Real Estate News for Friday, November 25th, 2005

Uncle Sam has made homeownership a great deal. Not only does the tax code allow you to deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage when you itemize your return but also it lets couples reap $500,000 in capital gains from a home sale ($250,000 for single filers) every two years without owing any tax. Although there are plenty of tax advantages to owning investment properties, avoiding capital gains taxes isn't one of them. But just because you can't avoid those taxes doesn't mean you can't postpone them. That's because the tax code does allow you to exchange one income-producing property for another, under certain rules, and not pay any gain on the sale. Click here to read more.

Section 1031 of the U.S. tax code allows anyone such tax-free exchanges or rollovers of "like-kind" income property. The Skaries did that, with a twist. Instead of chasing after another income property to buy and manage again, they rolled their money into TICs. What's a TIC? -- Tenants in Common -- exchanges, allow you to sell your property and roll the proceeds over to shared property where you own a separate, tenant-in-common interest. Many married couples will recognize the tenants in common designation as the way they hold title to their own homes. But in the investment arena TIC has been used as a way to own property without being hamstrung by your partners' refusal to sell when a good offer comes along. Click here to read more.

For decades, Mammoth has been the place to ski for Southern Californians who don't want the hassle or expense of flying to trendier locales such as Aspen or British Columbia's Whistler resort. Of the 1.5 million people who skied in Mammoth last season, 80 percent were from Los Angeles, San Diego or nearby counties. The trip is a half-day's drive from San Diego up state Route 395, which runs along the eastern edge of the Sierras, through vast stretches of desert dotted with minuscule outposts of civilization such as Lone Pine, Independence and Bishop. The mountain itself is massive: 150 trails of every degree of difficulty, with an annual average of 400 inches of snow. Last year, the ski area opened in October and didn't close until July. Click here to read more.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com