You earned it. Now earn more with it.
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Start an emergency fund. Similar to establishing a budget and picking a savings account, if you haven’t already started an emergency fund, now is the time to create one (or add to it if you already have some momentum with your rainy day savings). An emergency fund can help you prepare for unexpected expenses and the financial risks involved in changing careers. Experts suggest that you keep at least three to six months’ worth of living expenses in your emergency fund.
Pay down debt. If you are able to pay down debt, such as student loan and credit card debt, it will free up cash to save toward your career transition. Pay more than the monthly minimum to reduce or eliminate the debt altogether as you prepare for a career change.
With just a few small lifestyle changes that will save you money, you can build the financial safety cushion you need to prepare for a career change.
Approach your new career at a gradual pace
For some, a slower transition, with moonlighting or side hustling until they are ready to go full time, has proven effective. When Jeff Neal started his online retail site selling bait and live feeders, he was still a full-time project manager in e-commerce, but not passionate about his day-to-day. He was able to use his skills from this position to build his own online ventures.
Neal says he started his online business as a side hustle, with the intention of always having a full-time job keeping his household afloat. He has now been able to transition into being a full-time internet entrepreneur.
Korobov, the career and success strategist, also started to prepare for her career change with a part-time entrepreneurial venture that grew out of corporate coaching. “I wanted to go into business for myself as a career strategist for women, and I knew that having corporate coaching experience would fast-track my credibility with a lot of potential clients,” she says.
“I began offering workshops and brown-bag lunches at my office,” Korobov continues. This experience was a valuable lesson for Korobov in how to make a career change, helping her boost her confidence and allowing her to tweak her workshops as she got more experience.
One of Korobov’s biggest tips to prepare for a career change that she learned firsthand: “Your entrepreneurial ventures, even if done part-time, can make the transition into your career smoother, while giving you extra income to help with your financial preparation process.”
Ensure your path to career-change success
Making a career change can seem like a huge risk, since you don’t really know if it will work out in your favor. But with research and readiness, you can confidently prepare for a career change. Dyson, of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast, can’t emphasize enough that âpreparation in every formâfrom updating job skills to financial planning and really taking time to think about what you desire in a fulfilling careerâwill be a huge factor in your career-change success.”
Understanding your goals and expectationsâand trusting your gutâbefore you begin is a big step in the right direction. Says Cassella of her move into real estate: “It just made a lot of sense for me and my family. My expectations are that once I really get going, there is no limit to what I can make.”
The post Taking the Leap: How to Make a Career Change and Land on Your Feet appeared first on Discover Bank – Banking Topics Blog.
To say residential real estate is on fire would be a huge understatement. In fact, itâs so popular that weâre literally running out of homes. Simply put, there are too many home buyers and not enough properties for sale, nor is the supply being replenished fast enough. In a way, it reminds me of the [&hellip
The post The 2021 Housing Market Is Kind of Like the Toilet Paper Shortage first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
First-time home buyers today face a tough road, shopping for homes during a pandemic, high housing prices, and deep economic uncertainty. For military families deployed overseas, it’s all even trickier to figure out.
In this second story in our new series “First-Time Home Buyer Confessions,” we talked with husband and wife Kyle LaVallee and Natalie Johnson. They were renting an apartment in Fayetteville, NC, when they decided to start shopping for their own home in the area in April.
At the time, LaVallee was stationed in the Middle East as a sergeant in the U.S. Army. Yet even though he was thousands of miles away, he managed to attend every home tour with Johnson via FaceTime. In July, they closed on a brick, ranch-style three-bedroom that LaVallee would not see in person until a long-awaited trip home in October.
Here’s the couple’s home-buying story, the hardest challenges they faced, and what LaVallee thought of his new house once he home managed to lay eyes on it for the first time.
Location: Fayetteville, NC
House specs: 1,166 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms List price: $111,900 Price paid: $115,000
A pandemic plus deployment seems like a tough time to buy your first house. What convinced you to forge ahead?
Johnson: Kyle was deployed in October 2019 while we were renting a one-bedroom apartment in Fayetteville. Kyle wasnât fond of renewing the apartment leaseâwe had been there for two years and were running out of space. We wanted to get a dog; we wanted a yard, and our own property where we can do anything we wanted.
We started educating ourselves on the process. We knew a mortgage was going to be significantly less than what we were paying in rent. Kyle thought it would be smart to buy because [nearby] Fort Bragg is one of the biggest military bases in the world. If we ever leave or get stationed somewhere else, weâre not going to have a problem finding anyone to rent it. And we could always come back.
Kyle LaVallee and Natalie Johnson at one of their favorite hangouts in Fayetteville, where they’ve decided to put down roots
Natalie Johnson
LaVallee:Â I was interested in gaining equity and ownership, rather than just paying to rent something I’d never own in the end.
Johnson:Â We started looking at houses back in January. In April, we kept seeing information about lowering interest rates. Thatâs why we got serious about the process in the middle of the pandemic, and when we connected with our real estate agent, Justin Kirk with Century 21.
How much did you put down on the houseâand how’d you save for it?
Johnson: We put 20% down.
LaVallee: I was making a lot of money while I was deployed, and I had no expenses really. I was just saving everything I had, knowing I wanted to invest it in a house.
Johnson: I cut spending. I didnât buy things I wanted, just what I needed. The pandemic helped a lot, honestly because we obviously couldnât go out.
LaVallee:Â We qualified for a VA loan, but we just wound up using a conventional loan. Most people in the military will use a VA loan where you donât put any money down, but [since we had enough saved] we wanted the lowest monthly mortgage payments.
LaVallee and Johnson on LaVallee’s first morning in the new house after coming home from deployment
Natalie Johnson
What were you looking for in a house?
LaVallee:Â We knew we might [eventually] be moving, so it wasnât like it had to be a house we would stay in forever, more of an investment property.
Johnson: We were looking for things that would be attractive to future renters. We had a military family in mind because Fayetteville’s got more than 50,000 active-duty. We looked for a location close to a Fort Bragg entrance. We thought three bedrooms was perfect for us because our families are close with each other, so theyâll all come down at the same time so weâll have two extra bedrooms for them. Kyle really wanted a garage, so that was a huge thing.
LaVallee: Garages arenât very common down here, so that limited a lot of options for us. A lot of houses have carports, or they finish the garage and turn it into a bonus room.
Johnson: We wanted something that needed a bit of fixing up, because we like to be handy and put our personal touch on everything, and we ultimately knew that would be a lower-cost house.
Johnson and LaVallee’s new kitchen
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How many homes did you see in person, and how did Kyle participate from overseas?
Johnson:Â It was 10 or 12 homes. We were out three to four times a week looking at places with our real estate agent. We wore our masks for the tours, and I used hand sanitizer since I was opening and closing drawers and closets. Most were vacant, but we did tour one house that still had people living in it, although they were gone during the tour, so we avoided touching a lot of things.
During tours we FaceTimed Kyle in. We figured that was probably the most convenient way to do it since he could see every single house and room in detail.
The large living room in Johnson and LaVallee’s new house
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LaVallee:Â Well, I couldnât really see all the details.
Johnson: He got to know our real estate agent really well via FaceTime. Our agent would say, “Let me know if you need me to hold Kyle while you go look in this room.” I felt so bad, though, because I work full time, so I’d tour homes around 5:30 in the evening, which for Kyle was 2:30 in the morning. But he stayed up for every single tour.
LaVallee:Â I was sometimes frustrated not being able to be there. I left it all up to her. I had to trust the feelings and vibes she got from each house.
The big backyard where Johnson and LaVallee hope a dog will someday run around
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How many offers did you make before you had one accepted?
Johnson:Â We put three earlier offers in.
LaVallee:Â They would be listed and the next day would be sold. The first three offers we put in were asking price, and Iâm pretty sure everybody else offered more, and ours were never even considered.
Johnson:Â It was ridiculous. It was definitely a sellerâs market, so you had to act really fast and you had to be really competitive. On our fourth offer, we ended up at $3,100 over asking. I felt like we had to fight for this house.
Johnson had to move into the new home without LaVallee’s help.
Natalie Johnson
Were you competing with other offers for the house you bought?
LaVallee:Â There were multiple offers.
Johnson: Our real estate agent told us, “You should definitely write a letter and talk about how Kyleâs gone right now and youâre first-time home buyers and this one really clicked with you,â which it did. The second I walked in, itâs this adorable brick house, itâs super homey, it has a great yard. In the letter, we just talked about how all of that was so attractive to us as first-time home buyers, and we were really excited and could see ourselves in this home.
Our real estate agent suggested going in higher than asking, so we just rounded up to $115,000. He also suggested doing a higher due diligence paymentâwe usually did $200, but this time around we did $500. And the earnest fee we put in was $500 or $600.
After our offer was accepted, we knew it was going to be kind of difficult with the home inspection. They were already redoing the roof, which was a huge cost on their part, so asking for more was definitely going to be a challenge. So we didnât ask for much.
LaVallee and Johnson are happy they stuck it out in a competitive seller’s market and landed this home.
Natalie Johnson
What surprised you about the home-buying process?
Johnson:Â How fast it went, for me at least. Our first home tour was in April and then by June, we had found our house and the contracts were written up. I guess I was expecting it maybe to be double the time that it actually was, but houses were just turning over so fast, we had to act fast.
LaVallee:Â From my side, I thought it happened very slowly! I felt like so much was happening in between each step in the process. I had to be patient because I had so little control of the situation, other than just trying to stay involved and be a part of it.
Johnson:Â You never really think that when youâre married, youâre going to buy your first house while your husband is on the other side of the world. But we got through it.
Johnson and LaVallee (pictured on the right) on the day LaVallee returned from deployment
Natalie Johnson
So Natalie, you were living in the house for a few months before Kyle returned from deployment in October to see it. What was that homecoming like?
Johnson:Â He came home a few days shy of the 365-day mark. We were anxious and excited. Several other families and I waited outside of a hangar on base, and soon after hearing their plane landing, we saw the group walking toward us and everyone start cheering and crying.
Because it was dark when we got home, Kyle couldnât see the outside of the house much, or the “Welcome Home” decorations I hung up! But the moment he set foot in the front door, he just stood there and looked around with the biggest smile on his face.
I gave him the grand tour the next morning. He said it looked much bigger than what he saw on FaceTime. We celebrated with a home-cooked meal and the wine our agent gave us when we closed. It was really special.
LaVallee:Â I came home to a nice house. Natalie was worried I would come back to culture shock. But Iâve felt at home ever since Iâve been here.
Johnson decorated the house for LaVallee’s return from deployment.
Natalie Johnson
After LaVallee came home, the two finally got to toast their first home with a bottle of wine, courtesy of their real estate agent.
Natalie Johnson
What’s your advice for aspiring first-time home buyers?
Johnson:Â I would say to go with your gut. Some of the houses youâll tour are really logical to buy, but if they have a bad vibe or theyâre just not really welcoming, then look at others. A healthy balance between logic and feeling is important.
LaVallee:Â We didn’t even know what we wanted until we saw five or six houses, so itâs definitely important to shop around and see what’s out there.
Johnson: We really didnât know much. I told our real estate agent, “Hey, listen, weâre really going to need some guidance. We donât know what things mean, we need you to break it down for us. You have to be patient with us.” I reached out to three different real estate agents, and Justin was the one who not only answered all my questions but was giving a ton of positive feedback. It was nice to have that encouragement, and it definitely made us more confident. You learn a lot by looking at houses, you learn a ton about yourself.
Johnson and LaVallee met in elementary school.
Natalie Johnson
The post What This Military Family Facedâand FoughtâTo Buy Its First House appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
As the real estate industry continues to advance, technology expands into the homebuying journey â making it easier for homebuyers to find the home they love in less time than ever before.
The coronavirus has galvanized many die-hard city dwellers to pack up and flee for the suburbs or beyond. But how easy is it to pull off such a drastic move during a pandemic?
Just ask Angela Caban, a former Broadway dancer and decorative painter who, after 28 years of living in New York City, reached her breaking point in April. Quarantined in a cramped apartment in Queens, hearing sirens wailing all night, she decided to buy a house in Charleston, SC, an area she’d grown to love during her frequent work trips there over the years.
Yet since Caban was on lockdown in New York, she had to shop for homes remotely and make offers without seeing places in person. Here’s what it was like to buy a house sight unseen, and the lessons she learned that might inspire other longtime urbanites and first-time home buyers to make the leap themselves.
Angela Caban bought this South Carolina home online just from this listing photo.
Southern Bell Living
Location: Hanahan, SC House specs: 1,804 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, separate barn List price: $234,000 Price paid: $232,000
How did the pandemic play into your decision to leave NYC?
You give up a lot to live in New York because it has a lot to offer, but when those things go away, you start to question why youâre giving up so much.
Once COVID-19 hit in March, April, and May, I was stuck in my apartment for three months straight with no work. I wasn’t getting unemployment because that hadnât kicked in. I had no outdoor space to speak of. I just wanted to have some room to roam, be in nature, and not feel desperate. Thatâs what put me over the edge.
Caban’s old apartment building in Astoria, Queens (She lived on the ground floor to the right of the red awning.)
Google Maps
I felt like no matter how difficult New York had been in the past, this was a whole new ball of wax. I was there for 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. When other tragedies had hit New York City, people were saying, “Weâre in this together.”
When COVID-19 hit, all of a sudden there was suspicion. Everybody was frightened of everyone else.
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Watch: Listing Agents Answer Our Burning Questions About the ‘Silence of the Lambs’ House
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The ambulance sirens were nonstop. Plus, my small apartment was directly on the street, with the garbage cans right outside my window. So when I tried to open the windows during the pandemic, there were roaches coming in. I was like, “I can’t do this anymore.”
Caban’s new living room is almost the size of her old apartment.
Angela Caban
What made you choose Charleston as your new home?
Iâd have work meetings down here, and I had fallen in love with the area. I liked the sense of history, the weather. And financially it was doable. My mortgage now is less than half my rent for my tiny apartment in New York City.
Caban’s new spacious kitchen makes her want to cook again.
Angela Caban
How did your house hunt go?
I started looking near the end of April. I put an initial offer in on a house that fell through after the home inspector I’d sent to look at it said it would fall down in two years. Then I was in a panic because Iâd already given notice on my New York apartment. So basically I had six weeks total to find another house and close on it.Â
Caban loves spending time on her new front and back porches.
Angela Caban
What were your biggest challenges?
There was no inventory. Every house I looked at and said, “Oh, that’s a possibility,” would be gone by the time I called. An hour after being listed, the house would no longer be accepting offers!
How did you find the house you eventually bought?
Lucky for me, this house had been on the market for 60 days. I don’t know if it was because the photos were crappy, or the fact that the neighborhood was considered a little dicey. But Iâm from New York, so the neighborhood seemed comfortable to me. I put an offer in within 48 hours of losing the other house.Â
Wasn’t it scary to buy a house you hadn’t seen in person?
I was emboldened because I could always back outâyou have two weeks to do so when bidding on a house. So I got in the car and drove down to look at it two days after my offer was accepted. I literally did it all in one day; it took me 12 hours to drive down. I saw the house and drove around for about two hours, and then I drove back because I had to start packing! I literally didn’t sleep for 26 hours. It’s probably why I have more gray hair now than I should.
Caban is happy to have a fireplace to decorate for the holidays.
Angela Caban
How did the house look once you saw it, compared with the photos online?
It was much better than I thought. There is a lot of detailing, dental molding, wainscoting, and paneling in the living room, along with 16 windows that let in a lot of light. Plus, there’s the barn in the back that is another 600 square feet or so. My eventual plan is to make a workshop and a place to make art and teach.
Caban’s Charleston, SC, home has a 600-square-foot barn.
Angela Caban
How was the mortgage process?
It was a nightmare. Nobody wants to give mortgages to a single, female, sole proprietor who does not have pay stubsâespecially during COVID-19, when theyâre afraid people may default on their loan. They had also enacted new COVID-19 regulations that meant I had a boatload more paperwork. I had to submit letters from clients, proposals for work that was going to happen, invoices for work that I was still waiting to be paid for. … It was insane. I joked with them that I had to give them everything except a bone scan.
Caban’s new bedroomâone of four in her Charleston home
Angela Caban
How did you finally secure the loan?
Thanks to the help of my real estate agent, John Bell of Southern Bell Living, and his mortgage broker, Ethan Lane at Mortgage Network. They were amazing, and I was an absolute basket case: “What else do you want from me? I have no place to go. I’m going to be homeless!”
I look forward to giving them both a hug someday after COVID-19 is under control.
How did you close on the house during the pandemic?
That is a whole additional saga. I was finishing up a painting job in New York when all of a sudden on Friday they said, “You’re closing on Monday,” so I had to get an attorney to attend the closing for me. To get that, I had to get a statement notarized. In the middle of COVID-19! I met the notary on the street, but then I had to have two witnesses! It took me asking 18 strangers to find two people who said they’d help.
Caban painted her new door red and added the bumblebee knocker.
Angela Caban
How did you pull off a move during the pandemic?
I couldnât get a truck in New York. So I packed my car and drove down to Charleston, where I dropped off my cats in the new house. Then I rented a U-Haul and drove it back to New York, hired two guys who then met me at my old apartment, packed the truck. Drove it back down to South Carolina, where I hired two more guys to help me unload the truck, and voilà .
Caban’s cats adjusting to their new home
Angela Caban
Was leaving New York hard after living there for 28Â years?
Leaving was difficult because you almost feel like itâs a badge of honor that you’re a survivor in New York City. But down here, I finally feel like I can actually live my life instead of just trying to make it from one month to the next. I can think big thoughts and make big things happen, for which I simply didnât have the energy in New York.
A formal dining room is a luxury that few New Yorkers can afford.
Angela Caban
Now that you’ve lived in Charleston for a few months, how are you feeling?
It’s like I can finally breathe, and I absolutely love it. I sit every morning out on my back patio and watch woodpeckers, blue jays, and cardinals. I have roses that are blooming that I planted.
Caban now loves starting her days watching birds on her back patio instead of exterminating roaches in her New York apartment.
Angela Caban
What advice would you give first-time home buyers and others looking to move now?
When you’re looking at homes online, don’t immediately discount a property just by how it looks in its photos. It’s like online dating that way. You need to see how it feels once you’re face to face and interacting with the space. Luckily, though, the minute I saw it in person, I knew I would be very happy here.
Caban says she can finally breathe since leaving New York.
Angela Caban
The post ‘I Bought This House Based on Listing Photos Alone’: Was It Worth the Risk? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
Economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis and civil unrest could cause many rental real estate properties to run up tax losses in 2020 and maybe beyond. This column covers the most important federal income tax questions and answers for rental property owners. Here goes.
What can I write off?
Nothing new here. You can deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes on rental properties. You can also write off all standard operating expenses that go along with owning rental property: utilities, insurance, repairs and maintenance, care and maintenance of outdoor areas, and so forth.
What about depreciation write-offs?
For many rental property owners, the tax-saving bonus is the fact that you can depreciate the cost of residential buildings over 27.5 years, even while they are (you hope) increasing in value. You can generally depreciate the cost of commercial buildings over 39 years.
Example: You own a small apartment building that cost $1.5 million not including the land. The annual depreciation deduction is $54,545 ($1.5 million/27.5). The deduction can shelter that much annual positive cashflow from income taxes. So, depreciation write-offs are nice tax-savers, especially if you own an expensive property or several properties.
Variation: As stated earlier, commercial buildings must be depreciated over a much-longer 39-year period. Even so, the annual depreciation write-off for a $1.5 million commercial building is $38,462. The deduction can shelter that much annual cash flow from income taxes.
Can I claim 100% first-year bonus depreciation?
Yes, for qualified improvement property (QIP) expenditures on a nonresidential building. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) included a retroactive correction to the statutory language of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The correction allows much faster depreciation for commercial real estate qualified improvement property (QIP) thatâs placed in service in 2018-2022. QIP is defined as an improvement to an interior portion of a nonresidential building thatâs placed in service after the building was placed in service. However, QIP doesnât include any expenditures attributable to: (1) enlarging the building, (2) any elevator or escalator, or (3) the internal structural framework of the building. Thanks to the CARES Act correction, you can write off the entire cost of QIP in Year 1, because it qualifies for 100% first-year bonus depreciation.
Alternatively, you can choose to depreciate QIP over 15 years using the straight-line method. That alternative might make sense if you expect higher tax rates in future years. Discuss your QIP depreciation options with your tax pro.
What else do I need to know about depreciation write-offs?
You ask such good questions. Thereâs more. The TCJA increased the maximum Section 179 first-year depreciation deduction for qualifying real property expenditures to $1 million, with annual inflation adjustments. The inflation-adjusted maximum for tax years beginning in 2020 is $1.04 million. The Section 179 deduction privilege potentially allows you to deduct the entire cost of qualifying real property expenditures in Year 1. I say potentially, because Section 179 deductions are subject to several limitations. Ask your tax pro for details.
The TCJA also expanded the definition of qualifying property to include expenditures for nonresidential building roofs, HVAC equipment, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems.
Finally, the TCJA further expanded the definition of qualifying property to include depreciable tangible personal property used predominantly to furnish lodging. Examples of such property include beds, other furniture, and appliances used in the living quarters of an apartment house.
Can I claim the qualified business income (QBI) deduction base on my net rental income?
Maybe. For 2018-2025, the TCJA established a new personal deduction based on qualified business income (QBI) passed through to your personal Form 1040 from a pass-through business entity (meaning a sole proprietorship, LLC treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes, partnership, LLC treated as a partnership for tax purposes, or S corporation). The deduction can be up to 20% of QBI, subject to restrictions that kick in at higher income levels. For a while, it was unclear if you could claim QBI deductions based on net rental income passed through to you from one of the aforementioned pass-through entities. The IRS eventually issued taxpayer-friendly guidance that allows QBI deductions in most such cases, but you must follow complicated rules to collect the tax-saving benefit. As your tax pro for details.
What about the passive loss rules?
Ugh. If your rental property throws off tax losses (most properties do, at least during the early years and during years when the economy is suffering â like now), things can get complicated. The so-called passive activity loss (PAL) rules may come into play. Losses from rental properties will usually be classified as passive losses.
In general, the PAL rules only allow you to currently deduct passive losses to the extent you have current passive income from other sources, like positive income from other rental properties or gains from selling them. Passive losses in excess of passive income are suspended until you either have enough passive income or you sell the property that produced the losses. Bottom line: the PAL rules can postpone any tax-saving benefit from rental property losses, sometimes for years. Fortunately, there are several exceptions to the PAL rules that can allow you to deduct rental property losses sooner rather than later. Your tax pro can explain the exceptions and help you plan to become eligible, if possible.
Is that the end of the bad news?
Not exactly. Say you manage to successfully clear the hurdles imposed by the PAL rules for your rental property losses. So far, so good. But the TCJA established another hurdle that you must also clear to currently deduct those losses. For tax years beginning in 2018-2025, you cannot deduct an excess business loss in the current year. An excess business loss is one that exceeds $250,000 or $500,000 for a married joint-filing couple. Any excess business loss is carried over to the following tax year and can be deducted under the rules for net operating loss (NOL) carry-forwards. This loss disallowance rule applies after applying the PAL rules. So, if the PAL rules disallow your rental losses, this rule is a nonfactor.
COVID-19 Relief: Thankfully, the CARES Act suspends the excess business loss disallowance rule for losses that arise in tax years beginning in 2018-2020. Thatâs good news.
Whatâs the deal with net operation losses (NOLs)?
Say you manage to successfully clear both of the preceding hurdles for your rental property losses. Now we are talking, because you can generally use those losses currently to offset taxable income from other sources. If losses for the year exceed income from other sources, you may have a net operating loss (NOL) for the year.
COVID-19 Relief: The CARES Act allows a five-year carryback privilege for an NOL that arises in a tax year beginning in 2018-2020. So, you can carry an NOL from one of those years back to an earlier year, deduct it, and recover some or all of the federal income tax paid for the carryback year. Because federal income tax rates were generally higher in years before the TCJA took effect, NOLs carried back to those years can be especially beneficial. The TCJA kicked in starting with tax years beginning in 2018.
What if I have positive taxable income?
Eventually your rental property should start throwing off positive taxable income instead of losses, because escalating rents will surpass your deductible expenses. Of course, you must pay income taxes on those profits. But if you piled up suspended passive losses in earlier years, you can now use them to offset your passive profits.
Another nice thing: positive taxable income from rental real estate is not hit with the dreaded self-employment (SE) tax, which applies to most other unincorporated profit-making ventures. The SE tax rate can be up to 15.3%. Something to avoid when possible.
One bad thing: positive passive income from rental real estate owned by a higher-income individual can get socked with the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT), and gains from selling properties can also get hit with the NIIT. Ask your tax pro for details.
The bottom line
There you have it: most of what you need to know about the federal income tax issues that can come into play for rental property owners. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis and recent civil unrest increase the odds that rental properties will suffer losses in 2020, but tax relief provisions may soften the blow.
The post 2020 Could Be an Unprofitable Year for Rental Properties. Hereâs How to Handle the Taxes appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
realtor.com, Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Natalie Johnson
Angela Caban
Darwin Brandis/Getty Images