1% of the value

Yes, you can deduct mortgage interest as well as property tax and maintenance from your investment property in Canada. If you own multiple units and you are the one managing them you should also open a property management company and charge your properties a management fee which is also tax deductible.

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I live in a condo in brooklyn, ny. it is around 830 square feet. my property tax is around 5,500 for the year. in my building i talked to a few people and their apartments are bigger and with a view and they pay around 2,100 for the year. i called up the city of new york department of finance and i always get someone that says that property taxes are high and it is what my building management submitted when they built this building so i went to my building management and they said this has nothing to do with them. please help i dont have much money to file a lawyer or something what could i do. i mean isnt it common sense 830 square feet apartment cant run a property tax bill of that high. and if other people in building has bigger apartments how come theirs are cheaper i mean by 50 percent cheaper. please help.

You need to contact your local treasurer or auditors office. You will need to determine if the property is truely being assessed for 830 sq ft or not. If it is wrong, they may need to see some sort of appraisel to verify to make the correction. Typically corrections are easier to get done than if you are just fighting a reduction in your taxes. They usually will make you wait until next tax year before you see a reduction in taxes due to a mistake or clerical error. However, if they are taxing you based on 830 sq ft then you will need to acquire comps of your neighbors to verify the injustice. You can typically get these from the auditors office manually, or you can have a realtor, title company or real estate lawyer pull them for you for a fee. Every area has a process of fighting taxes, but they are all supposed to be comparable to your neighbors - so check with you local auditor/treasurer's office to determine what their process is. And in the meantime I suggest getting your comparatives together.

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I would like to rent out my current 2 bedroom condo and either purchase another condo (1 bedroom) or rent an apartment. are there any tax advantages that would make me lean more one way than the other? because of the current market conditions, i am unable to sell the property but it's in a transitional neighborhood and i feel in about 5 years the value will increase greatly.

You will need to talk to a CPA as only they will be able to tell you what your tax advantage would be for renting. Also please know that when renting a piece of property, you would have to decide whether you want to hire a property manager or do it yourself. The property manager does all the renting, screening, collecting rent, doing repairs, etc...whereas if you do it yourself, you have to learn as well as do all the repairs and take the calls in the middle of the night. As far as buying a new condo.You would have to qualify for this payment as well as your new payment if you don't have 2 years experience as a landlord. Investors would also like to see at least 6 months of assets, most likely to cover both payments. I know this doesn't sound real encouraging but guidelines has changed drastically. buyingahome www.buyingahomehowto.com

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If i rent a small apartment for myself while giving my condo for rent: is my own rent payment completely tax deductible? how about property tax? how about condo fee? thanks

mortgage int, real estate taxes, condo fees, repairs and maint, any utilities you still have to pay, like water and sewer

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I understand when buying condos and townhomes you are expected to pay "condo fees" to live there. i was wondering what this covers? i assume in a condo building (apartment) it will cover grounds upkeep and building maintenance but what about townhomes? does it include basic utilities because i thought it was all separate. do you also have to pay property taxes as if you were in a home? just in case this makes a large difference, i am a canadian citizen and i'm purchasing my first home in canada.

condo fees vary, so you need to ask. Normally they cover common electric, e.g. lighting for the exterior and hallways, property taxes for the common areas, exterior maintenance, which could include all or part of the exterior maintenance, and sometimes it covers all or part of your utilities...most commonly just your heat bill. You still pay property taxes on your unit. The problem as i see it is you have very little control over the maintenance fee, and if you are buying in an older building that could be die for a lot of maintenance, your HOA fee's could skyrocket. The good part about them is it is kind of like apartment living...you don't have to worry about doing any exterior maintenance yourself.

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I believe that the property taxes that exist on the home that you live in are not equitable. if my home goes up in value, i still have to live there. why should we have to pay more in property tax when you only have one home, condo, or apartment and it's small. we should not be taxing necessities! if you rent, the property tax is passed on from the government to your land-lord to you and you pay it as part of your rent. if you are buying a home, the property tax is probably included in your mortgage payment and as your home increases in value, your house payment goes up. i propose that we greatly reduce the property tax on 1 small home or apartment -- which is a necessity. most people should not pay property tax at all because most people have only one small home which is just big enough to live in. people with larger families could be allowed a larger home with more square footage without being penalized because for larger families, they need larger homes. sales tax instead! [quote] well, make up your mind income tax or sales tax? [end of quote] that's a good question. i seem to be contradicting myself. i think that we need both sales tax and income tax because these are the people that have the money to pay. in my opinion, we should not pay tax at all on necessities such as one small home and basic foods. in place of the earned-income credit, there should be an exemption of the social security & medicare taxes for the poor working people and the rich should pay social security & medicare taxes on all of their income. social security is a very regressive tax. the poor pay and the richer you are the less percentage you pay. this is opposite of how it should be.

While I disagree, there is a good argument to be made for replacing all taxes (property and income) with a "consumption-based" sales tax. This is used in Europe, and the best books on it are two written by Neal Boortz (www.boortz.com). He calls it the "Fair Tax".

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I am eu citizen, now living and working in the us on h1 visa. i am planning to buy a condo apartment in the us taking a mortgage. if in a couple of years i might move back to europe and i might decide to rent the apartment. this can be the scenario in two years: my revenues in the us will be only the rent ($20,000 per year) and financial revenues from cd and savings accounts ($5,000 per year). total $25,000 my property taxes will be $3600 per year, my mortgage interests will be $12,000 per year and i will have additional $3,300 manteinance costs per year. i am eu citizen and i will live and work and in europe at that time. how much taxes will i have to pay per year in the us?

Property taxes and maintenance costs are deductible against the rental income. I'm not certain I know what the $12,000 represents. To the extent that it represent interest payments, it is deductible. If any part of the amount is repayment of the principle of the mortgage, that part is not deductible. You may also be able to deduct the portion of your condo fees that are used for general maintenance and upkeep of common areas. The IRS publication below deals with residential rental property. I hope it answers your questions.

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I owned a condo that i sold in march of 2007, but i moved out of it into an apartment in october of 2006. does this mean that i did not own a principal residence since 10/06, or since 03/07? how will this be verified on my tax return next year if i buy a house this year?

It's for a first time home buyer only defined as: You purchased your main home located in the United States after April 8, 2008, and before December 1, 2009. AND You (and your spouse if married) did not own any other main home during the 3-year period ending on the date of purchase. Main home: Your main home is the one you live in most of the time. It can be a house, houseboat, housetrailer, cooperative apartment, condominium, or other type of residence. Your main home from October 2006 - October 2009 will be an apartment you do not own. On November 1st, 2009 you will qualify as a first time home buyer according to the IRS definition. THIS JUST IN - THE $15,000 HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT IS BACK ON THE TABLE, NOT FOR JUST FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS BUT EVERYBODY. READ ABOUT IT HERE: http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/06/23/15000-homebuyers-tax-credit-back-on-the-table/

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I live in southern california. i am looking to puchase a home but dont want to spend more than 300,000 with a 6% interest. last year my husband and i made 60,000, but this year i expect to make more but i am not sure if that is enough. our credit is good. can you answer the following questions? 1) what should i expect to be my monthly payment? 2) is it better to be 100% financed or should i put down a down payment. how much of a down payment should that be? 3)should i purchase a condo and then sell later to purchase a single family home? do condos have association fees? are condos like apartments? 4) where do property taxes fall in? do we pay those up front? or month to month? 5) are there any other fees other than mortgage that have to be paid, such as insurance? what are those and how much do they cost? 6) are there any government funded plans/promos for people within our income range to help purchase a home? any other info can help.

Principal and Interest: $1,798.65 ($300,000 @ 6%, 30yr) Property Taxes: 150 (probably more, not familiar with CA taxes) Insurance: 100 (probably more, not familiar with area) PMI: 30-150( Depending on Credit score and money down) Current Monthly Income: 60,000/12 = 5,000/mo *.28( Less Income Tax) 5000-1400= Monthly Income 3,600 Estimated Mortgage $2,100 Just an estimate, but it is much tighter than I would want to live. 1) Estimated $2100, as shown there are many factors the main being money down. That is also dependent on a 6% interest rate 2) An 80% loan will remove PMI, which in my opinion is best case scenario. Down Payment would be $60,000 dollars. From there your PMI will be based on ltv(loan to value ratio) in increments of %95 or 90. The lower your LTV the less PMI you will pay. The biggest draw back to having a 100% loan is that your PMI will be high. Also if your home loses value and you need to sell you will have no equity. 3) That is a tough question, as I cannot predict condo appreciation. I know in Florida that MAY be a bad move, I don't know if the same is true California. That is speculation and you should research property value trends in the are. Condos do have association fees and they vary depending on what the association is responsible for. Condos are like apartments, the big difference being ownership. 4) Your lender will add money to your monthly mortgage and hold them in escrow (I included this in your estimated monthly payment). They will then pay the tax bill at the end of the year. You may be responsible for getting them the tax bill. 5) Homeowners Insurance depends on the risk factors associated to the property; such as: closest fire department, natural disaster risk, cost to replace property and so on. My estimate was a hundred dollars monthly ( this will also be added to monthly mortgage payment), honestly I think it would be higher. Also PMI will be added to your PMI as explained earlier. Your home owner association fees you would most likely be your responsibly outside of your mortgage payment. Property Taxes as I said $150 a month. Once again they could be much higher, it is dependant on your local milage rates. 6) You would probably qualify for an FHA loan, which the main benifit would be a lower down payment. Also, your Interest can be a deduction on your income tax. Stay away from creative financing. Make sure you get a fixed rate with no longer than a 30 year note. DO NOT get an adjustable rate mortgage, these should be reserved for professional investors. All in all be careful. Don't push your finances too far, b/c it becomes very easy to make mistakes. Read all the fine print and deal only with people you trust. It is a big decision and should be approached with caution and knowledge. Once again Adjustable rate mortgages may look good on paper, but they are capable of turning into nightmares as interest rates rise. Good Luck

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I'm young and just starting out in the "adult" world. my parents suggested to me that i get a condo or townhouse instead of throwing away money on rent. would this be a good choice? i was looking at condos online...are utilities generally not included? what is this whole monthly tax payment? what are assessments? do i still have to pay property taxes even though it's a condo or townhouse? would someone making $42k a year be able to afford a $144k condo for approx $1200/mo w/ a mortgage at 6% interest for 30 years? any answers would help. this is all confusing to me! thanks.

The advantage of a condo for you is that it will be cheaper to buy and require little maintenance. You own the place, all expenses, including utilities, are your problem. Remember that "utilities included" in the rent simply means the rent payment is higher than it would be if utilities were NOT included. Monthly tax payment is the money set aside for the annual check to the county or city or whoever is the taxing authority. It is usually added to your payment. Assessments are charges for things that are not part of your condo maintenance fee. If they had to replace the roof, for example. Can you afford it? Figure out the interest you will pay on the loan for your first year. (Your loan company can give you that). Plug that number into a Turbo Tax or other tax prep package. Include your real estate taxes. Calculate without the interest and taxes and then with. That gives you the tax benefit of owning VS renting. Take the house payment, deduct what you would pay for rent, deduct the tax benefit difference from above. That is your out of pocket difference and it will tell you if you can afford the place. For total return, deduct the annual increase in value (projected) and the amount of money that goes to principle. That will give you the total return.

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I'm renting an apartment right now and for the price i am paying i am paying for rent each month i could buy a condo and start building my fico. my boyfriend and i have found a condo we really like and can afford, but we were wondering which taxes we would have to pay. currently, we don't have to pay property taxes or school taxes. do you pay those when you own a condo?

There are several red flags in your question. First before you and your B/F purchase any property you should prepare and sign a contract between the two of you stating who and what each of your responsibility if for paying the mortgage on the condo. You should also decide who get the condo in case of a break up. What happens if neither of you are able to make the monthly mortgage payment. I know that things are going great now, but it is better to make an agreement when things are going great as oppose to when things start going down hill. You will be required to pay county property taxes as well as for a hazard insurance (fire) policy. This is in addition to paying your monthly mortgage payment. You also have utilities that you will be required to pay. Each municipality has their own taxes you would be required to pay, some require homeowner to pay a school tax independently of the regular county taxes, but most simple toss them in with the county property taxes. The county then has the responsibility of making sure the city get the proper amount of money. So for all the taxes levied by a city and county you would simply get one tax bill and that would be from the county in which you reside. I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck. "FIGHT ON"