Harman Realty

Happy Birthday!!

2011-06-13T18:00:00.001-07:00

Looks like someone celebrated their birthday last week...

Who Pays for What in Home Sale??

2011-05-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2011/03/25/who-pays-for-what-in-home-sale/

Fullerton, CA Realtor® Adam Brett reminds buyers and sellers that it is always smart to know what they are getting into with real estate transactions.

“Selling your home may seem that simple but there are taxes, fees, insurance and other expenses that buyers and sellers must prepare for.

I compiled a list of the traditional distribution of expenses associated with real estate. Certain regions of the country and even within the State of California (Northern and Southern), vary in these customs. Keep in mind that many of these items are negotiable by both parties at the time of the offer, excluding some expenses required by the lender to be paid specifically by the seller.

The BUYER typically pays:

Notary Fees
Escrow Fees
Document preparation (if applicable)
Recording charges for all documents in buyer’s name
Termite Inspection
Tax Proration
Homeowner’s transfer fee
All new loan charges (except those required by lender for seller to pay)
Interest on new loan from date of funding to 30 days prior to first payment date
Assumption/Change of Records fees for take-over of existing loan
Beneficiary Statement fee for assumption of existing loan
Other Inspection fees (roofing, property inspection, geological, etc)
Home Warranty
Lender’s policy
Fire Insurance Premium for first year

The SELLER typically pays:

Real estate commission
Escrow fees
Notary fees
Title Insurance Premium: Owner’s Policy
Any bonds or assessments
Recording changes to clear all documents of record against seller
Any unpaid homeowner’s dues
Tax proration (for any taxes unpaid at time of transfer of title)
Any judgments, tax liens, etc. against the seller
Home warranty
Termite Work and Inspection
Statement Fees, reconveyance fees, and any prepayment penalties
Interest accrued to lender being paid off
Payoff of all loans in seller’s name (or existing loan balance if assumed by buyer)
Any loan fees required by buyer’s lender
Document preparation fee for deed
Applicable city transfer/conveyance tax
County documentary tax (55 cents per $500 of consideration, exclusive of the value of any lien or encumbrances attaching to the property at time of sale)

This is pretty much the most comprehensive list of things I can think of. I also would like to know your experiences and if any, issues arising about who pays for what.”

Home Improvement

2011-04-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Thinking about remodeling your home? Want to know what improvements provide the biggest bang for your buck? Read the following article for great tips!!
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/loan/20000425.asp

Spring Cleaning

2011-04-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

Even though the weather is telling us otherwise with the snow, it's time for spring cleaning!!

Here are some helpful tips from Martha Stewart:
http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/gentle-reminders-spring-cleaning

Decorah Eagle Cam Drawing National Attention

2011-04-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/decorah-eagle-live-camera-draws-webs-attention/story?id=13291412

Who ever thought the noble bald eagle would be a reality television star?

The live stream is operated by the Raptor Resource Project, an Iowa-based non-profit dedicated to preserving birds of prey. The Decorah eagles built their nest in 2007, and the organization rigged up cameras last fall. "The world loves it," the project's director Bob Anderson told the Associated Press. "I have had bird cams for 20 years... I'm in shock, I'm in awe" of its popularity.

Two Chicks Hatched, 3rd Expected in Days

So far, two of three eggs have hatched, with the third eaglet expected to peck its way from its shell within days.

The two fluffy gray chicks can be seen and heard chirping on the feed, craning their necks for food as their parents try to keep them warm. The eggs were laid at the end of February.

The enormous nest, over five feet wide, is perched high atop a cottonwood tree near the Decorah Fish Hatchery. The nest is 80 feet up, making the installation of camera gear all the more impressive. In the background of the shot, viewers can see cars and trucks passing on a road far below.

Cameras Rigged to Nest, 80 Feet Above Ground

Two cameras are attached to the tree's limbs a few feet above the nest, equipped with infrared nightvision and the ability to pan and zoom to capture every detail, including the bloody food that the parents bring back to the nest.

According to the Raptor Resource Project, the eagle pair have been together for several years and have now successfully hatched eaglets for the last four years.

The Decorah eagles are just the latest animals to hit it big through an online stream. Amateur zoologists across the country have checked in on everything from owls to bears, watching live scenes from sometimes fascinating and often mundane animal lives.

-Bradley Blackburn

Trout Run Trail

2011-03-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Did you see that Decorah's Trout Run Trail was featured on IPTV? If you watch closely you may see a member of Harman Realty!!

http://www.iptv.org/simplepleasures/story.cfm?id=2834&type=story

Dan Kaercher finds a diverse bicycle-friendly community, go to Decorah for paved and off-road trails for bicyclists of all skill levels.
Hosted by Dan Kaercher, Iowa's Simple Pleasures features Iowa travel destinations, restaurants, events, parks, recreation and more. Produced by Iowa Public Television, the series highlights fun things for Iowans to do, see and taste, right here at home. Below are excerpts from Dan's journal of his travels in the state.

I’ve been in love with Decorah ever since my first visit several decades ago. What’s not to like? It’s nestled beside the Upper Iowa River in one of Iowa’s most scenic valleys. Water Street downtown is spotless and filled with shops and eateries housed in beautifully maintained vintage structures. And then there’s the Norwegian factor: Few communities in our state remain so clearly “ethnic” as this one. Decorah’s heritage is celebrated not only at the Vesterheim museum downtown, but also during Nordic Fest and even in the Norwegian flags you spot here and there and the “lefse” sign posted in a bakery window.

Today, I’m exploring Decorah from a new vantage point: the seat of a spiffy new bicycle provided by one of my friendly hosts, Kirk Johnson, originally a Swede from the Quad Cities who seems to fit in here nonetheless. Kirk, who’s on the staff at Luther College, has kindly lined up a jam-packed schedule for our IPTV crew, beginning with a relatively smooth ride on Decorah’s paved, artwork-dotted Trout Run Trail (named for the stream that riffles beside us), followed by an afternoon of videotaping a local group of indestructible mountain bikers as they attack some very different local trails.

Inspired by such bicycling meccas as nearby Lanesboro, Minnesota, local engineer John Hjelle (how Norwegian can you get? It’s pronounced Yelly) got the ball rolling back in 1996. That’s when he proposed the splendid Trout Run Trail, which got under way in 2001. It's financed primarily by individual donors, fund-raisers and government grants. John tells me he's pedaled around the world, noting Norway and Vietnam were his favorite countries. What a
contrast! Spearheading this project back home was a no-brainer.

We begin our ride at a soaring, stainless-steel arch that depicts, fittingly, a shimmering trout stream. Before long, the group of local volunteers (who clearly are enjoying taking this sunny morning off from their desk jobs) and I have pedaled to the landmark Decorah Fish Hatchery. All those delectable fish explain the big bald eagle's nest in a tree just across the road. The artistic “sign” denoting the hatchery is one of the trail’s aesthetic adornments.
Soon, I’m huffing and puffing my way up some spectacular (to me) switchbacks that lead to a sweeping view (the trip down was a lot more fun, guys). Our final stop on the Trout Run Trail is a striking, bronze, mythical-looking statue overlooking the river and a prairie at the foot of one of Decorah’s trademark limestone bluffs. What a spot, and what an unforgettable sculpture. How wise these Decorah volunteers were to include art in the design of this $6 million trail, which eventually will form an 11.5-mile loop. Pretty ambitious, I’d say, for a town of about 8,200 residents.

By noontime, I’m hungry! We meet yet more volunteers and local officials at La Rana Bistro off Water Street downtown. It's obvious people know how to rally around a community cause here. In the food department, the hearty mushroom-and-spinach quiche and tomato-bisque soup get my enthusiastic endorsement. Now that we've refueled, it's time partake in a different type of pedaling: mountain biking some challenging, single-track trails that climb up, down and through the parks north of the river and downtown.

I decide to try a relatively flat trail along the river before a group of volunteer mountain bikers led by trail champion and Oneota River Cycles bike-shop owner Deke Gosen. Wow. You really have to keep your eyes open on this kind of a trail, which is exactly what these guys love. Thankful I brought my helmet along today, I dart around jagged rocks and fallen limbs, almost crash into a tree on a 90-degree turn, and wisely walk my bike over a log that my fellow riders somehow seem to effortlessly fly over. How did they do that?
Time to sit this one out. With our producer and videographer, I tag along in our mini caravan of ATVs and golf carts. I’d never make it up these steep, twisting trails on my own power. Yet, this is just what makes Decorah such a bicyclists’ paradise. You can choose between the paved, well-groomed Trout Run Trail favored by conventional cyclists and walkers, and the deliberately rough 18.5 miles of mountain-biking trails that push the sport to the extreme. It’s one of the few places in Iowa where you can sample both styles of bicycling in close proximity.

At the end of the day, we gather with our new friends at T-Bocks Sports Bar and Grill on Water Street downtown for a brew and some camaraderie. As we chat, it’s very clear these enthusiastic bikers take their civic responsibilities very seriously. Deke tells me there are dozens of bikers who can be counted on whenever it’s time to help forge new trails or groom existing ones. I like the idea that the folks who benefit from these trails
are the very ones who get the job done!

Time to Buy a New Home??

2011-03-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

Source-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704520504576162632959543492.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

If you have been sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to buy a new house or refinance a mortgage, you should act soon. New loans are starting to get costlier.

The mortgage market is facing pressures from new laws and regulations, still-declining home prices and the ongoing need for government-owned mortgage players to shore up their finances. The Mortgage Bankers Association predicts mortgage originations, which reached $3 trillion in 2005, will be less than $1 trillion this year, the lowest level since 1997.

"The price of mortgage money is going to go up, and the availability of mortgage money may also be impinged," says Keith Gumbinger, vice president at HSH Associates, which tracks mortgage data.
The silver lining is that the rate for a 30-year fixed loan is hovering around 5% for those with good credit. That is up about a percentage point from last year's lows but is still an attractive rate by historical standards, though expected to keep climbing as the economy improves.

Home prices in some areas are still falling, but they are bottoming out or firming up in others. It may not be the perfect time to buy a home—but better mortgage options today may be a worthy trade-off to the possibility of lower prices tomorrow.

Still not convinced? Consider the following:

• New costs.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which provide liquidity to the mortgage market by buying mortgages and selling securities backed by them, are adding new fees to loans to people with the best credit and raising existing loan fees. Freddie's new fees start March 1, while Fannie's kick in April 1.
Neither Fannie nor Freddie have been assessing fees on most loans for borrowers with credit scores above 720, even if the down payment was small. But citing a need to address risk and price their services appropriately, they will assess a fee of 0.25% to 0.5% of the loan value on borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who put down less than 25% of the purchase amount. The current fee for those with credit scores of 700 to 719 who put down less than 20% of the purchase price will double to a full percentage point of the loan value from half a point. Brokers expect the higher fees will translate into slightly higher mortgage rates.In addition, the Federal Housing Administration, saying it needs to bolster its capital reserves, is raising its required annual mortgage-insurance premium for FHA loans by 0.25% of the loan value. As a result, FHA loans—which are aimed at first-time home buyers and those with moderate incomes—will include an upfront mortgage insurance payment of 1% of the loan amount and an annual premium of 1.1% to 1.15% when the increase goes into effect on April 18. For regular loans, private mortgage insurance—which is required when you put down less than 20% of the home's value—is tougher to get than it once was. Generally, it is available only for buyers who make a down payment of at least 5% and have a credit score of 700 or higher.

• Dodd-Frank fallout. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, established by the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, opens its doors for business in July and is expected to take a close look at how interest rates and closing costs are disclosed to borrowers. That could create new costs that lenders are likely to pass along to consumers. In addition, a Federal Reserve rule that takes effect April 18 will change how mortgage brokers are paid, a move intended to curb practices such as steering home buyers to higher-cost loans.
The new rules, which limit the kinds of compensation brokers can receive, have brokers in a tizzy. The brokers claim the changes will raise mortgage costs and put some of them out of business, shrinking the market. How it will play out isn't clear, but given both the changes and the Fannie and Freddie pricing, mortgage prices may vary more than usual, say those in the industry—making it wise for borrowers to shop for rates even more aggressively.

• More restrictions. Earlier this month, the Obama administration proposed a wide-ranging overhaul of the mortgage market, including phasing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, requiring a down payment of at least 10% and reducing the share of FHA loans, which are almost 30% of the market now, up from a historical market share of 10% to 15%.
In addition, the administration recommended letting Fannie and Freddie loan limits for high-cost areas fall back to $625,500. The limits were temporarily increased to $729,750 in 2008 when the market for "jumbo" loans—those above the loan limits—all but disappeared, and that increase is now scheduled to expire Sept. 30. (The $417,000 loan limit for homes in most other markets would remain the same.)
What those proposals will mean depends on where you live. In Manhattan, where the average home price is still around $1 million, a drop in the loan limit means more buyers will need jumbo mortgages, says Melissa Cohn, CEO of Manhattan Mortgage Co. Those currently have rates that are about half a percentage point higher than conventional loans.
Richard Peek, president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals, says much of his business right now is in FHA loans, which allow down payments of as little as 3.5%. Requiring a 10% down payment, he says, would put homes out of reach for many Florida customers.

—karen.blumenthal@wsj.com

Winneshiek Energy District

2011-02-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about the new Winneshiek Energy District?? Do you know what it's all about and get involved?? Be sure to check out their website and spread the word!

http://energydistrict.org/

Finishing Touches to Sell Your Home

2011-02-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

Source: http://www.realtor.org/rmohome_and_design/articles/2011/1102_houseandhome_finishingtouches

The reality today is that sellers don't want to spend big to get their house in tip-top shape for buyers. The good news is that there's plenty they can do for free or at a very low cost.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey | February 2011

Even with forecasts for a rise in home-improvement spending this year, it’s still going to be a challenge to convince sellers to pay for upgrades that will please buyers. But with so much housing inventory available, your listings need to be looking their best. That’s why Terrylynn Fisher, CRS, GREEN, a salesperson and staging specialist with Empire Realty in Walnut Creek, Calif., helps her clients focus on the little things that will make the biggest impact at showings. “We need to try to take what sellers have and add to it to make it as appealing as possible,” Fisher says. “There are a number of affordable things you can do to improve the appearance.”

Details
You may not be able to convince sellers to shell out money to professionally stage their home, but getting it sparkling and clutter-free requires little more than elbow grease. After clearing away clutter, polish the hardwoods, clean the countertops, and dust the light fixtures. You can make a stainless steel sink shine with thrifty cleaning remedies such as baby oil or club soda, according to DoItYourself.com. Fisher likes Howard Products’ line, which includes Restor-A-Finish (about $5 per can). It comes in various wood finishes and can be used to polish cabinets and even blend out minor scratches and imperfections.

Tips:
Box it up. Most people pack up after they sell the house, but why wait? Sellers should start packing as early as possible—ideally, before they put the home on the market.

Show off the laundry space. Buyers will be impressed if the laundry room is fresh, inviting, and organized. Make sure light bulbs are working, and hide soaps in a cupboard or line them neatly on a shelf.

Focus their attention. Pick a focal point for each room. For example, the focal point of a bedroom is usually the bed, and for a music room, it’s the piano. If a room is mostly empty, you can help draw attention to a corner with a plant or mirror.

Floors
Hardwoods are on most buyers’ wish lists (red oak being the most popular, according to the National Floor Trends 2010 market study). Hardwood flooring averages about $5 to $15 per square foot, plus about $2 to $8 per square foot for installation, so it’ll be pricier than vinyl, carpet, or other options. But it can make a huge difference. You may find less expensive hardwoods by going directly to installers, who buy their inventory wholesale, Fisher notes. If it’s a small area, the upgrade won’t be as expensive, says remodeling industry expert Bill Millholland, an executive vice president with Case Design/Remodeling Inc. To imitate the look for less, try vinyl or Bamboo flooring, a sustainable resource that resembles wood but averages $4 to $6 per square foot.

Tips:
Call the experts. Dirty, worn carpet may benefit from professional cleaning, ranging about $180 to $390 for a 1,300-square-foot home.

Refinish it for cheap. Practically any beaten-up hardwood can be salvaged with refinishing, about $340 to $900 for a 15-by-15-foot room, according to CostHelper.com. Call a professional tile company to freshen up ceramic tile grout—or, for do-it-yourselfers, hardware stores sell grout paint.

Add a layer on top or bottom. One other option for lackluster flooring: Use an area rug, even over carpets. It’ll add a splash of color, and bring definition to living areas. If you’re adding inexpensive carpeting, consider upgrading the carpet pad, Fisher says. It’s only about 50 cents more per square foot and it will make a budget carpet feel luxurious, she says.

Lighting
New lighting fixtures are a quick way to create ambiance. Just avoid brass lighting fixtures, which had their heyday in the 1980s. More contemporary choices are brushed nickel and chrome finishes. Also, rust and oil-rubbed bronze are becoming more popular as more home owners set out to have lighting that doubles as an accent feature, says kitchen and bath designer David Alderman, 2011 National Kitchen and Bath Association president. Use lighting to highlight special features—pendant lights to show off that kitchen island or sconces to illuminate a foyer. Under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen is affordable and makes countertops sparkle, Millholland says. Fluorescent light strips tend to be more affordable and easier to install than puck lights.

Tips:
Go natural. Open those blinds and wipe down the windows. You’d be surprised at how much a simple window cleaning can instantly improve natural light.

Save on energy costs. Compact fluorescent bulbs remain the go-to choice for energy efficiency. Early CFLs didn’t always deliver on light quality or convenience, but they now come in warm, neutral, and cool colors, and major manufacturers are now enclosing the spiral tube in a conventional bulb shape.

Don’t forget the basement. The biggest problem with basements is a lack of adequate lighting. While the natural-lighting flow often can’t be altered, adding lights will create a sense of open airy space on a par with the rest of the house. Paint walls an opaque color so natural light will appear brighter.

Paint
A few gallons of paint can go a long way in making a home more chic—and the cost can’t be beat. Covering a 12-by-12-foot room with two coats will cost you about $50 to $100, including supplies. “A home’s interior painted in a pale yellow or light green, or even beige, gives buyers an idea of what they can do with a space,” says Bill Fields, vice president of merchandising for the Lowe’s paint division. Reserve darker or trendier colors for accent walls or to highlight details such as a fireplace or an arched doorway, says Erika Woelfel, director of color marketing at BEHR Process Corp., a paint supply company based in Santa Ana, Calif. Common color picks for accent walls are dark red, green (not lime green, though), or a stone gray. Or instead of introducing a new color, use the paint in the rest of the room as a guide, choosing a color that’s three shades darker. To bring depth to a long hallway, Fields suggests painting the wall at the end of a long hallway a different shade than the others.

Tips:
Shine with sheen. Flat or matte finish is difficult to clean and shows scuffs. Increasing the sheen can brighten rooms. Eggshell or satin bounces light off the walls to make spaces seem larger. Semi-gloss, higher on the sheen level, is a good option for kitchens and bathrooms since it’s easy to clean, Fields says. And gloss, the shiniest of all, is best for big “statement” areas, such as the front door, Woelfel says. But gloss accentuates flaws, so use it sparingly.

Create monochromatic harmony. Use different variations of the same color throughout the home. The Paint Quality Institute, a paint education resource, refers to this as “layering.” Choose a color card, which usually has about three or four similar hues, and use two or more colors from the single card. Use the lighter colors in the main living areas and darker shades for the rooms that branch out, such as the bedrooms, Woelfel suggests.

Paint the baseboards white. But don’t use stark white, which can take on gray tones against some wall colors, says Woelfel, who suggests antique white or Navajo white as better options. If the home has dated stained-wood trim, simply painting it off-white can bring it up-to-date. But don’t forget to use a primer first.

7 Ways to Create a Cohesive Style

Small updates will have a more dramatic impact if home owners are careful to keep the styles consistent and find ways to draw out the home’s best features. Here are some tips from experts on how to make small improvements pay off.

1. Concentrate on big impact rooms. Be selective about what you do. Kitchens and bathrooms still usually offer the most bang for your buck, says remodeling industry expert Bill Millholland, executive vice president with Case Design/Remodeling Inc.

2. Go neutral.   Don’t introduce too much color to the “bones” of the home. You don’t want buyers to see too much bold color on cabinets and walls and say, “‘I have nothing to go with red,’” says Terrylynn Fisher, crs, green, a staging consultant at Empire Realty in Walnut Creek, Calif. “Buyers will have a tough time seeing past it.” Stay neutral with walls, cabinets, and fixtures. Bring in pops of colors through accessories.

3. Consult an expert.   A professional stager or remodeler can work within your budget and pinpoint where best to spend your dollars. For a list of contractors or interior decorators, ask colleagues or friends for recommendations or check the Web sites of organizations such as the Real Estate Staging Association or the National Kitchen and Bath Association.

4. Know when inexpensive won’t work.   Certain projects simply can’t be done cheaply, especially in a high-end home. “If it’s a luxury home, replacing the vanity with an off-the-shelf product from a big-box store isn’t going to cut it,” Millholland says. “Most consumers will be able to tell that you did something cheap. They won’t even see the value of it, so you’re better off cleaning what’s there and having it appear its best.”

5. Find inspiration.   For design guidance, grab a catalog from Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, or Williams-Sonoma. “Anything you see in there is fairly consistent with what the average consumer is looking for,” Millholland says.

6. Plan your budget. Even small projects can carry a premium if a contractor is needed for installation. For labor savings, bulk your work, grouping several projects in a full day’s work rather than hiring a handyman or contractor for separate hourly jobs, Millholland says.

7. Complement the architecture.   If it’s a two-story colonial home, avoid overly contemporary updates, such as stainless steel countertops. Likewise, if the exterior is modern or contemporary, stay away from traditional styles, such as dark wood or classic lighting fixtures, Millholland says.

The IRS Needs to Know

2011-02-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

Source-http://www.realtor.org/rmolaw_and_ethics/articles/2011/1102_law_1099form

Own a rental property? A new law requires you to issue an IRS 1099 form to the handyman and other vendors.

By John M. Compagno | February 2011

If you’re the owner of even a single unit of rental property, starting this year you must start tracking all vendors doing at least $600 worth of work for you. Federal law now requires you to send them an IRS 1099 form.

The requirement to track vendors and issue 1099 forms isn’t new—it’s something that larger rental property owners already must do. But last year when the federal government enacted the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297), it expanded this requirement to all property owners, no matter how small. Even property owners who are just doing rental as a sideline—maybe as part of a family investment fund or as part of a retirement savings plan—are now considered to be “conducting a trade or business,” so the 1099 reporting requirement now applies to them.

If you own a rental, that means you have a legal obligation to obtain certain information from your vendors—generally their name, address, and Social Security number or other tax identification—and to keep a record of the amount you pay them over the year. Then you must issue them a 1099 form to reflect the income you paid them for the year. (And don’t forget to keep a copy for yourself.)

How to Comply
Since the requirement takes effect for the 2011 tax year, you should have started tracking the payments you’ve made to your vendors beginning in January. After you’ve tracked your payments for the year, you’ll send your vendors the total in the 1099 form in early 2012. There are a few exceptions to the requirement:

Burden: Gathering the information and issuing the forms would create a hardship for you.
Duration: The property is only a temporary rental of your own residence.
Income: Your income from the rental doesn’t meet minimal threshold requirements.

More guidance is forthcoming. The IRS will fill in the details on what constitutes a hardship and what’s considered “minimal” income, so you’ll want to verify those when they come out.

The requirement applies to all independent contractors or freelance workers that typically provide services in a rental real estate context. These include plumbers, electricians, painters, cleaning services, gardeners, landscapers, accountants, and handymen—in short, virtually all service providers to the property who don’t receive a W-2 form from you and who provide at least $600 in services for the year. It’s a cumulative amount, so even if a painting job costs you only $400, you need to track it and add any other charges from that vendor to see if the total comes to more than $600, which triggers the requirement.

You’ll want to review your bookkeeping procedures, with your accountant if you work with one, to be confident you have a system in place to track your payments to your vendors. You’ll also want to set up your tracking procedure so that you can record how you paid them: by credit card, debit card, check, or cash.

Penalties for Filing Late
The IRS will set forth the important dates for the 2011 tax year. You’ll want to note those and be sure to comply, because late filing or failure to file will result in penalties up to $250.

As a general matter, you’ll be able to request a 30-day extension for getting your forms to the IRS, but that won’t apply to your deadline for getting the form to your vendors. Remember, your vendors will need to use those forms in preparing their tax returns.

For many owners, the new reporting requirement may come as a surprise. If you manage property for a small owner, make sure you let them know about this new rule. And if you’re the owner, take note of the filing deadlines and start carefully tracking your payments to vendors.

John M. Compagno is a real estate equity partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP in San Francisco and a licensed real estate broker. You can reach him at john.compagno@hklaw.com.

Food Pantry

2011-02-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

Harman Realty donated money and food items this winter season to First Lutheran Food Pantry of Decorah and Greater Area Food Pantry in Calmar. You can help as well!! Food Pantry Needs-News: potatoes ~ fresh, canned & boxes, sugar, flour- 4 or 5 lb bags, canned pineapple, canisters of oatmeal, baking mixes, coffee, popcorn, jam & jelly (not grape), syrup & honey, bar soap, toothpaste, deodorants . Gently used or new blankets, sheets, & towels. Winter can be a season of heating or eating. Please consider the gift of your Quillins receipts to the Food Pantry at First Lutheran Church.
http://www.firstlutherandecorah.org/Home/mission-and-service/food-pantry
http://www.northeastiowafoodbank.org/GetHelp/FindAnAgency/GreaterAreaFoodPantryatCalmar.aspx