Carollo's Blog on Real Estate- Featuring Queens and Nassau County Real Estate Information

Qualifying for a Mortgage

According to Nolo.com, "As a broad generalization, most people can afford to purchase a house worth about three times their total (gross) annual income, assuming a 20% down payment and a moderate amount of other long-term debts, such as car or student loan payments. With no other debts, you can probably afford a house worth up to four or even five times your annual income."

Read Qualifying for a Mortage on Nolo.com to understand the formula banks use to determine how much mortage you can afford.

Trading Up: Tips for Selling Your Home and Buying Another

"Trading Up: Tips for Selling Your Home and Buying Another" featured on Nolo.com says,

"If you plan to sell your home and buy another, which should you do first? If you sell first, you’ll be under time pressure to find another house quickly -- and may end up settling for less than you wanted, or overpaying. But if you buy first, you'll have to scramble to sell your old house -- a particular problem if you need top dollar on your old house in order to make the down payment on the new one."

"Here are some ways to minimize the financial and psychological downsides of selling one house while buying another, read the entire article: "Trading Up: Tips for Selling Your Home and Buying Another"

Your Home as a Tax Shelter: Top Ten Tax Deductions for Owning Your Home

Nolo.com says: "'Your Home as a Tax Shelter: Top Ten Tax Deductions for Owning Your Home' Not just a shelter from the elements, your home also serves as a valuable tax shelter."

Your home provides many tax benefits -- from the time you buy it right on through when you decide to sell. Here's a summary of the tax benefits of home ownership; for details, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

1) Mortgage interest
2) Points
3) Equity loan interest
4) Home improvement loan interest
5) Property taxes
6) Home office deduction
7) Sellings costs and capital improvements
8) Capital gains exclusion
9) Moving costs
10) Mortgage tax credit

To find out what this means for you, the homeowner; read the entire article "Your Home as a Tax Shelter: Top Ten Tax Deductions for Owning Your Home"