6 Things Every Homeowner Should Know About Property Taxes

(TNS)—You might not have factored in property taxes when planning to buy your dream home, but the cost of homeownership goes beyond your mortgage payment. It’s important to discover how your property tax bill works—once you know how it’s calculated, you can challenge it if you feel it’s too high. Additionally, property taxes can be a valuable write-off, and as a homebuyer, you should take advantage of all of the available tax breaks for homeowners. Here are six things every homeowner should understand when it comes to property taxes.

You might need to pay different types of property taxes.
Home property taxes include your annual assessment and direct assessments, which are flat fees for specific services such as street cleaning or landscaping. Some localities also impose special assessments to pay for a specific project, like a new park or library. When you’re buying a home, research how much its property taxes are—including direct and special assessments—so you can budget for your future as a new homeowner.

A tax assessor calculates your property tax.
To calculate property tax, the tax assessor attaches a property value to your home and makes adjustments based on local rules to determine the assessed value. For example, your county might calculate property taxes based on 20 percent of your home’s assessed value, so the county assessor would multiply the fair market value of your home by 20 percent to determine the assessed value.

The assessor divides the assessed value by 1,000 and then multiplies that by the mill rate—the number that represents the amount per $1,000 of the assessed value of the property—to calculate your property tax bill. For example, if the mill rate is seven and your home has a taxable value of $150,000, your property tax bill would be $1,050.

Property tax rates vary depending on where you live. It’s important to know that your tax bill might increase if you’re adding additional square footage to your home, because completing construction on a renovation could increase your home’s value.

Property tax due dates vary.
Property tax due dates vary depending on where you live. Some counties require you to pay the annual property tax bill in one payment and others break it up into two installments. If you receive two tax notices, don’t assume the second one is a duplicate bill.

Different states and counties accept various forms of payments. For instance, some allow you to pay property taxes with a credit card online; if you pay by card, you’ll likely have to pay a convenience fee equal to a percentage of your bill.

If you have a mortgage, you might pay an extra amount each month into an escrow account, which the bank uses to pay property taxes on your behalf. For example, if your annual real estate taxes are $1,200, you would pay an extra $100 on your mortgage each month. Consider the fees before paying property tax online with a credit card, because it could end up costing you more than what you’d earn in credit card rewards.

You could be subject to interest and penalties for not paying property taxes.
If you don’t pay your property taxes on time, you could owe interest and penalties. If you continue to be delinquent, the government could put a tax lien on your home or foreclose on it and sell it to generate cash to pay your bill.

If you have a lien on your home, any proceeds from a sale go first to pay off the delinquent taxes. Sometimes your mortgage lender will pay the property taxes on your behalf and request reimbursement from you. If you don’t pay the money back, your lender might consider you in default on your mortgage and foreclose.

You might be eligible for property tax relief.
Governments often offer special property tax relief to certain groups like veterans, the disabled and those who have lived in the same home a long time. The exemptions don’t reduce your tax rates; instead, they lower the assessed value of your home.

You can also challenge the property tax assessment through the tax collector’s office. For example, if you believe your tax bill is too high because the assessed value of your property exceeds its actual value, you can submit evidence of that to the tax collector. If you win your appeal, your property tax bill will be reduced.

You can deduct property taxes from your federal income taxes.
If you itemize your deductions on your federal income tax return, you can deduct the amount of property taxes you pay, but you can’t deduct the cost of special assessments. If you pay your property taxes through an escrow account, you can deduct only the amount that actually went to the government, not the total amount you paid into the account.

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10 Easy Improvements to Make on Your Fixer Upper

There is something awesome about buying a fixer upper and doing the renovations yourself. Some people fix them up a bit at a time, using cash as they have it available. If you want to make a big impact by doing small things, here are 10 things you need to include.

1. Change Out the Lighting

Nothing says outdated like an old-fashioned gold chandelier. Lighting is something that can be updated easily and won’t cost a bunch of money. It is one of the smallest things you can do that will have the biggest impact.

2. Paint

There is an old saying that states “if a barn needs to be painted, slap some paint on it.” You will be amazed at what some paint can do to your home. A new hue can cover imperfections and give the room the blast of color it needs. Forget drab, white walls that are lackluster. Give your home a color makeover.

3. New Fixtures

Just like the lighting, the fixtures in the home become outdated quickly. Start with the kitchen faucet and then move on to the bathroom. You can update and upgrade a fixer upper by just adding these small touches.

4. Paint Cabinets/Add New Hardware

If you have new cabinets in the budget, then you should go for it. However, if your budget is limited, then you may want to try to paint them. Painting old cabinets and installing new hardware will give the kitchen a facelift. If the cabinets are old but sturdy, then you can bring them back to life. Painting is inexpensive and has a huge impact.

5. Rip Out Old Carpeting

Carpet is great when it is new; however, when it is old and dingy, it can really have a negative impact on a space. Hardwoods are the best option, followed by laminate floors. However, if you are stretched for money, you may try a bag floor or a penny style one. There are creative options online that allow you to do great things with your floors for less.

6. Add Curb Appeal

The curb appeal of the home is everything. It does not matter how great the inside looks if the outside is in shambles. Clean up any dead plants and add some new. Be sure to pick flowers and shrubs that bloom at different times. This will allow you to have color year-round. Add some shutters and a fresh coat of paint to the porch. Use decorative numbers to display the address. Finally, replace the mailbox if necessary.

7. Repaint Ceilings

Ceilings are often overlooked. They are usually white and the color is reserved for the walls. However, people do not realize how dirty these ceilings can be. A fresh coat of paint on the ceiling can really enhance the whole room. The walls are not the only thing that needs to be painted.

8. Upgrade the Exterior Façade

The biggest impact you can have on the outside of a home is to replace or paint siding. If you have it in the budget, you can add brick and stone accents. Most fixer upper homes have chipping paint and worn out siding. Splurge for some nice siding or paint a great color to update the home’s look.

9. Replace the Windows

New windows are expensive, but they are important. If you have old windows in your home, you need to spend the money to upgrade them. Windows are great for keeping the elements at bay. You will save yourself money in the long run by sealing off old-drafty openings.

10. Update the Heating and Cooling Unit

To help the process of heating and cooling a home, you need to make sure the home has an updated HVAC unit. The air filters are just as important as the unit. Filters with a rating of Merv 11, have "astro pleating" to help ensure no dirt or dust gets into your system. Extend the livelihood of your unit by selecting quality air filters.

By Cary Teller  http://blog.rismedia.com/2017/fixer-upper-improvements/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eNews

Now You Can Own Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s Santa Barbara Villa

Do you want to live with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi? Well you can’t, but you can live in their old villa. That is, if you have a spare $45 million roosting in the bank—the posh Santa Barbara pad just hit the market. Known simply as "the villa," the estate boasts a lap pool, sunken tennis courts, a super-fancy indoor-outdoor entertaining pavilion for all of your fabulous future parties, and incredible views of the ocean, harbor, and mountains.

Originally built in the 1930s, the two-story, 10,500-square-foot spot was created by famed architect Wallace Frost who modeled the home after a traditional 17th-century Italian villa. The 6-bedroom, 8-bathroom space was featured in Ellen's 2015 book "Home."

The comedian/author/talk show host and her Australian actress of a wife bought the place in 2012, gobbling up the properties on either side to make the villa the expansive estate that it is today.

Listed for: $45 million
Listed by: Suzanne Perkins, Sotheby's International Realty

Photos courtesy of http://thevillasb.com.

by Zoe Eisenberg  http://blog.rismedia.com/2017/ellen-portias-santa-barbara-villa/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eNews

In Like a Lion: Spring Gets Roaring Start With High Values, Low Supply

The spring home-buying season is off to a roaring start, with home values up 7 percent and supply down 3 percent year-over-year, according to Zillow’s Real Estate Market Reports for February. Competition is expected to be fierce as homebuyers chase down few listings, says Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell.

“Low inventory, strong demand and tough competition will be the defining characteristics of this year’s home shopping season,” Gudell says. “Even though interest rates are rising, buyers are eager to start their home search.”

High values and low supply are especially pronounced in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., where values are up 7.1 percent year-over-year and supply is down 18 percent; Cincinnati, Ohio, where values are up 6.4 percent and supply is down 14.9 percent; and Detroit, Mich., where values are up 10 percent and supply is down 14.4 percent. The median home value in Minneapolis-St. Paul ($239,700) is above the national median, $195,700, while the median home values in Cincinnati ($150,500) and Detroit ($137,500) are below it.

The highest home value appreciation occurred in Tampa, Fla., Seattle, Wash., and Dallas-Fort Worth Texas, where values rose more than 11 percent year-over-year—above the national appreciation, 6.9 percent.

“If you’re a prospective buyer about to enter the market, keep in mind that it’s rare to get the first home you make an offer on, and homes in particularly hot markets frequently sell for over asking price,” says Gudell. “Buyers should give themselves enough time to get their finances in order and find a real estate agent they know and trust before jumping into the market.”

For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.

Mortgage Rates Retreat Slightly This Week

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased slightly, following two months of steady rises.

"The 10-year Treasury yield fell about 10 basis points this week,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate moved with Treasury yields and dropped 7 basis points to 4.23 percent. This marks the greatest week-over-week decline for the 30-year mortgage rate in over two months, a stark contrast from last week's jump following the FOMC announcement."

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending March 23:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.23 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 4.30 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.71 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.44 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 3.50 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.96 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.24 percent, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from a 3.28 percent average last week. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.89 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

Could Rising Rates Be Good for Housing?

The Federal Reserve is finally taking more action to raise its short-term rates. Last week, it voted to raise the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points. That is expected to add pressure to mortgage rates, too. Many housing analysts fear that rising mortgage rates could further impact home affordability and lead home buyers to pause.

Read more: Rising Rates, Rising Sales

However, Rick Sharga, executive vice president of Ten-X and former senior vice president at RealtyTrac, disagrees. He thinks the rise in mortgage rates could prove to be a good thing for the housing market.

He argues that it will cause buyers to get off the fence faster and move into the market sooner, before rates go any higher. He expects that to help increase home sales in 2017, too.

Sharga also believes that higher rates will cause lenders to loosen some of the tight underwriting standards that have plagued the housing market the last few years and that has prevented many would-be borrowers from moving forward.

“This will happen partly just due to higher mortgage interest rates, which will provide a bit of a cushion for lenders to take on a little more risk,” Sharga writes in a recent column. “And higher rates will also drastically reduce the number of refinance loans being issued, which lenders will try to offset by doing more purchase loans.”

Also, Sharga doesn’t discount that the Fed’s 25 basis point hike may not actually have that big an impact on mortgage rates. “The 25 basis point hike was well within the range that most industry analysts had expected, which means it’s possible that today’s hike won’t cause mortgage rates to rise significantly from current levels, which are already the highest they’ve been in years,” Sharga notes.

Source: “Why Rising Federal Funds Rate Might Be Good for the Housing Market,” HousingWire (March 16, 2017)

Go 3D With Your Wall Designs

Photo credit: WallArt, mywallart.com

Add a third-dimension to your walls: 3D wall panels can offer a unique, eye-catching look.

One company called WallArt offers chic, environmentally friendly wall coverings. The three-dimensional effect can help add the “wow” factor to a room, whether styled as ultra-modern or country chic. You can choose from several geometric designs, like minimalist Tetris or more characterful Bricks. An added bonus with these 3D wall panels: The coverings are washable.

The 3-D wall panels can be painted to suit any color scheme in a home too. For example, go more trendy by painting the 3D wall panels in shades of green, such as lime or emerald, while the rest of the room is in more muted shades, like pale grey, blush pink, white, or beige. Metallic tones–like in silver, gold, or bronze–can also be used to add more drama for a feature wall.

Take a look at some of these examples from WallArt.

Photo credit: WallArt, mywallart.com

Photo credit: WallArt, mywallart.com

Photo credit: WallArt, mywallart.com

Photo credit: WallArt, mywallart.com

Posted in Home Trends, by Melissa Tracey on March 13, 2017http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2017/03/13/go-3d-with-your-wall-designs/

Green Your Space: 5 Tips for a Healthy Home

Every homeowner wants a healthy home for his or her family and pets. Making the right choices in your house isn't always easy though. Keep reading to learn more about how you can create a healthy space and enjoy your home even more. These five tips should put you on the path.

Update Your Insulation

Individuals and families in older homes should consider the fact that they may have unhealthy types of insulation in the walls keeping them comfortable. If you're not sure about your insulation, have the pros check it out first. In the case of asbestos or any other hazardous material, you don't want to be digging around in the walls on your own.

Asbestos and hazardous insulation remediation can be a big job, but for a homeowner, it should be a top priority in terms of a healthy home. Updating your insulation will also be a major plus when and if you go to sell your home.

Get a Mold Check

Most homeowners never think about mold until they get an inspection related to selling their home. For others, mold isn't even a consideration until damage to the home occurs and a mold issue more or less reveals itself. Getting a mold check for your home can help your family breathe easier in the house. While most recently built homes won't have mold, getting a check isn't going to hurt you.

Pick the Right Paint

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), paint, wood stain and other varieties of coatings account for about nine percent of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions in the country every year. For a healthy home, look for low-VOC paint. They are water-based, low or no odor and non-toxic. While it can be hard to identify low-VOC paint on store shelves, online searches and on-can labeling should make it easy to find this type of paint if you're looking for it.

Take Your Shoes Off

Taking your shoes off every single time you come in your home might be a hard habit to get into, but for many people, it can lead to a healthier home environment. Your home might also require a little less cleaning, which is an added benefit. If you have a mudroom or a large entryway, removing your shoes should be easy. Tracking less outside germs from your shoes into your home can also help keep pets and children with a tendency to spend time on the floor healthier all year round.

Add Plants to Your Décor

Fresh, live plants can beautify almost any space. Live plants do more than just make your home look a little bit nicer though. Spider plants, lilies and aloe vera can help get rid of formaldehyde in the air, and English ivy, asparagus ferns and bamboo plants can work to clean indoor air as well. Whatever plant you choose, make sure they're not toxic to your pets if they roam free around your home.

Making your home a healthier place isn't exactly as glamorous as buying new furniture or adding a room to your house. Don't take your home's health for granted and you won't have to worry as much about home-related hazards.

By Andrea Davis http://blog.rismedia.com/2017/5-tips-healthy-home/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

A Glance at Homeowners’ Equity by State

Rising home prices are boosting homeowners’ equity across the country. Nationwide, owners saw home equity rise, on average, by $13,700 during 2016, according to CoreLogic’s latest “Homeowner Equity Report.” States like Washington and Oregon saw some of the largest home-price appreciation last year, up $31,000 and $27,000, respectively.

Take a look at this map to see the average equity per owner in your state.

Of the largest metros by population, the following five areas had the highest percentage of residences with equity in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to CoreLogic’s report:

1. San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, Calif.: 99.4%
2. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas: 98.5%
3. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.: 98.5%
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.: 97%
5. Boston, Mass.: 95.3%

Read more: Homeowners Find an Equity Bright Spot

On the other hand, the following five areas had the highest percentage of residences in negative equity:

1. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla.: 16.1%
2. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.: 15.5%
3. Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Ill.: 12.6%
4. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.: 8.4%
5. New York-New Jersey-White Plains, N.Y.-N.J.: 5.1%

Source: “Homeowner Equity Report: Fourth Quarter 2016,” CoreLogic (March 2017)

Mortgage Mistakes That Jeopardize Closing

After home buyers get preapproved for a loan, they aren’t guaranteed a swift ride to closing. If they make a financial misstep, they could face a change to their mortgage terms and interest rate or even have their mortgage denied.

Here are some tips with their finances they’ll want to avoid on their road to closing:

Read more: Parents May Need a New Mortgage Perspective

Don’t move your money around.

Your buyers may have been storing their cash reserves. Warn them not to move that money out of savings and into stocks, or anywhere else for that matter. “You’d think that isn’t a big deal, but we’re counting how much money you have going into closing,” says Casey Fleming, a mortgage adviser and author of The Loan Guide: How to Get the Best Possible Mortgage. “With savings, we count that as 100 percent, but with stocks we only use 70 percent of the value because stock prices can change. So, if you have $100,000 in savings and you move that into stocks, suddenly you only have $70,000 from an underwriter’s perspective.” Lenders want to see buyers have enough for the down payment, closing costs, and at least three months of mortgage payments.

Applying for new lines of credit.

Watch how many times you apply for a new credit card or request a credit limit prior to closing. “Some credit inquiries are OK, but not all of them—and you don’t know which is which,” warns Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty. “Worse than the actual hit on your credit score is any pattern of trying to borrow more money from more companies all at once. This suggests you are not wise with your money and just out running up debt you may not be able to repay.”

Heading out on a shopping spree.

Now is not likely the best time to buy too much new furniture, new appliances, or even a new car. “Because lenders often run credit reports within hours of the scheduled closing, running up new large debt is an awful idea,” Philips says. “It can change debt ratios, change your interest rate (which may also kill your mortgage approval), and even lead to a lender deciding you have too much debt and (you are) not worth the risk anymore.” You can still put small charges on your credit cards. You aren’t required to have a zero balance to get approved. But for any big-ticket items, it may be best to wait until after closing.

Source: “5 Stupid Money Mistakes That Can Get Your Mortgage Denied,” realtor.com® (March 13, 2017)

Real Estate This Spring: The Early Bird Wins

Entering real estate’s traditionally busiest time of year, the housing market is being buoyed by a stronger economy and consumer confidence. Job creation is 30 percent stronger this year compared to a year ago, unemployment is near a 9-year low, and wages and incomes are growing at the largest levels in about eight years, notes Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist.

Read more: Get Ahead of the Spring Buying Season

Some buyers are in more of a hurry this season too. In the last two weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose by nearly a quarter of a point. The Federal Reserve also has given strong indication that it plans to raise short-term rates later this week (even though mortgage rates aren’t directly tied to short-term rates, they do tend to have an influence). Smoke predicts three to four major increases in mortgage rates this year. He expects rates to rise by from 10 to 25 basis points in one- to two-week spurts, followed by some holding patterns.

“The upside of higher rates is that it is getting easier to get a mortgage,” Smoke says. Mortgage credit access has increased 6.5 percent since September, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports.

“Arguably the biggest challenge to buyers this spring will be simply finding a home to buy and getting it successfully under contract,” Smoke says. “That’s because the supply of homes for sale is at an all-time low, and yet demand is strong and getting stronger.”

In January, the nation saw the lowest inventory of homes available for sale ever at realtor.com®. Inventory did manage a 2 percent increase in February, but it's still down 11 percent compared to last year.

With lower inventories and higher demand, homes are selling faster. Twenty-seven percent of listings sold in less than 30 days in February, according to realtor.com®’s data.

“The early birds who decided to buy in the winter faced less competition and enjoyed lower rates than we are seeing now,” Smoke says. “It gets more expensive and more competitive going forward, but the early-ish buyer, at this point, is still likely to come out on top, when you consider that prices and rates are likely to be much higher later in the year.”

Source: “Forget the Snow: Spring Has Sprung in the Nation’s Housing Markets,” realtor.com® (March 13, 2017)