Many of us who own our own homes know that the school tax portion of our property tax is the largest portion by far that we pay. Many older folks, who are on fixed incomes, know to well how much the school property tax is on their home.
Ever think about having NO SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES? Well let me tell you, my school property taxes just went up 14% where I live so I am certainly thinking about how we can eliminate this darn tax.
There may be a way. Listen up. There is a proposed bill called house bill 1275 "The School Property Tax Elimination Act" and I think it makes a lot of sense.
Basically, it calls for the elimination of school property taxes and all of those nuisance taxes like the Earned Income Tax, etc. And to of course, make up for this lost money it calls for the expansion of the sales tax. Keep in mind it's not talking about increasing the sales tax, but it's talking about expanding the things that we are taxed on. Make sense?
Check out Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition for more information. Good info there.
People if you want to see something change you need to get out there and TAKE ACTION!
And if you decide not to take action and realize that you can't afford your house because your property taxes are too high then you could always sell your house. Get a cash offer in 48 hours here!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Should You Become a Landlord?
Everyone knows that this market now sucks! Yes, I'm not going to be polite about it...it downright SUCKS! I know it, you know it, we all know it.
So in this market what is happening that is making it suck? Well houses are NOT selling, prices are falling and people are losing their houses to foreclosure left and right.
Most people that want to sell their house list it with a real estate agent, right? Right. And most real estate agents all they do to sell your house is list it on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), right? Right. Then when the house doesn't sell the agent asks you to drop the price and then when the house STILL doesn't sell the agent says "Well why don't you rent it out?"
Those are classic words from an idiot real estate agent who doesn't know what else to do to sell your house and is thinking that telling you to become a landlord is going to make your life better!
Now don't get me wrong, I'm a landlord and I have no problems with it. But ya gotta keep in mind that I CHOOSE to be a landlord....I just don't fall into a situation and decide "ahh nothing else is working to sell this place, so I'll rent it." Nah....it's not like that.
First of all the truth of the matter is NOT EVERYONE IS CUT OUT TO BE A LANDLORD. It's true. Not everyone has the stomach for it.
Ok now...will your house even make a profit for you to be able to be a landlord? How much is market rent? Then how much is your mortgage payments? Your taxes? Insurance? And any utilities or anything that YOU, the landlord, must pay, like licenses, etc. After you do the math...do you come out ahead or behind?
So you'll have a positive cashflow every month. Awesome! Now, how much do you have in reserves? Didn't think you needed that eh? Well you do. What happens when your tenant calls you and says "uhh Mr. Landlord we have no heat, the heating system just went!" Guess what happens? You had best be getting a new heating system so your tenants have heat. It's the LAW that you provide them with heat.
Ok so hopefully you get my drift about having some cash reserves saved up just in case (and believe it's not just in case you need it...it's WHEN you need it.) Now what about asking yourself if you will be able to deal with different personalities of tenants that you come in contact with or the different personalities of the potential tenats that you will meet. Do you even know how to screen tenants properly? Do you know how to read a credit report? Do you know how to check the tenants references? Do you know how to determine if their references are real or if they pulled them from their rear-end? Do you know the eviction process? Can you handle a tenant NOT paying the rent; financially and emotionally? Can you handle a tenant damaging your house; again financially and emotionally?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself before you tell that real estate agent of yours "Yeah, you know that's a great idea...I think I WILL rent out my property and become a landlord!"
Just for the record...landlording can be very profitable, but you must know what you're getting yourself into first.
If you have a house that you're having problems selling and you want to get a cash offer now and sell your pa house fast with no commissions or fees then call Carey at 610-999-6410 today or fill out this form on our website to receive your quick cash offer!
So in this market what is happening that is making it suck? Well houses are NOT selling, prices are falling and people are losing their houses to foreclosure left and right.
Most people that want to sell their house list it with a real estate agent, right? Right. And most real estate agents all they do to sell your house is list it on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), right? Right. Then when the house doesn't sell the agent asks you to drop the price and then when the house STILL doesn't sell the agent says "Well why don't you rent it out?"
Those are classic words from an idiot real estate agent who doesn't know what else to do to sell your house and is thinking that telling you to become a landlord is going to make your life better!
Now don't get me wrong, I'm a landlord and I have no problems with it. But ya gotta keep in mind that I CHOOSE to be a landlord....I just don't fall into a situation and decide "ahh nothing else is working to sell this place, so I'll rent it." Nah....it's not like that.
First of all the truth of the matter is NOT EVERYONE IS CUT OUT TO BE A LANDLORD. It's true. Not everyone has the stomach for it.
Ok now...will your house even make a profit for you to be able to be a landlord? How much is market rent? Then how much is your mortgage payments? Your taxes? Insurance? And any utilities or anything that YOU, the landlord, must pay, like licenses, etc. After you do the math...do you come out ahead or behind?
So you'll have a positive cashflow every month. Awesome! Now, how much do you have in reserves? Didn't think you needed that eh? Well you do. What happens when your tenant calls you and says "uhh Mr. Landlord we have no heat, the heating system just went!" Guess what happens? You had best be getting a new heating system so your tenants have heat. It's the LAW that you provide them with heat.
Ok so hopefully you get my drift about having some cash reserves saved up just in case (and believe it's not just in case you need it...it's WHEN you need it.) Now what about asking yourself if you will be able to deal with different personalities of tenants that you come in contact with or the different personalities of the potential tenats that you will meet. Do you even know how to screen tenants properly? Do you know how to read a credit report? Do you know how to check the tenants references? Do you know how to determine if their references are real or if they pulled them from their rear-end? Do you know the eviction process? Can you handle a tenant NOT paying the rent; financially and emotionally? Can you handle a tenant damaging your house; again financially and emotionally?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself before you tell that real estate agent of yours "Yeah, you know that's a great idea...I think I WILL rent out my property and become a landlord!"
Just for the record...landlording can be very profitable, but you must know what you're getting yourself into first.
If you have a house that you're having problems selling and you want to get a cash offer now and sell your pa house fast with no commissions or fees then call Carey at 610-999-6410 today or fill out this form on our website to receive your quick cash offer!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Don't Bury Your Head in the Sand for Too Long Folks!
Ok so I was recently talking to a woman who needed to desperately sell her house. Her and her husband haven't lived in it for over 8 months. They moved! They bought a new house! They are done with the old house. Ok?
Now, let's also add the fact that they are paying approximately $1500 to $1800 a month (this includes taxes and insurance) every month on a house they don't live in anymore. Plus, they still pay all of the utilities; electric, water, sewer, heat, etc.
And let's also add the fact that the husband is in desperate need of an operation that he will most likely be getting soon that will PUT HIM OUT OF WORK! What's that mean? Less income coming in of course. Soooooo less money to pay BOTH mortgages, right?
I'm not even done yet. Their house has been listed for going on 6 months now! It's a nice house, in a nice neighborhood but #1) People aren't getting approved for mortgages now like they used to and #2) These sellers are UNREALISTIC about their price. Ummm somethings wrong if you've gone 6 months and your nice house in your nice neighborhood hasn't sold!!!
So what's the problem here you're wondering? Well there is no problem for ME....I offered to help these folks out of their Problem situation but they are waiting around for that $30,000 to $40,000 payday! Hint: It ain't happening because they aren't going to sell their house for that much above what's owed. Plus, keep in mind that thus far they've already spend $18,000 plus paying the mortgage and utilities! So, don't forget to keep deducting those costs from that potential profit they are looking to make.
Bottomline folks: Don't bury your head in the sand or get too emotionally attached to your property when you CAN NOT AFFORD TO KEEP YOUR PROPERTY! Sure, you may potentially be giving up $30k of profit....but at $1800/mo in bills for a house you don't live in and can't afford........paying those bills for a year and a half will have already eaten up that $30k profit of yours! Now guess what? When you sell your house you sell it for a HUGE LOSS.
Keep in mind that I don't tell you this stuff to scare you, I tell you this stuff to help you stay on top of your real estate situations. I see them every single day.....don't wait too long and become the sellers' that I'm talking about in this situation who are going to end up in a huge negative situation.
If you need to sell your Pennsylvania house fast and for cash then visit: SellYourPaHouse.Com today!
Now, let's also add the fact that they are paying approximately $1500 to $1800 a month (this includes taxes and insurance) every month on a house they don't live in anymore. Plus, they still pay all of the utilities; electric, water, sewer, heat, etc.
And let's also add the fact that the husband is in desperate need of an operation that he will most likely be getting soon that will PUT HIM OUT OF WORK! What's that mean? Less income coming in of course. Soooooo less money to pay BOTH mortgages, right?
I'm not even done yet. Their house has been listed for going on 6 months now! It's a nice house, in a nice neighborhood but #1) People aren't getting approved for mortgages now like they used to and #2) These sellers are UNREALISTIC about their price. Ummm somethings wrong if you've gone 6 months and your nice house in your nice neighborhood hasn't sold!!!
So what's the problem here you're wondering? Well there is no problem for ME....I offered to help these folks out of their Problem situation but they are waiting around for that $30,000 to $40,000 payday! Hint: It ain't happening because they aren't going to sell their house for that much above what's owed. Plus, keep in mind that thus far they've already spend $18,000 plus paying the mortgage and utilities! So, don't forget to keep deducting those costs from that potential profit they are looking to make.
Bottomline folks: Don't bury your head in the sand or get too emotionally attached to your property when you CAN NOT AFFORD TO KEEP YOUR PROPERTY! Sure, you may potentially be giving up $30k of profit....but at $1800/mo in bills for a house you don't live in and can't afford........paying those bills for a year and a half will have already eaten up that $30k profit of yours! Now guess what? When you sell your house you sell it for a HUGE LOSS.
Keep in mind that I don't tell you this stuff to scare you, I tell you this stuff to help you stay on top of your real estate situations. I see them every single day.....don't wait too long and become the sellers' that I'm talking about in this situation who are going to end up in a huge negative situation.
If you need to sell your Pennsylvania house fast and for cash then visit: SellYourPaHouse.Com today!
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