Daily Archives: February 14, 2014

6 best states to flip a home | Pound Ridge NY Homes

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In 2013, investors bought more than 156,000 homes, only to fix them up and quickly resell them for an average profit of $58,081. Home flipping became increasingly popular as the housing market began to recover. However, while the number of U.S. home flips increased in 2013 compared with 2012, home flips as a proportion of all home sales declined from 7.1% of sales in the fourth quarter of 2012 to just 3.8% of sales in the fourth quarter of 2013, partly because of declining inventory.

Where homes are available, however, substantial profits can still be made. In six states, home flippers made an average profit of considerably more than $80,000 in 2013. In the top state, the gross profit on a flipped home was more than $100,000. 24/7 Wall St. examined the six states where home flipping was most lucrative in 2013.

Buying homes to flip when market prices are relatively high may mean more overhead, but the fact remains that the states and metro areas with the largest average profits on home flips were the more expensive housing markets. All of the six most profitable states to flip a home in 2013 had among the highest average purchase prices that year. “High prices result in higher profits,” confirmed Daren Blomquist, vice president at home data site RealtyTrac. “These states are basically the highest-priced markets in the country.”

24/7 Wall St. examined the six states with an average gross home flip profit of at least $80,000 in 2013, based on data from RealtyTrac. RealtyTrac also provided average flip price, average gross profit, and the proportion of all home sales that were flips for 2011 and 2012, and Q4 2013 for States and U.S. Metro areas. We also reviewed RealtyTrac’s foreclosure rates for 2013.

http://homes.yahoo.com/photos/6-best-states-to-flip-a-house-1392234911-slideshow/

 

Selling Your Home? Here Are 3 Tips to Minimize Capital Gains Taxes | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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To put it lightly, home prices tanked during the financial crisis. The S&P Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index fell from from more than 200 to as low as 140, a decline of about 30 percent, and the 10-City index fell by about 33.4 percent. In a just a few years, home prices had lost pretty much every dollar of value they had added during a meteoric rise in the first half of the decade.

Odds are, if you own your home, the idea of a sale in recent years has been unattractive to you for exactly these reasons. The last thing you want to do during an economic recession or an anemic recovery is sell your home for a loss, so if they could, many people held on to their homes, hoping that prices and the market would recover.

The S&P Case-Shiller indexes haven’t yet recovered to their pre-crisis levels, but at 165.8 for the 20-City and 180.15 for the 10-City, they are each sitting at about 80 percent of their pre-crisis peaks. This is healing — if not outright health — in most major real estate markets, although at 79 percent of its pre-crisis peak, the national-level index is slightly weaker.

The time may be right to sell, and to hopefully sell at a gain instead of a loss. If this is the case, you can expect a fiscally weary Uncle Sam to reach out his hand and ask for a cut of the proceeds. Fortunately, there are a few provisions in the tax code that can help you pocket your profits and build your life wherever it is you move next. Click through to see a few tips to minimize capital gains taxes on the sale of your home.

 

 

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/selling-your-home-here-are-3-tips-to-minimize-capital-gains-taxes-2.html/?ref=YF

Lawn Care Tips for Busy People | Katonah NY Homes

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A beautiful home is not only achieved through stylish interior design, but also through smart lawn care. Your lawn is the first thing that people notice about your home. Keeping a clean and healthy-looking lawn demands a lot of time and maintenance that may seem like a full-time job. In the fall you will want to have a 4 stroke leaf blower, to make it easier to get rid of all those leafs. To achieve a lush green lawn, you need to commit to mowing it on a weekly basis to prevent the grass from turning yellow and dry. Lawn mowing also keeps your grass from growing too high and thwarts pests (e.g. weeds and animals such snakes and other vermin) from invading your yard.

Professionals barely have enough time to maintain even just a healthy lawn. Although we can’t add time to our busy schedules, we certainly can make smart changes to common lawn maintenance practices through these tips:

  • Know when to feed your lawn and stick to the seasonal feeding schedule. Do not feed your lawn daily so the grass will stop growing faster according to King Green Lawn Care.
  • Don’t overuse your lawn mover. Allow a healthy growth of herbs in your lawn and use an effective lawn weed killer.
  • When mowing the lawn, try to cut them a little longer and allow herbs such as thyme to grow. This makes the lawn look greener, especially during dry spells.
  • Remove hard-to-mow areas or those areas that can’t be accessed by the mower. If you want to easily maintain your lawn, especially these tricky areas, consider using gravel to give your lawn more dimensions.
  • Get a high-powered mower that can do heavier tasks for you. Look for a machine that does most of the work in a single press of a button.
  • Leave some of the cuttings, but not all of them. These will provide enough nutrients in the soil and will help the grass to grow stronger and greener.

If you are a beginner, a gardener or an individual who does not have much time taking care of your lawn, at least prioritize these three maintenance tasks:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lawn-care-tips-busy-people-204228333.html

Living in Las Vegas: A Look Beyond the Strip | Chappaqua Homes

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Sky-high hotels, desert sun and entertainment galore. It’s not surprising Las Vegas continues to be one of the most popular Spring Break destinations attracting college students around the country.

Today’s Vegas reaches far beyond the Strip’s neon lights and slot machines. In fact, a growing number of families are putting down roots in the Gambling Capital of the World.

To get a feel for what it’s like to live in Vegas, we asked longtime residents Christa Schueler and Michelle Radcliff to share their experiences.

Family-friendly culture

“I moved here in the ’80s and the common belief was that you must work and live in a hotel, or have some affiliation to a casino,” said Schueler, who writes an online magazine geared toward local women. “Then in the ’90s, Las Vegas started trying to get that family demographic because growth started to explode here. They started trying to appeal to families living here as well as those who were vacationing.”

Schueler said efforts to make Vegas more conducive to a family lifestyle weren’t hugely successful in the ’90s, but she notes there’s been a recent movement to appeal to families with children.

“Now, we’re not just looked at as gambling town,” she said. “People are realizing families do live here and that there are things to do, whether you’re a tourist or a local.”

Radcliff, who also moved to Vegas in the 1980s, agrees.

“I have a daughter who was born here,” she said. “A lot of people raise families in Vegas. There are a lot of things you can do with children.”

 

http://homes.yahoo.com/news/living-las-vegas-look-beyond-strip-182059598.html

Refinances continue to drop, meaning good news for REITs | Cross River Homes

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The Refinance Index fell 0.2% (from 1,693 to 1,690), as rates fell 2 basis points. Refinances have been dropping like a stone, as the people who have equity in their homes have already refinanced and the ones left with high rates are underwater.

 

The MBA reported that the share of refinance applications fell to 61.5%. Going forward, home price appreciation will drive refinance activity as previously underwater homeowners eventually get back to positive equity and take advantage of lower rates. Slowing refinance activity will be a negative for originators like PennyMac (PMT) and Redwood Trust (RWT). It has already taken its toll on Nationstar (NSM), which reported disappointing earnings

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/refinances-continue-drop-meaning-good-170008664.html