Is Your House a Good Place to Park Your Wealth? Is it Safe?

Is your wealth in the house (equity) safe? Is it at risk? To answer that question you must first understand what we mean by safe. Let’s define safety as minimizing or eliminating the potential loss of the investment. Will Rogers once said, “Return ‘of’ my money is more important than return ‘on’ my money.” Your Read More >

Is Your House a Good Place to Park Your Wealth?

The most basic purpose of a house is to provide a place to meet our physical needs for safety and shelter and our social needs of family and community. We believe most people would agree that the house serves each of these purposes quite well. However, many people use the house in a way that it was not intended or Read More >

What Makes Your House a Unique Investment?

One of the biggest misconceptions many homeowners have is that their house is the best investment they’ve ever made. Let’s take a closer look. If you purchased a $250,000 house in 1990 and put 100% down (paid $250,000 cash), and sold it in June 2003 for $600,000, you would have realized a $350,000 profit, which is a Read More >

Is Your House a Good Investment?

Have you ever wondered if your house is a good investment? Chances are you have. Let’s face it; you bought a house because you believed it would rise in value over time. Admit it. If you were certain it would fall in value, you wouldn’t have bought it. You would have rented instead. For many Americans, the house has Read More >

How Can the Tax Treatment of Real Estate Save a Seller Thousands of Dollars?

Under Section 121 of the IRS Code, and spelled out in IRS Publication 523 (2013), homeowners who sell their primary residence may be able to exclude from income any gain up to a limit of $500,000 if the homeowners are married and file a joint tax return. The limit is $250,000 for a single income tax filer or a married Read More >

Did You Know Tax Deductible Interest Actually Reduces An Interest Rate?

In a post entitled “How Can Itemizing Deductions Affect a Homeowner’s Income Taxes?” I introduced a couple named Joe & Mary and demonstrated how, under current tax law, the tax treatment of mortgage interest allowed them to reduce the tax they otherwise would have paid and keep more of the money they earn. The tax Read More >