In case this news item passed you buy, take a moment to drop your jaws at Donnie and Kathy Fulbright's recent home-selling success. They sold a home in rural North Carolina that they'd originally bought for $6,000 for a cool $1.7 million.
Granted, they'd owned it for 34 years, and real estate values have risen since then, even with recent dips.
But the key ingredient here was the buyer -- Apple Inc., which was building a huge data center on the surrounding property, and were eager to buy at almost any price. This article in the British press describing the sale is a fun one, with lots of photos. And here's another informative report.
I wonder whether the Fulbrights paid the closing costs?
I also hope they've got a good accountant, who can figure out a way to reduce their capital gains tax hit, which is 15% for most people. The $500,000 exclusion for married couples will get them only so far here. I saw one online commentator saying that, as an "elderly couple," they'd be eligible for a special one-time exclusion, but that's no longer the law -- everyone gets the same exclusion.
Granted, they'd owned it for 34 years, and real estate values have risen since then, even with recent dips.
But the key ingredient here was the buyer -- Apple Inc., which was building a huge data center on the surrounding property, and were eager to buy at almost any price. This article in the British press describing the sale is a fun one, with lots of photos. And here's another informative report.
I wonder whether the Fulbrights paid the closing costs?
I also hope they've got a good accountant, who can figure out a way to reduce their capital gains tax hit, which is 15% for most people. The $500,000 exclusion for married couples will get them only so far here. I saw one online commentator saying that, as an "elderly couple," they'd be eligible for a special one-time exclusion, but that's no longer the law -- everyone gets the same exclusion.
