Just wondering if it'll raise my home's value if I re-finish the attic into a master bedroom in a 1 1/2 story bungalow.  I don't think I'll do it unless I can list the home with a higher square footage when it comes time to sell.
204680
Is the rest of the house heated & air conditioned?  If so, the attic will need to be also.  Then the square footage is listed as "under air".
22275
Today's realtor never cease to amaze me what they see as OK.  If the realtor is the agent for the selling party, how do you think the seller would feel if they found out, especially if the realtor is kicking back something else to the buyer in the first sale or the second sale.\n\nFIRST EDIT: I'm not saying that from the buyer's perspective it isn't a good strategy, but raises some ethical questions for me.\n\nSECOND EDIT: Do you have a realtor?  If not, they should be lowering their fees on the first sale for god's sake.  If they aren't doing that, you don't want them selling your house.
394161
If this is the house of your dreams and it is a great deal then go for it. This will motivate you to price your house properly with the market. If you wait till the market turns around then  other homes will cost you more when the time comes.
258340
As an agent, I would have to disagree with the yard suggestion.  A nice yard and curb appeal may improve the marketability but it will not usually affect the actual value.  Increasing the finished square footage will almost always increase the value, but like with anything, you have to compare the added value to the cost of the improvement.  Improvements to the kitchen and bathrooms will add value.  Don't make anything too personal, ie: wallpaper, bright colors (unless you are willing to repaint) unusual flooring choices/colors or tile.  Try to stay neutral.  A good agent should be able to tell you what improvements bring the most added value in your particular area.  Best of luck!\nCheck this article out:\nhttp://www.realtor.org/publicaffairsweb.nsf/Pages/CostvsValue2005
642568
I bought my first house with the help of a first time buyer program.  I had to take one 2 hour course (free, all I had to do was show up & listen), and the county paid my down payment.  It showed as a silent second mortgage.  As long as I lived in the house, and did not refinance, I did not owe any money to the county.  When I did refinance I had the option of paying that money back or making payments just like any other loan.  I was able to close on that house for $300 out of pocket because of that program.  As another poster said, there are many programs out there.  Some will even offer very low interest loans to make improvements to your home after you move in.  Your Realtor or mortgage broker should be able to steer you in the right direction as far as what programs you qualify for that are available in the area you are buying in.
297964
I would try to sell it on your own. I don't think realtors add much value to the transaction. In my experience all realtors know how to do is fill out their company's stock sales contract. It amazes me that they make so much money by doing so little.
81403
Figures for GLA only include above grade living area.  So, when your agent lists your house it will show as 2,500sf (or whatever) with finished basement etc.  The square footage is not really the first palce that a buyer will look.  It will be number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
166422
It depends on the type of appraisal.  If the income approach is used the only measurement of square footage you will be using is how much is charged to tenants per square foot.  So either ext. or int. may be used, the main focus is how much income the property recieves.  Look for things called net leasable area or gross leasable area.  In the sales comparison approach they will use other properties to value your property.  One thing they will look at is square footage, whichever measurement they use, ext. or int., they have to use the same measurement on all properties.  In the cost approach they will use both types of measurements because in this approach they are trying to see how much it would cost to replicate the property.  My best advice would be to contact a local appraiser who deals in commercial properties and ask them.  Some of them won't help but after a few calls you'll be able to find someone who will.
317476
You will be buying any skeletons they have in their closet.  If the seller cannot produce an accurate, detailed inventory to back up their asking price, then move on.  Also, that inventory can include discontinued styles that are no longer available for re-order.  Have them show proof that they are an authorized retailer for each line they carry and double check with each manufacturer on ther seller's order history with each designer.  Carrying discontinued styles and not being able to order from a particular vendor devalues those pieces exponentially.  I ran into those issues when thinking of buying a shop that was "valued" at 175K.  I walked away when the owner turned down an offer of 85k.  I started my own shop with brand new stock, twice the square footage, and much nicer for about 40k.  As they say in latin:  Caveat Emptor-Buyer Beware!
308944
No, the house is part of the real estate, too bad it was not a trailer! anyway there is nothing stopping you from making an offer, so go to a realtor, anyone will be happy to write it up, if you are in the norther michigan area give me a call, lol! just make an offer of what you are willing to pay, often times listing agents will list a house at whatever the owner wants just to get the listing, kind of like blowing sunshine up their skirts...i digress, just go to a realtor and make an offer, if you can pay cash instead of a mortgage you will have a good chance. good luck
664908
Here's the catch. When you sell a home, the transaction never goes beyond the county level. The only records the IRS will ever see are those provided by the bank, and what YOU tell them on your tax return. There is no space on the tax return that requires you to document how much PROFIT you made. You can buy a home for $100k, and sell lit 6 months later for $150k, but who's to say you didn't put $45k into repairs and remodeling, costs of selling, etc.? That means that you only have to declare $5k profit, IF you don't put it into another house. Don't volunteer any information, wait until they ask for it. They have to prove that you owe them money, you don't have to prove that you don't.
548180
YOU MAY WANT TO READ THIS ANSWER -- THE OTHERS ARE WRONG !!!\n\nYes, your understanding is correct that when you convert a rental property into a principal residence there may be capital gains consequences.\nIf you have never lived in this property but are contemplating doing so, what you need to do in order to determine whether there is a gain is to obtain a current "fair market value" of the property. In your case, you will want as low a value as possible, so get it appraised or ask a real estate agent to give you a potential selling price given the area, market values, and condition of house (so get this done BEFORE you make any repairs).\nTo determine if there is a CG : take the current FMV and subtract from it the price you purchased the house for (example....if you bought it for 80K and it is valued at 96K when you move in...then your gain is 16K) but from this 'gain' you get to subtract any costs or outlays you incurred (these include legal bills to purchase the property + land transfer taxes + appraisals + capital improvements to the property that were never expensed such as new furnace or new roof or new appliances etc....) so to continue the example...if these totalled 12K, then your CG would now be 16K - 12K = 4K...so you would need to pay tax on HALF of this gain or 2K. The tax would be whatever your tax rate is for your income level x 2K (21%, 31%, as high as 46%).\nIf your CG is actually negative, then there is NO tax owing as there is NO capital gain.\nAlso, here's a small but significant point, if you have not been claiming the rental income on your tax returns these past years, then you certainly would be foolish to all of a sudden claim capital gains.\n\nIn a nutshell, you will want to have as LOW a fair market value as you can currently, have as many outlays accounted for as possible (many of these will be found on the Statement of Adjustments from the lawyer at time of purchase -- also any bills for improvements) as these go to lessen the 'actual' or deemed gain.\nAlso, if you initially did live in the house for a time and then converted to rental...then this may be of benefit as when you converted to rental (there is no CG as it was primary residence) the FMV at that time becomes your ACB - Adjusted Cost Base, which you use to calculate the CG instead of the purchase price.\n\nAlso, be careful reading the advice some are giving -- they really sounded unknowledgable.
163915
There could be interferences depending on how your building is sited on the lot.  Keep in mind that if you are building a residence the presence of mature trees is a real plus and your building plan should preserve as many as possible.  \n\nUnless your building has a large footprint, the cost of tree and stump removal will be a tiny portion of your overall costs.  Roots must be removed in the immediate area of slabs and foundations, however roots beyond these areas will not pose a problem.
79456
It depends on who rents your home.  If all goes well you will come back and everything will be the same as you left it.  You could also come back to find everything that isn't nailed down has been sold, heck even some items that were nailed or bolted down could be sold.  There are a lot of horror stories about renting out houses, you may want to think twice about it.
277615
What are you zoned for?\n\nI can use teh real-world example of my mon's house.  We're selling her house in New York City so we can move her out here by us in New Jersey.  Upon doing our due dilligence, we were pleasantly surprised to find she was a C-3, which meant it could be listed as a commercial.\n\nAs a residential, the best she could have hoped for was $325-350,000, based on the comparable listings in the neighborhood.  We wound up getting $450,000 from a commercial buyer.\n\nSpeaks for itself!\n\nHope this helps!\n--J.
547331
Uuummmmm, hello...if it is your house and you don't want to sell anything, then don't. Besides...the longer you keep all that, the more it will be worth anyway.
81284
If the house was already in the children's names, then there was no inheritance.  Therefore it would be considered a sale of real estate.  I believe the basis of the house would have been the basis on the date of the transfer, not the appraised value.  Don't forget to add the cost of any improvements to the original basis.\n\nFor more information go to the IRS website and download Publication 523 - Selling Your Home.  If that doesn't help, call the IRS directly.