Selling a Home: Tax Deductions

selling a home

When it comes to selling a home, you’ll want to make as much profit as you can. It’s crucial that you understand what tax deductions you can take because there are a lot of expenses that can lower your profits, and you’ll want to recoup them wherever you can. With that in mind, the following are some tax deductions that may be available when selling a home:

  • Home improvement/repairs costs: If you spent money on home renovations to make your home more appealing, then you can write those costs off. An example would be painting the house or fixing an appliance before listing your property.
  • Moving expenses: If you’re an active military member, then you can write off your moving expenses as well. This can include the cost of hiring a professional moving service or the cost of moving long-distance (such as travel costs).
  • Property taxes: Don’t forget you can write off your property taxes up to $10,000 for the last year before selling your house.
  • Selling costs: Certain expenses involved in the home selling process can be deducted:
    • Advertising costs
    • Escrow fees
    • Home staging expenses
    • Legal fees
    • Real estate agent fees
    • …and more. However, this only applies to the sale of your primary home and not investment properties.

These are a few things you may be able to deduct from your taxes when you sell your home. Keep in mind that if you’re selling a home that you lived in for 2 out of the last five years, you likely qualify for the capital gains exclusion as well, which means you can save a significant amount on capital gains taxes.

For more home selling tips, contact us at Randy Lindsay today.

Spring Home Selling Checklist

home selling checklist

Spring is one of the best times to sell a house! In fact, most real estate agents agree spring and summer are the peak home-selling seasons. With that in mind, use these 5 tips to prepare your home to sell this season:

  1. Clean your home interior – Do a little spring cleaning. Ensure all clutter is removed. A dirty, messy house won’t affect the property value, but buyers will be distracted from the positive features your home has to offer. Clutter and messiness will not leave a good impression on potential buyers.
  2. Consider new paint – If the winter did a number on your exterior siding, consider repainting your home. You might want to repaint interior walls and cabinets as well if they are beginning to look their age or have an outdated look.
  3. Make repairs – Have a thorough inspection done on your home to identify what needs repair. Even minor fixes, such as making sure the railing leading to your entrance isn’t wobbly, are important. Unless you have a “fixer-upper” listing to sell, major repairs will have to be addressed or buyers won’t be interested.
  4. Stage your home – Even if you haven’t moved out, stage your home. Consider adding spring décor and always have plenty of light to make your home more inviting to potential buyers.
  5. Tidy your yard – Winter can leave your yard looking a little dry and shabby. In addition to clearing your yard of all debris, trim bushes and trees. You might want to plant flowers during this time to add a bit of color to your property. This can boost curb appeal.

Use these 5 tips to prepare your home in order to sell it this spring. For additional advice on selling your home this spring, contact Randy Lindsay today.

Fall One-Act Festival at Winthrop University

If you’re thinking about buying a home near Winthrop University and have an interest in the arts, then you’ll be happy to know that you’ll have access to the seasonal productions of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, which is known for putting on a student-directed one-act play every semester.

buying a home near winthrop universityThe Fall One-Act Festival

The Fall One-Act Festival will be directed by Sarah Provencal. It will run for a limited time. You’ll be able to catch it on 8:00 PM on Friday, November 20th or Saturday, November 21st as well as on 2:00 PM on Saturday, November 21st or Sunday, November 22nd. The one-act play will be put on at The Studio Theatre and tickets will be $15 to the general public or $8 with a student I.D. The festival will include a variety of one-act plays put on by advanced theater students that may contain mature content and language.

Other Fall Performances

In addition to checking out the Fall One-Act Festival, we recommend checking out some of the other performances being put on by the College of Visual and Performing Arts, including The 39 Steps, which will run from October 28th through November 1st at The Studio Theatre. Although the play is adapted from the novel by John Buchan, you may be more familiar of the story from the Alfred Hitchcock film adaptation. You may also want to attend the Winthrop Dance Theatre Concert directed by Meg Schriffen, which will take place at the Johnson Theatre from November 12th through November 15th.

Buying a home near Winthrop University means that you can attend the Fall One-Act Festival as well as some of the other performances held by Winthrop University. For more information about buying a home in this area, be sure to contact Randy Lindsay today.

Fun Things to Do This Fall in Charlotte

Fun Things to Do This Fall in Charlotte

shutterstock_168578285The leaves on the trees are going to be turning into vibrant colors soon before dropping off of their limbs, which means that fall is finally upon us. Now that the summer heat has begun to disappear, you can look forward to some of the events in Charlotte that are taking place throughout fall – especially before the colder days of winter hit. The following are a few of the upcoming events in Charlotte that are highly recommend you go see:

  • Festival in the Park – The 51st annual Festival in the Park will be held from September 25th to September 27th in Freedom Park. This family-friendly event is expected to attract as many as 100,000 people this year. You’ll be able to check out over 150 artists and crafts people displaying and demonstrating their art. There will also be live music, magic acts, clown acts, food and more.
  • Charlotte Beerfest – If you consider yourself a beer enthusiast – or simply enjoy a good beer now and again – then be sure to check out the Charlotte Beerfest on September 19th at the BB&T Ballpark. You can expect to sample over a hundred local craft beers as well as beers from both national and international breweries. You’ll also be able to enjoy live music by the Gin Blossoms while you sip your beer.
  • Carolina Renaissance Festival – Beginning on the weekend of October 4th, the popular Carolina Renaissance Festival will run for eight straight weekends. The festival boasts 12 stages on which dance, music, comedy and other forms of entertainment will be performed. Additionally, there are also tons of games to play and rides to enjoy.

Check out some of these exciting fall events in Charlotte and be sure to contact us at Randy Lindsay for more information about the Charlotte area.

Watch for Problems Your Inspectors Might Miss

Getting a professional home inspection is an important step in buying a new home – you want to make sure that there are no problems that will cost you more money after you’ve bought the house, after all. However, even though professional home inspectors are quite thorough, they can’t identify potential problems that are hidden behind the walls, inside sewer lines or between floor joists. The following are a few problems you should look for that might be hidden:

  • HVAC system – There usually isn’t enough time for a home inspector to be able to adequately test the HVAC system during the inspection process. To have it fully tested, have it inspected by an HVAC specialist.
     
  • Water damage – If the house hasn’t been used for a while, then water damage caused by leaks may have dried up. Some water damage may have even been covered up by new paint.
     
  • Damaged sewer lines – An inspector can estimate the age of your drain pipe but not the condition of the sewer lines. If the house is over 20 years old, consider paying for a sewer scope.

Look for these problems and contact Randy Lindsay for a real estate agent in Fort Mill, SC.

How to Decide if You Should Buy a House for Your Winthrop University Student

Buying a home for your student when they go off to college can be a really smart idea. It’s something that many parents will do in order to save money over the long run. There are definitely a few things you’ll want to think about if you’re thinking about buying a home new Winthrop University

First of all, renting can be pretty expensive over the course of four years (or longer!). The amount of money that you end up putting into your student’s rent could be put towards the down payment of a house. As far as the mortgage payments go, you can rent out the other rooms of the house to friends of your student. This should be able to cover the monthly mortgage payments. In fact, you may be able to get away with charging enough for rent to cover a few other costs, such as maintenance costs, property tax and homeowners insurance costs. Once your student graduates and moves out, you could continue renting out the house until the value has appreciated enough to be worth selling.

Consider buying a home near Winthrop University for your student and contact us at Randy Lindsay for real estate advice.

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Randy has enjoyed over 31 wonderful years in the Real Estate industry making dreams come true for homeowners.

Superior customer service is #1 to Randy and he provides this to all of his clients using knowledge, professionalism, integrity and persistence.

Randy is a successful and experienced real estate agent who expertly represents both buyers and sellers. Scores of Charlotte area residents have trusted Randy in the process of listing their homes to sell.

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