Broker can furnish oral estimate of house, property value

Q: We want to know the value of our house and property. We think it would be important to have an estimate as to the property value if one of us died, for planning purposes. Should we hire an appraiser to place a value on it or use a Realtor? — B.

A: For financial planning at this time, you don’t need the expense of an elaborate full appraisal. An experienced broker who is active in your area can furnish an oral estimate, a comparative market analy- sis or a simple one-page opinion of value.

Q: I thought the column with questions about burying a St. Joseph’s statue in your yard was hysterical. Now that I’m selling my home, I have similar questions and it’s not so funny. So, do you bury him head first? And what about the timing — right when you put the house on the market? Do you dig him back up when sold? — M.

A: OK, here’s what I’ve been told. For help with the sale of the property, the statue is to be buried upside-down facing the house, in the far right corner of the backyard. I suppose that could be like stage right, looking out toward the street, but I’ve always assumed it’s the lot line on one’s right looking in from the sidewalk.

That’s about all I’ve ever heard, so I can’t answer the rest of your questions. I will pass on what one reader wrote in: “Unless you have faith, you might as well bury a statue of Elvis.”

Q: We bought our home in 2014. This summer we plan to build a deck. I understand that home repairs are not tax deductible, but what about major improvements? Can we take the whole cost as a tax deduction for 2015 or would we be dividing it up over a period of years? — H.

A: Neither. The money you spend on permanent improvements is added to your cost basis for the property. When you sell someday, it would reduce the amount of your profit, your capital gain. By then, of course, you’ll probably qualify for the home sellers tax exclusion anyhow. As a married couple filing jointly, you could take up to a halfmillion dollars’ profit free of capital gains tax.

If you never sell, your heirs will receive the house with a stepped-up cost basis, value around the time of your death. So, the price of those improvements isn’t likely to have an effect on anyone’s tax return.

Q: Are there tax consequences if we transfer ownership of real estate to our son now, or is a better plan to let him inherit the property? — J. M.

A: The answer to your first question is that you’d have to file a gift tax return, but you might not owe any actual tax. As far as the federal government is concerned, the value of the land would be deducted from what you could leave tax-free when you died.

As soon as you ask that second question, though — is there a better plan, then as with almost all estate questions, the answer is a firm “it all depends.”

How much is the land worth? What’s your cost basis? How old is your son? How secure is his marriage? Do you have other children? How old are you? How big is your estate? How’s your health? Above all — what are you trying to accomplish?

Before you do anything, all of that — and more — should be discussed with a lawyer who specializes in estate planning or in elder law.