Braselton Ga. Hoschton Ga and Jackson County's Real Estate Current News

Should Braselton, Hoschton and Jackson County Builders offer New Car With Home

Home builders in Braselton Ga. Hoschton Ga., Jackson County and North Georgia have long offered incentives and discounts for home buyers. They’ve also thrown in material perks like a Mercedes, a trip to Maui or even another house. Now a home builder wants to help ease the burden of a long commute and soaring gas prices by giving buyers a free 2008 Honda Civic, according to an article in today’s WSJ.
William Grant, the owner of Brodheadsville, Pa.-based Grant Homes Inc., is using the Hondas to lure prospective buyers to a new 75-home real estate development in rural Pennsylvania. Allentown, the largest center of employment near the development, is about 25 miles away.
The Hondas are worth about $20,000, and that value is not included in the price of the house. Buyers can choose to accept the free car or have the company pay the closing cost and buy down their interest.
Of four home sales last weekend, two buyers chose to take the car, Mr. Grant says. “The buying public is certainly waiting to do something,” he says.
Are you looking for a new home and would a new Honda influence your decision -- Let me know?????      ray@selectbrokersrealty.com  

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7 Dos and Don’ts for Legal 1031 Tax Exchanges

Rochelle Stone and John Mangham of Starker Services Inc. in Los Gatos, Calif., share these tips on how to avoid common legal mistakes in real estate 1031 exchanges.
1. Do know how to count. Like-kind exchange rules allow 180 days to complete the transaction, which includes the 45 days for the identification of a replacement real estate property. Weekends and holidays count, and no extensions are granted, so don’t get it wrong.
2. Don’t assume a second home qualifies for an exchange. Vacation property must be an investment (which means you don’t live there for more than 14 days a year or 10 percent of the time it’s rented) or used in a trade or business to qualify for a real estate 1031 exchange.
3. Do exchange for a real estate property equal or greater in value. If your client exchanges for a real estate property of lesser value, the unspent money will be taxable as capital gains.
4. Do replace your debt. Taking out a real estate mortgage at a lower level during an exchange creates a taxable event. If your clients want a lower mortgage payment, they have to bring cash to the transactions.
5. Don’t ignore recapture. Any depreciation an investor has previously taken must be deducted from the basis of the property before calculating any gain.
6. Don’t forget to set up the real estate exchange before the transaction closes. You need to include a stipulation in the purchase agreement so that the funds from a property’s sale transfer to a qualified intermediary instead of to the sellers during the closing.
7. Do give the buyers and exchangers a refund on any earnest money advanced from their own cash for a property that is later transferred through a real estate 1031 exchange. This refund will come from the intermediary, who will replace the amount with exchange funds.

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Should You Buy or Rent

Buying a home in Braselton Ga, Hoschton Ga and Jackson County Ga. is a rewarding experience. You derive a great deal of personal satisfaction from owning a home. Homeownership allows you to build up your personal net worth over time. Moreover, long-term increases in real estate housing prices nationwide makes homeownership a relatively attractive investment.
In some cases, renting may be a more attractive option. For example, if you plan to move in a year or two, you are unlikely to recover the closing costs you pay when you buy a home. In addition, finding a home to buy generally takes more time than looking for an apartment to rent.
In addition to building up equity over time, owning a home in Braselton Ga, Hoschton Ga and Jackson County Ga. offers significant tax breaks. The interest expense that you pay on up to $1 million in home mortgage debt ($500,000 if you are married and filing a separate return) is tax-deductible.
Your tax savings from the real estate mortgage interest tax deduction are greatest in the early years of a mortgage loan. For example, on a 7%, 30-year fixed rate real estate mortgage loan of $100,000, you pay $6,968 in interest the first year of the loan. If you are in the 25% income tax bracket, your tax savings are $1,742. In Year 16 of the loan, you pay $5,090 in interest, which saves you $1,273 in taxes. In Year 24 of the loan, you pay $2,926 in interest, which saves you $732 in taxes.
When you sell your real estate home, you can exclude up to $500,000 in capital gains if you are married and filing a joint return. (The exclusion limit is $250,000 for other tax filers.) You will need to pass the IRS's ownership and use tests to show that the home has been your primary residence for at least two of the past five years. In addition to mortgage interest, you can also deduct your local property taxes on your income tax return.

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Underlying demand for real estate homeownership in Braselton Ga, Hoschton Ga, Jackson County Ga and North Georgia remains healthy despite the ongoing challenges for would-be buyers in the current real estate market, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Move, Inc. As reported in last week's NBN Online, the survey found that about 41% of current home owners who were polled said they do plan to purchase a home again, while 80% of all renters surveyed expect to eventually become home owners. In fact, 47% of renters in the poll indicated that they plan to purchase a home within the next five years. In addition, most prospective home buyers (57%) indicated that they are willing to make sacrifices to save and earn extra income for down payments and will compromise on neighborhood features and residential amenities in order to buy a home in the current market. On the flip side, 81% of home buyers in the poll indicated that they remain nervous about the current real estate housing market and cited significant barriers to homeownership. Even so, 44% believe the real estate housing market will improve once a new president takes office next January. Read more on this encouraging study in NBN Online.

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Hoschton Ga. Seeks Guinness World Record -- Hoschton is seeking a spot in the Guinness World Records with the Most Scarecrows in one location. The current record is 3,311 held by Cincinnati Horticultural Society's Flower and Farm Fest. Hoschton Businesses and Citizens plans to have 4,000 displayed throughout Hoschton's Addresses for the Fall Festival on Sept. 26-27. Visit  www.cityofhoschton.com   for more infomation.

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Information believed to be accurate but not warranted