Looking Out From the Garage: July 2010

Buyer Notes... Part II

I'm in the market...  My family is 'thinking' of buying a new home.  And while I spend a lot of time with other buyers, it is a different beast when putting MY money on the line.  It shouldn't be... but it is.  I think it is a fantastic learning opportunity for me.  So, this is a series of posts about the things I am 'unlearning' as a real estate professional, and learning from the buyer's seat.

 

Dear Listing Agent,

Please don't put stupid things in your description.  There are a limited number of characters allowed by the listing services.  Using that valuable space describing the property and why we should consider buying it would be a 'highest and best use'.  Using it to say...

  • "As is, where is" (Gee, I thought they would move and renovate the house for that money)
  • "Show and Sell"  (Generally, as an agent, those are two of my job duties)
  • "Mrs. Clean lives here"  (Will I have to evict her?)
  • "Won't last long" (please note the winter grass in the picture... it has already 'lasted long')
  • "Location, Location, Location"  (Yes, the house has a location... does it have three?)
  • "EZ Show, 24 Hour Notice"  (That would be a pair of mutually exclusive terms)
  • "Check out the seller's beautiful Golden Shower" (ok, that one is just WAY too much info for me)

I can think of a LOT of information that would be more relevent than the wasters of space listed above.  Maybe mentioning some of the highlights about the house or neighborhood would be a good use of the space... 

I'm not going to get into the repeated pictures of the same space, and missing pictures of the things I want to know about... like the garage.  We have 20 slots for pics... why use 3 of them for almost the same angle of the front of the house and three more for almost the same angle of the master bedroom?  Unless there is a way for me to meld those into a 3D image, I don't get it.  So, maybe using the four wasted pictures to show me the garage, tiled backsplash in the kitchen, the sunroom and the landscaped backyard would be better... after all, you mentioned them in the description. 

The first step is to start looking at your listings as if you were going to buy them... 

Thanks,

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21 comments • Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy • July 21 2010 12:27AM

There IS a New Real Estate Transfer Tax in the ObamaCare Law

Assorted international currency notes.
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One of the forums in which I participate has had stories on both sides of this issue for a couple of months… with the more conservative members saying that there is a 3.8% sales tax on the sale of homes, and those that are more supportive of the President and his policies saying that there isn’t.

Neither side was real specific about their information source… talk radio for some, blogs for others… nobody seemed to be going to the source… the 20,000+ page law signed by the President.  In all fairness, there is a LOT of room in 20,000 pages to hide a lot of little Easter Eggs like this.  And being fair to the other side, if there isn’t a tax, the bill isn’t going to say “there is not a tax” anywhere…

I have an answer…

There is indeed a tax on the sale of real estate.  It doesn’t apply to many people, but it WILL apply to some people that have profit from the sale of their homes. Starting in 2013, those with incomes over $200,000 will have to pay a 3.8% tax on profit from the sale of their primary residence or investment properties.  The exact amount will be based on a formula that includes the profit from the property and the income above $200,000.  The tax is not an income tax, but rather it is a “payroll tax”… officially it is a Medicare Tax.

It does not just apply to real estate, but also applies to investment income and dividends.

The bottom line is that both groups are right… and both are wrong.

But…

It will drive another nail into the luxury real estate market.  It has been in the doldrums for a while.  Adding new taxes will not get it going again.  And if you are thinking that this only affects ‘the wealthy’, think again.  Those homes are not built by ‘the wealthy’.  Those homes are not renovated by ‘the wealthy’.  Those consumers are more likely to hire contractors to do improvements.  And they are more likely to update more often…  They are a driver in the housing sector.  This added tax is NOT putting gas in the tank…

 

from LaneBailey.com

Find YOUR Dream HomeWhat's YOUR Home Worth?How's the Market?

Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey. 

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229 comments • Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy • July 20 2010 10:05PM