Tax Season is Over....What Can I Prepare for Next Year?

Now that this tax season is over…I have some tips for homeowners on what they can prepare for in terms of great tax breaks over the coming year.  After all, one of the greatest benefits to owning a home is in the tax breaks that are available to you as the homeowner. So, while we have taxes on our minds, let’s prepare for next year to make sure we take full advantage of those fabulous tax breaks!

Let's start by setting up a home office! If you work out of your home, the so-called “simple method” allows you to take $5 for every square foot of home office, for a total of $1500! You can go a more complicated route, using a percentage of your utility bills used for that room… just start somewhere!  Keep in mind, you need to use the room regularly and exclusively for your business! So consider moving your work-space from your kitchen table to a spare bedroom and creating a home office in order to take advantage of that break!  When asked, you'll have to compute the square footage of that home office and see what percentage it is of your total home's square footage. From there, a tax professional will help you determine what, if any, deduction you qualify for. 

If you're like me, you've likely seen solar panels popping up on homes all around Albuquerque. The solar industry has really been targeting homeowners and a popular question among consumers is whether or not you can deduct the installation of the panels when it comes to taxes. Unfortunately at the end of 2016, the clock ran out on MOST tax credits available to homeowners who “went green” … However, the good news is the one remaining energy efficiency credit that is available to homeowners is for Solar Energy! Tax experts say you can take a credit of up to 30%, with no cap, on the equipment and installation costs for solar panels and solar water heaters that you purchase this coming year! To qualify, the equipment must be used to generate power or heat water in your primary or secondary home. So if you're on the fence about going solar, right now just might be a great time to do it, just don't forget to keep all of your receipts! 

Choosing a Professional to SELL Your HOME!

In this market it’s important for sellers to have a negotiation expert on their side when it comes to making deals. Selling or buying a home should be like any other business transaction. All too often sellers or buyers make emotional or impulsive decisions that can cost them money and valuable time. Choosing the right Realtor to market a property or negotiate a sale is the MOST important step in the process. You need to have tough standards when selecting an agent, just as you would when hiring an attorney or doctor.

Many sellers or buyers will hire an agent offering the lowest commission. Remember, you get what you pay for. Do you want a negotiator with a lot of expertise to protect your equity? If you had a lawsuit that was worth the value of your home, would you hire the cheapest attorney to protect you or the best attorney you can find? If you had surgery, would you look for the cheapest doctor? Or you would look for the best doctor? The same should be true for the Realtor you hire. In today’s highly competitive market it takes time, knowledge, expertise, targeted marketing, and countless hours of work!

Selecting the right agent can even help bring more money to the table at closing.  In fact, hiring the right agent in this market will make a significant difference for both buyers and sellers and their bottom line. I’ve practiced Real Estate for 30 years now and have successfully negotiated nearly 4000 contracts in my career. If you want real results, hire a real professional. I have a very strong team to back up my experience. 

Call us today to get your home SOLD! AND AT TOP DOLLAR!!! 505-238-1000

Seller Faux Pas

I recently read an article on Realtor.com that sparked my interest and I wanted to share it with you.  It’s all about the unwritten rules sellers should take into consideration when their home is on the market. Some are funny. Some seem a little obvious....yet you’d be surprised at how many seller faux pas we see when showing homes to our clients.  And I’ll mention, these are things my team and I go over with our sellers when their homes are on the market.

The number one unwritten rule is when someone calls to show your home, make sure you’re not there while they’re looking at your home.  In blunt terms, the simple fact that you’re there could make a buyer uncomfortable and they may not even really look at your home and take it into consideration. It’s important you give them the freedom to view your home and make comments, out loud, to their agent about what they like and even dislike. This helps us as Realtors to gauge their interest level.

We often see pets in homes, and while I’m a dog-lover just like the next person, not everyone is and you need to take that into consideration. If you have to leave your pets at home, make sure they’re locked away somewhere and you let your Realtor know where they are so they can avoid that area if need be. 

If you would like for my team to represent you in the sale of your home call us today at 505-238-1000!!!

Tax Savings!!!

With the 2015 tax season officially behind us, I want to talk about some deductions that could potentially save you, as a homeowner, thousands of dollars….

Let’s start with the obvious tax benefits of home-ownership, which is through your mortgage interest and property tax deductions. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average homeowner saves around $3,000 a year alone in those two areas.  On top of that, just this past December, Congress passed a bill that extended many exemptions that were on the brink of expiring and made others permanent.

A big exemption is mortgage insurance. Qualified homeowners can deduct payments on what we like to call PMI, for short, on their primary home. Sometimes you can deduct for a second property as long as it isn’t a rental. Another area of savings is in capital gains tax. If you sold your home in 2015 that may be an area where you could save, however I always recommend you talk to your CPA on exactly what you qualify for as there are different restrictions.

There are also some improvements a homeowner can make to their home that would allow for tax deductions. For example, medical improvements to your home to help meet medical needs. A good example of this would be a ramp to accommodate a wheelchair. You can deduct the amount by which the improvements exceed the increase in your home’s value. Another area where you can save is by making “green” improvements by taking advantage of an energy-efficiency tax credit. The break is 10% of the amount paid for green improvements, up to $500. Some examples of these improvements can be air-conditioning and heating units, storm doors, energy-efficient windows, you get the picture. 

The big thing is to start now. Don't miss out on documenting these potential tax savings so that this time next year you can be celebrating with a possible larger return. 

Seller Resources

Selling your home can be a stressful process.  Having a professional team on your side to help get your home sold is what you need!  Over the last 30 years, my in-house professional team and I have designed a streamlined, successful marketing plan, implementing many systems and resources to exceed our clients’ expectations.  Our strategy has proven results, with over 3,800 successful home sales!  There are many benefits and resources you benefit from when you hire my team, such as an aggressive and effective marketing plan, team concept and availability, and technological magic. I have a wonderful team that brings diverse talents together to ensure our customer satisfaction and streamline each transaction to a successful close.

When meeting with potential clients, one of the top items people express that they desire from their Realtor is communication. This is such a key element in any relationship. We work with each homeowner individually to ensure that there is consistent communication and that the hundreds of aspects of the sale are properly coordinated to make the sale, or purchase, of their home as smooth and enjoyable as possible. Not only do we notify our clients the moment someone has shown their home, we also obtain feedback from showings. We update our clients via email at least twice a week, in addition to a personal phone call. Our goal is to help sell your home for the maximum price, in a reasonable time frame, or purchase your dream home, with the least inconvenience to you as our client.

We market our listings to more than 350 real estate websites, focusing on resources for potential buyers’ rapid access to information, as well as other online and offline marketing. My team and I are also Relocation certified and work with a variety of businesses, both national and local, offering a consistent stream of buyers and sellers.  Technology in our business is a great benefit. However, what really sets my team and I apart is that we consistently look for buyers for our sellers and sellers for our buyers, the old-fashioned way… We get on the phone and prospect for business! There are many facets to our proven successful marketing plan, and we are happy to share them in greater detail with any interested buyers or sellers!

How to Navigate the Maze that is Home-Buying!

By: Marian Camacho - Associate Broker

For most people, buying a home is the biggest purchase they will ever make.  For any buyer, especially a first-timer, the process can be quite overwhelming.  You don’t just find a home you love, write up an offer and receive the keys in a box wrapped with a big red ribbon! We only wish it would be that easy.  There are many different grueling steps in between home search to closing that we as Realtors help our clients navigate. 

So where to begin?... I believe it is vital to start by enlisting the help of a professional, like myself or someone on our team.  As your Realtor, we then connect you with a preferred lender to help you discover how much of a home you can afford. We're talking monthly house payment and down payment.  The most important thing to know out of the gate, is what’s affordable for you and your family. You may love that $300,000 home down the street, but is it worth stretching your finances so thin that your family is eating Ramen Noodles for the rest of your lives?  It’s something you have to think about.

Next comes the fun part... House Hunting!  We sit down with you for a buyer consultation. That's fancy wording for us getting to know what you want in a house.  Is it a big yard, a huge family kitchen?  With that information, we then set you up on a personalized portal search and send the listings straight to your email inbox.  Part of our job is to save you hours upon hours of online searching, often on sites that are unreliable…(I won’t mention any names.) From there we take you to view the homes you choose, in person. When you find something you like, we sit down and write up the offer with you!  The vast experience of a Realtor can not be something you pass up on.  There are too many rigors and rules that can trip you up in the home-buying process if you don’t know what you’re doing.

The greatest piece of advice I can offer to buyers in the process would be to not be afraid to ask questions to your Realtor or lender. If you’re not sure about something, ask!  If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and breathe.  Keep your eye on the prize, which is in owning your own home. Purchasing a home is an important and very rewarding accomplishment in life. If you focus on the ultimate end-goal, you should feel much better afterward.

If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, Call Me Today! 505-264-3344!!

Our team has helped more than 3,800 families move since 1986! We can help you too!!!

Choosing a Top Team to Sell Your Home

Cheryl Marlow - Team Leader - Cheryl Marlow & Associates

Keller Williams Realty

You would think that it would be difficult to take over the sale of a home after it's already been on the market for some time… but for our team, it's more an opportunity than an obstacle.  For almost 30 years now, we have specialized in taking over the representation of homes that have been on the market for an extended amount of time.  Often, we're taking over the sale after a handful of agents were unsuccessful in selling the home.  It is a challenge, but one that we know how to take head on. 

If a home lingers on the market for too long, unfortunately it can develop a reputation, and may even be categorized by buyers as “overpriced” or “flawed” because of the number of days it has been sitting on the market.  To avoid that, you need professionals, like myself and my team, at the helm of the selling process to guide you to a successful close.  So how do you do that?  Well, if a home has been sitting on the market for longer than average, that immediately tells me that the price is likely too high when taking our current market into consideration.  If the price isn’t the problem, it could very likely be a result of poor marketing or complete lack of marketing.  My team markets homes to over 350 websites, a group of elite Realtors in the Greater Albuquerque Area, and often on the air on 770 KKOB-AM radio or even the local news.  If you list with us, we work hard to get your property seen, no matter what. 

With the amount of inventory the Greater Albuquerque Area market is seeing, it's important to make your home stand out in that sea of "For Sale" signs.  That's why when I, or one of my team members, go out to your property for the first time, you'll see us taking notes.  We're writing down what makes your property unique and noting all of those special features that will appeal to buyers.  On the other hand, we're also taking note of what needs attention.  Do you want a Realtor who just tells you what you want to hear in order for them to get you to sign the listing contract?  Or would you rather have a professional who will be honest about what needs to be done in order to get your home sold? My goal is for sellers to work with me in getting their home sold.  If a house needs some paint touch-ups and I think it will help to get the seller to the closing table, then I’m going to tell them about it.  I believe feedback is absolutely vital in a broker/seller relationship and it can ultimately help a seller keep more money in their pockets at the end of the day.

Looking to buy or sell today? Call my team at 238-3272 or email cheryl@cherylmarlow.com.