Save Big in Taxes

I'm Donna McLaughlin, and this is my husband, Steve. We have been married for 15 years. He is a Third Mate for the Military Sealift Command, and I am getting an advanced degree in Toxicology from North Carolina State. I will be graduating shortly, looking forward to all that postponed income.

My sister used to be a Realtor, so she knows how to find a good Realtor. She referred us to Tim Burrell and his Team for YOUR Dreams. We had been renting for four years in Dutch Village in West Raleigh because we were not sure where we wanted to settle. Tim showed us some houses, but we did not find anything that felt like home. Since we were in no rush, we extended our lease.

One day, Steve and I did the math on renting. When you rent, you get no tax deduction for your payments. When you buy, the interest on your mortgage and the property taxes are deductible. So, making your monthly mortgage payment means paying less in taxes. If you both work, you probably make enough to be in the 28% federal tax bracket. Then, you add 7% North Carolina tax, for a total of 35%. There are some other tax regulations at play, but the net result is that for every dollar we paid in the deductible part of the home payment, we were saving about 33 cents in taxes. I would rather put the money into my home than into the government budgets.

We looked more seriously. One of the buyers agents on the Team for YOUR Dreams showed us some great houses. However, Tim found us a great deal. Prudential Carolinas Realty does the relocation work for many major employers, so Tim has inside access to some great information.

We found this house in the Woods of Tiffany, a prestigious North Raleigh neighborhood, that will be close to anywhere I work in Research Triangle Park, for just over $200,000. Doesn’t it look great! It has a first floor master suite, a huge kitchen and lots of hardwood floors! When you figure that the other houses in the neighborhood were selling for much, much more, we couldn't resist. First of all, it felt like home. Then, we got a great deal for our money.

We had a lot of choices on the financing. Tim even had two lenders fighting over us, with each one cutting the rates to try to get our business. I love getting a great house, then finishing with a loan that keeps our payments down. With the better terms on the loan, we can afford to keep on investing for our future, while we save money on our income taxes. Kathy McShane, the closing specialist for the Team for YOUR Dreams, took us through all the inspections and everything else to make it easy to complete the purchase. When you have experienced people on your side, there aren't any headaches. I still don’t like packing, though.

If you would like to send me an e-mail for more information, just click here scientinad@aol.com . If you would like to find out how living well in a great home can also be one of your best investments, send an e-mail to the expert, tim@timburrell.com. Just say you want to kiss your landlord goodbye. I love coming home to my own house!

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