Now is the time of year when many people rent out their vacation homes. If you rent out your vacation home (or main home) for 14 days or less during the year, the rental income you receive is income tax-free. However, this doesn’t mean no taxes are ever involved when you rent out your vacation home….Read More »
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Don’t forget sales taxes on vacation-home rentals
August 26th, 2013The secret life of a real estate agent
August 24th, 2013The life of a real estate professional is highly nuanced and, for the most part, downright mysterious. On the one hand, you have this simplified misconception that all it takes to be an agent is to get a license, be somewhat personable and like houses. On the other hand, you have the reality that each…Read More »
Orlando condo prices double in 3 years
August 23rd, 2013Orlando-area condo prices have more than doubled in less than three years, a new report shows. The median price for a condominium or townhouse in the four-county area during July was $104,000, according to a report released by Florida Realtors Wednesday. During 2010, the units traded for a median price of $50,400 — making Orlando…Read More »
The Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities Mid-Year 2013 Update
August 22nd, 2013Homes at the nation’s top-selling master-planned communities (MPCs) sold at a much faster pace in the first half of 2013 than they did in 2012. Every year since 1994, RCLCO has conducted a national survey identifying the best-selling MPCs. We recently checked-in with the top communities of 2012 to see if they’re maintaining or exceeding…Read More »
Home sales surge in July despite higher interest rates
August 22nd, 2013Existing-home sales increased 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million in July, up from a downwardly revised rate of 5.06 million in June, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). “Mortgage interest rates are at the highest level in two years, pushing some buyers off the sidelines,” said NAR Chief…Read More »
Mortgage rates on march to 5 percent
August 19th, 2013Long Treasurys broke upward, out of the trading range of the last eight weeks. Not by much, but out, the 10-year T-note above 2.8 percent for the first time in more than two years — 2.86 percent at this moment. Mortgages are stickier, the rise negligible (investors have lost fear of another refi wave), but…Read More »
Industry push to raise visibility of home energy efficiency improvements
August 14th, 2013Everybody in real estate knows the rap against “green” and energy efficiency improvements to existing homes: Owners can invest a lot of money and save on utility bills, but then when they go to sell they often find it’s tough to get paybacks through higher prices on their homes. Complicating the situation is the fact…Read More »
Rate paralysis creates illusion of stability
August 10th, 2013Long-term rates have been unchanged for a month and a half, the 10-year T-note between 2.5 and 2.7 percent, mortgages near 4.5 percent. That stability is an illusion. Trading desks now labor in deafening toe-tapping, pencil-drumming, fidgeting and superstitious desk-rearranging (and sock selection) as everyone waits for the economy to declare itself. Will the…Read More »
More reminders that economy is not Obama’s strength
August 6th, 2013The net result of a Fed meeting and a blizzard of brand-new data for July: Long-term rates are unchanged. But some other things are creaking along. The Fed’s post-meeting statement downshifted from “moderate” growth to “modest” (the words are synonyms in ordinary English, but not at the Fed). At 1.7 percent, annual GDP growth…Read More »
Taking care of the buyer’s inspection is a questionable business practice
August 3rd, 2013Some agents think they are providing customer service when they choose an inspector and set up the buyer’s inspection. The practice is so common that when I work with other agents, they ask me who my inspector is, or they tell me who theirs is. I don’t have an inspector. Real estate agents who take…Read More »
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