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Don’t Forget the Trees

When you’re buying a home, it’s common to consider the kitchen, bathroom, living space, and other indoor amenities, but don’t forget the outside, especially the trees.

Trees are a bigger part of real estate than you may think. For one thing, you may find that you prefer older neighborhoods, and established trees are a big part of the appeal of these areas.

Trees also affect property values: well-cared-for, mature trees add value, whereas poorly maintained trees can be a significant detraction. According to the International Society of Arboriculture, a tree’s value is based on four factors: tree size, tree type, tree condition, and overall tree location based on its functional and aesthetic purposes.

Residential lots with good trees are a wise investment because landscaped homes are more valuable than non-landscaped homes.

It’s not just about how the house looks, either. Rising energy costs are a concern these days—you can use trees to save on energy. Well-placed, established shade trees are a good way to keep the sun away from your home and lessen your cooling needs during our long Texas summers. It’s difficult to quantify the savings due to many variables, but savings can approach or surpass 10% of a summer electric bill.

Trees don’t just provide relief in the summertime, either. Consider a species like cedar for use as a windbreak from the cold northern air that blows during winter. You may find that you can enjoy similar savings from keeping that wind off your home during the heating season.

There are benefits to large trees, but there are maintenance issues and cost to consider, as well. What’s the tree’s life cycle? Is it healthy and in a smart place? Will the tree need trimming? Also, remember that trees spread out underground as much as they do above ground, so consider the proximity of the tree to the home’s foundation and underground plumbing.

Additionally, pruning or removing trees, especially large ones, can be dangerous work. Work of this nature should be done only by those trained and equipped to work safely in this environment.

Even when weighed against the cost of purchase and maintenance, trees are an important consideration in a real estate transaction. Strategically placed trees can improve energy efficiency in both the summer and winter, make your home more desirable, and have a positive environmental impact.

Texas Association of Realtors®

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The Truth About Today’s Market

“For most folks, no news is good news; for the press, good news is not news.” – Gloria Borger

You hear the bad news everywhere you turn. It’s on the television, the Internet, the radio and in print headlines. What you don’t hear is the good news about the real estate market.

Bad news sells newspapers and gets high television ratings; therefore, the media has no reason to report the upside of today’s real estate market to the average American. This is where I come in. For example, did you know that approximately 30 percent of homeowners own their home free and clear?

The current market also affords some great opportunities for those looking to purchase a home. First-time homeowners, move-up buyers and investors can all benefit from low home prices, large selection and historically low interest rates.

In addition, the government recently approved a First Time Buyer Tax Credit, up to $8,000, that does not require repayment if the borrower resides in and maintains ownership of the property for at least three years. Regulations do apply and can be reviewed at www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com, or just give me a call and I will be happy to discuss it with you.

Call me to hear more about the good news in today’s housing market. I can’t wait to share it with you.

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How is the DFW Real Estate Market?

According to  RECON

Real Estate Center Online News

June 19, 2009

HOUSTON, DFW HOUSING MARKETS SHINE

HOUSTON (Dallas Morning News) – The Brookings Institution has named Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth two of the top housing markets in the country.

Houston ranked first and DFW third among metro areas that have been the least affected by falling home prices.

Home prices in DFW were up slightly in first quarter 2009 compared with those in first quarter 2008, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s quarterly House Price Index.

Of the top 100 metro areas, 38 avoided home-price declines over the last year.

PRESIDIO JUNCTION, WHATS YOUR FUNCTION?

FORT WORTH (Cencor Realty Services) – LNR Commercial Property is finishing infrastructure work on Presidio Junction and beginning vertical construction.

The 300-acre mixed-use development North Tarrant Pkwy. and I-35W will have more than one million sf of retail, restaurants and shops, 1,300 apartment units and 750,000 sf of fitness, hotel and Class-A office space.

Vertical construction has begun on 348 apartment units within the development.

The retail component of Presidio Junction is being handled by the Weitzman Group. Major retailers include a Lowe’s home improvement center.

 SAN ANTONIO ECONOMY OUTPERFORMS NATION

SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Express-News) – The San Antonio economy has outperformed all of the nation’s largest cities through first quarter 2009, according to a Brookings Institution report.

The city has become accustomed to being labeled a top economy. It recently ranked fifth on Forbes.com’s list of cities most likely to bounce back quickly from the recession.

San Antonio’s economy — driven by sectors such as health care and insurance — has benefited greatly from military expansions and relatively stable housing prices.

The Brookings Institution report measured changes in employment totals, unemployment rates, housing prices, the values of goods and services produced by cities, and other factors.

Other Texas cities listed as top-performing metro areas include:

• Austin (third),
• Houston (fourth),
• Dallas (fifth),
• McAllen (sixth) and
• El Paso (11th).

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First Time Homebuyer Credit

Tax Credit for Homebuyers

First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.

The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.

Tax Credit Versus Tax Deduction

It’s important to remember that the $8,000 tax credit is just that… a tax credit. The benefit of a tax credit is that it’s a dollar-for-dollar tax reduction, rather than a reduction in a tax liability that would only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a homebuyer were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for the $8,000 tax credit, they would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little income tax liability. For example, if a homebuyer is liable for $4,000 in income tax, he can offset that $4,000 with half of the tax credit… and still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Phaseout Examples

According to the plan, the tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000.

To break down what this phaseout means to homebuyers who are over those amounts, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) offers the following examples:

Example 1: Assume that a married couple has a modified adjusted gross income of $160,000. The applicable phaseout to qualify for the tax credit is $150,000, and the couple is $10,000 over this amount. Dividing $10,000 by $20,000 yields 0.5. When you subtract 0.5 from 1.0, the result is 0.5. To determine the amount of the partial first-time homebuyer tax credit that is available to this couple, multiply $8,000 by 0.5. The result is $4,000.

Example 2: Assume that an individual homebuyer has a modified adjusted gross income of $88,000. The buyer’s income exceeds $75,000 by $13,000. Dividing $13,000 by $20,000 yields 0.65. When you subtract 0.65 from 1.0, the result is 0.35. Multiplying $8,000 by 0.35 shows that the buyer is eligible for a partial tax credit of $2.800.

 

For those tracking the math in the examples above, you may be wondering where the “$20,000″ came from—that is, why you divide “$10,000 by $20,000″ in the first example and “$13,000 by $20,000″ in the second example. Here’s where the $20,000 comes into play:

The tax credit amount is reduced for buyers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of more than $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The tax credit amount is reduced to zero for taxpayers with MAGI of more than $95,000 (single) or $170,000 (married) and is reduced proportionally for taxpayers with MAGIs between these amounts.

In other words:

• $170,000 – $150,000 = the $20,000 in the first example
• $95,000 – $75,000 = the $20,000 in the second example

Remember, these are general examples. You should always consult your tax advisor for information relating to your specific circumstances.

Homes that Qualify

The tax credit is applicable to any home that will be used as a principal residence. Based on that guideline, qualifying homes include single-family detached homes, as well as attached homes such as townhouses and condominiums. In addition, manufactured or homes and houseboats used for principal residence also qualify.