Real Estate IRA Investing with Robert J Russell

Posted on March 22, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Are you looking for ways on how you can understand IRA investing in a more comprehensive manner. Have you been asking yourself why you must invest IRA in real estate? Are you wondering how the whole process would go and what are the requirements needed?

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This article will enlighten you on how you can gain more profit with this investment.

You can only start to take part in IRA investing if you convert your current IRA into a self directed Roth IRA. There are many types of investment choices in this retirement account from stocks to IRA. This retirement account also allows its clients to be the boss of their own investment portfolio.

Here are some hints you can use if you are planning to invest IRA in real estate:

Make sure that the IRA custodian that you will choose for your IRA investing will put what’s best for you first not what is best for the company he is working for. There are custodians all over the place that is why you have to be careful in choosing one. Make sure that the custodian that you will be choosing is well experienced in this industry.

It is also important that you set up an LLC in your account. This can be arranged with the help of your IRA custodian. sThe LLC is an entity that will let you buy your preferred real estate properties.

Be wise in choosing the type of investment that you will engage yourself with. High investment returns can be gained if this is done.

It is also important to hire a person that will do necessary repairs and renovations for your real estate business.

Selling the property or having the place rented are ways for you to earn in this business. But you must also consider seeking the assistance of a realtor especially if you don’t have that knowledge about IRA.

The expenses for real estate IRA investing will be taken from the funds of your account. But, don’t you worry because what you will be earning will return back into your IRA.

Make sure that you have background knowledge in this industry before you invest IRA in real estate. But, it’s never too late to learn especially if high investment returns can be on hand. IRA investing can produce up to 12% or higher investment returns. Investors like you must take precautions on your actions because there are rules as well as restrictions in this retirement plan. Remember to seek the assistance of a professional who is well experienced with regards to real estate transactions.

Learn more about IRA investing in order to avoid breaking its rules that can lead to penalties. Most who gain success in this industry has learned a lot of information. If you are interested in this type of investment you must make sure that you have time in your hands to make the necessary actions needed. You can get the rewards of this plan but you have to wait somehow. High investment returns can be gained but you have to be patient in waiting because this is real estate investment. The right attitude will lead you to have the benefits of this retirement plan.

To find out more about IRA Real Estate Investment – visit www.robertjrussellcompanies.com

Robert J Russell is licensed in Texas, Louisiana and North Carolina in Insurance and Texas in Real Estate.

 

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Tax Deductions for Landlords

Posted on March 21, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Owning rental property is a great way to earn income. However, tax liability comes with the revenue. As a result, it’s important for landlords to know about a variety of tax deductions in respect to rental property.

Below are some common tax deductions for landlords, but consult your accountant for specifics relating to all deductions before filing your tax return.

Property Management, Legal and Professional Services

Legal and professional services are typically deductible. Professional services can include property management, attorneys, accountants, and other professions. Any of the fees related to rental activity may be deducted as operating expenses, so be sure to take advantage of the deduction.

Employees and Contractors

When you own a rental property, you may hire people to do maintenance and repairs. These individuals can be employees or contractors, and used for all sorts of things related to the maintenance of the property. As with all deductible expenses, keep a record of expenses related to employees and contractors, so you can deduct them on your tax return.

Maintenance, Repairs, Casualty, and Theft

Rental properties must be maintained and repaired, which can result in a significance annual expense. If the maintenance and repairs are necessary and reasonable to maintain the property, the costs are usually deductible the year of the repair. But check with your accountant, because this deduction can be tricky, especially if value is being added to the property.

Major losses can occur from a fire, flood, burglary, national disaster, etc. and can cost thousands of dollars to repair. When this occurs, consult with your accountant and possibly your attorney, since the tax deduction can depend on how much of the property was destroyed and whether the loss was covered by insurance.

Travel

You may need to travel to conduct business relating to your rental properties. Costs for travel are generally deductible, and include meals, lodging, vehicle expense, tolls, etc. But some expenses are not fully deductible, and different methods of calculating expenses could be more advantageous based on the specifics. So make sure you meet with your accountant to determining the best method of calculating travel expenses, and the documentation you need to take the deductions.

Office

As a landlord, you may have an office. You might have a home office, a fully staffed office away from home, or you might have both. The cost of a home office may be deductible, depending on the exact circumstances, so consult your accountant. But an office away from home is usually easier to expense, including the depreciation of assets, rent, equipment, insurance, payroll, etc.

Interest

Interest is one of the largest tax deductions for a landlord. Interest can be in the form of mortgage interest payments, credit card interest, and interest invoiced from suppliers for goods and services.

Depreciation

Depreciation of rental property is deductible, and involves deducting certain costs of the property over several years. To determine the specifics of what is depreciated and the annual depreciation tax deduction, consult your accountant since the calculation and tracking can be difficult.

Insurance

You can deduct insurance premiums for about any rental property insurance. Types of insurance you might carry could include fire, theft, and flood insurance for rental property, landlord liability insurance, and health insurance for employees.

Robert J Russell, IRES, ICREA, REALTOR has been helping people for over 15 years in Real Estate and over 30 years in Insurance.

Visit: http://www.robertjrussellcompanies.com

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Moving to a Different City, State or Country?

Posted on March 15, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Robert J Russell – Relocation Expert has just developed a REALTOR Referral Page where we can assist you to find a REALTOR in any city, state or country.

This is a FREE service to you – simply click here > RELOCATION and it will take you to our Relocation Expert page.

Try it!

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Buying your First House

Posted on March 15, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Buying a house can be an exciting time in your life, but unfortunately, it can also be an expensive business and it is very important to start saving sooner rather than later. We’re in a buyer’s market at the moment, so the more savings you can put aside, the better positioned you’ll be to act quickly when you find the house of your dreams.

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It’s important to know what you’ll have to spend money on when buying a house, because there’s a lot more to it that just arranging a mortgage. Here are a few expenses you should account for when saving for your new home.

  1. Mortgage Down Payment

The most important expense is the down payment because without this, you simply won’t get your mortgage. The amount of the down payment can vary between loans and lenders so you must research the type of loans you qualify for. The down payment could be as low as 3.5% or as high as 20% of the total sum you want to borrow. So, if you want to buy a house valued at $100,000, that would mean a down payment of between $3,500 and $20,000.

  1. Title, Insurance & Survey Work

Once you’ve seen the house you want to buy, and you’re ready to go ahead, you will also need to pay to get the title insurance and survey work carried out. This is an important part of the house buying process and isn’t something you can ignore. The cost for this work will usually be a percentage of the house value, so on average between 0.5% and 1.5%. It can vary depending on the location of the house, but again, using the example of $100,000 property, this would come out to between $500 and $1,500.

  1. Closing Costs

When the sale is ready to complete, there are a number of costs and taxes to pay during the closure of the sale. These closing costs are usually calculated as a percentage of the sale, so if you budget for between 0.5% and 1.5% will differ between locations and property values, but is another expense to budget for.

  1. Private Mortgage Insurance Premiums

If you make a down payment of less than 20%, you may have to take out Private Mortgage Insurance. This is to protect the lender in the event you default on the loan. The premiums would be calculated on the amount of the loan.

  1. Bank & Lender Costs

When you arrange your home loan, make sure you clarify details of any additional bank or lender costs that are not obvious. Sometimes a bank will charge an additional fee which they might add on to the total loan. If your bank will charge fees, make sure you budget accordingly.

  1. Home Insurance

Property insurance is something all home buyers should budget for. Any structural damage to your home, including theft or fire needs to be covered, so you can research appropriate insurance premiums while you are still saving and include this in your budget plan.

  1. Home inspection fees

When your real estate agent introduces you to your ideal house, it’s important to get a professional home inspection. Some inspectors will charge a flat rate and others will charge by square footage, but on average, and inspection will be in the region of $300 to $1000 for the average property. An inspection report is well worth the investment as it could identify potential problems with the house.

  1. First Mortgage Payment

After everything goes through and you’re in your new house, don’t forget that first mortgage payment. If you’ve taken out a low interest loan, this first payment might be small, but these payments aren’t always deducted from your bank account at the right time, so you must make sure you have sufficient funds in your account to meet that first payment. Subsequent payments will settle down to a regular day in the month around your payday.

Saving money towards buying a house is the sensible thing to do, and by understanding which expenses are involved in the process, you’ll be able to set yourself realistic goals and targets. For some people this might mean planning 5 or 6 years ahead whereas for others, it might just mean saving for a year or two. Open a new bank account specifically for your savings and preferably opt for one which offers a better rate of interest if you don’t withdraw the money for a set period. Above all, determination and the commitment to reach your savings goal are really important

Saving up to buy your first home isn’t always easy and this list may seem like a mountain, but every home buying situation varies a little bit. Some costs can be absorbed in the loan which means you may pay more for them in the long run but there’s less cost up front and you may get in your home sooner. Don’t be discouraged. No one ever said buying a home was easy, but most would say it’s worth it when they hand you the keys to your new home.

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How to Negotiate Real Estate

Posted on March 14, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Real Estate negotiation is a critical part of the property transaction. Your chances of clinching a better deal will increase if you are a better negotiator. To win the best deal you need to develop certain negotiating strategies and tactics and know when and how to apply these to your benefit.

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Here are some negotiating tips to help you close Real Estate deals.

Start With A Fair Price

If you are a seller, make the right offer, make the right price. If you quote a very high price, your buyers would instantly turn your offer down. And that simply was not good for you as you would be losing prospective buyer. And as a buyer, you should not negotiate or offer too low price as well. The seller would not be at all interested to sell off the property to you no matter how much you like to buy it. So, set a price which goes well with the current market trends. For that you must really equipped yourself knowledge of the prevalent prices in real estate market of the locality

Respect Priorities

Learn to respect the priorities of the other side of the table. For example, your seller is not willing to lower the price, yet ready to make the heavy repair of the property or some important components of the transaction process, you may go for the quoted price keeping in mind that the overall transaction would be a fair deal for you. You may similarly settle down with a low price deal if you find your buyer is ready to bear other expenses of the transaction. Many times, buyer and seller have great problem regarding shouldering some expenses. Splitting up the responsibility would be very helpful to great extent

Be Quick On The Uptake

It is critical to respond to counteroffers as soon as possible and to avoid making a counteroffer with any term that is not truly a deal breaker. Delays in responding leave space open for another buyer to step in and create a bidding war, or even more likely, for the seller to perceive that other serious buyers might be out there.

Check The Comps

The more money you offer, the more likely the seller will accept. Your real estate agent only gets paid if the seller accepts, so you can see why some agents tend to include or emphasize the highest priced comparables, even if they aren’t the most similar comps for your property.

Make Your Real Estate Agent Work For It

If you are competing with other buyers for a property, your real estate agent’s prep work and presentation of your offer can be critical to your success. Always communicate with your agent to ensure you both are on the same page in terms of expectations and deal breakers.

Crunch The Numbers
Before you finalize your decision about how much to offer, have your mortgage broker run a monthly payment on your offer price and estimate your property taxes and insurance. Often, buyers inch up in price during the house hunt and in the course of formulating their offer, so it’s important to have a final check on the exact monthly and annual obligations you will incur if your offer is accepted.

Also, if you’re seriously debating between offering two different prices and are having a hard time making the decision, ask your mortgage professional to run the payment, taxes and insurance on both of the prices you’re considering.

Making the best Real Estate Deal negotiation is quite easy if you really know what you are doing. If you equip yourself with the right attitude and the right skills then you can surely start generating huge income in this kind of business. Just start building a good reputation and everything follows! To succeed in the Real Estate business you need to master the art of negotiation.

The Art of Negotiation by: Robert J Russell

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Median Retirement Account Balance drops to $2500

Posted on March 13, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

A new, grim estimate from the National Institute on Retirement Security

The median retirement account balance in a typical American working-age household dropped to $2,500 in 2014, down from $3,000 in the previous year, according to a study from the National Institute on Retirement Security.

The insitute said that, by its calculation, nearly 40 million households have no retirement savings. At the same time, the value of 401(k) retirement savings accounts and IRAs hit a record high of $11.3 trillion at the end of 2013.

The news is perhaps most dire for those closest to retirement: median retirement account balances for pre-retirees was $14,500, with 62 percent of Americans aged 55 to 64 having saved less than one year of their annual income, it said.

Also read: Many believe US faces retirement crisis

While critics assert the insitute’s figures are based on dubious assumptions,  Diane Oakley, executive director of the institute, said Thursday that time has run out for many Americans.

“This amount won’t even replace one year’s salary for millions of older Americans. They just don’t have time to catch up on their savings shortfall,” she said.

The evidence is “irrefutable” that retirement is out of reach for millions of Americans, she said.

Earlier this month, the NIRS released survey results showing 86 percent of Americans perceive a retirement crisis in the country.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute recently estimated that the country’s aggregate retirement savings deficit stands at $4.13 trillion.

The welter of discouraging data comes as the Special Senate Committee on Aging held a hearing Thursday titled, “Bridging the Gap: How prepared are Americans for Retirement?”

The overall problem can be blamed on two usual suspects, said Oakley: workers, particularly low-income ones, lack access to workplace retirement savings plans, and those with access are not saving enough.

“These twin challenges amount to a severe retirement crisis that if left unaddressed will result in grave consequences for the U.S. economy and families,” she said.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, the ranking member of the aging committee, opened Thursday’s hearings remarks recalling “an era when it was more common for workers to have a secure, guaranteed pension plan waiting for them in their retirement.”

“That is no longer the case,” she said. “We live in a 401(k) world, one that requires American workers make more financial decisions and assume more risk in deciding how much money to invest and where to invest it. Due to many challenges, many Americans have not been able to save the necessary funds for retirement. This retirement security crisis is very real.”

Also read: Lots of testimony, much dissent on retirement fixes

The NIRS study examined rates of participation in defined contribution plans by age and wealth. Its findings included:

  • Of the 55 percent of private-sector workers with access to any kind of retirement savings plan, only 51 percent utilize it. Access has slightly increased from post-recession figures but is still down from the 62 percent seen in 1998.
  • Over 43 million people worked for an employer that didn’t sponsor a plan in 2013 – including 34 million full-time workers.
  • Half of the 40 million American households that don’t own any retirement assets are between ages 45 and 65.
  • As would be expected, retirement assets are strongly to correlated household income. On average, families with retirement accounts have 2.4 times the annual income than do those without retirement assets.
  • Median income was over $86,000 for those with accounts, compared to $35,500 for those without accounts.
  • Nearly 90 percent of earners in the highest quartile income bracket have retirement accounts, and nearly 76 percent of households in the second highest slot do. But in the lowest quartile of income earners, fewer than 22 percent hold assets in retirement accounts.

When factoring out households without retirement accounts from the equation, the average account value for all ages rises considerably, to about $50,000. For workers age 55 to 64, it is $104,000; for workers 45 to 54, it’s $87,000.

But even that level of savings cannot be expected to yield much retirement income, the institute said.

Savings of $104,000 will “only provide a few hundred dollars per month in income if the full account balance is annuitized,” or if it is drawn down at 4 percent a year, according to its report.

The report stipulates that most people lack a clear idea of how much savings they need to maintain their quality of life in retirement. A $200,000 account is less than half of the minimum a couple with a combined $60,000 in income will need, according to the paper.

To address the issue, the institute said, Social Security will have to be strengthened, access to plans with “life-time payouts” expanded, and increased tax credits given for savers in low-income families.

Legislative momentum for reform is expected to increase in this session of Congress.

McCaskill, for one, threw her support Thursday behind the Retirement Security Act of 2015, co-sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida.

The bill would make it possible for small employers to join multiple-employer plans, a bipartisan solution that has been introduced in other retirement bills, McCaskill said.

Rep. John Larson, D-Connecticut, is expected to reintroduce the Social Security 2100 Act in coming days. Last year, the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary said Larson’s bill would leave the program with a small surplus 75 years from now.

Among other provisions, Larson’s bill would increase the payroll tax rate to 14.4 percent, compared to 12.4 percent under current law.

We can help you with your Retirement Plan – visit our website: http://www.robertjrussellinsurance.com for details about Retirement Planning and IRA’s

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Americans Name Government as #1 US Problem (Gallup.com)

Posted on March 12, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans continue to name the government (18%) as the most important U.S. problem, a distinction it has had for the past four months. Americans’ mentions of the economy as the top problem (11%) dropped this month, leaving it tied with jobs (10%) for second place.

Trends in Top "Most Important" U.S. Problems, March 2014-March 2015

Though issues such as terrorism, healthcare, race relations and immigration have emerged among the top problems in recent polls, government, the economy and unemployment have been the dominant problems listed by Americans for more than a year.

The latest results are from a March 5-8 Gallup poll of 1,025 American adults.

While the ranking of the top two problems is similar to what Gallup found in February, mentions of the economy dropped from 16% to the current 11%. In a separate measure, Americans’ confidence in the economy had been dipping further into negative territory in late February and early March, but has been improving in recent days.

The state of U.S. healthcare also became less of a problem to Americans in March, as 7% mention it this month, compared with 10% in February.

Most Commonly Named Problems in February 2015 vs. March 2015

The latest poll found that terrorism (6%), the situation in Iraq/ISIS (4%) and national security (4%) also ranked among the most cited problems, illustrating that terrorism concerns are still on many Americans’ minds.

Satisfaction With Direction of U.S. at 31%

Thirty-one percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country. Satisfaction has been stable over the last three months; however, it remains higher than most readings since 2007.

Satisfaction with the nation’s direction had declined in 2013 and 2014 after reaching 33% during the 2012 fall presidential campaign. Satisfaction reached an all-time low of 7% in late 2008 as the financial crisis was underway, and an all-time high of 71% in February 1999 amid the dot-com boom.

Trend: Satisfaction With the Direction of the U.S.

Bottom Line

While dissatisfaction with government is by no means a new issue to the American people, it has not in recent months been as clearly the leading problem as it is now, given that fewer Americans mention the economy.

Meanwhile, satisfaction with the direction of the U.S. remains relatively upbeat compared with figures from recent years, but two-thirds of Americans continue to be dissatisfied.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted March 5-8, 2015, with a random sample of 1,025 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

Tags: Real Estate, Insurance, Medicare, Health, Economy, Gallup, United States

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How does the buying process work ?

Posted on March 9, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

 Not sure how the home buying process works ? Call me – I can help

Our real estate and mortgage teams ensure that buyers fully understand the steps to the home buying process and all of the costs associated with their home purchase. Contact me today.
 Sincerely,
 Robert J Russell, IRES, ICREA, REALTOR
Texas Real Estate License – 0479382
www.robertjrussell.com
972-679-9029 phone
robertjrussellcompanies@gmail.com
 
“I value our relationship”
Send a referral…I LOVE referrals!
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Rubio and the tax plan to cut corporate rates

Posted on March 8, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies
Sen. Marco Rubio. Photo: AP
Sen. Marco Rubio. Photo: AP

(Bloomberg) — U.S. businesses, families and high-income households would see significant tax cuts under a plan outlined Wednesday by Marco Rubio, the Florida senator and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate.

The proposal, offered with Senator Mike Lee of Utah, would reduce marginal tax rates, let businesses write off investments immediately and create a $2,500 tax credit for children. It would also eliminate taxes on capital gains and dividends for corporate shareholders.

“The goal of this plan is to generate growth,” Rubio said at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington.

The tax cuts would increase the U.S. deficit, complicating Rubio’s efforts to meet a goal of balancing the federal budget that he reiterated Wednesday. The senator said economic growth generated by the tax plan would cover at least some of the costs and that he would pair it with changes to Medicare and Social Security.

In contrast with other Republicans, Rubio and Lee place more emphasis on tax benefits for families and less on rate reduction. They said the twin goals of the plan are to focus on growth and on families.

House Republicans’ budgets for the past few years called for a 25 percent top rate on individuals; Rubio and Lee set theirs at 35 percent.

Romney, Camp

Some prominent Republicans — namely 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney and former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp — said their tax plans wouldn’t increase the budget deficit.

Rubio and Lee don’t make such revenue neutrality an explicit goal. Their marker pushes Republicans back toward the tax-cutting posture the party had under President George W. Bush.

“It’s definitely trillions of dollars over the next 10 years and probably many trillions,” said Leonard Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center in Washington and a former Treasury Department official under President Bill Clinton.

The Rubio-Lee tax plan would reduce the tax rate on business income to 25 percent and the top income tax rate for individuals to 35 percent from 39.6 percent, according to a summary.

The changes proposed by the senators could significantly cut rates for some high-income households, which earn more of their income from investments and businesses than lower-income wage earners do.

‘Supply Side’

Corporations would pay a top tax rate of 25 percent, down from 35 percent today.

Companies could write off investments in the first year rather than spreading deductions over the life of an investment.

That “big, big supply-side tax cut” would generate economic growth, Burman said, though economists would disagree about how significant the effect would be. Any plan that increased the deficit could erase the growth benefits, he said.

U.S. corporations would no longer face U.S. taxes on their foreign income and would pay a 6 percent one-time tax on the $2.1 trillion in profits they have amassed overseas.

“It’s certainly simpler than what we have today, and therefore it would be better than what we have today, particularly on the international reforms,” said Warren Payne, former policy director for Ways and Means Committee Republicans.

Income from small businesses and others that pay taxes through their owners’ returns would be taxed at a top rate of 25 percent, down from a maximum of 39.6 percent.

‘New Ground’

Businesses outside of the financial-services industry would no longer be able to deduct interest payments on new debt. That’s “breaking new ground” compared with past Republican plans, Payne said.

That idea in the proposal drew an immediate response from a business coalition that includes private equity firms and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

“Maintaining full interest deductibility, an ordinary and necessary business expense, is essential to growth and should be fully maintained as part of reform efforts,” Sabrina Siddiqui, a spokeswoman for the Build coalition, said in a statement.

In addition to the expanded child tax credit, Rubio and Lee proposed to consolidate the current seven tax brackets into two: 15 percent and 35 percent.

Standard Deduction

The standard deduction would be replaced with a $2,000 personal credit, and all itemized deductions would be eliminated — except for the deduction for charitable contributions and a limited version of the home mortgage interest deduction.

Rubio wouldn’t endorse a previous Lee proposal to limit mortgage interest to the first $300,000 of principal, citing differences in housing prices across the country and noting that $300,000 would buy a “townhouse” in Miami and larger houses elsewhere.

The 35 percent personal tax rate would apply to income exceeding $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly, less than one-third of the income now needed to reach the top tax bracket.

That rate structure means that high-income wage earners would pay 35 percent, high-income business owners would pay 25 percent and high-income investors could pay zero because of the elimination of capital gains taxes on corporate stock.

Labor Income

Those differentials would require rules to prevent people from turning labor income into something that’s more lightly taxed.

“They know it’s an issue and clearly they intend to address it,” Payne said.

The Rubio-Lee plan wouldn’t change one of the biggest tax breaks for individuals, the exclusion from income of employer- provided health insurance. The senators would connect changes to that policy with a revamp of the health-care system.

It’s not clear, based on what Rubio and Lee have released, exactly how their plan would affect the federal budget deficit.

The Tax Policy Center said last year that an earlier version of Lee’s plan would amount to a $2.4 trillion tax cut over a decade, or about 6 percent of projected federal revenue. The new version would be an even bigger tax cut, Burman said.

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What a Pest!

Posted on March 7, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

The list of new responsibilities can seem overwhelming when you buy a home or become a first-time homeowner. One responsibility that tends to get overlooked until it becomes a larger issue is that of household pests. A household pest is “a destructive insect or other animal that attacks” your home. Pests range throughout the U.S., but the most common pests are those that have become almost commonplace in our lives. Here are some of the most common pests encountered by homeowners throughout the U.S., and what you can do to help prevent pests in your home.

Most common Spring and Summer Pests:

Termites:

Termites are generally grouped by their nesting and feeding habits: subterranean, soil-dwelling, dry wood, damp wood and grass-feeding. They feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaves, soil and animal dung. Termites can cause significant structural damage to buildings. Those classified as subterranean and dry wood are those that are responsible for the damage to homes.

Ants:

Ants are the most common household pests in the north central states. They are social insects, and they have a wide variety of nesting habits. Ants can build nests in soil, behind moldings, baseboards and counter tops, and some types nest in decaying or moisture damaged wood. Ants will feed on all types of food, and ant damage varies. Most ants cause little damage, but carpenter ants can weaken wood structures similar to termites, and the majority of ants don’t transmit diseases.

Flies:

Flies are some of the most annoying pests in the home. They land on almost every surface, and their diet includes a wide variety of foods: human food, animal food, animal carcasses, garbage and excrement. Flies also carry germs and diseases. They are known to transfer over 100 pathogens, some of which include salmonella, anthrax, tuberculosis, and the eggs of parasitic worms.

Spiders:

Spiders are generally not harmful and they do feed on other insects like flies and other spiders. Most spiders found in the home are not venomous, but there are some that homeowners don’t want to find inside their house. The Black Widow and Brown Recluse are two of the most talked about spiders homeowners do not want to find in their homes. Black Widows can be found throughout the U.S., and Brown Recluse are predominately found in the Midwestern States, most notably Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. All spiders have the ability to travel to all states by ways of hiding in boxes, packages and produce.

Most Common Fall and Winter Pests:

Stink Bugs:

Stink bugs are found throughout the U.S., and most of the time homeowners don’t know they have an issue until early fall, when stink bugs turn up on the sunny side of homes where they can warm themselves. During the summer months stink bugs live outside, feeding on fruits, grains and other crops. During the colder months, stink bugs will hide inside walls or in attics and crawl spaces. These bugs get their name from the unpleasant odor they produce when they feel threatened.

Rodents:

Rodents are warm-blooded and are found throughout the U.S. The most common types of rodents are mice and rats. Both rapidly breed and are capable of squeezing through spaces that appear smaller than their bodies. Rodents seek warm shelter in the cold months, particularly mice, who seek food, water and warmth within homes. Generally, if one rodent is found, many more are hiding nearby.

How to Avoid Pests:

Most home pests can be avoided by doing simple, everyday things. As a homeowner, make sure your doors and windows are closed, as these are the most common ways for pests to enter a home. Make sure window and door screens are in good repair or working order. By eliminating moisture buildup in small areas and basements you reduce the risk of creating hospitable environments for pests. Sealing openings in a home’s foundation will help reduce access to your home

Trees harbor pests — by keeping tree branches trimmed and away from the home you deter pests (especially spiders) from having easy access to your home’s roof. Moisture attracts pests — direct rain water away from the home and foundation to prevent possible moisture buildup. If you have fire wood, store it at least 20 feet away from the house. Flies and other pests are attracted to garbage, so ensuring that garbage cans are sealed tight and all animal deposits are picked up will help reduce the risks of attracting pests into your home. The best deterrent to pests remains a clean, uncluttered home, where food, crumbs, and anything else that has the potential to attract pests is put away, covered or thrown away.

 

 

 

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