Posts with tag 'Finances'
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- 2019 | 13 Posts
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19
Know before you buy: Real estate tax rates across the Roanoke region
When you're deciding how much home you can afford, don't forget to take real estate taxes into account. Often, your taxes will be rolled into your monthly payment along with your mortgage principal and interest, and your homeowners insurance premiums.
Real estate tax rates vary widely across the greater Roanoke Valley, but that's not unusual in a region of our size. Taxes are typically based on the value of your property -- including your home and the land it sits on -- and are assessed by the municipality where you live.
It's important to remember that your assessed value is not the same as an appraisal. The assessed value of your home is calculated solely for the purpose of taxes, while appraisals are used to determine the market value of a property. So if you're considering selling your home and want a ballpark of what your home is worth, an asse...
8
How much can you recover at resale from these exterior home improvements?
Last week, I posted a list of the exterior home-improvement projects that have the most buyer appeal. In this post, I'm going to revisit those same projects and look at what you can expect to recover from each one.
The numbers I'm using here come from the same report by the National Association of Realtors that I sourced in the previous post. Members of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry estimated costs for each project, and Realtors estimated the value added. The "value recovered," which I've listed with each project, is the value added divided by the cost, or a representation of how much of the initial investment...
30
Top 5 exterior home-improvement projects that add the most buyer appeal
Outdoor projects go a long way to adding protection from the elements and value to your home. Done right, they also add a lot in the way of curb appeal. Americans spent more than $326 billion on remodeling projects in 2015, but still, it's hard to know which improvements will appeal the most to buyers and add the most value when it's time to sell.
To get some guidance, the National Association of Realtors asked Realtors to rank home remodeling projects by appeal to buyers for the 2015 Remodeling Impact Report. I'm sharing the exterior projects that will get your home the most attention. And in every case, the exterior projects that Realtors say are most appealing to buyers are the ones that add the most value to your home.
Give these projects some consideration when deciding how to spend your home-improvement dollars, and
27
5 questions to ask before buying a fixer-upper
Buying a property that needs some TLC, whether you ultimately plan to live in the home or resell it, can be a smart investment and a rewarding project. With the ups and downs in the market over the past several years, I've seen lots of examples of ugly-duckling properties that have been turned into dream homes with happy endings for buyers who might not otherwise have been able to afford a home with similar upgrades.
But rehabbing a home takes money, work and perseverance. To make a good business decision about whether to take the leap, you need to ask yourself some questions:
What's my tolerance for the project? No matter who you hire to do the rehab or how many projects they've completed, you're likely to run into unexpected things that cause delays. Within reason, your best approach to simply expect the delays and roll with them. If changes...
19
9 tips for downsizing into your dream home
Downsizing to a smaller home can be at the same time a source of freedom and a source of anxiety. Clients who are ready to downsize do so because a smaller home is less to pay for and maintain. But the same clients can get overwhelmed when it's time to sort through all their belongings and decide what's going with them to the new home.
Unless you're a natural at keeping clutter at bay, editing down your possessions to fit in a smaller home isn't easy. Still, there are some things you can do to make you more productive:
1. Give yourself plenty of time
You might feel like you've got all the time in the world, but start now. Sorting through a lifetime's worth of belongings and choosing what to discard is hard work and brings up lots of emotions. If you put off downsizing until you're packing for your move, the stress of the clock is l...