The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Posts Tagged ‘renovation’

With all the great deals to be found right now in real estate, people are buying homes at fabulous prices; many of these fabulously priced homes need a little bit of work either because they’re older homes or because of damage done to them while standing vacant waiting for the right buyer. With the current economic climate, many contractors are offering good deals on renovation work so that now might be a good time for you to do some upgrading before the winter cold kicks in.

Just like you should have interviewed a number of realtors before you put your old house on the market, you should interview contractors before you start renovations. Ask the contractor for references and if they have any specialties; some contractors might be experienced with certain materials that you’re looking to use in your renovation. If you’re looking to use granite in a kitchen renovation or have your bathroom enlarged and a Jacuzzi tub and a bidet installed, you’ll want someone who’s experienced with working with these types of things to ensure best results.

If you’re hiring a local contractor, ask to see any recent projects that they might have done in your area so that you can see the calibre of their work and talk to the homeowner about how well the finished product met their expectations. Even if the renovations were done years ago, they’re worth looking at to see how well they’ve done over the years.

When you do pick your ideal contractor for your job, don’t skimp on planning time either; many times that home owners aren’t happy with the completed work it’s due to not spending enough time planning out what you actually want as a final result in your renovation. Some contractors even use software that can give you a three dimensional peek at what the work will look like when it’s completed.

Make sure that you and your contractor have copies of your renovation plan and the estimates for your construction; it is also a good idea to have smaller steps outlined in the timeline so that you can make sure that things are progressing agreeably. Check in with the work as it progresses to make sure that it’s coming in close to budget and on time. The more that you can touch base with the work that’s going on for your renovation, the happier you will be with the final results.

RONA Achieves Further Growth and Makes Strategic Advances in the Second Quarter

BOUCHERVILLE, QUEBEC–(Marketwire – 08/11/10) – RONA inc. (TSX: RON – News ), the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, renovation and gardening products, today reported its financial results for the 13-week and 26-week periods ended June 27, 2010 (second quarter and first half of 2010). All figures in this release are in Canadian dollars. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Compared to the …

New trends could come in different ways – It could be done in a modern way, old style, renovation with a theme involved and your own personal customized way. But if you are after the new trends, these are the trends that were just introduced lately. Here are some new trends that could be done by home owners
themselves.

Antique or Old School Trend

Old School trend does not mean that you will turn your home into a 1970′s or 1980′s look. Old School trend simply means that you will renovate your home and make every renovation into a simple type of renovation. Most of the new trends today have a new style of renovating and new designs. This type of trend is simply turning your home into a simple, elegant and very organized home. Some of its designs are quite antique but it will still catch the attention of people who will visit your newly renovated home.

Theme Based Trends

These are trends that involve a theme depending on what theme you have in mind. If you are a Superman fan, you could turn your home into a crystal like home or a colorful home with red, blue and yellow colors. If you are a nature lover, you can turn your home into a virgin forest look. These are just some of the types of home renovation that falls under theme based trends.

New trends in home renovation will really depend on what you like. There are a lot of new trends available but choosing from those trends will really depend on the home owner.

Landscape Lighting Trends

This type of renovation will turn your home into a semi-gallery type of design. Renovating your home and adding some landscapes in your home will not only give a new look in your house but it will also be enjoyed by younger generation. This is one of the most popular renovations because you can see this type of renovation in hotel, restaurants and other establishments. It is called “Landscape Lighting” because of the different landscapes with colorful lightings found around your home.

LED (light emitting diode) fixtures are beginning to revolutionize lighting in that they use up to 75% less power than the equal candle power of incandescent and halogen lighting. In addition, these lights last 40,000 hours or 20 years worth of lighting and are powered by DC current from an adapter so the danger of electrocution is non-existent.

Renovating a house can be done once a year, once in 6 months or even once a month. There are those who often renovate their homes because of the fast changing of trends in home renovation. The taste of each individual in designing their homes is different from each other that are why there are a lot of new trends in home renovation that is always introduced.

Moncton students to debate NB Power sale

Some business students at the University of Moncton are spending part of their Christmas break debating the pros and cons of the proposed sale of NB Power.

Question: How likely is it that I could get approved for an investment property loan ?

Cost of home (duplex) – 129,000

Down Payment – 15,000

Loan Amount – 114,000

Monthly Income before taxes – 3500 (annual $42,000)

Additional Income – House is leased I am not sure if rental agreement can be used as proof of the additional income the property will give me?

Amount of monthly debts/loans – 0

Credit Score – 589 (working to get it higher so lets say I get it to 620)
My plan was to use the home as a personal residence but in a year or 2 .. and to rent it out first (investment property) I have a good job in California and the duplex is in Texas .. Instead of moving there and trying to find good jobs over there and THEN getting a loan I figured why not use my current job to qualify .. what if I can get my score to 660 and I have 25k down .. better ?

Answer: There are several questions that need to be answered before you will be able to determine if this is an investment property or a home you plan to live in.

If this is a home you plan to live in the qualifications is as those are for a single family home. You can live in one side and rent out the other side. The interest rate will be less if you decide to reside in one side.

Even if it is simply an investment property you qualify as if it is a single family property. This goes for up to 4 units. The interest rate will be a bit higher since you are not residing there.

Since you have a 589 you might consider a FHA loan, the interest rates are competitive, it might take a little longer to close the loan. The down payment could be less than you plan, but investors do not want to tie up a lot of money in property any way. So if you can get in with 10% down it will look better and your bank account would be in better shape.

Most lenders will allow 75% of the rental income to be used as income when purchasing units.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

“FIGHT ON”

Year meant tight funds in Bryan, CS

Bryan and College Station budgets and water supplies came in lower than expected this year. Smokers can no longer light up in College Station bars, and Bryan’s mayor repaid a bar tab after using a city credit card to purchase alcohol. Red light camer …

Use $8,000 Tax Credits for this Duplex

Question: Local Authority Renovation Grants – who qualifies and how much?

We bought our 3 bed victorian terraced house in an ex mining village in December 2005 for £72,000.

Its very shabby and desperately needs a lot of work done to it, but we just have no way of financing this.

We are a low income family but we are not on benefits. I am not working, partner earns around £12,000 p/a and we get tax credits.

We were turned down for a “minor works grant” as our “contribution” was too high (over £1,000 according to the Council).

We can’t apply for a Renovation Grant until we have lived here for 3 years (that will be next December). What are our chances of getting one and what could it be used for? The windows and doors need replacing, we have damp problems, the electrics all need re-doing and also the central heating system. We also have plaster coming off the walls and the house needs redecorating (desperately!)

Answer: Have you tried your local Citizens Advise Bureau (CAB) ?

Letters to the editor

Hamos is good

Renovation Tax Credit Fundamentals