Taxes: Your Odds for an Audit

If you've already filed your taxes this year, and are now relaxing for another year, don't get too comfortable just yet. Seems the IRS is now auditing more taxes than ever, and the number is only expected to get larger in the future.

Being rich has some fairly obvious advantages. But there are also drawbacks. For example, this time of year when a big income may mean bigger odds of an audit.

Money Editor Stacy Johnson takes a look at your odds of an audit in this short video. (Clip runs 1:16)

Do you worry about an audit on your taxes? Do you use an accountant thinking that might save you from getting that dreaded audit letter? We'd love to hear your opinion on this. Use the comment link below to tell us what you think.

Homes: Buy or Rent?

Owning your own home: an idea so popular it's known as the American dream. But as prices fall and foreclosures rise, for many it's become a nightmare instead. How do you know whether renting or owning is the way to go?

Stacy Johnson examines a few considerations you need to keep in mind when trying to answer this age-old question of whether it's better to buy or rent. (Video runs 1:18)

Trying to determine whether renting or buying is best for you? We'd love to help you answer that question. Give us a call for a no-obligation discussion of your situation. We'll help you determine whether renting or buying is your best approach.

St. Louis Real Estate Investing: The Time May be Right

Listen to all the bad news reports. It's the worst time since the Great Depression to buy real estate, right?

Not so, according to some individual investors, who think the market slump has made selected areas more desirable than they've been in years.

While many buyers, whether potential residents or investors, are staying on the sidelines, largely from fear that prices will continue to plummet, some private investors think there's no time like the present to take advantage of a market in freefall.

Overall, homes sales have plunged to record lows. However, the percentage of investors in the market is edging up, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate information service.

Real estate investors should not expect a return to the no-money-down days, which means they already have cash on the line as soon as they buy. But remember what Warren Buffett says, "the fact that a market is not turning around in the next year isn't significant. If you wait long enough, the market has always gone up since the days of the caveman."

What do you think? Is now the right time to invest in real estate? We'd love to get your opinion on that. Go ahead and click the "comment" link below and sound off.

Consumer Confidence Continues to Be Low

"Consumer confidence is at its weakest level in 17 years," according to Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, producer of the Consumer Confidence Index, which surveys 5,000 households every month for their economic views. Franco says, "it looks troubling for current conditions and in terms of where the economy is headed." Another survey that tracks consumer confidence — the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers — had similar findings.

When consumers are satisfied or optimistic about their economic situations, they are more likely to buy a home. But with consumer confidence at its lowest level in nearly two decades, some economists think the real estate market is unlikely to rebound until at least 2009.

Early in 2007, both those surveys reported an uptick in consumer confidence, leading some economists to predict that 2007 would mark a real estate industry turnaround. Instead, consumer confidence dropped sharply last summer.

Though no one doubts the economy eventually will turn around, the consensus is that it will be a gradual process and consumers should not expect to see a market turnaround over night. However, consumer confidence surveys typically give economists a preview of what the market is going to do.

So what does that mean for the housing market?

Homebuyers and home sellers are largely sitting on the sidelines, but for different reasons. Homebuyers aren't so much concerned about interest rates since rates are still the low side. Instead, many prospective buyers seem more concerned about their creditworthiness.

What about you? We'd love to hear your opinion. Just leave a comment by clicking on the "comment" link below. Your email address will never be published here, although it is required in order to leave a comment. We respect your privacy, and only want your comment, not your identity. Go ahead, tell us what you think about consumer confidence in general. We'd love to hear from you.

Taxes: Your Odds for an Audit

If you've already filed your taxes this year, and are now relaxing for another year, don't get too comfortable just yet. Seems the IRS is now auditing more taxes than ever, and the number is only expected to get larger in the future.

Being rich has some fairly obvious advantages. But there are also drawbacks. For example, this time of year when a big income may mean bigger odds of an audit.

Money Editor Stacy Johnson takes a look at your odds of an audit in this short video. (Clip runs 1:16)

Do you worry about an audit on your taxes? Do you use an accountant thinking that might save you from getting that dreaded audit letter? We'd love to hear your opinion on this. Use the comment link below to tell us what you think.