Good News For the More Affluent Home Seller: Federal Tax Exemption Extended For Two More Years!

Estate Planning, there are few issues more misunderstood and that have such tremendous impact on families and the legacy they leave behind. Many people don’t realize that when adding a home to their assets, being a “paper” millionaire isn’t as farfetched as it seems when living paycheck-to-paycheck.

The federal estate tax exemption has been extended for two years (2011 & 2012). The extension also increased the amount to $5 million ($10 million for couples) and the tax rate has been lowered to 35%. This means that you can leave $5 million to your heirs free of federal estate tax and that most married couples can leave up to $10 million free of federal estate tax.

For gift tax, the new law changed from the $1 million Lifetime Gift Tax Exclusion in 2010 to a $5 million Unified Gift Tax Credit. The new law creates an important planning opportunity. This means, as of 2011, individuals will be able to make gifts of $5 million ($10 million for a married couple).

The value of your estate includes all of your assets (ex: cash, investments, your personal residence, other real estate, etc.) generally determined at the fair market value on the date of death. Since the law may revert back to $1 million, serious tax planning is necessary if your assets exceed the $1 million.

As stated earlier in this blog, the provisions are temporary. They are assured for this year and next. If the law is not extended or amended, it will sunset and the Federal estate tax exemption will revert back to $1 million with a maximum tax rate of 55%!

6,124 SQ. FT. of COUNTRY ELEGANCE at it’s FINEST!

Only 15 Minutes From McKinney Shopping & Restaurants!

78 Hackberry Road | Van Alstyne, TX 75495

Approximately 23 acres with classic 1920′s barn, 3 acre stocked lake & custom playhouse with water, heat & air! Stunning features include: extensive use of classic hand scraped solid oak floors, exquisite leaded glass doors with & leaded glass transoms, large open kitchen w subzero built-in refrigerator and granite. Master suite is conveniently connected by French doors to the handsome study. Master bath is luxurious with extensive travertine and inviting oversized walk-in shower. Large corner jetted tub, spacious walk-in closet and dual sink cabinets. Study, luxurious master suite & guest bedroom suite on main level. Upper level offers 3 bedrooms, two of which are oversized! One bedroom with completely private study and full bath could be a second master suite. A huge gameroom with beautiful custom entertainment unit plus a useable loft area overlooks the greatroom below! Incredible full wrap-around wide covered porches for great outdoor entertaining & views of property.

Click here for more details, photos and a virtual tour: 78hackberry.com/

QR Codes Link The Offline World With the Online World

The Linda Grossman Team is excited to announce that we are adding the ability to link our signs and printed materials to our online marketing efforts by using QR Codes.  These codes are a simple and popular way to connect the offline world with the online world.  It was recently reported by the National Association of Realtors that 89% of home buyers are searching for a homes online.  We can now engage these same potential buyers on all of our flyers, ads, business cards and signs. To read the codes all you need is one of the many free QR Reader apps available for your smartphone.  You aim your phone at one of our codes and it will instantly read it and take you directly to all of the property’s online information with photos, virtual tours and more.

For example: if you already have a QR App aim your phone at  either of the QR codes below and you will instantly see how it can take you to all of the online information you need without having to spend hours searching with Google or one of the many real estate sites.

Click here for more information about the FREE apps available for iPhone and Droid phones.

Click here to watch a short informative video on how the QR Codes work in real estate.

McKinney Climbs National Safest City Rankings…Up 15 Spots!

The news just keeps getting better for McKinney! According to the CQ Press 2010 Safest Cities Report, McKinney is among the safest cities in the country. McKinney climbed to the 51st safest city in the country, up 15 spots from last year.

“We have worked extremely hard day in and day out to make McKinney an even safer place to live, work and play despite challenges like a down economy and continued rapid growth. Our officers and detectives work hard at deterring and investigating crime, and this report shows their dedication really pays off,” said Police Chief Doug Kowalski.

Overall, of all cities with a population of more than 75,000 McKinney was ranked 51st of the 400 cities across the country measured. The crime rate rankings of the cities and metropolitan areas are calculated using six crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. These categories have been used for determining city crime rate ratings since 1999. The rankings include all cities of at least 75,000 residents that reported crime data to the FBI in the categories noted for calendar year 2009.

“The McKinney Police Department attributes much of our success to great working partnerships with our City Council and the citizens and businesses of McKinney,” said Kowalski

It’s Time To Think Outside Of The Box. . .And Spend Inside The Box Right Here In Our Community!

We all know that job growth is key to move this economy along . . .Frisco just announced Premier Studios a one billion dollar project is coming to Frisco. Founder, President and CEO Jerry Roy said the project will create more than 450 jobs, pending additional negotiations, and will cost $700 million to develop. The land under contract is northwest of the Dallas North Tollway and Warren Pkwy., just north of Hall Office Park. . . . And more announcements are on the way . . .Texas is the place for employers from an economic standpoint looking at Texas as an employer and an employee. Real Estate continued much of the same from last month. Good news is the number of residential properties put on the market in August was up only 2% in McKinney and down 4% in Frisco. Our basic inventory levels in our area are fairly good year over year. Total closed sales once again were down in total volume. . . .indicating fewer buyers out there in the “new market” . . .McKinney down 25% and Frisco down 38% yet median and average sales prices looked good . . .we are seeing movement on the mid to upper price ranges. I attended the Keller Williams Real Estate Summit this past week and had the opportunity to listen to Ted Jones of Stewart Title. . www.blog.stewart.com and although his outlook nationwide looked very grim to say the least . . . .he emphasized that THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NATIONAL REAL ESTATE MARKET OR ECONOMY OR COMMUNITY . . . .with that said right now we need to focus on our local community. . Think outside of the box .and spend inside the box right here in our community!. . . McKinney was named as one of the top 5 places to live and let’s keep it that way

 

Frisco, McKinney Are Among The Fastest-Growing Cities In U.S.

In North Texas, the newcomers keep coming and coming and coming.

Frisco was the nation’s fastest-growing city last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. McKinney wasn’t far behind, ranking third.

The top 25 list is studded with several other North Texas cities, including Lewisville , Fort Worth, Carrollton and Denton.

Frisco claimed the top spot among cities with more than 100,000 people, thanks to a 6.2 percent population increase during a 12-month period starting in July 2008. Its Collin County neighbor, McKinney, scored a 5.5 percent jump.

Any way you slice or dice the census data, Frisco and McKinney remain chart toppers. Over the past decade, Frisco also had the country’s biggest population growth, while McKinney ranked No. 2.

More than 102,000 residents were in Frisco in 2009, compared with fewer than 34,000 in 2000, a take-your-breath-away 204 percent jump.

In 2009, McKinney’s population was nearly 128,000, up from about 54,000 in 2000 – a 135 percent increase.

Click here to read the full article.

Frisco And McKinney Remain The Top Places To Live In The US!

”The American”, A Journal for the American Enterprise Institute, did a study on American migration and  population growth during the economic growth years 2003-2007 and then during the recession years 2007-2009. What they found is that Texas is arguably the nations’ most sustained and serious economic success story. We have the lowest unemployment of the ten largest states and very high domestic inflow (people moving from other states to Texas)!

In 2008 to 2009, Texas had 18% of the nation’s population growth and by far the highest domestic inflow of any state . . . 143,423 people moved from other states to TEXAS! Take a look at this Texaplex video to see why so many people are interested in Texas and the DFW area.

That would be the great news about Texas . . . . But to top it off FOUR of Collin County’s five largest cities (Frisco, Plano, Allen, & McKinney) are now nationally ranked in the TOP 100 Wealthiest Cities, IN THE USA.  McKinney is Ranked #7 regionally and #85 nationally! Frisco is ranked #2 regionally and #27 nationally.  Way to go Texas and way to go McKinney and Frisco!