Real Estate News Radio with Rowena Patton

Unlocking Tax Benefits: The Power of Real Estate Donations

• Rowena Patton

Share episode

Send us a text

Unlock the untapped potential of your real estate assets and transform them into substantial tax benefits. Join me, Rowena Patton, as we explore the lesser-known world of real estate donations, from homes and vacant land to vehicles. Discover how donating property, particularly when traditional sales seem impossible, can offer significant tax deductions, potentially surpassing the financial loss of selling. With insights into the challenges of selling land and the importance of consulting a CPA, this episode promises to provide a fresh perspective on real estate management and charitable giving.

Holding onto property for future retirement in hot spots like Florida or Arizona can be fraught with complexities and frustrations. If you’ve been unsuccessful in selling, consider the option of donating. I’ll guide you through the process, highlighting the tax benefits, such as deductions up to 30% of adjusted gross income, and the role of Heroes MLS in supporting potential donors. Learn about our network of over 1,100 trained agents and appraisers who offer discounts, ensuring a smoother, more beneficial donation experience.

From overcoming the stigma of prolonged property listings to supporting meaningful causes like Habitat for Humanity and Tunnel to Towers, this episode offers a comprehensive look at the opportunities in real estate donations. Find out how vacant land donations can relieve you of ongoing expenses and support nonprofit missions. We'll also touch on CashCPO, a program that offers quick sales for those looking to bypass traditional market hurdles. Whether donating or selling, the episode equips you with strategies to manage your real estate effectively and contribute to causes you care about. Join us for this enlightening discussion on leveraging your assets for greater good.

Speaker 1:

This is the Plain English Real Estate Show with your host, rowena Patton, a show that focuses on the real estate market in terms you can easily understand. Call Rowena now. The number is 240-9962 or 1-800-570-9962. Now here's the English girl in the mountains, the agent that I would trust, rowena Patton.

Speaker 2:

Good morning. This is rowena patton at the real estate news radiocom show. You can see all the podcasts at that link and if you've got friends who are interested in today's topic, which is donating real estate, homes, vacant land, cars, whatever it is you've got to donate it. It's particularly around vacant land and before you say what do you mean donating it? Like that's so much money to give away. Quite frequently, the amount you can deduct on your taxes for donating it way outweighs the donation and, of course, it's a wonderful thing to do so. Realestatenewsradiocom. If you know somebody who's got land and it's been sitting around forever, then they might want to listen to do so. Realestatenewsradiocom. If you know somebody who's got land and it's been sitting around forever, then they might want to listen to this. You can listen anywhere in the country. It's broadcasting live right now. Obviously, it's not if you're listening to it on the podcast later.

Speaker 2:

So, and it was inspired by a problem that I've seen come up time and time again since I got into real estate in 2007. What to do with land that was purchased years ago and never built on? As most of you know, after 12 years hosting this show, I'm a real estate agent and over the years, many of my clients have become super frustrated with the time it takes to sell land. If you're listening in and you're selling land anywhere in the country, then you know it can really take a long time to sell it. It can sit for quite a while. You may have bought it 10 or 20 years ago and decided to hold on to it to build your dream home in retirement. And so many people say to me you know well, the land might not be there or we might not be able to afford it when we want to build something later for our family. Maybe they've got a young family and they want it there to go hunting or just have fun on the land when they're, when their kids are teenagers, all kinds of things. And you know you may also be fearful that you you won't be able to afford it years later. So here's what really happens life changes. You love where you live, you've moved to be by the grandkids. That didn't even exist when you bought the land and now you no longer want the land randy, we need a wah, wah, wah in there and you've paid many years of HOA and taxes on it. And then you decide to list it and land is the big secret Can often take a very long time to sell, often years. That's the truth. That's not because I'm a listing agent or anybody in our cash CPO network or our listing royalty network is not a good agent. It's that land takes a while. There's all kinds of considerations when you're buying land and there's a lot of land out there for sale. So you know, if you're thinking about buying land, just remember it's not going away and I would buy it at the time you want it, because your strategy will likely be different at that point. Again, if we've got time, at the end of the show we'll talk about strategies for buying land and what that looks like.

Speaker 2:

So what's this nonsense about donating it? Well, so now you're still paying those same HOA and taxes and you know it's sitting there and it's listed and it's taking a while and I've had people call me years ago actually saying you know what I want to think about donating it. So it led me to really researching this and the tax deductions can outweigh the loss and provide a significant tax deduction in some cases, in many cases. And of course, check with your CPA on this, as I'm not a tax advisor, right? So of course, donations can also work for homes, as well as cars, all kinds of other items.

Speaker 2:

If so far, if this is ringing a huge bell for you, or maybe you know some friends or family that want to donate something, and obviously it's not tax season yet, but it is December. It takes a while to get all this set up. So if you want to put it on your tax return, you know, coming this April, or maybe even do them early, maybe you're one of those rare birds. If it's ringing a huge bell, visit heroesmlscom birds. If it's ringing a huge bell, visit heroesmlscom Heroes M-L-S for multiple listing service, heroesmlscom. There's a link there and it says enter your property that you're thinking about donating, whether it's vacant land, a home or other property. You might have a boat, you might have a car, you might have something else of value that you're thinking about donating. So let's go over why this could be a good thing for you. And again, you know we have to do a disclaimer on there. Randy's going to speed it up later.

Speaker 2:

So I'm not a tax advisor, I'm not a CPA. Make sure you check in with them. But you know all this stuff is publicly available. So here's the tax benefits of donating real estate. So donating real estate offers several tax advantages that can make it really rewarding other than just feeling like a good person because you're donating your land or your property. So if you've owned it for more than a year, you may claim a tax deduction equal to its fair market value.

Speaker 2:

So how do you determine fair market value? There are lots of ways to do that and we can help you with that once you've got your details in there. In certain amounts they do ask that you get an appraisal. So if it's a home, you're much more likely to want to get an appraisal, but, listen, you could be paying. Ho're much more likely to want to get an appraisal, but, listen, you could be paying HOA dues of $1,000 a month on that thing, or $1,000 a year, or $2,000 a year and although I mean people in Florida who have got condos are paying $1,000 a month on their condo dues because of what's happened with insurance and all the hurricanes that we know too well about in the mountains. So you know, those dues can be very, very hefty. And then, of course, you've got one might be another good reason for donating your property as well, your house or your condo.

Speaker 2:

Now, if it's vacant land. It's a little different and there are less organizations that will take vacant land. However, I can find you some, so that's the good news. You often get to donate a lot more than you would list it for why? Because there's so much land for sale in certain developments or in certain areas and it's been sitting so long that you've been holding it for 10, 20 years. Finally you've decided to sell it and three years in, you're like to heck with it. So I just had somebody do that to heck with it. There may be other land in there that's $50,000 or $60,000. They were selling off at $7,000. So the real market value could be argued at $50,000 or $60,000. So the deduction you're going to get a certain amount outweighs what you would list and sell it for. Does that make sense? It's pretty amazing actually. So the other thing you do there is avoid capital gains taxes. So by donating instead of selling, you avoid capital gains taxes on the property's appreciated value. So, depending what you've got, obviously you know.

Speaker 2:

Again, this is where you really need help with the CPA. But my gosh, if you, I know how frustrated people get having that land on their books. Basically, you know you live somewhere else. You plan to retire in Florida, so you bought the land. You plan to retire in Arizona, so you bought the land. You're like well, you know, I can't afford the house yet and I don't want the upkeep of the house for the next five years, for the next 10 years, for the next 20 years, so we'll just buy the land and hold it. So you've been paying the sorry. It's not funny. You've been paying the taxes for all those years and now, okay, I'm going to list it and you may have had it listed for a while. If you haven't, then just think about donating it.

Speaker 2:

Again. You need help from a realtor that knows what they're doing. I have a fantastic network for you. Wherever you're at in the USA or Canada, I promise I will find you a person that can really intelligently talk to you about this. Why? Because they're in a training group. That's what CPO agents is all about. We have a huge training group. We've got over 1,100 agents in it and they're all trained to a very different level.

Speaker 2:

So let's talk about deduction limits. Again, get with your CPA guys. I'm not a CPA, I'm not a tax advisor. However, you know I'm reading things. You can go Google for yourself if you'd like. So, deduction limits you can generally deduct up to 30% of your adjusted gross income. So if that's $100,000, that would be $30,000. And then you have the option to carry forward unused deductions for up to five years. And let that sink in for a minute, so you could be getting paid four or five years, basically, for donating this property and making way more than you had it listed for.

Speaker 2:

So let's, I mean, how do you do this? Well, first of all, just go to Heroes MLS heroesmlscom. We are proud supporters of Tunnel to Towers. If you don't know who Tunnel to Towers are, t2torg. We're going to go through that in a second. It's an amazing, amazing organization. On there is a link heroesmlscom, heroesmlscom. At that link you'll find some videos on Tenor Towers. You'll find out how we support Tenor Towers and there's a link at the top that says donate your property. All you got to do is click on that, put the address of your property in. All you got to do is click on that, put the address of your property in and obviously, a few details so the right organizations can contact you.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes you know if it's a house or you'd like to think that these organizations would be all over it right because you're giving something for free. Many of them run on a shoestring. The more they run on a shoestring, the less people are employed in that organization. That means it might take them a little bit, but we're going to have two or three at least that will be able to contact you. So go ahead and go to heroesmlscom whether you're listening now or you're listening to the podcast in 10 years' time or 20 years' time and I'm not even here anymore. Wah, even here anymore, randy, we so need those sound effects. It's not cutting it me doing it. And go ahead and click on that link at heroesmlscom and put your property, your boat, your car, whatever you got, put it in there and let them contact you and talk through how to do it.

Speaker 2:

Most of the charitable organizations obviously they really want these donations. Maybe it's a home that you know might have a value of $50,000 or $100,000 that you inherited and it's rat infested, or it's a hoarder's house or whatever it is and you just want to get rid of it. They obviously would be very happy to look at that Now. So let's look at some considerations, if they are, before you donate. If they're valued over $5,000 generally, you're going to need a professional appraisal. Guess what? We're CPO experts. We work with appraisers all the time. We can tell them your situation and we have appraisers that do it at a discount because you're just being a great person and donating your property, right. So we can get that much, much less expensive for you than it would normally be. In fact, we're going to have a whole crowd of appraisers. If you're an appraiser and you're listening to this anywhere in the country or Canada, then reach out and contact me. Of course, it's Rowena Patton here on the Real Estate News Radio Show. You're not going to find it hard to find my details. There aren't many Rowena Pattons in the world just because I've got a funny name. Yeah, I know I talk funny too. You'll tell me that all the time.

Speaker 2:

So, obviously, consult professionals, tax advisors or attorneys can help make sure that you understand the tax implications. Now you may not care. You may just want to be a wonderful person and donate your property, which is great, right? So again, here's my disclaimer I'm not a tax advisor and the information provided here is for general purposes only, for advice specific to your financial situation. Consult with a certified CPA or tax advisor. Did I make you proud, randy? I hope so.

Speaker 2:

So you know many owners. What is this all about? So many owners get tired of paying the HOA dues. If there are HOA dues, those homeowner association dues, they might just be fed up of the homeowners association and the yearly tax bills like those tax bills are going to come in very shortly and, of course, as most property has appreciated, those tax bills have gone up Wah wah wah. So they you know you're often looking to sell it at that point.

Speaker 2:

Eventually. This is what happens Eventually you get ticked off and you're like you know what, are we ever going to build on that Susan? Are we ever going to build on that bill? You keep having that conversation. Eventually you reach out. I have, I have this.

Speaker 2:

I looked at one last night that came in. Yes, I was my sad little life. I was working on a Friday night and somebody had texted me and said if you're a hardworking real estate agent, I'm looking for somebody in the area to sell my land. Because, guess why? I looked at the land and it'd been listed for four years by three different agents. It's often what happens because and I understand you'll get you know frustrated and impatient, waiting for it to sell. But I can tell you in many, many areas that obviously there are exceptions to this. If you are downtown anywhere and it's a pocket of land that's you know somebody is eagerly awaiting, then obviously it might sell very quickly. But that's rare, honestly. When it's land, for it to take a year would be nothing, and for it to sit, I saw one last night that somebody one of my clients was looking at to purchase.

Speaker 2:

It was 15 acres under or no, it was more than that. It was 30 acres under 300,000, with the most beautiful views I've ever seen, and it'd been sitting on the MLS for five years. Yeah, you heard it right Five years. This happens, it's not that unusual. So eventually you get ticked off. So the tax deduction is based on the fair market value of the property and often that exceeds the sale value. What I mean by that is, if you've had it listed five times, you're almost driving down the value of your home because it's been on for a long time, all the agents and people looking at it.

Speaker 2:

This is like let's play the Wizard of Oz. We're peeling back the green curtain here, which you may not know about because you're not an agent. So we'll peel back the green curtain. What happens is the agents are contacted any agents anywhere are contacted by the potential buyers and they say, hey, you know, I'm interested in this piece of land at XYZ. And the agents say and they say, hey, you know, I'm interested in this piece of land at XYZ. And the agents say and they say, why has it been listed for four years? And the agents say, well, you know, it's land takes a while to sell. And still people are curious. And then, worst case scenario, what can happen is that the land goes under contract and then drops out because we haven't prepared the land properly, maybe we haven't seen whether it perks.

Speaker 2:

That means whether you can put a septic system on it because it's out in the boonies and can't be connected to sewer. So that's a really important consideration. Can it be connected to what we call city sewer, which is any town, anywhere sewer? Basically, do you have some sewer lines nearby? If it needs connecting, what is the connection fee? If you're a little more rural, as they say in the mountains, rural I need to get Randy on here to say rural, randy, you need to say rural. If it's a bit more rural, then chances are you're putting in a septic. So if you're putting in a septic. You need everywhere in the country. You need a septic permit. It's a big old tank that naturally bacteria takes care of all the goodies that come out of us naturally, and then it seeps a liquid out in the pipes and your grass goes very green.

Speaker 2:

No, it doesn't smell. I get asked that all the time. Does it smell? See, remember, we're in the Wizard of Oz right now, peeling back the green curtain. No, it doesn't smell. And if you think about it, guess what? You don't have sewage bills anymore. Same if you have a. Well, you're not getting those water bills anymore. And I can tell you that the people in Western North Carolina you all know about this because you're seeing it on the news every single morning as we approach the holidays. I think we're nine weeks out from Helene hitting now.

Speaker 2:

So many people lost their lives, lost their homes, and now it's cold, so people are sleeping in tents and it's very, very, very chilly. And we're all talking about donations. I just donated a dozen trash bag fulls of coats. Why do we all need 12 coats? Go look in your coat closet and see if you've got any. Go look in your blanket closet and see if you've got any. Or, oh my gosh, go on Amazon. I never thought about that. We should put links to Amazon. Inexpensive blankets that you can just send in. They are so in need right now.

Speaker 2:

There's also a lot of rural areas that may or may not have perked. Builders, if they've got land, normally see whether the land perks or not and they get a perk certificate. So what that means is that usually lasts, depending where you're in the country, for anywhere between two and five years. There may be other lengths of period it lasts, but those are the ones I'm familiar with. So you may have bought a piece of land. You may have been thinking that you were building on it, you may have got it perked and guess what? Now it's year seven and that perk isn't valuable anymore. So here's the problem when we list it, we finally get excited three years later when it goes under contract, and then the buyers are going to do their due diligence.

Speaker 2:

So think about this if you're buying land as well. So the buyers are now going to do their due diligence. What does that mean? They're going to see whether the land perks, because what use is it going to be? I guess you could put a composting toilet on. What use is it going to be if they can't put a septic system in right? Or what use is it going to be if they can't drill a well and get water? Well, if you don't have that certificate? That's a lengthy process, right? And who knows whether it now perks. Sometimes that changes, so you want to get it all prepped properly.

Speaker 2:

It isn't for the faint of heart. Many agents won't even list land. It's also obviously you know, if you're listing land, it is quite often the percentage on commission is charged higher for land when agents are selling land, and that's because it usually sits an awful lot longer. And, quite frankly, it's a lot more work because you have to go walk the land with everybody that's thinking about it and spend hours talking about what could be built, what couldn't be built. Um, you know, getting with local authorities to get the septic permit to how do you uh drill the well? Who you know, who's around, who can quote on that? How much is it going to cost? Which, by the way, when it's a well is an almost impossible um uh question, because until you drill down, you don't know when you're hitting water, so you don't know. And they charge by the foot, so the foot of you know where they have to drill down to get to the water, so that's a really tough one.

Speaker 2:

I know you're feeling more and more like donating your land right now. Right, so, to make that easier. So also, I had a question this morning why are you doing this? Why are you using your expensive time and radio show to help people donate things? Because it's another strategy in real estate. I really am pained when people go to Byland. In fact, I had this conversation on Thursday. A lady is in an area I don't know if I want to repeat the area because she may be listening and she's absolutely lovely and I'm sure she wouldn't mind me telling the story. She's in an area that is a very touristy area. Let's say it's Orlando. It's not, but it's a similar one and you know, over the years it's gotten busier and busier and busier. So now they are thinking of retiring in about 10 years time in an area in Western North Carolina and I said is there some reason you want to buy this land now? What agent would say that I mean you'd go? Yes, please, you're spending up to $500,000. Come on in and I'll help you spend that money and make my question.

Speaker 2:

I feel like the longevity of the relationship that I'm going to have with my clients and the network of over a thousand clients around the country, in the USA and Canada. The relationship is built by A doing the right thing, and you know what the strategy part is really fun. This is fun. It's finding another way to say how can we? The world is littered with people who say, oh, we can't do that. It's the way it's always been. Land just sits on the MLS forever. The world is littered with those people. I can't start a fitness regime. I'm 60 years old and my legs bad. The world is full of people who say they can't. Bad, the world is full of people who say they can't.

Speaker 2:

So I like to think that I'm in this army of listing royalty network that do want to do the right thing and have fun with this. Because guess what, if we help you through this, you'll remember us because you'll be thinking who are these bizarre people who are helping us for no fees or money? Well, we like to do it. It's the right thing to do to help you with your real estate needs, whatever your real estate needs are, honestly, since 2007, in doing this and you can call in as well. So I'm going to give you that number in a second, so you can call in as well, because I'd love to play a put row in the hot seat. Wouldn't that be fun? So put me in the hot seat. Whether it's donating or anything else, it doesn't matter. Put me in the hot seat. You can call in at 800-570-9962. We can be in a conversation today. Try and beat me with some terrible real estate issue that you have. Let's see if I can find a strategy for you through it. So that's 800-570-9962. Call in and we'll see what we can do for you with that tricky real estate question that you've got. Maybe you're ticked off with how it's being handled now. Or you have a question about the cash offers, or you want to donate something and you've got a question about it. I'll do my very best to help you.

Speaker 2:

When I was training agents for seven years on unique value proposition and everybody would come into the room, you know I'd have sometimes I'd have. I'd turn up sometimes and have six agents in there. Most often I'd have 50 or 60 agents. I would say, okay, guys, now I'm locking the door and you're not leaving until I find a unique value proposition for each and every one of you and you could see, you know jaws were dropping at that point. Nobody was getting scared. So come on, bring your questions, let's resolve it for you.

Speaker 2:

So if you're thinking about donating heroesmlscom, if you just tuned in this is Rowena Patton at realestatenewsradiocom I know many of you are driving around and listening so you may have just tuned in how you doing. We're talking about donating homes and land and property and boats and cars, your dog, your husband, your wife, kidding Mother-in-law, donating anything you want I'm just kidding guys but particularly vacant land because it just sits there. You've got tired of it. You've decided not to move, wherever it is in the USA or Canada, and you can actually make more money quite frequently by donating it than holding onto it and you just take it off your plate. You're not paying those taxes, you're not paying the HOA if you've got any HOA on it and you know we'll easily. What I'll do is once you enter in.

Speaker 2:

I made that link for you this morning just to make it easier for you to put your info in. You don't have to go and search all over the place or contact me on Facebook or call or so. Heroesmlscom is where you know. It says donate here, just put your details in. Obviously, there's no obligation. Nobody's going to come and waterboard you or you know, make you sell it, or make you make you sell it, make you donate it. It's just to start the ball rolling so that the organizations and I'm going to go through them all in a minute I've got a whole handful of them that accept land. If they accept land, they accept everything else almost always. So whatever you've got maybe you're clearing a house or something like that, so it's not just limited to land.

Speaker 2:

Donating homes is an option too. If you've got a home a home you know, in other words, a ceiling, roof, walls, bedrooms, that kind of stuff, whatever shape it's in I very much encourage you to consider getting a cash offer at cashcpocom. That's cash CPO for certified pre-owned cashcpocom. So two thirds of our sellers get more with that program and you don't have to be donating something. Honestly, it can be anything, in any condition. It can be perfect, it can be a home that you flipped and you just want the money faster. Cash CPO, you know, gets your money out fast, basically. So the reason I'm encouraging you to do that is because you're likely, two thirds of the time, you're going to make more than with a traditional listing. You don't have to go through showings, you don't have to go through listing paperwork or you'd have to go through signs outside, whether you live there or not. So you can get that cash offer through cashcpocom.

Speaker 2:

Even if you're thinking about listing your house by the way and not donating it and you want the money, you can also get a cash offer there. It's definitely not limited just to just donations. It could be a manufactured home, it could be a multi-million dollar home. Our funding partner actually did this with elizabeth taylor's ranch in the last 12 months, so you know it's homes at all levels. So with cash cpo. So you can see all that at CashCPOcom.

Speaker 2:

In fact, it's got a little button there. You can just put your address in and see what the cash offer comes back at. It's a for market value cash offer. This is not some skeezy. We're going to give you 70% and be happy with it, so we can release a significant portion of your home's value within 14 days. Most often you'll see even more money when the property is refreshed and sold.

Speaker 2:

It doesn't matter if it's in perfect condition, doesn't matter if it needs some TLC, and it's going to be a full market value cash offer for homes anywhere in the US or Canada. There's cashcpocom, so, and you know what I'm going to do, I'm going to put the donation button on there. It's not on therecom, so, and you know what I'm going to do, I'm going to put the donation button on there. It's not on there right now. So if you're listening live, you can go to heroesmlscom. Otherwise, if you're thinking about selling your home whether donating it, selling it, whatever you want to do pull the money out, because if you're donating it, you could give that cash to any of the organizations if you wanted to. It's easier than giving them a home. Most of them run on a shoestring, as we mentioned earlier.

Speaker 2:

Again, if you just tuned in, this is Rowena Patton on the Real Estate News Radio Show live on Saturday morning. Unless you're listening to the podcast, in which case probably not Saturday morning, it's probably not live. You can see all the old ones, like last week's, for example, has joined one of the fastest downloads in history of our 12 years on the radio. That was with Joe Shively. He's a builder and it was all about building disasters. It was a very, very fun show. He's on one two weeks before that as well. You can see all of the different topics at realestatenewsradiocom.

Speaker 2:

So let's get back to donating real estate. It's an impactful way. Obviously this is a chunk of cash to support charitable organizations, while you can unlock potential tax benefits that frequently, especially for vacant land, are greater than the value, ie the value you'd get if you listed it, never mind all the hassle you're going to go through and the stress for often years of holding it and paying the taxes and paying the HOA dues and everything else. So, whether you have a home or a vacant land, or boats or cars or anything else, these donations can help non-profits achieve their missions and simplify your property management. So let's explore how you can donate real estate, cars and anything else for that matter and the organisation that accept these contributions and the tax benefits that may bring you. And if you're just tuning in, we're talking about the tax benefits of donating and how that can even be better than listing it. We're also talking about, if you're thinking about donating a home, to go in and put it in at cashcpocom. It takes you about two minutes, just put the address, in what condition you think it's in, and we'll have a full market value cash offer for you and you can donate that money or part of that money instead or do whatever you want with it. You can take it and make your non-contingent offer on your new house if you want to. So let's talk about organizations that accept real estate donations.

Speaker 2:

The reason I started with land is that, honestly, as far as real estate goes, is one of the hardest things to liquidate Because it's just land. People are looking at a piece of dirt in a tree often right and the pictures of the land are always sometimes amusing, especially if it's out further in the country, unless you've got spectacular views, especially if it's a smaller lot, maybe it's surrounded by trees. You're just taking a picture of a tree trunk. It's not very exciting. So somebody you know it's a very small sector of the population who are looking to buy land. They're there, people are looking to do that and they have to come into town. In fact, I have a lady coming in from Hawaii. I should give shout outs to people, but I don't want to call them out. I've got a lady coming in from Hawaii on January 14th who's looking for a lot of land at a high price point. So people are definitely coming in and once they're under contract they'll move here and build their dream house. If you're thinking about doing that, and if you're and I've told, three people in the last week have told me about land and buying land If you're thinking about that, look for the amount of land that you want. So some of you are wanting, you know, 10, 15, 20, 30, 100 acres and yes, those acres are available. We're actually about to have one listed. Joe Shively, the builder in fact, is listing his new spec home that's going to be live very shortly here. We'll have all the details for you next week. Of course you can contact me if you just want to go on a wait list to get some more details on that one.

Speaker 2:

It's only 35 minutes from downtown Asheville and it's called On Duck Pond. It's going to be very fun. It overlooks a pond. There really are ducks on the pond. It's just beautiful. It's in a beautiful setting, 10 minutes of drive to get to it off the main road and the views are spectacular. They're some of the best views I've ever seen in the mountains. It's brand new, it's modern, it's really cool and it's hard to imagine it on the radio, but we're going to have pictures here for you very soon and it's going to be in the low 500s, just gorgeous, brand new and on nearly eight acres, and it has another building lot on it. So pretty cool, all right.

Speaker 2:

So let's look at a list of great organizations that accept homes and vacant land as donations and other things. So here's the thing, guys If people, if these organizations accept vacant land, it's like the lowest barrier to entry, if you like, because land is harder to liquidate. Remember, they're not in the business of selling land. Even cars for kids are not really in the business of selling cars. They're in the business of helping kids, right? So vacant land can take a long time for anyone to sell. It's not about being a great realtor or marketing it right or anything else. Land can just take a very long time. So the easier we can liquidate that, the better. And if they're prepared to take on vacant land, the point is they will take on virtually anything, because almost everything is easier to liquidate than vacant land. So let's look at cars for kids. That's cars with a K. You've all heard the jingle. I'm sure I should have had Randy get the jingle ready for cars for kids. I'm not going to sing it because it's Saturday morning and I'm feeling a bit hoarse after singing too much in the car yesterday.

Speaker 2:

So Cars for Kids is a nationwide nonprofit that helps fund educational, mentoring and youth development programs. We certainly need some of those, don't we? While many may know them for their car donation program, they are actually the biggest in real estate donations. They do homes and vacant land and everything else as well. They'll take all kinds of stuff Homes, multifamily residences, commercial properties and all kinds of other things. So proceeds are used to help the children and families through education and support services.

Speaker 2:

I you know I always ask you to do your research on these because you want to know what percentage of your donation goes towards the kids. That's always an important question. For me it may not be, for you, you just may want to get rid of that land and the necessity to pay the dues, which often come up in January. So you know, if you're going to do this, do it now. We're already. How are we at December already?

Speaker 2:

So you know, once we've got you with the right organization and I'm going to give you a whole bunch of them then it gets submitted online. They do a property review and this is pretty much the same for all of them and with Cars for Kids. They handle all the paperwork. That makes the process very easy for you. Don't worry, I'm not glugging my water because I'm going to start singing, I promise. So they handle everything. So where are they? They're nationwide in the US, right? So they're everywhere in the US. And again, if you are thinking about donating to them, you can go direct to them or you can put your property details, whatever kind of property it is, at heroesmlscom. That's heroesmlscom, and we'll put you in front of a number of them for you so you can see which looks like the easiest for you. Because, honestly, if you're going to donate something, I want to make it as easy for you as possible.

Speaker 2:

So then we have the Conservation Fund's Gift Lands Program. The Conservation Fund works to protect natural habitats and promote sustainable land use and support conservation projects across the US. Their gift lands program allows donors to contribute surplus real estate, such as vacant land or developed properties, to support these efforts. Even properties without direct conservation value are sold to fund critical programs. So you know what I'd say. There is again, if you're going to sell a house, put it through the cash CPO program first, because we can get your money, we can get you the vast majority of your equity out in 14 days, and then our funding partner provides the money up front to do the HGTV magic or any version of it. So it may be a deep clean. That may be all the property needs. We are going to inspect and appraise it, so anything that comes up in the inspection you guys have been listening to me talking about this for certified pre-owned homes for a long time. I started this 17 years ago, back when I was two. I told you, randy, we need those sound effects.

Speaker 2:

I'm very bad at it this morning. So you know, the certified pre-owned certification is very important. Whether you're listening with me anywhere in the country through our network or anything else, get your property inspected Inspectors. So you've all heard of a CPO or a certified pre-owned car. It's 156 point inspection. Gosh, we've only got 10 minutes left. How does this happen, gosh? We've only got 10 minutes left. How does this happen? It's 156 point inspection on a car, a $30,000 car. It's a black book value and it's a dealership warranty.

Speaker 2:

Why the heck are we listing $500,000 homes, million dollar homes, without that program? It makes no sense to me. So I started it back in 2007, cpoexpertscom, where we were teaching home sellers how to get that inspection. We were teaching I've taught thousands of agents in 50 different real estate offices all around the country how to talk to you as a home seller to you know, explain the benefits. It's not to persuade you, it's explain the benefits. So when you do that inspection up front, what that does is we can either take care of anything, any issues that come up.

Speaker 2:

And I know you're all saying my home's perfect, I it perfectly, there's nothing wrong with my home. We all say that. I say that too, I promise you. The inspectors have got to earn their money and they've got to look at all those little items that. Let's face it, we're in an economy where people are a little nervous about buying a property and anything that you put in their way like an inspection report that's got an average of 50 things on it yeah, listen to that. 50 things on it might scare them off. In fact, it scares them off over 30% of the time along with the appraisal. So you know, if you're getting a loan not just if you're getting a loan when you're buying, if you're paying cash when you're buying, you're going to get an appraisal to make sure the thing you're buying is of value. You're also going to get an inspection, even if you're paying cash. Please get an inspection.

Speaker 2:

Why am I saying that, guys? I've sold over 3,500 properties. This is not my first rodeo. And guess what's happened with those 3,500 properties? Almost every single one of them has had an inspection. That's a lot of data points, right? We also have over a thousand agents running CPO experts around the country, and once you get this, you get it.

Speaker 2:

So what happens is you go into contract a third of the time. It's going to drop out if you haven't had at least the inspection. Why the buyers get nervous, it's natural. Now, it's not just the problem of the fact you've got very excited about the fact you're finally under contract. It's about the fact that everybody and their dog my dog's called Sophie. She's in the background here with me today Everybody and their dog is calling me saying what happened, what's wrong with that property, and it's called a stigmatized listing. Guess what happens then? Most often, it's going to drive your price down. People want what other people want. It's going to drive your price down. People want what other people want.

Speaker 2:

Have you ever been in a store when there's some new great thing out For ladies? That's going to be Spanx, right, so they're going to find their Spanx in a department store and these things sell out so quickly. It's ridiculous. And you see that other woman standing at the Spanx table. You know, walk into the department store. There's the Spanx table, you'll know what I'm talking about. Ladies. And they've got their new leopard, skin, snake skin, black, whatever it is high rise jeans in the Spanx. And you see that woman standing by the table and you can see there's only one pair left and you're like she doesn't even need spanks. What's she doing there? Come on, move, move, move. I want that pair, I want that pair. If you see a line, return. I just made this up on the spot, so I hope this works. If you see a line at returns, returning those Spanx, are you so eager to buy them anymore? It's the same thing with a house you go. What's wrong with it? So if you go to an open house, I'll tell you a story.

Speaker 2:

When, um, in 1996, I was back when I was three I was buying a property in Washington DC and my first husband, who sadly passed, wonderful man, gave me a budget of 220,000, which is so funny. Now, washington DC, in right by the zoo, the same properties, you know, nearing $2 million now, zoo, the same properties, you know, nearing $2 million now. So it had bars on the windows and you can imagine how I searched for, you know, a little house at that price point even then. And, by the way, wages weren't so different then. So you know, hello, how does someone afford that $2 million house now? So we went in the house. It was an open house, a lot of people were going in there, because it was priced well, because it needed a lot of work. It had bars on the window, on the windows.

Speaker 2:

And I was walking around with Martin. He's like, oh, this is nice. It had a fireplace, had hardwood floors, all kinds of just you know unique elements. He'd worked in a famous restaurant there and it had a great kitchen with a chef's stove. So he liked, I mean, a real chef's stove. We think someone stole it, probably from one of the great restaurants over the years and put it in the house. So he was walking around going, oh, this is kind of nice. I'm like, no, shh. There were 20 other people in the house that wanted it and of course you knew there was going to be a bidding war. You've all experienced this not very long ago. Because there's more demand. Demand creates a bidding war, right, demand creates higher prices.

Speaker 2:

So when you've got something that drops out, it does the opposite. It makes it stigmatized, it makes it the Spanx that people don't want. Sorry, spanx, don't sue me. I don't think people ever take Spanx back. They just squeeze in them, get stuck and can't take them off. But yes, spanx is one of those really popular things.

Speaker 2:

So, just like your house, let's make it popular and let's not have it drop out when it's under contract. Why? Because it gets stigmatized. So that's why put it through the cash cpo program, cash cpocom, even if you're doing not, if it's vacant land. We can't do vacant land, but we can do home. So if you got a home, put it through that program. We can let know right away and you'll be able to get the money in 14 days. You can move on, not be worried with those dues. It doesn't matter if you're donating. Either you can have the money if you want or you can donate it up to you. So that's the one we talked about with the Conservation Fund's Giftlands program. I've got a few more for you here.

Speaker 2:

Habitat for Humanity so most of us know. Habitat for Humanity Builds and Renovates. I wonder, though, if I went out into the street and said what do you know about Habitat for Humanity and I did a little poll here what do you know about? Habitat for Humanity Builds and Renovates affordable housing for families in need. So donations of vacant land and lots are critical to their mission. In other words, they'll take vacant land as they provide the space for Habitat homes that are built on right. So Habitat's huge. So local affiliates use these donations to create opportunities for low income families to own safe, affordable housing and they can often own them. I mean, they actually own them. They're not renting them out, you know, and holding them as a rent. So they will accept vacant lots of land suitable for building homes. They'll pretty much take anything.

Speaker 2:

Again, if you've got a home, I would put it through cash CPO first, because two thirds of you will get more money through that than with a conventional listing without any of the aggravation. And then you'll have a lot more money to either buy your new home, to go into senior living, to get a divorce, whatever it is that you want the money for out of the home you're selling or donating. You want the money for out of the home you're selling or donating. So it's a very similar process for there. But again, you know, go to heroesmlscom, put your property in and we'll go from there.

Speaker 2:

So here's the one that we proudly support through our cash TPO program. They are called Tunnel to Towers. It's the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. So this is Frank Siller, who lost his brother in 9-11. Amazing guy. You've probably seen the ads. And Marky Mark. You know Mark Wahlberg supports the many other actors. Country stars support them.

Speaker 2:

What I know about Tenor Towers and what attracted me so much is that for many years I've worked with veterans police firefighters, first responders and giving them a discount. Basically, on our commission, on our services. We work with inspectors who give discounts on our services to first responders. It's just a wonderful program. The Tenor Towers Foundation supports military families, first responders and catastrophically injured veterans and they provide mortgage-free homes. So also, you'll see, and you've probably seen these on the ads or featured on on the news they're on the news very frequently. So if a first responder, so if somebody in the police, member of the police force passes, and often they're going to be paying off the mortgage for that family, it's absolutely amazing. And then for the injured veterans, often what's happening is they are um, I just got my four minute warning there from randy. Thank you, randy, um. For injured veterans, they're, they're building an entire home that is for somebody who's injured I, I, the doors are wider and are wider and the ranges go up and down and that kind of thing For people that are in wheelchairs or have lost limbs. It's just an amazing program. They're also building a village I think it's near completion in Florida for veterans that are homeless. It's incredible, absolutely incredible.

Speaker 2:

So they accept homes and vacant land and all kinds of other things as well. They run on a very tight budget and you know what's great about that is over 95% of your donation dollars. I donate $11 a month, so a lot of people donate $11 a month. This is a whole different level, obviously, when you're donating your vacant land or home, but remember, your tax deductions could give you even more back than the land is worth. It's worth exploring, is all I'm saying, and imagine not having to go through the hassle of listing it or, you know, dealing with a realtor or putting signs out. I mean, who wants to deal with a realtor? Just kidding, it's Robina Patton here on the Real Estate News Radio.

Speaker 2:

If you just joined in, realestatenewsradiocom will give you all the links to listen. If you're thinking about donating something, guys, then go ahead and put it in at heroesmlscom heroesmlscom. At that link, by the way, you'll also see some videos from Tunnels to Towers and learn a little bit more about their mission. You better get some tissues if you're going to watch those videos, because they're heartwarming and they're a little wrenching all at the same time. This is just such a great way to say thank you to veterans and first responders who have given everything you know to keep us safe. My gosh, they're nationwide in the US. I don't believe they're in China. I don't know where that came from Canada, the other C, canada, that's like China. So they're nationwide in the USA.

Speaker 2:

And again, if you've got anything at all, frankly, including your land home, anything else, you don't even have to put it in for a cash GPO offer. Just put it in heroesmlscom. If you want a cash offer back fast and maybe you're thinking about shall I donate it, shall I donate it you want a full market value cash offer back fast, whether you're donating it, keeping the money moving on, maybe building your new home, whatever it is, cashcpocom, let's see if we can fit another one in before the music comes on and we go. I'm sure that's. We've got one minute left here. Let's see if we can just get a little bit more.

Speaker 2:

In Chi, lifeline provides comprehensive support to children with life-threatening illnesses. There's also St Jude, obviously. That accepts donations real estate donations, including vacant land and vacation properties. Maybe you've got a vacation property you're just not visiting anymore and maybe that can give you a huge tax write-off that we talked about at the top. So you know that could really help you there, obviously, as you go through all of this. So charitable deduction let's go over those again. It can offer several tax advantages. If you've owned the property for more than a year, you may claim a tax deduction equal to its fair market value, avoiding capital gains taxes. By donating instead of selling, you could avoid capital gains taxes on the property's appreciated value. You can generally deduct up to 30% of your adjusted gross income. Rowena Patton here realestatenewsradiocom. Thank you so much for listening today, guys. It means the world to me. Let's go donate and give something back this year. See you on the radio next week.

Speaker 1:

This has been the Plain English Real Estate Show with Rowena Patton. Visit Rowena and post your questions at radioashvillecom or call her at 828-210-1648.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Rowena Patton, NC, FL, DC, CA

Host