The real estate market has been a wild ride for main stream consumers, however, those with their finances in order, this is a great time to be buying in the Incline Village Real Estate Market.  This is part 1 of 3 regarding some of the most frequent inquiries we have been receiving.

The first question we hear a lot is “how are home values holding up/where is the deal?”  Incline Village and Crystal Bay are unique in that there is not very much bare land available for building new homes.  Simply put we do not have the over supply problems that other metropolitan areas are seeing.  We do have homes on the market that are new and have not sold, but we attribute that more to the current real estate condition rather than the quality of the home.  In fact, Incline Village has many very fine properties for sale at prices that would be unheard of just three years ago.  Contact us at your convenience and we will gladly provide you with the best information on properties fitting your wants and needs.

In yesterday’s post, you will find the most up to date information on values and what is currently on the market.  The long story made short is that Incline Village and Crystal Bay are highly desired locations for home ownership.  Lake Tahoe is a world destination.  Check out this link on a recent survey of travel destinations.

To keep this post to the point, property values in Incline Village and Crystal Bay have seen some declines.  We are talking a much smaller percentage compared to the entire real estate market.  Some of the decline in overall values can also be attributed to properties that have been, simply put, overpriced.  The real estate market of 2003-2005 created situations where buyers would buy properties sight unseen and sellers only had properties on the markets for days.  This led to some property owners testing what the market would bear, thus some properties priced far above what comparable data would lead a real estate professional to price the home at.

Conclusion: There are some great buys in Incline Village and Crystal Bay.  A “low-ball” offer that cannot be justified by any other rationale than “to test if a seller is desperate enough”, really is not the advisable route.  Don’t forget, sellers here are quite sophisticated and that line of negotiating is not always recommended.  Lastly, in this market, whether a seller or buyer, use a real estate professional that is in this market full time.  We are seeing more change than we have in a long time and as always… remember it’s all about location, location location!

Have you been thinking about a home in Incline Village or Crystal Bay? It might make sense if you have the correct approach.

In part 1 of this series on buying a vacation home in Tahoe, we explored getting the best price and conditions that affect values You can click here to view that post. This post is going to cover the most arguably important aspects to real estate, location.

No matter the purpose of your purchase (i.e. personal residence, 2nd residence, or investment), you can rest assured that Lake Tahoe is a world destination and in a number of recent surveys, the most desired national location for vacationing. With the general location a sure thing, let’s move on to more specific location factors.

Accessibility: This post is focused towards 2nd home buyers, but applies to buyers planning to live here full time as well. Accessibility is a major component of location that lends itself to either help or hinder the resale of your property. Incline Village and Crystal Bay have Reno/Tahoe International airport just 45 minutes away making it extremely accessible from anywhere in the world.  It is true that the roads can get messy during winter storms, but feel comfortable knowing that the road crews in Lake Tahoe do a fabulous job and most roads are clear within a day (sometimes 2 days) after a solid storm. One of the best things about winter driving in Tahoe, is that we warm up during the day and have 300 days of sun.  That translates into the roads melting off after storms, so you have the snow and mostly dry roads. (Compare that to other resort areas where ice on roads stays for weeks or months at a time.) If you are not the winter type and only visit in the summers, the driving is great and the biggest challenge you might find is traffic on the smaller arteries on the really busy weekends. The accessibility of Incline Village and Crystal Bay will save you time being on vacation, not getting there!

Lakefront, view or no view? An important point to consider buying in Tahoe is what type of view you would like. Lakefront properties with shoreline are the highest priced and difficult to come by. We have seen a fair bit of turnover in that market lately, however, many of these properties are held within families for many years. This severely limits the number and choices you have regarding lakefronts. View properties are normally higher on the hill and further from the center of town. You can find stunning lake views, to tiny peaks of the lake, to mountain views, to one of Diamond Peak Ski Resort(our resident owned ski resort). If you want to be in the middle of town and a view is not a priority, there are many fine properties for sale without the premium of owning shoreline or having a stunning view. Did I mention golf course properties? Yes, we have it all-including 2 pristine, 18 hole golf courses. That yields to the question, how about a home on a fairway that is a 3 minute drive to Diamond Peak or 4 minutes to the Lake?

Privacy: Incline Village and Crystal Bay provide a blank canvas when it comes to privacy. We have great condominium areas and PUDs (Planned Developments) that have high density living if you enjoy the company of others. On the other hand, if you have a deep desire for solitude, we have properties that can put you on the edge of the forest where it is you and Mother Nature!

The choices are almost endless. The last topic on vacation homes is what to do with the property when you are away?

This is the last in a series of three articles relating to the vacation home market here in Incline Village and Crystal Bay. The first two articles covered the subject of market values and location specifics.

Here we are looking to cover the concerns and benefits of having a second home and what to do with it when you are away. The IRS has 5 basic premises to determine if you might be triggering a taxable event.  On the flip side, there are some definite benefits to renting out your property.

1. If you rent out your house for 14 days or fewer during the year, you are not required to report the income. A benefit here is that there is no maximum on the amount you may charge for rent. The house is considered a person residence so you deduct mortgage interest and property taxes like normal.

2. If you rent out your house for more than 14 days, you become a landlord in the eyes of the IRS. You will have to report the rental income and the upside is that you can now deduct rental expenses. It can get complicated because you have to keep track of the time used for personal and the time it is rented.

3. If you use the property for more than 14 days, or more than 10% of the number of days it is rented, whichever is greater, it is then considered a personal residence.  You can deduct can deduct rental income up to the amount of rental expenses, but you cannot deduct losses.

4. The definition of “personal use” days is not well defined. Personal use may include use by family members or yourself.  A less than clear definition of personal use includes donation of the home to charities or when you rent at a less than market rate.

5. If you limit your use to 14 days or 10% of the rented time, the property is considered a business and tax benefits increase.  You can deduct expenses against income and possibly deduct losses up to $25,000 each year.  Once the home is at this tax level, you are allowed to differentiate your time spent at the property between leisure and maintenance.  Days spent at the property for maintaining the property do not count as personal use.

For disclosure purposes, it is important to note that we are not investment advisers nor tax specialists. The statements above are summarized from information provided by the IRS.  Any opinions herein are as licensed real estate brokers and we highly recommend contacting your CPA and/or investment professional for definitive answers.