Tuesday, March 31, 2020 / by Vanessa Saunders
March 31, 2020
By Vanessa Saunders, MBA, MIMC , Broker Owner, Global Property Systems
Every home owner pays property taxes on their home or commercial property. No one likes how much they're taxed. Even if you pay off your mortgage, taxes are still assessed. Along with death, they never go away. But there are some simple tricks home owners can use to lower the taxes they pay. Most involve lowering either the estimated value of the property, or lowering the tax rate.
Ask to see your property card.
Your town hall has tax cards for every home that is taxed by that municipality. This card includes information about the size of the lot, the precise dimensions of the rooms, and the number and type of fixtures located within the home. Other information may include a section on special features or notations about any improvements made to the existing structure.
Errors are not uncommon on tax cards, so as you review your card, note any discrepancies, and raise these issues with the t ...
Read More
hudson valley real estate, hudson valley property, hudson valley home owners, 'urb to 'burb, home inspections, lower property taxes, appraisals, taxes
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 / by Vanessa Saunders
By Vanessa Saunders, MBA, MIMC , Broker Owner, Global Property Systems
Morgan Housel, a partner at Collaborative Fund and a former columnist at The Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal has compiled a list of "100 Little Ideas" that help to explain how the world works; In reading them over, I found a lot of them apply to the upcoming election in general, and tonight's Democratic Party debate in particular. For example, we might experience the candidates practicing Courtesy Bias: "Giving opinions that are likely to offend people the least, rather than what they actually believe."
Another tactic we may see is called Poisoning the Well: Presenting irrelevant adverse information about someone in a way that makes everything else that person says seem untrustworthy. “Before you hear my opponent’s healthcare plan, let me remind you that he got a DUI in college.”
Or how about the unfortunately named Buridan’s Ass: A thirsty donkey is placed exactly midway bet ...
Read More
hudson valley real estate, hudson valley property, 'urb to 'burb, funny blog, global investment properties, international properties, manhattan real estate, international real estate, ny, property taxes, just for fun, taxes
Monday, November 25, 2019 / by Vanessa Saunders
Today it is one month until Christmas! And you know what the next big holiday is, don't you? That's right! The end of the 2019 tax year! Soon your mail boxes will be bulging with tax statements and important tax documents instead of holiday greeting cards and last minute Amazon gift catalogs.
If you entered the tax season last year struggling to dig up paper and digital financial records buried under an avalanche of tax statements from your mortgage company, bank, investment portfolio and divorce attorney, I'm sure that preparing your taxes were hard for you as well as your tax accountant.
The secret to smooth filing is ORGANISATION, and if you are a little bit lax in that regard, here are some suggestions to help you find and file all those necessary bits of paper or digital files.
1. Separate your tax docs.
All those tax records need to be filed so you can access them later. I suggest a folder, but you can chuck the whole lot in a shoe box or wire basket if you want. ...
Read More
hudson valley real estate, hudson valley property, home investment, taxes
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 / by Vanessa Saunders
Hudson Valley home buyers continue to fight for affordable to mid-range homes for sale in the second year of a housing shortage. The results of a study conducted by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies concluded that the current shortage of affordable to mid-range housing is due to a shortfall in housing production. According to the study, builders have been dis-incentivised to embark on building homes because of high land prices and regulatory constraints.
In 2017, New York ranked third highest among states in the nation for both the percentage of renters, 26.6% or 900,000 households, and homeowners, 12.4% or 500,000 households, deemed to be severely burdened by housing costs that consumed half or more of their income, according to U.S. Census data.
Its 2019 State of the Nation’s Housing report showed that households grew by 1.2 million per year between 2016 and 2018, a healthy rate for the population’s size and age composition. The ...
Read More
hudson valley real estate, hudson valley property, hudson valley home, home investment, housing sales, housing sales inventory, first time home buyer, executive homes, land, property taxes, ny
Monday, June 24, 2019 / by Vanessa Saunders
In the Hudson Valley, the number of buyers searching for their dream homes outnumbers the number of homes for sale. This has led to a competitive marketplace where buyers often need to stand out. One way to show that you are serious about buying your dream home is to get pre-approved for a mortgage before starting your search.
Even if you are not in an incredibly competitive market, understanding your budget will give you the confidence of knowing whether or not your dream home is within your reach.
Freddie Mac lays out the advantages of pre-approval in the ‘My Home’ section of their website:
“It’s highly recommended that you work with your lender to get pre-approved before you begin house hunting. Pre-approval will tell you how much home you can afford and can help you move faster, and with greater confidence, in competitive markets.”
One of the many advantages of working with a Global Property Systems Local Area Expert is th ...
Read More
hudson valley real estate, hudson valley property, hudson valley home, buying a home, home investment, mortgage rates, mortgage process, 'urb to 'burb, mortgage, down payment, property taxes, private mortgage insurance
