Whitney Minnich Real Estate and Community Updates

The Tax Snags Homeowners Are Facing This Year February 11, 2019 Tax season is here, and many homeowners may have questions about what they can and can’t write off under the new tax code. One big change: Homeowners who used to write off property taxes and interest paid on their mortgage may no longer be able to entirely. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll pay higher taxes. HouseLogic, the National Association of REALTORS®’ consumer-facing website, offers  guidance and worksheets on the changes for homeowners . Under the new law, the standard deduction every tax filer gets has nearly doubled ($24,000 for married couples who file jointly and $12,000 for single filers). That means most people likely will be better off taking the standard deduction than itemizing their write-offs. However, the number of homeowners who will be able to deduct their mortgage interest under the new rules could drop by 56 percent—from 32 million to about 14 million, according ...

7 Trick-or-Treat Safety Tips that Every Homeowner Should Know By:  Oliver Marks Published: October 22, 2012 Some Halloween tricks can really cost you. Plenty of people love a good Halloween scare — as long no one gets hurt. And that includes your house. Hot lights and large crowds present some real risks to homeowners. Follow these seven tips for trick-or-treat safety: #1 Make Your Outdoor Lights as Bright as Possible {{ include_photo halloween-safety-rules-outdoor-lights }} John Pettibone, curator of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester, Mass., suggests checking the label on your outdoor light fixtures and using the highest wattage bulbs they can safely handle. You can always switch them back after the holiday for a softer glow. Related : Outdoor Lighting for Curb Appeal and Safety #2 Prop Open the Storm Door for Trick-or-Treaters Pettibone suggests propping open the screen or storm door so it doesn't get in the way when there's a big gr...

Many Owners Lack Sufficient Insurance to Cover Disasters July 20, 2018 Many homeowners have limits on their home insurance policies that are too low to cover the full cost of repairing or rebuilding in case of a natural disaster—and the problem is particularly alarming in areas at risk of hurricanes and flooding,  The Wall Street Journal  reports. Catastrophic damage left in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria last year revealed a widespread lack of full insurance coverage for many homeowners in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere, according to the  Journal . The problem is that while many homeowners may have home insurance, their policies are too low or they don’t have flood coverage, which generally must be purchased under a separate policy. “Many people thought that they had a fully insured home or fully insured business” before last year’s storms, says Iraelia Pernas, executive director of Acodese, an industry group for insurers ...

Homeowners are sitting on a record amount of cash — and not tapping it Homeowners now have a collective $5.8 trillion in tappable equity, the highest volume ever recorded. The average homeowner with a mortgage gained $14,700 in tappable equity over the past year and has $113,900 available to draw. Consumer confidence in the housing market, which has been quite bullish, is actually dropping now. Diana Olick |  @DianaOlick Published 11:33 AM ET Mon, 9 July 2018   Updated 6:16 AM ET Tue, 10 July 2018 U.S. homeowners today are getting richer by the minute, but they are less likely to cash in on their newfound wealth than during previous housing booms. As home values rise, home equity lines of credit, often used to tap home equity, are flatlining, and the overall amount of money people are taking out of their homes is shrinking. The collective amount of so-called tappable equity, which is the appraised value of a home minus the 20 percent most lenders r...

New ULI Forecast for Real Estate, Economy Sees Three Years of Continued Strength, with Industry Set for Sustainable Growth in 2015 Through 2017 WASHINGTON (April 8, 2015) – The real estate industry is expected to remain on a sustainable course of solid growth for 2015 through 2017, according to a  new three-year forecas t  from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate. The outlook – the latest installment of the semi-annual ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast — is based on a survey of 46 of the industry’s top economists and analysts representing 33 of the country’s leading real estate investment, advisory, and research firms and organizations. An  analysis  of the survey findings by ULI leader William Maher, director of North American strategy for LaSalle Investment Management in Baltimore, highlights areas of the industry and overall economy that are generating the most optimism for 2015 through 2017: Net job growth is expec...