Louisiana Tax Deduction for School Tuition

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Heather Goodwin

We are a month into the new year, and like it or not, it’s tax season.  As you gather all the documents you’ll need to file your income tax return, don’t forget about the tax deduction in Louisiana for school tuition and expenses.

This is a deduction, not a credit, which means the amount of your school expenses will lower your taxable income.   Public school, private school, and home school expenses are included.

The deduction is limited to 50% of costs up to $5,000 per child.  There are other guidelines for exactly what can be included in the expenses and requirements for proof of expenditures.  The Louisiana Department of Revenue has scheduled informational meetings throughout the state to answer questions.  The meeting for the Shreveport area will be held Tuesday, February 9th.  For details on all that and which forms to file to claim the deduction, visit their website.

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Don’t Miss This Refund for Louisiana Taxpayers

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Heather Goodwin

Heads up on one more way to save on your taxes this year.

All Louisiana taxpayers who pay homeowners insurance are due a 4.3% refund this year.  You probably know that state homeowners insurance policies include a 4.3% Louisiana Citizens Insurance assessment on top of the premium.  This assessment is designated to pay for bonds for the damages of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.   However in years when there are no large catastrophes, LA Citizens collects enough premiums to cover their cost of operations.

You can file for the refund on your regular Louisiana tax return form or by using form R-540INS, which can be downloaded from the state Department of Revenue website. For more information and to get answers to any questions you might have, go to this Louisiana Department of Revenue site, which includes form R-540INS.

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You Might Need a New Agent if…

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Heather Goodwin

I am a full time agent.  This is my chosen career.  I love what I do and always strive to become better at it.  Yet as I work with other agents, I sometimes run across those that make me say “What the h-e-double hockey sticks?”

So in the interest of the public good, my friend from ActiveRain, Lisa Heindel, conducted a poll of professional REALTORs® across the country, asking them to finish the statement “You might need a new agent if…”. Here are the responses she compiled during her completely unscientific survey. Some are sad, some are funny, and some are all to common, but they point to why you need to do a little research before choosing your REALTOR®.

You Might Need a New Agent If….

  • Your agent doesn’t have a lockbox key to actually get you into the homes you want to see. That’s OK, you don’t mind working your appointments around the schedules of the 12 different listing agents that have to meet you and let you into the houses while secretly rolling their eyes at your agent, do you?
  • Your agent thinks using email is “high tech” or they only check it once a week. That whole email thing is just a passing fad anyway, right?
  • Your agent doesn’t have a website or blog that provides you with good, local information about buying or selling a home. See email explanation above.
  • Your current agent answers every single question with “I don’t know…”. There is a reason they are wearing that giant name tag on their lapel.
  • Your agent doesn’t know how to fill out the standard real estate forms without asking for help…from the agent on the other side of the sale. However, I’m sure that other agent has only your best interests at heart when advising them how to structure your counter offer. You’ll be fine. Really.
  • Your agent forgot to send your accepted contract to the lender or title company resulting in a delay of the closing. What do you mean you already hired the movers?
  • Your agent doesn’t keep up on changing regulations and is surprised that they can’t do something the way they’ve been doing it for years. What with all of the time they spend scheduling appointments, they can’t be expected to keep up with ALL of those changes, can they?
  • There are no photos of your house online, or there is just that one of the front. Truly, your house looks great in that picture that was taken from their car…at dusk…in the rain…with their cell phone.  Based on that one grainy shot, I’m sure the buyers will be beating a path to your door.
  • Your listing in the MLS is full of errors. You mean you don’t actually have 6 bedrooms and a pool for $99,000?
  • You find yourself looking at kitchens when you can’t even afford the toaster. But I’m sure it’s a ton of fun spending all of your spare time looking at beautiful homes that you can’t buy. Didn’t your mom tell you that disappointment builds character?
  • Your agent doesn’t own a fax machine, a camera or any of the other tools of the trade. Fred Flintstone called and he wants his stone tablet back.
  • You are always calling other agents about properties because your agent is busy. Remember, their motto is “You Are Number 1  214”
  • Your agent doesn’t answer their cell phone or only returns calls at specific times of day. If 10 or 2 doesn’t work for you, there’s always tomorrow. It wasn’t important, was it?
  • Your current agent has a “real” full time job and can only show you houses on their lunch hour and after work. Psst….this IS a real job.
  • You are emailing other agents asking if your agent’s behavior is normal. Now that’s just scary.
  • Your agent seems to enjoy controversy, whether with you or the agent on the other side. Selling or buying a house isn’t stressful enough, is it?  Don’t you want more drama in your life?

These are true life occurrences.  The names of the guilty have been deleted, otherwise this post would have been way too long.  If you are an agent reading this and recognize yourself.  Call me.  We need to talk!

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Major Changes Coming To FHA Will Affect Shreveport Home Buyers

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Heather Goodwin

In October, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that its capital reserve fund had fallen below the congressionally mandated level of 2%.  In order to restore the reserve to the mandated levels, FHA will announce some major changes to their lending guidelines that will have an impact on lenders and borrowers alike. 

Upfront Mortgage Insurance
The Upfront Mortgage Insurance that FHA requires on most of their loans will be increased from 1.75% to 2.25%.  This amount is added to the final loan amount, so there will not be additional funds needed at closing from the borrower. 

For example, a borrower with a loan amount of $200,000 would normally have $3,500 added to their loan balance due to the M.I.P.  Now that the M.I.P. has been raised to 2.25%, that amount will go to $4,500.  To put this in perspective, using current local rates of about 5.5% on a 30-year fixed rate loan, that additional amount would add $5.68 per month to the note.

Maximum Seller Contributions
Seller contributions to pay borrower closing costs is currently 6%, but will drop to 3%. 
Using a $200,000 purchase price, that is $6,000 less the seller could contribute. 

Low Credit Scores
Borrowers with credit scores below 580 will be required to put at least 10% down.  Because few lenders that offer FHA loans will accept credit scores below 620 in today’s market, this will not be an issue for most borrowers.  

Considering these upcoming changes and the fact that first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credits are only available until April, I’m encouraging anyone thinking of buying a home to act now!

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A Simple Way to Help Save a Tree

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Heather Goodwin

More and more people these days are jumping on the green bandwagon.  Not everyone is ready to invest in solar panels or geothermal heat pumps, though.

So what can a person do other than change all your lightbulbs to compact fluorescents?  Many things of course, but one of the most satisfactory to me is Catalog Choice.  This is a free service that helps you stop companies from sending you unwanted catalogs.

It has really cut down on the amount of paper that comes into my house, not to mention the amount of mail I have to sort through every day.

The process will go quickly if you save the unwanted catalogs you’re getting (or you can just tear off and save the mailing label), and when you have a bunch, just go to Catalog Choice and search by catalog name.  Enter the info from the address label, and Catalog Choice will contact the retailer for you.  If a particular catalog isn’t on the list, suggest it to them.  It really is easy, and you just might save a tree.

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2009 Louisiana Schools Tax Deduction

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Heather Goodwin

Good news for those of us with children in elementary and secondary school.  The Louisiana legislature passed a bill in 2008 (and revised in 2009) that allows taxpayers to deduct public, private, and home school tuition and expenses from their 2009 taxable income.  A taxpayer may deduct up to 50% of the costs with a limit of $5,000 per child.

That’s right.  The cost of school tuition, uniforms, curricula, textbooks, and supplies can be deducted on Schedule E when you file your 2009 tax return.  Unfortunately, costs for athletics and other extracurricular activities, as well as field trips, are not included in the deduction.

You must file a schedule E, and hopefully, you’ve kept all your receipts for proof of your claim.  For all the details and a few examples, visit this page of the Louisiana Department of Revenue website.

Please be sure to tell all your friends who have children in school about this.  If they’re anything like me, every little bit of tax relief helps.

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First Time Home Buyer Myth #5

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Heather Goodwin

I’ll improve the odds of finding the house I want if I work with more than one agent.

Au contraire, mon frere!  You will simply end up in a confusing situation with two agents warring over which one actually sold you the house, and you’ll end up cheating one of them out of their duly-earned commission.battling_agents_picnik

But why should you care?  Because you will be wasting your time as well as theirs.  If you are working with an agent, but just have to see this one house, and your agent’s not available to show it to you, go ahead and call another agent, even the listing agent.  But make it clear to them when you call that you are already in a working relationship with another Realtor®.  If that agent wants to take the time to show it to you (and the listing agent should), that’s fine.

But if you’ve got two or three agents scouring the MLS for homes for you to look at, they’ll probably come up with similar lists.  What are you going to say when Agent B asks if you want to go look at Dream House #1 which you’ve already looked at with Agent A?  Why would Agent B want to continue to work with you if they know you are using several agents in your home search?

I’m not saying you shouldn’t work with more than one agent.  I’m just saying work with only one agent at a time.  It’s the right thing to do.

For the other myths in this series click here, here, here, or here.

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Finding Your Dream Home in Shreveport

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Heather Goodwin

So, you’re ready to begin looking for that dream home.  Or are you?  If you haven’t taken the time to analyze exactly what you want in a home, you may spend a lot of time looking at houses that aren’t right for any number of reasons.  That’s an unproductive use of your time when a few minutes thinking about what is most important to you and your family could eliminate many homes from consideration.  And with the large inventory out there today, that’s a good thing. And your agent will thank you.

What does your future home look like? Where is it located? As you hunt down your dream home, consult this list to evaluate properties and keep your priorities top of mind.

Neighborhoods

  • What type of neighborhood do you prefer?
  • Gated, rural, suburban, new, older, large lot or patio home, etc.

Schools

  • What school systems do you want to be near?
  • Even if you don’t have children, when you get ready to sell, potential buyers probably will.

Transportation

How close must the home be to these amenities:

  • Public transportation
  • Airport
  • Expressway
  • Neighborhood shopping
  • Schools
  • Other

Home Style

  • What architectural style(s) of homes do you prefer?
  • Do you want to buy a home, condominium, or townhome?
  • Would you like a one-story or two-story home?
  • How many bedrooms must your new home have?
  • How many bathrooms must your new home have?

Home Condition

  • Do you prefer a new home or an existing home?
  • If you’re looking for an existing home, how old of a home would you consider?
  • How much repair or renovation would you be willing to do?
  • Do you have special needs that your home must meet?

Home Features

Write down next to each of these features whether it is a Must Have, Would Like, Willing to Compromise, Not Important item.

  • Front yard
  • Back yard
  • Garage ( __ cars)
  • Patio/Deck
  • Pool
  • Family room
  • Formal living room
  • Formal dining room
  • Eat-in kitchen
  • Laundry room
  • Attic
  • Fireplace
  • Spa in bath
  • Central air conditioning
  • Central heating
  • Wall-to-wall carpet
  • Wood floors
  • Great view

This list could go on and on, but you get the idea.  If you’re a first-time home buyer it can be hard to know what is essential and what is not.  If you’re moving up or relocating, think about the places you have lived and what you did and didn’t like about those places.  Look at home magazines to see what the latest offerings are in new homes today. 

Taking the time to think about these things will be a real time-saver when it comes time to work with your agent.  She’ll appreciate the thought you’ve put into the process and will be able to present you with a list of homes in Shreveport that best fits your needs.

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First Time Home Buyer Myth #4

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Heather Goodwin

If I Just Wait Long Enough, I’ll Find the Perfect Home

Number 4 in our list of 10 myths believed by most first time home buyers is something most of us wish was true.  I would dearly love to find the perfect home.

The truth of the matter is that no home is perfect.  People who have owned homes know this and go into the home buying process armed with valuable knowledge the first timers just don’t have.  They know what they can live and what they can’t live without.  They know what they must have to be happy with a home, and they know the things that just don’t really matter to them.kitchen counter

Some of these things may seem inconsequential to most people or even to me.  But if my client says lots of counter space in the kitchen is a must-have, it’s one of the first things I look for when searching for homes.  If I can determine from the MLS pictures that the kitchen has nonexistent counters and nowhere to add any, it’s a home we can skip for the time being.

One good place for first time home buyers to start thinking about what they must have is to think about the homes, condos, or apartments they lived in.  What made them want to come home at the end of the day?  What frustrated them every time they encountered it?  These things are worth considering in your purchase of a home you will live in for probably at least five years.

So, there are no perfect homes out there, but there are some that will come pretty darn close.  And I always look forward to the challenge of finding a home my clients will think is just about perfect for them.

You can check out Myths 1, 2, and 3 by clicking on a number.

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First-Time Home Buyer Myth #3

Posted on December 12, 2009 by Heather Goodwin

I can find all properties for sale on my own.

This is the third in a series of posts discussing ten myths first-time home buyers have about the buying process.  The article is in the October, 2008 issue of REBAC’s  publication, Today’s Buyer’s Rep.  You can read about the first two myths here and here.

In response to that statement, I’d really like to say, “No way.  You’re just kidding yourself if you think you can find all properties on your own.”  Then I remind myself that National Association of REALTORs research shows that somewhere between 80% and 90% of buyers begin their home search online and we agents are thrilled, because it makes our job easier.

Myth or No Myth?

So, I would call this a half-myth if there is such a thing.  Buyers can find a lot of properties online, but unless they’re looking at a site that is updated in real time like the MLS, they are going to be running across many properties that are either under contract or already sold.  Thus, they’ll be wasting some valuable time.  And they won’t know that until they speak to an agent. :-)

house hunting couple Even if they find a home that meets all their criteria and is still on the market, what’s the next step?  Right!  Call an agent to find out more about the home, see if there are others like it on the market, learn more about the neighborhood, or ask to go see it.

Who Knows?

So, who are they gonna call?  If they haven’t already spoken to a local agent about their house search, they will most likely call the generic office number on the listing or the agent whose contact information is tied to the listing, better known as the Listing Agent, and you know how I feel about that!

Then There Are the FSBOs

Surely if a buyer is interested in homes for sale by owner, they don’t need an agent for THAT!  No, they don’t, but they’re going to run into the same outdated information problem detailed above.  Besides that, not all FSBOs put their listings online.  Of those who do, they generally just put it on one or two websites.  So finding FSBOs online really is hit or miss.  (I DO have a way to syndicate FBSO listings to all the major real estate websites, but we all know FSBO sellers don’t really want to work with agents, and it’s another post for another day).

Let’s Analyze This

In the final analysis, I would say #3 is probably not a myth.  However, there are three things wrong with the thinking that would prompt such a statement.  

  1. It is just not the most efficient way to find a house.
  2. If you end up working with the listing agent, you’re interests aren’t being protected as well as they could be.
  3. Unless you find a FSBO to buy, you’re going to end up working with an agent anyway, so why not go ahead and find one you’re comfortable with and trust?agent laptop

The world wide web is a wonderful place to gather information about the home buying process, but when it comes to searching for a home, find a buyer’s agent whose website gives you search results with data coming directly from the MLS.  That’s the key.  Then, the only houses you won’t know about are those hot deals that agents learn about through the office network that sometimes don’t even make it to the MLS (another post for another day!).

Happy Hunting!

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