March is here and spring is on the way

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. Today is the first day of March. March is always an interesting month in Minnesota. We might have spring weather in March or we could have winter weather. This year we didn’t have much of a winter.

With the warmer weather, it might be tempting to put the snow shovels away. Putting snow shovels away in March almost guarantees a large snowstorm. I am going to leave the shovels out and keep the snow blower gassed up and ready to go. Please do not put your snow shovels away.

Here is a picture I took last Tuesday:

Crocus
Crocus blooming 2.27.2024

The iris are popping up and the lilac bushes have leaf buds.

Enjoy the weekend and be sure to get outside. Keep the snow shovels handy and remember that only you can prevent forest fires.

Down Payment Assistance 2024

Coins, money
Money

There are funds available for downpayment assistance for home buyers. Especially first-time homebuyers and first-generation home buyers. By the way, often people who have not purchased a home in the last three years qualify as first-time home buyers.

There are programs for specific areas like the whole city of St. Paul or Minneapolis. My husband and I bought our first home using a program through the City of St. Paul. Through the program, we got a forgivable downpayment grant and a lower interest rate. I can still remember how thrilled we were to be homeowners.

Just click on the link to learn more about downpayment assistance.

Ask your lender about down payment assistance programs and other programs you might be eligible for. Some of these programs will run out of money long before the year is over so hurry.

I have helped several home buyers successfully use downpayment assistance. I believe in these programs because they made a huge difference in my own life.

 

What you don’t know about your real estate agent

Small Blue House with flower boxesPeople choose their real estate agents for all sorts of reasons. Often because the agent is “nice”.  Sometimes that “nice” agent is inexperienced and sometimes they can cost you money or even the home you want to purchase.

Last year a well-meaning but very inexperienced agent encouraged her client to ask for all sorts of minor repairs. She waited until almost the end of the inspection period. The seller was blindsided and somewhat angry. He did not make all of the repairs but he did make some of them. Later when I talked to the buyer I found out that none of the repairs were his idea but his agent felt he should ask for something.

Sometimes we get purchase agreements from new agents that we have to talk them through re-writing so that they are written correctly. Once I got an offer from a person with an expired real estate license. I had a hard time finding his broker who had no idea that the agent was out representing buyers without a license.

Another agent gave her client a bunch of documents that he thought were all of the condo documents required by the state. Most of the required documents were missing. I sent the agent a link with a bunch of information and made sure that the buyer got all of the documents.

There was this agent in a Facebook group for appraisers asking for some specific information regarding St. Paul Truth in Housing inspections and requirements. An appraiser isn’t an expert on such things and the agent was referred to the city of St. Paul website and told to ask her broker if she needs help.

Recently a new agent carefully explained to me how I should handle offers on one of our listings. Why? Was that necessary?

Most of us learn early on that no matter how we would like things to go they don’t always work out that way. We can never predict what our clients will do or what other agents will do. We learn to adapt and we learn flexibility.

There are more real estate agents than ever before and fewer home sales. It is more likely than ever before that the agent you choose has never sold a house.

At the very least agents should be asked if they have ever sold a house. There is a surplus of experienced agents who are looking for work to choose from.

It is easy to get a real estate license. All agents have them and learn on the job. New agents don’t have a clue what it is that they don’t know. Home buyers are in the same boat and don’t mind working with new agents as long as the agents are “nice”.

Taxes could be easier

Iris

Yes, the taxes are done. I remember when my dad was 90 years old and one of his last requests was about his income tax return. He reminded me that it needed to be prepared and filed. Few things in life cause as much stress as income tax compliance. There may be a penalty if the filing deadline isn’t met and there are underpayment penalties too.

Most American workers have taxes withheld from every paycheck. The IRS knows exactly how much W2 workers make.

According to the National Tax Payers Union taxpayers spend $104 billion a year on out-of-pocket expenses associated with preparing and submitting tax forms. Some entail basic costs such as making copies of financial statements, receipts, or forms.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), found that complying with the tax code in 2022 consumed 6.55 billion hours for recordkeeping, learning about the law, filling out the required forms and schedules, and submitting information to the IRS.

For those of us who are self-employed, record-keeping is a daily part of running a business. It isn’t just for determining profit and loss it is all about having everything we need at tax time. Income tax compliance costs time and money, time that could be spent making more money.

Taxes are not withheld from any of my revenue. I have to calculate how much I owe and make payments. If I estimate too high and pay too much, it is best to apply what could be a refund to the next year’s taxes. If I pay too little I have to write big checks. I know plenty of people who are interested in self-employment but believe that their taxes would go up or that taxes make self-employment too risky.

I keep records as I go and almost everything is automated it takes me about three hours to gather all of the information I need to file an income tax return. I used to have to spend entire weekends working on income tax returns. Usually, warm sunny spring weekends when the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming.

Once I have all of the forms and documentation put together I pay a professional to do my taxes. Yes, I can do them myself but hiring a pro takes some of the stress out of the process. I learn something new each tax season and that helps me make better choices throughout the year. I actually mostly understand my taxes.

As for using tax preparation software, no thanks. I have used it in the past. I would call it a “bad experience” all the way around.

Supposedly the IRS is understaffed but they always have the time and the staff to find small errors in the tax returns that come from small businesses. I am not going to argue over a few dollars even if I don’t owe it.

When I am on my deathbed bed I am not going to worry about taxes. If I die owing taxes I am OK with that.

Cost of tax compliace table
From the National Taxpayers Union Foundation https://www.ntu.org

In some countries, taxes are paid online using a simple free form. In the U.S. taxes are a multi-billion dollar industry that isn’t going away anytime soon. Neither are the  74,608 pages of U.S.tax code or the 79,000 IRS employees.

Downsizing in a year or in a couple of weeks

storage containersAll too often downsizing happens after a homeowner ends up in a nursing home or after they die. As a homeowner and a mother, I made the decision long ago that I would take responsibility for my own stuff while I am still able to deal with it.

I have less stuff. I buy less stuff and I have gotten rid of many items that were stored in the basement or shed for years. When I had to move my parents out of their condo I had to figure out what to do with all of their stuff. Some of it ended up in my basement and some of it remains, ten years later.

There was furniture that I was going to “upcycle”.  Clothing that for some reason I just couldn’t part with. I got rid of stuff that I brought with me when I went off to college.  I sold a few items. Gave items to family members who put them to use. I recycled a few items and donated items to charity.

Sometimes older homeowners decide to move. If you are over 55 and have lived in the same house for 20 years or more give yourself some time to downsize. When the process is compressed due to an emergency we don’t always make the best choices. When we have time to think and plan the process goes much more smoothly.

We live in a society and culture where it is very easy to accumulate stuff and difficult to get rid of it. Some folks just toss it in the trash. That isn’t even as easy or inexpensive as it once was. Getting rid of stuff takes more time and planning than accumulating stuff ever did.

Getting a home ready to sell is all about cleaning and decluttering. Homeowners who plan ahead and allow enough time for both have a better and more stressfree experience.

There comes a point in our lives when “stuff” is more of a burden than a blessing.

Good fortune is just a cookie away

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.

This one is my all-time favorite fortune from a fortune cookie: “The fortune you seek is in another cookie” That kind of sums up my life.  Nice to see that even the people who make fortune cookies have a sense of humor.

Fortune from fortune cookie

Warm weather this weekend will melt the snow. Temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s next week. Nothing like a little late April weather in February.