Author: Marlowe Clark

If you’re struggling in the current competitive market, you may want to consider buying a new construction home. This isn’t going to be for everyone — new constructions are often more expensive and also come with additional up front costs, since it usually requires a 3% building deposit. Not to mention if you’re not hurting for money, competitive markets are going to be less of a problem for you. Still, if you play your cards right, a new construction home could be a great deal for you without much hassle, and is a much better investment later down the line as well.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate on a new construction home. It’s true that in a competitive market, you may be inclined to bid high to get the best chance at your offer being accepted. New construction is a much smaller market, and your chances are still good even if you bid lower. Alternatively, many new construction negotiations revolve around not price adjustments, but rather the construction materials and appliances. You still want to get ahead of the competition, though; builders aren’t as willing to make drastic changes if they’ve already sold multiple similar homes in the same neighborhood with their default materials.

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Everyone wants their bathroom to be a place of comfort with a calm atmosphere. If you’re planning to renovate your bathroom before selling, or just want your guests to feel at home, consider current trends in bathroom design.

There are a few trends popping up recently. The new thing for sinks is the floating vanity. It’s not actually floating — it just may look like it is, since it’s sitting on top of a raised shelf instead of a large cabinet or a tall pillar. Thematically, nature is in. Botanical wallpaper, colorful flowers, bright leaves. And for those of you who want your bathroom to be your own private sanctum, and aren’t planning to show it to others, you can customize floor or shower tiles with your own prints.

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Sellers do a lot of things to get their homes ready to show. Tidying messes, repainting walls, fixing deferred maintenance, getting their homes professionally cleaned, hiring photographers or videographers, and sometimes staging their home. What many of them forget to think about is the outside of their home. This is a huge mistake, as the outside is the first part of the home a prospective buyer will see when they arrive.

The first thing you should do is clear the area of objects lying around such as tools or toys, so that you have a clear space to work with. If you have a garden, remember to tend to it by removing weeds and pruning plants, or even getting fresh new plants. Be sure to replace mulch as well. If you have a lawn or shrubs, make sure they’re trimmed. Make sure your sprinklers are working and angled properly as well. Clean out your pool if you have one. Once everything is cleaned up, make sure to sweep any clippings and debris and wash down the driveway and walkways.

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There are three primary ways to resolve disputes in business transactions, including real estate transactions: arbitration, mediation, and litigation. Arbitration involves no court activity at all except in choosing a neutral third party, and in fact courts must abide by arbitration even if the decision is erroneous. Mediation is similar to arbitration in that the initial decision is not made by the courts, but it allows to courts to intervene if a resolution is not found. Litigation involves a lawsuit in court.

Historically, businesses have favored arbitration since it was considered the quickest and cheapest method of dispute resolution, and having an arbitration policy protects them from many lawsuits. Now, businesses such as Amazon are quietly changing their policy. Arbitration has turned out more costly than they expected — primarily because they’ve been losing the disputes, in which case they are required to pay both sides. It’s also not always quick. And when the businesses are losing, they’re also not too hot on the decision being legally binding despite not necessarily being legally correct. Instead, mediation is turning out to be a cheaper, fairer, and sometimes quicker method of resolving customer disputes.

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More: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/industry-leaders-are-cutting-arbitration-provisions-and-they-arent-needed-in-real-estate-either/79078/

As more and more employers are considering the possibility of permanent work-from-home, homeowners need to think about ways to create dedicated office space in their home. Of course, if you can afford it, you can make an addition or even just buy a larger home. But not everyone can afford that, so for those who can’t, here are some ways to turn existing space in your home into office space.

For most jobs, a home office needs a desk. But a desk is just an elevated flat surface — it doesn’t have to look like an office desk. You can use a simple table or even just the shelf of a cabinet. You can also just use your dining table. You probably aren’t eating dinner while working. Other types of rooms can also become split-purpose, such as a guest bedroom. If you don’t have guests over — which you probably don’t during a pandemic — you’re free to use it as your office space whenever you want. Even if it’s occupied during the night when your guests are sleeping, you can still get work done there during the day. If you want to get creative and aren’t too spooked out, you can also turn your attic space into a home office with a table and proper lighting.

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Many people try to reduce their energy bill by limiting their usage. While this will indeed reduce your bill, it also reduces your comfort. There are better ways to save money on energy bills without sacrificing anything. All these ways cost money, but the investment is worth it to save money over longer periods.

A couple things you can do are one-time investments that will continue to pay dividends. These are both simple modernization. Incandescent bulbs are largely outdated, and should be replaced with LED bulbs, which are more energy efficient and last longer. Expect to save around $75 per year. Smart thermostats are the other one-time investment that will work wonders to save you money. Your HVAC doesn’t need to be working when you’re working, and it can sleep when you’re asleep. A smart thermostat lets you manage that without much effort.

The other way to save money may need to be redone periodically, but it’s still worth it. That’s just simple routine maintenance. Not only does routine maintenance reduce the likelihood of needing to pay gigantic repair costs further down the line, but it can actually improve efficiency even if no repairs become necessary. Clogged HVAC filters won’t stop it from working, but they will make it work harder and expend more energy. The other type of maintenance you may not think of is sealing leaks. Up to 20% of the money you spend on heating and cooling may just be flowing out of small cracks near doors, windows, lighting units, and chimneys. Trapping the air by sealing these leaks with caulk will reduce stress on your HVAC unit.

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In order to understand what a stepped-up basis is, first you need to know what a basis is. Basis in real estate is essentially the value of a home discounting any effects of appreciation or depreciation, and is used for tax purposes. It’s calculated as a property’s cost when it was purchased plus the value of any improvements made to the property. When determining the amount of taxable capital gains when selling the property, this is the amount subtracted from the sale price.

Where stepped-up basis comes in is in the case of inherited properties. When a property is inherited, the basis is recalculated based on market values, ignoring both the purchase price and any improvement values. It’s possible that this stepped-up basis causes your capital gains amount to be negative, in which case this can be deducted from your taxable income if it is not your primary residence. Only up to $3000 can be deducted in this way per year, but you can continue to deduct in later years until the loss is settled. The estate can choose to use the market value on either of two dates: the date of the previous owner’s death, or six months from that date, called the alternate valuation date.

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The best way to turn a profit through real estate is with investment property. Flippers certainly wouldn’t do what they do without some return on investment, but the return is much greater if you’re keeping the property and renting it out. Of course, not everyone can afford to make that type of investment, but if you can, these tips will help ensure you do it right.

It should be obvious that your bottom line is important, so make sure to take a look at average rent values in the area where you’re buying. If it’s not enough to cover whatever your costs would be, look elsewhere. Also keep in mind vacancy rates; investment property won’t bring in any money if the properties are all being left unoccupied. The second factor is location. You can change a lot about a home through renovating or even demolishing it and rebuilding, but what you can’t change is where the plot of land is. The properties with the highest rental values tend to be in areas near good schools, recreation, and public transport, that are quiet and have a low crime rate. The final thing to look for depend on current trends, so be sure your information is up to date. Short of demolishing the home, it’s quite difficult to change a property’s overall floor plan. By contrast, peoples’ floor plan preferences do change over time. A home with a modern floor plan is most likely to be well received by tenants.

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