Tax Preparation Blog

Title: 

Tear Your Mortgage a New One by Refinancing Your Home Loan

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683

Summary:

Do you have a mortgage with high interest rates, sizable monthly payments, and little cash to take care of bills and credit card debt? If so, you may consider the option of refinancing your home.

Keywords:

Home Loans, Refinancing, Mortgages, Refinancing Your Home Loan

Article Body:

Do you have a mortgage with high interest rates, sizable monthly payments, and little cash to take care of bills and credit card debt? If so, you may consider the option of refinancing your home. 

Refinancing involves ending your current loan agreement with your lender and getting an entirely new mortgage. One benefit of taking this step is that you have the ability to get a much better interest rate on your home loan, lower your monthly payments, and even borrow extra money in order to take care of debts or home improvements.

Lowering your interest rate can make a huge difference in how long it takes for you pay down your mortgage because with each payment you make, more of your money is going to the principal balance of the loan rather than to the interest. Paying thousands of dollars in interest can make a homeowner feel like they are spinning their wheels; getting no closer to actually owning their home outright. 

Be sure to do research before jumping into the world of refinancing. You need to speak to an advisor who can tell you about current interest rates and forecasted trends. You will also need to decide once again if a variable rate or fixed rate mortgage would be more appropriate to your situation. Fixed rate mortgages can give you peace of mind, in that you know every month what the payments will be. With variable rates, you are vulnerable to the financial tides, which can be very anxiety inducing. On the other hand, variable rate loans can often mean lower payments than fixed rate ones provide. You have to decide how much of a risk you want to take in order to save as much money as possible. 

Lower monthly payments can be achieved if you alter the length of time you have to pay back the mortgage. This aspect is something that you have to weigh carefully. If you want smaller payments, then you will need to extend the length of the loan, meaning that you will have this debt over your head for a lot longer. However, if lower monthly payments will make your life easier, it may well be worth dragging out the loan.

Alternatively, you can also shorten the loan period when you refinance your home. If interest rates are favorable at the time, you may not even increase your monthly payments, but will save a great deal of money that would otherwise be applied to interest over the course of your loan. 

Not only can refinancing make your mortgage conditions more favorable in the long run, but it also enables you to borrow over and above the amount needed to repay your current mortgage. This money can be used to pay off debts, home repairs, or any number of emergencies that can happen in life. This money is simply added to the amount you owe. 

There are a couple of disadvantages to refinancing your home loan to be aware of. One is the fact that your original lender may charge you a penalty for paying off your mortgage early. Also, because you are starting a new mortgage from scratch, you will have to pay fees to the new lending company. Each lender is different in terms of what you will be charged for the privelege of borrowing money, so it is wise to shop around. Because there are so many costs involved, most people simply include the lender's fees and closing costs into the amount of their new mortgage. This is a great choice for homeowners who are strapped for cash at the time. 

Refinancing your home loan can have many advantages to it, and can improve your quality of life by reducing the amount of money you pour out each month on interest and monthly payments. You can also get your hands on extra money to take care of immediate financial concerns, which can be a great stress reliever and save you money in the long run. Just remember to take all lender's fees, penalties, and interest rates into consideration before jumping into anything.

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Tax Time Tips For Rental Property Investors

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448

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While owning a rental property can be a terrific way to bring in income, those extra dollars can make things complicated when it comes to preparing a tax return.

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While owning a rental property can be a terrific way to bring in income, those extra dollars can make things complicated when it comes to preparing a tax return.

Fortunately for the 15 million people who own rental properties in the U.S., there are ways to make tax season a little more manageable:

 Store your receipts, bills and statements during the year. This will make it much easier to locate and organize them at tax time. Create an envelope or folder for each property, and put all of your receipts in there during the year. Do the same for regular bills such as the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities, etc.

 Keep good rental payment records. You probably get a lot of checks-and even cash-from your tenants during the year. It can be really hard to figure out at tax time if you don't stay organized during the year.

 Know what property each check comes from. You can record this with your bank deposits in your checkbook or a spreadsheet or rental property software.

 Use rental property software like Quicken Rental Property Manager 2.0, designed for people who own up to 10 properties and 25 total units. It makes it easier to file taxes and manage rental property income and expenses. This can help eliminate hours at the end of the year preparing for that Schedule E. Using the software, you can simply print the tax report and transfer the data to the form, give it to your accountant, or export data directly to tax preparation software like TurboTax.

 Separate security deposits from rent payments. Security deposits are not considered income if you intend to return them to the tenant, so make sure these deposits are separated from rent payments.

 Flag expense receipts. Some expenses are hard to classify properly for the IRS. When you replace the faucet in the bathroom, is that considered a repair or a capital improvement? It makes a big difference to Uncle Sam because 100 percent of repairs can be deducted this year, but capital improvements must be deducted over time. When you're not sure, flag those receipts so you can later discuss them with your accountant. Keep them in a separate place or flag them in your expense journal.

 Lastly, don't forget the mileage deduction. You probably rack up a lot of miles driving to and from your properties and those trips to the hardware store. It can be tedious to keep track of the mileage, but it really pays off since the IRS allows you to deduct about 45 cents/mile. To make it easier, use an Internet map ser-vice such as MapQuest to look up the mileage for common trips-like between your home and each property.

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Tax Liens and Distress Sales - Opportunities for Real Estate Investing

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642

Summary:

Sales of properties by tax-distressed owners can be quite a steal. Starting Up Your Own Real Estate Investing Business

Keywords:

Tax liens, distress sales, real estate investment, buying properties, real estate, property management, good investment strategies, expert real estate investment

Article Body:

With the current real estate hiccup going on the U.S., more and more people are losing their homes because they failed to pay their home mortgages. But what happens to the homes is something few people think about. This can be a very good real estate investing opportunity for the shrewd, and one can quickly earn profits in a very short amount of time.

How To Earn Through Tax Liens

If a homeowner has defaulted on his payment, then the mortgaging bank will start the pre-foreclosure process. A tax lien will then be issued for the property, so that the right to retain the property can be gained. You can do real estate investing in tax liens for a certain property that has been issued a lien and put out for an auction sale. The way you can earn profit from this is that the state will pay fixed interest on a tax lien and there are others that will start the bidding price at auctions in the amount of the lien. 

If the tax lien is unpaid during the duration of the redemption period, then all other mortgages and liabilities on the house are extinguished, and the title to the property will be cleared. The investor will now own his or her new property with a clean title. If the owner can pay the liability on his property however, the investor can still earn through interest earned on the lien. Real estate investing in this manner can lead to profits both ways.

Real Estate Investing Through Auctions

Sales of properties by tax-distressed owners can be quite a steal. However, you'll need to find out if your real estate investing opportunity is going to be worth it. Check the property location beforehand, because you might be buying something worthless, like purchasing a piece of land that is routinely flooded. If you are able to acquire and own a piece of land legally, you can participate in property auctions as well. But, you'll have to have ready cash on hand or in easy access, because auction sites will typically require that those who win the bidding on their chosen properties to pay a down payment or the full amount in a short span of time, if not cash up front. This is one of those investments not for those without capital.

Starting Up Your Own Real Estate Investing Business

You can always start up your own business in the real estate investing industry. Given that you have enough capital, and you have enough knowledge on the state rules on tax liens in your area, you can start investing in property tax liens immediately. One of the most important things to do when doing business in this nature is to check the property liens that you'll be buying. Physical inspection is needed, but since it can be so time consuming, limit your searches to somewhere you can drive to. A real estate investing business will also require that you have adequate knowledge of the legal processes involved, since tax-distressed sales by homeowners will involve banks and other institutions, most notably the government. You can earn high profits with just a few pieces of properties sold, but you can also spread the profit out and sell properties for a smaller markup, provided that the turnover for those profits will be faster so you can move on to other properties for sale.

A distress sale is a great opportunity for investment, but one should always be careful since at auctions you won't know if the property you're buying is a good buy, and not a lemon. You should also check if the owner of the property is not on the verge of bankruptcy, because the IRS can override your lien and take first priority as well as your real estate investing opportunity away from you.

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Tips For Preparing Your Taxes from the Internet

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283

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When it comes to preparing our taxes, many of us could use some help. The following websites offer guidance and information that may assist you in learning about how to get the most out of filing your returns.

keywords: 

#obamacare_and_taxes, #health_insurance_tax, #taxes_obama_care, #opt_out-taxes, #work_at_home, #offer_in_compromise, #Reduce_Taxes, #Tax_Refunds, #Pay_Taxes, #Tax_Help, #Bookkeeping, #DFW_Bookkeeping, #Investing, #tax_bookkeeping, #DFW, #Texas, #North_Texas, #Filing_Taxes, #1099, #W-2, #W-4, #W-9, #Arlington_Tax_Preparation, #Tax_Preparation, #Tx_Tax_prep, #Texas_Tax_Preparation, #Arlington_Tax_Prep, #Arlington_TX, #Tax_Prep, #DFW_Tax_Prep, #Tax_Filing, #Taxes

Article Body:

When it comes to preparing our taxes, many of us could use some help. The following websites offer guidance and information that may assist you in learning about how to get the most out of filing your returns.

Tax Master DFW

TaxMasterDFW.com

Fairmark.com

www.fairmark.com

Recommended by Forbes.com, Fairmark.com sia tax site dedicated to helping investors file their taxes correctly, offering a Tax Help Center and guidance when dealing with Roth IRAs, capital gains, and financing for college.

IRS.com

www.irs.com

Although not affiliated with IRS.gov, this site suggests online tax programs you can use for filing your return; info about extensions, deductions, and refunds; and Hot Topics, such as Tax Scams.

MSN Money

moneycentral.msn.com/tax/home.asp

MSN Money's Tax Estimator helps you prepare to file this year's taxes with information about tax law changes. A tax terms glossary helps you decide what forms you need to file, and tax attorney Jeff Schnepper answers questions you post in the Tax Corner message board.

TaxSites.com

www.taxsites.com

A directory of tax and accounting websites, TaxSites.com provides links for state tax agencies, legal information, organizations, and government sites for each state.

United States Tax Court

www.ustaxcourt.gov

The U.S. Tax Court lets you dispute tax-related offenses. This site describes the process the court uses, presents FAQs about what's involved when a case goes to tax court, and gives contact information for court offices and judges.

Yahoo! Taxes

taxes.yahoo.com

The giant search engine's Taxes page includes Tax Tips, a Tax Guide For Investors, Tax Education, and resources that can help users find an accountant or talk with others on the Yahoo! message board.

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Help with taxes - The Process of Conveyance with FSBO Properties

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330

Summary:

If you have chosen to sell your home yourself, or purchase a home via FSBO, then conveyance is a process that you might want to educate yourself on. Conveyance is the actual process whereby a home is transferred from the old owner to the new owner. By the process of conveyance, the buyer of the home will eventually, after the contracts are complete; have clear and authentic title to the property in question.

keywords: 

#obamacare_and_taxes, #health_insurance_tax, #taxes_obama_care, #opt_out-taxes, #work_at_home, #offer_in_compromise, #Reduce_Taxes, #Tax_Refunds, #Pay_Taxes, #Tax_Help, #Bookkeeping, #DFW_Bookkeeping, #Investing, #tax_bookkeeping, #DFW, #Texas, #North_Texas, #Filing_Taxes, #1099, #W-2, #W-4, #W-9, #Arlington_Tax_Preparation, #Tax_Preparation, #Tx_Tax_prep, #Texas_Tax_Preparation, #Arlington_Tax_Prep, #Arlington_TX, #Tax_Prep, #DFW_Tax_Prep, #Tax_Filing, #Taxes

Article Body:

If you have chosen to sell your home yourself, or purchase a home via FSBO, then conveyance is a process that you might want to educate yourself on. Conveyance is the actual process whereby a home is transferred from the old owner to the new owner. By the process of conveyance, the buyer of the home will eventually, after the contracts are complete; have clear and authentic title to the property in question. This is a process that under normal circumstances is seen to by the involved realtors and a number of attorneys and other legal professionals, including the mortgage lender. 

While the actual act of conveyance has different elements depending on the State that the property is in, the basics of the process is much the same. At this time it is usually the representatives of both the buyer, seller and mortgage company that meet to exchange the deeds to the property. Of course, in a FSBO situation, this could very well be done by the actual buyer and seller. However, the deeds to the property are only the beginning of the documentation that must be dealt with during the conveyance. Other critical matters such as title insurance, promissory notes, pro rata property taxes and any other legal or financial documents concerning the sale of the home must be dealt with by the appropriate parties. 

With an FSBO sale, its a good idea to get some help in these matters if you have never dealt with them before as they have a definite bearing on the outcome of the sale. A lot of the time, the mortgage company can offer you assistance or refer you to people who can assist with the paperwork. This is especially true if you are working with a mortgage company that specializes in FSBO funding. The legal implications of errors in this process are worth the time and effort needed to ensure that every step of the process is seen to with exacting detail.