Low Cost Property

It costs less than you may think for tearing down a house.

While it’s often sad to witness the demise of a long-standing structure, sometimes tearing down a house is the only solution that makes sense. So, how do you determine whether a home has outlived its useful life and is a candidate for demolition? Savvy home buyers follow a three-step process:

Your first step is to check with city planners to find out if the home qualifies, because not every structure can be legally removed, especially those entrenched in historical urban neighborhoods. Second, get bids from three to five licensed contractors. When I wanted to tear down my old 10 x 12 storage shed, for example, the bids I received stretched from a reasonable number to ten times as much. The third step

. . . read more about Tearing Down a House.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub, click below:

• Sellers Who Pay to Close Escrow
• 12 Ways to Find Down Payments
• Did Someone Die Your House?

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Tearing Down a House originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 05:00:08.

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I can’t begin to sing the praises loudly enough of a Wachovia short sale.

It’s not that so many short sale banks are so totally messed up that they can make the process convoluted and complicated — although that is true in many cases — it’s that Wachovia has streamlined the short sale process to a science. Wachovia has its act together regarding a short sale. Some of my Sacramento Wachovia short sales get approval in two weeks. Two weeks!

You have no idea of the short sale hell you’ve been through until you get a chance to experience the golden egg of Wachovia short sales . . . read more about a Wachovia Short Sale.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• How to Do a Short Sale
• Short Sale Mortgage Fraud
• Fannie Mae Short Sale Tips

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Why Wachovia Short Sales Are Special originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 05:00:11.

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Since so many sellers are taking a financial hit to sell in our soft real estate market, it really adds insult to injury if a seller can’t write off that home loss come tax time.

Yet, our current IRS tax code is pretty explicit regarding how it handles the sale of a personal residence. As long as you’ve lived in the home for two out of the past five years, you will not pay taxes on $250,000 of capital gains ($500,000, if married) upon sale. That pertains to profit, though, not a loss.

If you’ve suffered a loss on the sale of your home, you’re not ordinarily entitled to deduct any of that loss from your taxes.

However, it made me wonder if there was a tax loophole. Suppose, for example, that you’ve converted that home into a rental? Would that provide a way to deduct a loss upon sale? To get an answer to that scenario, I turned to Julian Block, a tax lawyer from Larchmont, New York

. . . read more about home sale losses.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub, click below:

• Tips for Selling in Winter
• Home Selling Online
• Expired Listings

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Writing Off a Home Loss When Turning a Residence Into a Rental originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 05:00:11.

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Before you place an ad in the newspaper to sell your home or post an online listing, stop to think about the advertising words you choose.

Choosing the wrong advertising words can cost you a buyer, but even more important, choosing the wrong advertising words can result in a fine of $10,000 or more. Many people are unaware of which advertising words constitute discrimination and violate the Fair Housing Act.

The popular online classified site, Craigslist, was sued a while back by a group of lawyers for allowing discriminatory housing ads on its site. Now, you may not agree with the Fair Housing Act, but nonetheless, it is the law, and seven classes are protected. I receive a lot of mail from readers who can’t understand why they are not allowed to advertise that a home is located near a church, for example

. . . read more about advertising words.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub, click below:

• How to Advertise Your Home
• Home Marketing Tips
• 15 Ways to Sell Your Home

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Advertising Words for Home Selling originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 05:00:24.

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There is a huge difference between buying foreclosure flippers and homes that regular owner occupants have remodeled.

If your agent hasn’t done a little research on the history of the home, you might never know whether you’re buying a foreclosure flipper. There are dangers inherent with buying a foreclosure flipper. With a regular seller, you can be relatively assured that the seller made the improvements with thought, care and quality workmanship; although, not always. But most sellers fix up their homes because they want the upgrades for themselves.

Not necessarily so with a foreclosure flipper bought at auction by an investor. Some investors care only about quickly turning over that home so they can immediately buy another . . . read more about Buying Foreclosure Flippers.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Why You Can’t Buy That Bank Repo Home
• REO Offer Tips for Buying Foreclosures
• How to Find Foreclosures

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Dangers of Buying a Foreclosure Flipper Home originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 05:00:50.

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