Here’s the list:

1. In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.
2. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).
3. You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.
4. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.
5. If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.
6. You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.
7. Worksheets are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude.
8. If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time.
9. If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year’s tax return.
10. When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.

I hope these tips can help make you life a little easier when taxes come due.  For help selling your home and everything that comes along with it, give me a call @ 979.255.1839.

Clay Lee – Realtor

Century 21 Beal, Inc.

According to CNN Money, some housing experts say that if the administration is interested in the future, it should help speed up the foreclosure process to get the delinquent borrowers out and to get the foreclosed homes on the market and back into use.

Some of the July ’11 numbers on delinquency are staggering:

• 2.2 million loans in foreclosure
• 37% behind more than 2 years
• 34% behind more than 1 year, less than 2 years
• 71% total behind more than 1 year

Clay Lee – Realtor

Century 21 Beal, Inc.

(979) 255-1839

www.ClayLee.com

clay@century21bcs.com

Timeless Service, Quality, and Experience Guaranteed

You imagine yourself relaxing by the pool with a cold drink in your hand without a care in the world.

What you imagine might look a little like this:

Or like this:

This hidden oasis is located at 5121 Congressional in Pebble Creek.  Just listed earlier this month, this beautiful home has it all!  Not only does it have one of the best, if not best, pools in all of the Brazos Valley, it is just as great on the inside.  Featuring cathedral ceilings in the living room, top of the line amenities in the kitchen, luxurious finishes in the Master Suite, you have to view it in person to appreciate all the details.

Find out more at ClayRealtor.com, or give me a call at 979.255.1839 to schedule a private showing.

Clay Lee – Realtor

Century 21 Beal, Inc.

Are there keys inside?

Young couples are in need of lots of items when starting their new partnership.  What is one of the most important things they need?  A roof over their head!  Couples can start off on the right foot towards homeownership by establishing a FHA Bridal Registry account.  The program, started in 1996, has been recently changed to make it easier for newlyweds to put their wedding gifts towards a home purchase.  You can apply these funds towards a down payment on a FHA loan, and even earn interest before you make the purchase!

How to get started:

• Visit your choice of FHA lender and set up a savings account for the down payment
• Give your friends and family the banking info on where their gifts can be deposited
• You can even put gifts received by Uncle Joe who didn’t want to bother with the bank in the registry account
• All of the funds can be used towards a FHA down payment
• You don’t even have to tie the knot before you can close on your new home with this program!

The biggest advantage of this program is that you do not have to follow the typical rules and regulations regarding gifts that are applied to a home purchase.  The program allows the funds to be used with simple documentation, no more than a letter from the lender verifying that the funds were gifts from friends and family with no business interest in you purchasing a home.  That is the only kicker; builders, Realtors, and any other party that could benefit from the sale are not allowed to give to the account.

This underutilized program could help that soon to be wed couple make their first home purchase even before they walk down the aisle.  Share it with friends and family that could put it to use!

For help finding that perfect first home in the Brazos Valley, give me a call @ 979.255.1839!

Clay Lee – Realtor

Century 21 Beal, Inc.

This important vote to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illustrates great progress among Real Estate professionals.

Clay Lee – Realtor 

Century 21 Beal, Inc.

(979) 255-1839

clay@century21bcs.com

Timeless Service, Quality, and Experience Guaranteed

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Home Equity and PMI

PMI has been a large money-maker for the mortgage lenders. The amount of the insurance (usually $40/month for a $100k home) is commonly rolled into the mortgage payment. Given the size of the overall note payment, this additional fee is often overlooked. Homeowners continue to pay the PMI even after their loan balance has dropped below the original 80% threshold. This occurs naturally, of course, as the home owner pays down the principal on the loan. On a typical 30-year loan, however, it can take many years to reach that point.

Lenders were under no obligation to tell home owners when they had reached a point where the PMI can be dropped. That all changed back in 1999 when the Homeowners Protection Act took effect. In most cases, this law now obligates lenders to terminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78% of the original loan amount. Savvy homeowners can get off the hook a little sooner. Upon request of the owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal balance amount reaches 80%.

Here are the disclaimers: this only works for homes purchased after 1999 and wwners must be current on their loan payments. For buyers prior to 1999, they must initiate the process to have it removed. Lenders are under no obligation to remove it, but most will.

There is another way that your home equity can reach beyond the 80/20% ration. Raise your hand if you know the answer…actually leave your ideas below in our comments section.

Here’s tricking you,

Cindy Seaton, REALTOR

As the football season gets underway, everyone is reminded just how hectic game day traffic can get. Parking can be a nightmare, and, if you are hungry, you had better get your fair share of hot dogs during the tailgate party because getting seated in a restaurant after the game lets out is an extremely time consuming endeavor. Is there any way to come and enjoy a day of Aggie Football at Kyle Field without having to conquer the gauntlet that is post-game traffic? The answer is, simply: Yes. Crowley Homes is currently in the process of custom remodeling a beautiful home in the Historic District of College Station, which is within walking distance of Kyle Field and The Texas A&M Campus. The flexible floor plan, which includes 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and an extra deep 2-car garage with tons of storage, is 3,500+ square feet. The wide open rooms and 3 enormous covered patio areas make this the perfect place to entertain guests. Also, the formal dining room has French doors that can be closed off to create a library or study using the large dining in the great room instead. Top of the line amenities through out the house include hardwood floors, custom molding, state of the art audio/video wiring, and appliances by Sub-Zero and Wolf. Upstairs features a gameroom and 2 guest suites complete with walk-in closets and en-suite baths. There is even a large storage room that could be finished as a home theatre. While this house is not move-in ready now, it will be by next season and, being just a short walk from Kyle Field, won’t stay on the market for long. So next season, instead of sitting in long lines of traffic and fighting for a seat at a restaurant after the game lets out, enjoy a short walk home and a cookout in your own backyard. There is not better way to spend a Saturday.

If you have any question, feel free to contact me anytime at rclaylee@yahoo.com or 979-255-1839

Clay Lee

College Station’s #1 Luxury Lifestyle & Real Estate Expert for over a Decade!

The building is truly a new study in the way that high rise buildings are built. Not just the movement mechanism, but the actual construction methods are very different. Much of the building will be built off site by a team of 600 technicians creating modular parts that will be put together on site! A team of 80 technicians will consturct the building on site which is planned for a 2010 completion. This is a far cry from the normal 2000 people it normally takes to construct a large sky scraper of this size!

Check out www.DyanmicArchitecture.net to read all about this companies imaginative ideas and to reserve your new apartment in the sky! Be prepared, units start at $3,000 per square foot. That is ruffly $4 million to $40 million per unit! I want to the listing agent on those units! However, I don’t want to live in Dubai!

As always, for more information on Luxury Real Estate and Living the Luxury Lifestyle, feel free to contact me at rclaylee@yahoo.com.

Clay Lee

College Stations #1 Luxury Lifestyle and Real Estate Expert for over a decade!

But going home doesn’t have to be the end of your stay at your favorite hotel! Due to an enormous amount of client demand, many of the 5 and 4 star hotels are now selling almost everything you need to recreate your hotel experience at home. If you had to pull all the materials together yourself, it would take extensive travel and weeks of internet searching to find all the bedding, accessories, towels, and plumbing products. Now with just a simple phone call you can have almost everything you see!

For example, W Hotels has a retail store in most every hotel and a magazine in most of their hotel rooms that sell most of the accessories and the linens. They even sell the special BLISS SPA soaps you use in all of their bathrooms. The Ritz Carlton does a similar set up, but even includes an option to purchase the same mattress you slept on. I think Westin Hotels have the best program. You can buy the complete “Heavenly Bed” you slept in, the “Heavenly Bath” shower head from the bathroom, the towels, the robe, and more! Even the smaller boutique hotels are getting in on the action.

Next time you stay in a hotel that you just love, ask the concierge how to purchase the items from your room. I almost forgot the most important part. These companies even sell these items at LESS than you would pay if you had to go out and find all of these items on your own!

Some travelers like to take this one step further and literally buy a piece of real estate designed by their favorite hotel. The luxury hotel chains are all doing it in places all over the world. It goes from basic hotel rooms, to suites, to condos, to even complete stand alone residences. In most cases you get full or partial deeded ownership. The hotel completely designs and decorates the property and maintains it! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not inexpensive, but it’s definitely the easy way to get your luxury pad without all the hassles.

For more tips on living the luxury lifestyle, please feel free to contact me anytime at RCLayLee@yahoo.com
Clay Lee

College Station’s #1 Luxury Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert For More Than a Decade!