5 Reasons it’s Time for a Home in 2012

It’s true that money can’t buy happiness, but knowing that the value of your assets will grow over time does give you peace of mind.

Negative press is leaving some home buyers stuck on the fence, but here are a few reasons to climb down.

1. In the long run you come out ahead; in the short run you enjoy your home. The paper value of your home won’t rise much in the next couple of years. But if you want a home where you can raise your children or retire for the rest of your life, the paper value will rise significantly, or probably double or triple during that time.

2. The recent survey by the Hartford/MIT Lab’s Home for a Lifetime survey shows that half of all homeowners prefer their current home for retirement. Another 10 percent may choose to retire there, but aren’t yet sure.

3. A home is like a savings account. Your initial costs of home buying will come back to you many times over during the life of your mortgage. Your stake in the home builds every month. You’ll have more than rent receipts in the future.

4. Mortgage payments are fixed; rental payments rise. On a fixed-rate mortgage, you know what your payment will be each month for years to come. (As inflation rises, you’ll be making those payments with less expensive dollars.)

5. Apartment rents through the third quarter of 2010 were up 2.4 percent nationwide for the year and up twice that amount in larger cities. Nice apartments were hard to find because the national vacancy rate is the lowest since 2006, according to a study by real estate research firm Reis, Inc.

There are many more reasons for having a home of your own, reasons that have little to do with the financial aspects.

Stability and community. You get to know the neighbors. Your kids won’t have to change schools. They can keep their friends. You get to know their teachers and which parks, neighborhood facilities and merchants are best for you. Studies show that as people develop positive relationships with neighbors, they have more happiness and less stress.

You get to be the boss. Dealing with a landlord and negotiating repairs are hassles you won’t have to deal with. As the boss of your own place, you can paint, renovate and redecorate as much as you want and in any color or style you want.

Folding Screens from the 1920s are Back in Style

Two-to-four panel folding screens were seen in many showrooms at the recent furniture market in High Point, N.C. Upholstered screens were especially popular.

Like upholstered headboards, screens can make a bold visual statement in a room. You can button-tuft screens and outline them with nailhead trim.

They come in every price range, from the $46,000 hand-lacquered Eileen Gray Brick Screen to attractive screens at Crate and Barrel and the Pottery Barn that sell for $250 to $500.

Or you can build a screen yourself!

Home-decor writer Sally Falk Nancrede says the revival is a big deal because screens provide color and pattern to those who don’t want to commit to patterned furniture. Prints come in colors like raspberry, taupe, gray and pink prints, or pink.

They can be used as room dividers or to create a mood. New screens come in vibrant patterns that dress up a room. A popular size is 76 inches wide by about 6 feet high and with four panels.

The $4,485 two-panel screen from Barker Furniture features walnut parquet and leather. It’s 4 1/2 feet wide and 5 feet high.

Top Six Tax Benefits of Homeownership

Homeownership has many benefits, including tax deductions for those who qualify. Here are six of the top tax advantages of owning a home:

1. Write off the interest you paid on a mortgage up to $1 million, as long as the property is your main or secondary residence. This deduction really pays off during the first few years of owning a home, when interest accounts for most of your payment, also known as home acquisition debt.

2. Deduct the interest you pay on home equity loans of up to $100,000, so long as you are not subject to the alternating minimum tax or AMT (unless you use the loan for home improvement).

3. Deduct your state and local property taxes from your federal income taxes, where applicable.*

4. Deduct your home buying expenses, including loan origination fees, prorated interest on a new loan, or prorated property taxes.*

5. If you sold your home in 2011, you may not have to pay federal income taxes on the earnings from the sale, up to $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for joint filers, as long as you used the home as a primary residence for at least two of the five years prior to selling. Some states, including California, offer this as well.

6. Rent your home out for up to 15 days and keep the income generated – it’s not taxable.

*Not an eligible deduction if you are subject to the AMT.

Tax Time Preparation: The Mortgage Interest Deduction

It’s that time again when Uncle Sam picks your pocket for taxes and, if you are writing out a check this year, you might want to ask yourself if a nice, fat mortgage interest deduction would come in handy next year.

For many people it certainly will. Mortgage interest is tax deductible. This means it is one of the expenses that reduces the amount of income on which you pay taxes.

Many, if not most, people who do not own houses, also do not itemize their deductions. That makes sense because if they added up all their potential deductions, the deductions would not be greater than the standard deduction. In 2011, the standard deduction for single people is $5,800. The standard deduction for married people is $11,600.

The beauty of the mortgage interest deduction is that it allows you to deduct all the interest you pay on your home loan. During the first years you pay on a home loan, nearly everything you pay is interest — up to 75 percent of your payment.

That nice deduction can reduce the taxes you owe, while allowing you to live in the house you want.

In this economy, owning a home also offers you some subtle protection from inflation. Inflation is an increase in the general level of prices for goods and services over time. So you notice that your grocery bill is going up and your dollars buy less, that is inflation, according to investopedia.com

According to inflationdata.com, in 2011 inflation was trending well over 3 percent while mortgage interest rates were the lowest in history at about 4.3 percent (30-year fixed.)

If you buy a home this year, and inflation continues to increase, you’ll soon be paying off your home with cheaper dollars. Your food will cost more; your luxuries will cost more; rent will cost more. But your mortgage is going to stay the same.

Meanwhile, inflation will also have some effect on home prices, forcing prices up. Right now, in most parts of the country, home prices are low because there are a lot of houses on the market and fewer buyers than five years ago. That means, right now you can get a lot of house for fewer dollars. In coming years, however, as the supply of houses for sale decreases, the pressure of inflation plus a reduced supply of houses, will force home prices up. In 10 years, your home purchase today will be a bargain and you will be living in a home you love while paying prices locked in the past!

New Tool Show Exact School District Assignments for Homes

Location is so important to real estate buyers in part because of the quality of school district assignments associated with a home. Now, education.com has released a tool that allows users to find the exact school district assignments of any home in the United States.

School Boundaries, their creation, can be found on their website but also can be used as a widget on other real estate websites and blogs. This mapping tool is free, and uses the data from all 13,000 school districts in the country. It can also specify schools for 55% of the country.

Using Google Maps, users can view school boundaries, filter by elementary, middle, and high schools, and see the schools’ test ratings. This could be a great widget for homebuyers everywhere.

Speed-Cleaning Your Kitchen

There are many shortcuts and extra efficient methods of keeping your kitchen spotless without spending too much time cleaning every day. This Real Simple magazine article recommends setting up three kitchen to-do lists: daily, weekly, and seasonally.

Daily chores include wiping down the sink, stovetop, counters, and sweep or vacuum the floor. They tally this up as taking 3 minutes and 30 seconds total.

Weekly, Real Simple recommends wiping down backsplashes, appliances, cabinets, garbage can, switchplates and phones. Also, one should mop weekly (about four minutes, the most time consuming of these quick tasks), and wash the dish rack. The weekly tasks add up to about 20 minutes.

Seasonal tasks include deep cleaning and scrubbing of the refrigerator, sink, and other appliances four times per year.

While cleaning isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, using these quick guidelines will decrease your cleaning time to minutes a day – the time it takes to brew your coffee.For motivation, Marla Cilley, author of Sink Reflections, recommended in the article to clean your sink first.

“A sparkling sink becomes your kitchen’s benchmark for hygiene and tidiness, inspiring you to load the dishwasher immediately and keep counters, refrigerator doors, and the stove top spick-and-span, too.”

Big Banks Reach $25 Billion Settlement with Government

A landmark mortgage settlement with five big banks has been reached with the government in 49 states, with the exception of Oklahoma. $25 billion will be used to help qualified struggling homeowners.
The video below explains the settlement in detail:

The video below explains the settlement in detail:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Getting a Second Opinion on Your Home Financing

Your home purchase is one of the most important financial decisions of your lifetime. Taking a few minutes to verify your existing lender’s offer in regards to loan structure, rates, and cost is time well spent.

The #1 reason that real estate transactions don’t close is due to financing issues, and transactions can fall apart very quickly.

Getting a second opinion is a win-win scenario. If Princeton Capital can provide a better loan value, you win. If we can’t, we can verify the validity of the other offer for you, and you win.

Contact Princeton Capital or your loan officer about it. We want you to realize the difference a second opinion can make for your home financing.

Top 5 Tips to Increase Your Home's Appraisal Value

The importance of the appraisal in a real estate transaction can’t be overestimated. An appraisal can completely kill a deal if it does not turn out well.

The Wall Street Journal recently posted an article with tips on upping your homes value during an appraisal, and here are some of our top picks:

1. Spruce up the house

While a couple of dishes in the sink won’t make a difference, there are quick fixes that do. Overgrown landscaping should be trimmed, and things like marks on walls and stained carpets should be cleaned. These affect the home’s overall value in appraisal, according to the WSJ.

2. Curb appeal matters

Take the time to mow the lawn, trim the hedges, and pull out any weeds. A nice-looking yard is not only a great first impression, but it can offset any nearby foreclosed properties.

3. Note the neighborhood improvements

Location, location, location! Make note of any changes to the neighborhood that are positive, such as a new playground or a Whole Foods nearby.

4. Keep the $500 rule in mind

According to the WSJ, appraisers often value a home in $500 increments. This means that if there is a repair over $500 that can or ought to be made, do it, or it could count against the property’s value.

5. Maintain a list of all updates to home

All updates, major and minor, to the home should be listed. “Itemize each update with the approximate date and approximate cost,” recommends Matthew George, the chief appraiser of Eagle Appraisals Inc. Remember to include things the appraiser might not notice, such as insulation and roof updates.

Common First Time Homebuyer Mistakes

Many first-time homebuyers make simple and common mistakes that are easily avoidable.

They face multiple challenges anyway, such as finding the right home, the right agent, getting approved for a mortgage, and staying within their budget. By avoiding these common mistakes, the process of buying a home can be much less stressful.

1. Overlooking extra costs of homeownership

While some see themselves as ready for homeownership once they can afford a mortgage payment, it is important to remember the other fees that come along with owning a home. Property taxes, home owners association fees, maintenance, higher water and electrical bills, and property insurance are among the extra costs of owning a home, and should be calculated into your budget.

2. Not getting preapproved

It is very important to get preapproved for a loan before you go out searching for the perfect place. That way, you will be making financially sound decisions versus unrealistic emotional ones as to what you can afford.

3. Spending your entire savings on your down payment

This is one of the most common mistakes first time homebuyers make. Homebuyers who put 20 percent or more down don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance when getting a conventional mortgage, which often translates into substantial savings on the monthly payment. However, it is smarter to keep your rainy day savings intact instead.

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