Resolutions

After spending the holidays with family and friends, this is a time of the year to start thinking about changes to make in our lives, both personal and in business.  We wanted to share one of ours with you.
Our goal is to become your REALTOR® for life.  We want you to think of us first when you need to buy or sell and that you’ll recommend us to your friends too.  That kind of trust has to be earned and we’re committed to helping you be a better homeowner even when you’re not buying or selling.
The strategy is simple.  A well-informed homeowner will make better decisions.  We’ll periodically offer information through articles and social media on a wide variety of home-related topics like maintenance tips, tax law changes, financing suggestions, insurance, equity building strategies, and rental property investments.
Please contact us if you need a recommendation on a service provider.  Our experience has built a list of reputable and reasonable contractors that you can rely upon.  When you have any kind of home-related questions, I hope you’ll have the confidence to call us.
Happy New Year.  We sincerely look forward to helping you or your friends.


DON BURNS TEAM- REAL ESTATE

as one of the TOP 500 Top Producing Teams/Individuals in Texas

CDPE, CRS, ePRO®


http://www.har.com/donburns

don@donburns.com

(281) 491-6274

(281) 734-8715

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Start Early and Live Happily Ever-after

Image
As storybooks go, the character is introduced, they meet their love interest, a villain thwarts their intentions, true love overcomes, they marry and live happily ever-after.  It's a very familiar formula. Similarly, there is a formula that couples follow in real life.  They go to college, get a good job, rent a home, fall in love, get married and buy a starter home.  They start a family, move into a larger home, save for their children's education, start planning for their retirement and if they live within their means, they invest their surplus funds. An alternative to this might be to start investing in rental homes early in their adult life before their standard of living becomes so expensive that they don't feel like they have the money to purchase rentals.  There are infinite possibilities but let's say a single person, after getting a good job, buys a small three or four-bedroom home with an owner-occupied, minimum down payment.  They move int
Read more

HOUSE CARE CALENDAR: A SEASONAL GUIDE TO MAINTAINING YOUR HOME

From summer vacations to winter holidays, it seems each season offers the perfect excuse to put off our to-do list. But be careful, homeowners: neglecting your home’s maintenance could put your personal safety—and one of your largest financial investments—at serious risk. In no time at all, small problems can lead to extensive and expensive repairs. And even if you avoid a catastrophe, those minor issues can still have a big impact. Properties that are not well maintained can lose 10 percent (or more) of their appraised value. 1 The good news is, by dedicating a few hours each season to properly maintaining your home, you can ensure a safe living environment for you and your family ... and actually increase the value of your home by one percent annually! 1 You just need to know where and how to spend your time. Use the following checklist as a guide to maintaining your home and lawn throughout the year. It's applicable for all climates, so please share it with friends and fami
Read more

It's Not Just the Tax Benefits

Image
When the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly was increased from $12,700 to $24,000 for 2018, there was some speculation that the bloom was off the rose of homeownership.   The thought was that if the tax benefits from being able to deduct the property taxes and interest was less than the standard deduction, that maybe, the buyer would be better off continuing to rent. With mortgage rates as low as they have been for the past eight years, payments have been lower and so has the amount interest that was paid.   This and the fact that sales and local taxes, which include property taxes, are limited to $10,000 a year on the Itemized Deduction form have made it harder to reach the increased standard deduction. The reality of the situation is tax benefits are only one of the components that make a home an excellent investment and it probably contributes the least of the top three benefits.   Principal reduction and appreciation build an owner's equity in
Read more