Dose of Reality in re BRAC (Huntsville, Madison: home, to buy, college)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by rnc76

You should definitely make it up to Green Mtn and check out the nature trail. It is an awesome place for a nice walk and a picnic. The fall foliage is really nice up there. Then drive around a little bit and check out the views some of those lucky ducks have.

County of Madison Parks: Nature Trail-Green Mountain‎

[Elizabeth_G]

rnc76: I'm with you! I'd LOVE to have a home on top of the mountain. (single story with no steps, dramamama!) The Ledges is SO nice. We love it there. Gorgeous.

I just sold a Hunter Home in the development you all are talking about. I know those homeowners MUST be having a fit. I certainly would be. I'm not knocking Hunter Homes, but the other homes are much more expensive. My client is happy, to say the least. She's building a FAR less expensive home in a great neighborhood with ammenties. My client was told she WOULD have rights to use the pool...after reading LCTMadison's remarks, I'm thinking I need to make a phone call in the morning to HH and ask some questions !

[LCTMadison]

Elizabeth....
As of now, from what I understand, Phase II and III do not have pool rights, only Phase 1. Phase II and III were not included in the CCR's of the neighborhood. I can DM you the name of the attorney if you would like it and you can contact him about what is going on. But it looks like it is heading towards Phase I becoming a seperate neighborhood from II and III.
I would not trust Hunter Homes. Ever. They will say ANYTHING to get a house sold. Horror stories......I would contact the attorney.

[Elizabeth_G]

Thank you for the heads up LCTMadison! I'll contact the name you gave me first thing tomorrow. Sad to hear about Hunter saying anything to sell a home. I had always heard positive things about them If they have misled my buyer....well, you can imagine!
Honestly, I don't think my buyer would care. She was thrilled to have a choice between the 2 neighborhoods (Maple Ridge and this one) for the same price. It was a no brainer. I, however, will care. Don't like being misled.
Thanks again!

[ionlife]

It seems that the developers and builders in this area are using the "non disclosure" laws in AL to their advantage. I get the 'BUYER BEWARE" deal, but mistakenly thought it only applied to the buyer having the responsibility to make sure the seller was on the spot re: construction etc. Who knew developers who had over-extended themselves and gambled with money they didn't have would turn "BUYER BEWARE" into the actual HOA docs hurting the buyers rather than protecting them. I reviewed our bylaw posting and it was AFTER the community successfully petitioned to have the declarant back off forcing them to pay $500,000 for a pool and clubhouse they believed was part of their home sale price--not only are we all getting punished now for it, but that pool and clubhouse are by no means worth the 500K the declarant claims. IMHO

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by mm42

For a married couple, your capital gain needs to exceed $500K for the situation to come into play, so I doubt that is driving much of anything.

LOL...

1) You assume a capital gain over $500K is very rare...

2) Your info is not correct, a couple is eligible of upto $500K, an individual is eligible upto $250K. Please consult the IRS rules.

3) You can do this with more than one house, as long as it qualifies as your primary residence.

[mm42]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

Well... some people (like some of our posters in this forum) needs to roll their capital gain into a new house in order to avoid paying taxes.

Let me try again:

Rolling over capital gains into your next home purchase no longer exists. It was replaced in 1997 by the single transaction exemption I quoted previously.

Therefore, capital gains tax considerations cannot be driving home purchase prices.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by mm42

For a married couple, your capital gain needs to exceed $500K for the situation to come into play, so I doubt that is driving much of anything.

According to http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p523.pdf

Maximum Exclusion


You can exclude up to $250,000 of the gain on the sale of your main home if all of the following are true.

• You meet the ownership test.
• You meet the use test.
• During the 2-year period ending on the date of the sale, you did not exclude gain from the sale of another home.

You may be able to exclude up to $500,000 of the gain on the sale of your main home if you are married and file joint return....

For some 'highly mobile professionals', they may not able to meet the 2-year residence requirement of their prior home, hence roll over the gain into the next purchase.

[mm42]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

For some 'highly mobile professionals', they may not able to meet the 2-year residence requirement of their prior home, hence roll over the gain into the next purchase.

You were doing fine until you got to "hence". Rollovers do not exist anymore.

Anyone who has a capital gain higher than the exemption allows pays capital gains tax. There is no rollover rule any more, not since 1997.

HENCE, the claim that people are buying $600-700K houses to avoid capital gains taxes is bogus.

Inability to Rollover: One Tax-Law Catch - WSJ.com

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by mm42

You were doing fine until you got to "hence". Rollovers do not exist anymore.

Anyone who has a capital gain higher than the exemption allows pays capital gains tax. There is no rollover rule any more, not since 1997.

HENCE, the claim that people are buying $600-700K houses to avoid capital gains taxes is bogus.

Inability to Rollover: One Tax-Law Catch - WSJ.com

I was wrong.

Good thing that both of us are not in the profession of giving out tax advice

Now can you say 'I was wrong' too?