The point of sale energy audits look like they’re here for a little while.  Pricing has come way down since they were first implemented, so I thought I would start a post where we can highlight the least expensive auditors.  If you know of someone cheaper, please comment, and I will add them to the list (these are listed in order of pricing – cheapest to most expensive.)  To keep it simple, I’m listing their base price (one a/c) and max square footage that base price covers (if listed.)

1. Green Leaf Energy – $150 <2000s.f. – (512) 922-7522
2. Sunergy – $150 <1500s.f. – (512) 351-5352
3. 1 Earth Energy – $169 – (512) 466-7679
4. Building Performance Audits – $175 – (512) 388-4438

I finally signed up for a Dropbox account, as I’ve been collaborating a lot with graphic designers & WP developers.  It’s a pretty great service.  You install the software, and it adds a “dropbox” folder on your system.  You then install the software on any machine you use.  Any file you want to share between machines, you simply put in the dropbox.  If you want to collaborate with friends, you create a new folder within dropbox, and share that folder.

Check it out – the free account has 2GB of storage.

Friends of ours have decided to list their house within the next week or so.  We met a couple of weeks ago and discussed staging & possible improvements.  They have a fantastic home, and it had been updated very nicely, but the bathrooms were largely original.  Since they had a very nice kitchen remodel, and great landscaping, it only made sense to update the bathrooms.

I won’t list the cost of the remodel, as the property will go on market soon, but I can guarantee that they will easily earn 400% on this one improvement (in part b/c it was the last objection any buyer would have over the home.)

Before:

After:

Short sales can make a whole lot of sense and certain provisions in the tax code can really help.

The swimming metaphors are so over used here but also so very appropriate. The long and short of it is, if you are drowning, dump the weight and then swim.  If you made an unfortunate investment decisions with your home or rental property and the property is underwater, the federal government will not cover your loss.  However, IRS code section 108 lets people in the tightest situations exclude cancellation of debt income.

First, with the passing of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, you can exclude cancellation of debt income realized from mortgage modification or foreclosure of your principal residence.  With this supreme act of common sense from congress, if your home is foreclosed on and you are forced to leave because you can make the payments they won’t tax you on the “gain” realized when you had to abandon your home.   The long and short of this is, dump the weight, and get your head above water so you can breathe.

Additionally under section 108 of the tax code, you can also exclude any cancellation of debt income (1099-C) under a variety of situations including “Insolvency”.  In IRS terms this means if your Total Recourse Debt exceeds the value of your Total Assets you can exclude the excess.

For example:

Total assets:     300K

Total debt:      -450K

Excludable cancellation of debt income            150K

Before you jump, be sure to talk to a CPA (contact us) or tax attorney to understand the rules and exactly what things like “Recourse Debt” means and assess your situation.

Concerns over credit impact are not irrelevant.  But, if you are driving yourself into bankruptcy trying to maintain payments on an asset that might recover in a few years, worries about impact of a short sales seem misguided.  In the end, it really is just a business decision.  The monikers of winning or losing or guilt really have no place here.  The fundamental question is how to stay best provide for yourself and your family.

Michael White is an Austin Accountant.

A recent discussion with the Austin Board of Realtors and Home Builders Association of Greater Austin has shown reason to be hopeful for a healthy 2010.

According to Austin real estate experts, the housing market could see a rebound during 2010. On January 13, members from each of these organizations noted the area’s better job market as a possible cause of this.

The city of Austin and surrounding area reported a significantly less loss of jobs during 2009, as compared to other Texas cities. Austin lost 4,300 jobs during November 2008 – 2009, while Dallas lost 50,700, and Houston lost 88,900. Economists also predicted that Austin’s job market would begin growing by the end of 2010.

A residential real estate market study was done that compared Austin to 30 other U.S. cities. Eldon Rude, manager of Austin operations for the study, reported the economic and housing fundamentals in Austin are the strongest among the other markets tracked. Because of this stability, he believes Austin will be one of the first markets to show a strong growth when the U.S. economy improves.

During 2009, Austin builders built 19% less homes than the year before, bringing the total to 6,490 which is the lowest level since 1995. However, the start rate remained stable during the last three quarters of 2009. Because of this, Austin builders have closed more homes than they’ve built in the last three years, resulting in less inventory issues as compared to other cities.
According to the study, new home starts will remain at the same level during the beginning of the year, primarily due to slow job growth. Experts say the test will come as interest rates get higher and the new home buyer tax credits are no longer available.
It’s also predicted that as many as 7,000 homes will be started during 2010. This is due to the current low supply of new homes, as well as the expected rebound in the local economy.

This positive outlook paired with the condition of the area’s job market, continues to make Austin, Texas, a top U.S. location. Add the fact that Austin has been named one of the “Top Cities to Live” by several publications, this capital Texas city is growing in popularity and becoming one of the best cities to call home.

This article was provided by Brian Talley of Regent Property Group, providing Austin real estate services and Austin luxury real estate services to those people searching Austin neighborhoods for purchasing or selling a home.

Forbes recently released its fastest growing large & small metro areas in the country.  Austin hit #1 with projected growth of 32% from 2007-2012.  It’s very encouraging, as Austin is expected to grow by 50% more than the #2 fastest growing market.