Clay Lee
Broker/Realtor®
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Selling Real Estate Category
Top Ten Tax Tips for Home Sellers
September 7th, 2011 Categories: Real Estate News, Selling Real Estate
The IRS doesn’t always have to inspire dread, sometimes they can help us make our dealings with them a little easier. The taxmen have released their 10 tax tips for home sellers. This handy information can help sellers ease the stress of tax time.
Here’s the list:
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.
- 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. Read the rest of this entry »
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If a picture is worth 1000 words, how many is a video worth?
August 24th, 2011 Categories: Selling Real Estate
A little while back I wrote a post on the The Importance of Good Pictures When Marketing Your College Station Home, while this is still absolutely vital to the success of your sale, we are in the midst of the YouTube age and it’s role can not be ignored in marketing your home for sale.
Just like a good movie can bring you into that world, a good video walkthrough can bring you right into a home. Not only does it give potential buyers a fairly true look at the layout of your home, but it allows them to catch details that might not be the center of attention in a photo. When you give buyers a 180° look (or even a 360° look if space allows) in full video you are able to pique their interest and create a longer lasting impact on them. Let’s look at it this way, a buyer finds 2 different homes in the same neighborhood, similar square footage, similar amenities, & a similar look. Which home will they remember if one has a video walkthrough and the other doesn’t? The one with the video, because it sets it apart from the competition.
Below is a great example of how a video walkthrough can transport you right into the home:
This marketing tool is utilized in ALL of my listings. I mentioned in my post on photos that in this clogged real estate market, you have to set yourself apart. I can not repeat this enough. You have to set yourself apart. Video is a great technique of doing just that.
Video is only one of the many ways I can help you sell your home faster, to find out more please feel free to give me a call @ 979.255.1839
Clay Lee – Realtor
Century 21 Beal, Inc.
(979) 255-1839
Timeless Service, Quality, and Experience Guaranteed
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How to Present Your College Station Home in its Best Light
July 14th, 2010 Categories: Home Improvement & Design, Selling Real Estate
Many of the College Station residents I’ve spoken with recently are faced with the decision to sell their home; for some, this can be a worrisome issue. But this process does not have to be as stressful as it seems! A recurring question is, “How will my home do on the market?” As I’ve mentioned recently, it is a buyer’s market, so it is imperative for a seller to present the best product possible if they want to get a good deal on their home. As I tell my clients, if you want peace of mind - I cannot stress enough the necessity of showing a clean, well-maintained home. Though I’ve recently discussed staging a home, the need for further advice and details on home maintenance and presentation is critical. Whether you are in the position of needing to sell now, eventually, or even if you are set in your home for life, a well-maintained home is an essential point of pride.
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Tips for Staging your College Station Home, Ensuring a Faster Sale
July 7th, 2010 Categories: Home Improvement & Design, Selling Real Estate
When I am selling a Bryan/College Station home, I always offer tips to the seller concerning how to put their home in the best light for showings. First impressions are lasting impressions. And in soft market times, it is important to show your listing at its best advantage.
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How to get rid of PMI – Part One
December 2nd, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Foreclosures, Home Improvement & Design, Real Estate News, Selling Real Estate
No I didn’t say PMS. If I knew that, then I’d be a millionaire. PMI – your Private Mortgage Insurance protects your lender in case if a borrower defaults on the loan, and the value of the home is lower than the loan balance.
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 Read the rest of this entry »
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Pebble Creek & Indian Lakes: The Best Luxury Markets in College Station, TX
July 2nd, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Market Trends, Pebble Creek, Selling Real Estate
College Station has luxury homes located in many different areas, but for the past few years and seemingly for many more to come, the best areas to buy or build in are Pebble Creek and Indian Lakes. These are two very different communities from each other; however, they have the smallest number of days on the market and the best appreciation in town. Why is this?
Pebble Creek is the only golf course and country club community located in the confines of the College Station Independent School District. While Bryan has 4 of these communities, College Station only has one. With the current atmosphere of development in the city of College Station and the lack of readily available land to develop, this community is set to be a safe bet for many years to come. Clients love that it has its very own Elementary School, extensive walking trails, lots of quiet cul-de-sacs, and a state of the art club house with a large pool, tennis courts, a bar, banquet and meeting facilities, and a couple of great restaurants. Houses in Pebble Creek range in price from $170,000 to home in excess of $1 million. They have everything from patio homes to large golf-course front estates. There truly is something for everyone. The developer has done a great job over the years of releasing just a few lots at any one time as to not flood the market with new homes. This has kept prices up and made the market extremely stable. The best deals are the homes that are at least 10 years old as they are aging and need to be updated. However, there are amazing new homes like my listing at 5203 Whistling Read the rest of this entry »
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The Mistakes that Luxury Home Builders and Owners Make
June 27th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Home Improvement & Design, Market Trends, Miramont, Pebble Creek, Selling Real Estate
I see it every day, and it’s really sad. A home builder or even a buyer will construct a high priced “luxury” property and try to sell it immediately or within a couple of years of its completion. I use the term “luxury” in quotes because in this case I’m calling it an interpretation of what a luxury property really is.
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that a luxury home qualifies as a luxury home merely based on the properties square footage or land size. However, a luxury home can be a 1500 square foot town-home or a 20,000 square foot ocean front compound. It’s the features of a property that make a luxury home a luxury home, especially in College Station, TX.
The following are the biggest places that mistakes are made.
Master Suites
A Big Shower and Walk-in Closets are just not enough. Buyers expect a Spa in their own home today. You have to have multiple shower heads, rain showers, body sprays and if possible a steam shower. Closets have to be totally custom with built-in packing centers, extensive shoe storage, tons of drawers, adjustable hanging space, full-length mirrors, and good lighting. The sleeping area has to be well designed with plenty of room for a bed and a nice sitting area. High end quality flooring of wool, stone, or wood is expected in this space as well. Buyers also want separate closets if the home is larger and even more popular are separate master bathrooms. Read the rest of this entry »
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