Renting an existing home or vacation property comes to mind for many homeowners for a variety of reasons. Unable to make the monthly mortgage payments may be one, but not the best choice. After all, unless you move back in with your parents (ugh!), a monthly rent payment will still be necessary.

But maybe you’ve recently gotten married, receive an inheritance or buy a new house before you are able to sell the old one. That’s when turning your existing property into a rental makes sense.

Still, Is it worth hanging onto this property? Does it need major repairs, just to be rent-able? And, is your temperament suited to being a landlord. Tenants can be a major headache and in most locales, evicting a tenant can be a lengthy and arduous process. (more…)

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Section 1031 of the federal tax code allows investors to swap “like kind” properties without having to pay the hefty capital gains taxes they’d owe if they simply sold their real estate. With so many real estate investors engaging in 1031 exchanges, tax revenues on these sales have been falling.

To close, or modify this tax “loophole” a bill that’s already passed the Senate would narrow the definition of “like kind” in certain agricultural real estate transactions. This bill would force potentially large numbers of farmers to sell, rather than exchange, their properties and pay high capital gains taxes that they’d currently be allowed to defer. (more…)

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Home builders feeling the squeeze from the housing slump are looking for any advertising tactic that might entice buyers to choose their product. Some builders are aiming to save their customers money by reducing the choices they offer to buyers.

Lennar Corp., the nation’s second largest home builder, is whittling down options and moving toward a one design fits all model, seeing standardization and simplification as tools in a cost-cutting drive aimed at saving millions of dollars and surviving the housing slump.

The savings potential goes beyond simply substituting lower-quality kitchen cabinets or cheaper carpet. Limiting the number of faucet styles, for example, lets builders order earlier and negotiate bigger bulk discounts from suppliers. (more…)

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Home staging experts tell us that one of the first steps in making your home “saleable” is to get rid of useless junk. Right now, if you are considering a sale in 2008, make it a New Year’s resolution to de-clutter your home and get rid of accumulated junk.

Usually such efforts require trips to the municipal dump or heated arguments between family members the night before garbage day. To sidestep such difficulties and get the job done swiftly, residential junk-hauling companies will come to your home and haul away all your unwanted items. Or you can enlist one of many free local services that can suggest a number of junk-seeking charities and individuals willing to haul away your items. (more…)

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Home staging experts tell us that one of the first steps in making your home “saleable” is to get rid of useless junk. Right now, if you are considering a sale in 2008, make it a New Year’s resolution to de-clutter your home and get rid of accumulated junk.

Usually such efforts require trips to the municipal dump or heated arguments between family members the night before garbage day. To sidestep such difficulties and get the job done swiftly, residential junk-hauling companies will come to your home and haul away all your unwanted items. Or you can enlist one of many free local services that can suggest a number of junk-seeking charities and individuals willing to haul away your items. (more…)

search for : get rid of useless junk, junk-seeking charities

Beautiful Wilkes County NC Log Home and Mountain Property.

MLS Number: 50863, List Price: $359,900

Bedrooms: 3, Full Baths: 2, Half Baths: 0, Est Total SqFt: 2600, Type/Style: Log Home, Area: Area 6, Middle School: Cntrl Wlks, High School: Wlks Cntrl, Construction: Log

Foundation: Combination, Roof: Metal Roof, Floors: Carpet/Hardwood/Tile, Garage/Carport: None-Garage, None-Carport, Interior Features: Master Bedroom, Main Level, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closet(s), Hardwood Floors, Fireplace(s), Great Room, Exterior Features: Double Pane Windows, Wooded Lot, 1-5 Acres, Hot Tub, Subdivision: N/A, Lot Size: 2.47, Apx SqFt: 2600 - 2800 SF, Basement: None

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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