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Buying or Selling a Home/Selling a home after purchase

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Expert: - 7/30/2006


Question
I just bought an investment property in New Jersey, and I would like to know if there is a specific time frame on how long I have to hold onto it before selling it? Also, how long should one hold onto an investment property to guarantee a profit?

Answer
Dear Tonisha;
An accountant can look over the investment taxes and tell you more about your individual situation since there are certainly benefits to holding a property for a specified length of time based on your tax situation.  As for guaranteed profit...there are no absolutes here either.  However, since you probably paid some closing costs when you bought the property and these may have amounted to about 3% of the purchase price, it is advisable to hold the property until it appreciates over that 3% mark and probably more like 5 or 6%.  Depending upon the rate of appreciation in your area this could be anywhere from 1 to 3 years.  (Remember to allow for other expenses such as property tax, interest paid on the loan and commissions to brokers.)

Good luck and best wishes,
Jessica Bryan

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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