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If you don’t have a real estate agent handling all the sale documents for you, then you’ll need to keep track of what you need. You’ll have to start with a residential sales contract. This is what will spell out the deal between you and whoever’s buying your house. It has to contain certain key pieces of information like the sale price along with all the contingencies. All the terms of the finances need to be in there along with the information regarding the closing costs. The details of the home inspection need to be in that contract as well as any information about what appliances you’re leaving in the home. You’ll need to choose your closing date and have that in the contract, too. An average is about 30 days. In that contract, cover all the occupancy agreements between the parties. This should clearly state when you’ll be leaving. If you’re going to stay past the closing, then what you’re going to pay for should be in the contract. You need to have a property condition as well as a lead paint disclosure. 

A property disclosure is what you use to mention anything in the home that’s in need of repair or any issues. You want to be honest and disclose what you know because it’s against the law not to. The year that your home was built determines the type of form you’ll have to use to disclose whether or not there is lead paint in the home. You can get this information from the EPA. If your house was built before 1978, then you’ll have to follow the federal law guidelines for that including making sure the sale contract specifically states that the home has lead and you’ve given the buyer all the required information such as the buyer’s rights. 

There are certain addendums you want with a contract when you’re selling by the owner. One of these is third party financing. This is what gives you the ability to break the contract if the potential buyer’s financing falls through. If a buyer is assuming the mortgage, then you need a loan assumption addendum. In this, you’ll need to make sure that you cover who’s going to pay the loan assumption fee. 

There can also be processing and closing fees. If you’re providing the financing, then you need a seller financing addendum. This document covers things like the credit terms, taxes, payments, late payments, title insurance and what’s due. You may need a promissory note if helping a buyer with the financing. This is basically the same thing as an IOU. The buyer is agreeing to repay the loan in a certain number of payments known as the terms. The note should have on it what will happen if the buyer doesn’t stick to these repayment terms. A promissory note can be refinanced by the buyer at a later date by using a bank or mortgage lender. 

You may need to use a notice of termination. This is a form that’s used when you need to terminate the sale. This can happen for any number of reasons but it has to be a legitimate one. If the sale was contingent upon the buyer’s financing and it fell through, it can be used that way. Or it can be used in the event the settlement date can’t be kept or if contingencies weren’t met. 

You don’t have to send a notice of termination if the situation is covered by one of the automatic terminations spelled out in the contract. A quitclaim deed is generally used with people that you know where you’re simply passing the property over to someone else. 

When you use a quitclaim deed, you’re not usually making or taking any money in exchange. However, a quitclaim deed can also be used if there’s a problem with the title of the home. For instance, if your name is listed on the house as John A. Doe and you’re actually John B. Doe, then you’d use a quitclaim to correct that. A problem with the deed usually happens when the deed is filed. 

Another reason for issuing a quitclaim is if someone else has a stake in the property because something wasn’t correct in the filing of the title – such as a couple divorcing and the spouse failing to give a quitclaim relinquishing his or her interest in the home.

Usually, it would be expected that the government would take money for the real estate that you own.  Since you are gaining a profit off of it for a livelihood it should work like any other job that you have.  However, you can take advantage of several tax breaks for your real estate, all which will help you with the ownership of your property.  

If you own a home, then you can also expect for it to be tax deductible.  All home related expenses and refinancing that you decide to do for your home will be a way for you to take off money at the end of the year.  You can also receive tax deductions from the mortgage interest that you pay.  If you just own a home or if you are considering home equity, you can easily find a way to break off some of what you would owe.  

When you are working on owning a home, you will be paying property taxes in your monthly payment towards your loan.  If you have been paying these taxes throughout the year, they will be deductible on your taxes.  In order to make sure this is part of the deduction, you will have to get a statement from the person who carried out the loan as well as find the interest that is connected to the property taxes that you have been paying.  

If you have to sell your home and owe tax, you can allow a request for tax relief.  This will be given to you by the IRS if they find a significant cause in selling your home.  If there are uncertain circumstances that have forced you to sell your home, than the IRS can give you some benefits in taxes.  

By finding the necessary forms and conditions, you can easily benefit by gaining tax relief with your ownership.  You can easily find how to do this by researching possibilities and finding what the categories are for getting a tax break for the year.

With any type of home sale, potential buyers will always have questions they want to ask. If you’re represented by a real estate agent, he or she usually knows ahead of time the kinds of questions that’ll be asked because they’ve heard most of them in the course of their career. But there are many common questions asked and it will be helpful for you to know the answer to them. Potential buyers usually ask how much you pay for property taxes. 

While any home might have a great sale price, the amount of property taxes can add significantly to a mortgage payment. You’ll often get questions on whether or not you have a homeowner’s association fee. 

Many HOA fees are relatively inexpensive, but in some neighborhoods, these fees can be a few hundred dollars a month. 

Another question that’s usually asked is what the cost is to provide electricity to the home and the price of other utilities. If an electric bill is outrageously high, that can sway a potential buyer’s decision. What one family uses won’t necessarily be what another family uses. If the utility bill isn’t a fixed one, tell the potential buyer an average of what he or she might have to pay. 

One of the main questions that buyers want to know the answer to is what the state and age of the roof is. While this information is usually in the listing description, buyers will still ask about it. That’s because replacing a roof can be an expensive endeavor – not to mention it can cause damage if it leaks. You might be asked if your home has a problem with insects like ants, spiders, roaches or if it has a problem with mice. 

Even if you don’t, but you did have in the past before you had the home treated, you may need to tell the buyer that. You may also get asked about home warranties. Having a home warranty in place to cover the appliances and the heating and air that can transfer to the buyer is often a helpful selling feature because buyers will often want the appliances included in the sale.

Sometimes buyers will ask why you’re selling the home. It’s more of a question geared toward protecting themselves than it is a truly nosy one. You might get asked about the neighbors. If you have a terrible neighbor, you may have to disclose that information. Potential buyers may ask you about the area – such as what the schools are like and what types of amenities are nearby. 

Sometimes buyers will ask if you’re open to a price negotiation because they look at properties they can’t afford at the asking price, but could if it came down some. 

If you’re someone who wants a full asking price and you know you’re not going to budge from that, tell buyers there’s very little wiggle room in the asking price. That way, they don’t waste their time and you don’t waste yours.

When you have something valuable, you want to make sure that you keep it safe.  By investing in the right types of protection and insuring your real estate property and the things that you hold inside of it, you will have the ability to keep the things that are valuable or have the ability to replace them.  One of the ways that you can ensure protection of your property is by asset protection.  

Asset protection is a plan that is designed to protect your real estate and the things that you own inside of the real estate.  If any type of financial disaster occurs, you will have replacements and ways to ensure that the value of your property isn’t lost, even if something unexpected happens.  

If you are just looking into asset protection, you will want to look at possible options through your own investigation or through talking to a lawyer.  An analysis will be taken of the amount of money that you can protect as well as how your valuables are linked to the demographics of the area.  Once the assessments have been made, you will be given an estimate of how much money you can receive in protection as well as the programs that may be best for you.  

The asset protection that will be defined when you have this analysis done will vary according to the state law.  Retirement and disability benefits are usually not considered a part of asset protection.  Personal items may also not be included in asset protection.  Things such as furniture, clothing, jewelry and other personal assets will most likely not be covered.  Some states will allow a certain percentage of these assets to be covered instead of providing full coverage.

If you want to make sure that what you have received the most in case of an accident, then your real estate investment shouldn’t just include finding the right loan.  It should also include looking at the assets and finding the best ways to get the most out of them.  By protecting what you own, you will be more likely to keep what you love.

If you’re renting a home, apartment or a condo it’s important to know that your items are not insured under the home owner’s insurance policy. That means if there is a fire, theft, or any damage to the home, your belongings are not covered. 

Here are some things to consider:

• Renter’s insurance is sold by traditional insurance companies. You can likely find a policy with the same company you have an auto insurance policy with. And financial advisors and planners often sell this type of insurance.

• Renter’s insurance is generally very affordable. Not at all like a home owner’s policy which can be quite expensive. This is because renter’s insurance simply covers the cost of replacing your belongings, not the home or exterior. Even though renter’s insurance is easy to find and generally inexpensive, it still makes sense to compare policies, their coverage and the rates. You can find a competitive rate with a few minutes of research.

• Most policies cover the full replacement cost of your belongings. Take a look around your home and consider what it would cost to replace them if the home burned down. Probably more than you want to lose, right?  For a small annual premium or a monthly payment, your items are covered.

• Policies generally cover against theft, fire, vandalism, and electrical damage. They typically exclude flood and hurricane damage however you can often purchase extra coverage or a rider if you’re concerned about these issues.

• One thing many people don’t know about renter’s insurance is that personal or family liability coverage is generally also part of a renter’s insurance plan. This means you don’t have to deal with the financial cost of civil liability cases that stems from injuries on the rental property premises.

Before you apply for renter’s insurance take an inventory of what you have. Take photographs and list each item with replacement costs. You can also take a video tape if you don’t want to take hundreds of photographs. This will help you estimate how much coverage you need and it will certainly come in handy if anything ever happens and you need to file a claim.

Once you choose a policy and file an application for insurance, make sure to review the policy when you receive it in the mail. Make sure everything is stated as you expect it to be and be sure to ask questions now. It’s better to have the answers before anything happens.

Renter’s insurance is an important step to take to protect your belongings and your assets. It’s relatively inexpensive and easily available.

There are several ways to benefit from owning property and being involved in real estate.  Not only does this come from finding the right property, loans and people to work with, but also moves into finding the best ways to save money while you own a property.  One of the well known ways to save an extra dollar is by becoming involved in a 1031 exchange.  

A 1031 exchange is a specific tax form that can help with the profits and losses that you have received for the year.  They are usually used for those that own extra real estate property as an investment.  This form will allow you to roll-over the profits that have been made from a sale made from a real estate property.  From here, you can purchase another property instead of paying the tax back on the property that was already purchased.  

The major benefit of a 1031 exchange is that it allows for you to be able to delay specific taxes and instead invest into other properties.  If the property is invested in, then the taxes that are taken from capital gain will not be used later on.  A second benefit to a 1031 exchange is that it allows for more equity to be a part of the investment.  Because of this, each time you invest in a new property from the 1031 exchange, the properties will gain a higher value.  

The one thing to keep in mind if you are considering a 1031 exchange is that the new investment has to be what is known as kind.  This means that the investment must be the same as the property that has already been made.  Before getting into a 1031 exchange, it is important to consider this point, as it can cause problems with new investments later.  However, if you have enough that was made out of the purchase for the 1031 exchange, you can purchase more, or fewer, amounts of the same type of property.  

If you are moving into building your own type of benefits from real estate, then knowing about the 1031 exchange is important.  This will help you with getting more out of your property and laying the foundation for your success in real estate.

Real estate is big business.  Real estate agents make a living, and quite often a good one, by helping people buy and sell homes.  But some people choose to cut out the middleman and sell their own homes.  There are arguments for and against both methods of home selling.

Many people choose to go through a realtor because it means less hassle for them.  Having a realtor handle all of the legwork saves the seller a substantial amount of time.  Instead of spending your time putting up signs, writing and purchasing ads, and fielding calls from those who may or may not truly be interested, you can concentrate on simply keeping your home showable.  The realtor can do the rest.

Realtors possess market knowledge that the general public does not, and in many cases has little or no access to.  This means that they can more accurately determine a workable asking price for your home.  They are also experienced at handling negotiations and may be able to help you get a higher selling price than you would selling on your own.

The downside to going through a realtor is having to pay commissions.  These are usually a percentage of the home’s selling price.  Whether directly or indirectly, the buyer pays the commission.  So by cutting out the middleman, the seller can lower the price and still receive the same amount for his home.

Selling your own home requires more work on your part than going through a realtor.  You have the job of marketing your home, taking calls about it, showing it, and closing the deal.  You will probably need a lawyer to do the paperwork and ensure that everything goes smoothly.

There are now more ways to get exposure for your home when selling it yourself than ever before.  There are numerous websites on which you can list your property.  You can run classified ads online and off.  Flyers can be placed in stores and other places where potential buyers will see them.  Including pictures in your ads will make them more interesting.

The key advantage to selling your own home is not having to pay fees to a realtor.  You get to keep the full amount of the selling price.  You could use this to your advantage by lowering the asking price to reflect the lack of fees, or you could ask the same amount that you would with a realtor and make a larger profit.

Although it is becoming somewhat easier to sell your own home, listing your home through a realtor can save you lots of time and effort.  Whether you should go through a realtor depends on whether you have the time, patience, and confidence to do everything yourself.

It’s a tough job trying to sell a house. Professionals have access to certain tools and it used to be that homeowners who wanted to sell their home without an agent couldn’t have access to these tools. But those times have changed. Now, anyone can list their home on the multiple listing service (MLS) so that their home can be seen by others. Putting your home in the online database increases your exposure because it gets in front of people who are looking to buy. It’s sometimes more effective than an ad, and it’s cheaper than paying the fees to a real estate agent. An MLS is basically a method of swapping information among other real estate agents so that more homes can get in front of possible buyers. You can tap into that huge marketplace on your own. If you choose to do it by yourself, it means that you are responsible for all the work. When an agent does it, he or she creates the listing and all the important information that goes along with it. As a FSBO property, you’ll need to do that. And you have to know what to put into a listing or it’s not going to stand out. Your listing has to have all the features of the home. 

You’ll need to have the type of residence – such as whether it’s a townhouse, or a single family home. You’ll also need to list when the house was built. The type of heating and air conditioning system the home has should be included. If it’s an apartment that you’re selling, you’ll need to put in how many parking spaces are available. You’ll also need to list how much acreage comes with the home. You have to list the number of bedrooms the home has. Some people explain whether these are upstairs or downstairs if the listing is for a two story home. If the place has a unique master bath, then you’ll want to put that in. List the number of bathrooms the home has and any special features with those – such as a garden tub. If the house has tray ceilings or extra tall ceilings, mention that. 

Talk about the appliances and then list the total floor space the house has. Mention what kind of flooring it is – like whether it’s carpet, tile or hardwood. If there’s a fireplace, put that in the listing. 

Point out special rooms like a sunroom. List ceiling fans, or any security features such as an alarm system, too. Cover all the amenities such as if it has a pool with the house or if it’s in a subdivision. 

List any HOA fees. Point out the location of nearby schools, the tax history of the house and the listing price. Once you have all that ready, you can list your home on an MLS site by paying a flat listing fee.

Buying a home is more than just walking into a house.  Not only do you want to make sure that you have the right investments set in place, but you also want to make sure that you have the right things to protect you in case something happens.  Having homeowners insurance is an important part of investing in real estate and into moving into a home.  

With most lenders, it is required that you have homeowners insurance.  This is because some of the property that you will own on the real estate home is also theirs.  Most homeowners insurance is chosen during the final closing of your home in order to protect all of your assets as well as pieces of property that belong in the home.  By finding the right homeowners insurance, you will be sure to be protected against any accident or natural disaster that may happen.  

Homeowners insurance will be divided into a variety of categories, all which will be beneficial to different situations.  The best way to decide on homeowners insurance is to first add in how much you own and the value of the home.  You will want to make sure that you are able to cover as much as possible and are able to get returned on everything that you are able to own.  

Another factor to consider with home owners insurance is the type of coverage that is offered.  Some companies will have different categories according to the types of things that you own and how this relates to what you will need replaced.  After you have assessed the value of everything, you will also want to add in what you know you will want covered and which category of insurance this will put you into.  

Homeowners insurance is one of the ways that you can ensure that your real estate and property investments stay covered.  If anything happens, you will want to be assured that you have lost little to nothing in the process.  Homeowners insurance is one of the ways that you can keep cover with your investments and out of the damage.