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Amazon.com: House of the Dead: DVD Your Store DVD See All 32 Product Categories Your Account | Cart | Wish List | Help | Advanced Search | Browse Genres | Top Sellers | New & Future Releases | Television Central | Life & Learning | DVD Essentials | Blowout DVDs | Movie Showtimes | Used DVDs Search Amazon.com DVD Web Search Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in . DVD Information Explore this item buying info editorial reviews customer reviews cast and crew fun facts Listmania! The worst Modern Horror Films : A list by Jason Voorhees "Jason V" Add your List Ready to buy? Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering. A9.com users save 1.57% on Amazon. Learn how . MORE BUYING CHOICES 183 used & new from $0.70 Have one to sell? House of the Dead (2003) Starring: Jonathan Cherry , Tyron Leitso Director: Uwe Boll Rating: See larger image Share your own customer images List Price: $18.00 Price: $15.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details You Save: $2.01 (11%) Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Want it delivered Friday, December 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. See details 183 used & new available from $0.70 Edition: Other Versions and Languages Other Versions (VHS Tape) List Price Price Other Offers: VHS Tape House of Dead (2003) (Spanish) (Sub) $44.98 $42.73 VHS Tape House of Dead (2003) $9.98 $9.48 34 used & new from $0.45 Better Together Buy this DVD with Alone in the Dark DVD ~ Christian Slater today! Total List Price: $37.98 Buy Together Today: $33.98 Customers who bought this DVD also bought Alone in the Dark DVD ~ Christian Slater Boogeyman (Special Edition) DVD ~ Barry Watson Saw (Widescreen Edition) DVD ~ Leigh Whannell The Texas Chainsaw Massacre DVD ~ Jessica Biel Explore Similar Items : in DVD , in Books Storyline Genres: Horror , Thriller , Action , Mystery Tagline: The dead walk...You run Plot Outline: A group of teens arrive on an island for a rave--only to discover the island has been taken over by zombies. The group takes refuge in a house where they try to survive the night. Plot Synopsis: This film is a prequel to all of the The House of the Dead video games. Set on an island off the coast of Florida, a techno rave party attracts a diverse group of college coeds and a Coast Guard officer. Soon, they discover that their X-laced escapades are to be interrupted by zombies and monsters that attack them on the ground, from the air, and in the sea, ruled by an evil entity in the House of the Dead... Plot Keywords: Cleavage | Spin Off From Video Game | Gun | Zombie | Based On Video Game | Island | Florida Keys | Martial Arts | Nudity | Decapitation | Gore | Severed Head | (Show all 68 plot keywords recommended by customers) Product Details Actors: Jonathan Cherry , Tyron Leitso , Clint Howard , Ona Grauer , Ellie Cornell , See more Directors: Uwe Boll Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dts stereo, Widescreen, Ntsc, Widescreen Anamorphic Region: Region 1 ( U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats. ) Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Rated: (Not for sale to persons under age 18.) Studio: Live / Artisan DVD Release Date: January 27, 2004 Run Time: 90 min (original theatrical or airing runtime) Average Customer Review: Based on 287 Reviews DVD Features: Available Subtitles: English, Spanish Available Audio Tracks: English (DTS 6.1 ES), English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Commentary by: director Uwe Boll, post-production supervisor Jonathan Shore, producer Shawn Williamson, and actor Jonathan Cherry (Unknown Format) Commentary by: executive producer Mark Altman (Unknown Format) Deleted scenes "Behind the House: Anatomy of the Zombie Movement" making-of featurette "Stacked for Zom-Bat: The Sexy Babes of House of the Dead Prepare for Battle!" Sneak peek of new Sega game Nightshade From IMDb: Quotes & Trivia ASIN: B0000YEE6C Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,784 in DVD Theatrical Release Information US Theatrical Release Date: October 10, 2003 MPAA: for pervasive strong violence/gore, language and some nudity. Production Company: Boll Kino Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, Brightlight Pictures Inc., Herold and Besser Studios, Mindfire Entertainment USA Box Office: $10 Million Budget Estimate: $7 Million Filming Locations: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Editorial Reviews Amazon.com The usual slasher-movie teens charter a boat to attend a rave in Washington's San Juan islands, find zombies there, and splatter their guts all over the place. House of the Dead shows early promise when the boat captain is the dude from Das Boot (Jürgen Prochnow) and the mate is the inimitably weird Clint Howard. Alas, things devolve from there. The movie includes frequent flashes from its video game inspiration, not that we need much reminding of the obvious source. Amongst the rotten dialogue, bad acting, and gratuitous topless scenes, there's one looooong shootout sequence in the middle of the picture that should be the main attraction for fans of this kind of thing. Otherwise, it's at the level of every other slasher movie, video game or no video game, in which stupid people do stupid things to keep themselves in harm's way. --Robert Horton Customers who viewed this DVD also viewed Dawn of the Dead (Widescreen Unrated Director's Cut) DVD ~ Boyd Banks Elektra (Widescreen Edition) DVD ~ Jennifer Garner Land of the Dead (Unrated Edition) DVD ~ Simon Baker Blade - Trinity (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (New Line Platinum Series) DVD ~ Wesley Snipes Explore Similar Items : in DVD , in Computer & Video Games Spotlight Reviews Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. 47 of 50 people found the following review helpful: Lord have mercy! , March 30, 2004 Reviewer: Shawn Watson "God of Gods" (Badger's Brook, Scotland) - See all my reviews There are people out there who will greenlight anything! That is the only explanation I can offer as to why the House of the Dead movie exists. And that's only scary part to the whole movie. It's so bad you'll go off movies forever. I seriously wanted to switch this off and turn the TV over to the Paint Drying channel but I was bound by my word to suffer the whole thing. I don't know why I do these bad things to myself. As if it matters, here's the basic jist of the 'story'. A group of twenty-somethings are so desperate to go out to some island in the Pacific Northwest (Canada actually, because it's cheap) for the 'Rave of the Century' (which consists of about 8 people and un-raving music) that they pay some craggy old fisherman $1000 to take them there after they miss the main ferry. That's gotta be some rave to be worth all that dough! The fisherman warns them that the island is also known as the Island of the Dead (hang on-I thought this was HOUSE of the Dead?) and that they are all doomed yadda yadda yadda. First faults here. Why would a tiny little rave (of the Century my foot!) be held on some remote island? Why would anyone willingly pay loads of money to get it? Why pay even more to the craggy old fisherman to take them back when they could just come back with the others? Once they arrive they discover that the rave (which consists of about 2 tents, a small stage and a port-a-john) has been smashed, there's blood everywhere and no one is around. What would any rationally thinking person do? Run for their lives of course. But no, these clueless, obviously blind people decide to go look for them. Soon enough they discover an old ramshackle house that's 50 times as big on the inside as it is on the outside. Another half hour of stumbling around in the forest follows, as an excuse to kill of some of the lesser characters, and after much tedium they arrive back at the house again. The characters, like the movie, go nowhere. Jammed into this ghastly disaster is a superabundance of gibberish dialogue, heinous acting, mumbo-jumbo exposition and zillions of clips from the once-popular arcade game of the same name. Why this was universally accepted as a good idea with the filmmakers I'll never know. The clips have no reference to any of the scenes and only degrade this trash even further, if that is at all possible. It has nothing to do with the game save for some cheap, throwaway line at the end. It makes Resident Evil look like cinematic glory. Hell, even the Double Dragon movie seems multi-Oscar worthy in comparison to this junk. The only one who comes out of this with his dignity still intact is Jurgen Prochnow. He could have just taken his money and ran but he tries his best with the awful script and brings a tiny bit of pathos to his character. The rest of the cast suck I'm afraid. The characters are idiots and deserve to die. Plus, if you cut out the swearing and pointless nudity, I see no reason why this film cannot be shown on Saturday morning TV. It's not frightening in the slightest. Pirates of the Caribbean is more scary than the skeletal bad guys in this film. And where did all those bad guys come from anyway? There were only a few people on the island to begin with. I guess this justifies the reason they chose to reuse footage over and over. I kid you not, you'll see the same zombie die a dozen times. Who's ultimately to blame for that scandalous waste of celluloid? None other than director Uwe Boll. His control over the movie is non-existent. You can clearly the see actors have no idea what they should be doing and that the zombies aren't really taking it all seriously. The actors seem like they're reading off cue cards as they constantly pause in the middle of long sentences and carry on talking as soon as they see the next card. It all feels very unnatural. Plus the film is shot like a two-part mini-series. I have indeed seen better TV productions. And don't get me started on the editing. The film is an incoherent babble with thousands upon thousands of pointless shots and dozens of meaningless camera pans. No real skill or talent was put into making this at all. It truly baffles and boggles the mind how movies this unfathomably bad can get made and George A. Romero can't even get anyone to take his calls. House of the Dead makes some idiotic reference to Romero in a lazy attempt to be 'post-modern' but it only irritates that they think THIS is in the same league as a REAL zombie movie. For what it's worth, the 1.85:1 anamorphic picture looks great and the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is clean but very unimpressive and only serves to pronounce the heavily over-used ADR even more. The DVD comes with extras but why torture yourself. Isn't this review warning enough? Stay away! You are all doomed I tell you! Doomed! Doomed!!! Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Bad, but not fun in the way some bad films can be. , November 9, 2004 Reviewer: Christian Hokenson (Burbank, CA United States) - See all my reviews Folks, save yourselves from "House of the Dead." This is pretty atrocious filmmaking at its most insulting. Worse than even "Resident Evil." I know, I know... they are just videogames, not a movies (but if you check out the special features junk on the "House of the Dead" DVD you can find out the filmmakers had a much different, and much higher opinion of their effort). "House of the Dead" offers lots of action but, as usual for today's young auteurs weened on MTV, it's pretty damn hard to follow and, after a while, it becomes repetitious to the point of sheer boredom. The acting is rotten (save for Jurgen Prochnow (it's a long way from Das Boot, ain't it captain) and the ever weird, always interesting Clint Howard (it's a long way from "Evilspeak" isn't it Coopersmith)), the special effects are decent (when you can see them, and hey... ALL special effects should be decent nowadays, shouldn't they... no points there). The direction is nearly non-existent, and the screenwriting is simply bad... but not bad in a fun way-- the way you can play drinking games with a movie or MST3K it to death on a Friday night around the hookah. I can't even really bring myself to call this a horror film, for not once was I horrified save for the moment, toward the end, where I thought to myself, "y'know, you've actually wasted nearly two hours of your life on this inglorious piece of poop, man." This "film" has the temerity to namecheck George A. Romero and his (as one character aptly puts it) "Holy Trilogy" of zombie classics: "Night, Dawn and Day" natch. Well, 'tis true.. Romero is clearly sui generis when it comes to apocalyptic zombie horror. No need to run (as the current spate of zombies is wont to do), for there's nowhere to hide. Romero at the very, very least has an understanding of the basic rules of filmmaking that at least keep a viewer's interests alive for his dead folks... not only that, but he clearly understands the most basic rules of drama and character. I know many folks that didn't grow up with Romero's films might look at them with some derision regarding black n' white zombies in "Night of the Living Dead" or the baby-blue flesh and Crayola day-glow colors of blood from "Dawn of the Dead." Yet, Romero knew how to handle the gory violence in his films (over-the-top and with great shock-value) and, in the end, Romero wasn't simply striving for realism in gore so much as he was trying to make a valid (still valid!) point about how human beings act in a society under severe stress. He had something to SAY, and he was able to SHOW it without lots of lame-assed exposition that passes for dialogue these days. Uwe Boll on the other hand, knows at least how to load a camera and keep it running (and running and running and running). But he has no sense of story whatsoever, no sense of pace, no sense of continuity and no sense of fun. This is a dreary exercise in crap filmmaking with a decent-sized budget... the kind of budget Romero should have had for his underrated films, but hey! at least Romero knows how to use a dollar wisely. Boll seems to be a kid on the ultimate sugar high as he spends money on fancy camera angles, weird point-of-view shots, CGI gore, and buffed out stuntpeople as decayed corpses... and yes, I know this movie is really just a videogame. In fact, the "director" even goes so far as to include shots from that videogame as segues to his badly choreographed action sequences. After the first few heads a-poppin' (yay, for gun violence) it gets rather dull, and then the action speeds up even more in order to keep the audience awake and, well, just plain confused from what I could see. Boll hits all the cliches just right... POV of the bullet going into flesh and inanimate objects, bullet-time cinematography (can someone please put a stake in the heart of this visual stunt once and for all?!?) and of course some good-lookin' young adults with sawdust for brains and the martial arts skill of Bruce Lee flippin' the bird to the laws of physics. It's inane, it's astonishingly lame and it's insulting to sit through, and yet I did, just so you can avoid having to sit through it too! One thing about George A. Romero and his highly regarded trilogy of zombie films: the zombies themselves were often secondary to the living human characters they sought to munch on. They were scary because you could clearly see they were no longer reasonable human beings-- your family, your friends-- but just dead things with a devastating single-minded instinct for moving foward toward a hot lunch. It didn't matter if they ran or did Cirque d'Soleil-style acrobatics in order to get to you, or just simply lurched. The zombies were always a wave of nearly unstoppable slowness, and thus a very handy metaphor for everything from groupthink to mall shoppers on a Sunday afternoon. In "House of the Dead" the zombies are just fodder, nothing but magnets for lead projectiles... and yes, I know, it's just a videogame. In the end, avoid this load of manure and check out Romero's films if you haven't yet (and, really, what self-respecting zombie fan has not seen them yet?!?). If you can't handle character building, drama and a fairly amazing story of the breakdown of society due to lack of cooperation among the living (and, yes, plenty of gore), then I say turn to either "Re-Animator" or, better yet, "Return of the Living Dead" which at least also manages to tell a story and offer up some halfway decent acting with he gore. Both of those films also offer copious amounts of nudity for you teenage horror fans who seemingly can't get close to the real thing... and yes, I know the videogame movie does too, but the other movies have the added benefit of actual skilled filmmakers behind the scenes, while "House of the Dead" does not. "Return of the Living Dead" actually gives the horror fan a shining example of what "House of the Dead" could have been in the right hands. One film is loads of fun (and hey, by the way, Romero's films offer fun and humor in spades lest you think they are simply turgid sociological dissertations), and the other is so much less than fun it could lead to suicide. I know I wanted to off myself just for getting through to the credits. The films of Romero along with Peter Jackson's brilliant, low-budget "Braindead/Dead Alive," and the recent releases of "28 Days Later" (a quasi-zombiefest) and the hilarious (and quite bloody) "Shaun of the Dead" all offer far more entertainment value (key words here, folks) than "House of the Dead." These films all have some quirky things to say about life along with loads of furious bloodletting, while "House of the Dead" is simply a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) Customer Reviews Average Customer Review: Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. Give it a break! , December 28, 2005 Reviewer: Erick Irungaray "erickufo" (el paso, texas United States) - See all my reviews What do the people expect out of a movie that is based on a real shooting arcade game? We all know that lately, most of the horror movies suck now in these days, don't they?. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: OMG , December 6, 2005 Reviewer: Jonas Brock (Tampa) - See all my reviews I expect horror movies to be somewhat bad or silly, but this was unreal. Avoid at all cost. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: This is bad. , November 13, 2005 Reviewer: Kimberley Wilson (VA USA) - See all my reviews House of the Dead is based on a video game I had no expectations that it would be good but I was astonished at how bad it is. While watching it I kept thinking that it must be a parody. Surely Uwe Boll was joking when he did this, right? He's mocking bad horror movies, right? Wrong. I suspect that everybody who worked on this film was serious. This movie is so bad it's pathetic. It' likes watching Old Yeller get shot, seeing Litte Timmy drown in the well and finding out that the department store Santa is just a guy from Skid Row who was sobered up for the evening. I won't get into the plot becuase there aint any but there's a scene in it that's so dumb it haunts me and is a perfect example of the whole film. One of the "teens" (Why do teenagers in horror movies all look like they're on the wrong side of 30?) decides to fight the zombies with karate. Karate on the undead. Think about that. I don't care if you studied for five years under Pei Mei and David Carradine was your sensei, karate is not going to cut it when fighting zombies unless you're going to do the flying walk to safety thing. She gets eaten of course and one of her companions just stands there and looks. He has no reaction at all. The actor plays the scene like he's at the beach. Some bad horror movies are funny is a goofy sort of way. Others are mildly interesting because somebody at least tried to do something with them but this is just miserable. How this thing got to the theaters is some kind of mystery. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: Holy crap, this movie is terrible , November 1, 2005 Reviewer: Michael J. Gold - See all my reviews I've seen some bad movies in my time, but man this one really takes the cake. I can't believe this garbage was put in theatres. The acting is hilarious. I love how there are zombies all over, and one guys girlfriend even turns into one and attacks him, then gets shot repeatedly. The boyfriend just kinda shrugs it off. No emotion at all. NOTHING Although my favorite part ever that me and my friend are now quoting non stop is the heartfelt scene where Curien is crying about how some lady died, he says (and i quote) She's dead, i didn't save her.. IT WAS MY FAULT... Were you here? did you see it? Did you see watch them rip her apart? SEE WATCH them rip her apart. I had to rewind to make sure i wasn't hearing things, then i put on the subtitles. Was that REALLY their best take? Man this movie is horrible and that's what makes it great. One of those corny ass flicks you can watch just to laugh at. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) See all 287 customer reviews... Listmania! The Scariest and Coolest Moder... : by K. S Schneider The Good, The Bad, and The Ugl... : by Lunar Strain The worst Modern Horror Films : by Jason Voorhees "Jason V" So You'd Like to... Remember why they call film art : by Colin Nickell , Amateur Movie Critic Know How to Survive the Best Zombie Movies? : by hitlercosmetics , Zombie movie lover. watch the 100 worst movies of all time : by Joseph Dewey , a fan of really horrible movies Fun Facts from IMDb.com: Awards Click here to see more Awards Fangoria Chainsaw Awards: Chainsaw Award for Worst Film Leo Awards: Leo for Feature Length Drama: Best Make-up Trivia Click here to see more Trivia The movie is set before the events of the first House of the Dead video game. At the end of the film the survivors are rescued by a helicopter. As it is landing two men dressed in trench coats get of the helicopter. This is a reference to the original House of the Dead video game in which the protagonists are two special agents in over coats. Goofs Click here to see more Goofs In the laboratory, one of the supposedly gray, rotting, skeletal zombies lying on a table has a very visible pink, healthy nose sticking out of its skull. Crazy Credits Click here to see more Crazy Credits The opening credits play over video of the games, from both the arcade andDreamcast versions, begining with the famous "You must stop Curien!" scenefrom the game! Movie Connections Click here to see more Movie Connections Followed by: House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim Edited from: House of the Dead Quotes Click here to see more Quotes [pointing on a zombie in the water] Greg : Shoot it! Capt. Victor Kirk : What do you think I am trying to do, you f***ing moron? Rudy : You did all this to become immortal. Why? Castillo : To live forever! 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FAQ on Taxes & Rental Property Intuit Home Intuit Products Support | Order Status | Shopping Cart Home Online Products Desktop Products Business Tips & Resources Sign In Automatic Renewal My Downloads Tax Tips & Topics Business Taxes Education & Taxes Employment Taxes Family & Taxes Homeowners & Taxes Investments & Taxes Retirement & Estate Taxes Tax Law & the IRS Tax Planning & Savings Tax Prep & Filing E-mail this Print this FAQs on Taxes and Rental Property How do I handle taxes on my rental property? When you rent out your own property, you may face two kinds of headaches: tenants and taxes. We can't do much about the tenants, but we can help you with tax questions. TurboTax Premier walks you through rental property issues. Learn more Consider this scenario: Just after graduating from college and getting married, Sue started her first job. Her new job is 800 miles from where she had lived while in school. The condo that her spouse had purchased a few years before they met has dropped in value. Sue and Steve would be out of pocket several thousand dollars if they sold the unit. So they decided to rent out the condo. Now they’re faced with figuring out whether, and how, to report this rental on their tax return. Does this story sound familiar? If so, you're not alone. Taxpayers in similar circumstances find themselves asking these questions: Is rental income taxable ? When do I owe taxes on rental income ? Are security deposits taxable ? What can I deduct ? When can I deduct improvements and repairs ? How do I calculate depreciation ? How do I report a rental activity on my tax return ? What are passive activities, and how do they affect me ? Is Rental Income Taxable ? Yes, rental income is taxable. But you're allowed to reduce your rental income by subtracting expenses that you incur to manage, conserve, and maintain your rental property. When Do I Owe Taxes on Rental Income? As a cash basis taxpayer (which includes nearly all individuals), you must report all income in the year you actually receive it regardless of when it was earned. If you receive rent for January 2006 in December 2005, report the rent as income on your 2005 tax return. If you receive a deposit for first and last month's rent, it's taxed as rental income in the year it's received. If you receive goods or services from your tenant in exchange for rent, you must value the goods or services at their present worth and report that value on your return in the year that they are received. You must also report income that you have received constructively . This means that you have the opportunity to receive the income. For example, if your renters place their January checks in your mailbox late in December, you cannot avoid reporting it as income simply by not removing it from the mailbox until January. Are Security Deposits Taxable ? Security deposits are not included in income when you receive them if you plan to return them to your tenants at the end of the lease. (Deposits for the last month's rent are taxable, because they are really rents, paid in advance.) What If I Pocket Some of the Security Deposit? If you eventually keep part or all of the security deposit because the tenant does not live up to the terms of the lease, you must include that amount in the income that you show on your tax return for the tax year in which the lease terminates. So you should keep track of the security deposits from year to year. This record-keeping isn't difficult if you only own one rental, but as the number of rentals you own increases, so does the paperwork. What Can I Deduct? All expenses incurred and paid by you to manage, conserve, and maintain a rental property are deductible in the year paid. Even if your rental property is temporarily vacant, the expenses are still deductible while the property is vacant and held out for rent. Deductible expenses include, but are not limited to, the following: Advertising Cleaning and maintenance Commissions Depreciation Homeowner's associations dues Insurance premiums Interest expense Local property taxes Management fees Pest control Professional fees Rental of equipment Rents you paid to others Repairs Supplies Trash removal fees Travel expenses Utilities Yard maintenance All expenses deducted must be ordinary and necessary and not extravagant. If you deduct travel expenses, you must allocate your expenses between rental and non-rental activities. For example: John, who loves to ski, owns a rental condo in Park City, Utah, which he visits in January. His travel expenses are deductible if, for example, the primary purpose of his trip is to clean and paint the unit after his tenants have moved out. If during the week, he spends three days cleaning and painting and two days skiing, he may deduct 60 percent of his travel expenses on his tax return. Keep good records. To deduct any expense, you must be able to document the deduction. That means keeping current and accurate records of your expenses paid, including all receipts, checks, and bank statements. When Can I Deduct Improvements and Repairs? Any improvements to the property must be depreciated over their useful lives (which are defined by the IRS), rather than deducted in the year paid. Improvements are actions that materially add to the value of the property or substantially prolong its life. Examples include: Additions to the structure Adding a swimming pool Installing a water filtration system Modernizing a kitchen Installing insulation Repairs, on the other hand, are deductible in the year paid. Unlike improvements, repairs just keep the property in good operating condition. Examples of repairs: Minor repainting Fixing broken gutters or floors Fixing leaks Replacing broken windows or doors For more information see IRS Topic 414: Rental Income and Expenses . How do I Calculate Depreciation? Depreciation is a deduction taken over several years. You generally depreciate the cost of property that has a useful life of more than a year, but gradually wears out, or loses its value due to wear and tear, or wind and rain, when the property is used in business, or to produce income. To figure out the depreciation on your rental property: Determine your cost or other tax basis for the property. Allocate that cost to the different types of property included in your rental (such as land, buildings, so on). Calculate depreciation for each property type based on the methods, rates, and “useful lives” specified by the IRS. 1. Determine Your Cost Basis Your cost basis in the property is generally the amount that you paid for the property (your acquisition cost plus any expenses in making the purchase). Your payment, then, includes any loan proceeds that you used to acquire the property. Review your purchase closing documents to identify any other expenses that you may deduct. Examples include: Financing costs Interest and taxes Homeowner's association dues If you are converting your property from personal use to rental use, your tax basis in the property is calculated differently. Your basis is the lower of these two: Acquisition cost The fair market value at the time of conversion from personal to rental use If the property was given to you or if you inherited it, or if you traded another property for the current property, there are special rules for determining your tax basis in your rental property. Consult IRS Publication 551, Basis of Assets , for more information about computing your tax basis in these situations. 2. Allocate the Cost by Type of Property After determining the cost or other tax basis for the rental property as a whole, you must allocate the basis amount among the various types of property you're renting. When we speak of types of property, we refer to certain components of your rental, such as the land it is built on, the building itself, any furniture or appliances you provide with the rental, etc. If your rental is a condo or other property that shares property within a community, you're deemed to own a portion of that property. Therefore, even a third floor condo is deemed to own a portion of the land and a portion of the purchase price must be allocated to the land upon which the building is built. Why this effort to divide your tax basis between property types? The different types of property are each depreciated using different rules and different lives. 3. Calculate the Depreciation for Each Type of Property Here are the most common divisions of tax basis for a rental property, followed by explanations of the different methods of depreciation. Type of Property Method of Depreciation Useful Life in Years Land Not depreciated N/A Residential rental real estate (buildings or structures and structural components) Straight line 27.5 Nonresidential rental real estate Straight line 39 Shrubbery, fences, etc. 150% declining balance 15 Furniture or appliances Double (200%) declining balance Straight-Line Depreciation In straight-line depreciation, the cost basis is depreciated (or, allocated) evenly over the tax life of the property. Example: A residential rental building with a cost basis of $150,000 would generate depreciation of $5,455 per year ($150,000 / 27.5 years). In the year that the rental is first placed in service (rented), you are allowed a deduction based on the number of months that the property is in service, with 1/2 month for the first month. In the example, if the property is placed in service in August, you are allowed a deduction for 4-1/2 months of $2,046 ($5,455 x 4.5 / 12). Declining Balance Depreciation This kind of depreciation is calculated by multiplying the rate, 150% or 200%, by the straight-line depreciation calculated based on the adjusted balance of the property at the start of the year over the remaining life of the property. To make matters somewhat easier, the IRS and others publish tables of percentages that can be applied to the original cost to determine yearly depreciation. Here's the five-year property table as an example: Year Percentage 1 20.00 2 32.00 3 19.20 4 11.52 5 11.52 6 5.76 Total 100% Example: Declining balance depreciation on furniture used in a rental with a cost of $2,400 in Year 3 would be $461 ($2,400 x 19.20%). Tables for all types of properties can be found in IRS Publication 946: How to Depreciate Property . For general information on depreciation of rentals, see IRS Publication 527: Residential Property . How do I Report a Rental Activity on My Tax Return? As an individual, you report the income and deductions for rental properties on page 1 of Form 1040, Schedule E, Supplemental Income and Loss. The total income or loss computed on Schedule E carries to Form 1040. Report the depreciation of rentals on Form 4562: Depreciation and Amortization . The instructions for these forms explain in detail how to complete these forms. TurboTax products assist you with compiling rental data and reporting the information on the appropriate lines of the appropriate forms. What are Passive Activities and How do They Affect Me? Rental properties are, by definition, passive activities and are subject to passive activity loss rules. These rules are quite complex. In general, the passive activity rules limit your ability to offset other types of income with net passive losses. In other words, if you have losses from a passive activity, such as a rental property you own, you can't always take those losses on your tax return in the current year to reduce income from non-passive activities such as wages, salary, interest, dividends, or gains from sales of stocks. Passive losses can offset income from other passive activities. If you have a net passive loss in any year, that loss is generally suspended (delayed to a later year) until either you have passive income or you completely dispose of the passive activity. But if you actively participate in a rental activity you can deduct up to $25,000 of the rental loss. To actively participate means that you own at least 10 percent of the property and you make management decisions in a significant and bona fide sense, such as approving new tenants, setting rental terms, approving improvements, and so forth. This exception isn't available to everyone. If you have modified adjusted gross income over $100,000, your maximum loss available decreases by $0.50 for every dollar over $100,000. The maximum loss is completely phased out when your modified adjusted gross income reaches $150,000. Modified adjusted gross income is determined by calculating adjusted gross income without regard to deductions for IRA contributions or pensions, taxable social security benefits, adoption assistance payments, income excluded from U.S. savings bonds used to pay higher education tuition and fees, interest on qualified student loans, the tuition fees deduction, and any passive activity loss of taxpayers in a real property business. Example: Phil and Mary have modified adjusted gross income of $90,000 and a rental loss for the year of $21,000. They actively participated in the rental. Since their modified adjusted gross income is below the limit of $100,000, their entire rental loss is deductible. If their loss had risen to $28,000, they would have been limited to a deductible loss of $25,000 this year - the balance of $3,000 would be considered a suspended passive activity loss and therefore would be "carried over" to future years' returns until completely used up. If you're married and you file a separate tax return from your spouse, and if you lived apart from your spouse at all times during the year, the maximum rental loss deduction under the exception is $12,500. Your loss begins to phase out at $50,000 instead of $100,000. If you're married, file separately, but you did not live apart from your spouse at all times during the year, the active rental real estate loss allowance is not available to you at all. You may need to complete Form 8582: Passive Activity Loss Limitations , following the published IRS instructions . If you earn your living working in a real estate arena, you may be considered a real estate professional. The passive activity rules don't apply to real estate activities for many properties owned and managed by real estate professionals. For more information regarding this important exception, consult IRS Publication 527: Residential Rental Property . For more on passive activities, see Tax Topic 425: Passive Activities-Losses and Credits . Home | Online Products | Desktop Products | Business | Tax Tips & Resources | Support Center | Site Index Intuit | Privacy Promise | Feedback | Quicken | Affiliates ©1997-2005 Intuit Inc. Trademark Notices By accessing and using this page you agree to the Terms of Service Software License Agreement

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Looking for the Best Mortgage ESPAÑOL Shopping around for a home loan or mortgage will help you to get the best financing deal. A mortgage--whether it’s a home purchase, a refinancing, or a home equity loan--is a product, just like a car, so the price and terms may be negotiable. You’ll want to compare all the costs involved in obtaining a mortgage. Shopping, comparing, and negotiating may save you thousands of dollars. Skip to content Obtain information from several lenders Obtain all important cost information Obtain the best deal that you can Remember: Shop, compare, negotiate Fair lending is required by law Credit problems? Glossary Mortgage shopping worksheet For more information Obtain Information from Several Lenders Home loans are available from several types of lenders-- thrift institutions , commercial banks, mortgage companies, and credit unions. Different lenders may quote you different prices, so you should contact several lenders to make sure you’re getting the best price. You can also get a home loan through a mortgage broker . Brokers arrange transactions rather than lending money directly; in other words, they find a lender for you. A broker’s access to several lenders can mean a wider selection of loan products and terms from which you can choose. Brokers will generally contact several lenders regarding your application, but they are not obligated to find the best deal for you unless they have contracted with you to act as your agent. Consequently, you should consider contacting more than one broker, just as you should with banks or thrift institutions. Whether you are dealing with a lender or a broker may not always be clear. Some financial institutions operate as both lenders and brokers. And most brokers’ advertisements do not use the word "broker." Therefore, be sure to ask whether a broker is involved. This information is important because brokers are usually paid a fee for their services that may be separate from and in addition to the lender’s origination or other fees. A broker’s compensation may be in the form of "points" paid at closing or as an add-on to your interest rate , or both. You should ask each broker you work with how he or she will be compensated so that you can compare the different fees. Be prepared to negotiate with the brokers as well as the lenders. Obtain All Important Cost Information Be sure to get information about mortgages from several lenders or brokers. Know how much of a down payment you can afford, and find out all the costs involved in the loan. Knowing just the amount of the monthly payment or the interest rate is not enough. Ask for information about the same loan amount, loan term, and type of loan so that you can compare the information. The following information is important to get from each lender and broker: Rates Ask each lender and broker for a list of its current mortgage interest rates and whether the rates being quoted are the lowest for that day or week. Ask whether the rate is fixed or adjustable . Keep in mind that when interest rates for adjustable-rate loans go up, generally so does the monthly payment. If the rate quoted is for an adjustable-rate loan, ask how your rate and loan payment will vary, including whether your loan payment will be reduced when rates go down. Ask about the loan’s annual percentage rate (APR) . The APR takes into account not only the interest rate but also points, broker fees, and certain other credit charges that you may be required to pay, expressed as a yearly rate. Points Points are fees paid to the lender or broker for the loan and are often linked to the interest rate; usually the more points you pay, the lower the rate. Check your local newspaper for information about rates and points currently being offered. Ask for points to be quoted to you as a dollar amount--rather than just as the number of points--so that you will actually know how much you will have to pay. Fees A home loan often involves many fees, such as loan origination or underwriting fees , broker fees, and transaction, settlement, and closing costs . Every lender or broker should be able to give you an estimate of its fees. Many of these fees are negotiable. Some fees are paid when you apply for a loan (such as application and appraisal fees), and others are paid at closing. In some cases, you can borrow the money needed to pay these fees, but doing so will increase your loan amount and total costs. "No cost" loans are sometimes available, but they usually involve higher rates. Ask what each fee includes. Several items may be lumped into one fee. Ask for an explanation of any fee you do not understand. Some common fees associated with a home loan closing are listed on the Mortgage Shopping Worksheet in this brochure. Down Payments and Private Mortgage Insurance Some lenders require 20 percent of the home’s purchase price as a down payment. However, many lenders now offer loans that require less than 20 percent down--sometimes as little as 5 percent on conventional loans . If a 20 percent down payment is not made, lenders usually require the home buyer to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI) to protect the lender in case the home buyer fails to pay. When government-assisted programs such as FHA (Federal Housing Administration), VA (Veterans Administration), or Rural Development Services are available, the down payment requirements may be substantially smaller. Ask about the lender’s requirements for a down payment, including what you need to do to verify that funds for your down payment are available. Ask your lender about special programs it may offer. If PMI is required for your loan, Ask what the total cost of the insurance will be. Ask how much your monthly payment will be when including the PMI premium. Ask how long you will be required to carry PMI. Obtain the Best Deal That You Can Once you know what each lender has to offer, negotiate for the best deal that you can. On any given day, lenders and brokers may offer different prices for the same loan terms to different consumers, even if those consumers have the same loan qualifications. The most likely reason for this difference in price is that loan officers and brokers are often allowed to keep some or all of this difference as extra compensation. Generally, the difference between the lowest available price for a loan product and any higher price that the borrower agrees to pay is an overage . When overages occur, they are built into the prices quoted to consumers. They can occur in both fixed and variable-rate loans and can be in the form of points, fees, or the interest rate. Whether quoted to you by a loan officer or a broker, the price of any loan may contain overages. Have the lender or broker write down all the costs associated with the loan. Then ask if the lender or broker will waive or reduce one or more of its fees or agree to a lower rate or fewer points. You’ll want to make sure that the lender or broker is not agreeing to lower one fee while raising another or to lower the rate while raising points. There’s no harm in asking lenders or brokers if they can give better terms than the original ones they quoted or than those you have found elsewhere. Once you are satisfied with the terms you have negotiated, you may want to obtain a written lock-in from the lender or broker. The lock-in should include the rate that you have agreed upon, the period the lock-in lasts, and the number of points to be paid. A fee may be charged for locking in the loan rate. This fee may be refundable at closing. Lock-ins can protect you from rate increases while your loan is being processed; if rates fall, however, you could end up with a less favorable rate. Should that happen, try to negotiate a compromise with the lender or broker. Remember: Shop, Compare, Negotiate When buying a home, remember to shop around, to compare costs and terms, and to negotiate for the best deal. Your local newspaper and the Internet are good places to start shopping for a loan. You can usually find information both on interest rates and on points for several lenders. Since rates and points can change daily, you’ll want to check your newspaper often when shopping for a home loan. But the newspaper does not list the fees, so be sure to ask the lenders about them. The Mortgage Shopping Worksheet that follows may also help you. Take it with you when you speak to each lender or broker and write down the information you obtain. Don’t be afraid to make lenders and brokers compete with each other for your business by letting them know that you are shopping for the best deal. Fair Lending Is Required by Law The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits lenders from discriminating against credit applicants in any aspect of a credit transaction on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, whether all or part of the applicant’s income comes from a public assistance program, or whether the applicant has in good faith exercised a right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in residential real estate transactions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Under these laws, a consumer cannot be refused a loan based on these characteristics nor be charged more for a loan or offered less favorable terms based on such characteristics. Credit Problems? Still Shop, Compare, and Negotiate Don’t assume that minor credit problems or difficulties stemming from unique circumstances, such as illness or temporary loss of income, will limit your loan choices to only high-cost lenders.If your credit report contains negative information that is accurate, but there are good reasons for trusting you to repay a loan, be sure to explain your situation to the lender or broker. If your credit problems cannot be explained, you will probably have to pay more than borrowers who have good credit histories. But don’t assume that the only way to get credit is to pay a high price. Ask how your past credit history affects the price of your loan and what you would need to do to get a better price. Take the time to shop around and negotiate the best deal that you can. Whether you have credit problems or not, it’s a good idea to review your credit report for accuracy and completeness before you apply for a loan. To order a copy of your credit report, contact: Equifax: (800) 685-1111 TransUnion: (800) 888-4213 Experian: (888) 397-3742 Glossary Adjustable-rate loans , also known as variable-rate loans, usually offer a lower initial interest rate than fixed-rate loans. The interest rate fluctuates over the life of the loan based on market conditions, but the loan agreement generally sets maximum and minimum rates. When interest rates rise, generally so do your loan payments; and when interest rates fall, your monthly payments may be lowered. Annual percentage rate (APR) is the cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate. The APR includes the interest rate, points, broker fees, and certain other credit charges that the borrower is required to pay. Conventional loans are mortgage loans other than those insured or guaranteed by a government agency such as the FHA (Federal Housing Administration), the VA (Veterans Administration), or the Rural Development Services (formerly know as Farmers Home Administration, or FmHA). Escrow is the holding of money or documents by a neutral third party prior to closing. It can also be an account held by the lender (or servicer) into which a homeowner pays money for taxes and insurance. Fixed-rate loans generally have repayment terms of 15, 20, or 30 years. Both the interest rate and the monthly payments (for principal and interest) stay the same during the life of the loan. The interest rate is the cost of borrowing money expressed as a percentage rate. Interest rates can change because of market conditions. Loan origination fees are fees charged by the lender for processing the loan and are often expressed as a percentage of the loan amount. Lock-in refers to a written agreement guaranteeing a home buyer a specific interest rate on a home loan provided that the loan is closed within a certain period of time, such as 60 or 90 days. Often the agreement also specifies the number of points to be paid at closing. A mortgage is a document signed by a borrower when a home loan is made that gives the lender a right to take possession of the property if the borrower fails to pay off the loan. Overages are the difference between the lowest available price and any higher price that the home buyer agrees to pay for the loan. Loan officers and brokers are often allowed to keep some or all of this difference as extra compensation. Points are fees paid to the lender for the loan. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. Points are usually paid in cash at closing. In some cases, the money needed to pay points can be borrowed, but doing so will increase the loan amount and the total costs. Private mortgage insurance (PMI) protects the lender against a loss if a borrower defaults on the loan. It is usually required for loans in which the down payment is less than 20 percent of the sales price or, in a refinancing, when the amount financed is greater than 80 percent of the appraised value. Thrift institution is a general term for savings banks and savings and loan associations. Transaction, settlement, or closing costs may include application fees; title examination, abstract of title, title insurance, and property survey fees; fees for preparing deeds, mortgages, and settlement documents; attorneys’ fees; recording fees; and notary, appraisal, and credit report fees. Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the borrower receives a good faith estimate of closing costs at the time of application or within three days of application. The good faith estimate lists each expected cost either as an amount or a range. Mortgage Shopping Worksheet File for Printing Worksheet (12KB PDF) Lender 1 Lender 2 Name of Lender: ___ ___ Name of Contact: ___ ___ Date of Contact: ___ ___ Mortgage Amount: ___ ___ mortgage 1 mortgage 2 mortgage 1 mortgage 2 Basic Information on the Loans Type of Mortgage: fixed rate, adjustable rate, conventional, FHA, other? If adjustable, see below ___ ___ ___ ___ Minimum down payment required ___ ___ ___ ___ Loan term (length of loan) ___ ___ ___ ___ Contract interest rate ___ ___ ___ ___ Annual percentage rate (APR) ___ ___ ___ ___ Points (may be called loan discount points) ___ ___ ___ ___ Monthly Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) premiums ___ ___ ___ ___ How long must you keep PMI? ___ ___ ___ ___ Estimated monthly escrow for taxes and hazard insurance ___ ___ ___ ___ Estimated monthly payment (Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance, PMI) ___ ___ ___ ___ Fees Different institutions may have different names for somefees and may charge different fees. We have listed some typical fees you may see on loan documents. Application fee or Loan processing fee ___ ___ ___ ___ Origination fee or Underwriting fee ___ ___ ___ ___ Lender fee or Funding fee ___ ___ ___ ___ Appraisal fee ___ ___ ___ ___ Attorney fees ___ ___ ___ ___ Document preparation and recording fees ___ ___ ___ ___ Broker fees (may be quoted as points, origination fees, or interest rate add-on) ___ ___ ___ ___ Credit report fee ___ ___ ___ ___ Other fees ___ ___ ___ ___ Other Costs at Closing/Settlement Title search/Title insurance For lender ___ ___ ___ ___ For you ___ ___ ___ ___ Estimated prepaid amounts for interest, taxes, hazard insurance, payments to escrow ___ ___ ___ ___ State and local taxes, stamp taxes, transfer taxes ___ ___ ___ ___ Flood determination ___ ___ ___ ___ Prepaid Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) ___ ___ ___ ___ Surveys and home inspections ___ ___ ___ ___ Total Fees and Other Closing/Settlement Cost Estimates ___ ___ ___ ___ Lender 1 Lender 2 Name of Lender: mortgage 1 mortgage 2 mortgage 1 mortgage 2 Other Questions and Considerations about the Loan Are any of the fees or costs waivable? ___ ___ ___ ___ Prepayment penalties Is there a prepayment penalty? ___ ___ ___ ___ If so, how much is it? ___ ___ ___ ___ How long does the penalty period last? (for example, 3 years? 5 years?) ___ ___ ___ ___ Are extra principal payments allowed? ___ ___ ___ ___ Lock-ins Is the lock-in agreement in writing? ___ ___ ___ ___ Is there a fee to lock-in? ___ ___ ___ ___ When does the lock-in occur—at application, approval, or another time? ___ ___ ___ ___ How long will the lock-in last? ___ ___ ___ ___ If the rate drops before closing, can you lock-in at a lower rate? ___ ___ ___ ___ If the loan is an adjustable rate mortgage: What is the initial rate? ___ ___ ___ ___ What is the maximum the rate could be next year? ___ ___ ___ ___ What are the rate and payment caps each year and over the life of the loan? ___ ___ ___ ___ What is the frequency of rate change and of any changes to the monthly payment? ___ ___ ___ ___ What is the index that the lender will use? ___ ___ ___ ___ What margin will the lender add to the index? ___ ___ ___ ___ Credit life insurance Does the monthly amount quoted to you include a charge for credit life insurance? ___ ___ ___ ___ If so, does the lender require credit life insurance as a condition of the loan? ___ ___ ___ ___ How much does the credit life insurance cost? ___ ___ ___ ___ How much lower would your monthly payment be without the credit life insurance? ___ ___ ___ ___ If the lender does not require credit life insurance, and you still want to buy it, what rates can you get from other insurance providers? ___ ___ ___ ___ This brochure was prepared by the following agencies: Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Justice Department of the Treasury Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Housing Finance Board Federal Reserve Board Federal Trade Commission National Credit Union Administration Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Office of Thrift Supervision These agencies (except the Department of the Treasury) enforce compliance with laws that prohibit discrimination in lending. If you feel that you have been discriminated against in the home financing process, you may want to contact one of the agencies listed above about your rights under these laws. For more information on home lending issues, visit ( http://www.consumer.gov ), write to the Federal Citizen Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009 or visit the Center’s Web site at ( http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov ). The following brochures are available from the Center: A Consumer’s Guide to Mortgage Lock-Ins A Consumer’s Guide to Mortgage Refinancing Buying Your Home: Settlement Costs and Helpful Information Consumer Handbook on Adjustable Rate Mortgages Guide to Single Family Home Mortgage Insurance Home Buyer’s Vocabulary Home Mortgages: Understanding the Process and Your Rights to Fair Lending How to Buy a Home with a Low Down Payment How to Dispute Credit Report Errors The HUD Home Buying Guide What You Should Know About Home Equity Lines of Credit Home | Consumer information | Publications | Brochures | Accessibility | Contact Us Last update: January 22, 2004