All Forum Posts by: Kay March

I am the seller, and the buyer was getting VA financing. The VA required me to pay for the WDO (termite) inspection. It looks like the deal will fall through because the house did not appraise for the contract price (yes, I know we can re-negotiate). If the deal falls through, do I still have to pay for the WDO inspection , or was my obligation to pay for it contingent upon the deal going through?

Selling a single family house FSBO. The termite inspector showed me and the buyer some minor wood rot. The buyer is getting VA financing. The buyer's agent claims I must repair the wood rot in order for the VA to see a clear termite inspection, but he doesn't seem to want to show me a written report of the wood rot, saying that it was sufficient that the termite inspector simply walked around and showed where the wood rot was. I am willing to act only upon a written inspection by a qualified inspector so that I can make sure I am in compliance. Am I missing something?

Thanks, Todd Powell. My VA buyer offered $1000 over the listing price and I agreed to pay $6000 toward closing costs. I'm glad to hear that the dry rot did not interfere with your closing!

Selling a house FSBO. Buyer is getting VA financing. Today the termite inspector, after noting that there were no termites, went around the house pointing out areas of minor wood rot to the buyer, and he said that the VA probably wouldn't allow closing to take place until wood rot is repaired. Is that true? And would the termite inspector even include reports about minor wood rot in his report, or was he probably just being "helpful' by sharing his observations with the buyer? This is a problem because in this neighborhood the HOA repairs wood rot, and they certainly won't do it before the scheduled closing. Apparently the regular home inspector didn't mention wood rot.

There are companies who offer Delaware Statutory Trust investments for 1031 exchanges. Has anyone had a good experience with any of these companies? Has anyone found that these trusts have overpaid for their properties?

So if a single person's income from long term capital gains is over the $38,600 threshold,  say it's $50,000, does that person pay 15% tax on the entire long term gain or only on the amount exceeding $38,600?

On line 15 of the worksheet for Schedule D the taxpayer enters $38,600 if single or married filing separately or larger amounts if married or head of household. Is this a deduction from your capital gains under certain circumstances? If so, under what circumstances?

Thanks so much, Kevin S. and Marc Winter. The selling price would be $190,000, and the offer specifies that I, the seller, would pay $6000 in closing costs/prepaids (what are prepaids?). So I guess the buyer is not taking full advantage of the 6% allowed by the VA, since 6% of the selling price would be $11,400?

Kevin S., would I pay tax on the $6000, i.e., would it be included in the selling price for tax purposes, or would it be deductible from my capital gain?

The house was a rental for me as the seller. The potential buyers would use it as their primary residence, not as a rental. So again, how likely is it that the buyer can get 100% VA financing, and why would he want me to pay $6000 for his closing costs/prepaids instead of just offering $6000 less for the house? If I pay the $6000, will that amount be deductible for capital gains tax purposes?

And it depends upon how careful you are about screening tenants. The more careful you are, the more you might have to wait. You can get lucky in a few days, and you can wait months, if you're really careful.