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Show 2 - Utah Living Real Estate. JanuaryFebruary 2002 I i.nrn i i i i - . : - Story of the year? It was all about interest rates Hamlet Homes offers numerous plans in both townhome and single family home styles. Olympics help Muh 'field sales in Heber Continued from Page 1 Muirfield is located at 500 West 500 North in Heber. To reach Muirfield from Utah County, take US 1 89 through Provo Canyon. Turn left onto US 40Heber's Main Street and take a left at 500 North. From Salt Lake County, take 1-80 through Parleys Canyon. Take exit 148 and merge onto US 40 towards Heber. At 500 North in Heber, turn right Model homes are open Monday through Saturday from ! 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. To learn more about Muirfield, visit the Hamlet Homes Web site at www.hamlethomes.com, call Mead Silsbee at (435) 657-1620 or email muirfieldicw.com. Townhomes, Single-Level and Loft-Style Homes in a Contemporary Urban Village II (8oi) 852-2100 afRlVERWOODS Sales Information Center and Model Home Open Monday-Saturday iiam-8pm www.UueattheviUage.com 4801 North University Avenue, Suite 530 In The Shops at Riverwoods By Tom Kelly Inman News Features There was one word you could utter in the fourth quarter of 2001 that quickly changed the mood of anyone within earshot to silent and attentive: refinancing. You could experience this phenomenon in the company cafeteria, the movie line or on the bus. Virtually everywhere you went somebody was talking about interest rates or refinancing a home loan. It became the biggest story of the year in real estate, pushed along by 3 0 reductions in interest rates by the Federal Reserve in the year's first 1 1 months. Did you lock in your loan rate the second sec-ond week of November? If you did, you won the 2001 mortgage-rate mortgage-rate lottery by grabbing a national average, 6.07 percent bargain-basement special, according ac-cording to Bankrate.com which daily tracks more than 4,000 banks in all 50 states. That was the national average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate loans the week of Nov. 1 1. Not only did rates go down and spark another rush to refinance, but home sales were also stronger than expected, especially es-pecially in the aftermath of Sept. II. In fact, by the time the National Association Asso-ciation of Realtors cranks up its final set of statistics for the year, this could be one of the best years - if not the best - for home sales on record. For example, new home sales posted a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000 in October, a 0.2 percent gain from September's 878,000, according to the Commerce Department. Even with the anticipated slowdown, home sales in 2001 should surpass last year's mark of 877,000 units and come in around record levels of 888,000. We also received some very interesting interest-ing questions in 2001 - some concerning how to come up with a down payment in rapidly appreciating markets, while others sought the best way of protecting that appreciation ap-preciation upon sale. Here are two that were asked more than once the past yean Q: If a husband and wife live and own homes in different cities, which one is the principal residence? A: There has been no real clarity from the Internal Revenue Service in regard to capital-gains taxes on homes for couples in commuter marriages. This typically occurs when the husband and wife live in different cities, usually for employment reasons. For example, a husband and wife sales team is responsible for Philadelphia and New York. The woman buys a home in New York and the man a condominium in Philadelphia. Phila-delphia. They use both equally during the week and trade off weekends. Since a taxpayer may have only one principal residence, the amount of time spent in the homes usually determines which one is the principal residence. If time spent is equal, it's up to the taxpayer to choose. Since a married couple can take the $500,000 exclusion ex-clusion only on the principal residence (and not on a second home), it would make sense to choose the home that stands the better chance of appreciable gain. Q: Who can use their Individual Retirement Re-tirement Account toward the purchase of a home? A: A provision in the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act allows penalty-free withdrawals of up to $ 1 0,000 for the down payment and closing costs of a home for first-time home buyers. As of Jan. 1, 1998, withdrawals can be made from established IRAs of spouses, parents, children, grandchildren or ancestors ances-tors as long as they total no more than $10,000. Lawmakers said that this move would help "tens of thousands" of Americans overcome over-come the single-biggest barrier to home ownership - the lack of sufficient cash for closing. However, tax advisers know that owning own-ing a home is also a "forced savings plan." The money that you put in to home ownership owner-ship is usually returned - with appreciation - when it's time to sell. Sometimes the appreciation ap-preciation can offset the amount of interest the borrower has paid on the home loan. Accountants like to say that's the reason rea-son for the "R" in IRA. If the account were to be used during our working years, the "R" would have been substituted for a "W". Happy New Year. Tom Kelly, former real estate editor for The Seattle Times, is a syndicated columnist colum-nist and talk-show host. Bankers plan conference in Las Vegas Inman News Features The American Bankers Association's next national conference for community bank ers will be held March 3-6 in Las Vegas. More than 1,400 people are expected to attend the conference. Utah Livings Real Estate Utah Living & Real Estate it owned and operated by Utah Real Estate and Business, 372 South 700 West Oram, Utah 84058. Publisher, Cynthia Hardy. Entire contents Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. For editorial or advertising information, call (801) 221-5810 or email us at utahlivingutahforsale.com. The mission of Utah Living & Real Estate is to provide accurate information to bring buyers and sellers together in successful and mutually satisfying transactions and provide life-style information for the enjoyment of cur readers. While all information is deemed accurate, it is not guaranteed. ... u Tmmrwim B fitanrawta |