equity loan calculator
Offers to buy a house usually include a 24- or 48-hour time limit
Q: Im offering to buy a home at full price. How long does the seller have to accept my offer? A: The answer depends on how long you gave the seller to respond to your offer. Most buyers set a 24- to 48-hour period for acceptance of a contract. If the seller fails to accept the contract within that time, the offer becomes null and void. If you dont put an end time on the contract, the offer could be considered valid six months from now, and you might be legally obligated to follow through if the seller accepts it as is. If you havent heard back from your seller within two days of making the offer, you should rescind the offer in writing. You always can submit the offer again with a time limit attached. This pressures the seller by letting him or her know that the offer will expire. This also limits the sellers ability to "shop" your offer to other potential buyers.
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Buying a replacement principal residence won't avoid tax
DEAR BOB: Due to a job promotion and transfer we must sell our house of 21 years. Our nice problem is the net profit will be about $625,000. My wife and I are aware $500,000 of that amount for a married couple will be tax-free, thanks to Internal Revenue Code 121. However, my insurance agent told me that if we buy a replacement principal residence of equal or greater cost, we could also avoid paying tax on the additional $125,000 capital gain. Is this true?
-- Cheryl R.
DEAR CHERYL: No. I hope your insurance agent knows more about insurance than he does about income taxes.
Since 1997, purchase of a replacement principal residence has nothing to do with avoiding capital gains tax on the sale of a former principal residence. Your insurance agent is nine years behind the times.