***How can a Realtor write off a car? Is that even possible?*** Car Deductions: The single most claimed tax deduction for all small businesses is car and truck expenses. The cost of all driving you do for your real estate business, with the important exception of commuting to and from your home to work, is tax deductible. Similarly, it is…
While Americans may be rusty after the social drought caused by the pandemic, they are beginning to host gatherings again, celebrating the end of a very long year-plus of staying away from one another. Entertaining at home will always be special. After all, with all the remodeling so many of us have been doing since the pandemic began, perhaps it’s…
While no one has a crystal ball, Realtor.com’s Senior Economist George Ratiu recently talked about changes in the economy as it applies to the real estate markets, starting with jobless claims. He also mentions how the mortgage rate decline boosted sales of existing homes and may even increase the number of homes for sale this summer, with information based on…
Drought is a word strikes terror in the hearts of many an American living in the western U.S. these days, no matter why it’s happening. So how do you prepare your home for a continued drought where your risk is high? Redfin’s Lexi Klinkenberg says to help you get started, assess your water needs and come up with a plan…
You prepare yourself for it your entire life. You save the money, establish the credit until your score looks admirable and watch HGTV until you’re blue in the face. And then — wham! Now you’re ready to become a homeowner and can’t find anything to buy. According to Realtor Magazine, a record number of millennials wanted to buy homes in…
It was back in 1966 when the Houston Astrodome installed the first artificial turf in an athletic field, and the word “astroturf” was heard. As much as you think of all fake grass products bearing that name, however, that was a brand name — like Kleenex or Coke became synonymous with their genres. The use of artificial grass today has…
It seems bathrooms have agendas. Well, at least that’s what a report on home buyer preferences has to say in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recent report based on more than 3,200 responses when rating 18 bathroom features. Eye on Housing’s Paul Emrath reports, “Results show that bathrooms, especially the home’s primary (once known as the master) bath…
Keeping your home cool, or “heat-proofing” it, is a task best done now — when the summer heat may not yet be at full steam, so to speak. Scorching temperatures and rising humidity can wreak havoc on a home, both inside and out, while strong UV rays can damage everything from outdoor paneling, paint, and roofing to indoor walls, carpet,…
Multi-family landlords, who have been sweating the end of the impending forbearance (delayed payment) period resulting from the pandemic economy, have been extended some relief for the next few months after learning that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has extended their options through the end of September. According to HousingWire’s Georgia Kromrei, the regulator also extended protections for tenants…
“Cash is king” may sound lovely to home sellers, but buyers with stars in their eyes over snapping up a hunk of the American Dream right now are not happy. Frustrated homebuyers ready, willing, and able to make your house a home for themselves in small-town America (where bigger city folk are moving to in greater numbers) are increasingly losing…