Vicki Alvarado
949 525.8310

"I know you have many options when it comes to finding the perfect loan for you.  However, experience speaks for itself.  I have had the pleasure of working with Mares Mortgage and my contact, Oscar Gonzalez.  I would recommend him and his associates for all your loan and lending options."
Vicki Alvarado

April 15 !

Every year, the month of April can cause a lot of stress and anxiety to those of us who work in this country. This is because, we’re hardly ever prepared to pay our taxes, be it personal or our business taxes. We would like to provide you with the following suggestions to make this process easier. The most important thing to prepare a complete and correct tax report is having the information organized.

All accountants will ask for two types of information:
a) our income (W2, 1099, etc.)
b) and expenses made during the fiscal year (interest, property taxes, insurance, etc.)

While our economies will not compare to those of the big corporations, we often try to store our information with complex and sophisticated methods. Here are a couple of basic and simple steps you can take to organize yourself better: 1) Invest in an expanding file portfolio ($12.00 at Costco or Staples). Mark the divisions cording to a month of the year. Make the last division the space where you’ll keep your last income tax report.

Each time you receive your bills, checks, banks statements, retirement account information, etc. save them according to the corresponding month you receive them in. Always save by month, never save by category. Following these steps, when you have your appointment with your accountant and take your portfolio, the accountant will have all the information he/she will need to prepare your tax report. You will be able to feel comfortable and your accountant will thank you immensely.

Goodbye Debts!!

In order to eliminate your debts quickly, not only do you have to pay, but you need to know what to pay first. In order to know what to pay first, make a list of all your debts and separate them in two categories. In one category you will include all the debts whose interest can be deducted from your taxes. For instance: Mortgage interest and property taxes of the house you live in, interest, taxes and expenses made to your investment property. The other category will include those debts with interests that cannot be deducted from your taxes. For instance: credit card interest, car payments, etc. We provide you with a chart for your use in the back of this page. Place your debts from top to bottom, on the list, according to the interest rate. The debt with the lowest interest rate is placed at the top of the list. Eliminate your debt quickly by making the minimum payment in all your bills and sending the rest of your available money to the account at the end of the list.

Sold Your Home?

If you sold, bought or refinanced your property, you might ask yourself; “what should I turn in to my accountant?” If you bought a new property, you should give your accountant a copy of the closing statement from escrow, Final HUD1. From this document, the accountant will be able to see the interest, taxes and origination costs that can be deducted from your income tax. If you sold a property and didn’t buy another, you will present the same form and a list of all the expenses made to improve the property. If your expenses are well documented, it will be easier for the accountant to prepare a report where the taxes you pay are minimized.

Sold Your Investment Property?

Many of our clients have asked us; “what happens if I sell my investment property?” The question that follows always is “do I have to pay taxes on the money earned?” If you have a house you rent out (investment) and you decide to sell it, the government has the right to charge you taxes on the profits. For instance, if you bought a house or condominium for $200,000.00 and sold it for $250,000.00, you would have to pay taxes on the $50,000.00 profit. You would pay taxes on the profits only, not on your original down payment. On the other hand, if you choose to buy another property with the profits from your sale, you don’t have to pay taxes during the fiscal year. This process is known as an Exchange. For more information on “exchanges” visit: www.irs.gov/publications/p544/ch01.html#d0e2019

For more information concerning selling, purchasing or refinancing a property, call us. Mares Mortgage has the best disposition to help you. 32172-A Camino Capistrano San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 (949) 489-8300 Fax: (949) 489-9503

www.maresmortgage.com