5 Reasons to Try an Off-Market Listing

If an open-market sale doesn’t appeal to you, why not list privately? There are five reasons sellers should consider doing an off-market listing.

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Today I’ll be listing the top five reasons to do a private, or off-market, sale when putting your home on the market.

1. Privacy. If you’re doing a private sale, you won’t have to deal with random strangers coming through your home in broker tours or buyer showings. A private sale also prevents your listing from appearing online. If you don’t want photos and information about your home floating around the internet, a private sale can be a great option.
2. Pricing confidentiality. When you list your home privately, you don’t have to worry about everyone knowing how much you’re asking for. An off-market sale allows the details of the transaction to be kept between you and the buyer. 
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An off-market sale allows the details of the transaction to be kept between you and the buyer.

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3. Private sales can be just as profitable. Off-market listings can often net just as much as their open-market counterparts. Yes, you may not get multiple offers because not as many people know about your listing, but there could be a buyer out there who really loves your property and would be willing to pay a premium. 
4. Private sales can make for an easier transition. If you need to purchase a new home as you sell your current one, a private listing can remove some hassle. 
5. Fewer listing expenses. Putting your home on the open market costs you money. An off-market sale allows you to sell your home as-is. 

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

3 Tax Changes to Be Aware Of

There have been a lot of changes to the real estate market lately in terms of tax law. Here are a few things you should be aware of as a homeowner in the new year.

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Before I get started with explaining some of the recent tax code changes, I want to first say that I am not a CPA. What I say here might not be 100% accurate, so you should check with your CPA or tax professional before making any decisions. Without further ado, here are the three most important impacts that the tax reform bill is having on the real estate market:

1. Property tax write-off cap. You used to be able to write off all of your property taxes. However, the new tax laws cap this amount at $10,000. That’s a lot of money in a lot of states, but it doesn’t go quite as far in places like New York or San Francisco. Homes are priced well above the $1 million market in many cases, so most of those people are spending far more than $10,000 in property taxes.

You can only write off $10,000 of your property taxes with the new bill.

2. Mortgage debt. In the past, you were able to write off all of your mortgage interest. If you borrowed $1 million to buy a home the entire mortgage interest of that $1 million could be written off. That number is now capped at $750,000. This is another change that will impact our market a lot more than others because of the high prices.
3. Capital gains exemptions. Nothing has changed here. There were whispers of tighter requirements, but you still only have to have lived in your home for two of the last five years to claim your capital gains exemption. If you're single, you can write off $250,000 of the profits from a sale. If you’re married, that number jumps to $500,000.

That's all I have for you today. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Please contact a CPA or tax professional for additional, verified information.

What Price Should You Offer on a Home?

If you’re interested in a home, what should you offer for it? Today, I’ve got some key tips.

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 When you see a house you’re interested in as a buyer, what should you offer?

It’s easy to wonder when you see a list price whether you should offer more, offer less, or offer at the asking price. This is where your Realtor comes in. They will help you determine the best course of action.

One of the first things you should consider is the length of time the house has spent on the market. If a property has been on the market for a long time, don’t offer more than they’re asking. In fact, you should probably offer less.

Before coming up with a price, you also need to look at comparable properties. Look at homes that are similar in size, bedroom count, bathroom count, and other important aspects. What are they selling for? The patterns you might notice across these homes could help you formulate your offer.

The right Realtor will help you determine the best course of action.

But you can’t just look at the comparable properties. These properties are ones that sold in the past. You also need to look at what’s currently selling. Consider the level of interest being shown in those homes and in the one you’re interested in. The more people interested in a given home, the higher the price it will sell for.

This is what a good agent will do for you. They’ll consider all of these aspects and will also talk to the listing agent for you.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.