Archive for November, 2008

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The Crooked House Poland

Friday, November 14th, 2008

Put all the polish jokes you’ve ever heard aside and check out the polish architecture in this unusual house. The Crooked House was built in 2003 and was the brain child of Szotynscy Zaleski who was heavily inspired by the children’s illustrations created by Jan Marcin Szancer for fairytales and by the artwork of Per Dahlberg.

Located in the Rezydent shopping center in downtown Sopot, Poland the Crooked House has become the most photographed building in the whole country.

The home features three stories and is built with the surrounding buildings in mind to give it the feel as though it belongs in the area but perhaps melted or sagged out of exhaustion. To add to the illusion colorful stained glass windows are part of the entrances. The roof is meant to mimic how a dragon’s scales may look. It was covered with sheet metal and then different colored enamel roof tiles were layered on top to give it a feeling of depth and movement.

Although officially termed a House, the Crooked House actually houses several tourist attractions including a few restaurants, bars, and shops. If you’re intrigued by the architecture of this house and would like to make it one of your tourist destinations then you’ll be thrilled by the rest of Sopot as well. Sopot has a very storied past and is situated on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.

Posted in Mixed Bag | 1 Comment »

Selling Property and Taxes

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

Doing 2007 Taxes
Creative Commons License photo credit: Casey Serin

If you’re thinking about selling one of your rental properties, whether you want out of the business or you’re just looking to unload a rental, you’re going to have to take a realistic look at what taxes you’ll have to pay before you decide on a price or go through with the sale.

Your rental property is considered an investment by Uncle Sam. Basically there are two types of investments, long term and short term. Short term investments are ones that you’ve held for less than a year. Most likely your rental property doesn’t fit into this category and is then considered a long term investment.

With a long term investment you’ll have to pay capital gains taxes on any profit you make from the sale. The maximum tax on that investment will be 15 percent, but you can do a lot of things to defray this expense if you’ve kept careful records throughout the years. You can subtract your cost of sale and any expenses you’ve had over the years related to upkeep and maintenance.

If you’ve been depreciating the property over the years you’ll have more to pay when it comes to taxes because in essence you’ve declared your property less valuable and so more of the purchase price will count towards your profit.

Posted in Money & Finances, Taxes & Finances | No Comments »

Calculating Rental Cash Flow

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Landlords need to be able to calculate the cash flow from their rental properties to make sure they’re charging a profitable rent and to weight future investments.

If you want to figure out what your rental cash flow is you’ll first need to calculate the amount of rent you expect to get from the tenants. If you own multiple units you may want to figure in a vacancy rate, some experts suggest a 5% unoccupancy rate is reasonable, but this depends on your property and its desirability.

Once you figure out what you expect to receive in rent then you’ll need to figure out your property losses. This means you’ll want to calculate the expenses of the property operations, any depreciation and mortgage interest expenses.

Then take your expected rent income and subtract the above expenses to figure your tax savings or losses. Add or subtract that tax result from the amount expected from your renters, subtract again your operating expenses and your mortgage payments. This is your cash flow.

Once you’ve determined your cash flow you can use that number to determine what price you should establish for renters or if a new investment property is worth the investment.

Posted in Investment Property, Money & Finances | No Comments »

Biggest Mistakes in Home Sales

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Selling your home can be a traumatic and emotional experience for many reasons, but once you decide that its time to sell you need to resolve yourself to make the sale and do it right. Avoid making the following mistakes so you can complete your sale smoothly and quickly.

Bad Home Pricing

Emotionally involved people often have a hard time attaching an appropriate value to their home. This is an area that requires research and perhaps a professional opinion or two. It’s not nearly as subjective as one would think.? No matter which way you set the price, too high or too low, it will scare off prospective buyers so price appropriately.

The Home is a Disaster

People aren’t likely to buy your property if it’s filthy, needs repairs, or looks awful from the street. Spend the time to clean and make sure your home smells fresh. If you can, spent a little to give your place curb appeal and to repair any obvious flaws.

Picking the Wrong Real Estate Agent

Your realtor can really make or break the sale so you want to be certain that you have an experienced agent who knows the market and is willing to work to make your sale.

Remember that your home sale is a business deal, you have to remove the emotional factor and proceed with professional clarity.

Posted in Real Estate Market | No Comments »

Floating Homes

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Floating home designs create a sense of ethereal living that just can’t be found in traditional box style homes. But then again these homes are not designed to sit on your traditional lot, they are actually designed to float on water.

Floating Homes GMBH is a german based company that began after they received wide acclaim and a first place win in a Europe-wide Wasserstadt GmbH Berlin competition. The competition required that homes become a whole new breed which was neither boat nor home. Floating Homes walked off with the win and enough enthusiasm to encourage them to develop four different structures.

The company is hoping to make a product that can be shipped worldwide and you’ll simply have to install the prefabricated pieces or hire a contractor to put your floating home together.

But before you get out your checkbook there are a few things to consider. The first is a given with real estate, the location. You can’t just plop a home on any body of water. The second consideration is financing as floating homes are handled much differently, they’re considered property rather than a home. A floating home is also going to come with a larger insurance bill. But if you can wade through these difficulties then you’ll love your zen-like floating home.

Posted in Mixed Bag | 1 Comment »

Selling Rural Property

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Barnes and Noble
Creative Commons License photo credit: storem

For some people the country life is the only life worth living.? For others, getting rid of that rural property is a dream. Selling rural real estate isn’t always easy and in a depressed real estate market it’s very difficult, almost impossible. If you want to make this sale you may have to be a little proactive.

Contact your neighbors and let them know you’re preparing to sell, it’s not uncommon for rural neighbors to want to expand their land and purchasing a neighbor’s property is an excellent way to do just that.

Advertising is also a necessity when you’re selling rural lots. You’re just not going to get the drive by traffic that you would in the city or a suburban area so it’s more important than ever to get the word out. Use the internet to your advantage and reach out to people across the country who may be interested in getting back to the good life.

If you’re going to enlist the help of a realtor to help you move your rural property then you want to find someone who specializes in your type of property. Not only will they know more tricks that will help you get the audience you want, but they’ll also have more contacts that may be looking for rural property.

Posted in Real Estate Market | No Comments »

Starker Trust on Rental Sales

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

If you’re in the rental property game and are looking to unload one property and upgrade to another you may find the Starker Trust to your benefit. The Starker Trust is sometimes referred to as the 1031 tax free exchange. Basically it states that if you are going to sell your current investment or rental property you can avoid paying the capital gains taxes on your property sale by purchasing another rental property.

There are some rules that apply to this transaction of course. The first rule is that there is a specified time period between your rental property sale and the purchase of your new rental property. You must also purchase a property that is valued at the same amount or more than the property you sold. This will then let you defer the capital gains taxes until you sell this new property.

If you are thinking the 1031 tax free exchange or Starker Trust is something you want to pursue, you are actually well advised to seek the assistance of a real estate attorney and possibly a tax specialist to make sure every step you take falls within the specified guidelines or you could easily lose out on this tax benefit.

Posted in Investment Property, Taxes & Finances | No Comments »

Selling Property and Taxes

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Paperwork
Creative Commons License photo credit: kozumel

If you’re thinking about selling one of your rental properties, whether you want out of the business or you’re just looking to unload a rental, you’re going to have to take a realistic look at what taxes you’ll have to pay before you decide on a price or go through with the sale.

Your rental property is considered an investment by Uncle Sam. Basically there are two types of investments, long term and short term. Short term investments are ones that you’ve held for less than a year. Most likely your rental property doesn’t fit into this category and is then considered a long term investment.

With a long term investment you’ll have to pay capital gains taxes on any profit you make from the sale. The maximum tax on that investment will be 15 percent, but you can do a lot of things to defray this expense if you’ve kept careful records throughout the years. You can subtract your cost of sale and any expenses you’ve had over the years related to upkeep and maintenance.

If you’ve been depreciating the property over the years you’ll have more to pay when it comes to taxes because in essence you’ve declared your property less valuable and so more of the purchase price will count towards your profit.

Posted in Investment Property, Money & Finances, Taxes & Finances | No Comments »

Property Management and Unexpected Expenses

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Chronicles of a Drippy Faucet:2
Creative Commons License photo credit: Spojen??

Investing in real estate is a great way to make money while also staying busy. At the same time, you need to remember that you will need to spend money as well. And this means much more than paying your mortgage and taxes. There are unexpected expenses that are sure to come up after time after time. If you are lucky you can avoid these most of the time, but even then you never know when something bad is going to pop up.

What type of unexpected expenses should you be aware of? Unfortunately, there is no easy way to answer this question. It depends on the properties you own and the condition they are in. Of course, your tenants have a lot to do with these expenses as well.

An example of an unexpected expense is a furnace that breaks down. As you know, this is something that needs to work no matter what. After all, it is your job to ensure that your tenants have heat during the winter months. Are you prepared for this type of expense? If so, you may still be upset, but all you have to do is pay the money to have it fixed. If not, you still have to make the repair even if it means charging it.

The best way to plan for unexpected expenses is to have a separate bank account for this reason. You may see this as a waste when things are going good, but when an expense pops up you will be glad that you have the money on hand.

If you complete your own repairs you may be able to keep down the cost of repairs, no matter if they are unexpected or not. But remember, you don?t want to make things worse on yourself. In other words, if you can?t make the proper fix call a professional who can.

Investing in real estate can be lucrative, but at the same time you should be ready to take on unexpected expenses that will eat into your profits.

Posted in Property Management | No Comments »

For Sale by Owner: What to Expect from a Marketing Perspective

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

exterior1.jpeg
Creative Commons License photo credit: salimfadhley

When you decide to sell your home by owner you are deciding to take on the responsibility of marketing it to the public, including potential home buyers. For many, this is the most difficult part of the for sale by owner process. The way that you market your home will determine how many offers you receive, how long it stays on the market, and much more. Although there is a lot that goes into the marketing process, you need to be aware that tens of thousands of people successfully sell their home by owner each year. Why can’t you be next?

You should have a marketing plan in place from the day that you decide to move forward on a for sale by owner basis. In other words, do not delay in putting together a plan for selling your home. Simply put, if nobody knows your home is for sale you are never going to complete the process.

What is the best way to market my home? This depends on how much money you have, and what you are comfortable doing. For instance, some people take the time to pay for ads in all of the local newspapers. While this is a good idea, it can also cost a lot of money. Do you have the funds to do this? If not, you can opt for free marketing techniques such as listing your home on Craigslist and offering fliers. The more ways you market your home the better chance there is for increased attention from potential buyers.

From a marketing point of view, selling a home by owner can be difficult. But once you know how to market your home you can get a better idea of what fits your budget and lifestyle.

Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

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