Tax Credits Are Set to Expire!

The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit is set to expire soon. Home buyers must have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30 and close by June 30 to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit.

The income limit for claiming the full tax credit for single tax payers is $125,00 and $225,000 for married tax payers filing a joint return.

Homes purchased for up to $800,000 are eligible for the credit. A first-time buyer is defined as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. The tax credit does not require repayment if you live in this residence for three or more years.

The Existing Homeowner Tax Credit is also set to expire. If you already own a home, but you want to move up, you may qualify for the $6,500 tax credit. To be eligible for this credit, you must have lived in your current home for five consecutive years out of the last eight and must purchase a new or existing home by April 30 and close escrow by July 1. You do not need to sell your current home to qualify for this credit.

To claim the tax credit use the IRS Form 5405. You will also need to supply the IRS with a copy of your HUD-1 settlement statement to verify your purchase.

If you are interested in purchasing a home in South Lake Tahoe and taking advantage of the tax credits, give South Lake Tahoe real estate agent Brent Johnson a call before it is too late!

Tahoe Keys Real Estate

Tahoe Keys real estate  is the South Shores premier area for buyers looking for waterfront property. The Tahoe Keys is a 740 acre private marina community located on 11 miles of inland waterways that lead to the emerald waters of Lake Tahoe.  There are about 1250 homes and 350 condominiums located within the Tahoe Keys area. Most of the properties in the Tahoe Keys are waterfront properties that have private boat docks and easy access to boating on Lake Tahoe.

The Tahoe Keys offers some of the best mountain, meadow, and water views in Lake Tahoe. The utilities are underground and there is a building height code that keeps the views breathtaking and unobstructed.

 Homeowners in the Tahoe Keys have access to private amenities including tennis courts, an indoor and outdoor pool, spa, park, private beach, marina, and launch ramp The Tahoe Keys HOA also provides security, waterway maintenance, and has its own water company.  The Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association is the Tahoe Keys HOA.  HOA fees are $1919 annually for houses and from $1000 to $1400 quarterly for condos depending on their location with-in the Tahoe Keys.

Single family home property values generally range from the $500,000′s to $3,ooo,ooo, but there have been a few foreclosures in the Tahoe Keys that have sold for under $400,000, and some luxury lakefront homes that have sold well over that range. Tahoe Keys condos range from $250,000 for a one bedroom, to over $1,000,000+ for a lakefront.

February Real Estate In South Lake Tahoe Review

The inventory of active single family homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe remained relatively low in February. There are now 401 houses listed on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, 298 of the homes are active and 103 of the homes are in escrow. Distress sales are still the most active part of the real estate market in South Lake Tahoe. Out of the 103 houses in escrow, 51 are short sales and 22 are bank owned foreclosures.

There were 23 single family homes that closed escrow in February, down from 29 in February 2009, and also down from 32 in January. The difficulty with getting short sales closed is one of the reasons that the number of houses sold was down in February. There are currently 51 short sales that are in escrow, and only 4 short sales closed escrow last month! Each monthmore short sales go into escrow, and only a few end up closing. In January there were 40 short sales in escrow, and in December 2009 there were 38. With 51 short sales tied up in escrow, the number of closings is going to be negatively affected. As soon as some of the short sales that are in escrow start closing, the number of sold houses should get back on track.

February Statistics for the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Market

• There were 23 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that sold in February, down from 32 in January, and down from 29 in February 2009.
• The average sales price of the homes sold was $405,461, up from $348,328 in January, and down from $411,156 in February 2009.
• The Median sales price of the homes sold was $312,500, down from $317,250 in January, and down from $319,000 in February 2009.
• The average price per square foot was $213, up from $209 in January, and down from $231 in February 2009.
• The average days on the market was 176, up from 162 in January, and up from 167 in February 2009.
• The median days on the market was 119, up from 127 in January, and down from 125 in February 2009.
• There were 11 bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold, there were also 11 foreclosures sold in January, and there were 12 foreclosures that sold in February 2009.
• There were 4 short sales that closed escrow in February, down from 8 sold short sales in January, and up from 1 sold in February 2009.

The percentage of distress sale closings has also continued to increase. In February 65% of the houses sold in South Lake Tahoe were either foreclosures or short sales. This percentage is up from 59% in January.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in February had a very low average price per square foot of $171. The average sales price for the 11 foreclosures sold was $334,100 and the median sales price was $258,000. The foreclosures had an average days on the market of 79 including the escrow period.

When looking to purchase a foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe, the best advise that I have for home buyers is to act quickly. Most of the foreclosures go into escrow very quickly and have multiple offers in on them. There are many investors and home buyers that are currently in the market looking for deals. There are also many buyers looking to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit  that expires on April 30th. If you see a foreclosure on the South Lake Tahoe MLS that  you are interested in, make sure to call me before it is too late!

South Lake Tahoe Vacation Rental Tax Deductions

Many home buyers in South Lake Tahoe are thinking of renting out their home as a vacation rental in order to offset the cost of ownership. This is a great way for buyers to afford a bigger or more expensive property that may have been out of reach with out any rental income. Although the vacation rental activity is down along with housing prices, there is still potential to attract renters during our peak winter and summer seasons, especialy holidays.

If you do rent out your home in South Lake Tahoe, there are some great tax deductions that you do not want to miss. It is important to ask your CPA about the allowed deductions, but here are deductions that owners of rental properties can take as listed on IRS.gov.

• Mortgage interest
• Property Taxes
• Operating expenses
• Depreciation
• Repairs

You can deduct the ordinary and necessary expenses for managing, conserving, and maintaining your rental property. Ordinary expenses are those that are common and generally accepted in the business. Necessary expenses are those that are deemed appropriate, such as interest, taxes, advertising, maintenance, utilities, snow removal, and insurance.

You can deduct the cost of repairs that you make to your rental property. A repair keeps your property in good operating condition and does not materially add value to the property. Examples are painting, fixing leaks, replacing broken doors and other parts of the rental property.

You may not deduct the cost of improvements. An improvement adds to the value of the property, prolongs its useful life, or adapts it to new uses. The cost of improvements is recovered through depreciation. Examples are adding a deck, a new fence, or a roof.  Your CPA will be able to calculate the depreciation of the improvements so that the cost of the improvement will be deducted over time.

In my mind, the best deduction for a vacation rental property in South Lake Tahoe is travel expense! Many real estate investors acquire real estate in the places they like to visit. Each time they travel to the property, the travel costs are a deductible expense. That means that if you purchase a rental property in South Lake Tahoe, your next visit to your home will be tax deductible!

This blog post was just a highlight of the available tax deductions for rental properties. I am a real estate agent in South Lake Tahoe, not a tax expert, so make sure to check with your CPA for allowable tax deductions and recent tax changes! For more information regarding properties for sale in South Lake Tahoe, contact Brent Johnson today!

Mortgage Rates and the Real Estate Market in South Lake Tahoe

There are many South Lake Tahoe home buyers taking advantage of the currently low mortgage interest rates and the homebuyer tax credit that expires on April 30th. According to an article written by Carolyn Said on SFGATE.com, the currently low mortgage rates will soon be on the rise.

After the credit crunch in 2008 when investors stopped buying mortgage-backed securities the Federal Reserve stepped in to ensure that money would keep flowing to home purchasers. The Fed began buying securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae in January 2009 and had planned to conclude the program at the end of the year. The program that has pumped more than $125 trillion into the mortgage market has been extended to March 31.

Experts agree that the expiration of the Fed’s program will cause interest rates to climb, but the amount of the rate increase is still in question.

According to Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance said “There is no question that interest rates have been kept artificially low by the Fed’s buying. My opinion is that rates will go up a full percentage initally.” That means that the current 30-year fixed rate mortgages that are around 5% will go up to 6%.

Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, which compiles mortgage data, thinks that rates will slowly rise to 5.75% when the Fed withdraws.

Julian Hebron, branch manager at RPM Mortgage’s San Fransisco office thinks that rates will bump up to about 5.5% with volatility all summer long.

I am optimistic that the Fed’s will see that if they stop buying mortgage backed securities it will decrease the housing affordability index percentage and make it harder for many home buyers to purchase homes. I would be surprised if the program is not extended again.

The low interest rates and the home buyers tax credit has been great for the South Lake Tahoe real estate market. The numer of homes sold in 2009 was up 22% from 2008 showing that home buyers are out there taking advantage of the current market conditions. For those home buyers that are on the fence about purchasing a home in South Lake Tahoe, now may be the best time before interest rates increase and the tax credit expires!

Make sure to see my current list of foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that are listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls.

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