Home Buying Tips

Buying a Home in Montgomery County?

MONTGOMERY COUNTY REAL ESTATE IS HEAVILY SOUGHT AFTER.

It is one of the fastest growing areas in Texas north of the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area. There are thousands of properties in the Lake Conroe area and in The Woodlands on the market at any given time. Find out why so many call it home and tips for buying your next house in Montgomery County TX.

Homeowner Basics

• Expect to spend an estimated 1 percent of the purchase price of your real estate investment annually on maintenance such as new windows, sealing driveways, gutter repair, and other maintenance associated with property ownership.
• Tax Breaks for first-time buyers
  • Mortgage Credit Certificate programs- first-time homebuyers can qualify for federal income tax write-offs to make qualifying easier.
  • Homeowners who itemize their returns can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes.

Credit FYI

• Most of the credit reporting organizations provide one free copy of your tax return annually.
• Begin monitoring your credit score six months before shopping for a home.
• Use that time to build or repair credit. Be sure to check your report for mistakes, unpaid accounts or collection accounts.
• Credit Utilization is a ratio of how much credit is used versus available credit and is a key to an optimal credit score.

Taxes

• Can I deduct my mortgage interest? Yes, mortgage interest deduction allows you to deduct the interest on your real estate investment for the year that you paid it. In order to deduct mortgage interest it must be itemized and your total deductions must exceed the IRSs standard deduction.
• Can property taxes be deducted? Yes, property taxes are fully deductible against current income taxes.
• How are property taxes calculated? Texas uses the Appraisal District method that consolidates all of the taxing districts such as county, city schools, hospitals, etc. into one tax billing using the same appraisal value. The amount of taxes due is unique to each property and is based on appraisal value and location. As Realtors, we will be able to give you an estimate on the annual tax liability of each property.
• What are property taxes used for? Property taxes are used to help fund public services.
• Are homeowners fees tax deductible? No, homeowners fees are not tax deductible because they are considered living expenses.
• What is a Cost Basis? Cost basis is defined as the money an owner spends for permanent improvements through the time in their home. These are added to the amount paid for the property and are usedto offset the capital gains taxes when a real estate investment is sold.
• What is an Escrow account? An Escrow account refers to an account created by the lender to hold money to pay for real estate taxes and mortgage and homeowners insurance premiums each month.

Insurance

• Standard homeowners insurance protects against: fire, lightning, wind, storms, hail, explosions, riots, aircraft wrecks, vehicle crashes, smoke, vandalism, theft, breaking glass, falling objects, weight of snow or sleet, collapsing buildings, freezing of plumbing fixtures, electrical and water damage from plumbing, heating or air conditioning systems.
• Standard insurance policies are called at-risk policies that cover everything except earthquakes, floods, war and nuclear accidents.
• Basic policies are expandable and able to include coverage for floods and earthquakes.
• Home-based business-coverage does not cover liability associated with business.
• Recommended insurance coverage is equal to the full replacement value of the home.
• Inflation rider is type of insurance coverage that increases as the home value increases.
• A Guaranteed Replacement Cost Insurance tends to cost more but delivers more comprehensive coverage than standard policies. It promises to cover the complete costs less deductible of replacing a destroyed house.

We focus on helping you make the best home purchase possible

Hoover Lake Conroe Realtys number one priority is customer satisfaction. Below are FAQs to help our clients in their real estate investment: